20150403 THE CROSS AS DIVINE MERCY PAR EXCELLENCE

20150403 THE CROSS AS DIVINE MERCY PAR EXCELLENCE

Readings at Mass

There is no Mass today. The readings given here are used in the afternoon celebration of the Lord's Passion.

First reading

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 ©

See, my servant will prosper,

he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights.

As the crowds were appalled on seeing him

– so disfigured did he look

that he seemed no longer human –

so will the crowds be astonished at him,

and kings stand speechless before him;

for they shall see something never told

and witness something never heard before:

‘Who could believe what we have heard,

and to whom has the power of the Lord been revealed?’

Like a sapling he grew up in front of us,

like a root in arid ground.

Without beauty, without majesty we saw him,

no looks to attract our eyes;

a thing despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering,

a man to make people screen their faces;

he was despised and we took no account of him.

And yet ours were the sufferings he bore,

ours the sorrows he carried.

But we, we thought of him as someone punished,

struck by God, and brought low.

Yet he was pierced through for our faults,

crushed for our sins.

On him lies a punishment that brings us peace,

and through his wounds we are healed.

We had all gone astray like sheep,

each taking his own way,

and the Lord burdened him

with the sins of all of us.

Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly,

he never opened his mouth,

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter-house,

like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers

never opening its mouth.

By force and by law he was taken;

would anyone plead his cause?

Yes, he was torn away from the land of the living;

for our faults struck down in death.

They gave him a grave with the wicked,

a tomb with the rich,

though he had done no wrong

and there had been no perjury in his mouth.

The Lord has been pleased to crush him with suffering.

If he offers his life in atonement,

he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life

and through him what the Lord wishes will be done.

His soul’s anguish over

he shall see the light and be content.

By his sufferings shall my servant justify many,

taking their faults on himself.

Hence I will grant whole hordes for his tribute,

he shall divide the spoil with the mighty,

for surrendering himself to death

and letting himself be taken for a sinner,

while he was bearing the faults of many

and praying all the time for sinners.

Psalm

Psalm 30:2,6,12-13,15-17,25 ©

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, set me free,

Into your hands I commend my spirit.

  It is you who will redeem me, Lord.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

In the face of all my foes

  I am a reproach,

an object of scorn to my neighbours

  and of fear to my friends.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Those who see me in the street

  run far away from me.

I am like a dead man, forgotten,

  like a thing thrown away.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;

  I say: ‘You are my God.

My life is in your hands, deliver me

  from the hands of those who hate me.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Let your face shine on your servant.

  Save me in your love.

Be strong, let your heart take courage,

  all who hope in the Lord.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Second reading

Hebrews 4:14-16,5:7-9 ©

Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.

  During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.

Gospel Acclamation

Phil2:8-9

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Christ was humbler yet,

even to accepting death, death on a cross.

But God raised him high

and gave him the name which is above all names.

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Gospel

John 18:1-19:42 ©

Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kedron valley. There was a garden there, and he went into it with his disciples. Judas the traitor knew the place well, since Jesus had often met his disciples there, and he brought the cohort to this place together with a detachment of guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees, all with lanterns and torches and weapons. Knowing everything that was going to happen to him, Jesus then came forward and said, ‘Who are you looking for?’ They answered, ‘Jesus the Nazarene.’ He said, ‘I am he.’ Now Judas the traitor was standing among them. When Jesus said, ‘I am he’, they moved back and fell to the ground. He asked them a second time, ‘Who are you looking for?’ They said, ‘Jesus the Nazarene.’ ‘I have told you that I am he,’ replied Jesus. ‘If I am the one you are looking for, let these others go.’ This was to fulfil the words he had spoken, ‘Not one of those you gave me have I lost.’

  Simon Peter, who carried a sword, drew it and wounded the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?’

  The cohort and its captain and the Jewish guards seized Jesus and bound him. They took him first to Annas, because Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had suggested to the Jews, ‘It is better for one man to die for the people.’

  Simon Peter, with another disciple, followed Jesus. This disciple, who was known to the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest’s palace, but Peter stayed outside the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who was keeping the door and brought Peter in. The maid on duty at the door said to Peter, ‘Aren’t you another of that man’s disciples?’ He answered, ‘I am not.’ Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire and were standing there warming themselves; so Peter stood there too, warming himself with the others.

  The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered, ‘I have spoken openly for all the world to hear; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the Temple where all the Jews meet together: I have said nothing in secret. But why ask me? Ask my hearers what I taught: they know what I said.’ At these words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying, ‘Is that the way to answer the high priest?’ Jesus replied, ‘If there is something wrong in what I said, point it out; but if there is no offence in it, why do you strike me?’ Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

  As Simon Peter stood there warming himself, someone said to him, ‘Aren’t you another of his disciples?’ He denied it saying, ‘I am not.’ One of the high priest’s servants, a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, ‘Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?’ Again Peter denied it; and at once a cock crew.

