Chapter 24. Meditation on the Sacred Mystery of Our Lord's Crucifixion and on His Seven Last Words; for Friday Morning

Having made the sign of the cross with the preparation mentioned in the second chapter, meditate on the crucifixion and on those seven last words our Saviour spoke upon the Cross.

$ 1—The Text of the Evangelists is as follows.

1.—‘*He went forth,” says the Evangelist, “to that John xix, place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew, Golgotha, and there they gave him wine mixed with gall to drink, and when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And it - was about the third hour when they crucified him; and with him two rebbers one on each side and Jesus in the midst. -

Mark xv. And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith ; Isai. litt. And with the wicked he was reputed.” John xix. ‘*And Pilate wrote a title also; and he put it upon the cross, and the writing was, “ Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.” This title therefore many of the Jews did read, because the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the City: and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in

Latin. Then the Chief Priests of the Jews said to Pilate ; ‘write not, The King of the Jews, but that he said, I am the King of the Jews.’ Pilate answering said, ‘What I have written, I have written.’”

2.—“And after they had crucified him they divided his

SA garments, casting lots; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘They Realm 50. divided my garments among them; and upon my vesture they cast lots.’ ”” This is what the Soldiers did. 3.—‘‘And they that passed by, blasphemed him, wagging Matt. xxvii. their heads, and saying: ‘ Vah, thou that iS destroyest the temple of God, and in three days dost rebuild it, s hy own self, if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ In like manner also the Chief Priests, with the Scribes and Ancients, mocking said : “He saved others; hiraself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him now deliver him, if he will have him; for he said I am the Son of God y And the self-same things the thieves also that were crucified Matt. xxvii. with him, reproached him with. But Jesus Luke xxi. said: ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they, do.’ ” 4.—““And one of /those robbers who was hanged, blas-Luke xxiii. phemed him saying; ‘If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.’ But the other answering, rebuked him, saying ; ‘Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art under the same condemnation ? and we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done no evil.’ And he said to Jesus; “Lord remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him; ‘Amen, I say to thee, This day thou shalt be with me in paradise.’ ”’ 5.—““Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, ecos dns and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.”

6.—‘‘ When Jesus therefore had seen his mother, and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother ; ‘Woman, behold thy Son.’ After that he saith to the disciple; ‘Behold thy Mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own.”

7.—‘ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud

Matt. xxvii. voice, saying; Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani !

that'is, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me! And some that stood there and heard, said; This man calleth

Elias; others said: Stay, let us see if Elias will come to take him down.”

8.—“ Afterwards, Jesus kno vi that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said : ‘T thirst ;' Now there was a vessel set there full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon hyssop and put it on a reed and gave him to drink. Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: ‘It is consummated,’ ”

9.—“* And Jesus crying out again with a loud yoice, said ; ‘Father into thy hands I commend my spirit.’ And from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour: and the earth quaked and the rocks were rent ; and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose; And

Matt xxvii. there were there many women afar off who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him ; among whom was Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”

$ 2.—Meditation on the foregoing Texts.

10.—Oh my soul, we have arrived at Mount Calvary, and reached the height of the mystery of our Redemption. Oh, how wonderful is this spot! In truth this is the house of God, the gate of heaven, the land of promise and the placo of

Gen, iii.

ends ev: salvation. Here the tree of life is planted ;

here the mystic ladder of Jacob'is seen which reaching from earth to heaven, angels descend down to men and men mount up to God. Oh my soul, this is the place of prayer; here thou oughtest to adore and bless the Lord and give him thanks for this his greatest blessing, saying; Oh Lord Jesus Christ, we adore thee and bless thy holy name, because through the means of this holy cross, thou hast redeemed the world; we thank thee, Oh most clement Saviour, for having ' thus loved us, for having washed away our sins with thy blood, for having offered thyself a victim for us upon this cross, that with the sweet odour of this noble sacrifice, kindled with the fire of thy love, thou mightest satisfy and appease the wrath of God. Blessed be thou for ever, Oh Saviour of the world, reconciler of mankind, reinstator of the angels, renovator of the heavens, conqueror of hell, victor of the devil, author of life, destroyer of death and redeemer of those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

11.—Come then, all ye that thirst, to the waters, and all ye that have neither gold nor silver, come and receive every Isaiah lv. bounty gratis. Ye who thirst after the Exod. xxvii. waters of life, behold the mystic rock struck by the rod of Moses in the desert, whence gushed abundant streams of water to satisfy a thirsty people. Ye who seek for peace and the friendship of God, behold here also that stone Gen. xxxv. which the Patriarch Jacob anointed with oil and set up as a testimony of friendship and peace between God and man. Ye who want wine to heal your wounds, behold here the grapes brought from the land of promise to this vale of tears, which are now trodden and pressed in this Nom, xiii. wine press of the cross for our remedy. Ye who are in quest of the oil of divine grace, behold here that precious cruise of the widow’s oil mentioned by Eliseus, with IV. Kings iv. which we must all discharge our debts; and though the cruise seems small regard not its size, but its power which will whilst there are vessels to fill, pour out a never-failing stream of this sacred oil.

