Twenty silver pieces

PRAYER MOMENT

Friday 21 March 2014

TWENTY SILVER PIECES

Pause. Be still in the presence of God and enter within.

Reading: “They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver and these men took Joseph to Egypt.” (Gen 37:3-28, Matt 21:33-46)

Reflection. “What is this sense of sorrow?” The Second Vatican Council asks this question of men and women today. Where does it come from, this terrible weight that we carry? Maybe Fridays in Lent are particularly “heavy.” Today we have Joseph seized by his brothers and sold into Egypt. Why? And Jesus foresees his own death in the story of the tenants in the vineyard. “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him.” Why? Why these clouds that gather round us prompting men and women to jealousy, revenge, greed, violence and hatred? We see it in our local papers. We see it on our world screens. And we are left with a deep sense of sorrow. “Weep not for me but for yourselves and for your children” (Luke 23:28). Let us remain in that sorrow for a while and not try to escape. Let us be with Mary at the foot of the cross and not run away.                            

Prayer. Lord, I am overwhelmed at times when I think of what people suffer in our world. Why can we not wake up to this suffering? Help us to stay with Mary at your side in your pain. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