Mental Prayer for Thursday After the Fourth Sunday of Lent

Christ Before Pilate

Mental Prayer Meditation Helps

Presence of God

Grace I Ask: Lord, give me the grace in this meditation to be strong, so that fear of what people think will never prevent me from doing what I know is right.

Mental Picture (cf. Matt. 27:11-26): Dawn is just breaking... Christ before the petty Roman gover­nor... the judge of the living and the dead before
an unimportant Roman official. A few leading questions reveal Christ's innocence. "Crucify Him!"... that cry cannot be silenced. If I free Him, I will have the people against me. Caesar will not like another disturbance among the people. I will scourge Him then. "Crucify Him!"... "Crucify Him!"... "Jesus or Barabbas?" "Crucify Him!"... "I am innocent of the blood of this just man...I find no cause in Him."... "Crucify Him!"... and he gave Him up to be crucified.

My Personal Application: Do I face the truth even though it is difficult? Or do I, like Pilate, look for some way out, even to the point of offending God? When Christ demands the difficult of me, do I refuse because of what others might think of me, and then proceed to try to salve my conscience? Does the "respect" of the "crowd" govern my life and the practice of my religion?

I Speak to Christ: Lord, it is so easy to yield to the argument that everybody is doing it! And so difficult to do right when I imagine others will make fun of me. Let Pilate be an example to me... give me strength to do what is right, no matter how much others will ridicule me, or think less of me.

Thought for Today: Am I innocent of the blood of this just man?
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Adapted from Mental Prayer, Challenge to the Lay Apostle
by The Queen's Work,(© 1958)