Praying the Communion Antiphon Series Friday Fifth Week of Lent

 Praying the Communion Antiphon Series

Praying the Communion Antiphon

A Time Set Apart:– Friday, Fifth Week of Lent

By His Wounds

Communion Antiphon (1 Peter 2:24)
Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the Cross,
so that, dead to sin, we might live for righteousness;
by his wounds we have been healed.

 

Thinking About the Words

“Jesus bore our sins…”

This is deeply personal.

Not just that sin exists —
but that it is carried.

And not carried in an abstract way.

“In his own body…”

This is physical, real, embodied.

The Cross is not symbolic suffering.
It is actual suffering borne for us.

“On the Cross…”

Now everything is clear.

We are at the threshold of Holy Week.

The “lifting up” we reflected on earlier is now fully visible.

 

“So that…”

This is important.

The Cross is not only about what Jesus does.
It is about what becomes possible for us.

“Dead to sin…”

Not just forgiven.

But freed from its hold.

“We might live for righteousness…”

A new way of living opens.

The Cross is not the end.

It is the beginning of new life.

 

“By his wounds we have been healed”

This is one of the most striking lines in Scripture.

Healing comes not apart from suffering,
but through it.

What appears broken becomes the place of restoration.

 

The Lenten Movement

Now everything is converging:

• God does not condemn
• He gives His Son
• He hands Him over
• He is lifted up

And now:

He bears… He suffers… He heals

 

Connection to the Gospel

Today’s Gospel (John 10:31–42):

The tension is at its peak.

They pick up stones.
They want to arrest Him.

Jesus withdraws.

The rejection is almost complete.

And the antiphon reveals what they cannot yet see:

This rejection will become redemption.

 

At Communion

This antiphon is very powerful at Communion.

We receive the One who:

• bore our sins
• carried our wounds
• and now gives us life

The Eucharist becomes a quiet participation in that healing.

 

Reflection

• Do I truly believe that Christ has carried my sin?
• Where do I need healing in my life?
• Am I willing to let Christ’s suffering bring life within me?
• What does it mean for me to “live for righteousness” today?

 

There is something very still and powerful here. We are no longer approaching the Cross.

We are standing before it.

And the Church gives us this truth to hold:

By his wounds… we are healed

Prayer

Lord,
you have borne my sins
and carried my wounds.
Heal me
and lead me into new life.

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