The Crown of Thorns Which Surrounds the Sacred Heart
1. When Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary, He showed her His Heart
encircled by a crown of sharp thorns. What was the significance of this?
In Heaven Jesus is happy and cannot suffer any more. The Angels, Saints
and the whole of creation sing a hymn of unceasing praise in His
honour. Nevertheless, He sees the immense tide of sin which
surges forth from the human race which He redeemed by His Precious
Blood, a redemption now made futile by many. He is aware of the insane
blasphemies hurled by so many against His lofty throne. He sees how His
gifts, His sacraments and His graces are abused by many. He sees,
finally, the number of privileged souls, often consecrated to His
service, who are indifferent and ungrateful while they should be trying
to make reparation for the evils of mankind by their love, prayers and
penances. The explanation for this mystical crown of thorns lies in His
infinite love. He does not suffer any more, because He cannot suffer,
but He still has an immense love for all men, even for sinners and for
those who are lukewarm and ungrateful. He loves and wishes to save all
men. In spite of their sinfulness and ingratitude, He still calls them
appealingly to His Heart, which they by their sins have crowned with
thorns and pierced with a lance.
This is a mystery of love
which we cannot properly understand. Only a man who loves Jesus
fervently can even have the slightest understanding of it. If we
sincerely love the divine Heart of Jesus, we shall realise that these
sharp thorns which once pierced His Heart in Gethsemane and on Calvary
were caused by our sins. Then we shall do our best to make a generous
return for such love and to make reparation, even with grave sacrifice,
for the offences which are still being committed by men against the
loving Heart of the Redeemer.
2. There are many ways of showing
our love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of making reparation for our
sins and for the sins of mankind. We can console ourselves with the
reflection that by these acts of love and reparation we are removing the
thorns which encircle the Heart of Jesus. The simplest ways of doing
this are by prayers, ejaculations, and expressions of love directed
towards the adorable Heart of our Redeemer; and by visits to Jesus in
the Blessed Sacrament. In silence and recollection before the Tabernacle
we shall feel the Heart of Jesus beating with love and shall offer in
return for His infinite love the affection of our poor hearts.
We can also receive Holy Communion in reparation. When Jesus is in us
and we are in Jesus, it will be easier and more pleasant to offer Him
our love and expiation. We can make reparation also by practicing the
devotion of the First Fridays of the month. This pious practice, so
pleasing to the Heart of Jesus, aims at being a mass offering of love
and reparation for the sins of the entire human race.
3. We can
also make reparation by voluntary penances or at least by offering up
our daily sufferings in a spirit of loving generosity. But the course
most pleasing of all to the Sacred Heart is the continual imitation of
His outstanding virtues in such a way as to become living reproductions
of our adorable Redeemer.
Ejaculation: Sacred Heart of Jesus, convert poor sinners.
Showing posts with label crowning with thorns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crowning with thorns. Show all posts
Monday, 9 June 2014
Saturday, 12 April 2014
The Scourging and the Crowning with Thorns - Cardinal Bacci
The Scourging and the Crowning with Thorns
1. Although Pilate had acknowledged Jesus' innocence, he condemned Him to be scourged in order to satisfy the hatred of the Jews. He was stripped of His garments and exposed to the gaze of the soldiery. As unseen angels bowed in adoration before His virginal purity, He offered Himself as an immaculate lamb in expiation of the countless sins of immodesty and of impurity by which men so often dishonour their immortal souls. When He had been tied to a pillar, the executioners approached Him with their whips and in quick succession rained blows upon His innocent body. Blow followed blow until His blood flowed freely and His flesh was laid bare to the bone. The prophet Isaias had vividly described this tragic scene centuries beforehand. “From the sole of the foot unto the top of the head, there is no soundness therein; wounds and bruises and swelling sores.” (Is. 1:6) “Despised and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity.... Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our iniquities: he was bruised for our sins. The chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his bruises we are healed.” (Is. 53:3-5) During these sufferings as during all that had preceded them, Jesus offered Himself in silence as a victim for our sins. If only His executioners could have read what was in His heart, they would have seen how infinitely He loved them and would have flung themselves in tears at His feet. We who have been taught to understand the Gospel know well how much He loved us and how much He suffered for us. Let us adore Jesus, bruised for our sins, and let us kiss His wounds. Let us tell Him that we shall never offend Him again and that we desire to love Him with all the ardour of which our hearts are capable.
