First Sunday in Lent: Temptation

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him. 

- St. Mark 1:12, 13

In the Scriptures we see two major accounts of temptation. First there was the temptation of Adam and Eve when they were in the Garden of Eden, and then there was the temptation of Jesus Christ when He was in the wilderness. In both these events there is one common presence, one common figure: Satan.

But the two events are very different. The temptation of Adam and Eve resulted in the short-term triumph of Satan, and the fall of humanity into sin and death. The temptation of Christ resulted in the ultimate fall of Satan, and the rescue of humanity from sin and death.

Temptation, in and of itself, isn’t sinful. Christ was tempted in every way as we are, yet He was without sin. But there is something else we should understand about temptation. Temptation is not just a matter of choosing between good and evil; rather, we should understand it as being two opposite ways of experiencing the gifts of God. Something is “good” when a gift from God is used according to the will of the God, but an action is “evil” when something is used against the will of God, and against God Himself.

So then, to be tempted is to be presented with circumstances in which we choose to misuse our gifts, and we end up being someone we’re not supposed to be in our relationship with God.  Adam and Eve were tempted not to be the image of God. Satan tried to tempt Jesus not to be the Son of God. In our own temptations, we are tempted to be something we’re not; namely, the devil tries to get us not to be the sons and daughters of God.

Temptation began in the Garden of Eden, the place God had made for the happiness and fulfillment of mankind. In the center of that garden were two trees, and these two trees defined the relationship between God and man. There was the tree of life, and there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The central place in all that was God's place. Man's life is supposed to revolve around God, with God in the center. This means that life, knowledge, and death are God's to give. They’re not something that man can reach out and grab for himself. Man received his life and his knowledge as a gift from God, Who is in the center of it all. Man was made from the dust of the ground by the hand of God, and he had God's breath of life breathed into his nostrils. Man was alive with the life of God, and when he was created he knew only good, because he was created in the “image of God,” Who is the supreme Good.

In the center of the garden God had erected a boundary – a line which declared that there is a difference between God and the image of God. There is a difference between the Creator and His foremost creature, Man. God had shown great care in this creation. Man had everything he needed for life as God intended it. Every tree in the garden was given to man for food to preserve his life – every tree, that is, except the tree of knowing good and evil. This was the only limit on man's freedom. He was free to eat of any tree in the garden except one. That was the boundary, and over that boundary man was not allowed to venture or he would die. For man to reach his hand over that line to take and eat the forbidden food, was to reach into the center – the place that only God may occupy. It was an attempt to usurp God's place. It was to try and be a kind of god in place of the one true God. It was to try and push God out from the center of life, to grab for something that wasn’t given to man. And to reach into that place reserved for God meant death, because only God can be God.

This is our temptation. We are tempted to trespass the boundaries established by God, and to exercise a freedom without any limit whatsoever. We try to push God from the center and put ourselves there, to draw life and knowledge from ourselves and our experiences, rather than from God – to live as if God doesn’t matter and as if we mattered most. To try and live without God in the center is nothing other than death disguised as life. So then, what it comes down to is this: temptation is really a matter of life and death, more than it is good and evil.

The temptation of Christ was an assault by Satan on Christ the Incarnate Word of God. And when we look at the first temptation, back in Genesis, it began with an assault on the very words of God. “Did God really say that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” the serpent asked. That’s the question which formed the basis of Man’s first temptation – to call into question the word of God. Satan was luring Eve into stepping back and to become a critic of God’s word, rather than simply being the one to whom God was speaking. She was being invited to speculate about God, to judge God and His word, to draw conclusions about God apart from His word, to use her own subjective thought about God against God’s word. And what was Satan trying to make happen? Basically, if Eve’s experience conflicted with God’s word, then maybe God’s word was wrong, or she must have misunderstood it.

