Hi friends, That was a very beautiful sharing .. It brought a point to my mind which i felt i should share with you.. The piercing of Jesus's side saw a flow of blood and water.. "Water" flows from the body only when there is no more blood left. This signifies that Jesus shed all his blood for us..upto the last drop.. he gave himself for us totally.. Let us thank god today for the gift of the most precious blood of Jesus which washes away all sins. Love and Prayers Ravi Bincy Abraham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:Hi friends, this weekend was truly an amazing spiritual experience for us here in Chicago!!! i feel like it is wrong if i don't share it with you all... Fri night we had stations of the cross followed by mass and from 9:30 PM till 2:30 AM we had our regular Night Vigil with exposed blessed sacrament (we have it every second friday of the month)!!! it was powerful beyond words... Jesus was really and truly PRESENT!!!! Sat afternoons we have our (adult, youth/teenager, christeen) prayer meetings ("the bread and butter" of JYC) from 4:30-6:30 PM going on simultaneously. this last Sat it was a very special combined session b/c we had Mr. Jim Murphy, US and World renown man of God (member of National Charismatic team), speak to us about the Shroud of Turin and the Passion of Jesus. Anyways, Mr. Murphy was sharing about the Passion of Jesus in detail...I have always known that Jesus suffered much for us but till this last Sat, i never realized the full physical extent of His suffering. Mr. Murphy shared in detail how Jesus was inflicted with pain, what instruments were used, the depth of the penetrating wound, the duration of the torture, etc.... I really can't go in detail to his sharing b/c i don't think i will do justice to the presentation (there was so much covered in mere 2 hours)... One thing that I would like to share is that Jim Murphy mentioned that "Jesus died LITERALLY of a BROKEN HEART... Jesus who had PURE, PERFECT LOVE died of a broken heart because He loved us unconditionally..." You must wonder what I am talking about, if I make sense...I was pondering the very same thoughts when Mr. Murphy was speaking.. This is how he explained it: After Jesus died on the cross, in John's gospel it is mentioned in ch.19:34 "one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness (John) has testified and his testimony is true." Have you ever wondered why "blood and water" gushed forth? Jim Murphy explained some of the investigated, researched findings in medical terms and from my medical background, I was in total agreement and understanding. When blood is taken and sits in a test tube for a while, the red blood cells "blood" settle to the bottom and the serum component "water" stays on top... it is believed that Jesus's heart was bleeding from the pressure and torture of His physical afflication. If blood escapes from the heart and small vessels into the pericardium (the membrane that covers the heart) and since He was bleeding internally for a long time, the blood had been sitting in the pericardium for a long time and had settled into its parts, thus producing blood and water gushing forth...Physically Jesus's heart was bleeding for us!!! Another point which struck my attention from the presentation was the emphasis on the last few words of Jesus. Many of us remember the words but don't realize just how painful it was for Jesus to just even say one word.. On the Cross, it took every inch of Jesus's being to utter even a sound..." Father, forgive them, they know not what they do"..."Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise"... "Woman, behold, your son.. Behold your mother..", "I thirst"... "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" "It is finished"... "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" Now when I hear these words, I hear them differently with new perspective and meaning. Jesus did not have to say a single word on the cross but till His last breath, He was trying to save us!!!! The height and depth of Jesus's suffering is tremendous and it parallels to His unconditional and perfect love for us... Jesus did not have to die on the cross or endure any physical or emotional suffering.. He was the beloved Son of God with whom His Father was well pleased. But Jesus knew that if He did not undergo this suffering, we would not have this opportunity to be with His Father alongside Him!!!! Jesus was fully God and fully human and He experienced pain at the human level to the full extent--the extent which through His sacrifice we were saved... The presentation was truly powerful experience of Jesus and it has changed my life in someway or the other.. I don't think I will ever truly understand the extent of how much Jesus suffered physically for us... I hope to understand 1-10 % at least... I just hope and pray that this Lenten period, you may all be blessed with an understanding and reflection of the PASSION at a greater, meaningful level and this experience will change your life in someway or the other as it has for me.. Luv n Prayers, Bincy :=) CHICAGO
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