Good Friday

O Jesus, poor and abject, unknown and despised,

have mercy upon me, and let me not be ashamed to follow thee.

O Jesus, hated, calumniated, and persecuted,

have mercy upon me, and make me content to be as my master.

O Jesus, blasphemed, accused, and wrongfully condemned,

have mercy upon me, and teach me to endure the contradiction of sinners.

O Jesus, clothed with a habit of reproach and shame,

have mercy upon me, and let me not seek my own glory.

O Jesus, insulted mocked, and spit upon,

have mercy upon me, and let me not faint in the fiery trial.

O Jesus, crowned with thorns and hailed in derision;

O Jesus, burdened with our sins and the curses of the people;

O Jesus, affronted, outraged, buffeted,

overwhelmed with injuries, griefs and humiliations;

O Jesus, hanging on the accursed tree, bowing the head, giving up the ghost,

have mercy upon me,

and conform my whole soul to thy holy, humble, suffering Spirit.

John Wesley, 1703-1791, English churchman and founder of Methodism

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Luke 23:44-46

It was now about the sixth hour,

and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,

while the sun’s light failed.

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said,

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”

And having said this he breathed his last.

prayer & verse