Category: Sacred Passion Of Jesus Christ - CRUSADERS FOR CHRIST

Good Friday ~ The Descent From the Cross

3/25/2016

Read St. Mark xv. 35-46.

1. No sooner is the sacrifice consummated and the last drop of the precious blood shed from Our Lord's Sacred Heart, than all is changed. That lifeless body is now treated with the utmost respect and veneration. See how gently and carefully Joseph and Nicodemus wind linen bands around the limbs and lower it to the ground, reverently adoring that body which had only a few hours before been a laughing-stock and object of contempt. Henceforth no more ignominy, no more contempt, no more ill-usage, but the love and adoration of saints and angels to all eternity.

2. Our Lady receives the body of her Son. What were her thoughts as she gazes into the five wounds, and sees how from head to foot it is covered with gaping wounds and bruises, battered out of all shape by the cruelty of man ? O Mother of Sorrows, great as an ocean is thy sorrow ! What can be thy hatred of sin when thou seest what it has wrought in the divine beauty of thy spotless Son ! What a mixture of agonized compassion and mournful sorrow, and hope and consolation, and gratitude and triumphant joy, fills thy sacred soul while thou lookest on the dead body of thy Son !

3. The day on which Jesus died is indeed well called Good Friday. It is the day when Jesus consummated His victory over sin and death. While we mourn over His sufferings and our sins which caused them, we must also rejoice exceedingly at the thought of Satan conquered and heaven opened, and millions of sinners cleansed from sin in His most precious Blood !

Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Maundy Thursday ~ Jesus Mystical Death in the Holy Eucharist

3/24/2016

Read St. John xix. 34-37.

I. Each time that holy Mass is said, the sacrifice of our blessed Lord upon the cross is represented in the sacrifice that takes place upon the altar. Thus, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, on the divine decree, continues to be slain mystically, and will continue as long as the world shall last. With such a sight before our eyes, how can we ever forget Him? how can we ever lose-heart or despond with this abiding proof of His tender love before our eyes ?

2. In the blood and water that flowed from Our Lord's side when pierced by the centurion's spear were represented the sacraments of the Church, the blood of Christ that extricates us in holy Communion, the water that cleanses our souls in baptism and penance. His Sacred Heart that was open then is open still; the rich stream of graces still continues; it has flowed even unto me. What countless graces I have received from the love that has been poured upon me from the Sacred Heart of Jesus !

3. The Sacred Host that we receive in holy Communion reminds us in many things of the dead body of Jesus as it hung upon the cross, all the glory hidden no life to all appearance there; in the power of all to treat it as they choose ; reduced to the lowest humiliation. Yet it is our God and our Lord, the object of the adoring love of angels and of men, He Whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, Who condescends to be our Guest and the food of our souls. Meditate on the unspeakable love of Jesus sacrificed for us !

Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Wednesday in Holy Week ~ The Death of Jesus

3/23/2016

Read St. Luke xxiii. 45-48.

1. After Our Lord has hung in agony for three hours upon the cross, at last the time approaches when His deliverance is at hand. He has endured every possible form of suffering, bodily and mental. His body has been subjected to a physical torture far worse than the accumulated sufferings of the martyrs; His sacred soul has been rent asunder with an anguish and desolation more awful than any save the eternal anguish of hell. He has sacrificed His honor, His reputation ; He has been esteemed a fool and a madman. Now there is only one sacrifice more that He can make to His Eternal Father for man—the sacrifice of His life. He is determined to give up all for us, to be obedient even to death.

2. What was it that caused the Death of Our Lord ? Not the executioners, not the Jews, not the agony of the cross ; they were but instruments. It was sin. Sin had in it a malice sufficient even to rob of life God, Our Lord and King. What a strange mystery sin is ! And how strange that we do not hate it more when we see its power to destroy !

3. The death of Jesus was no transient occurrence. He still mystically dies for us each day and each hour. When we receive holy Communion, we ''show the death of the Lord till He come," and, therefore, His sacred Passion and Death should be the chief subject of our thoughts whenever we approach the holy Table, and especially on the eve of the solemn day when He instituted the sacrament of His love.

Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Tuesday in Holy Week ~ The Thirst Upon the Cross

3/22/2016

Read St. John xix. 28, 29.