It is a subtle temptation that Satan put before Eve, when he made her question what God had said. It is a question that drives a wedge between God and Man. That’s what temptation is: the attempt to separate us from the God who loves us. And it’s something we’ve heard throughout history. “Don’t worry about the Ten Commandments – they’re the product of old-fashioned thinking and times gone by.” The temptation is to think that maybe God’s eternal law doesn't apply to our modern, enlightened situation, so making everything subjective. “Do I really have to listen to my parents if I disagree with them?” “Is it really murder if I feel that I just can’t cope with another child?” These are the sorts of questions we hear today. And when it comes to religion, it is a matter of questioning whether God really said, "This is my Body; this is my Blood" or did He mean something else? Did God really say to His apostles and their successors, "The sins you forgive are forgiven?" Did God really say, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved?" Did God really say that upon our repentance He forgives sin unconditionally, that Christ has died and been raised for us?

Satan is always trying to open a little crack, a tiny separation between God and man. And as we know very well, a serpent can slip into the smallest of openings. Satan, always the serpent, tries to force a little opening, because if he can just get his head in, the rest of him will follow soon enough.

Adam and Eve decided to take charge of their own lives. And in taking charge, they lost control. Adam fell, and in Adam all mankind fell. Man reaches out to be "like God" and what he gets is death; but God reaches out to us in Christ, and He gives us life.

So much does God reach out to us, that Jesus was even led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil – but this means that Christ, in human flesh, has triumphed over temptation. And because we are baptized into Christ, His victory is our victory.

This doesn’t mean that we won’t be tempted. We will. The forty days of Lent remind us of this reality. We’ll be tempted in our flesh and in our faith. We’ll be tempted to try and care for ourselves, instead of being cared for by God. We’ll be tempted to despair of God's love, to doubt His promises, to live in denial of His forgiveness. We’ll be tempted to exchange the kingdom of God for the glory and the riches of the kingdoms of this world; to love things and hate God.

Temptations will come, but Adam in us must die and Christ in us must rise. Our comfort and strength in every temptation is that Christ has already triumphed over temptation in our place.

The cross of Christ is our tree of life, and it must be planted in the center of our life, because it is through Christ and His cross that we have eternal life.

Stations of the Cross

This Order for the Stations of the Cross was first compiled by Fr. W. T. St. John Brown, now departed, one of the pioneers in the return of Anglicans to full Catholic communion. The prayers and readings in these Stations reflect much from our Anglican patrimony.

PREPARATION – Jesus is betrayed

In the Name + of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

THE READING: (St. Mark 14:26, 32, 45; St. Luke 22:41-42; St. John 18:12-13)

They went out into the Mount of Olives.  And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane.  And Jesus was withdrawn from the disciples about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done...  As soon as Judas was come, he goeth straightway to Jesus, and saith, Master, Master: and kissed him.  Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, and led him away.

Let us pray.  Assist us mercifully with thy help, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the meditation of those mighty acts, whereby thou hast given unto us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name; Thy kingdom come, thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven:

R.  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.

V.   Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus:

R.   Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

V.  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost:

R.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

V.  Have mercy upon us, O Lord.

R.  Have mercy upon us.

V.  May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

R.  Amen.

Sing my tongue the glorious battle

Sing the winning of the fray:

Now above the cross, the trophy,

Sound the high triumphal lay:

Tell how Christ, the world's Redeemer,

As a Victim won the day.

The First Station - Jesus is Condemned to Death

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. Mark 14:61, 64)

The high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?  And Jesus said, I am...  And then all condemned him to be guilty of death.

V.  Oh my people, what have I done unto thee, or wherein have I wearied thee?  Testify against me.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy, but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified; Mercifully grant that we, walking the Way of the Cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Faithful Cross! above all other,

One and only noble tree!

None in foliage, none in blossom

None in fruit thy peer may be:

Sweetest wood, and sweetest iron!

Sweetest weight is hung on thee.

The Second Station - Jesus Receives the Cross

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. John 19:14, 17)

Pilate saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!  But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him.  Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King?  The chief priest answered, We have no king but Caesar.  Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified.  And they took Jesus and led him away.  And he bearing his cross went forth...

