Prologue

Prologue When I think about the cross When I think of Jesus I’m reminded of His love Love that never leaves me. Who am I that He should die, Giving life so freely? When I think about the cross Help me to believe it.

Such were the inspiring lyrics of a song we sung in church while doing the Stations of the Cross! The thought of our Lord hanging on the cross that fateful Good Friday would make any sensible follower wonder how precious we are in the sight of Jesus that He offered His life so that we may be saved. Time and again, we gather underneath the cross not to be a spectator, but to wonder like a child at the Lord’s unconditional and selfless love. We gather underneath the cross, as this year’s theme goes, to “Listen to Him.” (Luke 9:35), to listen to Christ’s Seven Last Words. In spite having a pair of ears, we often find ourselves struggling to listen. It could be because of distractions, pride, or sin. And yet, Jesus patiently encourages us to listen and shows us the rewards of listening like the wise man who built his house on rock (Matthew 7:24-27).

As we reflect on Jesus’ Seven Last Words, let us ask the Holy Spirit to open the ears of our hearts so we may listen and ponder these life-giving words. Doing so, we may faithfully share what we received to those who still have not heard of nor listened to Christ’s Message.

Pietro S. Albano

Former Editor-in-Chief, Member

Editorial Board

www.anluwage.com

First Word

  "Forgive them, Father, they don't know what they are doing."

                                            by Archbishop Orlando B. Cardinal Quevedo, O.M.I.
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left (Lk 23:33). Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing” (v. 34). “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus utters this prayer after he was nailed to the cross like a criminal. It is a strange word, a word of mercy and compassion, a word of love. But it is a word of love not for those for who are closest to him. It is a word of love for his enemies. “Father, forgive them.” Yet it is not only for them that the word of forgiveness is given. It is for all those who have sinned against God, from the first days of creation to the end of time. “We are all one in Christ Jesus,” says Paul to the Galatians (Gal. 3:28). We live in the darkness of sin. Sin hovers over our broken world. The devil prowls like a roaring lion, seeking to lead us into sin, sin that separates us from God. Sin in various forms, sin of degrading God’s creation, sin of causing global warming, sin of genocide, the destruction of tribes, of cultures, of peoples of other faiths and religious traditions, sin caused by extreme nationalism, against God’s creation that causes environmental degradation and global warming, sin of genocide, the destruction of tribes, of peoples of different faiths, sin caused by extreme nationalism, sin against humanity. We consider the perpetrators as enemies. Yet the Lord tells us, forgive your enemies. Love even your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. They do not know that the One they are crucifying is the Messiah. They cannot believe that the one they had been expecting could be a poor man from a poor village, with no royal title to himself. If they only knew, then would believe. So, Father, forgive them. We complain about those have forgiven. We have forgiven many times but harm and injury to us continue. Our patience has reached its end. We will no longer forgive. Peter asked Jesus how many times should we forgive. Seven times? Jesus answered, No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times (see Mt. 18:21-22). Always forgive. There is no limit. Our own experience of forgiveness is a testimony to God’s infinite patience. We have sinned countless times against the Lord. We confess the same sins over and over again. We repent, the Lord forgives. The Lord is never tired of forgiving us. It is a sign of his infinite love. We are always his beloved children. Imagine us as the Prodigal Son who squandered his inheritance in sinful living. Repentant, he returns to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Lk. 15:20). So it is with us. We are the prodigal brothers and sisters of Christ. The Father does not wait till we reach home. He runs out to welcome us back to our home, our home with Christ and in Christ. Forgiveness ends all resentment and hatred, all division and conflict. Forgiveness leads to love, and love is a reunion with one another, a reunion with God, a reunion with Christ. He has made all this possible through his suffering -- his Passion, Death, and Resurrection (see Col. 1:20-22). Our oneness in Christ with one another, with God and his creation, is restored and renewed. An astounding and fascinating mystery of redemption through suffering and forgiveness. The mystery calls us to two imperatives: discipleship and mission. Jesus wants us, his disciples, to follow his way of forgiving, 77 times and not only 7 times. He wants us never to lose patience but be bridges of reunion with the Lord. He wants us to follow his commandment of loving our neighbor as ourselves, and that includes our “enemies.” That is the true test of the second commandment. The mystery of redemption through forgiveness calls us finally to mission. We see the world around us, full of biases, prejudices, resentment, hatred, division and conflict. St. Paul tells us that we should be ambassadors of reconciliation (see 2 Cor. 5:18-20). Our mission, then, is to proclaim the Lord and his message of reconciliation through mutual forgiveness. This is central to the one mission of evangelization, the proclamation of Jesus and his Gospel, “that they may all be one,” in the Father and in the Son (see Jn. 17:21)

