Lent ends at sundown tomorrow, Holy Thursday, with the celebration of the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, the first liturgy of the three days of the Paschal Triduum. This text from Philippians and the prayer following are apt for this last evening in the season of Lent...
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
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| Christ of St. John of the Cross by Dali |
I come to you, Lord,
with a heart I need to empty of my self, my selfishness,
a heart I want to fill with you and with your love...
You showed me the way, Lord,
humbling yourself to the Father's will
and inviting me to humble myself
in the same way...
I don't find it easy, Lord, to empty my self
of all I want to keep and collect,
to hoard, hold back and hold on to...
Sometimes I don't even find it easy
to let go my burdens:
when my burdens have become my friends
it's sometimes hard to let them go...
Lord, teach my heart to know:
what to keep and what to lose,
to hold or to surrender,
to grasp or throw away..
Fill my heart with thirst and hunger
for what nourishes my soul
and strengthens me to live
as you created me to be...
Give me joy in letting go,
even when it's hard to do...
Give me freedom in the emptiness
that waits for you to fill it...
Give me peace in being filled
with your Word, your grace, your love...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
he did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited, but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death —
even death on the cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
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