The Man of Sorrows

"O sweet Jesus, I understand what You must be feeling!  O good Jesus, meek and loving!  You suffered martyrdom by the many wounds caused by the scourging and the nails. You were crowned with thorns.  How many, O good Jesus, were they who struck You!  Your Father struck You, since He did not spare You, but made You a victime for all of us.  You struck Yourself when You offered Your soul to death, that soul which cannot be take from You aginst Your will.  The disciple who betrayed You with a kiss struck You too.  The Jews struck You with their hands and feet, and the Gentiles struck You with whips and pierced You with nails.  Oh! how many people, how many humiliations, how many executioners!

 "And how many gave You over!  The heavenly Father gave You for us, and You gave Yourself, as St. Paul joyfullys says:  'He loved me and delivered Himself up for me.'

"What a marvelous exchange!  the Master delivers Himself for a slave, God for man, the Creator for the creature, the innocent One for the sinner.  You put Yourelf into the hands of the traitor, the faithless disciple.  The traitor handed You over to the Jews, who Jews delivered you to the Gentiles to be mocked, scourged, spit upon, and crucified.  You had said these things; You had foretold them, and they came to pass.  Then, when all was accomplished, You were crucified and numbered among the wicked.  But it was not enough that You were wounded.   To the pain of Your wounds, they added other ignominies and, to slake Your burning thrist, they gave You wine mixed with myrrh and gall.

"I weep for You, my King, my Lord, and Master, my Father and Brother, my beloved Jesus" (St. Bonaventure).

From Divine Intimacy, Meditations on the Interior Life

for Every Day of the Liturgical Year

by Father Gabriel of St .Mary Magdalen, OCD