The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery ~ Jesus is Crucified

This arresting image is titled The Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth. It was painted by the 19th century French painter Aime Moret. It is so different from the stereotypical crucifix we know, many of us will say, I've never seen anything like it before. Jesus is looking up instead of down. His  feet are nailed to the sides of the cross instead of being placed one over the another on a little slanted platform. Pilate's condemnation sign is beneath instead of over Jesus' head. Jesus is not only nailed to the cross but tied. Jesus is as naked as we dare, and his left arm is dislocated. We shouldn't get lost in any of this, as if in a debate, but rather in silence simply contemplate Jesus put on a great sorrowful exhibition.

The crucifixion of Jesus is a great mystery. And how strange it is that the central image of our faith is a crucified man. Some Christians say Jesus is risen and shouldn't be shown on the cross. Of course Jesus is risen and has vanquished death, but the crucifix says, "Look at what the world's sin has done." The crucifix matters.

And this crucifix in particular is a kind of sign post for our weary world. In Jesus crucified God is stretched in every direction to discover us in love.  God is stretched into the farthest reaches of our minds and our personal stories. God has  stretched himself into the past of human history, full of obstacles and barriers, and into the future. God stretches down into the depths of our mistakes and to the heights of our consciousness: our worst and best thoughts. God has stretched to left and right where we find each other.

Our Father, Who art in heaven...

The title at the bottom of the cross, Jesus of Nazareth: King of the Jews, summarized the official charge against Jesus. Written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek, it could have been read by the whole world gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover. Little did Pilate know that he was making an act of faith. Jesus is King for the whole world.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus was born to reign as King of my heart. His knowledge, his truth, his love far surpass my own. It is said that there will never be a man so known and loved throughout the world as Jesus. I want to be part of that loving.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

All of the apostles except John abandon Jesus now and have gone away. But good women-friends stay with Jesus as he dies on the cross. Undoubtedly their presence consoled him. Pope John Paul II called women, Sentinels of the Invisible.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

At the start, Mary said yes to the angel of the Annunciation. Now she stands beneath the cross of Jesus. She stands! It is the posture of strength and readiness.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

From the cross, Jesus gives Mary to the care of John. He tells John to take Mary as his own mother. But the ideas of Jesus are never small; he intends that I find in Mary the place of mother-nurturing love too and that I take up my own place in God's new family.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

In The Passion of the Christ, Mary approaches and kisses the crucified feet of Jesus, her son. She is an associate in his sacrifice of love. Mary-like, I must step up to what needs to be done, though it will require the suffering of love.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

On the cross, Jesus cries out that he is thirsty. He is dehydrated surely, but he is all the more thirsty for my love. I must be silent now for a moment and hold this thought before offering the prayer.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus appears to have lost the battle; his body is mangled. There is no one to cheer for a victory. All the teaching about a kingdom seems to be failed. But there will be a Resurrection-Victory won by obedience. This is very hard for people to understand today: obedience to God.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The Passover lambs, remembering the Exodus, were being sacrificed while Jesus suffered on the cross. Now there is a new heart-to-heart understanding between God and us. It is sealed, not in animal blood, but the Blood of Christ's own self-gift - a gift that is like the bleeding of a mother when giving birth to her child.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The soldier wants to be sure that Jesus is dead. He pushes a spear into the side of Jesus, and blood and water pour out. The Church is born with these new streams of Baptism and Eucharist. Look how far God will go to enliven, cleanse, restore and nourish us!

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Glory be to the Father...



Lavender ~ Mary's Drying Plant

The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery ~ Jesus Carries His Cross

This is bronze sculpture was created by Australian artist Peter Schipperheyn. Notice that Jesus is surrounded by darkness. It's as if he is carrying his cross into the darkest night, the darkest human night, but he is shiny and bright.

"O Christ our saviour, shed your light upon the path I have to tread, that I may keep it without stumbling and without faltering and come in the end to see you face to face in the heavenly kingdom. Amen."

The face of Jesus is very beautiful. He is perhaps resting in the peace of what he has set out to do, which is to love the world to the very end. One monk defines love as yielding self-interest for the good of the other. In the film The Passion of the Christ, as Jesus begins the walk to Calvary along with the two thieves, the taunting begins at once with one thief shouting at Jesus, "You fool, why do you hug your cross?" Today we might hear:

• "You fool, the baby is Down Syndrome; why would you keep the pregnancy?"
• "You fool, why do you even care about them?"
• "You fool, what's in it for you?"
• "You fool, they don't even know what minimum wage is."
• "You fool, no one will ever know."

Our Father, Who art in heaven...

Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, helped Jesus to carry the cross to Calvary. Years later these sons of Simon became esteemed Christians. Maximilian Kolbe, the martyr of Auschwitz said, the smallest act of kindness ripples to eternity.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

While Jesus bore the real burden of the cross, he is pleased for my cooperation and contribution. Like Simon, I help Jesus to carry the cross by patiently accepting difficulties and challenges and in my solidarity with others in their own sorrow and disappointment.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Saint John tells us that Jesus carried the cross on his own shoulders. There is no part of Jesus' journey to Calvary that is without sacrifice. Discipleship is walking with Christ to the changing of my heart. It is no part-time or weekend event.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

There is a moment when a mother holds her newborn and their eyes lock onto each other for the first time. It is an occasion of recognition and identification. Likely Jesus and Mary experienced that gaze again as they met in silence on the Calvary road. And I can share that occasion with Jesus too, when I generously carry my own small and great crosses alongside him.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Simon wasn't looking to help Jesus carry the cross. He was just coming home from work in the fields. God speaks through the Prophet Isaiah: I went to those who were not looking for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. Jesus knew me and loved me, long before I had any thoughts of him.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Small things matter to Jesus, like the little coins the widow put in the temple collection box. An extra-biblical account tells us that Veronica made the small gift of her towel to dry the wounded face of Jesus. Mother Teresa said, It's not how much you give, but how much love you put into the giving."

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Only love explains why Jesus is accepting such suffering for us. And in contemplating this love I am left silent. But Jesus himself taught us that love sums up the law and the prophets. Love is the new commandment and the mark that distinguishes the disciples of Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Fear has overcome the people who followed Jesus, who heard his teaching and witnessed his miracles. They have run away now. Oh, I know what a spoiler fear is. I must never allow fear to ruin my friendship with Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The women who are crying on the road to Calvary were there also to give Jesus drugs to dull his pain. The soldiers will do the same at the top of the hill. But Jesus refuses. He chooses to be conscious. The price to get us back is very great.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Surrounded by brutality, Jesus encounters a few friends as he carries the cross: the crying women, Veronica and Simon. I must learn from them. No one should be without a friend. Do I have eyes, but not see?

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Glory Be to the Father....

   



Our Lady's Mantle



The Third Sorrowful Mystery ~ The Crowning with Thorns

Someone might want to debate whether or not this painting is a great work of art, but that's not really important. More often than not, the crown of thorns Jesus wears is a rather modest, well-proportioned, even tidy  circle of thorns. But this crown is totally out of control. I suspect it is a more accurate depiction of what Jesus had put on his head. The soldiers who held Jesus in custody were bored, ignorant, young toughs. We know that unspeakable things happen in prisons. In Jesus suffering, God has descended into the world's depravity.

This crown of thorns is heaped up on the head of Jesus. The world encircles, mocks and punishes the mind of Jesus - the mind that thought: "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Forgive seventy times seven times," "Little girl, get up," "Woman, your faith has saved you," "Has no one condemned you...Neither do I," "Lazarus, come out!"

Our Father, Who art in heaven...

In a bitterly sarcastic way the soldiers proclaim Jesus to be King. But I will amend that mockery and embrace the crowned Jesus as my King, surrendering myself to his rule of justice, mercy and forgiveness.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus is dressed like a king in a sadistic game: faded royal robe, thorn-crown, reed-scepter, mock bowing, blindfolding and spitting. But the Book of Revelation says: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth, wisdom, might, honor and glory and blessing.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

In Jesus Christ, God has a human face, which now seems hardly human at all: beaten up, bloodied, swollen, broken, unrecognizable. Pilate has to announce to the crowd who this man is. Jesus stands in solidarity with all human sufferers, especially those who remain lost or unidentified.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus is innocent and Pilate knows it. Jesus leads the procession which winds all throughout history: a long procession of innocent people who suffer torture, mockery, unjust imprisonment or execution, exile, the sick untended. Father forgive!

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus is bound through this prison scene. Powerless, he is unable to wipe the blood and sweat from his eyes. I ask God's forgiveness for all the sins of ingratitude heaped against God. And seeing Jesus alone in the prison cell, I am assured that God knows and stands with me in my own painful losses.

Hail Mary, full of grace...
 

Saint Jerome tells us: while Jesus is bound, his death will set us free. The crown of thorns Jesus wears will win for us a crown in the Kingdom. That while Jesus is wounded, these wounds will heal us.

Hail Mary, full of grace...
 

The crowning with thorns was not an official part of execution but the meanest invention of cruel soldiers. I'm sorry for any way in which I have touched cruelty and the furious anger that has left someone else shamed, afraid or discouraged.
 

Hail Mary, full of grace...

I desire to enter this scene: the prison cell of Jesus. He and I are there alone. He is exhausted. I bring him the cup of water he told us mattered. In his debased loneliness I speak to him, sharing his sorrow and absorbing his light.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

In this prison scene Jesus is dressed and undressed several times. Jesus amends the sins of nakedness before God: rape, torture, child abuse, child pornography, adultery, sexual slavery.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

In the film The Passion of the Christ, Mary, by some inner sense, finds the exact spot over the subterranian prison cell where Jesus is chained for the night. She presses her face to the floor in love, knowing he is there. I want this Marian sense too: always to know where to find Jesus in love and friendship.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Glory be to the Father...

Carnation ~ Mary's Love of God