Chapter 25. Meditation on the Wound in Our Saviour's Side; on the Descent from the Cross; on the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin; and on the Burial of Christ; for Saturday Morning

Having made the sign of the cross with the preparation mentioned in the second chapter, the subject for thy meditation - will be, the wound in thy Saviour’s side and the descent from the cross with the sorrows of our Lady and the burial of Christ.

§ 1.—The following is the text of the Evangelists.

1.—‘‘ Then the Jews, because it was the pasch, not wishSotstexix: ing that the bodies should remain upon the Uist cross on the Sabbath, on account of its being ee a day of great solemnity, asked permission pear of Pilate to break thé“egs and remove the bodies from the cross. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two thieves who had been crucified. And when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one of the soldiers opened his side with a spear, and there came out immediately blood and water. And he that saw it hath given testimony, and we know that his testimony is true.”

2.—‘‘And when it was evening, there came a certain rich man-of Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also himself looking for the Kingdom of God and he went in boldly to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. But Pilate wondered that he should be already dead ; and sending for the centurion, he asked him if he was already dead. And when he had understood it by the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And Nicodemus also came, he who at the first came to Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about one hundred pounds weight, and Joseph brought fine linen, and taking him down, wrapped him up in the fine linen with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now there was in the place where he was crucified, a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein no man had yet been laid. There, therefore because of the parasceve of the Jews, they laid Jesus, because the sepulchre was nigh at hand. And there were there Mary Magdalen and the other Mary sitting over against the sepulchre and they saw the place where they laid him.”

$ 2.—The Meditation on the above passages.

3.—Hitherto, thou hast celebrated, Oh my soul, the death and sufferings of the Son; it is time thou shouldst begin to celebrate and bewail those of the Mother. For this purpose sit thyself down for a few moments at the feet of the Prophet Jeremiah; and taking up the parable from his mouth with sorrow and bitterness of heart, say; Oh most innocent Virgin, how dost thou sit solitary like to a widow, Oh mistress

Lamen :

doo RE of the world? How without any fault of thine have they made thee tributary to such sufferings? Oh most holy Virgin! I long to comfort thee, but I know not how: I long to assuage the bitterness of thy sorrow, but I know not how. Queen of heaven, if the sufferings of thy blessed Son, and not thy own, were the cause of thine, as thou didst love him more than thyself, his sorrow is now ended, since his body no longer suffers and his soul is now glorious; cease then thy lamentations, because the cause for them has ceased. Thou didst weep with him when he wept, it is fit thou shouldst rejoice with him now that he is filled with joy. Let the bright fountain of thy eyes, clearer than

Cant. vii. the waters of Hesebon, but now muddied with\the floods of so many tears, be closed. The anger of the Lord is satisfied by the sacrifice of the true Noah; stop the

Gen. vill, deluge of thy most sacred eyes, and let the earth smile with fresh serenity. The dove hath gone forth from the ark; she will bring back emblems of the divine clemency ; rejoice then in hope and let thy lamentations cease. Thy Son bids thee cease thy mourning, and invites thee to new joys in the canticles, saying; ‘The winter is now past, the rains and

AS storms are over; the flowers have appeared on the earth ; arisethen, my beloved, my sister, and my dove, why remainest thou in the holes of the rocks, and in the clefts about,” that is in the wounds of my body; “quit that habitation now, and come with me.”

4.—Too well, I see, Oh blessed Lady, this is not enough to console thee, thy sorrow has not departed, it has only been changed. One martyrdom is over and is succeeded by another. Fresh wounds stab thy heart, and fresh tortures succeed the past, so that with every change the torments of the passion are repeated. Hitherto thou hast mourned over his sufferings, now thou mournest over his death, hitherto over his passion, now over thy own bereavement, hitherto over his sorrows, now over his absence, one wave swept over, and another and yet another has broken over thee; so that the end of his sufferings is a fresh beginning of thine. 5

5.—And as if these sufferings were nothing I see others yet greater awaiting thee. Oh heavenly Mother, close thy eyes, look not at that spear gleaming in the air, watch not where it is about to fall. Now is thy desire fulfilled; thou art become a shield for thy Son, because that blow strikes thee

ON PRAYER AND “MEDITATION. 223 and not him. Thou didst seek the nails and thorns, but they were for his body, the spear was reserved for thee. Oh ministers of cruelty, Oh hearts of iron, are the sufferings of the living body so trivial that ye cannot spare the dead! what malice is so unsatiable as not to be satisfied with the dead body of its enemy lying prostrate before it? Lift up your cruel eyes, look on that dead face, see those inanimate eyes, that bloodless countenance, that wan and pallid hue of death; and though ye be harder than iron or the diamond, or than your own selves, ye must be softened at the sight. Why are ye not content with the wounds of the Son, must ye also strike down the Mother ? Ye wound her with that lance, ye strike her with that blow, ye plunge that savage spear into her breast.

