A Look Backward to the Passion - Jesus is stripped of his garments:

The soldiers take Jesus� tunic from him
with the brutality of thieves;
they also try to rob him
of his modesty and his dignity.
But Jesus is the modesty, Jesus is the dignity
that belongs to man and the human body.
And the scorned body of Christ
becomes the indictment of all the scorn
ever shown to the human body,
which God created as the mirror of the soul
and the language to speak of love.
Today bodies are constantly bought and sold
on the streets of our cities,
on the streets of our televisions,
in homes that have become like streets.
When will we realize that we are killing love?
When will we realize that, without purity,
the body can neither be alive nor life-giving?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
purity has everywhere fallen victim
to a calculated conspiracy of silence: an impure silence!
People have even come to believe
a complete lie:
that purity is somehow the enemy of love.
But the opposite is true, O Lord!
Purity is necessary
as a condition for love:
a love that is true, a love that is faithful.
In any event, Lord,
if we cannot be the master of ourselves?
how can we give ourselves to others?
Only the pure are capable of love;
only the pure can love without cheapening love.
Lord Jesus,
by the power of your blood poured out in love,
grant us pure hearts,
so that our world may see a rebirth of love,
that love for which our hearts so deeply yearn.