Good Friday - 7 Last Words

  

 In 2007, I was able to be the chaplain of a pilgrimage group to the Holy Land. As a chaplain, it was free for me. One of the most touching and emotional places I went was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which contains Calvary, the place where Jesus was crucified, and also the tomb of Jesus, where He actually rose from the dead. 

At Calvary, underneath an altar is a hole in the ground believed to be the actual place the Cross was implanted. When I placed my hand in the hole, I was overwhelmed with sorrow for my sins as it occurred to me, and began to weep, because it was there Our Savior died for me. Then about 20 feet away, I offered a Mass on a different altar. During that Mass, I preached on the 7 Last words of Jesus.

    On Good Friday, there is no Mass offered anywhere in the world, to remind us that if it was not for Jesus suffering and death on the Cross, we would not have the Mass. In fact, the Mass is the re-presentation of Calvary. Not representation.

Here on the altar we receive the same graces as the people who were actually present at the Crucifixion of Jesus.

    At the Church of the Holy Sepulcher I placed my hand in the hole where Jesus was crucified and then in my hands, I held the Body and Blood of Jesus and by the power of the sacred priesthood, and through the words of consecration, Calvary became present on the altar in the same place where Jesus died for all of us.

By God’s grace and power, and through the Holy Priesthood, Calvary becomes present on every altar of the world during Holy Mass. So, if you ever wanted to be at Calvary, know you are at Calvary at every Mass.

As we commemorate the Passion of Jesus, let us focus on Our Lord’s Last Seven words.

After He had been stripped of His garments, and nailed to the wood of the Cross, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!” Can you imagine looking down from the Cross from which you are dying and seeing those who are mocking you? They cried out, “If you are the Son of God, get yourself down from there.” Yet, with great love Jesus forgave them, and forgave us, who nailed Him to the tree by our sins. Not only did He forgive our sins, but He also made an excuse. He said, “for they know not what they do.”

One of the thieves crucified next to Jesus said, “If you are the Son of God, save your self and us.” But the good thief said, “Lord remember me, when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus responded, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” Today, we pray that when we sin, we too will admit our guilt like the good thief, and with trust ask Jesus if we may enter His kingdom.

Jesus then said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” These words came from the depth of Our Lord’s heart. Our Lord said these words for three reasons. The first reason-- was to reveal the mystery of His humanity, which felt abandoned by His Father. Yet, He trusted. He knew His Father was with Him. The second reason was to give us courage, when we too feel abandoned by God. But, it is only a feeling and not what is true. God is always with us. He will never leave us alone. The third reason, why Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”, caused the Jews to be struck with terror. The Jews prayed the psalms everyday. They knew He was quoting the first words from Psalm 22, which refers to suffering Messiah. They knew the rest of the psalm, which said, “I am a worm, not a man, the scorn of men, despised by the people. All who scoff at me; they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads: “He relied on the Lord; let Him deliver Him, let Him rescue Him, if he Loves them.” “My throat is dried up like baked clay, my tongue clings to my mouth. Indeed many dogs surround me, a pack of evildoers closes in upon me; they have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. They gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots.”

Can you imagine, being a Jew and knowing this psalm, and gazing upon Jesus, who is fulfilling it. They would have said to themselves, “We are looking at Him, whose hands and feet are pierced. Did we not wag our heads, scoff at Him, and mock Him? Did we not witness the soldiers cast lots for His clothes. O God, creator the universe, what have we done, are we killing your Son, He who is the Messiah?

From the Cross, Jesus cried out, “I thirst”. Yes, He thirsted, because His mouth was parched, for loss of blood. His body was burning from the heat. But, He had a deeper spiritual reason, to say, “I thirst.” He thirsts for our love. He thirsts for our souls, that we may come to Him in this life, and be with Him forever in paradise.

How difficult it must have been for Our Lord to look down from the Cross and see the tear filled eyes of His Mother, and see John, the beloved, holding Her close to Him. Both were weeping. And if you were His Mother, can you imagine gazing upon your Son, as He hung from the tree. The same hands and feet the mother kissed-- when He was an infant are nailed and bleeding. The same face She kissed every night before going to bed, is dripping blood from the crown of thorns.

When the mother looked at the son, and the son looked at the mother, Jesus said, “Woman, behold thy son.” And to John, “Son, behold thy mother.” He knew He was about to take His last breath, and after He giving us His very body and blood on the Cross, He had one more gift, the gift of His Mother. When John took Mary into His home, we received our spiritual mother, who would pray for us, and look after us, to lead us to Her Son.

Then Jesus then cried out, “Father, into Your hands, I commend My spirit.” Moments before His death, He entrusted Himself and His spirit to the Father because He wanted to give us an example of trusting the Father in our of agony despite our intense suffering.

And when Jesus said, “It is finished.”, He bowed his head and died. With these words, Our Lord accomplished the task He came upon earth. The primary reason, why He came down from heaven in the womb of Mary, to take upon human nature, had arrived. His crucifixion, would conquer, sin, death, and the devil. By His death on the Cross, He would open for us the gates of paradise, while at the same time reveal God’s infinite love for us.

Tonight, when we come forward to venerate the Cross, may we remember Our Lord’s last words, and gently and humbly kiss the wood of the Cross, from which hung the Savior of the world.