Catechism Links[1]
CCC 602-618. 1992: The Passion of Christ
CCC 612, 2606, 2741: The prayer of Jesus
CCC 467, 540, 1137: Christ the High Priest
CCC 2825: Christ’s obedience and ours
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| “Pietà” by Il Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi), 1540. |
Readings and Commentary:[4]
Reading 1: Isaiah 52:13—53:12
See, my servant shall prosper,
he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at him
so marred was his look beyond human semblance
and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man
so shall he startle many nations,
because of him kings shall stand speechless;
for those who have not been told shall see,
those who have not heard shall ponder it.
Who would believe what we have heard?
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him,
like a shoot from the parched earth;
there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by people,
a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.
Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.
Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter
or a sheep before the shearers,
he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,
and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
When he was cut off from the land of the living,
and smitten for the sin of his people,
a grave was assigned him among the wicked
and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong
nor spoken any falsehood.
But the LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.
If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.
Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,
and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
because he surrendered himself to death
and was counted among the wicked;
and he shall take away the sins of many,
and win pardon for their offenses.
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Commentary on Is 52:13—53:12
The last of the four “Servant of the Lord” oracles is used on Good Friday. A lament for the prophet’s own ill treatment and a prediction of the passion is seen here, beginning with the scourged servant and flowing into the salvific image (“Yet it was our infirmities that he bore”). We are reminded that what the servant bore, he took upon himself willingly (“Though he was harshly treated, he submitted”).
The later paragraphs describe how the servant becomes the “sin offering,” a sacrifice in the Jewish tradition in atonement for sins. In this case we are told, “[H]e shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.”
CCC: Is 52:13-53:12 713; Is 53:1 591; Is 53:4-6 1505; Is 53:4 517, 1505; Is 53:7-8 601; Is 53:7 608; Is 53:8 627; Is 53:10-12 440, 615; Is 53:10 623; Is 53:11-12 601; Is 53:11 64, 579, 601, 623, 1502; Is 53:12 536, 608
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25
R. (Lk 23:46) Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
For all my foes I am an object of reproach,
a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends;
they who see me abroad flee from me.
I am forgotten like the unremembered dead;
I am like a dish that is broken.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God.
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors."
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
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Commentary on Ps 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25
The psalm response is taken from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 23:46) and the psalm selection is a lament of the people. It echoes the willingness with which the servant submits in Isaiah’s narrative. We also hear of the Lord’s mercy and strength.
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Reading II: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
In the days when Christ was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
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Commentary on Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9
In this passage we hear the author comparing Christ to the Jewish high priest who is esteemed and pampered because of his rank. Jesus, on the other hand was tested and found to be sinless. Because the Lord has humbled himself, reaching out to us, we are confident of the great compassion the Lord provides and the endless mercy that will be extended to those who ask for aid.
In the second paragraph we see that while Jesus was afraid of the passion, he submitted to the will of the Father. In doing so he became the source of our eternal salvation. The author captures Christ’s humanity in this description. The reference to the “order of Melchizedek,” the priest-king, is first identified in Genesis 14:18 and again in Psalm 110:4. The image of Melchizedek is used to prefigure Christ, the Messiah who is Priest, Prophet, and King. This same indelible character is imposed upon those called to God’s service in the priesthood.
CCC: Heb 4:14-15 1137; Heb 4:15 467, 540, 609, 612, 2602; Heb 4:16 2778; Heb 5:1-10 1564; Heb 5:7-9 609, 2606; Heb 5:7-8 612, 1009; Heb 5:7 2741; Heb 5:8 2825; Heb 5:9 617
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Gospel: John 18:1—19:42
Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley
to where there was a garden,
into which he and his disciples entered.
Judas his betrayer also knew the place,
because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards
from the chief priests and the Pharisees
and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,
went out and said to them, "Whom are you looking for?"
They answered him, "Jesus the Nazorean."
He said to them, "I AM."
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, "I AM,"
they turned away and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them,
"Whom are you looking for?"
