Share your experiences with meditation on the Passion of our Lord

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Agricola

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I would like to provide a thread for people to share their own experiences with meditation on the Passion. Thoughts and meditations on the Passion are welcome as well.

The Passion has filled my heart with wonder as far back as I can remember. The fact that God became man, suffered, and died, for me is a reminder to me of the infinite reservoir of love that God has for us. I know that meditating on this amazing act of love has saved me time and time again. It has brought me through those "dark night"s of the soul that test my resolve. It has given urgency to my return to the sacraments when I have fallen into sin. For me, there is no more meaningful image than that of Christ nailed to the Cross. What love!

Please, share your experiences, and your thoughts.

God bless,

Agricola
 
Its funny you should bring up this topic on the Passion of Our Lord. At this time I am witnessing some disturbing situations with some students that I work with. NOT GOOD! I have been trying to share Our Lord and Blessed Mother with them but I think it falls on deaf ears. Last night at church I offered my Communion for them. at the offertory when the Priest raised the chalice I realized that I was being united with Our Lord’s Passion, and began to weep. What he did for us is so incredible. Its hard for me to comprehend sometimes that kind of Love!
 
I imagine our Lord in His agony in the garden- as He sweats blood amidst the greatest stress and anxiety over what is to come shortly. He knows full well how terribly He will suffer. And He’s thinking of me. He’s thinking," If I don’t do this then John will go to hell."
Thank you Lord. Sorry, I repay you so poorly.
 
I find great hope in considering the pierced hands of Christ. I remember praying once, thinking that God could easily have washed His hands of us. It would have saved Him a lot of trouble. Then it was as though I heard Him asking me to look at His hands, and see that they had not been washed but were instead pierced. Because of that, I know that I can never give up hope that even the worst sinner can be saved, and even I can be saved. Jesus refused to wash His hands of them (and of me), and so must I.
 
John Russell Jr:
And He’s thinking of me. He’s thinking," If I don’t do this then John will go to hell."
Thank you Lord. Sorry, I repay you so poorly.
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Recently I started meditating on His Passion in a more personal way too, as I summarized here in my blog.

:blessyou:
 
Hi,

Great blog. Thanks.
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Augustine:
Recently I started meditating on His Passion in a more personal way too, as I summarized here in my blog.

:blessyou:
Click to expand...
 
Something I wrote awhile back:

ENTERING THE WOUNDS OF CHRIST

Today at adoration, I was looking at the crucifix. I have felt at times in the past that some of my pains and sufferings have been similar to those of Jesus, although to a much smaller degree than the great agony He endured for us.

I looked at the nail wounds in His hands.

Sometimes, because of chronic health issues, I have great pain in my connective tissue and ligaments. At times, this feels like someone is pulling back on the ligaments and muscles in my hands, making them feel cramped, in a half-clenched position, although they look perfectly normal.

Quite some time ago, I noticed the particular crucifix in the adoration chapel depicts Jesus’ hands in a half-clenched position. How much more did He endure the painful cramping in His hands! I unite this suffering to Yours, Jesus.

I looked at the nail driven through His feet.

My hands and feet are almost always numb. Sometimes this is a light tingling sensation, other times it is more violent – like a swarm of bees stinging me.

As I look at Jesus on the cross, I realize His feet must have felt this way. He could not stand on His feet, but He had to push up on them in order to get a good breath. How excruciating it must have been to push on His feet that were bound to the cross by a huge nail. I unite this suffering to Yours, Jesus.

I looked at His crown of thorns.

The crown of thorns that was pushed in Jesus’ head caused Him great pain and made blood drip into His eyes.

As I endure this illness, I sometimes have had headaches so severe that nothing seems to help ease them. The pressure becomes so intense, that I want someone to literally crack open my head and release the pressure. Sometimes I feel like my eyes are burning and I have to go into a dark room and cover them with an ice pack. What pressure Jesus must have felt being encircled by His crown of thorns. I unite this suffering to Yours, Jesus.

(continued)…
 
(from previous post)

I thought of how difficult it was for Jesus to breathe on the cross.

As time wore on, it became more and more difficult for Jesus get a good breath while hanging on the cross. This is how men died by crucifixion – by asphyxiation – they literally drowned in their own fluids.

When my illness first surfaced, I would wake up gasping for air in the middle of the night and often find it difficult to get a good breath. How much more did Our Lord gasp for every breath on His cross. I unite this suffering to Yours, Jesus.

I remembered Jesus being mocked and misunderstood.

Many people mocked Jesus while He carried His cross and as He hung there. So many misunderstood what Jesus was accomplishing on the cross. Many mistook it for failure instead of triumph and glory.

