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The
Passion / The Cross
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Good
Friday (Topic Page)
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"Despised,
and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised,
whereupon we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our
infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it
were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But he was
wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are
healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned
aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity
of us all. He was offered because it was his own will, and he
opened not his mouth" (Isa. 53:3-7)
"All
they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with
the lips, and wagged the head. He hoped in the Lord, let him
deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him."
(Ps. 21:8-9)
"They
have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and
roaring. I am poured out like water; and all my bones are
scattered. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my
bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue
hath cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the
dust of death. For many dogs have encompassed me: the council of
the malignant hath besieged me. They have dug my hands and feet.
They have numbered all my bones. And they have looked and stared
upon me. They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture
they cast lots." (Ps. 21:14-19)
"They
are multiplied above the hairs of my head, who hate me without
cause. My enemies are grown strong who have wrongfully persecuted
me: then did I pay that which I took not away." (Ps. 68:5)
"In
thy sight are all they that afflict me; my heart hath expected
reproach and misery. And I looked for one that would grieve
together with me, but there was none: and for one that would
comfort me, and I found none. And they gave me gall for my food,
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." (Ps. 68:21-22)
"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 crucified." (Mt. 26:1-2)
"And
he taketh Peter and James and John with him: and he began to fear
and to be heavy. And he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even
unto death. Stay you here and watch." (Mk. 14:33-34)
"And
he was withdrawn away from them a stone's cast. And kneeling down,
he prayed. Saying: Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from
me: but yet not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared to
him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an
agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of
blood, trickling down upon the ground. And when he rose up from
prayer and was come to the disciples, he found them sleeping for
sorrow. And he said to them: Why sleep you? Arise: pray: lest you
enter into temptation. As he was yet speaking, behold a multitude;
and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them
and drew near to Jesus, for to kiss him. And Jesus said to him:
Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man with a kiss?" (Lk. 22:41-48)
"And
some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to buffet him
and to say unto him: Prophesy. And the servants struck him with
the palms their hands." (Mk. 14:65)
"And
the men that held him mocked him and struck him. And they
blindfolded him and smote his face. And they asked him saying:
Prophesy: Who is it that struck thee? And blaspheming, many other
things they said against him." (Lk. 22:63-65)
"I
am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as
the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my
life for the sheep... No one takes it from me, but I lay it down
on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up
again." (Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jn. 10:14-15, 18)
"The
high priest therefore asked Jesus of his disciples and of his
doctrine. Jesus answered him: I have spoken openly to the world. I
have always taught in the synagogue 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 things I have said. And when he had said
these things, one of the servants standing by gave Jesus a blow,
saying: Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him: If
I have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil; but if well, why
strikest thou me? And Annas sent him bound to Caiphas the high
priest." (Jn. 18:19-24)
"And
Pilate, calling together the chief priests and the magistrates and
the people, Said to them: You have presented unto me this man as
one that perverteth the people. And behold I, having examined him
before you, find no cause in this man, in those things wherein you
accuse him. No, nor Herod neither. For, I sent you to him: and
behold, nothing worthy of death is done to him. I will chastise
him therefore and release him. Now of necessity he was to release
unto them one upon the feast day. But the whole multitude together
cried out, saying: Away with this man, and release unto us
Barabbas: Who, for a certain sedition made in the city and for a
murder, was cast into prison. And Pilate again spoke to them,
desiring to release Jesus. But they cried again, saying: Crucify
him, Crucify him. And he said to them the third time: Why, what
evil hath this man done? I find no cause of death in him. I will
chastise him therefore and let him go. But they were instant with
loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And their
voices prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as
they required. And he released unto them him who for murder and
sedition had been cast into prison, whom they had desired. But
Jesus he delivered up to their will." (Lk. 23:13-25)
"And
the governor answering, said to them: Whether will you of the two
to be released unto you? But they said: Barabbas. Pilate saith to
them: What shall I do then with Jesus that is called Christ? They
say all: Let him be crucified. The governor said to them: Why,
what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying: Let
him be crucified. And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but
that rather a tumult was made, taking water washed his hands
before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just
man. Look you to it. And the whole people answering, said: His
blood be upon us and upon our children. Then he released to them
Barabbas: and having scourged Jesus, delivered him unto them to be
crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor, taking Jesus into
the hall, gathered together unto him the whole band. And stripping
him, they put a scarlet cloak about him. And platting a crown of
thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand.
And bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying: Hail,
King of the Jews. And spitting upon him, they took the reed and
struck his head. 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." (Mt. 27:21-31)
"And
Pilate again answering, saith to them: What will you then that I
do to the king of the Jews?. But they again cried out: Crucify
him. And Pilate saith to them: Why, what evil hath he done? But
they cried out the more: Crucify him. And so Pilate being willing
to satisfy the people, released to them Barabbas: and delivered up
Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers
led him away into the court of the palace: and they called
together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple: and,
platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon him. And they began
to salute him: Hail, king of the Jews. And they struck his head
with a reed: and they did spit on him. And bowing their knees,
they adored him. And after they had mocked him, they took off the
purple from him and put his own garments on him: and they led him
out to crucify him. And they forced one Simon a Cyrenian, who
passed by coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and
of Rufus, to take up his cross. And they bring him into the place
called Golgotha, which being interpreted is, the place of Calvary.
And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh. But he took it
not. And crucifying him, they divided his garments, casting lots
upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour:
and they crucified him. And the inscription of his cause was
written over: The King of the Jews. And with him they crucify two
thieves: the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And
the scripture was fulfilled, which saith: And with the wicked he
was reputed." (Mk. 15:12-28)
"Then
therefore Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers
platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head: and they put on
him a purple garment. And they came to him and said: Hail, king of
the Jews. And they gave him blows. Pilate therefore went forth
again and saith to them: Behold, I bring him forth unto you, that
you may know that I find no cause in him. (Jesus therefore came
forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) And he
saith to them: Behold the Man. When the chief priests, therefore,
and the servants had seen him, they cried out, saying: Crucify
him, Crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Take him you, and crucify
him: for I find no cause in him. The Jews answered him: We have a
law; and according to the law he ought to die, because he made
himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore had heard this
saying, he feared the more. And he entered into the hall again;
and he said to Jesus: Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no
answer. Pilate therefore saith to him: Speakest thou not to me?
Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have
power to release thee? Jesus answered: Thou shouldst not have any
power against me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore,
he that hath delivered me to thee hath the greater sin. And from
henceforth Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out,
saying: If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend.
For whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. Now
when Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus forth and sat
down in the judgment seat, in the place that is called
Lithostrotos, and in Hebrew Gabbatha. And it was the parasceve of
the pasch, about the sixth hour: and he saith to the Jews: Behold
your king. But they cried out: Away with him: Away with him:
Crucify him. Pilate saith to them: shall I crucify your king? The
chief priests answered: We have no king but Caesar. Then therefore
he delivered him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and
led him forth. And bearing his own cross, he went forth to the
place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha. Where they
crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, and
Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title also: and he put it
upon the cross. And the writing was: Jesus of Nazareth, the King
of the Jews. This title therefore many of the Jews did read:
because the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city.
And it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin. Then the
chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Write not: The King of
the Jews. But that he said: I am the King of the Jews. Pilate
answered: What I have written, I have written." (Jn. 19:1-22)
"And
there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to
death. And when they were come to the place which is called
Calvary, they crucified him there: and the robbers, one on the
right hand, and the other on the left. And Jesus said: Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing
his garments, cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the
rulers with them derided him, saying: He saved others: let him
save himself, if he be Christ, the elect of God. And the soldiers
also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, And
saying: If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself." (Lk. 23:32-37)
"Now
there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's
sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore
had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he
saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son.. After that, he saith
to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the
disciple took her to his own. Afterwards, Jesus knowing that all
things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be
fulfilled, said: I thirst. Now there was a vessel set there, full
of vinegar. And they, putting a sponge full of vinegar about
hyssop, put it to his mouth. Jesus therefore, when he had taken
the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave
up the ghost." (Jn. 19:25-30)
"Now
from the sixth hour, there was darkness over the whole earth,
until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a
loud voice, saying: Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani? That is, My God,
My God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some that stood there and
heard said: This man calleth Elias. And immediately one of them
running took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a
reed and gave him to drink. And the others said: Let be. Let us
see whether Elias will come to deliver him. And Jesus again crying
with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold the veil of
the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom: and
the earth quaked and the rocks were rent. And the graves were
opened: and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, And
coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, came into the holy
city and appeared to many. Now the centurion and they that were
with him watching Jesus, having seen the earthquake and the things
that were done, were sore afraid, saying: Indeed this was the Son
of God." (Mt. 27:45-54)
"And
when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole
earth until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out
with a loud voice, saying: Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani? Which is,
being interpreted: My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me? And
some of the standers by hearing, said: Behold he calleth Elias.
And one running and filling a sponge with vinegar and putting it
upon a reed, gave him to drink, saying: Stay, let us see if Elias
come to take him down. And Jesus, having cried out with a loud
voice, gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in
two, from the top to the bottom. And the centurion who stood over
against him, seeing that crying out in this manner he had given up
the ghost. said: Indeed this man was the son of God." (Mk. 15:33-39)
"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified."
(St. Paul, 1 Cor. 2:2)
"...whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me."
(Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mt. 10:38)
"Then Jesus said to his disciples,
'Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.'"
(Mt. 16:24)
"[Jesus] summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
'Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.'"
(Mk. 8:34)
"Then
[Jesus] said to all, 'If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'"
(Lk. 9:23)
"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."
(Our Lord Jesus Christ, Lk. 14:27)
"The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the learning of the learned I will set
aside.'" (1 Cor. 1:18-19)
"Who,
though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the
form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in
appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even
death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and
bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil.
2:6-11)
"He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed."
(St. Peter, 1 Pt. 2:24)
"[I]ndeed,
he dies nailed to the Cross." (Pope John Paul II)
"The
Cross I ever adore." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the
Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"Death
blossomed in paradise but was slain on the cross." (St. John
Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"The cross is the ladder to Heaven." (Catechism of
the Cure de Ars)
"[N]o one can obtain salvation unless through Christ and the
merits of His Passion." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The
Cross is the gift that God makes to His friends." (Catechism
of the Cure of Ars)
"The
Cross is my refuge." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the
Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"Mount
Calvary is the academy of love." (St. Francis de Sales,
Doctor of the Church)
"What
was done on Calvary avails for us only in the degree that we
repeat it in our own lives." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
"He
gave Himself wholly to you: He left nothing to himself." (St.
John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"The greater the humiliations He endured for me, the more I owe Him."
(St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church)
"He
that seeks not the cross of Christ seeks not the glory of
Christ." (St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church)
"Was
Jesus Christ afraid of being laughed at?" (St. John Vianney)
"The
Blood, poured out in abundance, has washed the whole world
clean." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"A
house founded on the Cross will fear neither wind, nor rain, nor
storm." (St. John Vianney)
"It is by the Cross that we go to Heaven." (Catechism
of the Cure de Ars)
"To
know Jesus and Him crucified is my philosophy, and there is none
higher." (St. Bernard,
Doctor of the Church)
"Here
learn the science of the saints: All is to be found in the passion
of Jesus." (St. Paul of the Cross)
"You
should carry the passion of God in your hearts, for it is man's
consolation in his last hour." (St. Nicholas of Flue)
"Let
Him Who was fastened to the cross be securely fastened to your
hearts." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"O
the wonderful power of the Cross! O the unspeakable glory of the
Passion!" (Pope St. Leo I the Great, Doctor of the Church)
"No
one can be just unless he is granted a share in the merits of the
Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Council of Trent)
"Jesus Christ by His passion and death gave to the
sacraments the power of conferring grace." (Catechism of Pope
St. Pius X)
"Without the priest, the Death and Passion of Our Lord
would be of no avail." (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"[The
Cross] is the antidote that cures the sting of the serpent's
wound." (Ancient Easter Sequence)
"Is
there anything that a generous heart would not willingly suffer on
contemplating Jesus crucified?" (St. Raphaela Mary)
"What,
O Lord, could more clearly show me than do thy Wounds, that thou
art sweet and mild, and plenteous in mercy?" (St. Bernard,
Doctor of the Church)
"The
Cross is my sure salvation." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of
the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"For
His return from death becomes to our mortal race the commencement
of our return to the immortal life." (St. Gregory of Nyssa)
"Let
us go often to the foot of the Cross... We shall learn there what
God has done for us, and what we ought to do for him." (St.