Panalangin:

Merciful Lord, we thank you for your gift of forgiveness. We have made you suffer the pains of the Cross because of our sins. Yet you have shared your love with us. It is to redeem us from our sins and reconcile us with you that you suffered. Teach us, Lord, to forgive those that have hurt us and love them as you love us. O Mary, most merciful and most compassionate Mother, intercede for us before your Son that we might receive the grace of God and forgive others. Amen.

Archbishop Orlando B. Cardinal Quevedo, O.M.I. is the Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Cotabato, Philippines. He is the former President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and   former Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference.  He is currently residing in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and actively facilitating clergy retreats, giving conferences on issues of justice and peace, Basic Ecclesial Communities, Church Renewal.

Second Word

"I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me."

by: Fidji Rivera-Sarmiento

Today. Ahora mismo. Ngayon na. Agad-agad.

The Lord is such. Jesus said the same thing to Zaccheus when He announced salvation in his house; the very same way when He spoke of seeking first His kingdom and not worrying about tomorrow.

And here we are still with high levels of anxiety years after the pandemic. Social anxiety has climbed up, regardless of culture and socio-economic status. Studies will show us how the pandemic has negatively affected our view of ourselves and the world. We see the future as bleak and hope has almost gone down the drain. Yet Jesus’ second word becomes a healing balm to our tormented soul – “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43

The oxymoron in the flesh beside Jesus, that is the good thief, paints us a picture on how our Lord Jesus Christ becomes so thrilled when we face our shadows and repent. He was merely asking for a remembrance, but Jesus promised to take him for a ride. The audacity of this guy probably in his desperation and exhaustion to ask for grace from his cross-mate. The penitent thief proves to us that it is never too late. We can turn things around. Not when we fight and wrestle with what’s here and now, but rather when we utterly surrender to our fate. When we realize who we are, where we are exactly in our journey, and what we merely have in our hands, only then can we change the course of our sails.

As a special educator and a behavior coach, one of the very first things that I teach my students is to list the things they can and cannot control. For the younger group, students would typically be frustrated that they cannot control their parents’ minds or the weather or what their friends would say about them. Adolescents who are developmentally, and appropriately, operating from their emotional brain or the limbic system, would feel validated to know that yes, they cannot really control their feelings as what the adults would say to them. But given the right tools, they can definitely manage and regulate those emotions that inundate them.

Connecting this thought to San Dimas or St. Dismas, who the Catholic Church actually celebrates every March 25th as canonized by Christ himself, we see that he knew in his heart that there is no escaping the consequences of his crimes. He cannot control that anymore. He even knew that he deserved it. He accepted his earthly life had to end gruesomely. But he was enlightened to probably realize that, “Hey, I can bargain with my after-life. Maybe there is such, as what this guy has preached non-stop.” He can still control his mouth, and boy, he ran it so well that he humbly sought a simple remembrance.

Lo and behold, Jesus gave him so, so much more. So today, what are your worries? What have you not accepted still? Are you still marinating in your wretched yesterdays or are you chained in a future groundwork that you cannot honestly hold?

Let Jesus’ words point our eyes to the NOW.

Accept and surrender your today, TODAY! Ahora mismo. Ngayon na. Agad-agad. And witness how Jesus will turn things around for your life and so much more.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, our Lord and Savior, today we offer to You all our anxieties.