6.—Then did a soldier with a spear in his hand pierce with a violent stab the naked breast of our Saviour. The cross shook with the violence of the blow, and there gushed forth water and blood, to wash away the sins of the world. Oh river flowing out of paradise and refreshing with thy streams the face of the whole earth! Oh wound in that precious side inflicted rather by love of man than by the steel of the cruel lance! Oh gate of heaven, window of paradise, place of refuge, tower of strength, sanctuary of the just, sepulchre of the wanderer, nest of the timid dove and flowery bed of the Spouse of Solomon! Hail wound in that precious side that woundest the hearts of the devout, hail blow that strikest the souls of the just, rose of peerless beauty, most precious ruby, entrance to the heart of Christ, witness of his love and pledge of everlasting life. Through thee all creatures Si enter to be saved from the deluge in the ark of the true Noah, to thee the tempted cling, in thee the sorrowful find consolation, in thee the sick find their cure, through thee the sinner enters heaven, in thee the exile and the stranger find sleep and rest. Oh furnace of love, abode of peace, treasury of the church and spring of living waters bursting up to life eternal! Open unto me, Oh Lord, that gate, receive my heart in that delightful dwelling, let me pass through there to the bowels of thy love; may I drink of that pure fountain; may I be washed with that holy water, intoxicated with that precious drink; may my soul slumber in that sacred bosom; may I there forget all the cares of the world; there may I sleep, there take my food, there sweetly sing with the prophet, saying; “This is my

Psalm exxxi. dwelling-place for ever and eyer, here will I stay because I have chosen it for my habitation.”

§ 3.—On the descent from the Cross and the lament of the Virgin.

7.—Consider next how that sacred body was removed from the cross and received in the arms of the Virgin. On the evening of the same day, those two devout men Joseph John xix, and Nicodemus, come and setting ladders against the cross carry down our Saviour’s body in their arms. When the Virgin saw that the sufferings on the cross had ended and that the sacred body had reached the ground, she would hasten to offer it a secure haven in her bosom and to receive it from the arms of the cross into her own.

8.—What tongue can tell the feelings of that Mother when she clasped Him in her arms? Oh angels of peace, weep with this sacred Virgin; ye heavens weep, ye stars of heaven weep. Oh all created things join with Mary in her lament. See the Mother embrace the mangled corpse and press it to her breast, see her face amongst the thorns that pierce his heavenly brow; see how her cheek is laid on his, the Mother’s cheek stained with blood of the Son and the lifeless cheek of the Son bedewed with the Mother's tears. Oh sweet Mother! Is this then thy beloved Son? Is this he whom thou didst conceive with such glory and brought forth with such joy? Thy past delights, where have they gone? Thy former joys, where have they fled? That mirror of beauty in which thou didst admire thyself, where is it? It is vain now to gaze on that face, the light of those eyes is darkened. It is vain to talk, it is vain to speak to Him, for those ears are deaf to thy words; now mute is that tongue that was wont to tell thee of the wonders of heaven, and closed are those eyes whose sparkling rays gladdened the world. Why art thou silent, Oh heavenly Queen ? Have thy sorrows made thee dumb? Thy tongue indeed was silent, but thy heart within would thus discourse unutterable grief with thy beloved Son and say :—

9.—Oh life itself now dead! Oh light extinguished now ! Oh beauty now defiled! and whose were the hands that have thus profaned thee ? What is this crown I feel upon thy head ? whence came this wound in thy side? Oh High Priest of the world! what are these marks I see upon thy body? who has stained the mirror of heavenly beauty? who has disfigured the comeliness of this celestial face? are these those eyes whose beauty dimmed the sun? are these the hands whose touch did raise the dead to life? is this the mouth whence issued the four rivers of paradise? have the hands of men prevailed so much against God? My Son of my own blood, whence did this fierce tempest rush? whence came the wave that. swept thee from me thus? Oh my Son, without thee what shall I do? where shall I go? who will help me? Fathers and sorrowing brothers were wont to supplicate thee for their dead children and brethren, and thou in thy infinite power and clemency gavest them comfort and help. But I who now behold before me dead my Son and my Father my Brother and my Lord, whom shall I supplicate for him? who will console me? where now is the Good Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the Living God, who gave consolation to the living and his life for the dead? where is that Great Prophet, powerful in word and works ?

