Jesus did not beat around the bush but went to the very core of wounded humanity. He accepted our life with all its consequences. Rejected by his own, criticized and persecuted by the civil and religious authorities, he was finally executed on the cross. Jesus carried out the work entrusted to him by the Father in a way that was adjusted to the human condition, sinful and suffering, from within, accepting the limitations of this situation - powerlessness, frustration, betrayal - convinced that all this was part of the human process. He took upon himself the sin and evil present in the world in order to work with them and work his way through them.
O God, come to my aid.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father...
As it was in the beginning. ...Alleluia.
HYMN Song of your choice.
SILENCE TO ADORE
CANTICLE OF THE SERVANT: Is 52 53
It is not God who sends suffering, nor does the pain of people gladden his Father's heart. But he does rejoice to see that there are people who, in order to save others, take on pain and give their lives. This was the case par excellence of his own Son, who came to share our sufferings in order to transfigure them.
READING cf. Is 53:4-11
It was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured. We thought of him as stricken, struck down by God and afflicted. He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. Though harshly treated, he submitted and did not open his mouth. Seized and condemned, he was taken away. For he was cut off from the land of the living, struck for the sins of his people. He was given a grave among the wicked, a burial place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong, nor was deceit found in his mouth. When he makes himself an offering for sin, he will have a long life and see his descendants. Through him the will of Yahweh is done. For the anguish he suffered, he will see the light and obtain perfect knowledge. My just servant will justify the multitude; he will bear and take away their guilt.
SILENT MEDITATION
What response can we make for so great a gift? Only to contemplate, and in gratitude say over and over: “My Lord and my God, how much you love me!” “Help me to love You in return.”
READING
"This is the great mystery that Christian Revelation clarifies for the faithful. Through Christ and in Christ the enigma of pain and death is illuminated, which outside the Gospel envelops us in absolute darkness. Christ rose, by his death he destroyed death and gave us life so that, children of the Son, we may cry out in the Spirit: Abba, Father!" (Cf. Gaudium et Spes 22 )
SILENCE FOR REFLECTION
Suffering is difficult. It only has value when it comes to us for the sake of the Kingdom, to defend humanity against everything that takes away its dignity and happiness. Have you suffered or do you suffer this kind of pain?
Petitions
- For all those who, for the sake of the Gospel, suffer persecution...
- For all those who risk health and life in the defense of the poor, the sick, the oppressed...
- For the medical and health personnel who with dedication and devotion try to alleviate and heal the pain of the sick...
- Add you own intentions….
Our Father
Closing Prayer
Hear us, God of love, and give us a new heart so that we may know how to take the risk of giving ourselves to the service of men and women who suffer in their bodies and in their spirits.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen
