Meditation 61
MARY AND THE PASSION
Prelude to the Passion. The Goodbye.
1. The Hour.
The hour appointed by His Heavenly Father for the consummation of the sacrifice had struck. His obedient Son will not retard it for one single moment. Well did He know what the arrival of that hour entailed for Him, but far from being dismayed, He with immense joy mixed with deep sorrow will advance towards the sufferings of His passion. The first step is that of taking leave of His Mother. How can we describe or even imagine that scene? Jesus has called Mary apart and begins to describe the Will of His Father. Listen to His words. Try to imagine the reasons on which He bases His determination to face death. He endeavors to console His Mother's lacerated heart. His Father had decreed these sufferings necessary to satisfy the divine justice, to redeem the world, to destroy the empire of sin. What a terrible idea would Our Lady have of sin when She understood what it would cost to destroy it!
Try to penetrate this point deeply. What a horrible thing sin must be! How displeasing it must be to the Heart of God since His justice cannot be appeased except by the sacrifice of His own Son.
And in order that His Mother might not be taken cruelly unawares by all the tragic events that were to come, and also in order that She should immediately share the sufferings He was about to undergo, He gives Her a detailed account of His passion: of His capture in the garden, of the betrayal of Judas, of the injustice of the several courts, of the terrible scenes of the Praetorium. With a quiver in His voice He tells Her of the horrible tortures of the scourging,l of the crowning with thorns, of the way to Calvary, of the cross on His shoulders, of the crucifixion and finally, how after three hours of frightful agony He would die, insulted and derided even in His last moments. Jesus had bitter hours to spend in His passion but this one was certainly not the most bearable. How much He must have suffered since He Himself was the instrument that tore the heart of His Mother, since every word of His drove the sword of sorrow deeper and deeper into Her heart.
[Excerpted from 'MARIAN MEDITATIONS' Book by Rev. Dr. Ildefonso R. Villar, Salesian Philippine Province, Nihil Obstat; Imprimatur]
The hour appointed by His Heavenly Father for the consummation of the sacrifice had struck. His obedient Son will not retard it for one single moment. Well did He know what the arrival of that hour entailed for Him, but far from being dismayed, He with immense joy mixed with deep sorrow will advance towards the sufferings of His passion. The first step is that of taking leave of His Mother. How can we describe or even imagine that scene? Jesus has called Mary apart and begins to describe the Will of His Father. Listen to His words. Try to imagine the reasons on which He bases His determination to face death. He endeavors to console His Mother's lacerated heart. His Father had decreed these sufferings necessary to satisfy the divine justice, to redeem the world, to destroy the empire of sin. What a terrible idea would Our Lady have of sin when She understood what it would cost to destroy it!
Try to penetrate this point deeply. What a horrible thing sin must be! How displeasing it must be to the Heart of God since His justice cannot be appeased except by the sacrifice of His own Son.
And in order that His Mother might not be taken cruelly unawares by all the tragic events that were to come, and also in order that She should immediately share the sufferings He was about to undergo, He gives Her a detailed account of His passion: of His capture in the garden, of the betrayal of Judas, of the injustice of the several courts, of the terrible scenes of the Praetorium. With a quiver in His voice He tells Her of the horrible tortures of the scourging,l of the crowning with thorns, of the way to Calvary, of the cross on His shoulders, of the crucifixion and finally, how after three hours of frightful agony He would die, insulted and derided even in His last moments. Jesus had bitter hours to spend in His passion but this one was certainly not the most bearable. How much He must have suffered since He Himself was the instrument that tore the heart of His Mother, since every word of His drove the sword of sorrow deeper and deeper into Her heart.
[Excerpted from 'MARIAN MEDITATIONS' Book by Rev. Dr. Ildefonso R. Villar, Salesian Philippine Province, Nihil Obstat; Imprimatur]
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please no anonymous comments. I require at least some way for people to address each other personally and courteously. Having some name or handle helps.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.