First reflection of the fifth week of Lent

In the fifth week of Lent, we let ourselves be challenged by the words of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, inspired by visions of the sorrowful Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ; visions on which the film The Passion is based and which… cannot leave us indifferent. 

Jesus is condemned to death 

The Savior was dragged through the crowd and placed between two infamous thieves condemned to crucifixion. These two had been brought to the tribunal when Jesus had been presented to the people with the words: «Ecce Homo». To humiliate Jesus further, the priests had delayed the thieves’ execution. The Lord had the purple cloak draped over his shoulders, and the crown of thorns tormented his head; I saw him exposed to the jeers of the tumultuous crowd. He stood beneath the tribunal steps, surrounded by guards. 
The thieves’ crosses lay on the ground beside them; the Savior’s cross was not there, I think because his death sentence had not yet been pronounced.
As soon as he sat down on the judge’s seat, Pilate said once again to Jesus’ enemies: «Behold your King!» But they replied: «Crucify him!».
Pilate replied: «Then must I crucify your King?» «We have no king but the emperor!», the chief priests promptly replied.
Then Pilate began to pronounce the judgment.
The Holy Virgin pushed through the fury of the crowd to hear the death sentence of her beloved Son.
The blast of a trumpet imposed silence, the people’s tumult subsided, and Pilate pronounced the death sentence.
After a long preamble in which he addressed Emperor Tiberius with all the most pompous titles, Pilate, with the nonchalance of a coward, after presenting the charges against Jesus, pronounced: «Condemned to death by the chief priests for disturbing public order and violating Jewish laws by having himself called “Son of God” and “King of the Jews”.» The Roman procurator added that the Jewish people had unanimously demanded the Galilean’s crucifixion.

Do I have the courage to proclaim the truth even at the expense of my position, my good name, or my life?

I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning to continue reflecting together!