To Golgotha

 Palm Sunday of the Passion of our Lord Year B - 28th March 2021

Gospel Mark 15 (abridged)

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.

It was the third hour when they crucified him. The inscription giving the charge against him read: ‘The King of the Jews’. And they crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said, ‘Aha! So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself: come down from the cross!’ The chief priests and the scribes mocked him among themselves in the same way. Even those who were crucified with him taunted him. When the sixth hour came, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood by heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling on Elijah’. Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink saying, ‘Wait and see if Elijah will come to take him down’. But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said, ‘In truth this man was a son of God’.

Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

I settle myself, perhaps in front of a cross, and slowly read the passage.

Perhaps in my mind’s eye I place myself at Golgotha ... maybe as a follower of Jesus ... a persecutor ... a robber, or the Roman centurion? I watch what happens; I notice the place, the smells, the people; I sense the atmosphere. I listen to what they are saying and perhaps speak with one of them.

Can I accompany Jesus myself?

Knowing how much he experienced the mental agony of loneliness, rejection, physical suffering and death, how might I respond?

Maybe I ponder what caused the centurion to recognise Jesus as God’s son. How easy is it for me to declare my faith as he did?

I tell Jesus how I am feeling.

I listen to what he might be saying to me, or just sit quietly with him.

I ask Jesus for the grace of inner strength, to help me walk in his footsteps more closely in my own life. I close my prayer with the sign of the cross.

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I shall draw all people to myself

 Fifth Sunday of Lent Year B - 21st March 2021

Gospel John 12: 20–30

Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. These approached Philip, and put this request to him, ‘Sir, we should like to see Jesus.’ Philip went to tell Andrew, and together they went to tell Jesus. Jesus replied to them:

‘Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves their life loses it; anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, they must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour them. Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!’

A voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ People standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, ‘It was an angel speaking to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours. Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of this world is to be overthrown. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself.’

By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

I come to my place of prayer asking the Lord to give me the grace to hear his word and allow it to enter my heart.

Why am I here? Like the Greeks, do I wish to see and listen to Jesus?

I take the time to become aware of my desires, before slowly reading the text a couple of times.

I consider the little parable of the grain of wheat. How does it speak to me? In what ways do falling and dying resonate with me? Perhaps I miss something by clinging to the present.

I consider how can I be open, risk, learn ... and maybe bring life to others.

As I speak to the Lord about this, I also consider Jesus’s own pain, his consciousness of his coming suffering. I also see his trust in his Father. How can I learn from this?

Once again, I speak to him from my heart.

I end my prayer with a slow Our Father.

Download the beautiful Praying Holy Week booklet from St Beuno's Outreach here.  Readings, poems, art and reflections to guide you through Holy Week.

God loved the world so much ...

 Fourth Sunday of Lent Year B - 14th March 2021

Gospel John 3: 14–21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

The Son of Man must be lifted up

as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost

but may have eternal life.

For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world,

but so that through him the world might be saved.

No one who believes in him will be condemned;

but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,

because he or she has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son. On these grounds is sentence pronounced:

that though the light has come into the world,

men and women have shown they prefer darkness to the light

because their deeds were evil.

And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, for fear their actions should be exposed;

but the one who lives by the truth comes out into the light,

so that it may be plainly seen that what that person does

is done in God.

God loved the world so much...

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

I prepare myself to pray with the Gospel in whatever way suits me best.

When I have come to a point of stillness, I begin to read the passage.

It may help my prayer to imagine the scene of this secretive meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus. Earlier in the Gospel we are told it takes place under the cover of darkness. I ponder the significance of this detail.

Perhaps I picture myself hidden in the shadows of night, watching and listening in to this conversation.

What did Jesus need Nicodemus to hear ... and to understand? What does Jesus need me to hear ... and to understand?

Do I have any questions for Jesus?

I imagine putting them to him, and in silence I listen.

I ask for the grace I need to turn back towards the light.

I draw my prayer to an end by saying Our Father ...

My Father's House

 Third Sunday in Lent Year B - 7th March 2021

Gospel John 2: 13–25

Just before the Jewish Passover Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there. Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me. The Jews intervened and said, ‘What sign can you show us to justify what you have done?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up’. The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty -six years to build this sanctuary: are you going to raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words he had said. 

During his stay in Jerusalem for the Passover many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he gave, but Jesus knew them all and did not trust himself to them; he never needed evidence about anyone; he could tell what a person had in them.

Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

As I settle into my place of prayer, I ask God to bless me ... to give me the grace to slow down and be attentive. I pray not to be distracted by any of my own cares or ‘idols’, whether external or internal.

I read this familiar passage a couple of times. As the scene unfolds, I try to notice afresh Jesus’s reactions, actions and words.

Perhaps I see his courage ... his authenticity ... his self-assurance?

Does this reassure me, unsettle me, attract me ...?

I notice what stirs in me, and share it with my Lord.

I may allow my imagination to wander freely with Jesus and his disciples as they stay in Jerusalem. I spend time with them ... seeing Jesus share the ‘signs’ and the Good News with the disciples and the crowds.

Just as Jesus knows those around him, he also knows all about me and what I hold in my heart. Do I find this comfortable ... or challenging?

How do I feel about Jesus watching me with mercy and compassion, as I fall and rise many times as his disciple?

I turn to my Lord, and in loving trust ask for the grace to know that I, too, am a temple of the Holy Sprit. Our Father...