Thomas à Kempis: Passion of Christ

[Stone]

[The taking down from the Cross and the Burial in the Tomb]

CHAPTER XXXII - Of the cruel piercing of the most sacred Side of the Lord Jesus after His death

BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, exhaustless Fount of Love and Grace, for the cruel piercing after death of Thy most holy Side. So fiercely, O Thou of holy ones most Holy, was Thy right Side then struck and pierced by the lance of one of the soldiers, that the weapon, passing through Thy inward parts, entered Thy tender Heart, and from the gaping wound thus made there came forth a fountain of Blood and water, so wholesome for us, that, sprinkled there with, all mankind may be healed.

O wondrous fountain of the Holy Blood welling from out the right Side of Christ as He hung in death upon the Cross, flowing ever onward for the Redemption of the human race! O bright and most refreshing stream of blessed water gushing forth from the Saviour's Heart for the washing away of all our sins! Under the Old Dispensation, Moses, the Servant of the Lord, smote the rock in the wilderness, and there-out came there forth so plenteous a supply of water that the people and their cattle drank thereof with joy, and no longer murmured. But the brawny soldier Longinus, when he opened Christ's right Side, struck the Rock with his lance so fierce a blow, that there-out Blood and water have never ceased to pour; and our holy Mother the Church has drawn therefrom the Sacraments, by means of which her life is preserved: for as Eve is called the mother of all living, and was formed from her husband Adam's rib, so is the Holy Church Militant named the Mother of all the faithful, and She is the new creation from the Side of Christ, Her Spouse. O mighty and precious Wound of my Lord, worthy of love art Thou above all wounds; so deep and so wide art Thou that all the faithful may enter by Thee into the Side of Christ; miraculous art Thou in what flows from Thee; most copious in blessings; in time last formed, in glory pre-eminent. Of the Divine and holy fountain of this Wound whosoever shall drink, or of its love taste but one drop, he shall forget all his evil deeds, shall be cured of the fever of carnal and worldly desires, shall burn with love for the things which are eternal, shall be filled with the joy unspeakable of the Holy Spirit; and this Holy Fountain shall become in him a fountain of living water springing up unto everlasting life.

Go in, go in, my soul, into the right Side of thy crucified Lord! Enter through that glorious Wound into the most loving Heart of Jesus, pierced with the lance for love of thee, that so in the cleft of that Rock thou mayest take refuge from the tempest of the world! Draw near, O man, to that Heart so exalted, but made so low for thee; to the Heart of God, Who is so far above thee, but Who opens to thee His door! Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; why dost thou stand with-out? The river of life, the way of salvation, the heavenly storehouse, shedding perfumes all around, all these lie open to thee. Here is a place of refuge from the face of the enemy who would tempt thee, here is a place in which thou mayest find mercy against the wrath of the judgement to come. Here is a fountain, whence the oil of gladness and of grace shall never cease to flow, wherein sinners may ever find mercy, if only they will come to it with hearts truly penitent and contrite. Here is the well-spring of the river of God, going forth from the midst of Paradise to water the face of the earth, to give the thirsty soul to drink, to wash away sins, to quench the flames of lust, to still the strivings of anger. Do thou too, then, take from this Fountain of the Saviour a cup of love. Take from the Side of Jesus sweet helps for thy life, that henceforth thou mayest live not in thyself, but in Him Who was wounded for thee. Give thy heart to Him, Who has opened His to thee. Enter through the hallowed Wound into the inmost Heart of thy Redeemer. He bids thee enter; He asks thee to dwell with Him; His wish is that thou shouldst have but one heart with Him. "My son," He says to thee, "give Me thy heart." This is all that God asks of thee: give but this, and thou hast offered the gift than which nothing can be more acceptable to Him. Give it, then, to Jesus, and to none else besides: give it to Christ, and not to the world: give thy heart to that Wisdom which will never fail thee, not to that philosophy which is so but in name. He caused His Side to be thrown so widely open, and to be so deeply pierced, in order that the way by which thou mightest draw near to the Heart of thy Beloved should be made plain to thee; in order that thou mightest penetrate into the very Soul of the Son of God, and be made one with Him in true union of heart; that thou mightest centre all thy affections upon Him, and mightest, in singleness of heart, do all thy works to His honour and glory; that thou mightest study to please Him alone, and mightest strive with all thy mind and with all thy strength to serve Him, and Him only. Where canst thou rest more securely, where dwell more safely, where sleep thy last sleep more sweetly, than in the Wounds of Jesus Christ, Who was crucified for thee? Where canst thou find wisdom more abundant, knowledge more profitable, than in the Heart of Christ, Who suffered for thee, from out of Whose Breast there is ever flowing for thy use a stream of living water? Where, when thy love is beginning to wax cold, can it be more powerfully rekindled? Where canst thou so readily avoid distraction? Where canst thou be kept so fully recollected, as in the Heart of Jesus, Which for love of thee was pierced with the lance? Nothing in flames, nothing draws, nothing gets to the bottom of, the heart of man so thoroughly as love for the crucified Redeemer. This thought it was which led one of the Saints to exclaim: " My love was crucified." To which with all my heart I echo: "My love was wounded and pierced, that so I might find a ready entrance into His loving Heart." [St. Ignatius]

