Everyday Prayer Blog
Friday April 3
Our Journey with Jesus
Day 12
Jesus Dies on The Cross
Friday April 3
Our Journey with Jesus
Day 12
Jesus Dies on The Cross
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Let us pray
O Jesus I Surrender myself to You, You take over. Amen
Good Friday
Roman Missal:
Good Friday
Today we continue our lenten journey where we reflect on the Stations or the Way of the Cross following Our Lord's final journey in this life leading to His death on a Cross.
Each day we will reflect on a station (two on Good Friday) pray and share reflections of Mary.
Our way of course has a triumphant ending on the final day of our journey when on Easter Sunday we reflect on the lesser known Station - the Resurrection of Jesus
My Lord Jesus Christ,
You made this journey to die for me
with love unutterable,
and I have so many times
unworthily abandoned You;
but now I love You with my whole heart,
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely
for ever having offended You.
Pardon me, my God,
and permit me to accompany You
on this journey.
You died for love of me;
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of You.
My Jesus,
I will live and die always united to Thee.
Amen
We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
Reflection:
Consider how Jesus, after three hours of agony on the cross, is finally overwhelmed with suffering and, abandoning Himself to the weight of His body, bows His head and dies.
Prayer
My dying Jesus, I devoutly kiss the cross on which You would die for love of me. I deserve, because of my sins, to die a terrible death; but Your death is my hope. By the merits of Your death, give me the grace to die embracing Your feet and burning with love of You. I yield my soul into Your hands.
I love Thee, my beloved Jesus; I love Thee above all things; I repent with my whole heart of having offended Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
Jesus, for Thee I live, Jesus, for Thee I die, Jesus, I am Thine in life and in death. Amen.
Reflection of Mary
Let me mingle tears with thee
Mourning Him who mourned for me,
All the days that I may live.
The sword of helplessness split my heart in two as I watched him struggle to breathe, pulling himself up to let air out of his lungs. With incredible courage and compassion, he spoke of mercy and love. There on that cross he gave me to John, and gave me to the Spirit filled Church that would be born on Pentecost. Then, after he gave himself into God’s hands one last time, he took his last breath and he died. It is unforgettable to watch life leave the body of someone you love.
At the foot of his cross today,
listen to my son tell you of his love for you.
Speak to him from your heart.
We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee.
Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
Reflection:
Consider how, after the death of our Lord, two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, took Him down from the Cross, and placed Him in the arms of His afflicted Mother, who received Him with unutterable tenderness, and pressed Him to her bosom.
Prayer;
O Mother of sorrow, for the love of this Son, accept me for thy servant, and pray to Him for me. And Thou, my Redeemer, since Thou hast died for me, permit me to love Thee; for I wish but Thee, and nothing more.
I love Thee, my Jesus, and I repent of ever having off ended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
Jesus, for Thee I live, Jesus, for Thee I die, Jesus, I am Thine in life and in death. Amen.
Reflection of Mary
By the cross with you to stay,
There with you to weep and pray,
Is all I ask of you to give.
We waited what seemed like a long time before we had permission to take his lifeless body off that cross. And, it took so long to remove the nails, and to finally lower his body to the ground. Someone removed that horrible crown of thorns from his head. They pulled his hair back and wiped his face clean before letting me hold his body one last time. He had been given to me for only a brief time. When he left home three years before, I was so proud of him and excited to experience what God would do through him. There at the foot of the cross, my heart torn by grief, but always trusting in God’s promise, I asked only to be God’s servant for what was ahead. After the Ascension, when we would gather in homes for the Breaking of the Bread, I again held his broken body in my hands, now full of consolation that his promise was fulfilled: he would always be with us.
Let yourself join me in receiving this mystery of the death of Jesus being so real and complete. Knowing the rest of the story, join me in speaking with him, heart to heart, about our gratitude for how he has transformed the power of death.
My adorable Jesus, it was not Pilate,
no, it was my sins that condemned Thee to die.
I beseech Thee,
by the merits of Your sorrowful journey,
to assist my soul in its journey towards eternity.
Amen
Let’s pause for a moment to express to him now, whatever is in our hearts.
The Word of The Lord - From the Old Testament
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 - The servant of the Lord, an expiatory Sacrifice
See, my servant will prosper,
he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights.
