Jesus Forsaken
March 2027
2 Cor 1:3-4: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves"
Matthew 27:46: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
This month we will focus on transforming suffering into love. In his abandonment, Jesus redeems us by identifying himself with every human suffering, especially with the universal human experience of feeling distant from God. Each of our small and big sufferings can be a kind of sacrament through which we encounter and embrace this same Jesus, finding resurrection through each little death. It is the unfathomable paradox of God crying out to God, Jesus feeling abandoned by the Father, the same Father with Whom He had claimed to be one. Jesus’ heroic love through this ordeal, entrusting himself into the Father’s hands, gives us a glimpse into the life among the Persons in the Trinity - a reciprocal self-emptying agapeic love which generates and glorifies the Other. We are invited to live this same love on earth, until its fulfillment - That all may be one.
MONTHLY GATHERING:
Monday, March 8, 2027
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Located in the Main Church
The speaker will be Dr. Bill Neu
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Dr. Bill Neu is a theologian, philosopher, and consecrated member of the Work of Mary (also known as the Focolare Movement or Hearth Movement), an international Catholic movement whose spirituality is centered on the unity for which Christ prayed: “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21).
Dr. Neu brings an exceptional breadth of academic and theological formation to his ministry. He holds a BA in Sociology, an MBA, an MA in Theology, an MA in Philosophy, and a PhD in Moral Theology. His doctoral dissertation examined religious freedom through a comparative study of Dignitatis Humanae and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, engaging in particular the work of the distinguished Catholic theologian John Courtney Murray.
As part of his scholarly work, Dr. Neu coordinated the English translation and served as editor of Msgr. Piero Coda’s From the Trinity, published by The Catholic University of America Press in 2020. Msgr. Coda currently serves as Secretary-General of the International Theological Commission, which assists the Holy See, particularly the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its theological work. Dr. Neu’s collaboration on this significant theological publication reflects the depth and breadth of his own theological scholarship.
Rooted deeply in the Catholic intellectual tradition, Dr. Neu’s scholarship and ministry are also marked by a particular passion for the dialogues in which the Catholic Church is engaged - ecumenical, interreligious, cultural, and educational. This breadth of experience makes him especially well-suited to lead us into one of the most profound mysteries of Christ’s Passion: Jesus Forsaken.
In Jesus’ experience of abandonment on the Cross, we encounter the depth of God’s love and discover a path toward communion, reconciliation, and unity - the very unity for which Christ prayed.