LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,
- Shelf ."El
JQ
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
1*
MEDITATIONS
ON THE
Sufferings of Jesds Christ.
^Translates from tbe Utalian
OF
Rev. F. FRANCIS DA PERINALDO, O.S.F.,
By a Member of the Same Order.
STe w York, Cincinnati, and St. Louis:
BENZIGER BROTHERS,
PBINTER8 TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SHE.
LONDON: R. WASHBOURNE, DUP.LIN: M. H. GILL & SON,
18 Paternoster Row. 50 Upper O'Connell St.
Imprimatur.
*i» Michael Augustine,
New Yobk, AprU 12, 1886.
s
Archbishop of New York.
Copyright, 1886, by Benziger Brothers.
TO
The Great and Beloved Bishop of the West,
the stanch defender of the faith,
the tender father of the poor,
the zealous apostle of temperance,
the earnest advocate of christian education,
the vigilant and faithful shepherd of his flock,
Et. Eev. JOHN IEELAND, D.D.,
Bishop of St. Paul,
THE TRANSLATOR HUMBLY DEDICATES THIS LITTLE WORK, THAT,
BEARING THE IMPRESS OF HIS APPROBATION AND RESTING
UNDER THE SHADOW OF HIS ILLUSTRIOUS NAME, IT
MAT MERIT A CONSIDERATION WHICH IT
MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE CLAIM.
Notre Dame de Lourdes Academy,
Rochester, Minnesota,
Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, 1885.
PREFACE.
IT is customary among Catholics to prepare for the
celebration of the principal festivals of the year by cer-
tain pious exercises, such as fasts, novenas, triduums, and
meditations on the divine mysteries ; also by reading the
lives of the saints and striving to imitate their virtues,
mortifications, and heroic actions. In this manner the
faithful prepare to solemnize the feasts of Christmas,
Pentecost, and Corpus Christi ; of the Immaculate Con-
ception, Nativity, and Assumption of the Blessed Yirgin ;
of. All Saints, and of those saints for whom they have a
particular devotion. They not only devote days and
weeks to preparing themselves for the worthy observance
of those feasts which they purpose to celebrate with
special piety, but they also consecrate whole months to
the honor of the objects of their particular devotion. For
instance, the month of May is dedicated to the celebra-
tion of the glories and triumphs of the Virgin Mother
of Jesus Christ ; the month of June to the commemora-
tion of the Most Sacred Heart of our Holy Redeemer;
and in recent times the whole of November, particularly
in Catholic Spain and the Southern Republics, has been
devoted to the souls in purgatory.
Now, if the faithful so commendably dispose them-
selves to celebrate those feasts which may be considered
6 PREFACE.
secondary ones, why should we not do as much, and even
more, for Easter, which is the feast of feasts? I say
Easter, because on that day our Holy Redeemer triumphed
over the world, over death, and over hell, achieving this
threefold victory by His glorious resurrection, and seal-
ing, as it were, the fulfilment of that grand and memo-
rable sacrifice which released us from the bondage oi' sin
and the tyranny of hell, made us heirs of heaven, and
declared us adopted children of God.
The most practical way of preparing ourselves for the
celebration of Easter is not alone by prayer, penance,
mortification, and retirement,— acts peculiar to 'the
Lenten season, — but also by meditating on the passion of
Jesus Christ. Though this is a devotion adapted to all
seasons, it is particularly suited to Lent, because our holy
Mother the Church has consecrated this time to the com-
memoration of the sufferings of the Man-God.
My object in preparing this work wa6 to provide a
spiritual guide for secular persons ; and, knowing from
experience how difficult it is for them, when engaged in
temporal affairs, to apply their thoughts to serious and
merely abstract ideas, I thought it proper to render the
consideration of the sufferings of Jesus historical, moral,
and, as far as possible, local. But the passion of our Lord
is of such a nature, that in order to derive profit from
the history of it, it is not sufficient to read it as we read
the lives of the saints and other histories: it requires
meditation. It is true that the word " meditation " dis-
mays, at first, persons who are not accustomed to such
spiritual entertainment, and sometimes even those who
frequently make pious reflections. For such persons I
have obviated all cause of alarm by reducing the present
considerations to simple spiritual reading, which will
PREFACE. 7
yield the fruits of meditation by mere perusal. But I
request that these considerations be not read in haste nor
many at a time, but slowly and with reflection, one every
day, either in the morning during Mass, or in the evening
before retiring. For those persons consecrated to God
in a special manner, and who are accustomed to meditate,
I have divided each consideration into two parts, which
will furnish matter for morning and evening meditation
during the Lenten season.
Finally, it is my duty to declare that if, in the course
of this little work, I have tried to excite the devotion of
the faithful by quoting facts and traditions upon the
authenticity of which our holy Mother the Church has
not decided, I do not intend to attribute to them any
other authority than that of the pious authors from whom
I obtained them.
CONTENTS.
PAGH
Preface 5
Preliminary Sermon 11
CONSIDERATION
I. Jesus Christ predicts His Passion to His Apostles.. . 15
II. Jesus Christ weeps over Jerusalem 21
III. Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem 26
IV. Jesus predicts His Bitter Passion to His Apostles for
the Second Time 31
V. The Chief Priests and Ancients of the People consult
how to apprehend Jesus and pnt Him to Death. . . 36
VI. Judas sells his Divine Master for Thirty Pieces of
Silver 41
VII. Jesus Christ takes Leave of His Beloved Mother 47
VIII. Jesus celebrates His Last Pascli with the Apostles. . 52
IX. Jesus washes His Apostles' Feet 57
X. Words spoken by our Holy Redeemer after the
Washing of Feet 63
XI. Jesus Christ predicts the Perfidy of Judas 68
XII. Our Divine Redeemer tries by every Means to con-
vert Judas 73
XIII. Jesus institutes the Most August Sacrament of the
Holy Eucharist 78
XIV. Sermon of Jesus Christ after the Institution of the
Blessed Sacrament 84
XV. Jesus Christ leaves the Supper-room 89
XVI. Jesus Christ predicts the Flight of the Apostles and
the Triple Denial of Peter 94
XVII. Sadness of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemam 99
XVIII. Prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemani 104
XIX. The Mortal Agony of Jesus Christ 109
XX. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and captured by the Sol-
diers 114
10 CONTENTS.
PAGE
XXI. Jesus is abandoned by His Disciples and dragged
through the Road of Capture 119
XXII. Jesus is questioned by Annas and struck by a Ser-
vant 125
XXIII. Jesus before the Tribunal of Caiphas 131
XXIV. The Triple Denial of Peter 130
XXV. Jesus passes His Last Night in Prison in the House
of Caiphas 141
XXVI. Jesus is condemned to Death by the whole Sanhedrim 147
XXVII. Jesus Christ is brought before Pontius Pilate 153
XXVIII. Jesus Christ at the Tribunal of Herod 159
XXIX. Jesus is sent back to Pontius Pilate, and Barabbas is
preferred before Him 164
XXX. The People continue to ask the Deliverance of Ba-
rabbas and the Death of Jesus , 169
XXXI. Jesus is scourged at the Pillar 174
XXXII. Jesus is crowned with Thorns 180
XXXIII. JeSus Christ crowned with Thorns is shewn to the
People 185
XXXIV. Jesus is again questioned by Pontius Pilate, and
then condemned to the Death of the Cross «1 91
XXXV. Jesus sets out towards Mount Calvary 196
XXXVI. Jesus falls for the First Time: He meets His Blessed
Mother 201
XXXVII. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry His Cross 206
XXXVIII. Jesus consoles the Women of Jerusalem who weep
over Him: Veronica wipes His face with a Hand-
kerchief 210
XXXIX. Vinegar and Gall are offered to Jesus— He is stripped
of His Garments and nailed to the Cross , 214
XL. The Sorrowful Virgin 219
XLI. Jesus is raised on the Cross — He prays for His Exe-
cutioners 224
XLII. The Second "Word spoken by Jesus on the Cross. . . 230
XLIII. The Third and Fourth Words spoken by Jesus on
the Cross 236
XLIV. The Last Word spoken by Jesus on the Cross 242
XLV. Jesus is taken down from the Cross and laid in the
Sepulchre 247
INTRODUCTION.
" O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any
sorrow like to My sorrow." — Lamentations i. 12.
rpHESE mournful accents placed by Jeremias in the
-I- mouth, of the afflicted daughter of Sion may well
be referred to Jesus Christ suspended between heaven
and earth ; and yet, oh senselessness ! " the just perisheth,"
says Isaias the prophet, " and no man kyeth it to heart."
" Every creature," says St. Jerome, "commiserates the
death of Jesus Christ: the sun is obscured, the earth
trembles, the rocks are split, the vale of the temple is
rent, the sepulchres are opened, and man alone for whom
Jesus died remains insensible ; and man does not pity his
Redeemer." St. Augustine thus addresses man : " Jesus
Christ came to suffer ; He came to die, to be spat upon,
and, finally, to be crucified on that infamous gibbet, the
cross ; He patiently endured all these pains, all these suffer-
ings, for you, and will you not suffer something for Him ? "
Cardinal Bellarmine seeks to know why we are scarcely
willing to suffer for love of God even what is strictly
necessary for our salvation, since the Eternal Son of God,
who could have redeemed us by shedding a single drop
of His precious blood, willingly endured unspeakable
sufferings and poured out all His blood for love of us.
The venerable author discovers that it is because we do
not attentively meditate on the passion of Jesus Christ,
and on the great love He showed for us by dying on the
12 INTRODUCTION.
cross. The prophet Jeremias assigns the same reason
when he says, " With desolation is all the land made
desolate : because there is none that considereth in the
heart" (Jerem. xii. 11). And indeed if all would
reflect upon how much our beloved Eedeemer suffered
for us, certainly they would not offend Him by even a
venial sin, and they would be as ardent with divine love
as the seraphim in heaven. The Doctor of Grace recom-
mends as most beneficial the daily meditation on the pas-
sion, asserting that a tear shed in memory of the suffer-
ings of Christ is more meritorious before God than a life-
long fast. "The wounds of Jesus," says the same holy
Father, "are full of mercy, full of sweetness and charity.
As for me, in all my adversities I have not found a more
powerful remedy than meditation on the sacred wounds
of my holy Redeemer; in those wounds I repose calmly.
When some foul thought disturbs my mind. I have re-
course to the wounds of my Jesus ; when my flesh rebels
against me, I remain victorious with the memory of the
wounds of my Saviour ; when the common enemy lays
snares against me, I have recourse to the mercy of my
Holy Eedeemer, and the infernal enemy flies from me ;
when the ardor of concupiscence goads and excites my
passions, I remember the passion of Jesus, and they return
at once to their former calm. In a word, there is noth-
ing in the world, though bitter as death itself, which with
the memory of the sufferings of Jesus will not become
sweetened." St. Gregoiy the Great says that "where
the thought of the death of Jesus reigns, there concupis-
cence of the flesh cannot reign." St. Isidore affirms
that if we consider the passion of our Redeemer, there is
no suffering which we may not only bear with patience
and resignation, but also with escpisite pleasure and joy.
INTRODUCTION. 13
"Truly," asks St. Bernard, "who is there so irreligious
as not to become contrite at the consideration of the
excruciating sufferings of Jesus Christ ? Who is there
so proud as not to become humble ? so irascible and vin-
dictive as not to forgive ? so attached to the honors and
riches of the world as not to despise them % so malicious
and sinful as not to repent 1 Ah ! even this very
moment the remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus
moves the hardest hearts, as one day His painful death
moved the earth and split the rocks."
The same writer, addressing himself to our Lord, says :
" Thy passion, O Lord, is the last refuge of a miserable
sinner ; it is a powerful remedy for all the infirmities of
the soul ; it supplies wisdom, justice, and sanctity. When
virtue fails me, when my feeble strength abandons me, I
am not disturbed ; I do not distrust, but I have recourse
to the wholesome chalice of Thy passion. I know that I
have no merits before Thee, but I know that Thy merits
are infinite, as is also the treasure of Thy mercy. I shelter
myself meanwhile in the bowels of Thy mercy, and there-
in I taste how sweet is the Lord."
" The passion of our Lord," a devout author writes,
" supports heaven and earth and vanquishes hell. By
the passion the angels are confirmed, mankind is redeemed,
the enemies are conquered." Another pious author says
that "the passion of Jesus Christ restored glory to
God, repaired the ruin of the angels, crowded heaven
with citizens, merited grace for man, acquired glory for
the just, condemned sin and death, disarmed the devil of
his power, and despoiled hell of its prisoners." In a
word, the passion of Jesus is so meritorious that God
alone can explain its excellence ; but we may experience
the efficacy of its merits by a daily meditation upon it.
14 INTRODUCTION.
man that hopeth in Him" (Psalms xxxiii. 9).
Father Louis della Palma says that meditation on the
passion of our Lord is suitable for all persons and all
states of life. It will recall the sinner from his evil course,
raise the falling from the pit of vice, strengthen the
feeble in the path of virtue, quicken the persevering in
the way to perfection, stimulate the love of the holy soul.
All the glorious examples of virtue which Jesus gave us
during His life shine out most resplendently in His
passion.
St. Bonaventure, who wrote admirably on the passion
and acquired his seraphic doctrine from the crucifix, says
that if we wish to advance in perfection we should medi-
tate every day on the sufferings of Jesus Christ, because
such a practice is a powerful means of sanctifying our
souls. It will free us from all evil, procure us every
good, enrich us with the grace of God in this world, and
merit for us eternal life in the next. " Yes," says St.
Leo the Great, " meditation on the sufferings of Jesus will
merit for you life everlasting ; because where the partici-
pation of the sufferings is, there is also a certain expecta-
tion of the promised beatitude."
What devotion can there be more excellent, more
efficacious, and more useful than this? Who would
refuse to spend half an hour a day in this pious exercise
which has always been the delight of the saints '{ How
many nights did not our seraphic Father St. Francis pass
in contemplating the sufferings of his beloved Jesus, and
with how many graces was he not favored in return?
Let us, therefore, imitate this seraph of love, and like
him we shall derive great joys and consolations in this
life, and also in the next.
MEDITATIONS
THE SUFFERINGS OF JESUS CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION I.
Jesus Christ predicts His Passion to His Apostles.
"And Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples
apart, and said to them: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the
Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they shall condemn Him to death." — St. Matt. xx. 17, 18.
Fiest Point.
n^HE time determined from all eternity for the Re-
-L demption of mankind was fast approaching, and
Jesus, taking a last leave of the plains of Galilee, went
to Jericho, the city of palms, where He remained for
some time. He was followed by a great multitude of
people of every condition, who were attracted no less by
His sanctity than by His divine doctrine. Among them
were His Virgin Mother, His apostles, a great number of
disciples, and the holy women who accompanied Him to
Calvary. As the feast of the Pasch drew near, Jesus
passed on to Jerusalem, there to celebrate that solemnity
with the people. His joy on this occasion was so great,
16 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
and beamed so resplendently from His countenance, that
the mother of James and John believed that the time
had come for His temporal kingdom, and besought Him
to let her two children sit one on the right and the other
on the left of His throne.
Far different indeed was the cause of the joy which
filled His Sacred Heart : He was about to immolate Him-
self upon the cross to appease His Eternal Father for our
sins, and for this reason He was happy. But fearing that
His passion might be an occasion of scandal to His
apostles, He called them apart and told them of it thus :
"Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man
shall be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes, and
they shall condemn Him to death." This was equivalent
to saying: "Behold, my dear disciples, we go up to Jeru-
salem, but I shall not return with you to Galilee. My
enemies who have long been trying to apprehend Me will
now accomplish their designs, and I shall be delivered as
a malefactor into the hands of the chief priests, scribes
and Pharisees, who will condemn Me to a most disgrace-
ful death. I shall then be given over to the gentiles, who
will mock Me, scourge Me, crown Me with thorns, and
finally crucify Me between two thieves. 15c not scandal-
ized at seeing Me subjected to such indignities; for as I
have power to foresee them, so have I also power to avoid
them : but I know that they are necc.sary to the eternal
salvation of mankind, and also to My glory; therefore I
go joyfully to meet them. You have now been fore-
warned of My ignominious death, and you know of My
glorious resurrection; and when these things come to pass
they should confirm your faith in Me, because I had
predicted them to you/'
Our Divine Bedeemer had often before spoken of His
JESUS PKKDICT8 HIS PASSION TO HIS APOSTLES. 17
future passion, always in terms which betrayed the
yearnings of His loving heart for its accomplishment.
On several occasions He had mentioned it to His holy
Virgin Mother, and it had frequently been the subject
of His conversation with His apostles and disciples; and
the Gospel tells us that during His glorious transfigura-
tion on Mount Thabor in the presence of Peter, James,
and John, Moses and Elias were talking with Him, "and
they spoke of His decease that He should accomplish in
Jerusalem" (St. Luke ix. 31). There seemed to be
nothing dearer to Him than His much-desired passion.
king to His disciples He said, '-I have a baptism,
wherewith I am to l>e baptized : and how am I straitened
until it be accomplished ! " On the night of His last
supper, unable longer to conceal His joy at the approach
of Hi- bitter passion, He manifested it to His apostles,
Baying: " With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch
with you before I suffer" (St. Luke xxii. 15). Again
He displayed this ardent desire when, turning to Judas
who had already betrayed Him, He said, "Since thou
determined to deliver Me into the hands of My
enemies, delay no longer; do it quickly."
Oh, when we consider how the Eternal Son of God
longed to die upon the cross for our redemption, how
appears our ingratitude in refusing to suffer any-
thing for His love! Jesus went to meet His ignomin
death with pleasure; we bear with murmuring and im-
ace even those little adversities which are unavi
ble in our life. Ah ! ought we Dot to be ashamed of our
ingratitude towards our loving and merciful Redeemer?
Let as resolve from this very moment to bear with
patience and resignation all the crosses and humiliations
which it may please < lod to send us.
18 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Second Point.
The Evangelist remarks the eagerness with which our
Lord undertook His last journey to Jerusalem: "And
they were in the way going up to Jerusalem : and Jesus
went before them, and they were astonished : and follow-
ing were afraid " (St. Mark x. 32). An observer would
have said that Jesus was going tip to the holy city, not
to be crucified as a malefactor, but to be crowned king.
" Let those be ashamed," says Venerable Bede, " who
think that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ feared
death. He foresaw all the snares which His enemies laid
against Him, yet Lie did not avoid them. Lie foresaw
all the horrors of His bitter passion, yet He did not be-
come terrified, neither did He flee, but went spontane-
ously to encounter death, though all dissuaded Him."
This internal and external joy of our Saviour proceeded
from His divinity more than from His humanity:
His divine love for man was so intense, and His
merciful desire of redeeming him so great, that they
fortified His humanity against all fear of the torments,
tortures, and slaughter to which it would soon be sub-
jected. Still His Sacred Heart must have been immersed
in the profoundest affliction ; for, though His humanity,
strengthened by His divinity, shrank not from the ap-
proaching passion, yet it keenly anticipated all the hor-
rors which accompanied that passion. In fact, we read
that in the Garden of Olives our Lord was assailed by
such agonizing grief that He sweat blood. In this case
His divinity, instead of relieving His anguish, increased
it, by displaying before His mind in all their hideous
enormity the ignominies to which He would be subjected.
In order to form an idea of our Saviour's emotions on
JESUS PREDICTS HIS PASSION TO HIS APOSTLES. 19
leaving Galilee, let us imagine Him to be a person like
ourselves, feeling such pangs as we suffer in quitting
country, riches, honors, parents, and relatives.
With what tender affection does uot a man take a last
farewell of his native land, his parents, and his friends,
when about to enter upon a long and dangerous journey
from which he fears he may not return ! The place which
lie is about to abandon never appeared so beautiful, the
loved ones with whom he parts never seemed so dear ; all
the diversions of his childhood, all the pleasures of his
youth, all the hopes of his past life are fondly and sadly
recollected.
Let us refer these same emotions to the loving and
sensitive heart of Jesus. How affectionately did He not
bid farewell to Nazareth where He had passed His youth ;
to Capharnaum which He had chosen as the centre of
His heavenly mission ; to Cana of Galilee where He had
performed His first miracle ; to Lake Tiberias across which
He had often sailed with His disciples ; to Mount Thabor
where He had been transfigured ; to the river Jordan
where He had been baptized by His precursor ; to ISTaim
where He had wrought many wonders, — in a word, to all
those places which had witnessed His childhood, His
youth, His preaching, His prodigies, His prayers, His
penances, and His fasts! We know from the Gospel
that after His resurrection He returned to visit them
again : " And behold He will go before you into Galilee :
there you shall see Him" (St. Matt, xxviii. 7).
Let us imagine that our Lord as He journeyed along
gazed affectionately on the mountains, streams, and other
familiar objects by the way, and considering that it was
the last time that He should pass as a mortal man through
that beautiful region which awakened in Him the fondest
20 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CIIKIST.
memories, He sought, as it were, to divide His grief with
His beloved apostles, saving : " Behold, we go up to Jeru-
salem, and the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief
priests and the scribes, and they shall condemn Iliin to
death."
If Jesus was so grieved at leaving those delightful
places, what must have been His feelings at parting from
His apostles and disciples, and above all from Iii> most
loving Mother ! Oh! it is impossible to give expression
to such grief. Let us meditate upou this first step of
our Saviour's passion ; and if we are not able to repay
Him for His love, let us at least pity Him in His afflic-
tion.
JESUS WEEPS OVER JERUSALEM. 21
CONSIDEKATION II.
Jesus Christ weeps over Jerusalem.
"And when He drew near, seeing the city, He wept over it."
St. Luke xix. 41.
First Point.
OUE Lord rested for a time at Jericho, after which He
continued His journey towards Jerusalem, and on
the eve of the Sabbath arrived at Bethania, a small suburb
about half a mile distant from the city. Here He passed
the Sabbath at the house of Mary Magdalene and Martha,
where He was accustomed to stop with His disciples
whenever He went from Galilee to Judea. The day
following, being the fifth day before the Passover, was
the occasion on which the Jews, according to the Mosaic
law, brought the Paschal lambs into the city amid great
pomp and rejoicing. Jesus, therefore, who was the true
Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world, and
the spotless Victim whose sacrifice on the altar of the
cross was to secure the redemption of mankind, thought
it proper to enter Jerusalem also on that day with appro-
priate rejoicing. Accompanied by His apostles He left
Bethania early on the morning of Palm-Sunday, and went
in the direction of the steep Mount of Olives. Arriving
at Bethphage, a small village situated on a declivity of that
mountain, He chose two of His disciples and said to
them : " Go into the village that is over against you, and
immediately at your coming in thither, you shall find a
22 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHKIST.
colt tied, upon which no man jet hath sat : loose him and
bring him. And if any man shall say to you : What are
you doing? say ye that the Lord hath need of him : and
immediately lie will let him come hither" (St. Mark xi.
2, 3). The disciples obeyed at once. "And going their
way, they found the colt tied before the gate without, in
the meeting of two ways: and they loose him. And
some of them that stood there said to them : What do
you loosing the colt? Who said to them as Jesus had
commanded them, and they let him go with them. And
they brought the colt to Jesus: and they lay their gar-
ments on him, and He sat upon him" (St. Mark xi.
4-7). Thus mounted, the Divine Master, surrounded by
His disciples, rode in the direction of Jerusalem. Pa
over Mount Olivet. Be was about to descend towards the
Vale of Josaphat, when He halted to gaze upon the scene
which lav spread out before Him — at His feet the garden
of Gethsemani, before Him Mount Calvary, and beyond
the full prospect of the holy city with its triple walls and
lofty towers. Instantly His loving soul was assailed by
a mortal sadness, and He gave vent to His grief in a
copious flood of tears. "And when He drew near, see-
ing the city, He wept over it" (St. Luke xix. 41). Our
Lord wept, and wept bitterly, not over Himself, but over
the blindness of the Jews, over the hardness of sinners,
over the obstinacy of Hi.- own people, and over the un-
happy fate of Jerusalem. In the bitterness of His grief,
He addressed these affectionate words to the unhappv
city : " If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day,
the things that are to thy peace, but now they are hidden
from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee:
and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and
compass thee round : and straiten thee on every side :
JESUS WEEPS OVER JERUSALEM. 23
and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who
are in thee, and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon
a stone : because thou hast not known the time of thy
visitation" (St. Luke xix. 42-44).
"With these and other loving expressions, our merciful
Lord bewailed the future calamities which hovered over
Jerusalem. But in weeping over His own people and
their unhappy city, He also mourned over the ingratitude
of the millions of Christians, whom He foresaw would reap
no fruits from the Eedemption because of their indiffer-
ence to Heaven's call. Ah ! let the tears of our loving
Jesus move us to pity for our miserable state, and if in
the past we have displeased His loving heart by our ob-
stinacy in sin, let us endeavor for the future to please
Him by our repentance.
Second Point.
The prophecy of Jesus Christ regarding the siege and
total destruction of Jerusalem has been literally fulfilled.
Thirty-seven years after the Redeemer's death, Titus,
Emperor of the Romans, surrounded the deicide city with
a strong intrenchment, and after five months of terrible
fighting razed it to the ground, leaving not a stone upon
a stone, and cleansed unhappy Jerusalem of all its iniqui-
ties by the slaughter of eleven hundred thousand of its
inhabitants. The obstinate Jews have been since then
without temple or altar, without sacrifice or priesthood,
without king or country, exiled, dispersed all over the
globe, despised by all, reputed as a vile race, bearing im-
pressed on their pallid foreheads the indelible sign of the
terrible deicide perpetrated by their fathers. In the
awful fate of this nation we can recognize the vengeance
24 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
of God excited by the insolence of the ungrateful Jews
in disregarding the visitation of His divine mercy.
We should now reflect on ourselves in order to derive
profit from the misfortunes of others. Let us imagine
that our merciful Lord, knowing us guilty of many sins
and seeing the approaching punishments which menace
us, looks upon us from heaven with commiseration, and
speaks to our hearts, saying: Unhappy soul, you do not
know the miserable, state in which you are ! If you could
see the eternal punishment which awaits you unless you
repent, you would make serious reflections. Your body
which you indulge so much will soon be reduced to ashes ;
those persons whom yon love so tenderly you shall soon
leave forever. All will be separated from you but
your good and evil works; these will accompany you.
You believe that the time is not near, but it is fast
approaching: hell is open beneath you; the sentence of
death has already been issued, and on .My will depends
its execution. Every day, every moment, every hour, ma v
be the last for you. How long, therefore, will you delay
to do penance? How long will you still provoke My
anger, tire My patience? How many inspirations did I
not send you? how many graces did I not grant you?
how many advices and good examples did you not re-
ceive? how many times have I not called upon you, and
you failed to respond ? You were deaf to My voice and
dumb to My exhortations. Therefore, I weep over you,
and over your unhappy state, and the punishments which
menace you; and weeping, I invite you for the last time
to repentance, that yours may not be the fate of Jerusa-
lem,— obduracy, abandonment, and eternal perdition.
Thus our merciful Lord speaks to our souls ; and how
shall we respond ? With ingratitude ? Ah, no ! let us
JESUS WEEPS OVER JERUSALEM. 25
prostrate ourselves at His feet, beseeching Him to grant
us a profound grief for our sins, a firm and strong resolu-
tion of nevermore offending Him, and an ardent desire of
loving Him now and for eternity. Let us' also earnestly
ask Him for the grace of meditating on His sufferings,
in order that, having them before our eyes, we may be
encouraged to support our sufferings.
26 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION III.
Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem.
" Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh sitting
on an ass's colt."— Bt. John xii. 15.
First Point.
"TDEJOICE greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for
^ joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King
will come to thee, the Just and Saviour : He is poor, and
riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass"
(Zach. ix. 9). This was the prophecy of Zacharias con-
cerning the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into the holy
city of Jerusalem : but the disciples did not comprehend
the meaning of these things until after His resurrection
when they found that all that had been written of Him
had been literally verified.
Let us now consider the sentiments of the disciples and
the people on the day of Christ's triumph.
The fame of His miracle of raising Lazarus to life had
reached the city, and the people were eager to see Him.
Hearing of His approach, they went out to meet Him just
as He was meekly descending Mount Olivet. Some car-
ried branches of olive as a sign of peace, others bore palm
as a symbol of triumph, others gathered flowers and
strewed them on the way as a demonstration of honor,
and some, finally, divested themselves of their robes
and spread them on the ground to be trampled upon by
JESUS TRIUMPHANTLY ENTERS JERUSALEM. 27
the beast on which Jesus was sitting. All unanimously
hailed Him, and gave expression to their great joy by
singing a hymn of glory, saying : " Happiness and joy to
the son of David, praise and glory to the expected of
nations, to the desire of the eternal hills, to the foretold
by the prophets, to the Saviour of the world ! Behold our
King ! behold our Messias, who comes to us meek and
humble, sitting on a beast of burden ! Blessed be the
King who cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in
heaven, and glory on high." Here followed the choir of
Hebrew children who gave glory to God, and loosing
their innocent tongues to sing, proclaimed Jesus the ex-
pected Messias, saying : " Hosanna to the Son of David,
glory and triumph to our King !" In the midst of these
hosannas and acclamations, all recollected the great
miracles which He had performed, the wonderful cures
which He had wrought, the sublime and divine doctrine
which He preached, and the admirable and most holy
life which He led, and they were obliged to recognize
Him as the true Son of God : hence they paid Him the
tribute of honor and adoration.
The apostles were overjoyed at this triumph of their
Master, and thinking that the time had come for His
promised kingdom which they supposed would be of this
world, they united more closely around Him, and walked
joyfully over that flower-strewn road in the midst of the
hosannas of the people and the canticles of the children.
What a glorious day was not that for the apostles and
disciples of Jesus Christ ! What a joy for the holy city
of Jerusalem ! If only the memory of that triumphant
entrance of our Lord into the Jewish capital so fills us
with joy, what must have been the happiness of those who
witnessed it \ If language fails to describe the celebra-
28 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
tions which commemorate the victories of kings and
princes of this world, it is certainly inadequate to describe
this memorable triumph of the King of glory, the Lord
of heaven and earth, and the long-desired Messias.
Let us, therefore, imagine that we see Jesus descending
Mount Olivet, hailed by the joyful acclamations of the
multitude, and uniting with them let us repeat in senti-
ments of adoration and homage : " Beaedictus qui xenit
in nomine Domini, hoscmna in excelsis ! "
Second Point.
We have learned from the first point of the sentiments
of the disciples and the people ; let us now consider those
of Jesus. While the apostles and disciples, filled with
enthusiasm by the joyful manifestations of the crowd,
believed that their Blessed Master was going to be crowned
king of Jerusalem, and that He would at once commence
to exercise His royal power, Jesus, whose divine mind
penetrated the future, was thinking of the spectacle that
would be witnessed a few days hence on that very road
now strewn with flowers, olive-branches, and palms :
yet He did not ignore the inconstancy of the Jewish
people.
His eyes were yet moist from the tears shed over Jeru-
salem ; and, as He passed those places soon to be rendered
memorable by His sufferings, He thought of those events
of His passion which would transpire in each. At Geth-
semani He foresaw the betrayal of Judas and the flight
of His disciples ; at the grotto He thought of His agony
and bloody sweat ; at the torrent of Cedron He foresaw
His fall into its waters and the cruelties which would be
inflicted on Him there by His barbarous executioners.
JESITS TRIUMPHANTLY ENTERS JERUSALEM. 29
Hearing the joyful hosannas which resounded in the
air, He considered that five days from then they
"would be exchanged for " Let Him be crucified, let
Him be crucified!" Perhaps Jesus said to Himself:
" This honor which the Jews now render will soon
be turned into the grossest ignominies. To-day they
proclaim Me their king, but this shall not pass before
they will solemnly declare that they recognize no other
king than Caesar. To-day they meet Me with olive-
branches, palms, and flowers, and in a few days they will
crown Me with a crown of thorns, they will scourge Me
tied to a column. To-day they spread their garments on
the road, and on Friday they will strip Me of Mine, which
they will divide among themselves. To-day they intro-
duce Me iuto their city chanting hymns of glory, and in
a few days they will banish Me from it amidst howls and
brawl Inge. To-day they call Me blessed, and when I
shall be hanging on the cross they will curse and blas-
pheme Me. What a terrible contradiction is this !"
With these thoughts He ascended Mount Moria, which
is opposite Mount Olivet, and passing through the Golden
Gate, triumphantly entered Jerusalem. But instead of
proceeding to some grand banquet-hall, He went directly
to the temple, where He found a number of people buy-
ing and selling goods. Full of zeal for the honor of His
Father's house, He seized a scourge, and overthrowing
stands and money-tables, drove the changers from the
temple, saying in a severe tone, full of authority : " My
house shall be called the house of prayer : but you have
made it a den of thieves" (St. Matt. xxi. 13). He then
began to instruct the multitude, teaching them reverence
towards the house of God. In the evening, not finding
any one to give Him hospitality, He returned with His
30
MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
disciples to Bethania, where He was always welcomed by
Mary Magdalene and Martha, sisters of Lazarus.
In this consideration we should reflect, first, upon the
inconstancy of the Jews in proclaiming Jesus king and
so soon afterward crying out against Him. From this we
should learn never to rely on ourselves, never to take'
notice of our temporary fervor, and never to trust to our
constancy ; but, on the contrary, we should regard our-
selves unworthy of the favors and graces of God, and
attend to our eternal salvation with fear and trembling,
as St. Paul teaches. Secondly, we should reflect upon
the great respect and reverence which we should have for
the house of God, remembering the severe punishments
inflicted upon the desecrators of the temple. If Ji
who was the very essence of goodness, so severely punished
those who profaned the Jewish temple, which was only a
figure of ours, how much more will He not punish those
who desecrate cur churches where He is really present in
tho Blessed Sacrament '(
JESUS AGAIN PREDICTS HIS BITTER PASSION. 3l
CONSIDERATION IV.
Jesus predicts His Bitter Passion to His Apostles
for the Second Time.
"And it came to pass : when Jesus had ended all these words,
He said to His disciples : You know that after two days shall be
the Pasch, and the Son of man shall be delivered up to be cruci-
fied."— St. Matt. xxvi. 1, 2.
Fiest Point.
THREE days after His triumphant entry into Jerusa-
lem, Jesus said to His disciples : " Yon know that
after two days shall be the Pasch," and I repeat to you
what I have already told you, that on this solemnity I
shall be delivered into the hands of My enemies, to be
scoffed at, despised, scourged, and finally crucified. But
before predicting the day of His death, He spoke to them
on the general judgment, saying that He would come
again od earth, not as a man subject to infirmities, but in
all His divine majesty, accompanied by a multitude of
angels, and that He would gather together before Him
in the Yalley of Josaphat all the nations of the earth.
He foretold that the good would be separated from the
bad, the former to be admitted to the eternal joys of
heaven, and the latter to be condemned to the everlasting
pains of hell. He also predicted the destruction of Jeru-
salem, and the reprobation of the Jewish nation, and its
dispersion all over the world. Then the Divine Master
resumed His subject, asking His disciples if they remem-
32 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
bered that in two days the Pasch would be celebrated
and that He would be the victim.
Father Louis Novarino remarks that after Jesus Christ
had foretold that He would come again in all the majesty
of His glory, He immediately added that the day of His
death was fast approaching. This was for the purpose
of making us understand the relation which exists be-
tween the mystery of the cross and that of glory ; hence
those wishing to enter the glory of heaven should not
refuse to accept and bear the cross with patience and
■ ation. Moreover, the same author says that those
who desire to avoid the punishments due to their sins
and escape the wrath of God will find means for so
doing in the meditation of Christ's passion. In fact, how
can we more efficaciously satisfy the justice of the Eternal
Father than by offering to Him all the suflerings of His
Divine Son ? And how can we more surely obtain the
mercy of Jesus than by contemplating His sacred wounds
and endeavoring to crucify our rebellious passions for
His love '.
A profound theologian, commenting on this evangelical
passage, says that as soon as Jesus had finished speaking
of the destruction of Jerusalem, the general judgi
and the consummation of the world, He immediately an-
nounced His- litter passion and painful death, fixing ex-
actly the day and the manner of its occurrence. It seemed
almost incredible that in so short a time and on so solemn
a festival such a crime would be jDerpetrated. But in
only two days the Jews had found the traitor, agreed
upon the manner of the betrayal, arrested Jesus, put Him
in prison, gathered the council, examined His cause, con-
demned Him to death, presented Him to Pontius Pilate
for the ratification of the sentence, and crucified Him
JESUS AGAIN PREDICTS HIS BITTER PASSION. 33
between two thieves. Who could have imagined that
the Jews would commit so heinous a crime at the time of
the great and joyful festival of Easter, which commemo-
rated their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt ? Yet
our Lord frankly asserted that they would, saying : " You
know that after two days shall be the Pasch, and the Son
of man shall be delivered up to be crucified" (St. Matt.
xxvi. 2).
Let us now consider the goodness of our Holy Re-
deemer in so admirably disposing His apostles for His
future death : let us consider also their grief and con-
sternation on hearing from the lips of their beloved
Master that in two days He would be delivered up to be
crucified. If we had been present at this touching dis-
course, what emotions would we not have felt? Let us
excite in ourselves those same feelings by meditating on
those words : " You know that after two days shall be the
Pasch, and the Son of man shall be delivered up to be
crucified."
Second Point.
Dionysius Carthusianus asks why our Lord predicted
His passion to His disciples, and answers himself by say-
ing that Jesus did so for three reasons : first, that it
should not appear that He was arrested unawares, or con-
demned to death against His will; secondly, that He
might fortify His disciples, and prepare them to suffer
with patience and resignation ; thirdly, that they might
know that He went voluntarily to Jerusalem, though
aware that He would be arrested and put to death.
Jesus did not ignore His enemies, and instead of avoid-
ing them as He did on other occasions, He went among
them that they might do to Him as they desired. St.
34 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, says that Christ not
only predicted but also specified the day on which His
passion would occur, in order that all should know that
nothing is hidden from Him, and that He went of His
own free will to suffer death. He journeyed from Galilee
to Judea to celebrate Easter, and on the eve of the same
went from Bethania to Jerusalem to be crucified. Origen,
commenting on the above-quoted passage of the holy
Gospel, says that many were the motives which concurred
to deliver Jesus to death, but not all proposed the same
end : the ends differed according to the different emo-
tions and passions. The Eternal Father delivered His
only -begotten Son to death through His love and mercy
for mankind ; Judas betrayed His Divine Master through
avarice; the priests condemned Him to death through
envy, the scribes and Pharisees through malice. Satan
instigated the enemies of Jesus to put Him to death,
because he feared that the exemplary life and preaching
of Jesus would save many souls from hell : the infernal
enemy did not reflect that the death of the Messias could
more easily free us than His preaching.
But for what reasons do we sometimes deliver Him
again to death by committing sin ? Alas ! our motives
for doing so are often less weighty than those of Lucifer, —
perhaps to satisfy a sinful passion or to revenge ourselves.
Yet faith teaches us that Christ Jesus died on account of
our sins, and Holy Scripture says that those who griev-
ously sin deliver Him up again to death as far as in them
lies.
"We believe these truths, yet we will not be guided by
them. "We offend God, as it were, by habit. We do not
reflect on the evils we do to our souls which cost the
Eternal Son of God all of His most precious blood. We
JESUS AGAIN PREDICTS HIS BITTER PASSION. 35
ought, therefore, from time to time, to meditate on these
truths of our holj faith, and consider what a great evil
we do every time we sin. We ought to call to mind fre-
quently that Jesus is our God, our Redeemer, our Judge,
our Benefactor. In order to do this let us accompany
Him as He goes to offer Himself as a victim of expiation
for our sins, and He will grant us the grace of true
repentance.
36 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDEKATION V.
The Chief Priests and Ancients of the People con-
sult how to apprehend Jesus and put Him to
Death.
" Then were gathered together the chief priests and ancients of
the people into the court of the high priest who was called Cai-
phas: And they consulted together that by subtilty they might
apprehend Jesus and put Him to death." — St. Matt. xxvi. 3, 4.
First Point.
WHILE Jesus in the home of Mary Magdalene was
speaking of His approaching passion, there assem-
bled in the palace of Caiphas in Jerusalem a great coun-
cil composed of the chief priests, the ancients of the
people, and the Pharisees, bitter enemies of our Lord,
who had gathered together in order to deliberate as to
how they might apprehend Jesus by subtilty, and M T ith-
out trial condemn Him to death. On several previous
occasions this council had assembled for the same pur-
pose, but as the time for the solemn sacrifice had not yet
arrived, all their perfidious designs were frustrated. In
the southern part of Jerusalem may be seen a mount
called the Mount of the Evil Council, where, as tradition
relates, Caiphas had a summer residence to which he
several times brought his wicked counsellors to treat in
secret of this impious affair.
The immediate cause of the convention at the palace
was the resurrection of Lazarus. St. John the Evangel-
JESUS' ENEMIES CONSPIRE TO KILL HIM. 37
ist says that this great miracle led many of the Jews to
believe in the divinity of Jesus, some of whom going to
the city related the event to the Pharisees, Christ's most
bitter enemies. Upon hearing of such a miracle, any
one of unbiassed opinion would have said : " If this Man
performs prodigies and great miracles, it is a sign that
He is from God. Let us, therefore, hear His doctrine,
imitate His holy example, and embrace His new law."
But as the enemies of Jesus were ruled by passion rather
than conscience, they said to one another : " If we permit
this man to preach and propagate His new doctrine among
the people, the time will come when we will all believe in
Him and become His followers. Then the Eomans will
come and conquer us, and overturn our seats, and destroy
our prestige with the people, and become masters of our-
selves and of our nation."
Caiphas, the high priest of that year, rose up in the
midst of the assembly, and, overtaken by the spirit of
God, prophesied, saying : " You know nothing, neither
do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man
should die for the people, and that the whole nation per-
ish not" (St. John xi. 49, 50). From that moment
they determined to put Jesus to death, not to save their
nation, but to satisfy their envy and hatred. The Divine
Master, knowing their design, avoided them as much as
possible until His time had come.