V.  Because I brought thee forth from the land of Egypt, thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  O God, who by the passion of thy blessed Son didst make an instrument of shameful death to be unto us the means of life: Grant us to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ  (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Sing my tongue the glorious battle

Sing the winning of the fray:

Now above the cross, the trophy,

Sound the high triumphal lay:

Tell how Christ, the world's Redeemer,

As a Victim won the day.

The Third Station - Jesus Falls the First Time

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. John 15:18-20)

Jesus said to his disciples: If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you.  Remember the word that I said unto you:  The servant is not greater than his lord.  If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

V.  Because I led thee through the desert forty years, and fed thee with manna, and brought thee into a land exceeding good: thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  Almighty God, who hast given thy Son to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin and also an example of godly life: Give us grace that we may always most thankfully receive that inestimable benefit, and also daily endeavor ourselves to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

God in pity saw man fallen,

Shamed and sunk in misery,

When he fell on death by tasting

 Fruit of the forbidden tree:

That another Tree was chosen

Which the world from death would free.

The Fourth Station - Jesus Meets His Blessed Mother

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. John 19:25-27)

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!  Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!  And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

V.  What more could I have done unto thee that I have not done?  I indeed did plant thee, O my vineyard, with exceeding fair fruit: and thou art become very bitter unto me.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  O God, the King of Saints, we praise and magnify thy holy Name for all thy servants who have finished their course in thy faith and fear; for the Blessed Virgin Mary; for the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs; and for all thy other righteous servants, known to us and unknown; and we beseech thee that, encouraged by their examples, aided by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Faithful Cross! above all other,

One and only noble tree!

None in foliage, none in blossom

None in fruit thy peer may be:

Sweetest wood, and sweetest iron!

Sweetest weight is hung on thee.

The Fifth Station - The Cross is Laid Upon Simon of Cyrene

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. Mark 15:16, 20-22)

The soldiers...led him out to crucify him.  And they compel one Simon, a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.  And they bring him unto a place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of the skull.

V.  I did scourge Egypt with her first-born for thy sake, and thou hast scourged me and delivered me up.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption; Give us courage, we beseech thee, to take up our cross and follow him, even Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Thus the scheme of our salvation

Was of old in order laid,

That the manifold deceiver's

Art by Art might be outweighed;

And the lure the foe put forward

Into means of healing made.

The Sixth Station - Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. Matthew 24:8, 9, 30, 40-41)

Jesus said unto his disciples, All these are the beginning of sorrows, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my Name's sake.  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven... and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

V.  I led thee forth out of Egypt, drowning Pharoah in the Read Sea, and thou hast delivered me up to the chief priests.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered; Make us, we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let thy Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days: that, when we shall have served thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of the Catholic Church; in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable, religious and holy hope; in favor with thee our God, and in perfect charity with the world; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Therefore when th' appointed fullness

Of the holy time was come,

He was sent, who maketh all things,

Forth from God's eternal home;

Thus he came to earth, incarnate,

Offspring of the Virgin's womb.

The Seventh Station - Jesus Falls the Second Time

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (Isaiah 53:3, 5-6)

He is despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

V.  I did open the sea before thee: and thou hast opened my side with a spear.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  O Lord Jesus Christ, who by thy death didst take away the sting of death: Grant unto us thy servants so to follow in faith where thou hast led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in thee, and awake up after thy likeness; for thy tender mercies' sake (who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Faithful Cross! above all other,

One and only noble tree!

None in foliage, none in blossom

None in fruit thy peer may be:

Sweetest wood, and sweetest iron!

Sweetest weight is hung on thee.

The Eighth Station - Jesus Greets the Holy Women

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. Luke 23:27-28, 31)

There followed him a great company of people, and of women which bewailed and lamented him.  But Jesus, turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.  For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

V.  I did go before thee in the pillar of cloud, and thou hast led me unto the judgment hall of Pilate.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Thirty years he dwelt among us,

His appointed time fulfilled;

Born for this he met his passion,

This the Savior freely willed:

On the cross the Lamb was lifted,

Where his Precious Blood was spilled.