2. No order had been given that Jesus was to be crowned with thorns. It was surely the devil who suggested this idea to the soldiers. They had heard that Jesus had claimed to be a king, so for their own brutal entertainment they clothed Him in a purple rag and placed a rod in His hand as if it were a sceptre. Then they found a bundle of reeds with sharp thorns, of which they made a crown and placed it on His head, driving it into His flesh. One can imagine the pain and humiliation which Jesus suffered. Perhaps He desired by this new kind of torment to make reparation in a special manner for all the sins of thought —sins of hate and anger, of jealousy and impurity.
Let us adore Our Lord as He is mocked and outraged in this fashion. Let us proclaim Him as King of our hearts and Master of our entire lives. Let us assure Him that after all His sufferings on our behalf we cannot allow ourselves to go astray, for He has given us the fullness of His grace so that we may be transformed and made His for all time and for eternity.
3. When we are offended or insulted, let us remember the infinite patience of Jesus when He was scourged and crowned with thorns. If Jesus, Who was so innocent, suffered so much for us, should we not follow His example and endure with patience the hardships of life? We should be ready to forgive and pardon, to subdue our rebellious inclinations, to moderate our speech and remain silent when we are offended, to love our enemies and to do good to those who do evil to us. Let us recall the way in which Jesus was scourged and crowned with thorns and we shall receive from Him the supernatural strength to follow His example.
1. Although Pilate had acknowledged Jesus' innocence, he condemned Him to be scourged in order to satisfy the hatred of the Jews. He was stripped of His garments and exposed to the gaze of the soldiery. As unseen angels bowed in adoration before His virginal purity, He offered Himself as an immaculate lamb in expiation of the countless sins of immodesty and of impurity by which men so often dishonour their immortal souls. When He had been tied to a pillar, the executioners approached Him with their whips and in quick succession rained blows upon His innocent body. Blow followed blow until His blood flowed freely and His flesh was laid bare to the bone. The prophet Isaias had vividly described this tragic scene centuries beforehand. “From the sole of the foot unto the top of the head, there is no soundness therein; wounds and bruises and swelling sores.” (Is. 1:6) “Despised and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity.... Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our iniquities: he was bruised for our sins. The chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his bruises we are healed.” (Is. 53:3-5) During these sufferings as during all that had preceded them, Jesus offered Himself in silence as a victim for our sins. If only His executioners could have read what was in His heart, they would have seen how infinitely He loved them and would have flung themselves in tears at His feet. We who have been taught to understand the Gospel know well how much He loved us and how much He suffered for us. Let us adore Jesus, bruised for our sins, and let us kiss His wounds. Let us tell Him that we shall never offend Him again and that we desire to love Him with all the ardour of which our hearts are capable.
2. No order had been given that Jesus was to be crowned with thorns. It was surely the devil who suggested this idea to the soldiers. They had heard that Jesus had claimed to be a king, so for their own brutal entertainment they clothed Him in a purple rag and placed a rod in His hand as if it were a sceptre. Then they found a bundle of reeds with sharp thorns, of which they made a crown and placed it on His head, driving it into His flesh. One can imagine the pain and humiliation which Jesus suffered. Perhaps He desired by this new kind of torment to make reparation in a special manner for all the sins of thought —sins of hate and anger, of jealousy and impurity.
Let us adore Our Lord as He is mocked and outraged in this fashion. Let us proclaim Him as King of our hearts and Master of our entire lives. Let us assure Him that after all His sufferings on our behalf we cannot allow ourselves to go astray, for He has given us the fullness of His grace so that we may be transformed and made His for all time and for eternity.
3. When we are offended or insulted, let us remember the infinite patience of Jesus when He was scourged and crowned with thorns. If Jesus, Who was so innocent, suffered so much for us, should we not follow His example and endure with patience the hardships of life? We should be ready to forgive and pardon, to subdue our rebellious inclinations, to moderate our speech and remain silent when we are offended, to love our enemies and to do good to those who do evil to us. Let us recall the way in which Jesus was scourged and crowned with thorns and we shall receive from Him the supernatural strength to follow His example.
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