Christ’s Passion in Our Days - Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

While meditating, we often fail to link the episodes of Our Lord’s life to ourselves and the world around us.

Consequently, we are shocked at the inconsistency, hatred and ingratitude of those who crucified Our Lord, after having honored Him as their Savior, days before.

However, Our Lord’s killers are not alone in their ingratitude and inconsistency. Our Lord still endures this conflicting adoration and hostility in various countries and in the hearts of many faithful.

Thus, we should not merely wince at the infamy of those who killed Our Lord. It is far more useful to contemplate our own infamy and trust in God’s goodness. Only then, can we truly amend our lives.

Reparation for Today’s Offenses
Everyone knows that sin is an insult to God. By committing a mortal sin, a person expels God from his heart, refuses Him the filial respect He deserves as Creator and rejects His grace. If we commit a mortal sin, we crucify Our Lord in our hearts, and thus imitate those who killed Him. Often, we do so shortly after having glorified Him with good deeds. Thus, we reenact the whole of Christ’s Passion, from Palm Sunday to the Crucifixion. How often this happens in men’s souls today!

To repair these offenses, we should become “souls of reparation.” If our virtue is insufficient for the task, we should practice a sincere humility that stems from intelligent, sensible and solid reasoning, not flowery words and emotional chest-beating. This alone will suffice to console Our Lord in His affliction.

During this holy Lenten season, we should strive to become these “souls of reparation,” through the practice of sincere humility, and thus make reparation before the throne of God for the countless offenses committed against Him at every moment.