Chapter 43: Of the Crucifixion, naked, of the Lord Jesus; and of His hanging for many long hours aloft upon the Cross

I BLESS You, and give thanks to You, O Lord Jesus Christ, most gracious fashioner of man, and Restorer of his fallen nature, for the shame of nakedness endured by You at the foot of the Cross, when before the eyes of the mob who, like beasts of prey howling for their food, were roaring at You, You were stripped of Your clothes, and put to open shame. After all Your clothes had been roughly taken from You, and had been given away as prize, there did You stand blushing, trembling, girt only about the loins with a thin linen cloth, and crowned, instead of a diadem, with a garland of thorns, set at nought of men and utterly despised and rejected: there did You stand, absolutely stripped of this world's goods, as an outcast of the people and a poverty-stricken alien, nay rather as the very poorest of the poor, bereft of everything and of every human consolation. For as, in the Garden of Eden, before Paradise was lost, the first Adam went naked; so now You too do, in like manner, ascend the Cross naked, to regain for us that lost Paradise, from which Adam was cast out, and driven forth. For it was in order that the innocence which had been lost might be restored to fallen man; and in order that he might be clad in a robe of righteousness, and might be made an heir of everlasting life, that You did submit to be deprived of Your clothing, to be overwhelmed with anguish and distress, and in the end to pay the penalty of a most cruel death.

I praise and magnify You, Who would all men to be saved, for the merciless way in which You were stretched out upon the hard wood of the Cross, so roughly spread for You as Your reclining-board; for the sharp piercing of Your hands and feet, and for the driving into them of huge nails, the noise caused by which could be heard far off, and must have moved to tears even the hardest-hearted of the beholders. You were, also, so firmly nailed to the Cross that Your veins suddenly burst, and streams of Your precious Blood poured forth from all parts of Your Body. So ruthlessly indeed was Your Body stretched out lengthwise and breadthwise, as if it had been the skin of a drum, that all Your joints were loosened, and Your bones could be distinctly counted. You did allow Your Hands and Your Feet to be thus pierced •by the ungodly, in order that by having Your sacred Hands fastened to the Cross, You might discharge the debt incurred by Adam in stretching forth wicked hands to touch the forbidden tree; and, by shedding Your innocent Blood, might wipe out the long-standing obligation of a sacrifice for sin.

I praise and glorify You for Your being lifted up on high upon the Cross, and for remaining hung so long upon the arms of that Tree of shame — the Tree which was at that time held by all Jews to be accursed, but is now held in supreme honour by all Christians, and blessed above every tree that grows. On It, for our Salvation, did You hang-, for three full hours or more, working out those great and wonderful mysteries of the Cross, from which were to flow such inestimable benefits for all the world. You were lifted up from the earth that You might draw up after You the loving hearts of those who believe in You, and prevent their leading a mere butterfly life in pursuit of earthly joys; that, by commiserating Your sufferings, the tender hearts of Your faithful ones might become yet more tender, and, at the sight of You upon Your Cross, their love might burn still brighter; that in Yours Own Person You might triumph fully and openly over the powers of the air; that by thus humbling Yourself, You might make for transgressors intercession which could not fail of being heard, and might assure to the truly penitent full and free forgiveness of their sins; and that, by Your death, You might reconcile the things which are in Heaven and the things which are in earth, and might make all things new.

Lift up yours eyes, then, O faithful servant of Jesus, and with sad heart, and mournful countenance, look upon your Redeemer and your God, hanging between the lofty arms of the Cross. Your loved One hangs there naked, that you may look on Him; His feet cannot move, but He waits for you to come to Him, He longs for you freely to draw near to Him. He lovingly opens wide His Arms, He shows you His gaping wounds, He bends forward His Head to kiss you, He is ready to receive you into His favour, and without delay to forgive you all your sins. Draw near, then, boldly to the Cross, touch lovingly that which represents it, embrace it fervently, hold it firmly, kiss it devoutly. Throw yourself at its feet, lie there, cling to the ground it hallows, go not from the Cross; that so at least one drop of the Blood which is trickling from it may fall on you; or that you may win to hear some word spoken by the Crucified, or, when the end comes, to stand by His side. May the same earth which received Jesus at His death, receive you too; and where Jesus was buried, there may you too find the place of your rest, that as you are one with Him in spirit, so also you may be in the last resting-place of your body.

Pay to Him the duty, which you owe Him, of your tears; enter into the secret chamber of your heart; let the Crucified find in you a loving and a sorrowing disciple, one who is thankful and devout, a cherisher of the inner life, and one who is drawn by the cords of love to His wounds; that so the whole world may be crucified to you, and you to the world; that so to you to live may be Christ, and to die with Him your greatest gain. Be it far from you to glory, save in the Cross of Jesus Christ, your Lord. Be it far from you to trust in your own merits; because upon the Cross of Jesus alone depend your Salvation and your Redemption, and on Him you are most firmly bound to place your only hope. Through Him it is that your sins are forgiven, from Him it is that rich merits flow forth abundantly; with Him are the rewards of the righteous; and He will give to every man the just recompense of his deeds.

