JOHN M. KELLY LIBRARY
Donated by
The Redemptorists of
the Toronto Province
from the Library Collection of
Holy Redeemer College, Windsor
University of
St. Michael's College, Toronto
HOLY REDEEMER LIBRARY,
THE
ISTORY OF THE PASSION
'•-•
•v
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
EXPLAINED BY
REV. JAMES QROENINQS,
OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS.
ST. LOUIS, MO., 1900.
Published by B. HERDER,
17 South Broadway. *<,
HOLY REDEEMER LIBRARY, V.J&OR
&
r\ -
NIHIL OBSTAT.
STI LUDOVICI, die 3. Mail 1900.
F. G. HOLWECK,
Censor Theologicus.
IMPKIMATUK.
STI LUDOVICI, 4. Mail 1900.
H. MUEHLSIEPEN, V. G.,
Adm.
Copyright, 1900, by Jos. Gummersbach.
PREFACE.
This book contains an explanation of the
history of the Passion of Jesus Christ. It
describes the most important and most inter
esting trial ever held before any court, for
upon its decision depended the weal or woe of
all mankind. It explains the greatest drama
ever enacted upon any stage. The personnel
of the actors, the grandeur of the action, the
importance of the plot and the ensuing results,
were such that, considered merely from a
natural point of view, no other tragedy can
compare with the history of the Passion of
Our Lord.
The works which were chiefly consulted for
the principal explanations of the following
pages were: A. Salmeron, S. J., Comment, in
Evangel. Historiam; Fr. Toletus, S. J., Com
ment. in Joannis Evangel. ; J. Maldonat, S. J.,
Comment, in quatuor Evangelistas ; Seb. Bar-
radas, S. J., Comment, in Concordiam et
Historiam quatuor Evangelist. ; Cornelius a
Lapide, S. J., Comment in quatuor Evange-
lia; P. A. Scherer, Bibliothek fiir Prediger;
Fr. Xav. Weszl, Erklarung der heiligen Schrif-
ten des neuen Testamentes ; the Commentaries
(iii)
iv Preface.
of Dr. P. Schegg to .88. Matthew and
John; the Commentaries of Dr. P. Schanz
to the four Evangelists; Dr. J. M. Sepp,
Das Leben Jesu Christi (2nd edit.); Dr. P.
Schegg, Das Leben Jesu; L. de Ponte, S. J.,
Meditationes ; L. de la Palma, S. J., History
of the Sacred Passion; W. Stanihurstus, S.
J., Dei immortalis in corpore mortali pati-
entis historia; R. Bellarmin, S. J., The Seven
Words of Christ on the Cross; A. F. Lennig,
Betrachtungen iiber das bittere Leiden Jesu
Christi; A. Etzinger, Betrachtungen iiber das
Leiden und Sterben Jesu Christi.
May the reading of this book, with the help
of God's grace, contribute to some extent
towards inflaming in our hearts the love of
the Crucified One.
THE AUTHOR
CONTENTS.
Page.
Preface iii
FIRST CHAPTER.
The sufferings of Christ's Soul in the Garden
of Olives, considered .... 1
I. In themselves .... 3
II. In their causes .... 8
SECOND CHAPTER.
Circumstances surrounding the sufferings of
Christ's Soul in the Garden of Olives . 15
I. The circumstances of these sufferings 16
II. The motives of these sufferings . 21
THIRD CHAPTER.
The prayer of Christ in the Garden of Olives 27
I. Its circumstances .... 29
II. Its qualities . . . . , 32
III. The effects of the threefold prayer
of Christ 35
FOURTH CHAPTER.
The repeated calls of Christ on His apostles 40
I. The reasons of the calls . . .41
II. The words which Christ spoke to
the apostles 47
FIFTH CHAPTER.
The treason of Judas 53
I. In its historical preparation . 54
(v)
vi Contents.
Page.
II. In its final execution ... 61
III. In its innermost source . 67
SIXTH CHAPTER.
The seizure of the Eedeemer . . . .71
I. Miracle to prove His Divine Power 73
II. Miracle to prove His Divine Love . 76
SEVENTH CHAPTER.
The incidents directly following the seizure . 83
I. The journey from the mount of
Olives to Annas . . . .87
II. The preliminary hearing before Annas 92
EIGHTH CHAPTER.
The trial of Christ before Caiphas . . 100
I. The testimony of the witnesses . 102
II. The sentencing of the accused . 106
III. The illegal maltreatment of the sen
tenced One 110
NINTH CHAPTER.
The triple denial of Peter . . . .115
I. The story of the denial . . 118
II. It causes . . . .123
III. The repentance following it , 129
TENTH CHAPTER.
The death of the traitor . . . . 134
I. Penitent Judas . . . 138
II. The heathens and hypocritial high-
priests 142
III. Despair and death of the disciple 146
ELEVENTH CHAPTER.
The accusation before Pilate 151
Contents. vii
Page.
I. The motives of the accusation . 153
II. The negotiations with Pilate con
cerning it 155
III. The subject of the accusation . . 160
TWELFTH CHAPTER.
The first trial of Christ before Pilate . . 166
I. The hearing detailed . . . 167
II. The chief mistake of Pilate during
the hearing 174
THIRTEENH CHAPTER.
Christ before Herod 181
I. Joy of Herod 184
II. Disappointment of Herod . . 189
III. Eevenge of Herod . . . .195
FOURTEENTH CHAPTER.
Christ and Barabbas .... 200
I. Effort of Pilate to free Christ . . 202
II. Its result 206
FIFTEENTH CHAPTER.
The scourging of Christ . . . .214
U/ I. The scourging considered in itself 215
^ II. The special reasons why Christ
wished to undergo it . . -221
SIXTEENTH CHAPTER.
The crowning with thorns .... 226
I. The legitimate title of Christ to a
frS crown . . . . .228
II. The insignia offered Him . . 230
III. The homage paid Him . . .234
viii Contents.
Page.
SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER.
Ecce Homo . . . . . 238
I. Another effort to free Christ . . 231)
II. Its result 241
EIGHTEENTH CHAPTER.
The second hearing of Christ before Pilate 248
I. The hearing in detail . . . 248
II. The mistakes of Pilate during its
progress 255
NINETEENTH CHAPTER.
The close of the trial 260
I. The last effort of Pilate to free Christ 261
II. The solemn declaration of His own
innocence 264
III. The condemning to death of the Re
deemer 268
TWENTIETH CHAPTER.
The carrying of the Cross . . . . 272
I. Preparation for the last journey . 273
II. Journey to the gate of the city . 277
TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER.
The march to the place of execution . . ,285
I. Sympathy of the chief -priests . 286
II. Sympathy of the women of Jerusalem 290
TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER.
The execution 298
I. Final preparations for the crucifixion 300
II. The crucifixion itself. 303
Contents. ix
Page.
TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTER.
The first word of Christ on the cross . 311
I. The object of the petition contained
therein 313
II. The reasons adduced by Christ why
it should be heard . . . .317
TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER.
The second word of Christ on the cross . 324
I. Its occasion 326
II. Its meaning .... 332
TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER.
The third word of Christ on the cross . 339
I. The persons to whom Christ ad
dressed it 340
II. The word itself .... 345
TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTER.
The fourth word of Christ on the cross . . 353
I. Sense of the plaint contained therein 354
II. Reasons for uttering the plaint . 357
III. Different impressions produced by
it on the bystanders . . . 362
TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER.
The fifth word of Christ on the cross . . 367
I. Reasons for uttering the plaint con
tained therein . . . . .368
II. Circumstances and qualities of the
plaint 371
III. Granting of the prayer contained in
the plaint . . . . • . 373
Contents.
Page.
TWENTY-EIGHTH CHAPTER.
ixth word of Christ on the cross . . 378
I. The death of Christ on the cross is
a true sacrifice .... 379
II. The death of Christ on the cross is
a sacrifice of infinite value . . 386
TWENTY-NINTH CHAPTER.
fhe seventh word of Christ on the cross . 393
I. Its meaning .... 394
II. Circumstances of its utterance . 398
THIRTIETH CHAPTER.
The sufferings of Christ on the cross . . 405
\l I. The sufferings of the Crucified One
in His sacred body . . . 406
The sufferings of the Crucified One
in His sense of honor . . . 409
The sufferings of the Crucified One
in His soul 417
THIRTY-FIRST CHAPTER.
Wonderful events before and at the death
of Christ 423
H I. The wonderful incidents considered
At in themselves . . . . 425
WvII. The diverse effects they produced
on men 430
THIRTY-SECOND CHAPTER.
Events immediately following the death of
Ik I Christ .435
^JM I. Breaking of the thieves' bones . 436
<XVS II. Opening of the side of Christ . . 439
Contents. xi
Page.
THIRTY-THIRD CHAPTER.
The last events in the history of the Passion 447
I. The descent of the cross . . . 448
II. The preparation for burial . . 454
III. The burial 456
THIRTY-FOURTH CHAPTER.
watch at the tomb 463
I. Negotiations with Pilate concerning it 465
II. The watch at the tomb itself 471
t
CHAPTER I.
The Sufferings of Christ's Soul in the Garden of
Olives.
The Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar had
been instituted. The words of leave taking
had been spoken by the Saviour. The hymn
of praise prescribed by the law, had been sung.
Then Jesus, as was His wont, went with His
disciples to a garden situated on the Mount of
Olives. The garden was distant about half a
league from the Cenacle and belonged to a
farm called Gethsemane, a word meaning 'Oil
Press/ The way led over the brook Ce-
dron, which, being fed by the humidities of
winter, was dry in mid-summer. The word,
'Cedron' means a dark, obscure ravine, a vale
of shadows. It had received this name either
because of the darkness spread by the thick
growth of woods in the valley, or because the
valley of Josephat, through which it flowed,
was the valley of sin, the valley of tombs.
For there, in olden times, sacrifices were
offered to Moloch, there the Jews were buried.
Every year, over a specially constructed plank
2 History of the Passion.
gang-way, which spanned this deep rock-
ribbed ravine, the red cow was led to the Mount
of Olives, there to be burnt for the atonement
of the people. Over the same way the scape
goat was driven out to be devoured by wild
beasts, thus to give vicarious satisfaction
for the sins of men. We now behold, follow
ing the same way, the Son of God, the Pure
One, the innocent Lamb, Who shall take away
the sins of the world. In days gone by, King
David with his faithful adherents had also
crossed the Cedron, in tears and his head cov
ered in mourning, for he was fleeing from his
son Absalom. Christ crossed the brook, not
to flee from His enemies, but to deliver Him
self to the betrayer in the Garden of Olives.
For Judas, the traitor, knew the place, because
Jesus had often gone there with His disciples,
especially in the days just passed.
On the way, in clear terms, Jesus again fore
told the unfaithfulness of the disciples, espe
cially of Peter ; but they would not believe Him.
Peter, with self-confident presumption, pro
tested anew that, if even all the others would
be scandalized in the Master, he certainly
would not ; that he would rather die with Him
than deny Him. By thus extolling himself
above the others through his assurance of at
tachment and fidelity, Peter caused them to
take offense and they began to protest in like
The sufferings in the Garden of Olives. 3
manner. But the Lord sought to prepare them
for the things to come, and to console them,
even then, by directing their attention to His
proximate resurrection. Conversing on these
and similar subjects, they at length arrived at
the garden of Grethsemane.
The mysteries of the Garden of Olives can
properly be classed under the following heads:
Christ plunged in sadness and wrestling with
death; Christ praying to His heavenly Father ;
Christ calling on His disciples ; Christ betrayed
by Judas; Christ captured by His enemies;
and, at the end, the flight of the apostles.
Let us consider the sufferings of the Sav
iour's soul:
I. In themselves ;
II. In their causes.
I.
The sufferings of our Saviour's soul in.their
first stage are described in the following man
ner by the evangelists. Matthew writes: "He
"began to grow sorrowful and to be sad.
"Then he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful
"even unto death." Mark narrates: "And he
"began to fear and to be heavy. And he
"saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even un-
"to death.77
The evangelists, then, make use of three ex
pressions in characterizing the mental suffer-
4 History of the Passion.
ings of the Saviour. They speak of sadness,
of trembling, caused by fear, of repugnance.
Sadness is the result of a present evil that
already has befallen one ; fear arises from the
thought of a future evil, to avoid which seems
very difficult ; repugnance is felt under the press
ure of present, inevitable evils and in the
thought of future evils which appear unavoid
able and are therefore considered already
present.
At the thought of present or future evils,
we, human beings, are simply overwhelmed
with sadness, fear and repugnance. For these
passionate emotions do not arise in us from
reflecting reason and free will. They rather
have their origin in the lower powers of the
soul, whence they ascend to the higher facul
ties, moving the will and alluring its sympathy.
They inm ahead of reason's reflection and they
are present before one is aware of it. They
therefore render more difficult the calm appre
hension of reason. But thus far there is no
personal fault, no sin. It is merely something
human, particularly a result of our deteriorated
nature. Now, however, it becomes the duty
of the reasonable will to command and to con
quer these ebullitions of passion by motives of
reason and of faith, as well as by prayer and
divine grace. Instead, however, of acting in
such a manner, our will too often, through its
The sufferings in the Garden of Olives. 5
own fault, yields and allows full sway to the
emotions and permits itself to be carried on
ward to sins of impatience, anger and others
similar, all of which causes the reason to be
come still more obscured.
It was not so with Christ. All that He
suffered, never in the least bedimmed the clear
apprehension of reason. For with full con
viction and freedom He first presented to His
mind the causes of sadness, of fear and of re
pugnance. Then, it is true, He permitted
these emotions to produce their painful effects
to the fullest extent upon His will and, through
the will, upon the other faculties of His soul.
But at the same time He presented to His soul
counter-motives, which encouraged Him to
patiently undergo the sufferings, and, for our
example, He simultaneously addressed Him-
'self , in earnest prayer, to His heavenly Father.
Thus He suffered and still always retained a
perfect control over these inner emotions.
We are here confronted by a great mystery.
The soul of Christ, on the one hand, from the
moment of its creation, enjoyed the beatific
vision and, in consequence, untold happiness
whilst in the mortal body ; whilst, on the other,
it experienced sorrows from other causes and
was sad even unto death. J) Only a most incom
prehensible miracle of Divine Power and Love
could bring this about and did bring it about
') Note 1.
6 History of the Passion.
in the case of the Saviour alone. For faith
teaches us that the blessed in heaven, owing
to the beatific vision, are immune from any
and all sufferings and that, after the last day,
their bodies shall also be impassible.
In the second stage, the sufferings of the
soul of Christ increased to a real fear of death
whence they passed to a condition of agony,
or death-struggle, which produced a bloody
sweat. This incident is mentioned by the
evangelist Luke in the following terms: "And
"being in agony, " i. e. whilst struggling
against the fear of death, "he prayed the longer.
"And his sweat became as drops of blood
"trickling down upon the ground/7
How shall we explain the fear of death in
Christ? In the rest of men, this fear usually
arises from three causes : from the conscious
ness of sins committed in the past, from the
uncertainty of the future lot awaiting the soul
and, lastly, from the natural reluctance of the
soul to leave the body. It is evident that in
Christ the fear of death could not arise from
the first and second causes, for He had nothing
to regret in the past and, as to the future, He
knew full well that He would go to the Father.
The fear of death in Him arose, therefore,
from the last mentioned cause. It is to be
remarked, however, that the fear of death in
Him was different from that which we experi-
The sufferings in the Garden of Olives. 1
ence. In us the repugnance to death and its
fear are felt without the consent of our will,
even against its consent, while, in Christ, the
fear of death was willed with full deliberation
and freedom.
The agony of the Saviour consisted in His
struggling, with the whole power of His will,
against the fear of death which He had freely
admitted, in His subduing and conquering
it. It was, indeed, a most remarkable con
flict in the heart of the Glod-Man. Christ
there appears as a general who, being certain
of victory, challenges and provokes the enemy
to combat, but only to conquer and to slay
him.
The bloody sweat, finally, which accom
panied the fear of death, was the result of the
struggle, and not of the fear. Fear, notably
the fear of impending death, does not drive
the blood out of the heart, but rather back to
it. Fright and fear produce a pale, not a
ruddy complexion. The bloody sweat, there
fore, was a result of the death-struggle, that
is, of the great effort of will power to overcome
the fear of death. It must, indeed, have been
a powerful effort, which drove the blood, after
it had rushed through fear to the heart, back
through the sacred body to find vent and ooze
out, in big drops, through the pores.
There He lies, the Almighty, the Strong
8 History of the Passion.
One of Israel, the Shield of the Hero, the Lion
of the tribe of Juda, like to a worm trodden in
the dust, scarcely able to emit a sigh. Finally,
with great effort, He rises. He uplifts His
face to heaven, and, in the calm light of the
full moon, the Holy Face appears covered
with innumerable red drops, and these drops
are the heart's blood of the Son of Grod, which,
amid the most fearful pains, is pressed out of
all the pores of His Sacred Body. The bloody
drops fall upon the earth to free it from the
ancient curse, and, like to the blood of Abel,
they cry to heaven, not for vengeance, how
ever, but for mercy. What then, we have a
right to ask, what were the causes which gave
rise to these sufferings of the soul?
II.
The sufferings of the soul of Christ resulted
chiefly from four causes. The first cause was
the clear knowledge the Saviour had of all the
pains He had to endure in His natural body,
in His sacramental body, and in His mystic
body. The images of all the terrors and of
all the tortures to be brought forth by the com
ing day, arraigned themselves vividly before
His eyes. He beheld the bloody scourge, the
crown of sharp thorns, the dishonor of the
purple mantle, the false testimonies, the scorn
ful and biting jeers, the altar of sacrifice on
The sufferings in the Garden oj Olives. 9
Golgatha. These dreadful images caused Him
to feel all the impending pains even before the
rude menial raised the fearful scourge, before
the cruel nails pierced His sacred hands and
feet. The mere thought of an approaching
operation or of a threatening disgrace, has
caused many a one to swoon. Why should it
be a matter of surprise that the heart of the
Redeemer, at the sight of such woes, trembled
in its inmost fibres and prematurely shed its
blood? Add to this the fore-knowledge of all
wrongs and dishonors to be done Him in His
sacramental body through the various sins
against the Blessed Sacrament, of all the per
secutions and ignominies to accrue to His
mystic body, the holy Church, from infidels,
heretics and schismatics, from cruel tyrants,
from anti-Catholic governments and from the
scandalous lives of many Catholics. He knew
that He could no more endure these pains
after His death, therefore He drank in advance
this cup of suffering in the garden of Gethse-
mane. In the second place, the conduct of
His ungrateful disciples was to the Redeemer
a source of untold sadness. One is already on
the way to betray Him for thirty pieces of sil
ver; another, a few hours hence, will deny
Him ; all of them are indifferent and given to
careless slumber. In ages to come, the ex
ample of these ingrates will be followed by
10 History of the Passion.
millions of Christians after they shall have
reaped the abundance of His benefits, after
they shall have been freed, through His pre-
clous Blood, from the thraldom of Satan and
nourished with His own sacred flesh. Truly
the Saviour could exclaim with the Psalmist:
"I am become a stranger to my brethren, and
"an alien to the sons of my mother. And I
" looked for one that would grieve together
"with me, but there was none: and for one
"that would comfort me and I found none."
The third cause was the painful knowledge
that all His struggles and sufferings would be
wasted on innumerable souls. Hear His plaint
in the words of Isaias, the prophet: "I have
"labored in vain, I have spent my strength
"without cause and in vain." May Grod
grant that, in these pathetic lamentations, his
thoughts were not impelled towards any of us !
Above all, He was painfully affected in this
regard, by the woful end of His apostle Judas,
as well as by the temporal and eternal ruin to
wards which His chosen and beloved people of
Israel were drifting.
All this is, indeed, more than sufficient to
break a heart, even a divine heart. And still
St. Chrysostom says that we should err were
we to think that the knowledge of all the afore
mentioned sufferings were the principal cause
of the mental grief and of the mortal anguish
, The sufferings in the Garden of Olives. 11
of Christ. For no matter how fearful these
sufferings were, the Redeemer had anxiously
desired them and intensely longed for them.
No matter how heavy, how shameful the cross
might be, no matter that to many it was a folly ,
and a scandal, it would also bring salvation
unto many ; for Christ Himself it would be the
foundation of His Glory; to the heavenly
Father it would bring infinite honor.
It must, then, have been something else that
made the soul of Our Saviour tremble ; it must
have been something else that could make of a
God of infinite glory a God struggling with
death. It was sin. "The sorrows of death
" surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity
" troubled me. " In the hour when the high
priests and pharisees consulted together in the
court of Caiphas how they might apprehend
Jesus, the heavenly Father imposed upon Him,
(the purity of His soul, however, remaining
unsullied), all the injustices of the whole
world, the sins of all nations, the sins of all
times, the sins of all classes; the sins of kings,
the sins of subjects; the sins of the rich, the
sins of the poor ; the sins of parents and the
sins of children. Is it a wonder that this
burden of iniquities, laid upon the Saviour,
should press Him to the ground?
To us, forsooth, who know so little of the
supernatural, sin often appears in more sub-
12 History oftlie Passion.
dued colors. We excuse it, we consider it a
mere weakness, something natural, a result of
youthful age and of temperament. We fear
at most sin's penalties threatened by God's
anger. But the soul of Christ saw, clearly and
distinctly, not only the entire series of sins
from the disobedience of our first parents down
to the desolations of dooms-day, but also all
the malice, all the abomination, the revolt, the
contempt, the dark ingratitude, contained in
each and every sin. Even when we recognize
the wrong done to Almighty God by our sins,
we take it little to heart, because we love Him
so little. But the soul of Christ, which sought
nothing more strenuously than the glory of
His heavenly Father and which loved Him
with an immeasurable love greater than that
of all the Cherubim and Seraphim, felt most
vividly the wrong inflicted on the Divine
Majesty by sin. The sorrows of David over
the injustices of the chosen people, the grief
and indignation of Elias at the scandals and
the idolatries of Israel, the tears of the prophet
Jeremiah over the infidelities of Jerusalem,
were merely faint figures of the sadness of
Jesus when He beheld the sins of the entire
world.
And if that be the case, we cannot preclude
from our hearts another consideration. At the
sight of our sins a God is seized with painful
The sufferings in the Garden of Olives. 13
disquiet and we remain calm. A God is sad
over our sins and we take pleasure therein. A
God sweats blood for our sins and we never
shed a tear. We sin and, instead of hesitating
and trembling, we think perhaps: "I have
"sinned and what harm hath befallen me?"
At the sight of our sins, a God-Man writhes in
agony, and we, perhaps, live on in a dread
torpor which is an insult to the agony of
Christ, in a false security, which, in a way, is
more terrible than sin itself. We, perhaps,
shall slumber on in utter blindness until that
hour in which the voice of the eternal Judge
will awaken us. 0 dreadful moment in
which the Redeemer, now mute and patient in
the Garden of Olives, burdened down with the
mountain of our sins, will unsheath before
the sinner the flaming sword of vengeance. O
dreadful moment, in which the same Redeemer,
who now sheds His blood for our sins, will
demand of the sinner an account of the blood
shed in vain. O most dreadful moment in
which the heart, now tortured out of love for
us, even unto death, will appear glowing with
eternal wrath.
Still, however great our fault may be, even
if our sins be as numerous as -the grains of
sand on the sea-shore, we must not despair.
Now is still the time of grace, even now, from
all the pores of the Redeemer wrestling with
14 History of the Passion.
death, His precious blood is being shed for us,
even now His divine Heart is beating warmly
for us. Let us firmly resolve to flee the mon
ster sin which caused a God to tremble ; by
means of the Precious Blood, to purify our
selves in the sacrament of Penance; and,
henceforth so to live as to justify the hope
that, when we shall writhe in the throes of
death, the agony of Christ may bring us, not
despair, but solace; not ruin, but salvation.
CHAPTER II.
Circumstances surrounding the Sufferings of
Christ in the Garden of Olives.
"And he saith to them: My soul
"is sorrowful even unto death."
Mark 14. 34.
In considering the history of the Passion, we
must, as much as possible, pass in review not
only the chief events, but also the subordinate
occurrences, even minute details narrated by
the evangelists. Whatever, namely, the Holy
Grhost, through the Sacred Scriptures, has
made known to us concerning the Person, the
work and the Passion of Christ, cannot be
anything small or trivial ; it must be worthy of
our consideration and mature reflection. These
various outward circumstances are often full
of deep mystery and, when we penetrate into
their meaning, they heighten the interest in
the chief event itself. Furthermore, for a
thorough understanding of the facts, it is also
very useful to examine and investigate, with
humble moderation, as much as our limited
powers will permit, their inward circumstances,
(15)
16 History oftlie Passion.
i. e. the causes why they should and must
have happened us they did.
We shall, therefore, stop at the subject of our
first chapter, in order to complete, with a few
touches, the sketch of the Saviour, sad unto
death and sweating blood. We shall consider:
I. The circumstances of His sufferings;
II. The motives which induced Him to
undergo these sufferings.
I.
The outward circumstances of the sufferings
of the Redeemer's soul are of a threefold kind:
circumstances of place, of time and of persons.
Let us consider first the circumstances of
place. Christ began His Passion in a garden,
more precisely, in an olive-garden. When
the Redeemer felt the hour of His capture
drawing nigh, He left the Cenacle. He would
not cause discomfort to the good man who had
generously opened his house to Him for the
institution of the Most Holy Sacrament. He
wished to spare the man all annoyance which
might come to him, were the Lord to be
seized in his house . He left the city altogether.
Outside of its walls, in God's open nature, He
decided to begin and to end His Passion, to
show that He shed His blood not for Jerusalem
alone, but for the entire world. For the be
ginning of His Passion, He chose a wonder-
Circumstances surrounding the sufferings. 17
fully beautiful garden. How significant this
choice was! In a garden, the first Adam had
committed the first sin, the sin of disobedience ;
therefore it was in a garden that the second
Adam should say to His Father: "Not what I
"will, but what thou wilt." In a garden
Adam, through an abuse of liberty, had
plunged the entire human race into the most
shameful captivity; in a garden, therefore,
through the bonds of Christ, our fetters were
to be broken. In a garden, God had pro
nounced the death-penalty upon Adam ; hence,
in a garden, Christ would take upon Himself
this judgment and this curse. In a garden
the human race was lost ; and usually an object
is sought where it was lost. Christ had come
into the world to lay out a garden, wherein,
mid splendor and abundance, there should
thrive the violet of humility, the myrtle of
mortification, the rose of love, the lily of vir
ginal souls, the laurel of confessors and the
palm of martyrs. It was necessary, then, that
He should saturate and render fertile, with
His precious blood, the soil of this garden.
The garden of Gethsemane was furthermore
an olive garden, at least it contained quite a
number of olive trees and, according to several
interpreters of Holy Writ, the oil for the use
of the temple was taken therefrom. This
circumstance, again, is full of significance.
18 History of the Passion.
"The oil illumines,'7 says St. Bernard,1 -"it
"nourishes and heals. " All these effects
were to be produced by the blood of Christ in
the Christian temple, and that in an infinitely
greater degree than by the fruit of the olive-
tree in the Jewish temple. For Christ is the
grand olive-tree, on which the heathens were
ingrafted, according to St. Paul the Apostle.
Now as the oil, before being used in divine
service, had to be pressed forcibly out of the
fruit, the blood of Christ also had to ooze out
of His Sacred Body in a powerful death-
struggle.
Let us pass on to the circumstances of per
sons. Christ permitted only three of His apos
tles to be witnesses of His agony, namely Peter,
John and James. The reasons thereof are
easily surmised. Above all, Christ had spe
cially prepared these three, and only these
three, for the contemplation of this scene.
"The rest,'7 as Origen makes the Lord say, "as
"the weaker ones, I have invited to remain
"seated; but of you, as of the stronger ones, I
"expect that you labor with Me in watching
"and in prayer. " Here we see how true the
saying of Scripture is that G-od does not allow
man to be tempted above that which he is
able.
Furthermore, these three apostles had made
2S. Bern. serm. 15. sup. Cant. n. 5.
Circumstances surrounding tlie sufferings. 19
greater promises than the others. Mark 10.
38, 39. Christ had asked John and James:
"Can you drink of the chalice that I drink of?"
They courageously answered Him : < l We can. > '
And Peter had assured the Lord that it would
be an easy matter for him to die with Him.
Then again, the sight of the Redeemer,
who prays that the chalice of suffering might
pass and is not heard, should instruct these
apostles that God is not satisfied with mere
promises, but that they also must drain the
same chalice. Finally, these same apostles
were to be, more than the others, the supports
and pillars of the Church ; Peter was even to
be its head. Therefore, they ought also to have
a greater share in the cross of Christ. For
that reason, people in high positions, superiors
and parents must always expect greater tribu
lations, which are inseparably connected espec
ially with the duty of vigilance.
But, to be more undisturbed in prayer,
Christ retired a stone's cast from these three
apostles also. "He was withdrawn away from
"them," says the evangelist. Luke 22. 41.
These words show us His great love for His
apostles. To leave them, He had, as it were,
to make a violent effort. They also show how
great His sadness was. It is natural, in sorrow,
to wish to be among good friends. Christ
made this sacrifice also to His heavenly Father.
20 History of the Passion.
As St. Anselm says, the Saviour retired to a
small elevation, so that, in the light of the full
moon, the three disciples could observe Him
from the aforementioned distance.
On the other hand, the seizure of Christ,
following the agony, was to take place in
presence of the whole college of apostles. They
all were to witness the fact that Christ freely
allowed Himself to be bound, therefore He first
threw His enemies to the ground. This cir
cumstance also precluded any possible accusa
tion that, when alone, He was surprised in the
act of some great crime and therefore arrested.
The pharisees would certainly have found false
witnesses to swear to such an outrage.
There remain the circumstances of time to
be considered. It was towards eight o'clock
in the evening when Christ started on the way
to begin His passion, in that hour, then, when
millions of people, millions of Christians, aye,
millions of Catholics start on their way to
throw themselves into the embrace of sinful
pleasures. From nine until twelve o'clock at
night, Christ was sad unto death ; he trembled
and quaked, He fell in agony, He shed a bloody
sweat. How woefully this picture of the suffer
ing Saviour contrasts with the noisy carousals,
the frivolous dances, the shameless ballets,
the secret assignations, the lustful orgies,
which, in exactly these hours of the night,
Circumstances surrounding the sufferings. 21
defy the blood of Christ. At the sight of these
abominations, the heart of the God-Man would
fain lose its strength and its courage: He
trembled and shrunk in fear.
Another circumstance of time is not to be
overlooked. The death-struggle and agony
are usually the immediate precursors of death.
Why was it not thus with Our Lord? The
following is the reason. Had Christ under
gone His agony on the cross in the last hours
of His life, it would have appeared as if He
died as a result of His agony or of weakness.
But He wished to show the world that He suf
fered death from His own free will. But, as
He would not avoid the pains of agony, He
suffered them in the garden.
This leads us to the second part, namely to
the consideration of the motives which induced
Christ to take upon Himself, although they
were not necessary for our salvation, the above
described sufferings of the soul.
II.
The first motive was, as the Fathers tell us,
the intention to convince us of the reality of His
human nature. At the death of Christ the di
vine nature revealed itself more prominently.
And indeed, when we reflect how the most
cruel pains could not deprive of life the Saviour
on the cross, how, against all laws of nature,
22 History of the Passion.
He exclaimed with a loud voice: "Father, in-
"to thy hands I commend my spirit ; " how He
then bowed His head and died, we must avow
that only a God could so die. Wherefore the
centurion cried out: "Indeed this man was the
Son of Grod." The death-agony, however,
brings the most powerful proof of man's im
potence, shows that one is truly a mortal man.
Christ wished to convince us of that regarding
Himself. Had His body been merely a phan
tom, as later heretics asserted, our redemption
would not be a fact, because the blood of a
God-Man was to be its price. Thus did the
agony of Jesus Christ, His fear and trembling,
and the blood that oozed out of every pore,
put to confusion in advance all these heretics.
In assuming such sufferings of the soul,
Christ desired, moreover, to atone for the
abuse of the faculties of our soul, for all sinful
thoughts, imaginations and desires; through
His sadness, He wished to atone for the pleas
ure felt by the sinner in the satisfaction of his
passions. Especially did Christ intend to be
gin His passion, the source of all weal, where
sin, the source of all woe, takes its beginning.
"For from the heart come forth evil thoughts,
"murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
"testimonies, blasphemies, " says Christ Him
self. Math. 15. 19. For this reason, the
heart of the Grod-Man was to be tortured and
Circumstances surrounding the sufferings. 23
martyred before His Sacred Body was cut with
lashes, His head crowned with thorns and His
hands and feet pierced with nails.
Furthermore, Christ intended to encourage,
by His example, all those who, like to Himself,
should die a martyr's death, and to merit for
them all the necessary graces. There is no
doubt that many of the holy martyrs, notwith
standing their ardent desire for the martyr's
crown, were sad in their hearts unto death,
trembled and feared at the thought of ap
proaching pains, at the thought of wild beasts,
of burning fagots, of glowing tongs and of
hundreds of other instruments of torture. But
then they saw how their Saviour, who had
also such a longing desire for the cross, was
seized with agony at the approach of His pas
sion. This sight dispelled all pusillanimity,
all fear. It raised them from their sadness, it
filled them with confidence, so that strength
ened with the grace of Christ, they heroically
approached the tortures, even with greater joy
than that of the bride meeting the bridegroom.
When, again, we behold Christians on their
death-bed looking death with all its terrors
calmly in the face and exclaiming triumph
antly with St. Paul, (I Cor. 15. 55): "0 death,
" where is thy victory? O death, where is thy
"sting!", must we not say that that is one of
fche effects of the agony of Jesus Christ?
24 History of the Passion.
Finally, "nowhere," says St. Ambrose,1
"does the love and majesty of Jesus cause
"more admiration in me than in this sadness,
"in this agony. It was not enough for Him
"to assume my nature, He also assumed my
"feelings and my sensations. He who had no
"reason to be sad for Himself, wished to feel
"my sadness." And so it is. In assuming
those sufferings of the soul, the Saviour also
thought of us. He foresaw all the mental suf
ferings that would be ours, and mental anguish
is the greatest and most painful of all. Now
it's a mother who pines away on account of
the disobedience and bad behavior of her
children; then it's a father who knows not
whence to obtain the daily bread for his family.
Here it's a sick one, entirely discouraged in
affliction; there it's an unhappy one, despoiled
by calumny of his reputation.
Then we meet young people who fain would
lose courage at the repeated onslaughts of
temptation. All ye disconsolate souls, be con
soled at the sight of the Redeemer, sad unto
death, and reflect that, by His bloody sweat,
He has gained for you the grace to support the
sufferings of your souls with patience and with
merit. — How many a great sinner has felt him
self relieved, when, frightened by the great
number of his sins and tortured by remorse, he
1 Ambr. Bxp. s. Luc. 1. 10. 56.
Circumstances surrounding the sufferings. 25
in spirit plunged himself into the depths of that
Heart which was so cruelly frightened and
tortured by those very sins ; when he united his
well deserved mental pain with the sorrow of
the Saviour and offered it to God in a spirit of
penance. Then the star of hope began to shine
upon this sinner on the brink of despair. It
was the first step to his conversion. Courage
and confidence should then be ours in all sad
ness of life.
Especially when the last hour approaches
and the agony of death seizes us, then will we
remember the Saviour sad unto death, in order
that in our death-struggle we may, like to the
saints, be strengthened and comforted at the
sight of the death-struggle of Christ. But
that will happen only, if in days of health, we
meditate often and piously upon the agony of
Christ and impress his sorrows deeply upon our
hearts. Otherwise, at the moment of death,
we shall think of every thing else but of our
divine model. The principal fruit, then, of
this consideration ought to be the firm resolve
to often reflect, with the grace of God, on the
agony of Jesus Christ, notably in the season
of Lent and on the Fridays throughout the
year. It would also be very salutary, if the
occasion should offer, to become affiliated with
a confraternity having that purpose, and to
devoutly assist at its meetings and devotions.
26 History of the Passion.
In conclusion, let us repeat the prayer,
which Holy Church says at the bedside of the
dying. "0 Lord Jesus Christ, through Thy
"holy agony and Thy prayer which Thou hast
"offered for us upon the Mount of Olives, when
"Thy sweat, as drops of blood, trickled down
"upon the ground, vouchsafe, we beseech
"Thee, to present and to offer to God, the
"Father Almighty, against the multitude of
"all our sins, the abundance of Thy bloody
"sweat, which Thou hast copiously shed for
"us in fear and trembling, and to deliver us in
"the hour of our death from all the pains and
"anguish which, we fear, we have merited for
"our sins. Who livest and reignest with the
"Father and the Holy Ghost, world without
"end. Amen."
CHAPTEK III.
The Prayer of Christ in the Garden of Olives.
"My Father, if it be possible, let
"this chalice pass from me. Never
theless not as I will, but as Thou
"wilt." Math. 26. 39.
The sensations of sadness, of fear and of
repugnance to sufferings and death, which
Our Saviour had freely admitted, gradually
developed into a real death-agony. The gospel
further narrates (Math. 26, 39-46. Mark 14,
35-42. Luke 22, 41-43), that, during these
sufferings of the soul, Christ was prone upon
the ground and lying upon his face. This
prayer, however, as we will hereafter more
closely observe, was interrupted twice by His
going to see the apostles. The sum and sub
stance of the triple prayer was: "My Father,
"if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me.
"Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt."
After Jesus had offered this prayer for the
third time, an angel appeared to submit to
Him the will of the Father and to encourage
Him to overcome His fear of death. After
that, He no more returned to the three apostles
(27)
28 History of the Passion.
but He persevered in prayer; as St. Luke nar
rates, He prayed the longer. Meantime He
wrestled with death in such an effort that He
sweat blood. Holy Writ has not made known
to us the burden of this last, longer prayer.
But assuredly, after being strengthened by the
angel, He no longer prayed that the chalice
might pass from Him, He rather prayed:
"Father, Thy will be done." When the
struggle, through which He overcame the
agony, was over, He returned to the three dis
ciples. When He found them again sleeping,
He said to them in mournful grief: if all my
admonitions avail naught, do as you deem
best. " Sleep ye now and take your rest." But
as just then the clash of weapons resounded,
He added : " It is enough . Eise up . " In these
words, He summoned the three disciples to rise
and to go with Him to meet the enemy.1
Frightened by the noise of the soldiers, the
eight other apostles ran as quickly as possible
towards the Saviour, but whether they arrived
soon enough to witness the kiss of Judas, can
not be determined with certainty.
We shall now cast our eyes upon the pray
ing Saviour. That He prayed, is certainly
nothing novel, for the gospel teaches us that
He prayed during His whole life. But as
by His prayers in the house of Nazareth and
1 Note 2.
The Prayer of Christ in the Garden of Olives. 29
during His public career. He wished to show
us how we should sanctify our youth and the
duties of our state of life by prayer, just so,
by His prayer in the Garden of Olives, He
would be our model in the hour of suffering
and at the hour of death. The thrice repeated
prayer of the Redeemer is, indeed, very in
structive, if we consider
I. The circumstances,
II. The qualities and
III. The effects of this prayer.
I.
The first circumstance which makes the
prayer of Christ instructive is that He prayed
at a time of extreme sadness, in other words,
while He was in a frame of mind in which
thousands of others would say : I cannot pray.
It is indeed a great misery that we neglect
prayer in trouble, vexation, sadness and in
other depressions of the soul. Many neglect
their prayers even when they are somewhat
out of sorts or in bad humor. And still
prayer is never so necessary as in times of de
pression. For it is just in such hours that the
evil enemy attacks us with his temptations and
that our natural resources are weak to resist
them. And if in such moments we seek no
help from above in earnest prayer, we yield to
temptation. Then follow complaints against
30 History of the Passion.
God's Providence, curses and blasphemies.
Some drown their grief in dram shops, others
seek solace in the impure lusts of the flesh.
And is it not a fact that many a one urged on
by discouragement and despair, has sought to
put an end to a miserable existence by com
mitting suicide? We should, then, follow the
example of our divine Saviour, who, sad unto
death, prayed thrice to the Father. We should
say to ourselves: Christ could pray in all the
anguish of His soul, consequently we can do it
also. Then we shall experience what the
Psalmist (76, 3, 4.) says of himself: "My soul
' 'refused to be comforted. I remembered G-od
" and was delighted. "
Christ prayed while His friends slept. It
may happen that, in the midst of woe, one is
left in the lurch by all others. And if it happen
not in life, it will certainly happen at the
moment of death, when, all alone, we must
face the tribunal of G-od. Then nothing re
mains for us but to pray and to say: "Our
"help is in the name of the Lord." (Ps. 123, 8).
Christ prayed while His disciples slept. We
must also pray when among the sleeping, that
is, when we must needs be among luke-warm
and slothful Christians, in order, on the one
hand, not to become infected by their example,
and, on the other, to arouse them, by the cry
of our prayer, from their dangerous sloth. In
The Prayer of Christ in the Garden of Olives, 31
this regard, in a family, a single member who
knows how to pray well, is often the greatest
blessing for the rest of the family. But if
those must pray who are among the sleeping,
how much more those who are among the
dead, i. e. among sinners, and who must asso
ciate all day long with people whose hearts are
full of malice and whose tongues are full of
impurity.
Finally, Christ prayed while His enemies
were banding together to take Him prisoner
and to deliver Him to the most shameful death.
In this circumstance we are shown the weapon
to be used when the same Christ, either in His
Bride, the Catholic Church, or in us, His breth
ren and members, is attacked by the dark
powers of this world. This weapon is none
other than prayer. When Peter incontinently
wielded the sword, Christ reproved him and
commanded him to sheathe it. Armed with
prayer only, joined to the patient bearing of
trials, may we meet our enemies. Already the
first Christians understood well the example
and the teaching of their Master. We find
them, therefore, joined in common prayer in
order to obtain the freedom of the first Pope
held in bondage. And thus it happened in all
succeeding centuries whenever the tragedy of
the garden of Olives was repeated in Holy
Church. Hence, we also, in these troublesome
32 History of the Passion.
times, should trustingly take up the weapon of
prayer and await with confidence that the lib
eration of Holy Mother Church be brought
about by Him who directs the hearts of kings
as He wills and who, besides, has the power to
cast down and lay low the wicked as He would
the vessel of the potter.
The triple prayer of Christ is, therefore, in
structive when we consider its circumstances,
but it is just as instructive when we consider
its qualities.
II.
The prayer of the Saviour unfolds to us the
consoling truth that we are allowed to pray with
our whole soul for the removal of temporal
sufferings. But that our prayer may have a
claim to a hearing, it must have the qualities
of the prayer of Christ.
In the first place, Christ, whilst praying,
showed the greatest outward respect. "He
"knelt down and fell upon His face. ' ? Indeed,
this imposes silence upon all those who are so
prone and decided to condemn all external
manifestations of inward devotion . For if ever
any man could deem himself dispensed from
external showings of respect, it was certainly
the G-od-Man whose Most Holy Body, by vir
tue of its intimate union with the second Per
son of the G-odhead, had been raised to such
an immense dignity. But if, nevertheless, the
The Prayer of Christ in the Garden of Olives. 33
Most Sacred Body of Christ lay, during prayer,
prostrate upon the ground and if the Saviour
did not dare to raise His countenance toward
heaven, what respect should not appear in the
body of the sinner, who, laden not with the
sins of others but with his own sins, approaches
God in prayer. I do not wish to champion
the cause of exaggeration and of affectation.
When we pray, however, the inner respect
must show itself externally. The praying
Saviour teaches us that. Is it not remarkable
that there should be Christian men who are
ashamed to bend the knee to God Almighty
and who believe that their dignity would be
somewhat compromised were they to kneel be
fore Him who is their Creator and their eternal
Judge? But they who in the house of G-od
give scandal to others by silly and impertinent
behavior, can be none else than, people of
thoughtless brains or of depraved morals.
They are proud spirits, slaves of human re
spect. In going to prayer, we should, then,
be recollected and remember who we are and
who He is with whom we are to converse.
Let us observe, furthermore, the childlike
confidence to which the Redeemer gives ex
pression in the words: "My Father. " Al
though visited by God in such terrible afflic
tions, He calls Him His father. How differently
we act ! When, to punish us for sin to furnish
34 History of the Passion.
us an occasion to do penance or to gain merit
for heaven, God visits us in affliction, the
word "Father" falls from our lips only with
difficult effort, because, in our inmost heart,
we are tempted to consider God not as a
father, but rather as a cruel master or a tyrant.
And still, we may be sure of it, we can scarcely
show God any greater respect than by con
fidently addressing Him with the sweet name
of father, in the hour of affliction.
We should further learn from Christ to per
severe in prayer. Christ prayed, but heaven
remained closed. He prayed the second and
the third time and, as the evangelist says, it
was always the same prayer. Hence we must
also pray with perseverance; we must not
grow weak or weary in repeating to God the
same petition, if otherwise we would be heard.
— How great must have been the anguish of
soul of the Redeemer. With the most intense
desire, He had yearned for the cup of suffer
ing. And now, when it is offered Him, He
repeatedly begs that it pass from Him.
We ought, finally, to admire the perfect re
signation of the Redeemer to the divine will.
"If it be possible. Nevertheless not as I will,
"but as Thou wilt." And let us here con
sider what tortures and sorrows were contained
in the chalice to be drained by the Redeemer,
and we shall, as a consequence, show more
The Prayer of Christ in the Garden of Olives. 35
patience and more resignation to God's Holy
Will in our lesser trials.
Lastly, the triple prayer of Christ, in the
Garden of Olives, is instructive if we consider
the effects thereof.
III.
The first effect of the prayer of Christ is
described in the following words of the Gospel :
" And there appeared to him an Angel from
" heaven strengthening him." Luke 22, 43.
This angel, according to some interpreters,
was Gabriel, according to others, St. Michael,
the former being the angel of the Incarnation,
the latter the vanquisher of the fallen spirits.
The King, then, of the holy angels. He who is
Divine Power itself, the Consoler of hearts, is
strengthened and consoled by an angel! It
is, indeed, wonderful! We can understand
that, at the birth of Christ, the angels de
scended with joy to intone the first gloria in
honor of their Lord. We can understand also
that, later on, after the Saviour had fasted forty
days and forty nights, the same angels came
and ministered unto Him. But that an angel
should approach his Creator in the quality of
a consoler, is strange to the last degree. Still
God had so willed it and Christ, with an
humble heart, took from one of His creatures
that comfort which He might have had from
36 History oj the Passion.
and of Himself. Is this not a touching and
an attractive scene 1 Does not such humility
render the Lord infinitely lovable and dear
to us? From this occurrence we learn further
more, that in our trials we can expect effica
cious help from heaven above. It is worthy
of note also that Almighty God could not, in
a more beautiful and impressive way, show us
what confidence we ought to place in the holy
angels.
We now arrive at the query as to what the ,
comfort given to Christ by the angel really
consisted in. Did it consist in the removal of
the chalice of suffering as it did in the case of
Abraham after the angel had commanded him
to sheathe the sword raised over Isaac ? Cer
tainly not. The chalice, which, because He
so willed it, contained nothing but bitterness
for Him, was shown to the Saviour by the angel
from another point of view and in a more
favorable light so that it lost all that was
abhorrent and repulsive and appeared as
something desirable and precious. Above all,
he showed Christ the will of the heavenly
Father engraven upon the cup, and he re
minded Him of His own words: "My meat is
"to do the will of him that sent me." (John
4, 34). Then he showed Him the glory of the
holy Cross, how that, namely, out of His death
there should accrue to the heavenly Father
-Prayer of Christ in the Garden of Olives. 37
infinitely more honor and glory than from the
united praises of all creatures. Then, again,
he let pass before His mental vision, all the
millions of men, who wonld be irretrievably
lost, if He persisted in His request, and all the
millions of souls who were awaiting in limbo
the hour of redemption . He further represent
ed to the Redeemer His passion as the founda
tion of His own glory and pointed out how, for
all eternity, thanks would arise to Him as to the
Saviour and Eedeemer of the world. Through
these and similar thoughts the angel worked
upon the will of the Lord in order to determine
Him to accept the cup of suffering. And
what a grand result he achieved! Before this
the Saviour quaked and trembled at the sight
of impending woe ; now he combats this f ear
of death with such efforts that the bloody
sweat oozes out of His pores. Before this He
prayed, howbeit with resignation, that the
chalice might pass from Him ; now He prays
for this alone, that the will of Grod be done.
Before this, He repeatedly interrupted His
prayer, now this prayer is continued and His
soul is entirely plunged in God. Before this,
He sought solace with His disciples, and now
He tells them: "Rise up, let us go," and
courageously He goes to meet the enemy.
That was the first effect of the triple prayer
of Jesus Christ in the Q-arden of Olives.
38 History of the Passion.
From the last considerations three important
truths arise. Just as certain as it is that the
prayer which we address to heaven, in imita
tion of the Saviour, shall find a hearing, just so
certain it is that it will not always happen in
the manner which we desire. But if Almighty
G-od, instead of removing the bitter cup, gives
us the strength to support our trials or even
greater ones with patience, even with joy,
should we not be grateful to Him throughout
all eternity? Again, we should become accus
tomed to consider the cup we must drain
from another point of view, and in a more
favorable light. We should also see engraven
upon it the will of our heavenly Father. We
should not forget that God's honor and our
glory are increased by patient suffering and
then all our murmuring and complaining shall
cease. — Finally, Christ made the most power
ful effort to accomplish the will of His heav
enly Father in a matter which was so difficult
that it caused Him a bloody sweat. We ought,
therefore, to be ashamed of our sloth and our
cowardice which cause us, at the least difficul
ty, to cease our struggle against evil and to
destroy God's commandments. And surely,
we have never yet resisted evil to the shedding
of blood.
The second effect of the triple prayer of
Christ is described in the following words of
The Prayer of Christ in the Garden of Olives. 39
St. Leo:1 "This word of the Head: "Thy will
"be done,77 hath brought weal to the whole
"body. The word hath enframed all confes-
"sors, hath crowned all martyrs. For who
1 i would have victoriously overcome the hatred
"of the world, the storms of temptations and
"the fearful tortures of the persecutors, if
"Christ had not, in the Garden of Olives,
"suffered in all and for all, if He had not said
"in all and in the name of all: "Thy will be
"done.77
In all our tribulations, we should, there
fore, pray with the Saviour: "Father, if it be
"possible, let this chalice pass from me.
"Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.77
Especially should it be our prayer on our
death-bed, when mortal agony approaches to
seize us. It is true, our heavenly Father will
not likely send us an angel from heaven in
visible shape. But Christ, the King of all
angels, the Son of Grod Himself, will come to
us under the sacramental appearances. Even
more, He will enter our hearts to strengthen
us in our agony and mortal combat and to lead
us happily from time into eternity.
1 Serm. 2 de Pass. c. 5.
CHAPTER IV.
The Repeated Call of Christ on His Apostles.
"And he cometh, and findeth them
"sleeping. And he said to Peter: Simon,
"sleepest thou ? couldst thou not watch
"one hour? Watch ye and pray that ye
"enter not into temptation."
Mark 14, 37. 38.
Christ prayed during the sufferings of soul
which He had of His own free choice taken
upon Himself. The more violent they became,
the more also did He strive to overcome His
fear, and the more perseveringly and devoutly
did He pray. All this was for our instruction.
In order to control our inordinate passions,
we must struggle and pray. By our own
strength alone we cannot obtain the victory ;
we must secure to ourselves G-od?s help through
prayer. Again, the grace of G-od alone will
not bring us to a successful result; we must,
on our part, co-operate with grace. Our
struggle and our prayer must grow in earnest
ness arid endurance proportionately as passion
increases in force.
The evangelists Matthew (26, 40-44), Mark
(40)
The repeated call of Christ on His Apostles. 41
(14, 37-41) and Luke (22, 45, 46) narrate that
Christ not only interrupted His prayer several
times, but that He even left the place where
He prayed and went to His disciples ; which
is indeed astonishing. It might appear that,
as He was preparing for death, He would, to
give us an example, not devote any further
thought to the world, but occupy Himself
solely with Grod. Let us therefore consider
I. The reasons of the repeated visit of
Christ to His apostles and
II. The words which he spoke to them.
I.
There were two reasons which determined
the Saviour to interrupt His prayer and to call
on His disciples. The first reason was the
desire to find with them some consolation in
His sadness. In fact, experience teaches that
the fire of mental grief is intensified by being
confined to its own hearth. It has drawn
many into melancholy and even into despair.
It is just as well known that nothing relieves
the heavy heart, nothing consoles the sad soul
as much as the imparting of grief to a true
friend. It was, then, not only weakness freely
admitted, but also the intention of instructing
us which led Christ to His disciples, in order
to unbosom His grief to them. It must,
therefore, be allowed in grief, sadness and
42 History of the Passion.
mental anguish, to address plaints to others
for the purpose of finding solace and encour
agement. But in so doing, we must observe
three points.
What should be the nature of our com
plaints? That we may gather from the words
addressed by the Redeemer to His disciples
before leaving them to pray: "My soul is sad
unto death. " Here we have the model of a
legitimate complaint. It contains nothing but
the recital of fact in as far as it concerned the
Saviour. And certainly Christ had cause to
say a harsh word against those who were pre
paring to do Him the greatest of all wrongs
and to rob Him, the Innocent, of life. As
opposed to His plaint, the plaints of men are,
at times, naught else but explosions of anger,
slander arid calumnies.
Then Christ does not unfold His sorrows to
the first one come, not even to all His apostles.
Only three were permitted to hear His griev
ance. Consequently, in communicating the
burdens of our heart, we must use a circum
spect discretion. It would therefore be not
only foolish, but sinful also, were a woman, a
mother to reveal her family troubles to all her
neighbors, because very often the honor of
her husband and children would thereby be
damaged to a great extent.
Finally, Christ does not complain solely to
The repeated call of Christ on His Apostles. 43
His apostles, but He addresses His plaint even
more to His heavenly Father. It is a fault of
ours that, in sadness and affliction, we forget
God entirely and seek solace and support from
men alone.
Now, if it be allowed and useful to thus un
burden to good friends the afflictions of our
soul, it becomes almost necessary when they
arise from annoying temptations. But in this
case they ought to be communicated to one of
the apostles only or to one of their successors.
In case it appear difficult or humiliating to
reveal to another such shameful temptations,
one should consider the well nigh inconceiv
able humiliation undergone by Christ in look
ing for consolation and comfort with His
disciples. Does not the Redeemer, in fact,
resemble a general, who, after having spurred
on his troops for years to deeds of valor, gives
way now to mortal fear at the sight of the
enemy and feels constrained to beg for com
fort and encouragement from his subalterns?
Do not say that it will be useless anyway to
tell this or that to your confessor. It may be
that from his own resources the confessor can
help you just as little as the apostles helped
the Lord. But if, according to the Saviour's
example you humble yourself before your fel-
low-inan and give yourself to earnest prayer,'
then God will help you even, if needs be, by
44 History of the Passion.
sending you an angel from heaven to encour
age you in the combat and to comfort you.
The second reason which urged the Lord to
interrupt His prayer and to go to His disciples,
was His love for them. If the expression be
permissible, it was the anxiety lest harm had
befallen them, it was the desire to ascertain
what they were doing and how they were far
ing. We know, of a certainty, that for three
whole years Christ had cared for His disciples,
had watched over them and protected them as
much as any loving mother would her only
child. But there are two circumstances which,
in the occurrence, reveal to us in the clearest
light the love of His heart for His apostles.
The first is that Christ thought of them, was
anxious about them when He lay in the agony
of death. He was anxious about them while
in a condition in which we, yielding to pain,
would think only of ourselves and in which
we, surely, would refuse to think of any one
else. Not only in the heat of fever but often
also in slight maladies we care nothing for our
best friends and, as far as they are concerned,
we are blunt and indifferent.
Secondly, Christ thought of His disciples
aiid was anxious about them in an hour when
their behavior made them unworthy of His
love. During three years, He had done so
much for them. They had on former occa-
The repeated call of Christ on His Apostles. 45
sions often been ungrateful for His devo
tions; but now they add thereunto this ingrat
itude that, while their Divine Master is
plunged in sadness and writhing in death,
they, lacking courage and wanting in sym
pathy, fall asleep. What a contrast between
these sleeping disciples and friends of Jesus
and the wide-awake enemies ! Judas is awake
to betray Christ ; Caiphas and the High Priests
are awake to condemn Him ; the menials and
soldiers are awake to bind, scourge and crucify
Him: but the disciples are asleep. How that
must have saddened our Saviour's heart! —
What Christ experienced then, His Bride, the
Church, experiences now. She is downcast and
sad even unto death. An armed rabble threat
ens to deal her the death blow at any moment.
And mighty governments who call themselves
Christian and who even glory in the title of
Catholic, look on without emotion and draw
around themselves more closely the heartless
cloak of neutrality and non-intervention. The
satellites of Satan develop a feverish, restless
activity to annihilate Christianity and to wipe
it from the face of the earth, and thousands
of Catholic men stand by and will not move a
hand to defend the good cause and the inter
ests of Holy Mother Church.
Through the call made on the apostles
under the afore mentioned circumstances, the
46 History of the Passion.
Saviour teaches all superiors, Christian parents
especially, three important lessons. Nothing
can dispense you, Christian parents, from the
duty of watching over your children and giv
ing heed that no harm befall their immortal
souls, nothing, I say; neither sorrow nor
affliction, nor any other cross of suffering, not
even, I might say, approaching death ; much
less work and business, much less still, lassi
tude or fatigue, and, least of all, comfort and
somnolence. Think of this, Christian parents,
when, returning tired from your work in the
evening, you would rather seek repose, while
your grown up children still require your vig
ilant care. — Nothing dispenses you from this
vigilance, not even the ingratitude with which
the children repay your love, nor their dull
ness of intellect, nor their insubordination,
nor their disobedience, nor their indifference
to your adverse fortunes. You may, therefore,
never say: the children do not mind our
commands and our wishes; we let them go
and do as they please. Certainly if grown up
children are guilty of continued insubordina
tion or of scandalous conduct, parents have
the right to cast them adrift, but as long as
they tolerate them at home, they are in duty
bound to watch over their conduct and morals
and to see that they perform their religious
duties. — Learn, lastly, from the Saviour to
Tlie repeated call of Christ on His Apostles. 47
unite vigilance with prayer. It would bo
wrong to be so engrossed with the care of
your children, that thereby you would neglect
to pray for yourselves and for them. On the
other hand, it would also be wrong and it
would denote a counterfeit sort of piety were
you to increase your practices of devotion in
such a manner as to relegate to the background
the duties of watching over your children and
of admonishing and instructing them. You
must do the one and not neglect the other.
Christ shows you how you can and must do
both. Let us now listen to the words which
Christ spoke to His apostles.
II.
It was with no little grief that Christ found
the three apostles in sound slumber. It caused
Him not to carry out His purpose to repeat
His plaints to them, and He spoke to them
merely a word of reproach and a word of ad
monition. In the language of the evangelists
Matthew and Mark the word of reproach was :
" Simon, sleepest thou? Could you not watch
"one hour with me?" This reproach has
several qualities that merit our attention.
In the first place it was a jttst reproach.
Before Christ entered the garden of Olives,
He had told the apostles in express words that
now the hour of temptation had arrived, that
48 History of the Passion.
now there was danger that they leave Him
and deny the faith. Again, later, He gave to
the three the distinct command to watch and
pray during His absence, in order to overcome
by these means, the impending temptation.
They did neither the one nor the other. — They
slept. They knew themselves that they
deserved the reproach, for they had no excuse
to offer. "And they knew not what to answer
"Him/' says Holy Writ. (Mark 14, 40).
And what could they answer to justify them
selves? When they were fishing, they could
watch the whole night. "Master, we have
"labored the whole night." (Luke 5, 5). But
now, still early in the evening, after being
refreshed at supper, they fall asleep. When
the boat was about to sink and their life was
in danger, they knew how to pray: "Lord
"save us, we perish" (Matthew 8, 25). But
now when their souls are in danger, they do
not feel inclined to pray. However, we should
not be too severe with the apostles; many
Christians are greatly more reprehensible.
They spend entire nights, not merely in work
and affairs of business, but in dangerous
pleasures and amusements, in the satisfaction
of sensual lusts, in fact in anything which
leads to hell. But at evening prayers or dur
ing the sermon, they are asleep. They sleep
at home even on Sundays when they ought to
The repeated call of Christ on His Apostles. 49
bo at mass. In afflictions and trials, in
impending peril, hands are raised high to
heaven; in temptation, when prayer is most
necessary, prayer is omitted.
The reproach, expressed by the Saviour, was
just also inasmuch as he who deserved it most,
received the greatest share of it. Certainly that
was Peter. He was destined by the Saviour
to be the head of the others. He had also
made greater promises. For that reason,
Christ first said to Peter alone what He there
after said to all: " Simon, sleepest thou?"
How this word must have penetrated the heart
of the apostle ! How it must have spread con
fusion over his countenance! Once, when
Christ had appointed him to be the guardian
of the apostolic college, He changed his name
from Simon to Peter. Now He addressed him
by his former name as if He would say: If
you cannot exercise vigilance over yourself
and your brethren, you are not worthy of the
name of Peter. Woe, then, to all spiritual
and temporal rulers, to all masters, woe to all
parents especially, who, through lack of vigi
lance and of earnest prayer, are the cause of
thousands and thousands of sins committed
by their children and by their subordinates !
Secondly, the reproach of our Saviour was
extremely mild. In the few, withal earnest
words, which He addressed to them, there was
50 History of the Passion.
no trace of anger or of undue excitement. On
the contrary, He recognized their good will,
"The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is
"weak." He knew that their fault was not
the result of weakness, not of malice nor of
grievously culpable negligence. The gospel
tells us that sadness caused them to fall asleep.
On that account, the Lord used a different
language and spoke in a different tone to the
hardened pharisees, and for the traffickers in
the temple He had a stout rope.
Thirdly, Christ reprimanded the apostles
with a prudent moderation. When at His
second call He found them again asleep, for
which they surely deserved a sharper rebuke,
He refrained from reprimanding them at all,
for He saw that in that moment they were not
susceptible of correction.
When our calling requires us to reprimand
others, we should learn from the Saviour to
punish with justice and with meekness, espe
cially when the delinquent otherwise shows a
good will. It is unreasonable and foolish
when parents, for trivial faults, address cease
less scolding to well-intentioned children ; it
is demoralizing and sinful to overwhelm them
with a flood of injurious epithets. Neither
should we punish when we have reason to fear
that the culprit will not take the punishment
in good part and that he be not susceptible of
The repeated eall of Christ on His Apostles. 51
reproof. It is more advisable then to postpone
the correction to some future time in order
that there be not more harm done than good.
In imitation of the apostles we should, when
receiving the correction of superiors, preserve
an humble silence. We must not deceive
ourselves; we must acknowledge our faults
and leave aside all ridiculous excuses.
The reprimand of the Saviour was followed
by a word of admonition. It was the same
advice He had given them before He had
retired to pray. "Watch ye and pray that ye
"enter not into temptation ;' ' (Matthew 26,
38. Mark 14, 34. Luke 22, 40), or translated
more literally "that ye walk not too willingly
into temptation/7 and become caught and
entangled therein, as birds in a net. It is not
the place here to explain from internal reasons,
the necessity of vigilance and of prayer. I
only call attention to the fact that the words
above are the last admonition given by the
Saviour to His apostles. We may, then, be
convinced that these parting words contain
the best and the most useful advice which
Christ could give His apostles for their eternal
salvation. They must be the summary of all
that the apostles had to observe in order to
avoid' sin and to save their souls. And they
understood their Master and kept His word.
It was not by spreading admiration over the
52 History of the Passion.
entire world as teachers nor by working signs
and wonders, nor by revealing the future, but
it was by watching and praying throughout
their lives that they became saints, saints of
heaven.
These apostles to whom the Eedeemer, in
parting, so earnestly recommended vigilance
and prayer, were simple, ordinary men. They
had for three years lived remote from the
world and its dangerous occasions in the im
mediate presence of their divine model and
instructor. Hence they had a glowing love
for Him. How can we, then, enter heaven
without vigilance and prayer, we who are so
lukewarm and cold in the love of Christ ?
How, without vigilance and prayer, can they,
above all, hope for perseverance in grace and
for eternal salvation, who live in the midst of
the dangers and scandals of a godless and im
moral world ? We should, therefore, consider
the last admonition of Christ as addressed to
ourselves, impress it deeply upon our hearts
and shape our life in accordance with it.
Then we shall also receive the crown of eternal
glory which is at the same time the reward of
combat and the gift of grace.
CHAPTER V.
The Betrayal of Judas.
"And forthwith coming to Jesus, he said :
"Hail, Rabbi. And he kissed Him. And
"Jesus said to him : Friend, whereto art
' 'thou come ? ' ' (Matthew 26, 49-50.)
While Christ was speaking to His apostles,
behold, Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve came
and with him a great multitude with swords
and clubs, with lanterns and torches, sent
from the high-priests and ancients of the peo
ple. The high-priests who played a leading
role in the history of the Saviour's passion,
appear now for the first time. Indeed, there
were not several high-priests in actual office at
the same time, but several were out of office,
who, after their removal, still retained the
honorary title. For, since the Komans occu
pied Palestine, the governors, whose avarice
exceeded all bounds, made of the appointment
to the office of high-priest a source of revenue,,
or at least in their political wisdom, they sought
to degrade the high-priest to the level of an
instrument to be used by pagan statecraft.
Hence, at times for political reasons, at times as
a favor to the highest bidder, the incumbents
(53)
54 History of the Passion.
of this office were often changed. The old
custom of keeping the high-priest in office
until death, had ceased. The title of high-
priest was also applied to the priests who were
descendants of the first-born of Aaron, also to
the chief -priests of the different subdivisions
into which the numerous priesthood was clas
sified. Holy Writ says of Caiphas alone that
he was the high-priest of that year.
The soldiers sent by the high-priests had no
other intent than to take Christ captive. But
the one who had prepared the whole matter
was the Apostle Judas, surnamed Iscariot.
The treason of this unfortunate man will be
the subject of this consideration. (Matthew 26,
46-50. Mark 14, 42-45. Luke 22, 47. 48.
John 18, 2. 3.)
Let us consider the betrayal
I. In its historical preparation,
II. In its final execution and
III. In its innermost source.
I.
On the Wednesday after His triumphal entry
into Jerusalem, the Eedeemer for the last time
denounced the high-priests, the scribes and
the pharisees in the temple, for their sins
and abuses. He referred them finally to the
day of judgment when, from the severity of
their own punishment, they should recognize
The betrayal of Judas* 55
His own grandeur and majesty. With this
forceful warning He ended His instruction,
and filled with a holy anger, He left the temple
toward evening. Provoked and extremely
angered by His denunciations, the high-priests,
the scribes and the pharisees met a second
time on that very day (mayhap it was on
Thursday morning, the regular day of meet
ing) to consult together against Him. And
first, they approved the resolution of a former
meeting (John 11, 47), to remove the Saviour
by force. As to the time of executing the
judgment by putting Him to death, they
agreed that it should not take place during the
festivities of Easter. Such a course would be
too hazardous, as the paschal solemnity
brought together many Jews, and among them
would be many friends of Christ. These
might organize a revolt, the people armed
might liberate their victim and thus, for a
long time to come, render the execution of
their plan impossible. They certainly would
rather slay Him before the holidays, but they
knew of no ways or means to seize Him in
secret and by stealth. To their extreme joy,
Judas helped them out of the difficulty.
Judas had for a long time been an apostle in
appearance only. He had become heartily tired
of apostolic life with its wanderings, its burdens,
its vexations and its persecutions. His former
56 History of the Passion.
love for Christ had grown cold. In its stead,
there arose indifference, then a certain irrita
bility and disgust. The Kedeemer's continual
praises of poverty had become unbearable to
him. Besides, his longing for a well salaried
position in the new kingdom of Christ did not
appear to approach realization. His feelings
were more embittered by the words which the
Lord, who read his heart, addressed to all the
apostles, after promising the Holy Eucharist :
"Have I not chosen you twelve; and one of
"you is a devil?" (John 6, 71). He saw that
Christ read and knew him. But instead of
repenting and converting, he felt offended.
The public rebuke, finally, which he received
at the banquet when Christ took the part of
Magdalen, increased his rancor to the utter
most. On the other hand, it did not escape
Judas that a storm was brewing against Christ
and he began to fear that he, as one of His
disciples, would also have to stand a part of
the brunt of impending persecution. He
therefore resolved to save himself and, by the
same move, gain both friends and money. He
was aware of the council meeting of the high-
priests with whom, for some time back, he
entertained secret relations and who strove to
draw him over to their party by flattery and
promises of money. Hence Judas hastened
to offer his services to the members of the
The betrayal of Judas. 57
Council and to show them how, without much
disturbance, they might capture the person of
the Redeemer. Perhaps, already then, he
chose for the arrest, the following evening and
the solitude of the garden of Olives ; for Luke,
the evangelist says (22,4) that Judas declared
before the high-priests and the magistrates of
the temple guard, who were Levites, not only
that he would betray Christ, but also how he
would betray Him. Judas therefore asked:
(Matthew 26, 15) "What will you give me,
"and I will deliver Him unto you?" They
offered thirty pieces of silver and the bargain
was closed. But, O miserable Judas, is the
Lord your property that you may sell Him as
you would an animal or a piece of furniture ?
And if you think Him your property, why do
you not ask as His price at least a whole king
dom? Why are you satisfied with the price of
a slave? "The ointment,77 says St. Ambrose,1
"with which Christ was anointed for His
"passion, you appreciated at three hundred
"pieces of silver, but do you deem the Passion
"itself fully paid with thirty pieces? How-
"ever," answers the same saint,2 "Christ de-
" sired to be estimated at such a low price that
"He might be bought by all and that not even
"the poorest would be deterred.'7 Where is
1 de Spir. S. I. 1. c. 18.
2 Exp. Evaiig. sec. Lucani 1. 6, c. 31.
58 History of the Passion.
thy self-respect, 0 Judas, and thy pride that
thou didst not immediately turn thy back
indignantly upon the high-priests who offered
thee such a pittance to show their contempt
for thee? But it is a peculiar feature, that hell
always offers the least and that the servants of
the devil are satisfied with the smallest wage.
Or is it not true that many a Christian sells
the Lord for a much smaller sum, for a
momentary, shameful pleasure?
On the following day, Judas, to ward off
suspicion, again mingled with the apostles
and participated in the legal supper which
took place after sundown. He even permitted
the Lord to wash his feet. The discovery he
made on this occasion, namely that Christ was
aware of his foul plan, drove him to extremities
and he resolved to betray the Master that very
evening. Then, shortly before the institution
of the Most Holy Sacrament,1 urged on by
infernal powers, he left the hall never again
to return to the Saviour. He hurried from
house to house and made known his object to
the high-priests. "Now," said he, "or never! "
Afterwards there would hardly present itself a
better chance for the capture. Above all,
there must be obtained a detachment of sol
diers from the rightful authorities in order to
give the whole affair the appearance of legality
1 Note 3.
The betrayal of Judas. 59
and to preclude any opposition. That task
was assumed by the high-priests. As the
Easter festivities were often the occasion of
bloody riots, Pilate had, in former years,
placed soldiers at their disposition especially
to protect the temple. On this occasion he
did the same and allowed them one hundred
and twenty-five men, according to some inter
preters, even three hundred. But as the
high-priests had no confidence either in the
Romans or in Judas, they ordered their own
servants to accompany the soldiers and by
mutual consent, some of their own number
went along as leaders. Magistrates of the
temple also, of whom there were many, were
present. The temple furnished employment to
many men who resided in adjoining buildings.
Some supervised the constructions, others the
property, others again the sacrifices and the
gift offerings. All these men were now hur
riedly armed with swords and clubs. The full
moon was then shining, it is true. However,
to avoid the obstacles of an uneven way and
not to be deceived by shadows, also to more
easily find the Saviour in case He would hide
Himself in the underbrush as Adam did, they
took with them torches and closed lanterns.
The eternal light had hidden itself in its
humanity to such an extent that the powers
of darkness needed lanterns to find it. Grod
60 History of the Passion.
permitted it in order that a more glaring light
might be thrown upon the dishonor of Christ's
enemies, while they lay prostrate upon the
ground.