Thither then make all the eager loving haste which thou canst make bold to show; kiss the holy Side of Jesus, that so Therefrom thou mayest be sprinkled with water and with Blood. Pull out thy own heart, if thou canst, and place it close to the Heart of Jesus, in order that He may keep it, and rule it, and possess it, so that other things may not get hold of it, and defile it. Open thy heart to Him; commit thyself in full trust to Him; leave to Him thy “I will" and "I won't"; let there be one heart and one mind between thee and God: that so thou mayest think and feel with Him in all things, and mayest know His Holy Will both now and evermore. When without reserve thou shalt have made over thy heart to Jesus, for Him to keep and to dwell therein for ever, then shall great peace be thine, nor shalt thou be easily put out, or distressed by the troubles of thy daily life.

O most pure Jesus, Who dwellest in the hearts of those who love Thee, and from Whom all good desires do come; O Thou Who hangest upon the Cross before the eyes of all who meditate upon Thy Passion; O Divine treasure-house of all gifts and graces; O Christ my King, Redeemer of the faithful. Who causest Thy most holy Side to be pierced by the point of a cruel lance; set open for me, I beseech Thee, the door of Thy mercy; suffer me to enter through the gaping Wound of Thy Side into the very recesses of Thy most loving Heart; that so my heart may be set on fire by the touch of Thine, and may be united to Thee by a bond of love so indissoluble, that Thou mayest dwell in me, and I in Thee, and that nothing may ever separate me from Thee. Pierce my heart with the arrow of Thy love, may the soldier's spear pass through my vitals, and penetrate the inmost recesses of my heart, that so, by means of this wholesome wound, my soul may attain perfect health, I may refuse all love but Thine, and out of Thee may nowhere seek for comfort. May my heart be free of access and lie open to Thee alone; may it be estranged from the world, shut to the devil, and fenced on all sides by the sign of the Cross to resist temptation of every kind.



CHAPTER XXXIII - The taking down of the Lord Jesus from the Cross

BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, Power of God, for Thy lowly descent, at the hour of Vespers, from the lofty Cross, upon which, tor' our Salvation, Thou didst hang till sunset; and whence Thou wast then ordered to be taken down, in accordance with the Jewish law, and because the Paschal Feast was about to be kept on Holy Saturday.

I praise and glorify Thee for the faithful service so lovingly rendered Thee by Thy familiar friends, what time those most just men, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, a Doctor of the Law, came with their servants to the Cross, and having set up ladders against it, mounted one on the right and another on the left, while a third was engaged in loosing Thy Feet. With due reverence and love, they drew from Thy sacred Hands and Feet three precious nails, more precious than burnished gold; and then with the help of their companions, they reverently took hold of Thy most illustrious Body, and modestly and carefully lowered It to the ground.

Blessed and full of pity were ye, who did this act of mercy to the Lord your God, in order to prepare His Body for the grave; ye were careful to show even more faithful devotion to your Friend when He was dead than ye had shown to Him when He was alive. Therefore in Heaven shall ye receive a special reward from God, to Whom ye showed yourselves so faithful upon earth: and without doubt He for Whom ye prepared a burial place upon earth will reward your loving care by preparing for you a happy mansion in Heaven, and on the night before His Death He promised His disciples.

Oh that to me too, the least of all God's servants, might have been granted some share in the Burial of my Lord; that in the offices connected with it some service, however small, might have been assigned to me! How willingly would I have held the ladder at the Cross's foot; or, as I stood below, have handed up the pincers for the drawing of the nails; or even lent a helping hand to those who were lowering the Sacred Corpse. What happiness would it have been if I could have stood beneath the Cross, so close to it as to have caught in my bosom one of the falling nails, which I might have kept as a Memorial of my Lord's Passion, that so, whenever I should look upon it^ I might be moved to tears.