Let us now consider how pernicious is the passion of
envy. The holiest works, the most stupendous miracles,
excite in the envious man only emotions of malice. While
others are filled with admiration and esteem, he becomes
sad and suspicious. Let us recommend ourselves to the
God of mercy that He may preserve us from so terrible
and pernicious a vice. ^g
38 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Second Point.
Easter was near at hand ; and the Jews, knowing that
Jesus was accustomed to celebrate it at Jerusalem, gath-
ered again in secret against Him, and conspired to appre-
hend Him and condemn Him to death. All agreed to
arrest Him by stratagem, because they feared that, should
they attempt to take Him in public, He would evade
them as He had previously done. Moreover, they were
much perplexed about fixing the day for putting Him to
death ; for they said, " JSTot on the festival day, lest there
should be a tumult among the people" (St. Mark xiv.
2). They had good reasons to fear the indignation of
the people, because the Divine Master had never done
evil to any one ; on the contrary, He had benefited all,
and was, consequently, very popular. Many had accepted
His holy doctrine, and they would boldly defend Him
against injustice.
Besides, as the feast of the Pasch was celebrated
only in Jerusalem, there would assemble there people
from Galilee, Samaria, Phoenicia, Idumea, Tragonidides,
— in short, from all the Jewish tribes. Many were the
blind whom He had illumined, the lame whom He had
made to walk, the leprous whom He had cleansed, the
sick whom He had cured, the hungry whom He had sat-
isfied, the dead whom He had resuscitated ; and it could
not be doubted that among the crowds then gathering at
the holy city there would be some of those favored ones
who would surely defend their Benefactor. The scribes
and Pharisees, therefore, greatly feared a popular revolt ;
hence they said, " Not on the festival day, lest there
should be a tumult among the people ;" let us wait until
after the feast, when all shall have returned to their homes,
JESTJS' ENEMIES CONSPIRE TO KILL HIM. 39
and then we will arrest Him and put Him to death.
During this discussion, Judas the traitor entered, and vol-
unteered to deliver his Divine Master into their power ;
immediately they changed their determination. We shall
see in the following chapter how this betrayal was ac-
complished ; for the present, let us consider with St.
Thomas of Villanova the motives which induced the
priests, the ancients of the people, the scribes and Phar-
isees, to condemn their Messias to death. The chief
priests and the Pharisees gathered together and said:
u What do we, for this Man doth many miracles : here
is His crime. What, therefore, shall we do ?" O infa-
mous ! O perverse ! Jesus must be recognized as the
true Son of God ; He must be venerated, He must be
worshipped, He must be adored. " But if we adore Him,"
they answer, " all will believe in Him ; and the Romans
will come, they will banish us, and conquer and destroy
our nation." But why do you fear this Man ? What
appearance of royalty do you discern in Him who is so
poor and humble ? And if He should be declared king
of the Jews, fear not ; for as He has power to perform
miracles and prodigies, so also has He power to defend
your nation against the Romans. His only crime is that
He has performed miracles, that by His omnipotent
power He has given sight to the blind, raised the dead
to life. For this reason you should worship, serve, and
love Him, instead of condemning Him. O unparalleled
audacity ! O unequalled blindness !
Let us now come to ourselves. What are the crimes
of Jesus Christ, when we banish Him from our souls
and allow the devil to take possession of them ? Do His
crimes perhaps consist in having created us out of noth-
ing in preference to millions and millions of possible
40 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
beings who would probably have served Him more faith-
fully than we ? in having called us to the bosom of our
holy Mother the Catholic Church, while thousands and
thousands are wandering in the midst of darkness ? in
having redeemed us from the slavery of sin and the
tyranny of hell, by shedding the last drop of His most
precious blood ? in having preserved us from many dis-
eases, persecutions, and misfortunes ? in having enriched
us with temporal and spiritual goods ? in having sent us
so many inspirations, granted us so many graces and
favors % What merits had we in the sight of God to be
so signally favored in preference to so many Turks, idol-
aters, heretics, schismatics, and sinners? Our answer
shall be the second spiritual fruit of this consideration.
JUDAS BETKAYS HIS DIVINE MASTER. 41
CONSIDEBATION VI.
Judas sells his Divine Master for Thirty Pieces
of Silver.
" Then went one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
to the chief priests: and he said to them: "What will you give me,
and I will deliver Him unto you ? But they appointed him thirty
pieces of silver." — St. Matt. xxvi. 14, 15.
Ferst Point.
fPHE chief priests and the ancients were, meantime,
-*- assembled in council in the palace of Caiphas, when
Judas Iscariot, the traitor, came among them ; and,
boldly and openly divulging his perfidious designs, ex-
claimed, " What will you give me, and I will deliver Him
unto you?" (St.Matt. xxvi. 15.) A pious author, explain-
ing this evangelical passage, observes that its every word
deserves the most serious consideration, each one being
replete with the gravest meaning. He then proceeds to
examine the rank which Judas held, and he finds it so emi-
nent that it seems impossible for a person occupying such a
position to form in his heart so perfidious a design against
his gracious and amiable benefactor. " Judas Iscariot," the
same author says, " was one of the twelve ; that is, he was
not a stranger ; he was not confounded amid the crowds
that daily followed Jesus ; nay, he was not simply one of
the seventy-two disciples : he was one of the twelve,
called to the apostolate by Jesus Christ Himself ; one
who had heard from the divine lips of Incarnate "Wisdom
42 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
the sublime and supernatural doctrine of heaven ; one
who had received the power of healing the sick and of
casting out devils. Finally, he was one who had been
distinguished among his companions by his appointment
to the office, which he then held, of treasurer and dis
penser of the alms offered by generous benefactors for
distribution among the poor, as well as for the corporal
maintenance of Jesus and His followers.
Now, thisingrate presented himself to the chief priests,
his Divine Master's bitterest enemies, who had assembled
on former occasions and deliberated as to how they could
put Him to death, and were now only awaiting a favor-
able opportunity to execute their heinous designs. Judas
enacted this treachery without cause. He was not insti-
gated nor even advised to do so by any one ; he acted
through mere malice. When did this ingrate enter upon
the execution of his diabolical project and set out on his
journey to the palace of Caiphas ? He did not go there
wheu the enemies of Jesus were apart, but when they
were gathered together, deliberating how they might be
enabled to apprehend Him and put Him to death. Then
it was that Judas appeared and stood ready to carry out
their nefarious plans. " "What will you give me," he
eagerly exclaimed, " and I will deliver Him unto you 2"
This is equivalent to saying, " I have something to sell,
but something so despicable that I do not dare to affix a
price to it ; do you yourselves name the amount you are
willing to advance." They then offered him thirty pieces
of silver. " They appointed him thirty pieces of silver."
Judas was well satisfied with this sum of money ; and,
from that hour forth he exerted himself to find the
earliest opportunity of carrying his infamous project into
execution.
JUDAS BETRAYS HIS DIVINE MASTER. 43
But the malice of the fallen apostle does not stop here
Dionysius Carthusianus, commenting upon the above-
quoted text of the Gospel, says that the traitor left
Bethania after having heard his Divine Master foretell
that He would be crucified within two days. The same
author further observes that Judas, when presenting
himself to the chief priests and ancients of the people,
was fully convinced of the divinity of Jesus Christ, and
knew, or, at least, had reason to believe, that the enemies
of his Divine Master were already assembled in order to
compass His arrest and execution. Hence the ingrate
unceremoniously inquires, "What are you willing to
give me ? " He might as well have said, " I know what
motive has brought you together; I know the object of
your discussions ; I know what causes your uneasiness :
behold, I am here, able and ready to extricate yon from
your perplexity. Only tell how much you will pay me
for my services, and I will deliver Him unto you in the
secret manner which you desire."
Unhappy Judas ! f oolish and infamous merchant ! How
have you become so blind as to commit a crime so atro-
cious, so horrible, so heinous ? Do you, then, value your
Divine Master at so low a rate as to be willing to sell
Him for thirty pieces of silver? And you would, per-
haps, have sold Him for less, had less been offered? O
Judas ! how has your Master offended you ? Ingrate, so
soon, then, you forget the many favors you have received
from Him ! Do you not remember His numerous
miracles? or do you think that Jesus cannot evade your
snares as, on many previous occasions, He evaded those
of His other enemies ? Unhappy Judas ! You have
sold tli3 gem of Paradise, the joy of heaven, the beloved
of God. For thirty pieces of silver you have bartered the
44 MEDITATIONS ON TIIE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Lamb, a drop of whose blood is infinitely more valuable
than all the silver and gold in the world.
The betrayal of Judas is of such a nature that the more
we consider it, the more it excites our anger and fills us
with horror. But our indignation against the evil deeds
of that treacherous apostle will avail nothing unless we
detest our faults from the bottom of our hearts. It is
true that our faults may not exhibit the deep malice
which we perceive in the betrayal of Judas ; yet we must
ever remember that they offend the majesty of God.
Second Point.
Having excited in our hearts an intense detestation of
Judas's terrible crime, let us pass to a consideration of
the causes which induced him to betray his Divine
Master.
Dionysius Carthusian us says that the treachery of
Judas should not surprise us, for he was avaricious ; and
the avaricious man is capable of any crime. Indeed, we
can easily see from the context of the Gospel that avarice,
and avarice alone, dragged Judas to the abyss of iniquity
into which he fell.
St. Matthew speaks of a banquet which a certain Simon,
surnamed the leper, gave to our Divine Lord and His
disciples some time during the brief sojourn of Jesus in
Bethania, previous to the celebration of the Jewish Pasch.
The Evangelist relates that while Jesus was seated at
table, a woman — probably Mary Magdalene — entered the
room, carrying an alabaster box of precious ointment, and
that, having come near to Him, she poured the ointment
on His sacred head. This action was witnessed by the
apostles, who began to murmur, saying, " To what pur-
JUDAS BETRAYS HIS DIVINE MASTER. 45
pose is this waste ? For this might have been sold for
much and given to the poor." Our Lord heard those
murmurings and gently reproved His disciples for them.
He admonished them against blaming the conduct of the
woman, for she had wrought a good work upon Him ; and,
refuting their reasoning concerning the needs of the poor,
He said, " For the poor you have always with you : but
Me you have not always. For she in pouring this
ointment upon My body, hath done it for My burial "
(Matt, xx vi. 11, 12).
The apostles at once acquiesced, submissively accepting
this amiable reprimand, Judas excepted. He, because he
was a thief — " et latro erat " — would not submit. Being
treasurer and procurator of what may be called the house-
hold of our Lord, he thought that if the precious oint-
ment were intrusted to him, he could sell it and retain
part of the price for himself. Because his miserly desire
was not gratified, he became furiously enraged. He left
the house, went directly to Jerusalem, presented himself
to the chief priests and ancients of the people, and be-
trayed his Divine Master, selling Him for the paltry sum
of thirty pieces of silver to indemnify himself, as it were,
for the money he deemed he had lost by not being able
to obtain and sell the precious ointment. Having ac-
complished his execrable design, Judas returned to
Bethania. Our Blessed Lord knew the heinous crime
which His wretched apostle had perpetrated ; the traitor's
guilt glared from his countenance : yet Jesus did not re-
proach him, nor show any resentment towards him. On
the contrary, He went to meet him, as some pious authors
say, and tenderly embraced and kissed him. Our Divine
Lord acted thus in order to move the heart of Judas to
repentance and induce him to detest his grievous sin.
46 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
But the traitor, far from casting himself at the feet of his
Merciful Master and imploring pardon, remained obsti-
nate.
Behold to what a miserable state avarice, the love of
gold and silver, has reduced an apostle ! Those in whom
this dangerous and baleful passion predominates, seldom
correct themselves. They fear that they may be deprived
of the necessaries of life, and they reckon among such
necessaries goods which are entirely superfluous. The
avaricious have no mercy, no sense of humanity ; they have
no compassion for the needy, and often they do not suf-
ficiently provide even for themselves. Nothing can move
them, soften them, deter them. Neither death, nor judg-
ment, nor heaven, nor hell, nor eternity can affect their
sordid hearts. Judas had often seen his Divine Master
render Himself invisible to His enemies and pass through
their very midst; he had seen Jesus perform many
miracles ; he had had countless proofs of His omnipo-
tence and divinity. But Judas was no longer subject to
reason : ruled by avarice, he could only think of gold
and silver. Gold and silver absorbed all his thoughts,
and their acquisition constituted his desires. Let the
soul be lost, let Christ be sold as a slave — it matters not,
so riches be acquired ! O Judas, what a terrible example
your life affords of the miseries to which avarice surely
leads ! Terrible warning for all. Alas, that for many it
is given in vain ! Let us endeavor to profit by it, and
never regard as lost what we give for the glory of God
and the support of the poor.
JESUS TAKES LEAVE OF HIS BELOVED MOTHER. 47
CONSIDEKATION VII.
Jesus Christ takes leave of His Beloved Mother.
" To what shall I compare thee ? or to what shall I liken thee,
daughter of Jerusalem ? to what shall I equal thee, that I
may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Sion ? For great as the
sea is thy destruction." — Lamentations ii. 13.
Fikst Point.
THE holy Gospel does not mention that onr Divine
Saviour held a farewell interview with His beloved
Mother, but we may piously believe that He did. It is
very probable that Jesus, who had always conducted Him-
self with the greatest respect and utmost submission
towards His blessed Mother, did not undertake the rough
road to Calvary without acquainting her of His intentions
and seeking her consent. This is the opinion of the
Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure, who describes the last
farewell which our Lord took of His Mother before
entering upon His passion ; and this opinion is confirmed
by the revelations which Mary made to St. Bridget. In-
deed, it is but reasonable to believe that God, who sought
consent of the holy Virgin before taking flesh in her pure
womb, should likewise ask her permission to consummate
the grand sacrifice which was the chief end of His mission
on earth. "Who can describe the emotions of a dutiful
and loving; son when taking leave of his mother to set out
upon a long and dangerous journey ? Language is inade-
48 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
quate to such a task. If this medium fails to express what
a mere man feels on those occasions, how can it depict
the intensity of grief experienced by a son, who, besides
being man, is also God ; and who, instead of going on a
journey to a distant country, is about to go to the place
of execution to suffer a most cruel and ignominious death ?
If the grief of the son is inexpressible, what shall we
say of that of the mother, who is naturally more sensitive
and affectionate? However, availing ourselves of the
meditations of St. Bonaventui-e, we shall imagine that
Jesus Christ is in Bethania at the house of Martha. It
is the eve of the Jewish Pasch, commemorated in our day
on the evening of Wednesday in Holy Week. Immedi-
ately after supper Jesus takes His Mother aside, and
leads her into a solitary apartment. There they sit down,
and after a prolonged and painful silence, Jesus thus ad-
dresses Mary :
" My dearly beloved Mother, but little time remains
for Me to be with you. It is the will of My Eternal
Father; I must accomplish the end for which I came
into the world. The time for the redemption of man-
kind has arrived ; all the prophecies concerning Me are
now to be fulfilled; I shall be delivered into the hands
of My enemies, and they will scourge Me, crown Me M^ith
thorns, and crucify Me. I thank you. My dear Mother,
for all the toils and hardships which you have endured
for My sake ; and, as you gave your consent to My incar-
nation, I now wish you to give your consent to My
death."
Thus speaks Jesus, the most dutiful of sons ; but what
answer comes from the most loving of mothers ? Oh !
how justly may we address Mary in the language of
Scripture : " To what shall I compare thee ? or to what
JESUS TAKES LEAVE OF HIS BELOVED MOTHER. 49
shall I liken thee, O daughter of Jerusalem % to what
shall I equal thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin
daughter of Sion ? For great as the sea is thy destruc-
tion." Mary was transfixed by the bitterness of her
grief; speech failed her trembling lips, and she gave
vent to her sorrow in a flood of tears. But, as was re-
vealed to St. Bridget, those tears, instead of alleviating
the pain of her beloved Son, only augmented it more and
more. This increased anguish of Jesus was a fresh source
of affliction to His blessed Mother. But some may say,
with St. Bernard, Did not Mary know that her Divine
Son w r as to die upon the cross? Without doubt she
knew it ; and, furthermore, she was fully and certainly
assured as to what was to be the manner of His death.
Why, therefore, did she grieve for what she had expected,
especially when she knew that in a few days Jesus would
give her the ineffable joy and consolation of His tri-
nmphant resurrection from the tomb ? She grieved be-
cause she was a mother — and the Mother of God. O
Mary, most amiable Mother ! by that sword of sorrow
which pierced thy tender heart when thy dearly beloved
Son requested thy consent to His immolation upon the
cross for my salvation, obtain for me a sincere repentance
of my sins, and the grace that I may never forget that my
crimes were the cause of thy anguish and that of thy
Divine Son.
Second Point.
When the Archangel Gabriel announced to the Blessed
Virgin Mary that she had been chosen by Heaven to be
the mother of the future Messias, she became all disturbed,
and, before consenting to accept the ineffable honor
which was about to be conferred upon her, she questioned
50 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
the angel, saying, " How shall this be clone ? " So, like-
wise, when her Divine Son told her that He was about to
give up His life for the redemption of mankind by dying
on the cross on Mount Golgotha, she became very much
distressed, she trembled, and her pure heart was pierced
by a sword of keenest anguish. It is very true that she
knew that her beloved Son came down from heaven to
redeem mankind by shedding the last drop of His pre-
cious blood ; but, at the same time, she could not easily
persuade herself to give Him up. Her trouble and per-
plexity were very great. It was hard to consent to the
death of her dear and only Son ; still, by refusing her
consent, she would oppose the will of the Eternal Father
and interfere with the redemption of mankind. Finding
herself in the midst of these perplexing doubts and not
knowing what to do, Mary committed herself entirely
into the hands of Divine Providence ; and, according to
the Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure, she addressed our
Divine Lord in broken and trembling accents, saying,
" My beloved Son, I feel all disturbed and my heart faints
within me : let your Eternal Father decide, for I know
not what to answer." Mary would have said more, but
her tears and anguish prevented. Knowing that she
could not change the eternal decrees, she became perfectly
resigned to the divine will ; and, with an heroic courage
worthy only of the Mother of God, she not only con-
sented to the death of her Divine Son, but she resolved
to accompany Him to Calvary, where, rising superior
even to herself, she stood at the foot of the cross during
the three long hours of Jesus' agony, and afterwards re-
ceived His sacred body into her motherly arms upon its
descent from the cross.
St. Bonaventure here exclaims, " Oh ! if you could
JESUS TAKES LEAVE OF HIS BELOVED MOTHEK. 51
see how much suffering Mary endured in giving her con-
sent to the death of her beloved Son, you would, per-
haps, be melted into tears of compassion. But if you
cannot see her with your corporal eyes, behold her with
those of faith ; and know that Mary made this sacrifice
for love of you. Betake yourself in spirit to Bethania,
and imagine that you are present at the meeting of Jesus
and Mary on that sad night, and, prostrating yourself at
their feet, say, " O Son of the Eternal Father, O Mother
of the Eternal Son, how can I ever repay you for the
great love which you manifested for me on this occasion
of your painful parting ? When shall my heart burn with
love for you ? O ungrateful heart, can you longer re-
main attached to creatures and reflect that Mary, the
Mother of God, so loved you that she willingly gave up
her dearly beloved Son, and consented that He should
be put to death for your sake ? Alas ! how long shall
we seek to gratify our sinful passions — we, miserable
wretches, for whom the Son of Mary abandoned His
most amiable Mother, and died upon the cross ? In con-
clusion, let us remember that we can never become par-
takers of the eternal glory of heaven unless we endeavor
to imitate Jesus and Mary in their sufferings. Let us,
therefore, when oppressed by infirmities, adversities, or
tribulations, meditate on the sufferings of our Divine
Saviour, and bear in mind that all the afflictions which
we have to endure in this vale of tears are merely noth-
ing when compared with the sufferings of Jesus and
Mary.
52 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDEBATION Till.
Jesus celebrates His Last Pasch with the
Apostles.
"And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve
apostles with Him; and He said to them: With desire I have
desired to eat this Pasch with you before I suffer."-^. Luke xxn.
14, 15.
First Point.
TT was on the morning of Holy Thursday, which, accord-
J- ing to the Jewish rite, was the first day of the unleav-
ened Dread, and occurred on the fourteenth day of the
moon of March. Jesus was still in Bethania, at the house
of Martha, His generous and pious benefactress. The
apostles came to Him and said, "Whither wilt Thou that
we go, and prepare for Thee to eat the Pasch? " (St. Mark
xiv. 12.) Choosing two of His disciples, Peter and John,
Jesus said to them, " Go ye into the city : and there shall
meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water, follow him :
and whithersoever he shall go in, say to the master of
the house, The Master saith: Where is My refectory,
where I may eat the Pasch with My disciples? And be
will show you a large dining room furnished : and there
prepare ye" for us." The Evangelist subjoins, " And His
disciples" went their way, and came into the city : and
they found as He had told them, and they prepared the
Pasch."
"The poverty and divinity of Jesus Christ are strikingly
manifested in this evangelical passage. His poverty, be-
JESUS CELEBRATES HIS LAST PASCH. 53
cause He had no place wherein to celebrate the Jewish
Pasch, for which reason He sent His disciples to find a
place ; His divinity, because, as master of the universe,
He had only to ask in order to obtain whatever He desired.
A similar circumstance is connected with His triumphant
entry into Jerusalem. He then also sent two of His dis-
ciples to a house to take a beast of burden of which He
had need. However, His divinity is more manifest in
this second instance ; for He did not say to His disciples,
" Go to such a house and tell the master," but He said,
" Go ye into the city : and there shall meet you a man
carrying a pitcher of water, follow him : and he will
show you a large dining-room furnished : and there pre-
pare ye for us."
A devout author explaining the reason why our Lord
did not specify any particular house, says that it was be-
cause Jesus knew that Judas was seeking an opportunity
to deliver Him into the hands of His enemies ; and were
they made aware of where the Pasch was to be celebrated,
he would inform the chief priests and ancients of the
people, who would at once send soldiers to disturb the
feast, and, perhaps, the master of the house. Thus, by not
mentioning openly the place where He wished to celebrate
the Pasch, Jesus showed how great was the goodness and
tenderness of His heart towards His friends.
At sunset, our Divine Redeemer, accompanied by His
twelve apostles, set out on the way to Jerusalem. Avoid-
ing Bethphage and Mount Olivet, He took the road
which passed near the sepulchre of Josaphat, between
Mount Olivet and the Mount of Scandal. This was
the usual and shortest way. Jesus' joy on this eve was
great, and that of the disciples was not less ; but it was
a joy that would not outlast the feast. The Divine
54 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Master was well aware of what was to happen at the close
of that day. He knew that for Him and His beloved
disciples joy was soon to be turned into sorrow. There-
fore, we may imagine that upon leaving the house of
Martha, Jesus said to Himself, " For the last time I am
leaving Bethania as a mortal man." Proceeding on His
way, He may have noticed a sycamore-tree, and cried, in
the sadness of His heart, " On this tree one of My dis-
ciples will hang himself to-morrow." While crossing the
valley of Josaphat, He may have glanced towards the
Garden of Olives and thought, " To-night I shall return
here, no longer to contemplate the joys of heaven, but
to abandon Myself to a mortal agony." Passing over the
torrent of Cedron, He may have said within Himself,
" I shall cross this torrent again to-night, but not in com-
pany with My disciples : I shall be bound as a malefactor,
and surrounded by My bitterest enemies and most cruel
executioners." Entertaining those pious thoughts in our
minds, let us go in spirit with Jesus to Jerusalem. It
will be profitable for us to exercise our imagination in the
production of vivid pictures of those holy places, for they
have power to awaken in our minds many pious thoughts
and tender recollections.
Second Point.
Having reached Jerusalem, Jesus proceeded to that por-
tion of the city which is situated on the southern part of
Mount Sion. Here was located the house in which the
Pasch was prepared for Him and His disciples. They
repaired thither, entered, and found everything in readi-
ness. After a brief interval of rest they took their
places at the table and began to eat the legal supper,
JESUS CELEBRATES HIS LAST PASCH. 55
which consisted of unleavened bread, some lettuce, and
roast lamb. According to the Jewish rite, this paschal
lamb was specially selected from the flock, was spotless,
and, five days before the sacrifice, was brought to Jeru-
salem amid rejoicing and festivity. This celebrated feast
of the Passover was ever a joyous one among the Jews,
for it commemorated that happy night on which the
Angel of the Lord slew all the first-born of the Egyp-
tians, thus delivering the Israelites from their cruel
bondage; and, opening a path for them through the
Red Sea, God guided them miraculously across the
desert into the promised land. In memory of those
benefits the Jews were obliged to eat the paschal lamb
standing and with staves in their hands.
While Jesus was partaking of the mysterious lamb,
His divine countenance suddenly lighted up and beamed
for a moment with unusual joy ; then, turning to His
disciples, He sighed deeply and said, "With desire I have
desired to eat this Pasch with you before I suffer. For
I say to-you, that from this time I will not eat it, till it
be fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Having spoken
these words, Jesus took the chalice into His sacred hands
and, after giving thanks, said, "Take, and divide it
among you ; for I say to you, that I will not drink of
the fruit of the vine, till the kingdom of God come "
(St. Luke xxii. 15-18).
" Oh, how wondrous was the magnanimity of Jesus
Christ ! " exclaims St. Laurence Justinian, commenting
upon the conduct of our Divine Lord at the Last Supper.
And truly what soul can be so insensible as not to be
moved by it ? Jesus Christ is about to enter upon His
bitter passion ; before His mind arises a vision of all the
opprobrium so soon to be heaped upon Him ; He knows
56 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
that this night will be for Him a night of anguish and
torments ; He knows that on the morrow at this same
hour He will be dead, even taken from the cross and
buried. Yet He is full of joy ; all His thoughts are
directed to His disciples ; He endeavors to console and
comfort them, without any concern whatever for Him-
self. Such utter disinterestedness is out of the common
order of nature ; for we know that a man about to be
executed, far from experiencing a feeling of joy and exul-
tation, becomes saddened and all concentrated in himself.
He grows oblivious to all around him, thinking only of
his own dread fate and the terrible journey on which he
is to depart. JSot so, however, with Jesus Christ. He
seems to forget Himself, anxious only to console His dis-
ciples : thus He clearly manifested His charity, magna-
nimity, and divinity.
O admirable love ! O love truly worthy of the Son
of God ! And shall we not endeavor to correspond to
this divine charity ? Shall we remain indifferent or
lukewarm towards our loving Redeemer ? Alas ! if we
have hitherto been ungrateful, let us resolve to be so no
more. If we have not the heroic virtue which animated
the saints with an eager desire of suffering in order to
please God, let us at least bear with patience and resigna-
tion the unavoidable trials and sufferings of our daily life.
In order to derive more profit from this meditation,
let us imagine ourselves present in the supper-room with
Jesus and the apostles, lovingly admitted there to par-
take with them of the legal supper ; then we may con-
sider as addressed to ourselves those affectionate words
which the fond Master spoke to His disciples : " With
desire I have desired to eat this Pasch with you before I
suffer."
JESUS WASHES HIS APOSTLES' FEET. 57
CONSIDEKATION IX.
Jesus washes His Apostles' Feet.
"He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to
Him: Lord, dost Thou wash my feet ? . . . Thou shalt never wash
my feet." — St. John xiii. 6, 8.
Fiest Point.
rpHE legal supper of the paschal lamb being ended,
-L Jesus Christ wished to give another supper which
should prove an additional wonder of love. He arose
from the table, and, laying aside His garments, took a
towel with which He girded Himself; He then poured
water into a basin, " and began to wash the feet of the
disciples, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He
was girded." He came to Simon Peter ; but this fervent
disciple, overwhelmed with confusion at the thought of
the grandeur and divine majesty of Him who presented
Himself in so humble a posture before him, cried out,
" Lord, dost Thou wash my feet ?" This was the same
as to say: "Lord, Thou who art the Creator of heaven
and earth ; Thou who hadst no beginning, and shalt never
have end ; Thou in whose presence the Angels tremble
and the Seraphim bow down ; Thou who art the Son of
God, the Holy One ! — and dost Thou come to wash my
feet ? to perform this menial service towards me, a man
so full of imperfections, a mere worm of the earth ? And
58 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Thou comest to wash my feet with those omnipotent hands
which built the heavens and laid the foundations of the
earth ! with those hands with which Thou openedst the
eyes of the blind, and the ears of the deaf, and gave speech
to the dumb ! with those pure hands which cleansed the
leper, fed the hungry, banished evil spirits, and raised the
dead ! And Thou comest to wash, not my hands, but my
feet which are less noble members of my body ! Lord,
Thou wash my feet ! Thou prostrate Thyself before me,
while all created things, celestial, terrestrial, and infernal
are prostrate before Thee !"
St. John Chrysostom, paraphrasing the words of St.
Peter, puts these words into the mouth of the apostle :
" Thou art the master, I am the servant ; Thou art the
creator, I am the creature ; Thou art God, I am only man ;
Thou wishest to wash my feet, and I, a poor, miserable
sinner — no ! it shall not be : Thou shalt never wash my
feet!"
Thus did St. Peter in the fervor of his love speak to
his Divine Master. Jesus knew that Peter's repugnance
sprung from the profound respect and veneration which
he entertained for his Lord. Yet, to show us that obedi-
ence is better than sacrifice, and that it should be pre-
ferred before any other virtue, Jesus, with a serene and
majestic countenance, said to St. Peter, " If I wash thee
not, thou shalt have no part with Me." Peter, affrighted
by this terrible menace, exclaimed, " Lord, not only my
feet, but also my hands and my head !" But the Divine
Redeemer knew well the cleanness of heart of him whom
He had chosen for His vicar on earth, and the visible
head of the Church militant. With great affability Jesus
reassured him, saying: "He that is washed needeth not
but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are
JESUS WASHES HIS APOSTLES' FEET. 59
clean, but not all" (St. John xiii. 10). Without manifest-
ing to the other disciples the treachery of Judas, Jesus
abruptly broke off His discourse, well satisfied that Judas
understood the dread allusion which was conveyed in the
words, " And you are clean, but not all." Jesus wished
to intimate to Judas that his treachery was known, in
order that the wretch might realize in his guilty soul that
nothing is hidden from his Divine Master.
Then the Saviour proceeded to wash the feet of the
other apostles ; nor did He meet with any resistance from
them : they were too much affrighted by the words which
Jesus addressed to Peter, — him who was to be their head
and master after the withdrawal of Christ's visible pres-
ence.
Here we should pause to reflect on the profound humil-
ity of our Holy Redeemer in washing His disciples' feet.
In imitation of Him, let us resolve to be humble also.
Let us frequently make acts of this great virtue, espec-
ially when about to approach the Holy Sacrament of the
Eucharist, in order to render ourselves more worthy of
its reception.
Second Point.
Theophylactus, commenting on the above mysterious
ceremony of the Washing of Peet, offers as his opinion
that Jesus Christ did not first approach St. Peter, but
Judas Iscariot ; and that the Divine Master adopted this
course of action in order to give the traitor a marked
sign of His love and esteem, and a token of the ready
and generous pardon which he could at once obtain if
he would only repent of his crime. This opinion is
deduced partly from the Gospel, partly from a considera-
tion of the wickedness of Judas, and partly from a con-
60 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
ception of the profound respect which the other apostles
entertained for our Lord. Theophylactus reasons thus :
The Gospel says that Jesus Christ " began to wash the
feet of the disciples, and to wipe them with the towel
wherewith He was girded." Then He came to Peter, ac-
cording to the Latin text, " Deinde venit ad PetrumP
Therefore, before approaching the feet of Peter, our Lord
had already washed those of some other disciple. But,
excepting Judas, which of the apostles could witness so
great an abasement of his Divine Master, and not offer
the slightest resistance nor manifest the least sign of sur-
prise \ If Christ had opened the ceremony by washing
the feet of any apostle other than Judas, undoubtedly
such apostle would have said as Peter did say a moment
later, "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" But these or
similar words were spoken by none except Peter ; at least
there is no scriptural record of such an utterance made
by any other apostle. In all probability, therefore, Jesus
began the ceremony of the Washing of Feet by prostrat-
ing Himself before Judas, the only disciple who could
witness such a sight without showing any sign of surprise
or confusion. St. Bernard entertained the same opinion.
" The perfidy of Judas," the holy Doctor maintains, " was
not unknown to his Divine Master ; Jesus knew well that
Judas' feet were running fast in the dread path which led
to consummate treachery and deicide: yet He did not
hesitate to deal with him as with the other apostles ; nay,
Judas was the very first before whom the Divine Master
prostrated Himself in the performance of this extraor-
dinary act of humility." At this point in his com-
mentary, St. Bernard breaks out into the following im-
passioned apostrophe : " O man, thou who art but dust
and ashes, how darest thou lift up thy head in pride and
JESUS "WASHES HIS APOSTLES' FEET. 61
arrogance ? How darest thou give way to impatience and
anger? Behold and admire the meekness and humility
of Jesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth, the
Judge of the living and the dead, and be ashamed and
confounded at the thought of thy pride and haughtiness !
He who is God prostrates Himself before mere men ;
and thou, a vile worm of the earth, disdainest to humble
thyself before God ! He who is innocence itself, He who
is sanctity itself, deigns to wash the vile feet of Judas the
traitor ; and thou who art guilty of a thousand crimes
refusest to approach the sacred tribunal to wash away thy
iniquity! He, before instituting the most august Sacra-
ment of the Altar, humbled Himself so far as to wash
the feet of Judas; and thou, before partaking of the
Eucharistic banquet, art unwilling to banish from thy
heart the hatred and rancor which thou entertainest to-
wards those persons who have given thee offence ! "
Thus reasons a holy Doctor of the Church ; and thus
also should we reason if we would derive spiritual profit
from the sublime lesson of humility which our amiable
Redeemer gives us in the washing of His disciples' feet.
For this purpose let us frequently repeat those words of
St. Peter, " Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" Let us often
meditate on them, as also on those words of St. Francis
of Assisi who, unable to express the ardor of divine love
which he experienced at the thought of Christ's humility
in becoming our food, used frequently to say, "My God,
my God ! who art Thou, and who am I? My God, my
God ! who art Thou, and who am I?"
The principal fruits which we should derive from this
meditation are a great horror of pride, which is the root
of all other vices, and a profound esteem for holy humil-
ity, the queen of virtues and the foundation of Christian
62 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
perfection. The proud can never be dear to God, and
they soon become odious to men ; but the humble are
beloved by all and advance in virtue from day to day.
Let us learn from the example of our Blessed Redeemer
to practise the holy virtue of humility, and we shall re-
ceive an immense reward in time and in eternity.
JESUS' WOEDS AFTER THE WASHING OJF FEET. 63
CONSIDERATION X.
Words spoken by our Holy Redeemer after the
Washing of Feet.
" Then after He had washed their feet, and taken His garments,
being set down again, He said to them: Know you what I have
done to you ? You call me Master, and Lord: and you say well,
for so I am. If then I, being your Lord and Master, have washed
your feet: you also ought to wash one another's feet." — JSt. John
xiii. 12-14.
i
Lo
First Point.
A FTER having washed the feet of His dearly beloved
-*--*- disciples, Jesus Christ exhorted them to love one
nother and to practise holy humility, the queen of all
irtues. He said to them : " You call me Master, and
rd : and you say well, for so I am. If then I, who am
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another's feet." This address was
tantamount to saying, "If I, the King of kings, the Lord
of lords, the Creator of heaven and earth, have so far
abased Myself as to wash the feet of My creatures, My
disciples, to wash the feet of Judas; how much more
ought you to do the same to one another, to pity one an-
another, love one another, help one another: you who
are children of the same Father, who are all alike but
dust and ashes, who are all subject to the same diseases,
miseries, and misfortunes! Do, therefore, to one an-
other as I have done to yon. Blessed, indeed, shall you
be, if, having penetrated into the meaning of My words
64 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
and learned how pleasing to Me is the virtue of humility,
you endeavor to imitate My example and show yourself
in every action meek and humble of heart."
This was the admirable lesson which the Divine Re-
deemer gave to His apostles after the mysterious Wash-
ing of Feet. A pious author explaining these words,
" Know you what I have done to you ? " speaks thus : " If
you wish to know what Christ did for His apostles at
the Last Supper, you can be easily informed. He pros-
trated Himself before them, washed and, according to a
pious tradition, kissed their feet. But if you inquire
still further and ask to know what was done for them
not merely at the Last Supper, but from the very begin-
ning, the answer will be quite another. It will lead us
back to the very hour of creation. This Divine Lord
created them out of nothing ; when they were incapable
of loving God, He infused that divine love into their
hearts ; nor did He make them after the image of any
created thing, but according to His own image and like-
ness, imprinting on their souls, as it were, an image of
the Most Holy Triniry by gifting them with will, mem-
ory, and understanding. He gave them the great gift of
free will ; He gave them angels for their guardians and
constant companions ; lie created this world for their
benefit ; He prescribed a law for them which, if faith-
fully observed, would guide them to eternal life ; He
granted them the pardon of their sins; when He became
man He taught them the knowledge of the way to heav-
en ; He healed the sick among them ; He raised their
dead to life ; in a word, He granted them all the graces
and blessings of which they stood* in need. Might not
Jesus well ask His disciples, ' Know you what I have
done to you \ ' "
JESUS' WORDS AFTER THE WASHING OF FEET. 65
]STow, all the general benefits which Jesus Christ con-
ferred on His apostles have been likewise given to each
of us. He created this visible wonderful world for us ;
He created us out of nothing ; He loved us from eternity ;
He created us to His own image and likeness ; He en-
dowed us with will, memory, and understanding; He
destined us for heaven ; He instituted seven Sacraments
for our sanctification ; in short, He accomplished the
grand work of human redemption for us.
How have we corresponded to these immense benefits %
What have we done in return ? Alas ! we have repaid
our Divine Lord with the basest ingratitude. Let us,
therefore, endeavor to change our life, firmly resolving
to become true followers of Jesus. To attain this end
let us often reflect on the benefits which He has bestowed
on us from the hour of our creation to this very moment ;
we shall then be able to understand how truly worthy
Jesus is of all our love and gratitude.
Second Point.
The example of our Holy Redeemer should not only
be admired, but it should also be imitated. " If then I,
being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you
also ought to wash one another's feet." This was equiv-
alent to saying, Let man do what God did; let the ser-
vant imitate the example of his master. No human
dignity should refuse to do what the Master of heaven
and earth did; what the Master practised should be prac-
tised by the servant, and no Christian should disdain to
do what Christ Jesus did.
St. Augustine explaining the following passage of the
Gospel, " Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble
5
bb MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
of heart, and you shall find rest to jour souls," para-
phrases it thus : " Learn of Me not to build the world,
not to create visible and invisible things, not to work
miracles, not to raise the dead to life ; but learn to be
meek and humble of heart."
We are not required to go into strange countries in
order to perform works of charity ; we are not required
to expose our lives to enlighten those " who sit in dark-
ness and in the shadow Of death ;" we are not required
to undertake any long and dangerous journey, nor to
enter the cloister ; no, our Merciful Lord does not exact
so much from us. To do those things requires graces
from heaven which are not granted to all, but to a few
only. All that is required of the faithful at large is the
observance of the divine law, and perfect submission to
Him whose yoke is sweet and whose burden is light.
We are commanded to bear with patience our own and
our neighbor's infirmities, to abstain from those things
which are forbidden by the commandments of God and
of the Church, and to be faithful Christians not only in
name but also in d.ced.
It is not necessary to perform heroic actions in order
to be Christians ; nor is it necessary to go to distant
countries to practise Christian virtues. They may be
practised everywhere. We are surrounded on all sides
by powerful enemies ; we are especially assailed by our
common enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil ;
therefore, we shall always have occasions to practise the
virtues of patience and resignation. We can also fre-
quently exercise ourselves in the virtue of charity by
assisting our fellow-creatures, by advising them, and
praying for them. Opportunities are never wanting to
practise voluntary mortifications in order to atone for
JESUS' WORDS AFTER THE WASHING OF FEET. 67
our faults. Finally, we should ever show ourselves true
followers of Christ by a close and constant imitation of
His virtues, especially those of meekness and humility.
Let us imagine ourselves present at the mysterious
Washing of Feet, and consider as addressed to us those
memorable words of Jesus Christ : " For I have given
you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do
also." If Jesus so humbled Himself as to wash the feet
of His disciples, we ought to humble ourselves as far, at
least, as to forgive our enemies : since Jesus did all for us,
we ought to do something for Him. Finally, let us im-
press deeply on our minds those words of our Lord, " I
have given you an example, that as I have done to you,
so you do also." Could a king ask less of his subjects ?
Could a captain ask less of his soldiers % Could a master
ask less of his servants % And this is all that Jesus asks
of us — to follow His example. "If you know these
things, you shall be blessed if you do them" (St. John
xiii. 17).
MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION XI.
Jesus Christ predicts the Perfidy of Judas.
" And whilst they were eating, He said : Amen I say to you,
that one of you is about to betray Me. And they being very
much troubled, began every one to say : Is it I, Lord ? " — St. Matt.
xxvi. 21, 22.
First Point.
r I ^HE Divine Master had scarcely ended His sublime
-■- discourse on humility and fraternal charity, when
His countenance underwent a sudden change ; a change
which was not caused by fear, but by a feeling of intense
anguish. Turning to His apostles, He said, " Amen I
say to yon, that one of you is about to betray Me." And
appropriating to Himself the words of the Royal Psalm-
ist, He may, perhaps, have addded : " If an enemy of
mine had cursed Me, I could have borne it in peace.
But that a disciple of Mine, one whom I have chosen as
a coadjutor in the work of the salvation of mankind ; one
who has always lived in harmony with Me, and has so
often heard from My lips the words of eternal life ; one
who has often broken bread with Me at My table, and
witnessed so many of My miracles ; one who has received
from Me power to perform even greater wonders than I
have wrought, and who has been benefited by Me in
every way — that this ingrate should now have the in-
famous courage to conspire against Me, and is now await-
ing a favorable opportunity to betray Me into the hands
JESUS PREDICTS THE PERFIDY OF JUDAS. 69
of My bitter enemies — this, this it is that afflicts Me
most profoundly." Some expositors of the sacred text
maintain that when Jesus had spoken thus He turned
His eyes upon Judas to observe whether His divine
words had gone home to the traitor's heart, and whether
the poor wretch would show any sign of sorrow and re-
pentance. Our loving Saviour still wished to encourage
Jul as to have confidence in the infinite mercy of God,
and not to fear the wrathful effects of His terrible justice.
Seeing, however, that the unfaithful disciple still remained
obdurate, and that he was deaf to all those tender appeals
and insensible to the stings of his guilty conscience,
Jesus passed from words of gentle rebuke to the utter-
ance of this awful menace : " Woe to that man by whom
the Son of man shall be betrayed ! It were better for him
if that man had not been born." These terrible words
were designed not only to reproach Judas with the
enormity of his crime, but also to arouse in him a salu-
tary fear of eternal torments, in order that he might,
perhaps, be led to repentance. Upon hearing this awful
menace of Jesus Christ the apostles were filled with a
great fear. But, excepting Judas, each had the testimony
of a good conscience and persisted in considering as not
addressed to himself the words which the Master had
ottered. Jesus had spoken too plainly to be misunder-
stood ; all the disciples knew at once that a traitor was in
their midst. They became very sad, and, wishing to be
exonerated from suspicion, they began one after another
to question the Master, saying, "Is it I, Lord?" The
eleven faithful apostles were conscious of their innocence;
but they had learned from the teachings of Christ that, on
account of the frailty of human nature, man is fickle and
, moved from even his firmest resolutions. Hence
70 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
they deeply distrusted their own strength and questioned,
" Is it I, Lord ? " They feared lest they might perpetrate
a crime of which they had never even thought.
This conduct of our Lord towards Judas furnishes us
with a grand and sublime example of the solicitude of
Jesus for the conversion of sinners. How many inspira-
tions and graces, how many examples and admonitions,
does He not give us to induce us to return to Him ! A
mother has not so much anxiety for her darling child
who lies dangerously ill, as God has for the salvation of
o'ur souls. If, then, we do not correspond to this most
tender and loving solicitude, we shall be alone to blame
for our eternal perdition.
Second Point.
Our Holy Redeemer saw that neither His secret ad-
monitions nor His public menaces made any impression
on the mind of Judas; and knowing that the other
apostles were suffering for the evil intentions of that one
man, He resumed His usual kindly manner, and, in order
to relieve their anxiety, thus addressed them : " My dear
children, let not what I have said sadden your hearts, for
I did not speak of all. I know those whom I have
elected to the apostolate, and I see in your hearts the
horror which you entertain for the terrible crime of My
betrayal. I know that eleven of My disciples are
faithful, and that there is only one traitor among us. I
foresaw, indeed, the ingratitude and perfidy of this
apostate disciple from all eternity. I foresaw, also, that
his divine call to the apostolate, together with all the num-
berless graces and favors which he was destined to re-
ceive, would not cause his conversion : yet I did not ex-
JESUS PREDICTS THE PERFIDY OF JUDAS. 71
elude him, but I called him to follow Me, in order that
the prophecies concerning Me might be accomplished."
Thus Jesus spoke — so expositors of the Sacred Scriptures
teach — for the purpose of calming the minds of His
dearly beloved disciples, and also of affording the Iscariot
another opportunity to reflect and repent.
It is to be noticed that Jesus had so far never once
mentioned the name of His betrayer. Our Lord observed
this divinely noble reticence in order to save the reputa-
tion which Judas enjoyed among his colleagues and be-
fore the public. But the wretch obstinately persisted in
his iniquity, remaining insensible to the loving rebukes
as well as to the terrible menaces of Jesus.
Father Euthemius, commenting on the terrible obsti-
nacy of Judas Iscariot, takes occasion to reproach those
sinners who, to extenuate their offences, attempt to main-
tain that they are driven into sin by the natural perver-
sity of human nature, and that they are actually pre-
destined to offend God. Such men exonerate Judas from
all sin, because, say they, it had been decreed from all
eternity that he was to be guilty of this heinous treach-
ery to his Divine Master. "We answer: The foreknowl-
edge which God had of Judas' sin did not cause its com-
mission. Judas, without any compulsion, but by an abuse
of his free will, was, in time, to perpetrate the sin, and
the omniscient God foreknew it from all eternity. Thus,
though in the order of time Judas' sin was posterior to
God's foreknowledge of it, in the order of reason it was
anterior; or, in other words, God's foreknowledge of
Judas' crime was not the cause of its commission, but
the commission of the crime was the cause of God's fore-
knowledge of it. We must bear in mind that God does
not compel any one to be good or bad. He has given
72 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
each of us a free will, and during our life He bestows on
us numberless graces to enable us to use our will rightly
and attain salvation. Those, therefore, who abuse this
gift of free will, as Judas did, become doubly guilty :
first, by yielding to their evil inclinations ; secondly, by
not corresponding to the graces which God gives them.
Let us pause for a moment to consider what divine
favors had been bestowed on Judas. First, he was called
to the apostolate that he might be convinced of the divin-
ity of Jesus Christ and have less temptation to betray
Him. Secondly, he was appointed treasurer of the alms
received for the support of our Lord and the apostles,
that, being so distinguished, he might have stronger
motives fur remaining faithful to his Divine Master.
Thirdly, he was given the power of performing miracles,
in order that, considering his great and sublime dignity,
he might not be led to commit so detestable a crime as
treachery. Fourthly, he was given more graces than any
other of the apostles, so that he might have more strength to
resist his depraved inclinations. To conclude, let us reflect
that God wishes all men to be saved, and gives them graces
sufficient to work out their salvation. He has given us
free will that we may have merit for our good works. If
we abuse our free will, the fault is ours. Let us, then,
ask of God grace to enable us to use our free will rightly,
and to persevere unto the end in the performance of good
works, never for a moment allowing ourselves to despair
of our salvation, but confidently relying on His mercy
and placing all our hopes in the merits of Christ's passion
and death.
JESUS' EFFOETS TO CONVERT JUDAS. 73
CONSIDERATION XII.
Our Divine Redeemer tries by every Means to
convert Judas.
" And Judas that betrayed Him, answering said: Is it I, Kabbi ?
He saitb to him : Thou hast said it. " — St. Matt. xxvi. 25.
First Point.
THE perfidious Judas heard the other apostles ques-
tioning their Master as to who among them was the
traitor, and, for fear of being discovered by his colleagues,
he also asked, " Is it I, Eabbi ?"
Commenting on this effrontery of Judas, an impas-
sioned author thus apostrophizes him and inveighs against
him: "O wretch! O thief! O hypocrite ! O traitor! O
monster of iniquity ! "What ? Tou have already been
before the chief priests and ancients of the people ; of
your own free will you have offered to deliver your Di-
vine Master into the hands of His enemies ! You have
already received the thirty pieces of silver, and for the
past two days you have been seeking an opportunity to
execute your diabolical plot ! You are endeavoring, even
now, to leave the supper-room to inform His enemies that
He may now be easily arrested, — and yet you dare to ask
Him, ' Is it I, Eabbi? ' You know that He is the Man-
God who can penetrate the inmost secrets of our hearts,
and you have the audacity to ask Him, 'Is it I, Eabbi V
You have this very moment heard Him say with all cer-
74 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
tainty that one of His apostles is about to betray Him,
and you know too well that He forbore mentioning your
name because, in His divine charity, He did not wish to
disgrace you before your colleagues and the public. You
perceive clearly that He knows your infamous project, —
and yet you ask, ' Is it I, Eabbi ? ' O unheard-of inso-
lence ! O unparalleled temerity ! But hearken, O Judas !
to the answer which your Divine Master, though shame-
fully betrayed by you, deigns to give; and from that
answer, Judas, learn whether Jesus deserves to be so in-
sultingly treated."
Our Divine Lord understood the full import of the
Iscariot's question, all its insolence and temerity ; but as
He desired the conversion of the traitor, He patiently
bore the effrontery and refrained from revealing his name.
Considering, however, that further silence might render
the fallen disciple more audacious, and impress him with
the idea that his secret thoughts were unknown — an idea
which would cause him to hurry on to the consummation
of his crime — Jesus made known to Judas that He was
aware of all by answering, " Thou hast said it," which
was equivalent to saying, "Yes; you are the very one
that has determined to betray Me, to sell Me to My bitter
enemies."
The interpreters of Holy Scripture are of the opinion
that Jesus spoke these words to Judas in secret. The
Evangelist does not say whether the answer given by
Jesus was heard by the other apostles. St. Peter, who
had a great desire to know who the traitor was, requested
St. John, the beloved disciple, to question the Master.
John, therefore, who was " leaning on the breast of Jesus,
saith to Him : Lord, who is it ? Jesus answered : He it is
to whom I shall reach bread dipped. And when He had
JESUS' EFFORTS TO CONVERT JUDAS. 75
dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of
Simon. And after the morsel, Satan entered into him.
And Jesus said to him : That which thou dost, do quickly.
Now no man at the table knew to what purpose He said
this unto him" (St. John xiii. 25-28). It is evident,
therefore, that the apostles, John only excepted, knew
nothing of Judas' treason. But not even this sublimely
charitable reticence of Christ was sufficient to soften the
traitor's heart.
We should pause here and meditate on the great ten-
derness which Jesus manifested towards His faithless
apostle, and also on the obduracy shown by the latter.
The one should encourage, the other affright us. Let
us, therefore, resolve to govern our conduct by these two
principles, — confidence in God, diffidence in self. Ob-
serving these, we shall infallibly arrive at the kingdom of
God.
Second Point.
Our Holy Eedeemer whispered only two words into
the ear of His faithless disciple, " Tu dixiMi" — '"Thou
hast said it." But how many words of holy inspiration,
how many gentle words of invitation to repentance, did
He not secretly address to the heart of the traitor? The
spoken words of Jesus can be found in the holy Gospel ;
and some knowledge of the import of His secret addresses
may be obtained from the Fathers of the Church, and
from devout contemplators on the sufferings of Jesus.
These holy writers ascribe to our Saviour words of most
tender and loving appeal, such as only a consideration of
the immensity of God's love can render credible. Thus
does one writer make Jesus speak :
" My beloved disciple, tell Me what crime have I com-
76 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
mitted which causes you to deliver Me into the hands of
My bitter enemies % What have I done to you, or in
what have I displeased you ? I have chosen you in pref-
erence to many others to be one of My apostles; I have
conferred on you the power of working miracles ; I have
distinguished you among the twelve by appointing you
treasurer and administrator of the alms given us by the
faithful for our support and the needs of the poor ; I have
never asked you to render an account of your administra-
tion of the affairs of that office, for I have always placed
confidence in you-and now do you betray Me in return
for all these benefits? O Judas! Judas, My beloved
disciple, pause and consider whether I deserve to be
treated so ungratefully. Remember, Judas, that I have
loved you well and tenderly; and I still love you with all
My heart. I ask nothing of you but that you love Me in
return. I desire only your eternal salvation. For your
salvation I came down from heaven and became man, and
for yon I am soon to shed the last drop of My blood. I
wish you to share in the traits of My bitter passion. I
am still your dear Master, though you have forgotten to
be My disciple. Be converted, and I promise that I will
f oro-et all. I will remember nothing but your docility to
My call. Tour fault thall meet with My tenderest com-
passion. Remember that I do not wish the death of the
sinner, but that he be converted and live.
" O Judas ! Judas, it is not your Judge that now speaks
to you, but your Redeemer; it is not the God of ven-
geance, but the Father of Mercies who calls you. Hearken
to His loving voice ; withdraw from the path of iniquity
upon which you have entered, and in which, if you con-
tinue, you must surely perish. Do not turn a deaf ear
to My merciful call. Do not harden your heart, nor de-
JESUS' EFFORTS TO CONVERT JUDAS. 77
spi.se My holy grace. Quit your blind rage, and return
to the path of virtue : it is divine clemency itself that
calls you, that knocks at the door of your heart, to invite
you to a new life."
Leo L, surnamed the Great, penetrated by a deep sense
of the goodness manifested by our Divine Lord in His
relations with Judas, thus apostrophizes the traitor, and
explains at the same time the reason of his obduracy :
" Why, unhappy Judas, do you not avail yourself of the
goodness of your merciful Kedeemer? Why do you
not give, at least, a sign of interior repentance ? Alas !
the reason is only too plain," continues St. Leo ; " Judas,
who had ever been tardy in corresponding to divine grace,
has now become deaf and dumb to the heavenly call. It
is not the first time that Jesus speaks to his heart : Judas
has habitually rejected divine grace, and now he is insen-
sible to the mercies of heaven."
For strong reasons, then, have the holy Fathers of the
Church occupied themselves in showing the great solici-
tude of our Saviour for the conversion of Judas. Their
purpose was to encourage sinners to rely on the mercy of
God, and never despair, no matter how grievous or nu-
merous their sins might be ; for if the divine mercy was
great towards Judas, it is equally great towards us.
Encouraged, therefore, by the infinite goodness of our
most amiable Redeemer, let us prostrate ourselves at His
feet ; and, detesting all our past sins from the bottom of
our hearts, let us make a firm resolution nevermore to
offend Him.
78 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION XIII.
Jesus institutes the Most August Sacrament of
the Holy Eucharist.
"Jesus knowing that His hour was come that He should pass
out of this world to the Father: having loved His own who were
in the world, He loved them unto the end."— 8t. John xiii. 1.
First Point.
ST. JOHN the Evangelist tells ns that Jesus, knowing
that the hour for His departure from this world was
at hand, resolved that the same tender, ceaseless love
which He had always shown towards His disciples during
His missionary career should shine out most resplen-
dency in the last sad parting hour. The Eternal Father
had subjected all things to the will of His beloved Son.
Jesus, therefore, lifting up His eyes to heaven, thanked
His Eternal Father for having conferred this unlimited
power on Him even as man. Then taking bread, He
blessed, broke, and gave it to His disciples, saying : " Take
ye, and eat : this is My body." Then " taking the chal-
ice, He gave thanks, and gave to them, saying : Drink ye
all of this. For this is My blood of the New Testament
which shall be shed for many unto the remission of sins."
Such were the words of our Divine Redeemer ; words
few and brief, but, as we know them in the Church of
God, they are full of the deepest meaning. Interpreted
in the light of Catholic doctrine, these words of Jesus
THE SACRAMENT OP THE HOLY EUCHARIST. 79
may thus be paraphrased : " I have instituted this august
Sacrament, not only for the Church's spiritual benefit,
but also for your spiritual comfort ; therefore, I grant
you power to renew it every day. You have seen what
I did, — do ye also the same. I will descend from heaven
whenever you utter the words of consecration. I will
place myself at your disposal, that you may dispense Me
to the faithful as spiritual food, and that you may keep
Me on your altars and have recourse to Me in your spirit-
ual and temporal needs. I will remain with you in this
most venerable Sacrament until the consummation of the
world, to comfort and strengthen you in the faith, and to
help you to walk on courageously and perseveringly in
the rough road of the cross. I give you one command-
ment, however : whenever you shall make this august
Sacrament, you shall do so in commemoration of Me. I
require only this of you, and I require it as an attesta-
tion of your gratitude for the benefits conferred on you
in this holy Sacrament."
Could our Lord do more for our spiritual interests, and
ask less from us in return ? Before passing to a further
consideration of this great act of our Saviour's love, let
us try to enter into the sentiments which must have
animated Him on this solemn occasion. Let us imagine
that we see Him, His divine countenance all radiant, and
that we hear issuing from His sacred lips this touching
address : " My beloved disciples, I am at the end of My
days, but I have not yet exhausted the treasures of My
love and mercy. I can give no greater proof of My love
than to die for the salvation of mankind: that proof I
will to-morrow give you by sacrificing Myself to the
Eternal Father to satisfy His justice. Learn, then, how
great is My love for men, and how dear to Me is their
80 MEDITATIONS ON" THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
eternal salvation. But My charity does not stop here:
it shall overleap the boundaries of death. Yes, on the
very eve of My crucifixion, I have found a means which
shall enable Me to remain among men even to the con-
summation of the world. In this holy Sacrament I shall
dwell in their midst to hear their prayers, to console them
in their sorrows, and to succor them in the trials and
difficulties of their daily life. You, therefore, whom I
have chosen for My disciples, announce to all men how
much I have loved them ; encourage them to have con-
fidence in the merits of My passion ; encourage them to
have recourse to Me in their necessities, and I will hear
and grant their petitions. These are the sentiments which
fill my heart in these closing hours of My mortal life.
But there is one thing which I demand of you in particu-
lar, and of all men in general, in return for My great
love, and it is this : that you constantly remember how
much I have suffered for you. If you will but keep this
faithful remembrance of My sufferings, I shall consider
My love sufficiently rewarded. Alas ! I foresee that from
the greater number of Christians I shall not receive even
this poor boon of grateful remembrance. Nevertheless,
I will never cease to love and benefit them ; I will never
ignore their tears nor reject their repentance. Sinners
shall always find Me present on their altars, ready to
embrace them and grant their petitions. I came down
from heaven to bring, not the just, but sinners, to repent-
ance. For the sake of sinners I became man; for their
sake I have led a life of suffering and anguish ; for their
sake I am going to die to-morrow on the cross, and for
their sake I wish to remain on earth after My death."
These expressions are far too weak to convey any ade-
quate idea of the love which Jesus Christ manifested for
THE SACRAMENT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST. 81
us in the institution of the Blessed Sacrament. But let
us endeavor to make up for the feebleness of our expres-
sions by the fervor and constancy of our devotion to Jesus
ever present on our altars.
Second Point.
No holy Father, no expositor of Holy Scripture, no
devout author, can find words to express adequately the
grandeur, the sublimity of this most august Sacrament.
The angels of heaven cover their faces in reverence be-
fore it, and humble themselves to the very ground to
worship a mystery so great, so sublime. No one could
have imagined the possibility of so great a mystery, had
not Jesus Christ Himself revealed it. There are, there-
fore, no words to express the excellence of this Sacra-
ment. Only a profound meditation can give us an idea
of it — an idea so faint, however, as to be as far from the
truth as the finite is from the infinite, the creature from
the creator. Nevertheless, though there are not words
adequate to express what should be our piety and zeal in
view of the great benefits conferred on us in the Blessed
Sacrament, yet we should avail ourselves of the best
means at our disposal to awaken in our hearts a proper
appreciation of its blessings. To this end, therefore, let
us recall the words of the holy Fathers on the subject of
the Blessed En diarist.
St. Augustine says that God, all omnipotent as He is,
is Dot able to bestow on us any greater favor, and that in
the institution of this Sacrament He exhausted all the
treasures of His omnipotence. For what more had God
to give after He had given Himself? "What greater gift
than the gift of Himself 'I
6
82 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
" O admirable mystery !" exclaims Venerable John
Tauler, " O sublime Sacrament ! O ineffable love ! O un-
heard-of generosity ! The Donor is Himself the gift ; the
servant nourishes himself with the person of his Master ;
the domestic sits at the table of the King of Glory and
partakes of His royal flesh ; man eats of the bread of
angels ; the Eternal Father divides among His servants
the body of His only-begotten Son, and gives them that
Son's most precious blood to drink ! But what intellect
shall ever comprehend the profound mysteries of this
admirable Sacrament?"
" O wonderful supper," says St. Bonaventure, " at
which so many wondrous things were wrought by the
hand of Omnipotence! This was the last supper, O my
most amiable Jesus, that Thou wast to eat with Thy
apostles, and Thou wast soon to depart from this world.
At this last supper Thy charity inspired Thee to work
many admirable wonders. But the greatest of all was
the institution of the august Sacrament of the Altar, by
which Thou hast left us forever a sweet and precious re-
minder of Thy passion and death."
" 2so Sacrament," says the Angelic Doctor St. Thomas,
" is more salutary than this. By it sins are blotted out,
virtues are increased, and the soul is enriched with an
abundance of all spiritual graces. While in the other
sacraments only grace is received, in the Eucharist the
very Author of grace is received ; and when God becomes
one with me, what more have I to desire?"
The fruit of this consideration should be a firm resolu-
tion to approach the Eueharistic table frequently with the
greatest respect and most profound veneration, acknowl-
edging ourselves unworthy of this great and sublime
Sacrament, but still reposing all our confidence in the
THE SACRAMENT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST. 83
merits of Jesus Christ. Let us, therefore, prostrate our-
selves at the feet of Jesus, and say to Him more with the
heart than with the lips : " What is man that Thou art
mindful of him % or the son of man that Thou visitest
him ? Thou hast made him a little less than the Angels ;
Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor: and
hast set him over the works of Thy hands. Thou hast
subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen ;
moreover the beasts also of the field. The birds of
the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the
paths of the sea. O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is
Thy name in all the earth !" But all that Thou hadst
done did not satisfy Thy love ; for man Thou didst still
do more. For him Thou didst take a human soul and
body in the pure womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; for
him Thou didst subject Thyself to all the pains of in-
fancy; for him Thou didst lead a life of hardship, priva-
tion, and persecution ; finally, for him Thou didst shed
the last drop of Thy most precious blood on the cross, —
and what more could remain for Thee to do? It seems
that all the treasures of Thy love should have been ex-
hausted on Mount Calvary. But no; before ascending
the sacred wood of the cross Thou didst consider that
Thou wast about to immolate only Thy body for the
expiation of our sins, and that Thy soul and divinity still
remained to Thee. Thou didst wish to bestow these
also upon us, and therefore Thou didst institute the most
august Sacrament of the Eucharist. Great God! Quid
est homo quia magnijicas eum?
84 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
w ]
CONSIDERATION XIV.
Sermon of Jesus Christ after the Institution of
the Blessed Sacrament.
"Little children, yet a little while I am with you."— St. John
xiii. 33.
First Point.
"HEN Judas Iscariot had gone out of the supper-
room, Jesus Christ, who knew well where the
unhappy apostle was to betake himself, heaved a deep
sigh and exclaimed, "Now is the Son of man glorified,
and God is glorified in Him." This glory, however, was
to Jesus a source of anguish, because it had come to Him
through the loss of a beloved disciple for whose conver-
sion He had exhausted, as it were, all the treasures of
His mercy. Then Jesus turned towards the eleven ; and
as a tender friend when setting out on a long journey af-
fectionately bids farewell to his clear ones, or as a dying
father gathers his beloved children around his bed to
convey to them his last wishes, so does the Merciful
Redeemer who, foreseeing the hour of His approaching
sacrifice, thus addresses His apostles : " ' Little children,
yet a little while I am with you.' But the hour of My
departure is at hand, and I go where you cannot come
at present. As it is the parting hour, hear My last
paternal injunctions, and impress them on your hearts, for
they are given by the most tender of Fathers in the last
JESUS' SERMON AFTER THE LAST SUPPER. 85
moments of His mortal life." Then Jesus said : " The
first and most important command which I give you is
that of charity. Dear children, love one another with
that sincere affection with which I have loved you. By
this love the world shall know that you are My disciples.
This love shall be the mark of My true followers, the
character by which the children of the Gospel shall be
distinguished from the children of the world.
" Let not your hearts be troubled as you hear that I am
about to leave you, because though where I go you can-
not come at present, still the time will come when you
also shall follow Me. I go before you to prepare you a
place, and when it shall have been prepared I will come
again and take you with Me. The words which I speak
to you are not Mine, but they are suggested to Me by
My Father.
" If you do not believe in Me, believe in My works ; be-
lieve in the miracles which you have seen wrought by My
hands — miracles of such a nature that they surpass all
human power. As to those who will believe in Me, they,
too, shall perform miracles, and even greater ones than I
have performed, if they only ask the power from My
Heavenly Father in My name. For whatever you ask
the Father in My name, it shall be granted unto yon,
that the Father may be glorified in His Son. If then it
is true that you love Me, keep My commandments ; and
I will ask the Father, and He will send you the Paraclete,
who shall remain with you forever. The Paraclete shall
be the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees nor knows Him ; but you shall
receive and recognize Him, because He shall abide with
you and within you. Be, therefore, of good heart ; for
though I am going away, yet I will not leave you
86 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
orphans. The Holy Spirit who shall come after Me shall
be a father to you. He shall explain to you all these
great mysteries which you do not at present understand,
and He will give you proofs of all the doctrines which I
have preached to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace
I give unto you : not as the world giveth, do I give unto
you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.
You have heard that I said to you : ' I go away, and I
come unto yon. If you loved Me, you would, indeed, be
glad, because I go to the Father : for the Father is greater
than I. And now I have told you before it came to pass :
that when it shall come to pass you may believe.' "
Such was the sublime and ever-memorable discourse
pronounced by our Divine Redeemer after the Last Sup-
per ; a discourse from which we should draw these three
great lessons : First, that it is a strict duty incumbent
upon us all to observe the great precept of charity, if we
would be recognized as true followers of Jesus Christ.
Second, that the observance of the commandments is of
the utmost importance, if we wish to enter the kingdom
of heaven. Third, that prayer is necessary in order to
obtain from the Eternal Father grace to work out our
salvation.
Second Point.
During the delivery of His affectionate farewell to His
disciples, our Lord was frequently interrupted by them.
Upon hearing the Master say, " Whither I go thou canst
not follow Me now, but thou shalt follow hereafter,"
Peter, with a fervor quite peculiar to himself, exclaimed,
" Why cannot I follow Thee now % I will lay down My
life for thee." Jesus answered : " Wilt thou lay down
thy life for Me ? Amen, amen I say to thee, the cock
JESUS' SERMON AFTER THE LAST SUPPER. 87
shall not crow till thou deny Me thrice." St. Thomas,
also, hearing Jesus say, " And whither I go you know,
and the way you know," replied at once, " Lord, we know
not whither Thou goest ; and how can we know the way ?"
Jesus made answer thus : "lam the way, the truth, and
the life. ~No man cometh to the Father but by Me."
" Lord, show us the Father and it shall be enough for
us," immediately rejoined St. Philip, to whom Jesus re-
p]ied, " Philip, he that seeth Me seeth the Father also."
From these questions of the apostles, as well as from
the replies of our Divine Lord, we are enabled to perceive
that before the descent of the Holy Ghost the apostles
were very ignorant of the truths of faith. Whence we
may infer that had we not the light of the same Holy
Spirit to guide us to a knowledge of God and His holy
mysteries, we should now be in a like ignorance of them.
We ought also to learn that we shall go, sooner or later,
where our Lord has gone, provided we keep His com-
mandments. But if we hear not the divine word and
follow the maxims of the world, the Lord will not love
us, nor reveal Himself to us, nor lead us to the kingdom
of His Eternal Father.
It should be observed here that the great promises of
our Divine Redeemer, far from making the apostles more
fervent in the observance of the sublime maxims which
He constantly taught during the three years of His public
life, only served to inflame their ambition. For, hearing
the Divine Master speak of His kingdom and future glory,
and still believing that Jesus was to reign on earth, they
ii to dispute among themselves as to which of them
^liould hold the first place in Christ's kingdom. O miser-
able human nature ! how frail art thou ? Only a few mo-
ments before the apostles had seen Jesus in an humble pos-
88 MEDITATIONS ON" THE SUFE'EEINGS OF CHRIST.
ture washing their feet ; they had jnst received the Holy Eu-
charist ; they had just been ordained priests, even the first
bishops of the Xew Law ; they had just heard from the lips
of Jesus words of eternal life ; they had just been assured
by Him that His last hour was at hand, and that His
enemies were soon to crucify Him : and instead of gather-
ing around their Divine Master to console Him, they
began to dispute among themselves. And their dispute,
after all the lessons of humility given at the Last Supper,
was about what ? " There was a strife among them," the
Scripture tells us, " which of them should seem to be the
greater."
But let us hear how our Lord ended the dispute. " The
kings of the gentiles," said Christ, " lord it over them ;
and they that have power over them are called benefi-
cent. But you not so : but he that is the greater among
you, let him become as the younger ; and he that is the
leader, as he that serveth. For which is greater, he that
sitteth at table or he that serveth ? Is it not he that
sitteth at table ? But I am in the midst of you, as he that
serveth." Those words of Jesus were equivalent to
these : " I have humbled Myself so far as to assume
human nature ; I have even washed your feet ; I have
practised mortifications and humiliations of every kind ;
and if you would be My disciples, you should certainly
imitate My example."
Thus Jesus ended His sublime lesson on humility, the
foundation of all virtues. Let us, therefore, resolve to
practise this great virtue in imitation of our Divine Lord,
that we may daily become more pleasing in His sight.
JESUS CHRIST LEAVES THE SUPPER-ROOM. 89
CONSIDEKATION XV.
Jesus Christ leaves the Supper-room.
" And a hymn being said, they went out unto Mount Olivet."
St. Matthew xxvi. 80.
First Point.
r I ^HE darkness of night had already enveloped the
-*- earth, and Judas had gone to the chief priests and
ancients of the people to instruct them how they might
capture his Divine Master. Far from wishing to avoid
death, Jesus desired rather to hasten the hour of its ap-
proach, and, arising from the table, He resolved to leave
the supper-room, and also the city, to prepare Himself in
some solitary place for the great sacrifice of Calvary.
He, therefore, thanked the owner of the house for the
courteous hospitality which had been tendered to Him-
self and His disciples, and, having sung a hymn of
thanksgiving to the Eternal Father, Jesus, accompanied
by the eleven, departed from the city. They passed out
through the gate of Mount Sion, and descending the hill,
proceeded to Mount Olivet. On the si^e of this mount
was the Garden of Gethsemani, into which Jesus, when
visiting Jerusalem, was accustomed to retire frequently
to pray. To this garden He now repaired : " And a hymn
being said, they went out unto Mount Olivet."
The reason why our Lord left the supper-room was,
perhaps, this: He was desirous of saving His charitable
host from the molestations to which the soldiery would
certainly subject that person whom they should find en-
90 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
tertaining the very one whose capture they desired to
effect. As to the Redeemer's reason for departing from
Jerusalem, Theophylactus tells us that it was to prevent
a tumult which would certainly arise among the people
should they be permitted to witness the infamous method
adopted to accomplish our Lord's capture. Several rea-
sons are assigned for His repairing to Mount Olivet, and
to that very spot where lay the Garden of Gethsemani.
St. Jerome says that as Jesus was to ascend into heaven
from the summit of this mountain, so He wished to watch,
pray, and be captured on this mountain ; thus clearly in-
timating that prayers, vigils, and humiliations are so many
rungs of the mystic ladder of perfection, by which alone
man can hope to ascend above the stars and reach his
heavenly home. Venerable Bede tells us that the garden
was the place where Jesus frequently retired at night to
pray ; and as this fact was well known to the Jews, and
especially to Judas, who had often and often been His
companion during those holy vigils, our Lord deemed
that by seeking again the shades of Gethsemani He was
choosing a spot most favorable to the success of His ene-
mies' attempts to find and capture Him. Jesus wished
all to perceive that He had no fears, and that, far from
trying to avoid death, He went willingly forth to meet it.
Others maintain that as the fall of the human race began
in a garden, so Jesus wished that His sacred passion,
which was destined to repair that fatal fall, should also
begin in a garden.
For these and similar reasons Jesus joyfully advanced
towards Mount Olivet, not as one going to meet death,
but as one hastening to a banquet. But the more joyful
Jesus was, the more sorrowful His apostles were. Con-
vinced at last that this was, indeed, their Master's last
night on earth, they walked along with bowed heads,
JESUS CHRIST LEAVES THE SUPPER-ROOM. 91
painfully brooding over the irreparable loss which, they
were about to sustain. Methinks, too, that on that lonely
journey the apostles must have been vying with one an-
other in the desire of drawing near to our Lord, and of
offering Him words of sympathy and consolation. But
such was their sorrow that no one dared to speak, and
they pursued their way in silence. Jesus, however, did
not remain silent, but availed Himself of these last mo-
ments to speak to His disciples words of most heavenly
wisdom. These will furnish abundant matter for medi-
tation under the second point of this consideration.
Tor the present let us pause a moment and bring up
before our minds a vivid picture of our Lord and His
apostles pursuing their lonely journey to Mount Olivet.
Let us reflect that the apostles are not accompanying their
Master now as they often accompanied Him in days past
to some great city or castle, there to witness Him per-
forming some wonderful miracle, or to hear Him preach-
ing the word of eternal life. They are going with Him
to the place of sacrifice. Let us in spirit join this holy
company as they journey to Olivet. In this pious state
of mind we shall experience abundant spiritual consola-
tions, for Jesus will not fail to inspire us with holy affec-
Second Point.
The apostles, then, closing in lovingly around our Lord,
were beginning to descend the hill of Sion, when Jesus
thus addressed them : " My dear disciples, you are the
tender branches of a rich vine ; I am the rich vine to
which you are united as branches. Now as the branch
that is lopped from the vine soon withers and dies, so
you, if you separate yourselves from Me, shall be able to
perform no work worthy of eternal life. On the other
92 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
hand, as long as you shall observe My commands and re-
main united to Me in the bonds of faith and charity, so
long shall My Father have you in His holy keeping and
bestow on you all the treasures of His grace. But if you
abandon Me, then also shall My Father abandon you.
Eemain steadfast, therefore, in the faith, and love one
another as I have loved you.
" Behold, I now no longer call you servants, but friends ;
and I treat you as friends — intimate friends ; for a servant
knows not the affairs of his master, while I have admitted
you to a knowledge of all those things which I have
heard from My Father.
" You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and
commissioned you to go forth and produce much fruit,
and your fruit shall remain. The world, indeed, may
persecute you ; but let not your souls be sad on this ac-
count, but rejoice rather at seeing yourselves treated as I
have been. As I have already told you, the servant is
not greater than his master, nor the ambassador greater
than the king that sends him. If I, then, who am the
Lord of heaven and earth, and your Master, have been
insulted, calumniated, spit upon ; if I, your Master, shall
soon be loaded with chains, led as a malefactor from court
to court, there to be insulted, spit upon, derided, scourged,
and finally nailed to a cross,— if I am so treated during
My mortal life, you, who are My disciples, cannot expect
better treatment.
" If you were of the world, the world would love you ;
but because you are My disciples it will hate and persecute
you. But do not let your courage fail ; fight on bravely
with the arms of faith aud patience, confiding in the
strength of My grace and omnipotence. Remember that,
though crucified, dead, and buried, I shall not cease to be
what I am, the omnipotent God to whom all things are
JESUS CHRIST LEAVES THE SUPPER-ROOM. 93
subject and nothing is impossible. You, indeed, shall
lament and weep because of these persecutions for My
name's sake, while the world shall rejoice ; but rest as-
sured, My dear disciples, that your sorrows shall be
turned into joy, and the world's joy shall be turned into
sorrow.
" Lo, I have foretold you all things, that, when they shall
happen, they may not surprise you nor make you waver
in your faith. And I have yet many things to say to you,
but your minds are not prepared to hear them. But
when the Holy Spirit is come, He will teach you all
truth, illuminating your minds and fully fitting you to
discharge all the high duties of your sacred ministry.
Do ye, meanwhile, prepare yourselves by fervent prayer
and rigorous fasting for the reception of this Holy Spirit ;
and when you shall have received Him, you shall find
yourselves changed, as it were, into other men. Such
shall be the grace with which your souls shall abound,
that you shall be able to do and suffer all things for the
honor and glory of God."
Thus ended the discourse which Jesus delivered to His
apostles as they moved on to Olivet. If we would profit
by its sacred teachings, we should consider its every word
as addressed to ourselves. Let us ever remember, then,
that as long as we remain in union with God, so long He
remains in union with us ; " and if God be with us, who
shall be against us V If the world persecutes us, let us
remember that it persecuted Christ also. Let us remem-
ber that if the world hates us, it is a sign that we are not
of the world ; and that not to be of the world is to be of
the number of the elect. Finally, let us remember that
if we only have a little patience our tears shall cease and
onr Borrow shall be turned into joy, according to the
promise cf llim wliu.se words are eternal truth.
94 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDEEATION XYI.
Jesus Christ predicts the Flight of the Apostles
and the Triple Denial of Peter.
" Behold, the hour eometh. and it is now come, that you shall
be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone: and
yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.'' — St. John
xxi. 32.
FlEST POIXT.
TESUS was, meanwhile, drawing nearer and nearer to
^ the Garden of Gethsemani. Kn owing how short was
the time that remained for Him to converse with His
beloved disciples, He ceased not to instruct them, by both
word and example, concerning those tilings which He
deemed best adapted to promote their spiritual advance-
ment. Therefore, He dwelt especially on the virtue of
humility, on the propriety of always having a pious
diffidence in one's own strength, and on the necessity of
having recourse to God by means of prayer, especially in
the hour of temptation. The Divine Master had often
taught those same lessons, but the apostles, thus far, had
derived but little or no profit from them. They had not
yet received the Holy Ghost, and therefore, though in-
structed in the school of the Incarnate Wisdom, they
were still only rude fishermen, ever attached to their own
opinions and ambitious of worldly honors. They had
not been reared amid the grandeur and riches of the
world, yet they found it very difficult to submit to the
JESUS PREDICTS THE APOSTLES' FLIGHT. 95
requirements of self-denial, the humility of the Gospel,
and the doctrine of the cross. Thus on that very night
when Jesus foretold how imminent was His passion, even
while He was speaking to them on the subject of human
frailty and urging them to have recourse to God for help,
the apostles thought themselves unconquerable, and
unanimously protested that they were willing to give up
their lives for their Divine Master. On account of a
fervor which was the happy effect of the Holy Com-
munion which they had received that night, they thus
rashly relied on themselves. But Jesus, who knew what
was to happen in a few hours, said to them : "My dear
disciples, you now follow Me and confess that I am the
Son of God, because you have had strong evidences of
My divinity in the numerous miracles which you have
seen Me perform by My own power. You have seen Me
give sight to the blind, restore health to the sick, make
the lame walk, and raise the dead to life. But when
you shall behold Me a prisoner, bound like a malefactor,
dragged before judges, and afterwards condemned to a
most disgraceful death, you will waver in your faith and
be greatly scandalized in Me. Alas ! not only will your
faith waver, but you will abandon Me and leave Me in
'the hands of My bitter enemies. Yet I shall not be
entirely forsaken, for My heavenly Father will be with
Me; and assisted by Him, I shall have sufficient strength
nffer the ingratitude of your abandonment, the insults
of My enemies, and the disgraceful and cruel death of
the cross."
Venerable Bede tells us that Jesus thus predicted the
flight of the disciples, not for the purpose of rebuking
them for their weakness and infidelity, but in order that
after the commission of the crime they should not despair
96 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
of His mercy, but immediately seek God again through
penance. Therefore, to arouse more and more in His
disciples' hearts this confidence in the mercy of God,
Jesus added : " But after I shall be risen again, I will go
before you into Galilee." This was equivalent to saying :
" I shall be made to suffer a most cruel and unjust death ;
but when I shall have lain three days in the bosom of
the earth, as Jonas was three days in the body of the
whale, I shall raise Myself up gloriously from the grave,
and, triumphant over death, I shall go before you into
Galilee. There we will meet, and you shall then know
how truthful are My predictions and My promises."
Every word of our Divine Saviour conveys an evidence
of His love for us and gives us a lesson for the guidance
of our lives. This twofold lesson of the necessity of
diffidence in our own strength, and of boundless trust in
the mercy of God, is taught us every day, either by the
contents of some pious book that we read or by the words
of some good sermon that we hear. Sometimes, alas ! it
is also taught us by the sad example of once most holy
persons whose rash confidence in themselves precipitated
them into the gravest disorders. From such unhappy
cases we should learn to grow more and more humble.
If, at times, we ourselves fall into those excesses which,
on other occasions, we so loudly reprove in our neighbors,
we should at once have recourse to God. He will not
fail to extend His mercy to us, if we promise ever more
to be faithful and sincerely ask pardon for our past
offences. Before sin is committed, let us tremble at the
thought of God's justice ; after it is committed, let us
take courage at the thought of His mercy, and immedi-
ately have recourse to our amiable Saviour. A contrite
and humble heart Jesus will never despise.
JESUS PREDICTS THE APOSTLES* FLIGHT. 97
Second Poiht.
These last admonitions of Jesus, instead of inducing
the apostles to conceive a great diffidence in themselves,
seemed only to confirm them the more in the good opin-
ion which they entertained of their own strength. St.
Peter, in particular, protested his fidelity with great
emphasis, saying, " Although all shall be scandalized in
Thee, I will never be scandalized." O Peter! Peter, in-
stead of praying to thy Divine Master to confirm thy
faith, dost thou dare presumptuously to promise that thou
wilt never fail ? And dost thou not perceive that thy
indiscreet fervor, far from making thee more, only render-
eth thee less acceptable in the eyes of God ? Ah ! far
better for thee hadst thou cast thyself at thy Master's
feet and implored the grace of remaining faithful.
But let us hearken to Jesus' reply: "Amen I say to
thee, that in this night before the cock crow, thou wilt
deny Me thrice." How did Peter act upon hearing this
terrible prediction ? Did he throw himself at his Master's
feet to ask pardon for his presumption ? Did he, at least,
beg for the assistance of divine grace in the great danger
which awaited him 1 Did he bewail his presumption in
having believed himself to be better than the rest of his
brethren, though he was soon to be proved the weakest
of all? No; but, as St. Euthimius remarks, the more
Jesus Christ affirmed that Peter would deny Him, the
more obstinate Peter grew in his presumption. And
again Peter passionately exclaimed, " Yea, though I
should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee."
This terrible presumption of Peter is surprising in one
who had so long listened to the teachings of Christ; and
it is not at all relieved, but, on the contrary, it appears
more shocking from the fact that the other apostles shared
7
98 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
it ; for the Scriptures tell us that they also protested their
fidelity: "And in like manner said all the disciples"
(St. Matt. xxvi. 35).
What happened to the apostles, and especially to St.
Peter, on that very night is known to all, and it will
furnish abundant matter for reflection in future consider-
ations. However, in order to derive some spiritual profit
from the present consideration, let us reflect that the
apostles were so inflamed with love of Jesus Christ that
they would not believe that they could become scandal-
ized in him and abandon Him,— they who had seen so
many miracles performed by Him ; they who had been
for three years under His teaching ; they who had that
very night received Communion from His sacred hands.