After they had been furnished all that was
needed and had been placed in ranks, Judas
said to them: "whomsoever I shall kiss, that
"is He." A sign was necessary. The Roman
soldiers had, perhaps, never seen Christ or
they had never observed Him very closely.
Again, in the pale light of the moon, one is
easily deceived in the features of a person.
Lastly, Judas gives them this advice: "Lead
"Him away carefully." In itself this was
certainly a very good advice. We may apply
it to ourselves. We ought to lead the Lord
carefully, who lives in us through His grace,
lest He be taken away from us. But in Judas
it denoted a blindness beyond all conception.
Now this rabble, with Judas in the lead,
began its march between 11 and 12 o'clock at
night and wended its way by the nearest route
towards the garden of Olives. Since the crea
tion of the world such an array, such an
infernal band, had never been seen. Even
pagan conquerors would never have thought
of apprehending a Son of Grod and of chaining
Him to their triumphal chariots. The enact
ing of such scenes was reserved to Christian
powers. Thus it was only recently that an
The betrayal of Judas. 61
outrageous band of robbers, ]ed secretly by a
Judas of their own, approached the Holy City
to enchain the Vicar of Christ and to imprison
him in his own house. And the end of the
last and the beginning of this century beheld
two pontiffs in bondage.
The God- man and His betrayer were now
in each other's presence, for Jesus had gone to
meet Judas. A good conscience gives courage.
It makes one resolute. The sinner slinks and
hides himself. A resolute attack of difficulties
and temptations breaks their force and con
quers them. It endowes with heroism. Then
followed the treason. Let us consider its
execution.
II.
Likely never did satanic malice and divine
goodness approach each other as closely as
here. Heaven and hell struggle for the mas
tery. We have an occasion here of beholding
what an abyss of wickedness may be found in
a human and what an abyss of love in a
Divine heart.
When Judas saw the Saviour, he advanced
from before the soldiery, as if he did not
belong to the mob, and quickly went towards
Christ. To approach Christ and do it quickly,
is certainly the best that can be done. Still the
promptness of Judas had something strange
and suspicious about it. It seems to me that
62 History of the Passion.
he received from the Saviour before him
another great grace. The apostle perceived
the fearful depth of perdition to which he was
hastening, he was amazed at the atrocity of
his purpose, he shrank for a moment from the
execution of his plan. But in order not to
have time for reflection, to remove the possi
bility of a change of mind, to quickly stifle all
rising qualms of conscience, he approaches
Christ quickly, bound to finish his foul deed.
Behold here the sin against the Holy Grhost, a
complete hardness of heart, the usual result
of blindness. Now Judas no longer shrinks from
the most abject meanness, from the greatest
outrage. Like to Joab, of murderous intent,
saluting as brother Amasa, the faithful servant
of his King, he says to Jesus: "Hail, Rabbi"
and he kisses Him. To salute one means to
wish him all that is good. But this salute was
the cunning of the wolf approaching in sheep's
clothing, the cunning of the serpent hiding in
the grass, the cunning of the assassin carrying
the dagger in his bosom. Honey is on his lips
and gall and wormwood in his heart ; a friend
ly smile is on his face and dark hatred in his
soul. He inhales weal and life, he emits death
and perdition, and he does it under the mask
of a devoted disciple: "Hail, Rabbi." 0
Judas, thy Master never taught thee that.
Then this devil incarnate embraced the Lord
The betrayal of Judas. (53
in treacherous arms and -kissed Him. The
sign of peace was the declaration of war, the
sign of friendship was the signal of attack, the
sign of love was the signal of ront and murder.
Such is also the cunning hypocrisy of an im
pious world. "0 world/7 exclaims St. Augus-
tin. "You traitor! You promise all that is
"good and you bring only what is bad ; you
"promise pleasure and you offer sorrow; you
"promise rest and you prepare ruin; you
"promise to remain and you quickly disappear;
"you promise life and you give death. "
Who would think ill of us, if, in a similar
case, in just indignation and with a cry of
horror, we should thrust far from us the traitor
approaching to embrace and kiss us ; if, in the
strongest possible terms,we should upbraid him
for his faithlessness and depravity? But our
Divine Saviour not only permitted the kiss,
He also returned it. The divine, the most
holy mouth touched that abject mouth at
which even hell was disgusted. Indeed, what
an incomprehensible mystery! What an in
comprehensible condescension and humilia
tion! O Saviour Jesus Christ, how couldst
Thou allow this! When Magdalen kissed Thy
feet, the pharisee was scandalized and said to
himself: "This man, if he were a prophet,
"would know surely who and what manner of
"woman this is that toucheth him." (Luke
64 History of the Passion.
7, 39). Dost Thou not force the high-priests
and pharisees who see Judas at Thy lips, to
judge: "This man, if he were a prophet,
" would know surely who and what manner
"of man this is that toucheth him: that ho
"is a traitor/' Must not even Thy disciples
lose confidence in Thee? May not they re
proach Thee as Joab reproached David when
he deplored the death of his treacherous son
Absalom: "Thou lovest them that hate thee
and thou hatest them that love thee ? ?; (2
Kings 19, 6.) For Peter Thou preparest a
cross, for John seething oil, for James a sword,
but to Judas Thou givest the kiss of Thy
mouth! Or dost Thou imagine Thou hast
Peter in Thy arms, who desires to go to death
with Thee? Or Andrew, who left all for Thee!
Or the disciple who lay upon Thy breast and
who now, filled with love, would approach Thy
mouth? "Judas, " answers the Lord, dost thou
"betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"
Every one of those words was a wound
inflicted to free the soul from the torpor of
passion. May every sinner take them to heart.
Judas, says the Saviour, thou, my apostle;
Judas, whom I have overwhelmed with bene
fits ; Judas, to whom I have given the gift of
miracles, and who, in my name, hast cured
diseases; Judas, who wast a terror to demons!
Indeed, if my enemy had reviled me, I would
Hie betrayal of Judas. 65
verily have borne with it (Ps. 54, 13). But
them my friend, my apostle! Judas, thou
betray est me ! It is not sufficient for thee that
thou repayest not my love with thine; no,
thou breakest the oath of allegiance which
thou hast sworn me; thou art one with my
worst enemies, thou hast bargained me off to
them for a mere pittance ! With a kiss thou
betrayest me ! The privilege thou hast of ap
proaching me in a familiar intercourse, thou
hast abused it to deliver me to mine enemies.
If thou be my friend, why these swords? And
if thou be my enemy, why these kisses! Thou
betrayest the Son of Man, the Son of God,
Who now shall die for thee, but whose sign
shall appear in the clouds on the day of
judgment.
However, in order to spread balm upon the
wounds inflicted by the words and to revive
the courage and confidence of the disciple,
with touching gentleness and divine love Jesus
finally calls him friend. "Friwd} whereto art
"thou come?" Eeflect, Judas, and desist from
thy impious undertaking. Behold the arms
of thy Saviour extended to receive thee ; the
hands are ready to lead thee back to the right
path ; the heart is open to pour upon thee all
treasures of mercy. Tell thy Saviour that
thou wilt be His friend, that thou art His
friend and thou shalt be His friend. Do not
(>t> History of the Passion .
iliink it difficult, deem it not impossible. It
is difficult to be a friend of the world. It
means night-watches and troubles, it means
fear and worry, it costs sacrifices of money, of
honor, of health, it costs the immortal soul.
But if thou wilt be a friend of Christ, show a
single tear of compunction in thine eye, a real
sigh of thy heart shall suffice ; an humble pul
sation in thy breast, a word of thy tongue
shall be enough. Say with David: "I have
sinned," (2 Kings 12, 13) and at the same
moment thou shalt be told: "Thy sins are
forgiven "thee." (Luke 7, 48).
But Judas was more hardened than a rock
and he would not be converted. On the con
trary, the loving words of the Saviour, which,
according to St. Chrysostom,1 would have
pacified the tiger and the leopard, caused the
traitor to cast aside his mask and to openly
break with Christ. After having given the
sign, he did not mingle with the apostles, as
he had intended doing, in order to avert sus
picion. Consumed by internal anger because
Christ knew his heart and gave him a repri
mand, he openly, before the eyes of his master,
goes over to His sworn enemies. Where can
a man be found who ever fell from such a
height as did unfortunate Judas?
1 Horn. 22 in ep. ad Rom. 1, 12.
The bdmtfdl of.J'ndax. 67
Let us then consider the innermost cause,
the source of the sad fall.
III.
What led Judas on the way to ruin and
finally made him a traitor, was one single,
inordinate passion not repulsed, it was avarice.
When he was received into the college of
apostles, he was certainly no bad man; he
must have had many good and praiseworthy
qualities. Especially he must have been with
out reproach in regard to purity of morals.
For that reason the Lord confidingly made
him the treasurer whose duty it should be to
take care of the alms received by Him and
therefrom to defray the living expenses both
of the Lord and of the apostles. With all his
good qualities, Judas had in his heart one evil
inclination to curb which, however, he had
the best possible guidance and help in his as
sociation with Christ. It was the inordinate
love of money. In the beginning it was unim
portant and of small consequence ; he scarcely
took notice of it ; it was not a matter of griev
ous sin. But because he did not pay sufficient
attention to it, it gradually developed in his
heart until it finally spread into quite a poi
sonous growth. He began to love money
more and more, to rejoice in its possession, to
measure everything by its standard. At first
68 History of the Passion.
he kept for himself some of the money confided
to him and the surplus of which was destined
for the poor. It appeared to him that his
services ought to have some little recompense.
Like to our modern church despoilers, he
judged that it were better to put money in
circulation and to use it for other useful pur
poses, than to allow it to remain, as dead
capital, in the church treasury ; besides, Christ
would not need it; He knew how to help
Himself in need, and He certainly would not
let the apostles starve. Soon Judas began to
steal without the least scruple and finally the
words of Paul, the apostle, were fulfilled in
his case: "They that will become rich, fall
"into temptation and into the snare of the
"devil, and into many unprofitable and hurt-
"ful desires, which drown men into destruction
"and perdition. For the desire of money is
"the root of all evils; which some coveting
"have erred from the faith." (1 Tim. 6. 9. 10).
For the repeated thefts, which in the beginning
were possibly small and venial sins only, made
this apostle indifferent to sin in general and
brought him to the condition of luke-warm-
ness. At the same time the growing love of
money stifled in him the love for Christ and
for his apostolic vocation. He fell into mortal
sins, became filled with aversion to Christ and
even lost the faith in His Divinity. His formal
The betrayal of J mas. 69
apostasy was only a matter of time. Then
happened the incident anent Mary Magdalen
who was so lavish in the use of costly oint
ments. It vexed Judas that such a chance for
a splendid stroke of business should slip by
him, and the reprimand vexed him more still.
As an indemnity, he resolved to sell the Son
of G-od himself.
From this dreadful event let us draw some
conclusions for our own instruction. It is
absolutely necessary to combat all passions, to
Hatter none, and, least of all, the dominant
passion which has the deepest roots in the
heart. Let no one say: I am no drunkard, I
am not impure, I harbor no enmities. A
single passion which you do not resist, is cap
able of bringing on your ruin. And these
passions must be combated early. When the
fire is still small, a few buckets of water suffice
to extinguish it. But when the flames appear
all over the roof, all the engines in town may
not suffice. These passions must be resisted
by every one, even if one were an apostle or a
saint. Avarice led Judas to his ruin. With
how much more reason must one begin early
to combat the far more dangerous passion of
impure lust which in a very short time easily
develops into an all-consuming fire,
Furthermore, we should take heed not to
trifle with venial sins, not to commit hundreds
70 History oftlie Passion.
and thousands of them with smiling counte
nance as if they were not offenses of God.
We should guard against ruinous tepidity.
Peter, who otherwise was zealous, in an un
fortunate moment, fell woefully. But touched
by the grace of Christ, he became converted
immediately. Not so Judas. Although the
Saviour had overwhelmed him with love, still,
on account of his numerous infidelities and
his disregard of venial sins, he gradually
drifted into the state of mortal guilt.
But from the Divine Eedeemer we may learn
to generously pardon our enemies, to unceas
ingly follow the lost sheep, to hope against
hope. Let us furthermore have the firmest
confidence in the love and mercy of Christ.
And indeed, what sinner ought to despair?
Return to Christ in sorrow, and the Saviour
in whose embrace we now behold the traitor,
will hail thee as His friend and give thee the
kiss of peace.
CHAPTER VI.
The Seizure of the Saviour.
"Then the band and the tribune, and
"the servants of the Jews took Jesus, and
"bound him." (John 18, 12.)
The betrayal of Judas was followed by the
taking of the Saviour. The Holy Scriptures
describe the event in the following terms:
" Jesus, knowing all things that should come
"upon him, went forth and saith to them: I
"am he. And Judas also, who betrayed him,
"stood with them. As soon therefore as he
"had said to them: I am he, they went back-
"ward and fell to the ground. Again therefore
"he asked them: Whom seek ye? And they
"said: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered:
"I have told you, that I am he. If therefore
"you seek me, let these go their way. That
"the word might be fulfilled which he said.
"Of them whom thou hast given me, I have
"not lost any one. And they that were about
"him, seeing what would follow, said to him:
"Lord, shall we strike with the sword? And
"one of them that stood by, Simon Peter,
"drawing a sword, struck a servant of the
(71)
i .
72 History of the Passion.
"high-priest and cut off his right ear. And
"the name of the servant was Malchus. But
"Jesus answering said: Suffer ye thus far.
"And when he had touched his ear, he healed
"Malchus. Then Jesus said to Peter: Put up
"again thy sword into its place, into the scab-
"bard. For all that take the sword shall
"perish with the sword. The chalice which
"my Father hath given me, shall I not drink
"it! Thinkesfc thou that I cannot ask my
Father, and he will give me presently more
than twelve legions of angels? How then
"shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that so it
"must be done! In that same hour Jesus said
"to the chief-priests, and magistrates of the
"temple, and the ancients that were come
"unto him: Are ye come out as it were
"against a thief, with swords and clubs? When
"I was daily with you in the temple, you did
"not stretch forth your hands against me. But
"this is your hour and the power of darkness.
"Now all this was done, that the Scriptures of
"the prophets might be fulfilled. Then the
"band and the tribune, and the servants of
"the Jews took Jesus and bound him. Then
"the disciples all leaving him fled." (Matthew
26, 50-56. Mark 14, 46-50. Luke 22, 49-54.
John 18, 4-12). --Such is the description
given by the evangelists, of the seizure of the
Redeemer.
The seizure of the Saviour. 73
Let us consider the divers miracles that
Christ then worked; namely
I. Miracles proving His Divine Power and
II. Miracles proving His Divine Love.
I.
To prove His Divine Power, Christ performed
notably two miracles. The first consisted in
bringing His enemies to a halt and the second,
in bringing them to a fall.
The kiss of Jndas and, with it, the sign for
the attack had been given. But why do they
not advance? Why do they hesitate? What
keeps back these villains thirsting for the
blood of the God-Man? They need certainly
not fear greater numbers. On the one side
stand Christ and the apostles with two swords,
on the other a numerous band fully armed
with swords and clubs and lances. Still,
there they stand, as if rooted to the ground,
and they cannot advance one step. Was there
perhaps a doubt about the person to be taken,
notwithstanding the kiss of Judas, the light
of the full moon and the lights they had with
them? There truly was such a doubt. The
enemies of Christ, and Judas too, were so
stricken with blindness that they did not rec
ognize Him, although He stood before them.
Had they recognized Him, then surely when
He asked them the second time: "Whom
74 History oftlie Passion.
seek ye?" they would not have answered:
"Jesus of Nazareth," but: "We seek thee."
It would, then, have been an easy matter, had
Jesus so willed, to escape His enemies, not
withstanding the cunningly laid plan and the
treachery of Judas. But Christ goes towards
them and asks them: "Whom seek ye?" And
they answer: "Jesus of Nazareth." He re
sponds: "I am he." At these words, as if
struck by lightning or overturned by a whirl
wind, they fall back to the ground, Judas
with them. The voice of the Lord breaketh
the cedars. (Ps. 28, 5). Poor Judas, if you
know of no way out of the difficulty now, your
pieces of silver are gone. — The enemies of
Christ fell backwards to the ground, not like
penitent sinners, upon their faces ; and he who
falls backwards, is apt to damage his head.
Finally, Christ restored to them their pow
ers. Filled with shame, struck with amaze
ment but burning with anger, they arose.
For the second time the Saviour asked them :
"Whom seek ye?" Again they answer:
"Jesus of Nazareth." They, therefore, did
not yet recognize Him. That they might
understand that it was He who threw them to
the ground, Christ now said to them: "I
"have told you that I am he." And, as the
proof was now furnished that He began His
Passion of His own free will, He permitted
The seizure oj the Saviour. 75
them to seize Him by saying: "If therefore
"you seek me, let these go their way." The
evident demonstration, then, of His Divine
Power, did not bring to their senses these
hardened culprits. They are hardly on their
feet, when they continue their impious work,
advance toward Christ and seize Him.
When, therefore, in later centuries, tyrants
saw hungry lions and tigers in the arena
crouch at the feet of innocent lambs as the
holy martyrs were, when they witnessed how
these sufferers walked forth, without harm,
from burning furnaces and how missiles re
bounded from their persons, and nevertheless
kept on inventing new pains and tortures, was
that not a scene similar to the one narrated
above! When entire parishes and countries on
account of their sins are, as it were, stricken
to the ground by Almighty God through wars,
earthquakes and contagious diseases, and, as
soon as the visitation is over, return to their
old dissipated and shameless ways, is it not
the enactment of the very same scene? When
lastly God chastises the sinner and he heeds it
not, when He crushes him and he refuses the
punishment, is it not indeed a scene from the
Garden of Olives?
"Whom seek ye?" asked Christ. — "Jesus
"of Nazareth." — "I am he." And they fell
to the ground. What will He do as a Judge,
76 History of the Passion.
who, as an accused, in a state of greatest weak
ness and impotence, displays such power?
HOY/ the high-priests and scribes will collapse,
when on the day of judgment from His seat in
the clouds, Christ shall cry out to them: "I
"am he." How all deniers of the Divinity of
Christ shall then wither in fear and terror.
What then will be the sentiments of the
doubters, of all sinners, notably of those who
unceasingly planned evil against Christ and
His holy Church. Let us console ourselves in
present tribulations. One word of the Lord,
one breath of His mouth suffices to cast the
enemies of the Church powerless into the dust.
May it be our privilege, when on the last
day Christ shall say these words to us, to greet
Him with joy and exultation and to look up to
Him with confidence. But we can entertain
this hope only if now, truthfully and with our
whole heart we can answer His question:
1 i Whom seek ye ? ' ' by saying : "Jesus of Naz-
"areth, naught else but Christ Crucified."
Let us now pass on to the miracles wrought
by Christ in the Garden of Olives to demon
strate His Divine Love.
II.
Christ wrought two miracles for the following
purpose. He wished to convince His friends
of the greatness of His love by the first mir
acle, and His enemies, by the second.
Hie seizure of tJie Saviour. 77
Above all, the Saviour had at heart the wel
fare of His disciples for whose steadfastness
in the faith He had reason to fear if they also,
according to the undoubted intent of Christ's
enemies, would be taken in captivity. "If ye
"seek me," he therefore said, "let these go
their way." By these words He commanded
and effected the freedom of His disciples.
After that, they dared not even touch Peter
who, in wounding Malchas, excited to the
highest degree the ire of the high-priests and
their associates. Their hands were tied. Thus
were fulfilled the words of Christ: "Of them
"whom thou hast given me, I have not lost
"anyone" (John 17, 12). No doubt Peter,
soon afterwards, committed a grievous sin,
but it was owing to his own fault and not to
his being taken captive. — "Let these go their
way" we ought also to say in trials and difficul
ties, and not continually to take the burden off
our own shoulders to lay it on the shoulders
of others.
A second miracle was wrought by Christ to
convince His enemies of His Love and to invite
them to conversion. After the last words of
Christ they laid hands on Him. One of them,
Malchus, the servant of Caiphas the high-
priest, made himself conspicuous by pulling
and tugging at the person of Christ. He
desired the honor of binding Him. It would
78 History of tit e Passion.
recommend him to his master, But this was
more than the disciples would tolerate. They
all cried out together: "Lord, shall we strike
out with the sword?" Without awaiting the
answer of Christ, Peter drew his sword and
wielded it with a strong arm. His aim missed.
He did not intend to cut off an ear, otherwise,
as he used his right arm and stood opposite
to Malchus, he would have struck his left ear.
He meant to cleave the head of the impertinent
scoundrel. But the head being covered with
a helmet the sword glanced off and took along
the right ear. Peter, then, raised his sword
the second time, and the other disciple with a
sword prepared to use it. Then Christ said:
"Suffer ye thus far" and, touching the ear of
Malchus, he healed him. Thus did Christ
avenge Himself on His enemies. Then turn
ing to Peter, He ordered him to put up his
sword into its place, into the scabbard, and
He gave him a reprimand. Whoever uses the
sword, without legal warrant, of course, mer
its that his own blood be shed. He addresses
Peter in a holy indignation, because he would
hinder Him in fulfilling the Scripture and in
drinking the chalice offered Him by His heav
enly Father. Peter's help, besides, would be
entirely superfluous as twelve legions and
more of angels would if He so wished, at any
moment be at His disposition. However,
The seizure of the Saciour. 79
Peter on that occasion, committed no grievous
sin. He had misunderstood a former command
of the Saviour to buy swords (Luke 22, 36),
that is, to prepare for combat with the weapons
of the spirit, and, what he did, he considered
done in just self-defense. With that, his ar
dent love for Christ and his anxiety lest harm
befall Him, rendered him incapable of calm
deliberation. If such were not the case, how
would he be imprudent enough to resist a
hostile force so vastly superior?
We should learn from Christ what Chris
tian revenge truly is, namely to repay good for
evil. But from Peter we may also learn some
thing, even if it be not the wielding of a sword.
Were it allowed to cut off the right ear of all
who sin against Christ, very many people
would be in a condition to show only the left
one. Therefore a blind, excessive zeal can do
but harm. But to have no zeal or very little
zeal for the honor of Christ and of His Church
and for the intact preservation of faith and of
good morals, is another fault. In this regard
civil authority, into whose hands Grod has
placed the sword, ought to have more the
nature of Peter. Then religion and faith
would not be ridiculed and insulted as they
are, and Christian conduct would not be tram
pled under foot to such an extent. Then
innumerable houses of ill repute would not
80 History of the Passion.
exist, many public scandals would cease, bad
theatres would be closed, shameless pictures
would disappear from store-fronts and bill
boards and many poisonous productions of an
impious and immoral press, would no more be
spread among the people. How persons, in
such responsible positions, who do nothing
for religion and morality but who allow all
sorts of wickedness, done under their very
eyes, to go unpunished, how such persons, I
say, can render an account of their stewardship
on the last day, is something very difficult to
imagine. Many parents, too, and masters
ought to have more of Peter's disposition.
Then family life would be more orderly and
Christian and many innocent souls would be
saved. In fact, Peter's nature would be of
advantage to us all; then, in the fight against
evil, we would not, in a cowardly manner,
throw down our weapons and surrender at the
first attack of temptation.
Finally, the moment arrived when Christ, to
convince us also of His Love and to free us
from the fetters of sin and hell, allowed Him
self to be fettered. But before that, He made
one more effort to deter the high-priests and
the ancients of the people from their nefarious
project by holding up to them, on the one
hand, the indignity of their act in treating as
a murderer One who had often spoken to
The seizure of the Saviour. 81
them in the temple and who had shown Him
self a benefactor of the people; and by as
suring them, on the other hand, that with all
their swords and clubs they could not seize
Him, if it were not their hour and the power
of darkness. For the third time He finally
reminds them of the Holy Scriptures to make
them, understand that they were instruments
in the hands of God to fulfil the sayings of the
prophets. "We owe you no thanks, 0 Jews,"
says St. Leo,1 "nor thee, Judas. No doubt,
"your impiety has served to our salvation ; no
"doubt, through you was done what lay in
"the counsels of God, but it was against your
"will. The death of Christ liberates us, it
"accuses you. You alone, by right, lack that
"which, according to your wishes, should l|e
"lost to all."
Now they began their work. Like wolves,
the enemies of Christ fell upon the Lamb of
God, like robbers upon their prey. The band
and the tribune and the servants of the Jews
took Jesus and bound Him. It was done with
an ardor worthy of a better cause. And they
surely fastened the ropes tightly and secured
them in many knots, for Judas had told them:
"Lead Him away carefully." Certainly the
bonds in which His Blessed Mother formerly
wrapped Him when He yet lay in the cradle,
1 Serm. 1 de Pass. c. 5.
82 History of the Passion.
were sweeter arid more pleasant. But He re
joiced in these bonds, otherwise He would
have torn them asunder more easily than
Samson could have done. In general, He
loved to be a captive. For that reason He
had taken proper measures, on the eve of His
Passion, to dwell among us as our captive
unto the last of days, in the Sacrament of the
Altar.
Happy, thrice happy those, who even in our
days were found worthy to carry the shackles
of Christ. St. Paul had many glorious titles
of which he might boast. He was an apostle,
the teacher of the world, the teacher of na
tions. Still, he finds all his glory in chains
and ropes and bonds. "I, Paul," he says,
"the prisoner of Jesus Christ." As for us, it
should be our pride and our glory to be bound
with the bonds of His law, with the bonds of
His Commandments, with the bonds of His
Divine Love-
Then, dismayed at what had happened, the
disciples fled and nobody dared to hinder them.
Another disciple of the Saviour, however,
probably the son of the gardener (Mark 14,
51 ),1 who was not among the number of those
of whom Christ had said: "Let these go their
"way," almost fared badly. He escaped cap
tivity only by leaving in the hands of the
1 See note 4.
The seizure- of the Snrionr. 83
soldiers the linen cloth, which, when awakened
from sleep by the noise, he had hurriedly
thrown about his shoulders and by hurrying
away in his night-gown or perhaps with only
a cloth about his loins. From this incident
we can judge that the position of the disciples
was very dangerous, that the terror of the ene
mies of Christ was great ; that they were fully
decided to apprehend also the disciples, whose
flight, consequently, it is easy to understand.
When we consider the event calmly and
without prejudice, we must avow, that, under
the circumstances, the apostles could not well
act differently. Full of courage, they would
strike with the sword. That was forbidden
them. From the words of the Saviour: "Let
" these go their way," they understood that
they were not to follow Him into captivity
and death, but that, as He further intimated,
they were to relinquish Him to the powers of
darkness, whose hour had now arrived. So
nothing remained for them but to go away.
For another reason it was the most reasonable
and the most advisable thing to do, for they
would not be exposed to the danger of denying
Christ by close contact with His enemies.
They committed a fault, however, by running
away instead of walking away, because, there
by, they showed a lack of confidence in the
Lord. Christ permitted this weakness in the
84 His to t 'tj of tli e Passion .
apostles to thoroughly humble them and to
divest them of all rash self-confidence. Per
haps, while they were running, all their glori
ous promises came back to their minds.
Peter's ears, especially, must have kept ring
ing with the words: "Although all shall be
"scandalized in thee, yet not I." How
ashamed they must have felt !
We shall, then, sympathize with the poor
apostles and instead of condemning them, we
shall examine our own conscience to see whether
or not, we ever abandoned Jesus from motives
of human respect. When it comes right down
to the point, the apostles really believed their
lives in danger, whilst we need fear neither
bonds nor prisons nor death. A little slur, a
sarcastic smile, a cutting remark on the part of
some impious profligate leads many a Christian
to abandon the Lord and to neglect the most
sacred duties. In small matters we are all
the less faithful than the apostles were on this
occasion. Let us then in sorrow strike our
own breast.
The weakness of the apostles which led to
their salvation, will then be to us a source of!
strength ; their flight, a source of courage and
consolation. When we again meet them on
the day of Pentecost and see them go forth
like heroes to conquer the world, we shall be
encouraged in the thought that, not withstand-
The seizure of the Saviour. 85
ing our misery and cowardice, we may also
become saints. For that purpose however,
we must pray to the Saviour that He attach
us inseparably to Himself in the bonds of His
Love, so that we may remain faithful to Him
3ven unto death.
CHAPTEK VII.
The Events immediately following the Seizure
of Christ.
"And they led him away to Annas first,
"for he was father-in-law to Caiphas, who
"was the high-priest of that year. The
"high-priest therefore asked Jesus of his
"disciples, and of his doctrine."
(John 18, 13—19.)
After narrating the seizure of the Kedeemer,
the evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke in
continently narrate the leading of Him to
Caiphas. Matthew and Mark then describe
the trial proper before Caiphas and the chief-
priests, which ended in the condemnation of
Christ j all three evangelists then mention the
triple denial of Peter in the vestibule of the
palace of Caiphas. But they tell us nothing
of the call on Annas, nor of the preliminary
trial in which Annas1 asked Jesus about His
disciples and His doctrine, nor of the blow
upon the cheek of Jesus after this preliminary
trial. All of this is supplied in the narrative of
St. John who also telis us that the first denial
1 See note 5.
(86)
Events immediately following the seizure. 87
of Peter occurred during this preliminary trial.
However, we know that the evangelists were
neither commissioned nor did they intend to
write of all that happened.
Let us now consider (Matthew 26, 57. Mark
14, 53. Luke 22, 54. John 18, 13. 19-24):
I. The march from Mount Olive to Annas 5
II. The preliminary trial before Annas.
I.
The evangelist John narrates the march from
Mount Olive to Annas in these simple words:
"And they led him away to Annas first."
This march, in the first place, was very painful
to the Saviour. Owing to the great loss of
blood in the Garden of Olives, He was in a
state of extreme exhaustion. The fetters
which, as a precaution, encircled His Sacred
Body in various ways, made it very difficult for
Him to walk. The rabble, drunk with victory,
beat, pushed, dragged, in a word, maltreated
Him in a manner of which only a violent and
raving crowd were capable. It is not improb
able, as some commentators opine, that during
this inarch, He repeatedly fell to the ground,
even into the brook Cedron itself whence the
ruffians dragged Him along as if He were
some wild beast.
With that, this march was extremely humil
iating to His Divine Heart. He was bound,
as if He were a murderer and robber. The
88 History of the Passion.
disgrace was greater in proportion to the high
prestige formerly enjoyed by Him. It was
immensely increased by the infernal laughter,
the grinning looks and the jeers and curses of
His enemies. But this ignominy reached its
height at the entrance into the city. Christ
was led through the Golden Portal, also called
the Sheep's Grate, through which, amid the
applause, the felicitations and the joyful ac
clamations of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
He had, on Palm Sunday, made His triumphal
entry. He was led through the same street
where He had passed over palm branches and
extended garments, while solemn hosannas
were greeting Him. The noise of the menials
awoke the people from their sleep, every one
ran upon the street, all the ruffians crept out
of their dens, they all leered upon Him with
curiosity or malice, they all exulted at the
captured prize: it caused incomprehensible
shame to the Divine Heart. It was still more
incomprehensible that Almighty God did not
repeat the punishment once inflicted upon the
Bethsamites who, with sinful curiosity and
irreverence, had dared gaze upon the ark of
the Old Testament.
It is true indeed, that the Saviour knew
Himself to be innocent. But this knowledge
could not remove the shame felt by His human
heart. What would be your feelings, Christian
Events immediately fotlowng the seizure. 89
man, if amid the hisses and the jeers of a
curious multitude, you were dragged, bound
and fettered, through the streets of the city to
the door of the jail? Although convinced of
your own innocence, you still would wish that
the earth would swallow you, and the fact of
your respectability would merely intensify this
wish. Whether or not we shall have the
honor to follow Christ Who is "the Way," on
this way of disgrace, we know not. We ought,
however, to accustom ourselves to support pa
tiently and joyfully, lesser humiliations; then,
with the grace of Christ, we may heroically
bear greater ones, whenever it pleases God to
inflict them on us.
Meanwhile they arrived before Annas, who
lived in the same house with Caiphas, his
son-in-law. This man Annas,1 by bribing the
Roman governor, had obtained the dignity of
high-priest in the sixth year after the birth of
Christ. Later on he had to yield the place to
a certain Ismael; but, by means of money, he
again succeeded in obtaining the dignity for
his son Eleazar, and for his son-in-law Caiphas
when, one year after his installation, Eleazar
had been supplanted by Simon. In the course
of time, four more of his sons were made
high -priests, the youngest of whom obtained
the high office when Annas was ninety years
1 Flavius Jos., Aut. 1. 20 ch. 9. n. 1. 2.
90 History oftlic Passion.
old, for which reason Annas was called the
happiest of men. He owed his continued in
fluence in the appointment of high-priests not
only to his money, but also to his energy, as
well as to the firm grasp by which he kept
together the party of the Sadducees to which
he belonged. Annas is indeed a real illustra
tion of an impenitent sinner, who will not
desist from evil in hoary old age and on the
brink of the grave.
But what caused the soldiers or rather the
chief -priests and elders who commanded the
troop, to lead Christ to Annas, who, not being
in office, had no jurisdiction over Him? St.
John gives us the first reason. Annas, name
ly, was the father-in-law of Caiphas. Such
consideration for the father-in-law could not
miss recommending the chief-priests to the
son-in-law. Then, to avoid being charged
with neglect, they were impelled to personally
cause a pleasure to the old man. In this par
ticular case his merits were too numerous to
be slighted. According to St. Cyril of Alex
andria,1 he was even the soul of the whole
conspiracy against Christ. In fact, the" Acts
of the Apostles (4, 6) show him to have been
the spiritual head of the entire anti-Christian
party. Therefore, the chief -priest led the
captured prey, as if in triumph, into the house
1 In Joan. 1, 11 (Joan. 18, 13).
Events immediately following the seizure. 91
of Annas to present Christ for his long desired
inspection and as something to feast his eyes
upon. Judas, also, insisted upon it, because
he had made the bargain with Annas and he
wanted his money. Finally, as St. Augustine
writes,1 Caiphas, to honor his "father-in-law,
had instructed the chief-priests to lead Christ
to Annas first. But throughout all, Caiphas
was secretly following other intents. However
bold and fearless he appeared during the entire
proceedings, he still greatly feared lest Christ
escape him again through sorcery or diabolical
craft, which, of course, would destroy his
prestige of a high-priest. Whether or not this
attempt would be successful ought therefore
to be ascertained by the experiment of some one
else who held no official position. He thought
that his father-in-law was just the proper per
son to try the experiment, so slender are often
the family ties among the godless. Whenever
private interest demands it, one member of the
family readily sacrifices another. Besides this,
Caiphas, who first had referred to the death
of Christ in grand council, wished as much as
possible to remove from himself the odium of
the affair. Nothing, therefore, would please
him more than that Annas, who to his high
standing joined uncommon shrewdness, would,
by a preliminary examination and finding of
1 Tract, in Joann. 113, 1.
92 History of the Passion.
points of accusation, prepare the way for the
trial proper, and, as it were, be the plaintiff in
the case before him, the high-priest. Christ,
then, stood before Annas. How the latter
must have rejoiced to see, bound before him,
the irksome preacher of penance. Christ had
so often scourged the band of pharisees and
unmercifully disclosed their malice and hypo
crisy. There He now stands fettered. But
how short-lived is the joy of the impious! Even
death's bonds shall be severed after three days.
Let us now turn our attention to the pre
liminary hearing before Annas.
II.
Annas was an ex-high-priest. He therefore
had no right whatever to hold an enquiry. But
that mattered little to him. It was of more
concern to him to gather from the Redeemer's
answers points to form a basis of accusation
in a legal subsequent trial. Annas, therefore,
questioned the Saviour first about His disci
ples, their number, the reason why He had as
many apostles as there had been patriarchs, as
many disciples as there were elders ; why He
had gathered to Himself entirely uneducated,
ignorant people from among the common herd.
He wished to know whether Christ had bound
them to Himself, like modern free-masons, by
secret oaths; what purposes He followed in
His nomadic wanderings ; whether they were
It cents immediately following the seizure. 93
political or not. They could hardly be proper
purposes or His disciples would not have
abandoned Him. They likely had reached the
conclusion that He had falsely claimed to be
the Messiah and that He was an imposter.
Annas also questioned the Saviour about His
doctrine. He wished to know in what school
of law He had been trained ; which of the ten
dencies current among the scribes He follow
ed; whether He had a rightful mission to
teach and, if so, from whom He had received
it. For whoever would publicly teach either
law or doctrines of faith, was required to have
received, from an acknowledged teacher, a
proper commission which was usually given
by the imposing of hands. Therefore, besides
claiming a direct, Divine call and attestation
of His right to teach, Christ had formerly also
appealed to the testimony of John the Baptist
(John 5, 33). Furthermore, as Annas was
aware, from attempts made before (as for in
stance Matthew 19, 3), that Christ agreed
with none of the existing and violently con
flicting schools regarding the interpretation of
the Mosaic Law and the traditions of the
teachers, he undoubtedly put some very cap
tious questions to the Redeemer. The answers
of Christ were expected to stamp Him as a
despiser of the law of Moses, or, at least, to
embitter and excite against Him one or the
94 History of the Passion.
other of the various parties. No matter how
the accused might reply, He would, Annas
thought, hurt His own cause.
Christ did not answer the first question re
lating to His disciples. Had He named them
and declared them to be His disciples, a war
rant for their arrest would probably have been
issued at once. Besides, just at this time.
He could not say anything very praiseworthy
about them, and He would not mention their
faults and weaknesses, their haughty conceit,
their drowsiness and sloth in the G-arden of
Olives and their hasty flight at His seizure.
It is a point we ought to remember in our
conversations. — Furthermore, an answer to
this question was not necessary. Owing to
the intention of the high-priest in putting his
question, it was necessary to give an answer
regarding the doctrine only. For if the doc
trine was good and from Grod, Christ could
not have gathered the disciples about Him for
any ignoble purpose. Christ, therefore, gave
an answer, concerning His doctrine to show
Annas that He would not withdraw jot or title
from it. His answer, however, was again so
prudent, that He avoided the trap set for Him.
He did not enter into an explanation or a
confirmation of His teachings. He knew that
He had before Him hardened rascals who
eared naught for truth. For this reason, He
Events immediately following the seizure. 95
avoided all manner of dispute and religions
talk — all of which He .meant for our instruc
tion. For although it is certainly good and
laudable to silence malicious doubters and
scoffers with a clean-cut, solid answer, still it
is not advisable in most cases to enter into
religious controversies with them. We ought
rather to tell them that every Sunday sermons
are preached in our churches about the doc
trines of faith and morals and that they ought
to go there for enlightenment. — In order,
then, to defend His doctrine, Christ merely
appealed to the fact that He had always
preached in public and often in the Temple,
whence it could be inferred that He never de
sired to secretly spread wrong teachings. He
said that He had taught nothing secretly, that
is, with the intention that it should remain
secret. He had indeed often spoken to the
apostles alone and had initiated them into
many mysteries. But He imposed upon them
at the same time this injunction: "That which
"you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the
"housetops." (Matthew 10, 27). "Ask them,"
Christ continued, "who have heard what I
"have spoken unto them.7' It would verily
be more in keeping with legal procedure were
they to present definite charges regarding my
doctrine before a word were demanded of me
in my own defence. Truly, Annas, thy pro-
96 History of the Passion.
ceeding is not only unlawful but also very fool
ish. For what reasonable judge would expect
an accused to freely furnish him, by an open
avowal, material for a charge!
It seemed to one of the servants that Christ
looked especially at him, just as Christians at
times insist on asserting that the preacher of
the Divine Word, at this or that passage of
his sermon, gazed directly at them. The ser
vant therefore believed that Christ wished him
to testify in favor of His doctrine. To vent
his rage and anger, but mainly to please the
high-priest and to deter others from taking
sides with Christ, this man rushed upon the
Redeemer and gave Him such a fearful blow
upon the cheek that He staggered. At the
same time, he feigned respect for the high-
priest by saying: "Answerest thou the high-
Driest so?" — A blow, alack, upon the cheek,
a blow of the fist, a blow of an iron-clad fist in
the Holy, heavenly beautiful, Divine Face
which the angels yearn to behold ! Ah ! that
his hand did not wither, that savage beasts,
rushing out of the desert, did not lacerate the
culprit! That firebrands did not fall from
heaven to consume him ! That the earth did
not open to swallow him! — But is it not bar
barous to thus maltreat an accused, who is not
yet sentenced and who therefore may possibly
be innocent! Since when has a court servant
Events immediately following tlie seizure. 97
the right to deal a blow to an accused who is
defending himself in open court? But the
high-priest was silent. Had his dog been
beaten, he would have had something to say.
However, the blow of the servant was meant
less for the Person of the Redeemer than for
His doctrine. The individual thought thereby
to have given a proof of its exceptionableness
and to have dealt it a death-blow. For which
reason and also to show us that even blows
should not deter us from professing the truth,
the Saviour did not remain silent. He most
decidedly denied that the defence of truth
could be an offence to the high-priest. But
regarding his former teachings he demanded
of the servant a proof that they were false and
harmful. "If I have spoken evil, give testi-
"mony of the evil: but if well, why strikest
"thou me?" Christ spoke these last words to
bring home to the servant the full injustice of
his act and, as he likely raised his hand to deal
another blow, to deter him from further sins
and bring him to his senses. Wherefore he
likely spoke them in a winning mildness and
clemency.
Meanwhile no one was in more uncomfor
table straits than Annas. Had he not lost all
sense of shame, he would have blushed with
confusion. For it was clear to the eye- and
ear - witnesses present that the answers of
98 History of the Passion.
Christ had rightly branded the conduct of
Annas as unlawful and foolish. To get out of
his awkward position and to rid himself of the
odious affair, Annas hurriedly paid Judas the
traitor's price and sent the Saviour , bound as
He was, to Caiphas.
"Why strikest thou Me?" said the Saviour
to the servant who had maltreated Him. He
can say the same to every sinner, Why strik
est thou Me! Give me the reason. Why?
Is it because I created thee when thou wast
not? Or is it because I saved thee when thou
wast pining in the chains of Satan? Or is it
because I restored lost grace to thee an hundred
times? Why? Name the crime which I com
mitted against thee. — Thou strikest Me! Is
that the gratitude for all my benefits? It is
thou who strikest Me, thou, the privileged one
among thousands. Thou striJkest me, a vile
menial, a fault-laden sinner, thou, My creature,
the work of My hand, thou, for whom I am
about to shed My blood! Thou strikest Me,
Me, thy Friend, thy Brother, thy Protector,
thy Consoler, thy Judge, thy greatest and
most precious G-ood ! Indeed, these plaints of
the Saviour may bring the blush of confusion
to all of us.
Nevertheless, the blow received by the Re
deemer has obtained honor. Whenever a pious
artist represents the instruments of the Sav-
Events immediately following tlie seizure. 99
iour's sufferings, the iron-clad fist is never miss- >
ing. The holy confessors and martyrs suffered r
joyfully the blow upon the cheek. But for us
it has become the dub of knighthood in the
sacrament of Confirmation. With knightly
courage, then, let us profess our faith and
make our lives accord with it. As true war
riors of Jesus Christ, let us battle against the
enemies of our faith. And may we, as true
warriors of Jesus Christ, fall some day upon
the battle field, for then, in death, the Saviour
will give us the palm of victory.
CHAPTEE VIII.
The Trial of Christ before Caiphas.
"Then the high-priest rent his garments'
"saying: He hath blasphemed : what fur
ther need have we of witnesses? Behold,
"now yon have heard the blasphemy:
"What think you? But they answering
"said : He is guilty of death."
(Matthew 26, 65-66.)
Whilst the Eedeemer stood before Annas,
the members of the Sanhedrin assembled with
Caiphas. Caiphas, namely, was the high-
priest of that year. In fact, he was clad with
this dignity during the entire public life of
Christ. After the death of Christ, Pilate's
successor deposed him. It is said that the
grief caused by his removal, impelled him to
commit suicide. The composition of the court
was unique in its way. " It presented/' says
St. Chrysostom,1 "only the appearance of a
"court, in reality it was an assault of robbers."
Where in the wide world is it tolerated that a
man be the judge in his own cause? How is
impartiality possible where judges are at the
1 In Matth. horn. 54 Cal. 53) n. 2.
(100)
The trial of Christ before Cephas. 101
same time accusers? -— No other assembly
equalled the Sanhedrin1 either in outward
splendor of holiness or in Divine prestige. It
was, so to speak, the oracle of the world, the
decisions of which were considered binding
in conscience and irrefragable. Before this
assembly which was extolled as harboring the
seat of Justice, which was modelled after the
fundamental outlines of the old Mosaic con
stitution and which once had counted among
its members such prophets as Aggeus, Zacha-
rias and Malachias and the great friends of
God such as Esras: before this "high synod7'
stood Jesus Christ Who was to perfect that
Law, to fulfil the predictions of those prophets
and the expectations of all those just men.
There He stood as an accused criminal — He,
the Son of the Eternal Father, the Judge of
the living and of the dead, stood there to be
judged and to hear His condemnation to
death. Let us listen to the proceedings of the
trial. And if we are seized with terror and
dismay while entering, in spirit, into the house
of Caiphas, thither we shall nevertheless follow
the Redeemer for His solace and for our own in
struction. Let us, therefore, consider (Mat
thew 26, 59-68. Mark 15, 53-65. Luke 22
63^65):
I- The testimony of the witnesses ;
1 See note 6.
102 History of the Passion.
II. The condemnation of the accused, and
III. The unlawful maltreatment of the con
demned One.
I.
The preliminary trial before Annas was bar
ren of results. Nothing had come to light that
might form the basis of an accusation, and
thus Caiphas had to begin without having be
fore him any charge. After the judges had
taken their seats, the signal for the opening of
the trial was given. According to custom, the
Saviour was released from His bonds as a sign
that He had full liberty to defend Himself.
Every body was now intent on the accusation,
but no accuser opened his lips. As if awaking
from a profound sleep, the judges regain their
senses and find themselves in a bad predica
ment. They will not and cannot condemn
Christ without a definite charge and without
accusers; for, above all, they must preserve
the appearance of a legal, juridical trial.
Hence, as if in despair, the high-priest re
quested those present to testify against Christ
and to bring charges. Thereupon some com
plied and related what the pharisees among
the crowd had hurriedly whispered to them.
But, to the great dismay of the high-priest,
they contradicted themselves, There, indeed,
the usual cunning of the pharisees had played
them false inasmuch as they could not train a
The trial of Christ before Caiphas. 103
few men to give unanimous testimony. Now
was the word of the psalmist verified : "Unjust
"witnesses have risen up against me; and
"iniquity hath lied to itself" (Ps. 26, 12).
Finally two more false witnesses arose, similar
to the two sons of Belial, who were suborned
by impious Jezabel to testify that "Naboth
"hath blasphemed God and the king." It is
indeed a terrible thing to allow one's self to be
used as a witness against the Eternal Truth. —
The testimony of the one was this: "This man
"said, I am able to destroy the temple of God,
"and after three days to rebuild it" (Matthew
26, 61). The testimony of the other was as
follows: "We heard him say, I will destroy
"this temple made with hands, and within
"three days I will build another not made
with hands' ' (Mark 14, 58 ) . These testimonies
were false because they distorted the words
of Christ. Christ had said: "Destroy this
"temple" that is if You destroy it, not if / de
stroy it "and in three days I will raise it up"
(John 2, 19). Christ had therefore attributed
to Himself the Power and the will not of de
stroying but of reconstructing and this only
conditionally upon their having destroyed this
temple.
Neither did He then refer to the temple of
Solomon, but to the temple of His own Body
(John 2, 2.1). These testimonies were irrelo-
104 History of the Passion.
vant any way, even if Christ had spoken of
the temple of Solomon in the sense attributed
to Him. They furnished no cause for a death
penalty, which usually can be imposed for
criminal acts only. Now, of the witnesses, one
accused Christ of boastful words and the other,
of an internal act of the will. The words of
the Saviour, no matter to what extent their
sense were perverted, could at most justify the
opinion that He was either a braggart or a fool,
but not a criminal. Such an immense building
as Solomon's temple could forsooth not be
quietly torn down over night. And if Christ
had really torn it down, but rebuilt it in three
days, the damage done would be very trivial
indeed. But the intention was to represent
the words of Christ as being a crime against
G-od, the Lord of the Sanctuary, and against
the Temple, the center of worship.
Therewith closed the comedy of hearing
witnesses. They took good care not to admit
testimony for the defence, as is the custom "in
all trials. And they had their reasons. For
were Christ to bring forward all the hungry
whom He had fed, all the sick whom He had
healed, all the dead whom He had raised to
life, the infernal scheme of the mob would be
foiled. As it was, the accusers contradicted
themselves . This was truly a glorious triumph
of eternal truth which the Catholic Church has
The trial of Christ before Caiphas. 105
also achieved in every Christian century.
Every thing that opposes her and contemns
the mass of testimony showing her Divinity,
exposes its own contradictions and makes it
self unqualifiedly ridiculous.
It would have been the duty of a just judge
to call, like a second Daniel, the attention of
the witnesses to the contradiction in which
they were entangled, to brand these witnesses
as perjurers and to punish them. The high-
priest, however, quickly arose and advanced.
Approving by his actions the false testimony
and taking it for granted, he fairly boiled how
ever with anger at the inept statements as well
as at the calmness - with which the Saviour
seemed to despise the charges, and he hurled
at the latter these words: "Answerest Thou
" nothing to the things which these witness
"against Thee?" that is: "Hast Thou no re-
"mark to make to this testimony, hast Thou
"nothing to say in Thine own defense?"
This question gave Christ leave to speak and
challenged Him to a defence. It was un
doubtedly the shortest defence ever made.
The G-ospel describes it in these words: "But
' 'Jesus held his peace. ' ' But for all its brevity,
this defence of the Redeemer had its effect. It
found enthusiastic admirers; it was repeated
by thousands of saints and pious people after
they had been outrageously calumniated, and
it still works prodigies even to our own day.
106 History of the Passion.
But it threw Caiphas iiito a shameless and
boundless fuiy. Wherefore the miserable
wretch sought, by a question of devilish cun
ning, to lay a new snare for Christ Whom he
otherwise would have to release for want of
criminal proof. He had no doubt but that the
answer of the Saviour would furnish sufficient
points to warrant a death-sentence.
Let us pass on to the sentencing of the
Accused One.
II.
It lay in the decree of God that, on this
day, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Christ
should enter upon His functions as High-
Priest, wherewith was inevitably connected
the extinction of the office of high-priest of the
Old Law. In a manner, therefore, the Re
deemer owed it to His own honor to present
Himself before Caiphas in order to prove arid
to confirm by oath the validity of His title.
Otherwise evil tongues might charge Him with
having unlawfully assumed this dignity. The
declaration of Christ had to be placed on record
and preserved in the archives of the synagogue.
Now this solemn moment had arrived. Christ
stood before Caiphas, the high-priest of the
Old Law. In presence of the entire court and
of the assembled multitude, Caiphas said with
a loud voice: "I adjure Thee by the living
"God, that Thou tell us if Thou be the Christ
The trial of Christ before Caiphas. 107
uthe Son of God." Every one waited for the
answer. The silence of death was spread in
the room. Then the Redeemer opened His
mouth and said: "Thou hast said it. I am."
Rejoice, o Caiphas, and be glad ! How could
I adequately praise the honor and distinction
conferred upon thee ! Since the days of Mai-
achias, thy predecessors in office yearned for
Him Who, as the High-Priest of the New Law,
would do away with the bloody sacrifices of
animals and offer a sacrifice worthy of the Di
vine Majesty. What they yearned in vain to
see, was reserved for thee, 0 Caiphas. Before
thee stands the Expected of nations, the Re
deemer of the world, the Son of God Himself.
To thee has been given the honor to receive
Him, to introduce Him into the insignia of His
dignity. Throw thyself, then, at the feet of
Christ, adore Him, tender Him thy congratu
lations! But ye, chief -priests and scribes, an
cients and menials, crave His pardon in tears.
Tell Him how that it could have been only an
unfortunate misunderstanding which could
never be sufficiently deplored, that caused His
hands to be bound, and Himself to be mal
treated and placed in the dock of criminals.
Then send messengers through Jerusalem and
through the entire land. Shout it from the
house tops and from the pinnacle of the Tem
ple, carry the glad tidings even into the low-
108 History of the Passion.
liest hut, announce it to the shepherds in the
field: "Christ, the Saviour, is here."— "Then
"the high-priest rent his garments, saying:
"He hath blasphemed: what further need have
"we of witnesses? Behold, now you have
"heard the blasphemy: What think you!
"Who all condemned Him to be guilty of
"death, and said: He is guilty of death."
Let us cast another retrospective glance
upon this scene. Above all, let us consider
the snare which the high-priest, by his ques
tion, prepared for the Saviour. Christ could
hardly escape, He was undone. Had He
answered in the negative, he would have been
charged with blasphemous fraud in that for
merly He falsely claimed to be the Son of God.
Silence was the only escape. Christ however
spoke, first, out of reverence for the Name of
Grod by Whom Caiphas had adjured Him ; then,
in humble obedience to the high-priest who
had a right to ask the question; lastly, in
order to deprive his judges of all excuse on
the day of Judgment. Had He not answered
at all, or given only an evasive answer, they
might say to justify themselves: "We asked
"Him officially and in the name of Cod, but
"He gave us no answer. Had Ho then ad-
"mitted the truth, we would not only not have
"put Him to death, but we would have believed
"in Him."
The trial of Christ before Calplias. 109
Then let us admire the Divine Dignity,
Majesty and Love with which the Lord says
to His judges: "Now, indeed, you behold Me
"in extreme weakness and humiliation. But
"the day is coming and is not far distant when,
"sitting on the right hand of God, I shall ap-
"pear in the clouds, to pronounce upon you
"the sentence of eternal damnation unless you
"now shun the deicide."
Let us also thank the Saviour for this bril
liant proof of His Divinity. The high-priest
adjured Him by the living God to say whether
He was the Son of God or not. Christ an
swered: "I am," and He sealed this testimony
with His blood. The Son of Man is therefore
the Son of God and the Judge of the living
and the dead. Foolish, therefore, and con
tradictory is the assertion of modern pagans
that Christ is not God, but that He was
the wisest and holiest of men. Whoever does
not recognize in Christ the Son of God, must
consider Him either a fool or the most shame
less deceiver. Common sense demands it.
Meanwhile the alleged blasphemy made the
pious heart of Caiphas shrink in worry and
sadness. To give vent to his sorrow and in
dignation, this miserable hypocrite tore his
garment and bared his shameless breast,
Thereby was the garment of the Old Law rent
for all times.— "Thanks be to God," he then
110 History of the Passion.
exclaimed, "we now have what we want; we
"need no more witnesses; the blasphemy is
' 'overt. " But cunningly assuming the role of
a plaintiff, he left to his colleagues the pro
nouncing of the sentence of death. They all
cried out at once: "He is guilty of death/7
this being in perfect consonance with the law
of Moses. < 'He that blasphemeth the name of
"the Lord, dying let him die" (Lev. 24, 16).
Meanwhile, the sentence of death was not
legally valid. Not considering the fact that it-
had been illegally pronounced at night time
and probably only by the minor council ; not
considering that, in a criminal case, the judg
ment was never to be pronounced on the day
of the trial, and, least of all, on the eve of the
Sabbath ; not considering the fact that, accord
ing to ancient custom, the condemned had the
privilege of a new trial if an attorney adopted
his case; it was necessary, besides, as we shall
see later on, that the Roman governor give
his approval. All this ought to increase our
astonishment at the unlawful maltreatment
heaped upon the condemned Redeemer.
III.
Whenever a criminal is condemned to death,
no matter how great his crimes may have been,
at the moment when judgment is pronounced,
sympathy begins. This proximky of death
is, in our estimation, a satisfaction, to a cer-
The trial of Christ before Caiphas. Ill
tain extent, for the crime committed and it
reconciles us with the unfortunate one. And
the thought of his agony, of the [pains result
ing from the execution and of his unnatural
death, excites in every noble-minded heart
pity and sympathy. After sentence has been
pronounced, even judges are sometimes found
to assure the poor victim of their sympathy
and of their regret that inexorable law forced
them to put aside all forbearance. It is, there
fore, a custom among all peoples who make
any kind of pretension to civilization, to alle
viate the last days of the condemned and to
gratify, as much as possible, all their desires.
On the other hand, it would be considered
brutal cruelty and unfathomable meanness to
maltreat, aggrieve, insult or ridicule them.
But as soon as the sentence of death had
been pronounced upon Christ, amid a storm
of applause, the servants and menials and —
who would think it possible? — several of the
judges, scribes, pharisees and priests fell upon
Him and vented their fury and hatred by
blows, by buffeting and dragging Him hither
and thither, by pulling His hair and by revil
ing Him in most bitter sarcasm (Mark 14, 65).
Thus it happens. When prominent people
have abandoned faith and good morals, they
become viler than the common rabble. — The
members of the court then agreed on a second,
112 History of the Puxsion.
complete meeting in the. morning to take the
proper measures for the execution oi? the sen
tence. Thereupon, probably soon after 2
o'clock, they retired to take a well-earned rest.
Meanwhile the Redeemer was left to the
servants and court- menials. They dragged
Him out of the palace, through the court-yard
past Peter, into a small prison next to the
guard-room. In this prison the indicted were
kept under lock and key during the interven
ing intervals of their trial and at night. The
Saviour was tired almost to death when He
arrived in His cell. But sleep and rest were
denied Him ; for the servants and menials con
tinued to treat Him as they had begun in the
court-room. What the innocent Lamb of God
had to suffer until morning from these tigers
and hyenas, is so terrible and dreadful that
the evangelists could not help but record it in
detail. It was so terrible and dreadful, that,
as St. Jerome writes, its horrors shall be made
known only on the last day. "On that night,7'
says St. Chrysostom, "all the pits of the
"neither world were opened, and, after break
ing their chains and the bars of hell, Lucifer
"and all his satillites rushed to Jerusalem, en
tered into and took possession of the bodies
"of all Jews and pagans to pour out, through
"them, upon Christ their long pent-up hatred,
"envy and anger, their rage and all their
"fury."
Tlte trial of Christ before CaipMs. 113
In the first place, the servants and menials
punished the Redeemer, branded as a blas
phemer, by all sorts of bodily injury. Some
struck Him in the face with their fists, others
lacerated it with their finger-nails, others pulled
Him by the hair in order that the words of
Isaias the prophet might be accomplished: "I
"have given my body to the strikers and my
"cheeks to them that plucked them'7 (Is. 50, 6).
"But,7' exclaims St. Athanasius, "Know ye
"not that ye are merely wounding your hands,
"while striking the corner-stone?7' — Then they
heaped contempt upon Him. Vile and shame
less beings threw their dirty and loathsome
spittle in His Holy Face, into His Sacred
Mouth ; in that Holy Face to which the waves
of the sea had shown their respect and before
which, while Christ hung upon the cross, the
sun hid its rays ; into that sacred mouth from
which only words of blessing and of love ever
issued. It was usual among the Jews to spit
upon the blasphemer. "I have not," says
Christ through Isaias, "turned away my face
1 'from them that spit upon me. ' ' It resembled
the face of a leper. — They further loaded Him
with contumely and ridicule, by calling Him
vile names, hissing at Him and caricaturing
Him. All of which reached a climax when,
blindfolding Him, they buffeted and smote
Him, saying: "Prophecy, Christ, who is it
"that struck Thee? Who struck Thee first?
114 History of the Passion.
' 'Who was the second"? the third? Who struck
1 'Thee now! Who just now spat upon Thee? ' '
It would wound religious feeling to qualify, in
proper words, the conduct of these wretches
towards the thrice holy Grod. A greater and
more abominable ridiculing of Divine Majesty,
Omnipotence and Omniscience can hardly be
imagined. It was indeed proper to first veil
the Face, in Which was resplendent the glory
of the Father. Ah! Let us beware of ridiculing
an omnipresent and all-knowing Grod, so that
we may not fall victims to His Justice.
The Jews, then, had covered the Face of
the Saviour. They would no longer look upon
it. They shall no more look upon it. Only
once more will . He show it to them — on the
clay of judgment. — Oh Divine Redeemer! We
shall not cover Thy Holy Face! No, we shall
look upon it! Show it unto us, turn it not
away, show it unto us in Me, show it unto us
in death! On account of all the sufferings
which thou didst undergo in the house of Cai-
phas on the part of unjust judges and blood
thirsty beadles, be merciful unto us ! We pray
Thee to be merciful when we, one day, shall
appear before Thy judgment seat. Grant un
to us that we may behold Thy Face, the Face
of the Son of God, for all eternity!
CHAPTEK IX.
The Triple Denial of Peter.
"Then he began to curse and to swear
'that he knew not the man. And imnie-
'diately the cock crew. And Peter re-
'membered the word of Jesus which he
'had said: Before the cock crow, thou
'wilt deny me thrice. And going forth,
'he wept bitterly." (Matthew 26, 74. 75.)
At the seizure of Christ the eleven apostles
beat a hasty retreat. When Peter recovered
from his first fright, he felt as one who had
awaked from a profound sleep. He was be
wildered. His hopes for a temporal, Messianic
Kingdom and for a prominent position therein
seemed entirely futile. From afar, he followed
the procession (Matth. 26, 58. Mark 14, 54.
Luke 22, 54), to see, as the Gospel mentions,
what they would do with his beloved Master.
It would forsooth have been more prudent not
to follow. The more distant he remained
from the menials, the further would he be re
moved from a fall. On the way he was joined
by another disciple of the Saviour (John 18,
15. 16) who, according to most commentators,
was St. John.1
1 See Note 7.
(115)
116 History of the Passion.
Peter and John noticed that they led Jesu&
through a portal facing the street, into the
court-yard in front of the palace of Caiphas.
Whilst Peter dared not enter, John asked the
portress to admit him and she politely acceded
to his request. The humility of John in de
scribing this, is truly touching. It ought not,
he says, to be attributed to his superior courage,
nor to his greater love for Christ, nor to his
more intense desire of defending the Saviour
that he entered the court-yard whilst Peter re
mained on the street. It happened, merely,
because he was better acquainted than Peter
in the house of the high-priest. Now John
was better acquainted in this house, either be
cause in times past he had sold fish there, or
because one of his relatives was employed by
Caiphas, or again, because in exchanging his
small possession in Galilee for a house belong
ing to Caiphas in the neighborhood of Mount
Sion, he had been brought into frequent con
tact with the latter. It is said that it was this
house in which Christ instituted the Blessed
Sacrament; in which the apostles enclosed
themselves on the day of the Resurrection ; in
which they received the Holy Ghost and into
which St. John brought the Mother of Jesus.
According to this tradition, the man in whose
house Christ ate the Paschal lamb and with
whom we are already acquainted, would have
been merely a lease-holder.
The triple denial of Peter. 117
When John arrived in the court-yard, he
missed Peter. He therefore went back to the
entrance and spoke kindly to the portress,
whereupon Peter also gained admittance.
This, undoubtedly, was afterwards the cause
of much regret to St. John, inasmuch as there
by he had to some extent brought about the
occasion for Peter's sin, albeit without know
ledge or evil intent. It behooves a person in
deed to be careful before introducing any one
into a house or a society or before allowing
one's self to be so introduced, and this applies
even to the apostles and their successors.
Andrew was certainly more fortunate when he
introduced his brother Peter to the Saviour ;
similarly Peter himself, when he led John to
the sepulchre.
The other disciple went into the house and
contemplated the Redeemer. But He probably
left very soon to tell the Blessed Virgin of the
beginning of the trial. Peter, however, re
mained in the court-yard and joined the ser
vants and menials who, owing to the cold
weather, had started a fire, and were convers
ing about the recent happenings. After a
while they all sat down to the fire. Peter,
therefore, was " outside," as the G-ospel says,
for those who were in the palace; he was "in
side" for those who were on the street before
the main entrance. It was there, in the court-
118 History oj tlie Passion.
yard, that Peter thrice denied his Master.
According to the narrative of St. John, he de
nied Him the first time, while Christ stood be
fore Annas. The other two denials took place
whilst Christ was before Caiphas and the San-
hedrin. (Matthew 26, 58. 69-75. Mark 14,
54. 66-72. Luke 22, 55-62. John 18, 17-18.
25-27).
Let us consider
I. The story of the denial,
II. The causes of the same and
III. The resulting contrition.
I.
The first denial, which occurred toward one
o'clock, soon after Peter's entrance into the
court-yard, happened in the following manner.
One of the maid-servants of the high-priest,
the portress, namely, who had admitted Peter,
saw him sitting at the fire among the men-
servants. She had probably often seen him
in the Saviour's company and his features
were not unfamiliar to her. As, moreover, at
his very entrance, he made himself conspicuous
by his uneasy manner and his timid and em-
barassed look, the maid grew suspicious and,
impelled by curiosity, she asked him: "Art
"not thou also one of His disciples?" Peter
answered: "I am not." But she replied:
"Surely, thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth
"in Galilee, in that notorious and rebellious
The triple denial of Peter. 119
"country." Peter, however, denied it and
said: "I know Him not, neither do I under-
"stand what you really mean. I know so
"little about Him that I understand nothing
1 'of what you say. ' ' But looking at him more
closely in the glare of the fire, she declared
very politely to those who stood around: "This
' i man was also with Him . J ' And Peter denied
Him saying: "Woman, I know Him not." —
Ah! Peter, just now Annas is questioning the
Redeemer about His disciples. What is He
to answer!
The words of the maid-servant caused much
embarassment to Peter. They represented
him to the servants as an adherent of Jesus.
In terror and fear lest these servants do him
harm, he arose and walked towards the vesti
bule, which was a gallery supported by pillars
inside of the main entrance. Perhaps he in
tended to use the first opportunity offered to
reach the street. Had he only done so !
Then the cock crowed. It is said that in
the Orient, the first crow of the cock is heard
soon after midnight. But if even that were
not so, it ought not to surprise us that in this
night the cock crowed sooner than usual, be
cause the dreadful noise of the soldiers had
awakened from sleep not only the people, but
also the animals.
Peter meanwhile, did not leave the vestibule.
120 History of the Passion.
He returned "that he might see the end"
(Matthew 26, 58) and he approached the fire.
There another maid-servant, to whom his eon-
duct had seemed strange, furnished him with
the occasion of the second denial. Pointing
her finger at Peter, she said to the surround
ing group: " This man also was with Jesus of
"Nazareth. He is one of them." Vexed at
the maid and wishing to remove all suspicion
by acting resolutely, Peter went close to the
fire, right among the servants and soldiers
who meantime had risen from their seats.
The attention, however, of the by-standers
had been aroused by the words of the maid
and they asked him: "Art not thou also one
"of his disciples?" On Peter's denial, another
who knew him better, cried out: "Surely thou
"art one of them." But Peter answered: "0
"man, I am not." And with an oath he de
clared: "I know not the man."— And thus it
is. "Sin," says St. Gregory,1 "when not re-
Amoved by penance, by its own weight soon
"draws down to another sin."
About one hour afterwards, or soon after
2 o'clock, the third denial occurred. "Of a
"truth," said one of the by-standers, "this
"man was also with him: for he is also a Q-ali-
"lean." When Peter denied it and acted as if
he understood him not, they all shouted to-
1 Moral 1. 25, c. 9.
The triple denial of Peter. 121
gether: " Surely thou art also one of them;
"thou art a Galilean ; thy speech doth discover
"thee." The continued denying of Peter an
gered especially one of the high-priest's ser
vants, a kinsman of Malchus, whose ear
Peter's sword had severed. He therefore
added: "Did not I see thee in the garden with
i i him ? " In terror and dismay lest this servant
take revenge, Peter began to curse and to
swear that he knew not the man of whom they
spoke. Then the cock crowed a second time
and the beadles came with Jesus out of the
door of the palace to lead Him through the
vestibule into a prison cell.
Peter, then, had really thrice denied the
Saviour before the cock had crowed twice.
He did not reject faith itself, but he sinned
against the duty of professing it. With that,
he cursed and perjured himself. There were,
indeed, some mitigating circumstances such
as Peter's excitement, his fatigue and his fear
of revenge on the part of Malchus7 kinsman
and of the enemies of Christ. The sin, how
ever, was mortal and must have aggrieved ex
ceedingly the Divine Heart. For it was Peter
who denied the Lord; Peter, the witness of
the miracles of Jesus Christ ; Peter, who had
so solemnly declared : "Thou art Christ, the
"Son of the living God"; Peter, who a few
hours before had, with the most vivid faith,
122 History of the Passion.
received his Redeemer under the sacramental
appearance. Peter, besides, had been specially
privileged by Christ. It was to him, that the
Lord had said: "Thou art Peter and upon
"this rock I will build my Church" (Matthew
16, 18). It was to Peter that He had ad
dressed the words: "I will give to thee the
"keys of the kingdom of heaven (ibid. 16, 19).
Now this rock is shaking, now Peter is closing
upon himself the gates of heaven which he is
to open unto others.
To what language did this apostle give ut
terance before the sworn enemies of Christ at
a time when, in the court-room, they were
busy urging on false witnesses to brand Christ
as a deceiver and blasphemer! How oppor
tune, mayhap, the declarations of the apostle
were to the Saviour's enemies! How quickly
it was spread about that he who was known
to be His disciple, had abandoned Him and
wanted to know nothing more of Him.
But how shall we explain the fall of the
apostle? We can readily understand that
Dalilah overcame Samson, the strong hero,
for he had confided his secret to her. Just as
easily we can understand the victory of Judith
over Holof ernes. She found him asleep and
drunk and with a powerful arm she wielded a
mighty sword. But that the prying question
of a maid-servant could vanquish the prince
The triple denial of Peter. 123
of the apostles, borders on the incredible. Let
us examine the causes of his denial.
II.
To begin with the remote causes, excessive
self-confidence of the apostle was the first.
Peter had forgotten what the Saviour had
often told him: "Without Me ye can do
nothing." He believed that he himself pos
sessed the power necessary to withstand all
temptations and dangers. He considered him
self firmer and stronger than the others. He
could, therefore, not even understand how it
was possible that anything could make his
faith and love waver, notwithstanding the fact
that the Redeemer had warned him and had
very distinctly foretold his triple fall. At the
last Supper, Christ had said to His apostles:
"Whither I go, you cannot come." "Whither
"goest thou?" asked Peter.— "Whither I go,"
replied Jesus, "thou canst not follow me now,
1 'but thou shalt follow hereafter. ' ' Then Peter
said to Him : "Why cannot I follow Thee now!
"I will lay down my life for Thee. Lord, I am
"ready to go with Thee both into prison and
"to death." (John 13, 33. 36-38. Luke 22, 33.
34.) Truly, this is not the language of hu
mility. "You will all," continued the Re
deemer, addressing Himself again to all the
apostles, "be scandalized in my regard this
"night; for it is written, I will strike the shep-
124 History of the Passion.
"herd, and the sheep shall be dispersed."
Whereupon Peter replied : "Although all shall
"be scandalized in Thee, yet not I." Then
Jesus, turning directly to Peter, said to him:
"Amen I say to thee,, to-day, even in this
"night, before the cock crow twice, thou shall:
"deny me thrice. ' ' Peter replied : ' i Although
"I should die together with Thee, I will not
"deny Thee.77 (Matthew 26, 31-35. Mark 14,
27-31. ) Nay, Peter, that will not do. Pride
goeth before the fall and God resists the
proud.
In this regard, those Christians resemble
Peter who are conceited about their real or
imaginary virtues, who find pleasure in
thoughts of self-adulation and who, therefore,
in their hearts, prefer themselves to others
whom they despise. Those especially resemble
Peter who waive aside all admonitions and
counsels of parents and of superiors and who,
with proud disdain, care naught for them.
They have all set their foot upon the way that
leads to a denial of faith.
The other more remote cause of Peter's fall
was his neglect of prayer. This cause is most
intimately connected with the preceding one.
"Whosoever confides too much in himself can
not easily be convinced of the necessity of
prayer. Christ had urged Peter in definite
terms to watch and to pray because otherwise
The triple denial of lacier. 125
he could not help but fall into approaching
temptations, This was laying upon him a
serious obligation. It is true, as we have al
ready considered, that Peter's negligence in
prayer was not a grievous sin and, therefore,
would not of itself, without the other concur
rent causes, have entailed his sad fall. Never
theless, neglect of prayer, lukewarmness in its
performance and the omission of prayers pre
scribed, are always a step in advance on the
Way to perdition. A man without prayer is
like a soldier without weapons, and nights not
begun with a good evening prayer are often
fraught with danger to the soul.
The proximate cause was the sinful occasion
to which Peter exposed himself. Why did he
associate with Christ's enemies, with the im
pious? Why did he talk and chat with them?