John Vianney)
"And
these also unwillingly confess that He saved others, for it
follows, Saying, He saved others, let him save himself... (Lk.
23:35)" (St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor of the Church)
"From the sufferings and death of Christ we
learn God's love for man and the evil of sin, for which God, who
is all-just, demands such great satisfaction." (Baltimore
Catechism)
"It
is certain that, if I had sinned less, Thou, my Jesus, wouldst
have suffered less." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the
Church)
"Observe
Christ's mercifulness; He is evil spoken of, yet He answers with
mildness" (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"He
died in accord with His reception of our nature; and He did not
die, in accord with the substance of eternal life." (St. Ambrose
of Milan, Doctor of the Church, 382 A.D.)
"We
must never think from whence crosses come: they come from God. It
is always God who gives us this way of proving our love to
Him." (Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
"And while He hangs from the cross are we not at a loss
which to deplore, His agony, or His ignominy, or both?"
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Our
Lord's atoning
death on the Cross removed the breach between God and his
creatures, atoned for all sin, and made it possible for us to
enter heaven."
"The Mass is the same sacrifice as the sacrifice of the
cross because in the Mass the victim is the same, and the
principal priest is the same, Jesus Christ." (Baltimore
Catechism)
"He who condemned Jesus Christ to be crucified was Pontius
Pilate, the Governor of Judea who, through recognizing His
innocence, cravenly yielded to the threats of the people of
Jerusalem." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"Triumphing over the agonies of the Cross, the bitterness
of death, the shame of the most ignominious tortures, nothing
costs Him too dear when He has to prove that He loves us."
(Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"The Holy Mass is the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of
Jesus Christ offered on our altars under the appearances of bread
and wine, in commemoration of the Sacrifice of the Cross."
(Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"In His Passion and death the Son of God, our Savior,
intended to atone for and blot out the sins of all ages, to offer
for them to his Father a full and abundant satisfaction."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"For
Thy cross is the source of all blessings, cause of all the gifts
of grace; through it to them that believe is given strength out of
weakness, glory out of shame, life out of death." (Pope St.
Leo the Great, Doctor of the Church, 5th Century A.D.)
"Look
at His adorable Face. Look at His glazed and sunken eyes. Look at
His wounds. Look Jesus in the Face. There, you will see how He
loves us." (St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church)
"For
if the very idea of impending evils was overwhelming, and the
sweat of blood shows that it was, what are we to suppose their
actual endurance to have been?" (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"Even
the demons were not solely responsible for crucifying Him; it was
you who crucified Him with them, and you continue to crucify Him
by taking pleasure in your vices and sins." (St. Francis of
Assisi)
"Let
us fix our gaze on the blood of Christ and know how precious it is
to His Father because it was poured out for our salvation and
brought the grace of repentance to the whole world." (Pope
St. Clement of Rome, 1st century A.D.)
"For
by the sacrifice of His own body He did two things: He put an end
to the law of death which barred our way; and He made a new
beginning of life for us, by giving us the hope of
resurrection." (St. Athanasius,
Doctor of the Church)
"Take
the holy crucifix in your hands, kiss its wounds with great love,
and ask Him to preach you a sermon. Listen to what the thorns, the
nails, and that Divine Blood say to you. Oh! What a sermon."
(St. Paul of the Cross)
"If anyone does not confess that Jesus Christ, our Lord, who
was crucified in the flesh is true God, and Lord of glory, and one
of the Holy Trinity, let such a one be anathema." (Council of
Constantinople II, 553 A.D.)
"Jesus Christ Himself instituted the Sacrifice of the Holy
Mass when He instituted the Sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist and
said that this should be done in memory of His passion."
(Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"Christ's
Passion - A Satisfaction, A Sacrifice, A
Redemption An Example. The pastor should teach that all these
inestimable and divine blessings flow to us from the Passion of
Christ." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Again, it (the Passion of Christ) was a sacrifice most
acceptable to God, for when offered by His Son on the altar of the
cross, it entirely appeased the wrath and indignation of the
Father." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"To communicate the efficacy of the Passion of Christ our
Lord is an effect common to all the Sacraments; but of Baptism
alone does the Apostle say, that by it we die and are buried
together with Christ." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Christ our Lord tempered with no admixture of sweetness
the bitter chalice of His Passion but permitted His human nature
to feel as acutely every species of torment as if He were only
man, and not also God." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"His hands and feet were fastened with nails to the cross;
His head was pierced with thorns and smitten with a reed; His face
was befouled with spittle and buffeted with blows; His whole body
was covered with stripes." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"On
the Cross Jesus Christ prayed for His enemies; gave His own Most
Blessed Mother as a Mother to St. John, and, in his person, to all
of us; offered up His death in sacrifice; and satisfied the
justice of God for the sins of men."
(Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"Remember
then, that although you were made from nothing, you were not
redeemed with nothing. In six days God created all things,
including you, but for thirty years he worked out your salvation
including the ignominy of dying on the cross." (St. Bernard
of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church)
"They
did it then mockingly. For when the rulers scoffed, what can we
say of the crowd? For it follows, And the people stood, who in
truth had entreated that He should be crucified, waiting, namely,
for an end. And the rulers also with them derided." (St.