Now, who among us will dare say that he loves God as
ardently as the apostles loved their Master ? And if they,
notwithstanding all their love— a love a thousand times
greater than ours— abandoned Jesus Christ even at the
very beginning of His passion, what should we think of
ourselves and of on r own strength to resist temptation?
Our Divine Lord Himself gives us the answer : " With-
out Me you can do nothing." He does not say that we
can do something, however little ; but He affirms that we
can do nothing whatever without His grace. Let our
love be ever so great and fervent, let our life be ever so
austere, let our faith be ever so strong and lively, let our
hope be ever so firm, let our charity be ever so ardent-
it is, and it always will be, true, that without the grace of
God we can do nothing. Let us, therefore, be ever dif-
fident of our own strength, always placing our confidence
in God and shunning carefully every dangerous occasion
of sin. Thus we may hope to obtain God's holy grace,
without which we can do nothing towards attaining
eternal life.
JESUS' SADNESS IN THE GARDEN.
CONSIDERATION XYII.
Sadness of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani.
"Then He saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto
death: stay you here and watch with Me." — St. Matt. xxvi. 38.
First Point.
lpAST of Jerusalem, between Mount Olivet and Mount
-*— ^ Moria, lies the small but memorable valley of Josa-
phat, through which at the time of Jesus a little torrent
flowed. Our Holy Redeemer was obliged to cross this
valley and pass over the torrent to go to the Garden of
Gethsemani, where He was accustomed to retire to pray
for the salvation of mankind. This garden was situated
on the side of Mount Olivet. It was a kind of park, one
part of which was thickly planted with olive-trees, and
the other part was laid out as a garden. No wall sur-
rounded it, and it was freely accessible to all. Into this
garden Jesus entered with His disciples, there to begin
His fearful passion.
The Redeemer's countenance assumed a sad and
thoughtful expression, and He said to His disciples,
" Sit ye here while I go yonder and pray." As the apos-
tles were taking their seats, Jesus turned to Peter, James,
and John, and told them to follow Him. Then with
bowed heads and in profound silence these three followed
their sorrowful Master into the interior of the park, and
towards the place where the trees were thickly planted.
100 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
" And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebe-
dee, He began to grow sorrowful and to be sad."
Origen alleges two reasons for the choice which Jesus
made of those three disciples in preference to the others :
first, that they might become convinced, once and for-
ever, of their human weakness — a subject to which they
were not accustomed to give any attention. For St.
Peter, only a little while before, had said that, far from
being capable of denying his Master, he would willingly
give up his life for Him. St. John and St. James, also,
but a few days before, had, with great presumption, pro-
tested that they were willing to drink of the bitter chal-
ice prepared for Jesus. The Redeemer, therefore, wished
those three disciples to be present at His mortal sadness,
that they might learn from His example how great is
human weakness and how little they should trust their
transitory fervor. For if the Son of God at the approach
of His painful passion became sad and found strength
only by having recourse to God, how much more had the
apostles need of prayer to obtain constancy and strength !
Origen's second reason for the Redeemer's choice is
this : as Peter, James, and John had witnessed Jesus'
glorious transfiguration on Mount Thabor, and had also
received proofs of His omnipotence and divinity on the
day when He raised the daughter of Jairus at Caphar-
naum, so Jesus wished them now to see how weak is
humanity when not sustained by the divine hand.
As soon as Jesus found Himself in the company of His
three chosen disciples and separated from the rest, He gave
free vent to His feelings, and, sighing deeply, said : " Oh,
if you could see My heart, you would find it immersed
in a sea of sadness. I am as one cast out into the midst
of the sea, and overwhelmed by the tempest ; the sorrows
JESUS' SADNESS IN THE GARDEN. 101
of death surround Me, and the torrents of iniquity trouble
Me : ' My soul is sorrowful even unto death.' "
My most amiable Jesus, where are those happy days
when Thou didst walk upon the waters as if upon the land ?
Where are those happy days when every one ran after
Thee — the afflicted to be consoled, the infirm to be healed,
the blind to be restored to sight, the leprous to be cleansed ?
Why, O my Jesus ! why dost Thou seek no consolation for
Thyself ? Ah ! it is because Thou art a most amiable
Father, and Thou wishest to sacrifice Thyself for Thy be-
loved children.
Second Point.
The sacred expositors of the holy text assign various
causes for the mortal agony suffered by our Redeemer in
the Garden of Gethsemani. St. Jerome says that Jesus
was not afflicted because of the imminence of the hour of
His passion, since it was to undergo this passion that He
had come into the world. But He suffered on account of
the unhappy fate of Judas, on account of the scandal
which the other apostles would receive, on account of the
blindness and reprobation of the Jewish people, and on
account of the destruction that was to come upon the un-
fortunate city of Jerusalem over which He had already
shed tears.
St. Bernardine of Sienna tells us that Jesus was sad-
dened principally because He foresaw that, notwithstand-
ing His passion and death, many through their own fault
would be deprived of the eternal glory of heaven.
Father Lewis Navarino says that the Saviour experi-
enced fear, fright, and grief in order to alleviate those
same feelings in us : for as, if He did not die, He would
not subjugate death ; so, if He did not experience fear.
102 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
fright, arid grief, He would not mitigate those emotions
in us.
St. Cyprian, looking at the subject from another point
of view, exclaims : " Who shall not fear, if Jesus Him-
self was afraid % "Who shall not tremble, if Jesus Him-
self trembled, before Whom every knee must bend ?
Who shall not be terrified at the approach of death, if the
One who is the death of death and the terror of hell was
Himself terrified at death's approach ?"
St. Lawrence Justinian in his turn exclaims : " What
do I behold, my beloved Lord ? Art Thou sorrowful,
and dost Thou really experience fear ? Is He who is the
very essence of joy now Himself become sorrowful?
Does fortitude tremble ? Does glory suffer tedium ? Is
splendor obscured ? Is health become infirmity % Yet
I see no armed men. I see no enemies approaching with
swords and scourges. Why, therefore, dost Thou fear
and tremble, O Lord ? Thou art the great Captain of the
Christian militia, and dost Thou tremble? Ah! I know
the cause of Thy sorrow. Thou art suffering by antici-
pation, not simply for the corporal agony which Thou
art about to endure, but Thou art suffering for all that
the martyrs must undergo in the future. Thou art stoned
with Stephen, crucified with Peter, flayed with Barthol-
omew, devoured by wild beasts with Ignatius. These
are the true causes of Thy agony."
Finally, let us hear the words of the Seraphic Doctor,
St. Bonaventure, who thus addresses his agonizing Sav-
iour : " O my most amiable Jesus, these words of Thine
cause me great surprise, — ' My soul is sorrowful even un-
to death.' But why dost Thou fear ? What is the cause
of Thy sorrow ? Is it because of Thy impending suffer-
ings ? Is it death which Thou fearest ? But was it not
JESUS' SADNESS IN THE GARDEN. 103
in order to die that Thou didst become man ? For what
reason didst Thou become incarnate in the womb of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, if not to destroy by Thy death our
eternal death ? What would it avail that Thou becamest
man, were the grand object of the Redemption not to be
accomplished ? And if Thou didst not, O merciful Jesus,
who shall satisfy for my sins 1 Did I not hear Thee say
to Judas but a moment ago, ' That which thou dost, do
quickly ' ? Then Thou wast impatient to meet death,
and now dost Thou seek to avoid it? Ah ! no ; it is not
so ; Thou ref usest not to consummate the great sacrifice.
I believe rather, O Lord, that, being man, Thou wish-
est to subject Thyself to all the human passions, and,
therefore, as man Thou fearest death, but as God Thou
longest for death ; and Thou art sorrowful because death
seems too long in coming. Oh ! the great love of God
towards man ! Oh ! the great ingratitude of man towards
God !"
"Whatever may have been the cause of Jesus' mortal
agony in the garden, it conveys to us a great lesson, one
which will be especially profitable for us in times of
affliction. Docs the thought of death afflict us? The
same thought also afflicted Jesus. Does the loss of some
dear departed one embitter our remembrance ? Jesus in
the garden had to bear up against the bitter remembrance
of the loss of Judas. Does the number of our sins ter-
rify us? Jesus experienced the same terror. Do mis-
fortunes and calamities grieve us? Jesus suffered the
same grief.
But what did the Eedeemer do in the midst of these
sorrows ? He had recourse to His Heavenly Father, and
was relieved from them. Let us do likewise in our afflic-
tions, and God will relieve us also.
104 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDEKATION XVIII.
Prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Geth-
semani.
" Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me; never-
theless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." — St. Matt. xxvi. 39.
First Point.
A BOUT a stone's throw from the Garden of Geth-
-^-*- seinani was a grotto hewn out of the solid rock.
The light was admitted into this grotto through a hole in
the roof. In this country a custom prevailed of building
cisterns for the purpose of holding rain-water. This fact,
together with the form of the grotto and the aperture in
the top, leads to the inference that it was formerly used
as a cistern from which the garden was watered. At the
time of our Lord it was old and abandoned, and no longer
capable of retaining water, but it afforded the loiterer in
the garden a place of refuge in warm or rainy weather.
This grotto, now converted into a little chapel, still exists.
It is called the Grotto of Agony, on account of the
agony and bloody sweat which our Divine Saviour suf-
fered there.
Ha.ving manifested to His three disciples the profound
sadness under which he was laboring, Jesus said to them,
" Sit ye here, till I go yonder and pray." And He im-
mediately retired into the grotto. The solitude of the
place, the darkness of the night, the profound silence of
PRAYER OF JESUS IN THE GARDEN. 105
nature, and the imminence of the hour of His capture, —
these were circumstances which combined to cause the
Saviour to raise His voice in prayer to His Heavenly
Father.
Before examining the prayer of Jesus, let us, according
to the suggestion of Origen, consider that the Divine Master,
in separating from the eight disciples, had simply said,
" Sit ye here ;" but to Peter, James, and John, who had
witnessed His transfiguration on Mount Thabor and were,
therefore, reputed stronger than the other apostles, He
said, " Stay you here and watch with me ;" which words
are thus paraphrased by Cornelius a Lapide : " Stay ye
here and look upon your Master in His agony, and see
how He has recourse to His Eternal Father. Watch Me,
that you may behold the intensity of My sufferings. See
into what a state of extreme desolation I am cast, that
you may learn how to act in your own future hours of
sorrow. Finally, observe Me, and watch with Me, unit-
ing your prayers with Mine, that thus you may give Me
some little comfort in My sufferings." But Jesus did
not receive even this small relief from His disciples.
Abandoned by men, our Lord then turned to His
Eternal Father. The Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure,
puts these words on the lips of the agonizing Saviour :
" The chalice of My passion is so filled with bitterness
that I dare not press it to My lips. In spirit I see one of
My dear disciples, who has sold Me to the chief priests,
and advances now at the head of armed men who are
coming to make Me prisoner. I see the hatred enter-
tained against Me by the Jews, who are thirsting for My
blood. I foresee all the persecutions which My beloved
disciples will have to undergo for My sake. I foresee
the desolation of My beloved Mother when she shall hear
106 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
of My capture and see Me crucified. I already see
before Me all the sufferings which I shall have to undergo
during the whole course of My bitter passion ; and in the
midst of all these persecutions and tortures My courage
fails Me, so that I am forced to ask Thee to remove from
Me this bitter chalice. Ah ! My Father, grant that with-
out My death, death may be destroyed and sin wiped
away. Let man at once be redeemed, let hell be con-
quered, and the gates of heaven opened : ' My Father,
if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me ; neverthe-
less not as I will, but as Thou wilt.' "
Such was the prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of
Gethsemani ; a prayer short and simple, but which, not-
withstanding its brevity and simplicity, conveys many
wise lessons for our instruction. Let us, therefore, often
meditate on these words : " My Father, if it be possible,
let this chalice pass from me ; nevertheless, not as I will,
but as Thou wilt,"
Second Point.
Not only the words, but also the deeds of our Divine
Lord should serve as a rule for the conduct of our
lives, His every word and action conveying a salutary
lesson for our guidance. Let us, therefore, consider the
prayer which He made in the Garden of Olives, imme-
diately after His agony.
But first we should reflect, according to the suggestion
of a pious author, that experiencing grief does not imply
imperfection, since it is only natural that human nature
should bow under the weight of human infirmity.
Secondly, we should understand that experiencing great
grief at the loss of one's reputation is not necessarily an
indication of imperfection, since it is in the maintenance
PEAYER OF JESUS IN THE GARDEN. 107
of reputation tbat man's real life chiefly consists.
Thirdly, we should consider with the same pious author
that fear, sorrow, and annoyance at the troubles and dis-
appointments of this life do not constitute imperfection,
since Jesus Christ, who was perfection itself, became sad,
aye, and sorrowful even unto death, at the sight of the
sufferings that He was to undergo. A Man-God became
sad ; and shall we, then, who are but dust and ashes, not be
allowed to succumb ?
It is only natural, therefore, to yield to grief. But to
whom should we go in order to assuage it ? Like Jesus,
we should have recourse to our Heavenly Father, sub-
mitting our will to His, saying, " My Father, if it be
possible, let this chalice pass from me ; nevertheless, not
as I will, but as Thou wilt."
St. Dionysius Carthusianus, commenting on these
words, " Not as I will, but as Thou wilt," says : " Behold
how humble, how sweet and affectionate is this prayer.
It is, therefore, the very prayer that we should use in our
hours of trial and affliction ; because at such times we
should humble ourselves before God, ask the graces of
which we stand in need, and submit ourselves to His
holy will."
St. Leo the Great says : " That word of our Head,
' Thy will be done,' is the salvation of the whole body.
It is that word which has instructed all the faithful, in-
spired the love of all the holy confessors of the faith,
crowned all the martyrs, and fortified all the virgins of
the Church. Let all the faithful, therefore, learn this
sublime and truly divine prayer, so that when they are in
any adversity whatsoever, they may overcome it by sub-
mission to the holy will of God."
At the thought of the Man-God having recourse to
108 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
prayer, St. Lawrence Justinian exclaims: "O man!
proud man, what dost thou do ! Art thou stronger than
was Christ ? The agonizing Jesus has recourse to prayer,
and thou, poor miserable sinner, presumest to suffer with-
out deigning to invoke divine aid !"
The lesson which we should learn from Christ's example
is this,— the necessity of prayer. But it is not sufficient
to pray only in time of adversity ; we should pray always,
and pray with entire submission to the divine will. Let
us expose to our dear Saviour all our wants and miseries ;
let us ask not only for salvation, but also for all the tem-
poral blessings of which we may stand in need ; let us
ask Him for health and for preservation from all the
accidents and dangers that surround our daily life. But
let us ever make these requests in the spirit of the prayer
of Jesus Christ, saying with Him, " Not as I will, but
as Thou wilt."
THE MOKTAL AGONY OF JESUS. 109
CONSIDEKATION XIX.
The Mortal Agony of Jesus Christ.
And being in agony, He prayed the more." — 8t. Luke xxih 43.
H
First Poiht.
AYI1STG finished His prayer of wondrous fervor
and resignation, and still experiencing no relief in
answer to its devout recital, Jesus went out from the
grotto to seek some solace for His afflicted spirit in the
company of His beloved disciples. But here again He
was doomed to disappointment ; for, notwithstanding the
fervent injunctions laid upon them to watch and pray in
order not to fall into temptation, He found them asleep.
He aroused and gently reproached them, saying, " What !
could yon not watch one hour with Me ?" This was as if
Jesus had said, "What ! you cannot watch one hour with
Me on this night so gloomy and dreadful for Me ? Where
now are all your promises of fidelity ? You protested but
a moment ago that you would willingly die with Me.
Alas! if you could but know the terrible persecutions
which menace us this night, you would not thus yield
to sleep. Pray, therefore, that you enter not into temp-
tation."
In order to mitigate in some measure the bitterness of
this well-merited reproach, our Lord subjoined, "The
spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak;" which was
equivalent to saying, " But do not lose courage, My be-
110 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
loved disciples, for I know well how weak is human
nature. The spirit indeed is willing, ready to make
generous sacrifices, but the flesh is weak and yields easily
to even the slightest temptations."
Saying this, Jesus returned to the grotto, and with in-
creased fervor addressed His prayer again to the Eternal
Father. But still no consolation came. Thereupon He
sought His beloved disciples once more, and found them
again asleep. Leaving them undisturbed, He returned
to prayer. But that night the heavens had become as
bronze to the prayers and supplications of Jesus. The
divinity seemed to have gone out from Him, or rather it
was present in Him only to increase the measure of His
anguish, by causing the whole series of the sufferings of
His passion to pass in dreadful review before His mind.
Thus He beheld all the outrages, insults, and torments
which the Jews were at that moment preparing for Him.
He saw the ropes and chains with which He was soon to
be bound in that very garden. He felt the blows and
saw the derision to which He was to be subjected in the
court of Annas and Caiphas. He beheld the scourges
and thorns ready to torture Him in the court of Pilate.
He saw the ridicule and insults with which He was to be
received in the court of Herod. He saw, too, there be-
fore Him the cross, the nails, the hammers, the vinegar
and gall, which were to be instruments of His passion on
Mount Golgotha. All the sins of the world, past, pres-
ent, and future, rose up before Him, and He saw Him-
self loaded with their weight and standing as if guilty of
them all in the presence of His Eternal Father. He saw
how few would save their souls, and how many, notwith-
standing all His sufferings, would be lost. He foresaw
that one of His apostles would betray Him, that another
THE MORTAL AGONY OF JESUS. Ill
would deny Him, and that all would abandon Him. He
foresaw all the pain, anguish, and affliction that were to
come upon His dear Mother, till, overwhelmed at the
sight of this dreadful array of suffering and torments,
Jesus falls into a mortal agony. A death-like pallor
overspreads His divine countenance. He is filled with
anguish and terror ; but still collecting His remaining
strength, He pours forth to His Eternal Father the same
prayer of love and resignation : " O my most loving
Father, have pity on Thy Son ! Ah, remove from My
spirit the vision of all these horrible torments, and grant
that I may not have to drink of this bitter chalice ! But
if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it,
Thy will be done."
As Jesus uttered this prayer, His heart seemed to break
within His bosom ; the pores of His body opened, and
blood oozed forth and came trickling down to the ground,
falling so profusely that it soon formed a small stream
which ran through the grotto : " And His sweat became
as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground " (St*
Luke xxii. 44).
Second Point.
St. Lawrence Justinian, contemplating the agony of
Jesus in the garden, breaks out into the following apos-
trophe : " Draw near, O Christian soul, to thy agonizing
Saviour ; behold how deserving He is of all thy compas-
sion. "With the eyes of faith contemplate thy merciful
Jesus, the King of heaven and earth, kneeling there in
supplication, trembling, agonizing, sweating blood ! Such
a sight must surely win from thee the tribute of thy
tears ; for how canst thou restrain them on beholding thy
God shedding for love of thee not only tears, but also
112 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
blood ? Look upon the merciful Jesus, the Fountain of
all good, prostrate on the ground, with pallor on His
brow, His heart oppressed with anguish, His limbs bathed
in blood, — and then let thy pity be excited, and groan
and weep with Jesus in the sorrow of thy heart. Judge,
O Christian soul, by Jesus' sweat of blood, how great
must be His anguish and how horrible will be His pas-
sion ! If, at the consideration of future sufferings, He
agonizes, what will He not suffer when He will be cruci-
fied ? If so great a sadness takes possession of Thee, O
Jesus, at the very beginning of Thy passion, what shall
be Thy emotions when Thou wilt be struck, insulted,
scourged, crowned with thorns, cursed, blasphemed, and
crucified ?"
To Jesus, thus immersed in a sea of suffering and sor-
row, the Eternal Father was pleased at last to send an
angel from heaven to comfort and console Him : " And
there appeared to Him an Angel from heaven strengthen-
ing Him."
It is the opinion of Dionysius Carthusianus and other
pious contemplative writers that this angel was the Arch-
angel Michael, prince of the heavenly hosts. The above-
mentioned writers put these words on the Archangel's
lips : " Lord, Thou art now about to liberate mankind
from the slavery of hell; the hour of Thy passion, so
long announced by the prophets, so anxiously awaited by
the souls of the just in Limbo, is at hand. Thou know-
est that the redemption of mankind can be accomplished
only by Thee. If, therefore, Thou hast this great work
at heart, it is necessary for Thee to die the death that has
been so long prophesied for Thee." Thus spoke the
Archangel, to whom, according to Blessed Bernardine de
Busto, Jesus made answer: "I desire the salvation of
THE MORTAL AGO^Y OF JESTJ3. 113
man, and, therefore, I accept the most painful death of
the cross. 1 ' O incomparable love of Christ, which made
Him choose death rather than see the human race con-
demned forever !
From this consideration we should learn how to pray.
Father Lewis Navarino observes that the angel appeared
to Jesus after His prayer, — not that our Lord needed the
angel's assistance, He Himself being the consolation of
all the afflicted, but that it should not appear that Jesus
in His anguish had prayed to His Father in vain. Again,
we are taught by the coming of the angel that we, too,
should have recourse to prayer in all our necessities, hav-
ing confidence that we shall certainly obtain relief, though,
by a just decree of Heaven, our tribulations may not at
once be removed. Let us ever keep before us the exam-
ple of our Divine Master. His prayer was not granted
immediately, but He persisted until an angel was sent
from heaven to comfort Him. As the Eternal Father
consoled Jesus, so also will He console us. "Ash and
you shall receive," Jesus said to His disciples. Let us,
therefore, ask with confidence, faith, and perseverance,
and God will infallibly hear us.
114 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST,
CONSIDERATION XX.
Jesus is betrayed by Judas, and captured by
the Soldiers.
"Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man with a kiss?"— St.
Luke xxii. 48.
First Point.
COMFOETED by the Angel's visit, and feeling His
strength renewed, Jesus went for the third time to
His apostles. Again finding them asleep, He aroused
them, saying reproachfully : " Sleep ye now, and take
your rest : behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of
man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners." Then
resuming His usual sweetness of manner, He subjoined :
" Rise, let us go : behold, he is at hand that will betray
Me." Accompanied by Peter, James, and John, He then
proceeded towards the spot where He had left the rest
of His disciples. Here He halted to await the arrival of
Judas the traitor, who approached with armed soldiery to
arrest Him.
This wicked disciple, who knew well the place where
Jesus was accustomed to pass whole nights in prayer,
obtained from the chief priests a band of soldiers, armed
with swords, clubs, and ropes, and also one of the servants
of the chief priests ; and, placing himself at their head, he
led this wicked band, in the silence of the night, from
the city of Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemani.
Some carried torches and lanterns and went on before
the multitude ; but all were under the command of Judas,
who, previous to leaving the city, had given them a sign
BETRAYAL AND CAPTURE OF JESUS. 115
by which they might easily recognize Jesus. He said to
them, " Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is He : hold Him
fast."
Thus equipped for the accomplishment of their nefa-
rious designs, the enemies of Jesus approached Geth-
semani. Through fear of being discovered they walked
in profound silence, but the light of their lanterns and
torches gleaming through the foliage of the olive-trees
gave the signal of their arrival. Jesus and His disciples
saw the lights, and soon caught the sounds of approach-
ing footsteps ; but instead of attempting to escape, they
advanced to meet their enemies. When they had come
face to face, Judas came forth from among his followers,
threw his arms around his Master's neck, impressed a kiss
upon His sacred brow, and said, " Hail, Eabbi !"
The Holy Fathers and other expositors of the sacred
text, commenting on this terrible incident in the history
of the betrayal of Jesus, express the greatest horror at
the enormity of the crime.
St. Augustine among others, considering the manner
in which it was perpetrated, is filled with a holy indigna-
tion, and exclaims : " O sacrilegious sign ! by which war
is begun under the appearance of peace. Perfidious
apostle ! dost thou not experience horror throughout thy
soul at the thought of shedding the blood of "the Just
under the guise of friendship ? Durst thou, under cover
of a sign of affection, deal a cruel blow to the loving
heart of Jesus ? Durst thou deal a death blow under the
false sign of peace? What iniquity! The servant be-
trays his Lord ! the disciple sells his Master!"
But the loving Saviour, who still desired the conversion
of Judas, even at the moment when that unhappy apostle
was perpetrating his horrible crime, said to him, "Friend,
whereto art thou come?" Then, in accents of paternal
116 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
reproof and loving entreaty, He subjoined, " Judas, dost
thou betray the Son of man with a kiss?" which was as
if Jesus had said : " What have I done to deserve such
treatment from thee ? Oh, return to My friendship and
love ! O child, return to the arms of thy loving Father !
Think on what thou hast done ! Eepent of thy crime,
and then give Me another kiss ; but let that be a kiss of
peace, of love, of repentance, and I will repay thee with
a kiss of forgiveness. Fear not, O son of My mercy !
Remember that I came down from heaven to save sin-
ners. Remember the parable of the prodigal son, and
know that I am that tender Father whose pleasure it ever
is to welcome back the erring one. Come, O my son !
Return to Me and receive the kiss of peace !"
Thus the loving Jesus spoke to the heart of the sacri-
legious Judas, but in vain ; for the devil had already
taken possession of the traitor, and had secured his heart
against every emotion but despair.
Let us ponder well the twofold excess which this con-
sideration presents to our mind: the almost incredible
iniquity of Judas on the one hand, and the ineffable love
of Jesus Christ on the other. An apostle betrays his
Divine Master with a kiss, and the Master calls him
friend during the very moment that the horrible crime
is being consummated.
Second Point.
Jesus, having now made the last effort to convert Judas,
turned at once to the soldiers, and with a majesty befit-
ting a God who has at His command all the elements of
heaven and earth, He said to them, " Whom seek you f
They answered. " Jesus of Xazareth.'' Then Jesus said,
" I am the one whom you seek ;" and immediately, as if
stricken by lightning, the men were hurled backwards
BETRAYAL AND CAPTURE OF JESUS. 117
and fell to the ground, and the perfidious Judas fell also.
Our Lord gave His captors this proof of His divinity and
omnipotence, in order that they might have no excuse
for their incredulity and hardness of heart in not recog-
nizing Him as God. Again He asked them, ""Whom
seek ye ?" and again they answered, " Jesus of Nazareth."
Then Jesus gave them power to arise, saying, " I have
told you that I am He : if, therefore, you seek Me, let these
go their way." The soldiers did not become better at
the sight of such power and meekness combined ; but
they at once arose from the ground, and seizing upon the
person of the Saviour, they began to heap upon Him the
foulest insults and infamies, striking Him with their fists,
spitting in His sacred face, tying Him with ropes, placing
an iron chain around His neck, and then dragging Him
about. In a word, they covered Him with every possible
insult, till in a little while He stood among them " a
Man of sorrows," as He had been foreseen in the vision
of the prophet Isaias.
The apostles were present at the. capture of their be-
loved Master, and being unable to bear the sight of His
awful tortures, they said to Him, " Lord, shall we strike
with the sword 2" Meantime, Peter, the most resolute of
them, without waiting for an answer, drew his sword from
its scabbard, struck the servant of the high priest, and
cut off his ear. This man had, perhaps, treated Jesus
with more cruelty than any of His companions. Never-
less, this inconsiderate act of Peter keenly wounded the
Master's heart ; for the Saviour did not wish to defend
Himself by returning injury for injury, but only by doing
good. Therefore He immediately worked a miracle in
favor of the wounded man by restoring him his ear.
Then turning to Peter, He reproached him, saying, " Put
118 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
up again thy sword into its place ; for all that take the
sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that
I cannot ask My Father, and He will give Me presently
more than twelve legions of Angels ? How then shall
the scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done?"
After these words addressed to Peter, Jesus turned to
the soldiers who were holding Him, and, reproaching
them for the manner in which they had accomplished His
arrest, said to them : " You have come out as against a
robber, with swords and clubs, to apprehend Me. I sat
daily with you teaching in the temple, and you laid not
hands on Me." This was equivalent to saying : "I have
lived among you ; I have instructed you ; I have per-
formed miracles before you. "Why did you not makeMe
prisoner on some previous occasion, when it was easily in
your power to do so, rather than capture Me in the silence
of the night, while I was praying to My Heavenly Father ?
Unhappy men, do you not see that nothing is unknown
to Me, that I foresee all, that I dispose of all things ac-
cording to My will, and that you cannot do anything
without My permission ? But now your hour is come:
do, therefore, with Me whatever you wish, but dare not
to touch one of My disciples ; let them go forth unmo-
lested."
Among the many points which this consideration offers
for our pious meditation, we should particularly dwell on
these : first, the meekness of Jesus when He reproached
Peter for having had recourse to the sword ; secondly,
the charity and pity He showed by restoring Malchus'
ear ; thirdly, the love and fidelity He showed for His
disciples by securing their safety and freedom.
The fruit to be derived from this consideration is a
great and ever-increasing love for Jesus Christ, our meek,
merciful, faithful, and loving Saviour.
JESUS IS ABANDONED BY HIS DISCIPLES. 119
CONSIDEKATIOE" XXI.
Jesus is abandoned by His Disciples and dragged
through the Road of Capture.
"Then His disciples leaving Him, all fled away." — St. Mark
xiv. 50.
First Point.
AMONG- the many celebrated streets of Jerusalem
and its suburbs, two are especially interesting, Lav-
ing been hallowed by the presence of the Son of God,
not in the days of His glory, but in the days of His
humiliation and sorrow, when, loaded with chains and
covered with opprobrium, He was led out to Calvary.
The one is called the Way of Capture, the other the
Way of Passion. The former commences at the Garden
of Gethsemani, and leads to the palace of Annas, extend-
ing thence to that of Caiphas, and on to the tribunal of
Pontius Pilate. Of the latter, which commences at the
tribunal of Pontius Pilate and extends to Mount Calvary,
we shall have occasion to speak when we shall contem-
plate and, in spirit, accompany Jesus to the place of sac-
rifice. But for the present let us consider the anguish
and sufferings of Jesus Christ while in the first stage of
II is journey over the Way of Capture, from Gethsemani
to the palace of Annas.
In the first place, it was not a slight torture for
Jesus to see Himself abandoned by His disciples. Ac-
120 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
cording to St. Mark, the moment the apostles saw their
Divine Master taken prisoner, they were overwhelmed
with fear, and fled, leaving Jesns in the hands of His
hitter enemies. Nor did they direct their flight towards
Jerusalem or Bethania T where they could have warned the
friends of their Master, and thus, perhaps, compass His
rescue ; but they ran through the valley of Siloch, and
thence to the valley of the son of Ennon, where they
took refuge in a cave. This cave, or grotto, which is
still pointed out to the tourist, is hollowed out of the
solid rock, and had probably been used before the time
of the apostles as a sepulchre. In this dreary place they
spent that night, and perhaps the whole of the following
day.
On this occasion St. Peter showed himself less fearful,
or rather more daring, than the other disciples. But how
fatal was this daring to St. Peter ! He did not run away,
but followed his beloved Master from afar, "that he
might see the end." The soldiers, meanwhile, fearing
lest Jesus might escape from their hands, loaded Him
with additional chains, according to a suggestion pre-
viously made by Judas; and, rejoicing over their brutal
action, they redoubled their cruelties and pressed the
Saviour to accelerate His pace.
A young man, perhaps the son of the gardener of
Gethsemani, aroused from sleep by the noise, wrapped
a sheet around him and rushed out to discover the cause
of the disturbance. The soldiers saw him and pursued
him ; but just as they were in the act of capturing him,
he threw off the sheet and, leaving it in their hands, fled
away naked. From this incident we can judge how great
was the confusion that prevailed during that night all
along the "Way of Capture. Some fled here and some
JESUS IS ABANDONED BY HIS DISCIPLES. 121
fled there, as the soldiers advanced with the Divine Cap-
tive. Every one feared for himself, but no one minded
Jesus, who, like a gentle lamb, was led to the sacrifice.
]N"o one can hope to describe the ill-treatment to which
Jesus was subjected on that ever-memorable night. How
many blows and rough pushes did He not receive from
the soldiers ? In the second point of this consideration
we shall meditate upon those cruel injuries. But for the
present let our attention be occupied by this one reflec-
tion, — the utter weakness of human nature when not as-
sisted by the special grace of God.
The flight of the apostles contains a great lesson for us.
How often had they not promised that they would never
abandon their Master ? Yet on the very first occasion of
danger they leave Him alone with His enemies ! How often
do we not act similarly % How often do we not relapse
into sins which only a short time before we had promised
never again to commit? Let us, therefore, be always
distrustful of our own strength, and let this holy distrust
be the fruit of the present consideration.
Second Point.
After the flight of the apostles, Jesus stood alone and
defenceless in the midst of the brutal soldiery. They
dragged Him out of the garden, and, marching along the
eastern border of the torrent of Cedron, they led Him
through the valley of Josaphat, till they arrived at
Absalom's monument. Here was a little bridge, over
which, as many contemplatives teach, the soldiers passed,
at the same time dragging Jesus through the torrent
beneath by means of a rope tied around His neck. It
was winter, and the shallow waters of the torrent were
122 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFEERINGS OF CHRIST.
very cold ; the lacerated feet of Jesus became too numb
to uphold Him longer, and He fell. It was to this fall —
so the same contemplatives claim — that the Royal Psalmist
alluded, when he said : " He shall drink of the torrent in
the way : therefore shall He lift up the head." But the
rocks that strewed the bed of Cedron, less hardened than
the hearts of the soldiers, were softened, and, at the first
touch of the Saviour's sacred body, became as molten wax
and received the impress of His knee and elbow. One still
may see in that very spot a stone which bears the impres-
sion of a man's knee. The fact that there is an indul-
gence attached to the stone seems to confirm the truth of
this pious tradition of Jesus' fall in the torrent of
Cedron.
Seeing that Jesus could not regain His feet, some of the
soldiers prodded Him with their swords, while others
pulled Him by the rope tied round His neck, till finally
they dragged Him out of the water. Then they began
the ascent of Mount Moria on the southern side where it
joins Mount Sion. Only three hours had elapsed since
Jesus, having left the supper-room, passed over that same
road. But in that brief space of time what changes were
wrought! Then He was accompanied by His beloved
disciples : now He is surrounded by His executioners.
Then He held sweet converse with His apostles about
heavenly things : now He hears the horrible imprecations
and blasphemies of the soldiery. Then He went to pray
to His Eternal Father for the salvation of mankind : now
He goes to consummate the sacrifice of the cross.
At last they came to the gate of the city; it was
promptly opened by the guards, who had been already
forewarned and stood in anxious waiting. The guards
congratulated the soldiers upon their success in capturing
JESUS IS ABANDONED BY HIS DISCIPLES. 123
the " malefactor," as they blasphemously termed Jesus
Christ.
From the location of the house of Annas it may be
easily proved that Jesus was led into the city through
the stercoraceous gate — that is, the gate through which
the refuse and rubbish of the city was usually discharged.
What a change ! Only five days before Jesus had entered
the city in triumph through the Golden Gate : now He is
dragged in chains through the Gate Stercoraria !
The inhabitants of Jerusalem were aroused from their
sleep by the noise of the soldiers and the crowd shouting
their plaudits over the capture of the " great malefactor."
Some looked from their windows as the crowd surged
by ; others hastened out of their houses, not, as on the
day of His triumph, to pay homage to the Son of David,
but to deride, mock, and taunt Him. They called Him
an impostor and a seducer, and all were loud in their
praises of the soldiers for the service they had rendered
the Jewish people by making Him prisoner.
Such were the insults and imprecations that accom-
panied the patient Jesus on the Way of Capture. We
cannot account for this frenzy of the Jewish people, un-
less we attribute it to the malignant suggestions of Satan,
who vented his hatred of Jesus Christ through the voice
of the maddened crowd. When criminals guilty of most
heinous crimes at last fall into the hands of Justice, they
awaken some degree of compassion even in the hearts of
those whom they have injured. There is no heart so
hard that it does not relent and soften on seeing them
brought to capital punishment. But for Jesus there is
no sense of humanity even in those whom He has so
highly benefited. It was now the hour of the prince of
darkness, as Christ had foretold His apostles ; and the
124 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
prince of darkness used the rabble of Jerusalem as His
instruments, — the same rabble that live days before ap-
plauded Jesus' triumphant entry into the city ; the same
rabble that had often witnessed and applauded His won-
drous miracles.
Let us in spirit accompany Jesus along the "Way of
Capture ; and if we cannot comfort Him, let us, at least,
pity Him, fixing our attention on these three incidents
of that memorable journey : His fall into the torrent of
Cedron ; His ascent of Moria like another Isaac ; His
entrance into Jerusalem through the gate called Sterco-
raria.
JESUS IS QUESTIONED BY ANNAS. 125
CONSIDERATION XXII.
Jesus is questioned by Annas and struck by a
Servant.
"And when He had said these things, one of the servants
standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying: Answerest Thon the high-
priest so ? " — 8t. John xviii. 22.
Fiest Point.
OUR Holy Redeemer, loaded with chains, His ears
deafened by the blasphemous shouts of the rabble,
His limbs aching from the numberless kicks and blows
that He had received, was at last led into the house of
Annas. This house, situated on that side of Mount Sion
which overlooked the temple, was not far from the ster-
coraceous gate.
Now, Annas was the father-in-law of Caiphas. He was
a priest and also a member of the Sanhedrim, or council
of seventy-two elders appointed to discuss the grand ques-
tions of the nation. Of the members of this malignant
council, perhaps Annas was most eager in desiring the
death of Jesus Christ. For this reason the soldiers pre-
ferred his tribunal to that of any other judge, and led the
Saviour there ; they also thought that they were paying
Annas honor, and hoped to receive some recompense for
the same.
This priest was a simple member of the Sanhedrim ;
and therefore had no right on his own private authority
126 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
to question any one, however guilty. But in the case of
our Lord every trace of justice was to be trampled under
foot. Annas, only too proud of the regard shown him
by the soldiers, arrogated to himself the right of sitting
alone in judgment, and at that unusual hour, and forth-
with proceeded to question the supposed culprit concern-
ing His doctrine and His disciples.
St. John Chrysostom observes that no guilt whatever
being imputable to the conduct of Jesus Christ, the ques-
tions of the judge did not regard the person of the
Saviour, but only the nature of His doctrines and the
character of His disciples. Annas began to question
Jesus thus : " What is Thy doctrine ? Who are Thy
disciples ? Why hast Thou called them to follow Thee ?
What dost Thou teach them ?" The mild Jesus meekly
made answer : " I have spoken openly to the world : I
have always taught in the synagogues and in the temple,
whither all the Jews resort ; and in secret I have spoken
nothing. Why askest thou Me ? ask them who have
heard what I have spoken unto them : behold they know
what thiugs I have said."
This meek and humble reply of the Son of God aroused
the anger of a servant of the high-priest; and this ser-
vant, though it was contrary to law for him to be present
at such a trial, gave Jesus a terrible blow, saying, " An-
swerest Thou the high-priest so?" In dwelling upon
this incident of the Saviour's passion, the expositors oi.
the Holy Scriptures cannot contain their indignation, and
unanimously condemn this servant's impious and barbaric
act. St. Cyprian, full of horror, exclaims, " The Creator
who, in His goodness, made man out of nothing, receives
a blow from one of His creatures — a blow from the hand
which He had made out of dust !" Says St. Ephraim,
JESUS IS QUESTIONED BY ANNAS. 127
" The heavens trembled ; the angels were appalled, and
covered their faces with their wings when they beheld
a minister of iniquity strike the God of majesty." St.
Augustine says, " If we consider who was the receiver
of the blow, we will instinctively wish that the giver of
it should be cast into flames or subjected to some other
dreadful punishment ; andj indeed, how terrible a punish-
ment could net the all-powerful Creator have inflicted,
had He not wished to give us a lesson of patience ?" " O
man!" exclaims St. Athanasius, "thou who thinkest it
hard to bear patiently the wrongs done thee by thy fellow-
man, imitate thy Lord, and reflect that if He, being God,
allowed Himself, for love of thee, to be struck by a sinful
man, surely thou shouldst bear with patience the injuries
done thee by thy neighbor."
In order to draw some spiritual profit from this con-
sideration, we should ponder well these sayings of the
Holy Fathers, thus awakening in our hearts a lively hor-
ror of the great crime of the impious servant, and arous-
ing in our minds an ardent admiration for the meekness
and patience of Jesus Christ.
Second Point.
The insult which our Lord received in the house of
Annas becomes more odious when we consider who that
lut was that struck our Saviour. It is the opinion
<n many that he was Malchus, whose ear, cut off a short
time before in the Garden of Gethsemani, had been mi-
raculously restored by Jesus. This circumstance added
a particular malice to the crime of that insolent servant,
and Jesus was forced to assume the accents of reproach.
This is the only instance in the course of the passion in
128 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
which our Saviour uttered a word of complaint : He bore
in silence all the injustice of His judges, the perjury of
the witnesses brought against Him, the barbarity of His
scoffers, aud the cruelty of His executioners. But His
reproach in this case was directed with a view not to con-
found, but to correct and reform. Said Jesus, therefore,
to the ingrate, "If I have spoken evil, give testimony of
the evil : but if well, why strikest thou Me ?"
" Great miracle," exclaims St. Ephraim, " to behold the
meekness of the King of heaven and earth, who on being
struck by a servant speaks to him with great kindness
and reserve ! The servant strikes, and the Master suffers
it ; the servant becomes furious, and the Master remains
full of benignity."
St. Simon of Cassia says, " The Lord and Judge of
all mortals invites one of His creatures to find testimony
against Him, and submits His life, His words, and His
doctrine to the examination of that creature who is at
liberty to judge Him and pronounce sentence against
Him."