The Saviour had not bid him do so. Neither
was it zeal for souls or for Christ's glory that
led him to mingle with the servants and meni
als. In the beginning indeed, this was not
yet a sin. It was the result of thoughtlessness
and imprudence. In sadness and trouble, the
disciple entirely forgot the admonition of the
master. For which reason, we shall not re
proach the apostle with having rushed of his
own free will into a sinful occasion, as far as
the first denial is concerned. Weakened by
pride and lukewarmness, he fell into an un-
126 History of the Passion.
foreseen temptation, to overcome which, how
ever, the grace of God was at his command;
with which he, nevertheless, failed to co-oper
ate. But why did Peter return to the godless,
after meeting with his sad experience and
after having started to leave them ? Why did he
remain in an occasion which he knew to be
dangerous! Then again, indeed, a maid-ser
vant sufficed to make him deny his faith a
second time, turn perjurer and curse and exe
crate himself.
This fall of the prince of the apostles is the
most forcible sermon on the necessity of care
fully avoiding sinful occasions. The company
of the godless shook the powerful rock and
uprooted the mighty cedar of Libanon. "In
"the presence of the servants of the high-
" priests," writes venerable Bede,1 "Peter
"denied knowing Him as man, Whom he
"had confessed to be the Son of God
"when among his fellow-apostles." What
then should they not fear who, without
necessity, are in continual intercourse with
outsiders and enemies of the faith, yea
who even prefer to chose their friends
from among them. They are indeed Catho
lics who very likely bear a close resem
blance to the reed, as far as their firmness in
the faith is concerned. What have they not
1 In Marc. 1, 4, c. 14 in fine.
The triple denial of Peter. 127
to fear who join societies in which Jews and
Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics walk to
gether arm in arm. Finally how dangerous is
it not to the faith, at least to its profession
and to a Christian life in accordance with it,
to obligate one's self in contracting matri
mony, to associate most intimately, as long as
life lasts, with one outside the faith, with an
apostate Catholic or with a Free-mason. Un
doubtedly, Grod at times works miracles of
mercy ; some mixed marriages have been the
occasion of splendid conversions and, in par
ticular cases, such marriages brought forth
not merely good Christians but even heroes of
the faith. Still, these cases are and always
will be exceptions. Whoever is about to take
such a step, would act presumptiously were he
to expect such a miracle from Grod. On the
other hand, we may count thousands of per
sons of both sexes who once were pious, full
of faith and religion, but who, after contract
ing mixed marriages, gradually gave way to
spiritual neglect, fell deeper and deeper, until
finally they publicly joined the number of in
fidels and non-Catholics. Ah! how sad and
woeful and terrible is the end, the funeral and
burial of such Catholics who in one or other
of the above mentioned ways have fallen from
the faith. Have we not been witnesses of it
very recently? Instead of the 'De Profundis'
128 History of tit e Passion.
we heard the muffled sound of turkish drums;
instead of the Miserere, a melancholy dirge;
instead of the Requiem, an apotheosis- de
livered by a Protestant preacher; instead of
the Libera, a sentimental funeral song, ren
dered by a vocal chorus just returning from a
masked ball.
Peter frequented bad company and denied
his faith. Now, if every sinful occasion is
dangerous to the soul and therefore to be
shunned, it is much more necessary to avoid
the occasion of impurity because man is natu
rally more inclined to this vice than to any
other. The avoidance of dangers leading to
impurity is even a most important factor in
preserving the faith. For impurity is a wide
roadway leading to infidelity. Oh, Christian
youth, whose soul is still resplendent in its
first innocence, who still treadest the path of
purity and chastity — it needs not a wild beast
to tear the garb of thine innocence, it needs
not a cyclone to cast thee down! No, one
woman, one maid can do it. Christian man,
who livest faithfully according to thy holy
faith and who rulest thy family with exem
plary conscientiousness, — it needs not a band
of robbers to destroy the happiness of thy
home; it requires not the sophistical argu
ments of a teacher of errors nor of an im
pious philosopher to make of thee a fool, a
The triple denial of Peter. 129
maniac, an unbeliever. One woman, a single
maid can do it. And thou, venerable old man
with silvery hair, thou who hast to thy credit
a long life filled with virtue and merit, — re
member Solomon ! Thou hast not yet perfect
assurance of dying in the grace and charity of
God. And hell need not arise from its depths
to plunge thee into eternal perdition. One
woman, one maid can do it. There is only
one woman, one maid whom we may approach
without fear and full of confidence. It is the
hand-maid of the Lord, the always pure and
immaculate Virgin Mary. This strong Woman
has even the power to uplift those who have
fallen and to shield us all from the fall.
But let us return to Peter. We have con
sidered the causes of his denial. Let us now
consider the sorrow he felt for it.
III.
The enemies of Christ were already rejoicing
at having won over a second Judas in the per
son of Peter. Hell was glad that the foun
dation, upon which the Church was to be
built, was already wrecked. Hell triumphed
already over the downfall arid ruin of the
whole edifice. Then the cock crowed and the
menials led the Saviour through the court
yard past Peter. The Lord turned and looked
at him. At once Peter remembered the word
spoken to him by the Redeemer: "Before the
130 History of the Passion.
"cock crow twice, thou shall deny me thrice."
And going out, he wept bitterly.
We may here clearly distinguish a two-fold
grace: an exterior and an interior grace. The
crow of the cock was to remind the disciple of
the Saviour's warnings as well as of his own
presumption and unfaithfulness, whilst the
look of grace was to touch the disciple's eye
and his heart and wound his soul in its inmost
depths. Meantime, as the Gospel intimates,
Peter understood the cock's crow only after
receiving the inward grace. The heavenly sun
alone can melt the ice crust that encompasses
the heart of the sinner.
In the midst, therefore, of His sufferings
and satiated with sorrows, the Redeemer still
thinks of his ungrateful and unhappy apostle
and does everything to convert him. He
could not well speak to him. But He gave
him one look, turning toward him a face dis
figured, bespewn and bloody, but divine with
al and full of heavenly mildness. And Peter
going forth wept bitterly. The eye of a
mother has a heart conquering power. Where
fore St. Jerome thinks that it was "impossible
"for him to remain in the darkness of denial,
"who had gazed upon the light of the
"world."1
Let us now take notice of the qualities of
1 In Matth. 26, 75. Migne 26, col. 203.
The triple denial of Peter. 131
this sorrow. It was a quick, an instantaneous
contrition. The reason why many a sinner
lives on and dies in sin, is not to be attributed
to the lack of exterior and interior graces.
G-od has spoken to him often through the
voice of parents, of priests, of missionary
fathers, of good friends and by means of
various accidents. God has looked into his
heart, urged and encouraged him to conver
sion by inner lights and impulses. But the
sinner spurned the grace and put off repen
tance to a future time, to the hour of death.
Peter the Apostle did not act thus. To re
ceive the grace and to follow it was on his
part a simultaneous act. * The Redeemer -had
scarcely looked at him, when he began to shed
tears.
His contrition was sincere and serious. He
went forth and hid himself until evening in a
cavern, as the legend has it, in order to bewail
his sin. He also repaired the scandal he had
given. He recanted his error. On the day of
Pentecost, before thousands of people, before
the whole city, before the whole world in fact,
he loudly proclaimed that he had known the
Risen One. Besides, he rendered more than
sufficient compensation. He had strengthened
the enemies of Christ in their unbelief. He
therefore hastened from town to town, from
country to country to preach the doctrine of
132 History of the Passion.
the Crucified, and to win over all men to the
faith of the Christ Risen. Now, indeed, after
having come to a knowledge of his own weak
ness and after confessing so humbly: "Lord,
"thou knowest all things: thou knowest that
"I love thee" (John 21, 17), he became the
proper man to confirm in the faith even his
brethren. Now, when, taught by a sad ex
perience, he had learned to pity poor sinners,
he became able to lead them to the love of
Jesus Christ. To strike with a sword and to
cut off people's ears has never converted any
body. The case of Malchus shows it.
Finally Peter's contrition was lasting. Tra
dition tells us that at every crow of the cock
the tears broke forth anew and rushed down
the furrows on his manly face. Eventually
Peter went to Eome. There, shedding his
blood in acknowledging Christ, he was to
finally blot out the fault which by his tears he
had striven to wash away during life. Now,
when humiliated, he could keep the promise,
which he had, in proud self -elation, once
made to his Master: "I am ready to go with
"Thee to death." With joy and exultation he
now greets the holy Cross, he now presses it
lovingly to his bosom; rejoicing and trium
phant, he now extends his arms upon it. The
honor, however, of dying in a like manner as
his Master, he humbly declines, in consider
ation of his past sin.
The triple denial of Peter. 133
Ah! how good and loving Our Redeemer is!
Why should we fear or tremble on account of
our sins? How carefully He seeks the lost
sheep! How joyfully He takes it in His arms!
How generous Our Saviour is to those who
sincerely turn to Him, no matter how great
and deplorable their fall may have been!
Christ harbored no animosity against penitent
Peter. He recalled no promise made to him.
He kept every promise even to the minutest
detail. He made Peter the foundation of His
Church arid raised him above all the other
apostles. He even established for him a throne
in the capital city of the world. He gave him a
kingdom over which the sun should never set.
He adorned him with the crown of martyr
dom, with the crown of eternal live. For our
benefit, however, He gave him the keys of
heaven in order that through his mediation
not only the innocent but all penitent sinners
might enter therein.
CHAPTER X.
The Death of the Traitor.
"And casting down the pieces of silver in
"the temple, he departed: and went and
"hanged himself." (Mathew 27, 5.)
After a night of suffering, so full of sorrows
and of humiliations, Christ had a second hear
ing before Caiphas and the Council, the mem
bers of which — seventy-one in number — were
all present with the possible exception of
Nicodemus and of Joseph of Arimathea.
Many of them had taken but little rest and
were still fatigued from the night's vigils.
But because the time was employed in per
secuting the Son of (rod, they had willingly
sacrificed their sleep. The session of the great
Council again took place in the mansion of
Caiphas. Since he had lost the power of ad
judicating criminal cases, the court -room
proper, situated in the south-western corner of
the inner court of the temple, was no longer
used. If, as some think, Christ had been led
from the house of Caiphas first to the court of
the temple and then to Pilate, St. John, who
(134)
The death of the traitor. 135
mentions the walk to Annas, would have filled
out his narrative by mentioning this also, as
none of the goings and comings to which
Christ submitted out of love for us, was to be
abandoned to oblivion.
The object of this assembly was, according
to Holy Writ, "that they might put Him to
"death.'7 (Matthew 27, 1.) It was not, then,
convened for the purpose of a just inquiry, or
of a new, conscientious examination of wit
nesses, but in order to legitimize through the
grand Council, the only rightful authority, the
death-decree pronounced at an illegal time
and likely by the minor Council only, and thus
to preserve before the public the appearance
of a legitimate transaction. Then they de
liberated as to the most feasible means of in
ducing Pilate to approve and execute the
judgment. It appeared advisable to drop the
accusation of blasphemy as likely to make
little impression on the unbelieving pagan,
and, in its stead, to urge the plea of treason.
The judges, therefore, asked: "If thou be the
"'Christ, tell us" (Luke 22, 66-71), which, ac
cording to their idea, meant: "If thou be that
"descendant of David, who, according to the
"promise, is to re-establish the kingdom and
"to rule as king, temporal king, of course,
"then tell us." They pretended to be ready
for an impartial examination of His legitimate
136 History of the Passion.
claims, but their purpose was to gather up any
expression of His which might compromise
Him before the tribunal of the pagan. Jesus,
understanding this plan, advanced no more
explanations. "If I shall tell you,77 said He,
"you will not believe me. And if I shall also
"ask you — i. e. try, by questions, to induce
"you to acknowledge the truth,— you will not
answer me.'7 He alluded to the question He
had put them three days before relating to the
baptism of John, which question they had not
yet answered him. "But,77 He continues with
Divine Superiority, "although My death be
"agreed upon, although the Son of Man, at
"your mercy, now waives His defense, from
"now on, from the time of His death, caused
"by you, He shall sit on the right hand of
"G-od and then He shall be your Judge.77
Thus, in a few words, Christ tore the veil of
deceit woven by His enemies, and, while
thundering into their souls a last warning,
He, at a stroke, brought back the discourse to
the main question, to the subject of His Di
vinity. Together they all interrupted Him by
exclaiming: "Art thou then the Son of G-od?77
He replied: "You say, that I am.77 In these
words, testimony is given to the entire grand
Council of the Divinity of Christ and it was
clearly established in these repeated hearings,
what real! y was the sole cause of the Saviour's
The death of the traitor. 137
condemnation and of His death. The judges
then said: "what need we any farther testi-
"mony? For we ourselves have heard it from
"his own mouth.77 This closed the hearing
before the grand Council and the condem
nation was not renewed. The trial must now
begin before the Roman governor.
Whilst Christ was being led to Pilate, and
whilst He was before him, one of the prin
cipal personages disappeared forever from the
scene. "Judas," says Holy Writ, who be-
"trayed Him, seeing that He was condemned;
"repenting himself, brought back the thirty
"pieces of silver to the chief -priests and an-
"cients. Saying: I have sinned in betraying
"innocent blood. But they said: What is that
"to us? look thou to it. And casting down
"the pieces of silver in the temple, he depart-
"ed and went and hanged himself with a hal-
"ter." As the high-priests did not deem it
proper that the money, the price of blood,
should be deposited in the temple, they bought
with it a potter's field for the sepulture of
pagans. Thus the prophecy of Jeremias was
fulfilled. (Matthew 27, 3-10. )
There are three scenes, three pictures which
here merit our attention. They represent
I. Penitent Judas;
II. The heartless and hypocritical high-
priest and
138 History of the Passion.
III. The despair aud the death of the dis
ciple.
I.
That Judas was sorry for his treason, is
beyond a doubt. Holy Writ tells us that he
repented himself. However, let us examine
both the occasion and the quality of this repen
tance.
The occasion leading Judas to repentance
was the sight of the terrible effects, entirely
unforeseen, of his treason. " Judas who be-
"trayed Him, seeing that He was condemned,
"repenting himself." It appears clearly from
the Scriptures that when Judas betrayed the
Lord, .he neither foresaw nor intended the aw
ful results that ensued. He had no idea that
his act would cause the Lord such terrible
outrages and the loss of life. He had often
witnessed how Christ walked unharmed
through the midst of His enemies who sought
to kill Him, how He often found ways and
means to escape them. He hoped that now
He would escape in a like manner. It will
not harm the Lord much, thought he, at most
it may cause Him a little annoyance and I
shall have thirty pieces of silver more. Now
he sees how everything turns out differently.
Now he beholds how Christ is dragged from
one high-priest to another. He now witnesses
the terrors of the passion. He hears Him con-
The death of the traitor. 139
demned to death in the house of Caiphas.
The sight of the results of his deed makes its
weighty import clear to him. "He repents
himself.77 He would fain have his deed un
done; he runs after the high-priests on the
way to Pilate to cancel the abominable con
tract; filled with loathsome disgust, he throws
the money in the temple at the feet of the
priests offering the morning sacrifice.
From this incident we may draw a two-fold
lesson. When Satan tempts us to a grievous
sin, he shows us some good or other to be had
by committing it. To one he offers money, to
another vain honor, to another sensual pleas
ure, and he would make us believe that, if
we obtained this one good, our happiness
were complete. All that, however, is vain
deceit. As soon as the sin is committed, we
experience what Judas experienced and what
our first parents experienced long before. Our
eyes are opened. It is only by resisting temp
tation and by despising the seeming goods of
earth, that we secure to ourselves true hap
piness.
We should, furthermore, carefully avoid the
sin of scandal, not only in serious things but
also in minor matters. Even if harm to the
neighbor is neither intended nor foreseen,
who can determine results? The bad example
given to one's neighbor in small matters only
140 History of the Passion.
and in the commission of merely venial sin,
may be to him the first link in a long chain of
serious errors.
Let us now see whether the quality of the
sorrow of Judas was such that, on its ac
count, his sin could be forgiven. For that
purpose, it was required in the first place that
the contrition be perfect, as the sacrament of
Penance was not yet established. But the
contrition of Judas was, at most, imperfect
only. Judas bewailed his sin because he
had shed innocent blood, that is because of its
own atrocity. Had he considered this atrocity
of his sin not only with the eyes of reason,
but also with the eyes of faith, his sorrow-
would have been supernatural, it is true, but
nevertheless only imperfect and riot sufficient
for justification. However, according to the
commentators of Scripture, the sorrow of
Judas lacked every reference to Grod; he
measured the enormity of his treason by its
natural, sad results only and from a mere
natural point of view, and thus it was solely
a natural sorrow. This appears more credible
from the fact, that the apostle, as we have
seen before, had lost all faith in the Divinity
of Christ, he saw in Christ nothing more than
a man.
Furthermore, to render the forgiveness of
sin possible, the hope of pardon must be
The death of the traitor. 141
united with contrition. But Judas despaired.
Finally, to obtain pardon, he should have had
the earnest will to make reparation and to un
do, as much as possible, the unhappy results
of his treachery. Freely and with full delib
eration, he had gone to the high-priests and
had asked them: "What will you give me and
i 'I will deliver him unto you?" It was, then,
not enough to cast the thirty pieces of silver
at their feet. He should have gone to the
house of Pilate, he should have forced his
way through the crowd to' the very seat of the
judge, he should there publicly and solemnly
have sworn that Christ was the victim of in
trigue and of foul calumny. Instead of all
that, he took his departure.
O, that Catholics would never approach the
tribunal of Penance with the contrition of a
Judas! The betrayer of innocence affirms
that he is sorry for his abominable deed. But
is not the disgrace which he brought upon
himself and others the only motive of his sor
row! Whilst trembling in his whole body,
many a drunkard, many a libertine affirms his
compunction for past excesses. A shattered
nervous system, a squandered fortune, the mi-
happiness wrought in a family may be the
only motive of such a sorrow. Many parents
bewail, with bitter tears, the sad effects of a
misguided education of their children. Would
142 History of the Passion.
that they deplored their own negligence by
which they offended God grievously. Nor
should it be forgotten that, to be reconciled to
God, one must necessarily have the will to
repair any damage done to the honor, to the
property, to the bodily health and to the soul
of one's neighbor.
We shall now examine the second picture.
It shows us the heartless and at the same time
hypocritical high-priests.
II.
As we have already remarked, Judas, in his
despair, rushed after the high-priests, in order
that, by returning the thirty pieces of silver,
he might cancel the contract made with them
and liberate the Saviour. How great was his
disappointment! In his endless sorrow he
finds no sympathy among his old friends.
They cast him aside with contempt as they
would a dog. Not a word of pity, not a word
of solace. Nothing but the contemptuous
heartless answer : "What is that to us? Look
"you to it." O ye obdurate miscreants!
You would still pretend to be innocent. What
is it to us, if thou hast committed a crime?
Listen to St. Chrysostom: "You purposely
"hide your eyes behind a veil of feigned igno-
"rance." You have hired the traitor; you
will answer for it before the judgment seat of
God.
The death of the traitor. 143
Many a deceived person can complain of a
similar, heartless treatment. Before the deed
they hear naught but grand promises. After
wards they are told: "What is that to me?
Look you to it." And when driven to ex
tremities, the culprit will even perjure himself
in court and swear that he had nothing to do
with the case. Many a free-thinker, who for
merly was a Catholic, may know something of
a similar, heartless treatment. "Call a priest/7
exclaimed Voltaire on his death-bed, "I want
"to confess.77 — "What is that to us! Look
"you to it," was the answer of impious
friends. A similar, heartless treatment has
been shown many a Catholic woman. The
pact was signed and a solemn promise given
that the Catholic party should enjoy the free
and untrammeled practice of religion and that
the children of either sex should be reared in
the Catholic faith. But when it comes to put
into practice what has been promised, the
Protestant too often says: "What is that to
me? Look you to it.77 It happens at times
that even men meet with such heartless treat
ment. When they sought admission to socie
ties forbidden by Holy Church, they asked:
"What will you give me, and I will deliver
"unto you my Catholic faith, I will abandon
"my Church!77 The bargain was made. But
when it comes to dying, the fellow lodge-
144 History of the Passion.
members and, what appears almost impos
sible, even the Catholic wife, see to it that the
sacraments be not administered, that the body
be interred in unconsecrated ground, that the
soul go to hell. The impious wife sacrifices
the salvation of the husband in order not to
lose the life-insurance money. But I erred;
allow me to correct myself. The unfortunate
man did not say to the lodge: "What will you
"give me?77 but: "What will I give you?77 for
he gets not even a cent of all this blood-
money. In many cases, he had to save and
scrape to have his assessments ready for the
lodge, he had to put up with hard labor and
privation to damn his soul. Now the widow
reaps the benefit and already entertains the
fond hope of a better chance of marriage.
Judas, the traitor, was better off in a way.
He, at least, got his money. "What is that
"to us? Look you to it." Ah! how the devils
in hell will, for all eternity, with grinning
sneers, hiss these words at the damned soul,
when it attempts to make them responsible for
the sad lot into which they have plunged it.
The high-priests and pharisees Avere heart
less; they were hypocritical at the same time.
The treasury of the temple was not too sacred
to furnish the price of the treason. The bar
gain with Judas appeared neither unprincipled
nor disgraceful. But to have driven the poor
The death of the traitor. 145
disciple into despair, what was that to them?
To restore the money to the temple, no, that
would never do. The temple was too sacred.
"It is not lawful to put it into the corbona,"
they said. That was a lie. Only the money
gained by lechery was debarred. (5 Moses 23 ,
18.) The greatest scoundrels swallow camels.
Then they talk of conscience, play the hypo
crites and strain at gnats.
Those hypocritical pharisees and priests find
their exact counterparts in many free-masons
of today. To lure Catholic men to perjury, to
apostasy, to plunge them into the greatest of
all misfortunes, causes them no pangs of con
science. But the appearance of religion must
be preserved. Hence they carry the apron of
'humanity' and 'philanthropy'! From one
end of the year to the other, they never ap
pear in church, they never hear mass, but
they open and close their meetings with
wishy-washy prayers to the "Grand Architect
uof the Universe." And are there not Cath
olics who resemble the pharisees in that they
are excessively strict in the observance of
sundry devotions and customs, often of their
own making, whilst they unhesitatingly
neglect the commandments of God and
especially the requirements of fraternal char
ity?
Let us now cast our eyes upon the last
146 History of the Passion.
scene. It shows us the despair and the death
of the disciple.
III.
Judas saw himself most shamefully aban
doned by his alleged friends. It was his own
fault. By his sin he had rendered himself
despicable in their estimation. This was the
last grace Glod gave him to bring him back to
Christ. But instead of returning, he filled the
measure of his sins by despairing of Grod's
Mercy.
In all this, we may recognize the infernal
cunning of the wicked enemy. Before the
deed, he obscures the understanding of the
sinner, he seeks to deceive him by many
sophistries; he benumbs conscience, he adds
to the will fearlessness, courage and daring.
But as soon as sin is committed, he opens the
eyes of the unhappy sinner. With excessive
exactitude he reproduces the malice of the
crime; he now tortures conscience with the
most excruciating pangs. He shows the sin
ner hell opened and the drawn sword of an
avenging Glod. "Judas," said Satan, "what
"hast thou done? The voice of thy brother,
"thy master's blood crieth for vengeance to
"heaven from the earth."
Oh, if ever, on account of past sins and
faults, the evil enemy should seek to arouse
discouragement, diffidence and despair in our
The death oftJir traitor. 147
hearts, we must crush such, temptations in
their very beginning. In such moments we
should recall the consoling words which Q-od
spoke through His prophet Ezechiel: "I desire
"not the death of the wicked, but that the
"wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezech.
33,11); and the words of the Saviour: "I
"came not to call the just, but sinners to
"penance." (Luke 5, 32.) We must then
remember the love and mercy with which He
pardoned Peter, Mary Magdalen and the thief
on the cross. We must pray to Him and
follow the advice of St. Augustine: "If thou
"dreadest Grod, throw thyself into His arms."
Had Judas acted thus, had he given Christ
a chance to glance at him, had he, at least,
hastened to Mary, the refuge of sinners, he
would have found solace, encouragement and
pardon, and now he would belong to the choir
of holy apostles. But the love of our blessed
Mother was extinct in the heart of Judas;
respect for her and confidence in her were
wanting. One who truly reveres Mary, says
St. Bernard, will never be lost. But Judas
despaired. "O Judas," writes St. Leo,1 "thou
"hast become more abominable and more un-
" fortunate than all others, because penance
"hath not called thee back to the Lord, but
"despair hath drawn thee to the halter. Hadst
1 Serm. 3 de Pass. c. 3.
148 History of the Passion.
"thou only awaited the result of thy crime.
"Hadst thou postponed thy disgraceful suicido
"until the blood of Christ had been shed for
"all sins. . . . Why didst thou place diffidence
"in the Goodness of Him who refused thee
"not the kiss of peace, when, with the band
"and cohort of armed men, thou didst ap
proach Him?"
But Judas cast down the thirty pieces of
silver in the temple, — he departed — he went
away — he hanged himself with a halter. — He
burst asunder in the midst and all his bowels
gushed out. (Acts 1, 18.) Such was the awful
end of the traitor.
"The unhappy traitor," says Venerable
Bede,1 "found a worthy punishment in that
"the knot of a rope choked the throat whence
"issued the word of treason. He found a
"worthy place of demise. Having delivered
"to death the Lord of men arid angels, like
"to Achitopheles and Absolom who sought
"the life of David, their king, he perished,
"suspended in the air, an abomination in the
"sight of heaven and of earth, an associate of
"the evil spirits of the air. Death overtook
"him in a worthy manner in that his insides,
"where the venom of treachery had matured,
"burst and gushed out and from the air
"spread upon the earth." A few hours after-
1 S. Act. Ap. c. 1. Migne t. 92, col. 944.
The death of the traitor. 149
wards the Saviour was nailed to the cross
which was high enough to look down upon
the soulless corpse of the apostle at the bot
tom of the declivity.
To cover their misdeed with the cloak of
piety and religion, the high-priests soon after
wards bought, with the blood-money, the field
of a potter as a burial-place for heathens.
They took the price of Him Who was prized
and Who yet was priceless, Whom they had
bought, not from the heathens, but, 0 dis
grace ! from a child of Israel, and they gave it
for the field of a potter, of whom Jeremias, at
the inspiration of God, had made mention.1
Probably the field had become exhausted of
its clay and as a consequence, useless and
cheap. What hypocrites and fools the high-
priests were! They had put their heads
together and consulted how to dispose of the
money, so that the declaration of Judas con
cerning the innocence of Christ, might be
stifled in silence. But the wisdom of God
foiled their prudence. The people soon began
to taunt them about the money that had been
paid for the potter's field. Already on the
fiftieth day after the Lord's demise the field
was called the field of blood. (Acts 1, 19. )
"This name," says St. Chrysostom, "pro-
" claims their murder louder than any trum-
1 Note 8.
150 History of the Passion.
"pet. Had they deposited the money in the
"treasury, the affair would not have become
uso public. " But in this way the high-priests
reared a monument to themselves to per
petuate their eternal disgrace. Besides , it is
very noteworthy that the price of Christ's
blood was used for the sepulchral repose of
the heathens.
In this field the body of the traitor was
buried. Judas was, then, the first Catholic
who, to use a modern phrase, was buried in
unconsecrated ground. According to ancient
traditions,1 this field had the wonderful and
grewsome property of turning, within twenty-
four hours, into dust and ashes all bodies
buried therein. — Untold dishonor burdens
the name and the memory of the traitor
throughout all ages. — And his soul — and
this is the saddest of all — burns in the
deepest abyss of hell and shall continue to
burn therein during all eternity. O crucified
Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of
Thy sorrowful mother, deliver us from such
an end and grant us the grace of a happy
death.
1 Adrichomius, Descr. Jesus, n. 216; cf. Corn, a Lap.
Matth. 27, 8.
CHAPTER XI.
The Accusation before Pilate.
"They began to accuse him, saying: We
"have found this man perverting our
"nation, and forbidding to give tribute to
"Caesar, and saying that he is Christ the
"king." (Luke 23, 2.).
From the Garden of Olives Christ was led
to Annas, from Annas to Caiphas, from Cai-
phas to Pilate. How many steps Our Divine
Saviour had to take on this day until He
finally could die for us! On the other hand,
how many steps the sinner takes to offend his
Saviour and to fall into the embrace of eter
nal death. — On account of His increasing
fatigue and of His continued maltreatment,
the repeated marches of Christ became more
tiresome and, at the same time, more humil
iating, it being now clear day-light and the
number of curious and jeering people having
increased. On this way, two circumstances
especially must have offended, in the highest
degree, the self-respect of the Eedeemer. He
was now bound, not any more with ropes, but
(151)
152 History of the Passion.
with chains. It meant, that the accused, now
bound over to the secular authority, had been
found guilty and condemned by the spiritual
authority. Then, the delivering of Christ
unto Pilate was not being done by a few sub
alterns, but by the entire grand council, by
all the high-priests, the scribes, the ancients
and the pharisees. Such an extraordinary
cortege must naturally have produced among
the onlookers the impression that the most
abject criminal was being led to Pilate. Thus
was accomplished what Christ foretold in the
G-ospel according to St. Matthew (20, 19),
namely, that He would be delivered to the
gentiles. Jesus, in this manner, became the
real Joseph, delivered by his brethren unto
the foreigners.
When the high-priests, the scribes and the
ancients arrived before the house of Pilate,
they made their menials and soldiers lead
Jesus into the hall. They themselves did not
enter in order not to be defiled and thus pre
vented from eating the pasch. Pilate, there
fore, went out to them and said: "What ae-
"cusation bring you against this man?" They
answered and said to him: "If he were not a
"malefactor, we would not have delivered him
"up to thee." Pilate then said to them:
"Take him you and judge him according to
"your law." But the Jews said: "It is not
The accusation before Pilate. 153
" lawful for us to put any man to death."
Then they began to accuse Him and said:
"We have found this man perverting our
" nation and forbidding to give tribute to
"Caesar, and saying that he is Christ the king. ' '
(John 18, 28-34. Luke 23, 1, 2.) Pilate,
thereupon, retired into the courtroom to give
Christ a hearing.
Let us consider:
I. The motives of the complaint to
Pilate.
II. The negotiations with Pilate regard
ing the plaint, and
III. The subject of the charge itself.
I.
First of all, the great council had no right
to execute the sentence of death pronounced
on Christ, without the consent of Pilate. The
very first Eoman governor had already re
ceived from the emperor the exclusive power
of inflicting capital punishment. On its own
authority, the great council could impose only
subordinate punishments, such as the flagel
lation. When a criminal was condemned to
any mode of execution provided for by the
Mosaic law, such as stoning, decapitation,
burning or hanging, the charge and the pro
ceedings had to be submitted to the governor
for approval. This held good also relating to
154 History of the Passion.
blasphemy, sorcery or any other crime against
religion.
In this case, however, a simple ratification
of the sentence on the part of Pilate would
not have served the purpose of the great
council. As has already been mentioned, the
council could not, according to the Mosaic
law, pronounce and, much less, execute a sen
tence of death on the day of the trial. This
would relegate the execution to the following
day. But the following day being the Easter
Sabbath, it would have to be postponed until
after the Easter holidays, or for fully eight
days, as was afterwards done by Herod in the
case of Peter. However, such a postpone
ment might thwart all the plans of the high-
priests. They still heard the hosarinas ringing
in their ears, and the fact that Christ had
many secret adherents, made them apprehend
a change in public opinion which would
render impossible any further proceedings.
They, therefore, resolved to work the matter
into the hands of Pilate in such a manner that
he would cause his heathen soldiery to execute
the sentence of death on that very day, before
the advent of Easter.1
We shall then pass on to the negotiations
with Pilate concerning the case.
1 See note 9.
The accusation before Pilate. 155
II.
The Roman governors did not reside in
Jerusalem, but in Caesarea, beautifully located
on the sea shore. There they had taken pos
session of the royal palace of the Herodians.
When, on the great festivals, they came to
Jerusalem to maintain order, they would dwell
in the Herodian castle, called by the Romans
Castle Antonia. It commanded a view of the
court of the temple and had a garrison.
There, near the temple and surrounded by
their soldiers, the governors watched pro
ceedings. As the Herodians could not well
be deprived of all their holdings, they were
left in possession of the royal palace on Sion
which was not a source of danger, because it
was commanded by strong towers in the
neighborhood. Herod I. who built the castle,
had lavished upon it all his love for splendor.
It had the extent and the arrangement of a
palace and, as Flavius Josephus writes : "Its
"interior was so divided into compartments,
"halls, baths and gymnasiums that, owing to
"the universal conveniences of a city which it
"contained and to the splendor which it ex-
"hibited, it resembled a royal palace."1
When they arrived here, the high-priests
and scribes caused the heathen menials to lead
Jesus into the castle. They themselves did
1 B. j. v. 5, 8.
156 History of the Passion.
not enter "that they might not be denied, but
"that they might eat the pasch." The strict
Jew, namely, considered the house of a
heathen to be legally unclean, (cf. Acts 10,
28). To enter it, according to pharisaic tradi
tion, entailed a defilement of seven days.
Besides, old Herod had adorned the interior
of the castle with many idolatrous and shame
less statues, and the orthodox Jew looked
upon it as a heathen temple and an abode of
lepers. There were, then, two reasons on ac
count of which the high-priests would not
enter the castle. They would not be defiled.
Legal defilement would hinder them from eat
ing the paschal lamb.
Jesus, then, stood before Pilate, the repre
sentative of the Eoman emperor. At the
sight of the Saviour so terribly mangled and
maltreated, Pilate undoubtedly waxed very
wroth at the high-priests. For his own sense
of justice must have suggested to him that it
was unfair and cruel to inflict on a sentenced
criminal other punishments than those con
tained in the sentence, especially, when the
criminal stood before him in the quality of an
accused only. With this, the remarkable
calmness, dignity and majesty of Jesus Christ
us opposed to the passionate clamors and rav
ings of the Jews, caused him to sympathize
entirely with the Saviour. He was indignant,
The accusation before Pilate. 157
furthermore, at the insult offered him by the
high-priest, who avoided entering his house as
if he were a mangy dog. He therefore went
out and gruffly and in a tone of indignation
asked them: "What accusation bring you
"against this man?" They answered and said
to him: "If he were not a malefactor, we
"would not have delivered him up to thee."
It appears singular, indeed, that against all
custom the high-priests should suggest to
Pilate that he approve and execute the sen
tence of death, merely upon their word and
credit, without even looking into the acts of the
case. They certainly had good reasons for
such a maneuver. Had Pilate heard the con
tradictory testimony of the false witnesses, he
would have branded them as barefaced calum
niators. But the high-priests could not adduce
any political grounds of action. To their
crafty question about His earthly kingdom,
the Redeemer had made no reply. The affir
mation of the question put to Him at the mid
night session, whether He was the Christ, was
considered by the high-priests a blasphemy,
on account of the added expression: "The
Son of the living Grod." But they would not
establish their accusation upon a blasphemy
in the court of Pilate, the heathen. Thus,
with judiciary documents and points of griev
ance lacking, and Pilate insisting on a definite
1.58 History of the Passion.
charge, there remained nothing else to do for
the members of the grand council but to play
the role of the injured and, as it were in holy
indignation, to cry out: "If he were not a
"malefactor, we would not have delivered him
"up to thee," we, the guardians of the law,
we, the judges in Israel, we, the priests of
Jehovah. Pilate, thereupon, said: "Take him
"you and judge him according to your law."
But the high-priests answered: "It is not law-
"ful for us to put any man to death."
To determine with certainty the sense of
these words of Pilate and of the high-priests,
it would be necessary to have been present at
the conversation and to have read the heart
or, at least, the features of Pilate. Some in
terpreters deem it possible that, by his lan
guage, Pilate waived his right to hear and
examine the charge, empowering the Jews,
without any further ado, to inflict on Christ
any mode of capital punishment allowed by
their law. Perceiving their intention, he
would thus shift all the odium on them, whilst
remaining a stranger to the affair himself.
But that explanation seems to be opposed to
the sense of justice manifested by Pilate
throughout the course of the trial until his
private interest became involved. One does
not readily grant a favor to an impertinent
fellow against whom one is already prejudiced
The accusation before Pilate. 159
and who, besides, prefaces his demand with
an insult.
Other interpreters are, therefore, of the
opinion that Pilate, puzzled at the strange
conduct of the high-priests refusing -him an
insight into the documents, conceived the idea
that there was question only of a small mis
demeanor, the punishment of which lay with
in the competency of the great council. The
good impression which Christ had made on
him, tended to confirm him in this opinion.
Besides, the high-priests had not definitely
charged any greater crime ; they had merely
called Him a malefactor. According to this
explanation, the words: "it is not lawful for
"us to put any man to death' ? called the at
tention of Pilate to his error and gave him to
understand that here there was no question of
a misdemeanor but of a criminal case the ad
judication of which belonged to the governor.
But opposed to this view is the fact that
Pilate, being acquainted with the customs of
the Jews, knew full well that they would bring
an accused to him only when there was
question of meting out capital punishment.
The following might be the best explana
tion : Pilate became highly incensed at the im
pudent suggestions of the proud Jews. To
punish them, he reminded them, in a tone of
derision and with cutting sarcasm, of their
1 60 His to) -y of tli e Pass io n .
dependence on the Romans, which prevented
them from executing their own laws without
his permission; as if he said: "If you are not
"willing to bring a charge against Him, take
"Him and judge Him if you dare and if it be
"in your power. " This made the high-priests
comprehend that they could not play fast and
loose with Pilate. Abashed, stifling their
anger with an effort and acknowledging their
helplessness, they then produced their
charges.1
No matter from what point of view the con
versation may be considered, one thing is cer
tain. The high-priests learned that they
would never attain their object unless they
submitted definite charges. We are anxious
to hear them.
III.
The accusation was as follows: "We have
"found this man perverting our nation, and
"forbidding to give tribute to Caesar by say-
"ing that he is Christ the king.77 Here we
have an occasion to study, in its most despi
cable form, the infernal cunning, the deceit
and the hypocrisy of the high-priests, the
scribes and the ancients.
What a cunning! To judge from the pro
ceedings in the house of Caiphas, one would
expect the subject of the charge to be blas-
1 See note 10.
Tlie accusation before Pilate. 161
phemy or the attack cm the temple, But of
all this not a word was mentioned before
Pilate. Common sense forbade the accusers
to mention the tearing down of the temple
which was standing before them in all its
grandeur. They would not appear ridiculous.
And the charge of blasphemy would leave
Pilate, the idolater, entirely indifferent. The
high-priests, therefore, dropped the former
subject of accusation which had brought about
the sentence of death and they submitted to
Pilate crimes of which he, the Kornan gover
nor and the representative of the emperor,
had to take cognizance. They brand the Re
deemer as a person dangerous to the state, as
a political criminal.
Furthermore, what lying and deceit there is
in these accusations. "We have found him,77
they say, "perverting and disturbing our
"nation and forbidding to give tribute to
"Caesar." But which of the accusers had
made even the remotest mention of these
crimes before Caiphas? Now "they have
"found him.'7 Christ had been asked noth
ing except whether or not He was Christ, that
is, the Son of the living God; He had ad
mitted nothing else. But they know how to
help themselves. Using calumny as a means,
they add the word "king,77 "saying that he is
"Christ the king." For if He used the word
162 History of the Passion.
"king," that is, if He proclaimed Himself a
king, it follows naturally that He must have
committed the other two political crimes.
Let us consider the three accusations in de
tail; they throw a clear light on the lying-
deceit of the high-priests. They call Christ a
disturber. Christ, indeed, was a disturber
above all others. He disturbed hundreds and
thousands of men until they followed Him. in
to the desert and listened for days to His in
structions. He disturbed hundreds and thou
sands of sinners out of their sinful slumbers.
But when did He ever excite the people
against civil authority, against the governor,
against the Eoman emperor? Venerable sirs,
we demand the proof of your statement and
we promise you that, after you will have fur
nished your proof, we shall side with you in
your accusations against Christ. Further
more, Christ should have forbidden to give
tribute to Caesar. But have you already for
gotten? Have you not heard from His own
mouth the words: "Render unto Caesar the
"things that are Caesar's and unto God the
"things that are Grod's?" Christ, you say
finally, declared Himself a king. Are you
not afraid that the people, on hearing your
words, will publicly brand you before Pilate
as contemptible calumniators? Are you not-
aware that the Redeemer hid Himself when
the people wished to proclaim Him king?
The accusation "before Pilate. 163
And consider the hypocrisy of these men.
They simulate loyalty. They pose as faithful
and devoted subjects of Caesar. They appear
anxious for the weal of the state. They,
therefore, consider themselves bound in con
science to deliver for punishment to Caesar's
representative Christ, the most dangerous of
rebels, perverters and enemies of the govern
ment. And certainly no more bitter enemies
of Caesar, no more dangerous rebels could be
found than these very high-priests, scribes,
ancients and Jews in general. The mere
thought of Roman rule made them boil with
anger. Unceasingly they planned to over
throw it, for which reason, forty years after
wards, on account of continued revolts, their
city was destroyed from the face of the earth.
Even in latter years they had attempted a
demonstration against the Roman rule, but it
resulted to their disadvantage. In view of
this incident, kings and emperors should at
last learn to know where to look for those who
are dangerous to the state and enemies of
their country. Then, instead of imprisoning
and sending into exile bishops and priests and
weak nuns, they would imprison and ex
patriate their accusers. But it is our con
solation and our pride to know that God has
permitted it, to spread the holy, Catholic
church, to save many immortal souls and to
164 Hi-story of the Passion.
make us, tho unworthy servants of Jesus
Christ, partakers of the glories of the holy
Cross. —
Then Pilate went back to the courtroom to
give Christ a hearing.
How contemptible the vice of calumny and
slander is! We ought to avoid even its
shadow. The ignominy of it falls back upon
Christ. For "as long as you did it to one of
"these my least brethren, you did it to me."
(Matthew 25, 40). When we are unjustly at
tacked in our reputation, we shall not give vent
to words of anger nor brood over feelings of
revenge, but, in imitation of the Saviour, bear
the wrong at least with patience.
Let us finally cast one more glance at the
accused Lord. Silent He stands in the court
room. He does not ask what they are saying
against Him outside. He does not desire to
face the accusers in order to defend Himself.
He leaves to Grod Almighty His defence and
His justification. And truly He has reaped
most abundant satisfaction. He had been ac
cused as a perverter of the people and He was
silent. And behold! seized by an invisible
power, all nations and peoples arise. One
nation presses the other onward. They all
hasten to embrace the doctrine of the Cruci
fied. It had been said that He forbade to give
tribute to Caesar and He was silent. And 1
see princes and kings and emperors who deem
The accusation before Pilate. 165
it an honor to pay to Christ the tribute of
their fealty, princes and kings and emperors
who spread before His feet their jewels and
their golden crowns. He had been accused of
aspiring to overthrow Caesar, and He was
silent. Wait but a few centuries and upon the
ruins of the fallen Roman empire there arises
a new kingdom, the kingdom of Christ, em
bracing the entire world. High upon the sum
mit of the Capitol shines the Cross, the victori-
ous symbol of the Hero of Golgatha. He had
been accused of attempting to make Himself
king, and He was silent — it cost Him His life.
And now, for eighteen hundred years, with a
mild sway, He rules heaven and earth. He
is the king of glory, world without end.
CHAPTER XII.
The First Hearing of Christ before Pilate.
"Pilate saith to him: What is truth?
"And when he said this he went out again
"to the Jews and saith to them : I find no
"cause in him." (John 18, 38.)
The accusation had charged high-treason.
Then Pilate returned to the courtroom, sat on
the judge's bench and cited Jesus before his
tribunal. A remarkable trial, indeed! The
judge is a pagan governor, the representative
of the Roman emperor. The plaintiffs are the
highest officials and dignitaries of the Jewish
people. The accused is none other than Jesus
Christ, the Son of Gk>d, the Lord of heaven
and earth. The case was a novel one; none
like it had been witnessed before. A man
who for three years, by his inspired sermons ,
had fairly carried away innumerable crowds
of hearers; a man who, on account of his
wonderful deeds, was looked upon as a su
perior being; a man of the people more than
any other, who, some days before, had been
led in festal triumph into Jerusalem — now, at
the instigation of the same people, stood ac-
(166)
The first hearing of Christ before Pilate. 167
cused of high-treason before the tribunal of a
pagan judge. Let us consider (John 18,
33-38. Mathew 27, 11-14. Mark 15, 2-5.
Luke 23, 3-7)
I. The progress of the hearing and
II. The chief fault of Pilate during the
hearing.
I.
Pilate began the hearing with the words:
"Art thou the king of the Jews?7' This
question reveals to us the keen and expert in
quisitor. From among all the charges, he
selects the main issue. If Christ were a king,
it would follow evidently that He would not
allow His subjects to recognize a foreign king
nor to pay tribute to him. Then Pilate gave
to the charge of the Jews a different construc
tion. He did not ask: " Hast thou said that
"thou art a king?" but: "Art thou the king
"of the Jews?" The question was well put.
Had he said it only in a bragging way without
any foundation in fact, there would have been
in it no serious danger to the commonwealth.
Again, he did not ask, after the indefinite and
general manner in which the Jews presented
the charge: "Art thou a king?" but: "Art
"thou the king of the Jews?" For had Christ
really been a king but of a foreign and in
dependent realm, then proper honors were
due to Him as to an equal of the Roman em.
168 History of the Passion.
peror. The question at issue was whether He
was the king of the Jews, of a nation subject
and tributary to the Roman emperor. After
all his dealings with the Jews, Pilate was cer
tainly aware that they expected a king. He
wanted to know whether or not the accused
was this king.
Above all, it was of interest to Our Divine
Lord to hear from Pilate's own mouth,
whether he had put this question as judge, as
an official, or whether he desired, in his
private capacity, to ascertain the truth. Cer
tainly Christ had the right to presume that
Pilate had a personal interest in learning who
the accused really was. His innumerable mira
cles in proof of His Messianic dignity, could
surely not have remained unknown to Pilate,
who had been in Judea during the entire
public life of the Eedeemer. Besides, the
divine dignity and majesty of Christ, which
shone even through the disfigured and be-
spewn countenance, could not fail to make an
impression on the pagan. And, at the same
moment, the Saviour did not fail to furnish
the inward grace. He therefore asked Pilate:
"Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have
"others told it thee of me?" Pilate, pro
voked, answered uncouthly: "Am I a Jew?
"Thy own nation and the chief-priests have
"delivered thee up to me; what hast thou
The first hearing of Christ before Pilate. 169
"done?" In other words: "Personally, I am
"indifferent as to what thou art, for I ani a
"pagan and no Jew. I ask thee as judge,
"because thou hast been accused before me.
"What then hast thou done! Mention the
"crime. ' J — In order not to provoke Pilate who,
as Roman governor, had to shield the em
peror, and to prevent in him all undue haste
and rashness, Christ answered evasively the
question regarding His kingly power. He did
not deny but neither did He declare in ex
pressed words that He was a king. He merely
spoke of His kingdom, that it was not of this
world and, therefore, that it bore no resem
blance to other kingdoms. Pilate should
therefore be without anxiety. No hostility
would arise against him or the emperor from
the part of Christ Who had neither armies,
nor arms, nor strongholds.
This answer seemed to satisfy Pilate to some
extent. But he desired more clearness and
preciseness. A kingdom, he thought, with
out a king is impossible. But he who has a
kingdom must be a king. He therefore re
peated his question: "Art thou a king?'7
With all the modesty becoming an accused,
Jesus answered: "Thou sayest, that I am a
"king." Then He answered the other ques
tion which Pilate had subsequently proposed:
"What hast thou done!" But, 0 Pilate,
1.70 History of the Passion.
should Jesus tell thee all that He has done,
how, as G-od, He created heaven and earth,
how, as man, during three years, He wan
dered through Palestine dispensing benefits
and working miracles, the evening will not
see the end of the trial. However Jesus said:
"For this was I born and for this came I into
" the wo rid; that I should give testimony to
"the truth. It is my calling and it was my
"business to teach the truth. " Then, in a
delicate manner, Christ gave him the well
meant advice to join the ranks of those who
were believers in His doctrine: "Every one
"that is of the truth," that is, who loves the
truth, who is interested in learning to know
the truth, "heareth my voice."
Now Pilate understood. The answers given
convinced him perfectly that Christ was in
nocent and of no danger to the common
wealth. But how can this be explained! Had
Pilate really understood, in its supernatural
sense, the answer of Christ regarding His
kingdom! No; by stating that personally he
cared naught for Christ or for His doctrine,
he failed thus to understand the answer,
which would have proved a great grace to
him. He rather considered the Saviour Who
had spoken to him about the truth and re
presented Himself as a teacher of the truth, to
be one of those men such as Pyrrho, Zeno,
The first hearing of Christ before Pilate. 171
Thales and Epicure, who from time to time
endowed the world with a new philosophical
system and who founded schools of philosophy
named after themselves. And because even
at that time people were wont to see in such
founders extraordinary pride, limitless arro
gance and excessive self-esteem, Pilate did not
find it strange that this new teacher of wisdom
vaunted himself as a king before his dis
ciples. He might think it ridiculous but not
dangerous to the state. "To play at kings/
he thought, 'is done also by children/
But before going out to the Jews, Pilate
could not help proposing the casual, sarcastic
question : "What is truth?" Does truth exist
in fact? Is there a man who knows what truth
is? Is not everything doubt and uncertainty?
By this question Pilate also wished to show
how little he, the pagan and statesman, cared
for religious and philosophic questions and
disputes. And to condemn any one to death
because his scientific views differed from those
of others, seemed to him entirely improper.
Pilate therefore went out and declared sol
emnly: "I find no cause in him." Then he
caused Jesus to be led forth, whereupon the
Jews again began their accusations, Pilate
repeatedly urged Christ to defend Himself,
but He answered nothing so that Pilate was
greatly astonished. He had never met an ac-
172 History of the Passion.
cased person who was silent in Ms own de
fense, even when knowing that the judge
favored him. Pilate also would have been ex
tremely glad if Christ , by a brilliant speech of
defense, had helped him out of the fatal
dilemma, in which he found himself. On the
one hand, he did not wish to condemn Christ
whom he considered innocent, neither did he,
on the other, wish to offend the prominent
Jews. But Christ, Who had defended Mag
dalen and shielded the adulteress, was silent
in His own case. Then the high-priests, in
their renewed accusations, gave the judge a
favorable chance to rid himself of the whole
matter. With cries and much noise, to suc
ceed more readily, they repeated that Christ
stirred up the people ; that He did it by His
teachings all over Judea; that He, then, was
not only a rebel Himself, but that He made it
a point to preach insubordination and revolt
all the way from Galilee to Jerusalem.
These last words, according to the intention
of the accusers, were to be a proof of their
charge. For Galilee was notorious for its
many seditions. There Roman domination
found its most stubborn and energetic op
ponents. Therefore, they meant to insinuate,
Christ must necessarily be a rebel against the
emperor, because He came from Galilee. Such
views prevail even to-day in the anti-religious
The first hearing of Christ before Pilate. 173
canip : because some members of the Catholic
church or of a religious society or order were
guilty of a fault, therefore they all amount to
nothing.
Without, however, entering into the idea of
the Jews, Pilate merely enquired whether this
man was a Galilean, and, when he received an
affirmative reply, a burden fell from his heart.
He breathed easier. Jesus, then, was a Gali
lean, consequently from Herod's dominion,
and just at that time Herod was in Jerusalem.
Pilate immediately gave orders that the Sav
iour be led to Herod. By doing this, he hoped
to rid himself of the case and, at the same
time, by this act of politeness and of recog
nition of his judicial power, to reconcile to
himself the good will of Herod who was his
bitter enemy. The high-priests were very
well satisfied. By not acceding to their
wishes, Pilate had caused them vexation
enough. But from Herod, who affected the
royal crown of Judea and to whom therefore
every rival was odious, from Herod, the son of
the child-murderer of Bethlehem, from Herod
who had made short work of John whose head
he presented to the dancing-girl, they hoped
to obtain better results. Thus closed the first
trial of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
before the vice-gerent of the Roman emperor.
Let us now consider the main fault com
mitted by Pilate during its progress.
174 History oftlie Passion.
II.
Already at this first trial, Pilate showed dif
ferent weak points ; he gave evidence of ir
resolution and of human respect. He dared
not liberate an accused whom he knew to be
innocent. It was entirely unjust to expose an
innocent person to the further ill treatment of
the high-priests. But we shall now pass over
these faults, which present themselves much
more prominently at the second hearing, and
consider only that fault which was the reason
and source of all subsequent errors and which
decided Pilate's eternal destiny. This main
fault was indifference to truth and the con
tempt of it. "Am I a Jew?" he had asked;
"what is it to me, a pagan, what thou art?"
And when Christ introduced Himself as the
teacher of truth, he exclaimed contemptuous
ly: "What is truth?" and turned his back to
Christ.
"What is truth?" was Pilate's question to
the Saviour. "Does truth really exist?" By
this question the pagan world, through the
mouth of Pilate, declared itself insolvent and
closed its accounts with truth. Through most
curious philosophical systems, ' many pagan
investigators and cavilers had arrived at the
unanimous conclusion that there is no supreme
truth, that everything ends in fallacy and un
certainty — a conclusion to which they more
Hie first hearing of Christ before Pilate. 175
readily subscribed because it disturbed them
not in the gratification of the most ignoble
passions. Socrates, the wisest of them all,
had ventured the statement that he had found
the truth. In punishment, the poisoned cup
was handed him. Plato, his disciple, died
with the declaration that, should man ever ar
rive at the knowledge of the truth, a God
must needs descend to convey it to him.
Now, finally, that Glod had arrived. He stood
before Pilate, the representative of paganism.
And Pilate asked the happy question: "What
is truth?7' The Saviour was ready to teach
him the truth. And He was all the more
ready because Pilate has thus far treated Him
justly. Then, however, the Roman, despair
ing of all truth, turns contemptuously from
the teacher of eternal truth.
This moment in his life was the decisive
one for time and for eternity. Had the
pagan, entangled as he was by innumerable
doubts, permitted himself to be taught by
Christ, he certainly would have received from
Him the grace to arrive at the knowledge of
divine truth. He also would then have found
courage to act and to give a decision according
to the known truth. He would not have sen
tenced Christ to death arid he would have
been saved. But he preferred to remain in
his doubts; he was indifferent to truth, he
176 History of the Passion.
despised truth, he resisted the Holy Spirit.
That brought him into the "Credo" as a
warning example to all despisers of truth; it
put his name in that confession by which the
Christian expresses his belief in the truth:
"Christ, Who suffered under Pontius Pilate."
This indifference to and contempt of truth,
this fear of truth and of the obligations it en
tails, are even nowadays the main reason why
so many are on the way to perdition and to
eternal ruin. Indifference to truth and its
contempt are the mother of free thought, of
religious indifference, of current phrases such
as this : that it matters not what or how much
one believe, nor to which religious denomina
tion one belong, provided one do what is right.
This is a potent error. That one accept or
doubt or reject truth is not the same to Christ,
the divine Teacher of truth. He demands the
sacrifice of our reason and of our will. — Then
again, there are many members of the re
ligious sects, fallen away from the Church,
who never get beyond their religious doubts,
and many who are fully aware of being in er
ror. "What keeps them from taking the de
cisive step! Nothing but indifference to truth,
often joined with a fear of truth and of its
practical consequences.
Even among Catholics many follow in the
footsteps of Pilate. They are those who feel
The first hearing of Christ before Pilate. 177
no need of hearing the truths of our faith ex
plained, although they lack even the most
rudimentary knowledge of them. Although,
every Sunday and holiday, in our churches,
Christ announces the truth through the mouth
of His ordained ministers, they allow months
and years to pass by without listening to a
single sermon. At most they are content with
a low mass. Even in times of extraordinary
grace, at missions and at jubilees, they turn
their backs to Christ, the Teacher of truth.
But the saddest feature of all is that in
many countries hundreds and thousands of
Catholic children are systematically trained to
be Pilates by impiously cruel parents. With
out any legitimate cause, they are sent to
schools from which religion and religious in
struction are banished on principle. I do not
wish to cast reproach upon all teachers who
instruct in these irreligious schools, as if they
purposely spread false doctrines or sought to
lead the children into religious indifference.
But because in these schools no favorable
word may be spoken of religion, and least of
all of the Catholic religion ; because the text
books, although not always bad, are at least
colorless and void of religious value ; because
prayer is an unknown quantity and positively
religious education is entirely lacking ; there
fore, it is religious indifference and contempt
178 History of the Passion.
of religion which, among all the branches, the
poor children acquire the most readily and
retain mostly for their entire life. What, in
the hour of their death, will such blinded
parents answer the eternal Judge when He
asks them: "Father, mother, what hast thou
done?"
We cannot assure ourselves in a more secure
and abundant manner the favors and grace of
our divine Teacher than by being His willing
disciples. We should therefore often pray to
Him: "Lord, teach us the truth, Thou hast
"the words of eternal life.7' (John 6, 69.)
Let us seize joyfully upon all occasions which
He presents to us in His church to learn the
truths of faith and morals and to arrive at a
better understanding of them. Finally, we
must lead lives in accordance with known
truth. Then, in death, when all outward
show and deception vanish, truth will be our
light, our solace and our strength, and in
heaven it will be our felicity.
In addition, let us consider a word spoken
by Christ in the hearing before Pilate ; it de
serves our attention. To the high-priest Cai-
phas the Saviour had presented Himself as
the divinely anointed High-Priest of the New
Law, as the promised Messiah, as the true Son
of God. Before Pilate who represented the
ruler of the Roman world-empire, He declared
The first Itearmy of Christ before Pilate. 1 79
Himself to be a king as absolutely indepen
dent in His kingdom from all worldly power,
as the emperor was in his own dominion.
"My kingdom," He said, "is not of this
"world," its object is a supernatural one.
But a kingdom which has a supernatural end,
cannot possibly be subordinate to a kingdom
pursuing merely natural ends. The Church
of Christ, therefore, has the right of self-
government in the fullest sense of the word.
Thus the declaration of Christ before Pilate
denned for all times to come the mutual re
lations of Church and state. Although both
are not 'of the world, they are both 'in' the
world. They should use all the means which
G-od has furnished them to attain their ob
jects, which, although different, are not there
fore opposed to each other. And for a more
perfect attainment of their respective objects,
they ought, when occasion offers, to give each
other a helpful and friendly hand. But, at
the very first meeting in the court of the
governor, we behold Church and state in con
flict. It may, however, be mentioned to the
honor of Pilate that he himself neither began
nor fostered the conflict, as in later times was
done by so many Christian kings and em
perors to their everlasting disgrace and to
their eternal woe. Against his will he was
drawn into it. Until this moment, Pilate sin-
180 History of the Passion.
cerely desired to give to the Church her proper
freedom. The conflict between the Roman
empire at the zenith of its power and the
Church of Christ began later arid ended in the
downfall of the former. Thus shall crumble
into ruin all governments which persecute the
kingdom of Christ and in brazen temerity
strive to destroy it from the face of the earth.
"My kingdom," my Church, says the Re
deemer, "is not of this world. " If we, then,
would be true children of the Catholic Church,
we must, like to our Holy Mother, strive for
the supernatural. All other objects which we
may legitimately strive for, must be subordi
nate to our supreme, supernatural end. We
must not busy ourselves about everything that
is upon earth, but we must seek the things
that are above, where Christ is sitting at the
right hand of Grod (Col. 3, 1) and where He
rules as king for all eternity.
CHAPTEK XIII.
Christ before Herod.
"And Herod with his army set him at
"nought: and mocked him, putting on
"him a white garment, and sent him back
"to Pilate." (Luke 23, 11.)
For a long time a bitter enmity had secretly
existed between Pilate and Herod. It had not
escaped Pilate that Herod, the tetrarch of
Galilee, maintained continued and direct ne
gotiations with the imperial court for no other
purpose than the removal of the governors
and his own elevation to the throne of Judea.
It seems that Herod enjoyed the especial favor
of the emperor Tiberius after whom he named
his capital city. This, it is said, was shown
especially by the fact that Tiberius bestowed
upon the tetrarch the dignity of king of Ga
lilee. But it may be that Herod, relying on
the favor of the emperor, placed the crown
upon his own head as others undoubtedly did
in centuries following. On the other hand,
Herod was angry at Pilate because the latter
had not assisted him in his war against the
(181)
182 History of the Passion.
Arabians. The following incident, according
to the narrative of the Jewish historian, Fla
vins Josephus, finally brought the enmity to
an open rupture. For the construction of an
expensive aqueduct Pilate had extorted im
mense sums out of the treasury of the Temple ;
the laborers he secured from Herod. His
violent measures caused excitement and exas
peration among the whole Jewish people. To
increase the embittered feelings, wily Herod
gave secret orders to the architects to provide
for poor construction. They obeyed the order
and, in consequence, the tower of Siloe col
lapsed, depriving eighteen artisans of their
lives. To take revenge on this perfidy of
the Galilean ruler, Pilate, at the next paschal
festivities, caused masked Romans to fall upon
the Galileans while they were offering sacri
fices in the Temple, and a great carnage en
sued. The result was a rebellion during which
several rebels, among others the notorious
Barabbas and, probably, the two thieves, were
taken prisoners. And, to the great chagrin of
Pilate, the emperor Tiberius entrusted to
Herod the supreme care of the Temple's
treasury. — Partly on account of these ecclesi
astical moneys, parti}7 to protect his Galileans,
partly to ingratiate himself with the Jews
whose king he wished to be, and partly "to
satisfy his devotion,77 Herod wended his way
Christ before Herod. 183
toward Jerusalem to the paschal festivities.
As it behooved a good father, he took his
family along with him. By taking part in the
paschal supper, they would give a good exam
ple to their subjects, repair any possible scan
dal they might have given and testify publicly
to their own orthodoxy.
To this man Herod Pilate ordered the sol
diers to lead Jesus. Again the high-priests,
scribes and ancients accompanied Him. Di
vine Providence so willed it. Had Pilate liber
ated the Saviour, the high-priests would say:
"No wonder! Who knows what lies Christ
' 'told Pilate in His own defense when they were
"alone. " Before Herod they could be con
vinced of His silence. Besides, they could not
charge Herod, as they could Pilate, with igno
rance and contempt of their law. Their con
fusion was so much the greater, when Herod
did not condemn Him. "And Herod seeing
"Jesus was very glad, for he was desirous of
"a long time to see him, because he had heard
"many things of him; and he hoped to see
"some sign wrought by him. And he ques-
"tioned him in many words. But he answered
"him nothing. And the chief - priests and
"scribes stood by, earnestly accusing him.
"And Herod with his army set him at nought ;
"and mocked him, putting on him a white
"garment, and sent him back to Pilate. And
184 History of the Passion.
"Herod and Pilate were made friends that
"same day, for before they were enemies one
"to another." (Luke 20, 8-12.)
Let us consider
I. The joy of Herod,
II. The disappointment of Herod,
III. The revenge of Herod.
I.
"And Herod seeing Jesus was very glad. "
Well, this was not the first time a man was
glad to see the Saviour. How glad were not
the pious shepherds, when following the mo
nition of the angels, they hastened to the stable
and found the Child with Joseph and Its
Blessed Mother! How, at the sight of the
new-born Saviour, were not the wise men of
the East recompensed for all the trouble and
discomfiture of their long journey! "Now
"thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, in
"peace, " exclaimed joyfully Simeon, the holy
old man, when Mary placed the Divine Infant
Jesus in his arms. Zacheus also felt impelled
to see the Lord, for which purpose he climbed
on a tree. It was the happiest day of his life.
If, then, Herod was glad on beholding the
Saviour the first time, if, to express his joy,
he prepared a splendid reception, if he sur
rounded himself with his entire court and
spoke to Christ with condescending favor, we
Christ before Herod. 185
find nothing strange in it; on the contrary, it
appears to us quite natural.
Meanwhile the chief -priests, scribes and an
cients were standing there in speechles sur
prise and ready to burst with anger because
Herod, while scarcely noticing them, devoted
all his attention to the Redeemer and treated
Him, not as a criminal, but as a most wel
come guest. All the hopes they had placed
on Herod, seemed to evanesce in a moment.
Then they began to accuse Christ and could
hardly come to an end. They charged Him
with having aspired to the throne of Judea
which belonged to Herod; with having blas
phemed God ; with intending to destroy the
temple ; with being a relative of that John who
had meddled in such an uncalled for manner
in the king's domestic affairs and thereby
caused the latter so much annoyance. They
charged that Christ had afterwards praised
John for the stand he had taken against the
king; that Christ, in fact, was the soul of the
whole affair, that He had incited John against
the king; that in a public sermon He had
called the king a fox by saying: "Gro and tell
"that fox, Behold, I cast out devils. " (Luke
13, 32.) When, later, they saw that Herod
began to look upon Christ as a fool, they
cleverly shifted their position and cried, louder
than before, that Christ was a cunning rascal
186 History of the Passion.
and an infamous hypocrite, and that He was
merely shamming in order to obtain His
liberty.
But to come back to the joy of Herod, what
casts some suspicion upon it are the words of
the Gospel telling' us that of a long time he was
desirous to see Christ because he had heard
many things of Him. If lie was desirous for a
long time to see Christ, why did he not make
use before this of innumerable occasions to see
Him? For three years, the Redeemer had
passed through the cities and villages of Pa
lestine. He had made Galilee especially the
scene of His activity; Capharnaum, where
Herod often resided, was the sojourn of pre
dilection, the second home of Christ. There
He would preach in the synagogue, on the
streets, in the houses; arid Herod had never
seen Him. That is the way of many promi
nent people. They prefer not to mingle with
the common people at religious services. It
would be beneath their dignity. Again, the
air in the church is usually too sultry. Be
sides, — and this is the main point, — they fear
to be told unpalatable truths in the sermons.
Therefore they remain away. — The Scriptures
mention, as the chief reason of Herod's joy,
the hope of seeing Christ work a miracle. But
why did he not, with the other thousands,
follow the Saviour into the desert? He surely
Christ before Herod. 187
would have received his share of the miracu
lously multiplied bread.
The Redeemer should then have the honor
of appearing as a skilled magician before his
majesty, king Herod, the members of the
royal household and the officials of the court.
Like to a clown in a play-house, He should
entertain the brazen-faced crowd during a few
enjoyable hours. Such was the suggestion of
Herod to a man who stood before him in the
deepest humiliation, a disfigured picture of
misery and woe. O God, were He merely a
man! But He was the One of Whom the
Psalmist chants: "0 Lord G-od of hosts, who
•4s like to thee? The world and the fulness
"thereof thou hast founded: the north and
"the sea thou hast created. Thabor and Her-
"mon shall rejoice in thy name." (Ps. 88, 9.
12. 13.) He was the One of Whom Job said:
"Who hath removed mountains, and they
"whom he overthrew in his wrath, knew it
"not. Wlio shaketh the earth out of her
"place, and the pillars thereof tremble. Who
"maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and Hyades,
"and the inner parts of the south. Who doth
"things great and incomprehensible and won-
"derful, of which there is no number. " (Job
9, 5-10.) All that, O Herod, does not suffice
thee. Thou demandest to see new miracles.
Thou demandest charlatan tricks and magic
188 History of the Passion.
craft of God Almighty. — And ye, rushing
waves of the Galilean sea, on whom the Lord
once enjoined repose, ye do not break through
your dams to engulf the impudent blas
phemer? Ye awful rents in the earth, whom
He robbed of the dead, ye do not open? Ye
Powers and Thrones, ye Cherubim and Sera
phim, ye legions of angels, all ye who sang
the Gloria, do ye not rise to avenge the dis
grace of your Creator! — But the Redeemer
stood in silence, without a plaint, full of dig
nity and majesty. Indeed He proved the truth
of His word: "I am meek and humble of
"heart." (Matthew 11, 29.)
Then Herod began to use all means at his
command to attain his object. He began with
flattery. For a long time, he assured Christ,
he had deemed himself happy to harbor in his
kingdom such an excellent man, whose re
nown as an enlightened teacher and as a great
miracle -worker had spread far beyond the
bounds of Galilee. It afforded him exceeding
satisfaction to finally have the opportunity of
making His acquaintance. Then Herod added
promises of favor and reward. Christ would
not be required to do it for nothing. Money,
liberty and life was assured Him, provided the
performance were satisfactory. Then he
begged and insisted that Christ produce at
least a few specimens of His art. . Should He
mm
Christ before Herod. 189
not have with Him the material and instru
ments necessary, a few easier acts would be
sufficient. Then he very likely caused water
to be brought, which He might change into
wine. — We can readily understand the anx
iety and agony of the chief -priests lest Christ
save Himself by a miracle and why they kept
on accusing Him all the while. Finally Herod
reminded the Redeemer that His life was in
his power and that it would be imprudent to
provoke the ire of a well-meaning judge. -
It was, forsooth, a wonderful eloquence.
We shall not deny it proper recognition. But
the greater the gladness and hope of Herod
had been, so much the greater was also his
disappointment.
II.
The Redeemer had often worked miracles
of His own accord and without being asked.
He beheld Himself surrounded by a hungry
multitude and He satisfied them with a few
loaves. He met a sorrowing widow, walking
behind the bier of her only son and he com
manded the bearers to stand. He saw tears
in the eyes of two sisters and He began to
weep and exclaimed: "Lazarus, come forth !"
But Herod wasted time and trouble to induce
Christ to perform a miracle. The Lord did
not even deign to address a single word to
him. Herod, says Holy Writ, questioned Him
190 History of the Passion.
in many words, but He answered him noth
ing. It was very strange, indeed. At other
times, Christ was silent only under injury,
calumny, maltreatment or when asked to de
fend Himself. He was wont to answer ques
tions put by a legitimate judge. Thus He de
clared before Pilate that He was a king, and
before Caiphas, that He was the Son of God.
Why, then, did Herod not receive an answer
to his questions? He was the ruler of Galilee
and consequently the legitimate judge of the
accused; besides, the governor had entrusted
to him the conduct of the trial. Let us en
quire into the reasons of this mysterious silence
before Herod.
Some recent commentators designate the
impure life of Herod as the chief cause. Al
though united in lawful wedlock with the
daughter of the Arabian king Aretos, he was
living with Herodias, the wife of his step
brother, whom he had abducted during a so
journ in Rome. He probably thought that a
point might be stretched in this regard in
favor of kings and princes who enjoyed spe
cial privileges on account of their rank. Three
years had passed since John the Baptist up
braided him for his crime. It cost John his
head and the public scandal continued. To
confidently expect an answer from the Sav
iour, Herod ought certainly to have removed
Christ before Herod. 191
(he shameless woman from his house. Cer
tainly his sinful life made him entirely un
worthy of an answer. For it almost seems
that nowadays the Lord will not address a
word of grace to those Christians who sin
against purity. I do not mean those who fall
occasionally through weakness, but those who
abandon themselves entirely to this vice, who
make of it a business and a source of revenue
and especially those who for years live in sin
ful relations. How could they otherwise live
on so seemingly happy and apparently with
out remorse ? How seldom does it happen
that such unfortunate people break the in
terior and external fetters which bind them ;
how seldom do they truly turn to Grod! To
work such miracles of grace seems to be re
served by Divine Providence to the Immacu
late Virgin. — But, on the other hand, when
I behold the Saviour in conversation with the
Samaritan woman, who surely was a great sin
ner, when I consider that He himself caused
this conversation, I cannot imagine that the
impure life of Herod, considered in itself, was
the main cause of the silence of Jesus Christ.
More ancient commentators, therefore, merely
touch upon this reason in a cursory manner.
There is more weight in the reason that Her
od, who had been raised in the Jewish religion,
not a descendant of Abraham, had
192 History oftlie Passion.
well nigh entirely lost his faith, To ingratiate
himself with the Jews, he was led by political
prudence and craft to observe certain external
precepts of the Mosaic Law which he ridiculed
in his heart. Thus he lived continuously in
sins against the Holy Grhost, and it is these
sins above all, which stifle the voice of Christ's
grace. — For this reason hundreds of Protes
tants who grow up in good faith, will be con
verted sooner than one apostate Catholic.
Faith teaches that a Catholic abandons and
denies his religion not from inner conviction,
but through contempt of innumerable pangs
of conscience, through mortal sin. Such a
one lives in continued antagonism to the Holy
Ghost and in continued defiance of Him. Then
Christ is silent. He finally addresses no more
reproaches so that such apostates apparently
enjoy the most unruffled peace of soul. It is
truly enough the peace of the graveyard.