  They then led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was now morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves or they would be defiled and unable to eat the passover. So Pilate came outside to them and said, ‘What charge do you bring against this man?’ They replied, ‘If he were not a criminal, we should not be handing him over to you.’ Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves, and try him by your own Law.’ The Jews answered, ‘We are not allowed to put a man to death.’ This was to fulfil the words Jesus had spoken indicating the way he was going to die.

  So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ he asked. Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?’ Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.’ ‘So you are a king then?’ said Pilate. ‘It is you who say it’ answered Jesus. ‘Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.’ ‘Truth?’ said Pilate ‘What is that?’; and with that he went out again to the Jews and said, ‘I find no case against him. But according to a custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like me, then, to release the king of the Jews?’ At this they shouted: ‘Not this man,’ they said ‘but Barabbas.’ Barabbas was a brigand.

  Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged; and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him and saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’; and they slapped him in the face.

  Pilate came outside again and said to them, ‘Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case.’ Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, ‘Here is the man.’ When they saw him the chief priests and the guards shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him: I can find no case against him.’ ‘We have a Law,’ the Jews replied ‘and according to that Law he ought to die, because he has claimed to be the Son of God.’

  When Pilate heard them say this his fears increased. Re-entering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus, ‘Where do you come from?’ But Jesus made no answer. Pilate then said to him, ‘Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?’ ‘You would have no power over me’ replied Jesus ‘if it had not been given you from above; that is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.’

  From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted, ‘If you set him free you are no friend of Caesar’s; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.’ Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated himself on the chair of judgement at a place called the Pavement, in Hebrew Gabbatha. It was Passover Preparation Day, about the sixth hour. ‘Here is your king’ said Pilate to the Jews. ‘Take him away, take him away!’ they said. ‘Crucify him!’ ‘Do you want me to crucify your king?’ said Pilate. The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king except Caesar.’ So in the end Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

  They then took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out of the city to the place of the skull or, as it was called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him with two others, one on either side with Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: ‘Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.’ This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, ‘You should not write “King of the Jews,” but “This man said: I am King of the Jews.”’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.’

  When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another, ‘Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it.’ In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled:

They shared out my clothing among them.

They cast lots for my clothes.

This is exactly what the soldiers did.

  Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son. Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.

  After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said:

‘I am thirsty.’

A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said, ‘It is accomplished’; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.

  Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

  It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it – trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth – and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture:

Not one bone of his will be broken;

and again, in another place scripture says:

They will look on the one whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus – though a secret one because he was afraid of the Jews – asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission, so they came and took it away. Nicodemus came as well – the same one who had first come to Jesus at night-time – and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, following the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there.

THE CROSS AS DIVINE MERCY PAR EXCELLENCE

03 April 2015, Friday of the Passion of the Lord

SCRIPTURE READINGS:  ISA 52:13 – 53:12;  HEB 4:14-16; 5:7-9; JOHN 18:1 – 19:42

We all suffer from the womb to the tomb.  No one is exempted from suffering, not even our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Why do we have to suffer?  Suffering is one of the mysteries of life.  We have no real answer to suffering although rationally, we can find reasons for our suffering.

The most obvious reason why we suffer is because of our folly, mistakes and our sins.  Our ignorance often leads us to make wrong or unenlightened choices.   Of course, more often than not, it is due to our sins of pride, envy, anger, greed, lust and gluttony that cause us to suffer as well.

Perhaps, the most difficult form of suffering is when we suffer not because of our own sins.   Quite often, our suffering is not due to our faults but the sins of others.  We suffer sometimes innocently because the sins of others have consequences for us.  This was the case of Jesus who suffered innocently for our sins.  This too happens quite often when someone does something wrong and we all carry the penalty or share the punishments as well.  We also suffer because of the laws of nature, like illnesses and natural disasters.

Regardless, we suffer primarily because we love.  We suffer when our loved ones suffer because we care for them. Such suffering of course is more tolerable than the rest because of love.

In the face of suffering, we often feel the absence of God, and question whether He cares for us or not, or even whether He exists.  If God exists and we believe that He is omnipotent and all love, why does He not alleviate our sufferings or help us?  Truly, innocent, meaningless and unbearable suffering is the primary cause of Atheism and secularism.   Due to their pain and anger, when there are no scapegoats to be found for their misery, they take their anger and frustration on God, because of His apparent silence and indifference to their pains.

So what is the antidote to atheism and the loss of hope and despair? It is the Divine Mercy.  This divine mercy is expressed in a most perfect way in the death of our Lord on the cross. Hence, we are called to contemplate on the divine mercy of God as manifested on the cross.  Contemplating on the cross will reveal to us His divine mercy, love and compassion for us.   For on the cross, we see the suffering of the Holy Trinity.

Firstly, we contemplate on the suffering of the Son.  Jesus suffered innocently and carried our sins and infirmities in His body.  He suffered for us, not just with us.  He was tempted and unjustly treated.   He did not suffer for Himself or for His sins but His was pure innocent unjust suffering.  “And yet ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried. But we, we thought of him as someone punished, struck by God, and brought low. Yet he was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins.”  So we cannot say that Christ does not know pain, rejection, sin or unjust suffering. He suffered not just in our place but was condemned for us.

