We adore you, Oh Christ, and we praise You,
because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the World.
Stop and really look at this moment in the life of Jesus. What strikes you? What speaks to your heart? What do you think Jesus is feeling? What does it tell you about how much He loves you? Spend some time in prayer and listen to what Jesus is inviting you into.
When it was already evening, since it was the day of preparation, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a distinguished member of the council, who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God, courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was amazed that he was already dead. He summoned the centurion and asked him if Jesus had already died. And when he learned of it from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. Having bought a linen cloth, he took him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Mark 15:42-46
This last station of the cross is the longest station as the dead Jesus’ limp body remains in the tomb from Good Friday until the morning of Easter. He who is Life itself, has emptied it for us and is silent in the darkness. The Church observes this time of silent grief, a time of mourning that looks with hope to the joy of the resurrection that will be proclaimed and celebrated at the Easter Vigil. Although Jesus has performed the greatest act of love; he has laid down his life for his friends, his body which lies broken and life-less, is placed in an unmarked tomb. Everyone at the time believed the story was over. His mission seems to have ended in complete failure. It is always darkest before dawn however, as the Christian is challenged to believe even when it seems that there is no hope; it is then that we must hope against hope.
As a Parish, we have walked with Jesus over the course of the last 14 months. We have contemplated the beautiful visual images drawn by our young resident artist, Adam Moniz from the St Joseph Artisans and have listened to the meditations from different people in our parish, in an effort to draw closer to the passion that Christ endured and interiorize it. While we will culminate the 150th anniversary celebration on February 18th, and bring the fourteenth month journey to a close, we also know it is just a beginning, for liturgically, it marks the first Sunday of the Lenten season. And so, the transformative and paradoxical dimension of the Paschal mystery is highlighted by the beginning of new life through death once again.
When I perform funerals, I usually pray the prayer of committal at the cemetery which states: “Lord, Jesus Christ, by your own three days in the tomb, you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you, and so made the grave, a sign of hope that promises resurrection, even as it claims our mortal bodies.”
This prayer recasts what looks like the end into a new beginning. Wrapping Jesus in burial cloths can be seen as the cocoon from which he will emerge as a new creation. The tomb in fact is more accurately, the pot if you will in which Jesus’ body is planted as a seed, which in dying, will burst forth into new life.
This station, therefore, offers us a new opportunity to reflect on the truth that only that which dies can be resurrected. It teaches us death is not the end and does not have the last word. Love and love alone has the last word. Love is eternally lifegiving and does not remain dead. That is why we pray in the liturgy “life has changed, not ended.”
Confucius said, “every man has two lives and the second starts when he realizes he has just one.” What does this saying mean to you?
“Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die” What does this make you think?
Meditation offered by Father Michael DellaPenna, OFM, Pastor of St. Leonard’s Parish
About the artist: Adam Moniz is a Catholic Illustrator and Fine Artist who draws his creative inspiration from the beauty of our Lord. He is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Sacred Art at Pontifex University. Follow him at: www.atmonizarts.com or on Instagram @atm_adamtmoniz.