Jesus you will offer your life to save us all. If you are new to mental prayer, we invite you to visit our page on the ways of mental prayer, Don’t know how to pray to God, to learn more.
We begin Day 33 of our Lenten Challenge with this opening prayer:
Jesus you will offer your life. The enemies are enclosing in on you. You will lay down your life to save us. They want to kill you because you have done many signs and they see you as a threat. They have decided to kill you in order to save a nation. But you will lay down your life freely, and then you will take it up again. Let me accompany you to Jerusalem. Let me be with you in your Passion. AMEN.
Saturday of the 5th Week of Lent (Liturgical Year II)
Jesus You Will Offer Your Life to Save Us All
A Reflection for Prayerful Meditation
Join me in a prayerful reflection and meditation for your Lenten journey with Christ to Jerusalem.
Jesus You Will Offer Your Life to Save Us All
Opening Prayer
Enter into the prayer of silence before the Lord
Jesus,
I believe you are truly here and present to me right now. I desire to be present to you. As Holy Week approaches I want to contemplate on your sacrifice for my sake. This week, Jesus, you will offer your life to save us all. Speak to my heart today and show me how I might offer my life to you in response through my own free will. I know that you love me with infinite love and that it is your will that I be saved. I acknowledge my sinful nature and all the ways I am tempted against your will for me every day. Sometimes I chose myself over what you will for me. Lord help me journey with you on the road to Jerusalem and reveal to me how I might be more obedient and humble, even unto death, like you.
I am here, Lord, because I want to have the courage to live according to your will even in suffering. Please send me your Spirit so that I can worship you with a pure heart and without distraction. Help me meditate on your Passion this week, reflecting on how you offer your life to save us all. Let my heart and mind be completely fixated on you during my mental prayer. Jesus, take me with you to the Cross and show me how to lay down my life to be your disciple. You know all my weaknesses and that I can’t elevate my heart or my mind without your help. I lack the necessary virtue to rise up without your grace, but you promise that you will answer my prayers and give me the grace I need to become a saint. Lord, help me offer my life in service to your kingdom.
Please give me the grace right now to pray my mental prayer well and to love you in a way that is pleasing to you. I want to grow to love you more perfectly. Thank you, Lord, for every consolation, desolation, time of silence, difficult trial, and temptation of the evil one. I understand that everything that happens in my life is by your holy will, whether it be your divine providence or your permissive will due to my sin and negligence.
Please humble me as I meditate on your Passion this week as we walk together toward Jerusalem. Help me carry my cross well and do so with great love in my heart for you.
AMEN.
Say Nothing Just Take Him In
Spend 1-3 minutes in silence gazing at the Lord with love and gratitude, in a prayer of silent contemplation.
Now we will contemplate the Lord by listening to him speak to us in the Gospels. You about to enter into a secret meeting held by the Roman-appointed Jewish High Priest of Jerusalem, a man named Joseph ben Caiaphas. To your horror you discover the plans he and the others are making.
Caiaphas will soon preside over the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus and then play an intricate roll in delivering Jesus to Pontius Pilate. A shrewd man whose political efforts prioritize stability and compliance with Roman rulers, Caiaphas seeks to maintain his power over Temple affairs while keeping good relations with the Romans.
Jesus You Will Offer Your Life to Save Us All
They Planned to Kill Him
John 11:45-56
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.”
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.”
He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.
So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”
Reflection:
Let us meditate on what the Jewish high priest, Caiaphas, says to the Pharisees regarding Jesus: “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.”
Do you see how God’s will is done through the actions of the Jewish high priest? Do you recognize the folly in the reasoning of Caiaphas? We can see that he lacked true wisdom in his reasoning by his actions and his prejudice against Jesus in the story, but this statement has truth in it, and God’s divine providence takes place through the evil actions of the people who plot to kill Jesus for blasphemy.
Yes, Caiaphas, Jesus does have to die so that we can live. But unlike Moses in the desert who lifted up the Bronze Serpent so that the Israelites could be healed of their venomous snake bites and live temporally, Jesus will be lifted up so that we might have eternal life. Jesus you will offer your life to save us all.
Now listen to the second part of this passage, “They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, ‘What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?'”
They wanted to kill him. They were plotting a way. They were planning something. Jesus knew. He no longer went in public among them after that time.
The feast of the Passover. This was the time. It was God’s divine providence. Jesus was the new sacrifice, the Pascal Lamb. He would offer himself as the perfect unblemished victim for the atonement of sins, and we would have him with us, in his glorified body, for eternity.
Caiaphas may not have believed in Jesus, nor understood his purpose, but the divine will of God was carried out through his evil intentions for the greater good of all mankind. God does not condone evil, but when men commit evil, God can and will bring about a greater good because he is all good and deserving of all our love.
Contemplate the Mass for a moment.
In the Paschal Mystery Jesus anticipates, battles and defeats death, beating it as a final end to save us all. The Last Supper anticipates this, the Crucifixion enters into this, and the Resurrection conquers this. We know that God is beyond space and time and lives eternally.
The Sacrifice of the Mass perpetuates the Paschal Mystery which is eternal. The Mass presents anew the memorial of the events of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection that live in eternity. This is why Mass is repeated every day except Good Friday itself, so that the events of the passion, death, and resurrection can be experienced in every generation until the end of time.
