My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
In doing some research about Good Friday, I stumble upon a Christian meditation with which I am unfamiliar. One which, according to Wikipedia, is practiced during Lent, Holy Week, and Good Friday.
It is called the "Seven Sayings". These are the seven sentences Jesus spoke while He hung on the cross, and they are taken from all four Gospels.
For those of you who do not have a church home or are unable to attend a Good Friday service today, I thought these Seven Sayings would be a most reverent and reflective exercise as we remember the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Will you meditate on these with me today? Read each saying, then prayerfully contemplate the word associated with it.
1. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)
FORGIVENESS
2. Truly, I say to you, you will be with me today in Paradise. (Luke 23:43)
SALVATION
3. Woman, behold your son, behold your mother. (John 19:26-27
RELATIONSHIP
4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)
ABANDONMENT
5. I thirst. (John 19:28)
DISTRESS
6. It is finished. (John 19:30)
TRIUMPH
7. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. (Luke 23:46)
REUNION
~
What are your thoughts after meditating on the Seven Sayings?
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, Father, for sending your only Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. As we reflect upon His crucifixion, His suffering, His death, may our hearts be filled with compassion and overwhelmed with thankfulness for all He has done for us. Amen.
Readings
Psalms 95, 22 or 40:1-14 (15-19), 54
Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-33
1 Peter 1:10-20
John 13:36-38 (morning)
John 19:38-42 (evening)
The seven last words of Jesus are often a subject of a reflection in Catholic Churches on the morning of Good Friday. It's very thoughtful of you to share them here for people who might not have access to Church today, Martha. ♥
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by, Corinne!
DeleteI'm really surprised with my Episcopal upbringing (so close to Catholic) that I was not aware of these, at least in regard with what they are called, i.e. Seven Sayings. So glad to have discovered them as a meditation. I do hope they will help those today who cannot attend church.
Blessings to you and a Blessed Good Friday!
I spent nearly 13 years Catholic, when I started reading I thought to myself that I had heard it before. Then after finishing the final prayer and reading Corinne's comment it hit me.. It was something that I heard. Thanks for sharing and reminding me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your wonderful comment.
Deb
Thanks so much, Deb, for stopping by. So glad you enjoyed the post and could related this to your Catholic upbringing.
DeleteI found it to be a wonderful meditation for this most holy day!
Blessings to you!
I pray the same things with you Martha.
ReplyDeleteI paused longer on some of the seven last words. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!"
These are laments that Christ spoke in His mouth before He died.
One states of hope, one cries in agony. And I felt Christ more human than ever.
I've heard dying people in the hospital saying the same things.
They confess, ask for forgiveness and then cries, laments and I remember Pope John Paul II saying, Amen. The Lord's way of saying,"It is finished."
I put these sayings in my heart and believe that the Lord became one with us through and through.
Thank you Lord. Thank you.
Oh, yes, Melissa, it is in these last sayings of our beloved Lord that we can so feel and agonize with His last earthly moments. Truly human, He knows our every heartache, pain, and suffering. Truly divine, He forgives the very ones who torture and abuse Him as He experiences the most painful death ever known in human history.
DeleteSometimes, I ponder the fact that God used this exact time, when Roman punishment was excruciating and absolutely unforgiving, to send His Son, the absolute antithesis of this abominable cruelty, into the world. That He submitted to die in this way only heightens for me the unfathomable love He has for me. For you.
May we be renewed and strengthened in our love and zeal for Him during these 50 blessed days of Easter!
Blessings, my friend!
The seven sayings are very deep and hold personal meaning for me especially now experiencing loss. I will reflect silently on them. Thanks again.
ReplyDelete