They said, "Jesus the Nazorean."
Jesus answered,
"I told you that I AM.
So if you are looking for me, let these men go."
This was to fulfill what he had said,
"I have not lost any of those you gave me."
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear.
The slave's name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
"Put your sword into its scabbard.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?"
So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,
bound him, and brought him to Annas first.
He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews
that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.
Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,
and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.
So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,
went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,
"You are not one of this man's disciples, are you?"
He said, "I am not."
Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire
that they had made, because it was cold,
and were warming themselves.
Peter was also standing there keeping warm.
The high priest questioned Jesus
about his disciples and about his doctrine.
Jesus answered him,
"I have spoken publicly to the world.
I have always taught in a synagogue
or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,
and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me?
Ask those who heard me what I said to them.
They know what I said."
When he had said this,
one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,
"Is this the way you answer the high priest?"
Jesus answered him,
"If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;
but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?"
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him,
"You are not one of his disciples, are you?"
He denied it and said,
"I am not."
One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
"Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,
in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
"What charge do you bring against this man?"
They answered and said to him,
"If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you."
At this, Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law."
The Jews answered him,
"We do not have the right to execute anyone,"
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled
that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium
and summoned Jesus and said to him,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered,
"Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered,
"I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered,
"My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him,
"Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered,
"You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"
When he had said this,
he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
"I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"
They cried out again,
"Not this one but Barabbas!"
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak,
and they came to him and said,
"Hail, King of the Jews!"
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
"Look, I am bringing him out to you,
so that you may know that I find no guilt in him."
So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, "Behold, the man!"
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
"Crucify him, crucify him!"
Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves and crucify him.
I find no guilt in him."
The Jews answered,
"We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God."
Now when Pilate heard this statement,
he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
"Where are you from?"
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
"Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?"
Jesus answered him,
"You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin."
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
"If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar."
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge's bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
"Behold, your king!"
They cried out,
"Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!"
Pilate said to them,
"Shall I crucify your king?"
The chief priests answered,
"We have no king but Caesar."
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
"Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews."
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
"Do not write 'The King of the Jews,'
but that he said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"
Pilate answered,
"What I have written, I have written."
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,
a share for each soldier.
They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another,
"Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be,"
in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:
They divided my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."
Then he said to the disciple,
"Behold, your mother."
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, "I thirst."
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
"It is finished."
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
After this, Joseph of Arimathea,
secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes
weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus
and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.
So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;
for the tomb was close by.
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Commentary on Jn 18:1—19:42
Many of the specific details of the Passion accounts found in Matthew, Mark and Luke are omitted in St. John's account: the agony in the garden and the kiss of Judas; nor does he identify the place as Gethsemane or the Mount of Olives.[5] Also unlike the synoptic Gospels, St. John suggests Roman participation in the arrest of Jesus.
In St. John’s account we are also told that Jesus went through several interrogations (first by Annas and then by Caiaphas) before being taken to Pilate. The philosophical debate between Jesus and Pilate in John’s Gospel is rich with logic and it is easy to understand why Pilate wanted to release him. In the end (without sending him to Herod) Christ is condemned.
The role of Mary in John’s narrative is significant in that her role represents the Church, the mother of Christians, now being given to the care of the disciple whom Jesus loved. This hand-off of the Church was the Lord’s last dying act. Finally we are given the final symbols of the perfect sacrifice: Jesus’ legs are not broken (because according to Jewish law, the legs of a sacrificial animal are not to be broken), and water (representing baptism) and blood (representing Eucharist) flow from his side.
Jesus Arrested John 18:1-11
St. John’s account of the arrest of Jesus shows that those involved knew the identity of Jesus as Messiah and were afraid of the consequences of carrying out the task they had been sent to perform. When Jesus is confronted and asks the deputation who they are looking for, his response is: "I AM." The surprising reaction by the soldiers and guards is “they turned away and fell to the ground,” indicating that they recognized Jesus’ use of the formulaic name of God. This response recalls the words of the Psalm: "Then my enemies will be turned back in the day when I call" (Psalm 56:9).[6] Both St. Luke and St. John recount Peter’s attack on Malchus; however, only St. John names the antagonists.
Jesus before Annas and Caiaphas, Peter's Denials John 18:12-28
It is only in St. John’s account that we hear about Jesus’ interrogation by Annas, father in-law of the high priest. Peter’s denials are interspersed with these events and are treated with less detail than in the synoptic Gospels. While Jesus points out that he has been open about his preaching, the members of the Sanhedrin make his visits to the temple sound sinister.
Interrogation by Pilot John 18:33b-37
In St. John’s description of Jesus being interrogated by Pontius Pilate we hear Jesus’ reluctant admission of his kingship. He clarifies that he is not a threat to civil authority, something that Pilate would have been most worried about since attempting to usurp authority from Caesar was treason. His statement: “My kingdom does not belong to this world,” changes the character of the Lord’s kingdom from one of physical monarchy to one of spiritual rule.
Jesus’ Dialogue with His Mother John 19:17-18,25-39
This section of the Passion narrative from St. John's Gospel describes the events following the Lord's trial and conviction. Details of his scourging and the actions that took place along the Way of the Cross found in the synoptic Gospels are omitted (see Matthew 26:14—27:66; Mark 14:1—15:47; Luke 22:14—23:56). John does not feel it is necessary to tell his audience of the events that confirmed Jesus as the Messiah during the crucifixion (the guards casting lots for his garment, etc.).
He does, however record Jesus’ last address to his mother. Although the address sounds unnecessarily formal ("Woman, behold, your son.") this would have been considered a polite address in biblical times. The reference, “Woman,” is possibly to Genesis 3:15 which describes the mother of the Messiah as the “woman” whose offspring conquers the devil (CCC 726, 2618).[7] The Lord, nearing the end of his life commends the care of his mother to the disciple whom he loved. It is presumed this is done because Jesus has no biological brothers or sisters. (Also inferred is that his mother's husband, Joseph, has already passed away.) In this instance, while it can be assumed that this disciple is St. John, the author, this tender consignment of the care of the Lord’s mother is seen as iconic, that is, she is given into the care of all of the disciples whom Jesus loves. Seeing her son dying upon the cross is one of the seven sorrows the Blessed Mother endured in faith.
Jesus Dies on the Cross John 19:30-42
The narrative continues describing the Lord's last moments of life on the cross. The prophecy to which John refers when saying "in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled" was Psalm 69:22. While Matthew and Mark speak about this event, only John relates it specifically to the prophetic literature. After this final act, the Lord "handed over his spirit."
What happens after Jesus' death demonstrates to the Jews the nature of his sacrifice. "Jesus dies on the Preparation day of the Passover – Parasceve - that is, the eve, when the paschal lambs were officially sacrificed in the temple. By stressing this, the Evangelist makes explicit the fact that Christ's sacrifice took the place of the sacrifices of the Old Law, and inaugurated the New Alliance in his blood (cf. Hebrews 9:12)." [8] Typically, when the executioners wished to speed up the death of one crucified, the legs would be broken. This would force the victim to suffocate quickly. In the case of Jesus, this was not done. (See Psalm 34:20-21) Instead we are told the guards pierced his side with a lance and "immediately blood and water flowed out."
While the outflow of water and blood from Jesus’ side has a natural explanation, great theological importance has been placed upon it in numerous sources (St. Ambrose, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Augustine). Water and blood have already been established as signs of salvation (John 3:5 and John 6:53ff). "With Christ's death and the giving of the Spirit already signified in v. 30, the life giving work of the Church begins, and hence the Church can be said in a sense to have been born from the wounded side of Christ." [9]
St. John next adds a theological reflection of his own in the form of testimony from an eyewitness. Using references to prophetic literature, the witness points out that Jesus' body ritually followed Jewish law governing the Passover sacrifice, which designated that the bones of the sacrificial animal should not be broken (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12). Christ becomes the Christian's Passover Sacrifice and meal. And in the second proof: "They will look upon him whom they have pierced," he makes reference to Zechariah 12:10.