12.—Awaken now my soul and reflect on this holy mystery of the cross, the fruit of which cures that poisonous fruit of the forbidden tree, as the Spouse explained to his beloved in

Cant. viii. the Canticles, when he said: ‘Under the apple tree I raised thee up; there thy mother was corrupted, there she was defloured that bore thee.”

18.— Behold then, how thy Saviour haying reached this spot, to increase the infamy of his death, was stript by his unfeeling enemies of all his garments, even to his under tunic which was woven allin one piece without a seam. Behold too, the meekness of that most innocent lamb, submitting to be stript without opening his mouth or uttering a single word of complaint against his persecutors. On the contrary, he submitted cheerfully to be spoiled of his garments and to stand naked exposed to shame, in order that he might more effectually, than with fig leaves, cover the nakedness of those, who through sin had lost the robes of innocence and grace. Some learned doctors suppose that in order to remove this tunic, they with great cruelty plucked from his head the crown of thorns, and afterwards replaced it, forcing anew the thorns into the brain and tearing open fresh wounds. And this is not difficult to believe of those, who had made use of so many strange and outrageous cruelties through every stage of his passion.

14.—And as the tunic was glued to his wounds with the congealed blood, these miscreants, void of every sense of pity, as they stript it off his body, rent it away with one savage tear, and with such violence as to flay his sacred body, and open afresh all the wounds inflicted by the scourges. Thus did he stand streaming with blood, one gaping wound extending on every side from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet.

15.—Here then, my soul, reflect on the greatness of God’s goodness and mercy, so clearly shewn in this mystery. See how he who robes the heavens with clouds, and clothes the fields with flowers and verdure, is here stript of all his garments. See how angelic beauty is here defaced, the sublimity of heaven humiliated, and the Majesty and greatness of God thrown down and trampled upon. See how that royal blood threads its way through the dishevelled hair of that sacred head till it trickles to and stains the ground. Consider the shivering cold that sacred body would suffer, butchered as it was and naked, and not only without clothing, but even flayed and skinned, with open doors and windows of wounds on every side. And if St. Peter the previous night, wrapt in all his clothing felt the cold, how much more bitter Jornal: must have been the sufferings of that most tender body so wounded and so naked ? 16.—Hence it appears, that though our Saviour during the whole course of his life presented before us so many wonderful examples of naked poverty, nevertheless in his death he shewed us the most perfect mirror of this virtue, since there he was so poor that he had not whereon to lean his head, and there he shewed us that he carried away nothing of this world with him and that nothing of this world clung to him. In conformity with this example, we read of the blessed St. Francis, a true imitator of the poverty of Christ, that at the time of his death, he stript himself of everything, and throwing himself out of his bed upon the floor, embraced the bare ground to imitate like a faithful servant, the nakedness and poverty of his Master. Go then thou, my soul, and learn here also, poor and naked to follow in the footsteps of Christ, learn also to despise ail the world can give, that thou mayst deserve with naked arms to embrace thy naked Master, and in order to be joined to him through love, learn also to be naked and free from every other love.

§ 4. 17.—Consider next how our Lord was nailed to the cross, and the pain he would suffer whilst those thick angular nails were driven through the most sensitive parts of his most tender body. And see also how the Virgin would suffer when her own eyes saw and her own ears heard the cruel heavy blows falling so often upon those divine limbs and - members. See how they then raised the cross on high to fix it in the hole already prepared to receive it, and how in their cruelty, in setting it, they let it fall with a shock and thus caused that divine body to quiver in the air, tore open more widely those gaping wounds, and added another pang to all his agonies.