There can be a hope of conversion only when
they begin, by cries of fervent and humble
prayer, to induce the silent Saviour to speak,
when with confidence they turn to His Divine
Heart that they may obtain the necessary
strength to return and courage to overcome
impending difficulties.
We may adduce as a further and more im
portant reason of the mysterious silence of
Christ the fact that Herod had deprived Him
Christ before Herod. 193
of His voice by beheading His forerunner, the
voice of one crying in the wilderness. How
then could Christ speak! Woe therefore, a
threefold woe upon all rulers who, when Christ
would speak to their peoples, deprive Him of
His voice either by making it impossible,
through diabolical laws, for the servants of
Christ to exercise their teaching power in
school and church, or by banishing them from
the country. — And still if Herod had done
even more than that against Christ and His
followers, had he only asked with Saul:
"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?77 (Acts
9, 6), he undoubtedly would have received an
answer.
We must then look for the chief reason of
the silence of Christ, on the one hand, in the
impious and frivolous suggestion of the impure
and infidel persecutor of Christ that the Sav
iour use His Divine Power for the venal pur
poses of a juggler and, on the other hand, in
the equally frivolous and curious questions
which he proposed. First,he likely asked Him
whether He it was at whose birth the kings of
the East had arrived, causing so much dis
quiet to his father and so much excitement in
Jerusalem. Then he wished to know how His
parents had accomplished their flight. "Or, ' '
continued he, "is it true, what so many claim,
"that Thou art John the Baptist, whom I had
194 History of the Passion.
"beheaded but who, it is alleged, is risen again
"to work miracles?" (Luke 9, 7. 8). Then
he asked for sundry information about miracles,
and it is not improbable that he requested the
Eedeemer to initiate him in the secrets of His
art. All these reasons take away the mystery
from the silence of Christ.
The silence of Christ is, for the rest, the most
dreadful punishment which God can inflict
upon the sinner. It is the almost infallible
presage of eternal damnation . Even the Saints
dreaded nothing more than that the Saviour,
to punish their smaller faults and infidelities,
might no longer speak to them in inward im
pulses and inspirations or through the voice of
conscience. "0 my God,77 they therefore
prayed, "be not Thou silent to me: lest if
"Thou be silent to me, I become like them
"that go down into the pit.'7 (Ps. 27, 1). We
should also pray in like manner, but we should
also arrange our lives in accordance with the
words addressed to us directly by Himself or
indirectly through the voice of His represent
atives.
Herod, therefore, found himself thoroughly
foiled in his expectations. He felt his mortifi
cation so much more because it befell him be
fore such a distinguished assembly, before his
court, even before the chief -priests and scribes.
But he would not issue a decree of death in a
Christ before Herod. 195
strange city, outside of his realm. It might
increase the ill will of many well disposed Jews
who had not yet forgiven him the execution
of the Baptist arid thus entirely destroy his
prospects for the Jewish throne. But he
planned revenge. In what did it consist?
III.
We cannot suppose that Herod will treat
Christ as did the common Jews; that, like to
the chief-priests and scribes, he will belabor
Him with two fists, drag Him by the hair, or
give Him kicks and blows. Oh no, for that
he was too much of a courtier, he belonged to
the aristocratic and educated class. Such a
thing would be beneath his dignity. The
triple vengeance which he took on the Re
deemer is narrated in the Holy Scriptures in
the following words: "Herod with his army
"set him at nought: and mocked him, putting
"on him a white garment, and sent him back
"to Pilate. "
First, he and his courtiers set Him at nought
and mocked Him. Herod thought and ex
pressed it before those present, that an accused
who acted as this one, who would say nothing
in his own defence, who would do nothing for
his own liberation, who would not answer a
question to a ruler in whose hands his life lay,
could not possibly have his wits about him.
He ought to be in an asylum for the insane
196 History of the Passion.
rather than in a prison. Likely peals of
laughter and applause of the royal family and
of the others present, testified to the wisdom
of the king's words. But we hear the thunder
ing voice of Isaias : "Woe to you that are wise
"in your own eyes, and prudent in your own
"conceits/7 (Is. 5, 21). On the day of judg
ment He Whom you now mock as a fool, shall
put to shame all your wisdom. "He it is,"
you shall cry, "whom we had some time in
"derision and for a parable of reproach. We
"fools esteemed his life madness and his end
"without honor." (Wisd. 5, 3-5). "The Lord
"shall then laugh you to scorn. And you
"shall fall after this without honor, and be a
"reproach among the dead forever." (Ibid.
4, 18. 19). — Herod, on account of his witty
remarks, deserved to be looked up to as a
patron by lustful Voltaire and his associates,
who aspersed every thing holy and divine with
their fine sarcasm and their acrimonious
scorn.
Then he had Christ clad in a white garment.
Among the Jews, madmen were clad in white,
so that passers-by could see that they were
mentally weak. Among the Romans white
garments were worn by those who aspired to
some office. Well, to aspire after office also
borders on madness, at least when, as often
happens in some localities, months are spent
Christ before Herod. 197
in purchasing votes with money and with the
dispensing of intoxicating drinks. It is cer
tainly not a proof of overmuch sense nor of
qualification for the office. But Christ, as the
charge went, aspired to the crown of Judea.
For several reasons, then, Herod had the gar
ment of a fool put on Christ — and the Ke-
deemer did not resist. O ye heavens! The
Son of G-od in the white robe of a visionary,
of an aspiring gawk, the thrice Holy One in
the robe of a hungry politician, Infinite Wis
dom in the garment of a fool ! It is indeed a
scene that defies all description. Holy Church
believed to offer no better atonement for this
disgrace than by sharing its ignominy and
making her servants appear at the altar in long
white robes.
Lastly, Herod sent Him back to Pilate, clad,
as He was, in the robe of a fool. He sent Him
back when the day was already far advanced
and when thousands were upon the streets and
filled the air with cries of irony and shouts
of diabolical rejoicing. What a cruel revenge !
What a terrible humiliation! What a sad
Corpus Christ! procession ! It is indeed meet
and just that the same Christ, veiled under the
appearance of bread, be borne annually in
festive march, as in triumph, through the
streets of cities and villages. It is indeed
meet and just that He be greeted with enthu-
198 History of the Passion.
siastic songs of praise and hymns of thanks
giving, to make Him forget, as it were, the
wrong done Him at that ignominious proces
sion. It was ordered by a king. Ye kings
and emperors, redeem the honor of your sta
tion and accompany with your entire court,
humbly and devoutly, the Most Blessed Sacra
ment.
When the chief-priests came back with
Christ to Pilate, they delivered to the latter
the thanks and best wishes and polite compli
ments of Herod along with the assurance of
his distinguished consideration and entire
devotedness. For the Gospel says that " Herod
"and Pilate were made friends that same day,
' 'f or before they were enemies one to another. 7 7
— Similar occurrences happen nowadays. In
the halls of legislatures, godless parties may
antagonize each other in continued strife, the
dark powers of this world may mutually mas
sacre themselves with bloody weapons ; in the
hatred of Christ they are a unit. When the
alarm is sounded for an attack on the Catholic
Church, they shake hands and form a brotherly
pact.
Herod, then, had a desire to see Our Divine
Saviour and to speak with Him. In itself,
this desire was praiseworthy. Who of us
would not nourish the same desire? If so, our
desire can be satisfied. But we must use the
Christ before Herod. 199
right means. "The Lord's communication is
"with the simple/' says Holy Writ. (Wisd. 3,
32). Let us be simple, humble, of a believing
heart and Christ will speak to us. The simple,
those of child-like faith can entertain them
selves with Him in prayer for hours and never
grow tired. For they need not carry on all
the conversation themselves. Christ speaks
to them and answers all their questions. If
furthermore we wish to see Christ, we know
that "blessed are the pure of heart, for they
"shall see God.7' (Matthew 5, 8). We should,
therefore, avoid even the shadow of impurity.
We should preserve our hearts pure and stain
less and we shall see G-od. Yea, even more.
We shall then see miracles of the Saviour,
wonders of His Power, wonders of His Mercy,
wonders of His Love both here and in the
next world.
CHAPTER XIV.
Christ and Barabbas.
"But the whole multitude together cried
"out, saying: Away with this man and
"release unto us Barabbas."
(Luke 23, 18.)
The effort of Pilate to rid himself of the un
pleasant trial and to hand the case over to
others, had proven a failure. Herod had sent
Christ back to him and thus Pilate had to re-
assume the case by virtue of his office. Stand
ing in the vestibule of the palace, he first
called together not only the chief -priests and
ancients, but the entire people, of whose at
tachment to Jesus he was well aware. Then
he again declared in a solemn tone: "You
"have presented unto me this man, as one
"that perverteth the people, and behold, I
"have examined him before you." (Luke 23,
14-16.) Pilate could truthfully say these last
words, inasmuch as he personally did not wish
to have a secret hearing. That the high-
priests, during the trial, remained outside, was
their own doing. Pilate then continued: "I
(200)
Christ and Barabbas. 201
"find no cause in this man touching those
" things wherein you accuse him. No, nor
" Herod neither. For I sent you to him, and
"behold, nothing worthy of death is done to
"him." Thus far, his address was excellent.
But Pilate noticed how the chief -priests and,
at their instigation, the scribes also, were
working themselves into a gradually increas
ing excitement and frenzy of which they gave
evidence by threatening gestures and clenching
of fists. For it angered and provoked them
to be reminded by Pilate, in presence of the
whole people, of their disgraceful fiasco before
Herod and to perceive that he had the word
of liberation on the tip of his tongue. Then
Pilate lost his cue. If the popular excitement
increased and developed into a general revolt,
something readily to be feared among the
Jews, it might prove very embarrassing to the
governor, especially now during the Easter
festival. In order, therefore, to appease the
prominent people and to calm the lower
classes, he conceived the sudden idea of mak
ing some concessions, wherefore he added the
singular conclusion: "I will chastise him
"therefore, and release him." But, before he
could give more minute directions regarding
the chastisement, the people, to his great
satisfaction, reminded him of another ex
pedient which he immediately made use of.
202 History of the Passion.
We shall therefore consider (Matthew 27,
15-23. Mark 15, 6-14. Luke 23, 17-22. John
18, 39, 40.
I. The effort of Pilate to release Christ and
II. Its result.
I.
"Now upon the solemn day," narrates St.
Matthew, "the governor was accustomed to
"release to the people one prisoner, whom
"they would. " The age of this custom can
not be stated with certainty. According to
some commentators it was a very ancient
custom to select, on the eve of Easter, one or
the other criminal, and, in commemoration of
the deliverance from Egyptian thraldom, to
open unto him, at the beginning of the feast
day, the doors of the prison. The remaining
criminals were then executed in warning-
example, as the two thieves this year. — It is
said that later on the Roman governors very
willingly accommodated themselves to this
custom, partly not to offend the people and
partly because they had observed the same
custom in Eome, where the emperors, when
in good humor, would grant pardons and am-
nesties on the feasts of the gods. However, j
other commentators are of the opinion that the
governors themselves granted the people this
privilege in order to indemnify them some
what for the loss of their judiciary power and
Christ and Bar abbas. 203
to nullify the bad feelings resulting from this
loss. The proper understanding between the
Jews and the governor was arrived at on the
eve of Easter.
The people were reminded of this custom
by the words of Pilate: "I will release him."
Then they began to shout and to beg that he
do as he always had done. Some of the crowd
undoubtedly begged thus in favor of the Re
deemer whose liberation they desired and
began to hope for. But the most of them
thought of no such a thing. Of the entire
address of Pilate, which contained a two-fold
declaration of Christ's innocence, they had
caught only the word "release." Without,
therefore, giving a thought to the main ques
tion and with a view only to their privilege,
they reminded Pilate of the old custom.
Pilate readily accepted their proposition.
But, in order to be more sure of his object, he
proposed to the choice of the people, besides
Christ only one other, and a most notorious
criminal, at that, Barabbas by name. The
Gospel does not mention whether or not he
was brought from prison and placed opposite
to Christ. The evangelists delineate the char
acter of Barabbas in the darkest colors and in
the most forbidding manner. Mark and Luke
testify that in a sedition he had committed a
murder; according to John he was a murderer,
204 History oftlie Passion.
and Matthew calls him a notorious murderer.
He was a pest to the country, a scourge of
Judea, an abomination to all Jews. Now,
thought Pilate, it cannot go amiss. The
people who for the most part were attached to
Christ, would certainly not give the preference
to an arch-fiend. Under this impression he
said to them: "You have a custom that I
"should release one unto you at the pasch:
"will you therefore that I release unto you the
"king of the Jews?"
The question was well put. Pilate yet made
no mention of Barabbas. He merely pro
posed Christ and, to stimulate the sense of
honor of the Jews, he honored Him with the
title of king of the Jews. Their national pride,
he hoped, would cause them to demand with
out delay the release of their king. But no
answer followed. Pilate therefore had to ask
further: "Whom will you that I release to
' 'you, Barabbas, or Jesus that is called Christ ? 7 '
— Now the fall of Pilate is rapid. The means
he employed to liberate Christ were entirely
unworthy as far as moral value was concerned.
He proposed Jesus and Barabbas for the
choice and therefore for the comparison of the
people. But every comparison presupposes a
certain similarity. It was as if he had said:
I have here two criminals; which of the two
I release? This moans deserved to be re-
Christ and Barablas. 205
jected because, even if favorable to Christ, it
would not redeem His honor. On account of
the comparison there would always remain
attached to His name the stain that He had
obtained His freedom, not because of in
nocence, but because of popular favor or be
cause of being the lesser of two criminals.
His whole career as a popular preacher would,
humanly speaking, have thereby been ruined.
Before it came to a choice, Almighty God
granted Pilate a great grace. Whilst he was
sitting on the judge's bench, that is, on an
elevated seat in the vestibule, a messenger
suddenly entered who said to him in the name
of his wife: "Have thou nothing to do with
"that just man. For I have suffered many
"things this day in a dream because of him."
Probably Gtod had shown this woman the
misery into which her husband would rush,
should he not release the Saviour. Had Pilate
himself received this revelation from G-od, the
Jews might claim that it was an excuse in
vented by him. And perhaps he himself
would have considered it an idle dream and
said nothing about it.
The message of Pilate's wife was well con
sidered. Claudia Procula, such was her name,
first addressed Pilate in his capacity as judge,
who durst not condemn an innocent man.
Then she addressed him as her husband. She
206 History of the Passion.
urged him to be courageous enough to liberate
Christ out of love for her, to spare her now
sufferings. And Christ amply rewarded the
good will of this noble-minded, although
pagan woman. After the unfortunate death
of her husband, who committed suicide, Clau
dia embraced Christianity and, it is said, died
in the order of sanctity.1 But Pilate set aside
the warning of his wife and let the people pro
ceed to a choice. Probably he entertained a
confident hope of a favorable result. What
was the result?
II.
The result would probably have been favor
able if the high-priests and ancients had not
moved about among the people, urging them
on and persuading them to demand the release
of Barabbas. They found the desirable time
and occasion for this purpose whilst Pilate was
busy with the messenger sent by his wife. Do
you not perceive, said some, the trap which
Pilate has slyly set for us? Whom shall I
release unto you, he has asked, Jesus, King of
the Jews, or Barabbas ? If we give our suffrage
to Jesus, we declare thereby tjiat he is our
King and that we acknowledge Him as such.
Then woe to us and to our city. A murderer,
said others, is, at any rate, better than a blas
phemer or a false prophet. For if He were
1 See note 11.
Christ and Barabbas. 207
really the Son of God, He would before this
have released Himself. Besides, His own
disciples likely considered Him an impostor or
they would not have abandoned Him. Vote,
said others again, for the death of Christ in
order that His deceit be brought to light, if He
arise not on the third day. If He will arise,
He must first be put to death. Then, if He
arises, we shall believe in Him. Barabbas,
they continued, is indeed a bad man, but sad
experience has likely reformed him and he will
always be grateful to us. But Christ, even if
you release Him, will always harbor a grudge
against you and charge you with the insults
heaped upon Him. You've spoilt it with Him
in any case.
Whilst the messenger of his wife was depart
ing, Pilate, as an answer to his message, again
asked the people: " Whether will you of the
"two to be released unto you? The whole
"multitude together cried out, saying: Not
"this man, but Barabbas! Away with this
"man, and release unto us Barabbas. " They
feared, it appears, that Pilate would release
both. — The chief -priests could then be well
satisfied with the result of their agitation.
But they forfeited the right to charge the Ke-
deemer with being a perturber of the people. —
Some of the people shouted because they, in
good faith, believed Christ to be a great crimi-
208 History of the Passion.
nal. "Our priests," thought others, "un
doubtedly propose what is right; they under-
"stand the matter better than Pilate, the
"pagan, or than we understand it." Others
shouted out of fear. They feared the emperor ;
they feared the chief -priests, they feared a
sedition, they feared Christ Himself and His
rebukes and warning look which they would
avoid for all time. Others again wished to
furnish Christ a chance to execute his master
piece, the resurrection. Finally, many shouted
because they heard the others shout.
O ungrateful, faithless, shameless syna
gogue! Thus dost thou repel thy Divine
Bridegroom, the Chosen of millions, and thou
choosest for a bridegroom a murderer, dragged
from the scum and dregs of the slums. Truly
it is thine own fault, for which thou art
responsible, that forty years later thy adherents
fall victims to murderers in an awful massacre.
How fickle and inconstant are the masses !
How little in harmony with the solemn Hosan-
nas and Benedictus is the cry: "Not this
"man, but Barabbas release unto us.M And
thus it happens. — No matter how well meaning
the people may be, a few disturbers and agi
tators suffice, by revolutionary speeches, by
threats and promises, to make them vote and
act against their consciences, so much so that
they allow themselves to be drawn to the
Christ and Barabbas. 209
meanest acts of violence against Holy Church
and her ordained ministers. Therefore he is
a fool who builds on popular favor or who
relies on it.
The choice of the Jewish people, preferring
Barabbas to the Redeemer, can be viewed from
a threefold standpoint. If we, before all, cast
our glance on the mysterious workings of
Divine Providence, the choice appears to us as
the expression of Divine Justice. To Almighty
God, at this moment, His only begotten Son
was responsible for greater guilt and therefore
subject to greater punishment than the great
criminal Barabbas. Certainly, Christ, the in
nocent Lamb of God, the Holiest of holy ones,
was free from all personal sin. But God had
laden upon Him the sins of the whole world.
In comparison with this mountain of sins upon
the shoulders of Christ, rising up through the
clouds of heaven, the dreadful crimes of Ba
rabbas were as small as a grain of sand. The
latter had on his conscience only his personal
sins, whilst Christ carried the sins of the entire
world.
The choice of the people was, in the second
place, the expression of Divine Love for us.
What, indeed, would it have availed us had
Barabbas died and Christ been released? "Let
"My Son die," said the heavenly Father, "but
"the sinners, represented by Barabbas, shall
210 History of the Passion.
"be saved." Therefore Holy Church sings
with exultant gratefulness: "To redeem the
"servant, Thou hast delivered to death Thy
"Son. O admirable condescension of Thy
"Divine G-oodness! O inestimable proof of
"Thy Love!' '
But if we consider the choice in as far as it
concerns those who made it and Him Whom
it affected, it is for the choosers a perpetual
stain of dishonor, and for the Redeemer, re
jected and voted down by them, a nameless
ignominy. It was indeed an awful offense
against the Son of G-od when the rebel angels
preferred Lucifer, their leader, to Him. The
offence was so great that Divine Justice im
mediately relegated them to the eternal tortures
of hell. But, at least, it was an angel who
was preferred to Christ ; it was the highest, the
most perfect of all angels, endowed with the
grandest gifts of nature and of grace. But in
this case, Christ had to yield to a robber and
murderer. The ignominy wounded the Heart
of Christ so much the more because among
those who rejected Him, many had partaken
of His abundant benefits and had experienced
in their own persons His miraculous powers.
But the humble heart of Jesus was glad to
again be able to offer a sacrifice to G-od.
The result of the choice came upon Pilate
like a clap of thunder. He beheld all his
Clirist and Barabbas 211
hopes destroyed and the case more difficult
than ever before. As if in agony, he cried out
to the Jews: "What shall I do then with Jesus
"that is called the Christ!" Why, O Pilate,
it is strange, that, as a judge, thou knowest
no more what thou shouldst do with an accused
who has been found innocent. Art thou
already now so much blinded? There remains
nothing for thee to do but to release both Him
and Barabbas: the latter as a paschal gift to
the Jews, and the Redeemer, because of His
innocence. Thou shouldst be ashamed of thy
words: "what shall I do with Jesus?" Is
Jesus then such a trifling, unimportant, con
temptible and useless thing that one should
not know what to do with Him? Declare Him
innocent. Then crave His pardon and ask
Him again, but this time with holy earnest
ness: "What is truth?" Pay attention, then,
and listen earnestly to every word that pro
ceeds from His mouth. Keep it in thy heart
and arrange thy life according to it. Behold
what thou shouldst do with Jesus.
But Pilate knew not what to do with Jesus.
Had he but asked his conscience! Instead ,
he asked the people, the enemies of Jesus
Christ. Then the high-priests began to shout :
"Crucify Him!" And, as out of one mouth,
the cry resounded in a loud chorus: "Crucify
"Him! crucify Him!" In vain were now all
212 History of the Passion.
the declarations of the Saviour's innocence on
the part of Pilate, in vain all the attempts to
release Him, in vain even the promise to chas
tise Him. Again and again, amid ever increas
ing tumult, the cry resounded: "Let Him be
' ' crucified ! crucify Him ! ? ?
In this dilemma, Pilate resumed his former
idea of calming the excited people by a con
cession at the cost of the Redeemer. But he
understood that a trivial chastisement would
no more pacify the Jews. He therefore re
solved to subject Him to the terrible punish
ment of flagellation. Thereby, he hoped, the
chief -priests and the people would be satisfied
and would refrain from clamoring for further
punishment. It is indeed a rather uncommon
manner of administering justice and a rather
curious logic in reasoning to humor the accus
ers by administering bloody stripes to the ac
cused in order to release him afterwards. And
Pilate delivered Him to the soldiers that He be
scourged. On account of this command the
excitement of the people was somewhat calmed
and, for the nonce, the storm was quieted.
We wax wroth at Pilate for having com
pared Christ with a murderer, we grow angry
at the Jews for having preferred Barabbas to
the Son of Gk>d. And it is right that we do
so. But does the soul not inflict a similar out
rage on the Saviour, when she places along-
Christ and Barablas. 213
side of Him the lustful pleasures of life, earth
ly treasures, human praise and favor, and then
remains undecided as to whom to give the pre
ference? And when the scales then sink to
the Lord's disadvantage, and when man
chooses the slavery of passion instead of the
sweet yoke of Christ, hell instead of heaven,
Satan instead of the All-holy God, is it not, in
fact, even a greater outrage? "Be astonished,
"0 ye heavens,77 exclaims the prophet Jere-
mias (2, 12, 13), "at this, and, ye gates there-
"of, be very desolate. For my people have
"done two evils. They have forsaken me, the
"fountain of living water, and have digged to
"themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that
"can hold no water.77
May such an ingratitude be far remote from
us. Out from among millions of human be
ings, the Saviour has chosen us to be mem
bers of His Holy Church and to partake of
His abundant benefits. He sanctified us in
baptism, He nourished us with His Sacred
Flesh and Most Precious Blood. To our souls
has He said:
What then, in heaven and upon earth, shall
we choose outside of God? May the Lord be
our inheritance — may God be the God of our
hearts and our portion forever.
CHAPTER XV.
The Flagellation of Christ.
"Then therefore Pilate took Jesus, arid
"scourged him." (John 19, 1.)
As soon as Pilate had communicated to the
people his intention of having Christ scourged
and had given a command to this effect, he
retired as quickly as possible from the raving
multitude and went to the inner part of the
court-building. The scourging took place in
an enclosed yard in the rear of the building.
The evangelists do not describe the flagel
lation. They merely say: "Then Pilate took
i "Jesus, and scourged him . ' ' Everybody knew
full well what that meant. Mayhap the de
scription of details was too painful for them.
But for the solace of Our Saviour and for the
benefit of our souls, we shall consider more
minutely this incident and its various circum
stances. Let us consider, then,
I. The flagellation in itself; and
II. The special reasons why Christ wished
to endure it.
(214)
The flagellation of Christ. 215
I.
The flagellation was to the Saviour very
humiliating and, at the same time, very pain
ful. That it was humiliating, may be deduced
from three circumstances. In the first place,
the scourging was done by the Roman sol
diers, and therefore according to Roman, not
Jewish, usage. But scourging, when applied
not only with rods, but with whips or still
more cruel instruments, was usually adminis
tered only to slaves, that is, to beings who at
that time were no longer considered as human
beings ; to creatures who were ranked below
the brute ; to creatures who were accustomed
to all manner of disdain and contempt;
whose feelings were, by bad treatment, ren
dered so coarse and stunted that only the
most cruel and degrading punishments could
make any impression upon them. When
scourging was applied to free-born men, they
were culprits who had committed such extra
ordinary and fearful crimes that they forfeited
all right to consideration and humane treat
ment. It is self-evident that they were to be
found guilty before this punishment was ad
ministered. It was especially a Roman custom
to scourge those who were condemned to be
crucified.
This punishment which degraded its victim
to the level of a slave or of the most abject
216
History of the Passion.
criminal, was now imposed, not upon the son
of an ordinary Roman citizen, but upon Jesus,
the son of David, the scion of a royal family,
in whose veins coursed royal blood; upon
Jesus, the Son of the purest Virgin Mary, the
Son of the future Queen of heaven and of
earth ; upon Jesus, the only begotten Son of
the King of kings; upon Jesus, the Son of
God, in Whom was hidden all the fullness of
the Godhead, all the dignity and majesty of
the Divine Being. And all this, notwith
standing the fact that the judge had himself
testified to the innocence of Christ.
The scourging being done in public, made
the humiliation of the Redeemer so much
more poignant. To understand this better,
we must remember that in the Heart of Jesus
all human feelings were extant in their utmost
perfection. This Heart was in no wise insen
sible to injury; It felt most keenly every in
sult; Its sense of honor was extremely delicate.
And if there be no greater mortification for a
high-spirited child than to be punished before
others; if it would rather take a double
amount of chastisement provided it be spared
the public humiliation ; what must have been
the feelings of the noblest of all hearts? It
need hardly be mentioned that during the
public flagellation, the Redeemer was the butt
of the lowest jests and of the most vulgar wit.
The flagellation of Christ. 217
"That was a good stroke,77 cried one. "Hit
"harder/7 shouted another. "This will bring
"him to time,77 roared a third, and thus it
continued.
The greatest humiliation of Christ, how
ever, arose from the fact that, according to
Roman usage, He was stripped of all clothing
with the exception of the loin covering. Once
upon a time, after a similar humiliation,
David had exclaimed, as if carried away by
sorrow: "They have looked and stared upon
"me.77 (Ps. 21, 18.) "The confusion of my
"face hath covered me.77 (Ps. 43, 16.) "And
"they opened their mouth wide against me;
"they said: Well done, well done, our eyes
"have seen it.77 (Ps. 34, 21.) When, in later
centuries, chaste Virgins, a St. Agnes and a
St. Barbara, had to endure the same mortifi
cation, heaven enveloped them in such a won
derful light that they became, as it were, in
visible. When others were about to be dis
robed, they fell dead to the ground from terror
and fright. But the purest Son of the purest
Virgin had to drain this cup to the very dregs.
He had to submit to be stared at by a low, im
pudent crowd, by lustful eyes just as a shame
less person in a museum. This torture of be
ing ignominiously disrobed was without doubt
one of the greatest in all His passion. What
a trembling, what convulsions in His entire
218 History of the Passion.
Body from shame and confusion! How He
longed for the fool's garment with which
Herod had clad Him! There was only one
relieving feature in this suffering: that,
namely, the innumerable lashes which cut His
flesh, soon disfigured His Body to such an ex
tent that it lost all appearance of being
human.
The scourging, then, was humiliating, but
besides, it was very painful. Considered by
itself, the Roman flagellation was something
dreadful and terrible. After the unfortunate
victim's hands, feet and neck were bound to
the pillar so tightly that a move was hardly
possible, six strong and muscular soldiers ap
proached and, in pairs, they beat the culprit
with thorny clubs, with lashes interwoven
with wire, and with thin, iron chains. The
number of lashes was not fixed. It lasted un
til the voluptuous cruelty of the spectators,
used to such bloody exhibitions was satiated.
Not infrequently it happened that slaves ex
pired under this torture. However, for various
reasons the flagellation was more painful to
Jesus than to others. In the first place, the
Sacred Body of Christ, born of the purest Vir
gin through a miracle of the Holy Ghost, was
undoubtedly more refined and more delicate,
and therefore more sensitive than the bodies
of sinners. Then, to better attain his object,
The flagellation of Christ. 219
Pilate had probably recommended a more
strenuous scourging. The torturers, there
fore, used all their strength. Furthermore,
the other soldiers continually spurred them
on. And in proportion as the patience and
meekness of the Divine Lamb of Sacrifice
manifested themselves, the cruelty of the tor
turers increased. As often happens with low
bred villains, the meekness of the victim in
furiated them to complete madness. They
would ascertain whether or not they could
draw from Him a cry of anguish. Finally, the
flagellation of Christ — and this was the main
reason — was so cruel because the anger of
God was incensed against Him. For Grod saw
Him covered with the sins of the whole world.
Many opinions regarding the number of the
strokes and of the drops of blood shed have
been advanced and supported by visions of
holy persons. To form a decision on that
point, is by no means necessary. I say with
St. Augustine: "If, according to Holy Writ,
"every sinner deserves many strokes of the
"scourge, how many did not the innocent
"Saviour deserve, Who had taken upon Him-
"self the thousands of millions of sins and Who
"now was to render complete satisfaction to
"Divine Justice."
At last a halt was ordered and the cords were
cut. Weak arid fainting, exhausted by the
220 History of the Passion.
loss of blood, the Redeemer fell to the ground,
into His own Precious Blood. Had He been
the Jew who had fallen among the robbers,
perhaps some tender-hearted Samaritan might
have happened along and poured oil and wine
upon His wounds. Had He been poor Lazarus,
covered with bloody ulcers, perhaps some dog
would have had pity on Him. But Pie was
the Son of God. And therefore, according to
some holy fathers, the torturers continued to
beat Him as He weltered in His Blood,and they
mutilated those parts of His Sacred Body
which the pillar had protected.
But why is He divested of His garments
Who clad the firmament with stars and the
earth with flowers? Why are those hands so
cruelly bound which never were extended but
to offer benefits? Why those feet which never
tired to hasten after the lost sheep? Why is
that immaculate Body so terribly beaten which
Christ, in His Love, had destined to be the
nourishment of our souls? Why was it that
no help came to Him from any quarter ; neither
from the earth, which almost ravenously drank
His Precious Blood; neither from the angels,
who in apparent indifference, looked down
upon the scene; neither from His heavenly
Father, Who rather appeared to increase the
strength which the menials applied to His Son.
Let us together examine the special reason,
The flagellation of Christ. 221
why Christ wished to endure the lashes of the
scourge.
II.
In the first place, Christ wished, by sub
mitting to the flagellation, to atone for all sins
of impurity: for the sins of pagans, for the
sins of Christians, for the sins of children, for
the sins of growing youth, for the sins of mar
ried folks, for the sins of old people, for the
sins of thought, of desire, in look, word and
deed, for the sins of all times and of all classes
of men. By His ignominious disrobing, He
wished to atone especially for those sins which
are committed and provoked by shameless
clothing. Christ thought then not only of
such persons who, as slaves of lust and open
libertines, walk barefacedly the way of vice;
not only of those frivolous women who, accord
ing to the custom of some places, walk about
publicly, in open daylight, in such scanty cos
tume that every one who loves his soul, is
forced to cast down his eyes in fear. But He
thought also of those Catholic women and
girls who, in our country, notably among the
wealthier and more prominent classes, appear
on certain occasions, at least, in such attires
which readily provoke and beget sin. Of
course, it is then claimed, that fashion and the
custom of the wealthy excuse and justify such
222 His ton/ of the Passion.
a scandal. But, even if it were the fashion
of the most prominent in the country, it is a
fashion which comes from the devil and leads
to the devil. They are sins and customs on
account of which Christ suffered Himself to be
disrobed and scourged.
Secondly, He would give us an idea of the
hatred Grod entertains for the vice of impurity.
Almighty Grod had done a great many things
since the creation, to bring home this convic
tion to mankind. He repented of having
created mankind and He engulfed it in the
waters of the deluge. He destroyed the in
habitants of Sodom by fire from heaven. He
caused 24,000 men to be put to the sword for
having sinned with the daughters of the Moa-
bites. Almost the entire tribe of Benjamin
was violently rooted out, in punishment of
lustful abominations. Almighty Gk>d an
nounced through Moses (3 Moses 20, 10-15)
that every adulterer and every adulteress
should be stoned by the people and that the
incestuous should be burnt. Great Grod! If
these penalties, incomprehensible to modern
legislation which flirts with sensual lust, were
still in force, how often would we not be
called upon to go out to the gates of the city
to stone an adulteress? But how the vice of
impurity appears to the eyes of Gk>d is shown
more clearly and definitely by Christ, scourged
Tie flagellation of CJirist. 223
for us, than by all the Divine judgments and
the Mosaic Law itself.
Thirdly, the Saviour wished to portray
vividly before our eyes the terrors of the pun
ishments to be inflicted in hell, after the resur
rection, on the bodies of those who shall be
condemned for this vice. Certainly faith
teaches us that the bodies of the damned,
monsters of hideousness, shall burn in eternal
flames. In vain will they cry out for a gar
ment to cover their nakedness, to hide from
their terrified gaze forever the rottenness, cor
ruption and slough of bodies pampered here
tofore in shameless attire. But I recognize
more easily the greatness of these pains when
I contemplate the innocent Body of Christ,
which was scourged for our sake. Truly, if
this happens in the green wood, what shall
happen in the dry?
Fourthly, the Redeemer would be the solace
and the strength of the holy martyrs. Ah! it
need no longer be a matter of astonishment
that the apostles were joyful and exultant
when leaving the court room. What then had
happened? What was the cause of their joy?
They had with the Divine Master been lashed
with the scourge. And when, later on, the
holy martyrs were devoured by wild beasts,
when with iron hooks and tongs the flesh was
torn from their bodies, when weak virgins,
224 History of the Passion.
like to heroes, ascended the awaiting pyres ;
who consoled and strengthened them but
Christ Who was scourged for us!
Finally, Christ wished to be the model of
conf essors and of all penitents ; and who of us
does not rightly belong to this class? At the
head of this long and immense procession of
penitents we behold Paul, the apostle of the
Gentiles. With a loud voice he cries out to
all coming generations: "I chastise my body:
"lest perhaps, when I have preached to others,
"I myself should become a cast-away" (1 Cor.
9, 27). He is followed by the untold number
of all those saints who had retired into soli
tudes and hideous caverns and within quiet
monastic walls and there chastised their bodies
by continued fasts and by the most exquisite
and painful works of penance. What sought
they there? What did they strive for? To
become similar to Christ who was scourged
for us.
If we find ourselves too weak for such ex
traordinary works of mortification, if we are
not called by God to perform them, we, at
least should never abuse our bodies in works
of impurity, and we ought to clothe them as
Christian modesty and decency suggest. Fur
thermore, we ought at least to perform those
acts of penance which God and Holy Church
demand of us by observing conscientiously the
The flagellation of Christ. 225
law of abstinence, and, when in duty bound,
the law of fasting. And that we may keep
such resolutions, let us draw the needed
strength and courage from the fountains of
the Saviour, from the bleeding wounds of the
Redeemer Who was scourged for us.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Crowning with Thorns.
"And the soldiers platting a crown
"of thorns, put it upon his head."
(John 19, 2.)
Through the bloody scourging the Sacred
Body of Christ was undoubtedly torn and dis
figured in the most frightful manner. But
His Sacred Head was still intact. At this
point, Holy Writ narrates the following in
cident: "The soldiers of the governor gathered
"together the whole band and put a scarlet
"cloak about Jesus, and platting a crown of
"thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed
"in his right hand. And they came to him
"and bowing the knee before him, they
"mocked him and began to salute him, say-
' 'ing : Hail, King of the Jews. And they gave
"him blows. Spitting upon him, they took
"the reed and struck his head. And bowing
"their knees, they adored him." (Matthew
27, 27-30. Mark 15, 16-19. John 19, 2. 3).
While listening to this narrative, one is filled
not only with aversion and horror, but also
(226)
The crowning ivith thorns. 227
with astonishment. One rightly asks: how
was such a thing possible? How did the
torturers happen to think of doing such a
thing? Who had given orders that the Sacred
Head be thus tortured? And how dared they,
without being told and without higher orders,
venture upon such an outrage? How could
they go unpunished after doing it? But thus
it goes when evil proceeds from above, from
those who are in high stations or who are in
the lead in any way. Then evil not only finds
approval among those in lower stations of life,
but the latter also add evil to evil of their own
accord.
These pagan soldiers were otherwise, with
out knowing it, the instruments of a mysterious
Divine decree. The Jews had before wished
to proclaim Christ their King and to crown
Him. But He fled from them. They were
not worthy of the honor. He was to be
crowned by the heathens, by those who, after
the rejection of the synagogue, were to gather
in thousands around the glorious banner of
Christ. Besides this, Christ was not pleased
with the program of coronation ceremonies as
proposed by the Jews. This ceremony, accord
ing to the Saviour's intention, was to be con
ducted in a manner befitting a king Whose
kingdom was not of this world, a king Who
in a few hours was to die the death of a crimi-
228 History of the Passion.
nal. Therefore the crowning could not be
delayed any longer. It was necessary to hurry,
it was high time.
Let us consider
I. The legal title of Christ to a crown;
II. The insignia presented to Him, and
III. The homage offered Him.
I.
Above all, Christ, as God, had a right to a
crown. The heathens, whose representatives
were to place a crown on His head, understood
that the gods deserved a crown. Therefore
they adorned the images of their divinities with
gold and jewels, with crowns and wreaths of
flowers. They wreathed laurels around the
head of Apollo, they adorned the heads of
Bacchus and Juno with the leaves of the vine ;
upon the head of Hercules they placed olive
twigs, and golden crowns upon the heads of
Jupiter and Saturn. Now Christ had declared
before Caiphas that He was the Son of Q-od
and He confirmed His declaration with an
oath. Therefore He should be crowned.
Christ, furthermore, as King, had a right to
a crown. "Art thou a King?" Pilate had
asked. And Christ had given the answer:
"Thou sayest, that I am a King." It was
therefore proper that a crown should adorn
His head, and this with greater reason, be-
The crowning with thorns. 229
cause His kingdom should excel all others in
greatness, power and glory.
Then Christ, as High-Priest of the New Law,
had a right to a crown. When the high-
priest of the Old Law offered sacrifice, his
head was adorned with the tiara. But Christ
was about to offer the infinitely meritorious
sacrifice of the New Law. Hence at this
sublime sacrificial feast the crown should not
be missing.
Christ, as a glorious conqueror, had a right
to a crown. "I have overcome the world, ' > He
had declared the evening before, to all His
apostles, in His address of leave-taking (John
16, 33). Now if Roman generals, who had
conquered a small speck on the earth's surface,
were granted the honor of a triumph and of a
crown of victory, how much more worthy of a
crown was Christ, the Conqueror of the whole
world, the Victor even over sin and hell.
Finally, according to Jewish custom, the
bridegroom wore a sort of diadem on the day
of his espousals. "Gro forth,'7 says the Can
ticle (3, 11), "ye daughters of Sion, and see
''king Solomon in the diadem, wherewith his
"mother crowned him in the day of his
"espousals." Now Christ, the true Solomon,
the true Prince of peace, was about to redeem,
with His Blood, His Bride, the Holy Church,
and to celebrate His espousals with her.
230 History of the Passion.
The Redeemer, therefore, had the most in
contestable titles to a crown. Only two of
these titles were known to the pagan soldiery.
They had been present when Christ declared
Himself a king before Pilate. Besides, they
had heard what He had testified to under oath,
regarding His Divinity. It was these two
titles, especially the former, which induced
the menials to proceed to the coronation. They
quickly called together the whole band so that
all could becomingly take part in it. Let us
now consider the insignia which they pre
sented to Christ.
II.
The insignia of a king consisted of a royal
mantle, of a crown and a scepter. Following
the custom, the soldiers first presented to the
Saviour the kingly mantle. It should have
been a purple one. But lacking a mantle of
purple, richly interwoven with gold, they
helped themselves as best they could. To be
gin with, they tore off His garments causing
cruel pains because they were incrusted in the
many wounds. They then wrapped about
Him an old, worn-out, scarlet rag. "Lord,"
they probably said, "the emperor of Rome
"sends You this purple, it will become You
"when You are on your royal throne. " It
was correctly put, for no other mantle would
be befitting the Redeemer of the world. He
The crowning with thorns. 231
was the picture of the world's sins which were
red as scarlet; but through Christ, were to
become white as snow. The mantle should be
red as a sign that His kingdom, founded in
blood, was to be spread only through blood,
namely through the blood of the apostles and
of the martyrs. It should be ragged and
miserable as a sign that, in imitation of Christ,
His ministers would redeem the souls of men
and subject them to Christ, not by means of
gold and silver, but through the hardships of
poverty. As for the rest, words are not extant
to properly qualify the wretchedness of this
ignominious scene. I shall therefore neither
be indignant at the torturers, nor unfold the
shame of the Divine Heart. One suggestion,
however, forces itself upon me. If a king
allows himself to be clad in poor and miserable
rags, how can we justify in His subjects a
luxury in matters of dress which exceeds by
far all reasonable, even all extreme demands
of one's station in life; a luxury such that one
can no longer distinguish the daughter of an
ordinary citizen's family from the high-born
princess, nor the maid from her mistress.
There is many a poor little church in mission
ary countries where the Body of Christ is
hardly better clad than at His crowning.
Hundreds and thousands of members of the
same Sacred Body, in these same countries,
232 History of the Passion.
lack even the most necessary garments. In
whole droves, they die from sheer poverty and
misery. Instead, then, of using the excess of
your money in a sinful way, use it to clad
Jesus Christ in one of the suggested manners.
Then He will not address to you the reproach :
"I was naked and you covered me not. De-
1 'part from me into everlasting fire. " (Matthew
25, 43).
Then they put the crown upon Christ. Un
doubtedly, it was a crown of the most beauti
ful roses or of the most precious gems, or of
the purest gold, adorned with pearls and the
most exquisite jewels! But the Almighty in
His anger had cursed the earth. ' ' Thorns and
"thistles shall it bring forth to thee." To re
move from the earth this curse, this king must
carry on His head upon the cross the signs of
this curse. The ram, also, which was to be
immolated instead of Isaac, stuck fast by the
horns amongst thorns and briars. The sol
diers then, from mighty thorns with strong
and 'sharp points, platted a crown in the form
of a wreath or of a helmet and put it upon the
head of Christ in such a violent manner that
the blood poured forth from the forehead, the
eyes and the cheeks. "Now keep your head
"straight and quiet," a soldier would remark,
"and we'll give you what you have desired for
"such a long time.'7 That, again, was cor-
The crowning with thorns. 233
rect. For Christ had earnestly longed for the
crown of thorns and its sufferings to atone for
the sins of crowned heads. To preserve a
crown or to increase its splendor or to add new
jewels to it, how many bloody wars have they
not carried on, of how many acts of infernal
cruelty or of enormous injustice have they not
been guilty? Christ also wished to atone for
the many sins in thought whereby we have so
often offended Him, for thoughts of pride and
vanity, for thoughts of worldliness, for un
charitable thoughts, and finally for the impure
thoughts and imaginations of unchaste people.
When the head suffers, necessarily all mem
bers suffer, because they are joined to the head
in the unity of the body. Whoever, therefore
does not or will not suffer, whoever leads a
sumptuous life, whoever pursues all sorts of
pleasures or complacently wallows in sinful
lusts, cannot possibly belong to a body whose
head is pierced with thorns.
Finally, there was presented to Christ a reed,
as a scepter, to remind Him of all the misery,
shallowness and decrepitude of His kingly
sway. But there ye are in error, ye soldiers!
Do ye not know that the windstorm may in
deed uproot mighty oaks and cedars, but that
it cannot harm the reed which bends and
turns? Have ye never heard how rushing
floods wash away palaces, but pass without
234 History of the Passion.
harm over the deep-rooted and yielding reed !
Where are now the proud thrones of the ancient
world? Where the golden scepters of the
Caesars? What is there left of so many once
powerful kingdoms and empires? Nothing
but ruins and heaps of rubbish, nothing but
remnants in a thousand scattered fragments.
But the King Whom ye have crowned, still
wields His mild scepter and He shall reign to
the end of time.
The coronation is over. Christ is clad in the
emblems of His royal dignity. Sitting upon
the pillar of flagellation as upon a throne, or
leaning against it, He now receives the homage
of the soldiers. It corresponds perfectly with
the insignia they have offered Him.
III.
The evangelists have carefully described to
us the whole ceremony. First the soldiers
went up to Christ, bowed their knees before
Him and began to salute Him, saying: "Hail,
"king of the Jews." It is again a scene from
hell: a semblance of respect, grinning faces,
scornful looks, laughter now partly sup
pressed, now louder and then ringing through
the air, salutes and addresses with tongues
stretched out toward Him. One seeks to out
do the other in mean vulgarity. Every new
coarseness, every successful jest is greeted with
general applause.
The crowning with thorns. 235
But they did not stop at words and gestures.
They advanced to deeds. They gave Him
blows. They spat upon Him. They took the
reed and beat His head with it. When dry,
the nether part of the sea-reed, although hol
low, is as hard and tough as wood. The
Saviour was accustomed to the blows and the
spittle from the time He was in the house of
Caiphas. But then His eyes were bound.
Now, however, He receives the homage of His
future people with open eyes. Through the
violent beating upon the crown, one of the
thorns is said to have pierced an eye, so that
its point appeared on the surface of the eye
ball. The worst feature of the homage was its
last scene. They bent their knees and acted
as if they worshipped Him as their God.
Thus the ceremony of coronation found its
close in the most awful blasphemy. "My
"people, what have I done to thee? Or
"wherein have I saddened thee? To thee I
"gave a kingly scepter, and thou gavest my
"head a crown of thorns! For thee I slew the
"kings of Canaan, and thou hast beaten my
"head with a reed! " - A mean reward!
The thorny crown of Jesus Christ has since
become, to all pious Christians, an object of
veneration. "What!" exclaimed Godfrey of
Bouillon, after capturing Jerusalem, "shall I
"carry the crown of a king where my Lord
236 History of the Passion.
"and Saviour hath carried a crown of thorns? "
"Not the crown of roses, but the crown of
"thorns," exclaimed St. Catherine of Siena,
after Our Lord, in a heavenly vision, had
offered her the choice of the one or the other.
But no one was ever happier than St. Louis,
the holy king of France, when the occasion
was presented to him of possessing himself of
the Saviour's crown of thorns. For miles, he
and his court went to meet it. His eyes were
streaming with tears, when, bare-footed and
with uncovered head, carrying the precious
relic in his hands, he entered his capital city
as if in triumph. In these latter years, the
Church has even established a special feast in
honor of the crown of thorns, and, in Catholic
countries, the priest of Jesus Christ, in holy
pride, carries its semblance on the crown of
his head.
As to Our Saviour Himself, the ignominy
and torture of the scene of coronation was
changed, even on the third day thereafter, to
glory and immeasurable felicity. Surrounded
by light and splendor as once upon Thabor's
heights, clad .with heavenly beauty as with a
garment, the purple of glory upon His shoul
ders, upon His anointed Head the kingly dia
dem, He stands with the banner of victory in
His hand. Eternal Love is spread upon His
Divine countenance, Divine majesty rests upon
The crowning ivitli thorns. 237
His brow, a holy victorious joy beams from
His transfigured eyes. It is no longer the
menials nor blood-stained soldiers, ah! no!
Now the patriarchs and the prophets and all
the just of the Old Law meet Him in joy and
exultation, pay their homage to the glorious
Hero and adore their Divine King. Even the
angels circle joyfully about the triumphant
Conqueror and sing to Him heavenly lays.
Let us also take part in the homage of heaven
and earth ! Grlory and praise and adoration
to Thee, o Lord Jesus Christ Who for us hast
been crowned with thorns. Praise to Thee,
Thou Conqueror over sin and hell ! Praise and
glory to Thee, o glorious King! We worship
Thee, Thou G-od and King of our hearts for
time and for eternity.
CHAPTER XVII.
Ecce Homo !
"Jesus therefore came forth bearing the
'crown of thorns, and the purple garment.
'And Pilate said to them: Behold the
'man. When the chief-priests therefore
'and the servants had seen him, they
'cried out, saying: Crucify him, crucify
'him." (John 19, 5, 6.)
After the soldiers had scourged Christ and
crowned Him with thorns, they brought Him
back into the court-room to Pilate. We can
not imagine otherwise than that Pilate was
somewhat abashed at the sight of the mangled
and crowned Saviour. And, considering his
sense of justice, his blood must have boiled in
anger and indignation. Undoubtedly he had
commanded that the scourging be more severe
than usual. But the soldiers had gone far be
yond his intention. Besides, without his or
ders, even without his knowledge, they had,
of their own accord, driven the thorns into
the Lord's head. But he soon recovered, he
ordered no punishment for the menials, he not
even addressed to them a reproach. He over-
(238)
EcceHomo! 2P>9
looked the matter, for the hope arose in him
that now he could more easily carry out his
plan, viz. to obtain the consent of the Jews to
the release of Christ. Let us consider (John
19, 4-8)
I. The fresh effort of Pilate to release
Christ, and
II. Its result.
I.
The new effort to release Christ consisted in
this that Pilate led the Redeemer out of the
court-room into the vestibule, presented Him
in His pitiable condition to the Jews and, in a
few words, recommended Him to their sym
pathy. "Behold," said he to them, "I
"bring him forth unto you, that you may
"know that I find no cause in him." — But,
Pilate, what would you yourself think of a
father, who after beating his son to the shed
ding of blood, would say to the other chil
dren: "Behold, I show him to you that you
"may know that I find no fault in him?" Is
it not rather proper to measure the enormity
of a crime by the greatness of the punishment
determined for it by the judge? However, it
is a property of sin to entangle him who com
mits it in the most lurid contradictions and to
be at variance not only with God, but also with
good sense and sound reason. — Or, do you
perhaps mean that the mere circumstance of
240
History of the Passion.
leading him out to the Jews, should prove His
innocence, because, if you had found Him
guilty, you would immediately have sent Him
to prison or 'to the place of execution! But
what has happened just now to convince you
again of His innocence? During the long con
tinued scourging and crowning with thorns,
you could not possibly give Him a hearing. But
if you heretofore considered Him innocent and
if you still so consider Him, why do you post
pone the decree of liberation? — The sense of
Pilate's words, therefore, amounts to this:
"I have ordered this innocent man here before
"you to be punished severely as a favor to
"you. Now, on your part, make a concession
"to me and urge no more demands. ?> But
these words of Pilate contain a fearful self-
condemnation. How could he as a just judge
be swayed by human motives against his own
better knowledge and allow that such an ex
cessive wrong be done to an innocent man?
The Gospel continues: "Jesus therefore
"came forth bearing the crown of thorns and
"the purple garment. And he (Pilate) saith
"to them: Behold the man." Note the pru
dence of Pilate. He calls Him no more a king
of the Jews, in order not to offend or exas
perate them. He says: "Behold the man."
This is the man whom you have accused as an
aspirant to the throne. Whatever He may
Ecce Homo! 241
have done, He is now, without a doubt, suffi
ciently punished. If you intended to humiliate
Him, was ever a greater shame inflicted? If
you demanded blood, who ever shed more
than He? If He ever had a desire for the
throne, it undoubtedly has left Him by this
time. Nor could He now find any more ad
herents. Be you therefore contented and de
mand no more punishment. Have pity on
Him. He is neither a stone nor a dog. He is a
human being like to yourselves. Why, it would
be against human nature not to pity a man in
such a miserable condition. And while thus
expatiating on the 'Ecce Homo', Pilate pointed
his finger at Christ, the soldiers held back the
scarlet mantle so that all could see the terrible
wounds, and for this purpose, they turned
Him around in a circle.
" Behold the man ! ' ' These words certainly
demonstrate the merciful heart of Pilate. But
his great error was that, through his own
fault, he recognized in Christ only a man.
Thus it is even to-day. Whoever overlooks
the divine element in Christ and in His Holy
Church, will always be unfair in judgment and
impious in conduct. What result did Pilate
achieve?
II.
It appears that the sight of the Redeemer
produced a generally sad impression. For
242
History of the Passion.
there were many among the crowd who joined
in the cry "Crucify Him!" impelled more by
ignorance and fear than by malice. The chief -
priests however noticed it. Lest their plans
be frustrated, they therefore shouted as loud
as they could: "Crucify Him! Crucify Him?"
What an indecorous sight! Howling high-
priests! How ye have forgotten the dignity
of your priestly station and the white hairs of
your heads! What a fanatical hatred in these
men! What adorns the priest more than
mercy for the unfortunate! Has he not, by
virtue of his office, both the privilege and the
duty to invoke grace and pity upon sinners?
But like to wild beasts after tasting blood, the
chief -priests fall upon their victim to dismem
ber it and to tear it to pieces. Holy Writ de
clares that, because they so cruelly scourged
and crowned the Saviour, therefore they de
mand the crucifixion. They could indeed no
longer turn back without bringing upon them
selves the greatest embarrassment. Were
Christ now released, His very maltreatment
would regain for Him the hearts of the people
so much sooner, and their entire fury would
turn against the chief -priests. Their infernal
prudence, therefore, urged them to demand
the crucifixion.
Then Pilate, indignant and disgusted, said:
"Take him you, and crucify him: for I find no
Ecce Homo ! 243
"cause in him." As if he said: "If accord
ing to your law, it be allowed to kill an in-
"nocent man, do it yourselves. I shall not
"commit such an outrageous injustice; our
< 'laws do not permit it, " But the chief -priests
would not allow this reproach and the slur cast
upon the Mosaic Law to go unnoticed. "Yvre
"have," they said, "a law; and according to
"the law he ought to die, because he made
"himself the Son of God."
Words cannot adequately characterize this
conduct of the chief -priests. Nothing ever
equaled it in meanness, malice and low cun
ning. Having found that with their charge of
high-treason they would not attain their ob
ject, they drop it right there, and by charging
blasphemy, which heretofore they dared not
mention to the pagan judge, they, by one
stroke, give the trial a new direction. Now,
finally, the section of the Mosaic Law, accord
ing to which Christ should die, was happily
found. Only it is strange that the high-priests
did not propose the penalty of stoning as the
Mosaic Law required, but the illegal crucifix
ion. — In later centuries the enemies of Christ
and of the Church were not always fortunate
enough to find in their constitutional laws and
other codes such provisions as would empower
them to proceed against the Church. Nothing
then remained to preserve legal appearances,
244 History of the Passion.
but to make legislative majorities, hurriedly
fabricate new sections. Then they could, with
a calm conscience, appear before the astonished
world and say: "We have a law, and according
"to section so and so, — he must die."
Against all expectation, the charge of the
chief -priests that Christ had proclaimed Him
self to be the Son of Grod, made a deep im
pression on Pilate. i i When Pilate therefore, ' 7
says the G-ospel, "had heard this saying, he
"feared the more." Pilate then had feared
before this. He feared, first of all, the chief-
priests, whom he would not offend. He feared
the emperor to whom all the official documents
of the trial had to be sent. The unjust treat
ment of an accused and his unjust condemna
tion, would certainly entail a removal from
office. And undoubtedly his conduct toward
Christ also caused him the most poignant
pangs of conscience. Why then should he
fear the more? It need not seem strange to
us that Pilate was strangely affected at the
thought that perhaps Christ, Whom he had so
cruelly and unjustly scourged, was after all the
son of a god. It is known that, according
to ancient Greek and Roman mythologies with
which Pilate was undoubtedly acquainted,
there were many gods, with families and
numerous sons and daughters. Many of these
were said to have repeatedly appeared upon
EcceHomo! 245
earth and to have held intercourse with mortal
men. In his surmise that Christ was such a
scion of divinity, Pilate was confirmed by
Christ's truly Divine dignity, calmness and
majesty, by His inexplicable patience and
meekness amid such inexpressible sufferings.
He thought of the extraordinary deeds of the
man, and of what He had told him of His
kingdom: that it was not of this world.
Finally, the warning of his wife came to his
mind: "Have nothing to do with this just
"man; there is something extraordinary about
"him." — Now, according to heathen ideas, it
was a dangerous matter to excite the anger of
the gods. Jupiter threw thunderbolts upon
his enemies, Apollo cast poisoned arrows that
caused pestilential ulcers, Mars devastated the
territory of an enemy with bloody war, Nep
tune caused the sea to overflow its limits, Vul
can opened the earth and exhaled fire. Pilate
then, if he assaulted the son of a god, would
not escape the ire and revenge of the older
divinity.
This frivolous man of the world, then, this
doubter and scoffer, this prudent official, who,
a short time ago, had superciliously asked:
"What is truth?", was not free from religious
presentiments. But because he was too proud
to submit to faith, he had become a slave to
superstition. Thus even to-day infidelity and
superstition are very close neighbors.
246 History of the Passion.
Pilate, then, feared the more and resolved
to be more careful and to again examine the
case thoroughly, before proceeding any further
against Christ. He therefore took the Re
deemer back with him into the court-room to
give him a second hearing. The thought that
perhaps he was in the presence of the Son of a
god whom he had wronged and whom he was
about to wrong even more, filled the heathen
with fear and anxiety. The Christian, on the
other hand, knows and believes with all cer
tainty that he is close to God, that God is om
nipresent and all-knowing, that in God we
live,and move, and are. Still there are many
who are not perturbed at the thought of their
many offenses against the omnipresent God ;
many, who do not fear to provoke His anger
by new offenses.
Ecce Homo ! Behold the Man ! Such was
the proclamation of Pilate to the Jews. The
chief -priests however would not look upon the
picture of "Ecce Homo7' ; it pleased them not.
They shouted: " Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"
Well, Almighty God will again present it to
them and to all impenitent sinners, against
their will, on the day of judgment. Then
will they see Whom they have crucified,
Whom they have offended by their sins. — We,
however, shall attentively gaze upon the " Ecce
•'Homo" picture and impress it deeply upon
Ecce Homo! 247
our hearts. Yea, may the Lord be ever before
our eyes, as He, bleeding from a thousand
wounds, with the crown of thorns on His head
and the scarlet mantle about His shoulders,
stands publicly, as it were, in a pillory. Let
us continually thank Him for His incompre
hensible love and repay the same with our
love. Let us thank Him especially for having
given us in the Ecce Homo a shield against
which all the arrows of hell shall be of no avail.
How, let us say when Satan tempts us to sen
suality, to avarice or to pride, how can I
offend Him Who has suffered so much for
me? Yes, who would think it possible, the
Ecce Homo disarms even the anger of Divine
Justice. "Regard, O Lord" — let this be our
prayer when the thought of our sins fills
us with fear and trembling. — "Regard, O
"Lord the picture of Thine only begotten Son ;
"and, for the sake of His Blood, pardon Thou
"our misdeeds." — May the Ecce Homo,
finally, in the hour of death be our strength
and our hope, so that we may happily with
stand the last attack of Satan and, through the
merits of the crowned Redeemer, obtain the
grace, to behold Him in His glory, world
without end.
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Second Hearing of Christ before Pilate.
"And from thenceforth Pilate sought
"to release him. But the Jews cried
"out, saying : If thou release this man,
"thou art not Caesar's friend."
(John 19, 12).
The new effort of Pilate to liberate Christ,
was a complete failure. "The "Ecce Homo"
was followed by the cry: "Crucify Him" and,
owing to the fresh accusations of the high-
priests, Pilate found himself in the awkward
necessity of beginning the trial anew. For
such is the effect and the penalty of irresolu
tion and unfinished effort that man is plunged
into ever renewed and greater entanglements,
until it becomes impossible to rid himself of
them.
Let us consider (John 19, 9-12)
I. The process of the trial and
II. The mistakes of Pilate during its course,
I.
Pilate began the trial with the question:
"Whence art thou?" He did not inquire
(248)
Tlic second hearing of Christ before Pilate. 249
about the country or town in which Christ
was born, for that he already knew. The
meaning of his question was rather: "Who is
"thy father! Who is thy mother?77 For he
wished to know whether , as the charge had it,
He was indeed the scion of a diety. Pilate
received no reply. ' "Jesus gave him no an-
"swer." This might seem strange to us. The
Saviour had replied to several questions pat
to Him by Pilate, His legitimate judge.
Whence the silence now? We may adduce as
a first reason that, in the meantime, Pilate
rendered himself unworthy of a reply. At the
end of the first hearing, he had contemptuously
asked: "What is truth?'7 and turned his back
upon Christ. Besides, Pilate had, to some ex
tent, yielded to the Jews and, against his
better knowledge, permitted the Redeemer to
be scourged. Then, the fear which elicited
his question, was merely a servile fear. He
feared not so much to offend the gods by
mistakes as to draw down upon himself their
revenge. Now whoever fears only the punish
ment and not the sin ; whoever becomes pliable
through the fear of temporal mishap alone,
does not deserve an answer from the Re
deemer.
As, furthermore, Pilate had asked his ques
tion from a pagan point of view, that is, from
a standpoint of polytheism, an answer from
250 History of the Passion.
Christ either would have confirmed him in his
erroneous opinions, or would have been en
tirely unintelligible to him. Besides, further
information concerning the person of Christ
was altogether superfluous as, owing to previ
ous answers, Pilate must have attained a per
fect conviction of His innocence and, in reality,
he had expressed himself repeatedly to that
effect. It was sufficient for him to know that
Christ was a king in a supernatural sense.
And even this he had not rightly understood.
Finally, the main reason why the Saviour
did not answer the question of the judge, was
that Pilate deemed he had a right to know
such truths which one cannot even believe
without due humility of heart and of intellect.
Caiphas had adjured the Redeemer in the name
of Almighty God to tell whether or not He
was the Son of Grod. He was, besides, as high-
priest, the legitimate custodian of the pure
doctrine in Israel. But it was arrogance and
curiosity which prompted Pilate's question:
" Whence art thou?"— Ah! Pilate! To fathom
the origin of Jesus Christ, how, in His Divin
ity, He is engendered from all eternity by the
Father, how in His Humanity, through the
overshadowing power of the Holy Grhost, He
was born of Mary, His virginal Mother, means
to penetrate into the inmost depths of the G-od-
head ; it means to be introduced into the in-
The second hearing of Christ before Pilate. 251
scrutable secrets of the Most Holy Trinity and
of the Incarnation. If thou wouldst know
more about these truths, thou shouldst not ask
in a domineering tone nor with pompous self-
esteem, but rather thou shouldst fall upon thy
knees and humbly ask the Saviour for infor
mation, or, at home, betake thyself to prayer
and remain therein until it please God to
reveal Himself to thee.
The silence of the Redeemer hurt the pride
of the Roman, the otherwise well-disposed
judge. Offended and indignant, he said to
Christ: "Speakest thou not to me? Knowest
"thou not that I have power to crucify thee,
"and I have power to release thee?" What,
Pilate ! thou hast power to crucify Christ and
power to release Him? Certainly not. Thou
art in error. Since thou hast so often de
clared the Saviour's innocence, thou art no
longer free to crucify Him or to release Him.
There is nothing left for thee but to liberate
Him without delay. Thou confoundest the
idea of external power with that of right, of
authority to act. The mere possession of
crude, material power does not convey a right.
Listen to what St. Ambrose1 says of thee: "By
"thine own words, o Pilate, dost thou judge
"and condemn thyself. For not according to
"principles of right, but only because thou
1 Serm. 20 in Ps. 118. n. 38 (in vers 4).
252 History of the Passion.
"hadst in hand the power, thou hast liberated
"the robber and put to death the Giver of
"life." A good judge does not render de
cisions according to caprice but according to
justice and equity.
In face of the erroneous, destructive and
blasphemous view of Pilate on the origin of
power, Christ had to break his silence. To
honor His heavenly Father and to instruct
humanity, He definitely and solemnly declared
that there is no power except from God. He
more particularly gave Pilate to understand,
that His passion and death did not depend
upon Pilate's will and pleasure but upon a
free dispensation of God ; that, notwithstand
ing the power conferred upon him by Caesar,
Pilate could not possibly put Him to death, if,
it had not pleased God at this time to give
free scope to the powers of darkness. He
therefore said to Pilate: "Thou shouklst not
"have any power against me, unless it were
"given thee from above."
To this instruction Christ added a last, im
pressive warning that Pilate should not, by an
unjust sentence, use the power of which he
boasted, to his own destruction. Therefore,
Christ continued, "he that hath delivered me to
"thee, hath the greater sin." Which means:
the sin of Caiphas is such a great one, just
because he delivered me to a man to whom
The second hearing of Christ^efore Pilate. 253
God really gave power over me; this sin is
greater than it otherwise would be, if thou, like
other people, hadst no power over me. Reflect
well what responsibility thou art loading upon
thyself, if, against thine own conscience, thou
abusest the power given thee.1 — Pilate under
stood both the instruction and the admonition.
In order not to offend the gods and not to draw
upon himself the enmity of a superior being, he
entertained the thought of freeing Christ in
whom, notwithstanding all enquiries, noth
ing punishable could be discovered. "From
"thenceforth," says the Gospel, "Pilate
"sought to release him." Indeed, he had re
peatedly willed the same before, but he had
never ventured to show it as much as now.
He therefore left the court-hall, and in con
cise words declared to the people his intention
of giving Christ His liberty on account of His
innocence. The words he used are not men
tioned in the Gospel.
It acted like a clap of thunder upon the
chief -priests. Their accusation of blasphemy
had, then, proven abortive. But, while Pi
late was giving the Redeemer a hearing with
in the palace, they had to some extent pre
pared themselves and the people for this blow
by powerfully inciting and embittering the
latter against Christ. And thus it happened
i See note 12.
254 History of the Passion.
that, according to agreement, they now all
cried out together: "If thou release this man,
"thou art not Caesar's friend. For whoever
"maketh himself a king, speaketh against
"Caesar."
One would really believe that, at this mo
ment, hell had opened its jaws and that all the
demons together had come up to put these
words into the mouth of the Jews. What an
infamous cunning and malice they denote.
The charges of treason and of blasphemy had
failed. They knew of naught else. They
therefore dragged into the trial the personal
interests of the judge by clearly giving him to
understand that they would accuse him to the
emperor in Rome and insist on his removal
for having released a man convicted by the
high-priests of the Jewish people as a pre
tender to the crown and a rebel against Cae
sar. "Caesar's friend" was an honorary title
of imperial legates and governors.1 Where
fore, "thou art not Caesar's friend" meant the
same as: "thou canst no longer remain gover-
"nor." What a base mania of lying and
calumny ! Formerly the talk was that He said
he was a King. Now it is stated that he made
Himself a King against all legitimate right,
probably through rapine and bloodshed. Fi
nally, what hypocrisy ! The Jews again pre-
1 Sepp. Das Leben Jesu Christi, VI (ch. 66), 264.
The second hearing of Christ before Pilate. 255
tend to be the devoted servants of Caesar and
the props of Roman dominion.
Now Pilate was outmaneuvered. The certain
prospect of being accused in Eome as was
Herod the Elder, and of being accused to
Tiberius Caesar whose suspicious cruelty would
boil in fury at the mere shadow of a lese-
majesty or of a revolt; the well-founded fear
of even provoking a bloody insurrection by
the release of Christ and of eventually being
responsible for it to Caesar : all this was too
much for Pilate. He yielded ; he caused Christ
Whom he had left in the court-room to be led
forth ; he seated himself upon the judge's bench
and in a few minutes the sentence of death
was pronounced upon Christ.
Let us now try to discover the faults of
Pilate during this hearing.
II.
As we have repeatedly seen, Pilate had
many good qualities. Especially did his sense
of justice contrast most favorably with the
craft of the chief -priests. But, alas, these good
qualities were bedimmed by great faults and
weaknesses. The latter are indicated by an
expression of Holy Writ which seemingly
praises Pilate. The words of Holy Writ are:
"From thenceforth Pilate sought to release
"him." "From thenceforth, " it says. That
is well. But why only from thenceforth! Wliy
256 History of the Passion.
not sooner? Before that, Pilate had often de
clared the innocence of Christ. Why does he
only now show signs of really meaning it?
Why has he, time and time again, put off the
fulfilment of his most sacred duty? This was
the first of Pilate's faults. It had led him in
to many mistakes and unfair dealings before.
It began his career to ruin because by con
tinually postponing, he became so accustomed
to infringe on his duty that he finally per
severed in this state of neglect.
This contains an important lesson for the
sinner who desires conversion. Do not pro
crastinate, otherwise naught will come of it.
It contains an important lesson for those upon
whom rests the duty of restitution in matters
of honor or of property, the duty of forgive
ness or the duty of breaking with sinful oc
casions. Do not procrastinate or everything
will remain as it has been. It contains an im
portant lesson for the lukewarm Christian
whose conscience admonishes him to a greater
zeal. Do not procrastinate or you will wear
away and become putrid in your sloth.
But even now — and this is the second fault
— Pilate is only half in earnest. He wishes
but wills not. For if he indeed seriously
means to release Christ, why does he look
around as if for means to accomplish it? He
has told the Redeemer to His face that he had
The second hearing of Christ before Pilate. 257
the power to release Him. And since the re
lease costs him only a word, why does he
hesitate so long? For none other than human
motives, for nothing else but pitiable, miser
able human respect. He wishes to release the
Saviour but at the same time he does not want
to offend the chief -priests. He therefore tries
to find a way of satisfying both parties. He
is trying something impossible, because the
claims of the two parties are diametrically op
posed to each other. Owing to this condition
of things and to the embarrassment resulting
therefrom, his mind became obscured and his
will paralyzed. After that, to scare him with
the phantom of removal was sufficient to bring
Pilate to the end of his wits.
Therein, again, is contained an important
lesson for us. Whosoever in his dealings and
in daily routine does not confine himself to
consulting God and conscience alone, whoso
ever is continually fretting about what other
people will say to what he does, stands direct
ly on the brink of sin's abyss. To bring on
the fall, a threat of removal from office or of
greater evils is not at all necessary. A word,
a look, a smile of a ribald scoffer, of a miser
able profligate is sufficient. Like to Pilate,
however, all slaves of human respect shall be
most poignantly deceived.
The source of all these aberrations of Pilate,
as we have considered at the first hearing, was
U58 History of the Passion.
his indifference to truth, his comtempt of
truth. He had turned his back upon Christ.
For whosoever is indifferent to the truths of
religion, who despises and opposes them, who
spurns them, who, to be brief, does not and
will not fulfill his duties towards God, the
Origin and Teacher of truth, will also be
unfaithful in the performance of his duties to
wards his neighbor.
The history of Pilate is therefore the clearest
and most patent refutation of so-called religi
ous indifference. It is the refutation, the
moral annihilation even of free-thinkers, who
maintain that one can be a just man without
Grod or Christ or religion or faith. Whoever
is not just towards Grod, will not long be just
towards his fellow-man. In one way or an
other he will be unjust to him. Even the
honesty of which free-thinkers boast, that
honesty which is about the sum and substance
of all their faith and morals, stands on totter
ing foundations. Not all of them may be de
tected as swindlers and thieves; not all of
them abscond to foreign parts with other
people's moneys; not all of them bring about
fraudulent bankruptcies to enliven business
from time to time ; but their justice is certain
ly more fragile than a house of blocks put
together by a child. At most, it is but a
natural virtue, without any value for eternity.
As to us, however, who do not and will not
The second hearing of Christ I e fore Pilate. 259
belong to these unhappy men, but who rather
are proud of being faithful children of the
Catholic Church, Pilate's sad history ought to
confirm us in a threefold resolution. Above
all, we ought to renew our resolve to always
have an open, willing and grateful heart at
the service of Christ, the Divine Teacher of
truth, and to do all in our power to learn and
to love more and more the truths revealed by
Him. Then we ought never to postpone the
execution of our good resolutions, but should
put our hands to the work immediately.
Finally, all kinds of human respect and at
tention to the talk and ridicule of men ought
to be far removed from us when there is ques
tion of the performance of our duties. Then,
and only then, shall we be able to confidently
exclaim with the Apostle: "Who shall separate
"us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation?
"or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or
"danger? or persecution? or the sword?7'
(Rom. 8. 35.) No, none of all these, no
power of hell will be able to make us act
against our conscience, as Pilate did. We
shall remain true to Christ in life and in
death. Then, indeed, we shall hear from
His lips the consoling words: "Well done,
"good and faithful servant, because thou hast
"been faithful over a few things, I will place
"thee over many things: enter thou into the
"joy of thy Lord." (Math. 25, 23).
CHAPTER XIX.
The Close of the Trial.
"Then therefore he delivered him to
"them to be crucified."
(John 19. 16.)
Let us to-day in spirit go to Jerusalem , into
the vestibule of Pilate's palace, to hear the
sentence which, in answer to the charges and
demands of the Jewish people, Pontius Pilate,
governor of Judea, in the name of the Roman
emperor Tiberius, is to pronounce upon Jesus
Christ, the Son of G-od and of the purest Virgin
Mary. It is not without reason that John, the
Evangelist, (19, 13. 14) narrates so minutely
all the circumstances of time and place re
garding this sentence. He concernedly wishes
to render credible and to place beyond a doubt
this incident so incredible in itself. Thus we
are informed that Pilate's judicial bench in
front of the building, stood on the place,
called Gabbatha, meaning elevation. We learn
that this elevation was upon the Lithostrotos,
that is, a surface inlaid with small, colored
pebbles. Then again, it was a Friday, the day
(260)
The close of the trial 261
of preparation for the paschal feast,1 on which
the paschal lambs had to be slain, at about
eleven o'clock in the morning according to
our time. Thus should even the shadow of
suspicion disappear that John had narrated
an imaginary tale.
After Pilate had led out Jesus and placed
himself upon the judge's bench, he made an
other desperate, but equally unfortunate at
tempt to obtain the consent of the Jews to the
release of Christ. Then he washed his hands
in token of his own innocence and finally
pronounced upon Christ the sentence of death.
Let us, then, consider (John 19, 14-16.
Matthew 27, 24. 25. Mark 15, 15. Luke 23,
24. 25):
I. The last attempt of Pilate to release
Christ ;
II. His solemn declaration of his own in
nocence, and
III. The sentencing to death of the Re
deemer.
I.
Pilate, indeed, did not fail to make attempts
to liberate Christ, but they were without re
sult. Neither his eloquence in repeatedly de
fending- the innocence of Christ, nor the
shrewd scheme of opposing Jesus to Barab-
bas, nor the application of the scourging, nor
1 See note 9.
262 History of the Passion.
the Ecce Homo had availed anything. Now
he took a last refuge to sneers and ridicule.
The Jews had said: "If thou release this man.
"thou art not Caesar's friend. For whosoever
"maketh himself a king, speaketh against
" Caesar. " — Pilate had somewhat recovered
from the terror which these words had in
jected into him and slyly pretended to not
have understood anything of their threats.
He rather began to rail at the foolishness of
the Jews in considering as their king such
a piteously mangled being. "Behold your
"king," said he, "He, indeed, looks like a
"king!" Carried away by anger on account
of this insult, not the high-priests alone, but
all present cried together: "Away with him,
"away with him, crucify him." The whole
world indeed was shouting for Jesus, the Re
deemer. The whole world forced into His
grasp the emblem of Salvation, the Holy
Cross. The Saviour could not resist, He must
needs carry it.
Then Pilate said to the Jews in a more
serious tone: "Shall I crucify your king? Are
"ye not ashamed to demand of me the cruci-
"fixion of your king? Is it not an unnatural
"and monstrous demand? Is it not the mark
"of a degraded and unprincipled people?"
But the chief -priests answered: "We have no
"king, but Caesar. "—Now, ye chief -priests
The close of the trial 263
and scribes, if ye have no more a king and if
the scepter hath departed from Juda, then He
Who stands before you is truly the Messias.
From the crown of His head to the sole of
His foot, He appears exactly as the prophets
have described the Messias. But they say:
" Caesar is our king. " — These words imply
the formal dismissal of the Old Testament.
For the old testamentary pact between Grod
and the Israelites was that He would be their
king and they should be His people. He had
confirmed and consecrated this pact with in
numerable, astounding miracles for the weal
of His people ; He had blessed it with torrents
of benefits. He had, indeed, often had reason
to complain of infidelity and breach of pact
on the part of His people, as we find recorded
in the touching elegies of the prophets (v. g.
Is. 5, 1 sqq. Jer. 2, 5. Mich. 6, 3.) And
therefore He had, for some time back, even
retired from the direct government of His
people as He had exercised it through Moses
and notably through the almost uninterrupted
succession of the prophets, the custodians of
the Divine compact. But until now the legal
status of His Kingly Power had never been
denied. Now, however, the degenerate priest
hood gave to Grod notice to quit, it declared
theocracy abolished, it betrayed the hallowed
constitution into the hands of the civil power,
264 History of the Passion.
it allowed an imperial official to sit in judg
ment over the King-Messias and violently de
manded His death : " Crucify Him! We have
"no king but Caesar." Thus spoke the same
Jews who a short time before, when the Re
deemer promised them that the acceptance of
His doctrine would give them freedom, had
answered Him by saying: "We have never
"been slaves to any man: How sayest thou:
"You shall be free." (John 8, 33). The
effects of their change of government became
apparent after forty years. — The last effort,
then, of Pilate to save Christ had collapsed.
The proclamation of the synagogue declaring
the Roman emperor king of the Jews, im
posed silence on him and deprived him of all
argument. Prudence forbade him to raise a
protest. He would remain a "friend of
"Caesar," and thus the trial ended. There
was no thought of calling witnesses in rebuttal,
nor of presenting a defense by an able attor
ney. The only remaining feature was that
the governor prepared to justify himself be
fore the assembled multitude concerning the
sentence to be pronounced, and to solemnly
aver his innocence in the judicial murder
about to be committed.
II.
The Gospel continues: "And Pilate seeing
"that he prevailed nothing: but that rather a
The close oftlie trial. 265
"tumult was made: taking water washed his
"hands before the people, saying: I am in-
"nocent of the blood of this just man: look
"you to it." It is remarkable that Pilate is
continually seized with a dread of the crime
he is about to commit, and that its fearful
responsibility is clearly before his eyes. So
indelibly has God engraved His Law upon the
hearts of men that the conscience of even the
pagan trembles in presence of guilt and of its
penalty. He is, therefore, impelled to remove
the crime from himself by the washing of
hands and the protestation of his innocence
and to load upon others the responsibility and
divine penalty. However, let us examine more
closely the conduct of this man.
He washed his hands. When a murder had
occurred, it was customary among the Jews
to testify by the washing of hands that one
had no part in the crime. In Deuteronomy
(21, 1. 6-8) we read: "When there shall be
"found in the land the corpse of a man slain,
"and it is not known who is guilty of the
"murder, the ancients of that city shall come
"to the person slain and shall wash their
"hands . . . and say: Our hands did not shed
"this blood. And the guilt of blood shall bo
"taken from them." Pilate, who on account
of his official position as judge and of his con
tinual relations with the Jews, was undoubt-
266 History of the Passion.
edly aware of this custom, made use of it now
to manifest his innocence in the proximate
crucifixion of Christ. But why all this vain
acting which in no wise could denote the in
nocence of the heart? "Though thou wash
11 thyself with nitre/7 0 Pilate, "thou art
" stained in thy iniquity." (Jer. 2, 22.) And
though thou shouldst lead all the waters of
the Jordan and all the waves of the Eed Sea
over thy hands, they will not wash away the
stain of blood. Thus, by this pitiable mum
mery, the fool would deceive himself and save
the appearance of his innocence before the
public. There is scarcely anything so ridic
ulous, disgusting and demoralizing as hypoc
risy.
After washing his hands, Pilate, according
to Mosaic Law, declares his innocence by
spoken words. But how contradictory they
were! He calls Jesus a just man and, in the
same breath, he speaks of the blood which
this just man is to shed. He seems to have
forgotten the enormous injustices he has al
ready caused this just man, or he thinks that
they were justified by a good and noble pur
pose. Now, when he has on the tip of his
tongue the sentence of death which, according
to his own utterances, is unjust to the last
degree, he affirms the innocence of Christ.
Finally, he relegates the entire responsi-
The close of the trial. 267
bility upon others. "Look you to it." I shall
not answer the consequences; they will be
upon your consciences and upon your shoul
ders. The people were satisfied. They de
clared themselves to be of the same mind.
But what a dreadful affair ! Even future gen
erations should carry the bloody guilt. Even
unborn children should be pawned for the
price of the Blood. For the people exclaimed
" as with one voice: "His blood be upon us
"and upon our children." A fearful curse
they invoked upon themselves, a dreadful
curse upon their children. How, after that,
could anybody be found to curse himself and
others? And how terribly has this curse been
realized ! It followed the Jews like a ghastly
shadow, making them shudder at it aghast,
even before its time had arrived. Seized with
dread when the apostles preached about the
Risen One, they exclaimed: "You have a
"mind to bring the blood of this man upon
"us." (Acts 5, 28.) And when later the
powerful armies of their chosen king, the
Roman emperor, overrun the country, the
woeful effects of the curse showed themselves
in their most fearful colors. Blood flowed in
streams, the deicides and their children were
slaughtered by the thousands until finally that
clamor of the Jews for blood was overwhelmed
by the ruined walls of the holy City, by the
268 History of the Passion.
burning temple, by the roads filled with cruci
fied people, by the hills of heaped-up corpses.
And even now the curse has not departed
from this people. Even now they wander
about in foreign lands, like exiles far from the
paternal domains, without sacrifice, without
altar, without a king, an object of the anger
of God and of the scorn of nations ; a living
monument of their ancestors' disgrace.
But this judgment of G-od should not pre
vent us from crying with our whole soul and
with a most yearning desire: "His Blood be
"upon us!" And you, Christian parents, add
the prayer: "His Blood be upon our chil
dren!" Verily, thou most Sacred Blood of
Jesus Christ, come upon us and purify us.
The destroying angel beheld the blood of the
paschal lamb on the door-posts of the houses,
and the Israelites were saved from bodily
death. Protect us then, o Jesus, through Thy
precious Blood, against the onslaughts of the
evil enemy, protect us against the death of the
soul. O Blood of Our God, flow in all Thy
plenitude into our hearts! Sanctify us! And
may not a single drop be lost to us.
Finally the moment had arrived when the
trial was to close with the death-sentence.
III.
"His blood be upon us and upon our chil-
"dren." This declaration seemed to quiet
The close of the trial. 269
Pilate. It encouraged him to order the release
of Barabbas for the paschal feast and to pro
nounce the sentence of death upon Christ.
Clad in the official robe of a Koman pretor
and surrounded by soldiers and servants who
bore the insignia of civil power and of the
penal court, Pilate arose with affected calm,
dignity and majesty. As if by magic, the
tumult and clamors of the raving multitude
ceased. A dead silence reigned in the entire
aggregation. Every one listened, every one
was intent upon the sentence of the judge.
Every one hung on his lips. Even the angels
descended from heaven to be witnesses of the
unheard-of tragedy and to ascertain for what
cause the Immortal One deserved death. — But
what a disappointment! What an astonish
ment! There was no trace of a regular judi
cial sentence, no indication of a definite crime,
without which even a purposely unfair judge
would venture a sentence. There was no
pointing out of a statute according to which
the accused had forfeited his life. There was
happening something impossible, such as the
world had never before witnessed. Indeed,
many an innocent man had already been con
demned, but no one had ever been condemned
for being innocent. "And Pilate, " says Holy
Writ, "gave sentence that it should be as they
u required. Jesus he delivered up to their will
270 History of the Passion.
"to be crucified." It was, then, not to pun
ish a crime, but to please the people and to
gratify their wishes, that Pilate delivered the
Redeemer to death. Be ye amazed, 0 ye
heavens! May the crimson of shame cover
thy face, 0 earth ! The Son of God is sen
tenced as a criminal. Innocence is betrayed
to sinners, the Lamb to ravenous wolves.
Now the prophecy is fulfilled: "The Son of
"Man shall be delivered to the Grentiles, and
"shall be mocked and scourged, and they will
"put Him to death. "
The sentence was pronounced. In the case
of a murderer or robber the trial might have
lasted days or weeks. In the case of Christ
everything was done in a few hours. At other
times, 0 Pilate, thou couldst subdue the sedi
tious crowds with soldiers and swords and
lances; why not now? Where is thy courage,
thy strength of will? Why didst thou not, at
least, postpone the sentence till the storm had
quieted down? — Wholly astonished at the
quick and favorable ending of the trial, the
people burst forth into endless rejoicing. It
roared with pleasure. It broke out into satanic
shouts of derision. The chief -priests mean
while crowded around Pilate. They compli
mented him and, in token of friendship and
gratitude, they shook his hand. But the most
happy of all was that consummate scoundrel,
The close of the trial. 271
Caiphas, the high-priest. He sent messengers
throughout entire Jerusalem to announce the
joyful news and he invited the whole people,
men and women, old folks and children, to
take part in the execution of Jesus Christ, the
Son of the living Grod.
Mute and speechless the Redeemer stood
before the bar of the tribunal. Mute and
speechless He heard the cruel sentence. Mute
and speechless He heard the blasphemies and
the jests of His enemies. His answer was a
silence full of heavenly loftiness. But the
sorrows of His humbled Heart He offered up
to Grod and declared Himself now ready to
suffer death for the infinite glory of His heav
enly Father, for the redemption of the souls
in Limbo and for the salvation of the whole
world. It is certain, infallibly certain, that at
this moment, Christ thought of each one of
us. We shall thank Our Redeemer for this
memento. Indeed, we need it, we need His
grace. For already in paradise, the sentence
of death had been pronounced against us. We
all must die. But alas! we shall not die in
nocently as Christ died. Vouchsafe then unto
us, 0 innocent Saviour, condemned to death
as Thou art, vouchsafe unto us the grace, at
least, not to die the death of the sinner, but
rather the death of the just.
CHAPTER XX.
The Carrying of the Cross.
"They took off the cloak from him
"and put on him his own garments,
"and led him away to crucify him."
(Matthew 27, 31).
Pilate had delivered the Redeemer to the
will of His accusers that they might crucify
Him, and they set to work without delay.
Since the advent of Tiberius to the imperial
throne, criminals sentenced by the Roman
senate were reprieved for ten days, and when
the emperor had pronounced the sentence,
even for thirty days. Usually, at least one
day of grace was granted. Very rarely did the
execution take place on the day of the sen
tencing. The chief-priests would not grant
Christ such a reprieve for reasons already men
tioned and for fear lest Pilate come to his sen
ses, and regret and change the sentence of
death already pronounced. Therefore, they
were very anxious to get Christ out of the way
as soon as possible. Let us consider (John
19, 16-22. Matthew 27, 31. Mark 15, 20.
Luke 23, 32):
(272)
The carrying of the cross. 273
I. The preparations for the last journey ;
II. The march to the gate of the city.
I.
The preparation for the last journey con
sisted in the following four things. First the
cross was procured. Either it was now con
structed in a hurry, or it had been made during
the final trial, or mayhap the Romans kept on
hand a supply of crosses for purposes similar
to the present one. The cross of Christ was at
least fifteen feet long including the part in the
ground. For the feet of the Saviour suspended
on the cross were quite distant from the ground,
since Scripture says that He was exalted. Then
there was a rod needed to apply to His mouth
the sponge saturated with vinegar. The cross-
piece either at right angles with the main
piece, or, in two parts, turned upwards at either
side, may have been six feet long. Thickness
and width were suited to the purpose of the
cross, and we may truthfully say to Jesus in
our prayers: "Who hast carried the heavy
"cross for us."
Then they prepared the title of guilt which
was to be attached to the cross above the head
of the Redeemer. Wooden tablets coated with
plaster were used for this purpose and for
official notices there were always some on
hand. The tablet had on it the name of the
crime. In the case of Christ, Pilate caused
274 History of the Passion.
the title to be written in the Latin, Greek and
Hebrew languages, the first being the language
of the emperor, and the other two the popular
tongues. Many Jews, namely, living in foreign
parts and present for the paschal feast, under
stood the Greek better than the Hebrew tongue.
Besides, the use of three languages in the title
had a deeper meaning. The confusion of
languages at Babylon was the expression of
God's anger. The holy cross, the sign of
reconciliation, should restore the unity of
tongues. In the unity of faith and of love the
peoples of all tongues should be united for the
worship of the Crucified One. — The title read:
" Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews/' Now
we have it in clear terms from the judge him
self that Christ was not executed on account
of a crime, but because He was Jesus, that is,
the Eedeemer, and because He was King in
the realm of truth.
Whether Pilate, in framing this title, pur
posely desired to vex the chief -priests, cannot
be stated with certainty. It suffices to state
that they felt and showed themselves offended
and aggrieved. Therefore, according to the
opinion of several commentators, they entered
a protest right now in front of the court build
ing, against the wording of the title, although
St. John narrates it later on. They said to
Pilate: " Write not, the king of the Jews; but
-
The carrying of the cross. 275
"that he said: I am the king of the Jews."
But Pilate, who towards the end had been so
yielding, answered: "What I have written, I
"have written" ; from which words they could
draw the conclusion: "and thus shall it re-
' 'main . ' ' For an official document cannot well
be changed; it might diminish the respect due
to authority. Thus Pilate, unwittingly, gave
testimony unto the truth. Thus, unwittingly,
at an early date, did he produce a short gospel.
Not to lose time and not to anger Pilate, the
chief -priests desisted from their wish.
Meanwhile, the menials prepared the Sav
iour for His last journey. They tore from
Him the scarlet mantle and put on Him His
own garment. This was done, as St. Ambrose
says, in order that, clad in His own garment,
He might, when led forth, be more easily re
cognized by the populace as the now unmasked
deceiver Who had been acclaimed by their
hosannas a few days before. This change of
garments was again most painful to the Be-
deemer. The scarlet mantle tightly adhered
to His wounded body, whence the blood began
to flow anew. Just as painful to His Sacred
head was the putting on of the outer garment.
It was not in parts and had but a small open
ing at the top and therefore had to be drawn
over the head to the shoulders. They then
violently and amid jests pushed against the
276 History of the Passion.
crown of thorns, if they were not constrained
to remove it and press it on again, owing to its
long and branching thorns.
Finally they led Christ to the place where
the cross was. We cannot help but think that
at the first sight of it, undoubtedly of His own
free will, the Saviour was filled with fear and
dismay and that He trembled even to the very
marrow of His bones. How a child will trem
ble at the sight of the rod, a criminal at the
sight of instruments of torture, a condemned
man at the sight of the sword or of the gallows.
Thus and even more did the Saviour tremble,
for, sin excepted, He had taken upon Himself
all the infirmities and weaknesses of our nature.
But at the same time His soul raised itself
from purely human sensations to loftier, divine
thoughts and sentiments. He had so often
yearned for the cross. How He had been im
pelled to see the sacrifice consummated! Now
the desired hour had finally arrived. The Re
deemer had, therefore, hardly beheld the cross,
when he saluted it as the salvation of the
world. He embraced it as a most intimate
friend, long expected and finally found. His
Divine lips imprinted upon it a tender kiss.
He pressed it most joyfully to His Most Sacred
Heart and, with His own hands, He laid it
upon His hallowed shoulder.
Then a trumpet gives the signal and the
The carrying of the cross. 277
triumphal march of the King of kings is set in
motion. • Thus, in the future, the Redeemer
will appear with the cross in the clouds of
heaven to sit in judgment upon the good and
the bad. Let us follow Our Saviour in His
journey to the gate of the city.
II.
Although we have a certain knowledge of
those who took part in this procession, the
same cannot be affirmed regarding the order
in which they took part. We may then im
agine in the lead the centurion (who was at
the head of one hundred soldiers), to whom,
according to Holy Writ, had been entrusted
the work of conveying and executing the Sav
iour. The commander of the thousand soldiers
remained to guard the palace. Without doubt
a strong convoy of troops accompanied the
procession and surrounded the prisoners, to
effectually hinder all attempts at rescue. The
chief-priests, scribes and ancients formed an
escort of honor to the centurion. Then followed
a soldier, who carried attached to his lance, as
a herald, the title of Christ's guilt. Then
came the Redeemer. After Him followed the
two thieves with their titles around their necks,
under proper military guard. According to
custom, they also had to carry their own
crosses, which however, was not very difficult
for them as they were men of strong constitu-
278 History of the Passion.
tion and accustomed to bodily exertion. Nor
had they sweat blood or passed an entire night
in agony and suffering. Lastly followed an
immense throng of people who were impelled
by different motives to witness the execution,
some by curiosity, some by blood-thirsty mor
bidness, others by diabolical malice and a few
by sympathetic pity.
Now, finally, the various figures of the Old
Law were steadily being realized. The Ee-
deemer, Who drags the cross uphill, is innocent
Abel, who was led forth by his envious brother
to be slain with a wooden club. He is the real
Isaac, Who carries on His shoulders the wood
of His sacrifice; in fact, He takes His cross
upon Himself in the very place where Isaac of
old had deposited the wood laden on him by
his father.1 He is the true Moses, Who holds
the rod in His hands to divide the Red Sea
and to liberate His people from Egyptian
thraldom. He is the real David, Who, with a
staff in His hand, goes forth to meet G-oliath.
The procession starting from Pilate's man
sion, moved in a westerly direction over twelve
paces through the middle of the city. The
most frequented streets were carefully chosen
for the march . ' i Whenever we crucify a crimi-
"nal," writes Quintilian,"2 "the most populous
1 See note 13.
a Sepp. VI., 303.
The carrying of the cross. 279
"streets are selected so that the multitude may
"look on and be seized with fear."
What the Redeemer suffered on this way of
the cross, goes beyond all our conceptions.
How, at every step on the uneven, hilly street,
the wounds of His scourged shoulder become
deeper and more gaping! How often the
heavy cross-beam fell against the thorn-
crowned Head! How the Saviour, tired to
death and strengthless, drags Himself wearily
along under the mighty load ! —Suddenly the
procession halts. What has happened? The
Almighty, the infinitely Powerful has sunk
exhausted, and upon Him has fallen the wood
of martyrdom. He writhes in pain in the dust
like to a worm trodden upon. But the menials
know a remedy. With scourges and sharp
thorns applied according to Koman usage,
they help Him to His feet, and again Christ
staggers along. But behold, after a few hun
dred steps, He falls a second time and, near
the gate of the city, a third time.1— Our relapses
into sin have done this.
If the sufferings of His body were great, the
sufferings of His Divine Heart were still
greater. I shall not speak of the scorn of His
avowed enemies, who gave vent to their satanic
joy by blaspheming Him and spitting upon
Him, by adhibiting blows and kicks, and by
1 See note 14.
280 History of the Passion.
throwing dirt and stones upon Him. It caused
Christ more sadness that the official sentence
of death had not failed to make an impression
upon those who, during the trial, had been
partly in sympathy with Him. "He must then,"
they said one to another, "have been an im-
"poster, a magician, a blasphemer and a rebel,
"or matters would not have taken such a bad
"turn."
But the greatest grief of the Saviour, a grief
which pierced His Heart, was the sight of His
sorrowful Mother. When, heretofore, He
worked His miracles before the astonished
multitudes, when He celebrated His triumphs,
when amid the rejoicings of the whole people,
He entered Jerusalem, His Blessed Mother
never met Him. But now, after the death-
sentence had been finally pronounced against
Him, the Queen of Martyrs goes to take part
in the ignominy and in the cross of her Son,
and, in a motherly way, to assist Him in the
hour of death. She, therefore, accompanied
by St. John, hurried after the procession by a
circuitous route, and, at the crossing of two
streets, suddenly stood opposite to Him. Oh !
what a sad meeting! What a heart-rending
scene! Floods of tears stream from the eyes
of the sorrowful Mother, floods of tears from
the eyes of the Divine suffering Son. As with
the glow of fire, the sufferings of the Son tor-
The carrying of the cross. 281
tured the heart of the Mother, as with the glow
of fire, the sufferings of the Mother tortured
the Heart of the Son. To address each other,
consoling words were not allowed them. But
their pitiful looks were more eloquent than any
words. Truly the Saviour, carrying His cross
and meeting His Blessed Mother, is a scene
which ought to soften a stone to pity.
Finally, the column had arrived at the 'Gar
den Gate/ so called from the wonderfully
beautiful garden which lay right outside of it
and stretched round about the foot of Calvary,
the hill about to bear aloft the tree of life.
The Redeemer slowly passed through the gate.
The dignity of a king was upon His shoulder.
Now one step, then another, then a third and
a last step and His back was turned upon
Jerusalem, without recall, for all times, for
ever. A few days before He had complained:
"How often would I have gathered together
"thy children, as the hen doth gather her
"chickens under her wings" (Matthew 23, 37).
But Jerusalem would not. It banished Him
out of its walls. Now the time of grace was
rejected, now the days of visitation were past.
Now Jerusalem was rejected and abandoned
to destruction and ruin.
As Christ turned His back upon Jerusalem
and the Jewish people, He also, during the
course of centuries, turned away from many a
282 History of the Passion.
Christian nation, from many a Christian
family and from many a Christian soul, with
out recall, for always; however, and let us
mark it well, only when they, like the obstinate
Jews, had first violently driven Him out. If
many lands in Asia, Africa and eastern Europe
where once Christian faith and morality ruled
in lofty majesty, lands which exhaled the
aroma of consecrated virginity and which were
saturated with the blood of martyrs, are now
become dreadful deserts, dreary and dying
under the yoke of the effeminate slaves of the
Crescent ; if the imposing patriarchal churches
in which general Councils were held and
Catholic doctrine defined, are now a heap of
ruins still smoking from the thunderbolts
hurled at them by the Almighty : all this has
its reason in the fact that the people, by rebel
ling against the supreme teaching authority in
the Church or by continuing the practice of
horrible impurity and of other vices, dragged
Christ the Lord violently out of their cities and
out of their countries. If, in later times, many
parts of Germany and of other countries of
Europe, by a fearful judgment of Q-od, were
cut off from the maternal trunk of the Catholic
Church and are now sloughing away in their
false beliefs, the crime is upon the conscience
of those princes and governments, who to
satisfy their pride and their greed, clung to a
The carrying of the cross. 283
runaway, immoral monk as to a divinity, and,
by violently driving Christ in His priests over
the frontiers, also most cruelly banished Christ
from the hearts of the subjects. If, further
more, we behold in this country many families
descended from -Catholic ancestors, but now
in the clutches of infidelity, of heresy, of free-
thinking or of secret societies, the reason of it
is to be found in the fact that the parents
either through an unchristian education,
through an irreligious schooling given the
children, or through an admittance of a
worldly spirit into the sanctuary of the family,
showed Christ the door against His will, or
closed the door on Him right from the start
by beginning their married life with sacrile
gious confessions and marriages outside the
Church. If finally there are Catholics, who
notwithstanding their Christian education,
live like pagans and apparently enjoy it, we
may be sure that it cost them more difficulty
and more efforts to drive Christ forever from
their souls, than it cost the chief -priests to lead
Christ out of Jerusalem.
But there is nothing more terrible than to
reject Christ. Should there be among us an
unfortunate who rejected Him by mortal sin,
let him use the time of visitation and of grace
and, by prayer, contrition and works of pen
ance, force the Redeemer to a hasty return.
284 History of the Passion.
But we all should renew the resolution to keep
Christ with us and in us at any price. Let
us ask Him for this grace in the words of .the
disciples who went to Emmaus: "Stay with us
"because it is towards evening. " Yea, may
Christ remain with us, may He remain in our
country, may He remain in our families, may
He remain in our hearts and unite us with
Himself for all eternity.
CHAPTER XXI.
The flarch to the Place of Execution.
"And as they led him away, they laid
"hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming
'from the country : and they laid the
'cross on him to carry after Jesus. And
'there followed him a great multitude
'of people, and of women who bewailed
'and lamented him."
(Luke 23, 26-27.)
After the Redeemer, carrying His cross,
had passed through the "Grarden Grate," the
procession, in the order already described,
slowly wended its way towards Mount Cal
vary. At some distance from the ribald
mob, followed the sorrowful mother and John.
They were joined, probably at the gate of the
city, by those pious women whom we shall
meet later on with Mary at the foot of the
Cross. There is only one circumstance which
makes this second part of the way of the Cross
remarkable: the circumstance, namely, that,
for the first time since the beginning of His
Passion, Christ receives sympathy from the
Jews and, therefore, relief and consolation. In
(285)
286 History of the Passion.
the first place , the chief -priests show sym
pathy, albeit a cruel sympathy. They prevail
on the menials to take away the cross from
Christ and to make a stranger carry it. Then
He received pity from the women who were
among the throng; they lamented and be
wailed Him, and one of their number even
offered Him her kerchief to wipe off the drops
of blood. Let us therefore consider (Matthew
27, 32. Mark 15, 21. Luke 23, 26-31) :
I. The sympathy of the chief -p riests ;
II. The sympathy of the women of Jerusalem.
I.
The more the procession advanced, the
greater became the anxiety of Christ's enemies
that He would not reach Mount Calvary. Al
ready in the city He had thrice broken down
under the cross. But now, when the ascent
of the hill began, His exhaustion reached its
climax. There was danger then that Christ
would succumb to weakness and not die the
ignominious death of the Cross. That must
be prevented. The enemies therefore pon
dered over ways and means to afford Him
some relief. But who was to help the Ee-
deemer carry the cross? Even the Roman
menials would have been ashamed to do it.
For the cross was the wood of ignominy and
a curse. Just then, at the right time, they were
met by a stranger, whose name was Simon of
The march to the place of execution. 287
Cyrene. From his Jewish name some com
mentators draw the conclusion that he was of
Hebrew origin. But others opine with St.
Hilary, Ambrose, Leo and Venerable Bede,
that he was a heathen. For after the rejection
of the deicidal synagogue, the pagan world
was called to the imitation of Christ. A pagan,
then, should have the honor of carrying the
cross after Christ. Mayhap Simon was a con
vert to Judaism. He was returning from his
field outside of Jerusalem to the city, as it was
almost noon -time. As soon as the chief-
priests saw him, they advised the soldiers to
lay the cross on the shoulders of the stranger.
This proposition greatly pleased the meni
als. Presumably they had been active since
midnight and were therefore very tired. And
as events had followed each other in rapid
succession, they had probably had no chance
to take any nourishment. For that reason
they had for quite a while wished to see the
end of the whole affair and forcibly cursed at
every delay occasioned by the repeated falls of
the Saviour. They therefore made use of the
privilege of Roman soldiers in the provinces
to press into service any one not a Eoman, in
a case of necessity. They seized Simon and
put the cross on him. Although he inwardly
rebelled, he preserved a cheerful face, because
to the one who declined to serve, the Romans
288 History of the Passion.
applied severe punishments. "When pressed
"into service, " says the pagan writer Arrian,1
"and driven by the soldiers, let it happen, re-
"sist not, grumble not, or thou shalt receive
"blows and lose thy mule besides." Whether
Simon carried the cross alone or whether he
merely helped the Saviour carry it, cannot be
definitely stated. The former opinion is the
more probable. It is more in accord with the
words of St. Luke that Simon carried the
cross after Jesus, and again, it is in harmony
with the object of the chief-priests, namely to
prevent, at any price, the untimely death of
Christ.
Here the question presents itself: why did
Christ, Who on other occasions hailed with
delight new sufferings and never accepted re
lief, now make an exception to His general
custom? Undoubtedly His exhaustion had
reached the extreme limit and, humanly speak
ing, He could no longer drag His cross along
without strange help. But had He not already
suffered a vast deal which was beyond the
limit of natural laws? Was there not required
a continued miracle, even before this, to enable
Him to sustain such great sufferings? Why,
then, this notable exception while He was car
rying the cross? Above all, the Redeemer
wished to remind us that the sinners, represen-
1 Sepp. VI, 306.
The march to the place of execution. 289
ted by Simon, should rightfully carry the
cross and suffer death, and that His death was
rightfully the death due to sinners and not to
Himself. Therefore, after having at first car
ried the crpss^s^^^.^ign of His.-¥i^tory over
Satan, Christ relinquished it to Simon. Then,
He would again impress on our hearts the im
portant truth so often taught by Himself, that
to obtain eternal salvation, it was not suffi-
cient that He should carry the cross for us, but
rather that we, to obtain heaven, should carry
it after Him. He inculcates, finally, that we * /
must patiently bear not only the cross sent fo^W
us directly by God, But" also the cross imposed
on us by the malice of men, as it was imposed
on Simon of Gyrene. The latter cross is cer
tainly no rarity and withal it is very burden
some. There are parents who drag along a
heavy cross. Who loaded it upon them? Un
ruly children, children who are disobedient
and given to worldly pleasures. Many a
Christian husband has a heavy cross to bear.
Who has burdened him with it? A wife for
getful of duty, negligent in household affairs
and in the training of children, and carrying
on flirtations with suspicious characters.
Many a wife has a heavy cross to carry. Who
has laden it upon her? A husband given to
drink, whose tongue continually defiles his
home with curses and blasphemies. There
290
History of the Passion.
are many other Christians who wearily drag
along their cross. Who has put it upon them?
Calumniating tongues that have robbed them
of their good name.
Indeed, in itself, it is difficult and humiliat
ing to carry the cross patiently and with ,re~
j^ignation tojGrod's Holy will. But it becomes
easy, when, like Siitiflh~oT*Cyrene , we contin
ually have Christ before our eyes and look
more upon Him than at the cross dragging
behind us. And if, at the first moment, Simon
stood abashed at the shameful burden of the
cross, this burden, through the grace of the
Redeemer, became lighter and sweeter at
every step, aye so sweet that at the end he
gave up the cross with as much reluctance, as
when He at first received it upon His shoul
ders. Then let us look at the fruits and the
usefulness of carrying the cross. In con-
*. sequence of it, Simon, as well as his entire
3^ X family, afterwards believed in Christ. His sons
^Y Ruf us and Alexander became bishops ; he and
his sons became saints of the Catholic Church,
saints of heaven. Happy then is he whom
Grod has destined to carry the cross.
Let us now consider the sympathy of the
women of Jerusalem.
II.
They manifested their sympathy by wailing
The march to the place oj execution. 291
and lamenting. This probably 1 happened
outside the city where the road was consider
ably wider, which furnished the women an
occasion to gather around the Saviour in great
numbers. This they could more easily do as
He was no longer forced to carry the cross.
— It is and will always be the immortal glory
of the female sex that, whilst not one of the
men of Jerusalem in the long column did the
least to alleviate the burden of the Saviour,
these women shed bitter tears and showed
commiseration in loud wails. As a general
rule, we find in the history of the Passion
more pity among the women than among the
men. Procula, the wife of Pilate, had taken
the lead. It is just so even now. When at
sermons on the Passion and at devotions of
the way of the Cross, there is question of med
itating on the suffering Redeemer and of
thereby showing Him sympathy, it is mostly
women and girls who flock around Christ. It
is therefore so much the more inspiring and
edifying that, at places, so many men and
youths make a laudable exception to the gen
eral rule. They thereby give an honorable
testimony of their own pious sentiments and
of their manly character. They are worthy
imitators of St. John, of Nicodemus, of Joseph
of Arimathea.
1 See note 15.
292 History of the Passion.
The public manifestation of sympathy on
the part of the women of Jerusalem who.
without paying attention to the soldiers and
the chief -priests, loudly raised their laments,
borders on the heroic. For, according to the
report of the Jewish writers, l it was strictly
forbidden to loudly bewail any one who was
executed with the consent of the grand coun
cil. The nearest relatives were even compelled
to salute the judges and the witnesses as a
sign that they harbored no grudge against
them and that they were satisfied with the
sentence. This ceremony could, of course,
not take place in the case of Christ, because
the execution followed the sentence so quick
ly. The Romans — and Christ was condemned
and executed by the Romans — overstepped in
this regard all the bounds of human decency.
It was nothing unusual that the Roman
tyrants forced parents to stolidly assist at the
execution of their children without shedding a
tear. To a father who excused himself on ac
count of indisposition, the emperor Caligula
sent a litter. The same emperor invited an
other to a festive banquet immediately after
the execution of his son. It is all the more
surprising that on the one hand, notwith
standing all prohibitions, the women loudly
bewailed the Divine Sufferer and thereby, as
1 Sepp. VI. 310.
The march to the place of execution. 293
it were, publicly accused the judge of unfair
ness, and that, on the other hand, the soldiers
did not for that reason molest the women.
The women were indifferent to the noise and
the racket and the curses of the chief -priests ;
they payed no attention to them.
Therefore the Saviour recognized the hero
ism of these women. Forgetting His own sor
rows, He spoke kindly to them and rewarded
their sympathy with words of zeal and ad
monitions to be contrite and repentant. For
among all these women in the large crowd
there were but few who were real followers of
the Lord. The latter accompanied the sorrow
ful mother at some distance in the rear. The
tears shed by most of the weeping women
were not the result of supernatural causes nor
of sorrow over the injuries done to Christ as
the Son of Grod. They arose from natural
human pity. Undoubtedly some of them did
not even believe in His divinity. They saw
in Christ either an innocent man condemned
to death, or a criminal who, though guilty,
was punished beyond all reasonable measure.
The contemplation of His sufferings was,
therefore, for most of these women without
any spiritual value or merit. For this reason
the Saviour demands of them that they cease
to bewail Him, but that instead they weep for
themselves, for their sins, and for the sins of
294 History of the Passion.
their children. But to help them to a super
natural sorrow, He pointed out to them the
divine judgment which would overtake Jeru
salem on account of the deicide, as also the
complete destruction of the holy city from
which they might learn the dreadfulness and
malice of sin. "For if in the green wood they
"do these things, what shall be done in the
dry?" The Eedeemer meant to say: If I, the
Innocent One, resembling the green wood,
must suffer so much for strange sins with
which I am burdened, what will happen to the
dry wood, to the impenitent sinner himself?
Thus in gratitude for their sympathy, natural
as it was, the Eedeemer offered these women
cogent motives for sorrow and penance; in
other words, He taught them the right man
ner of contemplating His bitter Passion.
This instruction of the Saviour also deserves
every attention on our part. For it may also
happen to us and notably to those of the
female sex who are naturally more tender
hearted and consequently more prone to pity
and to tears, to contemplate the sufferings of
Christ in a manner too natural and therefore
sterile. Of course, we all believe that the
Crucified is the Son of God. But we forget
this too readily in meditating upon His Passion
and we see in Him only a suffering man. If
the meditation of His Passion and death is to
The march to the place of execution. 295
be really pleasing to Christ and salutary for
our souls, we must recognize in Him the suf
fering God-man. Such a meditation must be
joined with contrition for our sins or at least
it must lead us to a spirit of contrition and of
penance.
There was, however, among these weeping
women one who, according to tradition,
brought relief to Christ in His sufferings not
merely by wails and tears, but also by her
deed. The name of this woman was Seraphia,
according to some, Berenice. She is said to
have belonged to the family of Herod and to
have been the same woman whom the Saviour
had relieved of a bloody flux of long years'
standing. The memory of this benefit had
never left her. Now she beholds the benefac
tor in such misery, in such pain, and His
countenance so full of blood that in her love
she puts aside all fear and all human con
siderations; she forces her way through the
crowd; she heeds neither menials nor Jews;
she falls prostrate before her Saviour; she
holds up to Him her kerchief and begs Him
to wipe away with it the drops of blood. The
menials stand aghast but do not interfere.
Christ does as she desires. But what was her
astonishment when the Redeemer handed back
the cloth to her and she beheld imprinted on
it the picture of Christ's Holy Face. No one
296 History of the Passion.
had ever received such a gift, the portrait of
the Son of God. She preserved it carefully,
and daily honored and contemplated it. She
would not have parted with it for all the
world's treasures. It was only to preserve it
to Christendom that she afterwards gave the
priceless treasure to St. Clement, the third
successor of the Prince of apostles, St. Peter.
From then on she was no longer called Sera-
phia, but Veronica, which means: the true
image.
Nowadays, alas! the image of the suffering
Saviour is not held in such esteem or at such
value by many Christians. Their dwellings
are adorned with various pictures, but you
will look in vain for the image of the Crucified
One. And indeed, the images of the suffering
Saviour and of His Blessed Mother would be
out of place among all the ridiculous, even in
decorous and obscene pictures as they are
found not only in art galleries and in the
palaces of a neo-pagan world, but also in
Christian houses, in the houses of such who
still make pretensions to religiousness and
Catholicism. "What concord hath Christ with
Belial?" (2 Cor. 6, 15.)
In conclusion, let us make a short applica
tion flowing from the incidents just considered.
It is, of course, understood that Jesus Christ
is no longer in a passible state. He has en-
The march to the place of execution. 297
tered into His glory, into the splendor of
heaven. We cannot therefore relieve Him
personally of His cross as did Simon of Cy-
rene, nor hand Him the towel as did Veronica.
But the suffering Redeemer still lives in His
suffering, cross-laden brethren, whilst the sick
and the dying need the sweat-removing ker
chief. Now if we consider that Christ has
said: "As long as you did it to one of these,
"my least brethren, you did it to me'7 (Mat
thew 25, 40) we should firmly resolve to
lighten, as much as we can, the cross of our
fellow-men by works of mercy, especially the
cross of poverty, and to assist the sick and
the dying in all charity and patience, to wipe
from their brows the feverish sweat, to en
courage and to console them. Christ, in His
reward, will be extremely generous to us. He '
may not impress His image upon the sweat-
cloth, as He did for St. Veronica, but — and
that is more precious — He will impress it
upon our hearts. The cross, however, which
we carry patiently and joyfully after Christ,
the* cross which we strive to lighten for our
fellow-men, shall lead us, as it did Simon of
Cyrene, to holiness and to the joys of paradise.
CHAPTER XXII.
The Execution.
"And when they were come to the
* 'place which is called Calvary, they
"crucified him there."
(Luke 23, 33).
Very often, in the thirty three years of His
life, the Saviour had been extremely fatigued.
He was fatigued on the return from Egypt.
He was fatigued when, at the age of twelve
years, He went to Jerusalem. Hard labor in the
house of Nazareth and, later on, during His ap
ostolic travels had often tired Him. He was
fatigued when the Samaritan woman met Him
at the well of Jacob and whenever he sought
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But He
had never felt so fatigued as on this day when
He had to ascend Mount Calvary. But lo!
now they had arrived at the summit of the hill,
and all His tiresome wanderings should have
an end for evermore. Only a few hours more
and He entered upon His eternal rest.
Mount Calvary, also called G-olgatha or the
Skull, was, in itself, not a very high hill.
(298)
The execution. 299
What made it look imposing was the depressed
site of the lower part of the city. It had its
name from its resemblance to a human skull.1
There, then, the Redeemer should die. At no
time could the execution of a criminal take
place inside the walls of the city. St. Paul calls
our special attention to the fact that Christ had
to die outside the gate of the city, just as the
scape-goat laden with the sins of the people,
had to be led outside the camp. " Christ,"
says St. Leo,2 "was slain as our paschal lamb.
"But because He offered Himself to the Father
"as the new and real sacrifice of propitiation,
"He was to be crucified, riot in the temple
"whose privilege of sacredness was at an end,
"nor inside the walls of the city which was
"awaiting its destruction on account of its
"crime, but 'outside the camp', in order that,
"after the mysteries of the ancient sacrifice
"had ceased, the new sacrifice might be offered
"on a new altar, and that the cross of Christ
"be an altar not for the temple, but for the
"entire wo rid. "
When they arrived at the top of the hill, the
two thieves were probably first scourged ac
cording to the Roman law. Flagellation always
1 Wetzer and Welte, edit. 2, Article — Calvarienberg.
Lohmann, S. J. Das Leben und Leiden U. II. J. Chr.
Edit. 2, p. 269.
2 Serm. 8 de Pass. c. 5.
300 History of the Passion.
preceded crucifixion. Meanwhile the Saviour,
Who had already been scourged, is said to
have been brought into a rocky cavern and
His feet put in the stocks to prevent escape.
This probably gave rise to the legend of the
Saviour's prison, although this legend may
also have reference to the cell in which He was
locked during the night.
When the scourging of the thieves was at an
end, they proceeded to the execution of the
Redeemer. — Let us consider (Matthew 27, 33.
34. Mark 15, 22-28. Luke 23, 33. John
19,18):
I. The last preparations for the crucifixion ;
II. The crucifixion itself.
I.
The last preparations for the crucifixion con
sisted in offering the Saviour wine with myrrh,
and, then, in despoiling Him of His garments.
The first incident is narrated by St. Mark in
the following terms: "They gave him to drink
"wine mingled with myrrh; but he took it
"not." The evangelist Matthew narrates it
thus: "They gave him wine to drink mingled
"with gall. And when he had tasted, he
"would not drink." Apparently these two
narratives are contradictory in a twofold re
gard. St. Mark says that the wine was mixed
with myrrh, whilst St. Matthew says that it
was mixed with gall. Again, the former states
The execution. 301
that the Saviour did not drink, while the latter
asserts that He tasted and then refused the
potion. But, as stated, the contradiction is
only an apparent one. The Greek word,
namely, which we translate to mean 'galF, has
a broader signification. It means not only
gall proper, but in general every bitter, aro
matic herb, such as aloes, cassia, saffron and
myrrh, and even every liquid in which such
herbs have been steeped. Furthermore, the
second difficulty arising from the fact that St.
Mark does not mention that Christ tasted the
myrrh-wine, is removed by the consideration
that St. Matthew, in narrating this incident,
had in mind the prophetic passage: "And
"they gave me gall for my food" (Ps. 68, 22),
wherein is expressed that Christ would actually
take some of this bitter food.1 St. Matthew
therefore narrates the same incident which St.
Mark narrates, only more fully and more
definitely.
In order to lessen the pains of the execu
tion, it was customary with the Jews to offer
to those who were condemned to death a drink
of generous wine to which had been added be
numbing opiates and sleeping potions. The
myrrh also had, to a high degree, the power of
benumbing the sensory nerves. Usually it
was commiserating women and, at times, noble
1 See note 16.
302 History oj the Passion.
matrons who deemed it an honor to tender
this service of charity to the condemned;
otherwise the myrrh-wine was furnished at
public expense. This custom was continued
under the Roman pretors.
The drink of criminals was therefore pre
sented to the Redeemer. He tasted it, but did
not empty the cup. He would not die in a
condition of stupor as did the pagan philos
opher, Socrates, but in the full possession of
His senses. For, notwithstanding all His
sufferings, the Redeemer had not yet suffered
any particular pain in His tongue and in His
palate. This however had to happen to Him as
well in reparation for all sins of the tongue,
for all sins of blasphemy, of uncharitable
words, of calumny and of obscene language,
as in reparation for all sins of intemperance,
and for all transgressions of the law of fast and
abstinence. For this reason the Saviour
sipped the wine which, owing to the added
myrrh, had a very bitter and repugnant taste.
Then Christ was despoiled of His garments.
It was a custom of the Romans to disrobe to
the loin-cloth those who were to die on the
cross.1 As we have witnessed a similar scene
at the scourging, we may pass briefly over
this one. I wish to remark merely that this
last disrobing was much more painful than the
1 See note 17.
The execution. 803
first, especially to the sacred shoulder on which
Christ had carried the cross. The wounds
torn open anew, burned like fire. With that,
it was much more humiliating because it was
done not only in presence of the soldiers as be
fore, but in presence of the whole people and
of persons of both sexes. However the Re-
deemer would offer a complete and super
abundant satisfaction for the shameless crimes
of mankind, and as He had pledged Himself
to poverty at His advent into this world, He
would remain true to this pledge until death,
and die in the embrace of direst poverty. Let
us now pass on to the consideration of the
crucifixion.
II.
To begin with, let us consider the reasons
for which the Saviour wished to undergo this
very manner of death and no other.
We are already acquainted with the principal
reason which induced the chief -priests, scribes
and pharisees to insist on the crucifixion. They
would vent on the Redeemer all their anger
and hatred, therefore they chose the most cruel
manner of death. They would cover the name
of Christ with ignominy and disperse His fol
lowing, therefore they chose for Him the most
dishonorable death. "It is a misdemeanor/'
exclaims a Eoman writer, "to bind a free citi-
"zen; a crime, to beat him; but it is almost a
304 History of the Passion.
"parricide to condemn him to the cross." St.
Paul also represents the death on the cross to
be the greatest humiliation. — Another reason
may be taken from the circumstance that the
cry: "Crucify Him! " was heard for the first
time right after the choice between Christ and
Barabbas had resulted in favor of the latter.
The Jews transferred to Christ the punishment
of the cross deserved by Barabbas.
As to the Romans, furthermore, they sig
nificantly elevated on the cross those who had
rebelled against the emperor and who would,
by stratagem or force, be elevated to the
throne. Besides, as they had placed on the
Redeemer's head the crown of a king, they
ought also to provide for Him a royal throne,
such a throne, in fact, as would be in keeping
with the coronation ceremonies.
Then, the Heavenly Father desired to be
glorified in the death of His Son. The more
painful, therefore, and disgraceful this death
was, the more would it redound to His glory
and the more brilliantly would He reveal the
Power of the Son, Who overcame the world
and made men partakers of the honors and
wealth of heaven, not with the sword nor by
means of gold and silver, but through the
folly of the cross.
Then again, the Redeemer had come into
the world to overthrow the dominion of Satan
The execution. 305
who had overcome our first parents through
the fruit of the tree, and to the destroy the
tyranny of sin and of death. He had come
into the world to reconcile heaven and earth,
to embrace all men with outstretched arms and
to press them to His heart. He could hardly
accomplish all this better than by hanging
between heaven and earth on the tree of the
cross. The Church therefore sings in joy and
exultation; "Through the wood we became
"slaves, and through the wood of the cross we
"again found freedom. Where death took its
"beginning, there should life arise from the
"grave. "
Moreover, it was the Eedeemer's desire to
firmly convince us of the greatness of His love,
of the malice and destroying power of sin, of
the fearfulness of helPs punishment, of the
value of the soul, and of the splendors of
heaven. He teaches all these truths in the
most intelligible and impressive manner from
the wood of the cross. The cross has become
His pulpit. Again, Christ demands of us that
we imitate His virtues, His humility, His
patience and His obedience. We must strive
to become like to Him. For this reason it is
useful, necessary even that Our Divine Model
hang high upon the cross so that we may easily
perceive Him. We might otherwise, in the
turmoil of the world, completely lose sight of
3 06 His tory of ill e Passion .
the Saviour. "Look," said He once through
Moses, "and make it according to the pattern,
"that was shown thee in the Mount. " (Exodus
25,40).
Finally, the Redeemer would give us the in
strument and sign of redemption as a shield to
repel the triple sinful concupiscences. Now
the sign of a pyre, or of a hungry lion, or of a
glowing rack would hardly be becoming. On
the other hand, there is nothing easier than to
form the sign of the cross in the hour of temp
tation, it can be done everywhere and at all
times. The image of the Crucified One, the
crucifix, should therefore be our constant
weapon. May every Christian carry it on his
breast as a most precious ornament.
Such were the reasons which actuated the
Redeemer to chose the crucifixion among all
the modes of death. Let us see how it was
accomplished.
Crucifixion was executed by the Romans in
a twofold manner. Usually the cross was first
raised, then the criminal was bound to it, arms
and feet, after which the hands and feet were
pierced with nails. In some cases the criminal
was nailed fast to the cross upon the ground
and then the cross was raised. It is not cer
tain which of the two methods was followed as
regards the Saviour-, for which reason we shall
adapt our meditation to that method which is
The execution. 307
represented, according to ancient usage, on
the images of our stations of the cross.
The cross, then, lay upon the ground, and,
first of all, they had to bore the apertures
wherein to drive the nails. For this purpose
they took the measurements of the Redeemer;
the length of the extended arms and the dis
tance from feet to hands. Thereupon Christ
laid Himself willingly upon the altar of sacri
fice. The first nail was put to His right hand
and pierced it under heavy blows so that the
sacred Blood leaped to the face of the execu
tioners. There resulted a spasmodic contrac
tion of the muscles and the members had to
be violently stretched to bring the left hand to
the hole bored in the cross. Then this left
hand was pierced with a nail. Whose mind
does not here revert to all the sins committed
by the abuse of the hands? Some extend
them to take the property of others; some
abuse them in assault and murder ; others —
and there are so many of these — in unchaste
works; others, finally, in flooding the world
with impious and immoral books and pictures.
Then the sacred feet were nailed and for
this purpose two nails were used. History
tells us that, when the crosses were found,
four holes and four nails were found in each
of them. This is also in accord with what St.
Bonaventure tells us of the stigmata of St.
308 .History of the Passion.
Francis. Had the right foot of Christ been
placed on the left one and both pierced with
one nail running to a point, the wounds of the
left foot would evidently have been smaller
than those of the right foot. Now, on the feet
of St. Francis, the two wounds on the upper
surface of both feet were of equal size as the
two wounds on the nether surface. Besides,
what could have induced the executioners to
use only one nail, which would be more difficult
and require more time? — Here we may well
think of all the sins which are committed
through the abuse of the feet. What are the
paths trodden by so many people, by so many
Christians? Whither do they wend their way,
by day and by night? One cannot even men
tion it. Neither is it necessary to mention it,
because the broad road leading to perdition is
sufficiently known to all.
Our Divine Saviour is now nailed, hands and
feet, to the cross so tightly that He can no
longer move a member. Thus the type, the
Jewish paschal lamb, which, in the form of a
cross, was roasted on a spit, found its realiza
tion. Now no one can any more wrest from
the hands of Christ, the cross, the instrument
of His victory. Oh! that we also, through
love, might be nailed to the cross so fast that
nothing could make us leave it and abuse our
liberty.
The execution. 309
The moment had now arrived when the
great sign of the pact and of reconciliation be
tween Grod and man should appear upon earth
and be visible to all ; the moment had arrived
when the throne of the King of kings should
be erected. But what untold tortures, what
indescribable pains! Have ye ever beheld
what labor it is to erect on high and wedge in
to the earth a great, heavy beam? What
swaying! what shocks and jolts! But a man
is nailed to the beam of the cross. Uncouth
soldiers raised it up with vehemence and let it
slide into the ground, where it struck the bot
tom with such force that hell felt the concus
sion and the old serpent squirmed in torture.
Oh ! how cruelly the wounds of hands and feet
were torn! What a torment for the Sacred
Head when the crown of thorns violently
struck the beam ! What pains in all parts of
the Sacred Body! — After the cross had been
made fast in the ground, a soldier attached the
title of guilt above the Head of the crucified.
This title was to publish to the whole world
why the Redeemer had been nailed to the
cross. More brilliantly than the sun's rays
did it illumine the majesty of Jesus Christ's
Kingdom. Thus was the execution finished.
Meanwhile, the two thieves had been nailed
to their crosses by other executioners. Accord
ing to our time, it was exactly 12 o'clock. The
310 • History of the Passion.
appalling sight of the Crucified One caused a
momentary lull of astonishment and horror.
Just then the sound of trumpets from the hill
of the temple announced the sixth hour.
Christ, then, was exalted on the cross. His
most ardent desire had been realized. For the
cross was the object for which He strove dur
ing His whole life. It was the object of His
ambition. He would be exalted from the
earth, exalted on the cross. — We should now
remind Him of the promise He has made us,
that after being exalted from the earth, He
would draw all things unto Himself. May He,
therefore, in His bounty draw our hearts to
Himself and unite them to His own Heart in
the bonds of the most fervent love. If only
we resist Him not, the Redeemer will keep His
word. For on the cross He not only thought
of us, but He also looked toward us. Even on
the cross, He had His face turned away from
Jerusalem. His regard was cast towards the
Occident, towards holy Rome, and from there,
over the ocean, to the furthermost west, upon
each one of us. With greater confidence,
therefore, than that of the Israelites looking
up to the brazen serpent, let us look up to the
Crucified One and go with confidence to the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
find grace in seasonable aid (Hebr. 4, 16) and
die a happy death on the cross.
CHAPTEK XXIII.
The First Word of Christ on the Cross.
"Father, forgive them, for they know
"not what they do." (Luke 23, 34.)
Our Divine Saviour had most ardently de
sired to be exalted from the earth. Suspended
on the cross, He would draw all things to
Himself and, as from a sovereign throne, sub
ject all hearts to the royal scepter of His Love.
A few hours later, this cross should serve as
His altar of sacrifice; upon it, in a bloody
death, the High-Priest of the New Law would
offer Himself as a victim to the Heavenly Fa
ther. Meanwhile, He used it as a pulpit. All
external circumstances, indeed, were very con
ducive to preaching. During all His public
life, Christ had never faced such a numerous
and such a choice audience. There were
thousands of Jews from entire Palestine,
among them the most distinguished of the
people ; there were, besides, Greeks and Ro
mans, who represented the civilized world of
that time. The place, also, was very well
situated for an address ; it was a hill with a
(311)
312 History of the Passion.
gradual decline. The pulpit or the cross stood
on the summit or, very probably, a little
lower so that the hilltop formed a rear wall.
It was the proper height and location from
which to be understood at a great distance.
From this pulpit, therefore, Christ wished not
only to preach by His example but also to give
expression by words to His sentiments, feel
ings and desires. However, His sermon was
very short ; it consisted of only seven words
or sentences. On the one hand His sufferings
did not permit Him to say more ; on the other
hand, their brevity made them more apt to be
impressed on the memory of His hearers, and
like darts of love, to penetrate into their
hearts. Christ pronounced the first three
words right after the cross was raised. Then
there was an eclipse of the sun and an awful
silence during three hours. Immediately be
fore His death, He spoke the four other words.
Every child is intent upon the last words of
its dying father. Even the pagan considers
them sacred and reveres them as being oracu
lar. With how much greater attention and
reverence should we not then hear and take to
heart the last words of Our dying Redeemer.
Let us now meditate on the first of the
seven words: "Father, forgive them, for they
"know not, what they do." This word con
tains a petition. Let us consider
The first word of Christ on the cross. 313
I. The object of this petition, and
II. The reasons adduced by Christ why it
should be granted.
I.
The object of the petition contained in the
first word was forgiveness, grace and mercy.
In the Old Law, the Lord God manifested
particularly His justice, wherefore the Psalm
ist even calls Him the "God of Vengeance."
As soon as our first parents had committed
their sin, they were driven out of paradise into
a valley of tears. Cain, the fratricide, roamed
about the earth without rest or peace, in fear
and trembling, and in constant dread of the
avenging arm of God. The indignant Judge
submerged an impure world in immense floods
of water. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha
with fire and brimstone, and He drowned Pha-
rao and his armies in the sea. And, as if
divine judgments were not frequent enough,
king David calls upon the Almighty to enter
into judgment with His enemies; "Lift up
"thyself, thou that judgest the earth: render
"a reward to the proud. How long shall sin
gers, O Lord: how long shall sinners glory?
"Shall they utter and speak iniquity: shall all
"speak who work injustice?" (Ps. 93, 2-4.)
But as soon as the Son of God was extended
on the cross, there resounded from its summit
the words: "forgiveness, grace, mercy." This
314 History of the Passion*
word flew over the hills, it flew over the seas,
it found its echo at the extreme ends of the
earth, it continued to resound during all
Christian centuries and shall continue to re
sound to the last of days. Forgiveness, grace,
mercy; behold the watchword of the New
Law. Heaven was astounded, hell trembled
and gnashed its teeth, the Pharisees and
scribes scoffed: " Behold the hardened crimi-
"nal ! How he feigns innocence and denounces
"us as sinners. Miserable man, pray for thy-
"self." But at this very moment, the first ray
of hope beams on the thief to the right. This
incident appeared so remarkable to the pro
phet Isaias that he foretold it centuries before :
"He hath borne the sins of many and hath
prayed for the transgressors." (Is. 53, 12.)
Occasionally, the crucified were driven by
their cruel and constantly increasing pains to
a despair which brought on outbursts of frenzy
in one way or another. They blasphemed the
gods, they cursed heaven and earth, they
cursed themselves and the hour of their birth,
they spat upon the lookers-on, they avenged
themselves on their enemies by revealing
their misdeeds or by falsely imputing crimes
to them. Opposed to this, what a touching
scene on Golgotha ! Christ is suspended be
tween heaven and earth in the most fearful
torments ; round about the cross are His mur-
The first word of Christ on the cross. 315
derers, resembling serpents with pointed
tongues, roaring lions with open jaws, wolves
thirsting for blood. His suffering has reached
its extreme point and commands Him to be
silent ; His tongue cleaves to the palate, and
still the Divine lips open to utter words of
forgiveness.
Let no one say henceforth that he cannot
forgive his enemies; that it is too difficult.
Thou hast not fared as did the crucified Sav
iour. Thou wert perhaps offended by spoken
words, but not beaten with scourges. Thou
wert perhaps hurt in thy sense of honor, but
thou wert not crowned with thorns. Thou
wert perhaps despoiled of thy property, but
they left thee thy blood. I behold thy face
and I see thereon neither the spittle nor the
slaver of thine enemies. I see thy hands, but
I find thereon no wounds. Thy head is un
injured, thy hairs are not pulled out, nor is
thy brow bleeding. And even hadst thou
been scourged and had thy flesh been torn,
thy sins have merited it all a thousand times.
Christ, however, is innocent, He is the Holy
of Holies. How then, I repeat, how canst
thou say: I cannot forgive, it is impossible?
However, we have not yet considered the
object of the petition of Our Divine Saviour in
all its bearings. Christ on the cross not only
showed Himself personally ready to forgive,
316 History of the Passion.
but He did more; He demanded of God to
forgive His offenders. There are Christians
who have words of forgiveness on their tongues
and who even in their outward demeanor show
no aversion to their enemies, but in their hearts
they desire that G-od be their avenger and that
He withhold not the deserved punishment
from their enemies. How differently did the
Divine Redeemer act! He desires not that
His torturers be punished, He wills that both
guilt and penalty be condoned, and this at a
time when they have not even, as yet, repented
of their crime. He ardently desires their re
pentance, He wishes for them the joys of
heaven, and He longs for it definitely and un
conditionally, not, as He prayed for Himself
in the Garden of Olives, "if it be possible. "
He therefore places Himself between Divine
Justice and His enemies as an impenetrable
wall, He protects them with His prayer as with
a shield from which the darts of an irate heaven
are dashed back.
It is indeed true that the commandment to
love our enemies does not demand of us the
greatest heroism or any thing super-human,
that is, it does not oblige us under sin to suffer
in silence all injuries and injustices. There
are even cases wherein one has not only the
right but even the duty to defend himself by
using all legitimate means at his command.
The first word of Christ on the cross, 317
But while doing this, we must love the person
of our enemy and, according to the example
of Our Lord, wish him from our heart all tem
poral and eternal happiness.
The object, then, of the Eedeemer's petition
was forgiveness, grace and mercy. Let us
now consider the motives adduced by Christ
that it be granted.
II.
There were two reasons which Christ brought
to bear on Almighty God in order to have His
petition granted. He represented to God that
He was the Father, and that, on the other
hand, the torturers knew not what they were
doing.
Christ did not pray: "Lord, forgive them,'7
but: "Father, forgive them." Thereby He
placed Himself before the irate God as His
Son. Now when a son asks his father for any
thing, the prayer has naturally an entirely
different power and effect than when pre
sented by a servant to his master. This Son,
moreover, strengthened His petition by pre
senting a most valuable gift. At the moment
in which Christ appealed to the Love of His
Father, the latter beheld in the hands of His
Son a gift, a sacrifice of infinite value. And
this Son was a Suffering Son writhing in
death. Now, if at other times a father may
not feel disposed to grant the petition of his
318 History oftlie Passion.
son, he will surely attempt the impossible to
fulfil the wishes of a child on its death-bed.
Finally, the generosity of the Son Who, for
getting Himself and His sufferings, was anxious
only for the welfare of His tormentors, must
have touched the paternal heart of God and
inclined it to reconciliation.
Neither did Christ pray: "My Father, for-
"give them," but "Father, forgive them."
Thereby He represented to God that He was
not only His Father but that He would be the
Father of all men. He pointed out to Him
how He, the Father, desired to have many
sons and to recognize Him, the Son, as the
First-Born among many brethren; but how
that would be impossible were He, the Father,
to punish with severe justice these enemies
and all others who offend the Son, were He to
refuse them the grace of repentance and of
adoption of sonship.
Christ therefore prayed: "Father, forgive
"them," which means: Thou art My Father
and their Father, and they are My brethren.
Thou wouldst, once upon a time, spare Sodom
for the sake of a few. Have mercy, then, for
the sake of Thy First-Born, on these My
brethren. Whatever wrong they do, Father,
is amply outweighed by My death. In fact, it
is they who make it possible for me to give
Thee such infinite honor. Certainly, their
The first word of Christ on the cross. 319
acts are not to be justified. But the greater
their guilt is, the more brilliant will be the
splendor of Thy paternal Love. The more
unworthy they now are of Thy favor and of
Thy adoption, the more grateful will they be
as Thy children later on. Hearken, therefore,
to the voice of My Blood, crying for reconcilia
tion and not to their voice, demanding that
My Blood be upon them. Eather grant, 0
Father! that this Blood of Mine be shed for
their salvation, especially as they know not
what they do.
That these last words of the Redeemer ap
plied in a strict sense to many of those present,
goes without saying. The heathen menials,
notably, and, may be, many others considered
Christ a very culpable criminal, deserving of
no mercy. But how could Christ invoke
ignorance as an excuse for the chief -priests,
scribes and pharisees, who had knowledge of
the innumerable miracles which He had
wrought to prove His Divinity? It is certain,
however, that they were included in His prayer.
For the words of St. Paul : "If they had known
"it, they would never have crucified the Lord
"of glory7' (1 Cor. 2, 8), refer undoubtedly
also to the chief -priests and pharisees.
In the first place, the enemies of Christ were
in ignorance, inasmuch as they knew not how
to appreciate the value of the sacrifice of the
320 History of the Passion.
cross in the offering of which they were in
strumental. Furthermore, it is peculiar to the
sinner that he generally does not do evil be
cause it is evil, but because it presents to him
some desirable feature or other, that is, it ap
pears to him as something pleasing or profit
able. The ignorance, however, which Christ
pleaded to excuse His enemies, is much more
to be considered in a different sense. To under
stand this well, we must remember that the
proofs of Christ's Divinity, no matter how
cogent or how exclusive of any reasonable
doubt, do not, however, command the assent
of reason with such intrinsic necessity as, for
instance, the truth that two and two are four,
that there is a sun, a moon or a visible world.
The possibility of a doubt, unreasonable, of
course, still remains. It now is the duty of
the free will — and this explains exactly the
merit of an act of faith — to command reason
to despise all unreasonable doubts, to resolutely
accept the truth, more than sufficiently sub
stantiated, and to submit itself to it. If this
is not done and if the will permits reason to
dally with such unreasonable doubts, then
reason, forsooth, embraces what is false and
is, in fact, immersed in ignorance.
Moreover, the words of Christ contain a
truth which concern also us, who are children
of the Catholic Church. It is an awful truth,
The first word of Christ on the cross. 321
that, namely, the sinner can bring himself into
a condition in which he boldly commits the
gravest sins without knowing what he is do
ing. For, after the will has become accus
tomed to sin and has learned to love it, it
brings such a pressure to bear on reason that
the latter looks upon as allowed or, at least,
as less evil what, in itself, is sinful in the
highest degree. This ignorance, freely willed
and freely produced, either in regard to faith
or to the works of faith, does, of course, not
absolve man from mortal guilt, for it had its
origin and its rise in mortal sins. However,
it is true that this ignorance, when once in
fact existing, does, to some extent, diminish
deliberation and, in consequence, the sinful-
ness of the act. Now, as the Divine Redeemer
could not deny the facts themselves, viz. the
hatred and envy of the chief -priests, the per
jury of the false witnesses, the cowardice of
Pilate and the cruelty of the menials, He did
what, in a similar case, a prudent and careful
attorney would do. He anxiously clung to
even the most insignificant grounds of excuse
to recommend His clients to the mercy of the
Court.
Naturally the heavenly Father could not
withstand such an inventive love of His Son.
The earth did not open her yawning abysses,
fire fell not from heaven neither did hell de
vour the culprits, but, owing to the prayer of
322 History of the Passion.
Christ, Almighty God gave the sinful people
a respite of forty years to do penance. Even
more: the thief, who was converted; the
heathen captain who professed belief in the
Divinity of Christ ; the people who struck their
breasts in contrition ; the thousands who on
Whitsunday and thereafter embraced Christi
anity; they all show the effects of Christ's
prayer on the cross. Aye, as to us who per
haps have sinned mortally ; that we still live
and are not burning in hell, that time has
been given us for repentance and penance, is
owing to Our Divine High-Priest Who before
offering the Most Holy Sacrifice on the cross,
included us in His Memento.
We should, then, no longer be astonished
that, in view of such great love on the part of
the Redeemer, St. Stephen cried out: "Lord,
"lay not this sin to their charge," (Acts 7, 59)
"nor that St. Paul said: We are reviled, and
"we bless: we are persecuted, and we suffer it.
"We are blasphemed, and we entreat."
(1 Cor. 4, 12) ; nor that, afterwards, so many
martyrs and confessors prayed for their ene
mies, as Christ prayed: "Father, forgive
"them, for they know not what they do."
We should rather be astonished at the perver
sity of our own heart, we who are so much in
clined not only not to excuse our enemies but
to magnify the evil they do us, to minimize
their good deeds and to impute to them bad
The first word of Christ on the cross. 323
or ignoble motives. If we have ever acted
thus, we should now repent of it ; according to
Our Saviour's example, we should not only be
always ready to excuse our enemies and offen
ders, but also look upon them as what they
really are, as our brethren in Christ and chil
dren of the heavenly Father. Then the duty
of forgiving will no longer be difficult to us.
We ought, however, not to close this medita
tion without again praising the Love and
Mercy of Our Saviour and assuring Him of
our unwavering confidence in His Bounty.
And, indeed, if Christ asks pardon for people
who in satanic malice have brought upon Him
the most dreadful tortures, if He craves grace
for them even at a moment when they do not
show the least sign of repentance ; what sinner
ought to despair, were his sins as red as blood
and as innumerable as the grains of sand upon
the seashore? How much less reason shall the
Saviour then have to reject a contrite and
humble heart? It would certainly be entirely
improper should the just man give way to
pusillanimity or discouragement on account
of the assaults of hell or of the world or of the
flesh. No, whoever we may be, sinners or
just, everywhere and in all circumstances, in
sufferings and temptations, in life and in
death, we shall pray with the Psalmist: "In
"thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be
"confounded." (Ps 30, 2.).
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Second Word of Christ on the Cross.
"Amen I say to thee, this day thou
"shalt be with me in paradise."
(Luke 23, 43).
Two great criminals were crucified along
with Our Saviour. We are told that they
were robbers and murderers. Tradition is
not unanimous as to their names ; the penitent
one to the right of the Lord is usually called
Dismas, and the impenitent one to the Lord's
left, Gleomas. They were nailed to their crosses
as was the Lord; they were not fastened to
them with ropes as is often represented on
pictures. Holy Writ contains nothing which
would favor a contrary opinion. When the
Gospel speaks of the crucifixion of the thieves
it uses the terms in which it speaks of the
Lord's crucifixion. The circumstance, further
more, that Pilate's permission was asked to
break the bones of all three crucified, suggests
the thought that all three had also been
crucified in like manner. Then, Saints Augus
tine, Gregory and Ambrose expressly state
(324)
The second word of Christ on the cross. 325
that the nailing to the cross of the thieves was
a matter of old tradition. Decisive, finally, in
this question, is what history tells us of the
condition of the three crosses as found by St.
Helena in the reign of Constantine the Great.
All tnree showed similar traces of blood, all
three were similarly pierced with nails. Had
the thieves not been nailed to the crosses and,
for that reason, had there been found only one
cross pierced with nails, it would not have re
quired a miracle to identify the cross of Christ
and to distinguish it from the others.
To prevent the crucified from insulting their
executioners, the authorities and the emperor,
their mouths were often closed by means of
hooks. Cicero tells us1 that a slave called
Strato had his tongue torn out before his cru
cifixion, because Sassia, a notorious woman
who had assassinated her husband, feared to
be betrayed by the last words of the dying
slave. It was surely the special Providence of
Grod which prevented such an inhuman treat
ment to be applied to the Redeemer and to the
two thieves.
The second word of Christ on the cross was
addressed to the thief on the right: "Amen I
"say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me
"in paradise." Let us consider (Luke 23,
39-43. Matthew 27, 44. Mark 15, 32) :
1 Sepp, VI, 358.
326 History of the Passion.
I. The occasion, and
II. The contents of this word.
I.
The second word was occasioned by Dismas,
the thief on the right side, who reprimanded
the thief on the left for his blasphemies, and
who confessed himself a sinner, defended
Christ the Lord and, finally, begged for His
Mercy after He would arrive in His Kingdom.
It was only the thief to the left who blas
phemed the Eedeemer. The words of the
evangelists Matthew and Mark that they who
were crucified with Christ reproached Him, do
not justify the conclusion that both blas
phemed Him. For the evangelists, in their
report, cite the different classes of people who
ridiculed Christ, such as the passers-by, the
scribes, the pharisees, the executioners and
the thieves. However, it is certain that not
all the passers-by without exception ridiculed
Him and, for the same reason, we cannot con
clude that both thieves did the same. Fur
thermore, as St. Augustine remarks, the
Scriptures often use the plural number for the
singular. Thus, for instance, St. Paul says of
the Prophets: "They stopped the mouths of
lions, they were stoned, they were cut asun
der." (Hebr. 11, 33. 37.) And still David
alone stopped the mouth of the lion, Jeremias
alone was stoned and Isaias alone was cut
The second word of Christ on the cross. 327
asunder. Besides, it is not likely that the
thief on the right would chide his suffering
companion with such freedom, had he, im
mediately before, committed the same sin
himself; otherwise he certainly would mention
this sin in expressed terms in his self-accusa
tion. Then, finally, the thief on the left
would have thrown back at his monitor in
bitter irony his own blasphemies, which, how
ever, did not happen. Now, as St. Luke ex
pressly states that "one of these robbers who
"were hanged, blasphemed him," we must
declare the thief on the right innocent in this
regard.
The words of the bad thief: "If thou be
"Christ, save thyself, and us," denote a fear
ful hardheartedness and a meanness beyond
description. For what is more unnatural,
what is more repulsive to human feeling than
that an unfortunate should cast slurs at a com
panion in misfortune? Such a thing, usually,
happens only in hell. The suffering, as a rule,
rather console one another. These words,
furthermore, contain an impudent blasphemy,
inasmuch as Gresmas not only commanded
the Saviour what He should do if He was
the Christ, but also demanded that Christ
enable him by a miracle to continue his
sinful life. But if, as some commentators
opine, Gresmas really recognized Christ as the
328 History of the Passion.
God-Man, then, of course, his blasphemy was
made worse by his doubting the divinity and
power of Christ. This infamous wretch could
no longer use hands and feet in the service of
sin, for they were nailed fast. To fill the
measure of his iniquities, he used his tongue.
He died as he had lived, and his soul was
buried in hell. — This is usually the case when
man, from the days of youth, heeds not the
voice of conscience and adds crime to crime :
he will finally grow attached to sin which will
become a strong habit ; he will grow blind and
obstinate and die a horrible death.
Impelled, partly by a holy indignation, and
partly by love for his obstinate companion in
vice whom he wished to bring to repentance,
Dismas said: "Neither dost thou fear God,
"seeing thou art under the same condemna
tion?" which means: that the Jews there
below do not fear God, can be explained.
They see Christ on the cross and no punish
ment has yet reached them; wherefore they
think themselves in control. But that thou
shouldst not yet begin to fear God who, like
Christ, art hanging on a cross and hurrying
to eternity, is beyond comprehension. But as
if this comparison had somewhat hurt the
honor of the Redeemer, Dismas added: "And
"we indeed justly, for we receive the due
"reward of our deeds: but this man hath done
"no evil."
The second word of Christ on the cross. 329
Finally, then, at least one voice is heard in
favor of the Saviour. The apostles are silent ;
the Jews are shouting: "He is deserving of
"death"; the Romans are executing the un
just sentence; but an old robber proclaims
Christ to be innocent and declares Him free of
guilt. Hear it then, o Pilate! Hear it, ye ex
ecutioners! Hear it, ye pharisees, ye scribes,
ye chief -priests ! Learn of this robber: "this
"man hath done no evil." Recognize at least
now your awful error, acknowledge, at least
now, the mistake you have made, contritely
ask Christ's pardon, embrace the cross as
Magdalen does, and ye shall be saved through
the power of the innocent blood shed by you.
— But they raved in anger and they fain
would crush the head of the robber who was
publicly branding them.
The thief on the right, however, acknowl
edges himself to be a sinner. He does not,
like Adam and Eve, excuse himself, he ac
knowledges his errors, he makes his confes
sion. Besides, he recognizes that his death on
the cross is a just punishment of heaven. It
is, indeed, a sign of true conversion if the sin
ner praises and blesses the chastising hand of
God ; it is a sign of predestination if the sin
ner, in a spirit of penance, supports all suffer
ings imposed on him, patiently and joyfully,
without complaint or murmur. Judas had
330 History of the Passion.
also confessed a few hours before, but not, as
the thief, to Christ but to Christ's enemies.
For which reason he despaired. But this thief
was not driven to despair by the thought of
his sins. No, it was consoling to him that
"this man hath done no evil." The innocent
Jesus was his solace, Who, as he confidently
hoped, would give satisfaction also for him.
Therefore, without a long preliminary, and
without even considering that Christ in His
sufferings was hardly able to pay attention to
others, he in child-like confidence added the
request: "Lord, remember me when thou
"shalt come into thy kingdom." He does
not, then, wish as did the other thief, to be
freed from the cross; he requests something
better. But how modestly he requests it. Un
like the sons of Zebedee, he does not wish to
sit at the side of the Redeemer and to rule
with Him. No, like the prodigal, he deems
himself unworthy of God's sonship. He merely
asks that the Redeemer, when upon the throne
of His glory, should remember him.
Here the question presents itself how this
thief could arrive, not only at the knowledge
of the Saviour's innocence, but at the knowl
edge of the divinity of Jesus Christ and of His
kingdom. He had not been a witness of the
Redeemer's miracles. He had not beheld Him
in His glory on mount Tabor. He had not
The second -word of Christ on the cross. 331
seen His transfigured countenance, nor His
snow-white garment, nor the splendor that
surrounded Him. He saw only His disgrace,
His humiliation, nothing but a body covered
with wounds, nothing but a breaking eye.
Can He then be a king Whose throne is a
cross, Whose diadem is a crown of thorns,
Whose court following are two murderers?
Usually kings rule only as long as they live ;
when they cease to live, they cease to rule.
How then, I ask again, could the thief recog
nize a king, the Son of Grod, even in such a
Christ Who bore no resemblance whatever to
a ruler? It was the result of a short but good
meditation on the sufferings of the Saviour,
united with an inward grace which the Re
deemer grants fully and abundantly to all
those who devoutly take to heart His bitter
passion. "The thief, " writes St. Ambrose,
"came to the knowledge that Christ bled for
"him and not for Himself, and this knowledge
"enkindled in him the fire of Divine Love."
"0 eternal light, " exclaims St. Cyril of Jeru
salem,1 "which enlighteneth those who are in
"darkness."
The thief on the right had, then, presented
his petition to the Saviour. Christ thereupon
spoke the second word: "Amen I say to thee,
"tliis day thou shalt be with me in paradise."
1 Cath. 13, C. 31.
332 History of the Passion.
After having considered how this word was
occasioned, let us now consider what its im
port is.
II.
The second word of Christ contains the
most brilliant promise likely ever made to a
sinner. Christ promised the thief an entrance
into paradise, — on that same day — as an as
sociate and in the company of the Eedeemer
Himself.
The paradise, which Christ promised the
thief for that day, must not be understood to
be the place called heaven. It means the
direct vision of God and the felicity resulting
therefrom. It should not seem strange to us
that one may see God without being in heaven,
in the dwelling of the blessed spirits. No
created spirit, not even the soul of Christ, is
present everywhere. It is, then, possible that
souls and spirits behold the omnipresent God
face to face, without, therefore, being them
selves united in the same place. The soul of
Christ, indeed, enjoyed this beatific vision
from the first moment of its existence. But,
as we have mentioned before, it was subject to
suffering for other causes as long as Christ
lived on earth. But as soon as by death His
soul separated itself from His Sacred Body, it
became unspeakably happy. Then it descended
into Limbo to communicate a similar hap-
The second word of Christ on the cross. 333
piness to the souls of the just of the Old Tes
tament. In their presence and amidst their
rejoicings and jubilations, Christ arose glori
ously from the dead on Easter morning.
During the forty days of the Redeemer's so-
jurn on earth after His resurrection, they were
His constant, invisible companions, until, on
the day of His ascension, He finally led them
into the heavenly Jesusalem, to the home of
the holy angels. When, therefore, Christ
promised paradise to the thief for that same
day, He promised him that on this day he
would be associated to the happy society of
the souls in Limbo. And Christ could in
truth call Limbo a paradise. For when His
Soul arrived there, it was changed into a
paradise, as the essential happiness of paradise
or heaven consists precisely in the immediate
vision of Grod.
To his petition, the thief scarcely expected
the answer he received: " Today thou shalt be
"with me in paradise/' It went far beyond
his most sanguine hopes. Until now this man
had been a man of blood. He had lived on
murder and rapine, he had grown old in
malice. He still is clad in the robber's gar
ment and, lo! he is to enter paradise. Where,
then, is his nuptial garment! To achieve par
adise, the saints distributed all they had
among the poor, princes and kings resigned
334 History of the Passion.
their crowns, went into solitude and retired
into quiet cloisters. To achieve paradise,
young men and maidens battled strenuously
for years against the world and the flesh. To
render themselves worthy of paradise, confes
sors deplored their smallest faults in most bit
ter tears and performed the most painful
works of penance. Now this grayheaded sin
ner merely says: "Lord, remember me" and
paradise is assured to him. A clever robber,
indeed. A few moments more and he will
seize his booty. He will be a robber to the
end. Even in death, he cannot desist. He is
a fortunate robber. After all that he has
hitherto acquired by pillage and rapine, he in
the end seizes upon the treasures of heaven.
And the possession of paradise is promised
him for that same day. " Today thou shalt be
"with me in paradise. " Not, then, on the
last day, not after long sufferings in purga
tory, no, today, before the sun goes down,
shall he see God face to face. Such was the
reward of his heroic profession of the Divinity
of Jesus Christ, of his glowing love and of his
immeasurable penitential sorrow. He died a
martyr of love. Yea, it was given to him what
was denied to the patriarchs and prophets,
even to St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist.
For, though these died without guilt and im
mune from temporal punishment, they had to
The second word of Christ on the cross. 335
wait in Limbo for years and even centuries for
the hour of their deliverance. But when the
soul of the good thief arrived in Limbo, it was
already changed into paradise j he was the first
whose soul obtained the beatific vision imme
diately after death.
What, finally, must increase our astonish
ment is the fact that this robber accompanied,
as it were, the Redeemer in His entry into
paradise. "With me thou shalt today be in
"paradise." It appears that Christ should
have reserved such an honor for His Blessed
Mother, for St. John or for other innocent
souls. One might almost say that Christ owed
it to His own honor to select a choicer escort
when entering into the heavenly kingdom.
But how could He, in a more brilliant light,
have shown to the souls in Limbo the infinite
.fruits of the work of His Eedemption and the
power of grace merited by Himself than by in
troducing to their society a hoary-headed sin
ner whom, a few hours before, He had de
livered from the thraldom of Satan. A con
verted robber and murderer! That was,
indeed, the most glorious first fruit of His
precious Blood ; it was a trophy of victory be
coming the Redeemer of the world, the con
queror of hell.
However, as the promises made by Christ to
the thief were so extraordinary while He Him-
336 History of the Passion.
self was the picture of the greatest weakness
and impotence, He confirmed them with a
solemn declaration: "Amen I say to thee, this
"day thou shalt be with me in paradise." At
these words the pharisees and chief-priests
burst into an infernal laughter of scorn and
asked each other in all seriousness whether or
not the man on high had lost His reason and
become distracted.
However, no matter how much this second
word of Christ on the cross, as is clear from
this meditation, is apt to enliven confidence in
Him and to dispel from the heart of the
greatest sinner all discouragement and de
spondency, we should still not forget the
remark of St. Augustine: "It is one who in
"his last hour became converted and found
"grace, in order that thou mayest not despair;
"but it is only one, that thou mayest not sin
"by presumption." In view, therefore, of the
happy death of the thief on the right, no one
ought to postpone his conversion to the time
of death. Whoever would act thus, would be
most unlike to that thief. He had indeed
committed many crimes and disgraceful acts ;
but he had not deliberately remained impeni
tent. He rather made use of the extraordinary
grace he received, at the very moment it was
offered him. Illumined by this grace, he had
hardly recognized the seriousness of his aber-
The second word of, Christ on the cross. 337
rations, when lie began his confession and was
converted. Whoever deliberately puts off his
conversion to the hour of death, really enter
tains the sentiments of the thief on the left
who desired nothing more than to continue
liis life of rapine. For this reason such a one
is, like the thief, in the greatest danger of
dying in final impenitence.
We can draw another practical application
from this meditation. Before us we behold
three who are crucified. One is the innocent
Saviour, the second is a penitent sinner and
the third, an impenitent one. Therefore, who
ever we may be, it will be impossible for us to
shirk the cross in this world or to descend
from it. We all, without exception, must die
on the cross. But what an immense difference
there was between the cross of the bad thief
and that of the good one. The cross of the
bad thief was heavy ; without any solace what
ever, cursing and blaspheming, he repugnant
ly endured the most cruel torments. It was a
sterile cross; he could not expect even the
least reward for all his sufferings. It was a
cross without end, from which he plunged in
to the eternal flames of hell. On the con
trary, the cross of the good thief was a light
one ; he would not for the whole world have
descended from it. It was a fertile one ; he
gained heaven thereby. It was of brief dura-
338 History of the Passion.
tion ; in a few hours, he was with Christ in
paradise. Let us resolve then, like the good
thief, to patiently persevere on the cross in a
spirit of penance. According to his example,
we should draw the necessary strength and
power from the sight, the words and the
wounds of the crucified Redeemer and then
the cross shall be also for us the royal road to
the heavenly paradise.
CHAPTER XXV.
The Third Word of Christ on the Cross.
"When Jesus therefore had seen his
'mother and the disciple standing,
'whom he loved, he saith to his
'mother: Woman, behold thy son.
'After that, he saith to the disciple :
'Behold thy mother."
(John 19, 26. 27.)
The first word of Christ on the cross was
addressed to His enemies, who, however, in
stead of converting, continued to offend Him.
They, indeed, more than others, needed His
pity, His help and His prayer. The second
word was addressed to a repentant sinner to
whom Christ bequeathed paradise. Only the
third word did He address to His relatives and
friends.
St. John narrates this incident in the fol
lowing terms: "Now there stood by the cross
"of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister,
"Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
"When Jesus therefore had seen his mother
"and the disciple standing, whom he loved,
"he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy
(339)
340 History of the Passion.
"son. After that, he saith to the disciple:
"Behold thy mother. And from that hour
"the disciple took her to his own/' (John 19,
25-27.) If, in apparent opposition to St.
John's narrative, the three other evangelists
write that the above mentioned persons and a
few others were standing at some distance
from the cross (Matthew 27, 55. 56. Mark 15,
40. 41. Luke 23, 49), it is to be remarked that
they refer to a different time. In the begin
ning, at the crucifixion and the raising of the
cross, the women stood at some distance. It
was the only thing they could do. Later the
Blessed Virgin, John, Mary, the wife of Cleo-
phas, and Magdalene approached nearer to
the cross.
Let us now consider
I. The persons to whom Christ addressed
the third word, and
II. The word itself.
I.
The persons to whom Christ addressed the
third word were His holy mother and the dis
ciple whom Jesus loved.
The mother of Jesus, then, stood under the
cross, a fact which was indeed astonishing.
Or, was it not exceptional that a mother would
of her own volition assist at the execution of
her son, especially when the execution was not
a hurried one, such as decapitation, but one
The third word of Christ on the cross. 341
accomplished by a slow process of terror in
spiring torture? Still, the mother of Jesus
was present at the place of execution ; she even
looked attentively upon the different scenes.
She did not, like Agar, turn away her eyes so
that she might not behold her Son dying. No,
like the mother of the Maccabees, she had her
eyes fixed constantly on her dying Son. That
such was the case, is clearly indicated in the
Scriptures. For when the Saviour said:
"Woman, behold thy son," it was only by
His look that He could show His mother that
He meant her and none of the other women.
Their looks, then, must have met. Mary,
therefore, beheld the thousand wounds from
which the blood flowed to the ground; she
saw the hands and feet pierced with nails ; she
saw the cruelly lacerated body ; she heard the
blasphemies and the jeers of His enemies.
She heard and saw all this and it must indeed
have caused an indescribable pain to her ma
ternal heart. — Besides, she could do nothing
to allay the sufferings of her Son. The
wounds were open; she could not bandage
them. The lips were parched with a burning
thirst ; she could not hand Him a refreshing
drink. The Holy Face was disfigured by
spittle and blood ; she could not wipe or dry
it. The honor of her innocent and suffering
Son was attacked; she could not defend Him.
342 History of the Passion.
He was forsaken by heaven and by earth and
she could give Him no cheer. What a dif
ference between times gone by and the pres
ent, between the manger and the cross ! Cer
tainly even then, His couch was not strewn
with roses, but she could at least take care of
Him, she could, in her maternal love, dry the
tears of the moaning Babe, she could let it re
pose in her maternal arms. What a difference
between the crib and the cross! There was
life, here is death; there the shepherds and
the Magi adored, here the Jews and gentiles
blaspheme. There the songs of angels
abounded, here all is total abandonment. —
Even the very honor of the mother of God
was attacked by the Jews. Instead of sym
pathy and consolation, she received from
them railings and ridicule. "She thought her-
"self," they likely said, "the mother of the
"Messiah. Now she can see to what sort of a
"Messiah she has given life." But more than
all this, the thought grieved her that these
cruelties to Her Son were offenses against the
Heavenly Father. The thought, finally, that
the Blood of Her Son was being shed in vain
for millions of people, filled the measure of
her woe and made of her a sorrowful mother
indeed.
However, Christ was to suffer death for the
weal of mankind; such was the will of the
The third word of Christ on the cross. 343
Heavenly Father and not one human soul
could be saved otherwise. She, therefore,
bore her mental anguish with the utmost
resignation, with heroic patience. She stood
under the cross, says the Gospel. She did not
faint and drop from exhaustion, as some pic
tures represent her. Nor did she lacerate her
flesh in the greatness of her sorrow, says St.
Anselm ; she murmured not, she did not ap
peal to God's vengeance, she did not tear her
hair, nor did she fill the air with her cries.
No ; she stood under the cross, erect, subdued,
modest, her eyes filled with tears and her
heart with woe, our true model when we assist
at the death of relatives. We may then, in
deed, be sad, but not like to those who have no
hope. Our sadness should partake of a Chris
tian and not of a pagan character. Mary
stood under the cross; she bore all her suffer
ings with a heaven-born patience. Even
more; she took part, as much as a merely
human being could, in the sacrificial act of
Christ. For, whilst her Divine Son, as the
High-Priest of the New Law, offered up to
Heaven His Blood and His Life, she made the
offering with Him. She put her heart and all
its sorrow into the chalice of the Redeemer.
"It was well," once remarked a mother after
listening to the narrative of Abraham's sacri
fice, "that God demanded this sacrifice of the
344 History of the Passion*
"father, for the heart of a mother would never
"be equal to it." Mary, however, subdued
even the power of her own maternal heart.
Thus did the second Eve re-establish what
the first Eve, standing under the tree, had de
stroyed.
The other person to whom the third word
was addressed, was St. John. His presence
beneath the cross is also a cause of wonder.
For, at the seizure of Christ, he with the other
apostles had lost courage and had hastily fled.
But, after his first fright had subsided, he
luckily soon joined Mary, he sought refuge
with her. At her side, and led as it were by
her motherly hand, he courageously ascended
Calvary. Mary led the deserting apostle back
to the Redeemer.
Thus John arrived near the cross where a
three-fold and very painful trial awaited him.
First, his "humility was put to the test. He was
recognized as an adherent and disciple of the
Crucified One. "T'were better for him," they
said, "had he remained at his nets instead of
"joining an impostor; but undoubtedly he
"aspired to obtain, through him, something
"worth having." Then his faith was tried.
Nothing of what he saw on Golgotha, betrayed
the only-begotten Son of God, the wonder
working Master. What he did see in the Cru
cified One, wounds, ignominy and weakness,
The third word of Christ on the cross. 345
apparently militated against His Divinity. But
John held in abeyance his reason and his
senses. He doubted not, neither did he take
umbrage nor was he scandalized at the Cruci
fied One. The most painful trial was reserved
for his love. What a torture for his loving
heart to behold his Redeemer in such torments
and to know that the hour of separation was
fast approaching! However, John, like Mary,
stood beneath the cross, his eyes unceasingly
turned on the Holy Face. The humility he
shows in speaking of his steadfastness is truly
touching. He does not mention his own
name; he merely says: " There stood the dis-
"ciple whom Jesus loved. " He wished to in
timate thereby that he owed his steadfastness
not to his own power, but solely and alone to
the love and grace of the Redeemer, upon
Whose breast he had reclined at the Last
Supper.
When Jesus, therefore, says Holy Writ, had
seen His mother and the disciple standing
whom He loved, He said to His mother:
" Woman, behold thy son.77 After that He
said to the disciple : "Son, behold thy mother. ' '
Let us examine this third word more closely.
II.
The first part of the third word of Christ
was addressed to His mother. For He took
deeply to heart her sorrow and sadness. He
346 History of the Passion.
alone, Who knew the greatness of her love,
could know the greatness of her sorrow. She
had withal a powerful claim on His filial love
and gratitude. During thirty years He had
grown under her watchful care. The unceas
ing industry of her hands had provided, in
His infancy, for His daily sustenance. Then
all the rude trials to which Mary had been sub
jected for His sake, passed before His mind:
The suspicion, albeit guiltless, of St. Joseph,
the journey to Bethlehem, the contempt met
with there, the flight into Egypt, the three
days7 search of the boy of twelve years, the
meeting on the way to Calvary. And now
His death is to inflict on her the hardest blow
of all. It touched Him. From filial love and
as an example to all children, to all sons and
daughters, He provided as well as He could on
His death-bed for His mother. He confided
her to a man, who, He was convinced, would
fill His place as much as possible and who
would lighten the sorrow of Mary at the loss
of her Son. " Woman, behold thy son."
"But, 0 good Jesus," asks St. Bernard
anent these words, "why art Thou ashamed
"to call Mary Thy mother, who bore Thee
"under her heart, who nourished Thee in
"Thine infancy, who clothed Thee and who
"cared for Thee so tenderly? Why dost Thou
"say so harshly: Woman, behold thy son?"
The third word of Christ on the cross. 347
— We might remind the Saint that at that
time the word 'woman' had not the contemptu
ous sense which now-adays is sometimes at
tached to it, but that it had an honorable
meaning. But it still remains true that it has
not the significance of the word 'mother'.
Why, then, did not Christ call Mary mother!
Because, in the first place, He would not in
crease her suffering nor render more acute her
sorrow by pronouncing the sweet name of
mother. For separation from dearly beloved
persons is made lighter by showing apathy
and want of feeling and by refraining from
marks of tenderness. Then the Saviour
avoided mentioning the name of mother in
order not to excite and embitter against the
mother the enemies of the Son. He, as it
were, represented her to the Jews as being a
stranger to Himself. These words, moreover,
contain a mysterious reference, filled with
solace and comfort for Mary, to the glad tid
ings which Grod announced to our first parents
when He spoke of the tvoman who should
crush the serpent's head. Finally, the words
of the Saviour enfold another great mystery.
For, whenever He acted as God, as for in
stance, at the marriage feast of Cana, or, be
fore that, when He was found by His parents
in the Temple, He never called Mary mother;
He rather considered her as His creature. And
348 History of the Passion.
now Christ, the Eternal High -Priest, was
about to redeem Mary, as well as the rest of
men, by His death.
No matter how considerate and forbearing
the Saviour meant the words to Mary to be,
many holy Fathers nevertheless opine that at
this word the prophecy of Simeon was accom
plished: "Thy own soul a sword of sorrow
"shall pierce;" that, at this moment, Mary
became the queen of holy martyrs. For at
this moment she sacrificed the last claims of
her maternal love. It was indeed a sad ex
change. The servant should now be her son
instead of the Lord; the disciple, instead of
the Master; the son of Zebedee, instead of the
Son of God; the mere man, instead of the
true Grod. "My son," Mary could well ex
claim, "why hast thou done so to me?" (Luke
2, 48.) "Call me not Noemi (that is, beauti-
"ful,) but call me Mara (that is, bitter,) for
"the Almighty hath quite filled me with bit
terness." (Ruth 1, 20.) But in all humility
she now received the sad message as she for
merly received the glad tidings of the angel.
"Behold," she said, "I am the handmaid of
"the Lord. Be it done to me according to
"His word."
The second part of the third word was
addressed to St. John. The Saviour was
touched also by the grief and sadness of this
The third word oj Christ on the cross. 349
disciple who so faithfully stood beneath the
cross. To console him for the dire loss which
he was to suffer in His death, Christ gives him
His own mother as a compensation: "Son,
i 'behold thy mother. ' J Hereby Christ reminds
the disciple of his duty to care for Mary as a
good child ought. And John, from that hour,
took her unto his own.
By these words of the Redeemer an extra
ordinary distinction and honor was conferred
upon St. John. How a consul feels honored
when representing a mighty king or emperor
at a foreign court! But what is all that in
comparison with the distinction accorded to
St. John who, in relation to Mary, was to re
present the King of kings, the Son of God?
What an honor, besides, was it not for St.
John to be permitted to greet as his own
mother, the mother of God. It was certainly
a glorious feast in heaven when Christ, some
years later, took Mary, body and soul, into
heaven. All angels and archangels, all Cher
ubim and Seraphim felt honored when greet
ing her as their queen. In honor, therefore,
of their mistress and queen they chanted their
most beautiful lays. They saluted her as the
Queen of glory, as the exalted Queen of
heaven, but as their mother — never! They
durst not call the Blessed Virgin mother, that
was the privilege of St. John.
350 History of the Passion.
This distinction was, furthermore, richly
fraught with grace for St. John. Or, did not
Christ owe it to His mother, aye to His own
honor to adorn His representative with virtues
and heavenly gifts? Most certainly He did.
And what an increase was added to these
graces through the intercession and the exam
ple of the Blessed Virgin ! We may truly ap
ply to St. John what St. Thomas of Villanova
says of St. Joseph: "It a single salutation of
"this Virgin could sanctify the precursor of
"the Lord before his birth, what, think you,
"did the society of Mary during many years,
"effect in St. John!" But if we ask for the
reasons why it was St. John who received this
great distinction, the holy Fathers are unan
imous in answering that it was above all the
virginal purity of this apostle which attracted
the heart and the eyes of Christ. We ought,
then, to preserve unsullied the purity of our
state of life. "It is good and wholesome al-
"so," says one holy Father in reference to this
distinction, "to stand under the cross of
"Christ and to persevere beneath it."
"Woman, behold thy Son! Son, behold
"thy Mother! " Although these words of the
dying Redeemer fill our hearts with sadness
at Mary's afflictions, although they spurn us
on to assure the mother of Jesus, standing
under the cross, of our admiration and of our
The third word of Christ on the cross. 351
sympathy, still they are for us, as they were
for St. John, words of the sweetest consola
tion. For in saying these words, Christ also
thought of us. Undoubtedly, John was privi
leged, inasmuch as he alone took the mother
of Jesus personally into his house and cared
for her as for his own mother. But it is the
conviction of Holy Church that, at that mo
ment, John also represented the entire human
race. In the name of us all, John received
the consoling message. By consenting to the
incarnation of the Son of Grod, Mary had al
ready become our mother. But, before de
parting, Christ wished to solemnly declare her
as such and to recommend the care of her
spiritual children to her who is the second,
better Eve and the true giver of life. 1 There
fore the words of the Saviour: "Behold thy
"mothbr," are to be taken not merely as a
trait of tender, filial solicitude, but also as a
last act of love on the part of the dying Re
deemer, intended to embrace the whole world.
According to the will of Christ, then, Mary
should be our spiritual Mother and we should
be her children. For which reason we ought
to render ourselves worthy of such a great
1 Scheeben, Handbuch der Dogmatik, 3 Vol. Part I,
ch. 5, No. 1626—1630, No. 1813—1817. — Kolb, S. J. Weg-
weiser iu die Marianiscke L,itteratur (Freiburg, Herder,
), pp. 15-18, 77-79.
352 History of the Passion.
honor by daily greeting her as our mother, by
loving and revering her and by imitating the
glorious example of virtues she gives us, espe
cially of steadfastness in suffering. But she
ought to be the mother not only of each one
in particular, but also of all Christian families.
Every Christian family should take her, as
John did, and receive her joyfully into their
house. Especially should we invoke the
Mother of Sorrows at the hour of death. She
assisted so lovingly at the death of her Divine
Son, she will also assist us maternally at our
demise and obtain for us the grace of a happy
death.
CHAPTEB XXVI.
The Fourth Word of Christ on the Cross.
"And about the ninth hour Jesus
"cried with a loud voice, saying: My
"God, my God, why hast thou for-
"saken me ?" (Matthew 27, 46.)
After Christ had addressed the third word
to His Blessed Mother and to St. John, there
occurred an eclipse of the sun of three hours'
duration. In order not to interrupt our sub
ject, we shall, later on, pay some attention to
this wonderful event of nature.
Towards the end of the eclipse, at the ninth
hour, or according to our time, at about three
o'clock in the afternoon, Christ broke the
solemn silence, and exclaimed with a loud
voice: "My God, my God, why hast Thou for-
"saken me?" — Now the long desired hour
had arrived, the ninth hour, which was to
mark a turning point in the history of man
kind: the hour in which error's shadow was
to recede before truth, and the day of salvation
was to begin.
(353)
354 History of the Passion.
But what a remarkable outcry! What an
astonishing plaint! Such a plaint had cer
tainly never been heard as long as the world
existed, nor shall another like it be heard until
the end of time. We need all the power of
faith to believe that it really happened, as
reason would fain revolt and deem it impos
sible. We can easily understand that man
complain of man or that God complain of
man ; but that Christ, the Son of God, should
complain of God, is a mystery that goes be
yond our comprehension.
However, let us make an effort to penetrate
more deeply into this word by considering
(Matthew 27, 46, 47. Mark 15, 34, 35) :
I. The meaning of the plaint ;
II. The reasons for uttering it, and
III. The different impressions it made upon
the auditors.
I.
When Christ complained of abandonment, or
of a kind of separation from God, it could
have reference only to His human nature. He
therefore did not address Himself to the
Father, but to God, showing thereby that He
was offering His plaint not as the Son to the
Father, but as man to God. Now the aban
donment by God of Christ's human nature,
was not a separation of the latter from the
second Person of God. For the union of the
The fourth word of Christ on the cross. 355
second Person of the Godhead with Christ's
human nature was and is inseparable. If this
union had been dissolved at the death of
Christ, then not God, but a mere man would
have died for us, and our redemption would
not be accomplished. Neither was the aban
donment by God of the human nature in
Christ a withdrawal of grace. On the con
trary, the plenitude of grace at all times ex
tant in Christ, effected that fortitude which
bore Him up on the cross as it had done in
the Garden of Olives. The abandonment,
finally, did not consist in depriving the soul
of Christ for a time of the direct vision of
God. Christ rather complained, not only that
God refused to preserve His human nature
from impending death, but also that He aban
doned it to suffering without the least solace
whatever. For His human nature might have
been relieved in a two-fold way; first, through
a direct action on all that contributed to make
it suffer: upon the thorns, the nails and the
scourges, by depriving them of their power to
inflict pain, upon the arms of the executioners
by withering them, and upon the tongues of
the blasphemers by paralyzing them. Secondly,
God could have filled the soul of Christ with
such consolation that He would not have felt
external pain. Nothing of the kind happened
however. On the contrary, God abandoned
356 History of ike Passion.
the soul of Christ to repugnance, to fear, to
sadness and to the excruciating knowledge that
His Passion would be useless to so many
human beings. He even allowed Satan whose
hour was at hand, to employ this time of un
numbered sufferings in most cruelly torturing
the Soul of Christ. God assisted Christ's
human nature only in so far as was necessary
to sustain it and the terrible afflictions. He
appeared to prolong its life only to enable it
to suffer more. This was the object and the
cause of the plaint. It is hardly worth men
tioning that Christ permitted this sense of
abandonment with the full freedom of His
Will.
No matter how painful this abandonment
by God was to the Saviour, He did not, in
those moments, suffer the abandonment of the
damned in hell, as Calvin, the gloomy heretic,
maintains. Not at all. The abandonment of
the damned is without hope and full of
despair. Not so the abandonment of the Re
deemer. This appears clearly from the twenty-
first psalm in which the prophetic spirit of
king David describes the sentiments and feel
ings of the Redeemer at this moment. The
prophet first shows us that when Christ asked
of God the reason of the abandonment, He
was not at all in ignorance of it. For after
crying out: "0 God, my God, why hast thou
The fourth word of Christ on the cross. 357
"forsaken me?" Christ answers Himself: "Far
"from my salvation are the words of my sins,"
that is, the sins of men, laden upon Me, are
the cause, why there can be no thought of My
salvation or of My escape from death. They
are the cause why, besides being the reproach
of men and the outcast of the people who
have numbered all My bones, I am also for
saken by heaven and deprived of all con
solation. Then, however, Christ rises to the
joyful confidence that after His death, not
only the Jews, but all the nations of the Gen
tiles shall return to the Lord and in His
Church shall be satiated with the meat of His
sacrifice. — Whether or not, as some theolo
gians opine, Christ prayed the entire psalm in
a subdued voice, we may not decide. This
much is certain, that the psalm expresses the
feelings and sentiments of the Redeemer and
that the first words thereof: "God, my God,
"why hast thou forsaken me?" were pro
nounced by Christ in a loud tone of voice.
Let us now examine the reasons for uttering
this plaint.
II.
Three reasons urged the Saviour to utter it.
First he was impelled by the humility of His
Heart. Then He uttered the plaint for our
manifold instructions and, lastly, for our con
solation.
358 History of the Passion.
In the first place the humility of His Heart
urged Him to perform, before His demise, the
most heroic act of self-humiliation. The
humiliations heaped upon Him by His enemies
were indeed very great and burdensome be
yond expression. But they rebounded from
His Divine Patience and Majesty as from a
shield and, at least, Christ did not therefore
lose the respect of well-meaning people. But
by complaining of being abandoned by God,
He, as it were, abandoned Himself. It was
the greatest act of self-abasement and of self-
renunciation which can be imagined. — For,
indeed, Oh ! Saviour Jesus Christ ! if God hath
abandoned Thee, as whom should we consider
Thee! Thou hast, in the past, worked thou
sands of miracles to prove that Thou art true
Gk>d, as is the Father, and now Thou corn-
plainest that God hath forsaken Thee! Thou
hast publicly proclaimed to the people that
"what things soever the Father doth, these
"the Son also doth in like manner." (John 5,
19.) David, the prophet, once said that he
had never seen the just forsaken. But of the
sinner it is said: "We know that God doth
"not hear sinners." (John 9, 31.) I there
fore ask again, if God has abandoned Thee,
whom should we consider Thee to be? How
can John, standing at the foot of the cross
and hearing Thy plaint, still write: "We saw
The fourth word of Christ on the cross. 359
"his glory, the glory as it were of the only-
"begotten of the Father!" (John, 14.) —
However, through this self-abasement, through
this obscuring of His Divinity, of His Divine
Power and Sanctity, the Redeemer would
atone fully for the pride and self-deification of
our first parents, which had brought all evil
into the world.
Secondly, Christ complained of being for
saken for our manifold instruction. Above
all, He wished to forestall an erroneous and
mischievous idea of His Passion. The won
derful calm and patience, namely, which the
Saviour had shown throughout the day amid
so many and such various sufferings, might
lead those who had witnessed it to the opinion
that He was entirely devoid of feeling or sen
sation. In view of all these facts, we our
selves might be tempted to assume that the
Soul of Christ, in the last hours of life, was
plunged in a sea of heavenly consolation, as
was the case with many martyrs, who were
thereby rendered insensible to pain. The suf
ferings of Christ, to a certain extent, would
then have been such in appearance only. Such
a conception of them would naturally cloud
our knowledge of His Love and of the horrors
of sin for which He had to suffer, whilst it
would also lower the valuation of grace and
glory purchased by these sufferings. There-
360 History of the Passion.
fore Christ, from Whose lips a plaint had
never been heard, complained at the end of
His life of being forsaken, and that in a loud
voice, so that all men might know the enor
mity of His SouFs sufferings. The joy and
the exultation of a St. Lawrence and of so
many other martyrs in the midst of the most
terrific tortures, were fruits of this abandon
ment of the Redeemer.
Then again, Christ's complaint of being for
saken demonstrates to us the greatness of that
punishment in hell which consists in the loss
of God. For there are Christians who fear
hell on account of the eternal fire only. To
be separated from Gj-od and to be deprived of
His society seems to them trifling and toler
able enough. Now, if the abandonment by
God caused Christ such fearful torments, al
though His release was so near, what then,
we are constrained to ask, must be the aban
donment in hell, accompanied as it is, by
God's curse, coupled with despair and lasting
forever?
Thirdly, Christ wished to direct our atten
tion to the chief object to which our plaints
ought to refer. We complain often and of
many things, but, alas, not always of what is
worth our while to complain of. We should
send up our cries to God when we are forsaken
by Him, and this takes place when mortal sin
The fourth word of Christ on the cross. 361
is committed. Indeed, when mortal sin has
brought about the most fearful abandonment
by God, when the fires of hell are burning un
derneath one's feet, then it is high time to cry
out with a loud voice: "0 God, my God, why
"hast Thou forsaken me?" Then not a stone
should be left unturned in the effort to be
freed from that awful condition; then the
sound of our wails and of our prayers should
ascend to God, that He may grant us the
grace of conversion and pardon of our sins.
Finally, Christ, complaining of abandon
ment, wished to be the comfort and model of
all the just in their disconsolate hours. It
does not seldom happen that God, after hav
ing filled with joyful solace a soul in its devo
tions in order to draw it closer to Himself,
quite unexpectedly ceases to bestow such
marks of favor and, like the sun, appears to
hide himself behind clouds. The sweet sense
of God's presence and pleasure in prayer van
ish until finally the soul feels as if God has
withdrawn His grace, forsaken it entirely and
abandoned it to eternal ruin. — In this condi
tion, which is more painful and more tortur
ing than any other kind of suffering, Christ
ought to be our consolation and at the same
time onr model. In such moods of the soul
we should, according to His example, humbly
and confidently address our plaints to God.
362 History of the Passion.
But we ought to be honest enough to add with
Christ: "Far from my salvation are the words
"of my sins.*' In the case of great saints
such as St. Francis of Assisi and St. Cather
ine of Siena, it was a special privilege granted
them by Almighty Grod that they shared in
this very kind of the Lord's sufferings. For
us poor sinners, however, such tortures are
usually a punishment. They are a punishment
for our venial sins, for our lukewarmness,
and for our attachment to the honors and
pleasures of the world. Ah! indeed, to go
with the world and to enjoy its pleasures as
much as we can outside of grievous guilt, and
at the same time taste of the sweets of heaven,
is something impossible. We should, there
fore, bewail our lukewarmness and our venial
sins, we should, in our abandonment, cry to
God with the loud voice of prayer and of
works of penance, and He, then, will disperse
the dark clouds and again turn to us His coun
tenance full of favor and of love.
There yet remains the consideration of the
different impressions produced upon the by
standers by the plaint of the Redeemer.
III.
The great mass of the people remained cold
and indifferent; they cared very little about
the Saviour's plaint.
Others, notably the chief -priests and scribes,
The fourth ivord of Christ on the cross. 363
were seized with a frenzy of anger at this
fourth word of Christ. Undoubtedly, when
these men, well acquainted as they were with
the scriptures of the Old Law, especially with
those which referred to the Messias, heard the
plaint of Christ: "My G-od, my Grod, why hast
"thou forsaken me?", they were involuntarily
reminded of the afore-mentioned twenty-first
psalm, of which those words are the begin
ning. And if they had been of a good will,
even to the slightest extent, they would have
been forced to admit that He who was hanging
on the cross, was truly the Messias. For He
was indeed a worm, and no man ; those who
saw Him were laughing Him to scorn; His
tongue was cleaving to the roof of His mouth ;
His hands and feet were pierced ; all His bones
could be numbered ; His garments were divided
among the soldiers and upon His vesture they
had cast lots. — Every thing was just as the
prophet had foretold. But they would not
hear the truth; they resisted the truth and
they were greatly vexed at the Crucified One
for daring to proclaim the truth to them, as
Christians sometimes are when from the pul
pit they hear unpleasant truths. — The anger
of the chief -priests and scribes grew as in re
membering this psalm, they made a discovery
not very flattering to themselves. As was al
ready stated, they clearly understood that the
364 History of the Passion.
Crucified One applied the psalm to Himself and
thereby declared Himself to be the Messias.
Therefore, they necessarily had to admit that
they were the dogs of whom it is said in the
psalm: "Many dogs have encompassed me;
"the council of the malignant hath besieged
"me."
It is proper to malice and impiety, coupled
with hypocrisy, to find a way out of embar
rassment, when attacked or discovered, by
using ridicule and sneers. Thus the high-
priests and scribes misrepresented the words
of the Redeemer: "Eli, Eli" or "Eloi, Eloi,"
i. e. "My God", and exclaimed with peals of
laughter: "Behold, he calleth Elias." And,
as from an echo, the words came back from
the soldiers: "Behold, he calleth Elias."
To understand the cutting sarcasm con
tained in these words, we must consider that,
as the Talmudists say, the Jews venerated
Elias as the janitor of heaven and as the
greatest helper in need generally, and when in
dire straits, they were wont to invoke him.
The sense, then, of the words: "Behold, he
"calleth Elias" is: now finally this man is
coming to his senses, now finally he acknowl
edges his weakness and impotence ; now he is
surrendering, now finally the hypocrite is un
masked. Now, undoubtedly, there will be an
end to his pompous promises: "This day thou
The fourth word of Christ on the cross. 365
•"shalt be with me in paradise. " Now he
would be glad were Elias to open to him the
gates of heaven or help him down from the
cross.
The feelings, lastly, of the sorrowful Mother
and of the friends of Christ at the Saviour 's
plaint and at the jeers following it, cannot be
described. The pitiful cry of Christ penetrated
deeply into their hearts. Their countenances,
already pale, became paler still, and floods of
tears streamed from their eyes.
Let us bewail with the sorrowful Mother the
abandonment of her beloved Son. But we
should also resolve never to forsake him by
mortal sin and thus increase His suffering.
Let us moreover renew our sacred oath of
eternal fealty to Him. If we find ourselves
weak and tottering, let us pray for the grace
of Christ. Let us pray with the disciples who
went to Emmaus: "Lord, stay with us because
"it is towards evening." (Luke 24, 29.)
Especially at the hour of death shall we cry
from our inmost heart: 0 Jesus, forsake me
not! 0 Jesus, reject me not! O Jesus, con
demn me not ! Then, through the Redeemer's
goodness, we shall be saved from the eternal
abandonment of hell and be united to Him in
heaven forever.
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Fifth Word of Christ on the Cross.
"Afterwards Jesus knowing that all
"things were now accomplished, that
"the scripture might be fulfilled, said :
"I thirst." (John 19, 28.)
In the crucified, as in the case of all seriously
wounded, the great loss of blood produced
such an extraordinary inner heat that they
believed they were consumed by fire. The
thirst arising from this immense heat was,
without doubt, the greatest of all the sufferings
which these unfortunates had to endure. As
eye and ear witnesses relate,1 they would, after
hanging a little while on the cross, complain
of nothing more than of their burning thirst.
They seemed to be blunted to all other pain.
This historical fact puts the complaint of
the Saviour: "I thirst,77 in its proper light.
After a superficial consideration one might
think that Christ was complaining of a pain
of subordinate degree and unimportant in
1 Sepp VI, 379. Friedlieb, Archaeologie der Iveidensge-
schichte, p. 155.
(366)
The fifth word of Christ on the cross. 367
comparison to the other pains. And, in case
He really wished to complain of bodily suffer
ings, one would rather expect a complaint of
the pains in the hands and feet or in His
sacred head. But such a view is wrong. As
the Saviour chose as the object of the pre
ceding plaint the greatest of all the sufferings
of the soul, namely the abandonment by (rod,
He chose for the subject of this plaint the
greatest of all bodily sufferings which He ex
perienced. This thirst was more painful than
the scourging or the crowning with thorns or
the crucifixion itself; in it all the bodily
sufferings reached their climax. When there
fore the Redeemer complained of thirst, He
complained of the inner fever which consumed
Him, as if He said: "My entire body is being
" consumed by fire.77
That through this torture of thirst, the Re
deemer would atone for all sins of intemper
ance and of the palate generally, goes without
saying. Expecially did He have in view the
sin of our first parents. This sin began with
pride and self-deification; therefore did He
undergo the torture of being forsaken by God.
It ended with sensuality of the palate ; there
fore would He end the work of satisfaction by
suffering the torture of the most painful thirst
and thereby re-establish the order which had
been disturbed. — Let us now consider (John
368 History of the Passion.
19, 28-30. Matthew 27, 48, 49. Mark 15, 36.
Luke 23, 36)
I. The reasons for uttering this plaint;
II. Its circumstances and qualities — and
III. The granting of the petition contained
in it.
I.
Until now Christ had not complained of any
bodily pain. The reason why He did it now
at the end of His life, is given us by Holy
Writ itself. " Afterwards/7 says St. John,
" Jesus knowing that all things were now ac-
"complished, that the Scripture might be ful-
"filled, said: I thirst." Everything, then,
was accomplished that the prophets had fore
told; one thing only was wanting: that, in His
thirst, He be given vinegar to drink. In
order that this prophecy also might be ac
complished, He revealed His thirst to the
torturers. Otherwise they might not have
thought of giving him vinegar. — Of course,
we know that the different mysteries of
Christ's Passion were not accomplished be
cause they were prophesied, but that rather
these mysteries were themselves the causes of
the prophesies. For these things which hap
pened through the free will of men, just be
cause they really happened, were foreseen by
Almighty God from all eternity and were
foretold by the prophets centuries before they
The fifth word of Christ on the cross. 369
happened. Now, as it was written in the
Scriptures that Christ was to be given vinegar
to drink, St. John shows us the Saviour as
if in anxiety that nothing remain undone and
that the will of the Heavenly Father be ac
complished even to the minutest detail. —
Hanging, then, on the wood of martyrdom,
plunged in a sea of bitterness and over
whelmed with pain, the Saviour attends to
the accomplishment of God's will more than
to anything else. That God's will be done,
is His most ardent desire. Therein is con
tained a lesson for us ; how we should strive
to accomplish even to the smallest detail the
will of God revealed to us in Holy Writ. But,
in this regard, how many Christians confine
their efforts to that which is absolutely neces
sary and which is prescribed under penalty of
eternal damnation ! How rare is faithfulness
in little things ! How scarce is true zeal to
serve God in every respect ! How truly scarce
it is in sufferings ! The slightest ailments often
furnish pretexts for neglecting the most serious
duties.
Then, Christ complained: "I thirst" for two
reasons which had also impelled Him to com
plain of his abandonment. On the one hand,
He wished to teach the Jews and us that He
suffered bodily pains in reality and in the
highest degree; and, on the other, He wished
370 History oftlie Passion.
to draw our attention to the fires of hell. For
if the inward fire that consumed Him, could
draw such an outcry of pain from the Saviour
so patient, who, then would dwell with ever
lasting burnings? (Is. 33, 14.)
The last reason was the desire of the sacred
Heart of Jesus to suffer even more for us.
For He knew that amid jeers vinegar would
be offered Him as a refreshment and that
thus His plaint would bring upon Him a
new humiliation. This fact alone proves the
truth of what the Holy Fathers say; namely,
that at the end of his life, Christ was ready to
undergo even more sufferings for our sake, if
God had demanded it.
Thus did the Redeemer of the world end
His life in the most worthy manner ; on the
one hand, as we have seen, with an act of the
greatest self humiliation and, on the other,
with an act of the most heroic charity. For,
by revealing His thirst after He already had
reached the most intense degree of pain, He
brought about new sufferings, and thereby
showed His willingness to suffer even more
for the glory of Grod and for the salvation of
our souls. — We, on the contrary, are glad
when a pain has left us. To offer ourselves
to God for new and greater afflictions never
enters our mind. We rather study how we
can shake off or lighten our present cross or
avoid impending sufferings.
The fifth word of Christ on the cross. 371
Let us now consider the circumstances and
the qualities of the plaint.
II.
Three circumstances here merit our atten
tion. Christ did, indeed, complain of bodily
sufferings, but only after He had complained
of sufferings of the soul. Whilst therefore we
are not forbidden to complain of bodily ills,
the ills of our souls should, above all and in
the first place, be nearest to our heart, espe
cially that abandonment by God which is
caused by mortal sin. There are Christians,
however, who are never aware of these spiri
tual ills and who, therefore, never feel the need
of complaining of them, not even to those
who are empowered to heal the wounds of the
soul.
Christ did, indeed, complain of his bodily
ills, but not with a loud voice, as He did in
His abandonment. Thereby we are taught
that we should never loudly complain to God
of our bodily sufferings. It would be im
proper, as these sufferings, no matter how
grave they may be, are capable of producing,
with God's grace, much that is good and
salutary. For, with the help of grace, they
lead sinners to conversion, they detach the
heart from earthly things, they purify the
just, they offer him occasions of gaining much
merit, and they unite him most intimately
372 History of the Passion.
with the Crucified One Himself. If, however,
one be forsaken by God through mortal sin,
then it is proper to loudly invoke the mercy
of God.
Christ did, indeed, complain of bodily ills,
but only when they had reached the greatest
intensity. I am certainly not in favor of un
reasonable exaggeration in this matter, nor do
I advise that one should not look for remedies
until in the throes of death. Some even
ought to be advised to take more care of their
health. On the other hand, however, it is
wrong to fill the air with lamentations at every
slight indisposition, especially as the entire
ailment is sometimes merely a figment of the
imagination.
Two qualities of Christ's plaint are to be
conspicuously mentioned: its brevity and its
unassuming tone. The plaint consisted of
only one word; "Sitio," "I thirst." This is
all Christ has to say about His great affliction .
How unlike the Eedeemer are therefore those
Christians who draw out the most pitiable
descriptions of their bodily infirmities, unim
portant as they are now and then, and who
can never reach the end of the chapter when
they have once begun their story.
With that, the plaint of Christ was entirely
unassuming. He merely states what He
suffers without asking for anything. He left
The fifth tvord of Christ on the cross. 373
it to the bystanders to determine whether
and how his excruciating thirst was to be
quenched. — Nor will I affirm here that the
sick ought to be prohibited from asking for
this or that relief. But there are sick whose
demands, in this particular, go beyond all
reasonable bounds. Now they want this, then
that; and with the best of will, one cannot
satisfy them. They are continually in bad
humor, stubborn and a real cross for all who
are around them. Such sick should pay more
attention to Our Divine Saviour who patiently
took even the vinegar which was offered Him
in ridicule to quench His thirst. The saints
must have thought of it, for they rejoiced on
their sick beds, when they met with forget-
fulness or even wilful neglect.
Now, what kind of a hearing did the re
quest contained in the Saviour's complaint
find?
III.
After Christ had spoken the word: "I
"thirst," one of the bystanders, probably a
soldier, ran for a sponge, filled it with vine
gar, stuck it on a pole and, assisted by several
others, gave Him to drink. At crucifixions
the Roman soldiers always had in readiness
a vase of vinegar, partly to replete the leather-
bottles from which they drank, and partly to
offer to the crucified. Sponges were likewise
374 History of the Passion.
on hand wherewith the executioners washed
the blood-stained arms and clothes.
To the narrative of the evangelists Matthew
and Mark, St. John adds the item that it was
a rod of hyssop to which the sponge was at
tached. What impelled St. John to complete
the report of the other evangelists by men
tioning this circumstance can readily be sur
mised. In times gone by the Israelites were
commanded by G-od to dip a bunch of hyssop
into the blood of the lamb and with it to be
sprinkle the sills and posts of their doors in
order to keep away the destroying angel
(Exod. 12, 22). When, later on, Moses had
concluded on Mount Sinai the pact between
God and the people, he used for sprinkling
the altar and the people a bunch of hyssop
dipped into the blood of the immolated calves.
Hyssop was also to be used in preparing the
waters of purification and of reconciliation.
Wherefore David exclaimed; "Thou shalt
" sprinkle me with hyssop "(Ps. 50, 9). Owing
to its intrinsic purifying virtue, hyssop was,
finally, used to heal leprosy, which is a type
of sin. Hyssop was therefore hallowed by
religious observance; its properties rendered
it full of significance, and through its use in
connection with the first paschal lamb as well
as with the framing of the Old Testament, it
had acquired a peculiar relation to the puri-
The fifth word of Christ on the cross. 375
fying Blood of the Paschal Lamb of the New
Testament.
When the soldiers made a move to approach
the Redeemer with the sponge attached to the
reed, he was arrested by several cries of
"halt!" coming from different directions.
"Halt!" they cried, "wait, do not yet give
"Him the vinegar. Let us first see whether
"Elias will come to refresh and help Him."
For the chief -priests and pharisees had sneer-
ingly exclaimed: "Behold, he calleth Elias."
Now, although the pagan soldiers had not
heard much of Elias, the helper in need, still
they quickly entered into the spirit of the in
solent Jewish jest and, on their part, also
jeered at the perishing Saviour. But the
soldier did not waver in his purpose. "Hold
"on ! " he cried, adding his cruel jest to theirs ;
"let me give Him the vinegar to prolong His
"life until Elias arrives. Otherwise He might
"perish before Elias has time to put in an
"appearance."1 Elias, however, did not ar
rive and the Redeemer who had not drunk
the wine mixed with myrrh which had been
offered Him to diminish His pains, now drank
the vinegar because its offering was a matter
of jest and ridicule. He drank because He
wished to accomplish the last prophecy yet to
1 See note 18.
376 History of the Passion.
be fulfilled and because He, the Lord of life
and death, now wished to die.
Ah, indeed, the Son of God had not deserved
such treatment on the part of men. That they
might not lack wherewith to quench their
thirst, He had, once upon a time, created the
rivers and caused to spring forth from the
earth's recesses everywhere the clearness of
many waters. And if, notwithstanding, water
should now and then fail, He was ready to
work miracles to remove the distress. Ismael
was thirsty and He showed Agar a fountain ;
the people of Israel were thirsty and He drew
from the rock a refreshing source; He gave
Moses a wonderful rod to make bitter water
sweet. When, afterwards, He had become
man and dwelt among men, He proclaimed to
all who were thirsty: "If any man thirst, let
"him come to me, and drink" (John 7, 37).
But to Him, the bountiful Creator, His chosen
people refused even the smallest drop. It
stood calmly by, it grinned cruelly at the scene
of ridicule. Truly, the vineyard from which
Christ expected sweet grapes, had brought
forth wild ones (Is. 5, 4). The Samaritan
woman at Jacob's well had, in truth, been
more compassionate. When He was thirsty,
she did not refuse Him the drink of water.
But if, as we have seen, the Lord's bodily
thirst was great, the thirst of His soul for our
The fifth tvord of Christ on the cross. 377
salvation was still much greater. He was
therefore more anxious that the latter thirst be
quenched than that the parched mouth and
the withered tongue be again moistened.
Christ thirsts for our souls, He thirsts for our
conversion, He thirsts for our good works, He
thirsts for our perfection. Let us quench this
thirst of our Redeemer to our utmost power.
Let us sanctify our own soul and lead other
souls to Him. Then His Sacred Heart will be
to us a fountain of water springing up into
life everlasting. (John 4, 14.)
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Sixth Word of Christ on the Cross.
"When Jesus therefore had taken the
"vinegar, he said : It is consummated."
(John 19, 30.)
The last painful moment of His life per
mitted the Redeemer to express what He could
no longer say after death had paralyzed His
tongue: "It is consummated. " Solemnly,
before heaven and earth, before Grod and the
world, the dying Redeemer declares that the
mission of His life has been fulfilled, and that
everything referring to Him and promised in
the Scriptures of the Old Law, in prophecies
and prototypes, has been accomplished to the
very last.
Inasmuch as these prophecies relate to the
history of the Passion, we have repeatedly
referred to them in the course of the preceding
chapters. One thing more, however, was
promised in the books of the Old Testament,
the accomplishment of which needs a special
exposition. It is the main and central point
in the whole history of the Passion. Accord-
(378)
The sixth word of Christ on the cross. 379
ing to the prophet Isaias l (53, 10) through
the future Kedeemer, in fact, through His
death, there would be offered to Grod a real
and the most valuable sacrifice, reconciling God
and the world. This was the hope of the human
race languishing in the slavery of Satan. And
now this hope was also realized, this sacrifice
was consummated. As the fruit of this pro
pitiatory sacrifice of Christ, Isaias mentions
an eternal, spiritual progeny, i. e. the entire
multitude of the elect whom no one can
number.
Let us now adduce arguments to show that
Christ's death on the cross was
I. A real sacrifice in the strictest sense of
the word, and
II. A sacrifice of infinite value.
I.
We will briefly summarize the external
proofs of the truth of our first proposition.
That Christ's death on the cross was a sacri
fice in the strictest sense of the word is de
duced from the fact that the main object of
the bloody sacrifices of animals in the Old
Law, was to typify and represent the giving up
of the life of Jesus unto a violent death. Now
the bloody sacrifices of animals were real
sacrifices and therefore Christ's death on the
1 See note 19.
380 History of the Passion.
cross, typified by them, must have been a real
sacrifice. For reality cannot be superseded
by its shadow, nor fulfilment and accomplish
ment, by their types and figures. Then,
coming to the New Testament, we find, in
the first place, that Our Divine Saviour is often
called a Lamb. "Behold the lamb of Grod,
" behold him who taketh away the sin of the
"world," writes St. John (1, 29). "Christ,
"our pasch, is sacrificed, " joyfully exclaims
St. Paul (1 Cor. 5. 7). "You were redeemed
"with the precious blood of Christ, as of a
"lamb unspotted and undefiled," St. Peter
teaches us (1 Pet. 1, 19). Now, if we con
sider that in the Old Law the lamb was one of
the animals most frequently immolated in
sacrifice, we can readily understand that the
writers of the books of the New Testament, in
calling Christ a lamb, were convinced that He
offered a true and real sacrifice. Further
more, what they merely indicate by this com
parison, they also state in expressed terms.
St. John writes: "Jesus is the propitiation for
"our sins: and not for ours only, but also for
"those of the whole world" (1 John 2, 2).
Paul the Apostle represents to the Ephesians
how Christ had delivered Himself as an ob
lation and a sacrifice to God for an odor of
sweetness (Eph. 5, 2). Finally, the doctrine
of Christ's vicarious and propitiatory sacrifi-
The sixth word of Christ on the cross. 381
cial death is repeatedly laid down, in clear and
most definite terms in the epistle to the He
brews. "Christ sacrificed Himself once for the
"sins of the people'7 (Hebr. 7, 29). "Christ
"was offered once to exhaust the sins of
many" (ibid. 9, 28). — And this doctrine of
Holy Writ is the doctrine of the Holy Fathers,
the doctrine of the Catholic Church and the
conviction of the whole Catholic people.
"What sacrifice," asks St. Leo,1 "was ever
"holier than that which the true High-Priest
"laid upon the Altar of the Cross by sacri-
"ficing His own Body?" And joyfully does
the Church sing on the holy eve of Easter:
"0 wonderful condescension of Thy goodness
"towards us, o God! 0 inappreciable favor
"of Thy Love! In order to redeem the ser-
"vant, Thou hast delivered the Son."
But let us enter more deeply into the subject
by showing that in Christ's death on the Cross
every thing is found which belongs to a real
sacrifice. For this purpose, however, it is ab
solutely necessary to first explain the idea of
a sacrifice, briefly but thoroughly. By a sacri
fice proper we understand a religious act by
which a visible gift is offered to God in order
that by its destruction, in one way or another,
God may be honored and worshiped. Above
all then, there is required a visible gift, some-
1 Sermo 13 de Pass. c. 3.
382 History oftlie Passion.
thing that is material and tangible. Sacrifices
of prayer, of self denial and of the heart, are
sacrifices only in an improper and wide sense.
Then this visible gift must be offered up. For
the sacrifice does not consist so much in the
visible object as in the offering of it. The sa
crifice is not the object in itself, but an act
which, of course, presupposes a sacrificial gift.
Then, the object must be offered directly to
God. If, for the love of God, one were to
offer to a poor man a lamb or a loaf of bread,
it would be an alms but, properly speaking,
not a sacrifice. Then the visible gift must be
offered to God by being destroyed in some way.
Thus, in the Old Law, animals were slain and
burned; incense was likewise burned, liquids
were poured out. For this is chiefly the only
possible way of offering them directly to God.
In fact, sacrificial gifts cannot be carried to
Him into heaven. By being destroyed or, at
least, withdrawn from every earthly and
profane use, they are, as it were, given
back to the Creator. The intrinsic reason
however, why the offering is made by
destruction entire or partial, is contained
in the end of the sacrificial act; namely,
to solemnly acknowledge God's supreme
dominion, especially to worship Him and
to subject ourselves entirely to Him as
to the Lord of life and death. The best
The sixth word of Christ on the cross. 383
expression of this inner disposition would in
deed be to offer life itself, as was done in the
death of Christ on the Cross. But according
to a Divine ordinance, man has no right to
dispose of his own life. Wherefore, in ancient
times, instead of life itself, such objects, an
imate and inanimate, were offered which con
tributed directly to the sustenance of human
life and which, for this reason, best repre
sented the sacrifice of human life itself.
With this first object of the sacrificial act,
namely to praise and worship G-od, is inti
mately connected the intention of showing
Him our gratitude in an external and effica
cious manner, as well as to beg of Him new
gifts and graces. After the fall of man, the
sacrifices assumed prominently the character
of being propitiatory. To placate God the
animal of sacrifice had to surrender its life in
place of the sinner who had forfeited life and
merited death.
The right and, in a certain sense, the duty
of offering sacrifice originally belonged to all
upon whom the duty of external religious acts
was incumbent; to the individual, therefore,
to the family, and to human society. Thus
Cain and Abel offered sacrifice. The father
would sacrifice in the name ol the family, and,
in the name of a community, a priest ap
pointed for that purpose by the civil author-
384 History of the Passion.
ity. Sacrifice, however, being the most sub
lime and most perfect act of religious worship,
was soon exclusively reserved for public wor
ship held in common. By taking part in this
public worship, the individual perfectly satis
fied his personal obligation. With the Jews
especially Almighty God, as it were, took this
matter into His own hands. He not only de
termined the various sacrificial gifts, but He
also appointed the priests, who had to offer
them in the name of the people. For, if a
man, especially a sinful man, wishes, in the
name of the people, to stand as an agent of
mediation and reconciliation between God and
sinners, it is proper that he be empowered for
the purpose by God and that, at least by his
office and his dignity, he be segregated from
sinners and sanctified. But when the pleni
tude of time arrived, all men were deprived
forever of the right to offer sacrifice, because
the Son of God Himself was to appear, ac
cording to His human nature, as the Priest of
sacrifice, as the High-Priest of the new dis
pensation. The burning of incense is there
fore no longer a sacrifice, but merely a sacred
ceremony.
Thus, by the order of the heavenly Father,
the Lord of life and death, Christ, by His
bloody death on the cross, freely offered to
God His human life, instead of ours, to honor
The sixth word of Christ on the cross. 385
Him and to placate Him, and He renews this
sacrifice in an unbloody manner at every holy
Mass. Christ's death on the cross was there
fore a true and real sacrifice. Everything per
taining to the essence of a sacrifice was there:
a visible gift — namely the sacred humanity of
Jesus Christ; an offering of this gift by a
High-Priest appointed by God; a destruction
of this gift by death, and the intention of hon
oring and glorifying God through this same
destruction.
But, one might ask, did not the executioners
put Christ to death and deprive Him of life?
Ought not therefore the executioners to be
considered the sacrificing priests at Christ's
death on the cross? Such a deduction would
be wrong. It is true, the executioners inflicted
upon the Saviour tortures which naturally
could but bring on death, and, in consequence
of these tortures, Christ finally died. However,
notwithstanding these tortures, even had they
been a thousand times greater or had they
lasted thousands of years, Christ would not
have died, had He not Himself willed it. Even
at the very last moment of the Saviour's life,
it lay within the power of His human will,
united as it was with the second Person of the
Godhead, to avoid death entirely. Such was
not the case with the holy martyrs. Joyfully,
indeed, and exultingly, their will in complete
386 History of the Passion.
submission to the will of God, did these heroes
approach death ; but they approached an in
evitable death, a death whose approach they
could not delay for a single second with all
the powers of their will. Christ, on the other
hand, died because He willed it and when He
willed it. By a resolve of His own human
will, He effected the separation of soul and
body, inasmuch as with perfect freedom He
permitted the tortures to now finally produce
their deadly effect. In this, and in this alone,
did the sacrificial act consist in Christ's death
on the cross. Christ was therefore not only
the Victim, but also the sacrificing Priest.
Far from being sacrificing priests, the exe
cutioners rendered themselves guilty of the
crime of deicide. Christ's death on the cross
is, therefore, a real sacrifice. It differed from
all other sacrifices, not only because in it as
the only genuine sacrifice the First-Born of
humanity was offered, whilst in the others
animals of lower rank were immolated in the
stead of human life, but also because it was a
sacrifice of infinite value.
II.
The infinite value of the sacrifice of the cross
is deduced first from the infinite dignity and
holiness of Jesus Christ, the sacrificing Priest,
and, secondly, from the infinite treasures of
The sixth word of Christ on the cross. 387
satisfaction and merit which it contains. Let
us explain more fully these two thoughts.
The value of a sacrifice depends first of all
on the value of the sacrificial gift. Under this
aspect, a sacrifice of one thousands lambs
would have more value than one of ten lambs
under perfectly similar circumstances. Now
the most valuable gift ever offered to Grod was
the body, the blood, the life of the God-Man.
This gift was in itself of absolutely infinite
value, and it caused the sacrifice of the cross
to be immeasurably superior, in intrinsic
value, to all the sacrifices of the Old Law.
Nevertheless the infinite value of Christ's
sacrifice is owing more to the infinite dignity
of the Sacrificer than to the infinite value of
the gift. Does not, in every day life, the per
sonality of the giver add to the gift a special
value? In your prayer-book you have a small,
insignificant picture. It is torn and soiled.
And still it is dear to you and you would not
give it for any price. Why? You received it
from a good friend or from some exalted per
sonage, perhaps the Holy Father gave it to
you when, prostrate at his feet in the Holy
City, you implored his papal blessing. Does
not a mother take more pleasure in a simple
bouquet given to her on her namesday by a
good and pious child than in a more preten
tious gift offered by an ill-behaved son? Thus
388 History of the Passion,
the personality of the giver can impart a great
value to a small gift. That is why the infinite
dignity and holiness of Christ gave to His sa
crifice an infinite value. This is so true that
if Christ, instead of offering Himself to God,
had offered only a lamb, for instance, the sa
crificial act of Christ would have had an in
finite value owing to the personality of the
sacrificing Priest.
The sacrifice of the Cross is, therefore, the
grandest, holiest and most valuable act which
was ever performed since the creation of the
world. Whatever the patriarchs and prophets,
the confessors and virgins, the martyrs and
apostles, all the saints and even the Blessed
Virgin did that was good and holy; all of it
put together, being finite, cannot be compared
with the value of the sacrifice of the Cross.
The infinite value of the sacrifice of the
Cross is derived, secondly, from the infinite
treasure of satisfaction and merit which it
contains. This treasure is so infinitely vast
that, notwithstanding the untold wealth distri
buted therefrom to men for centuries and
daily flowing to them even now, it is not only
not exhausted, but it has not even been di
minished. It could not be diminished if even
there were a million times more human beings,
if even this out-flowing wealth were a million
times greater, and if the world were to last for
all eternity.
The sixth word of Christ on the cross. 389
But what is this glorious and manifold
wealth, which is the product of the sacrifice
of the cross? It can be divided into two
kinds, viz. : perfect reconciliation and perfect
restoration to grace. Above all, Christ has
satisfied for the guilt of sin. By His sacrifice
He has rendered to His heavenly Father an
honor infinitely greater than that which was
withdrawn from Him by the sins of the whole
world. Then He also more than plentifully
atoned for the penalties of sin. To prevail on
Grod to waive His right of punishing us, He
took upon Himself sufferings of infinite,
atoning power. But Christ merited for us
not only the remission of guilt and of punish
ment, but He also gained for us a perfect re
storation to grace, a superabundance of life,
the entrance "into the Holies, " as the Scrip
ture has it. To the redeeming death of Christ
we owe each and every grace which we have
ever received from Grod: the grace of the
true faith, the grace of prayer, the grace of
our heart's conversion, the grace of the vic
tory over temptation, and from it alone can
we expect the grace of final perseverance.
From each one of these graces, there hangs,
as it were, a drop of Christ's precious Blood,
with which it was purchased. But not only
did Christ merit for us the plenitude of actual
graces, but He also merited sanctifying grace,
390 History of the Passion.
the infused virtues, the gifts and fruits of the
Holy Grhost, the celestial transfiguration of
soul and body; in a word, all the glories of
grace in the children of God, which glories
are indeed hidden here below but which, in
the next world, will be unfolded in most won
derful splendor. The establishment also of
Holy Church and her endowment of all gifts
and means of salvation, are fruits grown upon
the tree of the Cross. Wherefore, in holy
inspiration and filled with joy and rapture,
the Church sings in her Passion hymns :
" Cross of faith, among all others,
"Tree most precious, wondrous rare;
"None e'er yields such leaves, such flowers,
"Nor such fruit, divinely fair."
Now by the fruits the tree is known. There
fore, from the infinite satisfaction and merit
of the sacrifice of the Cross, we rightly infer
its infinite value. It remains for us to par
ticipate in the fruits of the sacrifice of the
Cross to an always increasing extent by prayer,
by good works, by the reception of the sacra
ments and by assisting at holy Mass.
The sixth word of Christ on the cross is,
then, full of meaning when taken to signify:
"The sacrifice is consummated." His death
on the cross was really the sacrifice of the New
Law, promised by the prophets and prefigured
The sixth word of Christ on the cross. 391
by the sacrifice of the Old Law ; it was a sacri
fice of infinite value. — Christ's mission in life
was now fulfilled. Justly, therefore, and as if
in holy enthusiasm, does a celebrated Father
of the Syrian church l cite all the prophets to
appear upon Calvary, there to gaze on the
Messias and to testify before the entire world
that their prophecies concerning Him have
been fulfilled to the letter. "Approach," he
exclaims, "Isaias, and behold the Lamb of
fered to the Divinity, immolated, suspended
"on the cross and covered with blood! ....
"Zachary, look upon His hands and see the
"wounds! .... David, whose son He is,
"come and behold Him on Grolgotha: they
"have pierced His hands and driven nails
"through them, they have given Him vine-
"gar." .... The Redeemer could therefore
confidently close His eyes.
Happy the Christian who, in death, can say
with the Saviour, in holy joy and with a
cheerful heart: "It is consummated. " Con
summated is the work which the heavenly
Father hath given me : the sacrifice of mine
own self is consummated. Past are now the
days of labor, the days of tribulation and of
temptation; they are past forever. Past is
the horrible, dark night of tempests and lo !
1 Jacob of Sarug. First discourse on the Passion of
Jesus. Translated by P. Zingerle. Theol. Quartalschr.
(1891) p. 410.
392 History of the Passicn.
I already behold the dawn of the eternal day
of light and heavenly brightness. Nothing
now remains but to receive the crown of
justice.
But if our last hour were to come today,
could we say with as much confidence as the
Saviour: "It is consummated?" Alas! how
many are far behind in the work of their lives.
How many have not even begun their work !
