 the seven last words of Christ. These seven pronouncements embody the whole of the Gospel. Let's get into the first word. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. It exemplifies to us both this quality of mercy and forgiveness, which was so important in Christ's teaching. If someone hits you on one cheek, turn the other. How many times must I forgive the person who offends me? Not seven, but seven times seven. You'll be able to use this saying as a powerful shield against any insults which may be directed against you and any aspersions cast upon you. The divine spouse prayed for those who killed him. Will you not pray for those who insult and criticize you? So as Bonaventure, our spiritual master telling us, hey look, you should be able to forgive people who do these little insults against you when Christ could forgive the very people who were crucifying him. The second word, amen, I say to thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise. This is a scene which we encounter only in the Gospel of Luke, interestingly enough, of the repentant thief who according to tradition is known as St. Dismas. This thief reprimands the one who is mocking him and he says, have you no fear of God, seeing that thou art under the same condemnation and we are condemned justice. And Jesus replies to him, I tell you, this day you will be with me in paradise. So this promise of heaven given to this last minute repentance. Who else do we know that Jesus looked to him and said, you're gonna be in paradise with me today? Only this guy. I think it's a wonderful lesson to each one of us. Whatever situation we're in, we just need to look at Jesus say, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. The third word, and maybe my favorite, woman, behold thy son. And then he says to John, behold thy mother. These words are the most touching and profound, I think, in the whole of John's passion narrative. We see that Jesus, even though he was in agony himself, in physical agony, looked down with infinite love upon his blessed mother and upon the beloved disciple, John. And this beloved disciple, John actually represents not only the apostle himself, but every faithful Christian disciple. Jesus is making his mother into our mother. I see the man of Bonaventure, our spiritual master, kind of coming through the page here. I marvel that she herself did not succumb to death. So great were the waves of anguish, which engulfed her. He seemed to really tap into what Mary must have been feeling at the foot of the cross. Yes, Bonaventure had this immense love for the Blessed Virgin, and this comes through so powerfully here. The fourth word of Christ. Oh, yes. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? This is perhaps the most confusing. It is, it is. Of the words on the cross. And it's something which, you know, as a priest, I'm very frequently asked about, people say, you know, why did he say that? Was he really abandoned? Surely he knew that he wasn't abandoned. And Bonaventure offers this wonderful explanation. He shows himself united with the suffering church in doing this. And so often people feel themselves abandoned by God. So this question is uttered as the voice of the suffering multitude. So it's an outpouring not only for his own agony, but for the agony of all broken hearts, all crushed spirits throughout the world. It's really almost a divine sense of empathy. It is, it is, it is, yeah. The fifth word, I thirst. I thirst. This thirst is, is expressing this kind of infinite desire, this desire and what's it for? It's not just for physical drink, but a desire for the salvation of every soul there is. You know, Mother Teresa had put in all of the chapels, you know, all the houses that she had for her nuns, a crucifix, but then right next to it, I thirst. Yeah. And I think the reason she did that was to remind us of the, those who they were there to serve. Everyone's thirsting. But Christ is, is thirsting on their behalf, but most importantly, he's thirsting for our own conversion. To see the hunger and the thirst of Christ in the hunger and thirst of our fellow human beings, that whenever someone calls a potos for help, it's actually Christ who's calling a potos for help. The sixth word, it is consummated. The Dewey Reems translation, which is Tan's preferred translation, uses the word, it is consummated. Whereas other translation, RSV, NAB, they say it is finished or it's over, it's ended. It's a very different connotation to say it is finished versus it is consummated. So actually Bonaventure expresses pretty fully what consummation here means. He does, he does. And yeah, this consummation means this bringing something to perfection, to completion, to fulfillment. Thus it was in the perfect and life-giving sacrifice of the Son of God, all the ancient sacrifices and rites of the Old Covenant are brought to their single completion. So it's like he has achieved what he said, he's achieved his mission, the salvation of the world. So yeah. It's a beautiful notion, you know? Yes, yes, which is so much better than it is ended. Yeah. It's finished. Yeah, absolutely. It is, it's just begun. And the seventh word, Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit. It's just interesting that Bonaventure's zoning in here that he said it in a great voice. He essentially yelled it from across. His very last thing he said, he bellowed out for all the world to hear. Most people when they're about to die, they could barely utter any words and the words they say are whispered or barely audible. But Christ here displays his divinity by showing that he's still capable of crying out in this great voice. He says, just as a victorious warrior cries out when he has conquered his foes or put them to flight, even so did Jesus cry out strongly when he had defeated death and sin. I mean, that's a victorious warrior. Yeah. Right there hanging on the cross as the sacrificial lamb. That's a powerful concept. This is, this is, it's magnificent. You know what I, as I said, Connor, I hadn't imagined it in that way ever before. Me neither. But it really does shed a great light upon this. You know, this commending his spirit into the hands of his father isn't just a surrender. This is a cry of victory. He's finished his mission and now he's just making his journey homeward.