The Prayer of Christ on the Cross

By Fr. Christopher Foeckler, MJ • St. Josaphat Formation Center, Phoenix, AZ

When we consider all the sufferings during the Passion that Our Lord accepted so willingly for our salvation, we should be continually awed by the stark contrast between the immense goodness, generosity and love with which He embraced it all for our sakes, and on the other hand the pervasiveness of our weakness, the hardness of our hearts and the depth of depravity of which our sins consist and which caused all of the trials for which He died. The victory of goodness over evil is what the Crucifix should remind us of every time we look upon it. These two contrasting realities met on Calvary and most striking drama of this confrontation is that of the Crucified Lord between the two criminals crucified with Him.

Pious devotion describes one of the two as the “Good Thief,”, but we must remember that both men were career criminals guilty of insurrection, murder and thievery, including the killing of their innocent victims during their crime sprees as some have suggested. The capital punishment they received “corresponds to our crimes” as the one rebukes the other. Their actions were cruel, sinful and depraved. “But this man has done nothing criminal,” he testifies. He could have added, “He healed the sick, fed the hungry and comforted the sorrowful;” and thus the opposing sides were set, thus the contrast and the contest for their souls.

The battle is not waged with sword or weapon wielded, but with the simple utterance of the Son of God: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Jesus prayed this in the hearing of the two thieves as they were crucified. Could this have opened the heart of the Good Thief to Faith in Jesus as Lord and hope of forgiveness for his crimes? The repentance of the Good Thief is a victory of saving grace from the merits of Christ Crucified as He was being crucified! Goodness defeated evil in the heart of the one thief and Jesus celebrated the victory with as much enthusiasm as His tortures would allow: “Amen. Amen, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”(Lk 23:43)

“No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the Cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance.” –St. Leo the Great