1. There is nothing that causes such agonizing thirst as loss of blood. The prayer of the wounded soldier upon the battle-field is always for a drink of water; he forgets all other pains in his burning thirst. What must have been the intolerable suffering of Our Lord, Whose sacred Body had been gradually drained of every droop of blood ! All day long the blood had been flowing—at the scourging, on the way to Calvary, as He was dragged hither and thither, with the sharp cords cutting His wrists. And now upon the cross, as from hands and feet a stream bedewed the ground, fiercer and fiercer grew the burning, parching thirst which consumed Him. O my Jesus, was there none to quench that thirst endured for us ?

2. Our Lord's thirst was to atone especially for the sins of intemperance and self-indulgence in drink. Every sin of drunkenness and excess or self-indulgence in our food and drink added to that thirst and made it still more intolerable. My God, forgive me any such offenses, and help me to deny myself some lawful indulgence, that so I may atone for my sins and assuage in some degree that sacred thirst Thou didst endure for me.

3. There was, however, a deeper meaning in Our Lord's cry: "I thirst!" He was thirsting for the souls of sinners, thirsting for the love of ungrateful men, thirsting for my love. He thirsts for it still, that I may be more faithful to His grace. O my Jesus, help me to love Thee more !

Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Monday in Holy Week ~ The Dereliction of Jesus on the Cross

3/21/2016

Read St. Mark xv. 33-36.

1. Our Lord had for a long time been silent. A thick darkness had gathered; most of the spectators had departed in fear. The mocking Pharisees had been awed to silence. Few were left save the soldiers, St. John, and a faithful group of holy women. All at once a piercing cry from the Divine Sufferer breaks the silence, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ?" These words were an expression of the thick darkness which Our Lord had permitted to gather round His human soul, and to hide from Him as it were the face of His Eternal Father. This desolation was by far the greatest of all the unspeakable sufferings of the Son of God.

2. What was its cause? Nothing else but sin. He was made sin for us, and having thus identified Himself with the sins of men so far as was possible for the sinless Lamb of God, He allowed Himself to experience to the utmost degree that He could the awful misery which is the consequence of sin—the black, dark hopelessness (if the word is a lawful one) which results to the sinner whom God forsakes. This consequence of sin Jesus took upon Himself to save men from the eternal remorse and despair which otherwise would have been their lot.

3. This cry of Jesus is a model prayer for us in times of darkness and desolation. We sometimes feel as if God had forsaken us, and cry out in our misery and sore distress. We are always safe in echoing Jesus' words, and He Who hears us use them will remember His own dereliction and help us in ours.

Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

The Sixth Sunday of Lent ~ Jesus Commends His Disciples to His Holy Mother's Care

3/20/2016

Read St. John xix. 25-27.

1. Our Divine Saviour did not depart from those Fie loved without providing them with a Mother who should be their Consoler, their Protector, their Advocate with God. In the person of St. John, He entrusted them all to Mary's care. If He had simply been providing Mary with a home, He would first have addressed St. John and commended to him the pious task of sheltering the Mother of God. By speaking first to Mary, He showed that it was she who was to shelter all those who were desolate and in sorrow. St. John was the representative of all who love Jesus, when Jesus said to Mary respecting him, "Woman, behold thy son."

2. This was the occasion when Our Lady for a second time became a mother. The birth of her first-begotten Jesus cost her no pang of travail ; the birth of her spiritual children, the sinful sons of men, brought to her unspeakable anguish. The Queen of heaven became the Queen of Dolors before she could earn the right to exercise over each of us a mother's fostering care. How we ought to value the privilege of being her children, when it cost Mary such unspeakable suffering!

3. When Jesus said to Mary, "Woman, behold thy son," He asked Our Lady to regard us with a mother's love for His sake. Her love for Him was to be transferred to us, without, however, becoming one whit the less. She was to love us for Jesus' sake ; to show her love for Him by loving us. With what perfect confidence can we go to Mary, who sees in each of us, in spite of our sins, the image of her Divine Son!

Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Saturday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ The Good Thief

3/19/2016

Read St. Luke xxiii. 39-43.

1. Among those who mocked and derided Jesus were the two thieves crucified with Him. But very soon His unspeakable gentleness and meekness touched the heart of one of the two. First he ceased his words of insult, then he boldly reproved his companion and bore testimony to the innocence of Jesus, and to His authority as King and Lord. What a divine power there is in weakness ! The sight of the uncomplaining patience of Christ convinced this robber that He was King of all the earth, and that He Who now was dying on the cross would soon reign forever and ever. "Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom."

