Encouragement

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"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:9-11

We like to be remembered by the people whom we hold dear and are far away from us. Similarly, we reminisce about the times we have spent with them. We treasure their gifts as a special remembrance just because they belong to the ones we love and will never forget. Though, sometimes the thoughts itself are enough. We can sense they have remembered us when we suddenly awake in the middle of the night with a premonition that someone has called out to us.

Today we remember the Last Supper where Jesus left a lasting remembrance of the Memorial of His Body and Blood; His perpetual presence with us in this world.

I have always been drawn to certain scripture phrases during the Holy Triduum gospel readings ever since my childhood and I would like to dwell on them as follows:

1)“Do this in remembrance of me” - Jesus institutes the Eucharist at this Passover meal with His apostles. He willingly gives up His Body and sheds His blood for us.
This was the First Mass to be celebrated ever on this earth with Jesus as the High Priest. It also institutes the Priesthood in the Church.
Though his heart was sorrowful at his impending death, He cherishes this last supper with his apostles teaching them about the greatest commandment to love one another as He has loved them. He declares that no greater love has man than to lay down his life for a friend.
We should always yearn to receive the Eucharist as a lasting gift in remembrance of Our Lord.

2)“I have prayed for you”- Peter vows to follow Jesus even up to death but Jesus predicts his denial and consoles him saying that He has already prayed for him to recover and in turn to give strength to the others.
When Peter denies Jesus, what leads him to bitter repentance more than his denial is the fact that Jesus looks across at him with eyes filled with love in spite of disowning Him. This is the emotion Peter could not bear to see and he breaks down.
How many times have we failed to see love or not been able to see love still prominent in the eyes of those we have hurt? This is the way God loves us, when we let him down; His eyes are still filled with love as he looks at us.
This line is also a call to always pray for others and intercede for their needs.

3)“Could you not stay awake with me for an hour?”- Jesus in his bitter agony; as He sweats blood in the garden of Gethsemane feels forsaken by His own apostles who could not keep watch with Him and pray for an hour.
How much of our time do we give to the Lord in prayer or service?
The hours, minutes and seconds all belong to Him. He has allotted our time on this earth and in return how often and how long do we talk to Him?

4)“Remember me, when you come into your kingdom”- This should be our prayer as the Good thief requested Jesus; to be remembered by Him and welcomed into Heaven forever.

5)“This day you will be with me in paradise”- This is the answer that we all long for; the promise of eternal life in the heavenly paradise.

6)“Woman, behold your son”- Jesus gives Mother Mary to each and every one of us as our own beloved Mother. She is the one true Mother of heaven and earth. We can always depend on her maternal intercession.

7)“My Lord, my God, why have you forsaken me”- Jesus cries out to His Father from the Cross in desperation feeling the full abandonment by God during His last moments on this earth. There are times when we feel God does not answer our prayers; we feel disillusioned and assailed by doubts but it is at these times that we have to fuel our faith even stronger and believe that He will never leave us ever. His silence could mean something we have not yet comprehended.

8)“Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing”- The outstanding lesson on Forgiveness is preached from the Cross when Jesus forgives His enemies.

9)“Into your hands I commend my spirit” - Jesus gives up His spirit and dies on the cross.
When our time comes, we have to place our entire trust in God and pour our spirit into His hands where he receives us and carries us Home safely.

10)“It is accomplished” - Jesus finishes his mission on earth. We have so much to achieve in this life for our own souls before our work here is finished and we depart to the Father.

Let us meditate deeply on the Passion and death of Our Lord and visualize and feel the excruriating pain that Our Lord went through.
Good Friday should not just be just a tradition that we go through every year; to attend mass and fast out of a holy obligation. Our hearts should literally bleed for the Lord and understand that Jesus who was fully divine and human felt the weight of the cross; the torture of His crucifixion, both physically and spiritually for our transgressions.

We should identify with the trauma that Our Lady went through to see her son’s bitter suffering and still unwavering in her trust and faith in God.
As we follow Jesus on the Via Dolorosa and reflect on each Station of the Cross, let us feel His pain as He carries the heavy cross and falls three times; His wounds as He is cruelly nailed to the Cross and hangs there for three agonizing hours.

Let us relive the moment when Mother Mary met Jesus and the look of pain when their eyes met which pierced their hearts terribly.

Let us not be like Simon of Cyrene who was unwilling to help Jesus carry His cross and had to be forced by the Roman soldiers to do so. Let us always be willing to carry the crosses in our life be it sickness or any other form of suffering.

Let us be like Veronica and the weeping women; our hearts filled with compassion and love for our Lord’s passion. Let His face be imprinted on our hearts as on the cloth which Veronica used to wipe His bleeding face.

Let Holy Saturday be a day of silence and mourning for Our Lord as He rested inside the earth while we await His triumphant resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Maria Franco

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