Theophylact)
"Those
who share in this Blood have taken their stand with angels, and
archangels, and the powers from on high, clad in the royal uniform
of Christ with spiritual weapons in their hands. Yet greater still
than that: They are wearing the King Himself!" (St. John
Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"And
it is worthy of remark, that the Jews blaspheme and mock the name
of Christ, which was delivered to them by the authority of
Scripture; whereas the soldiers, as being ignorant of the
Scriptures, insult not Christ the chosen of God, but the King of
the Jews." (St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor of the Church)
"For of such value is that price paid by Christ the Lord
on the cross, and communicated to us through the Sacraments,
received either actually or in purpose and desire, that it obtains
and accomplishes for us the pardon of our sins" (Catechism of
the Council of Trent)
"For, through the Sacraments, as through a channel, must
flow into the soul the efficacy of the Passion of Christ, that is,
the grace which He merited for us on the altar of the cross, and
without which we cannot hope for salvation." (Catechism of
the Council of Trent)
"If
the good God sends us crosses, we resist, we complain, we murmur;
we are so averse to whatever contradicts us, that we want to be
always in a box of cotton: but we ought to be put into a box of
thorns. It is by the Cross that we go to Heaven." (Catechism
of the Cure of Ars)
"He should also be taught not to suffer a day to pass
without devoting a portion of it to meditation on some mystery of
the Passion of our Lord, and to exciting and inflaming himself to
the imitation and most ardent love of his Redeemer."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"This degree of satisfaction appeases God and renders Him
propitious to us; and it is a satisfaction for which we are
indebted to Christ our Lord alone, who paid the price of our sins
on the cross, and offered to God a superabundant
satisfaction." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"And yet there is truly nothing that more eloquently
proclaims His supreme love and admirable charity towards us, than
the inexplicable mystery of the Passion of Jesus Christ, whence
springs that never-failing fountain to wash away the defilements
of sin." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"In
a certain sense it can be said that on Calvary Christ built a font
of purification and salvation which He filled with the
blood He shed; but if men do not bathe in it and there wash away
the stains of their iniquities, they can never be purified and
saved." (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.)
"With
all other men the grave puts an end to their name and their glory;
whereas with Jesus his sepulchre is the trophy of his victory; we
proclaim him to be the Messias, the King of ages, the Son of God,
because by his own death he conquered death." (Dom Gueranger)
"The
thief looked above the head of our Blessed Lord and saw a sign
which read: 'KING.' Queer king that! For a crown: thorns. For
royal purple: His own blood. For a throne: a Cross. For courtiers:
executioners. For a coronation: a Crucifixion. And yet beneath all
that dross the thief saw the gold; amidst all those blasphemies,
he prayed." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
"...death
has not destroyed this Body which was pierced with nails and
scourged... this is the Body which was once covered with blood,
pierced by a lance, from which issued saving fountains upon the
world, one of blood and the other of water... This Body He gave to
us to keep and eat, as a mark of His intense love." (St. John
Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"You
cannot better appreciate your worth than by looking into the
mirror of the Cross of Christ; there you will learn how you are to
deflate your pride, how you must mortify the desires of the flesh,
how you are to pray to your Father for those who persecute you,
and to commend your spirit into God's hands." (St. Anthony of
Padua, Doctor of the Church)
"[T]he
Master takes upon Himself the stripes belonging to the servant,
the servant is glorified by the glory of the Master. That is why
the cross can be called the cross of the Lord of Glory, and why
every tongue can confess, to the glory of God the Father, that
Jesus Christ is Lord." (St. Gregory of Nyssa, c. 380 A.D.)
"What
is a man able to find so valuable that he can give it for the
ransom of his soul? Yet one thing was found that was worth as much
as all men together. It was given as the ransom price for our
souls, the holy and most precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which He poured out for all of us; we were, therefore, 'bought
dearly'." (St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church)
"Eden
was now being reversed. Three things cooperated in our fall: a
disobedient man, Adam; a proud woman, Eve; and a tree. God takes
the three elements that lead to the defeat of man and uses them as
the instruments of victory: the obedient new Adam, Christ; the
humble new Eve, Mary; and the tree of the Cross."
(Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
"Should anyone inquire why the Son of God underwent His
most bitter Passion, he will find that besides the guilt inherited
from our first parents the principal causes were the vices and
crimes which have been perpetrated from the beginning of the world
to the present day and those which will be committed to the end of
time." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Indeed, if one thing more than another presents
difficulty to the mind and understanding of man, assuredly it is
the mystery of the cross, which, beyond all doubt, must be
considered the most difficult of all; so much so that only with
great difficulty can we grasp the fact that our salvation depends
on the cross, and on Him who for us was nailed thereon."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Death
has become like a tyrant who has been completely conquered by the
legitimate monarch; bound hand and foot the passers-by sneer at
him, hitting him and abusing him, no longer afraid of his cruelty
and rage, because of the king who has conquered him. So had death
been conquered and branded for what it is by the Savior on the
cross." (St. Athanasius,
Doctor of the Church)
"In
that one and the same event, there is the sign of sin's utter
depravity and the seal of divine forgiveness. From that point on,
no man can look upon a crucifix and say that sin is not serious,
nor can he ever say that it cannot be forgiven. Buy the way He
suffered, He revealed the reality of sin; by the way He bore it,
He shows His mercy toward the sinner." (Archbishop Fulton
Sheen)
"The Sacrifice of the Mass is substantially the same as
that of the Cross, for the same Jesus Christ, Who offered Himself
on the Cross, it is Who offers Himself by the hands of the
