JEZUSOVO TRPLJENJE  (THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST)

(In english you can read this text at the bottom on this site)

VIDENJE JEZUSOVEGA PASIJONA 

po bl. Anni Catherini Emmerich  

Na sodni dan bo vse odkrito; takrat bomo vsi videli, koliko se je vsak izmed nas udeležil strašnega trpljenja božjega Sina s svojimi grehi, ki jih še vedno ponavljamo in ravno s tem nekako privolimo ali pa pomagamo satanski drhali trpinčiti Jezusa.

Izvlečki iz dveh knjig: 

Getzemani in Golgata (Lj, 1913, Katoliška bukvarna)

Premišljevanja in molitve v čast bridkega trpljenja in smrti našega Gospoda Jezusa Kristusa

po premišljevanju pobožne nune Ane Katerine Emmerich in po spisih najimenitnejših častilcev presvetega trpljenja našega Zveličarja

in

Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa – II.

(Clemens V. Brentano) 

I.  JEZUS NA OLJSKI GORI

1. Jezus hodi s svojimi učenci po dolini Jozafat 

1. Po zadnji večerji je šel Jezus s svojimi učenci po dolini Jozafat čez potok Cedron, proti Oljski gori. Ko so prišli do vrat, je ravno vzhajala še ne polna luna izza gora. Jezus, že v bridkosti, je začel postajati žalosten. Naš Zveličar se je hotel podati v samoto še pred svojim trpljenjem, in se z molitvijo pripraviti na trpljenje. Zase Mu tega ni bilo treba; toda nam je hotel pokazati in zapustiti zgled, kako moramo v vseh skušnjavah in težavah življenja pribežati k molitvi, kakor v posvečeno zavetje, kjer nam bo odvzeta teža bridkosti ali pa nam bo podeljena vsaj moč, tiste lažje prenašati.... 
Jezus pa nam je hotel tudi pokazati, kako je pripravljen Njegov duh trpeti in kako On želi tega trpljenja :'S krstom krvi pa moram biti krščen, in kako mi je bridko, dokler se ne dopolni.' (Luk., 12, 50)...

Sv. Efrem pravi: 'Jezus je imel tako velike želje zveličati naše duše, da bi bil prelil svojo Kri do zadnje kaplje samo za eno dušo, ko bi bilo treba.'... 

2. Gospod gre s svojimi učenci po dolini Jozafat in jim razodene, da bo tu sem še enkrat prišel tisti dan, ko bo sodil svet, pa ne tako reven, tako slab in ubožen kakor je zdaj. Njegovi učenci Ga niso umeli, mislili so, da oslabljen od slabosti in težav tako čudno govori. Nekaj časa so šli, pa so zopet postali. To je Jezusa najbolj žalilo, da je bil zavržen od lastnih otrok, ki jih je prišel rešit in ki jih je tako ljubeznivo iskal. Zdaj pa mora tako rekoč bežati pred njimi. Mislil je na strašni dan sodbe, ko bo obdan od vseh angelov, spremljan od trume svetnikov, v oblakih neba zopet prišel v dolino Jozafat, da se bo razsrdil nad svojimi sovražniki. In to Mu je delalo bridke solze.... 

3. Ko je Jezus hodil s svojimi učenci po dolini Jozafat, jim reče: 'To noč se boste vsi nad menoj pohujšali, zakaj pisano je: 'Udaril bom pastirja in razkropile se bodo njegove črede.' To je bila zopet nova bridkost za Jezusa. Videl je namreč v duhu, da ga bodo zapustili tudi Njegovi najljubeznivejši prijatelji, ki so ravnokar z Njim pri večerji sedeli in katerim je On sam sebe dal v neskončni ljubezni z dušo in telesom, s krvjo in mesom, kot Bog in človek v sv. Zakramentu. Videl je, da bodo vsi od Njega zbežali Videl je tudi vse tiste kristjane, ki Ga bodo v prihodnje hvalili in častili le tako dolgo, dokler se jim bo dobro godilo; ko jih bo pa zadelo malo trpljenje, ali kratka bridkost, Ga bodo takoj nezvesto zapustili. Videl jih je veliko, ki so z Njim, ki bi Ga ljubili zavoljo sladkosti, toda malo iz čiste ljubezni. To Ga je najhuje žalilo...

 

Medtem pridejo na pristavo, kateri je bilo ime Getzemani in leži kake pol ure od hiše, kjer so obhajali zadnjo večerjo. 

Getzemani je pristava, kjer je bilo več malih odprtih hišic za popotnike z velikim ograjenim vrtom, kjer je rastlo žlahtno drevje in druge razne izbrane rastline. Tam je bilo tudi več gosto spletenih, lepo zelenih šotorov. Bil je kraj, kamor so Judje radi zahajali in tudi hodili svoje molitve opravljat. Imeli so včasih tudi tu velike pojedine. Getzemani se pravi po naše oljska stiskalnica, zakaj tam je stalo več olivnih stiskalnic. Jezus je zato prišel tu sem, ker je pravo olivno zrnje, iz katerega je teklo olje milosti Božje. To noč je prišel v hudo stiskalnico svojega bridkega trpljenja in smrti, da bi do zadnje kaplje to olje milosti, ki moremo v njem zaceliti svoje duše in se v vsem dobrem okrepčati. Jezus je tisto oljkino drevo, ki stoji sredi polja, iz katerega teče olje božjega usmiljenja, da ga lahko vsi vidijo in da se nihče ne more izgovarjati, ako olja milosti noče rabiti. 'Podoben si lepemu oljkinemu drevesu, stoječemu v sredi polja. (Sir, 24,19). Posluži se torej ljuba duša, obilno tega olja milosti, daruj ga vedno nebeškemu Očetu za svoje obilne pregrehe! Vsak zdihljaj, vsaka molitev, solze, vsaka bolečina, vsaka kaplja Krvi Jezusove je zdravilno mazilo za tvojo dušo! 

2. Jezus gre s svojimi učenci na oljski vrt  

Oljski vrt ni daleč od pristave Getzemani, nekoliko više leži, tja po Oljski gori, ki je obdana z votlinami in melinami, na katerih raste veliko oljkinih dreves. Vsakdo si lahko izvoli kraj za molitev ali premišljevanje, kjerkoli si hoče. Kraj, kamor je hodil Jezus molit, je bil bolj zaraščen. Na vrtu torej je hotel Jezus pričeti svoje sveto trpljenje in tu na vrtu je bil začetek odrešenja grešnega človeka. Na vrtu je bil storjen prvi greh in na vrtu začetek vse revščine in nadloge, vsega zla vesoljnega sveta. Kakšen in kateri vrt bi bil zato bolj pripraven, kakor ravno oljski vrt? Saj je oljkina vejica znamenje miru, znamenje pomiloščenja. 

Tako se je že odločil nekdaj golob na oljki, ko ga je Noe izpustil iz barke. Ko se je vrnil, je prinesel oljkino vejico v znamenje miru, da se je Bog usmilil grešnega sveta in posušil vesoljni potop. Tako se je tudi nebeški golob Jezus Kristus, ki je bil zato na svet poslan, da bi nam prinesel večni mir, da bi nas spravil zopet z Bogom, najprej podal na oljski vrt, da bi od tam ponudil celemu svetu oljkino vejico večnega miru... 

Na ravno ta oljski vrt sta stopila, kakor pripoveduje staro izročilo, Adam in Eva, izgnana iz raja, prvič na prekleto zemljo, ter sta objokovala svojo pregreho. Bil je torej tu vrt žalosti, vrt pokore. Spodobilo se je tudi, da se je tam, kjer je bil obžalovan prvi greh, začela tudi njegova sprava in odpuščanje...

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (1)

I. JEZUSOV KRVAVI POT NA OLJSKI GORI

1. Jezus v oljčnem vrtu

Na Oljski gori je bil velik ograjen vrt, porastel s plemenitim grmičevjem in z oljkami. Ključ do njega  je imelo več ljudi, tudi apostoli. Bile so tam odprte hišice s prenočišči in gosto obrasle utice. To je vrt Getsemani. Na pobočju Oljske gore je še drug, le z nasipom obdan vrt, tudi z oljkami posajen. Med obema vodi pot. 

Ko je dospel Jezus z apostoli do vrta, se je že popolnoma stemnilo. Žalosten jim je razodel, da je nastopil čas trpljenja. Prestrašenim apostolom je dejal: 'Ostanite tukaj, jaz pa grem na svoje mesto molit!' Pozval je Petra, Janeza in Jakoba starejšega in odšel z njimi dalje na vrt. Nepopisno žalosten je bil, ker je čutil bližajoči se strašni boj. Janez ga je zaupno vprašal, kako more biti tako pobit, ko je bil vendar vedno tolažnik vseh. Gospod je odvrnil: 'Moja duša je žalostna do smrti.' 

Ozrl se je naokrog in videl, kako se zgrinjajo od vseh strani pošastne podobe. Rekel je apostolom: 'Ostanite tukaj in molite z menoj! Molite, da ne padete v skušnjavo!' In šel je malo dalje. Strašne podobe pa so tako silile vanj, da se je v grozi spustil navzdol in se zatekel pod skalnati previs v kakih šest korakov globoko votlino, ki se je rahlo spuščala, preko vhoda pa je viselo vejevje tako, da ga v votlini ni bilo mogoče videti.

II. JEZUSOV KRVAVI POT

Bilo je okrog devete ure, ko je Jezus prišel s svojimi učenci na vrt Getzemani. Zemlja je bila temna, nebo jasno. Jezus je postal silno žalosten ter je naznanil bližajočo se nevarnost. Učenci so bili vsled tega vsi prepadeni. In rekel je osmerim izmed učencev: 'Sedite tukaj, da grem in molim in molite tudi vi, da ne padete v skušnjavo.' In vzel je s seboj Petra, Jakoba in Janeza na Oljsko goro. Le malo svojih učencev je vzel Jezus s seboj. In sicer ravno tiste, ki jih je najbolj ljubil, one, ki so bili pozneje prva podlaga Njegove sv. Cerkve. In ravno ti trije so bili tudi na gori Tabor z Njim, ko se je bil veličastno pred njimi spremenil. Bal se je, da bi se drugi že zdaj ne pohujšali nad Njim, ker je postal tako reven. O modrost in ljubezen božja! 

Jezus noče nikomur naložiti več trpljenja, kakor ga dotični more prenesti. Pretehta ga, tako rekoč. Največ ga da tistim, katere najbolj ljubi in katerim podeljuje tudi največ milosti. Trpljenje je torej častna prednost in znamenje posebne Jezusove ljubezni do nas. 
In ti, duša moja, nisi voljna ničesar trpeti? Ali ne vidiš, kaj je prava čast Jezusovega učenca! Učenec, ki je slonel na Jezusovih prsih, mora trpeti. Sv. Marija Magdalena, ki je slonela pri Jezusovih nogah, mora trpeti! O, trpi in potrpi tudi ti radovoljno, da boš tudi ti deležen te svete, izvoljene druščine!... 

1. Jezusova žalost na Oljski gori  

1. Jezus pa se je začel tresti in postajati otožen in žalosten. Učenci so se čudili, ker se je začel tako bati On, ki jih je vse tolažil. Rekel jim je: 'Moja duša je žalostna do smrti. Ostanite tukaj in čujte!' Tolika otožnost, take smrtne težave so presunile Jezusovo dušo, da bi bila že omagala, ko ne bi bilo določeno Njegovemu življenju še hujše, še večje trpljenje. Tolike bridkosti je hotel prevzeti že v začetku. S to nepopisljivo in strašno žalostjo nam je hotel pokazati, da se prostovoljno odpove vsakemu tolažilu in da hoče iz ljubezni do nas prevzeti vsa dušna in telesna trpljenja. Zato je bila Njegova duša obložena s strahom in žalostjo, kakor je pisano: 'Smrtne težave me obdajajo! Polna mera Tvoje jeze se je zlila čez me, o Gospod! Tvoja groza me je prevzela, kakor valovi me obdaja.' (Ps 17)... 

Premisli, duša moja, kje je človek, da bi trpel brez vse tolažbe, ali da bi le želel trpeti? Jezus je hotel biti žalosten do smrti, da bi mogel tolažiti vse žalostne. Studenec vse tolažbe se je posušil, da bi razlival na vse žalostne tolažila, in jim olajšal njihove bridkosti. Zahvali se svojemu do smrti žalostnemu Jezusu in imej z Njim usmiljenje!  

2. Jezus se ozre okoli in vidi, kako se približujejo od vseh strani, kakor temni oblaki v strašnih podobah: bridkosti in težave, žalosti in skušnjave. 'Šel je za en lučaj dalje od njih.' Ves otožen je šel proti votlini, ki je bila s skalo in grmovjem zakrita, da se ni videlo okoli. Vedno večja postaja Njegova žalost. Vedno hujša Njegova bridkost. Bilo je, kakor bi objemala ta ozka votlina gnusobo vseh grehov, njihovo težo in kazni, od prvega v raju, do zadnjega na zemlji. Videl je hudobije vseh časov in spoznal je njihovo ogromno število in brezmejno grdobo. Videl je, kako je Bog razžaljen le z enim samim grehom, videl je grozo večnega pogubljenja. Videl je nadalje, koliko milijonov in milijonov duš se bo pogubilo in koliko jih je že bilo pogubljenih od prvega greha dalje. Pri pogledu na toliko gnusobo, na tolike nadloge se je pretreslo Njegovo ljubeznivo Srce in se je ponudilo Nebeškemu Očetu za vse te pregrehe. Vse je nase prevzel in za vse je hotel zadostiti. Satan pa se je valjal med vsem tem studom s srditim zaničevanjem in vpil k Jezusu: 'Kaj, tudi za to in za to hočeš zadostiti?'... 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (2)

2. Grehi sveta 

Gospod se je omahovaje umaknil pred vsiljivimi podobami v votlino, kakor išče človek zavetja pred pretečo nevihto. Grozeče podobe pa so mu sledile in postajale vedno določnejše. V ozki votlini so se zgostile v zlovešče podobe vseh pregreh od padca prvega človeka do konca sveta. – Tu na Oljski gori sta Adam in Eva, izgnana iz raja, stopila prvič na nerodovitno, trdo zemljo, tu sta žalovala in obupovala. – 

Ko je Jezus sprejel trpljenje in se daroval Božji pravičnosti v zadoščenje za grehe sveta, je bilo, kot da se je njegovo božanstvo umaknilo nazaj v presveto Trojico. Hotel se je predati trpljenju s svojo najčistejšo, tako čutečo človeško naravo, oborožen le z ljubeznijo svojega srca. Določno in jasno sem čutila to skrivnost. Iz ljubezni do grešnikov je sprejel Jezus v svoje srce očiščujoče, a tako muke polno zadoščevanje. Kakor mogočno drevo s tisočerimi vejami je to trpljenje prepredlo z mukami vse ude njegovega svetega telesa in vso njegovo presveto dušo. Prepuščen svoji človeški naravi je v neizmerni žalosti in strahu padel na svoje obličje in klical k Bogu. Gledal je v neštetih podobah vse grehe v njihovi ogabnosti. Vzel jih je nase in se je v molitvi ponudil Očetovi pravičnosti v trpeč spravni dar za vso strahotno krivdo. 

Satan pa, ki se je mešal med te podobe s sovražnim roganjem, je postajal vse bolj divji na Odrešenika. Vse strahotnejše podobe mu je prikazoval in zlobno sikal: 'Kako? Tudi to hočeš vzeti nase? Tudi za to hočeš pretrpeti kazen? Kako moreš za kaj takega zadostiti? 
Ves prostor je bil poln strašnih, gnusnih podob grehov, poln poroge in napadov hudobnih duhov. In Odrešenik je vzel vse to nase! O, kaj vse sem tu videla! Leto dni ne bi mogla vsega povedati.

Premisli duša moja, kaj je pač Jezus občutil! Zakaj, tako velika je bila Njegova bolečina, kakor je Njegova ljubezen, ki se vnema za čast nebeškega Očeta, in ta je bila neskončna. Grehi so bili tiste divje zveri, tisti stekli psi, ki so trgali Njegovo božjo dušo in so bili grozovitejši kakor najhujši tolovaji. O greh, o greh, kako si strašen! 
Pomisli pa tudi, moja duša, da Jezus ni trpel le sploh za vse grehe celega sveta, ampak tudi za vsako pregreho posebej. Med njimi so bili tudi tvoji lastni grehi, ki si jih storil od svoje mladosti in ki jih boš morebiti še storil do konca svojega življenja. Vsi ti so se pojavili pred Jezusovo dušo in Ga napolnjevali z neskončno bridkostjo. Tedaj je videl tudi vse milosti, ki si jih zavrgel, vse opomine in prigovarjanja tvojih staršev in spovednikov, ki jih nisi hotel poslušati. Toliko lepih zgledov, ki jih nisi hotel posnemati, toliko časa, ki si ga zapravil; toliko dobrega, kar si opustil; toliko hudobij, nehvaležnosti, nezvestob in pregreh, ki si jih že storil. Oh, vse to je presunilo Jezusovo dušo kakor oster meč bolečin! In, ali ne boš pogubljen tudi ti? O duša, premisli vendar, kako te Jezus ljubi, kako žaluje za teboj. Spreobrni se, poboljšaj svoje grešno življenje, svojo nesrečno mlačnost. Oh, da bi bil mrzel ali pa vroč; ker si pa mlačen, te bom pljunil iz svojih ust! Premisli vse to, moja duša!...   

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: samotno živeti, zdržati se vsake nespodobnosti in nepotrebnega smeha. 

2. Jezusova molitev na Oljski gori  

Ko je Jezus prišel do votline, je padel na svoj obraz in molil, da bi šla ta ura od Njega, če bi bilo mogoče. Rekel je: 'Aba, Oče, ako je mogoče, naj gre ta kelih mimo mene, pa ne, kakor jaz hočem, ampak kakor Ti.'... 
O, mogočni poglavar!' zakliče sv. Bernard, 'od kod ta ponižna, bridka prošnja? Kaj se mar nisi ponudil v prostovoljni dar svojemu Očetu?' Seveda; pa zaradi naše slabosti, da bi nas pokrepčal v naših bridkosti, je hotel Gospod to storiti. Tu na Oljski gori se uči moliti, duša moja! 

'Ta molitev Jezusa,' pravi dalje sv. Bernard, ' je najpopolnejši zgled, kako moramo moliti; ima najboljšo pripravo, namreč samoto; najboljše lastnosti: ponižnost in otročje zaupanje. Jezus je šel v samoto, da bi odstranil vsako raztresenost in da bi se vsemu odpovedal, je zapustil celo svoje najboljše in najljubše prijatelje. In padel je na svoj obraz v znamenje svoje ponižnosti. Hotel je pokazati, kako se spodobi z Bogom govoriti nam, ki smo prah in pepel. Zakaj, molitev ponižnega predere oblake in ne gre tako dolgo proč, da jo Bog usliši.'... 
Premisli zdaj, o duša moja, ali je bila tvoja molitev do sedaj taka? In če ni bila, jo poboljšaj. Prosi Jezusa, naj te On uči zbrano moliti. 

3. Jezus obišče svoje speče učence  

1. Nepopisljiva žalost je prevzela Jezusa. Vse pregrehe, vse hudobije, vse bridkosti in trpljenje so ga navdajale. Obšla sta ga groza pred smrtjo in človeška boječnost pred strašnim trpljenjem. Sem ter tja se opoteka. Oblije ga pot bridkosti. Trese se, trepeče in vije roke. Vzdigne se, kolena se Mu tresejo, noge Ga komaj nosijo, ves je zbegan, skoraj bi Ga nihče ne spoznal. Hudo Mu je. In tedaj pride k učencem in jih najde speče od žalosti. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (3)

Nekaj časa je Jezus mirno klečal. Njegova duša se je zgrozila nad mnoštvom in grdobijo pregreh in nad vso človeško nehvaležnostjo do Boga. Prevzela ga je tako silna žalost in groza, da je trepetajoč omahovaje prosil: 'Oče, ako je mogoče, naj gre ta kelih mimo mene!' Nato se je spet opogumil in molil: 'Vendar ne, kakor jaz hočem, ampak kakor hočeš ti!' Njegova volja je bila eno z Očetovo. Toda, ker se je iz ljubezni prepustil slabostim človeške narave, je vztrepetal pred smrtjo. Padel je na zemljo in vil roke. Pot ga je oblival. Dvignil se je, a kolena so se mu tresla in ga komaj nosila. Bil je ves spremenjen. Ustnice so mu pobledele, lasje so mu stali pokonci.

 Opotekel se je ven iz votline in omahovaje stopal proti apostolom. Našel jih je speče. Pospali so od utrujenosti, žalosti in strahu. Jezus je prišel v svoji grozi k njim, svojim prijateljem. Prišel pa je tudi kot dobri pastir, ki je sicer sam globoko pretresen, a še skrbi za svojo čredo, ki je v nevarnosti. Saj je vedel, da so tudi oni v strahu in skušnjavah. Videla sem, da so ga grozljive podobe obdajale tudi na tej kratki poti.

2. Groza ga je gnala k svojim prijateljem, a tudi skrb, v kateri je kakor dobri pastir, čeprav sam ves zbegan, bil v skrbeh in skrbno gledal za svojo čredo, ki jo je videl v nevarnosti, zakaj vedel je, da so se nahajali v bridkostih in skušnjavah. Pač tolažilna je za nas zvestoba pastirja Jezusa in Njegova velika ljubezen! Tako torej vemo, da nas Gospod ne pozabi in ne zapusti, četudi pride nad nas ura skušnjav. Blizu je Gospod tem, ki so potrtega srca! Zato bodi srčna, o žalostna in otožna moja duša! Če ni Jezus pozabil na svoje učence v svoji največji žalosti in bridkosti, koliko bolj bo skrbel zanje zdaj, ko je v svojem nebeškem veličastvu! 

3. Jezus pa je rekel: 'Simon, ali spiš? Nisi mogel niti eno uro čuti z menoj? Čujte in molite, da ne padete v skušnjavo. Duh je sicer voljan, a meso je slabo.' Užalilo Ga je to. Opominjal jih je k stanovitnosti in jim je napovedal vojsko človeške narave s smrtjo. Kako je moralo Jezusa boleti, ko je našel svoje učence sredi tolike nevarnosti – speče! 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (4)

Ko jih je našel speče, je rekel: 'Simon, ali spiš?' Zbudili so se in vstali. In govoril je dalje v svoji zapuščenosti: 'Torej niti eno uro niste mogli čuti z menoj?'  Ko so ga videli tako prestrašenega in spremenjenega, bledega in omahujočega, vsega prepotenega in trepetajočega, so bili vsi iz sebe. In če jim ne bi bil stopil naproti, obdan z dobro jim znanim sijem, bi ga ne bili prepoznali. 

Janez je vprašal: 'Učenik, kaj je s teboj? Ali naj pokličem še druge? Ali naj bežimo?' Jezus pa je odgovoril: 'Če bi imel pred sabo še enkrat triintrideset let, da bi učil in ozdravljal, ne bi mogel storiti toliko, kolikor me čaka do jutri. Ne kliči drugih! Pustil sem jih tam, ker ne bi mogli prenesti, če bi me videli v tem bednem stanju. Pohujšali bi se nad menoj, padli v skušnjavo, pozabili bi na mnoge stvari in bi zdvomili nad menoj. Vi pa ste videli sinu človekovega poveličanega. Zato ga gledate zdaj v temoti in v vsej zapuščenosti. Toda čujte in molite, da ne padete v skušnjavo: duh je voljan, a meso je slabo!' – Tako jih je hotel opominjati, naj vztrajajo ter jim pokazati boj svoje človeške narave proti smrti. Še več jim je globoko žalosten govoril in ostal pri njih še kake četrt ure. Nato jih je zopet zapustil.

O, užaljeno Srce Jezusovo! Nikjer ne najdeš tolažila. Celo Tvoji najboljši prijatelji ne čujejo s Teboj, premagani od bridkosti. – O koliko je tudi pobožnih duš, ki so prejele od Boga že veliko milosti, pa se tako malo udeležujejo bolečin in trpljenja Jezusovega in so tako mrzle in neobčutljive! Si morda tudi ti med temi zaspanimi kristjani? Čuj in moli tudi ti, da ne padeš v skušnjavo! Čuj, oh čuj, zakaj sovražnik hodi okoli, kakor rjoveč lev in išče, koga bi požrl. Moli, moli tudi ti, zakaj brez molitve ga ne moreš premagati.  

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, Jezus, sklenem za danes; Ogibati se mlačnosti in zaspanosti pri duševnih vajah. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (5)

Medtem ko se je Učenik v rastoči grozi vrnil v votlino, so apostoli stegovali roke za njim, jokali, se objeli in se vpraševali: 'Kaj je to? Kaj se godi z njim? Saj je popolnoma zapuščen!' V silni žalosti so si zakrili glave in začeli moliti. Kmalu pa so spet zaspali. Drugi pa, ki so ostali na vrtu Getsemani, so bedeli. Silno jih je vznemirjala prepadenost Jezusova in njegove zadnje izjave, ki so jih še slišali. Hodili so sem in tja po Oljski gori, iščoč skrivališča. 

3. Mati Gospodova in učenci v tem času

V Jeruzalemu je bilo tega večera malo hrupa. Judje so bili v svojih hišah zaposleni s pripravami na praznik. Prenočišča velikonočnih gostov pa niso bila v bližini Oljske gore. Tu in tam sem videla Gospodove učence in prijatelje, da so šli skupaj in se pogovarjali.

 Videlo se jim je, da so vznemirjeni in da nekaj čakajo. 

Mati Gospodova je šla z nekaterimi ženami iz dvorane zadnje večerje v hišo Marije Markove. Tam je slišala vznemirljive novice. Zato je šla s prijateljicami pred mesto, da bi kaj izvedela o svojem sinu. Prišli so k njim Lazar, Nikodem, Jožef iz Arimateje in nekaj sorodnikov iz Hebrona in so jih skušali pomiriti. Četudi so slišali, kako resno je Jezus govoril o bližnjih urah, so bili mirnejši, ker so povpraševali pri znanih farizejih, a niso izvedeli ničesar o kakšnih ukrepih proti Gospodu. Zato so menili, da ni kake večje nevarnosti. Tik pred praznikom se ga tudi ne bodo lotili. Niso še vedeli za Judovo izdajstvo. Marija pa je pravila, kako zmeden je bil Juda zadnje dni in da je čisto sam zapustil dvorano. Gotovo ga je šel izdat. Večkrat ga je sicer opominjala, a on je sin pogubljenja. – Svete žene so se zopet vrnile k Mariji Markovi.

4. Jezusova smrtna bridkost na Oljski gori 

1. Jezus je šel vdrugič tja in je molil: 'Moj, Oče, ako je mogoče, naj gre od mene  ta kelih, pa vendar ne, kakor jaz hočem, ampak kakor Ti!' In obšla Ga je smrtna bridkost. Novo vojskovanje je prišlo nad Jezusa. Godilo se Mu je, kakor da bi se Mu bili angeli v vrstah bližali in Ga obdajali. Kazali so mu velikost in obširnost zadostilnega trpljenja. Kazali so Mu veličanstvo in lepoto človeka, božje podobe pred prvim grehom in pa njegovo gnusobo in revščino po storjenem grehu. Kazali so Mu izvor vsakega greha iz prvega greha, pomen in veselje nad vsakim storjenim grehom in iz tega izvirajočo strašno škodo za človeške dušne in telesne moči. Kazali so Mu, kako bo moral za vsako veselje nad grehom nasprotno trpeti bridkosti in težave in kako zelo bo moral trpeti na duši in telesu. Za vsak greh je bilo določeno posebno trpljenje. Vsi grehi vesoljnega sveta z vsemi kaznimi, ki jih je zanje terjala božja Pravica, vse to je imel tedaj pred očmi. Še več! Zdelo se mu je, kakor da bi Mu angeli kazali vse grozno orodje, ki je pripravljeno, da Ga trpinči: vrvi, biči, trnjeva krona, kladivo, žeblji, križ, sulica, goba itd. Pokazali so Mu, za kakšno mučenje je vsako orodje namenjeno, in tudi hudobijo in jezo tistih, ki so to orodje izmislili in se pripravljali, da se nad Njim znesejo. Vse to je Jezusa presunilo. Groza Ga je obšla. Lasje so se Mu ježili in pot Ga je oblil po vseh udih in čeprav je bila Njegova volja popolnoma zedinjena z voljo nebeškega Očeta, se je vendar prepustil človeški naravi vsega iz ljubezni do nas, in se je zgrozil pred smrtjo.

2. Jezus, naš ljubeznivi Zveličar, se je tedaj zavzel pred neizmernim trpljenjem in se ustrašil strašno krvave smrti. S svojo božjo naravo se je takorekoč umaknil v presveto Trojico ter se vsega prepustil občutljivi človeški naravi. Ne le svojo bridkost, temveč tudi smrtne težave vseh ljudi je vzel On nase. Vse, karkoli mora občutiti najbolj zavrženi grešnik na smrtni postelji pri misli na svojo hudobijo in prihodnjo ostro sodbo, vse to je On vzel nase, da bi vsakemu pomagal v zadnjem tako imenitnem trenutku, in da bi nam bil tako luč in tolažba v sredi smrtne teme. O prečudna Njegova ljubezen! Pa še več, Gospod ni videl le svojega trpljenja, ampak tudi neskončno trpljenje svoje ljubeznive Matere, preganjanje svojih učencev, strašno smrt svojih apostolov, vsa trpljenja in bridkosti, katere bodo zadevale  Njegove, zaradi Njega, do konca sveta. Vse to je vedel, vse nase  vzel, vse tako rekoč sam pretrpel, da bi nekdaj vsem na pomoč prišel v vseh bridkostih in smrtnih težavah... O, kdo bi mogel popisati bridkosti in težave, neskončne bolečine Jezusa Kristusa!...

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (6)

4. Jezus že vnaprej doživlja svoje trpljenje  

Ko se je Jezus z vso svojo žalostjo vril v votlino, je padel z razprostrtimi rokami na zemljo in molil k nebeškemu Očetu. Nastopil je nov boj v njegovi duši. Pristopili so angeli in mu kazali nalogo in obseg zadostilnega trpljenja v dolgi vrsti zaporednih podob. Pokazali so mu vso lepoto človeka pred padcem in kako imajo vsi grehi izvor v prvem grehu. Videl je, kako je greh okužil človeku telo in dušo in kako naj zdaj on vzame vso krivdo. Vse to so mu kazali zdaj posamezni angeli, zdaj so se spet pojavili zbori angelov z vrsto podob. Videla sem jih, kako so z dvignjenimi prsti kazali na slike in razumela, kaj govorijo, ne da bi slišala kak glas.