This mystery was prefigured in the time of Moses, when the Lord fed the Israelites manna from heaven so that they could live. Today Jesus feeds you with his glorified Body so that you may live (John 6:56-58).
Contemplate the purpose of the Mass for a moment, for mankind to adore God as our Creator and Lord, to give thanks to him for his gifts, to ask for his blessings on mankind, and to satisfy the justice of God for the sins committed against Him.
Take a moment to ask Jesus questions from your heart…. Maybe you want to ask him how to deny yourself. Give the Holy Spirit time to respond. Wait on the Lord. Ask him to reveal to you the cross he is asking you to carry. Linger on it. Ponder the weight of it. What is the burden on your heart? Be honest with Jesus and tell him your fears. Why has he given you this cross? Linger a moment and wait for his response. Has he shown you something? You may want to write it down.
Let us continue our mental prayer with a meditation from Saint Augustine of Hippo:
Jesus You Will Offer Your Life to Save Us All
He Proves Existence of Man's Free Will
By St. Augustine of Hippo (Retractions Book II Chapter 2)
Now He has revealed to us, through His Holy Scriptures, that there is in a man a free choice of will. But how He has revealed this I do not recount in human language, but in divine. There is, to begin with, the fact that God’s precepts themselves would be of no use to a man unless he had free choice of will, so that by performing them he might obtain the promised rewards.
For they are given that no one might be able to plead the excuse of ignorance, as the Lord says concerning the Jews in the gospel: If I had not come and spoken unto them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin (John 15:22). Of what sin does He speak but of that great one which He foreknew, while speaking thus, that they would make their own — that is, the death they were going to inflict upon Him?
For they did not have any sin before Christ came to them in the flesh. The apostle also says: The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold back the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it unto them.
For the invisible things of Him are from the creation of the world clearly seen — being understood by the things that are made — even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are inexcusable. (Romans 1:18-20)
In what sense does he pronounce them to be inexcusable, except with reference to such excuse as human pride is apt to allege in such words as, If I had only known, I would have done it; did I not fail to do it because I was ignorant of it? or, I would do it if I knew how; but I do not know, therefore I do not do it? All such excuse is removed from them when the precept is given them, or the knowledge is made manifest to them how to avoid sin.
Reflection:
Contemplate the blindness and hardness of heart that Caiaphas had at the time he was plotting with the Pharisees to kill Christ. He knew that Christ produced good works, but he feared his power and believed he needed to die in order for the Jewish nation to be saved from destruction.
Ask yourself, have I ever made selfish a decision based on fear or pride that I knew was unjust? In hindsight, can I see the same traits in myself that can be seen in Caiaphas? How did this sin of pride affect my ability to make a good judgment? Did I have an excuse for my sin, due to ignorance? Or did I know better?
Lord Jesus, you know all my actions, past, present, and future. You probe my mind and test my heart. You know all things. You know that I struggle with pride and selfishness, and the many ways my mind struggles to avoid sinful decisions when I have fear about the future. Please, Lord, may I trust in you and only act according to God’s providence. Let me be righteous and unafraid. Let me be obedient to your will so that I do not commit a sin against the Holy Spirit and die. Please, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. AMEN.
Think about the gravity of your sin when you commit it after God has revealed to you it is a sin against him. Contemplate the warning that Jesus gave the Pharisees and that St. Augustine of Hippo teaches about. Humbly ask the Lord to give you wisdom and fortitude and increase in you the love needed to recognize and to repent of any sin against the Holy Spirit you may have committed in your life. Take a moment right now to ask Jesus, to renew your heart and give you the strength to carry the cross with love.
Next, let us meditate for a moment on the words of Ezekiel 37. Listen to the Lord tell Ezekiel about his covenant. Reread this passage a second time, praying the words from your own heart. Then take a moment to speak to Jesus. What do you want to tell him?
Jesus You Will Offer Your Life to Save Us All
A Covenant of Peace
Ezekiel 37:21-28
Thus says the Lord GOD: I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land. I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.
No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people and I may be their God.
My servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one shepherd for them all; they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees. They shall live on the land which I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their fathers lived; they shall live on it forever, they, and their children, and their children’s children, with my servant David their prince forever.
I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.
Reflection:
Imagine you are with Jesus right now. You were there with the Pharisees and you heard what Caiaphas was plotting. You know that they want to kill Jesus.
You see him. He is at peace. He knows the Passion is soon. He looks at you with piercing eyes, probing your mind.
Are you conflicted? Do you think you know the truth of the Holy Spirit, but you are not obeying God’s will? Are you confused and wondering what God’s will is for your life, and afraid to disobey the Holy Spirit?
Jesus is about to die for you. Are you willing to lay down your life for him?
He says to you, “Do my will.”
Take a moment to be with the Lord in the prayer of silence. Take 1-3 minutes to listen for his response to your heartfelt prayer.
Jesus Lifted up on the Cross
Continue your prayerful meditation with Lifted up on the Cross, Jesus you Liberate Me from Sin and bring me back to life so I can serve you.
Pray the next Lenten Meditation
Day 34 Mental Prayer Meditation
Believing in Jesus and Anointing Him with My Love
Believing in Jesus as Mary Magdalene did while pouring precious nard on his feet. I too am anointing him with my love as I contemplate his Passion and death.