The First Word of Christ Jesus
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Lk 23:34)
Father,
I am here, your Son,
Your Word.
The word that I have spoken
they did not understand.
Forgive them.
Your pardon give to them.
They did not understand –
they know not what they do.
Give them our creative, redeeming love
that I have known with you above.
Give them our pardon; they did not know
our love has not been understood below –
they know not what they do.
Give, forgive, give.
Your word, creative Father, is give
until giving is your only son
made known upon this cross
where giving is not loss.
Your redemptive love is found
because you give and give and give.
Forgive – they know not what they do.
The Fourth Word of Christ Jesus
Woman, behold thy son. Son, behold thy mother. (Jn 19:26-27)
Blessed are you among women.
Woman, behold thy son.
You have been with me in my life and my death.
To all who seek me
in all the time to come—
to daughter and to son—
I give you now as mother
and John, whose love is with you here
will be your living son.
Son, behold thy mother—
hold her close.
Her faithful love has brought her
to this cross.
Together now you suffer
the painful loss
and she will be a mother
through all the time to come
to bring new birth —to life divine—
that you know now, my son.
–Excerpts from The Seven Last Words of Christ Jesus, Sr. Eileen Storey, SC
Eileen (dec. 2005) was an educator, a scholar of French and world religions, a teacher and student of prayer and founder of houses of prayer, a guide on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and an untiring advocate for peace and nonviolence, especially in the Middle East. She is revered by many as a mystic and a prophet.