 

Človeški jezik ne more povedati, kakšen strah in bolečine je trpela Jezusova duša ob pogledu na svoje zadostilno trpljenje. Spoznal je pomen slednje muke za vsako grešno slast. Spoznal je vse mučilno orodje in se zgrozil nad hudobijo, ki si je to orodje zamislila, in nad besnostjo tistih, ki so ga uporabljali. Poznal je onemoglo jezo in nepotrpežljivost vseh, ki so jih – krive ali nekrive – s tem orodjem mučili. Saj je nosil in čutil na sebi grehe vsega sveta. Vse bolečine in muke je občutil s tako grozo, da ga je oblil krvavi pot. 

Ko je sveta človeška narava trepetala v tem silnem trpljenju, sem videla v angelih sočutje. Hrepeneli so, da bi ga mogli potolažiti. Videla sem, kakor da prosijo pred božjim prestolom. Bilo je, ko da se za hip bojujeta božja pravičnost in usmiljenje z ljubeznijo, ki se žrtvuje. V podobi sem videla, kakor da se je Kristusova božja volja umaknila v Očeta, da bi njegova sveta človeška narava trpela to, za kar je Kristusova človeška volja prosila, da bi šlo mimo njega, ali se vsaj omililo. To sem spoznala v hipu, ko so angeli želeli potolažiti Odrešenika. In res je prejel nekaj olajšave.

Nato pa so angeli izginili in nov krog groze se je bližal Gospodu.

3. In vendar še ni dovolj. Nove strašne bolečine in bridkosti so stopile pred Njegovo dušo ob mislih: Kakšno korist, kakšen dobiček, kakšno plačilo bo za vse to grozovito trpljenje prejel? Ali je vredno, da se toliko trudi za ljudi? In tedaj je videl strašno prihodnost. Videl je namreč trpljenja in preganjanja svete Cerkve, svoje deviške Cerkve, ki jo je hotel tako drago z lastno Krvjo odkupiti. Videl je nehvaležnost toliko ljudi. Jezus je namreč ljubil in še zdaj najbolj  ljubi sv. Cerkev. Hotel je celo umreti, svojo sveto stran odpreti, da bi izšla nova Eva, Njegova deviška nevesta, sv. Cerkev, ki je mati živih. Hotel ji je dati kri odrešenja, vodo očiščevanja in svojega Duha, te tri, ki so Njegova priča na zemlji. Hotel ji je dati sv. zakramente, da bi bila čista, neomadeževana, sveta, nevesta. Hotel je biti njena  glava in mi njeni udje, kosti Njegove kosti, meso Njegovega mesa. Zato je zapustil nebesa ter je hotel umreti za nas. Hotel nas je posebno poživiti v najsvetejšem zakramentu sv. Rešnjega Telesa in vedno ostati pri svoji Cerkvi.

4. Ali more biti Njegova ljubezen še večja? Zdaj pa je videl vsa prihodnja trpljenja svoje sv. Cerkve: preganjanja učencev in apostolov, od začetka malo število kristjanov, krvavo mučenje, ki jih bo zadelo, krivoverstva, ki jih bodo zasejali nepokorni in prevzetni krivoverci. Videl je mlačnost, napačnost in hudobije toliko kristjanov. Videl je celo pregrehe in pohujšanja, ki se bodo godila v svetišču Njegovega kraljestva. Videl je večno pogubljenje toliko duš, videl, za koliko tisočev in tisočev bo zastonj tekla Njegova rešnja Kri. Videl, koliko njih bo zaničevalo Njegove milosti, čeprav je umrl za nje in bi se bili lahko zveličali, pa niso hoteli. Zaradi tolike nehvaležnosti, tolike nezvestobe je bil Jezus tako užaljen, da bi Ga bila lahko umorila edina ta bolečina...

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Večkrat se spominjati poslednjih reči: Smrti, sodbe, nebes in pekla.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (7)

5. Jezus gleda prihodnje neuspehe 

Ko je Odrešenik prestal vse te boje s srčno vdanostjo volji svojega nebeškega Očeta, mu je vstala skrb, ki spremlja vsako človeško žrtev: kaj bo rodila ta moja žrtev? In začele so mučiti njegovo srce predstave strašne prihodnosti.

Pred njegovo dušo je stopilo vse trpljenje njegovih apostolov, učencev in prijateljev. Majhno število prvih kristjanov, poznejši nastopi krivovercev, razkol v Cerkvi, vse to je strašno težilo Odrešenika. Gledal je mlačnost, zaslepljenost in hudobijo mnogih kristjanov, vso zlaganost in pretkano zavijanje nadutih učenikov, božjeropne zločine grešnih duhovnikov in strašne posledice vsega tega: grozote razdejanja v božjem kraljestvu na zemlji. 

Videla sem, kako so se vrstile pred njegovimi očmi brezkončne vrste strašnih podob iz vseh stoletij do sedanjega časa in naprej vse do konca sveta. Gledal je neštete, ki so ošabno skomigaje z rameni in z glavo majaje šli mimo njega proti propadu, ki jih bo pogoltnil. On pa je stegoval za njimi svoje odrešujoče roke. Videl je take, ki si ne upajo ga javno zatajiti. Gredo pa mimo z mehkužnim gnusom nad ranami njegove Cerkve, ki so jih sami pomagali zadajati, gredo kakor levit mimo ranjenca, ki je padel med razbojnike. Zapuščali so Cerkev kakor brezsrčni otroci, ki zapuste svojo mater, ko ponoči vderejo roparji v njihov dom. 

Jezus je videl vse, ki njega nočejo videti. Objokoval je tiste, ki nočejo nositi svojega križa za njim, in je sam trpel zanje. 

Gledal je, kako satan z lažnimi prividi trga od Odrešenika duše, z njegovo krvjo odrešene, z njegovim zakramentom posvečene. Ko je to gledal, mu je vedno zopet prišepetaval skušnjavec: 'Glej, kako ti bodo hvaležni za tvoje trpljenje!' Bodoče strahote so tako pritiskale nanj, da je pod njimi hromela njegova človeška narava. Kristus, sin človekov, si je v muki vil roke. Njegova človeška volja se je tako silno borila proti odporu, da bi naj toliko trpel za nehvaležni rod, da mu je tekel krvavi pot v velikih kapljah na zemljo. Strahoma se je oziral, ko da išče pomoči in kliče nebo in zemljo in zvezde pod nebom za priče svojega trpljenja. Njegov tožeči klic je prerezal noč. Apostoli so skočili pokonci in dvignjenih rok prisluškovali v temo. Hoteli so mu na pomoč, a Peter je potisnil ostala dva nazaj, rekoč: 'Ostanita, jaz grem k njemu!' Odhitel je in stopil v votlino. 'Učenik,' je zaklical, 'kaj je s teboj?' Obstal je omahovaje, ker je zagledal Gospoda okrvavljenega in vsega spremenjenega. Ni mu odgovoril. Ni bilo videti, da ga je slišal. Peter se je vrnil k Janezu in Jakobu ter jima povedal, kako je z Jezusom. Še bolj potrti so si zakrili glave, sedli in jokaje molili. 

Božji ženin pa je trpel naprej. Vse bolj odvratne so postajale podobe nehvaležnosti. Večkrat je vzkliknil: 'Oče, ali naj res vse to trpim? Oče  moj, ako ne more ta kelih iti mimo, naj se zgodi tvoja volja!'

Videla sem tudi veliko kačo s krono na glavi, kako je planila proti Jezusu. Z njo so se zgrnile okrog njega množice vseh stanov in rodov. Napadale so se med sabo, pa se spet hudobno zakadile proti Odrešeniku. Slišala sem, kako so se mu rogali. Pljuvali so vanj, izlivali nanj gnusobo in mu pretili z bodali in meči. Tako so divjali nad nebeškim pšeničnim zrnom, ki je moralo na zemlji umreti, da bi hranilo človeštvo s kruhom življenja.

Jezus je trpel, kakor bi ga orožje množic res zadevalo. Omahoval je, se zdaj dvignil, pa se zopet zgrudil. Spoznala sem, da je bila to podoba ljudi, ki na vse načine žalijo Jezusa v najsvetejšem Zakramentu. Prepoznala sem sramotilce sv. Evharistije, te nenehne osebne navzočnosti Zveličarjeve v njegovi Cerkvi. Mučijo ga, ker ga zanemarjajo, so brezbrižni do njega, ga zaničujejo in ga božjeropno zlorabljajo. Med temi sovražniki so bili tudi otroci, otroci, ki jih je Jezus tako ljubil.  Videla sem slabo poučene in nespoštljive mašne strežnike, ki ne časte Jezusa pri sveti daritvi. S strahom sem videla, da celo mnogi duhovniki od najnižjih do najvišjih mučijo evharističnega Jezusa. In se imajo še za pobožne! Omenila bom le eno vrsto teh nesrečnikov. To so duhovniki, ki sicer verujejo v Jezusovo zakramentalno pričujočnost in tako tudi uče, a sami se ne obnašajo najsvetejši skrivnosti primerno. Šotor, prestol in palačo Kralja, namreč cerkev, oltar, tabernakelj zanemarjajo, da počasi propada v prahu, rji in trohnobi. Službo vsemogočnemu Bogu opravljajo tako zanikrno, da jo onečaščajo na zunaj, četudi je notranje veljavna. Te cerkve niso revne, ampak duhovniki so brezčutni, površni in leni in so jim posvetne zadeve važnejše. Videla sem zanemarjene tudi bogate cerkve. Marsikje so zamenjali lepe, častitljive starine s ponarejenim, le na oko blestečim okrasjem. Kar so storili bogatini iz bahavosti, v tem so jih revnejši nerazumno posnemali, da bi jim bili enaki. Morala sem misliti na našo samostansko cerkev, kjer so tudi lepi kamniti oltar opažili z lesom. – Če bi pripovedovala leto dni, ne bi mogla povedati vsega, kar trpi Jezus v sv. Evharistiji. Skrivnost živega Boga zlorabljajo za kletev in rotenje. Satanovi služabniki skrunijo svete podobe, rušijo tabernaklje. Kolikokrat ostane Najsvetejše zasuto pod ruševinami! Kolikokrat ga onečaščajo v peklenskem sovraštvu!

Po teh surovih izpadih brezbožnosti sem gledala manj kričeče, a prav tako odvratne primere. Koliko jih je, ki izgube vero v božje skrivnosti ob slabih zgledih in zaradi krivih naukov. Ti ne poklekajo več pred skritim Bogom. Med njimi sem gledala premnoge grešne učenike, ki so postali krivoverci. Najprej so se medsebojno napadali, končno pa so se začeli skupno zagrizeno zaganjati v Jezusa v presvetem Zakramentu. Mnogi voditelji ločin so sramotili duhovništvo Kristusove Cerkve, zanikali in tajili Jezusovo pričujočnost v najsvetejšem Zakramentu. Zapeljali so množice ljudi, jih odtrgali od Odrešenikovega srca. In vendar je za vse te prelil svojo kri. Bilo je strahotno gledati vse to. Cerkev sem namreč videla kot Kristusovo telo, čigar raztresene ude je s svojim trpljenjem zbral in povezal. In bilo je, kakor da bi kdo vse tiste skupine, družine in njihove potomce, ki so se ločili od Cerkve, krvavo boleče trgal od svetega Kristusovega telesa. Oh, in kako otožno je gledal za njimi! Na ta način so se odtrgali od njega celi narodi in niso več imeli deleža na zakladu milosti, ki ga je Gospod zapustil svoji Cerkvi. Jezusu je bilo, kakor da njega samega cefrajo na neštevilna tanka vlakna.

Kar sem videla, je bilo tako grozno, da mi je nebeški Ženin sam usmiljeno položil svojo roko na srce in rekel: 'Nihče še tega ni videl, in tvoje srce bi se razklalo od strahu, ako ga jaz ne bi držal.'

5. Jezus poti krvavi pot 

Ko so Jezusa obšle smrtne težave, je dalje molil. Njegov pot pa je bil kakor krvave kaplje, ki so kapale na zemljo.' (Lk., 29) 

Premišljuj Jezusa v Njegovem krvavem potu. Bledo in s krvjo zalito je Njegovo sveto obličje, Njegovi, sicer tako lepi, kodrasti lasje so se prijemali vsled krvi. Jezus je trepetal po vsem telesu in se je nagibal sedaj na to, sedaj na ono stran. ' O nedolžno Jagnje,' vzklika sv. Ludovik Granaški, 'kdo Ti je iztisnil ta pot? Kaj so te krvave kaplje, ki Ti lijejo po licu? Rablja ni zraven, ki bi Te mučil, ni sledu trnjeve krone, ne žebljev, ne križa.'  Oh, sam si rekel nekoč svoji služabnici blaženi Ivani od Križa: Neizrečeno me boli želja, trpeti in umreti za  grešnike. Ta mi poganja kri iz moje notranjosti s strašnimi bolečinami. Torej ljubezen božja, ljubezen je to naredila. 'Ljubezen in sovraštvo sta to storili; sovraštvo do greha in ljubezen do ljudi.' je nekoč Gospod dejal svoji služabnici sv. Katarini Sienski. Iz krvi prelite na Oljski gori so dobivali mučeniki moč in hrabrost in vsak dan dobivajo verniki svojo moč, da se bore proti sovražniku odrešenja.... Najmanjša kapljica te presvete Krvi odtehta vse zaklade sveta. O, moja duša, počasti zelo pobožno te svete, krvave kapljice in daruj jih svojemu nebeškemu Očetu...

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, Jezus, sklenem: Vsak dan hočem vsaj pol ure premišljevati trpljenje Kristusovo.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (8)

Kri je v debelih, temnih kapljah polzela navzdol po bledem Gospodovem obličju. Lasje, drugače gladki, s prečko razdeljeni, so bili zlepljeni od strnjene krvi, razmršeni; prav tako brada. Zopet je, kakor bi hotel uiti, zapustil votlino in šel k apostolom. Korak mu je bil negotov, omahoval je upognjen kakor pod silno težo. Zdelo se je, da se bo vsak hip zgrudil. Ko je prišel do učencev, so sedeli z zakritimi glavami, sklonjenimi na kolena. Od žalosti, strahu in utrujenosti so zopet zadremali. Ko se jim je Jezus približal, so skočili pokonci. Ko so gledali njegov sklonjeni, bledi in krvavi obraz, razmršene lase, vso postavo zmaličeno, ga s svojimi utrujenimi očmi niso takoj spoznali. V muki je vil z rokami. Tedaj so skočili k njemu, ga prijeli pod rokami in ga podpirali. V silni žalosti jim je povedal, da ga bodo drugi dan umorili, že čez eno uro ga bodo ujeli. Vlekli ga bodo pred sodbo, ga trpinčili, zasramovali, ga bičali in nazadnje na grozen način umorili. Prosil jih je tudi, naj tolažijo njegovo mater in Magdaleno. 

Nekaj minut je tako stal in govoril. Niso mu odgovorili, ker niso vedeli, kaj naj rečejo; bili so vsi prestrašeni in žalostni, ko so ga videli v takem stanju in slišali njegove napovedi. Skoro so mislili, da je ob pamet. Ko pa je hotel nazaj proti votlini, ni mogel več hoditi. Janez in Jakob sta ga vodila in ko je stopil v votlino, sta se vrnila.

6. Marija trpi z Jezusom v tem času

Med to Jezusovo smrtno grozo je tudi presveta Devica medlela v grozi in žalosti. V hiši Marije Markove je bila. Šla pa je z Magdaleno in Marijo Markovo na vrt, kjer se je zgrudila na kolena. Bila je vsa odmaknjena vsemu, kar je bilo okrog nje. Videla in občutila je le trpljenje svojega božjega Sina. Da bi izvedela, kaj je z njim, je poslala nekaj prijateljev poizvedovat. Ni pa mogla dočakati, da bi se vrnili, ampak se je v svojem strahu odpravila z Magdaleno in Salomo v dolino Jozafat. Videla sem jo, kako je šla zakrita in je vedno zopet dvigala roke proti Oljski gori. V duhu je namreč videla svojega sina, ko je potil krvavi pot. Bilo je, ko da mu hoče s svojimi iztegnjenimi rokami otreti krvavo obličje. Ker ji je bila duša tako silno pretresena, se je tudi Jezus ob misli nanjo oziral proti njej, kakor bi iskal pomoči. To povezavo sem videla kakor žarke, ki so ju družili. Tudi na Magdaleno je mislil Gospod in je čutil njeno bolečino. Ozrl se je proti njej in ganilo ga je. Zato je naročil apostolom, naj tolažijo tudi njo. Saj je vedel, da je njena ljubezen za ljubeznijo njegove matere največja. Videl je tudi kaj bo še zanj trpela in da ga nikdar več ne bo žalila z nobenim grehom. 

Tačas se je zbralo vseh osem apostolov v senčnici na Getsemanskem vrtu. Pogovarjali so se, nato pa zaspali. Silno so bili pretreseni in so omahovali v težki preizkušnji. Vsak si je poiskal skrivališče in mučila jih je skrb: 'Kaj naj storimo, če ga bodo umorili? Vse, kar smo imeli, smo zapustili in izgubili. Zdaj pa smo ubogi in svetu v posmeh. Popolnoma smo se zanesli nanj, in zdaj je ves uničen, brez moči, nihče se ne more osloniti nanj!' Učenci pa so še tavali okrog. Slišali so o zadnjih strah vzbujajočih Jezusovih izjavah in večina od njih je odšla v Betfage. 

6. Angel Jezusa potrdi 

1. In vrnil se je k svojim učencem in jih je našel zopet speče. (Njih oči so bile namreč dremotne). In niso vedeli, kaj bi Mu odgovorili. Tedaj jih je zapustil in je šel zopet tja in vtretjič molil in govoril iste besede. 'Moj, Oče, ako je mogoče, naj gre od mene  ta kelih, pa vendar ne, kakor jaz hočem, ampak kakor Ti!'

2. Da bi Jezus v svoji neizmerni žalosti in bridkosti ne omagal, Mu je od časa do časa prišlo nekoliko pomoči. Bilo Mu je, kakor da bi bil odprl pred Njegovimi očmi predpekel. Tedaj je videl Adama in Evo, vse stare očake in preroke in pravične stare zaveze, starše svoje matere in Janeza Krstnika, ki so vsi željno hrepeneli po Njegovem prihodi. On je mogel namreč tem zdihujočim jetnikom odpreti nebesa in jih rešiti iz te ječe hrepenenja. Tedaj je tudi bilo, kakor da bi Mu bili angeli pripeljali vse trume prihodnjih zveličanih, ki so zedinili svoje vojskovanje z Njegovim trpljenjem in si tako prislužili nebeško krono. Bil je to nepopisljivo lep, tolažilen pogled. Šli so pred Njegovim obličjem v duhu vsi apostoli in učenci, vse device in žene, vsi mučeniki, puščavniki in spoznavalci, vsi cerkveni učeniki in škofje, vse prihodnje vrste menihov in nun, vse vojske zveličanih duhov. Vsi so bili ozaljšani z zmagovalno krono svojega trpljenja in zatajevanja in različnost cvetic po Njegovih kronah v podobi, barvi, duhu in moči se je spremenila v različnosti trpljenja, vojskovanja in zmage, s katero so krono dosegli. Pa vse njihovo trpljenje in dejanje, čast in velikost njihove vojske in zmage, vsa njihova slava je imela le ceno v zedinjenju z zasluženjem Jezusa Kristusa. Bila je to družba svetnikov, ki je obdajala ljubeznivo Srce Zveličarjevo, kakor veličastna krona zmage. Ta ganljivi pogled je potrdil dušo našega Gospoda in nekoliko razveselil.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (9)

7. Jezus prejme tolažbo 

Še sem videla Odrešenika, ko je molil v votlini. Premagal je odpor proti trpljenju in utrujen je molil: 'Moj Oče, ako je tvoja volja, vzemi ta kelih od mene! Vendar ne moja, tvoj volja se zgodi!'

Kar se odpre globina pred njim, in kakor po svetli progi je gledal navzdol v predpekel. Tam je zagledal Adama in Evo, vse očake, preroke in pravične, starše svoje matere in Janeza Krstnika. Vsi ti so tako hrepeneče pričakovali, da bo prišel k njim, da je ob tem postalo njegovo ljubeče srce močno in pogumno. Tem hrepenečim ujetnikom bo njegova smrt odprla nebesa. On sam jih bo popeljal iz predpekla.

 

Ko si je Jezus ganjen ogledal pravične iz preteklih dob, so mu angeli privedli pred oči trume prihodnjih blaženih. Ti bodo združevali svoje boje z zasluženjem njegovega svetega trpljenja in bodo tako po njem prišli k nebeškemu Očetu. Bil je čudovito lep, tolažljiv prizor, ko so šli okrašeni s svojimi deli in svojim trpljenjem mimo Odrešenika. Tu je gledal neizčrpen blagoslov svoje odrešilne smrti, v tem mimohodu apostolov, učencev, devic in žena, mučencev, puščavnikov in spoznavalcev, cerkvenih poglavarjev in škofov, vseh trum redovnih oseb, da, vse armade blaženih. Vsi so bili ovenčani z zmagoslavnimi kronami svojega trpljenja in premagovanja. Raznovrstnost cvetlic v njihovih kronah je odgovarjala raznovrstnosti trpljenja, bojev in zmag, s katerimi so si priborili slavo. Toda vse svoje življenje in delovanje, dostojanstvo in moč svojih bojev in zmag, sijaj in svojevrstnost svojega zmagoslavja, vse so imeli samo iz zedinjenja z zasluženjem Jezusa Kristusa. Njihova raznolikost ni bila slučajna. Prihajala je iz žarkov in mavričnih barv enega edinega srca – iz Gospodovega trpljenja, iz Besede, ki je meso postala. In v njej je bilo življenje, ki kakor luč razsvetljuje vsakega človeka, ki pride na ta svet.

Bilo je občestvo svetnikov iz prihodnjih dob, ki je šlo mimo Odrešenikove duše. Tako je stal Gospod med hrepenenjem očakov in zmagoslavnim pohodom blaženih nove zaveze. Oboji so ko dragocena krona zmage ljubeče obdajali Odrešenikovo srce. Ta neizrekljivo ganljiva slika je poživila in okrepila Jezusovo dušo, ki je preizkusila vse človeško trpljenje. Ah, saj je tako zelo ljubil svoje brate, svoje stvari, da bi bil tudi za eno samo dušo rad vse pretrpel. 

Kmalu pa so izginile te tolažilne podobe in prejšnji strah Ga je znova napadel.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (10)

Zdaj pa je izginila tolažljiva podoba in angeli so mu kazali trpljenje, ki ga čaka. Bilo je tu mnogo angelov. Videla sem te podobe tesno pred Gospodom in v vsej jasnosti. Vrstile so se vse od Judeževega poljuba do poslednje besede na križu. Tu sem videla vse, kar gledam pri premišljevanju Gospodovega trpljenja: Judeževo izdajstvo, beg učencev, sramotenje in trpljenje pred Anom in Kajfom, Petrov padec, Pilatovo sodbo, zasramovanje pred Herodom, bičanje in kronanje s trnjem, smrtno obsodbo, padce pod križem, srečanje s presveto Materjo in kako so se ji rogali rablji. Videla sem Veronikin potni prt, strašno pribijanje na križ, kako so postavili križ pokonci, roganje farizejev ter bolečine Marijine in drugih zvestih. Skratka, vse je bilo natančno in jasno z vsemi okolnostmi pred mojo dušo. Vse kretnje, vse občutke in besede udeleženih ljudi sem videla in poslušala s pretresljivo prestrašenim Odrešenikom. Toda vse je sprejel rad iz ljubezni do nas. 

Ob koncu te vrste podob se je Jezus zgrudil kakor umirajoč na svoje obličje. Angeli s podobami vred so izginili, on pa je potil krvavi pot obilneje ko poprej. Videla sem, kako mu je kri premakala rumenkasto obleko na prilegajočih se mestih. V votlini se je stemnilo. 

7. Jezus sprejme kelih trpljenja in nebeško krepčilo

1. Tedaj se Mu je prikazal, kakor pripoveduje evangelist, angel, ki Ga je okrepčal. Misli si, duša moja, da vidiš angela v dolgem duhovskem oblačilu in v človeški podobi, ki priplava iz nebes. Angel je držal v svojih rokah lep kelih. Plavaje v ozračju je izročil spoštljivo Gospodu nebeški grižljaj in Mu ponudil pijače iz svetega keliha in je zopet izginil. Jezus je prostovoljno sprejel nase kelih trpljenja in nebeško krepčilo. 

'O čudovita skrivnost!' vzklikne sv. Bernard, 'kdo Te bo pojmil? Ti, moč in slava  vseh angelov, dovoliš da Te angel okrepčuje. Ponižal si se torej pod angele! O čudovita ponižnost Jezusova, ki se tako ponižuješ! Lahko smemo tudi mi zaupati in se v strahu ter težavah v molitvi zatekati. Tudi mi bomo gotovo deležni Tvoje pomoči.'

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (11)

Kar zagledam angela, spuščajočega se iz nebes. Bil je večji in v bolj določno človeški postavi ko prejšnji. Imel je dolgo, valujoče oblačilo, v rokah pred prsmi pa je držal posodico v obliki keliha. V odprtini keliha je lebdel majhen, rdečkasto se svetlikajoč grižljaj. Angel je podal to okrepčilo Odrešeniku v usta ter mu dal piti iz keliha. Nato je izginil.

 Jezus je bil pokrepčan. Tiho se zahvaljujoč, je še ostal nekaj časa v votlini. Še je bil žalosten, vendar toliko močnejši, da je brez strahu in nemira s trdnimi koraki odšel k učencem. Bled je bil in slab, a hodil je pokonci in odločno. Obraz si je otrl s potnim prtom in si z njim pogladil lase. A še so mu viseli vlažni od krvi in potu v pramenih navzdol.

2. Jezus pa se je še zahvaljujoč pomudil v votlini. Dasiravno še žalosten, je bil vendar očividno pokrepčan. In prišel je tretjič k svojim učencem in jim  dejal: 'Spite in počivate. Dovolj je; ura mojega trpljenja je prišla. Glej, Sin človekov bo izdan v roke sovražnikom. Vstanite in pojdimo! Oni, ki me bo izdal, je blizu.'

Zdaj, o sladki Jezus, sem potolažen. Vidim Te v Tvojem bridkem trpljenju od angela čudovito potrjenega. S tem si mi hotel pokazati, da tudi meni ne bo nedostajalo ne milosti, ne moči, kadar bom, obsut od mnogoterih bridkosti, k Tebi zaupljivo klical.  Čudi se, duša moja! Ne angel, ne, Ti sam, moj ljubeznivi Zveličar, si moja moč in moja tolažba! Ti si bil oslabljen, da bi naredil mene močnega. Tvoj krvavi pot je zame  prečudovito mazilo, ki mi krepča dušo in telo in daje mojemu srcu nepremagljivo srčnost. Zato pravi po pravici sv. Katarina Sienska: 'Bodi močan, bodi srčen in ničesar se ne bolj. Kri Jezusova te je čisto oprala. Zmagal boš s Krvjo Jezusa Kristusa v svojem srcu in z imenom Njegovim v svojih ustih.' Hvala, tisočera hvala tedaj, o ljubeznivi Zveličar, da si mi pridobil toliko milosti in tolažbe s svojo bridkostjo in s svojim krvavim potom na Oljski gori! O, moj Tolažnik, potrdi me Ti sam ob uri skušnjav in vojskovanja!  Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes:  Iskati le pri Tebi tolažbe in nikomur ne tožiti svojih nadlog.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (12)

Ko je prišel k apostolom, so ležali kakor prvikrat zakritih glav in spali. Gospod jim je rekel, da zdaj ni čas za spanje. Vstanejo naj in molijo. 'Kajti prišla je ura, ko bo sin človekov izdan v roke grešnikov. Vstanite! Pojdimo, izdajalec je blizu. Bolje bi mu bilo, da se ne bi rodil!' 

V strahu so skočili pokonci in se plaho ozirali naokrog. Komaj pa so prišli k sebi, je dejal Peter razvneto: 'Učenik, poklical bom še druge, da te bomo branili!' Jezus pa jim je pokazal dol v dolino, še onstran potoka Cedron z baklami opremljeni trop oboroženih. Mirno jim je še nekaj govoril, jim še enkrat priporočil svojo sveto Mater, potem pa rekel: 'Pojdimo jim naproti! Predal se bom brez upiranja v roke svojih sovražnikov.' In odšel je s tremi apostoli svojim preganjalcem naproti. Zapustili so oljčni vrt in stopili na pot, ki ga loči od vrta Getsemani.

*** (JUDA - stran v pripravi)

III.  JEZUSA PRIMEJO IN ZVEŽEJO  

1. Jezusa primejo

Ko se je tedaj dal Jezus svojim sovražnikom spoznati, so planili nadenj, da bi ga prijeli. Pristopili so in ga zgrabili. Ko so pa apostoli, ki so bili z Njim, videli, kaj se ima zgoditi, so se hoteli braniti. Bržkone je še nekaj onih učencev prihitelo, ki so bili ostali v Getsemaniju, ko so izvedeli, v kakšno nevarnost je prišel Jezus. Drugi pa, ki niso nič upali, so od daleč stali in se bližali k njim, ali pa hiteli drugim povedal, da hočejo Jezusa ujeti. Oni, ki so bili poleg Jezusa, so Mu rekli: 'Gospod, ali naj zamahnemo z mečem?'. Simon Peter je tedaj izdrl meč in mahnil po hlapcu velikega duhovna in mu odsekal desno uho. Jezus pa je rekel Petru: 'Vtakni meč v nožnico; kajti vsi ki rabijo meč, bodo z mečem končani. Ali ne bom pil keliha, ki mi ga je dal Oče? Ali meniš, da ne morem prositi svojega Očeta, ki bi mi poslal več kakor dvanajst legij angelov?'

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (13)

III. JEZUSA  UJAMEJO IN ZVEŽEJO

1. Jezus se preda sovražnikom v roke

Med njihovim prerekanjem je stopil Gospod s tremi apostoli na pot. Prihiteli so tudi drugi apostoli iz oljčnega vrta, ker so slišali hrup. Ko so jih vojaki zagledali, so poklicali še rablje, ki so bili nekako za njimi. Ko so Jezus in trije apostoli v soju bakle spoznali oborožence, je hotel Peter s silo nadnje in je zaklical: 'Onih osem iz Getsemanija vidim tam spredaj. Udarili bomo na biriče!' Jezus pa mu je zapovedal mir in je stopil z njimi s poti malo bolj nazaj na trato. Tako se je Judov načrt prekrižal in izdajalec je bil zlobno razjarjen. Štirje apostoli so stopili k njemu in ga vprašali, kaj vse to pomeni. Juda je skušal govoriti z njimi, da bi se z lažmi izvlekel, a straža ga ni izpustila.

