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The "triumph" of the Cross is not a victory in human terms. The hymn in the Letter to the Philippians speaks of Jesus emptying Himself of His divinity and accepting the condition of men. When He was lifted up, it was not to a position of glory or splendour; He was raised on a cross, to die the death of a criminal, alone and despised. It is in His total abandonment, His final self-commitment into the hands of His Father, that Jesus bears perfect witness to the God of the Gospel, the God of faith. In this isolation, which from the outside seems to spell total failure, Jesus manifests the true power of God, not a power for our use or for self-aggrandisement, but the power of God which is for love and service. In what God do I believe? In a God in whom I can hope for success, for an alliance which I can use to my advantage? Or do I believe in the God who gives life provided I totally commit myself, my life and my future to Him? In the presence of Your Cross, O Lord, I ask You to impress on my heart Your total abandonment and self-emptying, for in it You have truly revealed God. |
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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
| INTENTION : |
That the adolescents and young people of the third millennium
may discover a profound ideal to devote themselves to. |
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"Lord Jesus, you have made these young people your friends; keep them
for ever close to you! Amen." This closing prayer of John Paul II at the
Mass in Korazim in the Holy Land last year indicates the deep concern
he has for the youth of the third millennium. At the Mount of Beatitudes, the Holy Father looked down on the assembled youth and said, "How may generations before us have been deeply moved by the Sermon on the Mount! How many young people down the centuries have gathered around Jesus to learn the words of eternal life, as you are gathered here today! It is wonderful that you are here!" The ideal the Holy Father proposes to the youth of today is that they look at Jesus, who embodies the Beatitudes. They will see what it means to be poor in spirit, gentle and merciful, to mourn, to care for what is right, to be pure in heart, to make peace, to be persecuted. He challenges them to go out into the world and preach the message of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes which speak of truth and goodness, and grace and freedom: of all that is necessary to enter Christ's Kingdom. Now it is their turn to be courageous apostles of that kingdom. | |
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