The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. - documenta ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerich250When these holy women reached the house of Veronica they entered it, because Pilate and hisofficers were at that moment passing through the street, on their way home. They burst forth intounrestrained tears when they beheld the countenance of Jesus imprinted on the veil, and they returnedthanks to God for the favour he had bestowed on his faithful servant. They took the jar of aromaticwine which the Jews had prevented Jesus from drinking, and set off together towards Golgotha.Their number was considerably increased, for many pious men and women whom the sufferingsof our Lord had filled with pity had joined them, and they ascended the west side of Calvary, asthe declivity there was not so great. The Mother of Jesus, accompanied by her niece, Mary (thedaughter of Cleophas), John, and Salome went quite up to the round platform; but Martha, Maryof Heli, Veronica, Johanna, Chusa, Susanna, and Mary, the mother of Mark, remained below withMagdalen, who could hardly support herself. Lower down on the mountain there was a third groupof holy women, and there were a few scattered individuals between the three groups, who carriedmessages from one to the other. The Pharisees on horseback rode to and fro among the people, andthe five entrances were guarded by Roman soldiers. Mary kept her eyes fixed on the fatal spot, andstood as if entranced,—if was indeed a sight calculated to appal and rend the heart of a mother.There lay the terrible cross, the hammers, the ropes, the nails, and alongside of these frightfulinstruments of torture stood the brutal executioners, half drank, and almost without clothing,swearing and blaspheming, whilst making their preparations. The sufferings of the Blessed Virginwere greatly increased by her not being able to see her Son; she knew that he was still alive, andshe felt the most ardent desire once more to behold him, while the thought of the torments he stillhad to endure made her heart ready to burst with grief.A little hail had been falling at times during the morning, but the sun came out again after teno’clock, and a thick red fog began to obscure it towards twelve.CHAPTER XXXVIII.The Nailing of Jesus to the Cross.THE preparations for the crucifixion being finished four archers went to the cave where they hadconfined our Lord and dragged him out with their usual brutality, while the mob looked on andmade use of insulting language, and the Roman soldiers regarded all with indifference, and thoughtof nothing but maintaining order. When Jesus was again brought forth, the holy women gave a mansome money, and begged him to pay the archers anything they might demand if they would allowJesus to drink the wine which Veronica had prepared; but the cruel executioners, instead of givingit to Jesus, drank it themselves. They had brought two vases with them, one of which containedvinegar and gall, and the other a mixture which looked like wine mixed with myrrh and absinthe;they offered a glass of the latter to our Lord, which he tasted, but would not drink.144
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerich251There were eighteen archers on the platform; the six who had scourged Jesus, the four who hadconducted him to Calvary, the two who held the ropes which supported the cross, and six otherswho came for the purpose of crucifying him. They were strangers in the pay of either the Jews orthe Romans, and were short thick-set men, with most ferocious countenances, rather resemblingwild beasts than human beings, and employing themselves alternately in drinking and in makingpreparations for the crucifixion.This scene was rendered the more frightful to me by the sight of demons, who were invisible toothers, and I Saw large bodies of evil spirits under the forms of toads, serpents, sharp-claweddragons, and venomous insects, urging these wicked men to still greater cruelty, and perfectlydarkening the air. They crept into the mouths and into the hearts of the assistants, sat upon theirshoulders, filled their minds with wicked images, and incited them to revile and insult our Lordwith still greater brutality. Weeping angels, however, stood around Jesus, and the sight of theirtears consoled me not a little, and they were accompanied by little angels of glory, whose headsalone I saw. There were likewise angels of pity and angels of consolation among them; the latterfrequently approached the Blessed Virgin and the rest of the pious persons who were assembledthere, and whispered words of comfort which enabled them to bear up with firmness.252The executioners soon pulled off our Lord’s cloak, the belt to which the ropes were fastened, andhis own belt, when they found it was impossible to drag the woollen garment which his Motherhad woven for him over his head, on account of the crown of thorns; they tore off this most painfulcrown, thus reopening every wound, and seizing the garment, tore it mercilessly over his bleedingand wounded head. Our dear Lord and Saviour then stood before his cruel enemies, stripped of allsave the short scapular which was on his shoulders, and the linen which girded his loins. His scapularwas of wool; the wool had stuck to the wounds, and indescribable was the agony of pain he sufferedwhen they pulled it roughly off. He Shook like the aspen as he stood before them, for he was soweakened from suffering and loss of blood that he could not support himself for more than a fewmoments; he was covered with open wounds, and his shoulders and back were torn to the bone bythe dreadful scourging he had endured. He was about to fall when the executioners, fearing that hemight die, and thus deprive them of the barbarous pleasure of crucifying him, led him to a largestone and placed him roughly down upon it, but no sooner was he seated than they aggravated hissufferings by putting the crown of thorns again upon his head. They then offered him some vinegarand gall, from which, however, he turned away in silence. The executioners did not allow him torest long, but bade him rise and place himself on the cross that they might nail him to it. Thenseizing his right arm they dragged it to the hole prepared for the nail, and having tied it tightly downwith a cord, one of them knelt upon his sacred chest, a second held his hand flat, and a third takinga long thick nail, pressed it on the open palm of that adorable hand, which had ever been open tobestow blessings and favours on the ungrateful Jews, and with a great iron hammer drove it throughthe flesh, and far into the wood of the cross. Our Lord uttered one deep but suppressed groan, andhis blood gushed forth and sprinkled the arms of the archers. I counted the blows of the hammer,but my extreme grief made me forget their number. The nails were very large, the heads about thesize of a crown piece, and the thickness that of a man’s thumb, while the points came through atthe back of the cross. The Blessed Virgin stood motionless; from time to time you might distinguishher plaintive moans; she appeared as if almost fainting from grief, and Magdalen was quite beside145
Page 1 and 2:
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Je
Page 3 and 4:
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100: The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Je
Page 149: The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Je
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
show all

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. - documenta ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?