18.—Then Oh my Saviour and Redeemer, where is the heart so hard as not to break with grief, since on this day the Matt. xxvii. rocks themselves were rent, at the contemplation of thy agonies on the cross? The sorrows of death Oh Lord have encompassed thee, and the waves of the sea have overwhelmed thee, thou art stuck in the depths of the abyss and thou hast not whereon to sustain thee. The Father has deserted thee, Oh my Lord what canst thou hope from men? Thy enemies cry out against thee, thy friends break thy heart, thy soul is filled with trouble, and thou refusest all consolation for love of me. ‘Truly my sins were heinous, thy penance declares this. I behold thee, Oh my King, nailed to a tree; there is nothing to sustain the weight of thy body but three iron hooks, on these thy sacred flesh is hung without other support; when thou restest thy weight upon thy feet, their wounds are torn by the nails that pierce them, when upon thy hands, their wounds are rent by the weight of thy body. No limb can aid another without equal anguish to itself. Then that sacred head tortured and weakened with the crown of thorns, what pillow will support it? Ob most serene Virgin how would thy arms long to perform that office ? But no, there thine must not serve, but the arms of the cross! On them will that sacred head recline when seeking for support, and the relief from them will drive in the thorns still deeper to the brain. Beyond all this, I see those four principal

ON ‘PRAYER AND MEDITATION. 213 wounds like four fountains ever gushing blood: I see the soil puddled and running with blood, I see this most precious fluid trampled upon and spilt over the ground, crying out better

+» Gen. iv, than the blood of Abel; because that cried for vengeance against a murderer, but this craves forgiveness for sinners.

§ 5.—On the Son's sympathy for his Mother, and the Mother's Sor her Son upon the cross.

19.—The sufferings of the Son were“aggravated by the presence of the Mother, his heart was crucified within like his sacred body was crucified externally. Oh Good Jesus, there are two crosses for thee this day; one for thy body, another for thy soul, one the cross of thy passion, the other the cross of thy compassion. The one pierces thy body with nails of iron, and the other thy soul with the nails of grief.

20.—Oh Good Jesus, what tongue can describe thy feelings when thou didst consider the anguish of that most holy soul, which thou knewest so well was crucified with thee upon the cross? ‘When thou sawest that tender heart pierced with the sword of grief? When thou didst raise thy bloodshot eyes and saw that heavenly face stamped with the bitterness of death? and the agonies of her soul unrelieved by death, and suffering more than all the pains of death? and those floods of tears gushing from her pure eyes, and heard those smothered groans struggling in that sacred breast so overwhelmed with crushing sorrow? Truly, it is impossible to magnify the tortures suffered by thy compassionate heart racked on this invisible cross.

21.—And who, on the other hand, Oh blessed Mother, can describe the excess of thy grief and anguish, at the sight of the death under such frightful torments, of him whose birth thou hadst witnessed with such delight? When thou sawest mocked and blasphemed by men, him whose praises thou hadst listened to chaunted by angels? When thou sawest that holy body fondled with such reverence and nursed with such care by thee, so cruelly illtreated by the wicked ? When thou sawest that divine mouth suckled by thee with the.

milk of heaven, embittered with vinegar and gall? And that = divine head which had so often been pressed to thy virgin breast, wreathed with a bloody crown of thorns? Oh how often didst thou raise thy eyes to gaze on that divine form, the sight of which had so often gladdened thy soul, and turn them away because thy tender heart could no longer endure the sight ! .

22.—What tongue can proclaim the greatness of this grief? If those who truly love Christ, by the mere contemplation of these sorrows now past away, are moved with such tender compassion for him, what would thy feelings be, his Mother, yea more than Mother, seeing with thy own eyes, such a son suffering such a passion? If those women who followed our Lord when he carried his cross, unconnected by any tie of blood, wept and lamented at beholding such a piteous figure, what weeping would be there at the sight of one so bound to thee, not only bearing his cross upon his back but nailed upon it and lifted up on high?

23.—And great as these sorrows were, thou didst not refuse, Oh blessed Virgin, the company of the cross, thou didst not turn thy back upon it, but close to, not prostrate at the foot, thou» didst stand erect, like a pillar of strength, looking with unutterable anguish on thy Son upon the cross, in order that as Eve, by gazing with longing eyes on the fruit and the tree of death was the means of bringing perdition into the world, so thou gazing with bitterness upon the fruit of life and on the tree from which it hung mightest bring to the world, salvation.

§ 6.—A further meditation on the lessons to be learned at the foot of the Cross.

