CHAPTER XXIX Of the fulfilment of the Scriptures in the death of Christ; and of the Word “It is finished”
CHAPTER XXIX
Of the fulfilment of the Scriptures in the death of Christ; and of the Word “It is finished”
I BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, Revealer of hidden mysteries, and Fulfiller of the Law and the Prophets, for Thy most perfect accomplishment of the Father’s Will in that short and welcome word with which, as soon as Thou hadst received the vinegar, Thou didst close, as it were, the story of Thy Life by saying: “It is finished.” This was as if Thou hadst openly said: “Now is fulfilled all that the old Law foretold concerning me, all that was prefigured by the sacrificial rites and by the ceremonies of the former dispensation. Now are actually brought to pass the inspired words of the holy prophets, and the long-cherished desires of the Patriarchs. Now is all that is needed for the Redemption of the human race fully worked out; now has been accomplished in a perfect way, both as to place and time, all that Holy Scripture has recorded of the promises of God. The few things that remain will of a surety in due time be made good. I have fulfilled My Father’s command: He sent me into the world; and I have finished the work which He gave me to do.
“Many a time and oft have I healed the sick; I have given abundant proofs of My Divine Power; as the Father has taught Me have I spoken in the world, and no part of saving doctrine have I kept back from the ears of the faithful. For three and thirty years have I been a pilgrim upon earth, and have dwelt as a friend among men; many a time and oft have I been wearied by journeyings: cruelly have I been slandered by My enemies; I have been betrayed by one of My disciples; I have been deserted by My friends; I have been held captive by My enemies, and have been scourged by their underlings; I have been condemned by judges, and mocked by Chief Priests; and now, guiltless as I am, I am hanging here upon the Cross. What is there that I ought to have done more than I have done? What ought I to have suffered that I have not suffered? If I have failed in doing or in suffering aught, I am ready before My departure to make it good: but no, by My death, I shall satisfy to the last farthing every debt. To-day therefore do I pronounce all to be accomplished. Nor do I allow the term of My life to be further prolonged; but I lay down My life for My sheep, out of pure love for them; and at this hour, which I know to be the same as that in which the first Adam, by taking of the forbidden tree, incurred the penalty of eternal death, I take upon myself, of my own free choice, in satisfaction of the debt due by sinners for their sins, the penalty of the death of My Body, a penalty to which I am not liable for any sin of My own. The things concerning Me shall shortly have an end. Henceforth I shall not speak much in this world: I shall not long be in it, because I haste to the Father. Toil shall now cease, sorrow and mourning shall flee away, fighting shall have an end, trouble shall be no more, and at My death Death itself shall be destroyed: nothing more remains to be done, except that I should commend My Spirit to My Father, and should quit My Body until the third day. I know well that kindly-hearted men will not forget the ties of friendship, but will take It away and bury It in a new tomb. To show therefore that the demands of justice under the old Law are fully satisfied, and to establish the new law, I speak My last short Word to all who may hear it, and say: ‘It is finished.’ ”
O Lord Jesus Christ, most illustrious and most wise Master, as Thou sayest, and as Thou bearest witness, so it is in truth: Thy word who can question? All that Thou sayest Thou dost attest by Divine Acts, and dost show to be supported by the utterances of the Prophets. The time has now come when Thou shouldst rest from all the work which Thou hast done upon earth. Thou, O Lord, in the beginning didst jointly with the Father create all things; and now, with the co-operation of the Father, Thou hast made all things new. In six days Thou didst accomplish the work of the making of the world, and now in the sixth age of the world Thou hast finished the work of man’s Redemption. On the sixth day Thou didst form man from the slime of the earth, and on the sixth day Thou didst redeem him with Thy Blood. On the sixth day Adam was tempted and deceived by Eve; on the sixth day Thou wast announced by an Angel, and conceived in the Virgin’s womb. On the sixth day man sinned, and forfeited Paradise; on the sixth day Thou didst suffer for our sins, and by Thy mercy the thief was received into Paradise. In order, then, that the things which are new should correspond with the things which are old, the things of these last days with the things of the days which are gone before, it was well that the sixth word from the Cross should be: “It is finished.”
Onward then, Lord Jesus, whithersoever Thou willest; go back to Thy Father in Heaven, for Thou hast finished Thy great work of love upon earth. Go before Thy unworthy servants; make ready the way for them, that they may follow Thee with all speed. Set open that gate of the Heavenly Kingdom, which Adam’s transgression had so long kept shut. Go, visit the Holy Fathers resting in Abraham’s Bosom; give light to those who are sitting in darkness; break in pieces the power of the devil; loose the prisoners’ chains; give rest to the weary; comfort those who mourn; deliver those who are looking for Thy coming; bring forth Thy captives from the dungeons of Hades; and when Thou shalt have led them forth and made them to dwell with the angels in the mansions of Heaven above, then, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom, remember me, I pray Thee, and lead me forth from my prison-house, from this my fleshly tabernacle of slime; from my present state which is so full of peril; from this unstable and troublesome world.
But see to it, O follower of Christ, that thou imitate Thy Master in that of which this Word speaks to thee: work on while time and strength for work are given thee: carry through what thou hast begun; that so, when the evening of life’s day closes in on thee, thou too, with Jesus, Who has befriended Thee as it ran its course, mayest be able to say: “It is finished.” Walk therefore in the way of true virtue; follow after righteousness; make up thy mind to fight even unto death against thy besetting sins; that so thou mayest lay hold on eternal life, and mayest be able to say with St. Paul: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Thou hast yet somewhat left to do, thou hast yet to bear thy burden for a while: but soon the hour will come, when, being made perfect in a short space, thou mayest fulfil a long time.
O Jesus Christ, Who orderest all things in Heaven and in earth, Who art the brightest and most perfect Model of every virtue, and the endless Reward of every good work, direct, I pray Thee, all my actions in the way of Thy commandments, and purify and enlighten every thought of my mind. Teach me to begin, humbly and with an eye to the praise and glory of Thy Blessed Name, every work which I undertake; to be diligent in performing it, and to bring it to a happy end. Grant that I may not grow slack before the time appointed of the Father; but that until I breathe my last breath, I may labour night and day in the vineyard of holy Religion for the penny of eternal life, and may work my very hardest in the workshop of our Heavenly Father’s business; that so, after many a struggle and much hard toil, I may at length, when my last hour shall come, be able by Thy mercy joyfully to say with Thee: “It is finished.” And do Thou, O good Jesus, mindful of what in this world I have had to endure, give me for my labour its hire, for my weariness repose, for my sorrow joy, for my struggle a crown, for my dishonour glory, for my misery happiness; for Thou wert and art the last end of all that I have done during my sojourn here on earth. Be Thou my Recompense in the Kingdom of Heaven; for Thee, and Thee only, Who art the joy and the glory of all Thy Saints, do I desire to possess as the Reward of my labours.