How many, after having begun, have again
folded their arms in i dleness ! It were terrible,
however, if in such a condition, one were
forced by approaching death to exclaim: "It
"is consummated." Consummated is the life
of sin and vice ! Gone are now all those sweep
ing pleasures, those vile passions. Gone now
is boastful wealth, gone is the vanity of
worldly honor. Past are now the hours of
grace, the hours of salvation and of mercy.
Now the hour of vengeance is striking. Time
is at an end, eternity is beginning, eternity
with its everlasting pains.
However, the Heart of Christ is good and
full of love. The Redeemer yet gives us time
for life, time for work and for penance. Let
us, then, with all our heart, deplore our past
neglect in the service of God and, with re
doubled efforts, strive to retrieve past omis
sions. Let us by ceaseless work redeem lost
time and thus make haste to enter into eternal
rest.
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Seventh Word of Christ on the Cross.
"And Jesus crying with a loud voice,
"said : Father, into thy hands I com-
"meud my spirit. And saying this, he
"gave up the ghost." (Luke 23, 46.)
All things which Holy Writ had predicted
regarding the life and Passion of the Re
deemer, were fulfilled. His thirst was to be
quenched with vinegar. As soon as Christ
had taken the vinegar, He said: "It is con-
"summated." — All was consummated that
the heavenly Father had entrusted Him with;
everything that was demanded by Divine
Justice, everything to which the Redeemer's
love had impelled Him, everything necessary
or conducive to man's salvation, everything
was now consummated. Consummated was
now the work of the bloody Passion, the
chalice was drained to the dregs, and whatever
evil hell and the world could inflict on Christ,
was now overcome. Consummated was now
the Old Testament with its onerous laws and
(393)
394 History of the Passion.
bloody sacrifices of animals, its prophecies
were fulfilled, its figures had passed into re
ality, and the synagogue now found its finish.
— "It is consummated! " This sixth word of
the Eedeemer was the prayer of thanksgiving
on the evening of His life, the message of joy
for all the elect, the announcement of victory
over hell and the cry of triumph at the mo
ment of death. The work of redemption, the
sacrifice of the New Law was consummated.
Nothing else remained but to die. Wherefore
the Redeemer cried out with a loud voice:
"Father, into thy hands I commend my
"spirit.'7 Let us consider (Matthew 27, 50.
Mark 15, 37. Luke 23, 46. John 19, 30).
I. The meaning of the seventh word and
II. Its circumstances.
I.
In the last moment of His life the Redeem
er thought almost exclusively of His heav
enly Father and of His own soul. In the
seventh word He addresses Grod with the word
"Father.'7 This was the last declaration of
His own divinity. During His public life, He
had often and in various ways, declared Him
self to be the Son of God, and He had worked
many miracles to prove the truth of His decla
ration. Before Caiphas, He had maintained
this same declaration although He foresaw all
The seventh word of Christ on the cross. 395
the tortures it would cause Him. He held to
this declaration until death. In the Crucified
Redeemer we must therefore adore the Son of
God and bend our knee before Him.
He furthermore called God His Father to
again show that His will was in complete sub
jection to the will of the Father and that He
was obedient unto death, even unto the death
of the Cross. The word "Father" was at the
same time the expression of filial love and of
strongest confidence. It was not, as we have
seen, from diffidence or pusillanimity that,
immediately before, He had not called upon
the Father as such but rather had exclaimed:
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
"me?"
Besides the Father, His soul was also the
subject of Christ's thoughts. He had no more
earthly goods to dispose of. His garments
had been distributed and the lot cast over His
vesture. He had early provided for His
blessed mother. He gave no directions as to the
place and manner of His funeral ; that He left
to others. But he now recommended His
soul to the Father. He did it for a threefold
purpose. First, this recommendation of the
soul was, in a manner, an offering of it. He
had already shed and offered His blood, but
His soul was still His own. In grateful re
cognition therefore, of all natural and super-
396 History of the Passion.
natural gifts with which it was endowed, He
laid into the hands of its Creator this soul
which was the master-piece of Divine Love
and Power, and He offered it to the Father.
Secondly, He recommended His soul to God
in order that the latter might now finally free
it from its sufferings and thus allow it to en
joy unmolested all the delights and pleasures
resulting from the immediate vision of Grod.
Thirdly, He recommended His soul to the
Father in order that He might, as it were,
take it in charge until the day of the resur
rection.
Strictly speaking, there was no need of a
recommendation on the part of Christ. He
might have appealed to the innate right He
had of enjoying, free from every suffering, all
the delights of heaven; of being preserved
from bodily corruption and of speedily rising
from the dead. He might also have reminded
the Father of the infinite merits of His life
and passion. But the Saviour was humble of
heart. And, to also give us an example, He
used the language of humility.
Then again, the seventh word is very
instructive for us. We may learn from the
Eedeemer the right manner of preparing for
death. One should arrange early all temporal
affairs and whatever concerns his family and
relatives. There should be no unreasonable
The seventh word of Christ on the cross. 397
anxiety about the body and its burial nor
about the grave and its adornment. For,
when the house is in flames, it would be foolish
to worry about some thread-bare garment and
to forget to save the golden ware and the
jewels. No one was ever less attentive to these
matters than the Redeemer. But no grave
ever became more glorious than His. On the
approach of death we should think of and
turn to Divine mercy and love. To this mercy
should we recommend our poor soul and not
pay attention to our merits. For, whatever
good we have done, we owe it to Divine grace,
whilst many of our good works are faulty and
need cleansing. Such humility will surely
crown our merits. We should commend our
soul into the hands of the Father ; into those
hands which have formed us ; into those hands
which hold our destiny and from which no
one can ever snatch our soul.
While the seventh word of Christ on the
cross is instructive, it is also very consoling.
For, recommending His own spirit to the
heavenly Father, the Saviour recommended
all those who are one with His spirit. "But he
"who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit" says
St. Paul (1 Cor. 6, 17), i. e. whoever is in
possession of sanctifying grace is one spirit
with Him. Whilst, therefore, in the last hour
we may have to face much that might fill us
398 History of the Passion.
with terror, if by sanctifying grace we are
united with Christ, we may confidently close
our eyes in death. For more than eighteen
centuries ago a recommendation to the heav
enly Father has preceded us. On account of
the prayer of Christ in which with His spirit,
He also recommended ours to the Father, we
may expect a gracious reception.
Let us now direct our attention to the cir
cumstances of the seventh word.
II.
The first circumstance meriting our consid
eration is the fact that Christ spoke this word
with a loud voice. It is namely unheard of
in history that any one, being crucified, had
ever spoken in a loud voice just before death.
The fearful fever which made the tongue
cleave to the palate, prevented it. At most,
it may have happened that the crucified then
uttered a loud groan or sigh. But to dis
tinctly pronounce an entire sentence with a
loud voice, could not be done except miracu
lously. This must impel us the more to exam
ine the reasons why Christ worked such a
miracle.
In the first place the Redeemer wished to
show by this wonderful demonstration of
strength that He was even then capable of re
moving or postponing the deadly effects of
His sufferings and that, as St. Augustine
The seventh word of Christ on the cross. 399
says,1 He died not from weakness but through
power. "To die," St. Bernard therefore says,2
"means great weakness; but thus to die,
"means immense strength." As, then, the
word itself was the last declaration of His di
vinity, just so, as the pagan centurion acknowl
edged immediately afterwards, the loud voice
was the last miracle in confirmation of it.
Then, through the loud exclamation, Christ
manifested the whole natural pain felt by the
soul when it must leave the body. This pain
was especially severe in the soul of Jesus
Christ. How hard is it not to take leave of a
good friend? Now the soul of Christ saw in
its Sacred Body the best and most lovable
friend with whom it had been most intimately
united in weal and woe during thirty three
years. Besides, this body had assisted the
Saviour's soul with the utmost self-sacrifice, in
the work of Redemption. It had suffered
hunger and thirst, it had become fatigued
through the labors and heat of the day. It
had been cruelly scourged ; it had allowed the
hands and the feet to be pierced and the head
to be crowned with thorns ; it had given all
its blood; it had, in a word, borne the ex
penses of Redemption. Now the soul of Christ
had to part from this body, and therefore He
loudly expressed His sorrow.
1 Serm. 218, c. 12. Migne, P. I,, t. XXXVIII, col. 1087
2 Serm. de Pass. Domini., n. 4.
400 History of the Passion.
The parting of the soul from the body with
which it has been intimately united for twenty,
fifty or seventy years, is also with us the sad
dest event of all. It is sadder than the part
ing from worldly possessions, sadder than the
separation from relatives, principally when
the body with its five senses has been to the
soul a companion only in sin and an instrument
for sin. Indeed, to be forced to leave such a
body which has been the chief source of en
joyment for the sinner and profligate; and to
leave it with the foreknowledge of again in
the future being united to it forever in the
flames of hell, has already thrown many a
soul into despair and has pressed from many
a dying person a cry of desperation.
Through the loud cry, the Redeemer also
gave expression to another sorrow. His death,
namely, was our spiritual birth. Whatever
the sacred humanity of Christ suffered thereby,
was to be made known to the entire world.
Rachel of yore called the son whose birth
caused her death "Benoni," that is "son of
1 i my sorrow. 7 ' The father however called him
Benjamin, that is, "son of my right hand."
May we, whose regeneration cost the Saviour
His life, be also recognized by our heavenly
Father as "sons of His right hand/7 that is,
as such upon whom He may confidently place
His right hand, as if for support, in all that
The seventh word of Christ on the cross. 401
concerns His greater glory and the salvation
of souls.
Furthermore, Christ cried with a loud voice
in order to encourage death to approach Him.
Death sat at the foot of Calvary and steadily
gazed upon the three crucified ones. He
dared not approach the Redeemer. For he
well knew that he had no rightful claim on
Him Who was the author of life and Who had
not sinned in Adam. Wherefore the Re
deemer, by crying loudly, enticed him to
approach, and death was heedless enough to
heed this voice. For he had no idea that by
devouring this prey, he himself would lose his
life and find his death.
Christ, finally, cried with a loud voice, just
as the lion roars when going forth to seize his
prey. Now the moment had arrived when
Christ, always so hungry for immortal souls,
was to go forth from G-olgatha to satisfy His
consuming hunger. With a loud voice He
announced to the world the march of conquest
which nothing should withstand. — Therefore,
in terror and in joy as well, the earth quaked,
the rocks were rent, the graves opened; but
the sun appeared in its full splendor. This
cry of the Redeemer penetrated into the in
most depths of the earth. It was the signal
of redemption to the souls in Limbo. But to
the fallen spirits it was a clap of thunder
402 History of the Passion.
which, in a moment, wrecked all their plans.
The second circumstance of the seventh
word is the fact that it was the last word of
the dying Redeemer. For, after saying this
word or rather whilst saying it, He bowed His
head, and thereupon He breathed forth His
soul. The bowing of the head was therefore
not an effect of death already present ; it was
an act willed with full deliberation. It must,
indeed, have a deep meaning. For when Christ
addressed the Father at the last supper, He
raised His eyes to heaven. Why then does
He now bow His head, whilst He is speaking
to the Father Who is in heaven? Although
the crown of thorns may have prevented Him
from raising His head, why did He not keep
it in its former position, and why did He not
at least raise His eyes to heaven?
First, the bowing of the head was the ex
pression of His humble submission to the will
of the Father. At the same time it denoted
the powerful weight of sin burdening His
shoulder and pressing Him down. Whoever
walks along, laden with a heavy burden, al
ways walks with a bowed head. Then this
bowing of the head was the parting salute to
His beloved mother, to St. John, to the pious
women and to the thief on the right. Where
fore, according to tradition, the Saviour did
not bow directly ahead but more to the right
The seventh word of Christ on the cross. 403
where all these saints were. Furthermore,
He desired to breathe His spirit upon those
to whom He was now about to descend in or
der to deliver them from Limbo 's prison.
The bow of the head was the sign of recon
ciliation; it was the sign that He breathed
forth His spirit for the salvation of the world
and that this spirit should always remain
among men. Finally He bowed His head as
if to implore a blessing.
After Our Divine Saviour had bowed His
head, he gave up the ghost. —Upon the cross
we now behold only a corpse bleeding from
many wounds. But the divinity dwells in it,
it is inseparably united with the second Per
son, it is really the corpse of the Son of G-od.
The soul, also inseparably united with the
second Person, was immeasurably happy right
after the separation from the body and it des
cended into Limbo. No matter, therefore,
how much we are entitled to mourn the death
of the Saviour, we must congratulate Him also
with all our heart for such a happy death.
The Son of God, then, has died. Now the
sinner may breathe easier. It must indeed,
be terrible, as Holy Writ says, to fall into the
hands of the living G-od. But a dying Grod,
a God struggling with death, a God breathing
forth His soul, is not to be feared. He can
only be loved. In presence, then, of the corpse
404 History of the Passion.
of the God-Man, let this be our resolve, that
in future we shall no longer walk in the spirit
of fear, at least not of servile fear, but rather
in the spirit of love. Out of love for Him
Who loved us until death, let us deplore our
sins and avoid them in future. Out of love
to Christ crucified let us strive to become like
to Him. Then, in death, we shall also be able
to say confidently: "Father, into thy hands
"I commend my spirit/7
CHAPTER XXX.
The Sufferings of Christ on the Cross.
"O all ye that pass by the way attend,
"and see if there be any sorrow like to
"my sorrow." (Lam. 1, 12.)
In meditating upon the seven words, we
have already considered various great suffer
ings which the Redeemer had to undergo
during the three hours that he hung upon the
Cross. But there remain several others which
merit our attention. And it appears meet and
just, as well as useful and salutary, to sum
marize and group in one chapter all the suffer
ings of Our Lord on the Cross, in order thereby
to obtain as faithful a picture as possible of
the crucified Redeemer. If the garden of
Olives, the different courts, the place of flagel
lation and the stations of the way of the cross
are sacred spots, then surely Mount Calvary
ought to be for us, as it was for the saints, an
abode of predilection. The contemplation of
the Crucified Redeemer ought to be the daily
bread, the consolation and the comfort of our
souls. However, in grouping the various
(405)
-106 History of the Passion.
sufferings of the Crucified Saviour, we shall
but briefly mention those which we have
already meditated upon extensively. Let us
consider the sufferings of the crucified
Saviour
I. In His sacred Body,
II. In His honor and
III. In His soul.
I.
In describing the sufferings which the cru
cified Saviour had to bear in His sacred Body,
I shall appeal less to the imagination, but I
shall endeavor, by presenting some thoughts,
to convince reason that the bodily sufferings
of the Redeemer must have been immeasur
ably great.
Among all kinds of death, crucifixion was
considered by all antiquity to be the most
painful and the most cruel. The suspension
alone from the arms stretched upwards for
such a long time, was an intolerable torture.
History narrates of English martyrs that, for
the purpose of making them deny the faith,
they were suspended to beams with ropes
attached to their hands and left several hours
dangling between heaven and earth. When
finally the ropes were cut, they fell to the
ground as if dead. Now Christ was not at
tached to the cross with ropes but with nails.
These nails were driven through hands and
The sufferings of Christ on the cross. 407
feet, just where many sensitive nerves and
tendons meet. Some of these were lacerated,
others were violently bruised. It is true, as
antiquarians show, that it was customary at
crucifixions to fasten to the middle of the
cross a prop upon which the main weight of
the body should rest,1 so that the hands would
not be entirely torn. In as much as the cross
of Christ is concerned, St. Irenaeus 2 and
the holy martyr Justin3 mention this support
in expressed terms. But there was no trace
of a foot rest to act as a support from
below. The feet of Christ w,ere nailed directly
to the main beam of the cross. The main
weight of the body therefore bore partly on
the pierced feet and partly on the pierced
hands. If Christ would relieve the one, the
other suffered so much the more. Every
move, every slight tremor brought renewed
pain penetrating to the very marrow. Owing
to the wounded and terribly swollen hands
and feet, and, yet more, to the unnatural
lesion and tension of all the muscles caused
by the strained position of the body, the cir
culation of the blood in the heart and lungs
was rendered difficult and partly impeded.
Thence resulted a difficulty of breathing which
1 Hence the expression : equitare in cruce.
2 Adv. haeres. 2, 24, 4.
3 Adv. Tryph. 91. Migne P. G. t. VI, col. 693.
408 History of the Passion.
increased to a sense of suffocation, accom
panied by a sensation of fear and spasmodic
contraction of the heart. Another result was
that the blood rushed to the head, with in
creased pressure, abnormally extending the
arteries and immensely increasing the pains
in the thorn-crowned head. And as the body,
which the scourging had entirely covered with
wounds, was exposed during three hours to
the fresh and, owing to the eclipse, even cold
air, inflammation and wound-fever set in, so
that the sacred body assumed a livid color.
These pains reached their climax in the burn
ing and steadily increasing thirst.
If to this we add the condition of exhaus
tion and faintness into which preceding suf
ferings had brought Christ, the loss of blood
from the scourging and the crowning with
thorns, and the tenderness of His sacred body,
then we have a faint portrayal of the bodily
sufferings of the Crucified One.
There are Christians who deem it extremely
difficult to love G-od with a perfect love. Ah !
that they would consider the Crucified Saviour
Who might have saved us with one sigh of
His Sacred Heart, but Who, out of love for
us, wished to shed all His blood. Indeed, it
is impossible to devoutly consider the suffer
ings of Christ, and not be penetrated with a
perfect love for Him and a perfect contrition
The sufferings of Christ on the cross. 409
for sins. It is impossible to devoutly consider
the sufferings of Christ and not to renounce,
out of love for Him, at least all the sinful and
dangerous pleasures of this world. It is im
possible to devoutly consider the sufferings
of Christ and not bear patiently and even joy
fully the sufferings of this life. "For," as St.
Bernard says beautifully,1 "the wounds of
"Christ are on the one hand sources of blood
"to teach us to suffer and, on the other hand,
"sources of fire to teach us to love." May,
therefore, the picture of the Redeemer bleed
ing from a thousand wounds be continually
present to our minds and impress itself deeply
into our souls.
Let us consider, secondly, the sufferings of
the Crucified One in His honor.
II.
With infinite care the Holy G-host once had
sanctified the virginal body which was destined
to clothe the Son of Glod with flesh and blood.
Nothing but what was thoroughly pure and
holy might ever touch His blood. Now, how
ever, at the death of Christ, this blood flowed
upon a soil desecrated by the sins of men and
sated, in the lapse of centuries, with their
blood. Thus, as it were, did the blood of the
Most Holy One mingle with the blood of
1 Serm. 33, in Cant.
410 History of the P.assion.
sinners and become one blood with it, — an
ignominy for the Saviour which we cannot
sufficiently take to heart. But thus it must
needs be. For the blood of Christ was to
flow for the sins of the world. Such was His
last will and testament. It had to mingle with
sinful blood in order to purify and sanctify it.
Besides, the Redeemer met with the most
dishonorable and the most shameful kind of
death, namely the punishment of the Cross.
Among the Eomans, this mode of death was
applied to the most abject of criminals only;
to those only who were considered as being
rejected by the gods; to those only whose
bodies were deemed unworthy of burial.
Never was it allowed to inflict this penalty
upon a free-born Roman. Then, as if He had
been the leader and chief of a band of robbers
and murderers, Christ was crucified between
two incendiaries and homicidal robbers. Fur
thermore, He was deprived of all His garments
except the loin-cloth. And all this was done
not secretly nor privately in an enclosed prison
yard, but publicly, in open daylight, on a hill,
before the whole people who had assembled
to celebrate the pasch.
But what caused the greatest dishonor and
shame to Christ, wrere the blasphemies and
jeers with which He was overwhelmed while
hanging on the cross. Undoubtedly he had
The sufferings of Christ on the cross. 411
to drink of this chalice of ignominy on differ
ent former occasions. But it was here, on
Golgotha's heights, where, according to the
Lamentations, He was to be satiated with
ignominy. Hence the evangelists are very
explicit in the description of these scenes.
They not only mention the different classes of
people who blasphemed and scoffed at the
Redeemer, but they also give the very words
of derision which were spoken against Him.
First, as we have already seen when treat
ing of the second word of Christ, it was the
thief on the left who opened his mouth in
blasphemy. — Then it was the passers-by, that
is, those of the people who came and went or
happened to pass on the way leading by Gol
gotha (Matthew 27, 39. 40. Mark 15, 29. 30).
In vain had the prophet, centuries before, im
plored the passers-by for sympathy: "0 all
"ye that pass by the way attend, and see if
"there be any sorrow like to my sorrow."
They blasphemed Him, says Holy Writ, they
critically and sarcastically wagged their heads,
and distorting 'the words of Christ as the false
witnesses had done, they said: "Vah, thou
"that destroyest the temple of God, and in
"three days dost rebuild it, save thy own self:
"if thou be the son of God come down from
"the cross.77 Thus do they express their joy
that, at last, the great wonder-worker, is un-
412 History of the Passion.
masked as a boastful deceiver. — Now, does
not this last word of the Jews sound exactly
like the one which Satan once spoke to Christ :
"If thou be the son of Grod, cast thyself
"down." Indeed, here we have the key to
the solution of the otherwise incomprehensible
mystery. These blasphemies were no longer
human; they were diabolical. Satan had put
them upon the tongues of the passers-by.
During all the preceding sufferings of Christ
Whom he consided a mere man, he had in
vain tempted Him to anger and similar sins.
Now in his despair, he again had recourse to
the weapon of derision and contempt. But
Christ, contemning contempt, remained on the
cross.
Many Christians, alas! act differently. For
years, perhaps, they have followed the way of
virtue and piety and they have even sacrificed
and suffered a vast deal for their holy faith.
Then the devil, in human shape, attacks them
with ridicule and derision. They cannot bear
it; they descend from the cross and make
friends with their own aggressors.
Then the executioners also joined in those
remarks of the passers-by. Whilst they offered
the vinegar to the Saviour they also said, as
St. Luke narrates (23, 36, 37): "If thou be
"the king of the Jews, save thyself." If be
fore this they have pierced Christ with sharp
The sufferings of Christ on the cross. 413
nails, they now pierce Him with sharp tongues.
However among all those who ridiculed Christ,
they were the least guilty, for they knew not
what they were doing.
The grossest insults, finally, were heaped
upon Christ by the chief -priests, ancients,
scribes and pharisees. (Math. 27,41-43. Mark
15,31,32. Luke 23, 35.) All the prominent
people, then, were present on G-olgotha. It
was right that they were there, for on that day
the King of the Jews would take possession of
His throne. Still, on the other hand, I must
give utterance to my surprise that the chief-
priests were also to be seen on Calvary at this
time. For the ninth hour was fast approach
ing when they were to begin the slaughter of
the Easter lambs. And still they remain in
great numbers on Grolgotha and keep on
jeering: " Behold, he calleth Elias." How
ever the main object was to celebrate their
triumph over the Crucified One and, there
fore, without scruples of conscience, they
waived aside their entire ceremonial. What
a wonderful dispensation of Grod that the
high-priests should abandon the typical pas
chal lamb, when the true Paschal Lamb was
bleeding to death.
The language which -the chief -priests, an
cients, scribes and pharisees used on this oc
casion was the most vulgar both as to form
414 History of the Passion.
and as to meaning. They did not, like the
passers-by, address themselves to the Re
deemer personally. To show Him their con
tempt, they spoke to each other of Him as of
a third person, of the man hanging there on
the cross. Without looking at Him they
pointed their fingers at Him over their shoul
ders whilst they exclaimed : "He saved others ;
"himself he cannot save; if he be the king of
"Israel, let him now come down from the
"cross, and we will believe him. He trusted
"in God: let him now deliver him if he will
"have him; for he said: I am the Son of
"Grod." They began then with uttering
almost the same blasphemies as those uttered
by the passers-by: "He saved others, let him
' 'save himself. ' ' A strange conclusion indeed !
If He has helped others to any extent, He
deserves better treatment now. To encourage
the Redeemer, however, to descend from the
cross, they sneeringly add the promise: "And
"we will believe him." What wretched hypo
crisy and lying! The Redeemer had, before
their very eyes, performed greater miracles
l<rtfian ttirb. one which they were now presumptu
ously demanding ; onjy very recently He had
raised Lazarus from the dead, and still they
would not believe Him. Two days afterwards,
when Christ worked the greatest of all mira
cles by rising from the grave through His own
The sufferings of Christ on the cross. 415
power, they remained as obdurate as ever.
But now they will believe, if He descends from
the cross. "Know ye, " asks one interpreter,
"what these men would have done if Christ
"had acceded to their demands! They all to
gether would have fallen upon Him and
"beaten Him to death with their fists.7' —
Through the last words which they spoke:
"He trusted in God: let him now deliver him
"if he will have him," they finally blasphemed
the mystery of the cross inasmuch as they,
like the friends of Job, designate the cross as
the sign of God's anger and curse. This
derision of the instrument of our salvation
contained a protest against the work of re
demption. But thus it was to be. For David
(Ps. 21, 9) had predicted that the Redeemer
would be ridiculed by those very words.
Wherefore, without either willing or suspect
ing it, the chief -priests, by their blasphemies,
gave testimony to the Messianic dignity of
the Crucified One.
The shouts of the chief -priests, of the scribes
and of the pharisees still resound now-a-days;
"If he be the King of Israel, let him come
"down from the cross and we will belitve
"him," is above all the language of modern
unbelief. The Divinity of Jesus Christ has
been proven by thousands of miracles and the
divine establishment of the Catholic Church
416 History of the Passion.
emits a radiance brighter than that of the sun.
Still proud unbelief will not submit ; it keeps
on clamoring for new miracles, for new proofs.
But take off its mask, and you will find it full
of lies and of hypocrisy. Unbelief cares
nothing for truth. On principle it will not
acknowledge as Grod One Who was crucified.
The sermon of the cross is to it a foolishness
and a scandal. And the language of unbelief
is also the language of immorality. There
might perhaps be no objection to believing in
Christ if only He would descend from the
cross, if only He would cease to preach, from
this pulpit, the crucifixion of the flesh and of
vicious inclinations. It is likewise, in a certain
sense, the language of sloth and of half-
heartedness. One would, with pleasure even,
tread the path of virtue and of perfection if
only Christ would descend from the cross,
that is, if the practice of virtue were possible
without continued mortification and self-
denial.
The prediction of the prophet Jeremias:
"I am made a derision to all my people, their
"song all the day long," was, then, fulfilled.
At like jeers David would have exclaimed, in
sorrow: "Neither let my enemies laugh at
"me" ( Ps. 24, 3), and Job would have cursed
the day of his birth. But Christ 's sole answer
to derisions and blasphemy was silence and
The sufferings of Christ on the cross. 417
constant perseverance on the cross. Thus,
however, He proved Himself to be the true
Messias, the true Son of God, of Whom it had
been foretold that He would die on the cross.
"It was a greater deed," says St. Gregory the
Great,1 "to destroy death through the Resur-
"rection than to preserve life by descending
"from the Cross."
Let us yet consider the sufferings of the
Crucified One in His soul.
III.
The first suffering of Christ's soul arose
from beholding a scene the possibility of which
would be incredible were the fact not sub
stantiated by Holy Writ itself (Matth. 27, 35.
Mark 15, 24. Luke 23, 34. John 19, 23, 24).
According to Roman usage, the clothes and
other belongings of the executed became the
property of the soldiers; it was their fee.
They had hardly erected the cross when they
fell upon the belongings of the Saviour.
There were four soldiers, as we have already
seen ; four formed a detachment. They ripped
the seams of those garments the parts of which
were sewn together, as, for instance, the
mantle, and each soldier received a fourth
part. With the garment proper, however, of
the Saviour they could not well do this, for it
1 Horn. 21, in EJvang. c. 7.
418 History of the Passion.
was seamless and woven throughout from the
top. St. Bonaventure relates that the Mother
of Jesus had woven it with her own hands for
her Divine Child, and it had grown with Him
just as the garments of the Israelites had
grown with them in their passage through the
desert. (Deuter. 8, 4 and 29, 5.) Had, then,
the woven raiment been cut, it would have
become entirely unwoven and the pieces would
have been useless. They therefore said: "Let
"us not cut it, but let us cast lots for it, whose
"it shall be." They did so. Roman soldiers
always had dice about them in order to be
guile the time during idle hours. — Thus, at
the foot of the cross upon which the God-
Man was bleeding for the salvation of the
world, and under His very eyes, the rattling
dice were shaken around the circle. With
vile shouts the losers acclaimed the winner.
Then they settled down to their task of watch
ing Christ and of preventing His being taken
down.
Otherwise, in the transaction of dividing,
every thing went on smoothly and peaceably
enough. Whatever could be divided, was di
vided; for that which could not be divided,
they cast lots and they were all satisfied. Now
and then, things go on differently in Christian
families. Matters of inheritance are at times
the occasion of most serious quarrels and of
The sufferings of Christ on the cross. 419
life-long enmities between brothers and sisters.
The seamless garment of Christ, holy charity,
which ought to hold sway among Christians,
is thereby rent asunder, torn and trampled in
the mire.
The executioners, however, did not long re
main in possession of the Redeemer's gar
ments. For the Roman law which appro
priated to them the garments of the executed,
also empowered friends and relatives to pur
chase them from the executioners for a fair
sum of money. Thus there ensued between
the pious women and the two rich and good
men who soon afterwards came to Calvary, a
holy rivalry to redeem, at any price, the pre
cious relics, whereupon they were restored to
the sorrowful Mother, who thereby was greatly
consoled.
The second sorrow of Christ 's soul arose
from His complete abandonment by heaven
and earth. And first, the lack of sympathy
on the part of the people saddened Him. A
few days before, when He held His solemn
entry into Jerusalem, they had acclaimed Him
with Hosannas: "Blessed is he that cometh
"in the name of the Lord." Now, when He
is in distress, now, when He is dying, they
show no sign of compassion. They "stood
"beholding," says the Gospel (Luke 23, 35).
And yet, among these people, there were so
420 History of the Passion.
many whom the Saviour had laden with
benefits.
Christ, moreover, saw Himself forsaken by
almost all his friends. It is true that Mary,
His Blessed Mother, stood beneath the Cross,
but the sight merely increased the pangs of
His soul. But of the apostles, with the ex
ception of St. John, all had left Him, all had
made themselves invisible. One other, for
sooth, who had belonged to the twelve, Christ
could behold from the cross by turning His
head to the left. It was unhappy Judas who
had hanged himself on the declivity of the
hill, and who was now burning in hell.
In this dereliction by men, the dying ^Re
deemer raised His head to heaven and turned
towards Grod. But heaven remained closed.
No voice of complacency was heard as when,
in days gone by, He had humbled Himself be
fore John. No angel came to serve Him as
in the desert, after He had fasted forty days.
Not even did an angel come to comfort Him
as on the evening before in the Garden of
Olives. This urged Christ to complain : "My
"Clod, my Grod, why hast thou forsaken me?77
So much more violent, therefore, was the
third sorrow of Christ's soul at the thought
of the partial fruitlessness of His Passion.
Already three hours was He hanging upon
the cross whence He hoped to draw all things
The sufferings of Christ on the cross. 421
to Himself. The awful darkness should in
deed have been sufficient to enlighten souls
and to spread warmth in hearts. But with the
exception of the thief's conversion, the Re
deemer saw no special effects. And when He
looked into the future, He recognized that
His blood was being shed in vain for millions
of people and that, notwithstanding all His
sufferings, millions of men would be eternally
damned.
Now the measure of sufferings was full.
Now the Redeemer could say: "It is con-
"summated. Father, into thy hands I com-
"mend my spirit. " Thereupon He bowed His
head and died. — At the Cross her station
keeping — Stood the mournful Mother weeping
— Close to Jesus to the last. "No tongue shall
"ever be able to express," says St. Bernard,1
"nor shall any mind ever be able to imagine
"what sorrow the loving heart of Mary en-
"dured at this moment. Now, o Virgin, on
"Golgotha thou art paying with interest what
"thou didst not experience in Bethlehem. "
"The pains which she did not endure at His
"birth," says St. John Damascene,2 "she
"endured at the time of His death when she
"had to see that He Whom she even then had
"recognized as God, was now being put to
1 In Lament. B. Mariae. Migne P. L. t. CLXXXII,
col. 1137.
2 De fid. orthod. lib. 4, c. 14.
422 History of the Passion.
"death as a criminal." Through her heart,
his sorrow sharing, — All his bitter anguish
bearing, — Now at length the sword had
passed. —
O Christian soul! we have already become
acquainted with the law which G-od had once
given to the people of Israel. "When there
"shall be found in the land the corpse of a
"man slain, and it is not known who is guilty
" of the murder, the ancients of the (nearest)
"city shall come to the person slain, and shall
"wash their hands .... and shall say: Our
"hands did not shed this blood, nor did our
"eyes see it. And the guilt of blood shall be
"taken from them." (Deut. 21, 1, 6-8.) Well,
then ! Before our eyes there hangs the corpse
of One slain on the Cross. Whoever among
us knows himself innocent of the blood of this
Just One, let him approach, let him lay his
right hand on the wood of the Cross, and let
him testify before heaven and earth: "My
"hands have not shed this blood, and I am in-
"nocent of the blood of this Just One." — Ah,
No! O sweet Saviour Jesus Christ! Pene
trated with the sorrow of contrition, we shall
rather confess that our sins have been the
cause of Thy bitter Passion, that our sins have
killed Thee. May, therefore, Thy precious
Blood be not lost to us. Cleanse us with it.
and, through Thy bitter death, grant us a
happy death.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Wonderful Events Before and At the Death of
Christ.
"Now from the sixth hour there was
"darkness over the whole earth, until
"the ninth hour. — And behold the veil
"of the temple was rent in two from the
"top even to the bottom, and the earth
"quaked, and the rocks were rent. And
"the graves were opened: and many
"bodies of the saints that had slept,
"arose." (Matthew 27, 45. 51. 52.)
The great drama enacted on the first Maun
dy Thursday and Good Friday in Jerusalem
and in its vicinity, is gradually approaching
its end. As we have considered in our medi
tations, both heaven and earth followed the
destinies of the Divine Sufferer with close,
yea, with strained attention, each, however,
in a different way. The passers-by suspi
ciously wagged their heads. The executioners
and the thief to the left ridiculed Him. The
pharisees, scribes and chief -priests rejoiced in
His downfall. Pilate, in the beginning, hesi
tated to pronounce the death-sentence and
(423)
424 History of the Passion.
finally washed his hands as a sign of inno
cence. Herod and his wife, the adulteress,
laughed. The apostles fled in terror, they
could not bear the sight. Procula, the wife
of Pilate, was so deeply moved and agitated,
that she dreamed of it. Veronica and other
pious women shed tears of compassion. Simon
of C}rrene felt happy to have become, without
his own merit, an actor in the great event.
Dismas loudly proclaimed the innocence of
Christ. Even an angel appeared on the scene
to inspire the Divine Sufferer with courage in
the performance of His difficult role. Mary,
the Mother of Jesus, John and Magdalen stood
at the side of the Saviour, consoling Him in
His last moments. Lastly, the heavenly
Father received with open arms the soul of
His dying Son. — But, we rightfully ask, shall
nature remain indifferent and look coldly on,
whilst her Creator and Lord is struggling with
death, and whilst the Immortal One is breath
ing forth His soul in nameless tortures? Cer
tainly not. The sun became darkened, the
veil in the temple was torn in two, the earth
trembled and quaked, the rocks were rent and
the graves opened.
Let us then consider (Matth. 27, 45. 51-54.
Mark 15, 33. 38. 39. Luke 23, 44-48).
I. These wonderful events in themselves ;
II. The different effects they produced
upon men.
Events before and at the death of Christ. 425
I.
These wonderful events occurred in part
before the death of Christ and in part at His
death.
Before the death of Christ, there occurred a
total eclipse of the sun during three hours.
This fact is historically so well substantiated
that there can be no doubt about it. Three
evangelists testify to it. The evangelists Mat
thew and Mark write: "From the sixth hour
"there was darkness over the whole earth,
"until the ninth hour." St. Luke writes:
"the sun was darkened. " If a historian or
a newspaper correspondent wishes purposely
to spread some lie broadcast over the world,
he will select imaginary events which, owing
to their very nature, do not happen in public,
or at least such that are alleged to have hap
pened in some remote corner of the earth.
But to report, for instance, that some years
ago an extraordinary eclipse of the sun hap
pened in this town, when every body knows
it to be untrue, will not occur to any one.
This eclipse of the sun l was, however, not
a natural one. It was miraculous in every
respect and that for three reasons. First it
occurred at the time of the full moon. For this
Friday was the day when, according to the
Law, the Pasch should be celebrated, and this
1 See note 20.
426 History of the Passion.
feast always occurred at the time of the full
moon. Now, naturally, an eclipse of the sun
can occur only at the time of the new moon,
when the latter is between the sun and the
earth. Then, it was miraculous because it was
total right from the beginning and, lastly,
because it remained total during three hours.
In an ordinary eclipse of the sun, the moon,
in the beginning, covers only a part of the
sun, then gradually more, until the darkness
reaches its greatest height, whereupon it again
gradually decreases. This eclipse of the sun
was, therefore, an extraordinary work of God,
and the Holy Fathers freely apply to it the
words of the prophet Amos: "And it shall
"come to pass in that day that the sun shall
"go down at mid-day, and I will make the
"earth dark in the day of light.'7 (Amos 8, 9. )
And, at about the year 200, Tertullian,
speaking of this wondrous eclipse, thus spoke
to the Romans: "You yourselves have re-
" corded this great event in your annals.'7
What was the meaning of this eclipse? On
the part of heaven , it was the garb of mourn
ing wherewith the sun clad itself while the
Sun of Justice was being extinguished. "Cre-
"ation," says St. Chrysostom,1 "could not
"bear the indignities inflicted upon the Ore*-
"ator." For the Saviour to Whom a loin-
1 In Catena ex serm. de Pass. Domini.
Events before and at the death of Christ. 427
cloth only was left, the eclipse was a veil
woven by compassionate nature to cover His
nakedness. On the part of Grod, it was a
sign of His anger. Grod withdrew, even from
the just, the light of the sun which he other
wise lets shine even upon the wicked. At the
birth of Christ, in the middle of the night,
the splendor of Gk>d?s glory encircled the
shepherds and brightness reigned. At His
death-struggle, the sun, standing high in
the heavens, became obscured and darkness
reigned. Thus also does brightness spread in
the soul when Christ is born in the heart. But
the gloom of night enters when He departs
from the soul. Wherefore the eclipse of the
sun was also an image of the blindness and
obstinacy of the Jewish people.
This eclipse ended at the death of the Re
deemer. Then again did the sun appear in
perfect beauty. Now Divine Justice was re
conciled, the sacrifice was consummated. Now
the soul of Christ which had been sad unto
death, was delivered from all affliction and was
unspeakably happy. Now the souls of the
patriarchs and saints of the Old Testament
shared in the brilliancy of heavenly light and
in the joys of the vision of Grod. Now the
darkness which had hovered over the earth
for four thousand years was dispelled through
the death of Christ and the new day of sal-
428 History of the Passion.
vation had dawned. Now through the light
of grace, all darkness was also to be driven
out of the hearts of men.
To the wonderful events which happened at
the death of Christ, belongs in the first place
the tearing of the veil in the temple. As the
Talmudists report, this veil was forty yards
long and twenty yards wide. It was woven
of gold and purple and had the thickness of
an open hand. It concealed the Holy of
Holies of the Temple into which the High-
Priest alone was allowed to enter, and this only
once a year on the feast of atonement to offer
the expiatory sacrifice. Now, at the death of
Christ, this veil was rent from top to bottom
in two pieces. Just as Jacob of yore rent his
garments in sadness, when he was told that
wild-beasts had torn to pieces his son Joseph ;
just as Caiphas, in indignation, tore the pon
tifical robe, when Christ declared Himself to
be the Son of God ; so now the temple rent its
garment both in sadness and in indignation.
The tearing of the veil signified the end of the
Old Law and the rejection of Mosaic sacrifices.
In future the entrance into the Holy of Holies,
that is, into the Church of God, should be
allowed to all men : G-od would no longer be
the God of the Jews, but the God of all
nations. All should be permitted the entry
to the heavenly Manna concealed in the sane-
Events before and at the death of Christ. 429
tuary, and the portals of the Holy of Holies,
of celestial Paradise, should be open to all.
The earth quaked. This was also a sign of
&adness and of indignation, owing to the crime
committed against the Creator. But, more
than that, as St. Ignatius remarks in his book
of Exercises, it was a sign of joy and delight
on account of the victory of the Crucified One
and of His present glory. It is remarkable
that, at this tremendous earthquake, not a
single human being suffered any damage. For
the might of infernal powers was broken by
the death of Christ. Hell may rage and rave
ever so much, it may shake the earth to its
foundations, but it has lost its power over
mankind, even over the bodies of men.
The rocks were rent. Hearts as hard as
rocks shall now be rent ; they shall become as
pliable as wax and, like to wax, they shall
melt before the glow of Divine Love. Now
the time had finally arrived when the earth
should be formed again, and when the face of
the earth should be renewed.
Even the graves opened as a sign that Christ
through His death had overcome death, and
that all flesh should rise again on the last day.
The dead, however, did not come forth from
the graves until Easter day and not directly
after the death of Christ. It would indeed
not have been proper, if many souls had left
430 History of the Passion.
Limbo to rejoin their bodies and dwell in
Jerusalem at a time when the soul of the Re
deemer honored the souls in Limbo with Her
visit and remained with them until the resur
rection. It would also have been without
design. The dead, namely, were to arise in
order to give testimony unto the Risen One.
They were to say to the Jews: "We, who
"have been buried by you, have arisen;
"believe ye therefore in the resurrection of
"the Crucified One." They could not give
this testimony on Holy Saturday. Meanwhile
the Jews and pagans had an opportunity of
seeing the corpses, and this contributed not a
little to remove all doubt from the miracle of
their resurrection. It is true that, to avoid
defilement, the Jews did not enter the se
pulchres.
Thus did both heaven and earth announce
the world - moving event of the deicide.
Heaven and earth arose as witnesses for the
Great Dead. Even from out of the night of
death there came a ray of Divine majesty.
Let us now consider the different effects which
these wonderful events produced upon men.
II.
As to the Mother of God and all the pious
people assembled on Golgotha, these events
served to confirm their faith in the Divinity
Events before and at the death of Christ. * 431
of Jesus Christ and console them in their
sorrow for the loss of the Departed One.
In the enemies of the Saviour who had
maliciously delivered Him to the death on the
Cross, these miracles effected the awful miracle
of utter blindness and obduracy. Undoubt
edly, during these events, they were somewhat
startled and amazed. But these terrors had
hardly reached an end, when they were their
former selves, and not one of them was con
verted.
Here we have a true type of so many infidels
and of so many renegade Catholics of our day.
Grod may show by the most fearful natural
phenomena that He is great and terrible ; He
may darken the sun and in the dense gloom
let His lightning flash and His thunder roll ;
He may inflict upon the infidels the most
varied misfortunes, earthquakes, famine and
wars; He may destroy all their machinations;
nothing touches them, nothing disturbs them :
they remain obdurate. They pass ridiculous
resolutions of condolence, they listen to some
masonic speech of beatification, they sing for
the deceased a funeral serenade and, accom
panied by the strains of swelling music, they
return, apparently in good cheer, to their
vicious life. But, at heart, they certainly
enjoy no happiness. If they do, it is the
happiness of the fallen-away Catholic who said
432 History of the Passion.
to his friends: "I would now be perfectly
"happy, were it not for this cursed dying."
The same word applies to these hardened sin
ners which Holy Writ applies to the enemies
of Christ: "They shall look on him whom
"they pierced/7 namely, on the last day.
It was only one class of sinners in whom,
with the grace of the Crucified Saviour, these
wonderful facts did not miss their salutary
effects. It was those who had offended Christ
not so much through malice as through weak
ness and ignorance. There was first of all the
pagan centurion, commander of the troops
and his soldiers who, being amazed at what
was going on, exclaimed: "Indeed this was a
"just man. Indeed this man was the Son of
"God." The Catholic Church reveres this
captain as a saint. Then, also many of the
people, who had not taken a direct part in the
crucifixion but who had merely stood around
and looked on, struck their breasts and re
turned home with contrite feelings. We shall
join in spirit these penitent sinners, strike
our breasts and pray from the bottom of
our hearts: "Lord, be merciful to us poor
" sinners. "
Let us, in conclusion, cast a backward
glance upon the wonderful proceedings which
we have considered. Although they were di
verse and manifold, still in their successive
Events before and at the death of Christ. 433
stages they are a true representation of the
entire process of conversion. In order that
the sinner may turn to God, it is above all
necessary that the earth be wrapped in dark
ness. As long as the sinner looks compla
cently upon the world and its sinful pleasures,
there can be no thought of serious conversion.
Then the veil which hindered him from look
ing into his own heart must be torn in pieces ;
he must know his sins by means of a thorough
examen of conscience. The terrible penalties
of Divine Justice must move him; his sins
must cause him to tremble and quake in
disgust and horror, even to the marrow of his
bones. The rocks, furthermore, must be rent ;
this heart, hard and unyielding until now,
must become soft and contrite through the
tears of sorrow. The graves must open;
through a sincere confession, the soul must
exhale the fetid odor of the grave. And after
the sinner has finally risen from the grave
through the absolution of the priest, he must,
by a Christian life, give testimony everywhere
to the Redeemer, risen from the grave.
After the just who had risen from their
graves, had accomplished their mission and
given testimony unto the risen Saviour, they
returned to the sepulchres and died a painless
death. Their resurrection from the grave was
only a temporary one, wherefore they cannot
434 History of the Passion.
be our models in our resurrection from the
grave of sin. The only model of our spiritual
resurrection is, according to Holy Writ, the
risen Saviour Who died no more and Who
lives forever. Thus should we, after arising
from the grave of sin, no more return to it.
But rather, like the risen Redeemer, we should
begin an entirely new, supernatural, divine
life. Then, and only then, can we entertain
the hope of taking part forever, after death,
in the glory of the Risen One.
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Next Events After the Death of Christ.
"The soldiers therefore came: and
"they broke the legs of the first, and of
"the other that was crucified with him.
"But after they were come to Jesus,
"when they saw that he was already
"dead, they did not break his legs. But
"one of the soldiers with a spear opened
"his side, and immediately there came
"out blood and water."
(John 19, 32—34.)
The next events after the death of Christ
are described by St. John (19, 31-37) as
follows : "Then the Jews that the bodies might
"not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-
"day, (for that was a great sabbath-day, ) be-
11 sought Pilate that their legs might be
"broken, and that they might be taken away.
"The soldiers therefore came: and they broke
"the legs of the first, and of the other that
"was crucified with him. But after they were
"come to Jesus, when they saw that he was
"already dead, they did not break his legs.
"But one of the soldiers with a spear opened
(435)
436 History of the Passion.
"his side, and immediately there came out
"blood and water. And he that saw it hath
"given testimony: and his testimony is true.
"And he knoweth that he saith true: that
"you also may believe. For these things
"were done that the scripture might be ful-
"filled: You shall not break a bone of him.
"And again another scripture saith: They
"shall look on him whom they pierced/'
It is, therefore, a twofold event which we
are to consider, namely:
I. The breaking of the bones of the
thieves and
II. The opening of the Sacred Side.
I.
Crucifixion was not only a painful and dis
honoring punishment, but it was also one of
long duration. It happened, at times, that the
crucified hung upon the cross two or three
days before dying. And, when they had finally
died, the corpses, according to Roman usage,
remained on the cross until the flesh had been
devoured by birds of prey, or wolves and
j ackals. The crucified were deemed unworthy
of burial. This twofold circumstance caused
the pharisees and chief -priests no little anxiety
and embarassment. For they had remarked
that, in consequence of the miraculous pheno
mena, some change had gone on among the
The next events after the death of Christ. 437
people and even among the soldiers, and that
a reversal of public opinion in favor of the
Redeemer was taking place. Now as they
perhaps even apprehended an uprising, the
responsibility of which might be laid at their
door, they were intent above all upon re
moving from the gaze of the people the corpses
of the three crucified. "Out of sight, out of
i 'mind, ' ' thought they. But for that purpose,
the permission of the Roman governor was
needed. They therefore sent to Pilate a com
mittee petitioning for two favors : first to help
the three crucified to a speedy death by break
ing their bones, and then to be allowed to
bury them. For they knew not yet that the
Redeemer had died ; the executioners even did
not know it. — Of course, the committee did
not mention the real motive of the petition.
But, with wonted hypocrisy, they represented
to Pilate that the Mosaic Law strictly de
manded the burial of executed criminals before
the beginning of night; that, furthermore, it
would be unbecoming and exasperating to
have three criminals hanging upon the cross
on the holy Easter Sabbath ; that thereby the
feast would be disturbed, the people, assembled
in great number, would be defiled and their
thoughts entirely withdrawn from the paschal
celebration. The committee, composed with
out doubt of prominent men, found a favor-
438 History of tlie Passion.
able hearing. And, mayhap, Pilate himself,
who certainly felt uneasy since the wonderful
incident in nature, wished that the exciting
affair would come to a hasty end.
Thereupon the executioners, armed with
iron-trimmed clubs, broke the bones, and
especially the knees of the two thieves. For
according to the conceptions of antiquity, the
real strength of man lay in the knees, and
biblical language also is adapted to the idea.
Many even regarded the knees as the seat of
the soul. But when the soldiers came to
Jesus and saw that he was already dead — and
they certainly examined carefully — they did
not break His bones. Jesus, then, had already
died, and he surely had died so soon that His
bones might not be broken. Otherwise, they
hardly would have thought of opening His
side, as was called for in the plan of Grod. The
bones, then, were not broken. This was pre
figured in the Old Testament ; not a bone of
the paschal lamb should be broken. Christ
was to shed all His blood, His flesh was to be
torn in pieces, but the bones were to remain
intact as a sign that all the strength and power
of the Divinity was inherent in the dead body.
Instead of that, however, a soldier approached
and opened His side with a spear, and imme
diately there came out blood and water.
Let us now consider the opening of the
Sacred Side.
The next events after the death of Christ. 439
I
Of the four evangelists, only one narrates
this incident. It is St. John, the disciple of
love, he who, at the last supper, had reposed
his head on this side. We ask ourselves in
astonishment how it could happen that the
side was opened. Or is it not repulsive to all
human feeling to dishonor the body of a slain
opponent? King David certainly did not act
thus. When the death of King Saul, his most
bitter enemy, was reported to him, he tore
his garments in sadness, he wept and fasted
till evening. Nor did Julius Caesar, the Roman
general, act thus although he was a pagan.
When the head of Ponipey, his opponent, was
laid at his feet, he burst into copious tears.
Even the lion looks magnanimously upon the
corpse of a man whom he has overcome in
combat. But Longinus, the soldier, oversteps
all bounds of humane feeling, and he seizes the
lance. Whilst therefore Holy Church speaks
of the "sweet" wood of the cross and whilst,
in her chant, she designates as "sweet" all
the other instruments of martyrdom with
which Christ, yet living, was tortured, she
speaks in holy indignation of the "cruel shaft' ?
of the lance.
How, then, was it possible that Longinus so
meanly attacked the Saviour, after he had,
with the captain, declared his belief in the di-
440 History of the Passion.
vinity of Christ only a short while before?
(Matth. 27, 54). Well, an order had just
arrived from the governor to break the bones
of the three crucified. To demonstrate his
good will and his obsequiousness, the soldier
wielded the lance, as Christ was already dead.
May be, also, it was merely an act of military
barbarism.
The point of the lance entered the body of
the Redeemer between the ribs on the right
side, whence, following an oblique upward
course, it pierced the heart and, perhaps,
passed out on the left side. The wound on
the right side must have been very large, as
Thomas could lay his hand into it. Not con
sidering the force of the thrust, it can be
explained notably by the shape of the Roman
lance which from a long point at once extended
to a considerable width.
As soon as the Sacred Heart was pierced,
blood and water issued from the wound on
the right side. It cannot be stated with cer
tainty whether the blood and water flowed
simultaneously or in two distinct streams, or
whether the flowing water contained streaks
of blood, or, again, whether blood flowed first
and then water.
Neither does Holy Writ mention Jioiv much
blood and water issued forth. However, the
common belief, the representations of many
The next events after the death of Christ. 441
Catholic pulpit orators which were never dis
countenanced by ecclesiastical authority, and
especially the words of Pope Innocent VI1
who speaks of floods streaming from the
sacred side, suggest the thought that it was
not only an issue of a few drops but that
rather it was a copious flow of blood and
water.
It is more difficult to decide the question
whether the outflow of blood and water, con
sidered in itself, indicated some miraculous
process or whether it can be explained by
natural agencies;2 whether, therefore, St.
John in affirming that he himself had seen it ;
"that his testimony was true; that he knew
"that he said true, and that he gave the testi-
"mony that we might also believe;7' wished
to confirm other miraculous incidents or had
in view the death of Christ only and the ful
fillment of two prophecies following it. By
the fact, namely, that the Redeemer's bones
were not broken, as the Jews intended, but
that His side was opened, two prophecies were
fulfilled: "You shall not break a bone, of
"him" and "They shall look on him whom
"they pierced." In any case, what St. John
reports in a kind of juratory declaration, is a
proof that He Whose bones remained intact
1 Deer, de festo Lanceae et Clavorum Domini.
~ See note 21.
442 History of the Passion.
as if miraculously , but Whose side was opened ,
was the Messias and the Son of Grod. Already,
from out of the ignominy and the humiliation
of His bitter Passion, His lofty majesty had
shone in heavenly radiance. Through the re
verberation of the rays of ancient prophecy
which here found its fulfillment, His Cross
was, so to speak, transfigured. His lassitude
in death did not manifest itself in a hollow
rattle, but in a loud, mighty shout. His
death ensued not as a pitiless necessity nor as
an immutable natural process, but as a freely
willed, sublime act of sacrifice. Therefore
now also, in the body, suspended lifeless on
the Cross, the signs of Divine glory ought not
to be missing.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is, then, finally,
opened and from the wound in the side flows
blood and water. What are the special
reasons for which the Saviour permitted this
last maltreatment of His Sacred Body?
Above all, through this maltreatment, the
reality of His death and, consequently, the
reality of His resurrection should be placed
in the most conspicuous light. It should be a
refutation in advance of all the assertions of
unbelievers that Christ's death was only
feigned, and that His resurrection was a sham.
A man whose heart is pierced cannot possibly
live.
The next events after the death of Christ. 443
Then, the opening of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus was the opening of His will and testa
ment. Christ, it is true, had at the last supper
spoken to His apostles about His testament.
But this communication was made in the circle
of friends and was more of a private nature.
Besides, a testament is legal and valid only
after the death of the testator, as, before his
death, it can at any time be annulled. Now
the pagan world for which Christ had es
pecially died, should also know what the Dead
One had left to it. And His last will and
testament could be found nowhere but in His
heart. His heart, then, must be opened and
this was done by a soldier of the Roman
emperor, by an official person, at it were, and
that in the presence of all interested parties.
What a splendid discovery! What a precious
inheritance! " Water flowed out," says St.
Ambrose,1 "to cleanse us, and blood, to re-
"deem us." Water flowed out of the open
side to prefigure the first, and blood, to pre
figure the greatest and most excellent sacra
ment. Water, clear water flowed out of the
open side of the Redeemer to form the body
of His Bride, the Holy Church, and blood, to
nourish it and to give it perfection and com
pletion. Now we understand, with what right,
and, in what sense, the Holy Fathers speak of
1 De sacr. 1.
444 History of the Passion.
the seven sacraments, which, like to seven
streams of grace, have flowed from the side
of Christ. We understand why, and, in what
sense they can say that Holy Church, the
second Eve and the true Mother of the living,
proceeded from the side of the Redeemer, the
second Adam, whilst He lay in the sleep of
death.
Lastly, the Divine Heart, the seat and
fountain of all love and grace, had to be
opened to enable us to enter therein. "The
"evangelist," says St. Augustin,1 "used a
"well considered word." For he did not say
that the soldier wounded the side of Our Lord,
but that he opened it, indicating thereby that
the wound of the side should be the entrance
to the Sacred Heart. Indeed, the wound of
the side is the portal of the true ark of Noah.
Only what enters through this portal, shall be
saved from the universal destruction. The
wound of the side is the golden portal of the
true temple of the Lord wherein all the sick,
all the beggars, and all the needy obtain health
and grace and mercy. It is the portal of the
true paradise, in which alone delight and
peace are to be found. Thomas had no sooner
put his hand on this portal than he believed
and loved and said: "My Lord and my God."
— The Heart of Jesus is, indeed, the strength
1 Tract, in Joan. 120, 2.
The next events after the death of Christ. 445
of the just, the consolation of the afflicted,
the refuge of sinners. For the tempted soul,
it is the cavern in the rock in which the timid
dove hides itself from the hawk. To the sonl
thinking itself to be a parched soil, it is the
fountain of living waters. To the sad and
depressed soul, it is the spiritual wine-cellar in
which the Divine Bridegroom gladdens His
promised bride with heavenly delights. To
the soul which is amazed at its coldness and
dearth of love, it is the immense bed of that
fire which the Son of Grod brought from
heaven to earth. The Catholic Church, there
fore, is right in recommending very earnestly
to her children the devotion to the Sacred
Heart, and in being ingenious in the means of
spreading and increasing it all over the world.
With confidence then we shall enter into
the Sacred Heart of Jesus in all our needs.
In it there is room for all men. Even Lon-
ginus, the soldier, who had so cruelly wounded
the Heart of Christ, received from it weal and
blessing. According to tradition, one of his
eyes was bereft of sight. When he thrust the
lance, lo ! a drop of the precious Blood struck
his eye, and he received his bodily and spiritual
sight at the same time. He was baptized and
hid himself in a fearful desert to do penance
for his sins. He became a bishop and a
martyr, a saint of the Catholic Church, a saint
446 History of tlie Passion.
of heaven. What can we then not expect, if
not only we do not wound it by sin, but strive
to honor it, to spread its devotion, and to
imitate its virtues. Let us, then, build our
dwelling in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We
shall live and die in this Heart, and be united
with it forevermore.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Last Events of the History of the Passion.
"And taking him down, he (Joseph)
"wrapped him in fine linen, and laid
"him in a sepulchre that was hewed in
"stone, wherein never yet any man had
"been laid." (Luke 23, 53.)
What the four evangelists narrate concern
ing the last events of the history of the Pas
sion, is mainly the following (Math. 27, 57-
61. Mark 15, 42-47. Luke 23, 50-56. John
19, 38-42). After all these things, that is,
after the Heart of Jesus was opened, there
came a certain rich man of Arimathea, named
Joseph. He went in boldly to Pilate and
asked the body of Jesus. But Pilate won
dered that he should be already dead. And
sending for the centurion he asked him if He
were already dead. And when he had under
stood it by the centurion, he gave the body to
Joseph — and commanded that it should be
delivered to him. And Nicodemus also came
bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes about
an hundred pound weight. And Joseph bought
linen. They took therefore the body of Jesus
(447)
448 History of the Passion.
down and wound it in a clean linen cloth with
the spices. Now there was in the place where
he was crucified, a garden: and in the garden
a new sepulchre, wherein no man yet had been
laid. There, therefore they laid Jesus because
of the Parasceve, that is: this circumstance
caused them to select a grave which was nigh
at hand. However, they had no intention at
all to deposit the body in another grave after
wards. Joseph then rolled a great stone to
the door of the monument. And the holy
women sitting over against the sepulchre, be
held where and how his body was laid.
And they returned because the Sabbath drew
on, and, on the Sabbath, they rested according
to the commandment.
The evangelists here describe three scenes:
I. The taking down from the cross of
the sacred body ;
II. The preparation for the burial, and
III. The burial itself.
I.
At the lowering of the body from the cross,
let us first consider these persons, who took
part in it. Among them, Joseph of Arima-
thea appears to be the most prominent. All
the four evangelists have something to report
of him. It seems as if they meant to express
their joy that at last also a wealthy and promi-
The last events of the history of the passion. 449
i
nent man showed interest in and sympathy
for the Redeemer. For it is, indeed, beauti
ful and edifying to see the rich and prominent
of the laity interest themselves for Christ and
for His Sacred Body, whether it be that, as a
heroic phalanx of enthusiastic warriors, they
defend the mystic Body of the Lord, Holy
Church and her rights, or that they bend the
knee to His Sacramental Body and receive
Him devoutly in Holy Communion. — To return
to Joseph of Arimathea, St. Matthew says
that he was a rich man. Mark calls him a
noble counsellor; Luke, a good and a just
man who had not consented to the counsels
and doings of the Sanhedrim. John tells of
him that he was a disciple of Jesus, but
secretly, for fear of the Jews. These last
words do not at all attach any odium to
Joseph. Undoubtedly it is never allowed to
deny one's religious convictions, nor, in the
councils of ,the mighty, to consent, against
one's conscience and from human respect, to
the impious decrees of the majority. But
there are cases in which without sin one may
conceal one's religious convictions, as, for
instance, if question be put by one having no
right to ask it, and if an answer would have
bad rather than good effects. The Redeemer
certainly approved of the reasons which
Joseph had of not openly declaring himself
450 History of the Passion.
for Him, otherwise He would not have recog
nized him as a true disciple.
The other man who appeared towards even
ing on Golgotha was Nicodemus. Nocodemus
was a pharisee, a lawyer and a teacher in
Israel. He also was a secret disciple of Jesus.
He had often visited the Lord at night-time
to receive instructions in the mysteries of the
faith. At a meeting of the pharisees, he with
Joseph, had openly declared for Christ. At
the midnight session in the house of Caiphas
and at the session of the great council on the
morning of Good Friday they both had been
absent. For Mark mentions in expressed
terms that all who were gathered there con
demned Christ as being guilty of death. — For
merly, then, when Christ worked miracles and
all the people followed Him, Joseph and Nic
odemus were His disciples secretly, for fear of
the Jews. Now, however, after Christ died
the shameful death of the cross, they declare
themselves openly as His adherents, and all
their fear has vanished. Who does not here
recognize the glorious fruits of the Redeemer's
death and the power of grace purchased by
Christ!
The advent of these men gave great solace to
Mary and to the other women. For, if the
Eoman soldiers had taken down the body and
buried it, it would have been very pitiable and
The last events of the history of the passion. 451
dishonorable indeed. The body of the Saviour
would have been interred with the corpses of
the two thieves in the place reserved for crimi
nals. This thought had filled with pain the
heart of the dolorous Mother. Joseph there
fore offered to request of Pilate the privilege
of caring for the burial. It was an easy
matter for him to prevail on the captain to
await Pilate's decision as to the interment.
Although it was risky and bold to take sides
with a criminal and that before the judge
himself, and although Joseph would thereby
draw down upon himself the anger and even
the vengeance of the Sanhedrim, nevertheless
at Mary's desire and under her protection, as
it were, he courageously went to Pilate and
begged for the body of Jesus.
Pilate wondered that Jesus was already
dead. For the crucified often hung upon the
cross for a long time before dying. He was
however not satisfied with the statement of
Joseph. He demanded an official declaration,
for which reason he sent for the captain who
had been charged with the execution. It is
then from the lips of the captain that we also
are made aware, officially, and in due form,
that Christ really died.
The petition of Joseph was granted. Ac
cording to St. Anselm, he described to Pilate
in touching words the woe of the Mother of
452 History of the Passion.
Jesus, and how she would be greatly consoled
if her Son, her only Son, were buried in a
worthy manner. Mayhap Joseph also men
tioned the innocence of Jesus. Undoubtedly,
he. also offered a snug sum to Pilate whose
avarice was well known. Still Pilate deemed
it unworthy of a honorable man to make the
sale of a criminal's corpse a source of revenue.
He was high-minded enough to give Joseph
the body. He therefore ordered the captain
to remand it, for he had already abandoned it
to the executioners.
In that, Pilate knew not what he was doing.
Otherwise he would have given Joseph his
entire property rather than that Sacred Body,
the possession and consumption of which are
a pledge of eternal life and which is even the
seed of immortality for the bodies of mortal
men. But do not many Christians resemble
Pilate in that they, to please others, carelessly
cast away imperishable goods, the most pre
cious of all?
After their return to Golgotha, Joseph and
Nicodemus, assisted by some servants, took,
with the greatest respect, the body of Jesus
down from the cross, and, after removing the
crown from the head, they laid the body in
the lap of His Mother. — This, then, is the
Sacred Body which she once bore, which she
nursed and cared for, which, with motherly
The last events o/ the history of the passion. 453
love, she had carried to Egypt. The holy
Face is now pale, the divine eye is dim, the
divine mouth is silent and the Sacred Heart
beats no more. How Mary must have gazed
upon this sacred body and wiped away from
it the drops of blood ! For it was the body
of her only, most beloved, divine Son ; it was
the body of her cruelly tortured and withal
innocent Son. To whom shall I compare thee
or to whom shall I liken thee to comfort thee,
Oholy Mother of the dead Redeemer ! For
great as the sea is thy sorrow. — She who was
queen, has become as a widow; gone is her
beauty and her glory, and clouds of sadness
have encompassed her brow. Her adversaries
have become enriched. — When the mothers
of Bethlehem were carrying in their arms the
children murdered by Herod's menials, cries
of woe filled the air ; their lamentations and
their despair might have moved to pity the
rocks of the neighborhood. But the Mother
of Jesus, although her heart wras bleeding
from a thousand wounds, bethought herself
of the word which her Son had addressed to
her from the cross. Heroically she offered up
to Divine Justice the Sacred Body which she
was holding in her arms and moistening with
her tears, as the redeeming price for us who
are the children of her sorrow.
After the sacred body was taken down from
454 History of the Passion.
the cross, preparations were begun for the
burial.
II
After the return of Joseph and of the cap
tain from Pilate, the bodies of the two thieves,
which in the meantime had been taken down
from the crosses, were buried by the Roman
soldiers. When the body of the Saviour had
also been taken down, the three crosses with
the nails and the titles of guilt were lowered
into a deep excavation which was soon again
filled with earth. After the soldiers had thus
done their duty, the captain gave the com
mand to return to the citadel.
Now we see on Calvary only the Mother of
Jesus and a few of His friends who are taking
the necessary steps to render to the dead
Saviour the last honors. For He had left no
instructions regarding His own burial. He
knew that He would die a criminal's death, and
criminals sentenced to death by a court had
no right to dispose in any manner of their
bodies. In the humility of His heart, Christ
abided by this custom. He knew, further
more, that He would remain in the grave only
a few hours. And to make arrangements for
such a short time, seemed too unimportant to
Him. It may be well enough for those who
must remain in their graves until the day of
Judgment, especially for those for whom the
The last events of the history of the passion. 455
funeral is indeed the last honor paid to them,
as, in hell, they are abandoned to eternal
disgrace.
Joseph and Nicodemus, then, took charge
of the arrangements. Nicodemus brought
about an hundred pounds of a mixture of
myrrh and aloes, while Joseph bought linen.
In this linen they wrapped the body of Jesus
along with the spices as it is customary at
Jewish funerals. What would Judas have
said to it? In his day it was only one pound ;
here there are even an hundred. — But the
pious men wished to show respect to the body
of Him Whom they knew to be the Son of
G-od. We also now understand the signifi
cance of the donation of myrrh on the part of
the pagan Kings.
The «are of the sacred body could, however,
not proceed just now according to the regular
manner as the interment had to be finished
before sun-down. Wherefore, for the time
being, the spices and the sacred body were
wrapped in the linens and they agreed to re
turn to the sepulchre after the sabbath on
the morning of Easter to supply what was
wanting. These men and women, with the
exception, of course, of the Blessed Virgin,
seemed to be so disturbed by sadness, distrac
tion and love that they took no account what
ever of the fact that on the third day Christ
456 History of the Passion.
would arise from the dead and be in the grave
no more.
We now come to the closing scene, to the
burial of Jesus Christ.
III.
The preparations were, then, made, as well
as time would permit. Now the funeral pro
cession started on its way. On the one hand,
it was indeed the most simple, but on the
other, it was the most venerable and most
holy funeral procession ever seen upon earth.
The body being carried to the grave, is the
body of the Son of the living God. The pall
bearers are Joseph and Nicodemus, two noble
laymen , with their servants . From among the
clergy, the bier was accompanied by John, a
bishop of the Catholic Church, and, according
to a tradition mentioned by St. Anselm, by
St. James, also a bishop of the Catholic
Church, and by Peter, the appointed pope
and prince of the apostles. These two latter
had arrived on Golgotha towards evening
when the people and most of the enemies of
Christ had returned to the city, and they came
in time to take part in the funeral solemnity.
As chief mourner, the sorrowful Mother, the
Queen of heaven and earth, walked behind
the bier. Then followed Magdalen and the
nearest relatives of the Saviour. Lastly came
some pious women singing the funeral dirge,
The last events of the history of the passion. 457
I cannot help but imagine that along the route
of the funeral procession, the trees inclined
their heads and the flowers, their coronas, and
that the birds of heaven sang their saddest
lays. Invisible in the air, the holy angels were
hovering. They had seen much since the
day of their creation. But they had never
seen a Grod-Man carried as a corpse to the
grave.
Meanwhile the cortege had reached the
near-by grotto in the rocks over which cypres
ses spread their shadows. The men entered
with the body and laid the Redeemer upon
His bed of stone. Outside the blood-red sun
cast its dim and quivering rays upon a group
of women mutely sitting upon the ground.
Great as the sea was their sorrow, "And the
"women," says Holy Writ, "that were come
"with him from Gralilee were sitting over
"against the sepulchre, they beheld where he
"was laid and saw how his body was laid."
After the men had come out from the se
pulchre, they closed the door and rolled before
it a large stone. For if curious people, after
opening the door, would forget to again care
fully close it, wild beasts might find their way
into the sepulchre which was by all means to
be guarded against. — At this moment, the
sound of trumpets from the pinnacles of the
temple announced the beginning of the great
458 History of the Passion.
Sabbath and the men and women with Mary
hurried back to Jerusalem as the law required.
It appears that some of the pious women had
gone sooner. At least St. Luke speaks of
women who were preparing spices and oint
ments before the beginning of the Sabbath,
whereas others did this on the following even
ing after the Sabbath was over. At any rate,
ive may remain a moment to survey somewhat
closer the sepulchre and its environment.
The sepulchre of Christ was in a garden.
Our first parents had sinned in a garden. In
a garden Christ had begun His passion. He
had been taken captive in a garden. In a
garden, therefore the history of His passion
should end. In gardens, moreover, seeds are
deposited in the ground. Now Christ's body
was the most precious seed ever deposited in
the ground. It should then be deposited in a
garden. Already on the holy day of Easter
the most glorious fruits sprung from this grain
of seed, inasmuch as, through the power of
this sacred body, many bodies of departed just
were raised to life — thus exemplifying in ad
vance the general resurrection on the last day.
The sepulchre itself was in the form of a
rotunda and was so high that a man could
reach the top only with an extended hand.
It consisted of an anti-chamber and of a small
burial place destined for one person. The
entrance to the sepulchre was on the east side
The last events of the history of the passion. 459
and was very low. To the right, on the north
side, at an elevation of three feet was the
grave proper. It was hollowed out, so that
the sacred body reposed in a real stone coffin.
Of this grave, the evangelists narrate three
items. First, that it was hewn in a rock.
Therefore the apostles could not possibly steal
the body by constructing a subterranean pas
sage to the grave. Besides the corner stone
must rest upon the rock.
Then they call this grave a new grave in
which no one had yet been buried. And
indeed the respect due to the sacred body de
manded that it be no more brought in contact
with the bodies of sinners. Had it been a
family vault, doubt might have been enter
tained on Easter day as to who the Risen One
really was. And had it even been the grave
of a prophet, one might have said that the
miracle of Eliseus had been repeated; that
Christ had returned to life not through His
own power but through contact with the body
of the prophet. The sepulchre of Christ was
new also in the sense that it had never had its
equal. For this sepulchre was the work-room
of resurrection ; it was the decay and destruc
tion of all graves; it was the grave in which
death should die the death;1 it was the only
glorious grave.2
1 Serm. de Pass. Domini, inter spuria S. Athan., n. S.
2 Is. 53, 9, according to the Hebrew text. See note 22.
460 History of the Passion.
Thirdly this grave was a strange grave. As
Christ had in life possessed nothing whereon
to lay His head, He possessed nothing in
death. A strange grave ! Whoever wishes to
remain in a place only a few hours, will not
build a house of his own there but he will seek
shelter in a strange house. A strange grave!
