Lent is a season given to us by the Church to focus on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Devotion to our Savior’s passion is an excellent means by which we develop a closer union with him, we particulate in his divine blessings for us, we go deeper into his adorable heart, and we share in his sufferings and pains. It is also an efficacious means to make atonement for our sins and to make progress in virtue. It also helps us to develop a devotion for Jesus in the blessed sacrament, which is a memorial of his sacred passion and which he instituted with this particular view in mind, namely that it might inspire us often to think of his sufferings. (I Cor. 9:26).

Devotion to the passion of Christ, indeed, the recollection of the passion of our Lord is a spiritual exercise that is highly agreeable to him, since he has left us so great a memorial of it. The contemplation of his sufferings is also an act of gratitude on our part for what he suffered for us.

Jesus also grants the grace of perseverance to those who are devoted to his passion. The graces of this devotion will also assist the person at the hour of death. The Redeemer will render that last moment favorable to the person, and precious in his sight. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful. (Psa. 116:15).

Meditation of the passion of Christ is also a door by which the just develop a more personal relationship with our Savior. Our Savior could not have done an action that was more heroic for the glory of God his Father and for the love of the human race, than that of dying upon the cross for the salvation of our souls. Thus, he could not have made his love for us more resplendent than by dying on the cross for the salvation of his people. God has bestowed an infinite merit to the death of his Son. Thus, we please our Savior, when we think of his passion and death, when we meditate on the whips, thorns, and nails he suffered, when we meditate on his ignominies, opprobrium, and torments. We can be rest assured that when we are devoted to his passion, he will look upon us with a favorable eye, he will honor us with his friendship, and he will grant us his favors as a result of our cordial devotion to his passion.

Devotion to the passion of Christ is also one of the key heritages of our religion. It helps us, among other spiritual merits, to bear our crosses with patient endurance. The crosses, prepared for each person, are the afflictions, the problems, the pains, and the miseries of this life. With devotion to the passion of Christ, one will be able to bear one’s cross with holy courage and patience. He provides us with the graces and strength with which to bear our cross faithfully after him. Thus, St. Paul says: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13).

Through devotion to the passion of Christ, God also purifies the soul of the person from the stains of sin, and he draws the person closer to himself. This devotion also helps us to preserve ever in our mind the four last things, namely: death, judgment, heaven, and hell; and by means of this devotion, we shall be welcomed into the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world.

Let us pray. O Jesus, who for love of me hung in agony upon the cross to pay the penalty of my sins and to obtain for me the pardon of them from our Eternal Father, pity all the faithful who are now in their last agony, and pity me when I too shall be in mine. By the merits of your most precious blood shed for our salvation, vouchsafe unto us all such lively sorrow for our sins that at our death we may breathe forth our souls into the bosom of your infinite mercy. Amen.