2. Remember me ! This was his simple prayer. But we know that it was enough. If Christ remembers us, all will be well. What we have to dread is lest He forget us by reason of our having forgotten Him. This prayer should often be on our lips: " O Lord, remember me! In the hour of temptation, remember me ! When sorrow bears hard on me, remember me ! In sickness and in my last agony, O Lord, remember me!"

3. Our Lord answers this prayer of the good thief with divine generosity. All his sins are forgiven him; and as soon as his agony is over, he is to be received into the company of the blest and to be with Christ in paradise. What a rich reward for his confession of Christ! What a glorious answer to his prayer that Christ will remember him !
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Friday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ The Deriding of Jesus

3/18/2016

Read St. Matthew xxvii. 39-44.

1. The sight of Jesus hanging on the cross, so far from melting the hearts of the Jews, only hardened them the more against Him. Instead of feeling pity, they rejoiced over their Victim, and insulted Him in His misery. When men deliberately refuse to listen to the voice of Jesus, they become quite insensible after a time to His claim on them. They think evil good, and good evil ; they are given over to a reprobate mind. Even in little things those who do not obey the impulses of grace become deaf to its calls, or even feel a positive aversion for that which they once loved but have now rejected.

2. How apparently impotent to save Himself the King of Glory seems to be! But that weakness is true strength. It is by these outrages and insults, by this passive endurance of their jeers and gibes, that Christ Our Lord is doing the wondrous work of our Redemption, and earning graces for all those who suffer insult for Him, to rejoice in being counted worthy to suffer shame for His sake.

3. But He is doing more than this. He is also preparing for His sacred humanity a glory corresponding to all this ignominy. Of Him it is true beyond all others that he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Each taunt, each mocking word, was to earn the praise of the angels and saints to all eternity. Here is an encouragement for us ! What matters it if men despise and insult us, if God approves ? The just Judge will not forget in the day of account what we have suffered for Him.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Thursday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

3/17/2016

Read St. Luke xxiii. 32-34.

1. Arrived at the summit of Calvary, our Divine Saviour is roughly stripped of His garments and exposed to the rude gaze of the scoffing multitude. This shame He endured to atone for our most shameful deeds, for our. human respect, for our glorying in our shame, for our boasting and love of display before the eyes of men. Yet when we see the King of Glory thus exposed to shame, will not shame be far dearer to us than the empty honors that men bestow ?

2. The executioners then seize Jesus and lay Him down upon the cross. Holes have been bored in the wood at the extremities of the cross-piece and in the lower part of the stem, and Our Lord's sacred limbs are almost dislocated by being dragged until the hands and feet reach the parts that have been pierced. Then the long, sharp nails are held by one of the soldiers, while another with a hammer drives them in through the hands and feet of Jesus. The blows are struck ; the blood gushes forth ; while the Divine Victim moans piteously under the exquisite pain. O Jesus, grant me a heartfelt compassion with Thee in Thy sufferings.

3. When Our Lord is nailed to the cross, the soldiers raise it on high, and let the base of it fall into a hole dug in the ground. The shock renews afresh the agony of Jesus. No word is heard from His mouth, save one which He repeats again and again: "Father, forgive them! "Even then He was thinking of others, not of Himself. Was ever love like His ? Why do I not love Him more in return?
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Wednesday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ Simon of Cyrene

3/16/2016

Read St. Mark xv. 21.

I. Our blessed Lord falls again and again beneath the weight of the cross, until it becomes evident to the soldiers that He will never be able to drag it to the place of execution. They accordingly lay hold of a heathen passing by, Simon the Cyrenian, and him they compel to carry the cross. How little Simon knew the happiness in store for him when those rough soldiers seize him and force him to the ignominious task of carrying for a public criminal the instrument of his punishment ! How often we too fail to recognize in the sudden disagreeables and contradictions we encounter God's wonderful designs of mercy to us !

2. Simon at first bore the cross sultrily and reluctantly, chafing under the hardship inflicted on him. But as he carries it, somehow an unaccountable change comes over him. It has the virtue to change his heart, and to make of him a devoted follower of the Crucified, one of the pillars of the Apostolic Church. Thus many a cross that we carry reluctantly turns out to be really the means of our sanctification and salvation.

