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The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine EmmerichSaviour. But he remained silent, solely occupied in praying for his base enemies, and replied notwhen Pilate addressed him in these words, ‘Answerest thou nothing? Behold in how many thingsthey accuse thee!’ Pilate was filled with astonishment, and said, ‘I see plainly that all they allegeis false.’ But his accusers, whose anger continued to increase, cried out, ‘You find no cause inhim?’ Is it no crime to incite the people to revolt in all parts of the kingdom?—to spread his falsedoctrines, not only here, but in Galilee likewise?’The mention of Galilee made Pilate pause: he reflected for a moment, and then asked, ‘Is this mana Galilæan, and a subject of Herod’s?’ They made answer, ‘He is; his parents lived at Nazareth,and his present dwelling is in Capharnaum.’189‘Since that is the case,’ replied Pilate, ‘take him before Herod; he is here for the festival, and canjudge him at once, as he is his subject.’ Jesus was immediately led out of the tribunal, and Pilatedispatched an officer to Herod, to inform him that Jesus of Nazareth, who was his subject, wasabout to be brought to him to be judged. Pilate had two reasons for following this line of conduct;in the first place he was delighted to escape having to pass sentence himself, as he felt veryuncomfortable about the whole affair; and in the second place he was glad of an opportunity ofpleasing Herod, with whom he had had a disagreement, for he knew him to be very curious to seeJesus.The enemies of our Lord were enraged at being thus dismissed by Pilate in the presence of thewhole multitude, and gave vent to their anger by ill-treating him even more than before. Theypinioned him afresh, and then ceased not overwhelming him with curses and blows as they led himhurriedly through the crowd, towards the palace of Herod, which was situated at no great distancefrom the forum. Some Roman soldiers had joined the procession.During the time of the trial Claudia Procles, the wife of Pilate, had sent him frequent messages tointimate that she wished extremely to speak to him; and when Jesus was sent to Herod, she placedherself on a balcony and watched the cruel conduct of his enemies with mingled feelings of fear,grief, and horror.CHAPTER XVIII.The Origin of the Way of the Cross.DURING the whole of the scene which we have just described, the Mother of Jesus, with Magdalenand John, had stood in a recess in the forum: they were overwhelmed with the most bitter sorrow,which was but increased by all they heard and saw. When Jesus was taken before Herod, John ledthe Blessed Virgin and Magdalen over the parts which had been sanctified by his footsteps. Theyagain looked at the house of Caiphas, that of Annas, Ophel, Gethsemani, and the Garden of Olives;they stopped and contemplated each Spot where he had fallen, or where he had suffered particularly;108
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerich190191and they wept silently at the thought of all he had undergone. The Blessed Virgin knelt downfrequently and kissed the ground where her Son had fallen, while Magdalen wrung her hands inbitter grief, and John, although he could not restrain his own tears, endeavoured. to console hiscompanions, supported, and led them on. Thus was the holy devotion of the ‘Way of the Cross’first practised; thus were the Mysteries of the Passion of Jesus first honoured, even before thatPassion was accomplished, and the Blessed Virgin, that model of spotless purity, was the first toshow forth the deep veneration felt by the Church for our dear Lord. How sweet and consoling tofollow this Immaculate Mother, passing to and fro, and bedewing the sacred spots with her tears.But, ah! who can describe the sharp, sharp sword of grief which then transfixed her tender soul?She who had once borne the Saviour of the world in her chaste womb, and suckled him for solong,—she who had truly conceived him who was the Word of God, in God from all eternity, andtruly God,—she beneath whose heart, full of grace, he had deigned to dwell nine months, who hadfelt him living within her before he appeared. among men to impart the blessing of salvation andteach them his heavenly doctrines; she suffered with Jesus, sharing with him not only the sufferingsof his bitter Passion, but likewise that ardent desire of redeeming fallen man by an ignominiousdeath, which consumed him.In this touching manner did the most pure and holy Virgin lay the foundation of the devotion calledthe Way of the Cross; thus at each station, marked by the sufferings of her Son, did she lay up inher heart the inexhaustible merits of his Passion, and gather them up as precious stones orsweet-scented flowers to be presented as a choice offering to the Eternal Father in behalf of all truebelievers. The grief of Magdalen was so intense as to make her almost like an insane person. Theholy and boundless love she felt for our Lord prompted her to cast herself at his feet, and there pourforth the feeling of her heart (as she once poured the precious ointment on his head as he sat attable); but when on the point of following this impulse, a dark gulf appeared to intervene betweenherself and him. The repentance she felt for her faults was immense, and not less intense was hergratitude for their pardon; but when she longed to offer acts of love and thanksgiving as preciousincense at the feet of Jesus, she beheld him betrayed, suffering, and about to die for the expiationof her offences which he had taken upon himself, and this sight filled her with horror, and almostrent her soul asunder with feelings of love, repentance, and gratitude. The sight of the ingratitudeof those for whom he was about to die increased the bitterness of these feelings tenfold, and everystep, word, or movement demonstrated the agony of her soul. The heart of John was filled withlove, and he suffered intensely, but he uttered not a word. He supported the Mother of his belovedMaster in this her first pilgrimage through the stations of the Way of the Cross, and assisted her ingiving the example of that devotion which has since been practised with so much fervour by themembers of the Christian Church.CHAPTER XIX.109
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