24.—‘‘Now there stood by the cross of Jesus,” says the Joa, ales Evangelist, “his Mother, and his Mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.” Oh that I could always in the company of these three happy Marys stand at the foot of the cross! Oh fortunate Marys! Who “made you stand so firm and fixed at the foot of the cross ? What chain binds you so tightly to this sacred tree? Oh dying Christ thou who chastiseth the living in giving life to the dead! Oh, ye angels of paradise! Reproach me nota miserable sinner for daring to draw nigh to this holy company ; for it is love that urges me forward and compels me to embrace this cross. If these three Marys will not leave the cross, where shall I go, since on it depends my salvation? The burning flame shall freeze, the tepid fount shall boil, before my heart can tear itself from this cross as long as I can feel what love has taught me, how great a happiness it is to be ever at the foot of the cross. Oh Cross! thy attraction for the heart is stronger than that of the loadstone for iron! thou sheddest a brighter light upon the understanding than does the mid-day sun upon the eye, thou inflamest our souls with greater heat, than fire imparts to fuel. Oh Holy Cross! draw me closely to thee, ever shine to enlighten me, ever inflame me, that my thoughts may never stray from thee. And thou, Oh Good Jesus! enlighten the eyes of my soul, that I may know how to love the cross; that I may not only contemplate those cruel torments endured for my sake, to excite my compassion for thee, but also to serve as models of every virtue for my imitation.

25.—Then, Oh Ruler of the World! and physician of our souls! behold me at the foot of thy cross laying bare my wounds before thee ; heal me, Oh my God, and teach me what to do. Oh Lord, I know I am full of sensuality and self-love, and I know this is a great obstacle to my amendment. Oftentimes for amusement and pastime, or from a dread of the trouble of fasting and early rising, I forget my pious and devout exercises, and losing them, I myself am lost. My sensuality is at all times importunate, anxious for dainty feeding at every hour and season, wishing after each meal for recreation and diversion, delighted to spend the hour in sauntering in the garden and in the refreshing indulgence of a walk. Teach me, my Saviour my duty by thy example. Oh what confusion for me to see how thou didst treat thy most delicate body ! In the midst of the agonies and pains of death, thou hadst no other food or medicine but gall and vinegar compounded by those cruel doctors. Who will venture now to complain of his meals being cold or badly drest, or whether they are sent up late or early, if he only thinks, Oh my God, of what was set before thee im the hour of thy greatest need? In place of the pleasant talk and recreation that I seek for in my dinners and feasts, the pleasantries which sounded in thy ears, were the scoffs and blasphemies of those who wagged their heads in scorn, erying

Matt. xxvil. out; ‘Vah! thou that destroyest the temple

Baty. of God and in three days rebuildest it :’ this was the music at thy banquet. And thy garden walk was being nailed by the hands and feet upon the cross. Still there was another garden for thee after thy supper, not for recreation, but for prayer, not to take an airing in, but to shed thy blood in, not for amusement but for sorrow and for an agony even unto death. Then, what shall I say of the other comforts of thy blessed body? Mine loves a soft bed, sumptuous attire and a handsome spacious house ; describe to me, Oh holy love, thy bed, thy house and thy apparel. Thy garments are nakedness and a purple robe of mockery. Thy house is public exposure in the broad light of day, and if I seek further, a stable for cattle. The fox has his den, and the birds of the air their nests; but thou the Creator of all hast not whereon to rest thy head. Oh rarities and superfluities, how comes it ye are accumulated in a christian land ? Were we only true christians, we should throw away all these dainties and superfluities, since our Lord and Master not only rejected superfluities but also the necessaries of life.

26.—Oh my Lord, I have yet to see thy bed. Tell me, Cantu, Oh thou whom my soul loveth, where thou liest? where thou takest thy rest at noon? Behold me at thy feet; instruct me in what I should do, because my sensuality seeks not to learn the language of thy cross. I love a soft bed, and if I waken for the hour of prayer I allow myself to be conquered by sloth, and expect in the merning sleep and repose. Tell me, Oh Lord, what repose didst thou find on this bed of the cross? When thou wast weary of lying on one side, how didst thou turn to the other for greater comfort ? Is not this enough to break my heart? Is not this sufficient to destroy all sensuality? Oh consolation for the poor, but confusion for the rich! Oh support for the repentant sinner, but condemnation for the dainty and the sensual! The bed of Christ is not for you, neither is his glory. Grant me grace, Oh Lord, that following thy example I may mortify my sensuality; and if thou grantest it not, I beseech thee at this moment let me end my life so that I, whilst thou art refreshed with gall and vinegar upon the cross, may not be seeking for * luxuries and dainties; and whilst thou art poor and naked, be a lost one wandering in search of worldly goods; and whilst thou art stretched on a bed of wood, I be hunting for a couch of down whereon to repose my limbs. 27.—Blush then, Oh my soul, at the sight of thy Lord upon the cross: and listen to his preaching and his rebukes addressed to thee from it. Oh man, for thee I accepted this crown of thorns, and dost thou in mockery of me wear a garland of flowers? For thee I stretched my hands upon the cross, and dost thou stretch thine after pleasures and balls? “In the agony of death I had not a draught of water, and dost théu seek for precious wines and delicacies? I was laid upon the cross and lived a whole life of insults and sorrows, and dost thou pass thy life lost in the pursuit of honours and pleasures? TI allowed my side to be opened to give thee my heart, and dost thou open thine to admit vain and dangerous love?