I praise and glorify Thee for that longing embrace with which Thy most sorrowful Mother received Thee into her arms, and folded Thee therein, when with compassionate devotion Thy faithful ones delivered Thee to her, and laid Thee in her Virgin lap. How copious were the tears that then streamed from those eyes, of all eyes the purest; how burning was the flood that then bedewed that face, of all faces the most modest, and fell from Thy Mother's cheeks upon Thy Corpse! How pure were the kisses with which Thy chaste Mother then covered Thy lifeless limbs; how often, and with what anguish, did she examine the prints of Thy Sacred Wounds! How loving were the arms with which she encircled and held the Blessed Fruit of her womb, that Fruit Which she had seen sacrificed upon the Altar of the Cross for the Redemption of mankind! Who is there among the Saints who could tell forth the copiousness of those tears which the tender Mother of Jesus at that time shed, or could understand the full agony of her grief?

Draw near, then, now my soul, and devoutly kiss the blood-red Wounds of Jesus. As He hung nailed to the Cross thou couldst not come near to Him for the pressure of the crowd and the height of the Cross; but now He lies before Thee in His weeping Mother's arms, dead and covered with Wounds. Draw near, O sinner, however great thy sinfulness, however much the fear of Hell oppresses thee; for it was for thee that the Lamb was slain; it was for thee that the Victim was offered. Which has taken away the sin of all the world. So loving and merciful is the Lord Jesus, so tender and so sweet is Mary His Mother, that none can depart uncomforted, none go away empty, who with his whole heart shall have asked to be forgiven.

O how sweet are these sayings to me a sinner, sweeter are they than honey and the honey-comb to my heart; for I know that all that Jesus suffered in the flesh was suffered for me; and that from all the good which the Blessed Virgin did in her life, from all the holy service which she rendered to Christ, and from all the affliction which in this world she endured with Jesus — to me from all this come forth merit and comfort.

Keep, then, upon thy lap, O blessed Mother, thy only, thy dearly-loved Son, Who for my sake was put to death; keep Jesus from the tomb, while I, on bended knees, humbly adore Him upon earth, pour out my prayers before Him, and kiss His Wounds, and His mangled and tortured Limbs. Hear me, O blessed Lady, be merciful to me, grant what I ask; and put before me for my kisses, Him Whom my soul loveth.



CHAPTER XXXIV - Prayers to the several parts of Christ's Body

First to His Feet - BEAUTEOUS Feet of my Lord Jesus Christ, Which were transfixed by one most cruel nail being driven through You both, and thereupon did shed forth much precious Blood, I reverently adore You; and I kiss You, earnestly praying that the sins which I have committed in standing or walking may be forgiven me.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Legs - O beauteous Legs, and humble Knees of my Lord Jesus Christ, Which were in prayer so often bent and prostrate upon the naked earth, Which were racked with burning fever in His Passion, I humbly adore You; and I kiss You, meekly entreating that the sins which I have so often committed by my want of fervour and devotion in the service of God may mercifully be forgiven me.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Side - O most adorable Side of my Lord Jesus Christ, in which the Wound of Divine Love is to be seen pierced through and through, I specially adore Thee; and I cover Thee with kisses, earnestly imploring that the sins which I have so often committed against brotherly charity, and by waxing cold in my love for God, may be forgiven me.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Back - O most patient Back of my Lord Jesus Christ, Which wast ready without a murmur to bear the Tree of Life, and the burden of the sins of all sinners, Which also submittedst to be most cruelly scourged, I devoutly adore Thee; and I reverently kiss Thee, praying that the sins which I have committed by being impatient under the burdens laid upon me may be forgiven me.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Hands - O adorable Hands of my Lord Jesus Christ, Which were stretched out to Their widest upon the Cross, and were pierced by great iron nails, I devoutly adore You ; and with tears in my eyes I kiss You, and pray that all the sins which I have committed by act, or by touch, may be done away.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Breast - O most pure Breast of my Lord Jesus Christ, on Which was never spot of sin, nor could any enter therein, upon Which blessed John the Apostle leant at Supper, I adore Thee in all sincerity; and I lovingly kiss Thee, praying that whatever guilt I have contracted by foul thoughts may be thoroughly washed away.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Neck - O white and slender Neck of my Lord Jesus Christ, Which wast so often mere skin and bone from hunger and from thirst. Which wast never painstakingly adorned, nor ever proudly stretched out, or lifted up, but wast humbly bowed in filial respect; Which in the Passion wast so cruelly buffeted, I humbly adore Thee; and I lovingly kiss Thee, praying that whatever I have done from motives of vanity may be forgiven me.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Mouth - O most sweet Mouth of my Lord Jesus Christ, out of Which the word of Salvation went forth into the world. Which wast defiled by the spittle of the Jews, Which wast embittered with the draught of vinegar, I adore Thee; and I gently kiss Thee, entreating that the sins which I have so often committed in eating, drinking, and speaking may be forgiven me.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Face - O illustrious Face of my Lord Jesus Christ, full of kindliness and awe. Which wast so foully spat upon by the Jews, Which wast so shamefully buffeted, and mockingly veiled, I adore Thee with the reverence which is Thy due; and I lovingly kiss Thee, praying Thee to pardon me all the disrespect by which I have so many times given offence to Thy Majesty.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Ears - O blessed Ears of my Lord Jesus Christ, Which no breath of flattery ever entered, Which no sneering or offensive word ever made to swerve from the path of uprightness, I honour and adore You; and I reverently kiss You, and pray that I may speedily forget every idle word which I have drunk in by listening to that which I ought not.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Eyes - O Eyes of my Lord Jesus Christ, brightly shining, never soiled by any evil desire, now dimmed by death; Eyes Whence many a time came forth a shower of tears, with all my heart I adore You ; and I gently kiss You, praying the while for pardon for all the stains upon my soul caused by sight used unlawfully.
Hail Mary, etc.

