One final, powerful lesson borrowed from the forthcoming book, 'Meditating on Christ's Passion" to encourage and inspire you to learn more from our most wonderful Teacher.
“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).
Spend
precious, priceless time meditating on Christ’s Passion every single day to become more intimate with God, the Love of your eternal life while learning how to live, love,
serve, and patiently suffer in imitation of Christ and Blessed Mother.
Even more lessons from the book (available early 2014): Meditating on Christ's Passion.
Be sure to share with others what the Lord teaches
you!
APPROACHING CHRIST’S PASSION
THROUGH AN INFANT IN A MANGER
Begin
by praying in a manger on Christmas Day.
Kneel in
front of Baby Jesus and worship Him along with your angel guardian, who kneels next
to you on the left. The Baby’s bed is the altar, and His swaddling clothes the
altar cloth. Above Jesus laying in His cradle of extravagant poverty you peer into eternity. There, you see the gates of entry to heaven prepared to open wide at mankind’s impending Redemption.
Venerate
our little but mighty Lord in the company of Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, and all the
angels.
Blessed
Mother picks up her Divine Son and places Infant Jesus in your arms. You shelter His small Sacred
Body against your own. It is the
beginning of your union with the Divine, which is consummated during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when you receive His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.
Begin
traveling along the Way of the Cross with God, your Creator, in your arms. Consecrate yourself and your family to Him
through His Most Holy Mother and remain by her side always.
So
many people join you in the manger; they
come from all time and space to honor our King. Together, we journey along the
Way separately and yet together as the Mystical Body of Christ, always striving
to live, love, serve, and patiently suffer in imitation of Jesus and Blessed
Mother.
As
you pray the Sorrowful Mysteries with Jesus and Blessed Mother, and also the
devout faithful through all time if you like, hold Jesus in your arms at
different times throughout His life. Hug
Him, caress Him, and kiss His Most Holy Face.
Show
Him affection throughout His public ministry and while you accomplish yours.
Be
there with Jesus in the Garden; hold our
Lord, keep Him company, thank Him, console Him, and love Him in return. Join our Savior as He prays for us during His
Passion, which began at His conception, was revealed in a Garden, and ended
with His Sacred Body nailed to a Cross by our defiance.
Remain
close to Jesus always by living a sacramental life of heroic virtue.
"...lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:20).
THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN
Kneel
down next to Jesus and put your arms around Him. Hold Him lovingly and gently as He presents
Himself in the place of every single member of the human race through all time before
the Divine Tribunal, takes every one of our sins upon himself, and is judged
and sentenced in our places.
Kiss
His Sacred Face as He sweats and cries tears of Blood. Hold Him close, and whisper in His ear,
“Jesus, this is my body, which is given up for You.”
THE SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR
Remain
close to Jesus at the pillar as His Sacred Body is shredded during the
scourging. Bring your entire family to
the pillar in an action of thought similar to a prayer. Witness your faith by venerating our Lord as
He offers His Sacred Body up to the savage scourging.
Kneel
down before our King and receive His Sacred Body and Blood on your tongue from
off of the ground.
Take
the hearts of all those you are praying for and use them (in an action of
thought) to absorb His Precious Blood scattered all over the place as the seeds
of faith are sown using Jesus’ own Sacred Body.
Shout
above the sounds of malice, “Jesus, I love You!”
Then,
after kissing His beaten and shredded Sacred Face, place yourself face down in
the shape of a Cross before the pillar.
Join all those through all time as they stand at the pillar with our Savior, or kneel
by His side, or receive those precious
Holy Communions off the ground, or place themselves face down in the
shape of crosses.
Before
the scourging ends, stand up and hold up your work. Hold up pictures of your loved ones, your
prayer intentions, your family, community, nation, our world, and/or every soul
through all time so that they are covered with the Precious Seeds of Faith as
Jesus pours forth His love, mercy, and courage from His Sacred Body for us all.
God
loves us so extravagantly; we can have all the love, mercy, and courage that we
are willing to accept.
THE CROWNING WITH THORNS
Kneel
before Jesus as the King of Our Hearts submits to being mocked and crowned with
thorns, all for us. Stand in front of
Him as you see someone about to spit in His Sacred Face, and shield Him from
the malice.
Submit
to God our Father in imitation of Christ and accept your crown of thorns
also. Feel the warm blood as it flows
down in streams around your entire head. Every thorn wound is a precious act of
submission to the perfect will of God.
Hold
Jesus gently in your heart as you model the behavior of our loving Teacher.
Hold
Jesus lovingly in your will by forgiving everyone of everything and returning all
malice, scorn, and injustice with humility and fraternal charity as He did.
THE CARRYING OF THE CROSS
Travel
with Jesus along the Way of Sacrificial Love as He carries the Cross to
Calvary. He is mocked, spit upon,
scorned, hated, rejected, battered, insulted, ridiculed, and pushed by some as
He and His Sorrowful Mother petition God the Father for the strength and
assistance to make it to Calvary so He can be crucified there for our
sake.
Offer
Him your love and support along the Way.
Reach up and caress His Holy Face in your hands in imitation of
Veronica, and hold this sacred image in your hands. It becomes precious fuel that inspires you
to love and serve in imitation of our Savior.
As you travel along your own personal Way of the Cross, become a living
devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. Hold
Him always so lovingly in your heart.
What
else can you add? Ask our Lord to teach
you something new.
THE CRUCIFIXION
Join
Jesus at the foot of the Cross and hold His impaled feet in your hands. Now complete this one together with Jesus
while praying the final Sorrowful Mystery.
MEDITATING ON CHRIST’S PASSION
DURING HOLY MASS
Meditate
on these mysteries throughout the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Consider that
after having received Jesus in the Sacrament of Love you have our Lord’s Sacred
Body within you and share a privilege that was granted first to His Most Holy
Mother. You, like her, have become a living
tabernacle.
Be
sure to thank God for this incredible privilege and for loving us all so
lavishly.
REMAIN
After
Holy Mass ends, remain for more precious, priceless moments venerating
God. Hold Him within you; caress Him on your tongue and then within
your heart. As you do so, the First
Priest, the High Priest, kneels next to you and holds you in His loving and
merciful arms.
He
is so in love with you.
To keep steady throughout the
trials along the Way of Sacrificial Love, keep both feet (physically or
metaphorically) planted firmly on Calvary every single moment of your
life.
© Joseph Karl Publishing
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Images taken at:
Ss. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Catholic Church,
Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S.A. Parish Website
THE POWERFUL DEVOTION TO THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS
To learn more about the Work of Reparation through the Devotion to the Holy Face,
which our Lord, Jesus Christ called "the most beautiful work under the sun,"
visit: Work of Reparation Through the Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus
Please share the information with others.
God is at work in you!!
