Lenten Eye-Openers to Ponder

This Lent has been a real eye-opener for me. I started out with plans to study with Fr. Mark Toups, but after falling behind right off the bat, I changed plans. My Plan B was a women's study group at my parish with Dr. Edward Sri's No Greater Love. 24 days before the Easter Vigil, I prayed one hour each day from the book The 24 Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Louisa Piccarreta (Little Daughter of the Divine Will). The Bible and Breakfast Group at my parish began the Penitential Psalms, which very nicely supplemented the other 2. To top it off, I'm joining Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, with Rosary in a Year. The Sorrowful Mysteries' background and reflections that he offers are adding another dimension to The Passion.The 24 Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The most eye-opening part of Jesus' Passion this Lent for me was that it wasn't Jesus' being physically tortured that caused Him the most pain, it was his friend turning against Him. Dr. Sri writes Perhaps more than the torturous physical suffering of the Cross, Judas' betrayal - the friend is 'turned to enemy' - may have been what caused Jesus the greatest sorrow that night.  (No Greater Love, page 15)  Is it not a grief to the death when a companion and friend is turned to enmity? (Sirach 37:2; Revised Standard Version | Second Catholic Edition) I just bet that not one person alive doesn't understand the feeling when a trusted person (who was thought to be a friend) does something or says something to break that trust and turn from "friend to foe". 

Psalm 22

Another eye-opener was how Psalm 22 foretells Christ's Passion. I already knew this, but at the beginning of the Psalm My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?, the words that Jesus spoke on the Cross, weren't the words of a man who was angry with God. When He spoke these words, the Jewish people would have known "the rest of the story". This Psalm is the Jewish Death Psalm; the Psalm that is the last word spoken when dying. As in all of the Penitential Psalms, it begins with suffering but ends in hope: Posterity shall serve him; men shall tell of the Lord to the coming generation, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, that he has wrought it. (Psalm 22:30-31; Revised Standard Version | Second Catholic Edition) 

Again with Psalm 22, there are no words to describe how this Psalm, written by David generations before the Birth of Christ, so clearly defines the Passion. Every time I think about it, I am speechless. First, there is the verse But I am a worm, not a man. (Psalm 22:7) The Hebrew word for worm is "tola'at" (I've also seen "tolah" and "tola"), which refers to a worm in which a red (scarlet) dye was extracted. Catholic Exchange describes the tolah worm's life cycle: When it is ready to lay eggs, the worm climbs a tree, fastening itself to the wood. When the eggs hatch the larvae feed on the living flesh three days. When she finally dies, she secretes a crimson dye and contorts her body into a heart shape. At the end of the fourth day, the color turns from red to white. Isaiah 1:18 says ...Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they may become white as wool.

Those were the 2 things that just blew me away. I (as probably most people) already knew about the correlation between the mentioning of mocking, a pack of evildoers closing in, and piercing of the hands and feet. Those things in itself leave me speechless, but that the Psalm ends in hope is a critical piece of information I wasn't aware of. 

What My Sins Actually Do

The last big revelation is from the book 24 Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Louisa Piccarreta (Little Daughter of the Divine Will). We always hear that Jesus' Crown of Thorns and the nails in His side result from our sins. But how? The 6th Hour left me stunned: ...I kiss your most holy head. But, what do I see? All the evil thoughts; and You feel disgust for them. For your most sacred head, each evil thought is a thorn which pricks You bitterly. And that's a small taste of what is in just that hour. I read that and I told Jesus that I get it. It took me this long in my life to completely understand it. We hear that thoughts can be sins, and here it is laid out. This is how our thoughts cause us to sin and contribute in the Passion of Our Lord. 

This Hour goes on to describe how the chains that bound Our Lord are because of worldly attachments. The other Hours are just as profound. I would highly recommend this book for reflection on the Passion. The book is offered for free; click on the title to be advanced to the book.

From Lent to Palm Sunday

Lent 2025 seemed to have flown by. I began this season with a Pilgrimage (make sure to check out the tab at the top of the page and check back for published posts) and ended with a deepening knowledge of Scripture, The Passion, and how my sins contribute to His Sufferings. Leave a comment and let me know how your Lent was, along with any new revelations.