priests, His ministers, on our altars; but as regards the way in
which He is offered, the Sacrifice of the Mass differs from the
Sacrifice of the Cross, though retaining the most intimate and
essential relation to it." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"It
is the Victim who has suffered that forgives: and in that
combination of a Victim so humanly beautiful, so divinely loving,
so wholly innocent, does one find a Great Crime and a Greater
Forgiveness. Under the shelter of the Blood of Christ, the worst
sinners may take their stand; for there
is a power in that Blood
to turn back the tides of vengeance which threaten to drown the
world." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
"In
the consideration of Christ's Passion there is something that
causes sorrow, namely, the human defect, the removal of which made
it necessary for Christ to suffer (Luke 24:25); and there is
something that causes joy, namely, God's loving-kindness to us in
giving us such a deliverance." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of
the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"They
smite the head of Christ with a reed, who speak against His
divinity, and endeavor to maintain their error by the authority of
Holy Scripture, which is written by a reed. They spit upon His
face who reject in abominable words the presence of His grace, and
deny that Jesus is come in the flesh. And they mock Him with
adoration who believe in Him, but despise Him with perverse
works." (Bl. Rabanus
Maurus)
"No, it is not enough for our salvation that Jesus Christ
has died for us; it is also necessary that the fruit of His
Passion and death be applied to each one of us, which is
accomplished especially by means of the Sacraments instituted for
this end by Jesus Christ Himself; and as many either do not
receive the Sacraments at all, or do not receive them well, they
thus render the death of Jesus Christ useless in their
regard." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"If
then Death was the supreme moment for which Christ lived, it was
therefore the one thing He wished to have remembered. He did not
ask that men should write down His Words into a Scripture; He did
not ask that His kindness to the poor should be recorded in
history; but He did ask that men remember His Death. And in order
that its memory might not be any haphazard narrative on the part
of men, He Himself instituted the precise way it should be
recalled." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
"The
mystery of the divine redemption is primarily and by its very
nature a mystery of love, that is, of the perfect love of Christ
for His heavenly Father to Whom the sacrifice of the Cross,
offered in a spirit of love and obedience, presents the most
abundant and infinite satisfaction due for the sins of the human
race; 'By suffering out of love and obedience, Christ gave more to
God than was required to compensate for the offense of the whole
human race.'" (Pope Pius XII, "Haurietis Aquas",
1956 A.D.)
"Now
our Lord being truly the Savior wished not by saving Himself, but
by saving His creatures, to be acknowledged the Savior. For
neither is a physician by healing himself known to be physician,
unless he also gives proof of his skill towards the sick. So the
Lord being the Savior had no need of salvation, nor by descending
from the cross did He wish to be acknowledged the Savior, but by
dying. For truly a much greater salvation does the death of the
Savior bring to men, than the descent from the cross." (St.
Athanasius, Doctor of the Church)
"His
love for us, as well as His submission to His Father, led Him to
the great Sacrifice [of Calvary]. Observe, too, how He refuses to
defend Himself before Pilate, who could so easily deliver Him from
His enemies... Let us love and adore this divine silence, which
works our salvation. Let us not pass over an iota of the
devotedness which Jesus shows us - a devotedness which never could
have existed save in the heart of a God. Oh! how much He has loved
us, His children, the purchase of His Blood" (Dom Gueranger)
"Human
suffering has reached its culmination in the Passion of Christ.
And at the same time it has entered into a completely new
dimension and a new order: it has been linked to love, to that
love of which Christ spoke to Nicodemus, to that love which
creates good, drawing it out by means of suffering, just as the
supreme good of the Redemption of the world was drawn from the
Cross of Christ, and from that Cross constantly takes its
beginning. The Cross of Christ has become a source from which flow
rivers of living water." (Pope John Paul II)
"O Jesus, most glorious in your magnificence: I praise and
bless your incomprehensible omnipotence, weak and helpless for us
in the Passion. I adore and glorify your unsearchable wisdom,
accounted foolishness for us. I praise and magnify your
unutterable love, which submitted to hatred of all people for the
sake of your elect. I praise and extol your meek and gentle mercy,
sentenced to so fearful a death for humankind. I praise and I
adore your ravishing sweetness, embittered for us by your most
bitter death. Amen." (St. Mechtilde)
"Earth
had been cruel to Him; His feet wandered after lost sheep and we
dug them with steel; His hands stretched out the Bread of
everlasting life and we fastened them with nails; His lips spoke
the Truth and we sealed them with dust. He came to give us Life
and we took away His. But that was our fatal mistake. We really
did not take it away. We only tried to take it away. He laid it
down of Himself. Nowhere do the Evangelists say that He died. They
say, 'He gave up the ghost.' It was a willing, self-determined
relinquishment of life." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
"We
were enemies of God through sin and God had appointed the
sinner to die. It was necessary, then, that one of two things
should happen: either that God, in His truth, should destroy all
men, or that in His loving kindness He should blot out the
sentence. But behold the wisdom of God: He preserved both the
truth of His sentence, and the exercise of His loving kindness.
Christ bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that by His death
we might die
to sin and live to
righteousness." (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Doctor of the
Church, c. 350 A.D.)
"Jesus
goes forth to them wearing the crown of thorns and the purple
robe, not resplendent in kingly power, but laden with reproach;
and the words are addressed to them, Behold the man! If you hate
your king, spare him now when you see him sunk so low; he has been
scourged, crowned with thorns, clothed with the garments of
derision, jeered at with the bitterest insults, struck with the
open hand; his ignominy is at the boiling point, let your ill-will
sink to zero. But there is no such cooling on the part of the
latter, but rather a further increase of heat and vehemence." (St.
Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"Besides
these incomparable blessings, we have also received another of the
highest importance; namely, that in the Passion alone we have the
most illustrious example of the exercise of every virtue. For He
so displayed patience, humility, exalted charity, meekness,
obedience and unshaken firmness of soul, not only in suffering for
justice' sake, but also in meeting death, that we may truly say on
the day of His Passion alone, our Savior offered, in His own
Person, a living exemplification of all the moral precepts
inculcated during the entire time of His public ministry."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The Lord having taken upon Him all the infirmities of
our body, is then covered with the scarlet colored blood of all
the martyrs, to whom is due the kingdom with Him; He is crowned
with thorns, that is, with the sins of the Gentiles who once
pierced Him, for there is a prick in thorns of which is woven the
crown of victory for Christ. In the reed, He takes into His hand
and supports the weakness and frailty of the Gentiles; and His
head is smitten therewith that the weakness of the Gentiles
sustained by Christ's hand may rest on God the Father, who is His
head." (St. Hilary of Piotiers, Doctor of the Church)
"The
sufferer's innocence does lessen numerically the pain of the
suffering, since, when a guilty man suffers, he grieves not merely
on account of the penalty, but also because of the crime, whereas
the innocent man grieves only for the penalty: yet this pain is
more intensified by reason of his innocence, in so far as he deems
the hurt inflicted to be the more undeserved. Hence it is that
even others are more deserving of blame if they do not
compassionate him, according to Isaiah 57:1: 'The just perisheth,
and no man layeth it to heart.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor
of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"It
is important then to consider, in what condition He ascends the
cross; for I see Him naked. Let him then who prepares to overcome
the world, so ascend that he seek not
the appliances of the world. Now Adam was overcome who
sought for a covering. He overcame who laid aside His covering. He
ascends such as nature formed us, God being our Creator. Such as
the first man had dwelt in paradise, such did the second man enter
paradise. But about to ascend the cross rightly, did He lay aside
His royal garments, that you may know that He suffered not as God,
but as man, though Christ is both." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of
the Church)
"What
should we henceforth care if any one insults us, after Christ has
thus suffered? The utmost that cruel outrage could do was put in
practice against Christ; and not one member only, but His whole
body suffered injuries; His head from the crown, the reed, and the
buffetings; His face which was spit upon; His cheeks which they
smote with the palms of their hands; His whole body from the
scourging, the stripping to put on the cloak, and the mockery of
homage; His hands from the reed which they put into them in
mimicry of a scepter; as though they were afraid of omitting aught
of indignity." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"The
shameless doctrine of Marcion is refuted here. For if our Lord
were not born according to the flesh, and had not a mother, why
did He make such provision for her? Observe how imperturbable He
is during His crucifixion, talking to the disciple of His mother,
fulfilling prophecies, airing good hope to the thief; whereas
before His crucifixion, He seemed in fear. The weakness of His
nature was strewn there, the exceeding greatness of His power
here. He teaches us too herein, not to turn back, because we may
feel disturbed at the difficulties before us for when we are once
actually under the trial, 'all will be; light and easy for us'." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"The
Creator suffers for His creatures, the Master for His servant. He
suffers by whom the Angels, men, the heavens, and the elements
were made; in whom by whom, and of whom, are all things. It cannot,
therefore, be a matter of surprise that while He agonized under
such an accumulation of torments the whole frame of the universe
convulsed; for as the Scriptures inform us, the earth quaked, and
the rocks were rent, there was darkness over all the earth; and
the sun was obscured. If, then, even mute and inanimate nature
sympathized with the sufferings of her Creator, let the faithful
consider with what tears they, the living stones of this edifice,
should manifest their sorrow." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"That
man should be delivered by Christ's Passion was in keeping with
both His mercy and His justice. With His justice, because by His
Passion Christ made satisfaction for the sins of the human race,
and so man was set free by Christ's justice; and with His mercy,
for since man of himself could not satisfy for the sin of all
human nature, God gave him His Son to satisfy for him. And this
came of a more copious mercy than if he had forgiven sins without
satisfaction: Hence St. Paul says: 'God, who is rich in mercy, by
reason of His very great love wherewith He has loved us even when
we were dead by reason of our sins, brought us to life together
with Christ." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"Christ
Jesus our Lord, as no man who is or has been or ever will be whose
nature will not have been assumed in Him, so there is, has been,
or will be no man, for whom He has not suffered - although not all
will be saved by the mystery of His passion. But because all are
not redeemed by the mystery of His passion, He does not regard the
greatness and the fullness of the price, but He regards the part
of the unfaithful ones and those not believing in faith those
things which He has worked through love [Gal. 5:6], because the
drink of human safety, which has been prepared by our infirmity
and by divine strength, has indeed in itself that it may be
beneficial to all; but if it is not drunk, it does not heal."
(Council of Quiersy, 853 A.D.)
"When
we meditate on the sufferings and all the torments of the
Redeemer, nothing is better calculated to stir our souls than the
thought that He endured them thus voluntarily. Were anyone to
endure all kinds of suffering for our sake, not because he chose
them but simply because he could not escape them, we should not
consider this a very great favor; but were he to endure death
freely, and for our sake only, having had it in his power to avoid
it, this indeed would be a benefit so overwhelming as to deprive
even the most grateful heart, not only the power of returning but
even of feeling due thanks. We may hence form an idea of the
transcendent and intense love of Jesus Christ towards us, and of
His divine and boundless claims to our gratitude." (Catechism
of the Council of Trent)
"And
is not our Risen Jesus to exercise, from his throne in heaven,
that sublime mediatorship for which he assumed our human nature?
Is he not to be ever disarming the anger of his Father justly
irritated by our sins? Is he not to make perpetual intercession
for us, and obtain for mankind the graces necessary for salvation?
Divine Justice must be satisfied; and what would become of poor
sinners, were it not that the Man-God, by showing the precious
Wounds on his Body, stays the thunderbolts of heaven, and makes
mercy preponderate over judgement? O sacred Wounds! Thy handiwork
of our sins, and now our protection! We shed bitter tears when we
first beheld you on Calvary; but we now adore you as the five
glories of our Emmanuel! Hail most precious Wounds! Our Hope and
our defense!" (Dom Gueranger)
"Formerly,
it was looked upon as an object of horror, but Jesus Christ has
made it so worthy of respect and veneration, that kings and
princes have forbidden the punishment of crucifixion to be
continued, in order to do honor to those faithful servants, who
gloried in a punishment which our Lord and Savior has so ennobled.
