While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. At the Last Supper, Jesus founded the Eucharist to share with us His life and to provide us with the remembrance of His suffering and pain.
[Short Silence]
Intercession:
Let us adore our Lord and Savior, who, at the Last Supper, entrusted to His Church the memorial of His death and rising again.
After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” He was such in agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. When he rose from prayer and returned from his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. In Gethsemane, Jesus of Nazareth teaches us to trust and obey the will of God in the midst of hardships and trials in life. Let us adore our Lord and Savior, who, at the Last Supper, entrusted to His Church the memorial of His death and rising again. May our prayers and coming to Mass give us the grace and courage to follow God’s will.
[Short Silence]
Intercession:
Lord Jesus of Nazareth, we thank You because, through your death and resurrection, You showed us the abundant fruit of obeying the will of the Father.
But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him: “I order you to tell us, under oath, before the living God, whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. But I tell you: From now on, you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven."" Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy; what is your opinion?” They said in reply, “He deserves to die!” Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some slapped him , saying , “Prophesy for us, Messiah: who is it that struck you?” See the humility of the Nazarene, as His holiness and divinity are trampled upon by the people He has chosen to be His own. He could have called down His angels and sent fire to destroy them. Nothing is impossible with God. But he chose to suffer in obedience to the will of the Father.
[Short Silence]
Intercession:
Let us come before our loving Lord with full trust, and ask Him for strength to hold on to our faith in the midst of present danger and fear.
The crowd came forward and began to ask him to do for them as he was accustomed. Pilate answered, “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” For he knew that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barrabas for them instead. Pilate again said to them in reply,
“Then what (do you want) me to do with (the man you call) the king of the Jews?” They shouted again, “Crucify him.” Pilate said to them, “Why?” What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified. Jesus of Nazareth is king; He is God made man. Let us put ourselves under His kingship.
[Short Silence]
Intercession:
Jesus of Nazareth You embraced all humans,
when you stretched Your hands on the cross to redeem us from our sins.
And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and lead him off to crucify him. As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), they gave Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink. Strive to be with Jesus of Nazareth as He carries His cross to take away our sins.
[Short Silence]
Intercession:
The way of the cross gives us the strength to carry our cross on the way to heaven.
It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” With him they crucified two revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left. Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross.” Meditate the abuses that Jesus of Nazareth suffered from His people. He allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross by His creatures. All this He took upon Himself to make us realize the evil of sin. The Word made flesh died out of love for us.
Jesus the High Priest offered His life for sinners.
[Short Silence]
Intercession:
We have a High Priest who remains with us in our weakness, because He took upon himself our humanity and became like us in all things except sin.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. St. John represents the followers of Jesus on the cross. Jesus gave us to His mother to be her children;
She is our mother. Just as God used the Blessed Virgin to come close to us, so He wants that we come close to Christ through the Blessed Mother. Let us love her the way we love her Son, Jesus. Learn from her humility, purity, and love for God and our neighbor.
[Short Silence]
Intercession:
Father in heaven, Your Son Jesus prayed that You forgive us our sins. Receive his prayer for all of us, sinners.
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in a clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. But Mary Magdalena and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb. May the tender love that Mary, John, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea showed the body of Jesus bring us to a healthy respect for the dead, whether they are our relatives, friends or people we do not know. They all need our prayers.
[Short Silence]
Intercession:
All creation will return to God through Jesus Christ, because through His cross, he opened the gate of heaven.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. By His resurrection, Jesus proved His being God, and He gave us the hope that we, too, will share His resurrection when our time comes. As St. Paul declares, “If Christ did not rise from the dead, our faith is useless.” The suffering and death of Jesus is a preparation for His rising. His suffering, death and resurrection is the pattern of life for His disciples.
[Short Silence]
Intercession:
Because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, we, too, will end not in death, but with new life.