Thursday, April 05, 2007

Suffering with Christ

The psalm for yesterday's Mass was taken from Psalm 69.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons,because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
Obviously, we see this psalm as pertaining to the shame and humiliation Jesus suffered while on this earth.

But the last 2 lines jumped out at me while at Mass last night.

Does "zeal for the house of the Lord" consume us? Do we hunger for the Jesus in the Eucharist?

When someone blasphemes Christ, do those insults "fall on us"? When someone insults God, do we feel it? Do we hurt? Do we flinch in pain when we watch or hear something in the media that makes fun of Christ, His Church, or His values?

Do we ever consider making reparations for all the times when Christ is insulted and ignored?

The late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II asked the faithful for reparation in his letter, “Mane Nobiscum Domine” or “Stay with us, Lord”.
Eucharistic adoration outside Mass should become a particular commitment for individual parish and religious communities. Let us take the time to kneel before Jesus present in the Eucharist, in order to make reparation by our faith and love for the acts of carelessness and neglect, and even the insults which our Saviour must endure.
There is a lot going on during Holy Week. Many Masses and services, which many find difficult to attend. What better time, and in what better way is there to offer our sufferings with our Crucified Lord?

2 comments:

Innocent said...

I suppose one could look upon depression as an opportunity to suffer with Christ...

Staying in Balance said...

True. You might also try asking your parish priest if he knows of a good counselor in your area.

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"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

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