The passage concludes with the release of the body of Jesus to Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph is not identified as a member of the Sanhedrin (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50) but he is identified as a disciple of Jesus which is not mentioned in the Synoptic accounts. He is joined by Nicodemus (see John 7:50ff). The body is buried close by which would be logical given the urgency regarding ritual purity.
CCC: Jn 18:4-6 609; Jn 18:11 607; Jn 18:12 575; Jn 18:20 586; Jn 18:31 596; Jn 18:36 549, 600; Jn 18:37 217, 559, 2471; Jn 19:11 600; Jn 19:12 596; Jn 19:15 596; Jn 19:19-22 440; Jn 19:21 596; Jn 19:25-27 726, 2618; Jn 19:25 495; Jn 19:26-27 501, 964, 2605; Jn 19:27 2677, 2679; Jn 19:28 544, 607, 2561, 2605; Jn 19:30 607, 624, 730, 2605; Jn 19:30b 2605; Jn 19:31 641; Jn 19:34 478, 694, 1225; Jn 19:36 608; Jn 19:37 1432; Jn 19:38-39 595; Jn 19:38 575; Jn 19:42 624, 641
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Reflection:
Heavenly Father, we humbly pray that those suffering from the coronavirus be returned quickly to full health by the power of your Son’s healing presence, and those in fear be calmed through the Holy Spirit.
In Christ’s name we pray. – Amen.
It is good for us to have a penitential focus on this day as we consider what our Lord endured for our salvation. Even as we endure the challenges of our sequestration we compare our suffering to that which Jesus went through for our salvation. As is our tradition, as we recall the Lord’s passion, let us also consider why it was so necessary. To this end as is our tradition, we offer the Litany of the Thirty Pieces of Silver:
Father forgive me
Christ forgive me
Holy Spirit make me one with you
- When I deny you Lord, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I place anything before my love of you, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I worship the things of the world, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I make idols of money and wealth, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I make idols of fame and praise, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I set anything as a god to be worshiped, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I curse another using your name, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I use your name for my own purposes, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I take pleasure in blasphemy, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When the Sabbath is forgotten for servile labor, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
Father forgive me
Christ forgive me
Holy Spirit make me one with you
- When I excuse myself from Sunday Mass for frivolous reasons, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I decide the Sabbath is mine to enjoy and forget you, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I reject my parent’s love, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I dishonor my mother and my father, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I disrespect or say hurtful things to others, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I accept the killing of another as just, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I turn my back on a person’s life, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I consider harm to another in my heart, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I forget the dignity of human love, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I allow my sexual appetites to control my actions, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
Father forgive me
Christ forgive me
Holy Spirit make me one with you
- When I slake my sexual desires, demeaning another, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I take that which belongs to another, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I justify appropriating something I did not pay for, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I rationalize something is owed to me for which I have not paid, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I fail to tell the truth, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I purposely share false information, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I participate in hurtful speculation about another, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I desire material things more that your love, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I place life’s passions in front of my passion for you, Lord, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
- When I wish for the life of this world more than eternal life with you, I accept a piece of Judas’ silver –forgive me!
Father forgive me
Christ forgive me
Holy Spirit make me one with you
Merciful Lord, Judas Iscariot accepted thirty pieces of silver and betrayed you with a kiss. May we who have sinned against you accept your forgiveness and vow to avoid sin in the future. We reject our past actions that have turned love to hate and crave nothing in this world more than your love and friendship. We ask for your strength, flowing through the Holy Spirit, to make us strong so that we may take up our cross and follow you. Amen.
On this day, we encourage you to venerate your own crucifix and while we cannot receive Holy Communion in the guise of bread, we can receive spiritual communion through prayer.
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used is “Pietà” by Il Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi), 1540.
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] See NAB Footnote on John 18:1ff.
[6] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 681.
[7] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 198.
[8] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 695.
[9] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 63:172, p. 462.
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