On the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus and his hanging naked, high, and long on the Cross
On the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus and his hanging naked, high, and long on the Cross
LORD JESUS CHRIST, most gracious Creator of man and Restorer of his wounded nature, I bless and thank you for being so rudely despoiled of your clothing as you stood before the Cross, where, in the view of the crowd—roaring like animals waiting to pounce on their prey— you were stripped and left naked. Your clothing, harshly torn from your body, was given to them as their prize. You stood there shaking and ashamed, with only a piece of thin linen cloth to cover your loins and a wreath of thorns as your crown. You were the reproach of men and the object of their derision. You stood there like an outcast and poor pilgrim, without any of this world’s goods, the poorest of the poor, totally destitute and without human comfort.
As the first Adam walked about naked in paradise prior to his fall, so in like manner naked you ascended your Cross to restore that lost paradise, from which Adam, because of his sin, was expelled and driven away. In order that that lost innocence be restored to him and that he again be clothed in the robes of virtue and be worthy of eternal life, you allowed your own clothing to be stripped from you, and yourself to be overwhelmed by sorrow and confusion and finally to suffer a most bitter death.
I praise and glorify you for your ever-consuming love for our salvation, for your being so violently stretched out on the hard wood of the Cross, waiting there to receive you. I praise you for the pungent piercing of your hands and feet and the hammering of stubborn nails into them—the sound of which could easily be heard at a distance and surely capable of moving the hard-hearted spectators to tears.
So forcibly were you nailed to the Cross that your body’s veins suddenly burst open and streams of your precious blood flowed freely from your various wounds. So harshly were you stretched, both lengthwise and in breadth—similar to the skin membrane on a drum—that all the joints in your body gave way and your every bone could be counted. You allowed your hands and feet to be transfixed by evil men, and in this way your sacred hands, while nailed to the Cross, paid back the heavy debt incurred by Adam, who had extended his deadly hands to the forbidden tree. By your precious blood you wiped away that long-standing debt.
I praise and honor you for being raised on high and for hanging for so long a time on your Cross—a piece of wood despised and cursed by your own people but highly honored by all Christians as the most blessed of trees growing in the forests. You hung there for our salvation, for three long hours or more and, thus, you won those marvelous graces of the Cross, which would prove especially beneficial to the whole world.
You were lifted high above the earth so that you could draw the hearts of the pious faithful to you, lest they float aimlessly among degrading pleasures, and to render the loving hearts of those devoted to you to feel greater compassion for you. By seeing you on your Cross, their great love for you would only grow more intense. You were lifted on high so that you could visibly and definitively triumph over the powers of the air, and so that you could earnestly pray for sinners and offer full forgiveness to all who are truly penitent. Likewise, so that your death may bring peace and harmony to all in heaven and on earth and, thus, make all things new again.
O faithful servant of Jesus, raise your eyes upward and with a sad heart and grieving face look upon your God and Redeemer hanging between the lofty arms of the Cross. Your Beloved is naked and he wants you to look upon him. Because his feet are fixed by nails, he awaits your coming and desires you to approach freely. He stretches out his most loving arms to you; he shows you his open wounds; he bends his head to kiss you; he is prepared to receive you in his favor and without any hesitation to forgive you your every sin.
Be brave, therefore, and calmly approach his Cross, touch the figure thereon lovingly, embrace it warmly, hold it firmly, and kiss it devoutly. Prostrate yourself before it and lie there hugging that sacred ground. Remain there so that at least one drop of his blood might fall upon you, or that you might hear the words he speaks from the Cross or be present when his agony comes to an end. May the very earth that received the dying Jesus also receive you, and where Jesus was buried, may that very place also be your resting place. Since you are now one with him in spirit, may you also be one in your body’s burial.
Mourn for him as you ought and enter the secret chambers of your heart. May the Crucified find you a sorrowing and dedicated disciple, one who is grateful and devout, totally his, and lovingly drawn to his wounds. May it be said that the entire world is crucified to you and you to the world and that for you to live is Christ and to die with him your greatest gain.
Far be it for you to glory in anything but the Cross of your Lord Jesus Christ! Far be it from you to depend on your own merits, for your entire salvation and redemption is in the Cross of Jesus, and only in him should you firmly place all your hope. It is through him that there is remission of sin. From him flows the treasury of merit and with him are the rewards of the just, which he will render according to each one’s deserts.