How often my failure to attend something, or follow through on a commitment because of fatigue, is misunderstood. Sometimes others see those with disabilities as being less than whole, without much to contribute. Yet how much more my offering of suffering for others can accomplish through Jesus Christ than any amount of work I could do with my own two hands. I unite this suffering to Yours, Jesus.

Jesus took His last breath and died.

The Lord of Lords and King of Kings is quiet upon the cross as He offers His last breath to Our Heavenly Father.

While I have not yet died physically, I have died to much sin and selfishness in my life during this illness. Many years ago, at one of my first church retreats, we spoke of “dying to ourselves in order to let Christ rise in us.” You gave us Your all, Jesus. Every breath, every ounce of energy, every last drop of Your Precious Blood. I, too, give You my all – as limited as it may be – and offer it in union with Your Holy Sacrifice for the salvation of all souls. I unite this suffering to Yours, Jesus.

(continued…)
 
(… continued from previous post)

They pierced His heart.

While You may not have felt the piercing of Your Sacred Heart with the lance after Your death, Jesus, Your mother and disciples surely felt their own hearts being pierced along with Yours.

How many times does my heart feel heavy; do I feel oppressed? There have even been times when my chest aches because of this illness. How many times do we experience heart-ache in this life? Financial troubles, the loss of a loved one, the pain of infertility, a marriage in crisis, a child who is lost. Yet it is still nothing compared to what You gave for all of us, Lord. I unite this suffering to Yours, Jesus.

They laid Him in the tomb.

Your body was in the cold, stone tomb for three days. While all seemed lost, You were also preaching Your message of salvation to all souls who had already departed and were awaiting the opening of the gates of heaven! What seemed like a dark, cold, lonely time was actually one of great glory and conversion.

At times, I feel cold to the bone. My hands and feet are like ice. When I am in pain, I feel so lonely and all around me seems dark. Help me to remember in those times when I feel as if I am in the tomb that You, Jesus, the light of the world, are right next to me – warming me, lighting my way and helping me to carry my burden. During these times I can offer this suffering to You and know that it is for the greater glory of Your kingdom. I unite this suffering to Yours, Jesus.

Jesus rose from the dead.

We will not experience Your full glory until we end this journey on earth and are united to You forever in heaven. But You offer us glimpses of Your glory and Your grace. You forgive our sins. You offer Your Bread and Body to us in Holy Communion. You give us the grace and the strength we need to get through each day. You send Your Holy Spirit to be with us, to comfort us and guide us. You do not leave us orphans.

I unite my life, my will, my body, my soul, my strength and my love to You, Lord Jesus. All that I have, all that I do, all that I say, all that I think, all that I pray is Yours. Perfect it; perfect me. Accept it; accept me. Love it; love me.

Without the cross there is no glory, without the cross, there is no crown. My Lord and My God, through Your Precious Body and Blood lead all souls to salvation!
 
All,

one of the most moving thing I ever read about our Lord’s passion
was Anne Catherine Emmerich’s account of His agony in the garden
of olives. I would encourage everyone to read it and maybe come
back with some comments. It certainly saddened me to think that our Lord knew how terribly he would have to suffer and how ungrateful the human race would be!

my.homewithgod.com/israel/acemmerich2/

God bless,
Noel.
 
When i meditate on the Passion of our Lord, I feel pain in my hands and feet. I feel intense suffering as I meditate.
 
John Russell Jr:
Great blog.
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Why, thank you! It’s perhaps been more helpful to me than to others, as recollecting my thoughts and experiences improves my understanding of them.

:blessyou:
 
Good posts all. One thing I remember meditating on -which shows that we cannot fathom the sufferings is this-

In order to understand how much our Lord suffered- One must first be able to love as perfectly as God loves, then be subjected to the rejection, torture and crucifixion our Lord was subjected to.
Since God’s love is infinite- Gods suffering was infinite.
 
John Russell Jr:
One must first be able to love as perfectly as God loves…
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How is this possible? It’s not a rhetorical question, I mean it… Perhaps martyrdom?

:blessyou:
 
Hi ,

That’s the point. We can’t understand how much He suffered. It was somehow infinite. We can just try to grasp the concept.
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Augustine:
How is this possible? It’s not a rhetorical question, I mean it… Perhaps martyrdom?

:blessyou:
Click to expand...
 
I don’t often meditate on the Passion, or, I do a bit but not in depth. But, a couple times, when I was going through rough times I’d just think of the blood Our Beautiful Lord shed so that we might be saved. The scourging He endured, pains me so grieviously and yet I do not deserve what He did for me.

In Christ Alone,
Claire <><
 
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