Father Mathias Falier seeks to know why Jesus, while
suffering with such admirable silence and patience all
other injuries, resented this one ; and he discovers five
reasons for the Saviour's action. First, the Redeemer
did not wish to remain under the imputation of having
been disrespectful towards the high-priest, of which of-
fence the insolent servant had accused Him. Our Lord
had always respected authority and commanded His fol-
lowers to give priests, who were not always exemplary
characters, the tribute of constant veneration and obedi-
ence ; and on this occasion He broke silence in order to
give one more emphatic and supreme confirmation of His
doctrine on the duty of respect for authority. Secondly,
JESUS IS QUESTIONED BY ANNAS. 129
Jesus answered for the purpose of correcting that inso-
lent servant who had dared, in a public tribunal, to strike
a man who had not yet been found guilty ; though the
ministers of justice were strictly forbidden to vent any
private vengeance even on those who had been con-
demned. Thirdly, Jesus gave that answer in order to
instruct the high-priest who should not have permitted so
brutal an outrage, especially in his presence. Fourthly,
the Saviour wished to show His equanimity ; for if He
had not answered, His silence would have been attributed
to resentment ; on the other hand, His answer bore testi-
mony to the perfect composure of His mind, notwith-
standing the terrible affront which He had just received.
Finally, He answered in order to show that He acknowl-
edged the just rights of authority, and was willing, in
case He were declared guilty, to submit to punishment.
How many sublime lessons are to be learned from this
consideration ! How admirably it instructs us in our
duty of bearing injuries with patience! However great
the injuries which we receive from our neighbor, they
cannot be compared with those inflicted on our Saviour.
Besides, let us think of the infinite difference between
Jesus and us. He was innocent, we are guilty. He was
the Son of God, we are the children of sin. He was in-
sulted by His own creature, we are injured by our fellow-
beings. Jesus was struck by a hand which He had
formed out of dust, we are injured by hands which had
perhaps previously benefited us. How great, therefore,
should be our confusion at the thought of our own want
of patience in bearing with those injuries which God is
sometimes pleased to have us receive for our own spirit-
ual advantage!
It is true that Jesus answered ; but what a difference
130 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
between His answer and ours ! He answered to correct
one who had done evil, we answer with indignation and
passion. He submitted Himself to the judgment of His
enemies, we refuse to submit to the judgment of even
our superiors. He asked to know why He had been
struck, we ask in order to shame and confound those who
have offended us.
Let us, therefore, consider the difference that exists in
this regard between our conduct and that of Jesus Christ,
and resolve that by His life we shall henceforth model
JESUS BEFOKE THE TRIBUNAL OF CAIPHAS. 131
CONSIDERATION XXIII.
Jesus before the Tribunal of Caiphas.
" And Annas sent Him bound to Caiphas the high-priest." — JSt.
John xviii. 24.
Fikst Point.
ANNAS could not pronounce sentence because he had
no authority. Therefore, having satisfied his en-
mity and, perhaps, breathed forth some of his long-enter-
tained hatred for Jesns, he sent Him bound, that very
night, to his son-in-law Caiphas, whose palace occupied a
prominent position on the summit of Mount Sion, not
far from the supper-room. Now, Caiphas was the one
who had advised the Jews that it was expedient that one
man should die for the salvation of the nation. He was
high-priest of the synagogue and president of the Sanhe-
drim ; to him, therefore, was reserved the decision of all
controversies in matters of religion. But before pro-
nouncing sentence in important cases, he was accustomed
to have them examined by the ancients of the people,
who composed the Sanhedrim. These malicious men had
already plotted with Judas to compass the death of Jesus.
Having learned of Jesus' capture, they assembled in the
house of the pontiff and anxiously awaited their victim's
arrival. Here let us notice the hour of this assemblage,
which, as some expositors say, was after midnight ; but
this did not concern the ancients. So bitterly did they
132 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
hate Jesus, that, regardless of their age and the dignity
of their office, they hesitated not to spend the whole
night in the prosecution of His trial in order the sooner
to effect His condemnation.
The moment that Jesus was brought before them they
were tilled with an infernal joy. But, carefully conceal-
ing any external manifestation of their feelings, and wish-
ing to maintain an appearance of equity, they proceeded
to the trial, though in a manner as wicked and unjust as
human depravity could well devise. They sought for
false testimony against Him, that they might have a
motive for sentencing Him to death. But notwithstand-
ing all their efforts, they could find no one to accuse Him
of even a fault. A few unfavorable words were uttered,
but nothing could be concluded from them. At last two
witnesses came forward and accused Him of having said
that He could destroy the temple of God and in three
days rebuild it. This stupid accusation seemed so im-
portant to the high-priest, that, arising from his seat and
assuming a tone of grave authority, he said to Jesus,
" Answerest Thou nothing to the things which these wit-
ness against Thee ?" (St. Matt. xxvi. 62.) Jesus did not
reply, but kept a dignified silence : " But Jesus held His
peace" (St. Matt, xxvi. 63).
All the expositors of Scripture give grand explanations
of Jesus' silence. St. Ambrose says, " He who needs no
defence rightly keeps silence." Albertus Magnus adds
that Jesus was silent because the accusations brought
against Him involved no crime ; hence He had no need
to defend Himself, the judges themselves being evidently
convinced of the falseness of the accusers, and of the
falsity of their accusations. Dionysius Carthusianus
adduces several other reasons for the silence of Jesus :
JESUS BEFOEE THE TRIBUNAL OF CA1PIIAS. 133
First, Jesus wished to leave us an admirable example of
meekness and patience. Secondly, He was silent because
the charges against Him were false, and, consequently, un-
worthy of reply. Thirdly, He was silent because He
foresaw that if He should say anything, His enemies
would avail themselves of it to devise new calumnies
against Him. " From this silence," says Origen, " we
should learn to despise false accusations, and to hold them
as being unworthy of reply. For what need is there to
vindicate ourselves from those things of which we have
never been guilty, and from charges the falsity of which
is acknowledged by the calumniators themselves ?" More-
over, prudence teaches that it is far better to be silent
than to speak without hope of good results, as was clearly
the case with Jesus Christ before the court of Caiphas.
Let, therefore, a wise and holy silence be the fruit of
this consideration.
Second Point.
The more persistently Jesus kept silence, the more
fiercely the pontiff burned with an insane rage and a
hellish desire of entrapping and convicting Him. Hence
he attempted in every way to provoke the Saviour to give
some answer upon which he might found His conviction
and condemnation. The same thoughts and desires ani-
mated the ancients of the people, who composed the
pontiff's diabolical council; and even the false witnesses
were enraged at seeing themselves repulsed by Jesus'
calm and dignified silence, which was a manifest and
majestically disdainful refutation of all their malignant
calumnies. At last, Caiphas, with a burst of insolent
passion, exclaimed, " I adjure Thee by the living God,
134 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
that Thou tell us if Thou be the Christ, the Son of God "
(Matt. xxvi. 63).
St. Jerome says : " Why, O impious priest ! dost thou
thus adjure Him ? Is it in order to accuse Him, or is it
in order to have grounds for believing in Him ? If thou
adjurest that thou mayest accuse Him, thou art already
sufficiently condemned by His silence. If thou adjurest
in order to be able to believe in Him, why dost thou not
believe what He tells thee % O most iniquitous priest ! "
Having been adjured in the name of His Eternal
Father, Jesus thought it proper to answer, and gave ut-
terance to those brief words, "Thou hast said it" (Matt.
xxvi. 64). Then turning to all the members of the
Sanhedrim, He said, "Nevertheless, I say to you, here-
after you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right
hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of
heaven ;" which was equivalent to saying, " Yes, I am, in
truth, the Son of God, and you shall have to recognize
Me as such when, at the end of the world, seated at the
right hand of God the Father Almighty, I shall come to
judge you."
At these words the ancients of the people stopped their
ears, and the chief priest rent his garments in sign of
horror, saying, "He hath blasphemed: what further
need have we of witnesses \ Behold, now you have heard
the blasphemy. What think you V And they all an-
swered, " He is guilty of death."
The moment that this unjust sentence was pronounced,
the executioners rushed upon Jesus and loaded Him with
insults and injuries. Some afflicted His sacred humanity
by cruel blows; others insulted His divinity by their
derision and blasphemy. They spit in His face, they
struck Him, they obliged Him to sit down on the base of
JESUS BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL OF CAIPHAS. 135
a column, and, having blindfolded Him, said, " Prophesy
unto us, O Christ ; who is he that struck Thee ?"
That celestial face, at sight of which the cherubim and
seraphim bow down in reverence, was in a short time
covered with disgusting spittle ! That divine countenance,
a glance from which the very elements were wont to
obey, became an object of derision ! That heavenly form,
the sight of which, as Jesus hung agonizing on the cross,
the sun itself could not withstand, became the laughing-
stock of a vile rabble !
Notwithstanding all this, celestial rays still issued from
the Saviour's countenance. "Hence the reason," says
Father Lewis ISTavarino, " why the executioners blind-
folded Him : they could not withstand the beauty of that
face."
But we who daily see images of Jesus Christ, — His
sacred head crowned with thorns ; His face overspread
with the pallor of death ; His body bruised and covered
with blood ; His loving eyes dimmed and closing ; His
pale lips quivering in the throes of death, and breathing
forth a prayer to God for our pardon, — how can we look
on those images and memorials of our suffering Saviour,
with coldness and indifference? Our indifference is
ascribable to want of due reflection. We do not reflect
that these images picture forth the sufferings of the Son
of God, sufferings to which He subjected Himself for
love of us.
Let us, therefore, meditate frequently on the sufferings
of Jesus, and we shall learn to love Him in return for
His boundless love for us.
136 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUEEEKINGS OE CH1UST.
CONSIDERATION XXIV.
The Triple Denial of Peter.
" Then he began to curse and to swear that he knew not the
man. And immediately the cock crew." — St. Matt. xxvi. 74.
Fiest Point.
THE prince of the apostles, firm in his resolution to
accompany his beloved Master, followed Him along
the Way of Capture as far as the palace of Annas, and
thence to that of Caiphas. But when he attempted to
enter the palace of the pontiff, he was repulsed by those
stationed at the door, and neither supplications nor vio-
lence availed to secure him entrance. There was also
another of Jesus' disciples among the throng. Some
think he was St. John the Evangelist ; others, and per-
haps with greater reason, believe that he was a citizen of
Jerusalem, who secretly followed the doctrines of Jesus,
and who was well known to Peter and the pontiff. This
man had free access to the palace of Caiphas; and on
seeing Peter driven from the door, he spoke a few words
to the maid-servant, who was portress of the place, and
she immediately admitted the apostle. But noticing Pe-
ter's anxious and troubled features, her suspicions were
aroused, and she said to him, "Art thou not also one of
this man's disciples 2" Without the least hesitation Pe-
ter answered, " I am not." Then he hastily brushed by
the portress, so as not to be further questioned, and went
towards the atrium, which he entered. In this apartment
THE TRIPLE DENIAL OF PETER. 137
were some of the high-priest's servants and ministers
standing around a fire of coals warming themselves, for
the night was cold. Peter advanced to the fire and was
standing there warming himself when another maid-ser-
vant caught sight of him. Having, perhaps on some
former occasion, seen him in the company of Jesus, she
recognized him ; and turning to those around her, she
said, " This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth." All
eyes were at oDce turned on Peter. Filled with fear, he
denied his Master for the second time, confirming his
denial with an oath : " And again he denied with an
oath : That I know not the man" (St. Matt. xxvi. 72).
The fall of Peter should be a warning for all Chris-
tians. " What is man, 1 ' says St. Augustine, " without
the grace of God % What was St. Peter, the great prince
of the apostles, when he allowed himself to deny his Mas-
ter ?" And then, seized with a spirit of holy fear, the
same St. Augustine subjoins: "Behold, the firm column
is violently shaken by the first blast of wind ! Where
now is that firmness and resolution that promised so
much ? Where now are all Peter's presumptuous prom-
ises ? Behold, he who thought that he shared not the
weakness of his brethren, denieth his Master and is over-
come by the simple question of a poor maid-servant ! O
Peter, who was she that questioned thee, that thou
shouldst so soon deny thy beloved Master % Surely it
was not one in high position and authority, who could
have criminated thee and brought thee into peril, hadst
thou confessed to being a disciple of Jesus ? The accuser
was a poor maid-servant, a menial! And yet her accu-
sation was sufficient to cause the fall of the prince of the
apostles! Not, however, without a special dispensation
of Providence," continues the holy doctor, " was Peter's
138 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF C1IKIST.
fall permitted. The one who was destined to forgive
the sins of his brethren was permitted to be the first
among them to fall, in order that, taught by his own ex-
perience to know the depths of human frailty, he might
repress all harshness in the judgment of others, and be-
come more compassionate and merciful towards sinners."
"O Peter, Peter!" another pious author exclaims, "but
a short time ago thou didst say, ' Though I should die
with Thee, I will not deny Thee.' Well, thou art not
in danger of death ; the Koman governor examineth thee
not ; the high priest questioneth thee not ; the soldiers
menace thee not : and why, then, hast thou lost courage
at the simple question of a poor maid-servant? Alas!
how vainly man presumeth on his own strength, and into
what depths he falleth unless sustained by the grace of
God !"
A woman caused Adam's fall in the terrestrial para-
dise ; a woman caused the apostasy of Solomon, the wisest
among men; and two servant-maids caused Peter to
deny his Master. Now, if Adam, who was adorned with
so many gifts of nature and of grace, fell ; if Solomon,
who was "the wisest among men, apostatized ; if Peter,
who was the most fervent among the apostles, denied his
]\f ast er,— should we not fear for ourselves, and should we
dare expose ourselves willingly to occasions of sin ?
Let us attentively meditate on this most important
point,— the necessity of avoiding dangerous occasions,— a
subject worthy of our deepest study.
Second Point.
Peter had denied his Master twice, when again he was
recognized by another maid-servant, who said to those
that were standing around the fire, " This man also was
THE TRIPLE DENIAL OF PETER. 139
with Jesus of Nazareth." Then the whole company
joined in the accusation, and they said to Peter, " Snrely
thou also art one of them ; for even thy speech doth dis-
cover thee." But Peter still continued firm in his de-
nial, until a servant of the high priest and a kinsman of
that Malchus whose ear was cut off in the Garden of
Gethsemani said to him, " Did I not see thee in the gar-
den with Him ?" Then Peter, according to the words of
the Gospel, " began to curse and to swear that he knew
not the man. And immediately the cock crew." At
that moment Peter recollected the words of the Master,
" Before the cock crow thou wilt deny Me thrice ;" and,
filled with shame and remorse, he wept bitterly. Unlike
Judas, Peter did not give himself up to despair ; but cor-
responding to the impulses of divine grace, and placing
all his confidence in the mercy of God, he glanced towards
the corner where his Divine Master stood in chains. His
glance was at once full of pity, sorrow, and intense re-
morse, and manifestly conveyed a supplication that Jesus
might read in His disciple's heart all his utter confusion
and sincere repentance. Jesus returned the glance with
a look so full of pity, tenderness, and mercy, that Peter's
heart was melted at the thought of the enormity of his
crime, and of the ineffable goodness of the God whom
he had so ignobly denied. Overwhelmed by the awful
burden of his sorrow, confusion, and remorse, and deem-
ing himself no longer worthy to remain in his Master's
presence, he immediately went out from the pontiff's
Louse — that house which to him had proved so fatal —
" And going forth he wept bitterly."
The place where Peter, the prince of the apostles, re-
tired to bewail his sin is still pointed out on Mount
Siou ; and some pious authors say that he remained in
140 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
that place all that night and during the next day, until
his Divine Master had died upon the cross and atoned to
the Eternal Father for His apostle's triple denial, and for
all the sins of the world.
First, let us consider with St. Bernard how great is
human frailty. For, if St. Peter, who was so much be-
loved and privileged by his Divine Master, could so
grievously offend Him, how should we fear for ourselves,
and how distrustful should we ever be of our own
strength ? Secondly, we should learn never to despair of
our salvation, no matter how numerous may be our sins,
no matter how grievous may be their nature ; but ever
to place our trust in the infinite mercy of God, as Peter
did. He offended God most grievously, but trusted in
the divine mercy, and thus not only regained the lost
friendship of his Master, but was declared Prince of the
Apostles, Yicar of Jesus Christ, and Universal Pastor of
the faithful.
In the conversion of St. Peter we see verified the con-
soling truth that God has a special predilection for re-
pentant sinners. This is well illustrated in the case of
St. Peter, of St. Paul, of St. Mary Magdalene, and of
many others. But let us remember that St. Peter washed
away His sins by tears of sincere sorrow, one simple look
from Jesus having been sufficient to bring him to repent-
ance. Let us faithfully correspond to the impulses of
divine grace, sorrowing truly over our past sins — not
with a sorrow like that of Judas, but with a sorrow like
that of Peter.
JESUS' LAST NIGHT IN PKISON. 141
CONSIDERATION XXY.
Jesus passes His Last Night in Prison in the
House of Caiphas.
"And they blindfolded Him, and smote His face. . . . And
blaspheming, many other things they said against .Him." — St.
Lttke xxii. 64, 65.
First Point.
rpHE night was far advanced ; and the high-priests, the
-*- ancients of the people, the scribes and Pharisees,
feeling secure in their possession of the person of Jesus
Christ, and having unanimously declared Him guilty of
death, because He had said He was the Son of God, left
the place and retired to their respective homes. The
formal announcement of the sentence of death was thus
postponed until the folio wing day ; and the patient Saviour,
meantime, was left in the power of the brutal soldiery.
These vile men, following the promptings of their evil
passions and the suggestions of the devil, were only too
glad to avail themselves of this new opportunity to pour
out on Jesus Christ the full malice and hatred of their
iniquitous hearts. The Evangelists pass over in silence
the insults, ignominies and torments which were impiously
liea pod upon Him during that last night in the palace of
Caiphas. Not so, however, the expositors of the Holy
Scripture, who, deducing their arguments from the
words, " And blaspheming, many other things they said
142 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
against Him," dwell at length upon the sufferings of the
Redeemer during that night of His imprisonment.
It is the opinion of Blessed Chembius of Spoleto that
the Evangelists through very modesty refrained from
mentioning all the horrors of the Saviour's prison, con-
tenting themselves with revealing only what was suf-
ficient to condemn forever the cruelty of the Jews, and
to teach us the immensity of Jesus' love for us. Job
gives in a few words all that the Evangelists pass over
in silence, when, speaking in the person of Jesus Christ,
he declares, " They are filled with my pains," that is to
say, the enemies of Jesus insulted Him and injured Him,
to the full extent of their power, or, in other words, their
insults and injuries were limited only by the limitation
of their power to insult and to injure — " They are filled
with my pains" (Job xvi. 11).
And truly, if the Jews still tortured Jesus when He
hung agonizing on the cross, after having inflicted so
many sufferings and torments upon Him, how much
more savagely must they have vented their hatred, when,
on that night, they had Him in their power for the first
time, with no one to witness their barbarity, and with the
fear that the judges might yet decree His liberation !
St. Jerome, the most learned Doctor of the Church,
affirms that the sufferings undergone by Jesus on that
memorable night, and all the insults and injuries heaped
upon Him by the soldiers, especially during the three
hours before daybreak, shall not be fully known in this
world until the day of judgment, when God Himself
shall reveal the extent of their cruelty and barbarity.
O my loving Jesus ! how horrible for Thee must have
been that night, each hour of which brought Thee suffer-
ings of every kind — sufferings of mind, and sufferings of
JESUS' LAST NIGHT IN PKISON. 143
body. O my most amiable Saviour, how much Thou
didst love mankind, that Thou wast willing, at such a
cost of torment to Thyself, to redeem it ! O cold human
heart, how canst thou remain without compassion at the
sight of these atrocious torments undergone by Jesus for
love of thee and for thy salvation ? For love of thee and
for the remission of thy sins, He allowed Himself to be
spit upon, to be struck, and to be made the laughing-stock
of a vile rabble. O most amiable Saviour ! grant me a
change of heart, a sincere sorrow for all my sins, and an
humble resignation to Thy divine will in all things ; so
that in all afflictions of spirit, with which it may please
God to visit me, I may be able courageously to exclaim,
" Since Jesus suffered so much for love of me, shall I not
be willing to suffer something for love of Him ?"
Second Point.
In the Church of the Most Holy Sepulchre at Jerusa-
lem is still preserved a broken column, called the " Col-
umn of the Flagellation," which is the object of pious
veneration, not only to Catholics, but also to heretics and
schismatics, who visit it day and night. This column
must not be confounded with the one to which our Lord
was fastened in the Pretorium of Pontius Pilate, by order
of that unjust judge, the latter column being preserved
and exposed for the veneration of the faithful in the
Church of St. Praxedes in Rome.
But the column in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
well deserves the veneration it receives. For a pious
tradition states that it formerly occupied a place in the
court-yard of the palace of Caiphas, and that on the night
of our Lord's imprisonment He was fastened to it and
144 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
scourged, this brutal action not being the result of any
judicial sentence, but the spontaneous outcome of the fe-
rocity of the soldiery. Though the story of this scourg-
ing is not taken from the evangelical text, yet it seems
to receive some countenance from these words of St.
Luke : "And the men that held Him, mocked Him, and
struck Him.". St. Matthew adds that they gave Jesus
blows, and that they spit upon Him. From these cir-
cumstances several authors have inferred that Jesus was
scourged, and so severely that there was not left a sound
spot on His sacred body. Cornelius a Lapide, however,
rejects this inference as being without sufficient Scriptural
warrant, and without foundation in fact ; nor do we ven-
ture to present it as being historically certain, but only
as the pious opinion of some authors.
St. Bernard tells us that the soldiers, having tired
themselves with insulting and tormenting the Saviour,
tied His hands behind His back, blindfolded Him, threw
Him insolently on the ground, and then dragged Him
by His beard and the hair of His sacred head into a dark
and horrible prison. This prison, situated in the cellar
of Caiphas' house, was a dark, loathsome, and fetid sink.
There the soldiers left Jesus for the rest of the night —
truly a night of anguish and torments for the Son of
God!
Let us go in spirit to that prison and contemplate its
darkness and gloom, and the sufferings which the Re-
deemer underwent there in His sacred body, and the
anguish of His most afflicted soul. The prison was a
cellar, damp, dirty, and fetid, without light and without
air, and had never before been used as a prison for any
criminal, no matter how guilty. The sacred body of
Jesus was black and blue from the blows it had received,
JESUS' LAST NIGHT IN PRISON. 145
and some parts of it were lacerated. To the darkness of
the prison there was added a still deeper darkness, induced
by the bandage covering His eyes. Jesus' sacred hands
had painfully struggled to His head to brush from His
brow the matted and blood-stained hair, and to wipe from
His face the disgusting spittle, and His hands were im-
mediately tied behind His back. Thus bound and help-
less, He was thrown on the ground amid all the filth of
the place — thrown there like some foul thing to rot.
But if the sufferings of His sacred body were grievous,
still more grievous were the afflictions of His desolate
soul, which was all of Him that now remained free ; but
it was free only to intensify His torments. Before His
mind rose up a vision of the past, the present, and the
future; and in that threefold vision was nothing but
anguish and torture. His capture in the. Garden of Geth-
semani, His betrayal by Judas, the flight of the apostles,
the fall in the torrent of Cedron, the blow received in
the house of Annas, and all the other insults and injuries
received there — all these passed before His mind so
rapidly that they seemed to constitute one single image.
The present offered Him a view of all the horrors of His
prison — its cold, damp floor, its drear, dark walls, and its
insupportable stench, together with all the other horrors
that surrounded Him. The future displayed the passion
through which He was to pass on the morrow, and op-
pressed Him to such a degree that if His divinity had
not sustained Him, His humanity would have succumbed
under the weight of so much suffering, apprehension, and
danger.
Who would not be moved to pity at seeing any man
reduced so low, no matter how guilty he might be, even
though he were a bitter enemy ? Would not the feelings
10
146 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
of our common humanity awaken our compassion in such
a case, and move us to pity the sad subject of so much
misery ?
Bnt the sufferer whom we have been contemplating in
that horrible prison — His hands bound behind His back,
His face covered with blood and befouled with spittle,
His body wounded and torn — is our loving and merciful
Redeemer, paying the debt of our sins to His Eternal
Father. Therefore let us excite in our hearts those pious
affections which a God so despised deserves from us.
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH. 147
CONSIDERATION XXYI.
Jesus is condemned to Death by the whole
Sanhedrim.
" And when morning was come, all the chief priests and an-
cients of the people took counsel against Jesus, that they might
put Him to death." — St. Matt, xsvii. 1.
Eiest Point.
AT last arrived the memorable day predicted by the
prophets and so long and anxiously expected by
the just, on which the Redemption of mankind was to be
accomplished. It was a day of joy for both Jesus and
His enemies : a day of joy for Jesus, because it was to
put an end to His sufferings, give a beginning to His
celestial kingdom, and place the seal of His death on
human redemption, for which purpose He had come
from heaven ; a day of joy for his enemies, because it
was to witness the accomplishment of all their evil de-
signs and secret conspiracies. What a dreadful contrast !
— Jesus wishes to die for His creatures, because He loves
them ; His creatures wish Him to die, because they hate
Him.
Here, with Cornelius a Lapide, let us distinguish in
Jesus Christ the superior and inferior faculties of His
soul. Jesus certainly desired, and desired most ardently,
the arrival of the hour in which He was to accomplish
148 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
the Redemption of mankind ; but this joy dwelt only in
the superior faculties of His soul. Recognizing by these
faculties that it was God's will that He should die, His
reason perfectly approved the divine decree, and His will
perfectly conformed to it and eagerly desired its execu-
tion ; but in the inferior faculties of His mind, through
which He was susceptible of apprehension, fear, and dis-
gust, He felt the full weight of His dolorous passion.
At break of day, the chief priests and ancients of the
people, impatient to carry their infernal work into exe-
cution, gathered once more in the palace of Caiphas,
having also invited the scribes and Pharisees — a vile sect
with whom they could agree in only one thing, their
common hatred of Jesus.
Before this iniquitous assembly, the Saviour was or-
dered to be brought ; but as they wished to give some
semblance of justice to their proceedings, they ordered
that He should be brought in unfettered. They had no
further recourse to false testimony, but questioned Him
concerning His life and person, hoping to entrap Him in
His answers and thus to be enabled formally and publicly
to announce the sentence of death which they had already
secretly decreed.
Let us pause to consider the malice of these judges.
In the first place, St. Matthew says that they gathered
together against Jesus ; not to discuss His cause, not to
examine whether He was really guilty of the crimes im-
puted to Him, not to hear His defence, but with the de-
liberate purpose of condemning Him to death : " Took
counsel against Jesus, that they might put Him to death"
(St. Matt, xxvii. 1). In the second place, they con-
demned Him, not because they wished to gain money,
for instead of being paid, they themselves had paid out
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH. 149
money to Judas, to the soldiers, and to the populace ;
they condemned Him, not because the public security
demanded His death, for they had feared that His arrest
might cause a tumult, and for that reason they managed
it with so much secrecy and precaution ; they condemned
Him, not because they had received any personal insult
from Him, but simply because He had performed mira-
cles, by which, together with His exemplary life, He had
won for Himself the love of the people. This was the
reason why they wished to rid themselves of Him ; and,
to attain their end, they affected great zeal for public
justice. Under pretence that Jesus had violated its re-
quirements, they resolved to try Him, endeavoring to
invest the trial with some external formalities of legal
procedure. In the third place, let us consider the many
inconveniences to which they exposed themselves in order
to accomplish their infamous designs. The Sanhedrim
was composed of the ancients of the people, and it may
well be presumed that some of them were advanced in
years. Yet when our Lord was captured, their age did
not hinder them from remaining up during the greater
part of the night, their first examination of Jesus and the
testimony of the false witnesses having consumed so long
a time that it was very late when they retired to their
homes. Notwithstanding all this, St. Matthew tells us,
" When morning was come, all the chief priests and art-
3 of the people took counsel against Jesus, that they
might put Him to death." It mattered not whether the
morning was cold and damp; it mattered not that they
had slept but little during the night : they wished to give
vent to their hatred of Jesus Christ, and that was a suffi-
cient reason to induce them to surmount every difficulty
unit to undertake any labor whatsoever.
150 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Alas' how many imitate in this respect the conduct of
the enemies of Jesus Christ. When called to the dis-
charge of some Christian duty, they immediately find ex-
cuses under the head of regard for their dignity, or then-
health, or their reputation. But when there is question
of satisfying their appetites and passions, or of indulging
in illicit pleasures, then there is no longer any regard for
their property, their dignity, their riches, or their health.
Careless of their duties to God, such persons are very
mindful of their duties to society and the world ; negli-
gent of their eternal salvation, they are careful concern-
ing the care of the body; unconcerned about spiritual
goods, they are very anxious about those which are purely
temporal. ,
For our part, let us firmly resolve ever to hold in high
esteem all spiritual goods, while despising those that are
temporal, mortifying our body, practising works of mer-
cy, and avoiding the vanities of the world.
Second Point.
Jesus was unfettered and led into the presence of His
fudges, who began a new series of questions. First of
all, they said to Him, "If Thou be the Christ tell us.
Now on a former occasion when these very detainers
had seen the wondrous works wrought by His bauds, and
observed the multitudes that followed Him, they desired
to know the secret of His strange power, and, gathering
about Him one day in the temple, they besought Him to
declare Himself, saying, " H Thou be the Christ, tell us.
Jesus answered affirmatively, and His answer was treated
as blasphemy, and Himself exposed to be stoned. Now
that the same words were again addressed to Him, He
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH. 151
immediately recognized their purpose and the malice that
prompted them. Wherefore He reproved those evil
men, saying : " If I shall tell you, you will not believe
Me. And if I shall also ask you, you will not answer
Me, nor let Me go. But hereafter the Son of man shall
be sitting on the right hand of the power of God."
~No sooner had this answer been given than the judges,
to turn it into ridicule, repeated in tones of irony and
bitter mockery, " Art Thou, then, the Son of God ?" To
which Jesus answered, " You say that I am." By the
ironical repetition of their question, the judges wished to
reproach Jesus with His humble birth, His poverty, and
His alleged crimes for which He had been brought before
their tribunal. They might as well have said to Him :
"What ! Thou the Son of God ? Thou, the son of a poor
carpenter, born in a stable at Bethlehem, the smallest and
poorest of all places in Judea ? What ! Thou the Son
of God % Thou, who hast been educated in a shop, and
who hast often besought Thy bread from door to door?
Thou who hast no home, no bed whereon to repose, and
who hast often conversed with publicans and sinners,
and who hast even been accused of being possessed by
devils ? Thou darest — Thou, a blasphemer and seducer
— Thou darest call Thyself the Son of God ?
Notwithstanding all the malice of this question, and
all the hatred and mockery with which His enemies had
invested it when they said, "Art Thou, then, the Son of
God," He answered, " You say that I am." Hearing
these words of the Saviour, the judges feigned an in-
creased feeling of horror; some stopped their ears, others
called on the Saviour to be silent. Then having con-
sulted among themselves for a few moments, they said,
in presence of all those assembled there, " What need we
152 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
any further testimony ? For we ourselves have heard it
from His own month."
They then, with unanimous voice, condemned Him to
death, and resolved to send Him to Pontius Pilate in or-
der to have the sentence ratified and executed.
Jesus Christ is condemned to death for having modest-
ly and truthfully answered the questions put to Him. For
having restored hearing to the deaf, sight to the blind,
and life to the dead, He has to die the most cruel and
barbarous death of the cross. Such is the usual reward
which the world gives to those who attempt to reclaim it
from its evil ways, who oppose its wicked maxims, and
who show themselves to be true followers of the cross.
But let all who are desirous of serving God still have
confidence in His mercy, firmly believing that if, while
on earth, they imitate the example of Jesus Christ, they
will, in heaven, participate in His glory.
JESUS IS BROUGHT BEFORE PILATE. 153
CONSIDERATION' XXYIL
Jesus Christ is brought before Pontius Pilate,
"And the whole multitude of them rising up, led Him to
Pilate." — St. Luke xxiii. 1.
First Point.
r I ^HE sun had already risen, and was spreading its
-*- beneficent rays far and wide over the plains of
Jndea, when, the sentence of death having been defini-
tively pronounced, Jesus was again loaded with chains
and dragged to the palace of Pontius Pilate.
Pilate was the Roman governor of Jndea, to whom
alone belonged the power, not only to execute the sen-
tence of death, but also to judge whether those brought
before his tribunal were deserving of such sentence. The
members of the Sanhedrim, however, had arrogated to
themselves the latter power, and they would, perhaps,
have usurped the former, had they dared to do so ; but
being subject to the Roman governor, and anxious to
have Jesus suffer death on the cross, a mode of execution
unknown among the Jews, they brought Him before Pon-
tius Pilate.
Here, with St. Bonaventure, let us consider how the
soldiers effected this transfer of Jesus from one tribunal
to another ; a transfer which was characterized by the
utmost cruelty and barbarity. Jesus was treated worse
than if He had been the vilest malefactor. " Come," the
154 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
soldiers cried out to Him, " come with us, O thief, come
to judgment ! Thy witchcraft shall to-day have an end ;
now Thy wisdom shall appear, and Thy power shall be
known." With these and other like blasphemous shouts
resounding- in His ears, Jesus is dragged along with all
the appearance of a guilty man — He, the innocent Lamb
of God.
It was published throughout the city during the night
that Jesus had been apprehended, and that the Sanhe-
drim had been twice convoked and had justly condemned
Him to death ; consequently, a vast concourse of people
assembled to witness His removal to the palace of Pilate.
The chief priests, the leaders of Israel, and the ancients
of the people, mingled with the crowds and conversed
with them concerning Jesus, in order to incense them
still more against Him. They also hoped that their
presence, and that of the crowds that accompanied them,
would strengthen the force of their accusations, and thus
influence the Roman governor to ratify the sentence of
death which they had pronounced against the Saviour.
Arriving at the gate of Pilate's palace, they halted, be-
cause, this being the place where criminals were con-
demned, these hypocrites feared that by entering they
should contaminate themselves and become irregular and
legally unclean and consequently unfit to offer sacrifice
or participate in the solemnities of the approaching feast
of the Pasch. So they delivered Jesus to the guards
with orders to bring Him before Pilate and to request
that official, in their name and that of the Jewish people,
to deign to expedite the trial by ratifying at once the
sentence of death already pronounced. They added that
the affair was one of urgent importance, and for this
reason they themselves had come to the palace, though,
JESUS IS BROUGHT BEFORE PILATE. 155
acting in compliance with their own law, they dared not
enter its portals.
Alas ! how often is not a true picture of this odious
hypocrisy of the priests and ancients of the people repro-
duced among us in the conduct of those persons who do
not hesitate to commit the gravest sins, provided they
can do so secretly, while they affect a most scrupulous
care in all religious matters of minor and merely external
observance? Behold, those impious Jews felt no remorse
of conscience, when they condemned an innocent man
to death, when they unjustly incensed the people against
their benefactor, and when they accused Him of crimes
which they knew He had never committed ; but they
affected to be very religious, nay, even scrupulous in
points of legal observance. O impious and cruel men !
Low do you dare thus to deceive the people by your
hypocrisy \
Let us now turn our attention from the Sanhedrim and
take home the lesson to ourselves. We should ever re-
member that that God who scrutinizes our hearts judges
us not according to appearances, but according to our
dispositions. Man may be deceived, but God never.
Let us, therefore, always endeavor to perform our actions
without ostentation, and without any regard to the esteem
of men, but for the love of Jesus.
Second Point.
Jesus was presented before the tribunal of Pontius
Pilate. There before His judge He stood, modest and
humble; and though brought as a malefactor, there was
no mark of shame on His brow, nor did 11^ show any
sign of hatred or disdain towards those who accused Jlim.
156 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Seeing these things, Pilate formed a favorable opinion of
Him and seemed inclined to pronounce words of acquit-
tal rather than those of condemnation. But, not know-
ing why Jesus had been brought before his tribunal, and
wishing to comply with his duty as judge and also to ac-
commodate himself to the delicate consciences of the
chief priests and ancients of the people, Pilate resolved,
since they would not come to him, to go out to them.
Accordingly he did so, and said to them, " What accusa-
tion bring you against this man ?" They became sullen
and arrogantly answered, " If He were not a malefactor,
we would not have delivered Him up to thee."
" Foolish men !" exclaimed St. Chrysostom, " O foolish
men ! why do you not tell what Pie has done? Why do
you not name the crimes which you wish to allege against
Him ? Behold, here are the men who had condemned
Jesus to death, declaring Him guilty of many crimes ;
and who, when suddenly summoned to bring forward their
accusations, know not what to answer, and thus manifestly
declare innocent the very one whom they had so wrong-
fully condemned."
Venerable Bede tells us that it was customary among
the Jews to deliver up in irons to the Roman governor
any one adjudged guilty of death, so that on seeing him,
the judge might know the nature of the case and confirm
the sentence against the criminal without further trial.
But on the present occasion Pilate did not wish to con-
form to this custom, and therefore it was that he asked
the Jews to bring reasons why he should ratify the sen-
tence against Jesus. Irritated at their insolent answer,
and washing to humiliate them, he said, " Take Him you,
and judge Him according to your law." But those
malignant men longed to see Jesus on the cross, and so,
JESUS IS BROUGHT BEFORE PILATE. 157
restraining their feelings, they had recourse to their af-
fected piety, and rejoined, "It is not lawful for us to
put any man to death."
Here St. Leo the Great cries ont, " By what law, O
Jews, is it lawful to desire what is not lawful ?" Mean-
time, Pilate insisted on knowing the reason why Jesus
should be condemned. Whereupon they began to accuse
Him, saying that He was a seducer of the people, that
He had condemned the paying of tribute to Csesar, and
that He had made Himself king.
" O malicious and lying men !" exclaims St. Augustine,
"go ask those who were once possessed by devils, and
whom He freed from their cruel thrall ; go ask the lepers
whom He cleansed ; go ask the blind to whom He re-
stored sight ; go ask the dead whom He raised to life, —
and they all will answer that He is no seducer ! Was it
not He who taught to give to Csesar what was Caesar's,
and to G-od what was God's? Did He not ever preach
the duty of obedience to authority ? Nay, did not He
Himself pay tribute to Csesar ?"
On hearing those charges, Pontius Pilate went back into
the hall, and calling Jesus, said, " Art Thou the king of
the Jews ?" Jesus asked, " Sayest thou this thing of
thyself, or have others told it thee of Me ?" Then Pilate,
as if offended at this unexpected question, rejoined, " Am
I a Jew ? Thy own nation and the chief priests have
delivered Thee up to me : what hast Thou done ?" Jesus
answered, " My kingdom is not of this world. If My
kingdom were of this world, My servants would certainly
strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews : but
now My kingdom is not from hence." Surprised at these
words, Pilate again addressed the Saviour, saying, " Art
Thou a king then?" Jesus answered, " Thou sayest that
158 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I
into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth :
every one that is of the truth heareth My voice." " What
is truth?" rejoined Pilate, and without waiting for an
answer, he went to the Jews who still stood, in anxious
expectation at the door of the tribunal, and said to them,
" I find no cause in Him."
Thus the truth ever triumphs over falsehood, and
comes to be respected even by those who do not follow
it. We must, therefore, never lose courage, when we
are calumniated and oppressed, because the time will
come when our detractors shall be confounded, and our
innocence shall be revealed to all.
JESUS AT THE TRIBUNAL OF HEROD. 159
CONSIDEBATION XXYIII.
Jesus Christ at the Tribunal of Herod.
"And Herod seeing Jesus, was very glad; for he was desirous
of a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things of
Him, and he hoped to see some sign wrought by Him." — St. Luke
xxiii. 8.
First Point.
n^HE more the Jews endeavored to calumniate Jesus,
-*- the more innocent He appeared in the eyes of Pilate ;
wherefore it was that the latter again went out from the
tribunal and frankly said to the chief priests and the mul-
titude, "I find no cause in this man." Seeing their
cause on the verge of being lost, the Jews redoubled
their efforts to sustain it, inventing new calumnies, cry-
ing out continually, becoming tumultuous, and saying,
" This is a man who, throughout all Judea, from Galilee
to Jerusalem, has incited a spirit of revolt, everywhere
preaching dangerous doctrines to the people. Is He not,
therefore, guilty of high treason, and deserving of death ?"
At the mention of the name of Galilee, the Koman
governor gave a start of surprise, and, as if the name of
that province had furnished him a new clue to enable
him to arrive at a just judgment, he asked if Jesus were
really of Galilee. Being answered affirmatively, he im-
mediately said that Jesus was under the jurisdiction of
Herod. Now, Herod was king and tetrarch of Galilee,
hut at that time he was sojourning in Jerusalem, where
he occupied a palace, held court, and was surrounded by
a retinue of soldiers.
160 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Pontius Pilate was glad of the opportunity thus afforded
him of ridding himself of the importunities of the Jews,
and, at the same time, of saving himself from pronounc-
ing an unjust sentence on one whom he believed to be
innocent. Therefore, he gave orders to have Jesus taken
before Herod, who, hearing the accusations, might con-
demn Him or acquit Him as he deemed proper. Pilate,
without infringing on Herod's rights, could, indeed, have
pronounced judgment, and under other circumstances
would probably have done so, for just at that time he
was on unfriendly terms with Herod ; but under the cir-
cumstances he thought it better to sacrifice his self-love
than to remain at variance with the Jews.
As Herod's palace was not more than three hundred
and fifty paces distant from Pilate's, the journey was not
a long one. Nevertheless, it was a very painful one for
the Redeemer, as it obliged Him to pass through the
midst of an excited populace, aroused to a high degree of
fury against Him by the chief priests and the ancients,
who, forgetful of their age and dignity, mingled with
the crowds that followed the Saviour and urged them in
every way to heap insults upon Him.
Herod did not receive Jesus with an air of malignity
and scorn, as Annas and Caiphas had done ; neither did
he, like Pilate, assume the grave and majestic air of a
judge: but he received Him in a pleased and courteous
manner, for he had long desired to see Him and to con-
verse with Him. Herod did not wish to treat with Jesus
of the affairs of his soul, or of the business of his king-
dom, and he did not wish to hear words of eternal life ;
but he hoped to see Him perform some miracle, for he
had heard much of Christ's wondrous works, and looked
upon Him as a skilful juggler or powerful magician.
