The Way of the Cross with Pope Benedict XVI
R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
From
the Gospel according to Matthew 27:33-36
And
when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull),
they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall, but when he tasted it, he
would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments
among them by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
MEDITATION
Jesus
is stripped of his garments. Clothing gives a man his social position; it gives
him his place in society, it makes him someone. His public stripping means that
Jesus is no longer anything at all, he is simply an outcast, despised by all
alike. The moment of the stripping reminds us of the expulsion from Paradise:
God's splendor has fallen away from man, who now stands naked and exposed,
unclad and ashamed. And so Jesus once more takes on the condition of fallen
man. Stripped of his garments, he reminds us that we have all lost the
"first garment" that is God's splendor. At the foot of the Cross, the
soldiers draw lots to divide his paltry possessions, his clothes. The
Evangelists describe the scene with words drawn from Psalm 22:19; by doing so
they tell us the same thing that Jesus would tell his disciples on the road to
Emmaus: that everything takes place "according to the Scriptures."
Nothing is mere coincidence; everything that happens is contained in the Word
of God and sustained by his divine plan. The Lord passes through all the stages
and steps of man's fall from grace, yet each of these steps, for all its
bitterness, becomes a step toward our redemption: this is how he carries home
the lost sheep. Let us not forget that John says that lots were drawn for
Jesus' tunic, "woven without seam from top to bottom" (John 19:23).
We may consider this as a reference to the High Priest's robe, which was
"woven from a single thread," without stitching (Fl. Josephus, a III,
161). For he, the Crucified One, is the true High Priest.
PRAYER
Lord
Jesus, you were stripped of your garments, exposed to shame, cast out of
society. You took upon yourself the shame of Adam, and you healed it. You also
take upon yourself the sufferings and the needs of the poor, the outcasts of
our world. And in this very way you fulfill the words of the prophets. This is
how you bring meaning into apparent meaninglessness. This is how you make us
realize that your Father holds you, us, and the whole world in his hands. Give
us a profound respect for man at every stage of his existence, and in all the
situations in which we encounter him. Clothe us in the light of your grace.
All:
OUR FATHER, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Make me feel as
thou hast felt;
make my soul to
glow and melt
with the love of
Christ my Lord.
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