Preparatory Prayer

In the preparatory prayer, I will beg God our Lord for grace that my entire being may be directed purely to the praise and service of God.  

The grace that I seek

Here it will be to ask for sorrow, compassion, and shame because the Lord is going to His suffering for my sins.

Scripture passages

• “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

• Then he (one of the criminals crucified with Jesus) said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43).

• And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

• Standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home (John 19:25-27).

• Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

• After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the Scripture), “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So, they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth (John 19:28-29).

• When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30).

Personal reflection

Imagine you are at Calvary, and you hear Jesus say one of those phrases, for instance, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Let the words resound in your whole being. Listen deeply to the words. Let them challenge you, awaken you, and provoke you to respond. When you can no longer hold back your response say to Jesus what is in your heart.