3. Before Simon arrives at the summit of Calvary, the cross has endeared itself to him. He has recognized that to carry it for Jesus was no hardship, but a privilege and a happiness. So too the saints learn to love the cross, to embrace it, to seek it, to carry it with all joy, to be almost discontented if they are without it. This is the very height of peace and felicity; for those who find their joy in the cross find everywhere around them cause for rejoicing.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Tuesday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ Jesus Meets His Holy Mother

3/15/2016

Read St. Matthew xvi. 24-25.

1. Our blessed Lady, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, goes forth to meet her Son as He drags Himself up the hill of Calvary. With what horror and dismay must she have been stricken through at the sight of her darling Son and her God, His divine beauty obliterated, mangled and torn, covered with blood and filth, unsightly and terrible to behold! Heart-broken anguish fills her soul, and we may well believe that she would have died of sorrow had she not been miraculously supported by the power of God. O Mother of God ! obtain for me a share in Thy grief and Thy intercession !

2. What a fresh pang of sorrow to the gentle heart of Jesus to see His holy Mother, pale and haggard, come to share in His sacred Passion by her compassion ! None so full of sympathy as He, none so full of acute feeling for the woes of others. If He compassionated the women on the way, how much more His own Mother, whom He loved far better than all the world beside ! O Mary, obtain for me, a sinner, the sacred compassion of Jesus !

3. Our Lady shared in the Passion of Christ in a way in which none else could,—none even of the saints,—simply because she was sinless. She had not to suffer for herself. She had no sin to expiate. This it is which justifies us in giving her the title of co-Redemptorix. She too, who knew no sin, was made sin for us. This earned for her the privilege of sharing in all the agony of the sinless Lamb of God.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Monday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ Via Dolorosa

3/14/2016

Read St. Luke xxiii. 27-31.

1. Torn and bleeding, scarcely able to sustain the heavy burden of the cross, with His long garment entangling His feet, dragged on by the brutal soldiery, Jesus treads the sacred way of the cross. After going a few steps He stumbles and falls ; rising with difficulty, He totters on a short distance farther and falls again. O my Lord and my God, I beseech Thee by these Thy most painful falls, grant that I may never again fall into deliberate sin.

2. On the way some women express their grief and compassion with Jesus. His appearance is so pitiable that they cannot restrain their tears. Jesus turns to them, tells them to weep not for Him, but for themselves and for their children. If sin has wrought such a work of destruction in the Son of God, in Whom evil had nothing to lay hold of, in Whom the green wood could be blackened externally but not consumed by the flame, what would be its effects on sinners in whom the fire of sin rages as in the dry tinder? How ought I to fear the least spark of sin which may kindle in me the fire of passion and destroy me utterly!

3. One of those holy women, named Veronica, with a handkerchief wipes from His face the blood and sweat. On looking at the handkerchief she sees the impression of His sacred countenance stamped upon it. So upon the hearts of all who do acts of kindness for Christ's sake there' is imprinted His likeness. Each deed of charity tends to produce in our soul that likeness to Him in which all holiness consists.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ Jesus Sets Out on the Way to Calvary

3/13/2016

Read St. Matthew xxvii. 31.

1. It was not really Pilate who condemned Jesus to death, says St. Bernard, it was His love "for us. He had been longing all His life through for that moment when He was to carry out His Fathers will and redeem the world by dying for us. He knew that the divine mandate had gone forth that without shedding of blood there would be no remission. The voice of Pilate, sentencing Him to death, was but the expression of His own love for sinners, and of His joyful acceptance of the cross for their sake. O Jesus, may I love Thee in return for such love for me !

2. The cross has been prepared beforehand, and as soon as the sentence has been passed they bring it forward to be laid upon the shoulders of their Victim. Jesus takes the cross, and kisses the instrument of His Agony as a welcome friend. He did this not merely because He loved us and therefore loved the cross, but to teach us to love our crosses, to accept them as gifts from God to be welcomed, not to be rejected or regarded with aversion and dislike. How can we dislike them when they make us like to Jesus, and must be borne after Him if we are ever to share His joy in heaven?

3. On the shoulder of Jesus was a large, open wound, scarcely covered by the garments thrown upon Him. The weight of the cross rested on this wound, causing Him the most exquisite agony. It was by this that He was earning for us patience under our bodily sufferings. However keen, they are nothing to what the Son of God endured on His road to Calvary. Jesus, grant me patience under my sufferings.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Saturday after the Fourth Sunday of Lent ~ The Condemnation to Death

3/12/2016

Read St. Matthew xxvii. 24-26.

1. Pilate tries first one plan, then another, to avoid passing a sentence which he knew to be unjust. One plan after another fails, and now he is brought face to face with a choice on which the salvation of his soul may well depend. It was the turning-point in his life : the grace of God urging him on one side, and on the other the fear of man. So in the life of each there is some turning-point, some occasion when the choice made will decide his future both in life and in eternity. Unhappy those who in such a moment choose as Pilate chose !

2. The motive that led Pilate to condemn Jesus was the fear of man. He did not dare to face the consequences of doing his duty. He trembled before the opinion of others and the dread of losing his worldly position and honor. To how many has the same motive been a cause of eternal loss! Is it not one before which I have sometimes quailed, loving honor from men. and failing in what I knew was the will of God from a desire to please other- :

3. Pilate ordered the sentence to be written out condemning Jesus to death, and then deliberately signed it. But first he washed his hands before the people, declaring himself guiltless of the blood of the just man that he condemned. O fruitless ceremony ! He could not wash from his soul the black stain of cowardice and of treachery to his conscience. It is no use doing ill and saying we did not mean it. Such an evasion, like Pilate's protest, rather adds to than diminishes the sin.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent ~ Ecce Homo

3/11/2016

Read St. John xix. 4-6.

1. The scourging and crowning with thorns have brought the Son of God to a condition pitiable to contemplate. We have seen Him, and there is no sightliness in Him that we should desire Him. Pity, contempt, horror, disgust, indignation, are mingled in the hearts of those who behold Him. He is indeed a worm and not a man. He, the fairest among ten thousand ! He, the sinless Lamb of God ! Oh, how frightful must sin be if it can work such havoc even in the sacred person of the Son of God !

2. The sin that did this work, moreover, was the sin of others, not His own. It was something external to Him. He took it indeed upon Himself, He was made sin for us, but sin was never His own as it was ours. If it could so disfigure and degrade the sinless Lamb of God when laid upon Him from without, what must be the disfigurement and degradation sin works in us, springing up as it does out of ourselves, being a part of our sinful nature producing its natural fruits ?

3. But was the Son of God really degraded by all these consequences of sin ? On the contrary, His sacred humanity had never been so glorious or so worthy of honor as it was then. If He was unsightly before men, in the eyes of His Eternal Father He was crowned with honor and glory. There is nothing so pleasing to God as voluntary self-abasement and humiliation, nothing that brings so rich a recompense. How foolish then am I when I seek to avoid humiliation, and hate to be made like to the Son of God by suffering contempt and reproach from others !
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Thursday after the Fourth Sunday of Lent ~ The Crowning with Thorns

3/10/2016

Read St. Mark xv. 16, 17.

I. Our Lord was covered with a scarlet cloak and crowned with thorns, as a travesty or caricature of worldly honor. He desired to exhibit it in its true light. The farce played by the soldiers was in truth no farce, but a reality. It was intended to show how empty and contemptible is all earthly glory. It is worth no more than the mock-respect of the ruffians who bowed the knee by way of insult to Jesus. O Lord, by that mockery of honor Thou didst undergo, grant that I may esteem human honor at its true value.

2. Watch the soldiers at their cruel sport. The crown upon the head of Jesus is plaited of briers, whose long thorns pierce His sacred forehead as they press it down upon Him ; the drops of blood and mingled tears blind His eyes. One by one they pass before Him and bow the knee, and then—oh, shame ! they spit in His sacred face, that face before which angels and archangels fall in prostrate homage. O Lord, in return for those insults Thou didst endure, I will always bow before Thee in the Blessed Sacrament with reverent love and adoration; I will seek to wipe the drops of blood from Thine eyes by denying myself the free indulgence of my senses even in lawful things.

3. What were the sins for which Christ specially atoned in the crowning with thorns? Evil thoughts and imaginations, uncharitable thoughts, proud thoughts, impure thoughts. It was these rather than the thorns which pierced His sacred head, and filled His eyes with tears of sorrow and of blood.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Wednesday after the Fourth Sunday of Lent ~ The Scourging

3/9/2016

Read St. Matthew xxvii. 27-30.

