The Thirty-first Day: On the Death of our Saviour

CONSIDER how our Lord having spoken these last words: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, with a loud and strong voice, bowing down his head in perfect submission to his Father's will, and perfect charity to us poor sinners, to whom in this posture, he offered as it were the kiss of peace, breathed forth his pure soul, and thus ended his mortal life; which from the moment of his birth till now, had been nothing else but a series of sufferings endured for us. Hasten now, my soul, and approach boldly to kiss the sacred feet of thy Redeemer, view his pale limbs, count at leisure all his wounds, and lament all thy sins, for which he suffered such exquisite torments.

2. Consider in the passion of our Saviour the truth of these words, which were delivered by him on another occasion, He that humbleth himself shall be exalted: and see how our Lord, having humbled himself to the death of the cross, was even at the very time honoured and exalted by his heavenly Father, and that many ways; for during the time he hung upon the cross, the sun for three whole hours withdrew his light; and at his death, the earth trembled, the rocks were split, and the monuments opened; the veil of the temple, which hung before the sanctuary, was rent from top to bottom; the people, touched by these wonders, went home striking their breasts; and the centurion, or captain of the guards, publicly professed, that this man whom they had crucified, was truly the Son of God. Rejoice, O Christian soul, to see thy Saviour's death thus honoured; and learn under all events to confide in God, who will at last convert the malice of thy enemies to thy honour and advantage. Sit now down at the foot of the cross, and there at leisure meditate.

3. Consider, and repeat in thy mind, the multitude and variety of the sufferings, which thy Saviour has endured for thee, from his entrance into the garden of Gethsemani, till his expiring on the cross. View them one by one, and thou shalt see that not one part of his sacred body (which being the most perfect, was at the same time the most sensible of pain of any that have ever been), was free from its peculiar torment: his head crowned with thorns; his face defiled with spittle, bruised, and swollen black and blue with blows; his hair and beard plucked and torn; his mouth drenched with gall and vinegar; his shoulders oppressed with the weight of the cross; his hands and feet pierced with nails; his whole body exhausted with a bloody sweat; mangled and laid open with whips and scourges; his limbs wearied out, and all disjointed upon the cross. What he suffered in his soul was not one jot less, but rather infinitely more than what he suffered in his body. Witness that mortal anguish which cast him into his agony in the garden; witness that grievous complaint on the cross: My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me? He suffered moreover in his reputation (which is often dearer to a man than life). by false witnesses, and outrageous calumnies and depositions. He suffered in his honour by all kinds of reproaches and affronts; he suffered in his goods, being despoiled of his very clothes, and hanging naked upon the cross; he suffered in his friends, being forsaken by them all: not to speak of other sufferings, which are usually most sensible to flesh and blood: viz. the ingratitude of those whom he had favoured with his miracles, the triumphs of his enemies, their insults over all his disciples, &c.: — and in all these sufferings, he denied himself those comforts which he usually affords his servants under their crosses, and which have made the greatest torments of the martyrs not only tolerable, but oftentimes sweet and comfortable. But he would allow himself no other comfort, than that of doing the will of his Father, and purchasing our redemption.

4. Consider who it is that suffers all this; and thou shalt find, that he is the eternal Son of God, equal and consubstantial to the Father: the great Lord and Maker of heaven and earth, infinite in power, infinite in wisdom, infinite in all perfections. But for whom does he suffer all this? For poor man, a wretched worm of the earth; for ungrateful sinners, traitors to his eternal Father, and to himself; for those very Jews that crucified him; for us mortals, who for the most part were likely never to thank him, or even so much as to think of his sufferings. O, how admirable, art thou, O Lord, in all thy ways, but in none more than in the contrivances of thy mercy! O, how does this passion of our Redeemer set out and illustrate all the attributes of God! It is here we discover his infinite goodness and charity, in thus wonderfully communicating himself to us. It is here we discover his unparalleled mercy, in taking upon himself our miseries, and enduring the stripes due to our sins. Here we see the admirable wisdom of his providence, in opening to us by his own death the fo mi tain of life. Here we learn to fear his justice, which fell so heavily upon his own Son, who had but clothed himself in the resemblance of a sinner, in order to make atonement for our sins. Oh! what must the guilty themselves one day expect at his hands, if they do not prevent the terrors of his justice, by laying hold of his present mercy!

5. Consider, in the sufferings of thy Saviour, the infinite malice, the unparalleled heinousness of mortal sin, which was not to be cancelled, but by the last drop of blood of the Son of God. This is one of the chief lessons which thy Saviour desires to teach thee from the cross; thou canst not please him better than by studying well this lesson. Oh! never be so ungrateful as to crucify him again by mortal sin. Oh! let not that monster live in thee, for the destroying of which Christ himself would die.