JESUS AT THE TRIBUNAL OF HEROD. 161
A pious author, commenting on this passage of the
Gospel, says : " Who ever looked upon Jesus and did not
rejoice % Abraham had desired to see Him ; he saw Him
in spirit and was rejoiced. Simeon had also longed to
see Him ; he saw Him and was filled with exceeding joy.
Zacheus had shown a great desire to see Him, and from
the branches of a sycamore tree he beheld Him, and,
touched by divine grace, he became assured of salvation.
The Gentiles desired to behold Him ; and it was given
them to behold Him and to hear a voice from heaven say-
ing, in answer to His prayer that His Father's name
might be glorified, ' I have glorified it, and I will glorify
it again.' How often during His infancy had the afflicted
and the unfortunate of Galilee — as was revealed to St.
Bridget — said to one another, 'Let us go over and see
the Son of Mary, for a look upon His face may bring us
peace and consolation.' Finally, Herod saw Him, and
he, too, rejoiced ; but how different was his joy, and how
vain ! For, being deemed unworthy, he did not receive
the favor he desired."
Second Point.
When Herod saw Jesus standing before him with down-
cast eyes, like a criminal who fears the rigors of justice,
he assumed a most agreeable and insinuating manner,
and, encouraging Him to be of good heart and to fear
not, he began to question Him at length. " And he ques-
tioned Him in many words" (St. Luke xxiii. 9). On what
subjects these questions turned, the Evangelists do not
tell us. But many ascetic writers believe that Herod
addressed Jesus somewhat after the following manner:
" I have heard that Thou hast power to change water
11
162 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
into wine: wilt Thou let me witness a display of tins
wondrous power? Many have told me that Thou canst
multiply bread, and I am Yery desirous of seeing Thee
perform such a prodigy. I have also heard that Thou
canst walk upon the water, and I wish to see so wondrous
a performance." But Jesus answered nothing. " Why,"
says Theophylactus, " should Jesus answer him, him who
did not question in order to learn?" Entimius adds:
" Jesus did not answer, because He knew well that Herod
wished to see a prodigy ; not to derive spiritual profit
from it, but simply to satisfy his curiosity." St. Gregory
the Great says that the Redeemer kept silence, because
He deemed it better to be despised than to listen to praise
from infidel lips.
Herod attributed our Saviour's silence to quite other
causes, and thinking it was the result of fear, he still con-
tinued to question in a tone of great affability. He said,
" Thou art, perhaps, the cue whom my father sought so
eagerly to put to death, and on whose account, in conse-
quence, so many little children were slain ? Thou art,
perhaps, He that raised Lazarus to life ; He whom so
many disciples follow ? Tell me, art Thou the man who
is said to have performed miracles without number ? But
why dost Thou not perforin some wonder in my presence,
that I may believe in those that I did not see V 9 But
Jesus answered nothing.
At last Herod knew that Jesus' silence did not spring
from fear, but was the result of a settled purpose and an
utter indifference to the questions asked. He, therefore,
felt himself highly offended, and, in his wrath he would
have perhaps at once condemned the Saviour to the most
excruciating tortures, had he not feared that, by so doing,
he would only lower his own dignity and give greater
JESUS AT THE TRIBUNAL OP HEROD. 163
publicity to the affront which he conceived had been
given him by Jesus' disdainful silence. So dissembling
his feelings, and restraining any manifestation of anger,
he affected to treat our Lord as a madman, thinking that
he could save his dignity better thus than by any violent
expression of his wrath.
The chief priests, the ancients of the people, and the
scribes and Pharisees perceived at once the change that
had come over Herod. While they saw him treating
Jesus with kindness, they feared to begin their accusa-
tions. But they knew that the Saviour, if admitted to be
a madman, might escape the sentence of death ; so they
rose up, and began to give their reasons for bringing Him
into court. They repeated all the calumnies which had
been uttered against Jesus in Pilate's tribunal, and, add-
ing a great many more, they strove in every way to estab-
lish His sanity, and to prove that He was certainly de-
serving of death. Though convinced of His sanity,
Herod still affected to believe Him a madman, and openly
mocked Him and treated Him as such. " And Herod
with his army set Him at naught : and mocked Him, put-
ting on Him a white garment, and sent Him back to Pilate"
(St. Luke xxiii. 11).
We should learn from this consideration how to keep
silence when confronted by those who injure, calumniate,
or persecute us. If we keep a dignified silence in presence
of such persons, we shall obtain, not only great merit be-
fore God, but we shall be esteemed wise and prudent
men, and maintain our own peace of heart, which is so
easily lost when we attempt to answer insults ; and if we
do not succeed by thus acting, in obtaining the conversion
of our enemies, our silence will, at least, be to them a
60urcc of confusion and reproach.
164 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION XXIX.
Jesus is sent back to Pontius Pilate, and Barab-
bas is preferred before Him.
"They therefore being gathered together, Pilate said: Whom
will you that I release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus that is called
Christ ?"— St. Matt, xxvii. 17.
First Point.
"When Jesus left Herod's palace, clothed in a white
garment, and surrounded by soldiers, the multitude be-
gan at once to cry out against Him, insulting, cursing,
and blaspheming Him. Their wild cries were to Pilate
the first announcement of the Redeemer's return ; and in
a few moments he again saw Jesus standing before his
judgment-seat, but this time clothed in a white garment,
mocked, and treated as a madman. Pilate at first thought
that Herod had found Jesus guilty, and had sent Him
back to have the sentence of death executed. On learn-
ing to the contrary, He again began to examine Jesus, no
longer in private, but in the presence of all, the chief
priests, the ancients of the people, and the scribes and
Pharisees having been duly summoned to assist at the
examination. But once more the trial resulted favorably
for the accused, and Pilate pronounced sentence as fol-
lows:
" You have brought this Man before me, representing
Him to be a blasphemer and seducer of the people, one
who tried to withdraw them from allegiance to Caesar. I
privately questioned Him, and I have now examined
BARABBAS PREFERRED BEFORE JESUS. 165
Him publicly in your presence; and yet I cannot find
Him guilty of a crime deserving of death. Moreover,
not wishing to trust entirely to my own judgment in this
matter, as soon as I heard that He is a Galilean, I sent
Him for examination to Herod, whose subject He is.
You yourselves accompanied Him to the palace and
brought against Him all the accusations that could lead
to His condemnation. But neither did Herod find in
Him any crimes deserving of capital punishment ; nay,
so far from considering Him a seducer of the people and
one capable of exciting revolution, He adjudged Him in-
sane and sent Him back to me without passing sentence
of death upon Him. Wherefore I cannot do otherwise
than declare Him innocent. However, in order to ac-
commodate myself in some measure to your desires, I
will have Him punished for those imprudences which He
may have accidentally committed, and then I will release
Him." "I will chastise Him therefore and release Him"
(St. Luke xxiii. 16).
This sentence of Pontius Pilate, which condemned the
innocent Jesus, simply to please those who calumniated
Him, was more than unjust and impious ; and yet it did
not satisfy the Jews, but only made them more eager to
invent new calumnies against Jesus that they might ob-
tain the gratification of their desire of seeing Him on the
cross.
The chief priests and the ancients renewed their accu-
sations, but Jesus made them no answer. "And the
chief priests accused Him in many things" (St. Mark xv.
3). " And when He was accused by the chief priests and
ancients, He answered nothing" (St. Matt, xxvii. 12). He
who had modestly answered Pontius Pilate did not deign
to give one word in answer to the chief priests and
166 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
ancients of the people. He answered Pilate, because
he had questioned to learn the truth ; He answered not
the chief priests and ancients, because they knew Him to
be innocent, yet they accused Him of being guilty. They,
therefore, did not deserve an answer, for those never de-
serve any answer who attempt to contradict the truth.
Let us consider our Lord in this threefold position :
first, as exposed to the insults and outrages of the Jewish
people; secondly, as declared innocent by Pilate, yet
condemned to undergo chastisement; thirdly, as con-
demned, though innocent, by the chief priests and an-
cients, Jesus meanwhile answering nothing.
When we find ourselves in a similar situation, insulted,
and condemned to suffer innocently, let us remember the
beautiful evangelical teaching, that in order to live pious-
ly in Christ we must be willing to suffer persecution.
Second Point.
While the Jews, fearing that Jesus would be acquitted,
trembled with rage and gnashed their teeth, Pilate re-
membered a stipulation which existed between the Jews
and Romans, and which provided that, on the feast of
the Pasch, the Jews might obtain the release of any one
criminal under capital sentence. Taking advantage of
this provision of the law, Pilate thought to save Jesus at
the request of the Jews themselves. For he wished to
save Jesns if not on the ground of innocence, at least on
the ground of a favor granted Him.
Now, a great malefactor named Barabbas was at that
time in prison. Besides being a notorious robber, this
man had been a leader in an insurrection against the gov-
ernment, and in a tumult had killed a man. For this
crime he had been condemned to death, and his execu-
BARABBAS PREFERRED BEFORE JESUS. 167
tion was expected from day to day. On account of his
numerous crimes Barabbas was justly deemed a danger-
ous member of society, and all were consequently anxious
for his execution. Pilate felt almost certain that the
Jews would never prefer Barabbas before Jesus ; so he
said to them, "Whom will you that I release to you,
Barabbas, or Jesus that is called Christ V
For a time the Jewish people wavered in their choice;
perhaps many among them shuddered with horror at this
impious proposal of the judge. For though they were
incensed against Jesus, and, as it were, blinded by the
wicked and false insinuations of their leaders, yet their
aversion to Barabbas was so great that few could ask for
the liberation of a man who was hated by the whole na-
tion as an infamous robber, a seditious and violent per-
son, and a murderer.
But the chief priests and members of the Sanhedrim
hastened here and there among the people, eagerly urging
them to call for the release of Barabbas. They were de-
ceived by their unscrupulous leaders, and, after a confused
murmur which agitated the whole multitude, they gave
vent to this awful cry : " Away with this Man, and re-
lease unto us Barabbas."
" O insane rage !" exclaims St. Augustine, " which dic-
tates the release of Barabbas rather than of Jesus ; which
commands the execution of Him who raises the dead to
life, and the liberation of a robber that he may with im-
punity go forth to put the living to death.
Origen observes that if the Jews had only asked for
the release of Barabbas without asking for the execution
of Jesus, it would have been a great impiety; for it
would seem that while the} 7 were not concerned about a
just man grossly calumniated, they were solicitous to
save a guilty man convicted of murder. But to ask for
168 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
the release of a robber and murderer, and at the same
time to demand clamorously the crucifixion of the Just —
what words are adequate to express the enormity of such
a crime! This horrible crime becomes more horrible
when we consider who this just Man was, before whom
Barabbas was preferred. His very name was so vener-
able, and resounded so sweetly upon the car, that the
Jews themselves dared not pronounce it, but said, '" Away
with this Man." Yes, Barabbas was preferred before
Jesus — Jesus, who is the Son of God, consubstantial with
the Eternal Father, the Creator of heaven and earth, the
Redeemer of mankind, the long-desired Messias, the
Consoler of the afflicted, the Helper of the helpless and
the poor, — in a word, Jesus, who was the tender Father
and amiable Brother of that ungrateful people, saw Ba-
rabbas preferred before Him.
O my most amiable Saviour! to how many humilia-
tions and grievances wast Thou not subjected ! A disci-
ple betrayed Thee with a hiss ; a servant who had re-
ceived a signal favor at Thy hands dared deal Thy sacred
face a blow ; the soldiers spit in Thy face ; the priests
called Thee a blasphemer ; the pontiff judged Thee guilty
of death ; Herod mocked Thee as a fool ; Pilate declared
Thee innocent, and forthwith ordered Thee to be
scourged ; and the people prefer Barabbas before Thee.
Shall not I, then, who glory to be called Thy disciple,
Thy servant, be willing to bear patiently for Thy love a
trifling offence, an insulting word ? Shall I not be pa-
tient when others are preferred before me, and myself
but little considered ? O Jesus ! humble my pride ;
grant me the grace to know my own nothingness, and in
all the adversities of this life constantly to imitate Thee
in the practice of patience, humility, and resignation.
THE PEOPLE CLAMOR FOR JESUS' DEATH. 169
CONSIDEKATION XXX.
The People continue to ask the Deliverance of
Barabbas and the Death of Jesus.
" Pilate saith to them: "What shall I do, then, with Jesus that is
called Christ? They say all: Let Him he crucified." — St. Matt.
xxvii. 22.
First Point.
AMAZED at hearing the Jews openly declare them-
selves in favor of Barabbas, Pilate again made a
faint attempt to champion the cause of Jesus, and turn-
ing to the crowd, said, in reproachful tones, " You have
requested the release of Barabbas, and I grant it ; but
what shall I do with Jesus that is called Christ?" This
was as if Pilate had said : " Since you are not ashamed
to ask for the release of a robber and an assassin, what do
you wish me to do with this just and generous Man, who
is called the Anointed of the Lord, the King of the Jews ?"
But the more Pilate attempted to favor Jesus, the more
enraged the Jews became, and .cried out with a loud
voice, " Let Him be crucified, let Him be crucified."
Pilate's amazement grew into anger as he witnessed
how the Jews, who a few moments before had so shame-
lessly declared in favor of Barabbas, were still persisting
in their demands for the Saviour's condemnation, and he,
therefore, again turned to them and said, "Why, what
evil hath He done ? I find no cause in Him." But in
vain Pilate tried to direct their minds towards a course
170 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
of justice ; they grew more persistent, and cried still
louder for the Redeemer's death : " But they cried out
the more, saying : Let Him be crucified."
" Only six days before," observes a pious author,
" this same people cried out, ' Blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the Lord ! Hosanna to the Son of David !
Glory and honor to Him!' And now they cry, ' Let
Him be crucified, let Him be crucified ! ' " During those
six days Jesus had unceasingly preached His heavenly
doctrine to that same people. What crime did He com-
mit, that they now cry out, " Let Him be crucified " ?
But it is useless to seek to discover the motives of men
actuated by passion, and no longer under the restraint of
their conscience. Let us, therefore, tarn our thoughts
to ourselves, and apply the meaning of this evangelical
passage to our own souls. Do not we, too, often offend
God, and thus prefer Barabbas to Jesus? Nay, when
we commit sin, do we not prefer the very dirt to Jesus?
The impulses of grace never cease to touch our hearts,
even when we are most violently tempted by the world,
the flesh, and the devil. At such a moment there goes
on within us a conflict like that which took place before
the tribunal of Pilate. At such a moment we have a
choice to make ; we have to choose between the state of
grace and the state of sin, between God and Satan, be-
tween our own peace of mind and the slavery of hell.
For grace and sin, God and Satan, peace of conscience
and slavery to sin, cannot exist together in the same soul.
Either God or Satan must depart, and we have to choose
between them : " Whom will you that I release to you,
Barabbas, or Jesus that is called Christ ?"
In the hour of temptation, before making our choice,
wo should reflect on what is proposed to us : heaven on
THE PEOPLE CLAMOR FOR JESUS 1 DEATH. 171
the one hand, hell on the other; God offers His grace
and favor, the devil offers slavery and torments. Let ns
also reflect on the peace of soul which we invariably en-
joy as long as we remain in the state of grace, and on the
remorse and agitation of mind which those suffer who
are so unfortunate as to fall into sin.
If, in the hour of temptation, we make those wise re-
flections, we shall choose better than did the Jews, and
thus triumph over our common enemy. A firm resolu-
tion to do so should be the fruit of this consideration.
Second Point.
Seeing himself deceived in his expectations of liberat-
ing Jesus, and fearing, perhaps, a popular uprising, Pilate
dared no longer persist in his course and forthwith re-
leased Barabbas. But while yielding to the seditious im-
portunities of the Jews, he was not without experiencing
great agitation of mind ; for, during the progress of the
trial his wife sent him a message saying, "Have thou
nothing to do with this just Man. For I have suf-
fered many things this day in a dream because of Him."
This advice served to increase his mental agitation, yet
he did not resolve to adhere firmly to the side of justice.
However, he did glorify the truth, for he confessed that
he condemned the innocent. This confession he made
publicly ; he ordered his servants to bring water to him,
and, washing his hands in the presence of all, said, " I am
innocent of the blood of this just Man : look ye to it," —
as if the washing of his hands and his protestation against
the violence of the Jews could excuse the manifest in-
justice of his action in allowing the condemnation of an
innocent man. In answer to Pilate the Jews cried out
172 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
with a loud voice, " His blood be upon us and upon our
children."
This horrible imprecation, which has been so com-
pletely and severely fulfilled, did not remove all doubts
and remorse froin Pilate's mind, yet it served in a mea-
sure to moderate his fears end regrets. But the more
Pilate was convinced of the innocence of Jesus and the
malignity of the Jews, the more guilty he was before
God and the tribunal of his own conscience. It availed
him not to declare that Jesus was innocent and just ; still
less did it avail him to wash his hands before the people :
because, as Eusebius Emissenus declares, the Roman gov-
ernor became guilty of the death of Jesus by judicially
delivering Him into the hands of those who wished to
condemn Him unjustly.
We should not, however, dwell too much on the injus-
tice of Pilate, but rather on the madness of the Jews,
and on the imprecation which they pronounced against
themselves, the horror of both of which is so great as to
be incapable of expression, or even of conception. And
yet if we compare ourselves with the Jews, we shall find
that we are even more guilty than they. It is certain
that they did not know either what they were saying or
what they were doing, because they were deceived by
their leaders, the chief priests and ancients of the people,
and finally believed that Jesus Christ was deserving of
death. Neither did they recognize Him as the Son of
God ; for if they had recognized Him as such, certainly,
as St. Paul says, they would not have crucified Him.
But we are children of the Church ; we are illumined by
the splendor of the Gospel ; we confess Jesus Christ to
be true God and true man ; we believe in His real pres-
ence in the Holy Eucharist ; instead of being instigated
THE PEOPLE CLAMOR EOE JESUS' DEATH. 173
by our priests to hate and reject Him, we are earnestly
invited to love and venerate Him ; we firmly believe
that that God whom we offend knows our most secret
thoughts, and rewards or punishes us according to our
works, — we believe all these things, and yet we dare
offend Him, and even grievously, and dare remain in the
state of mortal sin with the greatest indifference. We
should not, therefore, so much wonder at this action of
the Jews, who did not recognize Jesus as God, but who,
on the contrary, believed Him deserving of death.
Let us deplore our ingratitude from the bottom of our
hearts, and ask pardon for having, notwithstanding all
our graces and the teachings of our Church, so often
offended against our belief.
174 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDEEATIOK XXXI.
Jesus is scourged at the Pillar.
" Then therefore Pilate took Jesus, and scourged Him."— St.
John xix. 1.
First Point.
THE passion of Jesus Christ was most bitter in all its
stages, but the excess of that bitterness can be
realized only by those who meditate profoundly on its
particular incidents, among which there are few more
touching than that of the scourging at the pillar. Never-
theless, the Evangelists pass over in silence all the im-
pious circumstances connected with it, and the barbarity
of the manner of its execution, and content themselves
with saying that Pilate, seeing that he could not convince
the Jews of Jesus' innocence, caused Him to be scourged,
hoping that this cruel spectacle might, perhaps, move
them to compassion. " Then therefore Pilate took Jesus,
and scourged Him."
The Evangelists also relate the crowning of our Saviour
with thorns, and the crucifixion, two most painful events
in the passion, with the same simplicity and conciseness,
leaving it to the piety of the Christian to realize the
atrocity of the Saviour's sufferings.
On the other hand, all the holy Fathers, and ascetic
writers generally, express the greatest horror at the cruel-
ties perpetrated against our Lord during this dreadful
Jp;SUS IS SCOURGED AT THE PILLAR. 175
scourging. Some invoke the angels, begging them to
descend from heaven to cover the naked form of their
Divine Master exposed to the lash ; others inveigh against
the impious judge who condemned to so cruel a torture
a Man whom a little while before he had pronounced in-
nocent of all crime ; others apostrophize the cruel execu-
tioners, praying them to spare their patient "Victim and
their Benefactor ; other writers dwell on the sufferings of
the Mother of Jesus, who was present during the terrible
scene ; others assert that the sufferings undergone by the
Saviour at the pillar were a punishment of mankind's
sins of sensuality, — while all agree in stating that the
scourging of our Saviour at the pillar was one of the
most cruel and barbarous incidents of His extremely
bitter passion. Let us endeavor to bring up before our
minds a lively picture of this sanguinary tragedy in order
to awaken in our hearts a deep sense of compassion for
the sufferings of our Eeedemer.
There was an atrium, or court-yard, at the entrance of
Pilate's tribunal, and in this court-yard stood a marble
column, rising only a few spans above the ground. A
criminal condemned to be scourged was bound to this
column by means of ropes passed around the lower
portion of his body, his hands were tied behind his
back, and more than half his person was exposed to the
lash.
Scourging was an infamous torture inflicted only on
slaves condemned to capital punishment, and was con-
sidered so atrocious that the Jews, a civilized people, or
at least a people less barbarous than their contemporaries,
in the infliction of this punishment were limited by law
to thirty-nine lashes. Among the Romans, a cruel and
sanguinary people, there was no limit assigned, but the
176 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
number of lashes to be inflicted was regulated by the
cruelty or humanity of the judge, and sometimes the
matter was left entirely to the discretion of the execu-
tioner.
Jesus, therefore, having been condemned to be scourged,
was dragged by the executioners to the court-yard of the
tribunal, where a great crowd had assembled to witness
the inhuman spectacle. Arrived on the ground, Jesus
divested Himself of His robes, including the white gar-
ment which Herod had put on Him, and His own proper
vesture. Then without any compulsion — as was revealed
to St. Bridget — He presented His hands to the execution-
ers, to have them tied, and offered Himself to be fastened
to the pillar.
When Jesus had been securely bound to the pillar, the
executioners armed themselves with thorny switches,
heavy thongs, knotted ropes, iron chains, and other im-
plements suggested to them by their diabolical malice,
and the inhuman and impious work began. According
to St. Jerome, the executioners were six in number; but
according to what was revealed to St. Mary Magdalene,
there were as many as thirty, and they divided their in-
human labor among them, so that when one became tired
another took his place. Now, if the executioners became
tired, what must have been the intensity of the suffering
of their victim ! Though authors differ as to the number
of stripes received by our Lord, all compute them to have
amounted to several thousand, and St. Bona venture places
their number at five thousand. Who, then, can conceive
the amount of torture inflicted on our Lord ? At every
blow a fresh cut is made in that delicate body, until it is
covered with wounds and pieces of bleeding flesh fall to
the ground. In fact, many authors claim that our Lord
JESUS IS SCOURGED AT THE PILLAR. 177
was so cruelly scourged that His bones could be num-
bered.
Jjet ns meditate on this cruel scourging of our Kedeemer
and excite in our hearts a deep sorrow for our sins.
Second Point.
In order to form a faint idea of the nature of this
terrible scourging, let us imagine that we, together
with a great multitude, are present as an ordinary man,
a stranger, who has committed some great crime, is led
out, fastened to a pillar, and subjected to this cruel pun-
ishment.
Behold ! the executioners arm themselves with thorny
rods, heavy thongs, and other instruments of torture, and
the bloody work begins. They shower down blows upon
their helpless victim until great ridges of bruised and
bleeding flesh are formed on his breast, shoulders, hands,
arms, and other parts of his body, which soon becomes
one bleeding mass ; and finally the flesh of the poor victim
is torn open with hooks of iron, till his bones can be num-
bered. Who could witness such a spectacle and remain
unmoved % Nay, who would not feel his heart swell
with compassion for a poor, unhappy creature like the
one whose sufferings we have described, even though the
unfortunate wretch were the greatest of criminals or the
bitterest of enemies ?
But if a torture so cruel and barbarons inflicted on a
mere man moves us to compassion, shall we experience
no such emotion at the remembrance of its infliction upon
the sacred body of Jesus Christ, who suffered all this, and
still more, for love of us and for our salvation ? " O
man!" cries St. Augustine, "learn how much thou hast
178 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
cost, and how much thou dost owe thy Redeemer, Thou
hast cost the life of a God, and thou dost owe thy life to
Him. Behold, He is scourged for thee — He who is Holi-
ness itself ! The Holy One of God is scourged for the
unholy and impious !"
" Draw near," exclaims St. Ephraiin, " all you that
have been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb
of God, and consider how our merciful Redeemer per-
mitted Himself to be betrayed, struck, spit upon, derided,
and scourged for us miserable sinners who have truly
deserved such tortures in punishment of our sins."
Meanwhile the executioners, urged on by the cruel
Jews who at the sight of blood had grown more ferocious
than tigers and promised to reward the scourgers accord-
ing to the degree of their barbarity, bent to their brutal
work with ever-i::creasing fury, redoubling strokes on
str< ;kes, and wounds on wounds on the sacred body of the
Saviour. At last, as St. Augustine relates, a Roman
soldier, moved to compassion and horror at the sight of
such brutal butchery, raising his voice, cried out, " Hold !
Do you mean to kill a Man who has not yet been ad-
judged guilty ?" and so saying he drew his sword and
cut the ropes which bound Jesus to the pillar. Through
all the torture He had stood motionless, without uttering
a groan or even a sigh, like a meek lamb led out to
slaughter.
So great was the weakness of Jesus that when the
ropes were cut He fell to the ground and became bathed
m His own blood which had collected in a small pool at
His feet. His fall was witnessed by all, but no one
advanced to raise Him. Struggling to His feet with
difficulty, He painfully moved to the place where He had
Jeft His clothes and hastily put them on to cover His
JESUS IS SCOURGED AT THE PILLAR. 179
nakedness, which was more painful to Him than the
scourging.
Mary, the beloved Mother of Jesus, was present, but,
at the first blow of the executioner, she beheld a stream
of the sacred blood of her Divine Son fly up into the air,
and she swooned. When she recovered, she saw Him
wounded from head to foot, but, being unable to assist or
even to reach Him on account of the great multitude
and her own extreme weakness, she was forced to remain
an afflicted witness of His terrible sufferings, lovingly
consoled and comforted, however, by Mary Magdalene
and St. John, who, during all the passion, were her con-
stant and inseparable companions.
Considering all these sufferings of Jesus and Mary,
shall we complain of some infirmities or tribulations
which, to try our patience or to punish us for our sins,
God may from time to time be pleased to send us ? " O
Eternal Father," cries St. Augustine, "look upon Thy
Son, and through and for Him forgive Thy guilty ser-
vant ! Look on the lacerated flesh of Thy Son, and for-
give the sins of my rebellious flesh ; while the latter pro-
vokes Thee to wrath, the former shall incline Thee to
mercy."
180 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION XXXII.
Jesus is crowned with Thorns,
" Aud platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head,
and a reed in His right hand." — St. Matt, xxvii. 29.
First Point.
THE scourging of our Lord was barbarous, atrocious,
and inhuman ; but the crowning with thorns was
still more so, because it was not ordered by a judge, for
it was never used as a mode of punishment, and because
the head is the noblest part of the body. It was the
most tormenting incident in our Saviour's painful pas-
sion, and lasted longer than the scourging or the cruci-
fixion. Even the very act of dying was less painful to
Him, for that was soon over, and put an end to all His
sufferings ; whereas the pain of crowning followed Him
to His last breath, and made Him suffer as many deaths
as there intervened instants between the hour of His
crowning and that of His death.
Before He was crowned with thorns, Jesus was dragged
back to the tribunal, and there the whole Roman cohort,
which comprised fifteen hundred men, gathered around.
Some of them removed His garments and put on Him a
scarlet cloak which was intended as a royal mantle, and
"platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head,
aud a reed in His right hand.''
We should profoundly meditate upon these things in
JESUS IS CROWNED WITH THORNS. 181
order to form, if possible, a faint idea of the intense tor-
ture which Jesus must have suffered on this occasion.
In the first place, He was stripped of His garments.
As they were sticking to His gashed and bleeding flesh,
their removal caused a reopening of His wounds, some
of which were so wide as to allow His bones to be seen.
In the second place, we should consider that after the
scourging only one part of the Saviour's body remained
intact, — His sacred head; but these barbarians determined
that it should not be without its torture. So, according
to the Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure, they said
among themselves, " He said He was King of the Jews ;
well, let us give Him a dress befitting a king, and provide
for Him a crown, and so let us deck His head with a
crown of thorns." Only the Jews, moved by the instiga-
tions of Satan, could invent so infamous and cruel a plan
of torture, and only a sanguinary and avaricious people
like the Romans, who in this instance were well supplied
with gold by the Jews, could carry such a plan into exe-
cution.
There still exists in the environs of Jerusalem a spe-
cies of tree called Ran no, on which grow long sharp
thorns. Formerly the inhabitants of that city employed
the Ranno extensively for garden hedges, and there were
many gardens there at the time of our Lord. It was
not, therefore, very difficult for the soldiers to procure
thorns, and they may even have found them in the guard-
room among the fuel. However they came by them,
they availed themselves of them to plat a horrible crown
for our Saviour. According to some, it was made in the
form of a wreath that it might encircle His head ; accord-
ing to others, it was shaped like a cap, so as to cover the
whole head.
182 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Having platted the crown, they placed it upon His
head and pressed it down by beating it with a stick until
the thorns pierced the skin and penetrated in different
directions the forehead, eyebrows, temples, and skull,
some of the longest reaching the brain. At first the
blood began to flow in drops, but as the wounds grew
wider, it fairly streamed forth. The thorns that thus
tortured that sacred head were seventy-two in number ;
but the punctures made by them were, according to St.
Bernard, over a thousand. "Who, then, can conceive,"
says St. Vincent Ferrer, " the intense anguish of that sa-
cred head pierced with thorns, since we, if we have only
some slight wound on any part of our body, deem the
pain almost unbearable ?" Let us meditate attentively on
this mystery of the crowning with thorns.
Second Point.
One would think that the brutal crowning with thorns
would have satisfied the barbarity of the Jews and Ro-
mans. But no ; when they saw Jesus bathed in His own
blood, with not a sound part in His whole body — as Isai-
as in spirit had foreseen Him — they resolved to add tor-
tures of mind to His tortures of body. Accordingly
they compelled Him to sit down on a short pillar which
is still preserved in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, at
Jerusalem, under the name of the " Column of Re-
proaches," and, placing in His hand a reed for a sceptre,
they passed before Him two by two, bent the knee, and
mocked Him, saying. " Hail, King of the Jews."
But their insults did not stop here ; some struck His
sacred face and spit upon Him ; others snatched the reed
from His hand and struck Him with it upon the head.
JESUS IS CROWNED WITH THORNS. 183
They trampled upon Him, blasphemed Him, and reviled
Him in every way. Under the burden of so many in-
sults, Jesus did not once open His mouth, verifying the
words of the prophet : " He shall be led as a sheep to the
slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before His shearer,
and He shall not open His mouth" (Isaias liii. 7).
Come out, O daughters of Sion, to see your pacific
King with the new diadem which the synagogue has
placed upon His head. "The One," says St. Bernard,
" who is ever crowned with glory by His Eternal Father;
the One who was crowned by Mary with the crown of
our humanity; the One who, in the general judgment,
shall be crowned with a crown of justice by the angels,
— is now crowned by the synagogue with a crown of
thorns and tortures !"
The Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure, filled with
sorrow and indignation at the sight of Jesus crowned
with thorns, exclaims : " O my most amiable Jesus ! how
bitter and terrible the anguish Thou sufferest ! How is
it that my soul doth not faint within me at the dread
spectacle % Why doth not my heart melt with grief, and
why do not my eyes overflow with tears ? Come, O my
tears ! flow forth from the bottom of my heart. O heart
of stone within me, how is it thou dost not break?
"What ! my innocent Jesus suffereth so much for me, and
I do not pity Him ! Have pity on me, O merciful
Jesus ! because I can recall all these Thy sufferings and
meanwhile remain insensible. Touch Thou my heart
with a dart of Thy love, that I may only sorrow with
Thee in Thy anguish."
Behold how the Seraphic Doctor, who had always be-
fore his mind the passion of our Lord, and who was
ever moved to tears at its remembrance, accuses himself
184 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
of indifference and begs the Lord to soften his heart.
Let us do the same, and, following the advice of St. Ber-
nard, let us often consider how much our Father, our
Brother, our Master, suffered for us. But it is not suffi-
cient to excite our hearts to compassion, we must also re-
solve to suffer willingly for His sake. Since Jesus suf-
fered under a crown of thorns for love of us, let us bear
up under our afflictions for love of Him. Since Jesus
was divested of His garments for our sake, let us divest
ourselves of our evil habits for His sake. Since Jesus
was clothed in a robe of purple for us, let us abandon the
vanities of the world for Him. Since Jesus bore insult
and opprobrium for our sake, let us bear patiently any
insulting words which may be addressed to us. For a
God who has suffered so much, let us be willing to suffer
something.
The fruit of our meditation should be a firm resolution
to be patient under afflictions and infirmities, to be re-
signed in everything, to be silent under insults and in-
juries, to hate sin, and to love the cross to the end.
JESUS IS SHOWN TO THE PEOPLE. 185
CONSIDERATION XXXIIL
Jesus Christ crowned with Thorns is shown to
the People.
("Jesus therefore came forth, hearing a crown of thorns,
and the purple garment.) And He saith to them: Behold the
Man." — St. Jo7mxix. 5.
First Point.
THE soldiers heaped insults and outrages upon the pa-
tient Saviour seated on the Column of Reproaches,
and they would, perhaps, have prolonged their fiendish
sport had not Pilate, noticing the delay made in announc-
ing the execution of the scourging, commanded Jesus to
be brought before him. Alas! how horrified must not
that judge have become on beholding the Redeemer in
so frightful a condition % He could not have believed
Him to be the man whom he had so recently confronted,
had he not observed that the Jews were filled with the
same diabolical fury against Him. On beholding the
Saviour so sadly changed, His body all bruised, His sacred
head transfixed with thorns, His countenance covered
with blood, His whole form trembling and almost sink-
ing from weakness and exhaustion, it occurred to Pilate
that at so affecting a sight the Jews would at last be
moved to compassion ; so he resolved to show Him to
the people, and thus make another effort to save His life.
Meanwhile, the atrium and street were crowded with
186 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
people who had come to witness the proceedings of the
trial. All were impatient to see it brought to an end,
and the intensest indignation continued to be manifested
against the jndge and the alleged criminal.
Now, adjacent to the tribunal there was an open gal-
lery extending across the public street like a bridge and
exposed to view on every side, so that any one passing
over it could be seen, not only by persons standing in the
street below, but also by those stationed at the windows
of the neighboring houses. An arch known by the name
" Ecce Homo" still exists at Jerusalem and keeps alive
the memory of this famous gallery. It attracts the eye
of the tourist at once as he emerges from the extreme
western portion of the city.
It was from this gallery that Pilate resolved to show
the Saviour to the people in the hope of moving them to
compassion ; and to make the spectacle more solemn, he
determined that he himself would present the alleged
culprit.
Accordingly he advanced to the gallery, and, taking a
position there with Jesus by his side, thus addressed the
assembled multitude : " Behold the Man. Behold the
Man whom you have delivered into my hands to be
judged ! Behold to what a miserable state He has been
reduced by my orders which were given to please you !
Look upon Him well, and tell me whether you can any
longer recognize Him, and whether I could well have
punished Him more severely. I have already told you
that I believe Him innocent, nor do I yet find any cause
in Him to justify me in condemning Him. I have al-
ready done enough ; nay, I fear that in my desire to sat-
isfy your wishes I have gone too far by punishing an
innocent man. Be content, therefore, with seeing Him
JESUS IS SHOWN TO THE PEOPLE. 187
reduced to this miserable state in which He retains scarcely
a human resemblance."
" Behold the Man," says St. Augustine, paraphrasing
this passage, " behold the Man no longer illustrious by
the possession of power, but covered with opprobrium !
If hitherto you envied Him His power, now that you see
Him reduced so low, forgive Him the delusion under
which He labored, and which made Him call Himself a
king. He has been scourged, crowned with thorns ; a
rag of purple is His royal mantle; He has been mocked
and despised ; He has been struck, and spit upon, and
subjected to every humiliation. Lay aside, therefore,
your envy and hatred of Him, now that He has been
brought to shame — a shame without measure."
The paraphrase of Blessed Cherubino of Spoleto runs
as follows : " Behold the Man ! Behold to what a miser-
able condition He has been reduced, so low that almost
all human resemblance has been obliterated in Him ! And
yet He is not a dog — He is not a beast ! He is of your
own blood, He is of your own kin, He is of your own
nation ! Therefore, have pity on Him and allow me,
since I cannot restore to Him His resemblance to a hu-
man being, to bestow upon Him the poor boon of the
preservation of His life."
Let us examine our own hearts and see what impres-
sion is made upon them by the contemplation of the
scourging at the pillar.
Second Point.
What heart of flint would not have been softened at the
eight of this Man of Sorrows? Yet this pitiful spectacle
did not awaken the least sentiment of humanity in the
188 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
minds of the chief priests, the ancients of the people,
the scribes and Pharisees, and the Jewish populace ; but,
like Hyrcan tigers, the more blood they saw, the moie
thirsty for blood they became, and so they sent up a fierce
shout of hatred against Jesus, and cried, " Let Him be
crucified ; crucify Him, crucify Him."
O cruel and impious men ! what has this Man done to
you that you so eagerly wish to see Him suspended on
the cross ? Alas ! look on Him once more and harden
not your hearts to shut out His loving call. Behold how
He who was the Expected of nations is now despised !
Behold, that heavenly countenance, the sight of which
had been so eagerly desired through all past ages, is now
disfigured ! Behold, how He w T hom your ancestors had
longed and prayed for, and who was at last, by a special
grace, granted to you, is now reprobated and condemned !
O Abraham ! behold Him whom you had so ardently de-
sired to see ! O Isaias, behold Him of whom you prophe-
sied so many things ! O David, O prophets, O patri-
archs, behold the only begotten Son of God, so often and
so long announced by you, and so long expected by the
nations of the earth ! Behold the Son of man, not
crowned with a crown of glory and honor, but immersed
in anguish and ignominy ! Come forth from your long-
sealed tombs to behold Hiin, and say if you recognize in
Him the Messias, the subject of your prophecies, the ob-
ject of your desires throughout the ages !
But it is vain to hope to see the Jews moved to pity
by the sight of the Man of Sorrows. It is vain to call
upon the patriarchs and prophets to bear witness to the
multitude of His afflictions. But we Christians, who with
eyes of faith contemplate our suffering Saviour, should
endeavor to bring Him some comfort by attentively medi-
JESUS IS SHOWN - TO THE PEOPLE. 189
tating on His deplorable condition, and sincerely and
lovingly sympathizing with Him in His anguish. Con-
sider, then, O Christian soul ! who it is that stands there
on the gallery, apparently in the guise of a king, but
really covered with shame and despised as the last of
men. He wears a crown ; but, oh ! what pain it causes
to His sacred head ! He is clothed in purple ; but here it
symbolizes not royalty and honor, but baseness and con-
tempt. He holds in His hand a sceptre, but it is no sign
of authority and power, for it has been often snatched by
the soldiers and violently used to wound His sacred per-
son. Yes, those around Him have frequently bent the
knee and hailed Him as their King ; but the salutation
was strongly negatived by the disgusting spittle which
always accompanied it.
In the second place, let us consider the unalterable pa-
tience of our Divine Lord. He murmurs not against His
Eternal Father who has sent Him into this ungrateful
world to become an object of injury and opprobrium ;
He murmurs not against mankind for whose crimes He
is subjected to torture; He utters not a word of com-
plaint against the Jewish people who are loading Him
with insults in return for the numberless benefits He had
bestowed on them.
Considering these words of Pilate to the people, " Be-
hold the Man," St. Augustine applies them to himself
and offers the following reflection : " Alas ! woe for us
will 1)0 the day when we shall be presented before the
judgment-seat of God, and it shall be said of each of us,
1 Behold the man. Behold the man and the deeds of his
life.' Alas! what shall we be able to answer on that
great day ?"
Without, losing sight of the Man-God as He is repre-
190 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHEIST.
sented by Pilate to the Jewish people, let us say within
ourselves : " Behold the Man ! Yes, O my soul ! behold
the Man who hath so loved thee and suffered for thee,
and whom thou in return hast so often and so grievously
offended. Fix thy gaze upon Him, and see if there be
any sorrow like unto His. Look upon that venerable
head so cruelly crowned with thorns ! Look upon that
sacred body covered with so many wounds ! Look upon
that divine face impiously polluted with spittle, — and
then if thou be still insensible to His sufferings, let thy
voice, too, mingle with the voices of the Jewish rabble,
and cry out, " Let Him be crucified ! let Him be cruci-
fied!""
I once saw in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at
Jerusalem two Turkish soldiers earnestly contemplating
a picture representing Pilate's presentation of the Saviour
to the Jews, and judging by their countenances they were
deeply mo,ved by the suffering and anguish depicted there.
Yet these poor infidels did not know whether the divine
original of that picture was an innocent man or not ; and
shall we who know by faith that such an image, such a
picture of the " Ecce Homo" represents the Man of Sor-
rows, the Man-God, who subjected Himself to all kinds
of sufferings for us, — shall we remain insensible and gaze
upon that divine face unmoved '.
O loving Jesus ! soften our hardened hearts once and
forever, that we may truly know and properly appreciate
all Thy love for us.
JESUS CONDEMNED TO THE DEATH OF THE CROSS. 191
CONSIDERATION XXXIY.
Jesus is again questioned by Pontius Pilate, and
then condemned to the Death of the Cross.
" Then therefore he delivered Him to them -to be crucified."
St. John xix. 16.
First Point.
"DILATE had made many efforts to save Jesus, but the
J- Jews still clamored for His crucifixion; at last,
weary of reasoning with that obstinate people, he said to
them, " Take Him you, and judge Hi in according to
your law." But the Jews answered, " It is not lawful
for us to put any man to death" (St. John xviii. 31).
They further added that Jesus had declared Himself to be
the Son of God, which of itself made Him deserving of
death.