Not only did Christ suffer, but the Father suffered too.  Christ was His only begotten Son.  We suffer when our loved ones suffer.  So the suffering of the Father is no less than Christ’s, even if it was not physical but moral suffering.  Often, moral suffering is even more painful as it is beyond description and relief.   The more we love someone, the more we suffer when we see them suffering and are helpless to save them.  So the Father suffered the loss of His only Son.   He had to bear the pain of seeing His Son suffering as a man and be separated from Him so that He could truly identify with the suffering of humanity.

Not only did the Father suffer, but the Holy Spirit as well, since He is the bond of love between the Father and the Son.  One of the greatest sacrifices is to share the pain of loving.  Like the mother who gives up her only son to the priesthood, or the girlfriend for her boyfriend to further his career or the parents for a son to go abroad to help those who are suffering.  So Christ suffered and the Father joined Him in the act of self-surrender.  This is a separation in union!  Christ was separated from the Father because He carried our sins in His body.  They were united in separation for the love of humanity.  The Holy Spirit grieves as well, since He is that bond of love between the Father and the Son.

The person who suffered most on earth is our Blessed Mother.   She had to suffer the pain of seeing her only Son humiliated, tortured, whipped and crucified.   No one knows her pain.  As mother, she grieved deeply for her Son.  But with Him, she surrendered Him to the Father and together with Him, forgives the sins of those who committed against her Son.

Why did God show His Divine Mercy in this way?  Christ suffered so that He could be the leader of salvation and perfection. 

Firstly, He suffered so that we will know God is not exempted from suffering.  To love means to suffer.  The suffering of God is the answer to the mystery of suffering.  He is identified with us in our suffering and hence the basis for believing in God’s compassion and mercy for us.  In fact, no one has suffered more than Him!  As Isaiah says, “Like a root in arid ground. Without majesty (we saw him), no looks to attract our eyes; a thing despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrow and familiar with suffering, a man to make people screen their faces; he was despised and we took no account of him.”

Secondly, He suffered to teach us not only that we must always do the will of God but that we can do it humanly with His grace.   He showed that doing the will of God is humanly possible since He did it.  Only by doing His holy will, can we find peace and freedom!  He trusted in His father’s wisdom and providence.  “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” If we want to find peace, we must align our will with the will of the Father, for His will is the expression of His wisdom and love for us. 

Thirdly, He suffered so that we can be assured that He feels with us in our struggles and in our sins.  “Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme High Priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin.”  For this reason, no sinner should ever be afraid that the Lord will reject him or her because He knows what it is to be tempted and to suffer the misery of our sins.

In the light of Christ’s suffering on the cross, how do we respond to suffering?

Like Jesus, we learn obedience through suffering.  Unfortunately, this is not the path that most of us take.  We want to choose our own ways but end up hurting ourselves.  “Although he was son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedeck.”  We too must suffer so that we will align with the will of God and find peace and happiness.  Eventually, we will triumph in the end.  “The Lord has been pleased to crush him with suffering. If he offers his life in atonement, he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life and through him what the Lord wishes will be done. “

Secondly, let us realize that innocent suffering can change lives.  Innocent suffering is redemptive.   It is not suffering itself that counts, but innocent suffering can give hope and cause people to repent as Jesus did in the case of Peter.   When they see our love for them, they will change because of love.  Only love can change lives.  “On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed.”

Finally, we must suffer with prayers, asking for His grace and not on our own strength alone.  “During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.”  Without His grace and His love, we cannot suffer.  Thus, it is so important that we contemplate on His face, on His suffering so that we can draw strength from Him in our own suffering.   But we must also contemplate on His resurrection.  Suffering is not the last word, but life.  We read that He will be lifted up and exalted.  “See, my servant will prosper, he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights.”

In the final analysis, it is not that suffering can heal, but how we suffer, with love and with patience.  If we suffer with resentment, we will destroy ourselves.  But if we suffer for a purpose, most of all for a person whom we love, then that suffering, even if painful, is worthwhile and meaningful.  This is redemptive suffering.  So let us suffer with joy like the saints.  Let us suffer for Christ and His Church.  Let us go to Him, then, outside the camp, and share His degradation.  Let us suffer for our sins as well.  If we are crucified like the good thief, acknowledge our sins and repent. With Christ, we must fight against sin until the point of death.  Let us suffer like Simon of Cyrene for others.  Let us carry our crosses and embrace them so that we can do His holy will and find peace and rest.   Let us surrender our body like Christ for the expiation of sins of the world.  Let us, like Arimathea and Nicodemus, heal Christ’s wounds by tending after His body, the Church.  Be the first like the women to see the stone of doubts and rebellion rolled back in the face of Christ’s love for us in the passion and in His resurrection.  This is what the celebration is all about.  This is the epitome of Divine Mercy.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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