The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery
The Crucifixion
By May/June 2009
Return to Table of Contents
Print Article
Dying to oneself
“It was about twelve o’clock when the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three o’clock; and the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father! In your hands I place my spirit!’ He said this and died.” Luke 23:44-46
Reflection
Crucifixion, a slow death by asphyxiation, was the most brutal form of execution in the ancient world, reserved for criminals and state enemies. At Golgotha, Jesus is nailed to the cross and raised up. Beside him are two thieves. Soldiers taunt him. At the foot of the cross is his mother, with other women, and his disciple John. They witness his suffering under the hot sun. His strength slowly seeps out of his body. When he breathes his last breath, Jesus cries out, “Father, in your hands I place my spirit!”
In recent years, psychologists have described death as a series of processes: denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and finally acceptance. What does death mean for me? Have I been present at someone’s death? Do I think about my own death? Death can be seen as a second birth, being born into the next life, into the communion of saints. Those who accompany a dying person are like midwives, helping the person end their mission in this life, and being present as they make the passage into the next life.
The death of an elderly person can be a celebration of their life; such a natural death has even a peaceful aspect. However, many deaths cause tragic suffering: the deaths of the unborn, of children or young people who die from hunger, diseases or accidents, of those who die in the violence of war. Acceptance of such death requires great faith. It demands gazing at Jesus on the cross and asking him for the strength to say, “In your hands, Father, we commend our spirit.”
Mission Call
Missionaries are often present at the death of persons we serve. We learn about different customs, such as the necessity of burying someone within 24 hours in tropical climates, then coming together again a week later to pray for and celebrate the person’s life. We learn to recognize that many sisters and brothers are undergoing a slow death through the institutionalized violence of poverty and exploitation. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the apostle John, we stand at the foot of this social cross.
As we pray the rosary, let us ask God to give courage to those who are facing death. Let us pray for those accompanying people who are dying. Let us pray for peace in the world, for an end to all war and death by violence. Let us remember those who die from the violence of poverty and pray for groups that work at promoting social justice in our world.
Amazon Word
In a community on the banks of the Amazon River, I went with a man to take Holy Communion to his dying mother. We walked along the grassy bank and soon reached the simple wooden house built on stilts. Upon entering, I realized that the frail old woman lying in a hammock was suffering from gangrene. Her right leg was swollen and purple. The odor was unbearable. I offered to take the man’s mother on the parish boat to the town upriver for medical attention. “We’ve been there. There’s nothing more we can do. They gave us medicine for the pain. All my mother wants now is to die here.” So we prayed and she received communion. She grasped my hand. The man thanked me profusely. I left, overwhelmed by this woman’s suffering, by this crucifixion.
Return to Table of Contents
Print Article