Who dies not for his own sins but for the sins
of strangers, has not even right to a grave of
his own. A strange grave ! Whoever acquires
a grave of his own, thereby declares his sub
jection to the reign of death. Now Christ
was the Lord of death. The mighty giant
had become somewhat fatigued on His journey
of thirty three years. He would now take
some rest and, on the third day, He would with
mighty arm deal death a death-blow. A
strange grave! But to whom did it belong?
Whose property was it? It belonged to Joseph
of Arimathea. How fortunate and enviable
this man was to have the honor of furnishing,
on his own property, a resting place to the
body of the God-Man. How his courage is
now rewarded ! How his spirit of sacrifice is
now richly indemnified !
But does not the same good fortune fall to
a city and to a Catholic parish which harbors
the same Sacred Body under the appearance
of bread on its own property, in its church?
Does not a greater honor even redound to us,
The last events of the history of the passion. 461
when we receive the Body of Christ in Holy
Communion1? Does not our heart then really
become the sepulchre of the Body of Jesus
Christ! — If we would, then, receive in our
heart the Body of the Lord, no one else should
dwell therein, neither the world nor the evil
one. It ought to be even free from venial sin.
It ought to be as pure and immaculate as were
the linen cloths. It ought to be replete, fur
thermore, with the costliest spices, with the
good odor of all Christian virtues. And after
we have devoutly received the Body of the
Lord into our heart, we should not forget to
close the door. We ought also to roll a large
stone before the heart so that no wild beast
may find it in its power to deprive us of the
Redeemer.
The men and women, then, had accom
panied the Blessed Virgin back to Jerusalem
and, according to the commandment, they
rested on the Sabbath. Nor were they in the
right mood for any worldly matters. Their
minds and he'arts were with the crucified Re
deemer. The women thought of the ointment
which they would purchase after sundown,
and take to the grave on the following day.
Peter and Magdalen, however, who, on the
preceding day, had shed so many bitter tears,
spent the Sabbath in wails and tearful regrets.
We may here recognize the best preparation
462 History of tlie Passion.
for the approaching feast of Easter. Removed
from the world and its tumult, let us meditate
with devotion upon the sufferings of the cru
cified Redeemer. Let us consider what we
may do for His honor. First of all, let us de
plore our sins out of love for the Saviour.
This is also the best preparation for that
paschal feast which shall close the passion-
tide of this life and which shall last not merely
one day but for all eternity.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Watch at the Grave.
"And they departing, made the se
pulchre sure, sealing the stone, and
"setting guards." "(Matthew 27» 66-)
Undoubtedly some of the chief -priests and
Pharisees observed from a distance the burial
of the Redeemer. They desired, above all, to
assure themselves that the One Whom they
hated, was really put under ground and
covered by the darkness of the tomb. Other
wise their triumph would not be complete,
and they could not abandon themselves to the
undisturbed festal joys of the Easter Sabbath.
The chief -priests were also much interested in
knowing the exact spot where Christ had been
buried. As the Redeemer's prophecy re
garding His resurrection was well known to
them, they probably intended to open the se
pulchre after three days, show the decaying
corpse to the Jews and gentiles, and thus com
pletely unmask the deceiver and perpetuate
the triumph over the Crucified One. Where
fore they found no little satisfaction in per-
(463)
i
464 History of the Passion.
ceiving that the grave was closed and that a
great stone was rolled before its entrance.
They had attained their object. Things could
not have proceeded more to their liking.
One would think that now, after accom
plishing their deed, the chief -priests would
quietly and contentedly go home to enjoy the
paschal lamb in the sacredness of the family
circle, and to take repose after a sleepless
night and the fatigues of the day. But —
"there is no peace to the wicked" (Is. 48, 22).
The image of the Murdered One, Whom,
when He was yet in life, they had never feared,
now rose suddenly like a phantom before
their souls filling them with awful terrors. It
was the revenge of conscience. It was the
agony of the murderer who imagines that he
sees how his victim arises from the grave, how
it continually follows him. The consternation
and confusion of the chief -priests and phari-
sees was increased by their remembering the
sign of the prophet Jonas, to which the De
ceased had Himself once referred them. Now
if Christ, like Lazarus, would nevertheless
come out of the sepulchre through diabolical
art, and show Himself in Jerusalem, — their
confusion and shame would be beyond all
bounds.
In order, therefore, to secure themselves
against the Redeemer resting in the grave, to
The watch at the grave.
465
effectually take away from Christ the pos
sibility of leaving it, and to personally defend
themselves against the Dead One, the chief-
priests and pharisees determine to surround
the sepulchre with soldiers. In this they re
sembled people driven to insanity by confusion
and terror. "For who hath ever heard, " ex
claims an ancient spirited orator,1 referring to
this very incident, "that a dead man ever
"begins a war."
Let us now consider (Matthew 27, 62-66):
I. The negotiations between the chief-
priests and Pilate concerning the watch
at the grave, and
II. The watch over the grave itself.
I.
An authoritative permit for the placing of
a watch was above all required. There
fore after sundown, on the evening of Good
Friday, the chief-priests and pharisees went
together in great numbers to Pilate and on
this holy day they unhesitatingly entered the
house which, in scrupulous punctiliousness,
they dared not enter in the morning. — It is
therefore an erroneous opinion which main
tains that the guard was procured and sta
tioned at the grave on Saturday morning,
For in that case the enemies of Christ would
Amphilochius, Serin, de sepult. Domini.
466 History of the Passion.
surely have asserted after the resurrection that
the body had been stolen by the disciples
during the night of Friday, the grave then
being unguarded. But they did not wait till
Saturday morning.
Without a doubt, Pilate was much surprised
at the unexpected evening visit and even
more at the unwonted salutation. "Sir," was
the word with which the chief-priests and
Pharisees addressed him. How very sub
missive, how very polite. They indeed hated
Pilate and despised him from their inmost
souls as being unclean and an idolater. The
mere thought that he held sway over them in
the name of the emperor, the mere memory
of former enactments of his, could at other
times drive them into a frenzy. They had
been very uncouth even in the morning during
the trial. In anger, aye, in fury, they then
had cried: "If thou release this man, thou art
"no friend of Caesar." Now, however, when
in mental fright they desire a favor of him,
they appear to be suddenly metamorphosed.
They begin their address by saying: "Sir,
"we have remembered, that that seducer said,
"while he was yet alive: After three days I
"will rise again." This, then, is all that they
remember, all that they have retained of His
sermons. The good which the Saviour had
done, the wonders He had worked, and the
The watch at the grave. 467
truths He had taught, they have completely
forgotten. — "We have remembered " — they
say to explain why they did not already de
mand the body in the afternoon to preclude
all fraud. They pretend that the thought
struck them only later. "That the seducer "
— what a shame ! The sense of decorum and
of humanity dictated even to the pagans the
propriety of saying of the dead only what was
good. " While he was yet alive, " — He is
therefore dead. Accept, O ye chief -priests,
our hearty thanks for this certificate of death.
We shall know how to use it. "The seducer
"said: After three days I will rise again. " —
Well, we shall not blame you for rendering
the Saviour's words incorrectly, for you are
excited. For Christ really said that He would
rise again on the third day.1
The chief-priests and pharisees thereupon
begged Pilate to command that the grave be
guarded. Christ, then, had really been buried.
The priests knew the place. They had mi
nutely observed every thing. They did not,
of course, manifest the true reason of their
petition, their fear of the Murdered One and
their anxiety lest He come forth from the
grave. Their visionary propensities might
have caused Pilate to laugh at them as being
children and fools. They, therefore, with
1 See note 23.
468 History of the Passion.
wonted hypocrisy, spoke of their fear lest the
disciples steal the body and this put them, as
it were, from the frying-pan into the fire. —
Great God ! the poor, timid disciples ! What
would it profit them to steal the body? Were
Christ not to rise from the dead, they would
be the deluded ones.
"The last error/' the chief -priests continued
in their address, "would be worse than the
"first." By the first error they meant the
doctrine of Christ's Divinity and Messianic
dignity. Worse than this would be the last,
that is to say, a rumor, brought about by the
disciples stealing His body, that Christ had
arisen. This would naturally also spread and
render indestructible the first error. It would
bring to Christ many new adherents. It would
likewise draw down the ire of the people on
themselves as well as on Pilate, and they
would all have to dread the vengeance of
Christ's friends on account of His execution.
It might even produce a political upheaval of
far greater extent than was to be feared dur
ing the life-time of the Redeemer. Command
therefore, Pilate, "the sepulchre to be guarded
"until the third day." Again they are the
obsequious servants, — God grant that with
many a converted sinner the last things be
not worse than the first. God grant, future
storms gathering over the individual or over
The tvatch at the grave.
469
the entire Church, may not, owing to a lack
of watchfulness, be more destructive than all
preceding ones! We ought to take our pre
cautions.
The petition of the chief -priests and phar-
isees was graciously acceded to. Whether
shrewd Pilate was moved by the reasons sub
mitted to grant the request, may well be con
sidered doubtful. It is more credible that he
preceived the fear and dread of the chief-
priests for the murdered Innocent One and
that inwardly he laughed at and ridiculed the
alleged reasons and the petitioners themselves.
But, on the one hand, Pilate would not offend
these prominent men and, on the other, he
was heartily tired of the whole affair, as well
because his own conduct toward the Redeemer
furnished him with abundant matter for
examens of conscience in the evening, as be
cause the divers and in part miraculous events
of the day had depressed him and rendered
him melancholy. He sought, therefore, to rid
himself of his annoying visitors the best way
he could, and immediately conceded what they
asked for. Such is often the real sentiment
underlying worldly politeness. Externally
there is nothing but what is amiable, obse
quious and flattering, nothing but hypocritical
compliments, whilst inwardly there lie con
cealed aversion and contempt.
470 History of the Passion.
But in order not to expose himself to further
entanglements and responsibilities, Pilate left
the whole matter to the discretion of the chief-
priests. "You have a guard," said he;
"yesterday evening I placed one hundred and
"twenty five soldiers at your disposal. Go
"and take them and guard it as you know."
— It was again providential that the command
of the grave-watch was entrusted to the chief-
priests. Now they could not without stulti
fying themselves, reproach Pilate that Jus
soldiers had sold the body of the Saviour to
the disciples. They had the supervision and
any fraud or neglect that might occur would
be imputed to themselves.
With many thanks and declarations of their
respect and distinguished consideration, the
chief-priests and pharisees finally took leave
of Pilate, both parties being filled, probably
more than ever before, with mutual contempt
and disgust. What a mean, contemptible and
disgusting role was played throughout the
history of the Bedeemer's Passion by these
men who should have been to others models
of honorable and upright conduct ! Still we
may learn one thing from them. The pru
dence and zeal to which hatred for the living
Saviour had impelled the chief-priests and
pharisies, did not depart from them even in
their insane fear of the dead Saviour. Had
The watch at the grave. 471
they been used only in a good cause! Where
fore our prudence should be a holy prudence
and our zeal, a holy zeal. Our zeal should
not spring from fear of the dead Redeemer
but from love for Him. The end and
object of our thoughts and efforts should be
the salvation of our poor souls, the general
weal of our fellow-men, the welfare and spread
of the Catholic Church, increase in the love of
the Crucified Redeemer and the greater honor
of the thrice holy Grod.
Let us now consider the watch itself of the
sepulchre.
II.
Rejoicing at the favorable issue of the
audience, the chief-priests and pharisees hur
ried from the house of Pilate to the neigh
boring citadel. Of the hundred and twenty
five men granted them by the governor, they,
in their fear of the Dead Saviour, undoubt
edly demanded quite a number. For St. Mat
thew expressly reports that after the Resur
rection of Christ, "several" of the guards ran
to the city to announce the fact, from all of
which one may conclude that a strong com
mand was there. The commandant of the
citadel hesitated. It had never yet happened
that his subjects had -to protect the grave of
an executed criminal against robbery. For
what did it matter if the body were indeed
472 History of the Passion.
stolen? And the Roman soldiers who were
anxious for repose, were not much pleased
either with the command of the governor,
especially as it was the doings of the Jews,
whom they abominated. They scolded and
cursed. But the jingling coin of the chief -
priests soon allayed their excitement and
elicited universal consent. Thereupon the
chief-priests and pharisees went to the se
pulchre with the soldiers. It was, forsooth,
a remarkable procession which thus followed
the Way of the Cross late in the evening of
the first Good Friday.
According to credible ancient reports men
tioned by the ecclesiastical writer Nicephorus,1
the stone was first attached to the wall with
iron cramps. It should be impossible for the
Dead One in the grave to roll away the stone.
Neither did the chief -priests trust the Eoman
soldiers. And in this they were right. For
men whom money can buy, will also for
money betray the oath of fealty they have
sworn. If then any one would offer the sol
diers more than the chief-priests had given or
at least promised them, they probably might
dispose of the body and such a thing must be
prevented. Therefore, according to the nar
rative of Nicephorus, the priests and phari-
1 Eccl. hist. I. 1, c. 32. He refers to ancient tradition;
De locis sanctis inter opp. Ven. Bedae.
The watch at the grave. 473
sees, like stone masons, bored with iron tools
through the stone and the wall. Then through
both openings they drove a large iron obtained
in a neighboring smithy and solidly connected
both stone and wall. Furthermore, several
other iron bands were attached around the
stone and made fast in the wall. Their work
was seasoned with sarcastic remarks addressed
to the Redeemer, such as: "Now come forth,
"if you can," and with jeering peals of laugh
ter. What the chief -priests were doing was,
indeed, servile work which was strictly for
bidden on Easter Sabbath. But, thought
they, the deceiver in the grave also worked on
the Sabbath when He prepared the mud to
rub on the eyes of the man born blind.
Then the grave was sealed. This was done,
either by drawing a cord across the entrance
stone and sealing both ends, or, if the entrance
stone was held by a transversal beam, by
uniting both stone and beam with a seal. The
seal used may have been that of the city, but
more likely it was the official seal of the San
hedrim. The Dead One would certainly re
spect the seal of the wise Council and forbear
from making any attempt at resurrection.
Finally the guard was stationed. The chief-
priests to whom Pilate had entrusted the entire
affair, assigned to each soldier his post. The
grave was entirely surrounded by guards.
474 History of the Passion.
Thus, in coming out of the sepulchre, Christ
would necessarily fall into the hands of one
or the other soldier. On some pictorial re
presentations one may see a soldier occupying
a position even on the top of the sepulchre.
For the Saviour might possibly escape through
the top. The guard had orders to make Christ
a captive, in case He opened the entrance to
the grave or sought an exit through some
other part of the rock. O ye chief -priests !
One figure still lacked its accomplishment.
Saul had placed his mailed satellites before
the dwelling of David whom he would destroy.
Whereupon Michol showed David an egress
through which he fled. Stand guard, then,
ye imperial soldiers, before the grave of the
Lord and see whether or not you shall succeed
better than the satellites of Saul.
If ever the words of Holy Writ were accom
plished, it certainly was now: "I will destroy
"the wisdom of the wise and the prudence of
"the prudent I will reject" (1 Cor. 1, 19).
"0 unfortunate and miserable Jew! " exclaims
in indignation an ancient ecclesiastical writer,1
"Who broke the chains of death, can He not
"break the seal on the grave? He Who like a
"hero overcame hell, shall He fear the locks
"on the grave? Seal the stone, place your
"menials, encircle the grave with a thousand
2 Serm. de Pass. Domini, inter spuria S. Athan., n. 4.
The watch at the grave. 475
"guards! Thus shalt tliou render more
"glorious the work of Christ's Resurrection,
"glorious as it is in itself. For thou art plac
ing there spectators and witnesses of His
"Resurrection and thou art preparing for Him
"servants who shall announce His wonderful
"works.77
What this ancient writer said to the enemies
of Christ, we can also say to the enemies of the
Bride of Jesus Christ: "0 ye impious powers
"of this world, ye powers of darkness, ye dia-
"bolical powers! Concoct your plans against
"the Holy Catholic Church! Excogitate the
"most astute schemes! Exhaust all the tricks
"of hypocritical diplomacy, all the power and
"all the fraudulent methods of your secret
"society craft! Put in chains the Bride of the
"Redeemer, crucify her, bury her and sur-
"round her grave with your regiments! God,
"reigning in heaven, will laugh you to scorn.
"The sooner Good Friday arrives, the sooner
"our holy mother, the Catholic Church, will
"celebrate the feast of Easter.'7
After the chief-priests and pharisees had
again recommended to the guard a conscien
tious fulfillment of their duty, and promised
them a liberal reward, they returned home
hurriedly and in an exuberant frame of mind.
However they arrived too late for a share in
the Easter lamb. There was nothing left of
the Old Testament but the offals.
476 History of the Passion.
However, before we bid adieu to the chief-
priests and pharisees, let us thank them
heartily for the hint they have given us in
providing a watch for the sepulchre. For in
deed, our good resolutions, even if they were
as solid as a rock, can be broken and crushed
by the enemies of our souls. It is easy for
them to tear away the seal of love which was
impressed on our hearts in holy Baptism. If
we would be sure that the Eedeemer who
dwells within us by His grace be not stolen
away from us, we must place a guard around
our hearts. Ye chief -priests will certainly
not blame us for not calling upon you or your
soldiers for this purpose. For if I am to be
lieve what you asserted on Easter Sunday,
your guards slept instead of watching, and
whilst they were asleep, the disciples stole the
body, and when the guards, plunged as they
were in a profound sleep, saw all that, they
never even ran after the wicked disciples to
take away from them their booty. No, your
watch is not of the right sort ; we cannot rely
on them. When the pious women came to
the grave early on the third day, it was empty.
We, therefore, turn to those of whom King
David sang that God had intended them to be
our guardians, and the holy angels who to
gether held the death-watch at the grave of
their Creator, will deem it an honor to defend
The watch at the grave. 477
against all enemies the Redeemer reposing in
our hearts as in a grave.
Indeed, we are not afraid of the apostles of
the Lord, whom you chief -priests, pretended
to fear. Ah! no! we love the holy apostles;
we love them with all our heart, Peter and
John and James and all the others, not for
getting Thomas, who with his hand directed
us to the Divine Heart. But what we do fear,
are the apostles of unbelief, the apostles of
immorality, the seducers, the rebellious flesh
and the infernal spirits.
Hurry hither, then, ye heavenly spirits, ye
angels of God and take charge of the grave.
Shield the Saviour, protect Him, defend Him
that He be not stolen from us. Thou es
pecially who hast overcome Satan, Prince of
the heavenly hosts, unconquered hero of God,
Saint Michael! Thou Protector of the Church
Militant ! With thy shield and sword protect
her who is, as it were, being pressed toward
the grave, the Bride of the Departed Re
deemer. Enchain the unchained forces of
hell, throw them back into the abyss and lead
the Roman Catholic Church on to a glorious
victory, to a glorious triumph. Help us also,
who are the children of this Holy Mother,
help us combat, help us overcome the enemy,
thou who art the protector of us all. Upon
thee we rely in dangers and temptations, on
478
History of the Passion.
tliee we rely in life, on thee we rely in death,
in the last combat, and we shall never be
confounded.
The grave, then, is locked, sealed and well
guarded. We may remain without anxiety;
the disciples will not rob us of the Saviour.
With all peace of heart then and collectedness
of mind, we can, by prayer and penance, pre
pare ourselves for the holy feast of Easter
and, with the sorrowful Mother and all of the
Crucified Bedeemer's friends with whom we
have become acquainted on the Way of the Pas
sion, await the moment in which the cry of
victory shall resound : Surrexit, non est hie !
— Christ is risen. He is no longer in the
grave — Alleluja!
A. M. D. GK
NOTES.
i- (page 5.)
It has been the concordant teaching of all stand
ard theologians for many centuries past, that
the soul of Christ, from the moment of its cre
ation, was in possession of the beatific vision of
God. It is true that no ecumenical council has
ever declared this teaching to be a dogma of faith,
but it is rightly deduced from many passages of
Holy Writ and from other certain truths of faith
with which the former are in natural coherence.
This vision of God which constitutes the essential
beatitude of the saints of heaven, consists in the
souPs seeing God directly, face to face, as He is,
and, as a result of this clear vision, in its being-
drawn by unspeakable love to God, the Supreme
Good, and being united to Him most intimately.
From this vision and love there ought naturally
to arise the greatest satisfaction and joy and the
most intense delight, hence complete happiness. Just
as naturally an intense, overflowing joy ought to
dissipate all sensations of external and internal
pain. Still faith teaches that Christ did suffer ex
ternal and internal pains and that He was, as He
said Himself, "sad unto death". Such a union of
beatitude and possibility is indeed not imaginable
in the saints of heaven. For arrived at their
eternal goal, they have laid aside the qualities of
(479)
480 Notes.
mundane wayfarers and they experience henceforth
only such influences corning from God which are
coordinate with their beatitude. But Christ was
at the same time in possession of the goal and still
an earthly pilgrim ; He, therefore, was in twofold
state and experienced divers influences correspond
ing to this twofold condition, that is to say, He
experienced the Divine co-operation with His act
ivity in accordance with this twofold state.
Joy and grief can co-exist in one human will if
the power of perception is, at the same time, im
pressed by two divers objects, an agreeable and a
disagreeable one, and if it yields to both impres
sions. Now it is, indeed, true that the soul of
Christ was immersed with all the energy and power
of its activity in the infinitely attractive vision of
the Divine Essence ; but as the Redeemer was at
the same time in the condition of an earthly pilgrim,
and had assumed a passible body, God could, by
granting the Divine co-operation which corre
sponded to this condition, maintain the soul's
entire attentiveness directed to the Passion as well
as the entire activity of the will corresponding to
this attentiveness. That Christ should thus at the
same time and in a twofold condition develop a
peculiar and, for sooth, most important activity, far
from being an imperfection was rather a greater
perfection. Now if all this was as described, we
find in Christ the sensation of pain and the natural
repugnance of the will in all its strength simultan
eously with the beatific vision. Moreover, the fact
that Christ exercised the entire activity proper to
one who had arrived at the goal, did not only not
Notes.
481
hinder or diminish the pain and the sadness which
He felt as an earthly pilgrim, but it rather in
creased and aggravated them. For the vision and
love corresponding to the one condition, also helped
the other to a greater perfection of perception and of
activity of the will and, thus, the union with the
Godhead did not only not render the sacred
Humanity of Christ impervious to suffering but it
increased its passibility, as it were, to an infinite
degree.
With all this, the proposition stands that, ac
cording to the natural course of things, super
abundant joy and keen suffering are incompatible.
The above is offered merely as an explanation of
the manner in which God maintained the compat
ibility of the two in the soul of Christ.
This difficult question is clearly and solidly
treated in W. Wilmers', S. J., Lehrbuch der
Keligion II (4th edit.), 616 sqq. Confer p. 156
sqq. Confer also Franzelin, Tract, de Verb. Inc.
thes. 42, p. 433.
2. (page 28.)
The words of Jesus (Matthew 26, 45): "Sleep ye
now and take your rest" apparently contradicting
the preceding words: " Watch ye and pray" and
the words directly following : "Rise, let us go"
are very remarkable and are differently ex
plained. Some interpreters are of the opinion
that Christ said the words : "Sleep ye now and
take your rest" by way of holy irony. "Sleep",
that is, if ye can, now that the hostile force is nigh
and their weapons are resounding. The following
482 Notes.
words : "now it is enough — rise" were said by
Christ, according to them, in a more serious tone
to summon the apostles to join Him in meeting the
enemy. Many interpreters, however, will not
concede that irony, no matter how well justified,
proceeded from the lips of the Saviour in such a
serious hour. Not a few believe with St. Augustm
that, by these words, Jesus really allowed the
disciples to take some sleep and that then, after
Borne lapse of time, he ordered them to rise. But
how does this opinion agree with the command
immediately preceding (v. 41): "Watch ye and
pray" ? For this reason St. Chrysostom (in Matth.
horn. 83. n. 1), believes that Jesus spoke thus,
because He would not plainly reproach the dis
ciples, as He recoguized the uselessness of reproach
at the present moment. He saw that it would only
tend to bewilder them more, and, besides, in a few
moments they would take to flight. Christ needed
not their help ; His delivery to the enemy was a
certainty at any rate. According to this explan
ation the word of Christ would mean: "I do not
wish to chide you ; sleep on if ye be as weak as all
that.'7 Even in this sense, the words contain an
indirect reproach, but no sarcasm. The sense is
more moderate and brings the perfect resignation
of the Saviour beautifully into relief, wherefore we
prefer this last explanation.
Upheld by Luke 22, 46, some interpreters believe
that the Saviour again summoned the disciples to
prayer immediately before His capture. Then
began for them to its greatest extent the danger of
wavering in the faith. What then would be more
Notes. 483
natural and more necessary than the repeated
summons I Besides Luke 22, 46 agrees very well
with Matthew 26, 45. Christ could have said
both. Other interpreters, however, are of the
opinion that Luke, who, iu his narrative, does not
distinguish different acts of prayer, merely recapit
ulates 22, 46 — summarily the chief contents of the
repeated addresses. The subsequent words "adhuc
eo loquente" do not contradict this explanation.
According to the evangelists' manner of speaking
namely, this expression does not necessarily refer to
the words immediately preceding.
3. (page 58.)
The acceptation that the washing of the feet took
place before the institution of the Bl. Eucharist,
will certainly not meet with contradiction, in which
case the narrative of St. John 13, 2 — 31 decides
the present question. Directly after the washing
of the feet (v. 12) Jesus refers to the betrayer and
again, promptly, a second time (v. 21 sq.) ; then,
without any interruption, He hands him the dipped
bread (v. 26) and he "having received the morsel,
went out immediately.'7 In this close and con
cise narrative the institution of the Bl. Eucharist
cannot find room; it must have occurred later.
Of a truth, Matthew (26, 25 sqq.) and Mark
(14, 18 sqq.) refer it to the time after the traitor
had heard from Christ that it was he who would
betray Him. — Ancient testimony is also at hand
showing that Judas was not present at the institu
tion. Thus Tatian, a disciple of the holy martyr
Justin, in his Concordance of the Gospels, called
484 Notes.
Diatessaron, records the institution as taking place
after the departure of Judas and properly begins
its description with the words of John 13, 31 :
"Now is the son of man glorified etc." Victor of
Capua in his Concordance of the Gospels (Migue
1, 68, 340) says the same ; likewise the so called
Apostolic Constitutions 5, 14. This is also the
teaching of St. Hilary (Comment, in Matth. 30, 2),
of St. Ephrem, of St. Cyril of Alexandria, of St.
Aphraates , of Eupertus (in Jo. 6, 71), of Pope
Innocent III. (De sacro altaris mysterio 47 13) who,
after giving both opinions, concludes as follows :
1 'Quid ergo est vobis in hoc casu tenendum ? Illud
forte sine praeiudicio aliorum, quod Joannes insin-
uat, quia cum Judas accepisset buccelam panis,
exiit continuo. Christus autem post alios cibos
tradidit Eucharistiarn. " — This is also the opinion
of Zacharias Chrysopolit, Peter Comestor, Salin-
eron, Barradius, B. Lamy, Turrianus and of the
majority of more recent interpreters. Cf. E.
Comely, S. J., Historica et Critica Introductio in
Libros Sacros (Pariuiis 1886. Vol. III. p. 298
sqq.), Corluy, S. J., Commentarius in Ev. St.
Joannis (Gandavi 1880, p. 321—323) and J.
Knabenbauer, S. J., Comment, in Matth. II., p.
439 ; Comment, in Luc. p. 576 ; Comment, in Jo.
p. 416 sq. In reply to the objection that some of
the Holy Fathers are of the opposite opinion, I
answer that our opponents in other questions are
themselves most pronouncedly in the minority.
The narration of Luke (22, 21—23) does indeed
appear to report the words concerning the betrayal
as being spoken after the institution of the Bl.
Notes. 485
Eucharist. But just as Luke 21, 37, 38 adds a
supplementary statement to what he has mentioned
before, he could in like manner add 22, 21 — 23 by
way of a supplement and to what had taken place
during the paschal supper. He probably did not
wish to disturb by a discordant note the narrative
of the institution of the Bl. Sacrament and he
therefore supplied afterwards the report of what
had taken place before. Besides, according to some
commentators, Luke 22, 46 (compare note 2) and
especially 23, 36 (comp. note 18) also deviated
from the historical series of events. According to
Dr. Grimm (Einheit der 4 Ev. p. 480) and Loh~
mann, S. J., (Das Leben unseres Herrn u. H. J.
Chr. [2d ed.] p. 235), the dispute about rank
among the disciples and the reprimand of the
Saviour took place before the institution of the Bl.
Eucharist, although Luke tells of them after
mentioning the institution (22, 24-30). According
to Grimm this scene ought most naturally to be
attached chronologically to the foot-washing scene.
Now if this passage is considered a supplement,
then, for the reasons already mentioned, it appears
even more reasonable to begin the supplement with
v. 21 instead of v. 24. Furthermore the following
is to be considered: according to Matth. 26, 21
and Mark 14, 18 Christ speaks of the traitor, and
the disciples put their questions during the supper
and before the institution of the Bl. Sacrament.
The same is reported by John, who says that the
Redeemer hands Judas the dipped morsel. It is
manifest then according to these narratives that
the address concerning the betrayer and the
486 Notes.
questions of the disciples occurred during the legal
supper and before the institution of the Eucharist.
Hereby the assumption is excluded that Luke 22 ,
21 is to be understood to mean that the same address
and the same questions occurred a second time after
the supper in the same manner as they had occurred
before it. Abbot Eupert of Deutz remarks aptly :
"Verbaquae in priori coenaDominus de suo tradi-
tore dixit, Lucas sic praeposteravit, ut priorern
paschae coenam et sequentein dominici corporis
et sanguinis conseerationem narrando conjungeret
et tune demum verba quae in convivio dicta suut
continuaret." And Father Knabenbauer, in his
Comment, in Jo. p. 410, after quoting this text,
correctly says : Nisi igitur, quod plane superfluum
est, adstruere volueris et Christum et discipulos
bis i. e. inter coenandum et post spatiurn temporis
instituta eucharistia eadem dixisse (Christum: Luc.
22, 22 vae etc. discipulos quaesivisse), profecto
narratio apud Lucani ita concipi debet. It is not
against the chronological order appealed to in favor
of Luke that he first reports the legal supper, then
the institution, and that he finally adds what was
stated orally before. Otherwise the passage in
Luke 3, 19 and 21, 37 would also be faults against
the rule : ex ordine scribere. This rule refers to
events in their totality : Qui ordo ut servetur non
opus est ut singulae uniuscuj usque eventns con-
ditiones et quasi partes etiam semper ordine temp
oris enumerentur (cf. Knabenbauer, Jo. Luc.
p. 37).
uCibum turbae duodenae se dat suis inanibiis''
that is: suis apostolis, who are also called the
Notes. 487
twelve although they were only 11 or (Paul
included) 13. Duodecim is just as fixed an official
name as decemviri, centumviri, ' 'the 40 Immortals' ' ,
which names are used even if the number be not
complete.
Supposing however, as some Holy Fathers and
interpreters (Dr. Paul Schanz, Cominentar u'ber
das Evangelium des St. Lucas, p. 509 and 510)
maintain, that Judas was really present at the
institution of the Bl. Sacrament, one could with
good reason ask the question whether or not Judas
sinned in receiving it. The law that he only who is
in the state of grace, may receive Holy Communion,
was without doubt definitely mentioned by Christ,
if not proclaimed in expressed terms, when He
promised the Bl. Sacrament (John 6). For food
and drink presuppose life. They do not give it.
They maintain and strengthen it. The disciples
could, then, have concluded from the words of
promise that the nourishment presupposes the life
of the soul, which is sanctifying grace. But, it
may well be doubted that the disciples, who were
slow of understanding, and whom, even after the
resurrection, Christ upbraided for their indocility
and lack of comprehension of even clearly proposed
truths (v. g. that Christ would rise again), really
had understood that law and drawn from the
the words of promise the conclusion that the
reception of that food in the state of mortal sin, is
a sin, even a mortal sin, a sacrilege. This applies
especially to Judas who had lost the faith before
the promise was made, and who therefore was
hardly capable of higher comprehension and under •
488 Notes.
standing. Taken for granted, however, that Judas
had rightly comprehended and understood the law,
it is doubtful whether he thought of it. For at the
last supper, the institution of the Holy Eucharist
took the disciples unawares, and the invitation
to partake of that food was spoken before they
knew what food was really meant. Taken for
granted, finally, that Judas really thought of it,
then the positive, personal urging and loving invi
tation of Christ : Eat ye, drink ye all of this, thou
also Judas, for no one is excepted, must have
necessarily forced upon him the conviction that, in
his dullness, he had misunderstood the words of
promise, and that the law really did not exist ; or
that, notwithstanding his sinfulness, Christ was
giving him the permission to receive communion
and dispensing him from the law. In which case
he would have acted in good faith in receiving
Holy Communion and he could not have sinned.
If one, nevertheless, maintained that Judas with
a clear knowledge of the law deliberately committed
a sacrilege, then Christ's manner of speaking and
acting would be entirely inexplicable. The objec
tion that Judas was inwardly moved by the
Eedeemer to renounce his treacherous design and
to be contrite for it, and that on this supposition,
Christ could invite him to partake of the food, is
of no account, because Christ knew that Judas
would remain obdurate. l Thus the Redeemer
1 One ought to heed, in this connection, the remarks of
Barradius : If Christ gave Holy Communion to Judas, the
apostles might draw the conclusion that it might be given
to an unworthy person even when the latter could easily
Notes.
489
would not only have permitted a new crime in one
whom He knew to be obdurate, but He would have
positively invited him to sin : He even would have
made this invitation stronger (drink ye all of this)
after the sinner had already received sacrilegiously
the Body of the Lord. Had Judas been present,
Christ would have formulated differently the words
.of invitation. But this He did not do. Therefore
Judas left the hall before the institution of the Bl.
Sacrament.
4- (page 82.)
It is on untenable grounds that many modern
scientists take this young man to be St. Mark,
whilst entire tradition denies that he was person
ally acquainted with the Lord. On account of
the scanty attire of the young man, it is not
probable either that he had recently been in the
company of the Lord or had come with Him from
the city. "Naked" as the evangelist describes the
fleeing young man, does not necessarily mean
entirely devoid of clothing. Any one was called
naked who was clad only in an undergarment or a
loin-cloth. The Jews held complete muteness in
great horror. Compare Sepp, Leben Jesu VI.
330 a. 5.
be removed. And lie adds : Ordine a Joanne proposito
ostendit a Christo eum potuisse facillime removeri : ergo
censendum esse Christum fecisse quod quivis sacerdos
facere debeat, si peccatorem sine ulla peccati manifesta-
tione removere possit (cf. Knabenbauer, Comment, in Jo.
p. 417;.
490 Notes.
5. (page 86.)
Several interpreters (Salmat. Tolet. Hald. Corn,
a Lap. etc. ) teach that the preliminary trial which is
here described as taking place before Annas, was
held before Caiphas. However, Father Knaben-
bauer, S. J., in his Comment, in Joan, published
in 1898, pp. 514 and 515 refutes so thoroughly the
arguments of these interpreters and so clearly
solves the difficulties urged by them against the
opposite opinion, that we are constrained to follow
his teaching which, besides, has always had many
dependers (Chrys., Aug., Thomas and others).
Father Knabenbauer shows in the first place from
many texts of Holy Writ (John 18, 3; 18, 35;
7,45; 11, 47,56; 19, 6; 15, 21: Luke 3, 2), that
the high-priests kept their titles after their terms
had expired and that, therefore, Caiphas, the
pontiff in office need not necessarily be understood
as being the one who conducted the preliminary
trial. Morever, there are several arguments demon
strating that the preliminary trial was held before
Annas, whilst only the trial proper was held before
Caiphas: "Quae v. 19 — 23 narrantur, plane non
congruent cum eis quae coram Caipho fiunt, ibi
Jesus privatim interrogatur de doctrina et dis~
cipulos ; hie instituitur disquisitio judicialis, i. e.
re adducta testes surgunt et testimonia dicunt ; ibi
Jesus respondet, hie tacet et sol urn adjuratione per
Deum facta edicit quis sit; ibi nulla fertur sen-
tentia, hie reus mortis declaratur. Unde, si mine
v. 24. legitur: et rnlsit eum Annas etc., ex ante-
cedentibus omnino suadetur, hunc versum rite
poni suo loco et ordine, imo ipso suo loco rein
Notes. 491
clare definiri." To consider this verse as a sub
sequent supplementary addition and to translate it
thus : " Annas had sent him bound to Caiphas the
high-priest' ' is also improper for the reason that,
in a principal sentence, the aorist is never to be
taken in the sense of the pluperfect. (See Kn.
loc. cito.) The apparent contradiction between
the other evangelists who speak of three denials of
Peter as occurring in the courtyard of the palace of
Caiphas, and St. John who mentions that the first
denial happened in the courtyard of the house of
Annas, is solved by Father Knabenbauer, who
clearly proves, from the narration itself of St.
John, that Annas and Caiphas lived in the same
house. For, while Christ was before Caiphas (v.
25), Peter stood at the same fire and, consequently,
in the same courtyard where he had been when
Christ was before Annas (v. 18). St. John, there
fore, does not contradict the narratives of the other
evangelists which state that the three denials took
place in the courtyard of the palace of Caiphas, but
he rather completes them by showing that the first
denial took place while Christ was before Annas in
the house of Caiphas. (Kn. p. 515 and 519.)
6. (page 101.)
Kegarding the history of the Sanhedrin or "Great
Council' ' which throws such a peculiar light upon
the trial of Christ, compare D. Bon. v. Haneberg's
Geschichte der bibl. Oft'enbarung (4th ed. Eatisbon
1876), Part VI, ch. 2, p. 435. It consisted
formerly of the chiefs of the tribes, of the priests
and of men of all tribes who where versed in the
492 Notes.
law. It had continued throughout the time of the
judges and, according to legendary data of the
Kabbis, even during the time of the kings. Accord
ing to the Eabbis the most and greatest of the
prophets, such as Josue, Samuel, Elias, Eliseus,
Isaias etc. were presidents of the Sanhedrin. At
any rate the Great Council was reorganized after
the return of many priests and levites under
Esdjas. Esdras himself belonged to it as also did
Aggeus, Zachary and Malachy.
7. (page 115.)
Cornelius a Lapide (Matthew 26, 58), De la
Palma (ch. 11), and Maszl (Vol. 3 [Mark 14, 66]
Vol. 5 [John 18, 15—18]) do not believe that the
disciples who entered the courtyard of the high-
priest with Peter was St. John, but they think that
it was another, albeit a secret disciple of the Saviour;
that he was perhaps of noble lineage and acquainted
with Caiphas on account of his elevated position in
life. Cornelius a Lapide appeals especially to the
Syrian translation: uone of the other disciples".
Opposed to this, however, are the Greek editions
of the Bible and all the other translations, so thafc
the text: "the other disciple" stands unshaken.
The Syrian translator likely embodied his private
view in the text. — Now, "the other disciple" is
none other than St. John. He always calls himself
by this name. Later also John 20, 2 ; 21, 7, 20
and in the Acts of the Apostles 'John and Peter are
continually found together. — Like Peter, John
also entered the court of Caiphas without thinking
of any danger. John had less to fear for himself,
Notes. 493
as it seems that he was well thought of in the house
of the high-priest. But John did not for once
imagine that the entrance into that house would
prove ruinous to Peter whose attachment to the
Kedeenier he well knew and who, a few hours
before, had made so many courageous protest
ations. John, however, was more careful than
Peter. He did not mingle among the servants
and converse with them ; but he went into the
interior of the palace and contemplated his Saviour.
Furthermore, it is very credible that he soon took
his departure to inform the Bl. Virgin of the
beginning of the trial. Of. Dr. J. B. Holzammer,
Handbuch zur bibl. Geschichte II (3d ed.), 354,
note 1 ; J. B. Lohmann, S. J., Betrachtungen I
(4th ed.), 265.
8.' (page 149.)
Touching and beautiful is the accomplishment
of the ancient prophecies to which the evangelist
points when mentioning the potter's field (Matth.
27, 9). The prophetic words quoted by him are
taken partly from Zachary 11, 12 and partly from
Jeremias. The evangelist, however, mentions only
the latter because he furnishes the chief contents of
the entire prophecy quoted as one, namely, the
potter's field and its significance. The whole
prophecy embraces three chief points.
1. The prophet Zachary represents the Lord as
a good Shepherd expressing His indignation at the
ingratitude of His flock for all the pastoral faith
fulness it had been surrounded with. But to see
whether the sheep desired the Shepherd's return
494 Notes.
or not, and to make them reflect upon the benefits
bestowed by Him upon them, He asks them to set
a price on His labors and to indemnify Him, if it
appear right to them; otherwise not to mind it.
They thereupon pay Him, as a fair price for years
of love and care — thirty pieces of silver, the price of
a slave. For, according to the law (Exod. 21, 32),
that was the price to be paid to the master as an
indemnity for a bond-man or a bond-woman killed
by an ox. His price shows contempt for the
shepherd and, at the same time, his repudiation.
He can be dispensed with, and his removal is
desired. Then God says to the shepherd: "Cast
it to the statuary (God, the Creator), a handsome
price, that I was priced at by them". And the
shepherd took the thirty pieces of silver and cast
them into the house of the Lord to the statuary. "
He also broke his second pastoral rod as he had
broken the first — he ceased to be their shepherd.
The good shepherd, then, who saw himself thus
priced, throws the insignificant sum contempt
uously upon the ground before God, the Lord of
Israel, the Owner of the flock. He did this in the
Temple, for there the Lord dwells, and he thereby
appeals to the judgment of God. God hears the
appeal and the flock shall now be abandoned to a
bad shepherd. All this the evangelist now sees
accomplished : the people have renounced the Mes-
sias by appreciating Him at thirty pieces of silver,
and they have thus passed judgment upon them
selves. The evangelist mentions the fulfillment of
this prophecy now, when he is about to narrate how
the Jews delivered the Redeemer unto Pilate, the
heathen.
Notes. 495
2. But the betrayal of Judas, the appreciation
of the shepherd by the flock at thirty pieces of
silver, the moment, therefore, when the reception
of Israel seems to be accomplished, has as a sequel
the guaranty that mercy shall not always keep her
face turned away from Israel. And this guaranty
is found in the "field of blood", in the potter's
field. Whilst the siege of the Chaldeans renders
Jerusalem hopeless and makes the people stand
aghast at their destruction ; whilst the prophet
Jeremias, himself a type of the suffering Saviour
in his abandonment and nudity, is serving in
prison for his prophecies ; the word of God comes
to him to buy, in Jehova's name, a field in that
land "whereof they say that it is desolate, because
there remaineth neither man nor beast and it is
given into the hands of the enemy" (Jerem. 32,
43). The prophet obeys. The contract is closed
with proper seals and deed, and the price of the
field is paid. According to the will of God this
field is to be a pledge that the nation shall be
re-established, that it shall return and retake
possession of the land. Wherefore the field is not
the property of the prophet, but it was bought in
the name and as the property of God.
But it is not so much temporal re-establishment,
nor recuperation of external goods, nor political
restoration, which are promised here. The pur
chase of the field is rather the pledge of a higher,
spiritual restoration, of Messianic Salvation, of a
new, eternal testament, of a new kingdom of God
upon earth to be established by the death of the
Redeemer. Neither external power nor earthly
496 Notes.
splendor should characterize this restoration, but
rather sanctity, concord and love. (See Jerein.
ch. 32 and 33; furthermore, the beautiful des
cription of the Messianic kingdom according to the
sayings of the prophets in J. Knabenbauer, S. J.,
[Comment, in Prophet. Min. II, p. 160—168 anent
Sophonias, III, 9—13].)
The fulfillment of this prophecy is the last act
performed by the high-priests of Israel. In the
name of the temple, that is, of Jehova's dwelling
therein, they buy the potter's field. They buy it
with the money donated to the temple, with the
price earned with the life and blood of the Messias,
the good Shepherd ; they buy it for the ridiculous
price of thirty pieces of silver, by means of which
He has appealed to the God of Israel and which, in
the temple, He has laid at the feet of the Lord, the
"statuary" of Israel.
3. For, in the fact that it was the field of a
potter which was bought with the blood-money,
the evangelist sees no fortuitous event, but he
beholds again the fulfillment of a glorious prophecy.
Already in Zachary the good shepherd significantly
casts the thirty pieces of silver before the "potter"
in the temple, that is to say before the Lord who,
in a special manner, is the "statuary" of Israel.
He is not only its Creator as He is the Creator of all
nations, but in an incomparably more intimate
manner by especial favor and through the inventive
power of His love, He is its artistic, modelling-
Statuary, its Potter. With particular development
of details, the prophet Jeremias also (ch. 18 and
19) represents God to His people as a Potter and
Notes. 497
in the name of the Lord, before the eyes of the
representatives of the people, he breaks a vessel
of clay to make known that as the potter breaks
his vessel, so God will destroy the people and the
city. But what the prophet already here ( Jerem.
18, 4) indicates, that, namely, from the broken
vessel the potter will form another more pleasing
to his eyes, he also expressly promises (33, 2)
when, as a pledge of the fulfillment of his promise,
he offers the field bought by himself for the Lord,
the Statuary of Israel. By the bringing in of the
name of "potter", the same promise of a higher,
spiritual restoration of the old testament fallen in
ruins, is repeated under another figure, at last by
way of intimation. The purchase of the field in
the name of God and with God's money (the blood-
money of the Messias) is the guaranty that now the
time has arrived when this prophecy is to be fulfilled
and that the potter is to gloriously remodel the
broken vessel. And this is what is remarkable
in the fulfillment of the prophecy and what the
evangelist wishes to bring out in relief — the field
bought by the chief -priests in the name of the Lord
of the temple, is the "field of a potter" .
Thus the evangelist has seen three prophecies
accomplished simultaneously in the purchase of
the potter's field and he has therefore abridged
them into one : The God of Israel with Whose money,
earned by the blood of the Messias, the field is purchased,
thereby becomes the owner of the potter's field. He is
Himself the Potter who at this moment rejects His
people, as His people has just now rejected its Shepherd;
but Who, exactly through the purchase of this field
498 Notes.
declares that He, the same Potter, will remodel the clay
in His hands into a neiVj successful and pleasing form.
Compare Dr. J. Grimm, Die Einheit der vier
Evangelien, pp. 715 — 724, and J. Knabenbauer,
S. J., Commentarius in Prophet. Min. II, 351 sqq.
9- (page 154 and 261.)
As it appears very probable from the work Hist.
Eevelationis Divinae N. T. (p. 234 sqq.) of J.
Danko, who cites the names of many celebrated
authors (p. 241) in support of his opinion, the
Jews, since their return from the Babylonian
captivity, or at least for a long time before the
death of Christ, were wont to transfer the feast of
Easter to the Sabbath whenever it fell on a Friday.
This was done in order that there might not be
two successive days on which servile labor was
forbidden. On the Sabbath and on the feast of
reconciliation they were not allowed to work,
not even to light a fire. For, considering the
strictness with which the pharisees observed their
feasts and Sabbaths, two such days in succes
sion, would have caused much annoyance ; where
fore, on this point, they were more excusable
than many Christians of our day who have a dread
for ecclesiastical feasts. Such a case occurred in
the year of Christ's death, for which reason the
Jews ate the paschal lamb on Friday evening.
But the Lord, who had come to "fulfill the law'7,
held strictly to the requirements of the Mosaic law
(Numbers 9, 12), and therefore ate the paschal
lamb on Thursday evening after sundown, at the
time when, according to the intimation of the
Notes. 499
evangelists (Luke 22, 7, Mark 14, 12), it should
be slain, and when, in olden times, the Jews
actually did slay it. Thus, the indication of days
as we find it in St. John, is easily explained. At
the same time, by means of this fact, Divine Provi
dence so arranged it that Christ brought about the
realization of the types of the Bl. Sacrament as
well as of His Sacrifice on the Cross on the same
days on which these types were being celebrated in
Jerusalem. He established the Bl. Eucharist in
the hour in which, according to law, the paschal
lamb should be eaten. (Thursday evening.) And
at the hour when the true Lamb of God was taken
down dead from the Cross (Friday evening), the
Jews were engaged in slaying their paschal lamb.
Their work, of course, was for nothing and too
late, as Christ by His sacrificial death had already
put an end to all the sacrifices of the law. Cf.
Maldon. in Matth. cap. 26, Dr. J. Grimm, Die Ein-
heit der vier Evangelien, p. 756 sqq.
10. (page 160.)
If one, however, lean to the first mentioned,
albeit more improbable opinion, that Pilate, to rid
himself of the affair, actually allowed the chief-
priests to execute the death-warrant without his
previous investigation, then their words evidently
cannot have the meaning that it was beyond their
competency. For Pilate then would have given
them permission. Neither would they say : "We
may not do it to-day on account of the feast of
Easter", because the feast began only on that
evening. Neither could the sense be: "We are
500 Notes.
not permitted to crucify any one. You can stone
him, or decapitate him, or burn him, or hang him
to a gallows."
Some interpreters who follow this explanation,
are of the opinion that the words of the chief-
priests contain a refusal to make use of the granted
permission, as the Jews said: Either give us back,
O Pilate, all our rights and our judiciary powers in
their fullest extent, or you may keep full charge of
this particular case also. We shall not touch it.
Either everything or nothing. But they spoke
thus with the secret purpose of forcing crucifixion
upon Christ through Pilate. Other interpreters,
however, declare the sense of these words to be as
follows: "We are not permitted to put Him to
death, that is today, because according to our law,
the execution must always be relegated to the day
following the passing of the judgment. And to
prevent Pilate from objecting : "what need is there
of hurry ? Why do you not wait with the execution
until after the Easter days?" they organized the
monster massing of the people to give Pilate to
understand that there was a case which brooked no
delay, a death- sentence which he must make his
soldiers execute without any further postponement.
In our explanation we have, right in the be
ginning (chap. 11 page I), taken the standpoint
that the Sanhedrin had power only to impose small
penalties. A few commentators, however, think
that, under the governors also, the Sanhedrin had
the right to impose one of the four death-penalties
mentioned above without the governor's permis
sion, at least when there was question of crimes
Notes. 501
committed against religion and the Mossaic law. In
this case, the last two explanations would be well
established. The sense of Pilate's words then
would be: "We Eomans are not accustomed to
condemn any one to death without a formal trial
merely to please somebody. Now, if you have
investigated the matter and found Christ guilty,
and if you refuse to even lay before me the points
of the accusation, why, then go and do what the
law allows you. For my part, I will not meddle
with it." Then the chief -priests7 answer was
either: We will not (with the intention of bringing
Christ to the death of the Cross) or : we may not
(meaning today).
11 • (page 206.)
All that Flavius Josephus reports of Pilate is his
removal in the year 36, on account of a slaughter of
Samaritans on Mount Gariziui (Antiq. 18, 4, 2).
Eusebius (H. e. II, 7) speaks of his suicide and
cites pagan authors. Some apocryphal writers
say that he died converted^ while others claim that
he committed suicide in Rome. Ado of Vienne
(t 875) is the first to narrate that Pilate was
banished for life to Vienne and that the anger of the
emperor C. Caligula terrorized him to such an
extent that he stabbed himself to death. Cf.
Chronic. 4840 (Migne P. L. CXXIII, 77). Ac
cording to the chronicle of Malala, he was beheaded
at Rome under the reign of Nero. There are many
other tales and legends anent his person and his
demise.
The gospel does not mention the name of Pilate's
502 Notes.
wife, but in tradition (in Evangelium Nicodemi,
Mcephorus [H. e. I, 30] and Malala) she is called
Claudia Procula. According to the legend, she
was a Jewish proselyte, as was often the case with
Eoraan women. She is said to have been a secret
disciple of Jesus. It is also mentioned by Origen
(in Matth.), by St. Chrysostom and by St. Hilary
that she later on became a Christian. In the Greek
nienology, she is venerated as a saint on the 27th
day of October.
12. (page 253.)
Not a few interpreters understand the words of
Christ (John 19, 11): "He that hath delivered me
to thee, hath the greater sin'7, to mean that He
declared the sin of Caiphas (the Great Council) to
be greater than that of Pilate. " Because thou, as
judge, hast received from God especial power,
thine is indeed a great sin if thou judgest not
rightly. But to Caiphas no power has been given
over me. He has unjustly arrogated to himself
power over me, and he has also delivered me to
thee, impelled, as he was by envy and hatred.
Therefore his sin is greater than thine, if, from
human respect, thou abusest thy power and con-
demnest me notwithstanding my innocence. " The
religious authority among the Jews which mali
ciously surrendered to the pagan governor Him
who claimed to be the Messiah and by intimidation
forced the governor to abuse his authority, had
evidently a greater crime than the judge of weak
character who could not escape the functions of his
position.
Notes.
503
Father Knabenbauer, S. J., in hisConain. in Joan,
(p. 533) prefers the foregoing opinion to all others
and he solves well the difficulty which the word
"propterea" has prepared for many interpreters.
As in other matters, we should also in this gladly
have adopted the opinion of this excellent inter
preter, if there were not one difficulty in our way.
For it appears to us to be a fault against practical
prudence, even against common sense, to insinuate,
by way of consolation as it were, to a man whom
one wishes to caution against crime, that, even if
he commit the crime, he shall not be worse, but
rather better than he who misled him. Would
that be really a warning against crime ? Would it
not rather be an encouragement to it? — Now
Christ, at this moment, wished nothing else than
to warn Pilate, earnestly and impressively, against
judicial murder and, for the time being, this
warning did not miss its effect.
We cannot understand what, under the existing
circumstances, could have induced the Saviour to
speak to Pilate of the greater sin of Caiphas.
Therefore, for the present, we stand by our former
interpretation which we have taken from Toletus
(in Joan. 19, 11) without, however, wishing to
hinder anyone from adopting the opinion of F.
Knabenbauer.
The opinion of a few that Christ compared the
sin of Pilate with that of Judas, does not need a
refutation. To betray and to deliver are two
different acts. Judas neither executed nor intended
the delivering of the Eedeemer unto Pilate. He
neither forsaw nor did he anticipate it.
504 Notes.
13. (page 278.)
According to Genesis 22, 14 the mount on which
Abraham was about to immolate his son, was
mount Moriah, the later site of the Jewish temple.
On this occasion the mount was first hallowed, as
well through the figure of the intended sacrifice, as
by the fact that to the heroic devotion of faith which
the patriarch here showed, there were attached
the great promises for his progeny. (Haneberg,
Gesch. der bibl. Offenb. [4th ed.] p. 52.) Now
the tribunal of Pilate was situated on the south
side of the fortress Antonia which occupied the
north-west corner of the temple court. The place
of execution was just above the court-yard of the
temple (Schegg-Haneberg, Evang. nach Johannes
II, 441 sqq.) According to Sepp (Leben Jesu,
VI, 194) Pilate did not have his court- room in the
fortress Antonia, on Moriah, but in the royal
palace of the Herodians, and thus Christ would
have been sentenced on Sion, before the castle of
David to which the palace of the Herodians was
contiguous. Sepp and To bier therefore locate the
beginning of the Way of the Cross on Sion. But
this opinion seems to have been successfully op
posed by Schegg, Holzammer and others. The
opinion of Schegg is, furthermore, entirely favored
by the original, local traditions of Palestine,
according to which the "Way of the Cross began on
Moriah, in the vicinity of the temple of Solomon.
14. (page 279.)
Our description differs from the order followed
in the devotion of the Way of the Cross only in so
Notes. 505
far as the triple fall of the Eedeemer is concerned.
It seems, namely, to be beyond a doubt that Christ
had fallen the third time before Simon relieved
Him of the Cross. Perhaps it was to avoid
monotony that, in the devotion of the "Way of
the Cross the meditations on the triple fall were
separated by the introduction of other mysteries.
The present Way of the Cross in Jerusalem, that
is, the direction which it indicates, is undoubtedly
correct, and the five of the fourteen stations which
commemorate events not expressly mentioned in
Holy Writ, are based upon ancient and venerable
traditions ; but, for all that, no one is bound to
cling to the manner and order of representation as
found in the Way of the Cross; to all of which
Salmeron has already called attention.
IS- (page 291.)
*
Without in any way prejudicing the matter
under consideration, one might abstract entirely
from the place where Simon, Veronica and the
weeping women met Christ. It is the almost
general opinion of interpreters that Simon met the
Eedeemer before the city. As the lamentation of
the pious women is mentioned by Luke immediately
after Simon's meeting with Christ, the women
likely also met Him before the city. According to
our presentation of matters, which agrees on this
point with the devotion of the Way of the Cross,
the same may be said of Veronica who seemed to
have been among the lamenting women. According
to others, she handed the kerchief to Christ already
506 Notes.
inside the walls of the city. On this point certainty
can no more be obtained.
16. (page 301.)
The ancient Greek interpreters of the Scriptures
are wont to distinguish between the l 'myrrh-wine' '
which according to St. Mark, Christ did not drink,
and the "gall-potion", which, as St. Matthew
says, Christ tasted. According to them, therefore,
two different cups were offered to Christ. This
interpretation, already improbable in itself, arose
mainly from an error in regard to the scriptural
text. The old Greek editions, namely, had instead
of the words "wine with gall" the words very
similar in the Greek language: "vinegar with
gall". It was the object of St. Matthew to here
bring in relief the humiliating treatment of Jesus
as a criminal and, at the same time, the fulfillment
of the prophecy: "And they gave me gall for my
food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to
drink". The second part of this text of the psalm
was fulfilled when, after the fifth word of Christ
on the Cross, vinegar was offered Him, but the
first part was fulfilled now. Thick liquids, such
as milk, and the like, as also wine strongly mixed
with bitter herbs, can according to usage be called
"food" as well as "drink".
17. (page 302.)
It appears to be a thoroughly established fact
that when Christ was disrobed, the loin-cloth was
left Him. Not only is the statement that the
Eomans attached the condemned to the cross in a
Notes. 507
condition of entire nudity, difficult to prove on
account of the wide and varying signification of
the word "nudus"; but, as Schegg correctly re
marks, we are " justified in making a difference
between the crucifixion of a criminal, or a common
slave, and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ". Surely
the pronounced dread of the Jews for complete
nudity and the presence of the women at the cruci
fixion, are a guaranty that there remained to the
Lord in his denudation a covering for the loins.
This is also the teaching of the l 'Evangeliurn Nico-
demi", which, although apocryphal and of pretty
late origin, seems to be supported in many of its
parts by ancient traditions. If some of the Holy
Fathers, with regard to sinful Adam, let the second
Adam die in complete nakedness, this mystical
view of the matter has been opposed by another,
just as full of meaning. In Exodus 28, 43 it is
laid down as a "law forever" to the priests to wear
the linen hip garment at divine service. And
Christ, the Priest, was about to offer His sacrifice.
— The loin-cloth of Christ is among the sacred
objects venerated at Aix-la-Chapelle. It is said
that Charlemagne brought it there.
18. (page 3750
A few interpreters apply Luke 23, 36 to a special
occurrence which should have taken place not after
the fifth word, but before. In order, namely, to
ridicule Christ in His thirst, the soldiers, they
say, offered Him vinegar, without however letting
Him have it, exclaiming meanwhile that He help
Himself. But most interpreters apply Luke 23,
508 Notes.
36 to the scene of conciliation described by Matthew
and by Mark after the fifth word. — The description
given of the mockery of Christ on the part of the
soldiers, seems to be the most simple and natural
adjustment of the narratives of Matthew 27, 49,
Mark 15, 36, and of Luke 23, 36. For it will not
do to declare the words of Matthew and of Mark to
be wholly identical. Nor is there anything which
justifies the assumption that the soldier, offering
the vinegar, was better disposed than the others
and that he deprecated their derisive language. St.
Mark describes him too plainly as a participant in the
scene of conciliation. Besides the sense already
given, the words of the soldiers might have one of
the following meanings: a) cease your shouting
lest Elias be deterred from coming, b) Cease your
cries and your mockery, otherwise your tormenting
will hasten His death before the arrival of Elias :
and He is already very weak as I can see from
close observation, c) Cease shouting and keep
quiet so that we may observe with undivided
attention, how Elias will come to liberate Him.
Those who erroneously assume that the vinegar
was handed to the crucified to hasten their death,
add another meaning . d) Let me hand Him the
vinegar. The greater the danger of death is, the
sooner will Elias come. — This meaning is made
more untenable by the fact that " vinegar' > is here
probably to be understood as meaning a sour wine,
prepared from the skins of pressed grapes, which
laborers were wont to drink, or the so-called
uposca", the drink of soldiers, which was com
posed of vinegar, water and eggs.
Notes. 509
19- (page 379-)
Already Isaias 52, 15 describes the Messias as
the Chief Priest Who, after the consummation of
the sacrifice, reconciles all people by means of the
sacrificial blood. He also describes Him as a
second Moses on the point of establishing a new
testament between God and man. The prophet
then 53, 10 says in clear terms that this Messias
shall offer His own life as a propitiatory sacrifice.
The force of these passages is beautifully shown
by J. Knabenbauer, S. J., Commentarius in Isaiain
II, 319 sqq. : cf. p. 308. Eegarding Is. 53, 7 see
ibid. p. 306, 307.
20. (page 425.)
Three of the evangelists report the wonderful
darkness at the death of Christ, and they add that it
existed "over the whole earth' \ Now it is not to
be forgotten that the evangelists speak of the things
which occurred in Judea where they then were,
according to the direct knowledge of these things
and to the extent of their knowledge of them.
Therefore already Origen, in his commentary on
Matthew remarks that there is nothing to hinder
the opinion that the darkness extended only over
Jerusalem and its vicinity, or, at most, over entire
Judea, just as the tearing of the veil in the temple,
the quaking of the earth, the bursting of the rocks
and the opening of the graves are reported as
taking place in Jerusalem. The expression used
by the evangelists could then be translated: "over
the whole land", "over the whole region" similarly
as it is understood Luke 4, 25 of the famine at the
51.0 Notes.
rime of Elias and in many other passages of Holy
Writ. Origen rightly remarks that, if this extra
ordinary event had taken place over the entire
earth, we ought to have information of it from
other sources also. This ecclesiastical writer was
aware, indeed, of the statement of Phlegon of
Tralles, a chronicler of the second century, who
reports a solar eclipse in Bithynia and an earth
quake at Nicea, both occurring about the year
29 of our calendar. This testimony is pro
duced by Eusebius in his Chronicles, by Jerome
in his translation of the last named work, and later
on by a few Greek chroniclers. However, Origen
already points out that it is very uncertain whether
or not Phlegon speaks of the same eclipse as the
evangelists, because he fails to mention what was
the most remarkable feature of it ; namely, that it
occurred against the laws of nature, at the time of
the full moon and that it lasted three hours. He
therefore warns against placing too much reliance
upon it. And indeed Phlegon seems to speak of
a common, astronomical eclipse of the sun, and out
side of the writers mentioned, hardly any Fathers
of the Church, apologist or Church historian
appeals to it. The statement of the Syrian Thallus
which is mentioned, but not given verbatim in a
fragment extant of Julius Africanus, is surrounded
with so much obscurity that one can conclude
nothing from it with any degree of certainty.
Several ancient ecclesiastical writers knew Thallus
and quoted passages from him, but the very
passage of such importance to them, is not men
tioned by any of them. They also leave us in the
Notes. 511
dark regarding the personality of this writer and
the time when he lived. To judge by the ex
pression used in the fragment of Africanus, he also
speaks of an astronomical, solar eclipse.
It is however correct that about the year 200,
in proof of these miraculous events, Tertullian
appealed with all confidence to the official records
in the Roman archives. He undoubtedly had in
view the reports of Pilate concerning the execution
of Christ and the events in Palestine. With the
knowledge he had of the Roman archival system,
he could rightly presuppose that they were yet
extant and probably he definitely knew of their
existence. Very similar to the words of Tertullian
are the words which the ecclesiastical writer
Rufinus, in his translation of the Church History
of Eusebius (1, IX, c. 6) makes the holy martyr
Lucian say about such records in the " Annals'7.
Unfortunately, we have no clue to the source from
which, almost 100 years after St. Lucian' s death,
Rufinus drew forth this address, which had escaped
Eusebius, the contemporary of Lucian. All pas
sages referred to here, as well as those which refer
to these wonderful occurrences in the works known
under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite, are
grouped together in C. Baronius, Annal. Eccl. a.
34, n. 116 et 117.
St. Chrysostom and also Cornelius a Lapide
believe, however, that the darkness extended over
the entire hemisphere, reached by the sun's rays,
and they are followed in this belief by many
prominent Catholic interpreters even to our own
day. Regarding the other occurrences in nature,
512 Notes.
they are of opinion that they occurred over the
whole earth. For the Lord of the whole earth was
concerned, and, in His behalf, all inanimate nature
arose to announce His death as the most important
occurrence for the whole world.
There are many surmises as to the manner in
which God's Omnipotence and Wisdom produced
those phenomena. But they are naught else than
surmises.
21. (page 441.)
St. John does not say which side was struck by
the lance. The outflow of blood and water would
of itself indicate the left side where the heart is.
The same conclusion might be drawn from the
fact that the soldier, standing opposite the cross
with the spear in his right hand, would most
naturally . strike at the left side. Nevertheless,
ancient tradition, much and well attested, clearly
expressed especially in the very ancient Ethiopian
translation of the Gospel, declares, that it was the
right side. According to St. Bonaventure, the
stigmata of St. Francis showed the wound to be on
the right side. Moreover, the Church looks upon
the temple, from the right side of which, according
to the vision of Ezechiel (47, 1), the wonderful
water flowed, as a type of the body of the Lord,
and applies the words of the prophet in this sense
during the paschal season. Most commentators
therefore assume that the blow was aimed at the
right side whence the point of the lance penetrated
through the cavity of the breast to the left side
into the heart.
Notes.
513
As to the question whether the outflow of blood
and water, considered in itself, indicates anything
of a miraculous nature, the following may be
remarked :
1. Many holy Fathers and ancient interpreters
consider the outflow of blood to be a miracle, for
the reason that soon after death the blood congeals
or, to speak more correctly, it decomposes into a
liquid similar to water and more solid clots of
blood. Naturally then, nothing else could flow
out but the first mentioned aqueous fluid which,
although containing minute white corpuscles of
blood, invisible to the naked eye, is however by no
means blood. The outflow of liquid blood, properly
speaking, would therefore have been a miracle. —
Modern medical science, however, disputes the
fact of such a hasty decomposition. Jos. Bautz in
the "Katholik" of Mayence (1886, second half,
p. 585 etc.) quotes authorities who maintain that
this decomposition only begins four hours after
death. Only one adds the restriction that, after a
prolonged agony, the blood may perhaps sometimes
begin to coagulate at the moment of death. Many
physicians here whom I have lately consulted
regarding this question, assured me that in the
human body the blood decomposes only in from 12
to 24 hours after death, and they supported their
statement with the authority of a noted physiologist
of our country (/. C. Dalton, A Treatise on Human
Physiology, sixth edition, Philadelphia 1875 p.
263). Bautz himself admits, at the end of his
praiseworthy article, that decomposition takes
place a considerable time after death. Now, if this
514 Notes.
be so, then the outflowing and even the copious
outflowing of real, liquid blood can be explained
naturally, especially if the lance was withdrawn
with much force and quickness. Thus say the
physicians.
2. That real water flowed out of the side of
Christ, is beyond a doubt. Thus say Ambrose
(Bxposit. Ev. St. Lucae 1, 10, 135), Cyril of
Jerusalem (catech. 13, 21), Origen (c. Cels.), Thomas
(in p. 3, q. 66, art. 4 ad 3 and q. 74 art. 7 ad 3),
Salmeron (1, 10 tr 45), Toletus and Cornelius a
Lapide (John 19, 34), De la Palma (ch. 46) and
others. Pope Innocent III. especially expressed
himself very strongly against the opinion that
from the side of Christ there issued not real water
but 'phlegma', (a thick mucus) or humor aquaticus
(a thin, aqueous fluid), (lib. 3 decret. tit. 41 de
celebr. Miss. c. 8): "Non aquam, sed humorem
aquaticum mentiuntur exiisse." — The above cited
authorities consider the outflow of real water to be
as manifest a miracle as the outflow of blood.
Pope Innocent III. had, indeed, not given a de
cision on this question. He merely insists that it
was not "humor aquaticus " but "veraaqua" which
issued from the wound. But can the term "vera
aqua", in the meaning of the pope, be applied to the
aqueous fluid, found one hour after death in the
pericardium, in the two pleurae etc., (in the right
ventricle of the heart there is then none as yet)?
Or is this fluid not what he calls "humor aqua
ticus"? In English, it is called fluid or liquid,
but not water. — Let us conclude. If there was
uvera aqua" in sufficient quantity in the peri-
Notes. 515
cardium and in the pleurae, which were pierced by
the lance, a miraculous act of God was required at
most to effect an abundant outflowing of the water.
If real water was not contained in those parts,
then Pope Innocent permits us to accept, with
the above mentioned authorities, a miraculous
secretion of real water from the sacred body (the
human body consists of 70°/0 of real water in
divers forms and composites) — and even a new
creation, if needs be.
3. According to the opinion of physicians whom
I have consulted, the fact that St. John could
distinguish the blood from the water in a simul
taneous outflow, was a manifest miracle. Their
opinion was that the outflow should have appeared
as one substance of the same color. Father Suarez
(p. 3 q. 51, disp. 41, sect. 1) is of the same mind
and just for this as well as for other reasons, he
asserts that at first blood and then water flowed
out of the wound, which, perhaps, can be explained
on natural grounds without the need of admitting
a new miracle. Compare the article of Bautz,
quoted elsewhere, p. 592.
The opinion of the English physician William
Stroud (A Treatise on the Physical Cause of Death
of Christ, London 1847) that Christ died of a
broken heart, which opinion was adopted to some
extent by physicians as well as theologians in
Germany, must be rejected on theological grounds.
For in this hypothesis, Christ would not have
been put to death by the Jews and his death would
degenerate from a freely willed sacrifice to a mere
natural process. It is only when organic heart
516 Notes.
troubles pre-exist, that heart rupture is occasioned
by violent emotions. But there can be no thought
of organic heart disease in Christ nor of any other
bodily ailment. Conrp. article of Bautz, p. 588.
22. (page 459.)
Commonly the words of Isaias (11, 10): "and
his sepulchre shall be glorious'7 are considered as
a prophecy regarding the burial of the Redeemer,
especially as it is beyond a doubt that in this
passage there is question of the Messias. This,
however, is the idea only of St. Jerome, who
embodied it in his Latin translation of the Bible.
The Hebrew text has it: "the people shall search
for him (the glorified Messias) and his repose
shall be in glory". From this text one can indeed
conclude that also the place of His repose, the
place of His dwelling, as for instance, the temple
of the Old Law or the Christian Church, shall be
particularly glorious, not to forget the sepulchre
which, under such extraordinary circumstances,
He selected as His especial dwelling. All this
can be deduced from the words of the prophet but
it is not directly expressed by them. More beautiful
and clear is the prediction concerning the Saviour's
funeral by the same prophet (Is. 59, 9). It is well
dilated upon in the excellent Commentarius in
Isaiam Prophetam auctore J. Knabenbauer , S. J.,
Paris 1887, t. I, p. 1 sqq: t. II, p. 315 sqq.
23- (page 467.)
Whilst Christ speaks in many passages of His
resurrection on the third day (Matthew 16, 21 ; 17,
22 , 20, 19. Luke 9, 22 ; 18, 33. Mark 10, 34), He
Notes.
517
only once uses the expression that He will arise
after three days (Mark 8, 31) because in this one
passage He compares Himself to Jonas. Similarly
He says (Matth. 12, 40), again on account of the
comparison, that the Son of Man will be in the
heart of earth three days and three nights. Here,
as well as in other passages of Holy Writ, we must
have regard for the manner in which the Jews
expressed themselves. In determining a time,
they were wont to count as entire days, months
and years, if even only a small part of them, either
the beginning or the end, was covered by the
events spoken of. As Christ had so often very
definitely determined the time of His resurrection,
there could be no doubt as to how this one passage
ought to be understood. The words of this pas
sage were incorrectly given by the false witnesses.
In a similar way, the latter quoted wrongly the
words of Christ declaring (John 2, 19) that, after
His enemies had destroyed the temple of His body
He would raise it up again in three days (i. e.
within the period of three days or before the expi
ration of three days (see Matth. 26, 61).
BT 430 .G84 1900 SMC
Gronings, Jakob,
The history of the Passion
of Our Lord Jesus Christ
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