You are listening to the St. Jose Maria Institute podcast.

Please enjoy today's meditation.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins, and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful.

My immaculate mother, St. Joseph, my father and Lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

The custom of meditating on these seven last words of Jesus on the cross is a relatively recent vintage.

The format we know today, with seven structured meditations,

really took shape in Catholic devotion during the 16th century.

It became a common Good Friday practice,

focusing on seven key moments during those agonizing three hours of the

Lord's hanging on the cross. Two of the words are, I thirst, and it is finished. This meditation is about the first of the seven last words.

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Our first thought, no doubt, focuses on the religious authorities

who had fought so hard to bring about the Lord's death.

But it is far too easy to stop there,

shaking our heads at the thought that they did not realize who it was they were crucifying.

In fact, those words of Jesus, they know not what they do, need to wound us in our innermost being.

We too know not what we do.

We can blithely offend God without giving it any thought, remaining oblivious to the impact

of our sins on our Creator. St. Hosermuria underscores the danger of superficiality

...