by Thomas Sitio of Jesus (Gene Boehmann)

Meditation on the Sixth Word

"At the ninth hour Jesus called out in a loud voice: It is finished. His head dropped forward and He died."
"It is finished."
"Consummatum est."

Here, let your head incline forward in the manner of the dying and keep silence a few moments. Then pray, "His side was pierced and out flowed water and blood."

"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations shall bow down before him. For dominion is the Lord’s, He rules the nations.
"Him alone shall they worship, that are laid to rest in the earth, even from their dust they will adore.
I, too, shall live on in his presence, my children shall serve Him, the coming generations shall be told of the Lord, and they shall proclaim His justice to a people yet to be born. These things the Lord has done." Psalm 22

"And last, he took me to the door of the temple itself, and showed me where a stream of water flowed Eastwards from beneath the threshold of it...eastward these waters flowed from the right side of the temple. Wherever it flows, there should be teeming life... and on either bank of the stream fruit trees shall grow of every kind; never leaf lost, never fruit cast, month after month they shall yield a fresh crop, watered by that sanctuary stream; fruit for man's eating, and medicinal leaves." Ezechial 47:1,2,9,12

"If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he who would save his life will lose it; but he who loses his life for my sake will find it." Mt 16:24-25

"With Christ I am nailed to the cross. It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me." St. Paul the Apostle - Gal 2:19-21

"The standards of the King appear, the mystery of the cross shines out in glory, the cross on which life suffered death and by that death gave life to us. Tree of dazzling beauty, adorned with the purple of the King’s blood." Vespers Hymn, Vexilla Regis - Exaltation of the Cross (Sept. 14)

"Surrender yourself more and more to God with great detachment from all creatures and complete annihilation; you will experience great results and I hope shall be inflamed with love. Oh, my child in Jesus Christ, when, oh when, shall we be dead to everything to live only for our God? O precious death, more longed for than life, death which makes us divine because we are all transformed in God by love. Come now, let us look forward to this death to all created things." St. Paul of the Cross to Agnes Grazi (Vol I, 180)

"If I be lifted up, I will draw all things to myself." Jn 12:32

Continued in subsequent Oblate Sharings