9781644135945

The Easter Cycle
strong hand [through baptism], . . . we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, O Lord, against
all Thy justice; let Thy wrath and Thy indignation be turned away, I beseech Thee, from Thy city
Jerusalem [the Church]. . . . For by reason of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem
and Thy people are a reproach to all that are round about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear
the supplications of Thy servant and his prayers; and show Thy face upon Thy sanctuary which
is desolate. . . . O Lord, hear; O Lord, be appeased; harken and do; delay not for Thy own sake, O
my God; because Thy name is invoked upon Thy city and upon Thy people, O Lord our God.”
Thus our Lord prays for us, His people. Once He prayed for us on the cross; now He prays for
us each day in the Mass, which is a sacrifice of propitiation and of petition for pardon and for
grace. Alas, the many sins and injustices that are committed by the holy people of God! What
would have happened to us if Christ had not taken our sins upon Himself? How should we be
saved if He had not interceded for us? In spite of our unworthiness, He offered Himself for us
on the cross, and continues to do so daily in the Mass.
“I go” (Gospel). Christ clearly foresaw the sufferings that awaited Him. He knew beforehand
that He would be obliged to submit to the scourging and the disgraceful mockery
before the judges and the soldiers of Herod. He knew that the people whom He loved so
tenderly would reject Him. Nevertheless He says, “I go.” His love of the Father and His
intense desire to make reparation for the sins of men urge Him on. Love moves Him to
redeem men and thus transform them from the children of wrath into the sons of God.
Because He wishes to share with us the blessedness of His life in God, He can say: “I go”
to offer Myself up for all men.
The Son of Man, in the name of penitent sinners, now goes before His father in the Holy
Sacrifice. He makes petition for His Church, humiliated by the sins of so many of her children.
On the altar He repeats in an unbloody manner the sacrifice which He offered on the cross,
that He might earn pardon, grace, and help for His Church. Everything that He did while He
was on earth, He now offers for this intention. He repeats His prayers, His sufferings, and His
works, and offers them for each one of us. He goes, and we go with Him. We recognize in the
Mass the repetition of His sacrifice on the cross, inspired by the same love and by the same
desire to redeem and save us. The Son of Man goeth, and we join ourselves to Him and to the
offering of bread and wine, that we may become one sacrifice of expiation and immolation with
Him. Having prepared ourselves to sacrifice everything for Him, we also become holocausts of
love. We also are prepared to be rejected, judged unjustly, humiliated, and crucified with our
Lord and Savior.
We join our prayers to those of the Savior who today lifts His voice to plead for His Church. We
read the touching words of the Epistle and offer them as our prayer for all humanity.
Today we have met in the church of St. Clement. High up in the apse there is a beautiful
mosaic cross which reminds us of His prophecy, “When you shall have lifted up the Son of
Man [on the cross], then shall you know that I am He” (Gospel). During Lent we should
learn to recognize Him in His passion, in His self-immolation, in His humiliation, and in
His charity.
“He that sent Me is with Me, and He hath not left Me alone; for I do always the things that
please Him” (Gospel). Would that we could truly say with our Savior, “I do always the things
that please Him”!
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