Episode 3021: One Hour with Jesus: The Passion of Christ: 5th Week of Lent

One Hour with Jesus
Week 5: The Passion of Christ

Theme: Entering into the Passion. The Suffering Christ Calls Us to Deeper Union Liturgical Context: Passion Sunday.
Lenten Journey Recap
Thank you for joining us for this fifth week of Lent in our series, One Hour with Jesus. As we approach the final stretch of this penitential season, the Church draws us closer to the suffering Christ not merely to observe His Passion, but to enter into it with Him."
A Brief Summary of the First Four Weeks of Lent
Week 1: The Call to Conversion
Christ's cry: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Conversion is a continual turning of the heart, a renunciation of sin, and a surrender to grace.
Week 2: The Necessity of Penance
Penance is purifying love. Mortification disciplines our will, frees us from self-love, and enables us to love God and neighbor.
Week 3: Deepening Our Prayer Life
Prayer is a place of encounter. We embraced mental prayer, silence, and interior stillness, learning to "watch one hour with Him."
Week 4: Charity & Almsgiving
From prayer flows love. Almsgiving detaches us from self and unites us to Christ in the poor and suffering.
Now, in this fifth week, the Church withdraws into silence. The sacred images are veiled. The music fades. The light dims. Christ turns His face toward Jerusalem and invites us to follow."
Opening Prayer:
"O Jesus, in Your bitter Passion, You gave Yourself for love of me. Grant that I may suffer with You in spirit,
enter more deeply into Your wounds,
and be transformed by the sorrow You bore for my salvation. Amen."
The Veiling of Statues & the Liturgy of Silence
Why Are Statues Veiled?
• The Church veils sacred images to symbolize Christ's hidden glory and the coming sorrow.
• It is a call to inward silence and simplicity, reflecting the veiling of Christ's divinity before His Passion.
• Silence in the liturgy invites us to share in His solitude.
Quote: Pope Benedict XVI:
"Silence is the language of God; all else is a poor translation."
The veiling of statues and crucifixes begins on Passion Sunday, which is the fifth Sunday of Lent, two weeks before Easter.
Traditional Practice:
• Passion Sunday marks the beginning of Passiontide, a more intense time of Lent focused specifically on the suffering and death of Our Lord.
• From Passion Sunday until the Easter Vigil, crosses and statues (especially of saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary) are traditionally covered in violet veils.
• The veils are typically removed during the Easter Vigil, starting with the unveiling of the crucifix on Good Friday during the veneration of the Cross.
Liturgical Meaning:
• The veiling expresses a spiritual withdrawal from earthly images and beauty as the Church enters into the sorrow of Christ's Passion.
• It also symbolizes how Christ hid His divinity, allowing Himself to be handed over to suffering and death.
So why is it called Passion Sunday if the Passion doesn’t start for another week?
Because the Church begins to liturgically enter into Christ’s Passion not in a chronological sense, but in a spiritual and contemplative sense. Here's what happens:
Historical and Liturgical Significance
• Passion Sunday inaugurates the last two weeks of Lent, intensifying the focus on Christ’s suffering and death.
• This Sunday marks a shift in tone: the Gloria Patri is omitted in the Mass, statues and crucifixes are veiled, and the Gospel often focuses on the rising conflict between Christ and the Pharisees.
• The Church symbolically hides the glory of the saints and even of the crucified Christ, encouraging us to focus solely on the suffering Messiah.
• From this point on, the Lenten readings and prayers begin to anticipate the Passion very directly.

Spiritual Meaning
The veiling and silence are not just aesthetic they reflect that Christ’s divinity is being “hidden” as He willingly walks the path to Calvary.
So while the historical Passion events begin the following week (Palm Sunday), the Church is already entering into the Passion in mystery and contemplation, preparing our hearts to suffer with Christ.
Reflective Questions:
• What noise in our life keeps me from hearing the voice of Christ?
• What might Christ be asking us to veil to give up in order to see Him more clearly?
The Agony in the Garden: "Watch One Hour With Me"
Although we are not yet into Holy week the theme of this weekly course is One Hour with Jesus.
Matthew 26:36–46 Jesus invites His disciples to be with Him in His most sorrowful hour. He asks them not to act, but simply to stay and watch.
• He sweats blood a sign of intense emotional and spiritual agony.
• He experiences abandonment, fear, and sorrow.
• Yet He offers all of it to the Father.
St. John Chrysostom: "He suffered not only what man could see, but what God alone could know."
Reflection: In the Garden, Christ takes on the full weight of our sin. He shows us that even our loneliest and darkest moments can become redemptive when united with His.
Reflective Questions:
• Have I accompanied Christ in His suffering or do I avoid the Cross?
• What would it mean to "watch one hour" with Him this week?
Meditating on the Passion with the Saints
St. Alphonsus Liguori:
"There is no practice more profitable for the soul than the frequent meditation on the sufferings of Jesus Christ."
• The saints show us how to contemplate each wound of Christ with love.
• St. Bernard of Clairvaux: "The wounds of Jesus are keys that unlock the door of heaven."

Suggestions for Mental Prayer:
• Picture the scourging. Offer each lash as reparation.
• Stand beside Mary at the foot of the Cross.
• Hear Him say, "I thirst," and offer your love as consolation.
Reflective Questions:
• Do I meditate on the Passion regularly?
• Which moment of the Passion pierces my heart most?
• How has Christ suffered for me personally?
Offering Our Sufferings With Christ
Pope Pius XII:
"In uniting our sufferings to Christ, we do not merely endure we redeem."
• Our suffering becomes fruitful when offered in union with Christ.
• Redemptive suffering is not passive; it is powerful.
Colossians 1:24: "I rejoice in my sufferings… filling up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for His Body, the Church."

Practical Application:
• Offer illness, loneliness, rejection, or fear as a gift.
• Pray: "Not my will, but Thine be done."
• Unite your wounds to Christ’s and they will be transformed.
Reflective Questions:
• Do I view my suffering as meaningless, or redemptive?
• What wound in my life can I now place on the Cross?
Final Reflection and Anima Christi
Isaiah 53:5:
"He was wounded for our transgressions… and by His stripes, we are healed."
This 5th week of Lent is a time to enter the mystery of the Cross. Let us not rush to Easter, but remain with Him in His hour.

Closing Prayer – The Anima Christi:
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within Thy wounds hide me.
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.
From the malignant enemy defend me.
In the hour of my death call me.
And bid me come unto Thee,
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever. Amen.
Let us gaze upon the Cross. Not only to see what Jesus suffered, but to understand how deeply He loves us.