FOURTH MEDITATION FOR LENT
And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother: "Behold, this child is set for the falling and rising up of many in Israel; and for a sign which is shall be contradicted." (Luke 2:34)
This prediction pierced the Heart of Mary like a sword; but what an impression did it not make on the Heart of her Divine Son! Jesus Christ then offered Himself to His Eternal Father for the salvation of all men, and the price which He offered was infinitely beyond the debt which He paid. Nevertheless, this Victim immolated for all will be useless for a very great number, and the infinite price offered for all men will be for the ruin and the resurrection of many. This Divine Victim is still offered and immolated daily on our altars for our salvation by the hands of the priest, and may we not say that this same Victim is for the ruin and the resurrection of many? And how could it be otherwise, since He is still an object of contradiction for men? Some refuse to recognize Jesus Christ; others while recognizing Him, despise Him. The majority forget Him, and even those who think of Him are not always grateful. Was it not enough, O my Divine Savior, that this prophecy should have been accomplished during Thy mortal life; must it be still renewed daily by the contempt with which Thy Sacred Person is treated in the Blessed Sacrament? It has pierced the Heart of Thy Mother with sorrow; will it never touch my heart?
[From 'The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus' by Fr. John Croiset, SJ]
This prediction pierced the Heart of Mary like a sword; but what an impression did it not make on the Heart of her Divine Son! Jesus Christ then offered Himself to His Eternal Father for the salvation of all men, and the price which He offered was infinitely beyond the debt which He paid. Nevertheless, this Victim immolated for all will be useless for a very great number, and the infinite price offered for all men will be for the ruin and the resurrection of many. This Divine Victim is still offered and immolated daily on our altars for our salvation by the hands of the priest, and may we not say that this same Victim is for the ruin and the resurrection of many? And how could it be otherwise, since He is still an object of contradiction for men? Some refuse to recognize Jesus Christ; others while recognizing Him, despise Him. The majority forget Him, and even those who think of Him are not always grateful. Was it not enough, O my Divine Savior, that this prophecy should have been accomplished during Thy mortal life; must it be still renewed daily by the contempt with which Thy Sacred Person is treated in the Blessed Sacrament? It has pierced the Heart of Thy Mother with sorrow; will it never touch my heart?
[From 'The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus' by Fr. John Croiset, SJ]
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