Tu stopi Jezus pred prepirajočo se gručo ter vpraša glasno in jasno: 'Koga iščete?' Vodilni med vojaki so dejali: 'Jezusa Nazareškega.' In Jezus je rekel: 'Jaz sem!' Ob teh besedah so ko od krča popadeni naglo odstopili in se zgrudili na kup drug po drugem. Juda, ki je stal tam blizu, se je še huje zmedel. Zdelo se je, ko da hoče bliže k Jezusu. Ta pa je dvignil roko, rekoč: 'Prijatelj, čemu si prišel?' Juda je zmedeno mrmral nekaj o poslu, ki da ga je opravil. Jezus pa je dejal: 'Bolje bi bilo, da se nisi rodil.' Vendar se teh besed ne spominjam natanko. 

Medtem so si vojaki spet opomogli in se približali. Čakali so, da jim da Juda znamenje. Peter in drugi apostoli pa so obkrožili Juda in ga obsipali z očitki. Hotel se jim je izviti z lažmi. A ni mu uspelo, ker so ga vojaki skušali zaščititi in so tako izdali, da je z njimi. Jezus pa je vprašal drugič: 'Koga iščete?' Obrnili so se k njemu in odgovorili: ' Jezusa Nazareškega!' Rekel je: 'Jaz sem! Povedal sem vam že, da sem jaz. Ako mene iščete, pustite te!' Zopet so popadali vsi zveriženi po tleh, kakor taki, ki jih meče božjast. 

Apostoli so zopet obkolili Juda, ker so bili silno razsrjeni nad njim. Jezus pa je zaklical vojakom: 'Vstanite!' Dvignili so se, a so bili vsi preplašeni. Ker se je Juda še otresal apostolov, je straža stopila k njemu in ga vzela v zaščito. Tako osvobojenega so silili, naj jim da dogovorjeni znak. Saj so imeli ukaz, da morajo prijeti tistega, ki ga bo Juda poljubil. In res je stopil k Odrešeniku, ga objel in poljubil, rekoč: 'Pozdravljen, Učenik!' Jezus mu je rekel: 'Juda, s poljubom izdajaš Sinu človekovega!' 

Zdaj so ga vojaki obkrožili, rablji pa so ga zgrabili. Juda je hotel pobegniti. Apostoli pa so ga zadrževali, navalili na vojake in vpili: 'Gospod, ali naj udarimo z mečem?' Peter pa ni čakal, ampak je z mečem mahnil po Malhu, hlapcu velikega duhovnika, ki je hotel potisniti Petra nazaj. Odsekal mu je košček uhlja, tako da se je zgrudil in je bila zmešnjava še večja.

Jezus pa je rekel: 'Peter, vtakni meč v nožnico! Ker kdor rabi meč, bo z mečem pokončan. Ali meniš, da ne morem prositi Očeta, da mi pošlje več kot dvanajst legij angelov? Ali naj ne pijem keliha, ki mi ga je dal Oče? Kako bi se sicer izpolnilo pismo?' Rekel je še: 'Dajte, da ozdravim tega človeka!' Približal se je Malhu, se ga dotaknil in molil. In uho je bilo zopet zdravo. Uradniki pa so se posmehovali in govorili vojakom: 'S hudičem je v zvezi. Po čarovniji je bilo uho na videz ranjeno, po čarovniji je zopet zdravo.'

Jezus jim je rekel: 'Prišli ste s kopji in s koli, da me ujamete kakor morilca. Vsak dan sem učil pri vas v templju. Tam si niste upali položiti roke name. Zdaj pa je vaša ura, moč teme!' Ukazali so rabljem, naj ga zvežejo. Vojaki se ga niso dotaknili. Bili so tu le zaradi varnosti.

Premisli, duša moja! Kako se moramo oborožiti v vseh težavah in nevarnostih. Karkoli nam pošlje bridkega večni Oče, je kelih, in On hoče, da ga mi pijemo v svoje očiščevanje. Vse bridkosti so kelihi nebeškega Očeta. Za nas ni torej nobenega izgovora. Vsi moramo piti to očiščevalno pijačo. Usta sladkega Jezusa so ga morale že prej okusiti in so ga tudi osladile.

Kako srčnega se izkaže tukaj Peter! Toda njegova srčnost je bila tu prenagla, še ne razsvetljena. Ko bi bil on vedel, da se mora vse to zgoditi, da bi bil on in vsi mi rešeni iz satanove sužnosti, ali bi bil oviral to veliko delo ljubezni in zveličanja? Gotovo ne! Modrost božja je tedaj nalila ta kelih grenkosti sama, in modra ljubezen nebeškega Očeta tudi nam naliva naše kelihe. Nikar torej ne zametavaj svojega trpljenja in se mu ne ustavljaj! Vdaj se mirno in tiho v voljo nebeškega Očeta. Prosi Boga le milosti, da bi mogel trpljenje lažje prenašati. 

Sv. Gregor pravi, da je večja milost za nas, kadar nas Bog potrjuje v trpljenju, kakor če bi nam odvzel trpljenje. Premisli pa krotkost in ljubezen Jezusovo! 'Nehajte,' je rekel in se dotaknil ušesa hlapca in ga je ozdravil. Tako je Gospod storil dvojni čudež svojim sovražnikom. Čudež svoje vsemogočnosti in svojega usmiljenja....

2. Jezusa zvežejo

1. Farizeji in pa ostali so bili le še bolj zdivjani. 'S hudičem je v zvezi!' so vpili. S čarovnijo, so mislili, da je bilo uho odsekano in z njo zopet ozdravljeno. Kakor stekli volkovi so planili nad Jezusa, to krotko in nedolžno Jagnje, ki ni odprlo svojih ust. Straža pa, stotnik in hlapci Judov so Jezusa zgrabili in zvezali. 

'Oh, kdo ne bo točil solza,' pravi sv. Bernard, 'ko sliši, kako so v tisti uri tolovaji z Njim ravnali, kako so, o predobrotljivi Jezus, zvezali Tvoje nedolžne roke, kako so Tebe, najkrotkejše Jagnje, kakor ubijalca, nesramno peljali v smrt!'

2. Zvezali so Jezusu roke križema na prsih tako trdo, da so mu naenkrat zatekle. Oklenili so mu okrog ledja širok pas, ki je bil nabit z žeblji, in mu roke pritrdili še z bičjem in trtami. Na štirih krajih tega pasu so pa privezali dolge vrvi, s katerimi so Gospoda semtertja pehali in vlekli. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (14)

2. Jezusa zvežejo

Rablji so zvezali Gospoda med sramotenjem farizejev. Postopali so zelo surovo. Bili so pogani najpodlejše vrste. Bili so majhni, močni in gibčni, zagoreli in so bili videti kakor egiptovski sužnji.

Zvezali so mu roke pred prsmi na zelo mučen način, tako da je prišlo zapestje desne roke na levo podlaktnico pod komolcem in desno zapestje pod levi komolec. Imeli so nove vrvi, ki so se ostro zarezale v roke, ker so jih neusmiljeno zategnili. Opasali so mu širok pas z bodicami in pritrdili roke še na vrbove obroče, ki so viseli na pasu. Okrog vratu so mu dali bodičast trak, od katerega sta visela dva jermena na prsi in sta bila zvezana s pasom. Na štirih mestih so pritrdili na pas dolge vrvi, s katerimi so ga vlačili sem in tja, kakor se jim je zahotelo.

'Gospod je zvezan,' zakliče sv. Alfonz Ligvori. 'In zakaj, od koga? Od svojih lastnih stvari. Kaj pravite vi k temu, angeli nebeški!'...

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Poiskal si bom dobrega dušnega pastirja, ali če ga že imam, mu bom izkazoval popolno pokorščino.

IV. POT V JERUZALEM

1. Pot iz Oljske gore

Hudobna množica se začne pomikati, ko so prižgali še več bakel. Naprej gre deset stražnikov, za njimi biriči, ki drže Jezusa zvezanega na vrveh in ga semtertja pehajo. In tedaj so ga vsi učenci zapustili in so zbežali. Nek mladenič pa je hodil za njimi, s platnom ogrnjen, in prijeli so ga. On pa je popustil platno in jim ušel...

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (15)

IV. POT V JERUZALEM

1. Pot iz Oljske gore 

Prižgali so še nekaj bakel in sprevod se je začel pomikati. Na čelu je korakalo deset mož tempeljske straže,  za njimi so vlekli rablji Odrešenika na vrveh, sledili so zmagoslavni farizeji in nazadnje še deset vojakov. Apostoli so tožeč tavali po Oljski gori, le Janez je od daleč sledil sprevodu. Ko so ga farizeji opazili, so veleli vojakom, naj ga primejo. Planili so proti njemu in eden ga je zgrabil pri vratu za potni prt, da mu je ostal v rokah. Janez pa je zbežal. Plašč je bil že prej odložil in tako je imel na sebi samo še lahko spodnje oblačilo brez rokavov.

Rablji so pehali Jezusa in ga trpinčili po mili volji, saj so vedeli, kako s tem ustrežejo prisotnim šestim uradnikom, polnim sovraštva do Jezusa. Držeč ga na napetih vrveh, so ga tirali preko kamenja, zase pa so iskali boljšo pot. V rokah so držali vozlate vrvi ter tepli z njimi Jezusa, kričeč nanj tako prostaške psovke, da se je vse v meni upiralo.

Jezus je bil bos. Razen spodnje obleke je imel na sebi še volneno tkano oblačilo brez šiva in plašč.

2. Jezusa vržejo v potok Cedron

1. Hitro so peljali Jezusa. Prišli so do dolgega mostu čez potok Cedron. Jezus je zaradi neusmiljenega pehanja in suvanja že nekolikokrat padel. Ko pa so prišli na sredo mostu, so Ga vrgli čez most globoko v Cedron in se norčevali, naj se do sitega napije. Jezus pa je padel najprej na kolena, potem pa na obraz. Tu je tedaj ležal; čudno, da se ni ubil. Pil je nekoliko iz potoka, da se je izpolnilo, kar je pisano v Sv. pismu: 'Iz potoka na poti bo On pil.' (Ps. 109,7) Bila pa je to skrivnost; v potok Cedron, ki teče mimo Jeruzalema, so metali namreč Judje smeti in gnusobo; v ta potok je pometal nekdaj kralj Jozija, ko je očiščeval malikovalski tempelj darovanj in oltarjev, prah zdrobljenih malikov. Tako so tedaj vrgli v Cedron tudi Jezusa, ki je vzel nase vso gnusobo sveta, v znamenje, da je spustil vse pregrehe in gnusobo v studenec božjega usmiljenja in potopil v neskončno morje svoje neizmerne ljubezni. Zato, o moja duša, potopi tudi ti vse svoje grehe v dragi Krvi Jezusa Kristua.

2. Biriči so tedaj Jezusa z vrvmi nazaj potegnili in Ga od zadaj vlekli iz globoke grape. Med vpitjem, norčevanjem, kletvami, suvanjem in tepenjem so ga gnali nesrečni zaslepljenci. Njegovo dolgo volneno oblačilo, v vodo pomočeno, se ga je tesno oprijemalo. Ni bila še polnoč. Vlekli so Ga nečloveško čez ostre kamne in groblje po trnju in črepinjah naprej in Ga preklinjali...

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (16)

2. Jezusa porinejo iz mostu v potok 

Hodili so hitro. Ko so prišli do konca poti med obema vrtovoma, so krenili proti mostu, ki je vodil preko cedronskega potoka. Že pred mostom je Jezus zaradi surovega pehanja sem in tja dvakrat padel.

 Sredi mostu so si privoščili novo pobalinstvo; sunili so zvezanega Gospoda v vodo češ, naj se napije. Padel je za višino moža globoko in le božja pomoč ga je obvarovala, da se ni ubil. Padel je na kolena in nato na obraz. Na Oljski gori nisem videla, da bi si bil ugasil žejo, zdaj pa je z muko pil iz potoka. Izpolnila se je psalmistova prerokba: pil bo iz potoka na poti.

Ker je bilo rabljem pretežko, da bi potegnili Gospoda spet na most, so ga z vrvmi vlekli po strugi nazaj in po bregu ven ter ga med preklinjevanjem suvali drugič preko mostu. Dolga volnena obleka se je napila vode in se mu tesno oprijemala telesa ter ga ovirala pri hoji, tako da je onstran mostu zopet padel. Z udarci so ga spravili pokonci in mu med grdim sramotenjem potegnili pri pasu mokro obleko navzgor, da je bila krajša.

Videla sem, kako so neusmiljeno vlekli Gospoda dalje po ostrem kamenju med trnjem in osatom, ga bili in preklinjevaje podili naprej. Kjer je le pot dopuščala, so bili zlobni uradniki vedno v bližini, da so žalili Jezusa in ga suvali ter zbadali s paličicami. Ko so ga vlekli vojaki preko kamenja in trnja, so se posmehovali: 'Tu mu pa njegov predhodnik ni pripravil dobre poti.' In zopet: 'Tu pa ne velja Malahijeva beseda: 'Svojega angela pošljem pred teboj, da ti pripravi pot!' – 'Zakaj ne obudiš Janeza od mrtvih da bi ti izravnal pot?' Izbruhnili so v krohot, kar je vzpodbudilo rablje k novemu trpinčenju.

Čez čas so opazili, da se tu in tam pojavljajo neke postave in jim od daleč slede. Že se je razvedelo, da so Jezusa ujeli in iz Betfage ter iz različnih skrivališč so prišli učenci, da vidijo, kaj je z Učenikom. Sovražnike je zaskrbelo, da bi jih učenci mogli napasti in jim iztrgati jetnika. S klici so dali proti predmestju znamenje, naj pride ojačanje.

In res je prišla skozi najbližja mestna vrata četa petdesetih vojakov, da okrepi spremstvo. Najavili so se razposajeno kričeč, kakor bi čestitali tovarišem za njihov uspeh. Ko so se v siju bakel tako hrupno pozdravljali, sem videla, da se je Malh z nekaterimi vojaki neopazno ločil od čete. Bežali so nazaj proti Oljski gori.

Učenci, ki so se pojavljali v bližini sprevoda, so se zdaj razpršili, ni jih bilo več videti.

Presveto Devico je gnala žalost in strah, da je šla v spremstvu nekaterih pobožnih žena ponovno v dolino Jozafat. Poiskal jih je Lazar z nekaj učenci in jim prinesel poročila o Jezusu. V tem se je začulo vpitje in videli so sij bakel obeh oddelkov, ki sta se strnila. Presveta Devica se je s spremljevalkami obrnila in šla kos poti nazaj, dokler ni bil sprevod mimo, nato pa so se vrnile v hišo Marije Markove.

Krščanska duša, imej usmiljenje z Jezusom! Spremi ga v Jeruzalem, poglej Njegove raztrgane in krvave noge, daruj vse Njegove stopinje, zdihljaje in solze in vse kaplje prelite Krvi, katero je že tukaj točil! Katero srce bi se ne razjokalo, ko vidi Jezusa sredi teh volkov!..

Tudi MAGDALENA GORNIK omenja tako 'železen predpasnik, posut z žeblji' kot tudi padec z mostu. Na veliki petek, 8. aprila jo je angel popeljal v Jezusovo trpljenje, ki ga je kasneje opisala. 'Začutila je, kakor da so ji zvezali roke, okrog vratu pa nadeli železen obroč, na notranji strani obdan z ostrimi žeblji. Okrog ledij je imela opasan železen predpasnik. Od znotraj je bil posut z ostrimi žeblji in ji je segal daleč čez kolena. Med hojo (a ni hodila, marveč je mirno ležala v postelji) jo je boleče udarjal po kolenih. Kasneje je povedala, da je bila ranjena po vsem trebuhu in nogah, predvsem po kolenih. To je potrdilo tudi njeno perilo, ki ga je kasneje slekla. Nato je, ne da bi si mogla kaj odpočiti, prišla do mostu. In že jo je nekdo nenadoma pahnil z mostu v vodo. Padla je na skale in ponovno občutila smrtne bolečine. Angel jo je opomnil, naj misli na trpljenje Kristusa, ki je toliko trpel, čeprav je bil nedolžen ter Bog in človek.

3. Pot skozi Ofel 

1. Prišli so po tej žalostni poti do tistih mestnih vrat, ki drže skozi predmestje Ofel na Sionsko goro, kjer sta bivala Ana in Kajfa, od spodnje strani templja.

2. Ofel je bil z zidovjem obzidan hribček. Tu so stanovali večidel revni ljudje, delavci, ki so nosili v tempelj drva in vodo. Jezus je prej večkrat te uboge ljudi tolažil, učil, jih tudi ozdravljal in jim dajal vbogajme. Zato je imel tu več svojih prijateljev. Ti ljudje so bili pozneje prišteti tudi večidel k prvim kristjanom. Ker so se pa Judje bali, da bi ne oprostili ti dobri ljudje Zveličarja, so zastražili vrata in vsa pota z vojaki. 

3. Zaradi hrupa, ki so ga povzročil vojaki, ki so od vrat sem pridrli, so se prebudili ti prebivalci. Prihiteli so iz svojih hiš na pota in proti vratom in so povpraševali, kaj je. Vojaki so vpili nasproti: Jezus, hudodelnik, vaš krivi prerok, je ujet in Ga peljejo. Veliki duhovnik Mu hoče zabraniti njegovo delo. Na križ bo moral! Jok in stok je naenkrat napolnil vse predmestje. Ubogi ljudje so jokaje letali semtertja, z razprostrtimi rokami na kolena padali, proti nebu klicali in hvalili dobrotljivega Jezusa. Vojaki pa so jih suvali in bili, jih podili nazaj v stanovanja, kleli nad njimi, jih zmerjali in zaničevali. 

Premisli bridkost in bolečine teh dobrih ljudi, in kakor so oni imeli usmiljenje z Jezusom in se niso bali zasramovanja in zaničevanja vojakov, tako žaluj tudi ti s svojim Zveličarjem, in nikar se ne sramuj posnemati Ga, ko bi bil zaradi tega tudi zasramovan in zaničevan.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (17)

3. Jezusa peljejo skozi predmestje Ophel 

Izdajalec je opozoril duhovnike, da so prebivalci mestnega predela Ophel, koder je moral sprevod, večinoma rokodelci, dninarji, reveži, ki so donašali drva in vodo v tempelj in ki jih je Jezus večkrat obdaril, jih tolažil ter učil. Tu je tudi ozdravil ponesrečence, ki jih je bilo zasulo zidovje. Vso to četrt so dali veliki duhovniki zasesti z vojaštvom.

Ob hrupu vojakov so se prebivalci Ophela zbudili in hiteli iz hiš proti mestnim vratom, vprašujoč vojake, kaj se dogaja. Surovo so jih pognali nazaj v stanovanja in se zlobno posmehovali: 'Jezusa, vašega krivega preroka, peljejo zvezanega. Veliki duhovnik bo napravil konec njegovemu rokodelstvu. Na križu bo končal!' Po vsem predelu se je dvignil jok in glasne tožbe. Ubogi ljudje, možje in žene, so begali sem in tja, poklekali in klicali k nebu, spominjajoč se Jezusovih dobrot. Vojščaki pa so jih suvali in bili, da so jih razgnali. Vpili so: 'Tu je dokaz, da je hujskal ljudstvo.' Vendar niso mogli napraviti miru. Preveč nasilno si niso upali nastopiti, da ne bi razjarili ljudstva. Zato so skušali predvsem pot ohraniti prosto.

Sprevod s trpinčenim Odrešenikom se je bližal. Gospod je večkrat padel in videti je bilo, da ne more več naprej. Enega izmed vojakov je premagalo usmiljenje in je rekel: 'Sami vidite, da revež ne more dalje. Če ga hočemo pripeljati živega pred velike duhovne, mu moramo vsaj vrvi na rokah zrahljati, da se bo mogel opreti na roke, če pade!' Ustavili so se in so mu deloma razvezali vrvi. Neki drugi usmiljeni vojak mu je prinesel vode iz bližnjega vodnjaka. Jezus se mu je zahvalil. Rekel mu je nekaj besed o živi vodi, s katero ga bo napojil. To so slišali farizeji in so ga začeli zopet zasmehovati. Rekli so, naj se ne hvalisa in naj ne preklinja. Nikoli več ne bo nikogar napojil. Bilo mi je dano videti, kako sta bila oba sočutna vojaka poplačana z notranjim razsvetljenjem. Spreobrnila sta se še pred Jezusovo smrtjo in sta se pozneje kot učenca pridružila občestvu. Vedela sem njuni prejšnji in poznejši imeni, a sem jih pozabila.

4. Prišli so torej v predmestje Ofel. Jezus je bil že parkrat padel na tla in skoraj ni mogel več naprej. Kakšno zdihovanje in tarnanje je bilo šele sedaj, ko so ugledali ti ubogi ljudje Jezusa zvezanega! Od vseh strani so vreli skupaj. Padali so na kolena in glasno vpili: 'Izpustite tega človeka. Kdo nas bo ozdravljal? Kdo tolažil? Izpustite Ga!'  Ganljiv je bil ta prizor: Jezus ves bled in prepaden, zmedenih las, v mokrem omadeževanem oblačilu, na vrveh, s palicami bit in peljan od predrznih biričev in prevzetnih vojakov skozi predmestje Ofel, med množico zdihujočih in hvaležnih prebivalcev. Iztegovali so za Njim svoje roke oni, katere je On ozdravil, gledali za Njim oni, katerim je dal zopet vid, in jokali so oni, katerim je dal, da so zopet govorili...

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (18)

Prebivalci Ophela so napolnili ozračje s pretresljivimi klici in tožbami, ko so peljali Učenika po njihovih ulicah. Le z največjim naporom so zadrževali vojaki množico mož in žena, ki so pritiskali od vseh strani. Vili so roke, se vrgli na kolena in klicali: 'Izpustite tega človeka! Izpustite nam ga! Kdo nam bo zdaj pomagal? Kdo nas bo zdravil in tolažil? Izpustite nam ga!' Bil je pretresljiv prizor: Jezus bled, spremenjen, pobit od udarcev in padcev, razmršenih las, v mokrem, umazanem oblačilu; vlekli so ga na vrveh, ga suvali s palicami, napol nagi rablji so ga sramotili, prešerni vojaki ga priganjali, naj pohiti skozi navaljujočo hvaležno množico. Ljudje so iztezali za njim roke, katere jim je ozdravil od hromosti; klicali so k njemu z jeziki, ki jim jih je on razvezal; gledali so za njim in jokali z očmi, katerim je on vrnil vid.

5. Tako ženejo Jezusa med vednim zasramovanjem in zaničevanjem skozi Ofel na Sionsko goro. Za njimi dere ljudstvo, a ga zadržujejo s silo nazaj. Le hudobni drhali so  dovolili, da sme uganjati nad Gospodom vsakovrstne hudobije. 

6. Pa še druga žalost je prišla nad prebivalce tega predmestja. Presveta Devica, Mati Marija in druge pobožne žene, gnane od ljubezni do Jezusa, so šle v Cedronovo dolino. Med njimi so bile: Marta, Marija Magdalena, Marija Kleofova, Marija Salome, Marija Markova in še druge. Nekateri prijatelji in te pobožne žene peljejo Mater Jezusovo iz doline Cedron skozi Ofel v hišo Marije Markove, ki je stala tik Sionske gore. Ko so ti dobri ljudje zagledali Mater Jezusovo, je nastal med njimi nov jok in stok, novo pomilovanje in zdihovanje. Vse hoče k Mariji. Vse se žene proti nji, da so jo skoraj nesli po poti. Marija pa je molčala, vsled žalosti in bridkosti.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (19)

Že v dolini Cedron se je pridružila sprevodu vsakovrstna drhal in je sramotila Učenika. Ti so zdaj pomagali zasmehovati in zmerjati dobre prebivalce Ophela.

Ko so imeli ta mestni predel za sabo, so vojaki zadržali ljudi, da niso mogli slediti sprevodu. Nato so krenili proti Hanovi hiši.

4. Marija 

V Ophelu so bili še vsi prestrašeni in žalostni, ko je nov prizor vzbudil njihovo sočutje. Sveta Mati Gospodova je prihajala s spremljevalkami iz doline Jozafat in šla proti hiši Marije Markove. Ko so jo ti dobri ljudje prepoznali, so znova izbruhnili v glasne tožbe in so se drenjali okrog prežalostne Device, tako, da so jo skoraj nosili.

Marija je bila nema v svoji bolesti in tudi, ko je prispela v hišo, ni govorila. Šele, ko je prišel Janez, ga je vprašala, kaj se je zgodilo. Povedal ji je vse, kar je videl, odkar so zapustili dvorano zadnje večerje do trenutka, ko je ušel vojakom. Pozneje je šla Mati Gospodova v Martino hišo na zahodni strani mesta.

In jaz bi ne jokal s teboj, o žalostna Mati Marija, in bi ne imel v tvoji neskončni bridkosti nobenega deleža? O, kakšni zdihljaji so takrat prihajali iz tvojega ljubeznivega srca! O, ti nevesta vseh bolečin, zdaj se izpolnjuje, kar pravi sv. pismo: 'Ti iščeš svojega ženina po mestnih cestah in jeruzalemske hčere so ti pokazale tvojega ženina vsega krvavega.? Češčena bodi, o žalostna Mati, ki si se odpovedala vsej tolažbi, da bi le mene tolažila!

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Storiti hočem vsak dan kaj malega v čast žalostne Matere božje.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (20)

5. Peter in Janez, Juda Iškariot

Peter in Janez sta potem, ko je prišel sprevod v mesto, hitela k nekaterim znancem, ki jih je imel Janez med služabništvom velikega duhovna. Po njihovem posredovanju sta upala priti v sodno dvorano, kjer bodo zasliševali Učenika. Ti Janezovi znanci so bili pisarniški sli. Zdaj so morali tekati po mestu in pozivati člane posvetovalnega odbora k sestanku. Radi bi bili ustregli obema apostoloma. Niso pa si znal drugače pomagati, kakor da so jima ogrnili plašča, kakršne so morali službeno sami nositi. Tako sta res pozneje mogla priti v dvorano. Dostop so namreč imeli samo vojščaki, podkupljene priče in najeta drhal. Vse druge so pognali ven. Velikemu zboru pa sta pripadala tudi Nikodem in Jožef iz Arimateje in še nekaj pravičnih mož. 

V tem času je begal Juda kot blazen zločinec, gnan od satana, po strminah na južni strani mesta.

Tudi Marija AGREDSKA opisuje videnja Jezusove poti z Oljske gore pred duhovnika Hana - Zvezali so Ga v vrtu ter verigam in vrvem dodali nesramne udarce in najbolj prostaške žaljivke; kakor strupene kače so zlonamerno in bogoskrunsko pljuvali svoj božjeropni strup Vanj, ki ga častijo angeli in ljudje in kateri je poveličevan v nebesih in na zemlji. Zapustili so Oljčni vrt z velikim hruščem in truščem ter v svoji sredi stražili Odrešenika. Nekateri izmed njih so Ga med potjo vlekli za sprednje vrvi in drugi so Mu korake zaustavljali z vrvema, ki sta iz okov viseli zadaj. Na takšen način so Ga z nasiljem brez primere na trenutke prisilili, da je naglo tekel naprej in pogosto poskrbeli, da je padel; spet drugič so ga sunkovito povlekli od zadaj; potem so ga spet vlekli na eno in na drugo stran, tako kot je bilo všeč njihovi diabolični muhavosti. Večkrat so ga divje vrgli na tla in ker so bile Njegove roke zvezane zadaj, je padel na tla s svojim svetim obličjem, ki je bilo zaradi tega ostro ranjeno in razmesarjeno. Kadar je padel, so po Njem skakali, ga tolkli in brcali ter hodili po Njegovem telesu, glavi in obrazu. Hkrati z vso to hudobijo so veseljaško vpili in Ga sramotno žalili, kakor je napovedal Jeremija....

549.
Naš Odrešenik se je, skrivajoč svojo moč, ki uničuje Njegove sovražnike, z namenom, da bi bilo naše Odrešenje bolj obilno, uklonil vsem posledicam brezobzirnega besa, ki so ga Lucifer in njegova peklenska vojska razvnemali v Judih. Zvezanega in vklenjenega so ga na poti do Hanove hiše neprestano trpinčili, pred njim pa so ga obtoževali kakor hudodelca, ki zasluži smrt. Navada Judov je bila, da so tako zvezane izročili tiste zločince, ki so zaslužili smrtno kazen; zdaj pa so takšen način uporabili pri Jezusu z namenom, da napovejo Njegovo obsodbo še pred sojenjem. Bogoskrunski duhovnik Hana se je v ponosni in arogantni drži usedel na dvignjen oder oz. tribuno velike dvorane. Nemudoma se je Lucifer z množico svojih hudobnih duhov postavil poleg njega. Služabniki in vojaki so predenj pripeljali zvezanega in vklenjenega Jezusa ter rekli: “Končno smo ti pripeljali tega pokvarjenega Človeka, ki je s svojim čarovništvom in zlobnimi deli vznemirjal ves Jeruzalem in Judejo. Tokrat Mu njegove magične zvijače niso pomagale, da bi ušel našim rokam in naši moči.”...

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (21)

6. Pogled na Jeruzalem v tem času 

Ana in Kajfa so takoj obvestili, da so Jezusa prijeli. In zdaj so bile tam priprave v polnem teku. Sodni dvorani sta bili razsvetljeni in zastraženi. Sli so tekali po vsem mestu, da so sklicevali člane velikega zbora, pismouke in vse, ki so imeli pri razsodbi kakšno besedo. Mnogi pa so ostali pri Kajfu že, odkar je bil Juda tam, da počakajo izida. Sklicali so tudi starešine meščanov. Že nekaj dni so bili zaradi praznika v mestu tudi farizeji, saduceji in herodovci iz vse dežele. Že dolgo so skupaj z velikim zborom kovali načrt, kako bi uničili Jezusa. Veliki duhovnik je imel seznam njihovih imen. V tej noči je dal poklicati k sodni seji mnoge od znanih Jezusovih sovražnikov. Dobili so tudi naročilo, naj zberejo med ljudmi, ki so prišli iz njihovega kraja k prazniku, vse priče in vse dokaze proti Gospodu. Tu so bili zdaj Jezusovi sovražniki iz Nazareta, Kafarnauma in iz vseh drugih krajev, kjer jim je Učenik v njihovo sramoto pred vsem ljudstvom povedal resnico. Bili so polni zagrizene maščevalnosti. Poiskali so med romarji iz svojega kraja ljudi, ki so radi sprejeli denar, da bodo kričali in obtoževali Jezusa. Vsi skupaj pa so imeli pripravljenih le nekaj že tolikokrat pogretih očitnih klevet, ničesar pa, kar bi zares obremenjevalo Jezusa. Te očitke pa je že tolikokrat in tako sijajno zavrnil v njihovih sinagogah!

