03/04/2026
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝗶𝘁 ... 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟭𝟵:𝟯𝟱
G.K. Chesterton warned that the modern world suffered from “imagining without thinking” (Orthodoxy, 1908). The warning still holds. Our minds drift into fantasy, film, TV, daydreams, anxieties, often detached from truth and reason. This kind of imagining leads nowhere.
Christian meditation works differently. It trains imagination to serve truth. On Good Friday, we step into the Passion. We see Judas approach, we hear the jeers at Pilate’s court, we feel the lash on Christ’s back. We perceive Mary’s trembling, the crowd’s scorn, and darkness blanket Calvary. We do more than recall facts; we imagine the details. St John assures us his account is reliable: “This is the evidence of one who saw it, trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth, and he gives it so that you may believe as well” (John 19:35).
Meditating on the Passion unites imagination with truth. As St John promises, it strengthens our faith. It also offers healing and consolation. When we fix our thoughts on ourselves, we’re restless, anxious, and unhappy. But when we fix our thoughts on Jesus, we find peace. Even amid suffering, under the shadow of Christ’s Cross and our own, we find peace.
𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘯.
Reflection by Fr John Corrigan
Diocese of Ballarat
This reflection is from Compassio: Lenten Program 2026, produced by the Diocese of Wollongong.
Artwork: Pietà, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1876.