1. When the Jews had shouted for Barabbas, and threatened Pilate to denounce him as disloyal to Rome if he released Jesus, the governor made one more attempt to save the life of Christ. He ordered Him to be severely scourged, hoping thereby to move the pity of the Jews. Vain attempt at a fresh compromise with his conscience! Pilate only involved himself in deeper guilt, and Christ in a greater agony of suffering. Nothing ever succeeds except a bold, fearless obedience to God's holy inspirations.

2. Our Lord is handed over to the scourgers, who strip Him naked and then begin their impious barbarity. The Pharisees are said to have plied them with drink to make them more reckless in their cruelty. Blow succeeds blow from those many-lashed, iron-pointed scourges. First His sacred flesh becomes red and swollen under the stripes, then the blood begins to flow, then the iron points lacerate and tear His delicate body until it is one great wound. Listen as He piteously moans under the anguish ! See Him masked in blood ! O my Jesus, what must be Thy love to endure this for me!

3. At length the executioners cut the cords, and Christ falls heavily in a pool of His own blood. What has brought the King of heaven to this condition of abject misery? It is the sins of men, especially the sinful indulgence of the body. It was to atone for sins of luxury and impurity and drunkenness that the spotless Lamb of God was thus tortured. Alas ! how often have I been indulgent to my body! How have I yielded to the cravings of sense.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Tuesday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent ~ Barabbas or Jesus ?

3/8/2016

Read St. Matthew xxvii. 27-30.

1. When the Jews had shouted for Barabbas, and threatened Pilate to denounce him as disloyal to Rome if he released Jesus, the governor made one more attempt to save the life of Christ. He ordered Him to be severely scourged, hoping thereby to move the pity of the Jews. Vain attempt at a fresh compromise with his conscience! Pilate only involved himself in deeper guilt, and Christ in a greater agony of suffering. Nothing ever succeeds except a bold, fearless obedience to God's holy inspirations.

2. Our Lord is handed over to the scourgers, who strip Him naked and then begin their impious barbarity. The Pharisees are said to have plied them with drink to make them more reckless in their cruelty. Blow succeeds blow from those many-lashed, iron-pointed scourges. First His sacred flesh becomes red and swollen under the stripes, then the blood begins to flow, then the iron points lacerate and tear His delicate body until it is one great wound. Listen as He piteously moans under the anguish ! See Him masked in blood ! O my Jesus, what must be Thy love to endure this for me!

3. At length the executioners cut the cords, and Christ falls heavily in a pool of His own blood. What has brought the King of heaven to this condition of abject misery? It is the sins of men, especially the sinful indulgence of the body. It was to atone for sins of luxury and impurity and drunkenness that the spotless Lamb of God was thus tortured. Alas ! how often have I been indulgent to my body! How have I yielded to the cravings of sense.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Monday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent ~ Jesus Before Herod

3/7/2016

Read St. Luke xxiii. 7-12.

1. When Pilate found that the Jews were determined on the death of Jesus, he tried to get rid of the responsibility by sending Him to Herod. Herod rejoiced to see Him. In his vanity he expected that Our Lord would be glad to conciliate him by performing some miracle in his presence. Vain expectation! It is only for the humble and pure of heart that Our Lord works miracles. Yet I expect Him to work for me, proud and selfish as 1 am, miracles of grace, to enable me to easily overcome long-rooted faults, to attain a spirit of prayer and close union with Him. How can I hope for this while I am so full of the worldly spirit of Herod ?

2. Our Lord was ready enough to speak to Pilate, and even to Caiphas; but for Herod He had not a word. There is something terrible in this silence in the presence of the sensual, hardened
reprobate. There is something in a sensual life that shuts the ears of men so that the whispers of grace never seem to reach them. If I want Our Lord to speak to me, the first thing is to see that I do not indulge my body inordinately.

3. Herod was also the incarnation of self satisfied worldliness. He was munificent, popular, successful ; but he was hateful in God's sight, and rejected by Him, so that Our Lord showed an aversion to him that He showed to none else. What a lesson for us! The reprobate Herod surrounded by flatterers and admirers; the Eternal Wisdom of God dressed in a fool's dress and treated as an idiot.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent, by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

The Fourth Sunday in Lent ~Jesus Before Pilate

3/6/2016

Read St. John xviii. 28-40.

