I. THE FALSE VIEWS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS
1. In the first place, some reflect upon the sufferings of Christ in
a way that they become angry at the Jews, sing and lament about poor Judas,
and are then satisfied; just like by habit they complain of other persons,
and condemn and spend their time with their enemies. Such an exercise may
truly be called a meditation not on the sufferings of Christ, but on the
wickedness of Judas and the Jews.
2. In the second place, others have pointed out the different benefits
and fruits springing from a consideration of Christ's Passion. Here the
saying ascribed to Albertus is misleading, that to think once superficially
on the sufferings of Christ is better than to fast a whole year or to pray
the Psalter every day, etc. The people thus blindly follow him and act
contrary to the true fruits of Christ's Passion; for they seek therein
their own selfish interests. Therefore they decorate themselves with pictures
and booklets, with letters and crucifixes, and some go so far as to imagine
that they thus protect themselves against the perils of water, of fire,
and of the sword, and all other dangers. In this way the suffering of Christ
is to work in them an absence of suffering, which is contrary to its nature
and character.
3. A third class so sympathize with Christ as to weep and lament for
him because he was so innocent, like the women who followed Christ from
Jerusalem, whom he rebuked, in that they should better weep for themselves
and for their children. Such are they who run far away in the midst of
the Passion season, and are greatly benefitted by the departure of Christ
from Bethany and by the pains and sorrows of the Virgin Mary, but they
never get farther. Hence they postpone the Passion many hours, and God
only knows whether it is devised more for sleeping than for watching. And
among these fanatics are those who taught what great blessings come from
the holy mass, and in their simple way they think it is enough if they
attend mass. To this we are led through the sayings of certain teachers,
that the mass opere operati, non opere operantis, is acceptable of itself,
even without our merit and worthiness, just as if that were enough. Nevertheless
the mass was not instituted for the sake of its own worthiness, but to
prove us, especially for the purpose of meditating upon the sufferings
of Christ. For where this is not done, we make a temporal, unfruitful work
out of the mass, however good it may be in itself. For what help is it
to you, that God is God, if he is not God to you? What benefit is it that
eating and drinking are in themselves healthful and good, if they are not
healthful for you, and there is fear that we never grow better by reason
of our many masses, if we fail to seek the true fruit in them?
II. THE TRUE VIEW OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.
4. Fourthly, they meditate on the Passion of Christ aright, who so view
Christ that they become terror-stricken in heart at the sight, and their
conscience at once sinks in despair. This terror-stricken feeling should
spring forth, so that you see the severe wrath and the unchangeable earnestness
of God in regard to sin and sinners, in that he was unwilling that his
only and dearly beloved Son should set sinners free unless he paid the
costly ransom for them as is mentioned in Is 53, 8: "For the transgression
of my people was he stricken." What happens to the sinner, when the dear
child is thus stricken? An earnestness must be present that is inexpressible
and unbearable, which a person so immeasurably great goes to meet, and
suffers and dies for it; and if you reflect upon it real deeply, that God's
Son, the eternal wisdom of the Father, himself suffers, you will indeed
be terror-stricken; and the more you reflect the deeper will be the impression.
5. Fifthly, that you deeply believe and never doubt the least, that
you are the one who thus martyred Christ. For your sins most surely did
it. Thus St. Peter struck and terrified the Jews as with a thunderbolt
in Acts 2, 36-37, when he spoke to them all in common: "Him have ye crucified,"
so that three thousand were terror-stricken the same day and tremblingly
cried to the apostles: "0 beloved brethren what shall we do?" Therefore,
when you view the nails piercing through his hands, firmly believing it
is your work. Do you behold his crown of thorns, believe the thorns are
your wicked thoughts, etc.
6. Sixthly, now see, where one thorn pierces Christ, there more than
a thousand thorns should pierce thee, yea, eternally should they thus and
even more painfully pierce thee. Where one nail is driven through his hands
and feet, thou shouldest eternally suffer such and even more painful nails;
as will be also visited upon those who let Christ's sufferings be lost
and fruitless as far as they are concerned. For this earnest mirror, Christ,
will neither lie nor mock; whatever he says must be fully realized.
7. Seventhly, St. Bernard was so terror-stricken by Christ's sufferings
that he said: I imagined I was secure and I knew nothing of the eternal
judgment passed upon me in heaven, until I saw the eternal Son of God took
mercy upon me, stepped forward and offered himself on my behalf in the
same judgment. Ah, it does not become me still to play and remain secure
when such earnestness is behind those sufferings. Hence he commanded the
women: "Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children."
Lk 23, 28; and gives in the 31st verse the reason: "For if they do these
things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" As if to say:
Learn from my martyrdom what you have merited and how you should be rewarded.
