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PoC-44 Holy Thursday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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Taking Up Our Cross. . .In Imitation of Christ

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Am I willing to do small things for Christ?

Seek—Volunteer to do a task that no one wants to do, a menial or unpleasant one, all the while uniting yourself with the Passion and death of Jesus.

Knock—Meditate on Philippians 2:5–8.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

Paul says that we should have the mind of Christ, and Jesus told Peter that he was think- ing like men and not God. How is having the mind of Christ dif- ferent than the thoughts that we are apt to naturally have about life issues? Do your thoughts clash with the gospel message? Are you trying to be like the god you imagine, or the God Jesus revealed by his cross?

Transform Your Life——Seek to follow the example of Christ in all that you do. Be solicitous for the care of others. Learn the truth that in dying to self you are born into eternal life.

PoC-43 Holy Wednesday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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Taking Up Our Cross. . .Be Prepared

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—How well do I prepare for the Eucharist I receive at Mass?

Seek——Try to participate fully in the Eucharist each time you are present; if possible, attend daily. Be mindful of what you do at Mass, what you hear and how you respond. Learn more about the Mass.

Knock—Meditate on 1 Corinthians 11:27–30.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

What does St. Paul mean when he says that those who do not discern bring judgment upon themselves? What can you do to examine yourself before participating in Mass to avoid doing it absent-mindedly?

Transform Your Life——Know what you celebrate when you are at Mass; mean what you do with every gesture and prayer, and especially when you receive Holy Communion.

PoC-42 Holy Tuesday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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Taking Up Our Cross. . .To Follow the Lord

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—How often do I trust my own instincts, and how often do I entrust myself to Jesus?

Seek—Try to live each day with a resignation to God’s will, accepting each moment with the expectation that God might be breaking through to you.

Knock—Meditate on 1 Peter 5:6–9.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world.

Think about the experiences of Peter in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and the words that he writes here. What lesson do they convey? How might the devil be seeking to devour you in your attempts to follow Christ?

Transform Your Life—Make an amendment to live humbly. Cast all of your hopes and anxieties on the Lord. Realize that following Jesus means living a life of trust not in your way but in God’s way, the way of the cross.

PoC-41 Holy Monday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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Taking Up Our Cross. . .In Reverence

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Do I reverence God?

Seek—Find a way to adore God today, be it in the Eucharist or in the secrecy of your room, or anywhere. When you see the shape of the cross, say the prayer that St. Francis instructed his brothers and sisters to say, “We adore you Christ and we praise you present here and in all the Churches throughout the world, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”

Knock—Meditate on Hebrews 12:28–29.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.

What does it mean to offer acceptable worship to God? How is the kingdom we are offered by Christ unshakeable?

Transform Your Life—Make your life one of reverence toward God at all times. Let your focus be on remaining in God’s presence, rather than judging and criticizing those around you.

PoC-40 Palm Sunday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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Taking Up Our Cross. . .In Abandonment

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Do I believe in God’s providential care?

Seek—Cry out to God to save you. Realize what it means to say that God is your Savior. Frequently call to mind all that you need to be saved from and have recourse to God who alone can save you.

Knock—Meditate on Romans 13:12–14.

Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Reflect on how putting on armor of light and bringing all of your cares before God will change the way you see them.

Transform Your Life—Believe and trust in Jesus at all times. Do not allow the enemy to have a foothold into your life. Make “Hosanna, save us, Lord” the prayer that is constantly on your lips.

PoC-39 5th Saturday of Lent: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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The Cross of Christ Restores. . .Justice

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Do I see myself as a child of God?

Seek——Focus on the crucified Christ as you meet him throughout the day. Stand up for your brother or sister, always appealing to the brother or sister who might seek to harm him or her.

Knock—Meditate on Micah 2:12–13.

I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men. He who opens the breach will go up before them; they will break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king will pass on before them, the LORD at their head.

Micah prophesies that the Lord will lead his sheep out of their captivity. In the violent journey of Christ out of the walled city of Jerusalem, we see a lit- eral fulfillment of this prophecy. Are you one of the followers of Jesus on his way of the cross?

Transform Your Life—Realize that you are a child of God, reborn in Baptism when you shared in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Live out your Baptism, dying to yourself whenever you find yourself tempted to be a child of something other than the one true God.

PoC-38 5th Friday of Lent: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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The Cross of Christ Restores. . .The Dignity of Work

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Am I doing what God wants me to do?

Seek—To pray, to put God first in all things, in every aspect of your life. Ask God to bless your home and your work, making all that you do fruitful.

Knock—Meditate on Genesis 2:2–3.

And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done. (. . . )So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.

How do you rest from your work? How do you sanctify the Sabbath in your life? Do you trust enough in God’s providence to take a day off? Spend some time reflecting on Jesus’ Sabbath rest on Holy Saturday and what it could mean for you.

Transform Your Life—Allow the cross of Christ to restore the dignity of your work. This may not involve leaving behind your job, even if you took that job for the wrong reasons. God can transform anything into good. So what matters is what your motivation is in your work: are you building up the kingdom of God or are you trying to build your own kingdom?

PoC-37 5th Thursday of Lent: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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The Cross of Christ Restores. . .Obedience

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Am I obedient to the commands of Jesus?

Seek—To be open to God. Receive the Eucharist and ask God to enrich you with his Body and Blood, enabling you to be an obedient son or daughter, abiding in Christ.

Knock—Meditate on 1 John 2:3–6.

And by this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He who says, “I know him,” but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps his word, in him truly love for God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: he who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

How well do we know him? How much of our disobedience is due to our own ignorance of Christ? Are we disobedient children because we do not really believe that the Father loves us, and wants what is best for us?

Transform Your Life—Accept the transfusion of life that is the Eucharist, an exchange of our sin-tainted, mortal flesh for the immortality of the God-Man. Live the Eucharist realizing that Christ remains in you. When you are tempted, call upon the presence of Christ to empower you to be obedient.

PoC-36 5th Wednesday of Lent: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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The Cross of Christ Restores. . .Our Freedom

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Are there areas of my life where I am still enslaved?

Seek—Persevere in the teaching of Jesus. Experience the joy of the small victories when standing your ground against the enemy, especially when he seeks to seduce you back into the slavery of sin.

Knock—Meditate on Romans 6:22–23.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What does it mean to be a slave of God? Are you a free person? If not, what still enslaves you? If so, from what has God freed you?

Transform Your Life—St. Ignatius of Loyola taught that we should make use of created things inasmuch as they aid us in praising, reverencing, and serving God, for that is the purpose of our existence. Spend your life seeing all of creation in these terms, remaining in the teaching of Jesus, and witness how your life is totally transformed.

PoC-35 5th Tuesday of Lent: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation

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The Cross of Christ Restores. . .The Image of God

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—What can make me more like Christ in his humility?

Seek—Ask God to reveal to you his purpose for your life. When you do not feel accepted by others, look to the rejection that Jesus endured on the cross and unite your suffering to his.

Knock—Meditate on Numbers 21:8–9.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Imagine the people being bitten by serpents, then being healed by staring at the ser- pent on the pole (which is still the symbol for the medical pro- fession). What do you think healed the people?

Transform Your Life—Learn the acceptance of God. Confess your sins and anything that you think makes you unacceptable to God. Learn to love your physical imperfections and to help others accept theirs and yours.