_ 10.—Oh my Son hitherto my rest and prop, but now my sword of grief, what didst thou do that they should crucify thee? why did they put thee to such a death? is this the gratitude for all thy goodness? is this the reward of all thy virtues? is this the pay for thy teaching? has the wickedness of the world, has the malice of the devil reached to this? is this the bounty and clemency of God? and is the hatred of God for sin so great that this was necessary to satisfy it for one sin? is the rigour of divine justice so severe? and does God set such value on the salvation of mankind ?

11.—Oh my most beloved Son what shall I do without thee? Thou art my Son, my Father, my Spouse, my Master, and my All. Behold me like an orphan without a father, a widow without a spouse, alone deprived of such a master and such a companion. No more shall I see thee cross my threshold after thy labours in preaching and teaching the Gospel. No more shall I wipe the sweat from thy brow after the fatigues of thy labours and travels. Never again shall I see thee seated at my table and bestowing on my soul the food of thy divine presence. Now hath thy glory departed from me, this day has my joy come to an end and my widowhood commenced.

12.—Why art thou silent, my Son? Oh heavenly tongue wont to address words of comfort to so many, to give speech and life to others, who has bound thee to silence with thy Mother? How is it thou hast no command for thy Mother, no commission to console her? With thy leave I will undertake one. This royal crown shall be the commission, - these nails and this spear shall be thy legacy. These precious treasures I will ever preserve in my heart, there shall these nails be driven, there shall thy crown be kept, there thy scourges, there thy cross. This is my inheritance chosen by me for the whole course of my life.

13.—How short lived on earth is joy, and how very bitter is sorrow after long prosperity ! Oh Bethlehem and Jerusalem how different the times I past in you! How brightly beamed that night, how gloomy frowns this day! How rich was I then, and now how poor! Great indeed was the loss of such jal a treasure. Oh welcome angel! where now are the congratulations of thy former salutation? My trouble and my fear in that hour were not vain, for great misfortunes or heavy crosses always follow the brightest joys. The Lord does not desire his gifts should lie idle, to honours he joins responsibilities, to dignities he attaches services, and great graces are not bestowed unless earned by severe struggles. Thou didst then salute me as full of grace, now I am full of sorrow. Then as blessed amongst women; I am now the most sorrowful amongst them. Thou saidst then: The Lord is with thee; now also he is with me, no longer living but dead I fold him in my arms.

14.—Oh my beloved Redeemer! was I wrong when I clasped thee in my arms with such joy at thy birth, that now I should hold thee in them in such torture after thy death? was it sinful to take such delight in nursing thee with the sweet milk of my breast, that now I am condemned to drink of this bitter chalice? was I offending when I gazed on thy face as a shining mirror, that I should now behold it so stained and mangled? was it a crime to love thee so much that thou shouldst make my love my executioner, and that my sufferings should be proportioned to my love? i

15.—Oh eternal Father, lover of man and full of compassion for him, but rigorous towards thy Son! Thou knowest the storm and tempest that rage in my heart. Thou knowest for every blow and every wound inflicted on his sacred body, as many deaths hath this poor heart suffered. Nevertheless I the most afflicted creature in this world return thee infinite thanks for this affliction. Enough for me to know it is thy will. From thy hand I welcome the knife that wounds me. Both for thy favours and thy inflictions 1 give thee thanks; for thy bounties hitherto bestowed, I bless thee, and instead of repining now that thou withdrawest them, I hand back thy deposit with grateful thanks. May the angels bless thee for both, and may my tears unite with theirs in ever blessing thee. But I entreat thee, Oh my Father, if it be pleasing to thee, to be satisfied with three and thirty years of continued