Drug za drugim so prihajali v Kajfovo sodno palačo farizeji in pismouki iz Jeruzalema s svojimi lažnivimi pričami ter njegovi sovražniki s podeželja s svojimi plačanci. Prihajali so užaljeni prodajalci, ki jih je Gospod nagnal iz templja, naduti učitelji, ki so morali umolkniti pred njegovo besedo. Bil je tu še ta in oni, ki ni mogel odpustiti Jezusu, da ga je kot dvanajstletni deček v templju zavrnil in osramotil. Prišli so nepoboljšlijvi grešniki, katerih ni hotel ozdraviti, pa tudi grešniki, ki so se spet predali grehu in zato ponovno zboleli. Bili so to nečimrni mladeniči, ki jih ni hotel sprejeti med učence; zlobni lakomneži, ki niso mogli preboleti, da je Jezus ozdravil tiste, na katerih dediščino so prežali; ničvredneži, katerih pomočnike je spreobrnil; pohotneži in prešuštniki, katerih priležnice je privedel h krepostnemu življenju; klečeplazci, pripravljeni za vsako grdobijo; premnogi satanovi služabniki, sovražni vsemu, kar je sveto, in zato tudi njemu, Najsvetejšemu. Izmečki človeštva so se zgrinjali od vseh strani, da bodo obtoževali grehov brezmadežno Jagnje, ki pa je vzelo nase grehe sveta.

Medtem, ko se je vsa umazanija judovskega ljudstva pripravljala, da javno umaže Najčistejšega, so bili pobožni in Gospodovi prijatelji vznemirjeni in žalostni. Ker niso prav vedeli, kaj se dogaja, so begali sem in tja, prisluškovali in povpraševali. Zdaj so tarnali in so jih zato odpodili, zdaj so molčali in so jih zato postrani gledali. Slabotnejši so se začeli pohujševati nad Jezusom, v skušnjavi je njihova vera začela omahovati. Trdnih in zvestih je bilo malo. Vedno je bilo in je še danes tako: ljudje hočejo veljati za dobre kristjane, dokler jim je to v čast v njihovem okolju. Takoj pa se sramujejo križa med takimi, ki križa ne vidijo radi.

Priprave za praznik so bile končane. Prenapolnjeno mesto in šotorišča velikonočnih romarjev so se pogrezala v spanje. Vest, da so ujeli Gospoda, pa je spravila pokonci prijatelje in sovražnike.  Sli velikega duhovnika so raznašali po hišah vabila k sodnemu zasedanju. Hiteli so z bakljami po ulicah, ki so v Jeruzalemu temne, kajti hiše imajo okna največ na dvoriščno stran. Vse je drvelo proti Sionu, od koder je odseval soj bakel in prihajal hrup. Tu in tam se je čulo trkanje po vratih, nekdo je klical spečega znanca. Spet drugod so prestrašeni ljudje zapirali hišna vrata s težkimi zapahi ali z drogovi, boječ se nemirov. Iz te in one hiše je stopil človek in izpraševal mimoidoče, kaj se je zgodilo. Mnogi so šli k enako mislečim prijateljem. Slišati je bilo veliko škodoželjnega govorjenja, prav kakor dandanes ob izrednih dogodkih. Na primer. 'Lazar in njegovi sestri bodo zdaj videli, s kom so se sprijateljili! – Ivana Kuza, Suzana, Saloma in vsa njihova druščina bodo zdaj obžalovale svoje početje, a bo malo pozno! - Kako bo kaj Veronika stala pred svojim možem? Kolikokrat ji je branil naj ne hodi za Galilejcem! – Kako so njegovi privrženci pomilovalno gledali na nas! Zdaj ne vedo, kam bi se skrili! – Zdaj ni videti nikogar več, ki bi pogrinjal plašč in pajčolane in stlal palmove veje njegovemu osličku na poti! – Prav se godi tem hinavcem, ki hočejo vedno biti boljši od drugih, da jih zaslišijo, saj so vsi zapleteni v Galilejčevo početje! – Zadeva je pognala korenine globlje, kakor smo menili. Radoveden sem le, kako se bosta izrazila Nikodem in Jožef iz Arimateje. Dolgo jima že več ne zaupajo. Z Lazarjem držita. Zdaj pa pride vse na dan!' Tako so govorili premnogi. Drugi so dostojneje presojali. Največ jih je zadeva preplašila. Eni vzdihujejo sami zase, drugi poiščejo prijatelja, da se pri njem iztožijo. Le malo pa si jih upa glasno in odločno pokazati svoje sočutje.

Največje razburjenje vidim tam, kamor so farizeji poslali svoje sle z vabili k zasedanju, ali kjer so iskali prič. Posebno živo je bilo na križiščih cest, vodečih na Sion. Je, kakor bi bile na različnih mestih vzplamtele iskre sovraštva, se potem združevale in se kot žareč tok zlivale proti Kajfovemu sodnemu dvoru. V nekaterih delih mesta je še bilo mirno, a že se začno prebujati tudi tam.

Rimsko vojaštvo je neprizadeto. Posadke so zgoščene, straže podvojene. Ostro opazujejo vse, kar se dogaja. O velikonočnih praznikih so zaradi velikega navala ljudstva vedno pripravljeni, mirno, a silno čuječi. Ljudje, ki hite po ulicah, se ogibljejo krajev, kjer stoje rimske straže. Zoprno jim je, da bi jih Rimljani s klici ustavljali. – Pilat ne spi. Sprejema poročila in daje ukaze.  Judovski oblastniki so mu že javili, zakaj so dali zasesti predmestje Ophel. Toda Pilat je nezaupljiv. -  Njegova žena počiva. Spi trdno, a nemirno. Vzdihuje in joka kakor v težkih sanjah. Četudi spi, izve veliko več, kakor Pilat, ki bedi.
Svete žene v hiši Marije Markove jokajo in vijejo roke. Od časa do časa zaslišijo trkanje na vrata. Prisluškujejo strahoma, molče, Trkanje je rahlo, plaho. Tako ne trka sovražnik. V strahu odpro. Vstopi prijatelj njihovega Gospoda in Učenika. Obsujejo ga z vprašanji in izvedo le nove bridkosti.

Večina apostolov in Gospodovih učencev blodi po dolinah okrog Jeruzalema, ali se skriva v votlinah Oljske gore. Med sabo se povprašujejo, kaj se godi. Ob vsakem bližajočem se koraku preplašeno utihnejo. Posamezni se od časa do časa približajo mestu. Drugi se tihotapijo v velikonočna šotorišča svojih znancev, da bi tam kaj poizvedeli ali odposlali koga v mesto poizvedovat. Nekateri so se povzpeli na Oljsko goro in od tam sledili siju bakel v mestu ter poslušali vpitje na Sionu. Ne vedo, kako naj si vse to razlagajo in hite spet s hriba, da bi spodaj kakorkoli prišli do jasnosti.

Tišino noči vedno bolj prekinja hrup okrog Kajfove hiše. Vse okrog nje je razsvetljeno z baklami in prižganimi smolnatimi ponvami. Okrog mesta se vse močneje oglašajo tovorne in daritvene živali, ki so jih tujci pripeljali v svoja šotorišča. Ganljivo blejajo nebogljena jagnjeta v noč; jutri bodo v templju zaklana. Eno pa je darovano, ker je samo hotelo. Kakor ovca, ki jo ženejo v klavnico, kot jagnje, ki se da molče striči, ne odpre svojih ust – čisto, brezmadežno velikonočno jagnje Jezus Kristus.

Zunaj pa na južni strani mesta po strminah Hinoma, kjer ni poti, v prekletem kraju, kjer je sama močvara, gnusoba, odpadki, tam bega Juda Iškarijot, razbičan od slabe vesti beži pred lastno senco.

Tisoče hudobnih duhov je spuščenih in naganjajo ljudi v greh. Breme Jagnjeta postaja vse težje. Raste pa tudi satanov besni srd. Jagnje sprejema breme nase. Satan pa hoče greh. In četudi Pravični ne pade, ne greši, naj poginejo vsaj njegovi sovražniki v svojih pregrehah.

Angeli pa kolebajo med žalostjo in veseljem. Pred božjim prestolom bi radi prosili, da bi smeli pomagati. A ne morejo drugega, kakor da začudeni molijo čudež božje pravičnosti in usmiljenja, ki se dogaja na zemlji.

Vse to je le nekaj malo vtisov, ki jih je obdržalo ubogo, grešno srce. Bilo je tako polno strahu in kesanja, tolažbe in sočutja, da bi skoraj počilo. V premišljevanju se je obrnilo, kakor bi iskalo pomoči, od grozovitosti okrog ujetega Odrešenika. Bila je najresnejša od vseh polnoči, ura, ko sta se srečali pravičnost in usmiljenje in se spojili. Saj se je začenjalo najsvetejše dejanje božje in človeške ljubezni, ko bo trpljenje Boga-človeka zadostilo za grehe sveta. – Tako je bilo v mestu, ko so peljali našega Gospoda pred Hana.

***Poglavje o Jezusovem sojenju pred Hanom in Kajfom ter ko Peter zataji Jezusa, je v obdelavi in bo objavljeno naknadno. 

Po sodbi v Kajfovi sodni palači so Jezusa peljali v ječo, ki je bila pod Kajfovo hišo, kjer je čakal sodbo, ki je bila objavljena zjutraj.

V. JEZUS V JEČI 

1. Ječa pod sodno Kajfovo hišo, v kateri je bil Jezus zaprt, je bila majhna in okroglo zidana. Tu sem so pripeljali Jezusa, ko so Mu vnovič roke zvezali. Ko je Gospod v to ječo vstopil, je molil k svojemu nebeškemu Očetu, naj bi On vsa ta zaničevanja in zasramovanja, ki jih je do zdaj pretrpel in jih bo še moral trpeti, sprejel v spravni dar za te svoje sovražnike in za vse tiste ljudi, ki bi se kdaj v enakem trpljenju z nevoljo ali jezo kaj pregrešili.

2. Tudi tu mu biriči niso dali pokoja. V sredi te ječe so ga privezali na nizek steber, in niso Mu dovolili, da se samo nasloni nanj, tako da je na svojih utrujeni, od udarcev verige, katera Mu je segala do kolen, ranjenih in zateklih nogah taval sem ter tja. Dva biriča sta bila vedno pri njem, ki sta se z drugimi v kratkem času vrstila. In ti niso nehali hudo z Njim ravnati. Oh, to se ne da popisati, kaj vse so z Njim počeli! V tej ječi je Jezus stoje vedno molil zanje, ki so Ga nadlegovali. Slednjič pa, ko so se vsi utrudili in umirili, se je Jezus nekoliko na steber naslonil. In napočil je dan: dan neskončnega trpljenja in zadoščenja: dan našega odrešenja zablišči in boječe gleda skozi majhno votlino na zgornjem zidu ječe na naše sveto velikonočno Jagnje, ki je vse grehe sveta nase vzelo; in Jezus je povzdignil svoje vklenjene roke proti jutranji zarji in je svojega nebeškega Očeta zahvalil za ta dan, po katerem so stari očaki že davno zdihovali, po katerem je On sam že hrepenel; za dan, v katerem ima dovršiti namen svojega življenja – v naše zveličanje, ki ima odkleniti nebesa, premagati pekel, odpreti nam studenec milosti in dopolniti voljo nebeškega Očeta! Oh, kako milo je pozdravil ta dan! Neizrečeno žalosten, ljubezniv, resnoben in svet je bil, ko je prve žarke tega velikega darovalnega dne hvaležno pozdravil. Bilo je, kakor bi prišel prvi žarek tega dneva k Njemu, kakor pride krvavi sodnik k v smrt obsojenemu v ječo, da bi se prej še z njim spravil; in on se mu ljubeznivo zahvali. Jezus je bil nekaj čez uro v tej ječi.

Premisli zdaj, moja duša, nedoumljivo trpljenje Jezusovo v tej ječi! Ali se ti nič ne smili? Oh, kako pač sramotno je za nas, da o neskončnem mučenju, katerega je Jezus nedolžno za nas hotel trpeti, iz mehkužnosti še ne slišimo radi! Kako je? Ali te nič ne pretrese kakor morilca, ko bi moral svojo roko na rane umorjenega položiti? Oh, preudari: Jezus je toliko trpel in ni odprl svojih ust. Bili so grešniki, ki so divjali nad svojim bratom, nad svojim Zveličarjem, nad svojim Bogom. Tudi ti si divjal, ubogi grešnik; tudi zavoljo tebe je bilo to trpljenje. Na sodni dan bo vse odkrito; takrat bomo vsi videli, koliko se je vsak izmed nas udeležil strašnega trpljenja božjega Sina s svojimi grehi, ki jih še vedno ponavljamo in ravno s tem nekako privolimo ali pa pomagamo satanski drhali trpinčiti Jezusa. Oh, ko bi mi prav premislili, bi veliko bolj srčno molili tiste besede kesanja: 'Gospod, raje umreti, kakor Tebe še s kakim grehom žaliti!?

Tudi Marija iz Agrede opisuje JEZUSOVO TRPLJENJE V JEČI 

Marija AGREDSKA

POGLAVJE XVII
TRPLJENJE NAŠEGA ODREŠENIKA JEZUSA KRISTUSA OD TAKRAT, KO GA JE PETER ZATAJIL, PA DO JUTRA TER VELIKA ŽALOST NJEGOVE PRESVETE MATERE

572.
Sveti Evangelisti ne povedo, kaj in kje je Odrešenik trpel po trpinčenju v Kajfovi hiši in potem, ko ga je sveti Peter zatajil. Vsi pa nadaljujejo pripoved dogodkov, ko povedo, da se je zjutraj zbral véliki zbor z namenom, da Ga izročijo Pilatu, kakor bo povedano v naslednjem poglavju. Nekaj dvomov sem imela o tem, ali je primerno govoriti o tem vmesnem času in o tem, ali naj razkrijem to, kar mi je bilo razodeto v zvezi s tem: sporočeno mi je bilo namreč, da v tem življenju vsega ne moremo vedeti, niti ni primerno, da bi vse bilo razodeto vsem ljudem. Na dan sodbe bodo ti in mnogi drugi zakramenti življenja in Pasijona našega Gospoda naznanjeni vsemu svetu. Ne morem najti besed, da bi opisala to, kar sicer lahko razodenem: ne najdem ustreznih izrazov, da bi izrazila svoje predstave in še veliko manj, da bi izrazila sámo resničnost; vse je neizrekljivo in presega moje zmožnosti. Toda z namenom, da izpolnim, kar mi je bilo zapovedano, bom povedala, kar zmorem, da si ne nakopljem krivde za prikrivanje resnice, katera očitno graja in spravlja v zadrego našo nečimrnost in pozabljivost. V navzočnosti Nebes priznavam svojo lastno trdoto srca, ker ne umrem od žalosti in sramote, ker sem zagrešila tako velike grehe, ki jih je za tako visoko ceno plačal moj Bog, Začetnik mojega življenja in obstoja. Ne moremo prezreti zla in teže greha, ki je tako izmaličil Začetnika milosti in slave. Bila bi najbolj nehvaležna med tistimi, ki jih je rodila žena, če sedaj ne bi sovražila greha bolj kakor smrt in prav toliko kot celo demona in ne morem drugače kakor povedati in zatrditi, da je to prav tako dolžnost vseh otrok svete katoliške Cerkve.

573.
Trpinčenje, ki ga je bil Gospod deležen v Kajfovi prisotnosti, je precej zadovoljilo gnev tega vélikega duhovnika in vseh njegovih privržencev in pomočnikov, a ga nikakor ni potešilo. Ker je bilo že čez polnoč, se je celotni zbor teh pokvarjenih mož odločil, da Odrešenika skrbno zastražijo in zaprejo do jutra, da ne bi pobegnil, medtem ko bodo spali. Zato so naročili, da ga zvezanega, kot je bil, zaklenejo v eno od podzemnih ječ, v jetniško celico, ki je bila prihranjena za največje razbojnike in zločince v državi. Komaj kaj svetlobe je prodiralo v to ječo, da razprši njeno temo. Bila je tako polna umazanije in smradu, da bi osmradila celotno hišo, če ne bi bila tako oddaljena in tako dobro zapahnjena; ni bila namreč počiščena že mnogo let, zato ker je bila tako globoko spodaj in zato, da se poniža zločince, ki so bili zaprti vanjo; nikomur se namreč ni zdelo vredno urediti jo bolj primerno kot le za divje zveri, nevredne vsakršne človeške dobrote.

574.
Ukaz zbora hudobije je bil izvršen; služabniki so Stvarnika nebes in zemlje odvlekli do tiste umazane in podzemne ječe, da Ga tja zaprejo. Ker je bil Gospod še vedno zvezan z okovjem, s katerim so Ga vklenili v vrtu, so ti pokvarjeni možje nad Njim vršili vso besno krutost, katero je v njih vzbujal vladar teme; za vrvi so Ga namreč vlekli naprej, da je nečloveško padel ter Ga zasuli z brcami in suvanjem sredi bogokletnega preklinjanja. V enem kotu podzemne jame je iz tal štrlel kos skale oz. bloka, kateri zaradi svoje trdote ni bil odrezan stran. K temu bloku, ki je izgledal kakor kos stebra, so sedaj s konci vrvi privezali in priklenili Gospoda Jezusa in to na najbolj neusmiljen način. Prisilili so Ga, da je stopil tja in Ga h kamnu pričvrstili v sklonjenem položaju, da se tako ni mogel ne usesti ne stati, da bi počíl, prisilili so Ga, da je ostal v najbolj bolečem in mučnem položaju. Takšnega so pustili privezanega za skalo, vrata ječe zaklenili s ključem in ga dali na skrb enemu najbolj zlonamernih v svoji sredi.

575.
A peklenski zmaj v svoji starodavni ošabnosti ni počival. V želji, da bi ugotovil, kdo je ta Kristus in da bi premagal njegovo hladnokrvno potrpežljivost, si je izmislil nov načrt, k izvršitvi katerega je spodbodel ječarja in nekatere druge služabnike. Navdihnil je tistega, ki je imel ključ do Božjega Zaklada, največjega v nebesih in na zemlji, k ideji, da povabi nekaj svojih enako zlohotnih tovarišev, da se spustijo v ječo in se za nekaj časa pozabavajo z Gospodarjem življenja tako, da Ga prisilijo, da prerokuje ali naredi kakšno drugo nenavadno ali nepoznano stvar; kajti verjeli so, da je vedeževalec ali čarovnik. Nagovorjen s to diabolično sugestijo je pozval nekaj vojakov in služabnikov, kateri so se takoj strinjali. Ko so razpravljali o tej zadevi, so množice angelov, ki so spremljale Odrešenika pri Njegovem Pasijonu in so Ga videle tako boleče zvezanega na tako neprimernem in umazanem kraju, pred Njim padle na obraz in Ga častile kakor svojega resničnega Boga in Gospodarja ter Mu izkazovale toliko več spoštovanja in čaščenja, kolikor bolj so občudovale ljubezen, katera Ga je nagnila, da se je zavoljo človeštva podvrgel takšnemu poniževanju. Peli so Mu nekatere hvalnice in slavospeve, ki jih je Njemu v čast sestavila Njegova lastna Mati, kakor sem že prej navedla. Vse te množice angelskih duhov so Ga v imenu te iste Gospe rotile, da zaradi tega, ker svoji lastni vsemogočni moči ni dovolil, da bi Njegovi človeškosti lajšala trpljenje, njim dovoli, da Mu snamejo okove in Ga osvobodijo te mučne drže ter Ga branijo pred tisto hordo služabnikov, ki so jo demoni zdaj naščuvali, da Ga zasuje z novimi žalitvami.

576.
Gospod angelom ni dovolil, da Mu na takšen način izkažejo pokorščino in jim je rekel: “Duhovi, ki služite Mojemu večnemu Očetu, v tem trenutku ne želim sprejeti nobenega lajšanje svojih bolečin in želim prestati ta mučenja in sramotenja z namenom, da nasitim svojo gorečo ljubezen do ljudi in da zapustim Mojim izvoljenim prijateljem ta zgled, da ga bodo posnemali in jim bo v uteho v trpljenju; z namenom, da bodo vsi lahko prav cenili zaklade milosti, ki jih po svojih bolečinah zanje pridobivam v velikem obilju. Hkrati želim upravičiti svoj namen, tako da bodo na dan Moje jeze vsi lahko spoznali, kako po pravici bodo prekleti obsojeni zaradi preziranja najbolj grenkih bolečin, po katerih sem jih želel rešiti. Povejte Moji Materi, naj se v tej bridkosti potolaži, kajti dan počitka in veselja bo prišel. Naj Me sedaj spremlja v Mojih delih in trpljenju za ljudi, kajti njeno ljubeče sočutje in vse njena dela Mi prinašajo veliko radost in veselje.” Tedaj so sveti angeli odšli k svoji vzvišeni Kraljici in Gospe ter jo potolažili s tem sporočilom, čeprav je ona že na drugačen način poznala to voljo svojega Božjega Sina in vse, kar se je zgodilo v Kajfovi hiši. Ko je zaznala novo brezsrčnost, s katero so bili zapustili Kristusa Gospoda, zvezanega v tako boleči in težki drži, je na svojem najčistejšem telesu občutila iste bolečine; tako, kakor je občutila tiste od udarcev in okov ter druga sramotenja, ki so jih naložili Stvarniku življenja. Vse Gospodove bolečine so čudežno vplivale na deviško telo te najbolj vdane Golobice; iste bolečine so legle na Sina in Mater in isti meč je prebodel obe njuni srci; samo s to razliko, da je Kristus trpel kakor Bogčlovek in edini Odrešenik človeštva, medtem ko je Marija trpela kakor ustvarjeno bitje in kakor zvesta pomočnica svojega najsvetejšega Sina.

577.
Ko je blagoslovljena Kraljica spoznala, da bo tej trumi podlih nizkotnežev, ki jih je nahujskal hudič, dovoljeno vstopiti v podzemno ječo, je grenko jokala zaradi tega, kar naj bi se zgodilo. Sluteč zlonamerne nakane Luciferja se je pripravila, da uporabi svojo vrhovno oblast in prepreči izvršitev kakršnih koli namer nad Kristusovo osebo, ki bi vsebovale nespodobnost, kakor se je zmaj trudil napeljati tiste nesrečne ljudi, da bi jih izvršili. Kajti čeprav je bilo vse, kar so naredili, najbolj neprimerno in nespoštljivo v oziru do Njega, pa so vendar bile žalitve, ki bi bile še bolj nedostojne in s katerimi demon do sedaj ni uspel in je želel z njimi zdaj preizkusiti Gospodovo krotko potrpljenje. Tako odlična in izredna, čudovita in herojska so bila dela Gospe v tem času in v času celotnega Pasijona, da jih ne bi bilo mogoče primerno navesti oz. povzdigniti, tudi če bi bilo popisanih mnogo knjig samo za ta edini namen; in ker se jih v tem življenju ne da opisati, moramo njihovo polno razodetje prepustiti blaženemu gledanju.

578.
Služabniki zla so torej vdrli v ječo in se bogokletno veselili pričakovane zabave žalitev in zasmehovanja, katero so si obetali na račun Gospoda vsega stvarstva. Ko so se Mu približali, so Ga v neizrekljivem in ponižujočem posmehu začeli oskrunjati s svojimi ostudnimi pljunki ter dežjem udarcev in klofut. Gospod ni odprl svojih ust ali se kakorkoli odzval; ni dvignil svojih Božjih oči in ni izgubil svoje ponižne vedrine na svojem obličju. Svetoskrunski zabavljači so Ga hoteli pripraviti do tega, da bi izrekel ali naredil kaj neumnega ali nenavadnega, da bi se kot čarovnik osmešil; in ker so morali biti priče Njegovi nespremenljivi krotkosti, so si dovolili, da so jih demoni še bolj razdražili. Odvezali so Božjega Učitelja od kamnitega bloka in Ga postavili na sredino ječe, istočasno so Mu s cunjo zavezali oči; potem so začeli prihajati eden za drugim in Ga tolkli s pestmi, udarjali po obrazu ali Ga brcali, pri tem je vsak poskušal prekositi tistega pred seboj v silovitosti svoje bogoskrunske krutosti, govoreč Mu, naj prerokuje, kdo Ga je udaril. To svetoskrunsko ravnanje služabnikov se je nadaljevalo in trajalo celo dlje kakor pred Hanovim tribunalom¹, o katerem pišejo sveti Matej (26,67), sveti Marko (14,65) ter sveti Luka (22,64) in le bežno omenijo vse, kar je sledilo.

¹sodišče

579.
Najbolj krotko Jagnje je molče prenašalo to poplavo žalitev in bogokletja. Lucifer, ki ga je mučilo silno hotenje, da bi v Njem videl znamenje nepotrpežljivosti, je pobesnel zaradi mirnosti, s katero je Odrešenik vse to prenašal. Zato je vse tiste služabnike in svoje prijatelje navdihnil z načrtom, da bi Gospoda oropali vseh Njegovih oblačil in nadaljevali s svojimi grdimi ravnanji v skladu s sugestijami, kakršne si lahko izmisli le gnusen demon. Brez oklevanja so pristali na ta novi vzgib in se lotili izvrševanja. Toda najbolj čuječo Gospo je ta gnusni poskus ganil do najbolj žalostnih molitev ter vzdihov in posegla je vmes s svojo močjo Kraljice. Prosila je večnega Očeta, da umakne svoje dopuščanje podrejenim oz. ustvarjenim stvarem, da bi naredile kaj takšnega ter je zapovedala sposobnostim teh služabnikov, da ne izvedejo svojih naravnih funkcij. Tako se je zgodilo, da nobeden od teh brutalnežev ni mogel izvršiti nespodobnosti, na katere jih je napeljal demon oz. njihova lastna zloba. Na nekatere od teh sugestij so takoj pozabili in drugih niso mogli izvršiti, ker so njihovi udje postali kakor zamrznjeni oz. paralizirani, dokler spet niso spremenili svojih namer. Kakor hitro so odnehali, so jim bile v ude povrnjene prvotne moči, kajti to ni bilo izvršeno kot kazen, ampak le z namenom, da jim prepreči izvedbo kakršnih koli nespodobnosti. Bili pa so popolnoma svobodni, da počnejo tiste krutosti oz. si privoščijo tiste nespoštljivosti, katere niso bile tako nespodobne oz. jih je Gospod dovolil.

580.
Mogočna Kraljica je demonom tudi zapovedala, naj molčijo in jim prepovedala izvršitev nespodobnih namenov Luciferja, njihovega vodje. S tem ukazom mogočne Gospe je zmaj popolnoma izgubil svojo moč v tistih stvareh, katere je Marija želela prepovedati. Niti ni mogel dalje dražiti nespametne jeze tistih izprijenih mož, niti niso oni mogli iti s svojimi nespodobnostmi dlje, kot je dovolila Ona. A medtem, ko so v sebi izkušali čudovite in nenavadne posledice njenih ukazov, pa niso bili vredni, da bi se jim odprle oči oz. bi prepoznali Božjo moč, čeprav so tako videli, da so bili izmenično paralizirani in nenadno spet okrepljeni do svojih polnih moči. Oni so to pripisovali samo čarovništvu in magiji Učitelja resnice. V svoji diabolični zaslepljenosti so nadaljevali s svojimi žaljivimi zasmehovanji in mučenji Kristusove osebe, dokler niso opazili, da se je noč že zelo pomaknila naprej; spet so Ga privezali k stebru in Ga pustili tako zvezanega ter skupaj z vsemi demoni odšli. Božja Modrost je odredila, da oblast blagoslovljene Matere varuje dostojnost in spodobnost, ki pritiče osebi njenega prečistega Sina, pred neprimernimi nameni Luciferja in njegovih služabnikov.

581
Ponovno je bil Odrešenik v ječi sam, obkrožen z angelskimi duhovi, kateri so bili polni občudovanja Gospodovih del in Njegovih skrivnih sodb v tem, kar je želel pretrpeti. Častili so Ga v najglobljem spoštovanju in poveličevali Njegovo sveto Ime v vzvišenem slavljenju. Odrešenik sveta se je obrnil na svojega Večnega Očeta z dolgo molitvijo za otroke evangeljske Cerkve, za razširitev svete vere in za Apostole, še posebno za svetega Petra, ki je v tem času objokoval svoj greh. Molil je tudi za tiste, ki so mu zadajali rane in Ga mučili; predvsem pa je v svojo molitev vključil svojo najsvetejšo Mater in vse tiste, ki bodo v posnemanju Njega na tem svetu trpeli in bodo preganjani. Hkrati je za te namene daroval svoje Trpljenje in svojo prihajajočo Smrt. Njegova zelo žalostna Mati se Mu je v teh molitvah pridružila ter darovala iste prošnje za otroke Cerkve in za njene sovražnike brez kakršnih koli nagibov jeze, užaljenosti ali odpora do njih. Le zoper demona je bila razburjena, kajti bil je popolnoma nezmožen sočutja zaradi njegove nepopravljive trdovratnosti. V žalostnih tožbah je nagovorila Gospoda, rekoč:

582.
“Božanska Ljubezen moje duše, moj Sin in Gospod, Ti si vreden, da te spoštujejo, častijo in slavijo vsa bitja, kajti Ti si podoba večnega Očeta in si enega bistva z Očetom (Heb 1,3), neskončen v svojem bivanju in v svojih popolnostih. Ti si začetek vse svetosti (Raz 1,8). Toda, če naj Ti vsa bitja služijo v popolni pokornosti, zakaj potem zdaj, moj Gospod in moj Bog, prezirajo, sramotijo, žalijo in trpinčijo Tvojo Osebo, ki je vredna najvišjega slavljenja in čaščenja? Zakaj se je sovraštvo ljudi dvignilo tako visoko? Zakaj si je ošabnost drznila dvigniti se celo nad nebesa? Kako lahko zavist postane tako močna? Ti si edino in jasno Sonce pravice, ki razsvetljuje in prežene temo greha (Jn 1,9). Ti si izvir milosti, ki svojih vodá ne zadržuje pred nikomer. Ti si Tisti, ki v svoji obilni ljubezni daješ bivanje in življenje vsem, ki bivajo na tej zemlji in vse stvari so odvisne od Tebe, medtem ko Ti ne potrebuješ ničesar. (Apd 17,28) Kaj so torej videli v Tvojih delih, kaj so našli v Tvojem Trpljenju, da tako grdo ravnajo s teboj. O, najostudnejša zloba greha, ki je tako izmaličila nebeško lepoto in zastrla luč Tvojega obličja! O kruti greh, ki tako neusmiljeno preganjaš Popravljavca vseh tvojih zlih posledic! Toda razumem, moj Sin in Učitelj, razumem da si Ti Graditelj resnične ljubezni, Začetnik človekovega zveličanja, Učitelj in Gospod kreposti: Sam želiš izvršiti to, kar učiš svoje ponižne učence. Ti želiš ponižati napuh, osramotiti ošabnost in postati zgled večnega zveličanja vsem. In če Ti hrepeniš po tem, da vsi posnemajo Tvojo neizrekljivo potrpežljivost in dobroto, potem je to moja dolžnost pred vsemi drugimi, ker sem Ti dala materijo in Te oblekla v to telo, ki je zdaj podvrženo trpljenju, ranjeno, popljuvano in udarjeno. Oh, ko bi sama lahko trpela te bolečine in bi bilo Tebi, moj nedolžni Sin, prizaneseno! In ker to ni mogoče, naj trpim s Teboj do smrti. Vi, o nebeški duhovi, ki, polni čudenja nad veliko potrpežljivostjo mojega Sina, priznavate Njegovo nespremenljivo Božanstvo in nedolžnost ter popolnost Njegove človeške osebe, poskušajte zadostiti za te rane in bogokletja, s katerimi ga obsipavajo ljudje. Dajte Mu slavo in poveličevanje, modrost, čast, hvalo in oblast. (Raz 5,12) Povabite nebesni svod, planete in zvezde ter prvine stvarstva, da Ga priznajo in poglejte, če je še kje žalost, ki je moji enaka!”. Takšni in še mnogi drugi so bili žalostni vzdihi najčistejše Gospe, ko je tožila v grenkobi svojega gorja in bolečine.