Therefore, follow the example of the Crucified by setting aside the burdens of this world and by withdrawing your heart from all that can harm your interior freedom. Distance yourself from all disturbing phantasms and earthly cares, and live with pure unadorned truth. Hold yourself in contempt and despise all transitory material goods so that you may sincerely and truly imitate the naked Lord on his Cross, and in view of your ardent love for your suffering Redeemer, that you may bear the slanders and insults of men. In this way you yourself may become worthy and gain sufficient strength to mount your own cross.
Learn to rejoice when others despise and ignore you. Mourn more deeply over others’ misdeeds and pray that everyone strive to be better. Look upon yourself as one worthy of contempt and sincerely desire that your enemies be saved. Do not place too much trust in men. There are few who, in the time of need, prove faithful, and loyal friends are rare. Do not be surprised at this nor take it amiss. Christ knew what it was to be deserted by friends and to be surrounded by enemies. He, who always did good to others, received gross ingratitude in return.
Put your trust in the Crucified, our only worthy guide and teacher. Remain close to him on his Cross, and you will enjoy his assistance during times of trial and will be given the palm of victory over all who harass you. Prepare a place for him, and by sincere repentance and humility make yourself ready to receive God’s grace. May you receive and relish sweet comfort from Jesus’ sufferings and wounds, and may you know how pleasant it is to suffer insults and to be accounted as nothing, all for his holy name.
Choose a solitary way of life, cut off from all sources of distraction; seek comfort in the Cross, resist sensuality, avoid committing small faults, refrain from quickly yielding to idle chatter, keep silence in affairs that do not concern you, and be careful to preserve your interior blessings.
It hardly becomes one who is dedicated to the Passion to break out into riotous laughter, and it is less in keeping with religious decorum to exhibit a lack of gravity in one’s behavior. One can learn all this from Christ’s Passion, and blessed is he who lives his daily life accordingly; he will advance more quickly than his brethren and will eat of the fruit of the tree of life, wherein he will find joy without end.
Most Holy Father, look upon the face of your Christ, hanging on the Cross for me, and in view of your only-begotten Son’s exceptional merits, his being pierced with nails and being covered with his own red blood, be merciful to me a sinner, bound and chained as I am to my many sins. He was wounded to wipe away my iniquities, and he will offer you satisfaction for all my sins and will answer to you in my stead. I offer him to you as a hostage; I choose him as my advocate; I assign him as my mediator; I designate him as defender of my cause. If acceptable to you, he, the blessed fruit of the Virgin’s womb, will make good all my omissions and rectify all my past commissions.
Most merciful Father, you will hear him with wondrous sweetness, and in view of his singular love and great desire for my eternal salvation, may I experience this hope and consolation as something most helpful to me in this present life and as necessary after death.
O good and gentle Jesus, beloved Son of God, in following your Father’s will you deigned to take unto yourself the substance of our flesh—without the stain of sin—and to offer it on the altar of the Cross for the world’s salvation. Have mercy on me, your servant, who now asks your forgiveness and grace. Relying on your goodness and the infinite merits of your Passion, pardon all my sins committed against you, whether recent or old, knowingly or unknowingly. Your merits far exceed mankind’s wickedness and your abounding atonement is much greater than all my iniquity, no matter how frequently committed. Knowing this, I come before you under the protection of the Cross and hope for still greater mercy. From the depths of my heart I ask and seek the remedy that will bring me to salvation.
I revere the sign of the Cross; I honor the banner of the Cross; I kiss the foot of the Cross; and I beg judgment from the Cross. Hear me, wretch that I am; receive me a fugitive; heal my contrite heart; justify me a sinner. I will not leave you nor depart from you until I am again in your favor.
I beseech you, my crucified Lord Jesus, free my soul from all love for the things of this world. With your arms draw me upward to the height of the Cross; let me follow you wherever you lead. Raised high above all worldly concerns, I will be near and close to you, and as an exile in the world I willingly join with you in being poor, naked, and unknown.
Instill in my flesh a fear of you, lest I yield to carnal appetites; pierce my hands, lest I yield to sloth; transfix my feet that I may remain firm and courageously endure toil and sorrows. May your nails enter my heart’s center and there inflict a saving wound, as a consequence of which and because of my overwhelming contrition, may I shed tears and be lost in love of you. Fill me with grief and increase my devotion, until nothing will be more pleasant or dearer to my heart than Jesus Christ and him crucified.