Harpa Dei

 V. Adoramus te Christe et benedicimus tibi (We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee) R. Quia per Crucem tuam redemisti mundum (For by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.) “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46). “It is finished” (Jn 19:30). These are two of the words […]

 V. Adoramus te Christe et benedicimus tibi (We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee) R. Quia per Crucem tuam redemisti mundum (For by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.) The Lord’s suffering becomes increasingly acute. He has already walked the way that led Him to Calvary, accompanied by mockery and insults,

 V. Adoramus te Christe et benedicimus tibi (We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee) R. Quia per Crucem tuam redemisti mundum (For by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.) It was not enough for the executioners charged with killing Jesus to crucify Him. They wanted to humiliate Him even more by

 V. Adoramus te Christe et benedicimus tibi (We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee) R. Quia per Crucem tuam redemisti mundum (For by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.) Everything has to be consummated. From this perspective we can also understand the threefold fall of Jesus. The imperfect and sinful world

 V. Adoramus te Christe et benedicimus tibi (We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee) R. Quia per Crucem tuam redemisti mundum (For by Thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world.) Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. They remained faithful to Him. Their hearts are aching, because they see the Son of God

Once again we see how difficult the way is. How many burdens does the Lord carry on His shoulders: the physical burden, the spiritual burden, all that is happening around Him, the cruelty of so many? But what weighs most on Him is the burden of sin, which brings separation from God, and which Jesus

In Veronica, Jesus finds a kind soul, a soul that has compassion for Him. She does not mock Him, she does not turn her back on Him, nor is she indifferent to Him. With this gesture of love and compassion, she shows Him her heart by offering Him a handkerchief. Jesus understands the gesture and

If the Lord had just been comforted by the encounter with His Mother, who loved Him with all her heart, He now experiences Simon’s forced help. The Scriptures do not reveal to us what the Cyrenian must have felt when he suddenly found himself so closely bound to the Lord’s destiny. Did he simply do

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