We are sorry that we tend to forget about our child-like wonder to Your miracles. We exhaust ourselves and continue to counterflow and wrestle with our situation with our limited humanness. We carry our mountains instead of merely climbing them, not trusting that it is Your job to move them.

Lord, thank You for remembering us. You have always had our backs. You even know how many strands of hair we still have on our heads.

And so even if we feel afraid we will not stop calling unto You. Bring us with You into the paradise that You have promised. Together with all the saints, St. Dismas, and our Holy Mother. Amen.

   

Teacher Fidji Rivera-Sarmiento M.Ed. is a special education interventionist and an inclusion consultant in Bulacan. She enjoys mothering her 4 big babies. Currently, she has found a love for stones and crystals and is contemplating on becoming a geologist if she can still grow up someday.  

Third Word

                 "He is your son… She is your mother." 

by: Billy Franco Del Carmen

At the foot of the cross, there we see Mary approaching. Together with the beloved disciple she looks upon her dying son. We can only guess what was running through her thoughts that very moment. But one thing is for sure; that as she slowly comes nearer to Jesus, the pain in her heart grows more. One can only imagine the agony that Mary felt looking at her beloved son suffer. In the other parts of the Gospel, we hear about Jesus’ disciples fleeing and abandoning their master and “friend'' when he was arrested but Mary, drawing strength from her deep devotion and motherly love, comes to the foot of the cross. She stayed there, unabashed and unafraid of the humiliation that she might receive from the jeering spectators. What was important to her was to see and console him. Looking at her beloved son, surely she recalls the words of Simeon “a sword shall pierce your heart….” But we know she endured, she stayed at the foot of the cross. Full of agony and weeping yet resolved to stay and accompany her dying child. Now, Jesus seeing her sorrowful mother now thinks more of her welfare rather than his own suffering. During this poignant encounter, he utters these reassuring words: “Woman, behold your son…. behold your mother”. It’s as if he is saying to her “Inay, huwag na po kayong mag-alala. Hindi ko kayo iiwanang nag-iisa… at alagan ‘nyo din naman po sila para sa akin”. Comforting and allaying words to his mother.

Dying people are always afraid to leave their loved ones thinking that nobody will look after them or will love them the same way as they did, and it was same with Jesus: maybe He was afraid to leave Mary… maybe he was afraid to leave his mother so he entrusts her to his beloved disciple to look after her and care for her. But aside from entrusting Mary to his disciple, it was also a way to give Mary a continuing mission: to be a mother and co-disciple…. to also take care of the follower whom he will also leave behind…. to be a mother not only to the beloved disciple but to all the believers. Jesus knows that Mary was there not only as a loving mother, but also as a disciple who follows her master unto the hour of his exaltation by God the Father. She stood by his side and behold him all torn by the scourges, thorns, and nails and she understood that these wounds are signs of the Father’s love, that every single drop of blood is necessary to save mankind. That although she will experience sorrow and anguish, she needs to be there. From the cross she receives her mission. Mula sa paanan ng Krus tinanggap niya ang kanyang magiging bagong bahagi sa gawain ng pagliligtas. Ang samahan ang mga kaibigan ni Hesus.

We wonder what Mary did after the crucifixion.

In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, we heard that the disciples gathered and prayed in the upper room together with her. For sure, Mary visited many of Jesus’ followers to tell more stories about him. She may have come to many of them to strengthen their faith, to comfort them in times of persecution, and to pray with them. SHE JOURNEYED WITH THEM. She journeyed and listened to them, She journeyed and gave admonitions to them. She journeyed and became a mother to them. We know how painful and traumatic Mary’s experience was at that Calvary encounter pero hindi doon nagtatapos ang lahat. She was firmly resolved to follow her son’s command: to take care of his disciples, to look after them, and to be with them.

Going back to the dreadful Calvary encounter, we see both a mother full of pain and a follower resolved to do her master’s will. For Mary there is only one thing that is need to be there with Christ… TO BE ONE WITH HIM in his mission of saving all of us, HIS FRIENDS.

We are certain that Mary was there behind Jesus at that first Good Friday procession. Surely, Mary followed him on his way to Calvary and she knew that the road was a tiring, rough, and patchy one. Behind Jesus who was carrying the cross, she trod that road. Full of confidence we know she will be with us, too. She will always be ready to take the journey with us and tread every grueling and arduous path of our Christian life. That sorrowful encounter of Mary and Jesus at Calvary on that first Good Friday became a moment of grace for us: Jesus gave us Mary. Thanks to that wonderful encounter we were given a mother and a companion. Those words of Jesus to Mary were not only comforting words for her, but also reassuring words for us, his “friends” who keep on fleeing… na laging nang-iiwan sa ere kapag hindi na komportable. We may repeatedly abandon him, but he will always think of us. All thanks to Jesus. All thanks to His redeeming love!

Prayer

Panginoong Hesus, maraming salamat po sa nagliligtas Mong pag-ibig. Maraming salamat sa pagbibigay Mo kay Maria sa amin upang maging aming Ina. Patawad po sa mga panahong kami ay lumalayo at tumatakas kapag may paghihirap at krus. Tulutan Mo nawang matularan namin si Maria na hindi ka iniwan at tulungan Mo kaming maging katulad niya na puno ng tapang at pagmamahal. Amen.

Billy F. Del Carmen is currently the Parish Worship Ministry Head at the Sagrada Familia Parish, Manila.  He is also a Liturgist at the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Pasay and an active servant of the Catholic Church (Assistant Master of Ceremonies -  Military Ordinariate of the Philippines; Secretariat - National Organizing Committee for the Visits of the Pilgrim Relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus to the Philippines)

Fourth Word

        "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?"

                                                by Richard G. Reynoso

I don't have any instance in my life where I felt God abandoned me. But my Dad did, oddly his name was Jesus. My father was born on December 25, thus the reason for his name. I used to have many happy memories with my father, then one day, slowly our lives changed when he had a fight with my grandfather (Mom’s father). We have moved to another house since then. Our family had financial difficulties. My Mom and Dad got separated and my Dad had a second family. I can still remember how surprised I was when I saw my father with his mistress. He told Mama, "Why did you bring him (me) here? I don't love you anymore!" Hearing Daddy saying he doesn't love Mama anymore put all hopes of reconciliation to an end. They are not getting back together anymore. I was very young then. I still don't understand many things. For many years, I didn't have a father that guided me. I did not have a normal relationship with Daddy. Until one day, when I was already working and had a stable job, Mom wanted to get back with my Dad again. Apparently his mistress left him probably because he became sick with diabetes and already broke. I got angry. My life turned upside down when he left us. I already got used to my father not being around. He is not welcome in my life anymore. Mom and Dad still got back together but I treat my father indifferently. But years went by and my father's diabetes complications got worse. Daddy passed away on July 14, 2011. Thankfully, we had the chance to ask for forgiveness a few minutes before he held his last breath. Sometimes it crosses my mind, what kind of life would I have if I had a good relationship with my father? I believe God is bringing and removing important people in our lives to make us stronger. We need to experience the saddest parts of our lives for us to appreciate true happiness.

Prayer

Lord God, thank You for not abandoning us, especially in our times of need. I pray for all families to have a loving father and child relationship. May they experience the true meaning of happiness. Amen.

Richard G. Reynoso is currently working in a BPO company.  He is an active servant of the Feast Sta. Lucia, a Catholic Charismatic community of the Light of Jesus family. 

                                                       

Fifth Word

 

“I am thirsty!”

by Ronald Embon Escorpiso

    

“Why do plants have a larger vacuole than animals or humans? ” As a science teacher, this is the most common question I ask my students to ponder whenever we have the topic of cell structure. A vacuole is the storage tank of the cell. Since plants are stationary, they can’t easily replenish themselves with food and water when needed, unlike animals and humans, who can move, hunt, cook, and drink whenever they want to. Moreover, the plants store water (and food) in case of drought or scarcity.

In the human context, what makes our vacuole empty and makes us thirsty? Physical thirst brings us extreme feelings of tiresomeness or exhaustion. This usually happens when we involve ourselves in strenuous activities like doing some sports, non-stop playing, and long-distance running, jogging, and walking. But sometimes just simply staying under the sun makes us thirsty too. Being an online teacher, my most recent experience of being thirsty was when I started having three-hour straight classes from 1PM to 4PM three times a week. My home office, which is not air-conditioned, turns into a burning furnace during this time of the day while I am continuously talking in my consecutive lessons. Indeed, this thirst is very exhausting and throat-soring.

But human thirst is not just limited to the physical state. Thirst can also be a desire. For most, we thirst for rest, financial stability, recognition, peace of mind, comfort, healing and some, justice. In our desire to achieve more, we often try to do more. In my case, I deeply desire to create a significant impact on Philippine education, but I know I must establish myself first, so I pursued my Ph.D. degree. Along with this, I wanted to be a good provider for my family, so I worked abroad and gave my best at my job, so I could be promoted. However, just like plants, we too are hit by our own life’s drought. I got an increased salary the next academic year, but I received more work to the point that I compromised my physical health, and in the absence of my family, my mental health started to weaken. Waking up every single day and doing my first love, which is teaching, seemed to be torture for me at that moment. I even dropped my post-graduate courses to unload my yoke. Then, I decided to go back to the Philippines instead. I went home with an emptied vacuole, much thirstier than ever.

I imagine the journey of Jesus to Mt. Calvary, walking under the scourging hot sun, carrying a very heavy cross, and having just passed the brutal, painful ordeal. Not to mention that people surrounding him hurled insults and mocked him. How could he not be thirsty? He received no sympathy from most people there; he was thirsty yet offered wine vinegar. This thirst that Jesus experienced might not just empty his vacuole but wreck it. It seemed that he had nothing to give. But no, he still offered what he had. “But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out” (John 19:34). Jesus is the fountain of living water—the spring that never runs out and never fails to overflow for us.

As I continued my story of surrendering after arriving back in the Philippines, with nothing, I was depressed, full of doubts and “what ifs,” and with empty pockets. One day, with a heavy heart, I went to the Adoration Chapel and prayed. I cried out to Jesus all the things I was thirsty for – my anxiety, financial instability, and fear of the future. After bursting out, I suddenly grasped a replenishing feeling in my heart and spirit. As I stepped out of the chapel feeling much lighter and it seemed that all my negative baggage was dissolved. Gradually, as days passed, the tables turned. I turned from depressed to impressed. I am astounded by receiving Jesus’ overflowing refill of my vacuole, and as it overflows, I will let it be received by others too.

In your thirst today, come to the source of living water – Jesus. His presence in our lives will not make us dry out, empty, and stagnant, but rather fresh, full, and flowing. Let’s fill up our vacuole today!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the living water, Your Son Jesus. In times when life drains us with challenges, always remind us to dive into the replenishing presence of Jesus. May our encounter with Him in our lives bring satisfaction from our worldly thirst. And in times of abundance, utilize us as your vessels of love, hope, healing, and inspiration. We may learn how to give without worrying about running out dry. May your mercy overflow through us, relieving others’ thirst. Amen.

Ronald Embon Escorpiso is a Science educator for 14 years. A loving husband to Almira, and father to Sky Frances and Dew Francine, he formerly led the Feast Marikina Singles Ministry and Feast San Mateo Engagers Ministry.

