Were you there when they crucified my Lord? This song is so haunting. It grabs a hold of your heart and does not let go. We of course were not there literally but can we imagine being there? It is one of the methods of prayer and meditation that is used during Ignatian retreats. You are instructed to place yourself at the foot of the cross during Christ's crucifixion. You are urged to place yourself in Mary's shoes. You are encouraged to be one of the soldiers or Jews standing by the cross. You are asked to be John or Peter. What did they feel at this moment? Did the immensity of the moment overwhelm them? How intense it must have been to have to stand by and watch as the Son of God was nailed to a tree. The Jesus we see on a modern day crucifix is not marred by the lash marks. His body does not appear as it would have on that day, bloody and beaten. That alone would have caused many of us to weep. But the ultimate sacrifice, what would you have done at that moment? Jesus knew his fate and yet He walked the walk anyway. He dies for our sins so that we may have eternal life with Him in Heaven. How can we not accept His gift? The love that Jesus exhibited for us is so overwhelming that I find it hard to even comprehend. It is part of the mystery of the Holy Trinity for me. So placing yourself at the cross on Good Friday more than 2000 years ago is a good thing to do when you are concluding your Lenten journey. It is appropriate as we contemplate the next part of our journey with God. We are not aware of what is to come but you know it is going to be blessed as long as you are committed to your relationship with Jesus. We may tremble at the vision of Jesus being nailed to the tree but we can revel in the promise of salvation through His sacrifice. Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Are you still allowing our Lord to be crucified? Are you the one doing the deed or are you doing His work instead? Are you bringing people to the cross so that they can know Jesus?
Kurt Hilgefort, is a Catholic father of six who publishes his thoughts on his blog Shadows of Augustine . He responded to my seven question survey with the following answers. Kurt is the first layperson to respond to the seven question survey and I think that his experience is extremely relevant to me personally and I hope that you are inspired by his thoughts as well. If you would like to respond, please send an email to fellmananthony@gmail.com with your thoughts and I will be happy to publish them as well. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge for me has been the whole dying to self thing. On an intellectual level, there are no barriers. It comes down to a matter of accepting the authority of the Church that Christ founded upon Peter. My challenge is not in the intellect, but rather in the will. The challenge for me has always been to continually seek conversion. I want to be transformed, but I want it to be over all ...
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