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Chapter 112

How great reason it is, that we should behold this man Christ, with those eyes, wherewith many of them to whom the Apostles preached, did behold him: that so we may grow beautiful. And that this beauty is given us, through his grace, and not through our own merits.

A Most reasonable thing it is, O Virgin, that these motives, which are so pregnant; and these examples which are so full of life, should move thee (thou having first, cast away all tepidity) to fix him in thy hart, with a profound, and cordial love, who, so much to his torment, was placed, & nailed, upon the Cross, for thee. And that thou be none of those hard-hearted persons, who heard those words spoken in vain; but of those others, to whom the hearing thereof, hath been a cause of salvation. Be none of them, who had not the grace to esteem that, which was present to them; but of those others, in whose person, Isay saith, We desired to see him; for many Kings, and Prophets, have desired, to see the face, and to hear the voice of Christ our Lord.

Behold1 therefore, O Virgin, this man, Christ Jesus, who is published by the voice of one, that is not worthy to proclaim him thus. Behold this man; that thou mayst then come to hear his words, for he is that master, which the Father gave us. Behold this man; that thou mayst imitate his life; for there is no way, whereby thou canst be saved, but he Behold this man; that thou mayst have compassion of him; for he was brought to such a pass, as might have moved, even his enemies to compassion. Behold this man, to lament over him; for it is we, who by our sins, have brought him, to the case he is in. Behold this man; that thou mayst love him, for he hath suffered infinitely for us. Behold this man; that thou mayest beautify thyself by him; for in him, thou shalt find all the colours of beauty, that thou canst desire. Red, by the new buffets which they gave him; Blew, by those which he had received the night before; Yellow, by the abstinence of his whole life, and by the affliction which he had passed through, in that night. White, by the spittle which they had discharged upon him; and Black, by those blows, wherewith they had new moulded his sacred face; his cheeks all swelled, and of as many colours as those wretches could paint upon them. For Isay2 prophesied thus, in the person of Christ, I gave my cheeks to those that would pull them; and my body to them that would afflict it. What waters, what enamels, what white, and red, mayest thou find here, wherewith to beautify thyself, if, by thy negligence, thou leave them not.

Behold this man, O Virgin; for whosoever beholdeth him not, shall not escape from death. For, as Moses did exalt the serpent in the desert upon a staff, that they who were wounded, might recover by looking on it, and those others, dye, who did not look; so3 whosoever shall not look with faith, and love, upon Christ, (who is placed upon the wood of the Cross) shall dye for ever. And, as I told thee before, that we must beseech the Father by saying, Look, O Lord, upon the face of thy Christ; so also doth the Eternal Father command, and say to us, Look O man, upon the face of4 thy Christ; and if thou wouldst have me look upon his face, to pardon thee; look thou upon his face, that, by him, thou mayest desire me, to give thee pardon.

In5 the face of Christ, our Mediator, the Father's sight, and ours do come to meet. There, do the beams of our believe, and love; there do the beams of his grace, and pardon, determine themselves. Christ, is called the Christ of the Father, because the Father engendered him, & gave him what he hath. And Christ is called our Christ, because he offered himself for us, bestowing upon us all his merits. Behold therefore, the face of thy Christ; believing in him; confiding in him; and loving him; and all others, for him. Behold the face of thy Christ, by meditating on him; and by comparing thy life with his; that so, as in a glass; thou mayest see thy faults; and how far thou art off, from him; & so knowing the sins which deform thee, thou mayest take, of his tears, & of his blood, which stream down, over that beautiful face of his; and, with grief, mayest wash away those spots, and so thou mayst become beautiful, and just. But as the jews took off their eyes from Christ, because they saw him so ill handled; so doth Christ take his eyes off, from that soul which is wicked, and which as leprous, is abhorred by him.

But when he hath beautified it, by the grace that he gained for it, by his afflictions, he placeth his eyes upon it, saying; How6 beautiful art thou O my Friend, how beautiful art thou. Thine eyes, are as of a dove, besides that, which is hidden within. He saith, two several times, That she is beautiful; because7 she must be so, both in body, and soul; within, by desires, and without, by deeds. And because that which is within, is to exceed that which is without; he therefore saith, Besides that, which is within. And for that, the beauty of the soul, as S. Augustine saith, doth consist in loving God, he therefore saith, Thine eyes, are as of a dove. Whereby is noted, that sincere, and amorous intention, which only aims at the pleasing of God, without any mixture of proper interest.

Then, Behold thou Christ, that Christ may behold thee. And8 as thou must take heed of thinking, that he had done any thing for which he might deserve, to take upon him, the show of being deformed; so be sure, thou have no imagination, that thou hast deserved the beauty, which he gave thee, of mere grace. For without any obligation, did he vest himself with our deformity; and without any obligation, but of mere grace, he hath apparelled us with his beauty. Of such men, as think that the beauty which they have in their souls, they have of themselves, God saith by9 Ezechiel, thou wert perfected by the beauty which I had placed upon thee; and yet having confidence, in that beauty10 of thine, thou didst commit fornication, in thine own name; and thou didst expose thyself in that sin to all such as passed by, to be made theirs. This God doth say; For when a soul, ascribeth to herself, the beauty of justice, which God gave her; she doth, after a sort, commit fornication with herself. For as much as, she desireth to joy in herself, and not in God, who is her true spouse; and from whom she hath all her being beautiful; and she resolveth rather to glory in her own name, (which is to commit fornication in that name) then to glory in God, who gave her that which she possesseth.

For this cause, doth God, with great reason, take away the beauty which he gave her; since she rebelled from him, by occasion thereof. And because this vain and wicked complacence, which she taketh in herself, is pride, and the beginning of all mischief; therefore it is said, Thou didst offer thyself, in the way of fornication, to every passenger. For11 the proud man, leaning & resting upon himself (who is but a mere vanity) is carried away with every wind, & taken prisoner by every sin, that passeth by; and that, most justly; because he would not humble himself so, as to be established, by putting his confidence in God. Behold therefore this man Christ Jesus in himself; and behold him, in thyself. In thyself, that so thou mayst see, who thou art. In himself, that so thou mayst see, who he is. Those ignominies, and abasements of his, thou didst deserve, and therefore they are thine; The good which is in thee, is his; and he gave it, without any merit in thee.

Footnotes

  1. How necessary it is for us to behold Christ our Lord, crucified. ↩

  2. Isa. 50. ↩

  3. It is not with faith alone, that we must look upon our Lord, but with faith & love. ↩

  4. Christ our Lord is not only, the Christ of God, but of us also. ↩

  5. The great God and this wretched man, can only be made to meet in Christ our Lord. ↩

  6. Cant. 4. ↩

  7. The soul that serveth God must have, both good desires, & good deeds. ↩

  8. We must give all glory to God; & take the shame to ourselves. ↩

  9. Ezech 16. ↩

  10. As if it had been his own, & not only imparted by God. ↩

  11. A just punishment. ↩

Chapter 114 of 115