§ 7.—On the patience we should practice under tribulations in imitation of Christ.

28.—Thou hast instructed me, Oh Lord, from this chair in the law of temperance ; teach me also now the law of patience of which I stand much in need. Thou hast cured my concupiscence, cure also my irascibility, for thy cross is an universal remedy and the leaves of this sacred tree are the health of the world. At times I have said within myself; I will be angry with no one, I will be at peace with every one, and to enable me to do this it appears best to shun all society and so avoid every occasion for quarrelling and anger.

29.—But I now know my weakness on this point, because avoiding company is not conquering anger, but only covering my imperfections. Henceforth then it is my desire to be prepared to live not only amongst the good but also amongst the bad, and to be at peace with those who hate peace. Thus I propose to act; give me grace, Oh my God, to succeed. If I am robbed of my estate, suffer me not on that account to be overcome with grief, because I see thee upon that cross stript and naked. If they rob me of my honour, allow not that to rob me of my peace of mind, since I here see thee so dishonoured and despised. If friends forsake me, let me not therefore be confounded, since I see thee here alone and deserted, not only by thy friends and thy disciples, but even by thy Father. And if ever it should appear to me as if I were forsaken by thee, let me not on that account despair, because thou didst not despair, when after having cried out ‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? thou didst immediately commend thy spirit into the hands of him * who had deserted thee. Henceforth then I invoke ye troubles and persecutions, I call upon ye to overwhelm me, since ye can do nothing but afford me opportunities of imitating my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

30.—Neyertheless, Oh Lord, should my sufferings be long and enduring, how shall I console’ myself? Beeause thine though severe, appear to have lasted only a short time, as the martyrdom of thy passion did not extend over twenty hours. What comfort then can he, who for ten years is confined to his bed or in prison or in continued sorrow and vexation in his own house, derive from thy example, for so long a struggle? Answer me, Oh my Lord, this question, since thou art the voice and the wisdom of the Father. Tell me if thou art the universal comfort under every tribulation however long it may endure, or must we seek elsewhere another comforter. In truth it is not necessary to seek any other comforter besides thee, for that cross upon which thou didst suffer, was not the martyrdom of a solitary day but of an entire life. For from the very hour of thy most holy conception, the cross was always present to thee and all thou hadst to suffer upon it, it was never from before thy eyes during the whole term of thy life. Because as the past and the future were always present to thy divine understanding, so were thy martyrdom and all the instruments of thy passion. The cross, the nails, the stripes, and thorns, the cruel lance were there; all those weapons were there present, as clearly as when with the eyes of thy body thou sawest them on the Friday of the cross. /However severe our sufferings are, we often find some hours of alleviation from medicine or repose, but thy sufferings were ever, as it were, continuous or at all events frequently tormented thy soul during thy whole career upon earth. And had no such suffering afflicted thee, thy zeal for the honour of thy Father and for the salvation of our souls, which gnawed,and devoured thy heart, was amartyrdom for thee more pai than death itself. To this was added the obstinacy of that rebellious people, and the hardness of all other sinners for whose sake thou wast sent, and who would not profit by this benefit, nor know the time of thy visitation. Hence flowed those tears of compassion which thou didst shed over Jerusalem, and hence thy complaint through

Luke xix. the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah; ‘‘I said, pean Roos in vain have I toiled, and to no purpose and without cause have I wasted my strength.”

31.—Here then, my soul, thou hast one to bear thee company and afford thee consolation under the longest trials, for though the last sufferings of Jesus were short, the sorrows of his compassionate heart and soul were long and enduring.

32.—At the close of the meditation make an act of thanksgiving and offer a petition, as before mentioned in the second chapter.