I. Pilate was at first inclined to look with contempt on the charge brought against Christ of setting Himself up as King of the Jews. But he soon changed his tone. He was astonished at Our Lord's silence and reserve. His calm dignity made a deep impression on him. How few there are who imitate Christ in this ! Our babbling tongues pour forth so many foolish and ill-considered words. Learn of Jesus the dignity of timely silence.

2. Yet Jesus spoke when occasion required. He said enough to Pilate to convince him not only of His innocence, but of His claim to be king. Pilate was half-inclined to listen. He could not help recognizing in some degree the divine beauty of the Son of God amid all His humiliations. So the Catholic Church manifests herself to the world in a way that is sufficient to attract men of good will. There are few who have not the chance of recognizing her claims. Her beauty even in her humiliations and amid the sins of men shines forth as did the beauty of her Divine Spouse.

3. Pilate's long experience tells him plainly enough that the Jews are all wrong and Christ is right. His practiced eye detects the malice of the Jews, their hatred of their Victim, their selfishness and unscrupulous cruelty. He longs to release Christ; he knows he ought to do so, but he fears the Jews, lest he be reported as favoring revolt. Human respect overcomes his convictions, and he has not the courage to set Jesus free. How fatal is cowardice in things divine!
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent, by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Saturday after the Third Sunday in Lent ~ Judas' Repentance.

3/5/2016

Read St. Matthew xxvii. 3-16.

I. When Judas heard the unanimous voice of the chief priests and ancients declaring that Jesus was guilty of death, his soul was filled with a black remorse that made his life intolerable. How he hated the miserable pieces of silver for which he had sold his Master! How he hated the chief priests who had bribed him! How he hated himself! The sweetness and gentleness of Christ came vividly before him, and only added to his misery, as it will add to the misery of the lost at the day of judgment. How bitterly he repented his folly ! At least he would rid himself of the accursed money and declare his guilt. But he had gone too far. He had refused so often to listen to the voice of Jesus that now his hardened heart refused to melt. What a warning to all who turn a deaf ear to the voice of conscience !

2. Yet he might have been forgiven even now if he had thrown himself at Jesus' feet and begged for pardon. But this he would not do. His repentance was a hopeless, black remorse no element of hope or love or humble sorrow. It was the repentance of the lost in hell, who cry, "Fools that we were!" but yet will not, cannot, humble themselves to cry for mercy.

3. How miserable Judas had been from the first! Had those pilfered gains in early days brought him solid satisfaction? Had he been happy when he sacrificed his Master's interests to his own? Are we happy when we knowingly prefer our own selfish interests to those of Christ? Sin and misery are twin sisters. My God, may I never wilfully betray Thy interests to my own pleasure or gain!
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Mediations for Everyday in Lent
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J., Imprimatur 1889

Friday after the Third Sunday in Lent ~ Jesus is Dragged Before Pilate.

3/4/2016

Read St. Luke xxii. 66-70 ; xxiii. 1.

1. At daybreak the council assembled, and Jesus was again brought before them and questioned
again. The sentence of death passed the night before was confirmed. The whole multitude then hastened to Pilate with their prisoner, that they might obtain from the Roman governor the ratification of the sentence which they could not carry out themselves. They were resolved to have His life—anything to be rid of Him Whom they dreaded and hated. How strange it seems that they should so hate Him without a cause! Yet it is ever so: men who are proud and covetous and selfish instinctively hate the truth. This is why there prevails all over the world such a deadly enmity to the Church of Christ.

2. To wreak their vengeance, the Pharisees and ancients were ready to rise with the sun. How active men are in promoting worldly interests and criminal designs! So much more active than in working for God and for heaven. Might I not do something more by rising a little earlier or more punctually, so as to do something to please Our Lord before I begin my ordinary work? At least I might think of Him and offer my heart and my life to Him.

3. The Jews actually delivered over one of their own sacred nation to their enemies and oppressors, the Romans. No means are too base to get rid of their enemy. How much unreasoning malice I have shown against those whom I disliked or who interfered with my selfish interests, perhaps against those who are not only brethren of Christ, but very dear to Him ?
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Meditations for Everyday in Lent
by: Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Thursday after the Third Sunday in Lent ~ Jesus in the Guard Room of Caiphas

3/3/2016

- Read St. Luke xxii. 63-65.

