Gazing upon Christ at the Pinnacle of Lent

They shall look on him whom they have pierced." The Holy Father quotes John 19:37 as the title of his Lenten message. These words allow us to imagine the gruesome scene of Jesus crucified, as if we were standing on Golgotha with Mary and John (Jn 19:25-27). The season of Lent allows us many opportunities to draw closer to Jesus, as though we were his Beloved Disciple. "Let us direct our gaze, therefore, in this time of penance and prayer, at Christ crucified who, dying on Calvary, revealed fully for us the love of God," writes the pope.

The Son of God in human form shows the perfect self-giving love for the salvation of all humanity. He also shows the love of one who loves us individually, yearning for union with each "beloved." As God the Father sought out his bride, Israel, wandering in the wilderness, so Jesus sought us out, and formed us into the Church, his bride. The love of God the Father for his bride, Israel, is expressed in the Song of Songs as of a young groom who longs for his bride. But his bride could not be faithful to him, worshiping other gods and ignoring the commandments. (Ez 16:1-22, Hos 3:1-3).

Another image of God's love and human infidelity is that of Adam. Pope Benedict XVI says, "Mankind, seduced by the lies of the evil one, rejected God's love in the illusion of self-sufficiency (Gn 3:1-7). Turning in on himself, Adam withdrew from the source of life who is God himself, and became the first of ‘those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage' (Heb 2:15)." So God had to take stronger action. He sent his own Divine Son. As the first Adam acted in extreme loneliness and powerlessness, the new Adam (Christ) freely gave us the supreme act of love. Jesus is the very revelation of God's love, especially on the cross.

Jesus began his marriage with us when he worked his first miracle at the Wedding Feast of Cana (Jn 2:1-11). Now, he consummates that wedding as he pours out his blood on the altar of the cross. The blood which flows from his side is the final sign that the marriage between Christ and his Church is consummated (Jn 19:34). Now, the water of new life also breaks forth from his side, not unlike the new life that breaks forth in water from the mother giving birth.

The Church Fathers considered the water and blood coming forth from the side of Christ to be symbols of Baptism and the Eucharist. In our Lenten journey, we have been recalling and reclaiming our Baptism even as we have been drawn, in trustful abandonment, to the merciful embrace of God. As we receive the Precious Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, we are called to a deeper, self-giving, self-sacrificing love of Jesus, our Savior and Friend. Pope Benedict writes, "Let us live Lent as a ‘Eucharistic time in which, welcoming the love of Jesus, we learn to spread it around with every word and deed.'"

As we "look on Him whom we have pierced," may we also look upon the numerous wounds inflicted upon human dignity. Let us strive to right every word and act of contempt for life. May we help alleviate acts of human exploitation. And may Lent be "a renewed experience of God's love given to us in Christ…a love that must be re-given to our neighbor, especially to the ones who suffer most." The disciplines of Lent have been helping us do this.

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