On the Cross

Christ's love story for us was crowned by the cross on which he hung for six hours, during which his lips dripped with seven wonderful words. It is striking that the first three words were spoken during the first three hours of the day, while the last four were heard at the end of the next three hours, shrouded in a wondrous, pitch-black darkness cast by God on earth, when Christ alone was paying the price for our sins.

These are the last and most precious words, laced with sighs. Just as in life, so in death our Lord offered others in a life marked by sacrifice and self-denial. In hours of terrible pain, one of us says what we don't mean and therefore is not held accountable for it. But listen with me to the words of grace that emerged from the depths of Christ's suffering, from a mouth that knew nothing but love, showing forgiveness and concern, mercy, and compassion because he loves humanity.

First Phrase: The Prayer of Forgiveness

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)

Jesus Christ is the only person who has never sinned, never known sin, and never had sin in him. Yet the entire world stood against him and was even condemned to death. Here we see him in the midst of his suffering, praying to the Father for his enemies, to forgive them after they unjustly tortured him and hung him on the cross for no fault of his own. This righteous man forgave his crucifiers, who had committed the most horrific crime in human history. He was nailed to the cross, but his heart was still groaning, asking for their forgiveness, and his mouth uttering a prayer that was not hindered by pain or halted by human enmity. Just a few hours earlier, the entire congregation had stood as one man, their voices ringing out:"His blood be on us and on our children"(Matthew 27:25).

Had Christ not prayed this prayer for them, so that their sin would be considered a sin of omission, they would have been branded with the unforgivable sin of intentional sin according to their law. Truly, it was said of Him, in the spirit of prophecy: "But I am a prayer," and He fulfilled His lofty teachings in practice. Didn't He say: "...and pray for those who spitefully use you" (Matthew 5:44)? With these words, Christ opened for them, for me and for you, a door to eternal forgiveness. Through His cross, everyone who believes in Him can receive forgiveness of sins in His name... This is a personal invitation for you. Will you accept it?

The Second Phrase: The Touch of Tenderness

When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing there, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" (John 19:26-27).

It is truly a touch of tenderness from the One with tenderness. Who needs and deserves that compassionate look and those tender words of consolation more than Blessed Mary? She was watching her son hanging, bloody and torn apart, and there was nothing she could do but grieve, shed burning tears, and pierce her soul with the sword of terrible pain.

As she stood with a few women comforting her, swallowing the bitterness as she watched her son in his final hours, he looked... and his look was unlike any other. His lips uttered these words, with which he arranged the fate of his blessed mother before he departed this world.

In the midst of his grief, he cast a ray of love and tenderness toward that virtuous woman who bore and raised him. He entrusted her with the care of a beloved disciple, entrusting him to her as a son protects his mother, just as a mother cares for her son.

By Brother/Makram Mashriqi