The Ninth Station - Jesus Falls a Third Time

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (Hebrews 10:10, 19-23)

We are sanctified through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way... that is to say, his Flesh; and having an high priest over the House of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.

V.  I did feed thee with manna in the desert, and thou hast stricken me with blows and scourges.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  O Lord Jesus Christ, who in a wonderful Sacrament hast left unto us a memorial of thy precious death and passion; Grant us so to venerate the sacred mysteries of thy Body and Blood, that we may ever perceive within ourselves the fruits of thy redemption  (who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

He endured the nails, the spitting,

Vinegar, and spear, and reed;

From that holy Body broken

Blood and water forth proceed:

Earth and stars and sky and ocean

By that flood from stain are freed.

The Tenth Station - Jesus is Stripped of His Raiment

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (Hebrews 10:10, 19-23)

They gave Jesus vinegar to drink mingled with gall; and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.  And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

V.  I did give thee to drink the water of life from the rock: and thou hast given me to drink but gall and vinegar.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  O Lord God, whose blessed Son our Saviour gave his back to the smiters and hid not his face from shame; Grant us grace to take joyfully the sufferings of the present time, in full assurance of the glory that shall be revealed; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord,  (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Faithful Cross! above all other,

One and only noble tree!

None in foliage, none in blossom

None in fruit thy peer may be:

Sweetest wood, and sweetest iron!

Sweetest weight is hung on thee.

The Eleventh Station - Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. Luke 23:33-34; St. John 19:19)

When they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do...  And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross.  And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

V.  I did smite the kings of the Canaanites for thy sake, and thou hast smitten my head with a reed.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the Cross, that he might draw the whole world unto himself; Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Bend thy boughs, O tree of glory!

Thy relaxing sinews bend;

For a while the ancient rigor

That thy birth bestowed, suspend;

And the King of heavenly beauty

On thy bosom gently tend!

                               The Twelfth Station - Jesus Dies on the Cross

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. Matthew 27:45-46; St. John 19:28, 30)

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.  And about the ninth hour, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.  (kneel)

V.  I did give thee a royal scepter, and thou hast given unto my head a crown of thorns.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  Almighty God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus  Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross (who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.  (rise)

Thou alone wast counted worthy

This world's Ransom to uphold,

For a shipwrecked race preparing

Harbor, like the Ark of old,

With the Sacred Blood anointed

From the smitten Lamb that rolled.

 The Thirteenth Station - Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. John 19:33-34, 38)

When the soldiers came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.  After this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave.  He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

V.  I did raise thee on high with great powers, and thou hast hanged me on the gibbet of the cross.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  Almighty and everlasting God, who of they tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility; Mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Faithful Cross! above all other,

One and only noble tree!

None in foliage, none in blossom

None in fruit thy peer may be:

Sweetest wood, and sweetest iron!

Sweetest weight is hung on thee.

 The Fourteenth Station - Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee: (genuflect)

R. Because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.

THE READING: (St. John 19:40-42)

Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.  Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre wherein never man yet laid.  There laid they Jesus.

V.  O my people, what have I done unto thee, or wherein have I wearied thee?  Testify against me.

R.  Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.

Let us pray.  O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray thee to set thy passion, cross , and death between thy judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death.  Give mercy and grace to the living, pardon and rest to the dead, to thy holy Church peace and concord, and to us sinners everlasting life and glory (who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  O Savior of the world, who by thy Cross and Precious Blood hast redeemed us:

R.  Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

To the Trinity be glory

Everlasting, as is meet:

Equal to the Father, equal

To the Son, and Paraclete:

God the Three in One, whose praises

All created things repeat.  Amen.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.  O God, who for our redemption didst give thine only-begotten Son to the death of the Cross, and by his glorious resurrection hast delivered us from the power of our enemy; Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord (who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end).  Amen.