To the Head - O sublime and adorable Head of my Lord Jesus Christ, having now a sharp crown of thorns pressed down upon the top of Thee, and Thy hair stained and hallowed by the Blood Which has run down upon Thee, I join the angels and all the heavenly host in adoring Thee; upon each of Thy sacred Wounds I print loving kisses; and I earnestly entreat Thee to rid me from all the thorn-pricks which my sins have left in me, and to vouchsafe to number me among Thy elect, even though my place must needs be found among the least of all the members of Thy Body.
Hail Mary, etc.


CHAPTER XXXV - Of the adorable Burial of the Lord Jesus

LORD JESUS CHRIST, sweet Saviour of life, and Brightness of the everlasting day, I bless Thee, and give thanks to Thee, for the careful preparing with precious spices of Thy sacred Body for Its burial. This was not indeed needful for warding off corruption; but Thou didst accept it as showing the devotion of Thy friends, and as being in accordance with Jewish custom — witness the instances of like burial recorded of certain of the Patriarchs and Kings.

I praise and glorify Thee, for the loving enwrapment of Thy sacred Body in a clean linen cloth, and for the respectful binding round of Thy ever-blessed Head with a pure white napkin, which was afterwards found in the Holy Sepulchre.

I praise and glorify Thee for the removal, amid many tears, of Thy Body to the place of Its burial; for the reverence with which It was placed there; for Thy condescension in lying in the new tomb hewn out of a rock, which was provided for Thee by Joseph, a noble counsellor; where, because the hour was late. Thou wast, by Thy weeping friends, honourably buried, and wast tightly closed up therein with a heavy stone.

Rejoice and be glad, O venerable Joseph, that so pious an office was thine, and that thou wast able to do this charitable work for Christ. I thank thee much, and heartily commend as worthy of all honour thy noble conduct throughout this matter; for not only didst thou ask of Pilate leave to bury the sacred Body, but for It thou didst open that very tomb, which thou hadst made ready for thine own future resting-place. How highly must God have thought of thee, when He, Whose dominion extends to the ends of the earth and over everything within the circuit of the Heavens, chose thy tomb above all other places in the world as the place of His Burial. Be sure, O most illustrious of men, that henceforth, so long as this world shall last, and one faithful soul shall be left in it, thou shalt ever be had in honour, both by God and by men.

For this most Holy Sepulchre shall be more noble and more glorious than all the sepulchres of Saints and Kings, and shall be celebrated throughout the world. From the uttermost parts of the earth shall pilgrims flock to visit this holy place, and to worship at the spot where the Body of their Lord was laid to rest. Here was Jesus buried, here the Crucified was laid; here did the holy women lament over Him, here were the guards set; here did Christ rise on the third day; here was Jesus seen of Mary Magdalene; here appeared from Heaven the Angel of the Lord; here were the guards struck with terror, and became as dead men.

