153. Thursday after Fourth Sunday in Lent.
Lord, let there be silence, that we may hear;
and dispel the mists that cloud our vision. Amen.
Matthew 27, 33. 34. John 19, 18. Mark 15, 28. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
❦
The Lord did not wish to taste anything which would blunt his senses; it was his will to taste death for us in all its bitterness. And now the hour is come; now the Lamb of the Passover is to be slaughtered; now the Son of Man is to be lifted up; now all the prophecies concerning his passion in atonement for us are about to be fulfilled; now he is to become the accursed for our sake, as it is written: “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” — Blessed Son of God, my Savior, dearest beloved of my soul; I see thee, as thou art being led to the place of execution for criminals, between two other malefactors. Thou, who didst not know sin, hast been made to be sin for me; but thou art the same alway, love and righteousness itself; and thy divine purity sparkles with undiminished lustre in the fiery crucible of God’s wrath. I see thee, as thou dost permit them to lay hold on thy sacred body, again strip it of its robes, lay it down, stretch it on the cross, and drive the nails through hands and feet. They were fastened to the cross with nails, these hands which were never raised to heaven except to bless us and intercede for us, and which were never moved on earth except to do good. I see them raise the cross; and thou, my Jesus, the only begotten of the Father, the glory of all the heavens, dost hang on it, a curse for the sake of us accursed sinners. Dost thou love us so well, thou everlasting, blessed God? Dost thou regard us as being worth so much that thou art willing to become a malefactor and die the death on the cross on Golgotha for our sake; for us wretched and wicked men, for me and all other sinners, who in ourselves are but venom and gall, and are among them that crucified thee, and that walked around the cross and mocked thee? Take, then, my soul as thy spoil; take my heart, and fill it with thy love; take my every vital emotion, my every drop of blood, my every heartbeat; take me wholly and entirely, and let me be thine alway, to serve thee forever, and to live for thee, for thee only! Crucify everything in me which is displeasing to thee, that I do not henceforth live unto myself, but unto thee, who didst love me and give thyself for me! Precious Lord Jesus, I heartily beseech thee, grant me this grace: have mercy on me, even me, miserable sinner that I am, Lord Jesus! Thou didst let thyself be crucified for me; and I am thine, bought with a price. Let me never, never lose thy cross and the nails that pierced thy hands and feet. Amen.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.