1. After Our Lord had been condemned to death, the Sanhedrim rose, and He was handed over for custody during the night to the soldiers and servants, who, taking the cue from their masters, treated their prisoner with every kind of brutal ill-usage. They tied a dirty rag over His face, and struck Him on the face, challenging Him at the same time to show His divine power by saying the name of the striker. When He was silent, they mocked and jeered at Him, and at last they spat their filthy spittle in His sacred face. O my Lord, King of heaven and earth, how couldst Thou suffer Thy Divine Majesty to be outraged by these wretches ?

2. Yet Our Lord was never more glorious than in the midst of His degradation and contempt. If at His baptism He was the beloved Son of God in Whom He was well pleased, much more now Each blow, each gibe, each insult added to the glory of His sacred humanity to all eternity. Truly then does St. Peter say: "If you be reproached for the name of Christ, you shall be blessed." Wisely did the apostles count it joy to suffer shame for His sake. My God, I know it is so; but do I act on this principle, and rejoice in the reproaches and contempt that fall to my lot?

3. What did Christ specially atone for in the guard-room? For all the filthy words men speak, for all the obscene jests, for all the mockery of holy things, for all the angry, cruel, uncharitable words. Alas! my Jesus, have I not taken part in these insults poured upon Thee?
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Meditations for Everyday in Lent
by Richard F. Clarke, Imprimatur 1889

Wednesday after the Third Sunday in Lent ~ Saint Peter's Repentance

3/1/2016

Read St. Luke xxii. 55-62.

1. St. Peter had thrice denied his Master, and the third time with oaths and curses. He was ashamed of Christ, afraid to own himself a servant of Christ, and all because of a woman's jeering tongue. As I look over my life, how many times there have been when I have been faithless as Peter was ! I have not boldly spoken out as I ought. I have perhaps taken part in talk hateful to my Lord and Master. I have been ashamed to run counter to uncharitable or evil conversation, though I knew well enough that it was sinful.

2. After the third denial the cock crew, and at the same time Our Lord turned and looked on Peter. It was at the moment when He was being dragged from the tribunal to the servant's room, amid the jeers and mockery of the soldiers. All this time St. Peter had been present to His thoughts, amid all the outrages and insults; and not St. Peter alone, but all who, though not at heart disloyal, nevertheless fall through weakness into sin. Remember me, O Lord, when I am in danger of falling, and when Satan desires to have me that he may riddle me as wheat.

3. That look pierced the heart of St. Peter with a keen pang of shame and sorrow and repentance. How could he have been faithless to the Lord Whom he loved and for Whom he had joyfully given up all! At once he made his way out of the hall, and with tears of anguish begged for pardon. Those tears were not unmixed with the sweet consolation of knowing that he was forgiven, and with a firm resolution not to let this fall discourage him. Here is a model for me when I have sinned.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent, by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889

Tuesday after the Third Sunday in Lent ~ St. Peter's Denial of Jesus.

3/1/2016

Read St. Luke xxii. 55-62.

1. What was the secret of Peter's miserable fall ? He was brave and generous, and loved Our Lord dearly. Yet, through human respect and fear, he denied all knowledge of Him. The season why he fell was that he trusted in himself and his natural qualities instead of in God. In the spiritual warfare natural courage and generosity avail not. He who does not rely upon God alone is sure to fall. When dangers are imminent he loses heart, and then all goes wrong.

2. St. Peter had not yet learned that natural impulse as a motive of action is sure to lead man astray. It never avails before God. Its excellence, whatever it may be, only avails in the things of this world, and even there it is a dangerous and untrustworthy motive. In things divine it is the road to ruin. We must exercise anti-impulsive effort if we are to be safe. We must do more ; we must turn our thoughts to God, and seek a divine impulse, an inspiration from Heaven, if we are to remain faithful and avoid frequent faults.

3. St. Peter had neglected prayer. Our Lord had expressly warned him to watch and pray, and he had allowed himself to sleep while Christ was suffering His sacred Agony. True, he was weary and his eyes were heavy, but still he could have made the attempt. It might have seemed
an unsatisfactory prayer, yet it would have saved Peter from his fall. He might have used vocal prayers and repeated the same words like Our Lord did. Learn from this that mere struggle against heaviness is very pleasing to God.
Source: The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ - Short Meditations for Everyday in Lent,
by Richard F. Clarke, S.J. Imprimatur 1889