Day Twenty-Five of Lent – Jesus Falls

REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Day Twenty-Five of Lent
Jesus Falls

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus, under the weight of the Cross, fell to the ground. Simon, a foreigner, was pressed into service to help Jesus carry His Cross. But even with the help of Simon, Jesus falls again and again.

As our Blessed Mother watched in sorrow as her Son fell to the ground three times, physically exhausted and barely able to go on, she may have recalled Jesus’ own words early on in His public ministry: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” How deeply she must have felt these words resounding in her Immaculate Heart. “My Son, my dear Son, come to me, come to my heart and rest.”

And though she could not physically help her Son carry His Cross, she would have been filled with much gratitude as she saw Simon the Cyrene pressed into service by the guards to help Jesus carry on. Though Simon helped reluctantly, his help was a shining witness. Through Simon, our Blessed Mother knew that the prayer of her heart was answered. She knew that the Father in Heaven was helping Jesus carry the weight of the Cross with the assistance of this foreigner.

As Mother Mary stood before the Cross of Jesus and recalled the assistance of Simon, she would have known that he set forth a powerful example for all people. She would have pondered the act of Simon as a symbol for all Christians. We all are called to help carry the Cross of Christ. No one is exempt from the Cross. Jesus Himself promised the Cross to us when He said,“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The Cross is not an option, it’s a reality, especially the cross of death itself.

The real question for everyone is whether we will embrace the Cross willingly or begrudgingly. Our Blessed Mother desired to lift the heavy burden of the Cross with all her heart. And though Simon did so hesitantly, he made the choice and served in time of need.

Reflect, today, upon the heavy burdens that others carry in life. When you see them and are made aware of their struggles, what is your reaction? Do you turn from them and run from their struggle? Or do you turn towards them, fully embracing the cross they carry. Seek to imitate Simon’s act of carrying the Cross. Seek to imitate our Blessed Mother’s burning desire to do the same with perfect love. Do so without hesitation and you will discover the sweetness of the Cross of Christ as you alleviate another’s burden.

PRAYER

My dearest Mother, as you watched Simon be pressed into service to help your Son carry His Cross, your heart was filled with gratitude. Your prayer was answered as the Father provided the physical strength needed by your Son to carry on. Simon became that strength and a symbol of service to others.

Dear Mother, please point me to those in my life who are in need. Help me to seek out those who carry heavy crosses and to willingly, joyfully and freely seek to help them. Lend me the hands of Simon and your own tender heart so that the burden of many may be lifted.

My exhausted Lord, there are times in life when I fall. Not because of the loss of physical strength, but because of my sin. Help me to be open to the help of others when I am in need. Help me, also, to have the wisdom and love I need to reach out to those who are heavily burdened.

40 Days Journey with Our Lord
Day Twenty-Five: Worship

“Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve’” (Matthew 4:10). This is Jesus’ response to satan’s third temptation. First, Jesus not only refused to submit to the devil’s temptations, He also definitively rebuked the evil one himself. Second, Jesus went beyond rebuking satan and his temptation by speaking the eternal truth that we must worship and serve God alone.

When God created the celestial hierarchy of angels, He gave each celestial being an invitation to worship Him and serve His perfect will. The book of Revelation 12:4 tells us that “a third of the stars in the sky,” meaning a third of the angels, refused God’s invitation and were cast out of Heaven. After their banishment, these fallen angels retained their natural powers and use them to try to thwart God’s perfect plan, which is to draw all of creation to Himself.

It is important to be aware of this reality and the burden it imposes upon us as we walk through life. It is even more important to learn from Jesus’ encounter with the evil one and to imitate His perfect response as we ponder His forty days in the desert.

Rebuking satan is the first way we imitate our Lord. To do so, we first discern and reject the lies the evil one throws at us. Additionally, we must rebuke satan himself. We do this by acknowledging that the devil and the fallen demons have power to influence us, deceive us, and tempt us.

By ourselves, we are powerless over their influence. Only by uniting our prayerful rebuke to Christ’s prayer can we say with Jesus’ authority, “Get away, Satan!” This rebuke must become a lifelong prayer of constant vigilance. The evil one does not sleep and never stops tempting us, so we must become constant in our rebukes. We ought not pretend the devil doesn’t exist, but we must not fear him either. Instead, we acknowledge him and rebuke him with our Lord, over and over again.

Moving beyond rebukes, we must turn our attention to the higher truths God has revealed—namely, that we were made to worship the Lord our God and serve Him alone. Worship does not add to God’s greatness; God is great simply because He is. Worship, however, glorifies God, and our participation in worship elevates the level of glory God receives from His creatures.

We worship God because doing so transforms us more fully into His children and draws us into a fuller participation in His divine life. This is all God wants. He wants us to be in deep communion with Him, to share in His holiness, and to radiate His glory in our lives. Worship is nothing other than pure love, it is that love alone that fulfills us.

Ponder the two contrasting voices you encounter every day. One must be rebuked with the power of Jesus’ command, and the other must be embraced on a deeper level every day. Worshiping God is fulfilling. It is what you are made for. Worship will transform you into the person God wants you to be. It will draw you into a sharing in God’s life and is ultimately the only way to find full protection from the deceptions of the fallen angels, so as to share in God’s radiant glory.

PRAYER

My glorious God, You have invited all whom You created to share in Your life by worshiping You and You alone. That act of worship pours forth a share in Your divine life upon Your creatures. Please strengthen me to rebuke the devil and his many lies, and then draw me into the life of worship for which I was created. I love You, my God, and choose to worship You and You alone for eternity.

Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source mycatholiclife