583.
Brez primere je bila potrpežljivost nebeške Kraljice v Smrti in Trpljenju njenega ljubljenega Sina in Gospoda; tako da se ji vse, kar je trpela, ni zdelo veliko, niti se ji njene žalosti niso zdele enakovredne tistim, ki jih je zahtevalo njeno sočutje, katero se je merilo le z ljubeznijo in dostojanstvom njenega Sina in veličino Njegovih muk. Niti o nobeni od ran in žalitev zoper Gospoda ni razmišljala na način, da so zagrešene proti njej sami. Ni premišljevala o deležu, ki ga je sama imela v njih, čeprav je od vsega tega tako zelo trpela: objokovala jih je le toliko, kolikor so prizadele Božjo Osebo in povzročile škodo napadalcem. Za vse te je molila, da bi jim Najvišji odpustil in jim odobril rešenje iz zla greha in razsvetljenje, da bi dosegli sadove Odrešenja.

POUK, KI GA JE DALA KRALJICA NEBES, PRESVETA MARIJA

584.
Moja hčerka, pisano je v svetih evangelijih, da je večni Oče dal svojemu in mojemu edinemu Sinu oblast, da poslednji dan, dan vesoljne sodbe, sodi in obsodi zakrknjene. To je bilo zelo primerno, da bodo ne le vsi grešniki videli svojega Sodnika, ki jim bo izrekel sodbo v skladu z najbolj pravično Božjo voljo, ampak tudi, da bodo lahko videli in prepoznali Njegovo človeško osebo, po kateri so bili odrešeni in bodo v njej soočeni z mukami in ranami, ki jih je pretrpela z namenom, da jih reši pred večnim pogubljenjem. Isti Sodnik in Gospod, kateri jih bo sodil, bo tudi izrekel obtožbo. Ker ne morejo odgovoriti ali zadostiti za zločine, za katere jih On obtožuje, bo njihova zadrega le začetek večnih muk, katere si zaslužijo s svojo trdovratno nehvaležnostjo; kajti takrat bo vsemu svetu postala jasna veličina Njegovega najbolj usmiljenega in ljubeznivega Odrešenja in upravičenost njihovega pogubljenja. Velika je bila žalost, najbolj grenka bolečina mojega najsvetejšega Sina, da ne bodo vsi izkoristili sadov Njegovega Odrešenja. Ta ista misel je tudi prebodla moje srce in silno pridodala k žalosti, ko sem gledala, kako Nanj pljuvajo, Ga tepejo in preklinjajo veliko bolj kruto, kot sploh lahko razume živeči človek. A jaz sem jasno razumela vse te bolečine in sem jih razumela tako, kot jih je potrebno razumeti; zato je bila moja žalost velika skladno s tem spoznanjem, tako kot je bilo tudi moje čaščenje in ljubezen do osebe Kristusa, mojega Sina in Gospoda. Poleg te žalosti pa je bila moja največja žalost spoznanje, da se bo po vseh teh Gospodovih smrtnih mukah tako veliko ljudi še vedno pogubilo, celo ko bodo imeli na dosegu roke neskončne zaklade milosti.

585.
Želim, da me posnemaš in mi slediš v tej žalosti ter objokuješ to strašno nesrečo; kajti med vsemi izgubami, ki jih morajo ljudje pretrpeti, ni nobene, ki si zasluži tolikšno obžalovanje, niti se nobena nikoli ne more primerjati z njo. Moj Sin in jaz s posebno ljubeznijo gledava na tiste, ki posnemajo to žalost in se žalostijo zaradi pogubljenja tolikih duš. Prizadevaj si, moja najdražja, da se odlikuješ v tej službi in nadaljuj z molitvijo: kajti komaj si lahko predstavljaš, kako sprejemljive so takšne molitve pri Vsemogočnem. A zapomni si Njegovo obljubo, da tisti, ki prosijo, bodo prejeli (Lk 11,9) in da se bodo tistim, ki trkajo, vrata Njegovih neskončnih zakladov odprla. Z namenom, da boš imela v zameno kaj darovati, si zapiši v svoje srce, kar je moj najsvetejši Sin in tvoj Ženin pretrpel po rokah tistih hudobnih in pokvarjenih ljudi ter nepremagljivo potrpežljivost, krotkost in molk, s katerimi se je podvrgel njihovim pokvarjenim muhavostim. Po tem zgledu se od zdaj naprej trúdi, da nobena nevolja, niti kakšna druga jeza Adamove hčere ne bo imela oblasti nad teboj. Naj bosta notranja in vedno prisotna bojazen pred napuhom in strah pred tem, da bi prizadela bližnjega, vsajena v tvoje srce. Vneto prosi Gospoda za potrpežljivost, krotkost in miroljubnost in za ljubezen do trpljenja in Kristusovega Križa. Objemi ta Križ s pobožno vdanostjo in sledi Kristusu, svojemu Ženinu, da bo na koncu On tvoja dediščina (Mt 16,24).

***Poglavje o Kajfovi sodbi, Jezusovem sojenju pred Pilatom, Herodom in zopet pred Pilatom,  je v obdelavi in bo objavljeno naknadno. 

Pilat je dal Jezusa bičati, da bi tako vzbudil usmiljenje pri Judih in da bi ga izpustil, saj ga ni želel obsoditi. 

VI. JEZUSOVO BIČANJE

1. Jezusa bičajo

1. Pilat, ta zaničljivi in omahljivi sodnik, je večkrat izrekel krivične besede: 'Nič hudega ne najdem na Njem, pretepel Ga bom in Ga izpustil.' Judje pa so neprestano vpili: 'Križaj Ga! Križaj Ga! Pilat je hotel še nekoliko premisliti, zato je ukazal Jezusa bičati. Biriči so tedaj peljali Jezusa, razbitega, zaničevanega, zapljuvanega suvaje in pehaje skozi zdivjano ljudstvo tja na veliki trg, iz Pilatove hiše proti veliki straži, do stebra bičanja, ki je stal tu na trgu pred nekim hodnikom.

2. Rabljevi hlapci so prihrumeli z biči, šibami in vrvmi ter so pometali vse to orodje pred steber k Jezusovim nogam. Bilo jih je šest: rjavi, zagoreli ljudje, manjši kakor Jezus, zmršenih las. Bili so morilci iz egiptovskih pokrajin, sužnji in kaznjenci, ki so težka dela opravljali in večidel zidali. Rabili so za to najhudobnejše, najzaničljivejše izmed sužnjev v sodni hiši. Ti grdi, neusmiljeni ljudje so že marsikaterega grešnika pretepli pri tem stebru do smrti. Jezno so bili Gospoda, dasiravno je rad šel, in z divjo srditostjo so Ga vlekli k stebru  bičanja. Steber  je bil kake štiri pedi visok in obdan z železnim obročem. Jezusa je obšla groza in tresel se je pred stebrom. Sam je odpel v naglosti svoja oblačila s svojimi zateklimi, krvavimi rokami, katera so Mu drugi kar trgali in Ga suvali. Molil je in zdihoval. Oh, tako milo. Sramoval se je, tako se sleči. Pa je s tem hotel zadostiti za našo nesramežljivost. Marija pa, bolečin vsa prevzeta, ki je stala s svetimi ženami v kotu trga, se je pri tem proč obrnila in omedlela v naročju svetih, zraven nje stoječih žena.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (22)

VI. JEZUSOVO BIČANJE    

1. Bičanje

Pilat, omahljivi sodnik, je ponovno izjavil krivično razsodbo: 'Nobene krivde ne najdem na njem. Dal ga bom torej bičati in nato izpustiti.' Judje so še kričali, zahtevajoč, da ga obsodi na križ. Pilat je poskušal uveljaviti svojo voljo in je izdal povelje, da Jezusa bičajo po rimskem načinu.

Rablji so peljali Jezusa skozi podivjano množico do stebra za bičanje. Stal je pred eno izmed lop, ki so obdajale trg. Prišli so njihovi hlapci z biči, šibami in vrvmi. Vse to so vrgli ob stebru na tla. Bilo jih je šest. Vsi so bili rjave polti, nizke rasti, skodranih las; brada jim je bila redka, kocinasta. Na sebi so imeli le opasico okrog ledij in kos usnja jim je kot škapulir pokrival gornji del telesa. Bili so zločinci iz Egipta. Delali so tu pri gradnjah in odtočnih napravah. Najzlobnejše in najbolj zavržene izmed njih so porabili tudi za rabeljske posle.

Ti grozoviteži so ob stebru bičanja že marsikaterega ubogega grešnika pretepli do smrti. Nekaj živalskega, satanskega je bilo na njih. Bili so napol pijani. Bili so Gospoda, ki je vendar šel čisto voljan, s pestmi in z  vrvmi in ga vlekli z divjo jezo k stebru. Ta ni stal tam kot opornik, ampak prosto. Bil je tako visok, da bi mu velik mož z iztegnjenimi rokami segel do vrha. Zgoraj je bil zaobljen in tam je bil pritrjen železen obroč. Tudi na zadnji strani so bili obroči in kavlji. Nemogoče je opisati, kako surovo so ti divjaki ravnali z Gospodom na tej kratki poti. Strgali so mu s telesa belo norčevsko haljo, pri čemer so ga skoraj podrli na tla. Brž je sam slekel svoja oblačila z zateklimi in krvavimi rokami. Ves čas so ga pehali in vlačili sem in tja. On pa je molil. Za hip se je ozrl na svojo žalostno mater, ki je z drugimi svetimi ženami stala v kotu nedaleč od stebra, in rekel: 'Odvrni oči od mene!'. Ne vem, ali je to izgovoril z besedami ali samo notranje. Videla sem, da ga je Marija razumela, ker se je takoj obrnila stran.

3. Jezus je tedaj objel steber, biriči pa so privezali med strašnim preklinjanjem in pehanjem Njegove svete roke na stebrov železni obroč. Najsvetejši vseh svetih je bil nag v neskončni bridkosti in sramežljivosti trdo privezan na steber hudodelcev in dva teh divjakov sta začela pretepati z neusmiljeno srditostjo Jezusa od vrha do tal in zopet od tal do vrha. 

4. Prvi biči so bili iz suhih volovskih žil ali trdih belih jermenov. Naš Gospod in Zveličar, Sin božji, pravi Bog in pravi človek, se je tresel in vil pod strašnimi udarci bičev. Zvijal se je in bridko zdihoval ljubeznivo molitev med grozovitim trpljenjem in to milovanje se je mešalo med švigajoče in žvižgajoče udarce z biči. Večkrat pa je te svete, milotožeče in bridke zdihljaje zadušilo vpitje ljudstva in farizejev ter jih zagrnilo kot črnogrmeči oblak. Na vse grlo so vpili: 'Proč z Njim! Križaj Ga!' Zakaj Pilat se je še vedno pogajal z ljudstvom in če je hotel zadušiti strašni hrup, da bi govoril, je morala zadoneti trobenta. Ko je vse potihnilo, so se po trgu razlegali grozni udarci, zdihovanje Jezusovo, kletev biričev in rabljevih hlapcev, pa tudi bleketanje darivnih jagnjet, ki so jih umivali blizu tam v ovčjem vodnjaku, preden so bila darovana. To nedolžno bleketanje jagnjet je imelo nekaj čudnoganljivega na sebi. Edini glasovi so bili ti, ki so se lepo strinjali z milim zdihovanjem Zveličarjevim. Judovsko ljudstvo je nekoliko odstopilo od stebra. Rimski vojaki so semtertje stali, zlasti proti stražni hiši. Raznovrstna drhal je bila tam. Eni tihi, drugi norčevaje se, le nekateri so bili vidno ganjeni. Nesramni, skoro nagi biriči so pri stražni hiši pletli nove šibe; drugi so šli po trnja. Biriči velikih duhovnov pa so dajali denar tem, ki so Ga bičali. Prinesli so tudi velik vrč z rdečo pijačo, iz katerega so pili, da so bili toliko bolj divji in pijani. Čez četrt ure sta prva dva odstopila in pristopila k pijači. Jezusovo telo je bilo višnjevordeče. Njegova sveta kri je kapala z Njega. Trepetal je in se tresel. Norčevanje in krohotanje se je razlegalo od vseh strani.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (23)

Zdaj je Jezus objel steber. Rablji pa so med strašnim preklinjanjem pritrdili njegove iztegnjene roke na gornji železni obroč, pri čemer je bilo vse telo tako nategnjeno, da so se mu k stebru pripete noge komaj dotikale tal. Tako je bil Najsvetejši vseh svetih razpet ob sramotnem stebru.

Dva rablja sta začela z divjo krvoločnostjo bičati Gospodovo telo od spodaj navzgor in spet narobe. Ti prvi biči ali šibe so bile videti kot bel, žilav les. Morda so bili zviti iz volovskih kit ali iz trdil belih jermenov. Slišalo se je žvižganje udarcev. Zdaj pa zdaj ga je preglasilo vpitje farizejev in ljudstva. Vpili so: 'Proč z njim! Na križ z njim!' Pilat je namreč še razpravljal z njimi. Kadar je hotel kaj reči, je moral glas trobente ukazati mir razburkani množici. Potem je bilo spet slišati udarce bičev in kletve rabljev.

Ljudstvo je stalo od stebra bičanja oddaljeno komaj za širino ceste. Krog in krog so bili postavljeni rimski vojaki. Še bližje pa se je zrinila vsakovrstna sodrga: prerivali so se sem in tja ter se norčevali. Pri tem in onem sem opazila, da ga je pretreslo; bilo je, kot da ga je zadel žarek, izhajajoč iz Gospoda. Videla sem tudi dečake, le za silo oblečene. Sedeli so pri stražnici in pripravljali šibe. Drugi so odšli po trnje. Veliki duhovnik je dajal krvnikom denar. Dali so jim prinesti tudi velik vrč z gosto rdečo tekočino. Biriči so pili in postajali še bolj divji, pol pijani. Prva dva sta odstopila in pila z drugimi. Gospodovo telo je bilo modro, rjavo in rdeče, polno bul. Sveta kri ga je oblivala in tekla na zemljo. Od vseh strani pa je donel zasmeh.

5. Druga dva rabljeva hlapca sta pristopila in z novo divjostjo planila na Jezusa. Imela sta šibe, z vozli, trnjem in drugimi bodicami opletene. S svojim divjim tepenjem sta razmesarila Jezusovo telo, da je Njegova kri škropila okrog in roke biričev so se okrvavile, Jezus pa je zdihoval, molil in trepetal. –

6. Druga dva biriča sta tepla Jezusa zopet z drugimi biči. Male verižice so bile pripete na železni držaj in namešane z jermeni, ki so imeli spodaj železne trnke. In s tem strašnim orodjem sta trgala cele kose mesa in kože z Njega. O, kdo more popisati ta revni pogled! Pa teh hudobij še ni bilo zadosti; odvezali so vrvi in so privezali Jezusa s hrbtom na steber. Ker pa je bil že tako zdelan, da ni mogel več stati, so Ga trdno privezali z vrvmi na steber, Njegove roke pa so trdo pripeli zadaj na steber. Nič zdravega ni bilo več na Gospodovem telesu. On pa je milo gledal svoje neusmiljene pretepavce, s svojimi krvipolnimi očmi in je molil zanje. Oni pa so vedno hujše divjali. Sam pa je vedno bolj tiho zdihoval: 'Gorje!'

'O zaklad, o bogastvo mojega srca', zakličem s častitim Tomažem od Jezusa, 'strah in groza me spreletuje. Začuden ne vem, kaj bi rekel. Padem pred Tvoje svete noge. Zakaj, o moj Jezus, o sladka ljubezen mojega srca, zakaj si tako grozovit proti sebi, pa tako mil proti meni? Ali bi ne bilo bolj prav, da bi bil jaz bičan, ne pa Ti? Zakaj, jaz sem grešil, ne pa Ti, o nedolžno Jagnje. 

Oh, objokujem torej svoje pregrehe zavoljo katerih si bil Ti bičan. Pripoznam jih vse in pričakujem zanje milosti. Ne pusti mi, da se kdaj ločim od Tebe! Od rane do rane hočem iti. V te najsvetejše rane nas zberi, o nebeška sladkost, in poživi naša srca in jih vzredi v ljubeznivosti svoje drage krvi in nas varuj tu z očetovsko ljubeznijo. Tu nas boš obogatil, kakor pravi oče, z vsemi dobrotami. Tu nas boš pripravil k rasti prave notranje velikosti, da bomo v Tebi in po Tebi postali Tebi enaki! Oh, srečen, kdor Te ni nikoli zapustil! Oh, srečen, kdor si ni izbral nobenega drugega prostora v pokoj. Oh srečen, kdor je vedno le po teh ranah zdihoval in se vanje potopil iz celega srca! – Oh, naj se potopim tudi jaz vedno bolj v te svete rane. Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Zatajevati hočem poželjivost in lenobo mesa.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (24)

Druga dva rablja sta z norim besom planila nad Gospoda. Vzela sta drugačne šibe, videti so bile kot trnove. Tu in tam so bile na njih pritrjene kroglice in kaveljčki. Pod temi udarci so se odprle vse bule na svetem telesu. Kri je škropila na vse strani. Roke biričev so bile krvave.

Prav tedaj je jezdilo mimo večje število tujcev na kamelah. V strahu so gledali v smer bičanja. Ljudje so jim povedali, kaj se tu dogaja. Bili so romarji, ki so prej na gori poslušali Jezusove nauke. Vpitje in hrup pred Pilatovo hišo še ni potihnilo.

Naslednja dva rablja sta imela biče. To so bile verižice ali jermeni, pritrjeni na železen obroč. Na konceh so bili železni kavlji. Z njimi so mu iztrgali cele koščke kože in mesa iznad reber. O, kdo bi mogel popisati te grozote!

A ni jim še bilo dovolj. Odvezali so vrvi in privezali Jezusa s hrbtom proti stebru. Ker ni mogel več stati, so ga privezali s tenko vrvjo pod pazduho in pod koleni k stebru. Roke so mu pritrdili zadaj na steber. Na svetem telesu Sinu Božjega je bila le kri, rane, grozovita razmesarjenost. Kot stekli psi so divjali rablji nad njim. Eden je vzel tenko šibo in je z njo prebičal Odrešenikovo obličje. Ni bilo več zdravega mesta na vsem telesu. Gledal je mučitelje z očmi, polnimi krvi. Oni pa so ga bili še huje.

7. To grozovito bičanje je trajalo skoro tričetrt ure. Jezus se je zgrudil s svojim krvavečim telesom pri stebru onesveščen v potoku svoje krvi. Rabljevi hlapci so Ga pustili na tleh. Pili so in vpili rabljem v stražni hiši, naj dobro narede trnjevo krono. Jezus se je še zvijal v svojih bolečinah, s krvavečimi ranami, ležeč pri stebru. Med bičanjem pa je bilo, kakor bi angeli žalovali pri Jezusu. Jezus pa je molil ter se je daroval v tem bridkem in sramotnem trpljenju nebeškemu Očetu za grehe ljudi. Tedaj pa, ko je pri stebru ležal v svoji krvi, je bilo, kakor bi Ga angel pokrepčal.

Premislimo zdaj velikost sramote, katero so storili Gospodu z bičanjem. O, pretresljivi pogled! Glej, moja duša, kako so tu Gospoda vsega sveta kakor očitnega hudodelca privezali na steber in bičali. Poslušaj, kako angeli tožijo, ki spoznajo veličastvo Gospoda, pa Ga zdaj vidijo razmesarjenega s šibam in biči. Tedaj se je izpolnilo, kar prerokuje prerok Izaija: 'Izginila je vsa Njegova lepota, postal je v zasramovanje ljudem. Mož bolečin je On, razdrto je Njegovo obličje. Ni Ga mogoče več spoznati, podoben je gobavemu, katerega je zadela roka božja..' O, padi torej pred svojega v krvi ležečega Zveličarja in Ga moli! 

Vprašaj se: Kdo, kdo Te je, o sladki moj Jezus, tako razmesaril? Kdo je vzrok tega neskončnega trpljenja? Oh, kdo drugi, nego jaz sam!'. Zaradi naših hudobij je bil ranjen,' pravi prerok; 'da se je za naše grehe izpokoril, je bil tako razbit in je nadenj prišla šiba naših pregreškov; z Njegovimi ranami smo bili mi ozdravljeni.' (Iz. 53) Ker pa so naše pregrehe neštevilne, so tudi Njegove rane in Njegove bolečine neštevilne. In kako čudovito potrpežljivo je On vse to trpel!...

Predvsem pa je grda pregreha nečistosti, ki je Gospoda tako strašno zdelala. 'Poglejte,' pravi neki cerkveni učenik, 'poglejte ve, zaradi nečistosti oslabele duše, koliko trpljenja je storila ljubeznivemu Jezusu vaša mehkužnost, vaše meseno poželenje. Poglejte, kako je to čisto meso le ena rana od glave do nog. Ali pogled na tega krvavega Jezusa ne bo ganil vašega srca? In ve, spokorne duše, ki ste nekdaj živele v tej grdi pregrehi, pa ste jo v svojo srečo obžalovale, spomnite se te drage krvi, katero je hotel Jezus pretočiti, da bi vas rešil iz te strašne zmote. Tudi za vas, duše nedolžne in čiste, je Jezus prelil svojo kri, da bi vam milost zaslužil, da bi mogli to lepo lilijo, sveto nedolžnost, čisto, neomadeževano in cvetočo  ohraniti!'

O grešnik, nikar torej ne obupaj! Ta kri, ki so jo tvoje roke oškropile iz Jezusovega telesa, ta kri bo tebi v mazilo in bo zacelila rane tvoje duše, če si prizadevaš v zatajevanju svojega mesa, v čuječnosti svojih počutkov, zlasti z vrednim prejemanjem sv. pokore si prilastiti to dragoceno sveto kri. O, nikar ne zamudi tega vsled lastne lahkomišljenosti! ...

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Bežati hočem pred veseljem tega sveta in pred vsako priložnostjo v grdo nečistost.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (25)

Dolgo je že trajalo strahotno bičanje, ko se je pojavil preprost tujec, stopil ves srdit k stebru in zavpil: 'Nehajte! Ne pobijte nedolžnega človeka čisto do smrti.' Pijani krvniki so začudeni obstali. Tujec pa je imel v rokah oster nož in je v hipu prerezal vrvi, ki so se vse stekale v vozel, obešen na kavelj na zadnji strani stebra. Mož se je nato brž izgubil med množico. Njegovega sorodnika je bil Jezus ozdravil slepote. – Kot nezavesten se je Jezus zgrudil bo stebru. Obležal je v svoji krvi. Biriči so ga pustili in odšli so pit. Dečakom v stražnici so zaklicali, naj spletejo trnovo krono.

Jezus je drgetal v bolečinah, ležeč s krvavečimi ranami ob stebru. Videla sem priti mimo predrzne ženske. Držeč se za roke, so obstale pred Jezusom. Gledale so ga, polne mehkužnega gnusa. Ob tem so Gospoda vse njegove rane še huje zabolele. Dvignil je svoj ubogi obraz proti njim. Odšle so dalje, krvniki in vojaki pa so krohotaje se klicali za njimi opolzke besede.

Med bičanjem sem večkrat videla, da so se pojavili nad Jezusom žalujoči angeli. Slišala sem tudi njegovo molitev. Pod točo udarcev in v žgočih bolečinah se je neprestano daroval svojemu Očetu za grehe ljudi. Zdaj, ko je ležal ob stebru v lastni krvi, sem videla angela, ki ga je okrepčal. Bilo je, kot da mu podaja bleščeč grižljaj.

Zdaj so se vrnili biriči. Z nogami so suvali Gospoda, naj vstane, kajti niso še končali s svojim kraljem. Niso mu dali časa, da bi oblekel svojo suknjo, vrgli so mu jo z rokami preko ramen. Po poti si je z rokavi otiral kri s svetega obličja. Lahko bi bili šli po krajši poti, a so napravili ovinek, da so peljali Jezusa mimo sedežev velikih duhovnikov. Ti so vpili: 'Proč z njim! Proč z njim!' ter se z gnusom obračali od njega. Peljali so ga na notranje dvorišče stražarnice. Tam še ni bilo vojakov, ampak samo biriči, nekaj sužnjev in pobalinov.

Zaradi vznemirjenih množic je dal Pilat pomnožiti stražo z vojaki iz gradu Antonija. Četa je obkrožila stražarnico. Smeli pa so se pogovarjati. Smejali so se in pomagali sramotiti Jezusa. Morali pa so strumno stati v vrsti. S tem je hotel Pilat obdržati ljudstvo na uzdi in napraviti nanje vtis rimske moči. Bilo je tam gotovo tisoč mož. 

2. Marija med Jezusovim bičanjem

1. Tedaj so biriči zopet pristopili h Gospodu ter so Ga suvali in Ga silili s suvanjem in brcanjem, naj stopi na omahljive noge in še toliko Mu niso dovolili, da bi si oblekel suknjo<ampak so Mu jo kar vrgli čez rame. S svojim oblačilom si je obrisal svojo kri z obraza na poti, o kateri so Ga podili tako hitro proti stražnici. Lahko bi bili šli z Njim od stebra bičanja naravnost v stražnico, ker so bili hodniki okoli hiše odprti proti trgu, tako da bi bili šli mimo ječe, kjer sta bila razbojnika in Baraba zaprta. 

2. Oni pa so peljali Jezusa mimo sedežev velikih duhovnov, kateri so vpili: 'Proč z Njim! Proč z Njim!' Z gnusom so se  obračali vstran. Nato so Ga peljali v notranje dvorišče velike stražnice. Ko so Ga tja pripeljali, ni bilo tam nobenega vojaka, ampak sami biriči, sužnji, rabljevi hlapci in drugi potepuhi. Ker pa je ljudstvo tako nemirno postalo, je Pilat pomnožil rimsko stražo. In vojaki so v vrstah obstopili stražarnico. Dovoljeno jim je bilo govoriti, smejati se in zaničevati Jezusa, samo v vrstah so morali stati. Pilat je hotel ohraniti s tem ljudstvo mirno. Bilo je gotovo tisoč mož zbranih.

3. Marija, prečista Devica, je bila med bičanjem našega Zveličarja vedno zamaknjena. Kar se je z Njenim sinom godilo, vse je videla in čutila z neizrečeno ljubeznijo in bridkostjo. Večkrat se je slišalo tiho, milo žalovanje iz njenih ust, njene oči pa so bile rdeče od solza. S tančico zagrnjena je slonela v naročju svoje sestre Marije Heli, ki je bila že zelo postarana. Svete prijateljice Marijine in Jezusove so bile vse zavite in zagrnjene s tančicami čez obličje in so trepetale v bolečini in bridkosti in se stiskale med zdihovanjem okrog svete Device, kakor bi pričakovale svojega lastnega obsojenja. Marija je bila oblečena v dolgo modro oblačilo in vrh tega dolg bel volnat plašč in rumenobelkasto tančico. Marija Magdalena je bila vsa zmešana, potrta bolečin in zdihovanja. 

4. Ko se je Marija zavedla, je zagledala svojega raztepenega Sina, ko so Ga ravno biriči mimo peljali. Kri si je obrisal iz oči s svojim oblačilom, da je videl svojo Mater. Od bolečin prevzeta je stegovala za Njim roke in gledala za Njegovimi krvavimi stopinjami. Ko se je tedaj ljudstvo že oddaljilo, so se bližale svete žene stebru bičanja in so padle na tla, zakrite od usmiljenih ljudi ter so s prti pobirale Jezusovo kri in posušile tla, kjer se je kaj poznalo. Janeza zdaj ni bilo pri njih. Bilo je po bičanju, okoli devete ure zjutraj.

Imej tudi ti usmiljenje s to žalostno Materjo, spremi  jo v duhu in poklekni z njo k svetemu stebru bičanja. Objemi ga, poljubi s krvjo napolnjena tla in daruj vsako kapljo te drage krvi zlasti za svojo mehkužnost, razuzdanost in lenobo in za vse grehe svojega telesa. Prosi Boga, da bi zaradi tega svetega bičanja odvrnil od tebe šibo svoje ostre sodbe.... O draga kri! Ena sama kaplja bi bila zadostovala v odrešenje vesoljnega sveta, tu pa si v toliki obilnosti tekla. Častim Te v največji pobožnosti! V tebi hočem oprati vse svoje madeže...

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem danes: Prositi hočem Marijo za dar svete čistosti.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (26)

2. Marija 

Med bičanjem je bila Marija kakor otrpla. Videla je vse, kar je trpel njen sin, in je vse z njim sotrpela. Njene muke in bolečine so bile velike kakor njena ljubezen. Večkrat so se zaslišale iz njenih ust tihe tožbe. Oči so ji bile vnete od solz. Njena starejša sestra Marija Heli, ki je bila zelo podobna sveti Ani, jo je objela. Marija Kleofa, njena hčerka, je bila tudi z njo in se je oklepala materine roke. Ostale svete žene so se trepetaje v bolesti in strahu, tiho tožeč, stiskale okrog presvete Device, kakor da čakajo lastne smrtne obsodbe. – Marija je nosila dolgo, svetlomodro obleko, bel, volnen plašč in rumenkast pajčolan. Magdalena je bila vsa iz sebe, vse na njej je bilo v neredu in glasno je tožila. Lasje so ji zmešani viseli pod tančico. 

Ko se je Jezus po bičanju zgrudil ob stebru, je Klavdija Prokle poslala Gospodovi materi zavoj velikih prtov. Morda je menila, da bo Pilat Jezusa izpustil in Marija naj bi s temi prti osušila in obvezala njegove rane. Marija je videla, ko so krvniki peljali njenega razmesarjenega sina mimo. Obrisal si je kri z oči, da je mogel pogledati svojo mater. Trpeče je stegovala roke za njim in gledala krvave sledove, ki jih je puščal za seboj. Ko se je ljudstvo obrnilo od stebra za bičanje, sta stopili tja Marija in Magdalena ter se vrgli na tla. Svete žene in nekateri dobri ljudje so jih obstopili. Tako sta mogli s prti pobrati Jezusovo sveto kri. 

Marijina lica so bila bleda in upadla, oči krvavordeče od jokanja. Ne da se popisati in ne moreš se dovolj načuditi, kako preprosto naravna je njena pojava. Saj je vendar vse od prejšnjega dne in vso noč v strahu in trpljenju tavala skozi dolino Jozafat in po ulicah Jeruzalema, toda njena obleka je bila popolnoma čista in v redu. Ni gube na njej, ki ne bi dihala svetosti. Vse na njej je tako resno, čisto in nedolžno. Če se ozre, stori to s tako plemenitostjo, in pajčolan ji dela tako čiste gube, kadar glavo nekoliko nagne. Ne giblje se z naglico, tudi v najhujši bolečini dela vse mirno in preprosto. Neizrekljivo je lepa, to je čisto nadčutna lepota. Vsa lepota na njej je obenem brezmadežnost, resnica, preprostost, dostojanstvo in svetost.  

Magdalena pa je vsa drugačna. Večja je, v postavi in v kretnjah kaže svojo ženskost. Zdaj pa je pogled nanjo skorajda strašen. Neobvladano se prepušča silni bolečini. Obleka ji je mokra, omadeževana in raztrgana visi nerodno na njej. Dolgi lasje ji vise razpuščeni in razmršeni pod zmečkanim, mokrim pajčolanom. Ne misli na nič drugega kakor na svojo bolest in je videti kakor brez uma. Bilo je tam več ljudi iz Magdale in okolice, ki so jo videli prej v njenem sijajnem, razkošnem grešnem  življenju. Ker je že nekaj časa živela skrito, kažejo zdaj s prstom za njo in se norčujejo iz njene propadle zunanjosti., Da, hudobni iz Magdale so metali celo blato nanjo. Toda ona ne ve ničesar. Tako silno je vsa pogreznjena v svojo žalost.

Presveto Devico in spremljevalke sem videla potem, ko so po bičanju pobrale Jezusovo kri, s krvavimi prti priti v bližnji mali hišici ob zidu. Ne vem več, čigava je bila.

VII.  JEZUSA S TRNJEM KRONAJO IN ZASRAMUJEJO 

1. Peljali so tedaj Jezusa v notranje dvorišče velike stražarnice, ki je stala nad ječo na trgu in je spadala še k sodni hiši. Dvorišče je bilo s stebri podprto in vrata so bila odprta. Bilo je tam okoli petdeset hlapcev izmed biričev in sužnjev in rabljevih služabnikov, najhujših, ki so se udeležili zasramovanja Jezusovega. Ljudstvo je drlo bliže, rimski vojaki so se smejali in norčevali in s tem so hudobneže le še bolj podpihovali in množili Jezusu trpljenje.

2. Podnožje starega stebra so privalili v sredo in so nanj nametali iz gole hudobije črepinj in ostrega kamenja. Nato so vnovič Jezusu raztrgali oblačila z njegovega z ranami obdanega telesa in so Ga ogrnili s starim, rdečim, strganim, kratkim vojaškim plaščem, ki je ležal v kotu rabljevega stanovanja. In tedaj so Jezusa privlekli k sedežu, ki je bil s črepinjami in kamenjem nasut in so ga trdo posadili nanj. Nato pa so Mu položili na glavo trnjevo krono.

3. Bila je dve dlani visoka, gosto in umetno spletena, tako da je zakrila čelo in vso glavo Jezusovo. Bila je spletena iz tri prste debelih trnjevih vej. Dolgo trnje je bilo večidel obrnjeno na notranjo stran. Bilo je pa debelo trnje, ki raste okrog Jeruzalema, močno in ostro, da se z njim lahko prebode celo drobnejše kosti. To trnjevo krono so potlačili Gospodu na glavo, da so Mu trni vse žile prebodli. O kako strašne bolečine je takrat občutil naš Zveličar! Kri je škropila iz Njegove svete glave kakor iz odprtih studencev in Mu tekla v curkih po obrazu. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (27)

TRNJEVA KRONA 

Notranje dvorišče stražarnice je bilo obdano s stebri. Vhod so zdaj odprli. Zbralo se je tam kakih petdeset najzlobnejših pobalinov, hlapci jetniških paznikov, biriči, sužnji in hlapci rabljev. Najprej je sililo ljudstvo noter, a kmalu je tisoč vojakov obdalo poslopje. Stali so v strnjeni vrsti, smejali in norčevali so se in dajali s tem podležem povod, da so se pred njimi postavljali z novim trpinčenjem Odrešenika. Njihov krohot in šale so pobaline vzpodbujale kot ploskanje igralce na odru. Privalili so na sredo dvorišča podstavek starega stebra z luknjo na sredi. Vanjo so postavili nizek okrogel stolček in ga potresli z ostrimi kamenčki in črepinjami.

Znova so strgali Odrešeniku vso obleko z ranjenega telesa in ga ogrnili s starim, raztrganim rdečim vojaškim plaščem, ki mu ni segal niti do kolen. Tu in tam je visel na njem ostanek čopka. Pobrali so ga v kotu krvniške čumnate. Ogrinjali so ga izbičanim zločincem, da so jim z njim osušili kri.

4. Dali so mu potem debel trs v desnico, s češuljo na vrhu. Vse to so delali z zasramujočo slovesnostjo, kakor bi Ga res kronali za kralja. Vzeli so mu tedaj trs iz rok in ga bili po glavi. Kri je zalivala Njegove oči. Potem so predenj poklekovali, se mu pačili, Ga bili in Mu pljuvali v obraz ter vpili: 'Bodi pozdravljen, kralj Judov!' Oh, kdo bi mogel popisati nesramno počenjanje nečloveških razbojnikov?! Jezus pa je trpel neizrečeno žejo; mraz ga je pretresoval zaradi razmesarjenja in nečloveškega bičanja. Tresel se je, zakaj semtertje je bilo raztrgano meso do kosti. Kri Njegove glave Mu je tekla v razbeljena usta, ki so bila hrepeneče odprta. Strašni ljudje pa so Mu pljuvali v usta. Tako so Jezusa trpinčili skoraj pol ure, in vojaki, ki so obdajali stražnico v vrstah, so se zraven smejali in vpili.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (28)

Vlekli so Jezusa k stolčku in ga z vso silo potisnili nanj. Nato so mu posadili na glavo trnovo krono. Bila je visoka, na gosto spletena. Položili  so mu jo okrog čela in jo zadaj zvezali. Spletli so jo iz treh kot prst debelih ravnih trnovih vej. Trni so bil večinoma – seveda namenoma- obrnjeni navznoter. Videla sem, kje so jih urezali. Nato so dali Odrešeniku v roke debel trst. Vse to so delali zasmehljivo slovesno, kakor bi ga zares kronali za kralja. Vzeli so mu nato trst iz roke in ga z njim močno bili po kroni. Kri mu je zalila oči. Poklekali so predenj, mu kazali jezik, ga bili in mu pljuvali v obraz, kričeč: 'Pozdravljen, kralj Judov.' Med krohotanjem so ga prevrnili s stolom vred in ga zopet posadili nanj.
Ne morem ponoviti vseh nizkotnih domislekov. s katerimi so ti hudobneži zasramovali ubogega Jezusa. Oh, tako strašno ga je žejalo, saj ga je tresla mrzlica od strašnih ran. Ves je trepetal. Meso mu je bilo ob straneh mestoma do reber raztrgano. Jezik je imel krčevito stisnjen v kepo.
Tako so ga trpinčili celo uro. Rimska kohorta pa je spremljala mučenje z norčevanjem in smehom.

Premisli tedaj: Kako veliko trpljenje in kako velika sramota je bila to! Kakor pravi sv. Peter Damijan, so segali trnji Gospodu prav do možganov ter jih prebadali kakor živi ogenj. Trpljenje, katero je to trnjevo kronanje prizadejalo, je bilo najhujše in je najdlje trpelo (trajalo) in nehalo šele s smrtjo, ker se je vselej ponovilo, če se je le trnjeva krona ali glava Njegova česa dotaknila. Več trnjev se je ulomilo in v glavi ostalo. Kdaj in kje je pač kdo videl tako trpljenje? Kdaj si je že kdo izmislil tako krvavo trpinčenje? V nobenem boju mučencev ne beremo kaj takega. Prihranjeno je bilo to le za Gospoda. Satan sam je iznašel to trpinčenje ter ga izročil ljudem.

'Prekleta naj bo zemlja zavoljo tebe,' je rekel Bog Adamu, 'trnje in osat ti bo rodila zavoljo tvojega greha.' Zdaj se je ta beseda izpolnila. To prekletstvo za naše grehe je moral naš Zveličar vzeti nase in ti trni in osat, podoba našega greha in z njim zaslužene kazni, so morale predirati Njegovo glavo. Posebno pa je hotel Jezus to grozovito trpljenje prestat v zadoščenje naših HUDOBNIH MISLI. Za naša NEČIMRNA in ČASTILAKOMNA DOMIŠLJANJA, za OŠABNOST in naš NAPUH, za našo SVOJEGLAVOST in SVOJELJUBJE, za našo NEPOKORŠČINO in PREGREŠNO TRMO, za vsa NEČISTA PREMIŠLJEVANJA, ki izhajajo iz našega sprijenega srca. Zato je hotel naš Gospod s temi trni biti preboden, da bi bil z njegovo drago in po Njegovem obličju tekočo krvjo naš duh očiščen vseh PREGREŠNIH NESPODOBNOSTI.

In ti pa, o človek, se hočeš še vedno povzdigovati in razmišljati v svojem srcu stvari, ki žalijo Boga? Ali še nočeš nehati vzbujati iz nečistih predstav? O premišljuj svojega s trnjem kronanega Zveličarja in ustavi se vsem satanovim skušnjavam!

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Odložiti hočem vso svojeglavost in notranji napuh svojega srca.

VIII.  GLEJTE ČLOVEK! - ECCE HOMO! 

1. Nato so peljali Jezusa s trnjevo krono na glavi in s trstom v zvezanih rokah, ogrnjenega s škrlatnim plaščem, zopet v Pilatovo dvorano. Jezusa ni bilo mogoče spoznati zaradi krvi, ki Mu je zalivala Njegove oči, usta in brado. Njegovo telo je bilo z ranami pokrito, podobno v krvi namočenemu suknu. Priklonjen je šel omahujoč, plašč pa Mu je segal do kolen, drugega oblačila pa ni imel na sebi. Ko je ubogi Jezus prišel pred Pilatovo hišo, je spreletela tudi tega neusmiljenega človeka groza, sočutje in gnus. In ko so Jezusa neusmiljeno pehali po stopnicah, je stopil Pilat na visoki prostor, trobentač je zatrobil, da bi poslušali, ker hoče Pilat govoriti. In govoril je velikim duhovnom in vsem navzočim: 'Glejte, pripeljem vam Ga, da boste spoznali, da ne najdem nobene krivice na Njem.'

2. Jezusa so tedaj postavil biriči na visoki prostor zraven Pilata, tako da Ga je vse ljudstvo s trga moglo videti. – Strašen in grozen pogled je bil to, ki je od začetka napravil grozo in čudno temno tišino, ko se je ozrl Sin Boga samega izpod trnjeve krone in s krvjo zalitimi očmi po vsej množici po trgu. Pilat je stopil k Njemu in nanj kazaje rekel: 'Kakšen človek!' Tako je torej stal Jezus v rdečem sramotnem plašču, razmesarjenega telesa, s krvjo oblit, s trnjem prebodeno glavo, pripognjen, z zvezanimi rokami in v njih trstovo žezlo, priklonjen v neskončni žalosti in milosti, potrt od bolečin in ljubezni, kakor krvava senca pred ljudstvom. Veliki duhovni pa so se razkačili pri pogledu na Jezusa in so vpili: 'Križaj Ga, križaj Ga!' Pilat jim torej reče: 'Vzemite in križajte Ga vi. Zakaj jaz ne najdem krivice na Njem.' Oni pa so še bolj vpili in ljudstvo je zmeraj bolj rjovelo. Pismouki pa so odgovorili: ' Mi imamo postavo in po tej postavi mora umreti, ker se je delal Sina božjega.'

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (29)

ECCE HOMO

Jezusa s trnjevo krono na glavi, s trstom v zvezanih rokah so v škrlatni plašč odetega zopet peljali v Pilatovo palačo. Ni ga bilo prepoznati. Kri mu je zalivala oči in curljala v brado. Telo, polno oteklin in ran, je bilo kakor v kri namočen prt. Hodil je sklonjen, omahovaje. Ko je prišel do prve stopnice, je zelo okrutnega Rimljana spreletelo sočutje in gnus. Ker so ga duhovniki in ljudstvo še vedno sramotili, je zaklical: 'Če je judovski satan tudi tako krut kakor vi, ne bi hotel biti pri njem v peklu.' Jezusa so zvlekli preko stopnišča in obstal je v ozadju. Pilat pa je stopil na teraso. Oglasila se je pozavna. Vse je umolknilo, ker je Pilat hotel govoriti. Rekel je duhovnom in ljudstvu: 'Glejte, še enkrat ga dam pripeljati pred vas, da vidite, da ne najdem nobene krivic na njem!' Zdaj so biriči pripeljali Jezusa na teraso poleg Pilata, da ga je moglo videti vse ljudstvo. Strašen, pretresljiv pogled! Tišina, groza je zavladala, ker je nečloveško zmaličeni mučenik Jezus, Sin božji, ves v ranah in v krvi dvignil krvave oči pod strašno trnovo krono in gledal na množico. Pilat je pokazal nanj in zaklical Judom: 'Glejte, človek!'

Veliki duhovni in sodniki so ob tem pogledu še bolj podivjali. Saj so gledali tu v strašno zrcalo svoje vesti. Zato so vpili: 'Proč z njim! Križaj ga!' Pilat jim je zaklical: 'Ali še nimate dosti? Saj je vendar tako zmrcvarjen, da pač noče več biti kralj!' Kot zblazneli so vpili vedno huje in ljudstvo je ponavljalo: 'Proč z njim! Na križ z njim!' Zopet je dal Pilat zatrobiti v pozavne in je zaklical: 'Torej ga vzemite in ga križajte! Jaz ne najdem nobene krivde na njem.' Veliki duhovni so odgovorili: 'Imamo postavo in po njej mora umreti, ker se je delal Sinu božjega!' In Pilat je rekel: 'Če imate take postave, da mora umreti, ne bi hotel biti Jud.' Toda besede 'delal se je Sinu božjega', so praznoverca znova preplašile. Dal je privesti Jezusa v sodno izbo, da je bil sam z njim. Vprašal ga je: 'Odkod si?' Jezus pa mu ni odgovoril. Pilat je dejal: 'Meni ne odgovarjaš? Ali ne veš, da imam oblast križati te in oblast te izpustiti?' Zdaj mu je Jezus odgovoril: 'Ne imel bi nobene oblasti nad menoj, ako bi ti ne bila dana od zgoraj. Zato ima tisti, ki me je tebi izročil, večji greh.'

V tem hipu je prišel služabnik njegove žene. Zbala se je njegove omahljivosti in ga z njegovim darom dala opomniti na njegovo obljubo. Dal ji je sporočiti zmeden odgovor, poln praznoverja. Skliceval se je na svoje bogove.

3. Besede Judov, da se je delal Sina božjega, je Pilata še bolj prestrašila in strah, praznoverstvo se je zopet ponovilo v njem. Ukazal je Jezusa peljati v spodnjo hišo in Mu rekel: 'Odkod si Ti?' Jezus pa mu ni odgovoril. Pilat Mu tedaj reče: 'Meni ne odgovoriš? Ne veš li, da imam oblast Te križati in imam tudi oblast Te izpustiti?' Jezus je odgovoril: 'Ne bi imel nobene oblasti do mene, ko bi ti ne bila dana od zgoraj. Zavoljo tega ima tisti, ki me je tebi izdal, večji greh.' Gospod mu je tudi še druge, zelo resnobne besede govoril. Pokazal mu je, kakšen kralj je in kakšno je Njegovo kraljestvo. Očital mu je trdovratnost in nepokornost njegove notranjosti. Prerokoval mu je, kaj ga čaka, njegovo zavrženje v revščino, njegov strašni konec mu je razodel in mu povedal, da ga bo On nekdaj v pravični sodbi sodil. Tudi Klavdija Prokle, žena Pilatova, ki se je radi tolikega obotavljanja bala za Pilata, je zopet poslala do njega, da bi ga opomnila storjene obljube. Pilat je kakor pijan semtertja taval in je še vedno skušal Jezusa izpustiti. Prestrašen a obenem tudi razkačen zaradi Jezusovih besed je še enkrat stopil na visoki prostor in je zaklical, da hoče Jezusa izpustiti. Judje pa so še bolj vpili: 'Ako tega izpustiš, nisi cesarjev prijatelj. Zakaj vsak ki se dela kralja, cesarju nasprotuje.' Drugi so vpili, da ga hočejo pri cesarju tožiti. Vpitje pa: 'Križaj Ga, križan naj bo!' je zopet zadonelo od vseh strani. Celo na ravne strehe trga so zlezli in so od tam vpili. O nesrečna slepota tega ljudstva in strašna hudobija, ki je vse poskusila ter ni ničesar opustila, da bi le Jezusa umorila.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (30)

Nato se je še enkrat pogajal z ljudstvom, a še bolj omahljivo in zmedeno. Spet je zatrjeval, da ne najde krivice na njem. Medtem so farizeji raztrosili med ljudi vest, da so Jezusovi pristaši podkupili Pilatovo ženo. Če bi zdaj Jezusa oprostili, bi se ta povezal z Rimljani in potem bi jih vse pobili. Naščuvano ljudstvo je zato še silneje zahtevalo Jezusovo smrt. Cesarjev namestnik je stopil zopet v sodno izbo k Jezusu. Hotel je od njega odgovor na svoja vprašanja. Skoro boječe ga je pogledal. Ves zmeden je mislil: 'Bi ta vendarle mogel biti bog?' In rotil ga je, naj mu pove, ali je bog. Je morda kralj? Kje je njegovo kraljestvo? Kakšne vrste je njegovo božanstvo? Naj mu to pove, pa ga bo izpustil. Kaj mu je Jezus na to odgovoril, ne vem povedati dobesedno, ampak le po smislu. Gospod je govoril silno resne besede. Dal je Pilatu zaslutiti, kakšen kralj je, kakšnemu kraljestvu vlada in kaj je resnica. Pokazal je Rimljanu vso strahotnost njegove notranjosti. Povedal mu je, kaj ga čaka. Izgnan da bo in njegov konec bo strašen. Tudi mu je rekel da bo prišel nekoč in ga bo sodil po pravici.

Pretresen, pa tudi jezen zaradi Jezusovih besed, je odšel na teraso in vnovič zaklical, da bo Jezusa izpustil. Zdaj pa so vpili: 'Ako tega izpustiš nisi cesarjev prijatelj, kajti kdor hoče biti kralj, je cesarjev sovražnik!' Drugi so vpili, da ga bodo tožili cesarju, ker moti njihove praznike. Opravi naj brž, ker ob deseti uri morajo biti v templju, če si nočejo nakopati težke krivde. Spet je od vseh strani divje zadonelo: 'Križaj ga! Proč z njim!' Še več jh je splezalo na ravne strehe bližnjih hiš in so od tam vpili.

Pilat je uvidel, da pri teh blaznežih ne doseže ničesar. Nekaj strahotnega je bilo v njihovem vpitju in divjanju. Množica je bila do skrajnosti razburkana. Bati se je bilo upora. Zdaj si je dal Pilat prinesti vode. Služabnik mu jo je vlil na roke in Pilat je zaklical navzdol: 'Jaz sem nedolžen nad krvjo tega pravičnega! Vi glejte!' In završalo je med množico in vse je izbruhnilo v grozen krik: 'Njegova kri naj pride nad nas in nad naše otroke!'

Kadar slišim pri premišljevanju bridkega trpljenja ta strašni klic Judov, se mi na čudežen način živo predoči učinek tega prekletstva samih sebe. Vidim temno nebo s krvavordečimi oblaki, ognjenimi šibami in meči nad judovskim ljudstvom. Vidim, kakor bi jim žar te kletve prodiral v kosti in mozeg. Vse ljudstvo vidim v temi in njihov grozni krik švigne ko plameni iz njihovih ust. Vidim, kot da bi se nad njihovimi glavami plameni zopet strnili, nato pa udarili nazaj nanje. Nekaterim prodro le-ti globoko v notranjost, nad drugimi, kot da plavajo. Ti se bodo po Jezusovi smrti spreobrnili. In teh ni bilo malo. Saj sta Jezus in Marija med vsemi mukami neprestano molila za rešitev mučiteljev. Niti za hip ni vstala v njima jeza nad strašnim trpinčenjem. Toda potrpežljivost in ljubezen Gospodova je le še bolj netila bes in divjanje njegovih sovražnikov. Peklo jih je, da vse muke ne morejo izvabiti njegovim molčečim ustom nobenega odpora, ki bi mogel dati njihovi hudobiji videz upravičenosti.

Ako pri takih videnjih pomislim na to, kaj čuti ljudstvo, sodnik, ali če pomislim na najsvetejšo dušo Jezusovo ali Marijino, dobim odgovor v prividih. Vidim neštevilno množico hudobcev; vsak pomeni katero izmed pregreh. Hudobni duhovi se silno vneto trudijo okrog ljudi. Vidim jih, kako tekajo sem ter tja, tu hujskajo, tu mešajo ljudi, jim šepečejo na ušesa, jim izginejo v usta. Vidim, kako planejo izmed množice, se strnejo in ščuvajo ljudi proti Jezusu. In zopet vztrepečejo ob njegovi nadčloveški potrpežljivosti ter se vrnejo med množico. V vsem njihovem početju vidim nekaj obupanega, zmedenega, samega sebe uničujočega, nesmiselno beganje sem in tja. V bližini Jezusa in svetih oseb vidim angele. Tudi te vidim različnih postav in v različnih oblačilih. Oboje ustreza njihovim nalogam. Eni tolažijo, drugi molijo, tretji krepčajo, kot da hranijo in napajajo ali opravljajo kako drugo delo usmiljenja. – Nemogoče mi je vse to izraziti; neizmerno je tega in pri tem sem tako vsa polna trpljenja, bolečine in žalosti nad lastnimi grehi in nad grehi vsega sveta in tako raztrgana mi je duša ob bridkem Jezusovem trpljenju, da sploh ne vem, kako morem povedati še to malo, kar povem.

'O moj Bog, kralj  in gospod moje duše,' zakličem s častitim Tomažem od Jezusa: 'O lepota nebeška, z zvezanimi rokami, s trnjevo krono, s krvjo oblito glavo, z okrvavljenim obličjem, z zasramovalnim trstom v roki – takega Te vidim postavljenega pred vse ljudstvo. – O moj Jezus, molim Te, častim Te in hvalim, kolikor le morem. Vtisni to milo zasramovalno podobo v moje trdo srce, omeči ga s svojo pričujočnostjo in dodeli, da bo občutilo, kar vidi na tebi. Potegni me v svojo ljubezen Ti, katerega vidim iz ljubezni do mene tako revnega! Vzemi, o Gospod, o Bog moje duše, vzemi to dušo in jo vnemi z lepoto tistega plamena, ki iz Tebe gori, Ti, ki si bil tako tepen in zaničevan. Kažeš se tako tihega, tako ponižnega in tako resnobnega, da na vse strani šviga plamen Božje ljubezni iz Tebe. O da bi tudi mene zadel ta plamen, da bi me vnel, o moj Bog in me v Tebi in za Tebe popolnoma sežgal. Amen.

Sklep:  Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Odložiti hočem vso nečimrnost v obleki!

IX.  JEZUSA OBSODIJO NA  SMRT 

1.  Ljudstvo zahteva Jezusovo smrt

1. Na žuganje Judov, da ga hočejo pri cesarju tožiti, če Jezusa izpusti, je Pilata obšel nov strah. Strah pred zemeljskim cesarjem je premagal strah pred kraljem, čigar kraljestvo ni od tega sveta. Na žuganje s cesarjem Ga je Pilat izdal kljub svoji besedi, ki jo je  dal svoji ženi, kljubovaje pravici in resnici in svojemu lastnemu prepričanju. Videl je namreč, da pri teh razdivjanih ljudeh ničesar ne opravi. Vpitje, šum in hrup je imelo nekaj strašnega na sebi. Vsa množica ljudstva pred Pilatovo dvorano je vrela skupaj in bati se je bilo velike vstaje. Tedaj si je dal Pilat prinesti vode in služabnik mu jo je vlil na roke pred ljudstvom in Pilat je zavpil: 'Jaz sem nedolžen nad krvjo tega nedolžnega. Vi glejte!' Tako je iz strahu pred cesarjem Judom izdal kri Kristusovo. Za njegovo vest mu ni ostalo ničesar drugega, kakor le voda. S to se je mislil čisto, nedolžno izmiti. – Ne, Pilat, zdaj ti glej! Zakaj imenuješ pravičnega Jezusa nedolžnega in vseeno točiš Njegovo kri? Ti si krivičen, brezvesten sodnik, nikdar ne boš izmil iz svoje duše krvi, katero hočeš izmiti iz svojih rok! O strašna slepota, ki raje ustreza ljudem kakor Bogu in ki iz strahu pred ljudmi raje pogubi svojo dušo! O, da bi se nikdar ne bali tistih, ki morejo le telo umoriti, ampak veliko bolj onega, ki more  dušo in telo pahniti v pekel – Boga!

2. Tedaj je nastalo strašno grozovito vpitje zbranega ljudstva, med katerimi so bili ljudje iz vseh krajev Palestine. Vpili pa so: 'Njegova kri naj pride na nas in na naše otroke!' Kri Jezusovo, ki za nas vpije za usmiljenje, so terjali, naj vpije zanje za maščevanje. Oh, pri tem slovesnem prekletstvu samega sebe je bilo, kakor bi tiščalo temno nebo, polno krvavordečih oblakov, polno gorečih šib in mečev na strašno ljudstvo, ki je tako divje kričalo. Kako natanko pa se je to prekletstvo izpolnilo nad tem zaslepljenim ljudstvo, katero še dandanes, še po devetnajststo letih (knjiga je izdana v letu 1913) vedno nosi s seboj prekletstvo in je razpršeno med vsemi narodi sveta, je zaničevano, zasramovano in preganjano zaradi božje jeze, ki so si jo s tem nakopali. O da bi sveta kri Jezusa Kristusa, kakor pravi sveti Bernard, nam ne oznanjala le sodbe božje, ampak tudi Njegovo milost! O da bi ne tekla tudi nam v pogubljenje in da ne bi bila izgubljena za naše duše.

3. Med tem strašnim kričanjem je ukazal Pilat hitro pripraviti vse k izreku sodbe potrebno. Druga, slovesna oblačila je ukazal prinesti in jih je oblekel. Dali so mu pokrivalo, nekako kroni podobno, nato so mu ogrnili plašč in držali pred njim palico. Veliko vojakov je bilo okrog  njega, pred njim pa sodni hlapci in za njim pisači z zavitki in ploščicami. Pred njimi je šel trobentač. Nato so šli iz dvorane na trg, kjer je bil stebru bičanja nasproti lepo zidan visok sedež, na katerem so se sklepale sodbe. Le s tega sedeža izrečene sodbe so imele pravo veljavo. Temu sodnemu kraju se je reklo Litostrotos, hebrejsko pa Gabata in je bil ta kraj nekak okrogel prostor, na katerega se je prišlo od več strani po stopnicah. Na vrhu je bil sedež za Pilata, zadaj pa še klop za sodnike. Veliko vojakov je obdajalo ta prostor. Nekateri so stali tudi po stopnicah navzgor.  Z  rdečim pregrinjalom je bil pogrnjen sedež za Pilata in višnjeva blazina, rumeno opasana, je ležala na njem. Obadva razbojnika so tudi že pripeljali sem, nato so peljali biriči in vojaki Jezusa, še vedno v rdečem, zaničljivem plašču, s trnjevo krono na glavi in z zvezanimi rokami pred sodni stol med hudobno ljudstvo in Ga postavili med oba ubijalca. Ko je sedel Pilat na svojem sodnem stolu, je še enkrat zaklical Jezusovim sovražnikom: 'Glejte, vaš kralj!' Oni pa so vpili: 'Proč z Njim! Proč z Njim! Križaj Ga!' Pilat jim reče: 'Vašega kralja naj križam? Veliki duhovniki so odgovorili: 'Nimamo kralja, razen cesarja.' In tedaj ni Pilat nobene besede več spregovoril za Jezusa in tudi z Jezusom ne, ter je začel sodbo.

O draga kri Jezusa Kristusa, ki si tekla, da bi izkazala vsem ljudem usmiljenje, pridi tudi nad me in nad vse ljudi, toda ne v prekletstvo, ampak v blagoslov! Razlij se  bogato nad nas! Glej, darujemo ti svoje srce in roke, svojo voljo, razum in spomin, svoje misli in želje, nagnjenja in dejanja, vso svojo notranjost  in zunanjost! Operi nas, ker smo vsi omadeževani! Očisti  in ozdravi nas, ker smo vsi bolni! Spreobrni in poboljšaj nas s svojo čudovito močjo, da bomo vredni združiti se s teboj!

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Drago kri Jezusa Kristusa hočem prav častiti in staviti na njo svoje edino zaupanje.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (31)

SMRTNA OBSODBA  

Pilatu ni bilo do resnice, iskal je le izhoda. Omahoval je bolj ko kdaj prej. Vest mu je pravila, da je Jezus nedolžen, njegova žena ga je imenovala svetega. V svojem praznoverju pa je gledal v njem sovražnik a bogov. Strahopetnost mu je prišepetavala: Bog je in se ti bo maščeval. Zdaj pa je prišlo še nekaj novega: jezilo ga je, da ga je Jezus spregledal. Stal je pred njim v vsej svoji notranji sramoti.

In ta, ki ga je dal on bičati in ki ga mora obsoditi na smrt, mu je napovedal njegov bedni konec. Usta, ki niso nikdar izgovorila laži in ki se niso odprla v lastni zagovor,  so njega pozvala pred pravično sodbo. Ob tem se je uprla njegova ošabnost. Strahopetni podlež je računal: 'Če umrje, umre z njim tudi vse, kar o meni ve in kar mi je napovedal.'

Tako je ukazal med strašnim rjovenjem Judov,  naj pripravijo vse za končno razsodbo. Dal si je prinesti druga oblačila. Ogrnili so mu tudi drug plašč. Vojaki so ga obstopili. Pred njim so šli sodni sluge in so nekaj nosili. Sledili so pisarji z zvitki in deščicami. Pred vsemi je stopal glasnik, trobentač v pazavno. Tako je prišel Pilat iz palače dol na trg. Tu je stal nasproti stebra bičanja lepo zidan sodni stol. Imenovali so ga Gabbatha. To je bila okrogla terasa s stopnicami od vseh strani. Na terasi je stal sedež za sodnika, v ozadju pa klop za drugo sodno osebje. Vojaki so se postavili spodaj naokrog in še na stopnice. Več farizejev je že odšlo v tempelj. Hana in Kajfa in kakih trideset drugih pa so se napotili k sodnemu stolu, brž, ko si je Pilat nadel uradna oblačila. Oba razbojnika so že malo prej pripeljali tja. Sedež za Pilata so prekrili z rdečim pregrinjalom in dali nanj modro blazino z rumenimi našivi.

Zdaj so pripeljali Jezusa v rdečem plašču, s trnovo krono na glavi, zvezanih rok skozi sovražno množico pred sodni stol. Postavili so ga med oba razbojnika. Ko je Pilat sedel, je še enkrat dejal Jezusovim sovražnikom: 'Glejte tu svojega kralja!' In zopet so zavpili: 'Proč! Proč z njim! Križaj ga!' Pilat je rekel: 'Vašega kralja naj križam?' Veliki duhovniki so zaklicali: 'Nimamo kralja razen cesarja!' Nato Pilat ni rekel ničesar več.

Oba razbojnika sta bila že prej obsojena na smrt, po prizadevanju velikih duhovnikov pa so preložili usmrtitev na ta dan. Hoteli so Jezusa še bolj osramotiti: križan bo skupaj z morilcema. Križa obeh razbojnikov sta ležala že tam, Gospodovega pa še ni bilo. Najbrž zato, ker smrtna obsodba še ni bila izrečena.

Jezus je stal, obdan od biričev, na stopnicah pred cesarskim namestnikom. Glas pozavne je zadonel. Vse je utihnilo. Pilat je govoril smrtno obsodbo.

2. Jezus obsojen k smrti na križu

1. Oba razbojnika sta bila že prej k smrti obsojena, na prošnjo velikih duhovnov pa so do danes z njima čakali, ker so mislili s tem Jezusa še bolj osramotiti, da je bil med dvema ubijalcema križan. Ko je Pilat pokazal Jezusa očitno ljudstvu in ko je Marija slišala nečloveško vpitje Judov, se je za nekaj časa proč odtegnila, zdaj pa se je zopet bližala z drugimi svetimi ženami skozi množico ljudstva k smrtni  obsodbi svojega Sina in svojega Boga. Jezus, oban od biričev in od svojih sovražnikov zasmehovan, je stal na stopnicah pred Pilatom. Trobenta je zadonela in Pilat je izgovoril smrtno obsodbo nad Jezusom. Oh, kdo bo premišljeval zaničljivost tega hudobnega sodnika, veselje in krvoželjno nasičenje velikih duhovnov, revo in bolečino ubogega Zveličarja, neizrečeno bridkost Jezusove Matere in drugih svetih žena, mrzlo in ošabno obnašanje vojakov in vse te grozne, peklenske podobe razdivjanega ljudstva – kdo bo vse to premišljeval in ne bo pri tem ves potrt? Oh, kdo ne občuti, da bi bili morali mi sami tam stati, kjer je stal Jezus, naš ljubi ženin. Potem bi bila sodba pravična!

2. Pilat je dolgo govoril in imenoval Klavdija Tiberija z visokimi priimki cesarja. Potem je bral pritožbo zoper Jezusa, da je ljudi ščuval in netil vstajo, da je judovsko postavo prelomil, ker se je imenoval Sina božjega in kralja Judov, in da Ga obsodi judovska velika duhovščina v smrt in da ljudstvo enoglasno zahteva Njegovo križanje. In potem, kdo bi pričakoval, zine ta ubogi človek, ki je več ur priznaval Jezusovo nedolžnost, da spozna to sodbo za pravično. Rekel je: 'Jaz torej obsodim Jezusa Nazarečana, kralja judovskega, da bo pribit na križ.' Mati Jezusova je pri teh besedah omedlela, kakor bi hotela tudi sama umreti. Zdaj je bilo gotovo. Strašna, mukotrpna in sramotna smrt njenega svetega, najljubeznivejšega Sina in Zveličarja sveta je bila sklenjena. Janez in svete žene so peljali Marijo proč, da bi se zaslepljeni ljudje ne pregrešili norčevaje se nad bolečinami Zveličarjeve Matere. Tako je torej hotel biti Jezus nedolžno v smrt obsojen in prevzeti našo lastno smrtno obsodbo nase, da bi nam nekdaj dodelil milostno sodbo. O neskončna ljubezen Jezusova!

3. Nato je Pilat spisal to krivo obsodbo na sodnem stolu in napisal še napis na križ, kateri naj se nad Jezusovo glavo pribije, namreč: 'Jezus Nazareški, kralj Judov'. Veliki duhovni pa so se z njim prepirali tam pred sodnim stolom, ker jim ta napisana sodba ni bila po volji. Tudi zaradi napisa so se prepirali in so hoteli, naj bi ne pisal: 'Kralj judov', ampak a se je On sam imenoval judovskega kralja. Pilat jih je že ves nepotrpežljiv, zaničljivo in jezno zavrnil: 'Kar sem pisal, sem pisal!' Tako je bil tedaj Jezus pripoznan proti volji Judov za njihovega kralja in bo kot tak vedno ostal, čeprav so Ga oni zavrgli. Jezus, to je naš Zveličar, Odrešenik in kralj, je torej častiti napis, katerega si je Gospod hotel sam dati in kateri se bere še zdaj na vsakem križu. V tem častitljivem napisu  je zapopadena vsa naša vera, vse naše upanje in vsa naša ljubezen. Ta napis je naš nauk, naše tolažilo, naše veselje, naše zagotovilo večnega življenja, je mogočni pripomoček proti zalezovanju hudobnega duha, je strah pekla. Zakaj ta napis nam kaže, da nas je Jezus odrešil s svojo drago krvjo, greha in večnega pogubljenja in nas oprostil sužnosti satanove, in da zdaj v veličastvu svojega Očeta kraljuje in bo vekomaj kraljeval, ker nas hoče vse zveličati. O milosti polni napis, ki zaslužiš, da te vsi ljudje z veseljem pozdravljajo in pobožno časte!

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (32)

Z visoko donečimi besedami je najprej omenil cesarja Tiberija. Nato je navedel obtožnico zoper Jezusa: hujska ljudstvo, povzroča nemire, prelamlja judovske postave, ker se da imenovati sinu božjega in kralja Judov. Veliki duhovniki so ga obsodili na smrt in ljudstvo je enoglasno zahtevalo, naj bo križan. Nepravični sodnik, ki je v zadnjih urah tolikokrat zatrjeval, da je Jezus nedolžen, je zdaj izjavil, da se je prepričal, da so ga veliki duhovniki po pravici obsodili. Sklenil je z besedami: 'Tako torej obsojam Jezusa Nazarečana, kralja Judov, na smrt na križu!' Velel je rabljem, naj prinesejo križ. Spominjam se tudi, a ne z gotovostjo, da je prelomil dolgo palico in jo vrgel Jezusu pred noge.

Zdaj so sodbo še zapisali. Pisarji so takoj napravili nekaj prepisov. Nato so odposlali sle. Ne vem, če je bilo to v zvezi z obsodbo, ali so dobili kake druge ukaze. Dvolični Pilat pa je napisal še drugo sodbo o Jezusu, čisto drugačno, kakor jo je pravkar izrekel. Bilo je, kot da piše proti svoji volji v mučni zmedenosti in kakor bi jezni angel vodil njegovo roko. Približno tako le je zapisal: 'V skrbi pred pretečo ljudsko vstajo in pod pritiskom velikih duhovnikov in visokega zbora sem jim predal Jezusa Nazareškega, da ga križajo. Dolžili so ga hujskaštva, bogokletstva in prelamljanja postave, a vsega tega nisem ugotovil. Zahtevali so njegovo smrt. Obsodil sem ga, da me ne bi tožili cesarju kot nepravičnega sodnika in kakor da sem zakrivil vstajo. Obenem z njim peljejo v smrt dva zločinca. Njuna usmrtitev je bila po prizadevanju zgoraj imenovanih preložena, da bi bil križan Jezus skupno s tema hudodelcema.

Tudi to sodbo je dal večkrat prepisati in jo poslati na več krajev. Velikim duhovnikom obsodba ni bila po volji. Posebno, ker je Pilat pisal, da so oni zahtevali, naj se usmrtitev razbojnikov odloži, da bi bil Jezus skupno z njima usmrčen. Prerekali so se pred sodnim stolom. Pilat je napisal na deščico še napis za križ v treh vrsticah. Tudi zaradi tega so se prepirali z njim. Ne bi smel pisati: 'Kralj Judov', ampak 'izdajal se je za kralja Judov'. Pilata je minila potrpežljivost. Porogljivo je zaklical: 'Kar sem pisal, sem pisal!'

Hoteli so tudi, da bi Jezusov križ nad glavo ne bil višji kakor križ razbojnikov. Moral pa je biti višji, sicer ne bi mogli nanj pritrditi deščice s Pilatovim napisom. Upirali so se, da bi tako spravili napis proč. Pilat pa ni popustil. Morali so podaljšati deblo križa z vložkom lesa, da je bilo prostora za tablico. Tako je dobil križ obliko, kakšno vedno vidim.

Klavdija Prokle je poslala svojemu možu darilce nazaj ter se mu odrekla. Videla sem, da je še na večer istega dne skrivaj zapustila palačo in pobegnila k svetim ženam. Skrile so jo v Lazarjevi hiši. – V zelenkast kamen na zadnji strani sodnega stola je nekdo z ostrim železom vdolbel besede: 'Nepravični sodnik. Tudi ime Klavdija je bilo tam vdolbeno. Ta kamen je še zdaj v temelju nekega poslopja na mestu, kjer je nekoč stal sodni stol.

Po smrtni obsodbi je bil Jezus popolnoma v rokah grozovitih rabljev. Prinesli so mu njegovo obleko. Mislim, da so jo bili usmiljeni ljudje oprali, ker je bila čista. Razvezali so mu roke ter mu surovo potegnili s telesa rdeči plašč. Več ran mu je znova zakrvavelo. Ker mu niso mogli nadeti preko glave rjave, scela tkane suknje – delo njegove svete matere – so mu strgali trnovo krono z glave. Vse rane na glavi so na novo krvavele. ko so mu oblekli suknjo, so mu nadeli še njegovo ohlapno belo oblačilo s širokim pasom in plašč. Nato so mu nadeli še pas s pritrjenimi vrvmi. Vse to so delali nedopovedljivo surovo med udarci in suvanjem.

Oba razbojnika sta stala tam, desno in levo ob Jezusu. Tudi tadva sta imela, kakor Jezus, na vratu obešene verige. Na sebi sta imela le opasico in slab podsuknjič, ob strani odprt, brez rokavov. Bila sta umazano rjave polti, od bičanja sta bila polna bul. Oni, ki se je potem spreobrnil, je bil že zdaj tiho, vase pogreznjen. Drugi pa je bil srdito predrzen, preklinjal je ter z rablji vred zasmehoval Jezusa. Odrešenik ju je pogledal, poln hrepenenja, da bi ju zveličal. Saj je trpel tudi zanju. – Rablji so zdaj prinesli tja neko orodje.

Končno sta Hana in Kajfa končala prepir. Dobila sta nekaj ozkih, dolgih pergamentnih listov s prepisom. Odhitela sta v tempelj. Komaj, da sta še pravočasno prispela.

Pilat pa, ošabni, omahljivi pogan, ki se je potegoval za svetno čast, a je bil vendarle suženj smrti, se je vračal, obdan od služabnikov in straže, v svojo palačo. Naprej je stopil glasnik, trobeč v pozavno.

Katero srce bi moglo poslušati to grozovito smrtno sodbo zoper Tebe?' vprašuje častiti Tomaž od Jezusa. 'O pravo življenje vseh duš in edino upanje grešnikov, kako bo človeško srce razumelo, ko si bil tako razmesarjen in stepen, da nisi bil pomilovan, ampak so enoglasno vsi zahtevali Tvojo smrt, ko so vpili:: 'Proč z Njim! Križaj Ga!' O Pilat, vzemi Ga izpred oči teh divjih zveri, ki Ga ne morejo videti in Ga daj meni! Sprejeti Ga hočem, zdraviti Ga hočem, moliti Ga hočem in služiti Mu hočem. Pridi o sladka ljubezen in moj rešitelj! Pridi k meni, ki hrepenim po Tebi, ki le Tebe iščem, in se le Tebe veselim, akoravno si  ves z ranami obdan! Pridi v mojo dušo in živi v njej in za Te hočem umreti... – Pa kaj pravim... saj sem jaz vzrok Tvoje smrti s svojimi neštevilnimi pregrehami. – Oh, odpusti mi, o moj Jezus! Na Tvoje neskončno usmiljenje stavim svoje upanje. Ozdravi mojo revščino in zaradi Tvoje bridke smrtne obsodbe me obvaruj večne smrti. Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Srčno se hočem vojskovati zoper skušnjave hudobnega duha.

X. KRIŽEV POT 

1. Jezus vzame križ na svoje rame

1. Ko je bila izrečena smrtna obsodba in je nastal prepir med velikimi duhovni in Pilatom, so Jezusa izdali biričem. Prej so se še bali sodnikov, zdaj pa je postal Jezus takorekoč plen teh strašnih ljudi. Slekli so mu tedaj rdeči sramotilni plašč z ranjenega telesa in Mu s tem ponovili veliko ran. Potem so Mu dali rjavkasto suknjo brez šiva, ki Mu jo je naredila Njegova mati. Ker Mu je niso mogli zaradi široke trnjeve krone obleči, so Mu izdrli krono z glave. Iz vseh ran je pritekla vnovič kri med strašnimi bolečinami. Privezali so mu zopet okoli ledij oklepni pas, za katerega so privezali vrvi. Vse to se je zgodilo med suvanjem in tepenjem z divjo predrznostjo. Oba razbojnika sta stala eden na desni, drugi na levi z zvezanimi rokami. Imela sta, kakor Jezus pri sodbi, verigo okrog vratu. Oblečena sta bila v slabo srajco, reven telovnik in na glavi slamnato pokrivalo. Umazana, rjava in zatekla sta bila od poprejšnjega bičanja. Tisti, ki se je potem spreobrnil, je bil že zdaj tih in sam vase zamišljen. Drugi pa je bil jezen, predrzen, je klel in z biriči vred zasramoval Jezusa. Biriči pa so skupaj znosili vsa svoja orodja in vse se je pripravljalo na strašno in grozno pot, na kateri je hotel ljubeznivi, trpeči Zveličar za nas nehvaležno težo vseh grehov nositi, da bi razlil v zadoščenje svojo kri iz keliha svojega telesa, ki so ga zavrženi ljudje prebodli.

2. Hana in Kajfa sta se pred Pilatom že dosti prepirala. Hitela sta zdaj proti templju, zakaj komaj sta zmogla še o pravem času tja dospeti. In tedaj so se ločili veliki duhovni od pravega velikonočnega Jagnjeta. Hiteli so v kamniti tempelj, da bi podobo tega Jagnjeta klali in jedli, ter so prepustili izpolnjenje te podobe – pravo Jagnje božje – neusmiljenim rabljem darovati na oltarju križa. Skrbno so se bali na zunaj se kaj oskruniti, medtem ko jih je obvladovala nasprotno vsa hudobija njihovega srca v jezi, nevoščljivosti in zaničljivosti. ' 'Njegova kri naj pride nad nas in nad naše otroke!' S temi besedami so nadomestili obred darovanja, ki je pri darovih obstajal v tem, da je darovalec svojo roko položil na darovano žival. Ločila so se tu pota k oltarju milosti. Pilat pa, napuhnjen in omahljiv, ki se je tresel pred Bogom, pa daroval malikom, suženj smrti, je šel s svojimi obdan od velike straže, mogočno nazaj v svojo dvorano. To krivično sodbo je potrdil po našem okoli desete ure zjutraj.

3. Ko je zapustil Pilat sodni sedež. je šlo nekaj vojakov z njim, ki so se postavili pred njegovo dvorano. Le nekoliko jih je ostalo pri obsojenih. Osemindvajset oboroženih farizejev, med njimi šest najhujših Jezusovih sovražnikov, ki so bili na Oljski gori navzoči pri Judovem izdajstvu Jezusa, je prijezdilo na trg, da so spremili obsojence. Rablji so tedaj peljali Jezusa na sredo trga in več sužnjev je prineslo od zahodne strani sem velik križ, ki so ga vrgli pred Jezusa na tla. In ko je ležal križ pred Jezusom na tleh, je padel Jezus na kolena, objel s svojimi rokami križ, ga trikrat poljubil in na tihem srčno opravil zahvalno molitev nebeškemu Očetu za pričeto odrešenje človeštva. Tako je Gospod objel svoj križ, večni oltar zadostilne krvave daritve. Rablji pa so Jezusa potegnili na kolena in primoran je bil težki križ si sam nadeti na svoje rame in ga objeti z desnico. Angeli so Mu pomagali, sicer bi si ga ne bi bil mogel naložiti. Pod to težo je sklonjen klečal.

Premisli, kako radovoljno vzame Jezus svoj sveti križ zate in kako hrepeni zate trpeti. Zadeni torej tudi ti svoj križ, katerega ti je odločil Gospod, in nosi ga za Gospodom.

Zveličana Ivana od Križa pravi, da je Jezus tako hrepenel svoj sveti križ objeti, da je takorekoč vzdihnil: 'Ozrem se nate, o križ, moja nevesta! Nasproti  mi prideš na mojo ženitnino in z menoj se hočeš zaročiti. Pridem, da te s svojo krvjo ozaljšam, zato sem zapustil nebesa. Triintrideset let sem te iskal; z veseljem te objamem, ti ključ in vrata nebeška!'...

O hvala, tisočera hvala, o Jezus, za Tvojo neskončno ljubezen do nas grešnih ljudi! Oh, vcepi tudi meni veliko hrepenenja in srčnih želja, iz ljubezni do Tebe trpeti in iz ljubezni do Tebe umreti. Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: V križih in težavah hočem biti srčen.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (33)

KRIŽEV POT 

1. Jezus vzame križ na svoje rame

Majhna četa vojakov je ostala pri obsojencih. Zdaj je prijezdilo osemindvajset oboroženih farizejev, da bodo vodili sprevod. Med njimi je bilo tudi onih šest najhujših Jezusovih sovražnikov, ki so bili zraven že na Oljski gori. Rablji so postavili Jezusa na sredo trga. Skozi zadnja vrata so prinesli sužnji križ in ga vrgli hrupno pred Jezusa. Oba tanjša prečna dela sta bila privezana z vrvmi na široko, težko deblo križa. Zagozde, podstavek za noge, pozneje narejeni gornji nastavek in različno orodje so nosili fantini.

Ko je ležal križ pred Odrešenikom, je pokleknil, se ga oklenil in ga trikrat poljubil. Tiho je molil ganljivo  zahvalo, da se začenja odrešenje človeštva. Rablji pa so  ga potegnili od tal, da je klečal pokonci. Tako si je moral mukoma naložiti težki les na desno ramo in ga držati z desnico. Videla sem angele, ki so mu pomagali, drugače si ne bi bil mogel naložiti težkega bremena. Klečal je sklonjen pod križem. Medtem so biriči naložili obema zločincema prečna dela njunih križev preko tilnika in jima privezali roke nanju. Ta les je bil nekoliko ukrivljen. Pri križanju so ga pritrdili na zgornji konec debla. – Zadonela je trobenta Pilatovih konjenikov. Eden od farizejev na konju se je približal Odrešeniku, klečečemu pod bremenom, in rekel: 'Zdaj je konec lepih besed. Storite, da se ga čimprej iznebimo. Naprej! Naprej!' Zvlekli so ga pokonci.

Na zadnjo stran križa so pritrdili dve vrvi. Z njima sta dva rablja držala križ, da se ni vlekel po tleh. Štirje biriči so zopet držali Jezusa na vrveh, pritrjenih na njegov pas. Plašč so mu privezali okrog gornjega dela telesa. – Ko je tako Jezus nosil les križa, sem se živo spomnila Izaka, ki je tudi nesel na goro les za lastno daritev. Trobentač je dal znak za odhod. Pilat sam je prisostvoval z oddelkom vojakov, da bi preprečil morebitno vstajo. Sedel je oborožen na konju, obdajali so ga častniki in četa konjenikov. Za njimi je stopala četa kakih tristo pešcev. Vsi so bili doma okrog meje med današnjo Italijo in Švico.

Na čelu sprevoda je hodil glasnik, ki je na vsakem uličnem vogalu zatrobil in razglašal usmrtitev. Nekaj korakov za njim se je valila truma pobalinov in različna drhal. Nosili so pijačo, vrvi, žeblje, zagozde in košare z različnim orodjem. Močnejši hlapci so nosili droge, lestve in debli križev obeh razbojnikov. Lestve so imele le po en drog s klini. Sledilo je nekaj farizejev na konjih. Za njimi je mlad fant nosil na prsih deščico z napisom za Jezusov križ. Na rami je nosil palico s trnovo krono. Najprej so namreč mislili, da je Jezus zaradi križa ne more obdržati na glavi. Ta fant ni bil hudoben.

Za njim je šel naš Gospod in Odrešenik, sklonjen pod težkim bremenom križa, izčrpan, omahujoč, razbičan. Od zadnje večerje ni ničesar zaužil in zatisnil očesa. Ves ta čas so ga smrtno trpinčili. Grozne so bile muke ran, izgube  krvi, žeje. In k vsemu še neizrekljivo duševno trpljenje. Tako je stopal tam s svojimi bolečinami, ranjenimi nogami. Desnica mu je oklepala težki križ, z levico je večkrat skušal dvigniti oblačilo, ki mu je oviralo negotovi korak. Roke so mu bile od težkih spon ranjene in zatekle, obličje pokrito z oteklinami in krvjo, lasje in brada razmršeni, zlepljeni s krvjo. Breme in vrvi so mu pritiskale oblačilo na ranjeno telo in volna se je prilepila na nanovo se odpirajoče rane. V vsej tej muki pa ni nehal moliti. Rablja, ki sta na vrveh držala deblo križa, sta mu breme še otežila, ker sta križ z vrvmi večkrat premaknila v drugo lego.

Ob straneh so korakali vojaki s sulicami. Vsakega obeh razbojnikov sta vodila na vrveh po dva biriča. Bila sta napol pijana, ker so jima dali neko močno pijačo. Dobri je bil tih, hudobni pa predrzen in je preklinjal v onemoglem srdu. Za njima so jezdili še preostali farizeji. Zaključevali so sprevod. Ves čas je zdaj eden zdaj drug od farizejev pojezdil ob sprevodu gor in dol, da je priganjal, naj bolj pohitijo, ali da je delal red. Med drhaljo, ki je šla spredaj, noseč orodje, je bilo tudi nekaj predrznih  judovskih dečkov, ki so se sami vsilili.

Po daljšem presledku je sledil Pilatov oddelek. Tudi tu je bil na čelu trobentač, a ta je bil na konju. Nato je jezdil Pilat v bojni opremi med svojimi častniki in četo konjenikov. Sledilo je tristo mož pehote. Ta del sprevoda je šel najprej preko velikega trga in zavil nato na široko cesto.

Jezusa so vodili po ozki ulici med dvoriščnimi poslopji. Večina Judov je odšla na domove ali v tempelj. To jutro so izgubili že mnogo časa in so zdaj pohiteli s pripravami za klanje velikonočnih jagnjet. Vendar jih je ostalo na cestah še veliko, ki so hoteli videti križanje. Hiteli so po ovinkih naprej in se postavili pri stranskih ulicah, da bi gledali sprevod. Ozka ulica, po kateri so peljali Jezusa, je bila le nekaj korakov široka in vsa nesnažna. Gospod je moral tu veliko trpeti. Z oken in zidnih lukenj ga je zasramovala raznovrstna sodrga. Metali so za njim nesnago in kuhinjske odpadke. Hudobneži so ga polivali s črno, smrdečo godljo. Celo otroci, ki so jih nahujskali, so nabirali kamenje v svoja krilca, tekali med sprevodom in vsuli kamenje Jezusu pred noge, grdo zmerjaje. To so mu storili otroci, ki jih je tako ljubil.

2. Jezus nese križ na goro Golgoto

1. Oglasila pa se je trobenta Pilatovih jezdecev in eden izmed farizejev se je približal Jezusu, ki je še klečal pod križevo težo, in Mu rekel: 'Dosti je lepih besed! Naprej, da se Ga prej iznebimo! Naprej, naprej!' In tedaj so potegnili Jezusa kvišku in vsa teža križa je bila na Njegovih ramah, teža, katero moramo tudi mi po Njegovih večno resničnih svetih besedah za Njim nositi. In vzdignila se je na zemlji tako zaničljiva, v nebesih pa tako zveličavna procesija kralja vseh kraljev. Najprej je jezdil trobentač, ki je na vseh vogalih mesta trobil in naznanjal smrt. Nekaj korakov za tem je šla drhal vseh vrst potepuhov. Nesli so pijačo, vrvi, žeblje, zagozde in jerbase različnega orodja; močnejši so nesli dolge kole, lestve in križa razbojnikov. Nato so jezdili farizeji in za temi je šel dečko z napisom, na palici čez ramo pa je nosil trnjevo krono, ki ni obstala Jezusu pri nošnji križa na glavi.

2. In za temi je šel naš Gospod in Odrešenik, sklonjen pod težo križa, ves pretepen in omagan. Od sinočnje zadnje večerje ni ničesar zaužil, brez jedi, pijače in spanja, zaradi izgube krvi, brezštevilnih ran, žeje in strašnih notranjih bridkosti in grozovitosti ves oslabljen, je omahoval pripognjen dalje. Desnica je držala veliko težo na desni rami in levica je trudno segala po širokem oblačilu, da bi ga umaknil svojim negotovim stopinjam. Štirje biriči so Ga držali na vrveh, privezanih za oklepni pas. Sprednja dva sta Ga vlekla naprej, zadnja dva sta Ga suvala in pehala, tako da ni imel nobene gotove stopinje. Njegovi roki sta bili od prejšnjih vezi ranjeni in zatekli. Njegovo obličje je bilo s krvjo zalito in vsled oteklin zabuhlo; lasje in brada zmršeni in s krvjo namočeni. Teža in vezi so Mu pritiskali volneno oblačilo na ranjeno telo, da se je prijela volna vseh ponovljenih ran. Okrog Njega pa so se zaničljivo smejali in krohotali. Neizrečeno je bil reven in zdelan, pa vendar ljubezniv. Njegova usta so molila, Njegov pogled je bil mil, odpustljiv in trpeč. Dva rablja sta navezala vrvi na zadnjem koncu križa in sta ga dvigovala, da je visel in se ni vlekel ter sta tako težo le še povečala s svojim vzdigovanjem in spuščanjem.

3. Ob straneh je šlo več vojakov s sulicami. Zadaj sta šla razbojnika; vsakega je peljal na vrvi po en birič. Spreobrnjeni razbojnik je le molčal, hudobni pa je bil jezen in je klel. Biriči so bili zagoreli in majhne postave. Imeli so kratke, črne, kodraste in ščetinaste lase. To so bili sužnji iz Egipta, ki so kopali mestne jarke. Imeli so kratke opasnike z usnjatimi naprstniki brez rokavov. Za razbojnikoma je jezdila polovica farizejev. Precej daleč zadaj je šla Pilatova drhal. Sam Pilat je šel z njimi, da bi ne nastala v mestu kaka vstaja. Najprej je jezdil trobentač, za njim kmalu Pilat v vojaški opravi med stotniki in drugimi jezdeci. Za temi je šlo tristo pešcev, ki so bili doma iz zgornje Italije. Ljudstvo se je takoj ob obsodbi začelo pomikati naprej. Prav veliko različnih ljudi je bilo skupaj; tujci, sužnji, delavci, otroci, žene in drhal. Po vseh cestah so naprej letali, da so mogli gledati žalostno procesijo. Rimski vojaki pa so jim branili gnesti se za Jezusom, zato so po drugih poteh zopet naprej letali. Večji del ljudstva pa je drl na Golgoto.

'O Gospod, Bog moje duše,' pravi častiti Tomaž od Jezusa, 'ali je mogoče, da se ne braniš vzeti teže križa na svoje rame, ker je Tvoje telo tako oslabljeno zaradi izgube krvi in zdelano vsled prestanega trpljenja, tako da je Tvoj telo ena sama rana. Veš, da Tvoje moči ne morejo nositi te velike teže, in vendar jo vzameš. O Bog ljubezni, Tvoja ljubezen premore vse in nič ji ni nemogoče. Pa še več. Jaz sam sem en del te strašne teže in jaz sam ležim s celo težo svojih grehov na Tebi. Bodi torej hvaljen in zahvaljen, o najdobrotljivejši pastir, ki si mene izgubljeno ovco naložil na svoje rame, da bi me nesel nazaj k čredi. O sladki moj Jezus, dodeli mi, da Ti vsaj v prihodnje olajšam to težo ter je z nobenim, tudi najmanjšim grehom ne pomnožim več!' Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: V vsem se hočem zatajevati in ničesar ne delati po svoj volji. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (34)

2. Jezus pade prvič pod križem 

Tu in tam so se pojavile ob poti jokajoče žene z otroki, ki so ječali od strahu. Z božjo pomočjo okrepljen je Gospod dvignil glavo in satanski pobalini so mu, namesto da bi mu pomagali, posadili krono na glavo. Suvaje so ga nato spravili pokonci in mu znova naložili križ. Zdaj je moral ubogo, s trnjem prebodeno glavo z veliko muko nagibati nizko na stran, da je mogel težki križ ob široki kroni naslanjati na ramena. Tako se je opotekal Jezus z novo, pomnoženo muko po dvigajoči se cesti.

