REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Day Thirty-Six of Lent
“Father, Into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit”
Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last. Luke 23:46
This perfect prayer, uttered from the depths of the Heart of our Lord, goes to the heart of life itself. It says it all. It’s a prayer of complete surrender to the Father, a prayer of total abandonment and unwavering trust.
As our Blessed Mother stood at the foot of the Cross, there is no doubt that she joined her Son in His prayer of perfect surrender. She would have not only offered her own life once again to the Father, she would have also offered her Son.
Commending ourselves to the Father, in total abandonment, must become our daily mission. There is nothing in life more important than this. Jesus chose to make this prayer of surrender the last thing He spoke from the Cross as it is recorded by Saint Luke. Saint John’s Gospel reveals Jesus saying, “It is finished.” These two statements from our Lord make it clear that Jesus was perfectly one with the Father in His final moments on the Cross.
Think about that. As Jesus hung on the Cross, humiliated and in excruciating pain, He gave us a glorious example of surrender. Being perfect in every way, He did not turn in on Himself and wallow in self-pity, anger or regret. The cruelty He had received from so many did not deter Him from the continual surrender of His life to the Father and to His holy will. Instead, Jesus chose this most miserable persecuted state to profess His unending union with His Father.
Very often in our own lives, when crosses come our way, we begin to lose trust and hope in the Father. We carefully examine our wounds and ponder the injustices we’ve suffered. We allow hurt and sorrow to turn our eyes from God and instead we gaze at ourselves.
This prayer, spoken by our Lord, and echoed in the heart of our Blessed Mother, was spoken in part as a lesson to each one of us. First, it was prayed because it was the perfect expression of who Jesus was. But secondly, it was spoken for us to imitate.
How deep is your surrender to the Father in Heaven? How often do you pray this prayer? And when you pray it, how completely does this prayer become an action in your life? To surrender is to act. It is more than a decision, it’s a continual act of our will that deepens our surrender until it is complete and total.
Reflect, today, upon this perfect prayer of our Lord. “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.” Pray it over and over. If you can, get on your knees or lie prostrate before our Lord. Reflect, also, upon this prayer as it would have been uttered by our Blessed Mother from the depths of her own heart. She offered her life continually and joined her Son in this perfect and final offering to the Father. She did so as she stood gazing at her Son with a mother’s love.
My dearest Mother, as you stood before your Son and heard Him utter these sacred words, you made them your own. You freely and wholeheartedly offered your divine Son to the Father. You also offered your own life, once again, in union with the Sacrifice of your Son.
My loving Mother, pray for me that I may make my own life a perfect offering to the Father in Heaven. Help me, by your prayers and example, to hold nothing back. I give all to you, dear Mother, so that you may offer me to the Father in union with the offering of your Son.
My dying Lord, I commend my life into Your hands. I surrender all to You so that my life may be offered to the Father in union with Your perfect Sacrifice. Take me, dear Lord, receive me and do with me as You will.
40 Days Journey with Our Lord
Day Thirty-Six: Betrayal
It’s confounding that one of the Twelve Apostles, who spent three years listening to Jesus preach and perform miracles, was part of His inner circle, and witnessed His daily life, would, in the end, turn on Him and betray Him for money. Similarly, it is confounding that one-third of the created angels, including Lucifer—the “Light-bearer”—would revolt against the Most Holy Trinity at the moment of their creation, preferring eternal damnation to eternal beatitude.
Today’s Gospel for the Tuesday of Holy Week comes from the Last Supper when Judas left to betray Jesus. We read, “Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me” (John 13:21). The Gospel then goes on to say that satan entered Judas and he “left at once. And it was night” (John 13:30). The symbolism of “night” refers to the darkness of evil that had overcome Judas in that moment. Today’s Gospel concludes with Jesus saying to Peter, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times” (John 13:38). Jesus was betrayed for money by one of the Twelve and denied out of fear by another.
Though this might be shocking to us if we think about it objectively, considering the closeness between Jesus and these two Apostles, it will not be shocking if we look honestly at our own lives and consider our own betrayals and denials.
The good news is that Jesus is more aware of our sin than we are, and He loves us all the same. He is quick to forgive and quick to reconcile. This leaves only us, coming face-to-face with the betrayals and denials we need to overcome.
Though it might be more pleasant to ponder happy and holy moments—such as prayers answered, victories won, or even the joy of the Resurrection—the true prayer, victory, and resurrection our Lord wants for us will only come if we face the painful truths of our sins. Even the greatest saints continually mourned over their sins because the closer they grew to God, the more clearly they saw how the smallest fault, the tiniest defect, and the most venial sin interfered with God’s superabundant grace.
When Peter was told that he would deny Jesus three times, he must have been shocked and disbelieving. When we hear the same said of us, we will likely also be shocked and in disbelief. Love is in the details, and when we carefully and thoroughly examine every detail of our relationship with God, we will always find small ways we need to grow, repent, heal, and convert.
Ponder these two close companions of Jesus. Though Judas’ sin became mortal, Peter’s was forgiven. Peter became a great saint who sacrificed his life for our Lord through tireless service of the Gospel and ultimately martyrdom under the Emperor Nero. Don’t ever deny that there are ways you reject our Lord, His mercy, His guidance, and His perfect will. Keeping humble will enable you to learn from Saint Peter and more fully fulfill the glorious mission God gives to you.
PRAYER
My grieving Lord, Judas’ betrayal deeply troubled your merciful Heart as you saw him reject all that You wanted to bestow upon him. Peter’s denial also grieved Your Heart, but Your mercy won Him back. Please be merciful to me, a sinner, and help me to relentlessly confront my every sin so that Your grace will purge it from my life and set me on the glorious road to sanctity in service of Your will.
Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Source: mycatholiclife