V.  May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

R.  Amen.

Seven Founders of the Servite Order

These seven men were the founders of the Servite Order, a community instituted for the special purpose of cultivating the spirit of penance and contemplating the passion of Christ and Mary's Seven Sorrows. Due to the spirit of humility cherished by the members of the Order, their accomplishments are not too widely known. But in the field of home missions great things are to their credit, and certainly they have benefited millions by arousing devotion to the Mother of Sorrows.

The Breviary tells us that in the midst of the party strife during the thirteenth century, God called seven men from the nobility of Florence. In the year 1233 they met and prayed together most fervently. The Blessed Mother appeared to each of them individually and urged them to begin a more perfect life. Disregarding birth and wealth, in sackcloth under shabby and well-worn clothing they withdrew to a small building in the country. It was September 8, selected so that they might begin to live a more holy life on the very day when the Mother of God began to live her holy life.

Soon after, when the seven were begging alms from door to door in the streets of Florence, they suddenly heard children's voices calling to them, "Servants of holy Mary." Among these children was St. Philip Benizi, then just five months old. Hereafter they were known by this name, first heard from the lips of children. In the course of time they retired into solitude on Monte Senario and gave themselves wholly to contemplation and penance. Leo XIII canonized the Holy Founders and introduced today's feast in 1888.

(From The Church's Year of Grace, by Pius Parsch.)

O Lord Jesus Christ, who for the remembrance of the sorrows of thy most holy Mother didst by the seven blessed Fathers enrich thy Church with a new household of her servants: mercifully grant that we may in such wise be joined to them in their sorrowing; that we may be made worthy to be partakers of their gladness; who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

__________________________________

Painting: "The Madonna with the Seven Founders of the Servite Order"

by Agostino Masucci (1691-1758)

Friday after Ash Wednesday

At that time: the disciples of John came to Jesus, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

- St. Matthew 9:14-15

Lent is like athletic training for the soul. We’re encouraged to take up three practices which are as essential for spiritual health as are regular physical exercise and healthy diet for an athlete; namely, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Today, consider fasting.

The voluntary giving up of things we may legitimately enjoy can be an expression of our love for God, and it can strengthen our wills and spiritual muscles. This helps us to resist the lures and lies of Satan, when he tempts us to make choices that we know to be sinful.

Fasting may be of many kinds, such as refraining from food or drink, or reducing the time we spend in front of the television or on our phones. It’s not that those things are bad in and of themselves, but we voluntarily fast from them so that we can become spiritually stronger in the face of temptations which may well be bad for us.

The prophet Isaiah reminds us of the wrong kind of fasting. “Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.” (Is. 58:4)

Let’s not forget what we’re really supposed to be fasting from, which is anything that is not pleasing to God, anything which gives a bad example to others, anything which stops us from doing God’s will.

___________________________________

Painting: "St. Benedict and His Monks in the Refectory"

by Il Sodoma (1477-1549)

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Jesus said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

- St. Luke 9:23

Jesus had just asked the disciples who men said that He was, and Peter had professed that He was the Christ.  Then they heard our Lord say, "I must go to Jerusalem and die." He knew he had a work to complete. The Father’s will was His will. He had no other task but to do upon earth what the Father had sent him to do.  The Divine Son was under orders from the Father.

And in imitation of Christ, the Christian is also a man under orders. What are those orders? First, that we must deny ourselves. What does that mean? Think of it in this way: Peter once denied his Lord. He said of Jesus, "I do not know the man." So, to deny ourselves is to say, "I do not know myself." It is to ignore oneself. It is to treat the “self” as if it were not the most important thing to us – in fact, to treat it almost as though it doesn’t exist. Usually we treat ourselves as if our self was far and away the most important thing in the world. If we are to follow Jesus, we must put self aside.

And then, we are to take up our cross. To take up our cross means to be prepared to face sacrifice, suffering, and even death out of loyalty to Jesus. It means to be ready to endure the worst that can be done to us for the sake of being true to Him.

The taking up of the cross is a voluntary thing. It isn’t something that is thrust upon us by surprise, but it is something we choose. Part of the reason for our Lenten discipline is to help us choose willingly the cross which has been prepared for us.

