Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr Antonio Pegon SVD – Rizal, Palawan
Thursday in the Octave of Easter
I owe my initial formation as a seminarian to Fr. Joseph Taschner SVD and to the Focolare Movement. After enrolling at Christ the King Mission Seminary in Quezon City, Fr. Taschner introduced some of us seminarians to the Focolare Movement and to “Jesus Forsaken,” Jesus hanging on the cross. This Jesus Forsaken Spirituality came to my mind while I was making a reflection on the Gospel today.
The Gospel seems to invite me to look at the hands and feet of Jesus. In fact to look at his whole body hanging on the cross. It was his body he “used” to bring the good news to the poor. Jesus used his hands to heal the sick. He used his feet to move from place to place to announce the good news of salvation.
There is a passage from a song that says: “There is no fear in love.” Yes, Jesus is that perfect figure of love on the cross—love for God and his people.
Jesus was not afraid to die. He was not afraid to meet oppositions from enemies. He was not afraid to encounter difficulties. He was not afraid to experience hunger and thirst. He was not afraid to lose friends as he was preaching the truth of his identity. He was not even afraid to lose God as he was hanging on the cross. Yes, he was not afraid to do and to experience all these, because he loved…
As Jesus opened the minds of the apostles so they could understand the scriptures, so we pray that Jesus may also open our hearts and minds to live the scriptures and become witnesses of what Jesus said and did in his lifetime.
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