Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross You have redeemed the world.
Scriptures: Matthew 26:50
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up His spirit.
From the Gospel according to John 19:19-20
Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the Cross; it read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews". Many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.
From the Gospel according to Matthew 27:45-50,54
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "This man is calling Elijah". And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him". And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit". When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
Meditation:
As Jesus hung on the cross, He forgave the soldiers who had crucified Him, and prayed for His mother and friends. Jesus wanted all of us to be able to live forever with God, so He gave all He had for us.
God is dead! No wonder the earth quaked, the sun hid itself, the dead rose and Mary stood by in horror. Your human body gave up it's soul in death but Your Divinity, dear Jesus, continued to manifest its power. All creation rebelled as the Word made Flesh departed from this world. Man alone was too proud to see and too stubborn to acknowledge truth.
Redemption was accomplished! Man would never have an excuse to forget how much You loved him. The thief on Your right saw something he could not explain - he saw a man on a tree and knew He was God. His need made him see his own guilt and Your innocence. The Promise of eternal life made the remaining hours of his torture. endurable.
A common thief responded to Your love with deep Faith, Hope, and Love. He saw more than his eyes envisioned - he felt a Presence he could not explain and would not argue with. He was in need and accepted the way God designed to help him.
Forgive our pride, dear Jesus as we spend hours speculating, days arguing and often a lifetime in rejecting Your death, which is a sublime mystery. Have pity on those whose intelligence leads them to pride because they never feel the need to reach out to the Man of Sorrows for consolation.
Jesus, let me take a few moments now to consider Your love for me. Help me thank You for Your willingness to go to Your death for me. Help me express my love for You!
My Jesus, three hours didst Thou hang in agony, and then die for me; let me die before I sin, and if I live, live for Thy love and faithful service.
In Greek and Latin, the two international languages of the time, and in Hebrew, the language of the Chosen People, a sign stood above the Cross of Jesus, indicating who He was: the King of the Jews, the promised Son of David. Pilate, the unjust judge, became a prophet despite himself.
The kingship of Jesus was proclaimed before all the world. Jesus himself had not accepted the title "Messiah", because it would have suggested a mistaken, human idea of power and deliverance. Yet now the title can remain publicly displayed above the Crucified Christ. He is indeed the king of the world. Now He is truly "lifted up". In sinking to the depths He rose to the heights.
Now He has radically fulfilled the commandment of love, he has completed the offering of himself, and in this way he is now the revelation of the true God, the God who is love. Now we know who God is. Now we know what true kingship is. Jesus prays Psalm 22, which begins with the words: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" ( Ps 22:2).
He takes to himself the whole suffering people of Israel, all of suffering humanity, the drama of God's darkness, and He makes God present in the very place where He seems definitively vanquished and absent. The Cross of Jesus is a cosmic event. The world is darkened, when the Son of God is given up to death. The earth trembles. And on the Cross, the Church of the Gentiles is born. The Roman centurion understands this, and acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God. From the Cross he triumphs ever anew.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, at the hour of Your death the sun was darkened. Ever anew You are being nailed to the Cross. At this present hour of history we are living in God's darkness. Through Your great sufferings and the wickedness of men, the face of God, Your face, seems obscured, unrecognizable. And yet, on the Cross, You have revealed Yourself. Precisely by being the one who suffers and loves, You are exalted. From the Cross on high You have triumphed. Help us to recognize Your face at this hour of darkness and tribulation. Help us to believe in You and to follow You in our hour of darkness and need. Show Yourself once more to the world at this hour. Reveal to us Your salvation.
Our Father.... Hail Mary.... Glory be to the Father....
Leader: Jesus Christ Crucified.
All: Have mercy on Us.
Leader: May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in peace.
All: Amen.