As the crowds were appalled on seeing him
– so disfigured did he look
that he seemed no longer human –
so will the crowds be astonished at him,
and kings stand speechless before him;
for they shall see something never told
and witness something never heard before:
‘Who could believe what we have heard,
and to whom has the power of the Lord been revealed?’
Like a sapling he grew up in front of us,
like a root in arid ground.
Without beauty, without majesty we saw him,
no looks to attract our eyes;
a thing despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering,
a man to make people screen their faces;
he was despised and we took no account of him.
And yet ours were the sufferings he bore,
ours the sorrows he carried.
But we, we thought of him as someone punished,
struck by God, and brought low.
Yet he was pierced through for our faults,
crushed for our sins.
On him lies a punishment that brings us peace,
and through his wounds we are healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each taking his own way,
and the Lord burdened him
with the sins of all of us.
Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly,
he never opened his mouth,
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter-house,
like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers
never opening its mouth.
By force and by law he was taken;
would anyone plead his cause?
Yes, he was torn away from the land of the living;
for our faults struck down in death.
They gave him a grave with the wicked,
a tomb with the rich,
though he had done no wrong
and there had been no perjury in his mouth.
The Lord has been pleased to crush him with suffering.
If he offers his life in atonement,
he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life
and through him what the Lord wishes will be done.
His soul’s anguish over
he shall see the light and be content.
By his sufferings shall my servant justify many,
taking their faults on himself.
Hence I will grant whole hordes for his tribute,
he shall divide the spoil with the mighty,
for surrendering himself to death
and letting himself be taken for a sinner,
while he was bearing the faults of many
and praying all the time for sinners.
Our Blessed Mother explained to us what would happen in the World and in the Church if people continued to turn from God. Sadly we can now see this all around us in the Church and in the World. One of the things she asked us to do was to say the Rosary everyday.
Please find a few minutes today to fulfil her request.
"Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Saviour; in suffering love becomes crystallised; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.”
(Diary of St Faustyna #57, page 29)
The Divine Mercy Prayers
A live link to the Divine Mercy Shrine
Surrender to Jesus
Surrender is a word that can feel heavy, especially in a world that glorifies self-reliance and control. Yet, when it comes to our relationship with God, surrender is not about giving up; it’s about giving in—to His love, His plans, and His promises.
Trusting God in daily surrender is a beautiful yet challenging act of faith.
Trusting God in Daily Surrender
Prayer to St Michael
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in our hour of conflict. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.
Lord Jesus I accept you as my personal Saviour.
From this moment on may I open my heart to you and trust that the Holy Spirit will fill this heart with your love so that I can in all sincerity worship God our Father above all things and love my neighbour as myself.
For me alone this will be extremely difficult. In my human nature I am under constant attack from Satan but I know that if I trust You, You will provide me with whatever graces I need to withstand such evil attacks.
I know that with Your love it is truly possible to have heaven here on earth.
For what is Heaven except to be in the presence of God.
With Your help I can overcome my human limitations, my needless worries, and my needless concerns.
Help me accept Your holy living Word as proclaimed in the bible and at every Mass and through the Gospel realise that my childish love reflects Your words -
'Unless you become like little children you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven'.
Jesus please grant that when my time comes to meet You, You will not be a stranger but a friend.
I can ask for nothing more.
Amen.
A Poor Clare nun who had just died, appeared to her Abbess, who was praying for her, and said to her, "I went straight to Heaven, for, by means of this prayer, recited every evening, I paid all my debts." It is known as 'the Prayer for Daily Neglects' and invites us to offer to God the Father the Heart of his Divine Son as we read below in reparation of our sins.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with all its love, all its sufferings and all its merits:
To expiate all the sins I have committed this day and during all my life.
Glory be ....
To purify the good I have done badly this day and during all my life.
Glory be......
To supply for the good I ought to have done, and that I have neglected this day and during all my life.
Glory be .....
Father in heaven,
this evening,
we lift our eyes to You and pray:
confound the scorn of the proud
and graciously show us Your mercy.
Amen.
God of peace and love bring us all together in your name.
Do not let the gates of hell consume us.
We all believe in God and his Word
and accept Jesus as our Saviour.
Send your Spirit to lead us to accept each other
and our differences and that one day
we will be one in Christ.
Amen.
Always remember - Jesus loves you.
Only in God is my soul at rest.
In Him comes my salvation.
Always remember - Jesus loves you
We finish as we begun
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen