The Good Thief
Mental Prayer Meditation Helps
Presence of God
Grace I Ask: To see the value of suffering in my life.
Mental Picture (cf. Luke 23:39-43): Jesus hangs in agony on His cross between two criminals... the Jews mock Him... the soldiers make sport of Him. One of the criminals joins the blasphemy: "If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!" But the other thief has been watching and thinking: how Jesus has shown His courage and manliness, how He has borne His pain, shown His concern for others despite His own sufferings. No ordinary man would ever act like this... this man must be what He says He is. Dismas speaks out to his companion: "Don't you fear God, even when you are being crucified? And we suffer justly but not this man." And to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom." To this thief who professes belief in Him when everyone else mocks Him, He says, "This day you will be with me in paradise." Dismas the criminal becomes Dismas the saint!
My Personal Application: Dismas' crucifixion was a great grace for him, for in his pain he began to think and believe things that never before occurred to him, and thus he became a saint. Pain and suffering in my life are also great graces which bring me close to Christ. How will I use them - like the bad thief, as an occasion of offending God the more - or like Dismas?
I Speak to Christ: Lord, help me to profit by the suffering you send me for my own good.
Thought for Today: "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
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Adapted from Mental Prayer, Challenge to the Lay Apostle
by The Queen's Work,(© 1958)
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