Newsletter Vol. 1 Issue 24

Statue of Jesus carrying the cross
 

Read Ahead – Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12
 

Over the last few weeks, we have been reflecting on the ways Christ suffers in our Church today. Now approaching the Passion of Our Lord, we invite you to pause and do what St. Ignatius of Loyola calls a repititio – a repetition – on the prayers of the Third Week of the Spiritual Exercises. This is a period to reflect deeply on how we have been impacted by the ways racism harms our Church and all of us who are part of the Church, whether we are White or part of a racial minority.

Meditation: 20-30 Minutes
In the passage about the Suffering Servant, Isaiah powerfully proclaims who could believe what we have heard? Describing who we as Christians understand to be Jesus, he gives us an image of a man beaten, pierced, crushed, and spurned. In this meditation, we ask for the grace to feel how Christ feels suffering in these ways and more in his Passion.

I see Jesus accused of a crime he did not commit. He is taken in front of Pontius Pilate. Where am I in the scene? Am I near to Jesus or one of the people in the crowd? As the crowd yells CRUCIFY HIM, CRUCIFY HIM, I ask – do I yell too? What is my reaction? Am I supporting the crucifixion or am I appalled?

Jesus is scourged at the pillar – literally lashed with a painful whip. I see others avoid his face, spurning him, perhaps even yelling for more lashes. I recall the Disciples who fell asleep in the Garden and who, like sheep gone astray, are nowhere to be found now.
 
Jesus carries the cross up the hill. He is spurned, jeered at, and people turn away in disgust. It is so similar to the experience of Christ suffering in the Church due to racism. I recall the rich resources of our Catholic tradition and the simultaneous ways the Church has been slow to respond to the sufferings of people of color. I see the ways instead the Church has set its comfort level at White comfort, not compelled by the harsh treatment experienced by minorities. I recall the anger Jesus feels seeing the Church complicit to White supremacy, frequently indifferent to the generations of racial discrepancies and violence.

I recall the contemporary experience of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in our communities today, especially in the Bay Area. In their terrifying experiences today, their Christ is suffering. There Christ is being scoured. There he is pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins. I recall so many AAPI members calling out for help, and like Jesus in the Garden, finding a Church that has fallen asleep yet again.
 
I recall the experience of Latino populations in the United States today – especially how so many experience anti-immigrant sentiments, even those who have resided in this country for years and even generations. Like Christ, our suffering servant who was mocked because of who he was, I see many Latinos judged simply for being non-White.

Who could believe what we have heard? Who could believe what we have read and prayed with these days and weeks?

At this point, you may feel compelled to return to one of the newsletters of the past that made an impact on your prayer. If you decide to do so, ask God for the grace to help you see Christ suffering in a deeper way as you read and pray a second time.

How did I connect my prayer over these past weeks with the Suffering Servant from the Prophet Isaiah?
 
What stays with me from the repititio of the Third Week? Where is God inviting me to grow more deeply?
 
What grace do I desire as I enter into the Triduum of the Lord?