Welcome to our daily rosary meditation. Thanks to you, 3,257 people have given $1 million,

and with the match, that is $2 million. And now all of us together are going to build a worldwide movement of the Holy Family.

People who belong entirely to Our Lady are committed to personal transformation and helping others through friendship to God.

So thank you, everyone, and thanks be to God

for bringing this Advent challenge to a successful completion.

And now I pray that you have a wonderful rest of Advent.

And I hope you enjoy this rosary from the Holy Land.

Welcome to our daily rosary meditation.

Let's begin in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Let's call to mind all those we've promised to pray for.

We are in Jerusalem.

We are at the place of the Antonio Fortress.

We are in the courtyard where Pilate condemned Jesus to death, where he was scourged, crowned with thorns, and began the way of the cross.

Pilate, perhaps the most horrendous coward who ever lived, didn't want to kill Jesus. He was somehow afraid

to kill this obviously innocent, just, and righteous man, but Pilate was more afraid of the mob

who was demanding Jesus' blood. So Pilate tried to do what all cowards do.

He tried to make an utterly inconsistent compromise

by having Jesus scourged and then declaring him innocent.

Of course, if Jesus was guilty of insurrection and blasphemy, then no one would be satisfied with scourging him.

And if Jesus was innocent, then having him scourged was a gross injustice.

But it takes courage and integrity to be consistent, and Pilot had neither. After Jesus was

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