Harpa Dei

In Roman times, criminals were punished by crucifixion. It was a death of dishonour and shame. The condemned died by suffocation. Jesus is not only condemned to crucifixion; He has to carry His own cross. They want to make a spectacle of Him for the people. Jesus carries the cross, but not because His executioners […]

Jesus, the innocent One, stands before Pilate. An earthly judge, the representative of Rome, is to judge the Son of God. The leaders of His own people are His accusers. Those who were to lead the chosen people and prepare them for the coming of the Messiah did not recognise Him because they did not

Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Gol′gotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate

With today’s meditation I conclude this series which I began after the systematic reflections on the Gospel of St John in preparation for the great solemnity of Easter. A brief recapitulation is in order to highlight the essentials. After this meditation, we will return to the accounts of the Lord’s death and burial in the

This Lent we have set ourselves the task of being better disciples of the Lord, especially in the face of the great confusion that the Church is currently experiencing. The disciple has the task of proclaiming and glorifying his Lord. The essential content of this proclamation is found in Sacred Scripture and in the authentic

We are now in the fourth week of Lent and Passion Sunday is fast approaching. Everything is now focused on the commemoration of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of humanity. This series of Lenten meditations has led us to look closely at the current situation in the Church

After reflecting on fasting, vigils, the desert and silence, let us continue to listen to the other suggestions of the Desert Fathers in order to protect ourselves from the wiles of the devil and to progress more quickly on the path of perfection. Another piece of advice they proposed was this: give priority to works

In the last two meditations we have considered the advice of the Desert Fathers to practise fasting and night vigils in order to reach union with God more quickly with an agile spirit. This guideline, applied with due moderation, is excellent advice for growing in the spiritual life and for effectively resisting the powers of

In yesterday’s meditation we had begun to reflect on fasting and vigils as spiritual means of becoming more united to God, or as the Desert Fathers around St. Anthony used to say, “to unite ourselves more quickly to God with an agile spirit”. A more intimate union with the Lord is an essential help to