Spirituality: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” By Fr. Frank Brennan, S.J.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus makes three statements at the time of his crucifixion. First he asks the Father to forgive those responsible. Then he consoles the good thief. Finally, in the words of the psalmist he cries aloud to the Father, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

Forgiveness, consolation, and surrender. The challenge to any of us committed to living life to the full, committed to standing in solidarity against all the odds, committed to loving until death do us part, committed to life beyond death, to glory beyond suffering, to justice beyond the given distribution and the entrenched disorder of our world. The surrender of Jesus empties us of pride and grounds our hope. Whether nailed down, strung up, or just stretched to the limits of our fears, Lord, we ask for the generosity to forgive, the good grace to console, and the faith to surrender, not early or in cowardice, but having given our all and in your good time.