Meditation for Saturday
Ecce Homo
“Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith to them: ‘Behold, I bring Him forth unto you, that you may know that I find no cause in Him.’ Jesus therefore came forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And he saith to them: ‘Behold the Man!’” (John 19, 4-5).
First Prelude: Behold our Blessed Lord, covered with blood and wounds, wearing the purple cloak and the crown of thorns, as He mounts the steps of the tribunal, exposed to the gaze of the multitude.
Second Prelude: O my Jesus, grant that the contemplation of Thy sufferings and humiliations may excite in my heart an ever-growing desire for Thy love, and strengthen me in all sufferings and trials.
First Point — The Words of Pilate: “Behold the Man!”
We behold Jesus before Pilate in a most pitiable and shameful condition. His face is defiled with blood and bruised with blows. His lacerated Body is but a single wound. Wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak, and holding a reed in His right hand, Christ is truly the “Man of Sorrows,” in Whom were verified the words of the prophet: “We have seen Him, despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrow” (Is. 53, 3). Infinitely loving and mild, though plunged in bitter grief and crushed by unspeakable torments, our Divine Saviour bears the penalty our sins have deserved. Imagine yourself, my soul, in the midst of the frantic mob, face to face with the piteous sight of your patient Saviour, your Lord and King. To atone for sensuality, He is besprinkled with blood—to expiate our vanity, He is satiated with contempt and ridicule. Admire His gentleness and patience and ponder the infinite love which induced Him to suffer so much for us.
In Him, Whom Pilate presented to us saying: “Behold the Man!” we recognize the thrice holy God, the Joy of the angels, Whose praises they incessantly sing for all eternity. How fitting are the words of the Canticle: “Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see the King of Peace in the diadem, wherewith His mother crowned Him in the day of His espousals, and in the day of the joy of His heart” (Cant. 3, 11). Such then, my soul, is the Bridegroom Who would have thy love! Canst thou look into such a mirror of patience and self-effacement without being filled with confusion, and desiring earnestly to resemble Him?
Second Point — We Should Present Our Blessed Saviour to the Heavenly Father
To preserve us from everlasting death, our Blessed Saviour suffered such excessive torments and immolated Himself as Vicarious Sacrifice. Accordingly, we should frequently present our suffering, thorn-crowned Saviour to the heavenly Father, saying: Look upon the face of Thy Anointed, O God, and have mercy on us! Behold our Saviour become surety for us! Behold a God, made Man for us, behold Thy only begotten Son, in Whom Thou wert well pleased from all eternity! He has borne our infirmities and weakness, and suffered Himself to be plunged into an abyss of humiliations! Thou knowest, O heavenly Father, what reduced Him to the pitiable state in which we now present Him to Thee! It was love that brought Him to such excess.
Let us often, especially at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, immolate to the heavenly Father His Divine Son in expiation of our sins, and let us take courage in the thought that Christ’s Precious Blood cries to heaven for us, imploring mercy. In union with this Sacrifice of infinite worth we will offer the little sufferings that we meet in the service of God and of His poor, and bear in mind that it is our duty to imitate and, inasmuch as we can, to resemble Him. Oh, that our dear Lord might be able to present our souls, “washed in the Blood of the Lamb,” to the heavenly Father, saying: Behold, My spouse, who in imitation of My example, lives a crucified life, who loves Me and spends herself for Me in the service of My suffering members. Has Jesus not a perfect right to expect such fidelity of us, whom He has flooded with graces? Let us be grateful to so good, so generous a Master, that we may trustingly and confidingly go forth to meet our beloved Bridegroom, when He shall come in His glory.
Affections: O humiliated and patient Lord, how unfathomable are the mysteries of Thy love! How can I sufficiently praise and extol Thee! What are my sentiments on beholding my Saviour suffering such torments? Can I behold this marvel of love and not be inflamed with an ardent desire to make some return? Must not my heart be filled with sorrow for my sins, which have thus horribly disfigured the comeliest, the holiest and most affable of the sons of men? Let me realize Thy infinite greatness, O my Jesus, that in this mirror of truth and holiness, I may know myself, and through this knowledge and the co-operation with grace, let me die to self to live wholly for Thy love.
Resolution: I will frequently picture my thorn-crowned, derided Saviour to see whether I bear any resemblance to Him.
Spiritual Bouquet: Behold your Saviour! “Behold the Man!”
Prayer: Jesus, my Lord, my King . . .
“Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith to them: ‘Behold, I bring Him forth unto you, that you may know that I find no cause in Him.’ Jesus therefore came forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And he saith to them: ‘Behold the Man!’” (John 19, 4-5).
First Prelude: Behold our Blessed Lord, covered with blood and wounds, wearing the purple cloak and the crown of thorns, as He mounts the steps of the tribunal, exposed to the gaze of the multitude.
Second Prelude: O my Jesus, grant that the contemplation of Thy sufferings and humiliations may excite in my heart an ever-growing desire for Thy love, and strengthen me in all sufferings and trials.
First Point — The Words of Pilate: “Behold the Man!”
We behold Jesus before Pilate in a most pitiable and shameful condition. His face is defiled with blood and bruised with blows. His lacerated Body is but a single wound. Wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak, and holding a reed in His right hand, Christ is truly the “Man of Sorrows,” in Whom were verified the words of the prophet: “We have seen Him, despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrow” (Is. 53, 3). Infinitely loving and mild, though plunged in bitter grief and crushed by unspeakable torments, our Divine Saviour bears the penalty our sins have deserved. Imagine yourself, my soul, in the midst of the frantic mob, face to face with the piteous sight of your patient Saviour, your Lord and King. To atone for sensuality, He is besprinkled with blood—to expiate our vanity, He is satiated with contempt and ridicule. Admire His gentleness and patience and ponder the infinite love which induced Him to suffer so much for us.
In Him, Whom Pilate presented to us saying: “Behold the Man!” we recognize the thrice holy God, the Joy of the angels, Whose praises they incessantly sing for all eternity. How fitting are the words of the Canticle: “Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see the King of Peace in the diadem, wherewith His mother crowned Him in the day of His espousals, and in the day of the joy of His heart” (Cant. 3, 11). Such then, my soul, is the Bridegroom Who would have thy love! Canst thou look into such a mirror of patience and self-effacement without being filled with confusion, and desiring earnestly to resemble Him?
Second Point — We Should Present Our Blessed Saviour to the Heavenly Father
To preserve us from everlasting death, our Blessed Saviour suffered such excessive torments and immolated Himself as Vicarious Sacrifice. Accordingly, we should frequently present our suffering, thorn-crowned Saviour to the heavenly Father, saying: Look upon the face of Thy Anointed, O God, and have mercy on us! Behold our Saviour become surety for us! Behold a God, made Man for us, behold Thy only begotten Son, in Whom Thou wert well pleased from all eternity! He has borne our infirmities and weakness, and suffered Himself to be plunged into an abyss of humiliations! Thou knowest, O heavenly Father, what reduced Him to the pitiable state in which we now present Him to Thee! It was love that brought Him to such excess.
Let us often, especially at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, immolate to the heavenly Father His Divine Son in expiation of our sins, and let us take courage in the thought that Christ’s Precious Blood cries to heaven for us, imploring mercy. In union with this Sacrifice of infinite worth we will offer the little sufferings that we meet in the service of God and of His poor, and bear in mind that it is our duty to imitate and, inasmuch as we can, to resemble Him. Oh, that our dear Lord might be able to present our souls, “washed in the Blood of the Lamb,” to the heavenly Father, saying: Behold, My spouse, who in imitation of My example, lives a crucified life, who loves Me and spends herself for Me in the service of My suffering members. Has Jesus not a perfect right to expect such fidelity of us, whom He has flooded with graces? Let us be grateful to so good, so generous a Master, that we may trustingly and confidingly go forth to meet our beloved Bridegroom, when He shall come in His glory.
Affections: O humiliated and patient Lord, how unfathomable are the mysteries of Thy love! How can I sufficiently praise and extol Thee! What are my sentiments on beholding my Saviour suffering such torments? Can I behold this marvel of love and not be inflamed with an ardent desire to make some return? Must not my heart be filled with sorrow for my sins, which have thus horribly disfigured the comeliest, the holiest and most affable of the sons of men? Let me realize Thy infinite greatness, O my Jesus, that in this mirror of truth and holiness, I may know myself, and through this knowledge and the co-operation with grace, let me die to self to live wholly for Thy love.
Resolution: I will frequently picture my thorn-crowned, derided Saviour to see whether I bear any resemblance to Him.
Spiritual Bouquet: Behold your Saviour! “Behold the Man!”
Prayer: Jesus, my Lord, my King . . .
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