Our Lord on earth possessed the beatific vision from the first moment of His conception in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. Despite this, on the cross, He chose to renounce all human consolation in order to offer a supreme sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins and those of the whole world.

His cry “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is the opening line of Psalm 21 in which the suffering servant of the Lord prophesies the sufferings of Christ. Our Lord does not cry out in despair, but in fulfilment of the will of God that He should triumph over evil.

The psalm eloquently describes the power of evil and even the details of some of the sufferings of Our Lord. It ends in a note of triumph with the prayer of the poor man being heard, and the vision of the Kingdom of God in which justice is finally brought about.

Our Lord teaches us to offer up our sufferings in union with Him and to adore the Father who hears the prayer of Christ for the redemption of our sins.