Sixth Word

                            "It's Finished!"

by: Rhonee S. Garcia

Holy Week is a spiritual roller coaster. It is similar to riding Anchor's Away in the Enchanted Kingdom. You get in and you buckle up. You know that is going to be intense and you may feel scared or sick to your stomach during the ride. For some, it could be an adrenaline rush. But when it is finished, you will be glad that you did it. During Holy Week, we know that this spiritual experience will be intense, more so than any other time of the year. We feel like we're walking alongside Jesus as He takes those heavy steps toward suffering, sacrifice, and redemption. And on the cross, Christ Jesus would utter the words: "It is finished." These three little words bear so much weight in our hearts and minds because we know that He was put on that cross because of our sins. We feel the heaviness of Christ's suffering but also the lightness of His love. And I'll be honest. I don't really like watching movies depicting Christ's death, especially "The Passion of the Christ." The sheer brutality, the pain, the anguish, the feeling of abandonment was just too much to bear. I find myself closing my eyes and cusping my hands over my ears for most of the movie. When the movie ends, there is a strange feeling of relief knowing that Jesus' suffering has ended and that He has taken His place in heaven. That feeling of relief is also for myself, because the agony of watching someone you love suffer has also ended. "It is finished." These three words mean more than just saying that the suffering is over. It also signifies the fulfilment of a promise; the accomplishment of a purpose. Jesus had shown the people God's divine love and His never ending grace. This was not an ending but the beginning of ultimate victory. "God has, after all, made us 'all one in Christ Jesus'" (Galatians 3:28). When Jesus laid his life on the cross, He was not just doing it for the people who look like Him. He made that sacrifice for everyone who believes in Him. There is no division in the eyes of God. No social status. No ethnicity. No gender distinctions. No borders. No politics. We are all one in God and we all share the same identity of being God's children. The crucifix bridges gaps and breaks down walls. In Christ, we find a unity that transcends whatever segregational constructs that we, humans, have made. As we go about our daily lives, maybe while drinking our favourite Frappuccino at Starbucks, we encounter different kinds of people whose life experiences differ greatly from ours. They may be married, while you are single. They may have travelled the world, while you haven't left Metro Manila. They may have good careers, while you are struggling financially. But guess what? Both of you are made in the image of God. Your stories intersect, weaving a tapestry of unity under God. So, as the Holy Week unfolds, let's embrace God's grace. And let us also be a comforting grace to people around us. When Jesus cried out, "It is finished", we can still hear the echo of those words 2000 years later. We are never truly "finished". It is an ongoing journey towards wholeness and into God's embrace. Our unity in Christ moves us forward, healing wounds and uniting people.

Prayer:

Lord, guide us through this sacred time and may we find peace and grace in Your sacrifice. May we be your instruments of light and love especially in the current state of the world we live in. May we live as witnesses to this truth, embodying unity, and celebrating the finished work of our Saviour. Amen.

Rhonee Garcia is currently working for a semiconductor company in Singapore. Netflix and chill is one of Rhonee's favorite past times. She spends most of her free time finding good places to eat or watching series about food even though she can't cook very well :). She enjoys listening to music and watching concerts.

