Holy Week Devotions
PSALM 22
THE PSALM OF ANGUISH
Daily Prayer:
Am I a stone, and not a sheep,
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross,
To number drop by drop Thy blood's slow loss,
And yet not weep?
Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved;
Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,
A horror of great darkness at broad noon--
I, only I.
Yet give not o'er,
But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more
And smite a rock. -Christina Rosetti
“Why have you forsaken me?” We cannot know the depth of lament as you the Eternal One, innocent of wrongdoing, experienced on a human level a separation you had never experienced from the Father You had always known. As a single cell does not have the faculties to appreciate the grief of a whole person, neither can we fathom the depth of your despair on our behalf. Thank you.
We bless your name.
Amen.
PSALM 41
O LORD BE GRACIOUS TO ME
Daily Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I pray rashly today with Peter, who recoiled when you stooped to wash his feet: Lord, wash, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. And my heart. And my mind. And my life. Amen (John 13:9).
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console. To be understood, as to understand. To be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, and it's in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it's in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
- Francis of Assisi
PSALM 23
THE SHEPHERD’S PSALM
Daily Prayer:
Lord Jesus, it was on this day that Judas Iscariot conspired to betray you. Remembering that, I pray the prayer of Augustine: “Lord Jesus, don't let me lie when I say that I love you...and protect me today, for I could betray you.” As sheep know the voice of their shepherd, may we know Your voice and obey.
Amen.
O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.” (Book of Common Prayer)
PSALM 69
Daily Prayer:
Our Father and our God,
Your word says that Jesus, being in nature God, took on human flesh and suffered the worst kind of death. Sin drives us to take your place over life, yet your love drove you to take our place in death. How can death give way to life? How can weakness be turned to strength? Your foolishness is wiser than our wisdom; Your weakness is greater than our strength. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Amen.
Christ shield me today
Against wounding:
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
Maewyn Succat (St. Patrick)
PSALM 31
Daily Prayer:
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. (Book of Common Prayer.)
Lord, today we remember how, six days before the cross, you had a meal with Lazarus (raised from the dead). Martha served and again Mary knelt and anointed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume. Did she understand this act as preparation for burial? Did this gratuitous gift reflect a deeper understanding of his sacrifice well before the disciples? May we see even in Judas’s criticism of Mary’s generosity, that the one who is forgiven little, loves little, and the one forgiven much, loves much. Amen.