__________________________________________

Image from the Carrow Psalter, East Anglia, ca. 1250

Marked By God For Change

In days gone by, the Pope, as the Bishop of Rome, would walk barefoot to St. Sabina's Church on the Aventine hill, built on the site of the martyr's house. It was there that he blessed the sackcloth which was worn by the Penitenti throughout Lent's forty days, and they would be covered also with ashes. 

The Penitenti were a particular class of Christians who had committed very public and widely known sins. They were expelled from all Christian holy places on account of their sins, driven out, just as Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden on account of their sin. After a long and public period of penance throughout Lent they were reconciled to the Body of Christ on Maundy Thursday by the bishop with sacramental absolution after the public confession of their sins.

When we are marked with ashes it is only a tiny remainder of what used to happen when the Christian Faith was first openly practiced in the Roman Empire. The imposition of ashes along with the admonition "Remember man, thou art but dust, and unto dust shalt thou return" reminds us of the truth that we have all sinned, and that as a consequence, we all stand under the sentence of death. We shall all return to the dust of the earth from which we were made.

Like so much in Catholic life and worship, whatever is signed and acted outwardly by the body is an external activity designed to effect changes in the inner soul. Behaviour modification isn’t something recently discovered. The salutary effect of behavioural changes in the body can, with the cooperation of the will, modify attitudes in the inner soul. The Church has always known this.

Of course, this isn't some kind of "self-help" approach to salvation. We cannot save ourselves by mere human works, but rather we are obliged to respond to God. God offers, and we respond. And our response must involve more than smiles, pious thoughts and good wishes. Our response is found in our human activity. As the saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words.” 

Jesus said, "It is not those who cry out Lord, Lord, who will be saved; rather, it is those who hear the word of God and keep it."  It is our response to God's Word and to His love that will bring about changes within us.

So Lent Begins...

This is the time of the year when our Holy Mother the Church uses all her rich resources to bring us back to holiness, back to wholeness in Christ. She exorcises and reconciles; she pardons and blesses and anoints; she instructs and lays on hands; she worships and fasts, and does everything possible to touch us with Christ.

Our human condition is summed up in Adam and Eve. They decided to act on their own decision and in their own strength, and apart from God. And so have we. As a result, life around us has collapsed. People are fractured and broken, isolated and alone in their shame and guilt. The human soul, in its rebellion against God, has become addicted and trapped in its own sickness. Our Ancient Enemy, the Father of Lies and the Great Seducer, has captivated us and we are powerless in his control. Like the Prodigal Son, we long for the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. Our souls hunger for food that has substance to it.

Christ comes to us to release us from our captivity, to bring Good News to us in our poverty, to give us sight, to restore our liberty, and to empower us to walk in the glorious freedom that belongs to us as God's children.

So that all this might happen, we must first curb our arrogance, put bridle and bit to our pride, and acknowledge the hunger of our souls. Fasting, almsgiving, and prayer are the remedies that allow us to empty ourselves of arrogance and ego-centrism; they clear out the accumulated clutter that has been deposited in our souls, sweeping them clean and so making room once again for God's presence to dwell within us.

God is at work. God is offering, calling, inviting and making Himself present to us in Christ. He is interacting with us in His Mystical Body, the Church. He is working to bring about our salvation. He suffered and died for our sins. He suffered and died so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, our humanity can be raised up from spiritual death to victory.

So then, how could we not respond? How could we fail to act? How could we possibly ignore Him and turn away from all that God is doing for us in Christ?

Now is the time of our salvation. Now the day is at hand. Now is the opportunity for us to act. Now is the time for prayer, for fasting and for almsgiving, so that we might empty ourselves of those things that bring death, and make room for the Source of Life, Jesus Christ, to enter into us, to marry Himself to us, and to make us one with Him forever in Paradise.

Lent has but one purpose, and none other: to prepare us for eternal life in heaven.

_________________________________________

Painting: "Man of Sorrows"

by William Dyce (1806-1864)