we must remember this, that the Body of our Blessed Lord, conceived by the Holy Ghost in a wonderful and perfect manner, was much more sensitive to pain than our bodies; and that the more innocent, holy and noble a person is, the more intolerable to him is ingratitude, injustice, and malice. The sufferings of Jesus were, therefore, inconceivably great. All this ought to serve to fill us with a horror of sin, on account of which our dear and Blessed Lord suffered so much, and impress us with the greatness of His love, which made Him endure all this for us!
To die a good death, we must do as our Lord Jesus did, i. e. resign ourselves entirely to the will of God, and commend our souls to the care of our heavenly Father, with a childlike love and confidence.
Application. Just think what it cost your Saviour to redeem you! Will you not, therefore, make some effort to save your own soul? Jesus accomplished His work; He gave His Blood and His Life to save you. Do your part now: watch and pray; avoid and resist sin.
Our Lord suffered all this for you individually, as much as if you were the only human being on earth. You can, therefore, say with St. Paul (Gal. 2, 20): “He (my Saviour) hath loved me (a sinful, ungrateful creature), and delivered Himself for me.” But how have you hitherto loved Him? “If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ”, says St. Paul, let him be anathema” or accursed (1 Cor. 16, 22). And if you picture to yourself all that your Saviour has done and suffered for you, you will understand the meaning of the Apostle’s words. In order that this curse may not fall on you, try (especially when you are looking at a crucifix) to awaken in your heart a deep love for your crucified Lord.
Chapter LXXVII.
JESUS IS LAID IN THE SEPULCHRE.
[Mat. 17, 57. Mark 15. 49. Luke 23, 50. John 19, 38.]
IN order that the bodies of those who were crucified might not remain on the Cross during the Sabbath[1], the soldiers came and broke[2] the legs of the two thieves, but coming to Jesus, they
- ↑ The Sabbath. This Sabbath was doubly holy, being a “great Sabbath-Day”, as it came in the paschal week.
- ↑ Broke. If one who had been crucified had to be taken down from the cross before he was dead, his arms and legs were broken with a club, and then, out of so-called mercy, he was pierced through the heart with a lance.