Luke ii. martyrdom. Thou knowest, from the day the Holy Simeon foretold me this-martyrdom, that all my pleasures were embittered and the sword of grief then pierced my heart. Memory ever tinged all my joys with this sorrow, and never was my most innocent delight without a sting because of the thought and dread of this day. I know thy providence superintended all, and that it was thy pleasure that from that moment I should be made acquainted with this mystery, in order that as the Son always bore the cross before his eyes from the day of his conception, so I his Mother should also bear it. Thus is it thy will, that those whom thou lovest should ever suffer in this life, and in this vale of tears thou dost not wish our pleasures, though centred in thee, to be great and lasting. Then, Oh my King, may it please thee that this be the end of my martyrdom; nevertheless not my will, but thy divine will be done. If one martyrdom appears to thee but little for a woman to undergo, full well thou knowest I suffered martyrdom for every wound that was inflicted on my Saviour. Now are his sufferings at an end but mine are again beginning. Bid death return for the spoils he has left behind, and bear the Mother with the Son to the tomb. Oh happy sepulchre, in having succeeded me ; the crown they take from me they will give to thee, and then thou wilt enclose in thy womb him who was confined in mine! My bones would rejoice to repose there and there indeed should I find life in the grave. My heart and soul I can there entomb, but, my body, Oh Lord, not without thee. Death ! why art thou so cruel as to separate me from him on whose life depended mine? At times thy mercy is more cruel than thy slaying. Thou wouldst shew mercy to me, if thou wouldst take away both; but now thou art cruel both in thy slaughter of the Son and in thy sparing the Mother.

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16.—Such exclamations would fill the Virgin’s heart and such would fill the hearts of the devout Marys who accomiia panied her. All who were present would weep, those holy women and those devout men would weep, heaven and earth and all nature join the Virgin in her tears. The holy evangelist would weep and embracing the body of his Master, cry out; Oh my Good Lord and Master henceforth who will be my instructor? Whom shall I seek to solve my doubts? On whose bosom shall I recline? Who will make me a partaker of the secrets of heaven ? How has this sudden change come to pass? But last night thou didst support me on thy divine breast, filling my life with delight, and now I repay thy infinite goodness by pressing thy dead form to mine. Is this the face I saw transfigured on the mount? Is this that body brighter than the noonday sun ?

17.—The repentant Magdalen would also weep and embracing the feet of her Saviour say; Oh light of my eyes, and salvation of my soul! If I should see myself tempted to sin, who will receive me? Who will heal my wounds? "Who will answer for me ? Who will protect me from the Pharisees ? Oh once before I lay¡at those feet, I washed them then and through them was I accepted by thee! Oh joy of my heart, would that I could now die with thee? Life of my soul! how can I say I love thee, since I live and thou lest dead before me ?

18.—Thus would all that holy band weep and lament and wash with their tears the sacred body of our Lord. At length the hour arrived to consign it to the tomb, they wrap it in a clean winding sheet and bind it with cloths and placing it on a bearer remove it to the place of the monument and there deposit their sacred treasure. The door of the sepulchre is covered with a large stone, but the heart of the Mother covered with a cloud of grief; there again is she torn from her Son; there she begins again to feel her loneliness; and there she sees herself despoiled of all her wealth, and there where her treasure is, her heart too lies buried.

§ 4.—Why the blessed Virgin and all the just are afflicted with divers tribulations in this life.

19.—Oh eternal Father! since of thy infinite goodness and mercy thou didst require thy blessed Son to suffer thus for our sins, why dost thou also require this sacred Virgin to suffer also; she deserves not death on account of the sins of others, for these the death of thy Son suffices, nor on account of her own sins, for she is innocent? How easily mightest thou have tempered this grief; had she not been at that time in Jerusalem an eye witness of the death of her Son, her sorrow would not have been aggravated by that scene! Oh how wonderful are the dispensations, how inscrutable the counsels of God! Thou didst desire, Oh Lord, that she should suffer, not for the redemption of the world, but because there is nothing in the world more pleasing in thy sight, than sufferings endured for the love of thee. There is nothing in all creation more precious in thy sight than the glorious love of the blessed in heaven, and the suffering love of the just Philip. i. upon earth. There is no greater honour in Acts xv. the House of God than to suffer for the love of him. Amongst all the good deeds and all the services rendered to thee by our Saviour in this world this was that which thou didst most prize and accept as the means of our reparation. Matt xiii. This was that pearl and jewel of inestimable eS value, which above all the treasures so profusely offered thee by that rich merchant, pleased thee most and induced thee to give in return what he asked of thee, the pardon of the world. If this jewel be so valuable, it is not meet that she should not share in it, the most perfect of all the perfect, and the most beloved of the children of God.

