APRIL 19, 2019
7:00 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) SERVICE
We have just heard the Passion according to St. John. A customary reflection on Good Friday are what are called “The Seven Last Words from the Cross.”
There are three from the Gospel of St. Luke, one from the Gospel of St. Matthew (and St. Mark), and three from the Gospel of St. John.
Enumerated, they are:
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Lk 23:34)Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. (Lk 23:43)Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother (Jn 19:26–27)My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? (Mt 27:46/Mk 15:34)I thirst. (Jn 19:28)It is finished. (Jn 19:30)Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. (Lk 23:46)And they are traditionally known as words of:
1. Forgiveness, 2. Salvation, 3. Relationship, 4. Abandonment, 5. Distress, 6. Triumph, and 7. Reunion.Forty-some days ago, as a spiritual exercise going into Lent, I began what I now call a “Mindfulness of Forgiveness.”
It started out sort of slow … repeating to myself “I forgive,” over and over. Every day. Whenever something … a situation, a memory, or just a turn of mood … got my goat or raised my ire … I would redouble my efforts. And I’d have to remind myself, pretty much every day, too.
Going through Lent, I’ve remembered people who I didn’t necessarily forgive over the course of half a century. And moving through these forty-some days, I’ve learned the power of mindful forgiveness.
Both parish priests here at St. A’s spend roughly 3 hours in the confessional each week.
And, Sacramentally, forgiveness is “easy.”
But in receiving God’s grace in that Sacrament … it’s important for us to not only “receive,” but also to “give.” And in that “giving” … of “for-giving,” we share in the power of God’s grace … and can do so by paying it forward … as well as paying it backwards … with our own forgiveness.
As we reflect on the great gift of God given to us in the Person of His Son … and reflect upon His Passion, Cross, and the Eucharist and all the Sacraments … let us seek always to give as good as we get … imitating Him by taking up our own crosses … every day … and following Christ Jesus, Our Lord.
