Meditation:

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They had dreamed about this day for generations, but who could have imagined the scene unfolding before their eyes: the angry mob ... the cruel guards ... the desperate leaders ... an unimaginable sentence.  And then a long, torturous journey through the city to the place they called The Skull.  Imagine the sound of hammers, echoing from against hillside....the wooden beams creaking ...  human bones cracking.  And then, here, in the most incredible of circumstances, the words they have waited generations to hear:  Forgive them....

 

We stand in the midst of failure -- my failure, our failure, their failure -- does it really matter whose failure?  Does it even make sense to ask, who’s fault it is? The events of Good Friday remind us that in the midst of failure there is only one response which can lead to new life, to redemption, to resurrection: forgiveness - forgiveness experienced as repentance for our own failures, forgiveness experienced as mercy for the failures of others.  Here, at the foot of the cross, in the most incredible of circumstances, we hear the words we have longed to hear -- and feared -- so much ... words that indict us -- and redeem us -- all in the same breath: Father forgive them.

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Reflection:

Spend some time now reflecting on your own life.  Take some time to journal and share answers with another person if possible.  

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* Consider the pain and suffering you and others have suffered as a result of the choices you have made, or the circumstances you have chosen. 

* Can you accept God’s forgiveness?  Can you forgive yourself?

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Prayer:

Offer spontaneous open and honest prayer to God regarding thoughts that came up in your reflection. 

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