April 14, 2019
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22
Philippians 2:6-11
Luke 22:14-23:56
As a child attending St. Mary’s Catholic School in Des Plaines, Illinois, I was taught by the Sisters of Saint Francis of Mary Immaculate. Among the many lessons I learned from their dedicated ministry and vocation was how to prepare for death by making an act of perfect contrition. The sisters were clear that preparation for death was not just preparation for an event but meant truly preparing to meet Jesus who loved each of us unconditionally as our friend. The sisters were very good teachers and the point that they made to me included the distinction between “an act of perfect contrition” which was a simultaneous act of faith, of hope, and of love, and “a perfect act of contrition” which was simply the concise recitation of a formula. To paraphrase Sister, “A parrot can recite a perfect act of contrition; only a person can make an act of perfect contrition.” For those of us given to scruples and insecurities, my eighth-grade teacher, Sr. Mary Christine, answered the question as to what one was to do if one didn’t have the time to make an act of perfect contrition. “What if the plane is crashing and I do not have the time?” I asked. She said, “simply speak the name of Jesus in love, say ‘My Jesus. Mercy.’”
In our Gospel today, the repentant thief addresses Jesus by His first name at the time of his death. It is the only time in any of the four Gospels when Jesus is addressed by His first name. The name “Jesus” means “the Lord saves”— “Joshua”. The penitence of the thief involves perfect contrition made from a recognition of the Lord’s unconditional love and mercy for all around. The repentant thief makes an act of perfect contrition from the perspective of his own cross united to the Cross of Jesus. It is strikingly different than the embittered and angry response of the other thief whose circumstances are objectively the same as the repentant thief—except for contrition and self-awareness that comes from uniting his cross with the saving Cross of Jesus. The penitence of the thief on the cross opens the door at which Jesus knocks—the door of friendship—to know and to be known as a friend.
The crowds in the Gospel of today are filled with people who have willed not to know nor to be known—they are each anonymous individuals who identify with each other only circumstantially. They offer us an example for reflection on the individualism of today whereby we shake off all of the relationships and communities that enable us to flourish as human beings. Such communities include marriage and family, church and neighborhood. In the face of authentic humanity in Jesus Christ, the crowds choose anonymity and isolation. For them, Jesus is a cause or an event, not a friend. They have no use for His Cross.
The Sanhedrin and Pilate along with Herod condemn Jesus. The Sanhedrin condemns Him as a “blasphemer” even though they are not mistaken about His true identity. Pilate and Herod condemn Him as a “usurper” of Caesar’s power and of Herod’s status. Each of them is using Jesus as a means to their own respective and selfish purposes. Herod and Pilate become friends but not in the true meaning of friendship that Christ offers. Herod and Pilate have selfish interests that coincide. Jesus is useful to them and they are not His friends. They want no share in His Cross.
On this Palm Sunday, as we begin Holy Week, we reflect of the Passion of Jesus, who loves us as a friend and invites us to such honest friendship in authentic contrition and repentance for our sins. This is the only way to true humanity—the trust and vulnerability involved with friendship—offered to us unconditionally by Christ in the mystery of His Cross. We have a choice to make. We are offered the time for a decision. Our lives will end as we live them. Will we live with Jesus as a cause for a religion of our own making? Will we reject Jesus as a means to achieving our own purposes? Will we live and die with Him as our friend, with our cross united with His Cross—with us contrite for our sins because of His love for us? My Jesus, Mercy.