And this wood to which the Jews had nailed our Lord, accompanied
as it was by so many outrages and insults, has become so worthy of
honor, that kings have imprinted it on their foreheads, and in
union with the lowest of their subjects they look upon the cross
of Jesus Christ as the ship which will guide and carry them safely
into harbor. So strong sometimes are the storms of life that
strength of arm is of no avail, and there is no other means to
save us from shipwreck than trusting in the cross of Jesus Christ
by which we are consecrated." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the
Church)
"The
Victim alone saves the soul from eternal ruin, the sacrificing of
which presents to us in a mystical way the death of the
Only-begotten, who - though He is now risen from the dead and dies
no more, and death will no longer have dominion over Him, for He
lives immortally and incorruptibly in Himself - is immolated for
us again in this mystery of the sacred oblation. For His body is
eaten there, His flesh is distributed among the people unto
salvation, His blood is poured out, no longer in the hands of the
faithless but in the mouth of the faithful. Let us take thought,
therefore, of what this sacrifice means for us, which is an ever
present re-presentation of the suffering of the Only begotten Son,
for the sake of our forgiveness." (Pope St. Gregory I the
Great, Doctor of the Church, 6th century A.D.)
"The
events of Good Friday and, even before that, in prayer in
Gethsemane, introduce a fundamental change into the whole course
of the revelation of love and mercy in the messianic mission of
Christ. The one who 'went about doing good and healing' and
'curing every sickness and disease' now Himself seems to merit the
greatest mercy and to appeal for mercy, when He is arrested,
abused, condemned, scourged, crowned with thorns, when He is
nailed to the cross and dies amidst agonizing torments. It is then
that He particularly deserves mercy from the people to whom He has
done good, and He does not receive it. Even those who are closest
to Him cannot protect Him and snatch Him from the hands of His
oppressors. At this final stage of His messianic activity the
words which the prophets, especially Isaiah, uttered concerning
the Servant of Yahweh are fulfilled in Christ: 'Through his
stripes we are healed.'" (Pope John Paul II)
"Christ
grieved not only over the loss of His own bodily life, but also
over the sins of all others. And this grief in Christ surpassed
all grief of every contrite heart, both because it flowed from a
greater wisdom and charity, by which the pang of contrition is
intensified, and because He grieved at the one time for all sins,
according to Isaiah 53:4: 'Surely He hath carried our sorrows.'
But such was the dignity of Christ's life in the body, especially
on account of the Godhead united with it, that its loss, even for
one hour, would be a matter of greater grief than the loss of
another man's life for howsoever long a time. Hence the
Philosopher says (Ethica Nicomachea iii) that the man of virtue
loves his life all the more in proportion as he knows it to be
better; and yet he exposes it for virtue's sake. And in like
fashion Christ laid down His most beloved life for the good of
charity, according to Jeremiah 12:7: 'I have given My dear soul
into the hands of her enemies.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor
of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"The
fact that He suffered death precisely on the wood of the cross
must also be attributed to a particular council of God, which
decreed that life should return by the way whence death had
arisen. The serpent who had triumphed over our first parents by
the wood (of a tree) was vanquished by Christ on the wood of the
cross. Many other reasons which the Fathers have discussed in
detail might be adduced to show that it was fit that our Redeemer
should suffer death on the cross rather than in any other way.
But, as the pastor will show, it is enough for the faithful to
believe that this kind of death was chosen by the Savior because
it appeared better adapted and more appropriate to the redemption
of the human race; for there certainly could be none more
ignominious and humiliating. Not only among the Gentiles was the
punishment of the cross held accursed and full of shame and
infamy, but even in the Law of Moses the man is called accursed
that hangeth on a tree (Deut. xxi. 23, Gal. iii.13)."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Then
they prepared the title of guilt which was to be attached to the
cross above the head of the Redeemer. Wooden tablets coated with
plaster were used for this purpose, and for official notices there
were always some on hand. The tablet had on it the name of the
crime. In the case of Christ...[the] title read, 'Jesus of
Nazareth, King of the Jews.' Now we have it in clear terms from
the judge himself that Christ was not executed on account of a
crime, but because He was Jesus, that is, the Redeemer, and
because He was King in the realm of truth. Whether Pilate, in
framing this title, purposely desired to vex the chief priests,
cannot be stated with certainty. It suffices to remark that they
felt and showed themselves offended and aggrieved... But Pilate,
who towards the end had been so yielding, answered, 'What I have
written, I have written'; from which words they could draw the
conclusion, 'and thus shall it remain.' For an official document
cannot well be changed; it might diminish the respect due
authority. Thus, Pilate unwittingly gave testimony unto the
truth." (Fr. Groenings)
"There were many
messianic texts in the Old Testament which foreshadowed the
sufferings of the future Anointed One of God. Among all these,
particularly touching is the one which is commonly called the
Fourth Song of the Suffering Servant, in the Book of Isaiah. The
Prophet, who has rightly been called 'the Fifth Evangelist',
presents in this Song an image of the sufferings of the Servant
with a realism as acute as if he were seeing them with his own
eyes: the eyes of the body and of the spirit. In the light of the
verses of Isaiah, the Passion of Christ becomes almost more
expressive and touching than in the descriptions of the
Evangelists themselves. Behold, the true Man of Sorrows presents
himself before us: 'He had no form or comeliness that we should
look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was
despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by
God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that
made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like
sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all'. " (Pope John Paul II)
"He
did endure every human suffering... First of all, on the part of
men: for He endured something from Gentiles and from Jews; from
men and from women, as is clear from the women servants who
accused Peter. He suffered from the rulers, from their servants
and from the mob, according to Psalm 2:1,2: 'Why have the Gentiles
raged, and the people devised vain things? The kings of the earth
stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord and
against His Christ.' He suffered from friends and acquaintances,
as is manifest from Judas betraying and Peter denying Him...
