Those burning flames which consumed the Heart of Jesus, those unspeakable sorrows which plunged Him into a sea of bitterness, that immense thirst for our salvation, are prodigies of the love of a God, which would surpass all belief, and defy all conception, had not our divine Lord given us some striking and palpable proof of there.
To suffer and to die for our friends is the greatest proof of love. (John 15:13) This proof the Heart of Jesus has given us; or no; it is not for His friends, it is for His enemies, for those who put Him to death that He dies. And who of us is there, whom He could have loved, says Saint Augustine, if He had not loved His enemies? He loved us whilst we were His enemies, in order to make us worthy of being called His friends. Our Blessed Saviour desires that we should never lose sight of this inconceivable proof of love, the sufferings and death which He endured for us. It is for this that He would renew the remembrance of it every day, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is impossible to be devoted to His Heart without taking pleasure in meditating on the means, so inconceivable and so worthy of our gratitude, invented by that divine Heart in the excess of its love, in order to give a proof of this love to the insensible hearts of men.
It is not only, then, in the garden of Olives, but in the hands of the soldiery; in the streets of Jerusalem; before Annas, Caiphas, and Herod; at the pillar, in the Praetorium, upon Calvary; that hearts devoted to the Heart of Jesus should follow their divine Saviour, and unite themselves to His sorrows, which finished only with His life.
As regards the fruit and merits of such meditation, all the saints agree in extolling them with one voice. Saint Austin tells us, that a single tear, shed at the remembrance of the Passion of Jesus Christ, is of more value than a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and fasting for a year upon bread and water. Why is the number of those who love Jesus Christ so small? asks Saint Liguori; because there are so few who meditate on the pains which He endured for us; whoever meditates on them frequently cannot live without loving Jesus Christ. He will feel himself so constrained by His love, that it will not be possible for him to refuse to love a God, who has shown such love, and suffered so much, only that He might be loved. Our Lord Himself said to Blessed Veronica, of the order of Saint Augustine; "I would have all men honour my Passion, by a sincere sorrow, and lively compassion for my sufferings. Should they but shed a single tear, they may be sure that they have done a great deal; for the tongue of man cannot express the joy which is given me by this single tear." The angels revealed to Blessed Jane of the Cross, that the divine Majesty took such pleasure in the tears shed over the Passion of Jesus Christ, that they have a value in His sight equal to that of shedding our blood, or of suffering the greatest pains.
Our Lord said one day to Saint Angela of Foligno; "Whoever wishes to find grace should never turn away his eyes from the Cross, in whatever state he be, whether of sorrow or joy. Those who employ themselves in meditating on my Passion and death, the source of life and salvation, are my true children; others are my children only in name."
The same saint, having been favoured with an apparition of Jesus Christ crucified, heard Him pronounce upon those who compassionate His sufferings, and love to take part in them, these consoling benedictions: "Blessed of my Father are ye, who by compassionating my pains, sharing in my tribulations, and walking in my footsteps, have merited to wash your robes in my precious blood. Blessed are ye, who, compassionating my immense sufferings, and the death which I endured to rescue you from eternal torments, to make satisfaction for you, and to work your redemption, have been found worthy to share my poverty, humiliation and sufferings. Blessed are ye, who faithfully cherish the remembrance of my Passion, the greatest miracle of all ages, the salvation and life of those who were lost, the only refuge of sinners; for you shall share in ray resurrection, and in the kingdom and glory which are the reward of my sufferings, and shall be ray heirs through all eternity. Blessed are ye of my Father, and the Holy Spirit; blessed are ye with that blessing which I shall myself give on the day of my justice; for, instead of rejecting me, like my persecutors, when I came into my own kingdom, by your lively sense of my abandonment, you gave me an asylum in your hearts; seeing me tormented with hunger and thirst, pierced with nails, agonizing and dying upon the cross, you would be my comforters and associates, fulfilling thus the works of true mercy. Therefore shall you hear, on the terrible day, those words so full of joy for you; Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Your title is incontestable; for I was hungry, and you gave me the bread of compassion to eat."
Practice - The Blessed Virgin, according to a pious tradition, never passed a day without visiting the spots sprinkled by the blood of her divine Son; the Apostles, following her example, and, after them, the Faithful of every age, hastened to traverse this way of sorrows.
The Way of the Cross was established in order to supply, in some manner, the place of this pious pilgrimage. The Sovereign Pontiffs enriched it with the most abundant indulgences. Benedict XIV assures us, that it is the most powerful means of converting sinners, reviving the tepid, and sanctifying the just. Contrive, then, to practice this holy exercise from time to time, especially at the season at which the Church invites us to meditate on the sufferings of our Lord.
Prayer - Never will I forget the sufferings of my God; my heart shall preserve a continual remembrance of them, and my soul shall languish with amazement and gratitude. (Lamentations 3:20)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
- text taken from Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Father George Tickell