A golden treatise of mental prayer/A meditation for Friday: upon the mystery of the cross; and the seven words which Christ spoke upon it
A MEDITATION FOR FRIDAY.
This day thou shalt meditate upon the mystery of the cross, and the seven words which Christ spoke upon it. Rouse up, my soul, and duly ponder this great mystery of the cross, which brought forth the fruit of satisfaction, to expiate that great loss which all mankind suffered by a tree.
Consider how, before our Blessed Saviour came to the Mount of Calvary, (to make his death more ignominious) his cruel tormentors stripped him of all his clothes, except his coat, which was without seam: behold how patiently this meek lamb suffereth his garments to be taken from him, not so much as opening his mouth or speaking one word against their barbarous dealing. He permitted these things willingly, but with a great strain to modesty. He was stripped naked that we might receive a better garment, to cover the nakedness of our sins, than that which Adam, the first parent of all mankind, made of the leaves of fig-trees, to cover the nakedness of his body.
Some doctors think that the crown of thorns was taken off, to pull with more facility his unseamed garment over his ears, and after to be fastened on again, which could not be without a vehement pain; the sharp thorns did afresh wound his sacred head with unspeakable torment. And surely this is not unlikely, seeing in the whole time of his passion they spared him in nothing; but the bitterest torments they could devise, they heaped upon him, especially when the Evangelist saith, they did to him whatsoever they would. This coat did so cleave to the wounds of his sacred body, by reason of the congealed blood, that when the barbarous hangmen drew it off with exceeding violence, they renewed again the wounds of Jesus; they pulled off with it many particles of flesh, so that the whole body of Christ, in every part flayed and bloody from the head to the foot, seemed to be, but one entire and continuous wound.
Weigh well with thyself, my soul, the immense goodness and mercy of God, manifested in these torments; behold, him that spreadeth the heavens with clouds, vesteth the green and pleasant fields with flowers, and he, that liberally bestoweth clothing upon every creature, behold him, I say, stark naked! Consider what cold, this precious body, being wounded, suffered; when they had not only despoiled him of his garments, but his very skin was not entire, neither were his wounds bound up, but exposed to the injury of the air. If St. Peter, being well clothed, could not overcome the cold of the forepassed night, what cold dost thou think, this delicate body suffered, being in every place wounded, and all naked.
Then, consider, how Christ was fastened to the cross, and what torment he suffered when the sharp nails pierced the most sensible parts of his tender body. Weigh, with thyself, that the Blessed Virgin, who beheld these things with her eyes, and hearing the frequent blows of the mallet, in driving the nails into the hands and feet of her Son, was not insensible, but that the heart of the Mother was pierced, with the hands, and feet of the Son.
When Christ was made fast upon the cross, presently they lifted it up and put it into a hole, there before prepared; behold how these wicked torturers of the innocent Jesus, pricked forward with their own malice, let the heavy cross fall into the hole with such violence, that it so much strained his body, hanging only by the nails, and rent wider the wounds of his hands and feet.
Sweet Saviour, can there be found a heart so hard, and steely, which is not mollified at such a spectacle, when the very stones did cleave asunder, as sensible of thy cruel torments?
O Lord, the dolours of death compassed thee round about; the storms and waves of the raging sea environed thee on every side, the waters entered into thy soul: thou didst descend to the deep abyss, where thou couldst find no footing. When thy heavenly Father did forsake thee. Lord, what couldst thou expect thy enemies would do? they cried out against thee, and thy friends did wound thy heart; thy soul was sad and heavy, neither was there any that would comfort thee.
Lord, from these unheard-of torments, and abundant satisfaction which thou madest for my sins, I cannot but acknowledge, with all humility, the grievousness of my heinous transgressions, which were the occasions of all thy miseries. I see thee, my King and God, fastened upon a wooden cross, with two iron nails; thy precious and tender flesh, to be stretched without any manner of respite. If thou wouldst a little ease thyself upon thy feet, the weight of thy whole body enlargeth their wounds: if thou wouldst leave the burthen to thy hands, the weight of it doth likewise rend their wounds. Thy sacred head could find no rest, because thou hadst no other pillow than the sharp crown of thorns.
O Virgin Mother, how willingly wouldst thou have embraced him in thine arms, thereon to ease and rest himself a little: but the arms of the cross would not permit thee, upon which, if he would repose, the sharp thorns struck deeper into his head. The troubles of the Son were much augmented by the presence of the Mother; which no less crucified his soul, than the Jews, his body, to the cross.
O sweet Jesus, in one day thou didst carry a double cross, the one upon thy body, the other in thy soul; the one of passion, the other of compassion; the one pierced thy body with nails of iron, the other thy soul with nails of sorrow. What tongue is able to express what thou didst suffer to see the anguish of thy dear Mother, whose soul thou didst certainly know to be crucified together with thee, when thou didst behold her heavy heart, pierced with the sword of sorrow? when with bloody eyes thou didst look upon her beautiful face, pale and wan, and didst hear the sighs of her dying soul, lamenting that she could not die? What didst thou suffer to see pure fountains of tears gushing from her eyes, and to hear her pitiful complaints she made in sorrowing for thy sufferings!
Then, consider, the seven words which Christ spoke upon the cross to his heavenly Father, saying, "Pater dimitte illis: non enim sciunt quidfaciunt." " Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." To the thief: "This day thou shalt be with me in paradise." To his Mother: " Woman behold thy Son." To the people he said: " I thirst." And to God again: " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" "Consummatum est:" "It is consummated." Into thy hands I commend my spirit.
Ruminate, my soul, with what exceeding charity, he made intercession to his heavenly Father, for his enemies and persecutors; with what piety and mercy he received the penitent thief into his favor; with what affection he committed his mother to the protection of his beloved disciple; with what ardor he testified himself vehemently to thirst after the salvation of mankind; with what clamor he thundered out his prayer, expressing to the divine Majesty the grievousness of his tribulations; how perfectly he fulfilled the obedience enjoined to him by his heavenly Father; and lastly, how he yielded his soul into his blessed hands.
Every one of which words do afford us a great deal of matter for our instruction; in the first, we are taught to love our enemies; in the second, mercy towards sinners; in the third, piety towards our parents; in the fourth, to thirst after our neighbor's salvation; in the fifth, when we are oppressed with tribulations, and seeming as it were, to be left of God, to fly to prayer; in the sixth, the virtue of obedience and perseverance; in the seventh, perfect resignation into the hands of God, which is the sum of all perfection.