Lord, you see my sins more clearly than I can myself; you know when I am untruthful and when I think evil of others. You see my anger and unfairness to my friends. You know how hard it is for me to forgive.
Lord, you know when I am indifferent to your Word, the Bible; how often I forget to pray; the times I come unwillingly to worship; and yet I turn to you, when I am in trouble.
Lord, I have sinned, without considering how much you love me.
Forgive me and make me clean, so that I can obey your call to take up your cross and follow you.
Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Why can’t I retreat into a mountain and enjoy the rest of my life, sipping wine, looking at the moon and making haiku like the one “enlightened”?
However hard and long I may raise my insignificant voice of anger, I know I cannot stop this stream; but I cannot give up.
Those who attained perfect enlightenment yell at me from this world and the other, “Hey! You have been a Christian for a long time. How come you are not awakened yet!”
I do not want to attain enlightenment in the Buddhist sense. My enlightenment is to follow Christ and go into the world. I do not want to separate myself from the world. And in the face of mounting injustice and misery, I would like to live with those suffering people, because Christ lives with them.
I often get lost, get angry, worry and make cries of protest, but Christ is with me and soothes me.
“God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.
What blessings await you when people hate you
and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil
because you follow the Son of Man.”
__________________________
Questions
Who is someone in your neighborhood that could use your help?
image, GFreihalter, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Jesus, what was it like when Mary anointed your feet? Was there daylight or was the room lit with candles? Did she anoint your right foot first?
Was the spikenard warm?
How long did it take to pour out the entire bottle? What did it feel like to have her hair wiping your feet? Just how fragrant did the room become?
What was Mary feeling? Immense gratitude, unbridled love, melancholy? Did she have any idea that she was preparing your body for burial?
What was the tone of Judas and the disciples who objected? Were any of them really thinking of the poor? Would I have joined them in their disdain?
How sharp or gentle were your words of correction? Did they have any idea that you would be washing their feet soon?
How did Mary receive your words defending her? Did she smile, or did her eyes become wet? How did she feel when you shared that you would not be with them much longer?
What was it like to be with you that evening, Jesus? Be close to me as I follow you through Holy Week.
Lord, I make you a present of myself. I do not know what to do with myself. So let me make this exchange: I will place myself entirely in your hands, if you will cover my ugliness with your beauty, and tame my unruliness with your love. Put out the flames of false passion in my heart, since these flames destroy all that is true within me. Make me always busy in your service. Lord, I want no special signs from you, nor am I looking for intense emotions in response to your love. I would rather be free of all emotion, than to run the danger of falling victim once again to false passion. Let my love for you be naked, without any emotional clothing.
St Catherine of Genoa, 1447-1510, Italian Catholic mystic
O Christ, as we walk through the land that you loved, in the country where you lived and taught, grant us the grace and wisdom to see clearly and understand deeply that all you suffered was for the sake of redeeming humanity. Through your life, death, and resurrection, you have made it possible for us to have life, and have it more abundantly.
O Christ, as we follow you down the Road to Calvary, Guide us to become active participants, not curious bystanders. O Christ, as we stand with the mourners at the Cross, Give us the love that can forgive those who trespass against us. O Christ, as we witness the new life given to us through your Resurrection, Empower us with faith to act and spread the Good News.
Servant Christ, Help us to follow you on the road to Jerusalem, to set our faces firmly against friendly suggestions for a safe, expedient life; to embrace boldly the way of self-offering, The way of life given for other’s gain.
Litany of the Disciples of Christ the Servant Andhra Theological College, India
prayer & verse 
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