For here it is true that a little dog was slain in order to terrorize a
big one. Likewise the prophet also said: "All generations shall lament
and bewail themselves more than him"; it is not said they shall lament
him, but themselves rather than him. Likewise were also the apostles terror-stricken
in Acts 2, 37, as mentioned before, so that they said to the apostles:
"0, brethren, what shall we do?" So the church also sings: I will diligently
meditate thereon, and thus my soul in me will exhaust itself.
8. Eighthly, one must skillfully exercise himself in this point, for
the benefit of Christ's sufferings depends almost entirely upon man coming
to a true knowledge of himself, and becoming terror-stricken and slain
before himself And where man does not come to this point, the sufferings
of Christ have become of no true benefit to him. For the characteristic,
natural work of Christ's sufferings is that they make all men equal and
alike, so that as Christ was horribly martyred as to body and soul in our
sins, we must also like him be martyred in our consciences by our sins.
This does not take place by means of many words, but by means of deep thoughts
and a profound realization of our sins. Take an illustration: If an evil-doer
were judged because he had slain the child of a prince or king, and you
were in safety, and sang and played, as if you were entirely innocent,
until one seized you in a horrible manner and convinced you that you had
enabled the wicked person to do the act; behold, then you would be in the
greatest straits, especially if your conscience also revolted against you.
Thus much more anxious you should be, when you consider Christ's sufferings.
For the evil doers, the Jews, although they have now judged and banished
God, they have still been the servants of your sins, and you are truly
the one who strangled and crucified the Son of God through your sins, as
has been said.
9. Ninthly, whoever perceives himself to be so hard and sterile that
he is not terror-stricken by Christ's sufferings and led to a knowledge
of him, he should fear and tremble. For it cannot be otherwise; you must
become like the picture and sufferings of Christ, be it realized in life
or in hell; you must at the time of death, if not sooner, fall into terror,
tremble, quake and experience all Christ suffered on the cross. It is truly
terrible to attend to this on your deathbed; therefore you should pray
God to soften your heart and permit you fruitfully to meditate upon Christ's
Passion. For it is impossible for us profoundly to meditate upon the sufferings
of Christ of ourselves, unless God sink them into our hearts. Further,
neither this meditation nor any other doctrine is given to you to the end
that you should fall fresh upon it yourself, to accomplish the same; but
you are first to seek and long for the grace of God, that you may accomplish
it through God's grace and not through your own power. For in this way
it happens that those referred to above never treat the sufferings of Christ
aright; for they never call upon God to that end, but devise out of their
own ability their own way, and treat those sufferings entirely in a human
and an unfruitful manner.
10. Tenthly, whoever meditates thus upon God's sufferings for a day,
an hour, yea, for a quarter of an hour, we wish to say freely and publicly,
that it is better than if he fasts a whole year, prays the Psalter every
day, yea, than if he hears a hundred masses. For such a meditation changes
a man's character and almost as in baptism he is born again, anew. Then
Christ's suffering accomplishes its true, natural and noble work, it slays
the old Adam, banishes all lust, pleasure and security that one may obtain
from God's creatures; just like Christ was forsaken by all, even by God.
11. Eleventhly, since then such a work is not in our hands, it happens
that sometimes we pray and do not receive it at the time; in spite of this
one should not despair nor cease to pray. At times it comes when we are
not praying for it, as God knows and wills; for it will be free and unbound:
then man is distressed in conscience and is wickedly displeased with his
own life, and it may easily happen that he does not know that Christ's
Passion is working this very thing in him, of which perhaps he was not
aware, just like the others so exclusively meditated on Christ's Passion
that in their knowledge of self they could not extricate themselves out
of that state of meditation. Among the first the sufferings of Christ are
quite and true, among the others a show and false, and according to its
nature God often turns the leaf, so that those who do not meditate on the
Passion, really do meditate on it; and those who hear the mass, do not
hear it; and those who hear it not, do hear it.
III. THE COMFORT OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.
12. Until the present we have been in the Passion week and have celebrated
Good Friday in the right way: now we come to Easter and Christ's resurrection.
When man perceives his sins in this light and is completely terror-stricken
in his conscience, he must be on his guard that his sins do not thus remain
in his conscience, and nothing but pure doubt certainly come out of it;
but just as the sins flowed out of Christ and we became conscious of them,
so should we pour them again upon him and set our conscience free. Therefore
see well to it that you act not like perverted people, who bite and devour
themselves with their sins in their heart, and run here and there with
their good works or their own satisfaction, or even work themselves out
of this condition by means of indulgences and become rid of their sins;
which is impossible, and, alas, such a false refuge of satisfaction and
pilgrimages has spread far and wide.
