You're listening to Catholic Sprouts, the daily podcast for Catholic kids that strives to plant seeds of faith.

Hey there, Spouts.

Today is Thursday, April 1st, 2021.

It is also Holy Thursday, the day on which we commemorate the last supper.

So I hope that you have access, whether in person or virtually, to a Holy Thursday service this evening.

All week, we have been talking about the final day of Jesus' earthly life that started at sunset with the last supper and washing a feat.

And then during the night, during the agony in the garden, the arrest and betrayal, and the trial before the high priests. And yesterday we

talked about the trial before Herod and Pilate, which happened in the early morning. Now we are

at midday. Pilot has finally given in to the

demands of the high priests and the Jewish crowd, and he has ordered that Jesus be crucified.

Now first, we need to understand that the Romans didn't crucify everyone. Crucifixion was reserved for those that were slaves and also

those that were seen as horrible criminals. When the Romans wanted to make a point of showing people

don't do this thing or you will get this terrible punishment, they would crucify them. Now, crucifixion was not only

humiliating, it was a slow and excruciating death. It also was done publicly so that people could watch

and people could see how serious Rome was about keeping the order

and enforcing the laws. So after Jesus was condemned to be killed through crucifixion,

he was given a cross and we hear in the gospel that he carried the cross himself.

Remember that he has already been scourged and that the Romans were brutal in the way that they scourged criminals.

That he had probably lost a lot of blood.

He was very weak. He also had had a crown of thorns pushed onto his head by the soldiers.

We know from looking at the shroud of Turen that the crown of thorns pierced one of his eyes,

that he was terribly, terribly wounded already, very weak when he embraced his cross.

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