Through Thy death and burial, Jesus, deliver us.
Jesus died on the cross for us. We say it so often that we might not realize the drama of it. Jesus sacrificed Himself. He poured out every drop of His blood. He took our sins upon Himself and lay down His life for us.
Then, when Jesus had died, His disciples placed His body in a new tomb near the site of His crucifixion. They rolled a stone in front of the opening. The Jews asked for and received a guard. But none of that would matter in the end, for Jesus lay down His life knowing fully that He would take it back up again.
Through Thy Resurrection, Jesus, deliver us.
Death could not hold Jesus. Because He was fully human, He could and did die. But because He was also fully God, He conquered death. He rose again on the third day, just as He had told His disciples all along.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He reached out to His disciples in ways filled with love and deep meaning. He opened their minds to the Scriptures. He showed them His wounds. He gave them mercy and peace. He fed them and cared for them and challenged them toward great love, preparing them for their mission to the world.
Through Thine Ascension, Jesus, deliver us.
Jesus ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. But that does not mean He has left us alone. In fact, He is with us more intimately than ever. His Holy Spirit, the Paraclete that He promised, fills us with His divine indwelling at our Baptism and as long as we remain in a state of grace. What is more, we receive Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Eucharist, and He enters into us in a very special way, changes our hearts from the inside out, and is closer to us than we are to ourselves.
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