Believing Jesus to be innocent, Pilate could not bring
himself to acquiesce in this wicked desire of the Jews;
but when he heard the last accusation, he was seized with
fear and began to regret having condemned Him to be
Lrged, not because he compassionated or venerated
the Saviour, but because he feared for himself and his
o i interests. Indeed, so strong was this fear that he
re-entered the tribunal, ordered Jesus to be again brought
before him, and, having dismissed the guards, began to
question Him anew, saying, "Whence art Thou?" But
the Redeemer ixave no answer.
192 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
During the process of the trial Pilate had learned that
Jesus was a Galilean, and that He belonged to the Jewish
nation. But he was not satisfied with this knowledge ; he
wished to know His origin and parentage, and to ascer-
tain if He really were a divinity. The advice of his wife
still disturbed him ; the fame of the Saviour's miracles
had reached his ears ; the patience and fortitude with
which He bore the scourging and suffered throughout
the trial had aroused his admiration ; and now upon
hearing that He claimed to be the Son of God, he
strongly suspected that His claim, perhaps, was true.
Hence the question, " TThence art Thou ?"
Offended at the silence of Jesus, and forgetting for a
moment his suspicion, Pilate angrily said, " Speakest
Thou not to me ? knowest Thou not that I have power
to crucify Thee, and I have power to release Thee ?" To
this our Lord modestly replied : " It is true, it is in thy
power to do justice or not, to condemn Me or to release
Me ; but know that thou shonldst not have any power
against Me, unless it were given thee from above. There-
fore he that hath delivered Me to thee hath the greater
sin." This humble answer aroused new suspicions and
apprehensions in the judge's mind, and, full of fear,
gnawed by remorse for the past, doubtful for the pres-
ent, and anxious for the future, he paused to consider
how he might be enabled to set Jesus at liberty. Notic-
ing the length of time that Pilate remained apart with
Jesus, and remembering the deference with which he had
treated Him throughout the trial, the Jews began to sus-
pect the workings of Pilate's mind and feelings, and re-
solved to allow him no time to mature his plans; hence
they cried out, "If thou release this Man, thou art not
Caesar's friend. For whosoever maketh himself a king
JESUS CONDEMNED TO THE DEATH OF THE CROSS. 193
speaketh against Caesar." This was equivalent to saying,
" By liberating one who has made himself king thou,
showest that thou carest little for Caesar's sovereign
power ; and for this thou shalt certainly fall under his
displeasure."
These words put the climax to the doubts and appre-
hensions of Pilate, and he said within himself, " If I
condemn this Man, I betray my duty, my conscience,
and the cause of justice, and perhaps I draw down upon
myself the anger of the gods ; but, on the other hand, if
I release Him, the Jews will accuse me before Caesar of
having set at liberty a Man whom they had delivered to
me as a seducer of the people and a rebel. What shall I
do '? what shall I do ?". O weak-minded judge, do thy
duty, and fear not !
Let us apply to ourselves the fears, doubts, and appre-
hensions of Pilate. When the world, the flesh, and the
devil tempt us to sin, do we not feel within our hearts
the impulse of divine grace, the fear, the reproaches of
our conscience dissuading us from yielding our consent?
Happy for us if, hearkening to those interior voices which
proceed from God, we turn away from the beckonings
of temptation, and close our ears to the allurements of
vice.
Second Point.
Deafened by the noise and howlings of the Jewish rab-
ble, Pilate again ascended his judgment-seat, not to con-
demn Jesus, but to make one last effort to set Him at
liberty. Near the tribunal, and within the precincts of
the governor's palace, there was a place called in Greek
Lithostrotos, and in Hebrew Gabbalha, which, according
13
194 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OE CHRIST.
to St. Jerome, signifies high, celebrated. It was accessi-
ble by means of several marble steps which constitute
the Holy Stairs now sacredly preserved in Rome. At
the top of these steps stood two large stones, one red and
wrought in the form of a throne, the other black and
shaped like a bench ; the former was used as a seat for
the judge, the latter as a seat for the culprit.
Leading Jesus to this place, and ascending his throne,
Pilate said to the Jews, " Behold your King." This ex-
pression was ironical, for he did not believe Christ to be
the King of the Jews. He might as well have said : " Be-
hold, O Jews, that King whom you fear so much and
whose life you seek so anxiously. Look at Him. He
has been scourged until His bones are laid almost bare ;
He has been struck, mocked, and spit upon, and finally
covered with a rag of purple. Is it, perhaps, this royal
purple that so much troubles you? He holds in His
hand a rod. Think you it is the royal sceptre, grasped
by all your ancient kings, and which, now swayed by
Caesar Augustus, holds the world in fear and awe ? Ap-
proach and see it : it is only an empty reed, a symbol of
weakness rather than of power. Look at the crown of
thorns He wears : is this His royal diadem ? This Man
whom you so much hate and so much fear, and whom
you wish me to condemn to death, — what evil has He
done ? what evil can He do \ He is helpless ; if ques-
tioned, He answers not ; if insulted, He makes no reply.
I have punished Him in order to please you, and He has
borne His punishment with patience. Why then do you
persist in calling for His execution ? You say that He
wished to make Himself king. Behold, He is here in
irons ; He is here before you and me, despised as the
lowest among men, the butt and opprobrium of the rab-
JESUS CONDEMNED TO THE DEATH OP THE CROSS. 195
ble. If really He wished to be ting, behold the strange
manner of royalty He has attained !"
Pilate's harangue was in vain ; the Jews were more
than ever enraged against the Saviour, and cried out
again, " Away with Him, away with Him ! crucify Him !"
On hearing this frantic and unreasonable demand, the
judge could no longer restrain his indignation, and giving
it free vent he said, " Shall I therefore crucify your
King 2" But the Jews cried out with still greater fury,
and the chief priests made answer, " We have no king
but Caesar." At last, overcome by the fear that he might
be accused before Csesar of being an accomplice to the
crime of high treason, and thus be deprived of his posi-
tion, the impious and unjust judge pronounced the sen-
tence of death and delivered Jesus to be crucified.
O perfidious judge! if thou didst desire to commit
such injustice, why didst thou delay so long ? Why didst
thou send Him to Herod to have Him mocked ? Why
didst thou condemn Him to be scourged, and exposed
naked before the whole multitude % Why didst thou
permit Him to be crowned with thorns ? O perfidious !
O impious !
But while we justly condemn the conduct of Pilate,
what spiritual profit shall we derive from the considera-
tion, of his unjust sentence ? Let it be a firm resolution
to conquer human respect, and to be willing to die a
thousand deaths rather than betray our conscience.
196 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDEKATION XXXV.
Jesus sets out towards Mount Calvary.
"And after they had mocked Him, they took off the cloak from
Him, and put on Him His own garments, and led Him away to
crucify Him." — St. Malt, xxvii. 31.
First Point.
rpHE sentence of death which Pilate pronounced
-*~ against Jesus was a great triumph for the Jews and
a complete victory for the synagogue, and would have
caused unusual rejoicing in hell, were rejoicing possible in
that place of horrors and perpetual despair. Signs of ex-
ultation were visible on every side. The rabble were
transported with joy by the abominable sentence, and the
chief priests and members of the Sanhedrim swelled with
pride at the thought of the victory they had achieved.
The executioners, who were well paid for their barbarity,
immediately proceeded to discharge the infernal obliga-
tions of their office, falling upon Jesus like lions upon
their prey. " They have taken Me as a lion prepared for
the prey : and as a young lion dwelling in secret places"
(Psalms xvi. 12).
Their first act was to tear off the purple mantle and re-
clothe Him in His own garments. They made this change
JESUS SETS OUT TOWARDS MOUNT CALVARY. 197
for several reasons : First, that He might be more readily
recognized by the people ; secondly, that the sufferings
of His wounded body might be increased by the violent
removal of the adhering cloak; thirdly, that advantage
might be taken of that clause in their law which allowed
the executioners to divide among themselves the gar-
ments of the culprit at the place of execution.
Having clothed Him, they led Him out of the tribunal,
and then dragged Him to the court-yard where lay the
heavy cross prepared for Him. St. Thomas of Yillanova
tells us that Jesus did not wait for the soldiers to place
it upon His shoulders, but that upon seeing it He eagerly
advanced and, raising it, embraced and kissed it. "What
a confusion for us, to see our Lord embracing and kissing
the cross, while we employ every means in our power to
avoid it ! — and yet our cross, however heavy, can never
be compared with His.
With this burden pressing on His shoulders Jesus
started towards Mount Calvary. " And bearing His own
cross He went forth to that place which is called Calvary,
but in Hebrew Golgotha (St. John xix. 17). " Great
spectacle !" exclaims St. Augustine, " to see the Victim
carrying on His own shoulders the instrument of His
torture ; great mockery, if we consider the impiety of
the Jews ; but still greater mystery, if we contemplate
the piety of Jesus !" St. Bernard says that Jesus bore
that cross which in a short time was to bear Him.
Blessed Simon of Cassia thus apostrophizes the Saviour
bending under the weight of the cross : " Whither goest
Thou, amiable Jesus, with that heavy cross? Where
earnest Thou it ? Why sweatest Thou so much under
its burden V Ah ! we know only too well where and
why He is carrying it.
198 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Here let us pause and make a fruitful reflection :
Jesus, who is the prototype of innocence, joyfully accepts
and carries the heavy cross which His enemies have pre-
pared for Him ; and we, who are guilty of a thousand
sins, refuse to bear with patience the little cross of daily
trials which He is pleased sometimes to send us. Let us
compare our conduct with His, and, confounded at the
difference, let us resolve that, though we are not generous
enough to suffer anything for Him, we will at least be
humane enough to desist from treating Him with further
cruelty and insult by our grievous offences. Let us also
consider these words of our Lord : " He who taketh not
up his cross and followeth Me is not worthy of Me.""
Second Point.
Let us go in spirit to Jerusalem and witness the pro-
cession to Mount Calvary. The cavalry with flying flags
comes first, and makes its way with difficulty through the
surging crowd which throngs the street. Xext appear
the executioners, bearing in their hands hammers, pincers,
nails, and other instruments for the crucifixion. They
are followed by a herald, or rather a public crier, who
proclaims with a loud voice, " This is Jesus of Xazareth,
condemned to the death of the cross." lie is followed
by the gentle Lamb of God. O Christian soul, behold this
awful spectacle ! Jesus, your Saviour, slowly advances,
bowed down under the weight of the cross, covered with
perspiration and completely exhausted. He walks be-
tween two thieves, also condemned to death, but not car-
rying their crosses. A clamorous multitude of every de-
scription and condition press round Him, gaze unpity-
ingly upon Him, gloat over the horrible sight of His suf-
JESUS SETS OUT TOWARDS MOUNT CALVARY. 199
ferings, and rend the air with their insulting and blas-
phemous cries.
St. Laurence Justinian says that Jesus moved along
slowly, His eyes downcast, His head bent forward, His
muscles relaxed, all languid and breathless, thoroughly ex-
hausted by the outrages to which He was subjected in
the palaces of Annas, Caiphas, Herod, and Pilate. But
what pained Him more than all were the blasphemies of
that insolent crowd.
"Who is there possessed of any sense of humanity who
would not weep, and weep bitterly, at this awful sight ?
Yet, far from being moved to tears, the Jews are filled
with the greatest joy. Oh, what a change in one short
week ! He who is passing there with slow and feeble
step, His knees trembling, His eyes downcast and sunken,
His hair dishevelled, His face covered with blood, His
head crowned with thorns, His form bending beneath the
weight of the cross, — He is the Holy One who, one week
ago, entered Jerusalem in a procession of triumph, amid
the loud hosannas of the multitude, who proclaimed Him
Son of David. Oh, how different the two processions !
"Then," says St. Anselm, "He was received as king;
now He is driven out from the city an outcast."
This sad lesson should be taken to heart and often
carefully pondered, especially by those who rely too much
upon their own strength ; by those who, having recei ved
some spiritual consolation, think themselves arrived at
the height of perfection ; and finally, by those who, after
having remained for some time without offending God,
deem their salvation assured and look upon others as lost,
without reflecting that if they have done some good
work, and have not fallen into sin, it is simply an effect
of God's grace.
200 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Let us resolve to make it a principle of conduct not to
glory in the good which we may have done nor in the
evil which we have avoided. Let us thank God for hav-
ing preserved us from those faults which we so much
detest in others and beg Him to have mercy on us all.
JESUS MEETS HIS BLESSED MOTHEK, 201
CONSIDERATION XXXVI.
Jesus falls for the first time: He meets His
Blessed Mother.
"And bearing His own cross, He went forth to that place which
is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha." — 8t. John xix. 17.
First Poiht.
rpHE road over which our Lord passed on the way to
-*- execution may still be seen among the ruins of Jeru-
salem. Part level, part hilly, here straight and there
tortuous, it extends from the tribunal of the Roman
Governor to Mount Calvary, a distance of about eight
hundred and twenty paces. At intervals it is dotted by
pieces of marble columns strewn promiscuously over the
ground, or by marble slabs inserted in the walls, both
stones and slabs indicating the various stations frequented
by the faithful in ancient times. It is called the Dolorous
Road, also the Way of the Cross, and the stations which
line its course correspond to those pictured on the walls
of our churches.
Let us now go in spirit to visit these stations, and medi-
tate on them with contrite hearts. We shall not visit
them all, but only those which, being more dolorous, will
more powerfully appeal to our feelings and excite us to
202 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
contrition. To-day let us consider the first fall of our
Blessed Lord under the cross, and His meeting with His
afflicted Mother.
It is true that the Evangelists make no special mention
of these two stations ; but they are also silent about other
circumstances even more relevant. Still these circum-
stances are not less reliable, because they have been
handed down to the faithful by an uninterrupted tradi-
tion, and have been countenanced by the Church.
According to Cornelius a Lapide the cross was fifteen
feet in length and eight feet in breadth. As our Lord
carried it on His shoulders, the lower part must have
dragged upon the ground, and we may suppose that it
often met with obstructions or uneven places, against
which it knocked with such violence as to give a fearful
shock to His already enfeebled frame. Sometimes, too,
in the rebound the upper part of the cross often struck
against His sacred head, pressing further the crown of
thorns and renewing all the agony of the hour of crown-
ing.
Our Holy Eedeemer's pace is as rapid as His strength
will allow, yet the executioners are not satisfied ; they
are impatient to reach Calvary. They push Him, and
shower blows upon Him, until, at last, completely ex-
hausted, He falls to the ground under the cross. Im-
mediately those barbarous men gather around Him, prod
Him with their swords, strike Him with their fists, kick
Him, and finally, attaching a rope around His neck, they
drag Him to His feet and oblige Him to continue the
painful journey to Calvary.
Without doubt, every one of us has a cross to carry ;
but who can say that his is as heavy as that under which
our Saviour fell ? Let us often look at the cross of Jesus,
JESUS MEETS HIS BLESSED MOTHER. 203
and ours, though it may indeed be heavy, shall appear
light and its burden no longer distressing. It is true that
the service of God is not easy for our corrupt nature ;
but it is not hard to carry the cross in company with our
loving Saviour. It is still a burden, but only a light one.
Therefore, let us walk on courageously in the hours of
infirmity and tribulation, never losing sight of Jesus, who,
with His heavy cross, moves in advance.
Second Point.
Situated on the Way of the Cross is a little chapel dedi-
cated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Spasm, in mem-
ory of the acute pain which she suffered there upon
meeting her Divine Son. In front of this chapel a short,
narrow street leads off the Dolorous Way in the direction
of Pilate's palace. A tradition relates that when Mary
heard of Jesus' condemnation she attempted to reach
Him, but being unable to make her way through the
crowd, she hastened with St. John down this narrow
street, and took a position at its intersection with the Way
of the Cross, to await His coming and offer Him words
of consolation and bid Him farewell.
No sooner had she reached this place than the pro-
cession passed. What must have been her anguish when
she caught sight of her Divine Son loaded with His cross,
walking between two thieves, and surrounded by brutal
soldiers who ceased not for a moment to insult and torture
Him ! At this heart-rending sight Mary rose superior
even to herself, and rushing among the rabble, she forced
her way as far as the executioners who, amazed at her
heroism, stood back, thus allowing her to approach and
embrace her beloved Son. Finding Himself in the arms
204 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CIIRIST.
of His holy Mother, Jesus experienced the keenest an-
guish. ISTo one can imagine the bitterness of grief, the
pangs of sorrow, the acuteness of agony, felt at that mo-
ment by those two great and sensitive souls. Reflect that
it is the Mother of God who meets her Divine Son on
His way to execution ; that He is covered with blood
and wounds ; that His countenance is disfigured, His
frame enfeebled, and a heavy cross rests upon His shoul-
ders ; that He walks between two thieves, and is sur-
rounded by cruel executioners who are thirsting for His
blood. Can any but a mother attempt to estimate this
Mother's grief ?
Venerable Father Bartholomew of Saluzzo thus speaks
of Mary on this occasion : " How different, O Mary, this
last embrace from the many thou hast hitherto bestowed
upon thy Son ! Oh, what grief ! Oh, what a sword of
grief must have pierced thy heart ! What words of love
and compassion must not Mary have exchanged with her
Son ! Tell me, most amiable Jesus, what didst Thou say
to Thy Mother at that painful meeting? . . . Think, O
my soul, what must His words have been ! 'Have patience,
dear Mother ; the hour of My death has arrived, but My
anguish shall soon cease. I will rise within three days,
and come to visit you.' ' O dear Child,' replied Mary,
' am I then compelled to see Thee reduced to such a state ?
Alas ! how can I live when Thou, who art the life of my
soul, shalt die?'"
St. Bernard thus apostrophizes Jesus on the same oc-
casion : " Great is the grief caused Thee, O my good
Jesns, by the burden of Thy cross, but not less is that
caused Thee by the sight of Thy Mother ; the bitterness
of Thy torments oppresseth Thee, but the grief of Thy
Mother oppresseth Thee more."
JESUS MEETS HIS BLESSED MOTHER. 205
The fruit of this meditation should be a tender com-
passion for the sufferings of Jesus and the grief of Mary,
with an earnest appeal to them both to grant us the grace
of knowing all they endured for our salvation. For, if
we shall attain to this holy knowledge, it will certainly be
easy for us to support any suffering for their love.
206 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION XXXVII.
Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry His Cross.
"And going out they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon:
him they forced to take up His cross." — St. Matt, xxvii. 32.
First Point.
MARY was with Jesus only a few moments, for, re-
covering from their surprise, the executioners tore
her from the arms of her martyred Son and rudely pushed
her back into the crowd ; then closing around Jesus, they
forced Him by kicks and blows to accelerate His pace in
order to make up for the time lost during the brief inter-
view with His Mother. But Jesus was too weak to bear
up longer under the heavy cross; His strength began
visibly to fail, and the executioners, becoming alarmed
lest He should die on the way and thus deprive them of
the brutal satisfaction of crucifying Him, began to devise
means of relieving Him. Observe that they are actuated,
not by any motive of charity, but by a spirit of maligni-
ty, desiring, as Dionysius remarks, to reserve Him for a
death more atrocious and painful.
But who would submit to take up that cross which
rendered infamous any one who carried it ? The Romans
hated the cross ; so did the Jews. How, therefore, were
they to attain their iniquitous end ? They found a way
SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS TO CARRY THE CROSS. 207
through injustice and violence, the chief means employed
by them during the passion.
A man named Simon, a Cyrenian, happened to pass.
Though a native of Cyrene, he had long been a resident
of Judea, and was at this time coming from a farm which
he possessed in the neighborhood. The Jews ran after
him, halted him, and, despite all his prayers, protestations,
entreaties, and efforts to escape, forced him to take up
and carry the cross. " And going out they found a man
named Simon : him they forced to take up His cross."
Happy Simon, if thou couldst but know the lot that
hath fallen to thee ! Ah, if thou couldst only know
"Whom thou art called upon to aid ! Then, indeed, that
cross would seem to thee too light, and its burden thou
wouldst esteem a high honor ! But alas ! thou knowest
Him not, and therefore thou dost carry it unwillingly
aud by force ; and thou findest torture in an object where
thou shouldst find heaven.
Let us apply these same reflections to ourselves. In-
firmities, afflictions of spirit, poverty, humiliations, con-
tradictious, and persecutions are all crosses which Al-
mighty God sends us for our spiritual benefit. But do
we carry them with willingness and joy % Do we not,
on the contrary, try to avoid them and rid ourselves of
them as soon as possible? And yet we know that they
are so many aids to securiug salvation ; and that He who
sends them knows how much we can bear, and never per-
mits us to be burdened beyond our strength. Why,
therefore, do we not support our crosses with patience
and resignation for the love of God
208 MEDITATIONS ON THE BUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Second Point.
Dionysius Carthusianus adduces as a reason for the
Jews' relieving Jesus, that they feared lest He should die
on the way and they would be thus deprived of the in-
fernal pleasure of seeing Him expire on the cross. This
opinion is supported by the nature of the ground of the
Dolorous Way. Up to the fourth station the road is quite
level and slightly ascending ; but at the point where Simon
was arrested it begins to be difficult, precipitous, and
rough. The Jews, therefore, naturally foresaw that His
weak and exhausted condition would not allow Him to
make the ascent alone.
But there was for the Jews another cause of alarm.
They knew that Pilate had condemned Him unwillingly,
that he had even declared Him innocent in the presence
of all, and they feared a revocation of the sentence of
death. Therefore they wished to expedite the cruci-
fixion, and on this account relieved Jesus of the cross.
To Simon of Cyrene fell the great honor of being the
companion of Jesus to Mount Calvary. But, considering
the Man of Sorrows a malefactor, and the carrying of the
cross the most ignominious of punishments, he bore it
only with reluctance ; nay, he had to be subjected to it by
force, as we learn from the Gospel narration.
We know that of which Simon was ignorant ; yet how
does it happen that we are unwilling to aid Jesus in
carrying His cross ? We look upon the cross with the
eyes of faith, and view it in a far diffei'ent light from
that in which it was seen by Simon. We know that
Jesus Christ has said, "And whosoever doth not carry
his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple"
SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS TO CARRY THE CROSS. 209
(St. Luke xiv. 27). We have before us the example of
the virgins, confessors, martyrs, apostles, and of Mary and
Jesus, who all carried their crosses, and crosses heavier
than ours. We know that without the cross we cannot
enter the kingdom of heaven. We know that whether we
will it or not we must carry the cross. Finally, we know
that Jesus Christ helps us to bear our cross, and ever
renders it light and sweet if we accept it with patience
and resignation. Shall we not henceforth bear our crosses
willingly and patiently for love of Him
If in the past we have failed in this regard, let us for
the future accept resignedly all tribulations, persecutions,
and infirmities, and every affliction of body or soul which
God may be pleased to send us ; even entering into the
spirit of the apostles of whom it is written, " And they
indeed went from the presence of the council, rejoicing
that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for
the name of Jesus" (Acts v. 41). Let us imitate those
many servants of God who, without retiring into con-
vents or practising severe penances, became saints, be-
cause they embraced with resignation the crosses which
were annexed to their state of life. If we are so happy
as to enter into this holy spirit, we shall be true followers
of Christ, and shall receive a great reward in this life, and
also in the next.
Let us then carry the cross, but not as it was borne by
Simon of Cyrene, who, as the Abbot Rupert observes, did
not bear the cross willingly, neither was he crucified on
it. Let us, on the contrary, so carry our cross as to be
crucified on it, not in body, but in spirit — that is, with our
vices and concupiscences.
14
210 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION XXXVIII.
Jesus consoles the Women of Jerusalem who
weep over Him: Veronica wipes His
Face with a Handkerchief.
" But Jesus turning to them said: Daughters of Jerusalem,
-weep not over Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your chil-
dren. " — St. Luke xxiii. 28.
First Point.
THOUGH relieved of His cross, Jesus was still so
weak and exhausted that He could scarcely walk ;
yet the executioners, impatient to reach Calvary, ceased
not to push and drag Him along. This weakness and
the violence of the executioners caused His second and
third fall, which we commemorate in the beautiful exer-
cise of the Way of the Cross. Still, in these last moments
of His mortal career, though Himself plunged in the
midst of a sea of suffering, Jesus was full of compassion
for the sufferings of others, and consoled those devout
persons who grieved for Him by giving them tokens of
gratitude and sympathy.
St. Luke the Evangelist relates that a multitude of
men and women followed Jesus. This multitude was
composed principally of fanatical Jews, who, at the in-
stigation of the priests and ancients of the people, had
cried out at the tribunal, "Let Him be crucified 1" and,
JESUS CONSOLES THE WOMEN OE JERUSALEM. 211
having wrung from Pilate the unjust sentence against
Jesus, ceaselessly insulted and blasphemed Him. But
there also mingled with the crowd some of the Redeemer's
disciples, and some pious women who wept bitterly and
struck their breasts as they followed Him. The beloved
disciple St John was there ; so also was the Blessed Vir-
gin with her inseparable companion, Mary Magdalene,
together with the other Marys of whom the Gospel
speaks. There were also persons present who had fol-
lowed Jesus from Galilee. But by far the greater num-
ber were from Jerusalem ; and because they differed in
opinion from the scribes and chief priests as to the char-
acter of Jesus, and pitied Him in His sufferings, they did
not blush to draw near to Him, and, while the rabble
deafened the ears with their blasphemous shouts, they
wept most bitterly. Jesus, hearing their sobs, thus lov-
ingly addressed them : " Daughters of Jerusalem, weep
not over Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your chil-
dren. For behold, the days shall come wherein they
will say : Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that
have not born, and the paps that have not given suck.
Then shall they begin to say to the mountains : Fall upon
us ; and to the hills : Cover us. For if in the green wood
they do these things, what shall be done in the dry V (St.
Luke xxiii. 28-31.)
Venerable Bede thus paraphrases this Evangelical
passage : " Weep not over Me, because you see Me going
to meet temporal death ; but weep bitter tears that you
may not be condemned to eternal death with the impious
in revenge for this cross on which I am going to be cru-
cified for the salvation of men."
What a salutary subject for meditation is not this
advice of Jesus Christ ! He alluded to the tremendous
212 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Day of Judgment, inciting those pious women to con-
sider that if the Eternal Father so severely punished His
Son for our sins, what shall become of the wicked on that
awful day when mercy shall no longer have place, and all
shall be obliged to give a strict account of every thought,
word, and deed to that same God whom they have so
often and so grievously offended ! Oh, how much should
we dread the coming of that tremendous day !
Second Point.
Though the address of our Lord to the pious women
regarded the General Judgment, it also had reference to
the terrible afflictions which were to come upon Jeru-
salem ; for thirty-seven years after, when Titus besieged
the Holy City, this terrible prediction of Jesus was liter-
ally fulfilled. Then many mothers had to deny food to
their little ones ; others went so far as to eat the flesh of
their children; and all ^ere so reduced that barren
women, long objects of contempt, were looked upon as
blessed, because not forced to see their children suffer.
However, they did not then understand the meaning^ of
His words; hence they continued to weep over Him,
without thinking of the misfortunes in store for them-
selves.
One among the crowd, by name Veronica, whose house
according to some pious authors fronted on the Dolorous
Way (its site is pointed out even at the present time) was
deeply moved with compassion for the Saviour. On see-
ing His sad condition, this heroic woman seemed forget-
ful of all save her strung sentiment of pity, and taking a
white handkerchief— one, perhaps, which she had around
her head— and pressing through the crowd till she reached
JESUS CONSOLES THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM. 213
His side, she devoutly wiped away the tears and blood
and the soldiers' filthy spittle from the face of the Man
of Sorrows.
It is not known whether Veronica performed this act
of heroic charity through a purely human impulse of
compassion, or whether she was prompted by an illumi-
nation from on high which made known to her who He
was that suffered. However, it is certain that our Lord
was pleased with her charity, and at once rewarded it by
leaving on the handkerchief the impression of His sacred
countenance. This relic, one of the most precious on
earth, is venerated in St. Peter's Church at Kome, and
strongly reminds us of the infinite charity of Jesus in
suffering for us, and His generosity in rewarding those
who compassionate His sufferings.
From this consideration we may learn how great is the
divine goodness, which never lets go unrewarded even
the least act of charity. This reflection should encourage
us to persevere in the practice of works of mercy. But,
above all, we should learn how agreeable to Jesus is med-
itation on His passion — that meditation in which we can
find the cure of all our spiritual infirmities, and all the
treasures of celestial consolations. Let us, therefore, fre-
quently meditate on the sufferings of Jesus, and we shall
most certainly receive our reward in this life and in the
next.
214 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION XXXIX.
Vinegar and Gall are offered to Jesus; He is
stripped of His Garments and nailed to the
Cross.
" And when they were come to the place which is called Cal-
vary, they crucified Him." — St. Luke xxiii. 33.
Fiest Point.
HAVING traversed the full length of the Dolorous
"Way, the procession arrived at the place of execu-
tion. This place was called Calvary, a name signifying
shull. It was a small hill which stood just outside the
gates of the Holy City, in a northwesterly direction, and
was flanked on one side by a garden belonging to Joseph
of Arimathea, and on the other side by a valley known
as the Vale of Dead Bodies, or the Vale of the Region
of Death. "With regard to the name Calvary, many say
that it was suggested by the form of the mountain, which
resembles that of a human skull. Others, among whom
are Origen and St. Jerome, maintain that it was derived
from an old tradition that Adam's skull had been buried
there so that the blood of our Lord trickling down from
the cross might fall upon it and wash away the sins of
our first parent and those of all his unhappy posterity.
It is for this reason that we frequently see the figure of
a skull engraved or pictured at the foot of the cross. Fi-
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CEOSS. 215
nally, others are of the opinion that the mount was called
Calvary because those condemned to death were exe-
cuted there, and their bodies thrown into the valley be-
low ; whence the name of Yale of Ashes, or Yale of the
Region of Death. But let us recur to the matter of the
present consideration. Jesus, the executioners, and the
crowd had at length arrived at the top of Mount Cal-
vary. Now, it was customary to give a condemned per-
son a draught of wine mixed with myrrh in order to re-
new his bodily vigor, — that his suffering might be longer
and more intense.
But Jewish hatred did more against their Messias.
For wine and myrrh they substituted vinegar and gall,
a potion worse than poison. Jesus did not refuse to ap-
proach the bitter chalice to His lips ; but when He tasted
it, He put it aside. Still He did taste it in order that
the stomach and palate, which had hitherto escaped,
might also be subjected to their particular torture.
The body of Jesus having thus been internally and ex-
ternally tormented, the executioners again seized Him
and renewed the pain already twice inflicted by the re-
moval of His garments. Not satisfied with stripping
Him of His outer vesture, they also took the seamless
tunic which served Him as a shirt, and which had been
woven by the virginal hands of His Mother. There is a
tradition that she made it for her beloved Son in His
childhood, and that, like the garments of the Jewish chil-
dren in the desert, it had grown with His growth. They
pulled this garment off over His head ; and as it was quite
narrow at the neck, they were obliged to remove the
crown of thorns. These thorns being deeply imbedded
in his head were not easily removed, and some of them
broke and remained fixed in His delicate temples. But
216 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
there was still another torture reserved for Jesus : no
sooner had the tunic been removed than the crown was
replaced, opening up new wounds, and renewing all the
martyrdom of the former crowning. How atrocious
must have been this torture, the mere contemplation
of which, even in imagination, causes us to shudder 1
Second Point.
Everything was in readiness for the execution of the
unjust sentence; the victim, the executioners, the instru-
ments of torture, — all were there. The cross was laid
upon the ground ; and without a moment's hesitation,
Jesus voluntarily advanced, stretched Himself upon it,
extended His arms as if to invite the executioners to a
loving embrace, and presented His hands and feet to be
nailed. But those barbarous men, far from accepting the
Saviour's proffered love, sprang upon Him like enraged
lions hungry for their prey. While some bound Him
with cords, others seized the hammers and nails, and the
cruel work of crucifixion was begun. Behold the horri-
ble butchery practised on those divine hands which had
made heaven and earth ! The right hand is seized upon
first : the point of the nail breaks the skin ; it is driven
down through the flesh, tearing open nerves, veins, and ar-
teries, and causing the precious blood to flow forth. Hav-
ing nailed the right hand, the executioners proceed to the
left, but find that, on account of the contraction of the
muscles, it cannot be extended far enough for the per-
forating nail to enter the hole already bored in the cross
for it. They, therefore, attach cords to the left arm, and
bracing their feet against the cross, they pull and pull
that sacred arm until, having dislocated the bones, they
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS. 217
wrench the hand to the required position and repeat on
it the cruelties they had practised on the right. They
then proceed to the feet, which for a similar reason are
subjected to a process like that applied to the left hand.
At last the infamous work is accomplished and Jesus is
affixed to His cross.
Contemplative writers give other details in connection
with the nailing of the Saviour to the cross which add
still more to its horrors. They affirm that after the nails
were driven, the executioners determined to rivet them,
and for this purpose turned the cross over so that Jesus
lay, face downward, under the cross. In this position
they trampled upon Him, as grapes are trodden in the
wine-press. At length His bones were so dislocated that
they could be numbered ; His eyes became dim and
sunken in their sockets ; His body appeared shrunken,
and His stomach seemed to cleave to His back. Through
the half-open mouth the tongue might be seen all cov-
ered with blood ; His divine countenance and delicate
limbs were disfigured by wounds, and His whole ap-
pearance justified the words of the prophet : " From the
sole of the foot unto the top of the head there is no
soundness therein : wounds, and bruises, and swelling
sores : they are not bound up nor dressed, nor fomented
with oil."
" O man !" cries out St. Bonaventure, " if thou didst
see even a brute thus affixed to a cross Avouldst thou not
feel moved to pity for its sufferings ? Shoulclst thou not
then be moved to compassion at the thought that so was
crucified thy God ?" To arouse us still more to com-
passion, the same holy Doctor subjoins : " Only think,
O man, that it was principally on account of sinners
that Christ was thus crucified !" St. Bernard echoes St.
218 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Bona venture and says : " Behold and consider, O sinner,
what a martyrdom thy God underwent when He came
in search of thee, before it was given Him to find thee !"
Finally, let us say with St. Augustine, " O most amiable
Jesus, I wish to live and die in Thy arms, those loving
arms which were nailed to the cross for me !"
THE SORROWFUL VIRGIN. 219
CONSIDEBATION XL.
The Sorrowful Virgin.
" O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any
sorrow like to my sorrow. " — Lam. i. 12.
Fikst Point.
MEDITATION on the sufferings of our Lord should
never be separated from meditation on the anguish
of Mary ; for it is the common opinion of the Holy-
Fathers that whatever Jesus suffered in His most sacred
body, Mary also suffered in her holy soul. The satisfac-
tion which we give our Lord by meditating on the sor-
rows of Mary is not less than that which we give Him
by meditating on His own sufferings. The present con-
sideration, therefore, shall be dedicated to the sufferings
of Mary during the crucifixion of her Divine Son.
Two distinct places are venerated at Jerusalem and
dedicated to the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin on Mount
Calvary. One is the place where she stood while Jesus
was being nailed to the cross ; the other, the place where
she stood while Jesus was hanging on the cross. The
Evangelists speak only of the latter; but the Fathers of
the Church, relying upon a constant tradition, speak of
the former, which is situated on the side of Mount Cal-
vary, where at present there is a chapel dedicated to the
sufferings of Mary.
220 MEDITATIONS ON TTIE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
Let us first consider the sorrowful Mother as she wit-
nesses her Son being nailed to the cross.
On account of the great multitude which assembled on
Mount Calvary to behold the divine tragedy, Mary found
it impossible to approach her Divine Son ; but forcing
her way through the crowds, she gained a position on the
side of the mountain from which she was afforded a full
view of the place selected for the execution. There she
stood and witnessed the preparations which were being
made for the crucifixion. Some of the executioners were
engaged in boring holes in the cross to receive the nails
which soon would pierce His sacred hands, while others
chiselled a cavity in the rock in which to place the cross.
When their work was completed, she saw Jesus advance
and lay Himself upon His bed of death ; the crowd sur-
rounded Him and shut out her view. But at the first
stroke of the hammer which was nailing Him to the
cross, the power of her love revealed itself and infused
into her a wonderful strength far exceeding that of na-
ture.
The blows struck Mary's heart before their sound
reached her ear ; instantly she started forward, pressed
through the rabble, and ascended the mountain, there to
behold (sad spectacle for a tender mother) her amiable
Son naked aud nailed to a cross. Mary's grief on this
occasion was boundless. " To what shall I compare thee ?
. . . For great as the sea is thy destruction : who shall
heal thee ?" (Lam. ii. 13.) As this holy Virgin knew that
Jesus' nakedness gave Him more pain than all the tor-
tures that the executioners could inflict, she took the veil
that covered her head and, moving backwards through
modesty, laid it over Him, then, turning, she carefully
fixed it around His sacred body.
THE SORROWFUL VIRGIN". 221
O desolate Mother, whither hast thou gone? Alas!
we have not courage to follow thee, even in thought, to
Calvary. Now, now is the time for weeping ! I shall
say to thee with Venerable Bartholomew of Saluzzo :
" Now is the time for sorrow ! Now thou art at the
bottom of thy greatest anguish. Only one consolation
remains to thee, O Mary, and that is a bitter one — to stay
beside thy Son, to comfort Him in His agony, and then
to die with Him. But no ; even this is denied thee by
the brutal executioners, who, impatient to raise the cross
loaded with the weight of thy amiable and Divine Son,
tear thee away from Him and force thee violently back
among the crowd. O most afflicted Mother! to what
shall I compare thee, or to what shall I liken thee, O
Daughter of Jerusalem, in order to form even a faint
idea of thy immense grief ? Alas ! only the depths of
the sea can give me any conception of the depths of thy
grief!
Second Point.
In order to form an idea of Mary's immense grief, it
would be necessary to know the extent of her love. Now,
as Mary — so St. Jerome says — loved Jesus more than He
was loved by all the rest of mankind, so her grief was
greater than any other imaginable grief. St. Bernard
says that the greatness of the martyrs' love mitigated the
anguish of their sufferings. But this was not the case
with the Blessed Virgin : the more she loved, the more
she was afflicted, her sufferings being proportionate to
her love. Alas ! how cruel must have been the martyr-
dom which she endured ! St. Bernardine of Sienna says
that if Mary's grief could have been divided among all
creatures capable of entertaining it, they would all have
222 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
instantly died. In a word, her grief was as immense as
was her love.
There is no holy Father, or devout contemplative, who,
when considering this point of our Lord's passion, does
not address Mary, and express, as best he can, his amaze-
ment at the dauntless constancy and heroic fortitude
which she displayed in sorrow and tribulation. All the
pain inflicted on Jesus' sacred body converged to His
Mother's loving heart and became concentrated there.
The Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure, considering
this sorrowful mystery, is filled with tender pity and thus
apostrophizes Mary : « O most pure Lady, why didst thou
not remain solitary in thy humble cell I "Why didst thou
come out to Calvary ? Alas ! it was not thy habit to
come out to witness such spectacles; why, therefore, did
not thy natural modesty retain thee at home on this occa-
sion J "Why did not the horrors of the place, the crowds,
the shouts and blasphemies of the rabble, the madness of
those demons— why did these not restrain thee ? Alas !
I know the reason— because thy heart was given over to
grief ! Thou didst not consider the presence of the rab-
ble, the fury of the soldiers and executioners, the hatred
of the scribes and Pharisees, but only the atrocity of the
wounds of thy Son, the puncture of the nails, all His suf-
ferings and His sorrows. O Lady, thy heart was wounded
by the lance that pierced His side! Thou, too, wast
nailed to the cross, crowned with thorns, mocked and de-
spised ; in a word, thou didst suffer in thy soul all the
torments that afflicted His most sacred body. O Mary,
O sweet heart of love, how thou hast become immersed
in grief! I contemplate thy heart, O most dear Lady,
and I can no longer recognize it for what it was ! For it
THE SORROWFUL VIRGIN. 223
is no longer a heart ; it has been turned into bitterest
gall!"
So speaks the Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure. Let
us also enter into the heart of Mary, and, on beholding all
its sorrow, let us excite ourselves to sentiments of love
for her who so actively co-operated in the work of our
Eedemption.
224 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION XLL
Jesus is raised on the Cross : He prays for His
Executioners.
" And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do." — ,82. Luke-xxin. 3h
First Point.
SOME pious authors confound the place where Jesus
was affixed to the cross with that on which the cross
was placed upright. These writers think that the exe-
cutioners first erected the cross and then built round it a
platform upon which they raised Jesus by means of ropes,
and from which they nailed Him to the cross. But this
is very improbable, from the fact that it is contrary to the
constant tradition of the people, and even to the practice
of our Holy Mother the Church, who, in the pictures
used in the devotion of the Stations of the Cross, always
represents our crucified Saviour as being first nailed to
the cross and afterwards elevated upon it. There are
two places venerated in Jerusalem ; one as the place where
He was affixed to the cross, the other as the place where
the cross was raised.
Having securely riveted the nails, the executioners
dragged the cross to the spot on w r hich it was to be ele-
vated, and dropped it with a great thud into the hole
made for its reception. This fall shattered and shook
the Saviour's limbs and sent a thrill of excruciating pain
JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS EXECUTIONERS. 225
throughout His entire frame. ITow was begun a new
form of torture : suspended by three nails between heaven
and earth, the wounds of His hands and feet were con-
stantly widening, and His pain became so intense that
every moment of the three hours during which He hung
in that condition brought Him a cruel martyrdom. But
these sufferings were light as compared with the anguish
of His holy soul ; indeed, His mental suffering far ex-
ceeded all the pains of crucifixion and of the most bar-
barous death.
The Evangelists relate that, immediately after the cru-
cifixion, four of the soldiers who had taken an active part
in the execution of the unjust sentence gathered together
the garments of Jesus, and dividing them into four parts,
took each a part. But for the seamless tunic which His
Mother had made they cast lots, not wishing to spoil it
by dividing it.
