‘Father, Forgive Them, for They Know Not What They Do!’

Family Matters: Catholic Culture: A Holy Week Meditation

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Everyone is talking about this guy, who goes from one place to another with a group of followers, preaching to people. He dresses in a tunic, wears sandals and has a beard. They say he attracts crowds wherever he goes. It has been reported that he even performs miracles. He apparently made it possible for a blind man to see. Supposedly, several paralyzed people have been seen walking away after he has blessed them. He consistently has one main message: Love one another. He says his father wants this message celebrated: “My command to you is to love one another.” 

Sadly, they arrest him. A couple of his followers betrayed him, but this didn’t stop him from stating his purpose. He attempted to explain he had no intention of being disruptive; he was just trying to do the work of his father. The townspeople yelled, “Crucify him!” The leaders were evil. To them, this was the final straw. They walked him through the streets, torturing him. The looks on his mother’s and friends’ faces were overflowing with anguish, as they witnessed the beatings upon this man they loved.

The police made him walk through town carrying a heavy wooden cross, while continuing to beat him. They put a crown of thorns on his head, which was made out of a plant that produces a sticky sap that is poisonous and has thick thorns, which were pressed into his head, causing him to bleed. Wine with myrrh was given to him to help him forget. He refused it. They gave him vinegar mixed with gall to drink, too.

When they reached the top of the hill, they laid his limp body on the cross and pounded nails in his feet and hands so he could hang while he died. He could be heard saying a final prayer, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!”

Even 2,000 years later, this story sounds unbelievable.

What are the lessons we take away from the story of Jesus’ passion?

The first is forgiveness: Jesus knows how difficult it is for us to forgive. “Jesus said to him: ‘I do not say to you even seven times, but 70 times seven’” (Matthew 18:22). But we know that “God forgives us our trespasses” when we seek him and forgive others. Jesus also extends an invitation for forgiveness of sins through his blood. As Catholics, we have the sacrament of reconciliation to bare our souls to the priest, who acts in persona Christi, and ask Jesus’ forgiveness for our sins.

The second message is sacrifice: Jesus showed us how to sacrifice. The lesson of sacrifice is teaching us obedience to him. Are we willing to do what God asks to be free from our sins?

Let us use Holy Week to reflect on these lessons.

After all, God so loved us that he sent his only Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins (John 3:16).

This is clearly the greatest lesson of all.

In return, we can give back through the gift of repentance, forgiveness and love of one another, while preparing for the ultimate celebration of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter.

Catherine Mendenhall-Baugh writes from Hillsboro, Oregon. CNA photo

‘The 7 Last Words of Christ’ aired on EWTN on Good Friday 2023.

‘The 7 Last Words of Christ’ 2023

This year’s meditations by Father Raymond J. de Souza honored the late Cardinal George Pell, including some of his meditations from his ‘Prison Journal.’