Here then, by the Tomb, do thou, O my soul, for a while abide, so as to join the holy women in mourning over the Lord Jesus, Who for thy sake was laid in the grave. Fitting indeed is it that thou shouldst pay thy tribute of grief to Him, at Whose hands thou dost hope one day to receive the reward of joy eternal. Think how intense was the grief of all Christ's faithful ones, and specially of the holy women, at seeing Jesus taken from them, and laid in a tomb — Christ for love of Whom they had given up all that they had, Whom they had followed hither and thither for so long, to Whom they had so often ministered of their substance. Whom they had loved so tenderly that they could scarce bring themselves to lose His sweet presence for even a short moment; with Whom they longed ever to live and to hold sweet converse, and through Whom they believed that joy everlasting would be theirs. The more intense their love, the more bitter surely will have been their grief.

But what above all rent the hearts of these sorrowing ones was the thought that the hope of their Lord's rising again seemed to be at an end; and that their faith was, so to speak, buried with Jesus in the tomb. It seemed therefore to these poor women that the only comfort left them was to weep over Him Who had been taken from them, or to make ready sweet spices; that so if they could not bring Him back to life, they might at least, by their faithful service in embalming It, preserve His Body from decay. But, O holy and devoted women, ye who love Christ with an unquenchable love, do not, I pray you, lament over much; do not give way to despair; call to mind the words which Jesus Himself spoke to you when He was in Galilee, and wait yet a while for their fulfilment; for after three days He will without doubt rise again. Then quite plainly and with great joy, shall ye again see Him, over Whose burial, with spirits utterly broken and with such sad hearts, ye are now lamenting. Then shall the hearts of all His friends, who now so deeply mourn His death and burial, be filled with renewed joy; nor will He need this embalmment of yours, for when He rises from the dead He will appear in great glory. He will have put on immortality, and death shall no more have dominion over Him.

Learn thou too, O my soul, from the Burial of Jesus to meditate with profit upon the dissolution of thy own body. Needs must that what from the earth thou didst receive, that to the earth thou must restore: dust thou art and to dust shalt thou return. Upon what then dost thou pride thyself, thou who must soon be mere rottenness, and a thing hidden out of sight in the ground? What seest thou to yearn after in a world, out of which thou must so soon be cast, trodden under foot of men? Whenever then thou lookest upon the graves of the dead, remember that thou too wilt soon be with them. There — and thou knowest it well — there is the home appointed for every one that liveth. There, laid low together, content with a mere corner of earth, shall the rich man and the poor man share one bed. There gentleman and commoner cannot be known the one from the other, and the strong and the weak are upon the same footing. There the miser's wealth will not profit him; nor will the crafty man be helped by all his cunning. There the epicure will be food for worms, and the fop will stink in the nostrils of the passer-by. There the loftiness of men will be bowed down, and the counsel of the haughty ones will be brought to naught. Remember that nothing mortal can endure for ever, and that man, having corrupted his nature by sin, must needs go back to the slime from which he was taken.

Strive so to live in this present world, and so to mortify by the spirit the deeds of the flesh, that when thy body is mouldering in the dust thy soul may be found meet to rest in a home of blessed peace. Spend the Good Friday of this life in painfulness and toil, and thou shalt have a Holy Saturday of rest, and an Easter of joy unspeakable at the resurrection of the just. The stricter therefore thy life in this world, the calmer shall be thy sleep in the tomb; the stronger now thy hold upon the Cross, the greater shall be thy confidence when thou comest into the presence of Christ. The more bitter now thy sorrow for thy sins, the fewer of them will there be to be purged away by the avenging fire.

Bewail then, bewail now thy sins, while the day of grace is thine, while the door of mercy stands open, while God, with Whom is plenteous Redemption, is ready to accept thy penitence. Bewail also the unhappy condition of the world, and that grievous softness of men, whence it comes that so few true followers of the Crucified are to be found, and that the spiritual fervour of so many soon grows cold.

Henceforth, then, be it thy daily practice to meditate upon Christ Jesus. Him Crucified keep ever before thy eyes; stand ever beneath thy Saviour's Cross; in life and in death be with Jesus in the Tomb; that so when Christ, thy Life, shall appear, thou too mayest rise with Him in glory. Amen.