20.—Moreover, there is nothing better suffices to shew the true value of sufferings endured for the love of God, because the real proof of love is patient endurance for the sake of the beloved, and no other proof is equal to it. Thus, as God himself never so plainly shewed mankind the greatness of his love, innumerable as his favours were, until he came to suffer for them, so never can man properly shew his love, however great his services to God, until he suffers for his sake. St. Romans v. Paul says, “we glory also in tribtlations ¿e knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; and patience trial; and trial hope.” Therefore should a man suspect every virtue and holiness in himself, until he has been tried by the test of tribulation. Because, according to the Eccle. xxvii. 6. — wise man: “The furnace trieth the potter’s vessels, and the trial of affliction just men.”

21.—God amongst all the works of nature created nothing to rest in idleness; much less then does he wish in the matter of grace that his gifts should remain idle. On this account he distributes to each of his elect the burthen he has to bear, according to his strength and the talents of grace he has received. ‘Therefore here we are not to look upon the greatest enjoyment, but rather the greatest tribulation as the greatest favour. As the Psalmist says; “ How long wilt thou feed us Psalm Ixxix. 6. with the bread of tears; and give us for our drink, tears in measure ?” and the measure shall be this, that the greatest favourite shall be the most afflicted and subjected to the most tribulations. When Moses made peace between EXoduN aty. God and his people, the Scriptures inform us that he sprinkled the people with blood, and the rest of the blood he poured out upon the altar. Hence all who have resolved to be the friends of God must understand that their friendship must be consecrated in blood, not only in the blood of Christ, but also in their own blood, that is to say, in ete patience and suffering. He drank first of the chalice at that last supper with his disciples, but after he had drunk he gave of what remained in the cup to those who were invited and told them to share it amongst them, that each might drink his share; thus all must partake of this chalice and it is necessary for all as members of Christ to conform with him in suffering. Still is there this distinction amongst men, that it will suffice for the generality and less perfect to be sprinkled with blood; but those who are more closely united to God and who deserve to be called his altars will not nly have to be sprinkled, but to be dyed and bathed in blood. Because, the heat of the battle is for the strong and their reward will be the brightest crown. The two most beloved of the Father in this world were Jesus Christ and his Mother; and because they excelled all the world in virtue, so did they surpass all the world in their sufferings. The world has not seen two greater than these, nor two more subjected to afflictions. 22.—Be comforted then, Oh ye who suffer tribulations, for the more ye suffer, the more will ye resemble Jesus Christ and his Mother. Be comforted then, all ye who are suffering affliction, because you are not therefore abandoned by God, but rather, if you suffer with patience, are more beloved by him. Again and again be comforted all ye who suffer tribulations, because an afflicted heart is most pleasing to God and there is no surer sign of his friendship than Psalm 1. patience under tribulations. Tribulations disgrace no one, otherwise would Christ himself be disgraced and the Mother of Christ, and God himself because he always sends tribulations to those he loves best.

23.—What is tribulation but the cross? Would it not then be despising the cross to despise tribulation? And to shun tribulation would it not be to shun the cross? If then we honour the cross, that is the figure of the cross which is now dead, why should we shun the living cross, that is to suffer for the sake of the cross? ‘This is to be like the Jews, Matt. exit. of whom our Saviour said that after persecuting the prophets, they built over them splendid sepulchres, honouring them after their death and persecuting them during life. Thus do wicked Christians follow their example, by honouring on the one hand, the dead cross, whilst on the other they spit upon and deny the living one, that is suffering for the sake of the cross.

24.—Let no one therefore be cast down saying that he is suffering for his sins, or without having committed sin, because however he may suffer it is at last only bearing his cross. If thou sufferest for thy sins, thou sufferest on the cross of the Good Thief; but if thou sufferest without having sinned and without fault, thou shouldst be all the more comforted, for that is to suffer on the cross of thy Saviour.

25.—At the end of the meditation, return thanks and offer a petition, as mentioned before in the second chapter.