We are creatures of habit — both good and bad habits.  And with a decent effort we can establish new habits.  Science tells us that it takes about two months of repetition to cement a good habit or uproot a bad habit.  As it turns out, Lent is a period that lasts just long enough to form good habits.  But what’s better is that in Lent we receive special graces to make our efforts more fruitful, and we should avail ourselves of these graces.

To that end, one of the best habits we can fortify is spending some time in prayer.  And prayer is like any other pursuit — you have to put out the effort to make it happen; it’s not something that’s going to happen by accident.  Just like you have to carve out and schedule time to exercise or do the laundry or anything else, you just have to make the time.

Setting aside a half-hour every Friday to meditate on the events of Our Lord’s Passion and Death is a great starting point for forming a habit of prayer.  For never has it been known that a person has regretted a single moment spent contemplating Our Lord’s suffering.

Perhaps some setup for meditation is required.

Recall that in all of the ancient religions the idea of sacrifice is pertinent.  There is an innate understanding that man has failings, and some form of sacrifice is required to make justice to the gods.  In the Old Testament, the Jews would often offer sacrifices of oxen and lambs, and animal sacrifices were common in other religions as well.

But since God is infinite, even the smallest sin is an infinite offense against Him, and no sacrifice that man can offer can bridge the gap of this infiniteness.  And so, in God’s plan to meet what we lack, He decided to offer Himself up as the sacrifice to make justice.  He did this by assuming a human nature, joining the Divine nature with a human nature in a single person — the Second Person of the Trinity.  The Son of God, in the form of the God-man, would offer Himself to the Father as both priest and victim, for the salvation of the human race.

Consider, then, with great pity the suffering and humiliation Our Lord willingly endured for us:

• How he was betrayed by one of his very own friends to be handed over to the chief priests.  And how all of his disciples scattered and left him alone, save St. John, who stayed by his side to the end.
• How Pilate, acting as the competent authority to judge on behalf of the State, proclaimed to the crowd:  “I find no cause in this man,” only to have the mob shout “Crucify him!”  And Pilate, in fear, pleaded with them, “Why?  What evil has this man done?”  But the mob only became more violent. “And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made; taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it.”  And so even though the State decreed Our Lord innocent, he was put to death simply to satisfy the mob.
• How he was scourged relentlessly until he was covered in blood.
• How the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and placed it on his head to mock him — laughing at his humiliation.  Imagine, the Great Majesty that created the entire universe being mocked in such a way.
• How he was pressed to carry his heavy cross, and fell along the way under the weight of it.
• How, on the same way, he met his dear mother and saw the heartbroken look on her face.
• How his garments were torn off with such violence that the flesh stuck upon from the dried blood came off with it.
• And how finally he was nailed and lifted up on the cross, to hang there for three hours in agony.  (Now, the Romans at the time were highly intelligent people and actually went about devising the most tortuous way to die, and came up with crucifixion.)  The weight of his body pulled down on the nail holes in the hands.  As his body would tire and slump down, air would be blocked through the throat, and he would have to press down on his feet to push his body up to get air, and in turn the nails in the feet would re-open the wounds.  It was three hours of pure agony, bleeding out until his life was finally extinguished.

And his mother was there to watch every moment of it.

Why did he do it?

Because it was necessary for our salvation.  And all of the humiliation, suffering, and dying agony that he endured, when put in the balance, did not weigh more than his love for us.  That is why it is said that he would do it again as many times necessary, even if you or I were the only persons in the world.

And it is true that God could have redeemed us and made justice in any manner, but this is the method he chose.  And even shedding a single drop of blood from a scrape would have been sufficient, but he willed to go all the way so that no person can doubt how much he loves us.  He offered himself over totally.

Surely contemplating these pitiable events of Our Lord’s Passion are most salutary for the soul.  For who could not be stirred with great sentiments of gratitude and love at the thought of God’s great love for us?

This is the true purpose of Lent.

O Sacred Head Surrounded

Tune: Passion Chorale, Hans L. Hassler (d. 1612) / Johann S. Bach (d. 1750)
Text: Salve caput cruentatum, St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153)

O Sacred Head surrounded
By crown of piercing thorn!
O bleeding Head so wounded,
Reviled and put to scorn!
Death’s pallid hue comes o’er Thee,
The glow of life decays,
Yet angel hosts adore Thee,
And tremble as they gaze.

I see Thy strength and vigor
all fading in the strife,
and death with cruel rigor,
bereaving Thee of life;
O agony and dying!
O love to sinners free!
Jesus, all grace supplying,
O turn Thy face on me.

In this, Thy bitter passion,
Good Shepherd, think of me,
With Thy most sweet compassion,
Unworthy though I be:
Beneath Thy cross abiding,
Forever would I rest;
In Thy dear love confiding,
And with Thy presence blest.

What language shall I borrow
to thank thee, dearest Friend,
for this, Thy dying sorrow,
Thy mercy without end?
Lord, make me Thine forever:
Thy servant let me be;
And let me never, never
outlive my love to Thee.