you? But now I am your judge, and your life is in my hands! But there is no need for going farther; the mere sound of those words should be enough to cause the faithless wife to die of fear.
The love of Christ for men is unspeakably great. O divine Lover of souls! Saviour of the world. Jesus Christ, who in Thy unspeakable love hast taken the name of Mother and Spouse, how tenderly Thou hast loved ns! And we have not far to go for proofs of Thy love. Thy annihilation in the Incarnation to draw our hearts to Thyself; the poor manger in the crib, in which Thou didst lie as a little Infant; the utter poverty in which Thou didst spend three and thirty years on earth; the fearful torments of Thy passion, in which Thou didst shed the last drop of Thy blood for us; the rods and scourges; the thorns and nails; Thy cruel death on the cross; Thy still open wounds; the precious body and blood Thou hast left us as the food and drink of our souls—these things I need not recall to memory. The tears Thou hast shed for us are in themselves sufficient proof of Thy love, so that I can say what the Jews said when Thou didst raise Lazarus from the dead: “Behold how He loved him;”[1] behold how Jesus loved men! The love you have, O mothers, for your children; that you, O wives, have for your husbands, is nothing compared to the love of Jesus for the souls of men.
And all the greater shall the fear and compassion of the sinner be when he shall be upbraided with this love. But, alas! where shall I hide for shame; where run to for fear, if I die without repenting of the sins with which I have so wantonly broken faith with this Bridegroom, and have to appear before Him when He, filled with anger at my infidelity, shall come as my Judge, invested with full power to avenge Himself amply on me? How the words shall resound in my ears, as we read in the Gospel: “Behold the Bridegroom cometh.”[2] How fearful to hear the voice of Him who loved me saying: adulterous soul, I am Jesus! I am your Bridegroom and Judge, whose honor you have grossly injured! “Under every green tree thou didst prostitute thyself;”[3] you have allowed yourself to become a plaything of the demons! Not once, but often have I caught you in the act of being unfaithful to the promise you made Me on oath in baptism. I have often forgiven yon, and forgetting the insults received from you, have readmitted you to My love and friendship. But you have rejected Me in spite of all! Adulterous soul! have I deserved that from you? What harm have I ever done you?
