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The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerich246CHAPTER XXXVIJesus on Mount Golgotha.—Sixth and seventh Falls of Jesus.THE procession again moved on; the road was very steep and rough between the walls of the townand Calvary, and Jesus had the greatest difficulty in walking with his heavy burden on his shoulders;but his cruel enemies, far from feeling the slightest compassion, or giving the least assistance,continued to urge him on by the infliction of hard blows, and the utterance of dreadful curses. Atlast they reached a. spot where the pathway turned suddenly to the south; here he stumbled and fellfor the sixth time. The fall was a dreadful one, but the guards only struck him the harder to forcehim to get up, and no sooner did he reach Calvary than he sank down again for the seventh time.Simon of Cyrene was filled with indignation and pity; notwithstanding his fatigue, he wished toremain that he might assist Jesus, but the archers first reviled, and then drove him away, and hesoon after joined the body of disciples. The executioners then ordered the workmen and the boyswho had carried the instruments for the execution to depart, and the Pharisees soon arrived, forthey were on horseback, and had taken the smooth and easy road which ran to the east of Calvary.There was a fine view of the whole town of Jerusalem from the top of Calvary. This top was circular,and about the size of an ordinary riding-school, surrounded by a low wall, and with five separateentrances. This appeared to be the usual number in those parts, for there were five roads at thebaths, at the place where they baptised, at the pool of Bethsaida, and there were likewise manytowns with five gates. In this, as in many other peculiarities of the Holy Land, there was a deepprophetic signification; that number five, which so often occurred, was a type of those five sacredwounds of our Blessed Saviour, which were to open to us the gates of Heaven.247The horsemen stopped on the west side of the mount, where the declivity was not so steep; for theside up which the criminals were brought was both rough and steep. About a hundred soldiers were,stationed on different parts of the mountain, and as space was required, the thieves were not broughtto the top, but ordered to halt before they reached it, and to lie on the ground with their arms fastenedto their crosses. Soldiers stood around and guarded them, while crowds of persons who did not feardefiling themselves, stood near the platform or on the neighbouring heights; these were mostly ofthe lower classes—strangers, slaves, and pagans, and a number of them were women.It wanted about a quarter to twelve when Jesus, loaded with his cross, sank down at the precisespot where he was to be crucified. The barbarous executioners dragged him up by the cords whichthey had fastened round his waist, and then untied the arms of the cross, and threw them on theground. The sight of our Blessed Lord at this moment was, indeed, calculated to move the hardestheart to compassion; he stood or rather bent over the cross, being scarcely able to support himself;his heavenly countenance was pale and wan as that of a person on the verge of death, althoughwounds and blood disfigured it to a frightful degree; but the hearts of these cruel men were, alas!harder than iron itself, and far from showing the slightest commiseration, they threw him brutallydown, exclaiming in a jeering tone, ‘Most powerful king, we are about to prepare thy throne.’ Jesus142
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerich248immediately placed himself upon the cross, and they measured him and marked the places for hisfeet and hands, whilst the Pharisees continued to insult their unresisting Victim. When themeasurement was finished, they led him to a cave cut in the rock, which had been used formerlyas a cellar, opened the door, and pushed him in so roughly that had it not been for the support ofangels, his legs must have been broken by so hard a fall on the rough stone floor. I most distinctlyheard his groans of pain, but they closed the door quickly, and placed guards before it, and thearchers continued their preparations for the crucifixion. The centre of the platform mentioned abovewas the most elevated part of Calvary,—it was a round eminence, about two feet high, and personswere obliged to ascend two or three steps to reach its top. The executioners dug the holes for thethree crosses at the top of this eminence, and placed those intended for the thieves one on the rightand the other on the left of our Lord’s; both were lower and more roughly made than his. They thencarried the cross of our Saviour to the spot where they intended to crucify him, and placed it insuch a position that it would easily fall into the hole prepared for it. They fastened the two armsstrongly on to the body of the cross, nailed the board at the bottom which was to support the feet,bored the holes for the nails, and cut different hollows in the wood in the parts which would receivethe head and back of our Lord, in order that his body might rest against the cross, instead of beingsuspended from it. Their aim in this was the prolongation of his tortures, for if the whole weightof his body was allowed to fall upon the hands the holes might be quite torn open, and death ensuemore speedily than they desired. The executioners then drove into the ground the pieces of woodwhich were intended to keep the cross upright, and made a few other similar preparations.CHAPTER XXXVII.The Departure of Mary and the holy Women of Calvary.249ALTHOUGH the Blessed Virgin was carried away fainting after the sad meeting with her Sonloaded with his cross, yet she soon recovered consciousness; for love, and the ardent desire ofseeing him once more, imparted to her a supernatural feeling of strength. Accompanied by hercompanions she went to the house of Lazarus, which was at the bottom of the town, and whereMartha, Magdalen, and many holy women were already assembled. All were sad and depressed,but Magdalen could not restrain her tears and lamentations. They started from this house, aboutseventeen in number, to make the way of the cross, that is to say, to follow every step Jesus hadtaken in this most painful journey. Mary counted each footstep, and being interiorly enlightened,pointed out to her companions those places which had been consecrated by peculiar sufferings.Then did the sharp sword predicted by aged Simeon impress for the first time in the heart of Marythat touching devotion which has since been so constantly practised in the Church. Mary impartedit to her companions, and they in their turn left it to future generations,—a most precious gift indeed,bestowed by our Lord on his beloved Mother, and which passed from her heart to the hearts of herchildren through the revered voice of tradition.143
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