effects of sin, separation from God. This awareness
becomes so interiorly intense that Jesus cries out from the
depth of this anguish, "My God, my God, why have you
abandoned me?" It is the beginning of a psalm that Jesus
prayed many times in different circumstances. But now he
felt the meaning of those words. In faith he knew that he
was the beloved Son of the Father. This acute sense of
abandonment was not final. However, in feeling the reality
of sin overwhelmed him. In fact, the Father did not
abandon his Son. Unseen, the Father was there. For our
sake the Father endured the cry of the Son. We can never
begin to comprehend the pain, because of our sins, Jesus
endured. The only meaningful response we can give is to
choose not to separate ourselves from God again.