While this division was being made the people passed
and repassed under the cross, insulting Jesus, wagging
their heads in mockery, and vomiting forth against Him
the most horrible blasphemies. This was not done by
the rabble alone, but also by the chief priests, the scribes
and Pharisees. All these things had been foretold by
the prophet, who, speaking in the person of the suffering
Saviour, said : " All they that saw Me have laughed Me
to scom : they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the
head. And I am become a reproach to them : they saw
Me, and they shook their heads" (Psalms xxi. 8 ; cviii. 25).
Some cried out to Him, " If Thou be the Son of God,
come down from the cross, and we will believe in Thee."
Others said, " He saved others ; Himself He cannot save.
Yah, Thou that destroyest the temple of God and in
three days dost rebuild it : save Thy own self." Others
15
226 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
again said, with bitter irony, " He hoped in the Lord ; let
the Lord deliver Him : let Him save Him, seeing He
delighteth in Him. For if He be the true Son of God,
He will defend Him, and will deliver Him from the
hands of His enemies."
But what does Jesus answer to all these insults and
blasphemies? Eaising His languid eyes towards heaven,
He prays His Eternal Father, " Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do." O admirable prayer, truly
worthy of God !
Let us first meditate on +he terrible sufferings of Jesus
during His agony on the cross ; then we shall pass to a
consideration of the sublimity of His prayer.
Second Point.
" Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do." "What a difference between the legislators of earth
and our most loving Redeemer! The former give forth
their laws from the splendid height of a throne ; the lat-
ter teaches His holy doctrine from the altar of the cross.
What a difference between the written law and the law
of grace ! The former is proclaimed from Mount Sinai
amid flashes of lightning and peals of thunder; the latter
from the sacred height of the cross. Following the ob-
servation of Cardinal Bellarmine, let us notice that in
this prayer Jesus does not address His Heavenly Father
as God or Lord, but in order to placate His severity as
Judge He appeals to Him by the tender name of Father.
The excess of crime and ingratitude which was being
committed had fully roused the anger of God, and Jesus
could not better placate it than by making His appeal in
the character of Son, as if by that loving word Father
JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS EXECUTIONERS. 227
He would say, " Father, I who am Thy Son, I who am
suffering, — I freely forgive them ; do Thou then, O my
Father, forgive them for love of Me ; for My sake for-
give My executioners their sin against Thee and against
Me. Remember, O My Father, that Thou art their
Father also, and let Thy paternal clemency triumph over
the severity of Thy justice."
"Forgive them;" that is, as Cardinal Bellarmine para-
phrases these words, " Forgive them who have divided
My garments amongst themselves. Forgive all who have
been the cause of My bitter passion ; forgive Pontius
Pilate, who pronounced the unjust sentence against Me.
Forgive all those who with loud voice cried out, ' Away
with Him. Crucify Him, crucify Him ! ' Forgive the
chief priests, the scribes and Pharisees, who have falsely
accused Me ; forgive Adam, who by his sin was the first
cause of My passion, and with him forgive all his pos-
terity."
In order that the petition might be more efficacious
Jesus wished to found it upon some basis or give it some
motive which would secure it favor in the Father's eyes.
But as He could find no excuse for the injustice of Pilate,
the cruelty of the soldiers, the envy of the priests, the
folly and ingratitude of the people, the false testimony
of His calumniators, He resolved to shield them all and-
to plead for them on the ground of their ignorance.
Wherefore He said, " For they know not what they do."
It is true that if the Jews had recognized Jesus as the
true God, they would never have crucified Him, accord-
ing to the words of St. Paul : " If they had known, they
would never have crucified the God of Glory."
Having found an extenuation of their offence, He
strengthens it by His omnipotent intercession, and thus
228 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST
see ins to plead for His tormentors : " Forgive them, Father,
for the sake of that love which Thou hast cherished for
Me from all eternity ; forgive them through the infinite
merits of My most painful passion, and through those
same merits grant them true repentance, so that they
may one day come to praise and bless Thee in the king-
dom of heaven. If the rigors of Thy justice exact a
condign satisfaction for the offences offered Thee, require
it not, O My Father, at their hands, for they are not able
to satisfy Thy justice ; but exact it from Me, who have
loaded Myself with the burden of their sins. And lo !
I will offer Thee in atonement the rigors of the season
in which I was born ; the persecutions which I suffered
while a child ; the toils of the flight into Egypt ; the suf-
ferings and toils undergone in the shop of My foster-
father St. Joseph ; My fast of forty days ; the agony in the
Garden of Gethsemani ; the insults I received in the house
of Caiphas, the mockery and scourges which I endured in
the palace of Herod and the tribunal of Pontius Pilate ;
the painful journey to Mount Calvary ; and, finally, this
My agony on the cross, — all these I offer Thee : pray,
then, O Father, suspend for a while Thy wrath, and I will
give Thee My very life as a holocaust. Yes ; I offer
Thee this humanity which I took from the virginal womb
of My now most afflicted Mother, — this humanity to
which the divinity is so intimately united — I offer it to
Thee as a holocaust on the altar of the cross, in expiation
of all the sins of the world, and for the eternal salvation
of mankind."
O boundless love ! O admirable prayer ! — prayer
worthy of a God ! And it is then true, O my beloved
Saviour, that Thou didst make this sublime offering of
Thyself at the very moment when Thy enemies were in
JESUS PRATS FOR HIS EXECUTIONERS. 229
the act of taking Thy life % It is thus that Thou dost
avenge Thyself upon Thy enemies and executioners?
"What then dost Thou desire me to learn from this great
lesson %
The will of our Lord is very evident. St. Bernard
says, " Jesus prayed for His enemies ; and shall we then
fail to pray for those who detract us ?" It is difficult,
Bellarmine confesses, for human weakness to forgive,
although, under the law of nature, it was practised by
Joseph, who not only forgave his brethren who had so
barbarously sold him, but also showered benefits upon
their heads. It was practised under the written law by
David, who patiently suffered the unjust persecutions of
Saul ; nay, David frequently benefited him, even expos-
ing his life for him. Under the law of grace it was
practised by St. Stephen, who prayed for his murderers,
by St. James, who, on being thrown from a high tower,
asked pardon for the Jews who caused his death, and by
St. Paul, who, in imitation of his Divine Master, blessed
those who cursed him. We, too, must practise this holy
forgiveness, if we wish to be true Christians and to save
our souls.
230 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
COtfSIDEEATIOtf XLIL
The second Word spoken by Jesus on the Cross.
" And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt
be with Me in paradise. " — St. Luke xxiii. 43.
Fikst Point.
THE torture of the cross was already ignominious
enough, but it did not suffice to satisfy those malig-
nant Jews ; so they hastened to crucify the two highway
robbers who had been brought to Calvary along with
Jesus, and placed one at His right and the other at His
left, in order that He might appear the most conspicuous
and be considered the most infamous of the three.
While the crowds passing and repassing under the cross
ceaselessly insulted Jesus, one of the thieves joined His
voice to theirs ; and upon hearing the chief priests mock
the Saviour because He had made Himself the Son of
God, this thief adopted the same ground of insult, and
said, " If Thou be the Christ, save Thyself and us."
The other robber whose name was Dismas, becoming
indignant that a criminal on the point of death should so
audaciously insult an innocent man similarly condemned,
reproached his companion for his insolence and barbarity,
saying to him : " Neither dost thou fear God, seeing that
thou art under the same condemnation." This was as if
he had said : " It is already an abominable thing for those
walking there at the foot of the cross to insult an inuo-
JESUS' SECOND WORD SPOKEN ON THE CROSS. 231
cent and unfortunate man. But thou, who art on the
point of giving up thy soul, thou who art guilty of many
crimes, and justly condemned to death — dost thou, too,
dare insult an innocent man condemned to the same tor-
ture as thyself ? Fearest thou not God even in these last
moments of thy wicked life 1 Thou art at the point of
death, and still thou darest to insult one who has been
unjustly condemned." And then he added, "And we in-
deed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds :
but this Man hath done no evil " (St. Luke xxiii. 41).
Amidst the sounds of so many insults and blasphemies
which resounded in Jesus' ears, sadly embittering His
last moments, this voice of compassion and justice de-
scended like balm on His soul. "Wishing at once to re-
ward the generous robber, Jesus touched his heart with
divine grace ; and immediately corresponding to that
grace which filled him with confidence in the infinite
mercy of God, Dismas turned to the Saviour, and with
humility and contrition, said, " Lord, remember me when
Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom."
Cardinal Bellarmine, commenting on this pathetic pas-
sage of the Gospel, observes that the good thief calls
Jesus Christ Lord, and confessed Him to be true God
and Redeemer, meanwhile confessing his own great un-
worthiness. Then the same writer passes on to examine
the words, a Remember me," and he finds them full of
faith, hope, love, devotion, and humility. The Cardinal
observes that Dismas did not say, " if Thou canst," because
he firmly believed that the Crucified whom he addressed
was God, who could do as He wished. He did not say,
" Remember me, if it please Thee," because his hope in
the Saviour's charity was so strong that he did not doubt
that his prayer would be heard. He did not say, " I wish
232 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
to enter into Thy kingdom," for his humility was too
great to allow him to make such a request. Finally, he
did not ask anything in particular, but only asked that he
might be remembered: "Eem?.mber me," said he; and
then added, "when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom,"
— these last words being to show the Saviour that he did
not desire temporal life nor riches, but only the goods of
eternity, which he then esteemed more than the life which
he was about to lose. O worthy prayer ! O prayer fully
worthy to be imitated by us, and to be heard by God !
Let us, therefore, learn from this good thief to pray
with lively faith, firm hope, and profound humility ; and
we may be sure that God, who heard and granted the
prayer of a dying highwayman and murderer, shall infal-
libly hear our prayers. li Ask, and you shall receive."
Second Point.
The mere careful and solicitous was the good thief in
corresponding to the call of heaven, the more our merci-
ful Redeemer was desirous of giving his reward. For,
seeing that the unhappy robber's prayer was full of faith
and contrition, and wishing to leave us a sublime example
of His mercy in hearing our petitions at all times, even
at the point of death, He again raised His voice and, con-
soling the good thief, said to him in loving accents :
" Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in
paradise." These words were tantamount to these others :
''Thy zeal in defending My innocence so unjustly at-
tacked, hath pleased Me ; thy humble confession hath
been dear to Me ; thy prayer, because accompanied by a
lively faith and profound humility, hath been acceptable
to Me, — and for all this thy sins are forgiven thee, and I
JESUS' SECOND WORD SPOKEN ON THE CKOSS. 233
promise that this very day thou shalt "be with Me in
paradise. Fear not, therefore ; but in thy sufferings im-
itate Me, offering them to My Eternal Father, and in a
few hours thou shalt enter upon an eternity of bliss."
Cardinal Bellarmine further observes that Jesus Christ
did not say to the good thief, " I will place you on My
right hand, among the just, on the Day of Judgment ;"
He did not say, " I will admit you into My kingdom
after a few years of purgatory ;" He did not say, " I will
console you after a few months or days," — but He said,
" This very day, before the setting of the sun, thou shalt
ascend from the sufferings of the gibbet into the delights
of heaven."
Admirable goodness of Jesus ! Incomparably happy
fate of the repentant sinner ! Our Lord, being at that
moment immersed in a sea of suffering and anguish, com-
passed by the sorrows of death, could have refused to
hear the prayer of the good thief ; but He preferred
rather to forget the intensity of His sufferings than the
immensity of His mercy. Jesus, who remained deaf, as it
were, to the horrible blasphemies of His cruel execution-
ers, and the insults of the priests, hearkens to the voice
of the penitent thief. A simple prayer was sufficient to
induce Him to hear, accept, and reward the repentant
sinner.
" The good Jesus," says St. Bernard, " does not allow
Himself to be outdone in generosity ; as soon as He hears,
He promises and rewards. Who could despair, having
such a Master?" St. Ambrose observes that the grant
was greater than the request, our Lord always being ac-
customed to bestow more than is asked of Him. The
thief asked only to be remembered, but Jesus promised
that he should soon be in paradise. The same holy Doc-
234 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
tor also says that the Saviour, before consoling His
Blessed Mother, addresses and consoles the thief, because
He wished to show that He ever attached a prior import-
ance to the chief end for which He had come into the
world, the salvation of sinners.
Many are the lessons which the sacred expositors deduce
from this second word of Jesus on the cross. Among
them, these two are most profitable : first, that even great
sinners should still have confidence in the Saviour's
mercy ; secondly, that even the just should work out
their salvation in fear and trembling.
Sinners should have great confidence in God when they
behold a murderer who had lead a life of dissipation and
crime, till overtaken by justice and condemned to capital
punishment, at last becoming a convert and saint. The
just, on the other hand, should learn a lesson of holy fear,
when they see that, in the very hour in which human re-
demption was being accomplished, of the two companions
of our Lord, one was saved and the other was damned.
" One," St. Jerome says, " went to heaven ;" and the
other followed Judas. St. Augustine says that the cross
seemed like a tribunal, the judge in the midst, the guilty,
one on the right, and the other on the left : the one who
repented was saved, and the one who remained obdurate
was damned. " This," adds the holy Doctor, " was an
expressive image of what was to take place on the Day of
Judgment, when many will be placed on the right and
many on the left."
There may here be added another reflection suggested
by a tradition still existing in Palestine. The people of
that country point out, even at the present day, a castle
known as the " Castle of the Good Thief." It is situated
between Ramie and Jerusalem ; and here, as the tradition
JESUS' SECOND WORD SPOKEN ON THE CROSS. 235
goes, Dismas used to lie in wait for travellers going to
and from Jerusalem. On one occasion the Blessed Vir-
gin happened to pass that way, and the robber not only
respected her but also gave her an escort to defend and
protect her on her journey. This act of courtesy on the
part of a highwayman was most pleasing to the Blessed
Virgin and her Divine Son. The robber's reward was
heaven. Let us, therefore, ever be devout to this Holy
Virgin to whom the Church gives the glorious title of
" Kefuge of Sinners." Her protection shall surely not
fail us, since it did not fail a robber and murderer.
236 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDERATION XLIII.
The Third and Fourth Words spoken by Jesus on
the Cross.
" When Jesus, therefore, had seen His mother and the disciple
standing, whom He loved, He saith to His mother : Woman, be-
hold thy son. After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy
mother."— #£. John xix. 26, 27.
First Point.
"1 TAVING prayed for His executioners and promised
J — ■- the good thief the kingdom of heaven, Jesus saw-
that only a few hours remained to Him ; and wishing to
follow the ordinary custom of the dying, He disposed
Himself to make His last will from the hard wood of the
cross. Like a tender father who, stretched upon his
death-bed, gathers his children around him to express his
last wishes to them, our most amiable Jesus, looking down
from the cross upon His afflicted Mother standing with
St. John, addressed His third word to those two privi-
leged creatures, — a word always full of tenderest conso-
lation for us.
Turning His dying eyes upon Mary and St. John, the
beloved disciple, Jesus said, " Woman, behold thy son ;"
then turning towards St. John, He added, " Behold thy
mother." It was as if He had said : " The hour hath at
length arrived when I must return to My Eternal Father.
Seeing that thou, O Mary, hast no longer father nor
THIRD AND FOURTH WORDS ON THE CROSS. 237
mother, brothers nor sisters, to support thee in thy sor-
row and comfort thee in this vale of tears, I will not
leave thee alone and destitute of every consolation, but I
commend thee to John, My beloved disciple, who shall
be to thee as a son ; and him I warmly commend to thee,
that thou mayest be unto him a mother."
The Gospel says that " from that hour the disciple
took her to his own." The holy Fathers add that neither
Mary nor John was able to make any answer, both signi-
fying their assent to the disposition made by the Saviour
by a simple inclination of the head.
Now, if we wish to derive spiritual profit from the
consideration of this third word of Jesus on the cross, let
us imagine that we, too, are standing near Him on Mount
Calvary, and that, in dying accents, He thus addresses us:
"Behold, My dear children, in a few moments I shall
be no more. You are those whom I have made My heirs :
hear, therefore, My last will in your regard. I do not,
indeed, bequeath you immense treasures, vast possessions,
rich household goods, because, My kingdom not being of
this world, I have never possessed such things. You
well know that I was born in a stable between two ani-
mals, without covering or shelter ; and that I have lived
on the bread of charity, and passed long days in fasting,
because I had nothing to eat. Yet I will not pass from
this world without leaving you a token of My love.
While with you, I have always done you good, giving
sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the
dumb, the use of their limbs to the lame, health to the
sick, life to the dead, liberty from Satan to the possessed,
and miraculous food to the hungry. And on the very
night that I was betrayed into the hands of My bitter
enemies, My desire to remain forever with you was so
238 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
great that I instituted, by the miracle of miracles, the
Most August Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
" Soon after this admirable institution, I was made pris-
oner, loaded with chains, led before tribunals, where in-
sults and injuries were heaped upon Me. I was scourged,
crowned with thorns, and brought to this mount as a
malefactor. Here I was given gall, stripped of My gar-
ments, and nailed to this cross between two thieves. And
now tortured, full of anguish, covered with wounds, and
on the point of rendering up My soul to My Eternal
Father, I think it proper to make My last will. But I
have nothing to bequeath you, not even My garments ;
still I wish to leave you a token of My love : so, dear
children, I give you the most precious object that I have
on earth, — My amiable Mother ; and I leave her to you
that you may know how deep is My love for you. Be
watchful and tender to My dear Mother, and in your
necessities of soul and body have recourse to her with
confidence, and she will certainly help you. In time of
danger and distress, affliction and infirmity, temptation
and despondency, she will come to your assistance, for
she is the treasurer of My graces, the dispenser of My
favors, the gate of heaven, the refuge of sinners, the
counsellor of the aiflicted. Go, therefore, always to My
Mother with firm confidence and hope, and you shall
ever find in her the tenderest of mothers. But thou, O
John, console her in her grief ; bear her company, and
try henceforth to assuage the sorrows of her life. And
thou, O Mary, accept for thy children all the children of
the human race ; and when they have recourse to thee,
look not upon them as sinners, but with a mother's eye
of tenderest pity. For them I have lived a life of priva-
tion and suffering ; for them I now shed My blood, and
THIRD AND FOURTH WORDS ON THE CROSS. 239
for them in a few moments I will deliver up My life on
the cross. See to it, dear Mother, that all My sufferings
and anguish shall not remain without fruits, and by thy
powerful intercession procure the salvation of all men/'
O admirable and adorable will ! O loving words of
my Saviour! And is it, then, true that I am a child of
Mary \ Therefore, with all confidence will I ever have
recourse to her. Ah, my most amiable Saviour, what a
treasure hast Thou bequeathed me ! And thou, O Mary,
my dearest Mother ! since thou didst not refuse to accept
me for thy son, obtain for me the graces necessary to
make me worthy to call thee by the sweet name of
Mother.
Second Point.
Imagining ourselves still on Calvary, let us contem-
plate our beloved Eedeemer, who, having bequeathed us
His most afflicted Mother, turns to His Eternal Father
and utters His fourth word from the cross.
But first let us consider the state of anguish in which
our Lord was when He thus turned to heaven for help.
If He rested His body on His feet, the punctures of the
nails became wider and wider; if He sustained His
weight by His outstretched arms, the wounds in His
hands were widened ; if He leaned His head against the
cross, the thorns penetrated more deeply ; if He looked
down, it was only to experience renewed anguish at the
sight of His grief-stricken Mother. His veins were be-
ing emptied of their blood; His body was reduced to
the utmost; His breathing began to fail; He no longer
received from the Eternal Father those celestial consola-
tions which had hitherto supported Him in the course of
His bitter passion ; all His disciples, except the beloved
240 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
St. John, had abandoned Him ; and the Jews at the foot
of the cross were wagging their heads and calling Him
a seducer and a blasphemer of the name of God.
Abandoned thus in His agony, Jesus fulfilled the
words spoken of Him by Ecclesiasticus, "They com-
passed Me on every side, and there was no one that would
help Me. I looked for the succor of men, and there was
none." Finding no succor from creatures, Jesus turns
His eyes towards heaven, and from the bottom of His
afflicted heart exclaims, u Eli, Eli, lamina sabacthani ?"
that is, " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken
Me ?" Few words, indeed ; but oh, how much they con-
tain ! It was as if Jesus had said : "lam Thy only be-
gotten Son ; I am Thy beloved from all eternity ; I have
been obedient to Thee even unto death, — and desertest
Thou Me in the midst of this ocean of suffering ? Alas !
have pity on Me, O most clement Father, and save Me.
The waters of tribulation have penetrated in unto My
soul ; I have fallen into a bottomless abyss of woe ; I am
as one cast out upon the waters of the deep, and the
tempest has overwhelmed Me ; I have become a stranger
to My brethren, and unknown unto the children of My
Mother, and now dost Thou, too, O my Father, abandon
Me?"
H*ow deeply painful this sense of abandonment must
have been, we may conjecture from the fact that the Sa-
viour's utterance was accompanied by a tone of com-
plaint — the first in the course of the passion. "When
falsely accused, when cruelly scourged, when condemned,
when nailed to the cross, Jesus was patient and resigned ;
not a groan had escaped from His lips ; it seemed that
He had lost all sensibility. But when He saw Himself
abandoned by all, and even by His Eternal Father, then
THIRD AND FOURTH WORDS ON THE CROSS. 241
from out the bitterness of His afflicted soul escaped the
cry, " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ?"
The intensity of this grief can only be imagined by
those privileged souls who were once nourished with
spiritual favors and are afterwards, as a trial to their vir-
tue,, abandoned to spiritual dryness. While such souls
enjoy heavenly consolations, they are firm under every
kind of suffering, — persecutions, sickness, poverty, loss
of friends ; they could give up even their very lives for
the sake of their sweet Jesus. But the moment that
God withdraws those spiritual comforts, they at once be-
come sad, gloomy, and discouraged, and complain of be-
being forsaken by their Divine Master. Such persons
should think of Jesus abandoned on the cross, and find-
ing this abandonment the most cruel of His many suffer-
ings. Meanwhile, His enemies, far from being touched
by His cry to the Eternal Father, took occasion to deride
the more, saying, " This Man calleth Elias : let be, let us
see whether Elias will come to deliver Him."
We should not imitate the example of the perfidious
Jews, but we should reflect with Blessed Simon of Cas-
sia that Jesus was abandoned by His Eternal Father, that
we might not be abandoned to the power of our enemies,
and that His abandonment might prove the source of
our salvation. Let us, therefore, pray with St. Bernard :
" At my last hour, O Lord, let me not be abandoned into
the hands of my enemies ; but do Thou help me, that I
may render up my soul into Thy most loving arms."
16
242 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
CONSIDEKATIOK XLIV.
The Last Word spoken by Jesus on the Cross.
" Afterwards Jesus knowing that all things were now accom-
plished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst." — St.
John xix. 28.
First Point.
THE quantity of blood which had flowed from our
Divine Lord during the scourging, the crowning
with thorns, and the crucifixion was so great that it caused
Him a burning thirst. In order to obtain something to
allay it, and also to show us that there was no kind of
torment possible to one in His situation which He did
not endure, He exclaimed, " I thirst." Cardinal Bellar-
mine thus paraphrases those words : " All the humors of
My body are dried up; My throat, My palate, and My
very bowels are parched. If there are any on this mount
who have any sentiment of compassion for Me, let them
procure Me, in charity, a drop of water to cool My burn-
ing thirst." This is the literal sense of the words, " I
thirst ;" but our Lord had another thirst, and one far
more ardent than that which consumed His body. It was
that thirst which He made known to the Samaritan
woman at Sichem, — an undying thirst for the salvation
of souls. Hence a devout author, in the fervor of his
meditation, exclaims : " For what, Lord, dost Thou thirst?
Doth Thy thirst then torment Thee more than Thy cross ?
Thou art silent concerning the torment of Thy cross, but
LAST WORD SPOKEN BY JESUS ON THE CROSS. 243
Thon speakest of the torment of Thy thirst." St. Au-
gustine answers, in the person of Christ, " My thirst is for
your eternal salvation ; the thirst which I have for your
soul is greater than the thirst which consumes My body."
St. Laurence Justinian says that the thirst of Jesus was
for still greater suffering, as if He would have said : " If
you think that I have not already suffered sufficiently,
add to My sufferings ; add scourging to scourging, wounds
to wounds, tortures to tortures : I accept them all, I
desire them, I thirst for them, and for even greater suffer-
ings still."
The Jews heard the Saviour's request, but instead of
feeling compassion for Him, they were prompted to a
new act of barbarity. A vase filled with vinegar stood
by into which one of them dipped a sponge, and placing
it on the end of a spear, offered it to Jesus. " Kow there
was a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they putting
a sponge full of vinegar about hyssop, put it to His
mouth" (St. John xix. 29). The Seraphic Doctor, St.
Bonaventure, commenting on these words, says : " The
Jews not knowing of any other external torture which
they could inflict on Jesus, invented this new barbarity
to afflict Him internally." St. Laurence Justinian says
that it was a thing unheard of even in the most barbarous
countries, to give vinegar as a drink to a dying man.
This cruelty was an excess of inhumanity without paral-
lel. What is not denied to the lowest animals when
dying is refused to the expiring Son of God. St. Bona-
venture finds a reason for this act of cruelty: Jesus had
suffered through the sense of hearing by the blasphemies
poured out against Him; in His eyes, by His tears; in
His sense of touch, by the wounds He had received;
there yet remained one sense through which He should
244 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
suffer, — the sense of taste, in order to atone for the sin
of Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden fruit, and for
all the sins of gluttony of the human race.
Jesus did not refuse to allow the draught to be pressed
to His lips ; but no sooner had He tasted it than He spoke
for the sixth time, saying, " It is consummated." Bellar-
mine paraphrases these words as follows : " The great
sacrifice is consummated, of which the sacrifices of the
Old Law were only shadows and figures. The will of
My Eternal Father is now accomplished." " All is con-
summated," says Blessed Simon, "all the days of His
life on this ungrateful earth are over. The war against
sin and hell is finished ; the Redemption of mankind is
accomplished. Jesus has fully paid the debts of divine
justice ; He has drunk to the last drop the bitter draught
in His chalice of suffering ; the prophecies have been ful-
filled ; the figures of the Old Testament have disappeared,
and only the death of the testator is needed that His testa-
ment may be executed. But if everything is finished,
why does not sin cease on the earth." Behold, what
should be the fruit of this consideration !
Second Point.
Now that all things had been accomplished, Jesus
turned His dyiug eyes once more towards heaven and
exclaimed, " Father, into Thy hands I commend My
spirit." That is to say, " Father, My most amiable Father,
I commend My soul to Thy paternal love ; sustain Me in
this terrible passage ; accept the victim which Thy Son
offereth Thee in atonement for the sins of the world.
This soul of Mine, O My Father, oppressed by so many
sufferings, overwhelmed by so much anguish, I return
LAST WORD SPOKEN BY JESUS ON THE CROSS. 245
into the hands of Thy infinite mercy. Let Me then ex-
pire in Thy most loving arms."
These were Jesus' last words, and when He had spoken
them, He expired. " And bowing His head, He gave up
the ghost."
The earth at once began to tremble, the sun was dark-
ened, the rocks burst asunder, the veil of the temple was
rent in two from the top even to the bottom, the graves
opened and many of the dead appeared to people in Jeru-
salem. But while these wonders were taking place in the
realm of nature, even greater were being accomplished in
the realm of grace. Infidels believed ; obstinate sinners
nepented ; the Gentiles and many of the multitude who had
cried out, " Let Him be crucified," and who only a few
mtenents before had insulted Him as He hung upon the
cross, struck their breasts, saying, "This Man was truly
the Son of God."
St. Jerome, writing from the cave of Bethlehem, ex-
claims: "Ah! sinners, what do I see? All insensible
creatures give, in their own way, signs of sorrow for the
death of the Creator. The sun is darkened, the earth
quakes, the rocks are burst asunder, the veil of the temple
is rent in twain, the sepulchi es yield up their dead, and
man only, for whom Jesus died, refuses to grieve."
St. Ephraim cries out, " All creatures are seized with
great terror, and shall we sinners remain unmoved ?" St.
Thomas says that the rocks were rent to signify that the
hearts of men, even the hardest, shall one day be rent at
the remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus. St. Bernard,
filled with the greatest sorrow, turns to our Saviour, and
thus addresses Him : " O my good Jesus, what do I see ?
We should have died, and Thou diest instead ! We sinned
and Thou it is that offerest the atonement. O work with-
246 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
out example ! O grace without limit ! O charity without
measure ! " — " O sinners," concludes St. Ephraim, " trem-
ble as you consider these things. Jesus Christ died, and
died on the cross for us. Great God, Thou didst then
die a victim of Thy immense love for us ! What shall
we do now that we are deprived of so amiable a Father ?
To whom shall we have recourse in our troubles, in our
necessities? Who shall now defend us in our dangers,
temptations ? Who shall come to the aid of our weak-
ness? Who shall calm our perplexities, our anxieties, if
Thou wilt leave us ? Alas ! we have deserved to be aban-
doned by Thee. We persecuted Thee even unto death ;
our bad thoughts crowned Thee with thorns, our disor-
derly passions embittered Thy mind ; yes, we are the ones
who crucified Thee by the multitude of our sins. Leave,
then, this ungrateful earth which gave Thee in return for
all Thy love only scourges, thorns, and finally the cross.
But, oh ! when Thou shalt have entered Thy kingdom,
do not forget us. Remember that Thy first prayer from
the altar of the cross was for Thy executioners : as then
Thou didst pray for us miserable sinners, so grant us life
everlasting through the infinite merits of Thy most bitter
passion and death.
JESUS IS LAID IN THE SEPULCHRE. 247
CONSIDEKATIO^ XLY.
Jesus is taken down from the Cross and laid in
the Sepulchre.
" Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His
mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." — 8t.
John xix. 25.
First Point.
THE most horrible crime capable of being conceived
even by the powers of a supernatural being had now
been fully consummated, and the only begotten Son of
God hung lifeless on the cross. Then only did those
barbarous men who had impassively witnessed the divine
tragedy begin to descend Golgotha, and soon the heights
of that sacred mountain were almost deserted. Mary,
however, remained immovable at the foot of the cross,
her eyes tenderly fixed upon the Crucified ; and with her
were John, the beloved disciple, and Mary Magdalene and
Mary of Cleophas, these two women having witnessed the
crucixion from afar, and ascended the mountain when
the crowds had deserted it. Soon came certain soldiers
who had been sent by Pontius Pilate at the request of
the Jews to break the legs of the crucified, and to take
their bodies down from the cross, in order that they
might not remain exposed on the great Jewish feast of
248 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
the parasceve. These soldiers accordingly approached and
fuMlled their office by breaking the legs of the two
thieves who were still in agony. Finding Jesus already
dead, they did not break His legs ; but a soldier, wishing to
vent his ferocity even against the Saviour's corpse, struck
His sacred side with a lance, and immediately from this
new wound flowed forth blood and water. Their work
done, the soldiers went their way, leaving to others the
care of removing and burying the bodies of the executed.
Then Joseph of Arimathea and JSTicodemus, two secret
disciples of Jesus, arrived on the sacred scene. Having
courageously presented themselves before Pontius Pilate,
and obtained permission to take possession of the dead
body of their Master, they had now come to pay those
sacred remains the last sad offices of religion, carrying with
them a mixture of myrrh and aloes — " about an hundred
pound weight," says St. John — in order to embalm the
venerable body; they also brought with them linen
cloths in which to envelop it, according to the custom of
the Jews in burying the dead.
The first act of these disciples was to offer consolation
to the afflicted Virgin Mother. They then proceeded to
the deposition of the sacred body of their Divine Master.
Placing two small ladders against the cross, they ascend-
ed, and, taking a folded sheet, passed it under the arms
and then secured it to the cross so that the weight of the
body might be supported on its descent. They first re-
leased the hands, which fell cold and limp by the Saviour's
side. As each nail was extracted it was handed to St.
John, and he in turn gave it to Mary, who fervently
kissed it and carefully kept it. The hands being de-
tached, they unnailed the feet and let the body slowly,
JESUS IS LAID IN" THE SEPULCHRE. 249
slowly glide down the sheet, thus accomplishing the
descent from the cross.
The disciples tenderly laid the sacred remains in the
arms of the trembling, grief -stricken Mother. "What a
difference from the first time that she had received and
held Him on her knee as a child ! Then He was all
beauty, and now His wounded and blood-stained body in-
spires horror. Unhappy Mother, wast thou not satisfied
with having witnessed His scourging, with having gone
to meet Him on the Dolorous Way, with having accom-
panied Him to Mount Calvary, and with having witnessed
His painful crucifixion and death ? Dost thou now wish
to receive His dead body into thy loving arms ? O truly
great soul of Mary, worthy only of the Mother of God !
Behold, O Mary, all thy desires are satisfied ! Thou dost
again possess thy treasure, and thou canst freely give
vent to thy maternal love. But, alas ! she can no longer
feel the throbbings of His heart. She no longer sees His
eyes beaming love upon her. She contemplates that lov-
ing countenance which was once the delight of heaven
and earth, but which is now all wounded and disfigured.
Those divine lips which were wont to pronounce words
of eternal life, are now silent and motionless. That ador-
able head which had, in His infancy, so often reposed upon
her breast, is now transfixed by sharpest thorns. Those
omnipotent hands which had built heaven and earth,
and performed stupendous miracles, are now torn by cruel
nails. Those feet which ever hastened to aid suffering
humanity are horribly disfigured by the punctures of the
nails. The sacred side, the seat of His most loving heart,
from which have sprung so many tender affections, is
now open from the wound of a lance, and blood and
250 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
water still trickle from it. Those sacred limbs which, in
infancy, she had so often caressed, are all covered with
wounds. His soul no longer gives light to the sacred
humanity which was its companion in suffering, and now,
worn out by torments and tortures, the sacred body de-
mands the repose and silence of the tomb.
But, O most Holy Virgin, before thy Son is taken from
thy view, accomplish for Him those last sad offices of
charity which thy maternal grief so eagerly suggests.
Remove the crown of thorns from His sacred head, —
that crown which caused Him so much pain ; wipe from
His form the blood which flowed so copiously from His
wounds ; remove from His face the revolting spittle, by
which He was so much dishonored ; anoint Him with
odoriferous balm and spices in order to preserve His
body from corruption ; wrap Him in a clean linen gar-
ment ; then, with John the beloved disciple, with Mary
Magdalene, pious Mcodemus, and faithful Joseph of
Arimathea, go and deposit those sacred mortal remains in
the adjacent sepulchre which Joseph freely gives to his
Divine Master.
Second Point.
At last Jesus is laid in the sepulchre, and the great
stone rolled over against it. The sun has gone down, and
the soldiers have arrived, who were sent by Pilate, at the
request of the Jews, to guard the tomb, lest the disciples
steal away the Saviour's body and spread the news of His
resurrection. Thou, O Mary, canst no longer stay in this
place; for the night is fast advancing, and the guards
who have taken up their position on the mount will force
thee to retire. Deposit, therefore, thy immaculate heart
JESUS IS LAID IN THE SEPULCHRE. 251
in the tomb with thy Beloved. As a dove to its cote,
return, O Mary, to thy desolate home, there to deplore
thy irreparable loss. The blood which Jesus shed on the
way to Calvary will serve to guide thee back to Jerusalem ;
the faithful disciples who helped thee to take Jesus
down from the cross and to bury Him will, in mournful
and reverend silence, accompany thee ; the other Marys
will sustain thee ; the beloved disciple will follow thee,
weeping bitter tears. But before quitting this sacred
tomb, which in all future time shall be visited and rever-
enced by multitudes of people from all nations of the
earth, turn once more and look upon the mount where
the divine tragedy was enacted. Contemplate the hard
tree of the cross, on which thy Son offered up the grand
and truly sublime holocaust ; lift up that crown and those
nails, the instruments of His painful passion ; take up
with a sponge as much as possible of the blood of Jesus
which reddens the heights of Calvary, and then, O most
afflicted of mothers, retrace thy steps over the road so
recently trodden by thy beloved Son bearing the terrible
weight of the cross. On thy return home thou shalt see
the apostles who deserted their Master in His last hours,
and who, now confused and repentant, shall come to pros-
trate themselves at thy feet to obtain thy gracious pardon.
Thou shalt meet the penitent Peter, humbled, shedding
torrents of tears, and speechless from the intensity of the
grief which oppresses him. Finally, thou shalt see all
sinners, who, conscious of having become thy adopted
children by the last will of Jesus, shall take refuge under
thy protection, and implore thy maternal clemency.
Amongst those sinners, O Mary, thou shalt see me, — un-
grateful and criminal as I am — coming with contrite and
252 MEDITATIONS ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
humble heart to crave thy clemency and to pray thee as
I pray thee now :
O most sorrowful Mother, what confusion overwhelms
me as I contemplate thee standing at the foot of the
cross! Who can understand the excessive grief which
filled thy heart when thou receivedst into thy arms the
beloved form of thy dead Son ? Ko ; not even a
mother's heart save thy own is able to conceive it. But
what except our sins was the cause of thy great sorrow ?
Recognizing that I am guilty of many crimes, I confess
that I helped to pierce thy tender heart with a sharp
sword of grief. By my frequent relapses into sin I
aided in torturing the sacred humanity of Jesus. By
showing myself merciless to others, I caused His pre-
cious blood to flow. My obscene words were the thorns
in that horrible crown ; my acts of dishonesty nailed
Him to the cross ; my gluttony, immodest looks, and
disorderly conduct covered His face with disgusting
spittle and pierced His sacred side. But remember, O my
merciful Mother, that all His wounds are so many mouths
which plead for my pardon. Remember His last words
to thee, "Woman, behold thy son." Chosen to be the
Mother of all sinners, thou didst accept me as thy son.
Thou who didst always imitate the virtues of Jesus, for-
get not the last instance of His love for man. He was
in His agony, nailed to His cross between two thieves,
immersed in a sea of suffering, and about to render up
His soul to God. Seeing that His enemies ceased not to
insult, mock, and torture Him, He prayed His Eternal
Father to forgive them. Imitate Him, O Mary, in this
heroic act of charity, as thou didst imitate His other sub-
lime virtues. Spread over me thy protecting mantle.
JESUS IS LAID IN THE SEPULCHRE. 253
Hide the multitude of my sins from the sight of thy
Divine Son. Obtain for me the grace to live and die in
the meditation of His most holy passion ; for if I keep
constantly before my mind all that Jesus suffered for me,
I shall be enabled to avoid evermore offending Him, and
I shall thus obtain the salvation of my soul, — for which
I most sincerely hope, through thy holy intercession and
the infinite merits of my Kedeemer.
MEDITATIONS
FOR
Every Day in the Year,
COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL WRITERS
And Suited for the Practice Called
"tyuuxUx 0t uu Umax's galitufa."
Edited by
REV. ROGER BAXTER, S. J.,
OF GEORGETOWN COLLEGE.
This book was first written in Latin, in 1639, by N. B. (an English
religious), and handed around in manuscript for years, during the times
of persecution in England, where it was used by many holy persons. It
was translated into English in 1669 by Rev. E. Mico, and revised and
modernized in 1822 by Rev. Roger Baxter, S. J., of Georgetown College.
It is now republished and revised in the 251st year of Jesuit labor in
the United States by Rev. P. NEALE, S. J., of St. Inigo's, Md.
'■' Recte novit vivere qui reete novis or are." "He knows how to live well who
inows how to pray well." — St. Augustine.
"Every day will I aless Thee: and I will praise Thy name forever, yea, for
•ver and ever,"— -Vs. «uv ; 3.
With a Letter of Approbation from
His Grace, Most Rev. JAMES GIBBONS, Archbishop of Baltimore.
121110, Clotli, 513 Pages, - ■ $2.00.
BENZIGER BROTHERS, NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, AND ST. LOUIS.
A Creat Suc cess! Over 5 0,000 sold !
The Right Rev. Bishop of Erie writes : " These books must and should
Veceive the name of
" The CatholicFamily Library."
The Christian Father;
What he should be, and what he should do. With Prayers suit*
able to his condition. From the German by Rev. L. A. Lambert,
Waterloo, N. Y. With an Introduction, by Rt. Rev. S. V. Ryan,
D.D., CM., Bishop of Buffalo.
Paper, 25 cents I Cloth, Socenta
Maroquette 35 " French Mor., flex., red edges, $i.o«
The Christian Mother;
The Education of her Children and her Prayer. Translated by a
Father of the Society of Jesus. With an Introduction by the
Most Rev. James Gibbons, D.D., Archbishop of Baltimore.
Paper, 25 cents I Cloth, 50 cents
Maroquette, 35 " French Mor., flex., red edges, $1.00
A Sure Way to a Happy Marriage.
A Book of Instructions for those Betrothed and for Married
People. Translated by Rev. Edward I. Taylor.
Paper, 30 cents | Maroquette, 40 cents
Cloth, 60 cents.
In token of my appreciation, I request you to forward me A thousand
(1000) copies of each of the two former books, and five hundred (500)
of the third for distribution among my people.
Yours faithfully in Christ,
»J« James Vincent Cleary, Bishop of Kingston.
From the Pastoral Letters of Rt. Rev. M. J. O'FARRELL, D.D.,
Bishop of Trenton.
" For Parents we recommend 'The Christian Father' and 'The
Christian Mother,' in which they will fully learn all their duties to their
children."— Pastoral, 1883,
" We strongly recommend for your perusal and serious considera-
tion two little books lately published ; one is entitled 'A Sure Way to A
Happy Marriage,' and the other ' An Instruction on Mixed Marriages/'
by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Ullathorne. — Pastoral, 1882.
Warmly recommended and approved by Five (5) Archbishops and
Twenty-one (21) Bishops, as follows :
The Most Rev. Archbishops of
BALTIMORE, CINCINNATI, OREGON, TORONTO, Can., TUAM, Ireland.
The Right Rev. Bishops of
alton, grass valley, london, can., newark, st. paul,
buffalo kingston, can., marquette, ogdensburg, savannah.
Covington, la crosse, natchez, st. cloud, trenton,
erie little rock, nesqually, st. john,n.b. vincennes,
wilmington.
A Most Liberal Discount to those tvho order in Quantities
BENZIGER BROTHERS, NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, AND ST. LOUIS.
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