Before you read this reflection, I encourage you to bow your head and pray for God’s grace. Pray that Jesus will allow you to enter into the mystery of His Passion more deeply than you have before, so that you can treasure the greatness of His love and courageously respond to His call to assist Him in His plan of salvation. Jesus loves you so much!

Why meditate on the Passion of Our Saviour Jesus Christ?

“Nothing could be as beneficial as contemplating what Jesus endured for our sakes upon the Cross. No remedy could be as effective for the healing of our wounded souls as the continuous contemplation on the suffering of Christ.” St. Augustine

“Our contemplation on the suffering of Christ makes us grieve our sin so God can forgive us and preserve us from it.” Fr. Manasseh Youhanna, author of the book “The Crucified Jesus”

The Virgin Mary said to St. Faustina, “Be courageous. Do not fear apparent obstacles, but fix your gaze upon the Passion of My Son, and in this way you will be victorious.” Diary of St. Faustina 449

Come with me then on the Way to Calvary and let us fulfill this Scripture through solemn, quiet contemplation:

“They shall look on Him whom they have pierced.” John 19:37

The Way to Calvary

Jesus enters a dark garden requesting that His apostles, Peter, James and John stay awake, except they fall asleep as Jesus becomes deeply distressed contemplating the great suffering He would have to endure to redeem His people.

Our Holy Lord is in anguish sweating drops of blood as He calls out loudly to the Father:  “Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt.” Mark 14: 36 “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:40-41

As we contemplate the suffering of Our Lord in the garden, the Holy Spirit will reveal to each of us some special spiritual treasure that we must hold in our heart and reflect upon. As I enter the garden of Gethsemane with Jesus, I wonder how many times and in how many places Our Holy Lord suffers alone. We are supposed to be the disciples of Jesus, His Body on earth, yet how often are we asleep to the suffering of our neighbours around the world? Our neighbours in need, like Jesus, must be praying for their suffering to pass. In some cases we are in a position to alleviate their pain, but what prevents us from doing that?

As ONE Body of Christ we are called to help carry one another’s burdens. Souls that are in a state of grace because they are penitent and striving to do God’s will, must help souls who are not in a state of grace because they are wounded by sin and need to repent to access God’s forgiveness. The healthy soul must carry/assist the soul broken by sin. Souls are waiting for assistance. Are you willing to help them through your good will, your prayers and your good deeds?

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is preparing to carry all our sins on His tender shoulders. Jesus was in distress contemplating the horror of the sins of every generation.   Imagine Jesus seeing the future, the wars, the violence, the oppression, the corruption, the impurity of man and the grave injustice.   The humanity of Our Lord called out for comfort and consolation while the divinity of Our Lord resolved to prove to us how much He loves us!  An angel from heaven comes to console Jesus. What can we do to console God and one another? Are we resolved to do all we can to prove to Jesus we love Him by our choices?

How much I want to console You Holy Lord by helping You in every way possible!

As I continue my walk to Calvary, I see Our Holy Lord being arrested, innocent of any crime, yet treated like a criminal. I see Jesus waiting in a prison alone, knowing that in the morning He would be crucified. How long and lonely that night must have been. “He was harshly treated, yet he submitted and did not open his mouth. He was silent like a lamb led to the slaughter…” Isaiah 53:7

Jesus is scourged for our sins. What horrible brutality! I see Our Holy Lord with tears in His eyes enduring this torture for our salvation! “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:3-5

How can it be that mankind despised and rejected Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, True God, True Man? How can it be that we held Him in low esteem?

How can we not adore Him NOW for the suffering He endured to set us free? How will we prove our love to Him?

I grieve my sins Holy Lord and the pain they have caused You! I want to honour You and help You to save souls. As I stand with You at the pillar meditating upon this brutal scourging and torture, I grieve my sins and all the sins of mankind and I pray that all my Christian brothers and sisters will join me in reflecting daily on Your Passion, praying for the redemption of all souls as we strive to embrace Your Holy Will.

As I continue my Walk to Calvary I see Jesus, the Prince of Peace, being crowned with thorns, mocked and spat upon. What horrible humiliation! What pain! “His appearance was so marred beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of the sons of men—so shall He startle many nations; Kings shall shut their mouths because of Him…” Isaiah 52:14-15

What courage you had Holy Lord and what infinite love You demonstrated! Please forgive me for the times I have been so impatient enduring humiliation. I offer You my life, my suffering, my joy, my resolve to do all things for Your glory. Please help me to make choices that honour You.

When you remember the scourged, beaten, disfigured Jesus carrying His Cross up the hill to Calvary and when you contemplate His pain and realize He did all of this for you, to create a place for you in Paradise, you will be changed!

I see the Blessed Virgin Mary in my contemplation suffering with tears in her eyes as she watches her Holy Son, Our Lord and Saviour, carrying the heavy weight of the Cross. “Come all you who pass by along the road, look and see whether there is any pain like my pain.” Lamentations 1:12 How much she suffered to watch her Son Jesus, the Living God, be tortured and murdered for our salvation!

“And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put his garments on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, who they pressed into service to bear His Cross.” Matthew 27:31-32 Let us recall the words of Jesus, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

I see Our humble Lord Jesus lying down on the Cross to be crucified and profound silence, reverence and sorrow overcomes me.

The crowd was chanting “Crucify him!” and these are the words Jesus prayed: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.” Luke 23:34

I hear the blows of the hammer nailing Our precious Saviour to the Cross and I cannot stop my tears from flowing for we have all caused Jesus so much pain by our sins! Yet tears are NOT enough, we must PROVE OUR LOVE TO HIM.

“WE LOVE BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US!” 1 John 4:19

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13  

I see Our Holy Lord hanging on the Cross in agony struggling to breathe, praying for our redemption and my heart is pierced by His love. I love YOU my God!

“My strength is trickling away like water, and all my bones are dislocated. My heart has turned to wax and melts within me. My mouth is as dry as clayware and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you have laid me down in the dust of death.” Psalm 2:15 “They have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.” Psalm 22:17

“This is how God showed his love: he sent his only Son into the world…as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9 “Beloved if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” John 4:11