Christ
suffered from friends abandoning Him; in His reputation, from the
blasphemies hurled at Him; in His honor and glory, from the
mockeries and the insults heaped upon Him; in things, for He was
despoiled of His garments; in His soul, from sadness, weariness,
and fear; in His body, from wounds and scourgings... In His head He
suffered from the crown of piercing thorns; in His hands and feet,
from the fastening of the nails; on His face from the blows and
spittle; and from the lashes over His entire body. Moreover, He
suffered in all His bodily senses: in touch, by being scourged and
nailed; in taste, by being given vinegar and gall to drink; in
smell, by being fastened to the gibbet in a place reeking with the
stench of corpses, 'which is called Calvary'; in hearing, by being
tormented with the cries of blasphemers and scorners; in sight, by
beholding the tears of His Mother and of the disciple whom He
loved." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"[T]here was true and sensible pain in the suffering
Christ, which is caused by something hurtful to the body: also,
there was internal pain, which is caused from the apprehension of
something hurtful, and this is termed sadness. And in Christ each
of these was the greatest in this present life. This arose from
four causes. First of all, from the sources of His pain. For the
cause of the sensitive pain was the wounding of His body; and this
wounding had its bitterness, both from the extent of the
suffering...and from the kind of suffering, since the death of the
crucified is most bitter, because they are pierced in nervous and
highly sensitive parts - to wit, the hands and feet; moreover, the
weight of the suspended body intensifies the agony. And besides
this there is the duration of the suffering because they do not
die at once like those slain by the sword. The cause of the
interior pain was, first of all, all the sins of the human race,
for which He made satisfaction by suffering; hence He ascribes
them, so to speak, to Himself, saying (Psalm 22:1): 'The words of
my sins.' Secondly, especially the fall of the Jews and of the
others who sinned in His death chiefly of the apostles, who were
scandalized at His Passion. Thirdly, the loss of His bodily life,
which is naturally horrible to human nature. The magnitude of His
suffering may be considered, secondly, from the susceptibility of
the sufferer as to both soul and body. For His body was endowed
with a most perfect constitution, since it was fashioned
miraculously by the operation of the Holy Ghost; just as some
other things made by miracles are better than others, as
Chrysostom says (Hom. 22 in Joannis) respecting the wine into
which Christ changed the water at the wedding-feast. And,
consequently, Christ's sense of touch, the sensitiveness of which
is the reason for our feeling pain, was most acute. His soul
likewise, from its interior powers, apprehended most vehemently
all the causes of sadness. Thirdly, the magnitude of Christ's
suffering can be estimated from the singleness of His pain and
sadness. In other sufferers the interior sadness is mitigated, and
even the exterior suffering, from some consideration of reason, by
some derivation or redundance from the higher powers into the
lower; but it was not so with the suffering Christ, because 'He
permitted each one of His powers to exercise its proper function,'
as Damascene says (De Fide Orthodoxa iii). Fourthly, the magnitude
of the pain of Christ's suffering can be reckoned by this, that
the pain and sorrow were accepted voluntarily, to the end of men's
deliverance from sin; and consequently He embraced the amount of
pain proportionate to the magnitude of the fruit which resulted
therefrom. From all these causes weighed together, it follows that
Christ's pain was the very greatest." (St. Thomas Aquinas,
Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history
of the Church")
"Let
no one, my brethren, blush at those sacred and adorable marks of
our redemption. The cross of Jesus Christ is the source of every
blessing; it is through that we live, through that, we are what we
are. Let us carry the cross of Jesus, and adorn ourselves with so
glorious a crown. It is the zeal and fulfillment of everything
which appertains to our salvation. If we are regenerated in the
waters of baptism, the cross is there present; if we approach the
table of the Lord to receive His holy Body, it there appears; if
we receive the imposition of hands to consecrate us as ministers
of God, it is still there; in fact, we see in everything that
adorable sign which is, at once, the cause and emblem of our
victory. We have it in our houses, we hang it and paint it on our
walls, we engrave it on our doors, and we should ever carry it in
our hearts; for the cross is a sacred monument which recalls to
memory the work of our salvation, the regaining of our ancient
freedom, and the infinite mercy of Jesus Christ. When, then, you
make the sign of the cross on the forehead, arm yourself with a
saintly boldness, and reinstall your soul in its old liberty; for
you are not ignorant that the cross is a prize beyond all price.
Consider what is the price given for your ransom, and you will
never more be slave to any man on earth. This reward and ransom is
the cross. You should not, then, carelessly make the sign of the
forehead, but you should impress it on your heart with the love of
a fervent faith! Nothing impure will dare to molest you on seeing
the weapon which overcometh all things. Be not, then, ashamed of
the cross, in order that Jesus Christ be not ashamed of you, when
He will come, clothed in the Majesty of His glory, accompanied by
this sign of our redemption, which will then, shine more brilliant
than the sun. Engrave it in your heart; lovingly embrace that
which procured the salvation of our souls; for it is the cross
which has saved and converted all the world is that which has
banished heresy and unbelief, which has reestablished truth, which
has made a heaven on earth, and which has transformed men into
angels. It is by means of the cross that the devils have ceased to
appear formidable, and are now only to be despised; it is through
that, that death is now no longer death, but only a long sleep. In
fine, it is through the cross that all our enemies have been
conquered. If you find, then, any one who says, 'What! you worship
the cross?' answer him with a tone of voice that betokens
firmness, Yes, I do worship it, and shall never cease to do so. If
he laugh at you, pity him, and shed tears for his blindness; and
say boldly, We protest before heaven and earth that our glory is
in the cross, that it is the source of all our blessings, our
every hope, and that it is that which has crowned every
saint." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
Also
See: Jesus
Christ | Christ's
Passion / Sufferings (Our Father's Love Reflections)
| Original
Sin | Sin
| Salvation
| Expiation
| Justification
| Lent
| Resurrection
| Sign
of the Cross | The
Cross / Crosses (Catholic Life Reflections) | God's
Love & Crosses (Our Father's Love Reflections)
| Holy
Eucharist / Mass (Sacraments Section) | Sacraments
Section | The
Catholic Church | Mystical
Body | Way
of the Cross | Cross
vs. Crucifix | The
Trials & Sorrows of Jesus | Jesus'
Last Words From the Cross | Christ's
Passion (Topical Scripture)
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