13. Thirteenthly. Then cast your sins from yourself upon Christ, believe
with a festive spirit that your sins are his wounds and sufferings, that
he carries them and makes satisfaction for them, as Is 53,6 says: "Jehovah
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;" and St. Peter in his first Epistle
2, 24: "Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree" of the
cross; and St. Paul in 2 Cor 5,21: "Him who knew no sin was made to be
sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him."
Upon these and like passages you must rely with all your weight, and so
much the more the harder your conscience martyrs you. For if you do not
take this course, but miss the opportunity of stilling your heart, then
you will never secure peace, and must yet finally despair in doubt. For
if we deal with our sins in our conscience and let them continue within
us and be cherished in our hearts, they become much too strong for us to
manage and they will live forever. But when we see that they are laid on
Christ and he has triumphed over them by his resurrection and we fearlessly
believe it, then they are dead and have become as nothing. For upon Christ
they cannot rest, there they are swallowed up by his resurrection, and
you see now no wound, no pain, in him, that is, no sign of sin. Thus St.
Paul speaks in Rom 4, 25, that he was delivered up for our trespasses and
was raised for our justification; that is, in his sufferings he made known
our sins and also crucified them; but by his resurrection he makes us righteous
and free from all sin, even if we believe the same differently.
14. Fourteenthly. Now if you are not able to believe, then, as I said
before, you should pray to God for faith. For this is a matter in the hands
of God that is entirely free, and is also bestowed alike at times knowingly,
at times secretly, as was just said on the subject of suffering.
15. But now bestir yourself to the end: first, not to behold Christ's
sufferings any longer; for they have already done their work and terrified
you; but press through all difficulties and behold his friendly heart,
how full of love it is toward you, which love constrained him to bear the
heavy load of your conscience and your sin. Thus will your heart be loving
and sweet toward him, and the assurance of your faith be strengthened.
Then ascend higher through the heart of Christ to the heart of God, and
see that Christ would not have been able to love you if God had not willed
it in eternal love, to which Christ is obedient in his love toward you;
there you will find the divine, good father heart, and, as Christ says,
be thus drawn to the Father through Christ. Then will you understand the
saying of Christ in Jn 3, 16: "God so loved the world that he gave his
only begotten Son," etc. That means to know God aright, if we apprehend
him not by his power and wisdom, which terrify us, but by his goodness
and love; there our faith and confidence can then stand immovable and man
is truly thus born anew in God.
16. Sixteenthly. When your heart is thus established in Christ, and
you are an enemy of sin, out of love and not out of fear of punishment,
Christ's sufferings should also be an example for your whole life, and
you should meditate on the same in a different way. For hitherto we have
considered Christ's Passion as a sacrament that works in us and we suffer;
now we consider it, that we also work, namely thus: if a day of sorrow
or sickness weighs you down, think, how trifling that is compared with
the thorns and nails of Christ. If you must do or leave undone what is
distasteful to you: think, how Christ was led hither and thither, bound
and a captive. Does pride attack you: behold, how your Lord was mocked
and disgraced with murderers. Do unchastity and lust thrust themselves
against you: think, how bitter it was for Christ to have his tender flesh
torn, pierced and beaten again and again. Do hatred and envy war against
you, or do you seek vengeance: remember how Christ with many tears and
cries prayed for you and all his enemies, who indeed had more reason to
seek revenge. If trouble or whatever adversity of body or soul afflict
you, strengthen your heart and say: Ah, why then should I not also suffer
a little since my Lord sweat blood in the garden because of anxiety and
grief? That would be a lazy, disgraceful servant who would wish to lie
in his bed while his lord was compelled to battle with the pangs of death.
17. Behold, one can thus find in Christ strength and comfort against
all vice and bad habits. That is the right observance of Christ's Passion,
and that is the fruit of his suffering, and he who exercises himself thus
in the same does better than by hearing the whole Passion or reading all
masses. And they are called true Christians who incorporate the life and
name of Christ into their own life, as St. Paul says in Gal 5, 24: "And
they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions
and the lusts thereof." For Christ's Passion must be dealt with not in
words and a show, but in our lives and in truth. Thus St. Paul admonishes
us in Heb 12, 3: "For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of
sinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls;"
and St. Peter in his 1 Epistle 4, 1: "As Christ suffered in the flesh,
arm ye yourselves also with the same mind." But this kind of meditation
is now out of use and very rare, although the Epistles of St. Paul and
St. Peter are full of it. We have changed the essence into a mere show,
and painted the meditation of Christ's sufferings only in letters and on
walls.