Seventh Word

    "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

  by Fr. Neil Tenefrancia

Each year, during Lent, we remember the 40 years of desert-wandering of the Israelites as they journeyed from Egypt to Mount Sinai. From the standpoint of our Christian faith, the journey from Egypt to Sinai is not only a journey from worldly slavery to freedom but also the pattern of our itinerary from various evil realities to the presence of the Father. It is the pattern of our personal and communal search for the face of God after we have run away from him through our pride and ingratitude. It is the pattern of God actively remembering and liberating us in the midst of our sinful human situations. In other words, it is the story of a God who, even when we have deserted him, continues to walk with us even without our knowing it. The journey back to the Father is best illustrated by the “Our Father” read in reverse. The seven petitions of the Our Father, when read backwards, is our itinerary from sin to grace—from being slaves to becoming free men as people of the New Covenant. In the Pater-Noster-in-reverse, we are given the template of the process of liberating ourselves from our own “Egypts” towards the freedom of God’s “Sinai” with him as our only and real Father: we are made to realize the ugliness and ignominy of the various unfreedoms in our lives—many of which had become comfortable to us; we are made to accept our propensities to give in to our favorite temptations; we are made to undergo the uncomfortable experience of forgiving and being forgiven; we are presented the need to clarify and correct our thinking, feeling, and motivational errors about our concept of “daily bread;” we are made aware of the discrepancies between my-kingdom and God’s kingdom; and we made to realize the gravity of bearing the holy name of God in our persons as Christians. Clearly, the God of the Exodus and the God of the Christian Paschal Mystery is the same God who walks with us even in the midst of our evils—all the way from Egypt to Sinai, from evil to the Father, from slavery to freedom. And it is in this context that we can gain insight into the deeper meaning and implications of Jesus’ final cry on the Cross: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” The “spirit,” in Greek anthropology, is the noblest part of man—the source of his dignity, identity, and motivation. (This is why it is invoked in the greeting of each Mass “And with your spirit!”) Through and in the spirit, we know who we are, we live what we are, and desire what we should become. In the case of Jesus’ sacred humanity, at the moment of his death, the noblest part of him-- his spirit never ceased to be the spirit of the divine person of the Son. The spirit of the humanity of Jesus was always the spirit of Jesus as the second person of the Trinity. So why did he entrust his spirit to his Father when in fact they were actually inseparable? …perhaps because he wanted to draw us to the original Exodus experience of a God who was always accompanying his people enslaved in Egypt even in the midst of their unfreedoms, disobedience, indecisions, and in their arduous journey towards liberation ….perhaps because he wanted to emphasize that his Paschal Mystery—his suffering, death, and resurrection is the ultimate fulfillment of the said Exodus mystery. In the passion of his sacred humanity, he was illustrating par excellence the mystery of a God who is in total solidarity and synodality with man’s fragile humanity The last words of Jesus were, thus, not only a prayer but a statement of a fact. He is the God who, through his spirit that was always inseparable with the Father, has always and will always be with his people--- even through the horror of the passion and the terror of death. It is also an expression of Jesus’ prayer that just as he and his Father are one, we may finally be one with him in the inner life of the Trinity. The joy of the experience will be like the joy of an OFW returning home to his or her homeland and beloved family. It will be akin to the joy of a homecoming to life’s cherished and unforgettable companions and memories. It will be like the joys of slaves entering the Promised Land as sons and rightful heirs, not anymore as an oppressed or exploited people. It will be like the happiness of men and women plagued by various evils and coming home at last into the presence of the Father--- from malo to Pater Noster, from Egypt to Sinai, from slavery to freedom, from slaves to sons and daughters. This is the joy of Easter!

Prayer:

Lord God, after our long, painful, and arduous journey through this desert of trials and sufferings, console us with the certainty of your presence and to the reality that even if we do not always recognize it, you are always with us through the murkiness and loathsomeness of our own evils.

May our spirits, like that of your Son, never be separated from you, but finally find its rest in your Sinai—in your holy mountain. There, we will relish the joy of having you always as a friend, companion, and co-wanderer in all our travails and pains, in our triumphs and joys, and in our anxieties and fears. Lead us and walk with us always in our own paschal mysteries. And let this be ever be our prayer and act of faith: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!

FR NEIL G. TENEFRANCIA, is a priest of the Diocese of Borongan (Eastern Samar, Philippines). He is an MA of Philosophy and Theology.

Epilogue

 

Beneath the cross, we bow in adoration before You, Lord Jesus.

Your whole life was a life spent in love. In Your hidden life, You allowed that love to be nurtured. In Your public ministry, You courageously proclaimed it to all without exception. 

Thank You for Your Seven Last Words, O Christ. May they give us consolation in these challenging times. May they also wake us up from the long sleep of apathy, selfishness, and lack of discernment. 

In Your love, save our world, our country, Your people.

One with Mary, we make this prayer. Amen.

***

Thank you, sisters and brothers, for joining in our Holy Week special. Thank you also to our writers from across the world who contributed their reflections in our Holy Week special this year. Refreshed and nurtured by Jesus' Seven Last Words, let us proclaim His love to all. God bless!