Once upon a time, many years ago
In the midst of a crooked and dark world
Came the Light of the world
His brightness exposed the hypocrisy of men
His rays were to direct men in the path of righteousness
But men chose to remain in darkness rather than embrace the light
They were comfortable in their life of hypocrisy
And they were prepared to do anything to obliterate the Light
Day and night they sought for that opportunity to eliminate the Light
As the saying goes,
“If the enemy within does not pull one down, the enemy without can hardly pull one down.”
For greed and the love of money
He was betrayed by a friend’s kiss
Sold for 30 pieces of Silver
He was bound with chains and presented before Annas, Caiphas, Pilate and Herod
He stood alone before His adversaries
And was accused by false witnesses
With no one to defend His case
His friends and apostles deserted Him
The one who vowed to die for Him, denied Him
Those who enjoyed His company, His love and His adversaries shouted:
Crucify Him! Crucify Him! He deserves to die
In their quest to have Him crucified, to extinguish the Light
They chose a thief over Him
He was denied justice for fear of a riot
Handed over to hostile and brutal men
In chains, He was scourged and disfigured
His skin torn apart by whips and curbs
He was slapped and spat upon
He was crowned with thorns, blindfolded and mocked
Like an innocent lamb led to the slaughter
He was burdened with a heavy-rugged wooden cross
And journeyed to Calvary – the hill of His crucifixion
More than once He fell under the weight of the cross
Mercilessly, they stabbed Him with nails
Fastened to the cross with a heavy smashed hammer
And pain exploded like a bomb of fire in His brain
Stripped of His garment and suspended among thieves to bleed to die
His mother watched in silence and in sorrow
The earthly distanced themselves from Him
While the heavenly watched on in silence
No wonder He cried out aloud with all the energy He could muster:
“My God, My God why have Thou forsaken Me.”
On the cross, He was taunted
He was given gall and vinegar to drink
But He prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Quietly He said, “It is finished.”
Bowed His head and gave up His Spirit
The Temple’s curtain torn apart
Darkness covered the earth
The quake and the tombs were opened
And the bodies of the many saints arose
“This was the Son of God!” as exclaimed
But the Light will rise again and shine brightly and unceasingly
For many, this was a suicide journey
No! It was a journey of love
It was a journey of mercy
It was a journey of salvation
It was a journey of redemption – to rescue our souls from the chains of Hades
This is the victory over death
Yes, on the cross Satan lost the battle.
Men and women can now experience the Beatific Vision
And reign with the Saviour in His heavenly Kingdom.
We adore You O Christ and we praise You, because of Your holy cross You redeemed the world