Strive therefore, after the example of the Crucified, to cast off the burden of things earthly, and to withdraw your heart from all that may be hurtful to its inner life; to hold yourself aloof from the unrealities of your passions and of worldly cares; and to live your life in the pure nakedness of truth; that so you may be able, by despising yourself and all transitory things, purely and humbly to fashion yourself after the pattern of Him, Who hung naked upon the Cross; and so, by meekly bearing, because of your burning love for your suffering Redeemer, detraction and disgrace, you shall be made strong, and worthy of being raised upon a cross of your own. Learn to rejoice in being despised and set at nought, to grieve more than you are wont over the sins of others; and pray that all men may lead better lives. Deem yourself fit only for contempt, and yearn for the salvation of those who do you wrong. Put small trust in men: few are faithful in time of need; and friends, who will stand by you, are seldom to be had. Wonder not at this; nor think it sad. Christ knew what it was to be forsaken by His friends, and to be surrounded by enemies: He Who went about doing good was repaid by base ingratitude. Put your trust in the Crucified, your Guide, and gracious Master; even in the time of trouble hold last to Him, as He hangs upon the Cross, and you shall find grace, and be victorious over all your enemies. But make ready a place for Him, and prepare, by humble and devout contrition of heart, a way for God's grace; that so you may be able to draw sweet comfort from the wounds and sufferings of Jesus, and may taste how pleasant a thing it is to bear reproach, and to be treated as of no account, for the sake of His Holy Name. Choose a solitary life, so as to be able to get rid of causes of distraction; to find comfort in the Cross; to withstand sensuality; to guard against venial faults; not easily to fall a prey to idle vanities; to hold your peace as to matters which do not concern you; carefully to cherish the good that is within you. For it ill becomes one, who is devoted to the Passion, to give way to immoderate laughter; and to be wanting in gravity of behaviour is not consistent with a life in Religion. All these things are to be learnt from the Passion of the Crucified, and happy is the man who is daily exercised therein; for his spiritual progress will be sounder than that of his brethren, he will be fed with the fruit of the tree of life, and he will have joy therein for ever.

Look, O Heavenly Father, upon the Face of Your Christ, as He hangs upon the Cross for me; and for the sake of the all-sufficient merits of Your Only-Begotten Son, pierced with nails, and besprinkled with blood, be merciful to me a sinner, tied and bound with the chains of so many sins. For He was wounded to blot out my iniquities, He will make satisfaction to You for all my sins. He will answer to You in my stead. Him I offer to You as my Surety; Him I choose as my Advocate; Him I put forward as my Mediator; to Him I leave the defence of my cause. He will make good all in which I have fallen short; He, the blessed Fruit of the Virgin's Womb, will fully atone for all my transgressions of Your commands. His pleading on my behalf, O most merciful Father, You will surely take pleasure in accepting; and thus, on account of His exceeding love, and great desire for my eternal salvation, I may always feel that hope and consolation, which in this life are profitable for me, and without which, in the life to come, I must needs be undone.

O good and tender Jesus, All-Holy Son of God, Who, in fulfilment of Your Father's Will, did vouchsafe to take upon You, without any spot of sin, the substance of our fleshy and to offer the same upon the altar of the Cross for the salvation of the world, have mercy upon me, Your servant, who pray to You for pardon and for grace. Of Your goodness, and for the infinite merit's sake of Your Passion, forgive, I beseech You, all my sins, whether new or old, whether committed against You knowingly, or unknowingly. Your merits far outweigh the sins of all mankind; and the fullness of Your atonement far exceeds my every sin, no matter how often committed. To You, therefore, do I flee for refuge, invoking the protection of Your Cross, to which I trust for mercy greater than all my need; to You, from the bottom of my heart, do I cry, beseeching You to help me, and to save me. I venerate the sign of the Cross, I honour the banner of the Cross, I kiss the foot of the Cross, I invoke the aid of the Cross. Hearken to me in my distress; receive me, who flee to You for help; heal me, who come to You in contrition of heart; justify me a sinner. Till I am taken back into Your favour, I will not leave You, nor let You go.

Root out of my heart, I pray You, O my Crucified Lord Jesus, all love for the things of this world. Take me by the arms, and raise me to the height of Your Cross; let me follow You whithersoever You go. With You at hand, and keeping close to You, and so lifted up above all earthly things, gladly will I share Your poverty and nakedness, passing my life in this world as an exile and unknown. Implant in my flesh the fear of You, lest I give way to sloth or laziness; transfix my feet, that so I may steadfastly persevere, and may bravely endure toil and sorrow. May Your nails be driven through the centre of my heart, and rack me with a wholesome wound, that so I may shed abundant tears of true contrition, and be as it were beside myself with the intensity of my love. Inspire me with sorrow, increase my devotion, till nothing is dearer to me, and nothing closer to my heart than Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified.