Scriptural Stations Meditations - Eleventh Station

Jesus Promises His Kingdom to the Good Thief

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You.
Because by Your holy cross You have
redeemed the world.

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
"Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us."
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
"Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
He replied to him,
"Amen, I say to you, today
you will be with me in Paradise."

~Luke 23: 39-43

We pray:

Lord Jesus, Your love is freely given, but cannot be forced on us.
Love must be freely accepted.
Here, in extreme agony as You take Your last labored breaths,
You are still reaching out with love to all who will open themselves to it, especially the least among us.
The “Good Thief” is good because he acknowledges his
helplessness and sinfulness and reaches toward You with hope;
he knows that he is “not good” alone and reaches out to You,
seeing Your goodness and love.
He opens himself to this love,
and enters Heaven through the door of Your freely borne wounds.
The rejection of Your great love for us defines sin;
this great love is the inexhaustible Source of Mercy,
which desires to forget every offense,
restore us to our original dignity, and fill us with every good thing.
Your goodness and mercy are like water or light,
reaching into every space that is open to them,
filling every space that is not sealed against them.

Lord, You never fail to repay our slightest efforts toward You
and to fill whatever we open to You.
Give us the grace to acknowledge our own powerlessness,
so that we will remain open to Your healing touch,
to the cleansing waters of Your merciful Love,
and to the glorious light of Your Truth
and be re-created in Your image.
Fully alive, we can walk in the freedom of the Spirit
Who is Life and Love.

May Your eager forgiveness and infinite mercy
help us to acknowledge our weakness
and open our hearts to the radiance of Your Love.