Ozka ulica se nekoliko razširi in se začne vzpenjati. Na tem mestu je bila sredi ceste jama, kjer se je zbirala deževnica in umazanija. Kakor na več mestih po jeruzalemskih cestah je ležal tu visok kamen, da bi prešel lužo. Ko je dospel Jezus s križem do tja, ni mogel naprej. Biriči so ga neusmiljeno vlekli in naganjali. In božji nosilec križa je padel čez kamen po dolgem na zemljo in njegovo breme poleg njega. Poganjači so preklinjali in ga suvali z nogami. Sprevod se je ustavil. Nastal je hrup. Zaman je iztezal roko, da bi mu kdo pomagal vstati. Tiho je rekel: 'Ah, saj bo kmalu končano,' in je molil. Farizeji pa so kričali: 'Pokonci! Spravite ga na noge! Saj nam bo umrl pod rokami!'

3. Jezus pade prvič in drugič pod križem

    Jezus sreča svojo žalostno Mater

1. Peljali so Jezusa po ozki cesti, kjer je bilo vse polno različne šare. Jezus je moral tu veliko trpeti. Iz oken in lukenj je zijala nanj vsake vrste drhal in sužnji, ki so tod delali, so metali vanj blato in gnojnico. Celo otroci, ki so jih ščuvali na Jezusa, so nabrali v svoja krila kamenja in so Mu ga iz vež metali z vpitjem pod noge, norčevaje se in preklinjevaje. To so delali otroci, katere je Jezus ljubil, jih blagoslavljal in srečne imenoval. Ozka cesta se vije na levo, proti koncu je širša in nekoliko navkreber. Preden se je začelo iti navkreber, se je zbirala v nižini voda in blato; in tu je ležal kamen, da se je lažje prestopilo čez blato, kakor je bilo na več krajih Jeruzalema, kjer so bila slaba in nesnažna pota. Ubogi Jezus ni mogel vsled velike teže svojega križa stopiti čez. Biriči pa so Ga pehali in podili neusmiljeno  naprej. In božji Zveličar se je nad kamnom spotaknil in padel na tla zraven njega. Biriči so kleli in Ga z nogami suvali. Vse se je ustavilo in nastal je vrišč okrog Njega. Zastonj je podajal roko, da bi mu kdo pomagal vstati. Oh, saj bo kmalu konec, je vzdihnil in molil. Farizeji pa so vpili: 'Naprej, naprej! Spravite Ga na noge, da nam ne umrje pod rokami.' Semtertja ob potu so stale jokajoče žene z otročiči ter so se tresle od groze. Z nadnaravno močjo je vzdignil Jezus svojo glavo in grozoviti, satanski rablji so Mu tu potlačili trnjevo krono na glavo, namesto da bi Mu olajšali. Ko pa so Ga spravili med pehanjem zopet pokonci, so Mu naložili križ na rame, in revno, s trnjem prebodeno glavo je moral držati s strašnimi bolečinami na stran, da je slonela pod široko krono velika teža na rami. Tako je omahoval z novim trpljenjem po široki cesti navkreber.

2. Vsa prevzeta od bolečin je zapustila žalostna Mati z Janezom trg, ko je bila izrečena krivična sodba nad Njenim Sinom. Medtem je zopet obhodila več krajev Njegovega trpljenja. Ko pa je nastalo dirjanje ljudstva in se je oglasila trobenta in ko se je Pilat s svojo stražo in vojaki vzdignil ter je bilo vse pokonci, v znamenje, da peljejo Jezusa po križevem potu, tudi Marija ni zaostala. Videti je hotela svojega božjega Sina v Njegovem trpljenju ter je prosila Janeza, naj bi jo peljal na kraj, kjer bo šel Jezus mimo. Prišli so od Sionske gore sem. Šli so po stranskih potih čez sodni trg, ki ga je Jezus zapustil, skozi vrata in po vrteh, kateri sicer niso bili odprti, zdaj pa so bili zaradi ljudstva. – Potem so prišli na zahodno stran dvorane, odkoder so vodila vrata na široko cesto, kjer se je ravno po prvem padcu Jezusovem vsa žalostna procesija obrnila nekoliko na stran. Janez je prosil nekega usmiljenega hlapca, da je smel tu skozi iti z Marijo in drugimi ženami na drugo stran hiše. Uboga Mati Božja, vsa objokana in bleda, zavita v višnjevorjavo ogrinjalo, je nudila res žalosten pogled. Oh, čigavo srce ne bi bilo presunjeno pri tem pogledu in koga bi ne napolnila groza! –

Vpitje in vrišč, hrup in šum se je slišalo daleč naokrog. Trobenta je donela in na oglih se je razlegel klic, da peljejo nekoga v smrt. Hlapec pa je odprl vrata in vpitje je postalo razločnejše in večje. Marija je molila in rekla Janezu: 'Ali hočem gledati? Ali hočem iti proč? Oh, kako bom prestala?' – Bili so zunaj pred hišo in Marija je gledala doli na desno, po poti, ki je bila tukaj pred hišo zopet ravna. Oh, kako je glas trobente presunil njeno Srce! Jezus je bil še okoli osemdeset korakov oddaljen od tam, ko so stopili pred vrata. Tudi ni šlo pred Njim nič ljudstva, le na straneh in zadaj so se gnetli.

3. Ko so se služabniki rabljev bližali z vsem svojim orodjem in se, predrzno obnašali, se je Mati Jezusova vsa tresla, povzdigovala roke in eden mimoidočih pobalinov je zaničevaje vprašal: 'Kdo je ta žena, ki tako žaluje?' In nekdo je rekel: 'To je Mati Galilejčeva.' Ko pa so potepuhi to slišali, so žalostno Mater nagovarjali z zaničevanjem, s prstom  za njo kazali in eden izmed nesrečnih pobalinov je vzel iz jerbasa žeblje in jih molil pred obličje presveti Devici. Zdihovaje se je ozirala po Jezusu in se vsa potrta od bolečin naslonila na vrata. Bila je bleda kot mrlič in njene ustnice so bile višnjevomodre. Mimo so jezdili farizeji. Prišel je mlad Jud z napisom in nekoliko za njim – Sin božji – njen Sin, sveti Odrešenik! Omahovaje in pripognjen je šel njen ljubi Sin Jezus, glavo s trnjevo krono je imel nagnjeno na stran zaradi teže križa na rami. Njegovo obličje je bilo bledo, polno krvi in razbito. Njegova brada pa prepojena s krvjo. Ozrl se je zelo resnobno, vendar milo izpod spletene trnjeve krone k svoji žalostni Materi, pri tem pa se je spotaknil in vdrugič padel pod težo križa na svoja kolena in roke. V velikosti svojih bolečin in ljubezni je Marija gledala, a ni videla nobenega izmed vojakov ali biričev, videla je le svojega ljubega, revnega, trpečega Sina. S povzdignjenimi rokami je stopila dva koraka od hišnih vrat proti Jezusu in padla k Njemu na kolena in Ga objela. Slišale so se besede: Moj Sin! – Moja mati!

Kdo na svetu bo mogel razumeti bolečino teh dveh najljubeznivejših src, ko sta se srečala na tem potu neizrečenega trpljenja? Imej usmiljenje s to žalostno Materjo, na kateri se je sedaj izpolnilo prerokovanje Simeona, ki je rekel: 'Meč bo prebodel tvojo lastno dušo!'

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (35)

3. Žalostna mati

Presveta Devica je prosila Janeza, naj jo spremi do mesta, kjer mora priti sprevod z njenim ljubim Sinom mimo. Prestrašila sem se, ko sem videla Gospodovo mater tako bledo z rdeče objokanimi očmi, vso tresočo, zavito v modrosiv plašč. Že se je slišal trušč in vpitje, glas trobente in izklicevanje na uličnih vogalih. Marija je molila in vprašala Janeza: 'Ali naj ostanem? Naj odidem? Kako bom mogla to prenesti?' Janez pa je odgovoril: 'Če ne bi ostala, bi te to vedno bridko bolelo.' In so stopili izpod oboka, kjer so že nekaj časa stali. Gledali so na desno po poti, ki se je do tja vzpenjala, nato pa vodila po ravnem. Sprevod je bil še kakih osemdeset korakov oddaljen. Tu ga ni nihče prehiteval.

Ko so prišli mimo biriški hlapci z mučilnim orodjem, je sveta Mati vsa trepetala in vila roke. Eden izmed fantinov je vprašal druge, kdo je ta žena, ki tako žaluje. Dobil je odgovor: 'To je Galilejčeva mati.' Zdaj so hudobneži zasmehovali tožečo mater, kazaje s prstom nanjo. Najzlobnejši je pograbil žeblje za križanje in jih pomolil presveti Devici pred obraz. Ona pa je iztezala roke proti Jezusu in se v bolečini naslonila na podboje vrat, bleda kakor mrlič. Farizeji so jezdili mimo, nato je stopal deček  z napisom in, oh, nekaj korakov za njim Sin božji, njen sin, Najsvetejši Odrešenik. Prihajal je omahovaje, upognjen, in glavo s trnjevo krono je držal močno nagnjeno na stran. S krvavimi,  globoko udrtimi očmi je  pogledal tako resno in sočutno svojo trpečo mater! V tem se je opotekel in se drugič zgrudil pod križem na kolena in roke. V siloviti bolečini in ljubezni žalostna mati ni videla ne vojakov ne  biričev, videla je le svojega ljubega, ubogega, trpinčenega sina. Pohitela je med biriči k Jezusu, padla pred njim na kolena ter ga objela. Ne vem ali so bile z ustnicami izgovorjene, slišala sem besede: 'Moj sin!' – 'Moja mati!'

Rablji so preklinjali in eden je zaklical: 'Bolje bi  ga bila vzgojila, pa ne bi bil zdaj v naših rokah!' Vojake pa je prizor prevzel. Pokazali so žalostni materi, naj se umakne, dotaknil pa se je ni nihče. Janez  in žene so jo odvedli. Pri vratih, kjer je prej čakala,  se je v silni bolesti zgrudila na kolena.

Medtem so krvniki spravili Gospoda spet pokonci in so mu križ naložili drugače kot prej.

O ljuba Mati moja! Kako žalosten je bil zate pogled, ko si srečala na krvavem potu svojega ljubega Sina ter gledala vklenjenega v strašne vezi, s trnjem kronanega, s križem obloženega, s krvjo in mrtvaškim potom oblitega. Kadar so se  tvoje oči srečale z Njegovimi, kakšna smrtna bolečina je presunila tvoje in Njegovo srce! Kakšna bridkost za Mater, ko vidi svojega ljubega Sina v tako groznem stanju! Kakšna bridkost za Sina, ko vidi svojo Mater tako užaljeno, tako potrto! O žalostni Jezus! Dodeli mi delež svojih bolečin, da pomilujem Tvojo ljubo Mater! O žalostna Mati! Dodeli mi delež svojih  bolečin, da imam sočutje s trpljenjem tvojega Sina in izprosi mi pri Njem moč in srčnost, da Ga spremljam po trnjevi poti svetega križa! Oh, blažena Mati! Zaradi velike bolečine tega žalostnega snidenja mi izprosi pravo srčno ljubezen do križa! Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Svoje oči hočem brzdati v čast žalostnega pogleda med Sinom in Materjo!

4. Simon iz Cirene, Veronika, Jezus pade tretjič pod križem

1. Nastal je velik šum in hrup in grozna zmešnjava. Janez in žene so hoteli Marijo nazaj potegniti; biriči so pa kleli, vpili in jo proč podili; toda nihče se je ni dotaknil. Janez in žene so se vzdignili in jo peljali proč, ona pa, bridkosti vsa prevzeta, je padla zopet pri vratih kakor mrtva na svoja kolena. Nesli so jo skozi vrata, ki so jih zopet zaprli. Gospoda pa so biriči potegnili kvišku in šli so po široki cesti skozi velika, stara mestna vrata po dolgem in širokem trgu naprej. Tu je moral Jezus zopet čez velik kamen. Omagoval je in padel ter se opiral na kamen, a se ni mogel več sam spraviti pokonci. Ljudje, ki so šli tod mimo v tempelj, so sočutno vpili: 'O gorje! Ubogi človek bo zdaj, zdaj umrl!' Nastala je zopet velika zmešnjava. Jezusa niso mogli pokonci spraviti. Farizeji na konjih pa so vpili: 'Ne bomo živega tja pripeljali, ako ne dobite koga, da Mu pomaga nesti križ.' In tedaj je ravno prišel po cesti nasproti Simon iz Cirene in njegovi trije sinovi z njim. Nesel je butarico dračja pod pazduho in je bil vrtnar, ki je delal tudi na vrtovih na vzhodni strani mesta. Vsako leto namreč je prišel s svojo družino, kakor tudi več takih delavcev, v Jeruzalem, da je obrezoval plotove. Ni se mogel tu ogniti. Velika gneča je nastala in spoznali so ga po obleki, da je ubog delavec. Vojaki so ga zgrabili in ga pripeljali bliže k Jezusu. Branil se je, kar je le mogel, pa so ga vendar prisilili. Njegovi otroci so vpili in jokali in neke žene, ki so moža poznale, so jih vzele k sebi in tolažile. Simonu se je vse to zelo gnusilo in studilo. Ubogi Jezus je bil strašno zdelan, Njegova oblačila vsa onesnažena od blata. Jokal je ter je Simona tako ljubeznivo milo pogledal.

2. Simon Mu je moral pomagati vstati in pomagati križ nesti. Šel je tik za Jezusom, ki vsled tega ni imel tolike teže. Popravili so tudi Jezusu trnjevo krono na glavi. In tako so se zopet začeli pomikati naprej. Simon je bil mož trdne postave, star okoli štirideset let. Ni še dolgo nesel križa in že je bil Simon v srcu nekako ganjen. Premisli tu, duša moja, kako velika sreča je zadela tega Simona, da je smel pomagati Jezusu nesti križ. Ni vedel, da je Jezus sam Sin božji. O, kako bi ga bil sicer rad nesel! Tudi ni takrat mislil, da mu bo ta majhna, Jezusu izkazana pomoč povrnjena s tolikimi milostmi; da mu bo ta križ celo večno življenje dodelil in da je Jezus ravno na poti, da bi tudi zanj svojo kri prelil in tudi njega rešil večnega pogubljenja. Vsega tega takrat on ni vedel. Zato so ga k temu silili in je od začetka nerad nesel križ; kmalu pa je občutil notranje milosti; razsvetljenje, tolažbo in veselje. Kmalu ga je ravno ta križ spreobrnil iz nevernika v velikega svetnika in služabnika Kristusovega. O prečudna moč križa! Ti pa, o duša, ali ne bežiš tudi ti pred križem? Ali nosiš z veseljem svoj križ in neprisiljeno za svojim Gospodom, katerega ti je On sam naložil? Ali pomagaš nesti križ, kakor Simon iz Cirene, da bi Gospodu olajšal težo? O, če mu pomagaš, potem bo križ zate vir največjih milosti in tudi tebe bo križ pripeljal v nebesa! Le po križu pelje pot v zveličanje. Nosi tudi ti križ z vso njegovo težo, z vso njegovo širokostjo, to je: nosi ga z vsemi življenjskimi okoliščinami in posledicami: z vso njegovo dolgostjo, ko bi bilo tudi konec tvojega življenja; z vso njegovo visokostjo, ko bi tudi trpljenje narastlo kakor vodovje; z vso globočino, to je z vso velikostjo bolečin, katere zadevajo dušo in telo. Oh, nosi križ v ljubezni in potrpežljivosti. Nosi ti križ in križ ti bo prinesel nešteto milosti. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (36)

4. Simon iz Cirene

Šli so dalje po široki cesti in prišli skozi obokana vrata starega obzidja na večji trg, kjer se je stekalo troje cest. Ko bi moral Jezus zopet stopiti preko velikega kamna, je omahnil in padel. Križ je ležal poleg njega. Ves beden je ležal Jezus na tleh in se ni mogel dvigniti. Prav takrat so prišli mimo praznično oblečeni ljudje, namenjeni v tempelj. Sočutno so vzklikali: 'Gorje, ubogi človek umira!'

Farizeji, ki so jezdili na čelu sprevoda, so rekli vojakom: 'Ne bomo ga spravili živega tja. Poiščite koga, ki mu bo pomagal nesti križ!' Po srednji izmed treh cest je pravkar prihajal pogan Simon iz Cirene s svojimi tremi sinovi. Nosil je butaro suhljadi. Izogniti se ni mogel več. Po obleki so vojaki videli, da je pogan. ustavili so ga in mu veleli, naj poprime Galilejčev križ. Branil se je, ker se mu je silno upiralo. Njegovi dečki so vpili in jokali, toda nič ni pomagalo. Žene, ki so Simona poznale, so se zavzele za otroke, on pa je moral najprej pomagati Gospodu na noge. Gnusilo se mu je, saj je bil  Jezus tako strašno zdelan in spačen in njegova obleka tako nepopisno onesnažena. Stopil je potem zadaj za Gospoda in si naložil križ, da ga ni več tako težil. Žalostni sprevod se je pomikal dalje.

Simon je bil krepak mož štiridesetih let v tesno se prilegajoči obleki s prepasico okrog ledij, gologlav, na nogah je imel z jermeni pritrjene podplate. Sinovi so bili v pisanih suknjicah. Ruf in Aleksander sta bila že malo večja in sta prišla pozneje k učencem, najmlajšega sem videla pozneje – še je bil v deški starosti – pri Štefanu.

Ne dolgo in Simon je začutil v sebi dotlej neznano ginjenost, ko je tako stopal za Jezusom.

3. Simon je pomagal nesti Gospodu težo križa kakih dvesto korakov, ko so prišli do lepe, na levici stoječe hiše, ki je bil ograjena s širokim obzidjem in svetlo zlikanim železjem; prišlo se je do nje po stopnicah. Iz te hiše je prihitela velika in veličastna žena in je peljala majhno deklico za roko. Bila je to Serafija, žena Sirahova, kateri je bil ud tempeljskega zbora, navadno imenovana Veronika. Zavita je bila v tančico. Stopila je na cesto in imela je čez rame neki prt; pri nji pa je stala kaka devet let stara deklica. Zastonj so jo naprej deroči nazaj podili. Bila je vsa presunjena usmiljenja in ljubezni. Silila je z otrokom, ki se je držal njenega krila, skozi gnečo, skozi biriče in vojake tja na pot proti Jezusu z milimi besedami: 'Stori me vredno, da obrišem obličje svojega Gospoda!' – Jezus je prijel prt z levico, ga s celo roko pritisnil na svoje krvavo obličje in ji ga hvaležno nazaj podal; ona ga poljubi, dene na plašč in vstane. Jezdeci pa in biriči so razsajali vsled te zamude in še bolj zaradi očitnega češčenja Gospoda in so Jezusa bili in suvali. Veronika pa je zbežala z otrokom v svojo hišo. Komaj je stopila v hišo, je potni prt razgrnila po mizi in omedlela pred njim; dete pa je klečalo poleg nje. Tako jo je dobil neki hišni prijatelj, ki je vstopil v hišo ter jo videl kakor mrtvo ležati pred razgrnjenim prtom na katerem je bilo krvavo obličje Jezusovo, sicer strašno, čudno in popolnoma vtisnjeno. Čudil se je, jo zbudil, ji pokazal obličje Gospodovo. Polna bridkosti in tolažbe poklekne pred prt in reče: 'Vse hočem sedaj zapustiti, Gospod mi je zapustil spomin.'

Prosi torej tudi ti svojega Jezusa, naj bi vsadil spomin svojega trpljenja globoko v tvojo dušo in vtisnil svoje obličje v tvoje srce. Imej usmiljenje z Jezusom in pomagaj Mu, kakor Veronika, obrisati pot s srčno in resnično ljubeznijo.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Hočem po svoji moči pomagati drugim, v potrebi storiti kaj dobrega. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (37)

5. Veronika

Še so srečevali praznično oblečene ljudi, ki so bili na poti v tempelj. Nekateri so se brž umaknili iz farizejske bojazni, da se ne bi onečistili, drugi so obstali in kazali sočutje. Ko je Simon že kakih dvesto korakov pomagal nositi Kristusov križ, je prihitela iz lepe, velike hiše visokorasla odlična gospa z deklico ob roki. Bila je Veronika.

Doma je pripravila dragoceno vino z dišavami, želeč, da bi mogla z njim okrepčati Gospoda na križevem potu. V bolestnem nemiru in strahu je šla že prej sprevodu naproti in je stala ob strani ceste, ko sta se srečala Jezus in njegova sveta mati. Imela je s seboj deklico, ki jo je bila vzela za svojo. Nikakor pa se ni mogla preriniti v Gospodovo bližino, zato se je vrnila domov, da bi tam počakala na sprevod.

Preko ramena si je vrgla prt in zakrita s pajčolanom stopila na cesto. Poleg nje je stala deklica devetih let s prekritim vrčkom vina. Jezus se je bližal in Veronika je z otrokom vred v silni ljubezni in sočutju prodrla skozi vrste drhali, vojakov in biričev, padla pred Jezusom na kolena, mu ponudila prt in zaprosila: 'Stori me vredno, da obrišem obličje mojega Gospoda!' Jezus je segel z levico po prtu in si ga s plosko roko pritisnil na obraz, nato pa ji ga je vrnil ter se ji zahvalil. Poljubila ga je in vzela pod plašč ter se dvignila. Zdaj je dekletce plaho dvignilo vrček proti njemu. A vojaki in biriči so začeli zmerjati in ju poditi; ni mu mogla podati okrepčila. Sprva jih je Veronika presenetila s svojim hitrim, pogumnim dejanjem. Zato se ji je posrečilo, da je podala Gospodu potni prt. Farizeji in biriči pa so se jezili zaradi zamude, še bolj pa, ker je tako očitno počastila Jezusa. Takoj so zopet začeli Jezusa tepsti in suvati. Veronika je z otrokom zbežala v svojo hišo.

Vstopivši v sobo je položila potni prt na mizo in že se je nezavestna zgrudila. Otrok je jokaje klečal ob njej. Tako jo je našel eden izmed stanovalcev njene hiše. Zagledal je na mizi razprostrt prt, na katerem je bilo vtisnjeno krvavo Kristusovo obličje s čudovito natančnostjo. Prestrašen jo je spravil k zavesti in ji pokazal Gospodovo obličje. Presunjena in vendar potolažena je pokleknila pred prt in zaklicala: 'Zdaj rada vse zapustim. Gospod mi je zapustil  spomin.'

Prt je bil trikrat tako dolg kot širok, tkan iz čiste volne. Nosili so take prte okrog vratu. Veronika je imela prt z Gospodovim Obličjem vedno ob zglavju postelje. Po njeni smrti so ga vzele svete žene in ga izročile materi Mariji. Od nje so ga dobili apostoli. Tako je postal cerkvena last.

Veronika je bila po očetovi strani teta Janeza Krstnika. Bila je iz Jeruzalema. Ko so štiriletno Marijo privedli v tempelj, sta šla Joahim in Ana v Zaharijevo hišo. Tam je živel zelo star mož. Najbrž je bil Zaharijev stric in Veronikin ded. Pri Marijini zaroki s sv. Jožefom je bila Veronika prisotna. Bila je videti starejša od presvete Device. Že od mladosti je hrepenela po Odrešeniku. Mnogi dobri ljudje tistega časa so gojili to hrepenenje kot skrivno ljubezen. Drugi niso o tem ničesar vedeli. Ko je dvanajstletni Jezus ostal v templju, Veronika še ni bila poročena. Jezusu je dala jesti. Pozneje se je poročila s Sirahom, ki je bil član tempeljskega posvetovalnega zbora. Gospodu ni bil naklonjen in Veronika je morala zaradi svoje ljubezni do Jezusa od njega  veliko pretrpeti. Večkrat jo je celo zaprl v v neki obokan prostor. Toda Jožef iz Arimateje in Nikodem sta ga spreobrnila in postal je milejši tudi do žene. Puščal ji je popolno prostost, da je mogla slediti Jezusu. Pri razpravi proti Jezusu je potegnil  z Nikodemom in Jožefom iz Arimateje in je bil z njima in drugimi dobro mislečimi izključen iz velikega zbora. Veronika je še lepa, postavna žena, četudi mora imeti že nad petdeset let.

V tretjem letu po Kristusovem vnebohodu je poslal rimski cesar v Jeruzalem ljudi, ki naj bi zbrali dokaze o Jezusovi smrti in o njegovem vstajenju. Zatem so bili poklicani Nikodem, Veronika in še nekaj drugih v Rim. Videla sem Veroniko pred cesarjem. Bil je bolan in je počival na ležišču, ki je bilo za nekaj stopnic više in oddeljeno z veliko zaveso. Oken ni bilo videti, svetloba je prihajala izpod stropa. Od tam so visele vrvice, s katerimi so odpirali in zapirali lopute. Cesar je poslal svoje ljudi v predsobo. Ostal je sam z Veroniko. 

Prinesla je s seboj razen potnega prta še drug kos platna od Jezusovih mrtvaških prtov. Razgrnila je potni prt pred cesarjem. Bil je dolg, ozek kos blaga. Na enem koncu je bilo vtisnjeno Gospodovo obličje. Ni bila jasna podoba, ampak odtisnjena s krvjo. Bila je tudi širša, kakor bi bila naslikana podoba, ker si je Jezus otrl obraz tudi ob straneh. Na drugem prtu je bil odtis razbičanega Odrešenikovega telesa. Menim, da je bil eden onih prtov, na katerih so umivali sveto truplo, preden so ga položili v grob. Nisem videla, da bi se bil cesar dotaknil katerega obeh prtov. Ozdravel je, ko jih je pogledal. Hotel je obdržati Veroniko v Rimu in ji dati v povračilo hišo s posestvom in služabniki. Toda ona ni hotela ničesar. Želela je le nazaj v Jeruzalem, da bi smela umreti tam, kjer je umrl njen Odrešenik. Res se je vrnila tja z drugimi pričami. Ko so pozneje v Jeruzalemu preganjali kristjane in so izgnali Lazarja in njegove sestre, je Veronika z nekaterimi ženami pobegnila. A so jo ujeli in vrgli v ječo, kjer je umrla od lakote kot mučenka za resnico. 

5. Jezus pade četrtič in petič pod križem

    Jokajoče jeruzalemske žene

    Jezus pade šestič in sedmič pod križem

1. Ko so se bližali vratom, ki stoje med poldnem in večerom, so silili biriči bolj naglo naprej. Poleg vrat je stala na razvoženi cesti velika luža. Neusmiljeni biriči so vlekli Jezusa naprej in vse se je gnetlo. Simon iz Cirene je stopil na stran, da bi se ognil luže, v tem pa se je nagnila teža križa in ubogi Jezus je četrtič padel pod križem v lužo, tako da je Simon komaj križ obdržal. Jezus je z milim glasom vzdihnil: 'Gorje, gorje, Jeruzalem! Ljubil sem te kakor koklja, ki zbira piščeta pod svojimi perutmi, in ti me tako grozovito suješ skozi svoja vrata!' – Gospod je bil silno žalosten. Farizeji pa so se obrnili proti Njemu in Ga zmerjali. Bili, suvali in vlekli so Ga kvišku iz luže. Tedaj se je Simon iz Cirene razsrdil zaradi grozovitosti biričev in je rekel: 'Če ne nehate od teh hudobij, bom križ na tla vrgel, tudi če me takoj ubijete.' Za vratmi se cesta obrne na desno proti polnočni strani na goro Kalvarijo. In tu pred vratmi, kjer pelje cesta na Kalvarijo, je bila na kol pribita tabla, na kateri je bila napisana smrtna obsodba Zveličarja in obeh razbojnikov. In tu blizu je stala pri poti množica jokajočih žena. Bile so nekatere device in pa nekaj revnih žena s svojimi otroci iz Jeruzalema. Jezus sicer tu ni prav na tla padel, vendar se je zgrudil kakor v omedlevici, tako da je Simon za sklonjenim Gospodom izpustil križ na tla in je Gospoda poprijel. In Gospod se je naslonil na Simona. To je bil peti padec krvavo trpečega Jezusa.

2. Žene in device pa so pri strašnem pogledu zagnale veliko vpitje in pomilovanje ter so Jezusu iz sočutja molile po judovskem običaju prte naproti, da bi se obrisal. Tedaj se je Jezus obrnil k njim in rekel: 'Hčere Jeruzalemske! Nikar se ne jokajte nad menoj; jokaje raje nad seboj in svojimi otoki. Zakaj, glejte, dnevi bodo prišli, ob katerih poreko: Srečna telesa, katera niso rodila in prsi, ki niso dojile! Takrat bodo rekli goram: Padite na nas! In hribom: Pokrijte nas! Če to namreč delajo na svežem lesu, kaj se bo godilo šele na suhem?' Postali so nekoliko. Sprednja drhal z vsem orodjem je hitela na Kalvarijo in za njimi je šlo sto rimskih vojakov izmed Pilatove straže. Zopet se je vse vzdignilo naprej.

Premišljuj, moja duša! Sicer je prav, da obžalujemo Jezusovo trpljenje, predvsem pa moramo le zaradi svojih pregreh jokati, zakaj te so bile vzrok strašne in grozovite smrti Jezusa Kristusa. Naši grehi so naložili Jezusu križ! O, da bi noč in dan objokovali nesrečo, ki jo je prinesel greh na svet! O, le nobenega greha več ne! 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (38)

6. Jokajoče hčere Jeruzalemske

Pot se je do mestnih vrat nekoliko spuščala. Tam je bilo treba iti najprej pod obokom, nato preko mostu in nato še pred drugim obokom. Tu so biriči Gospoda še bolj priganjali. Tik pred vrati je bila v vegastih izvoženih tleh velika mlakuža. Kruti rablji so vlekli Jezusa naprej. Simon je poskušal hoditi ob strani po boljši poti. Pri tem se je križ zaokrenil in ubogi Jezus je četrtič padel. Zgrudil se je v umazano mlako. Simon je komaj obdržal križ. Jezus je zaklical z medlečim glasom, vendar glasno in razločno: 'Gorje, gorje, Jeruzalem! Kako sem te ljubil! Kakor koklja, ki zbira piščance pod svoje peruti. In ti me tako kruto pehaš skozi vrata!' Farizeji pa so ga zmerjali: 'Hujskač še nima dovolj! Še mu je do govoričenja!' Suvali so ga in ga bili ter ga spravili iz luže. Simon pa se je razjezil nad njihovo grozovitostjo in je zavpil: 'Če ne nehate s svojimi pobalinstvi, vržem križ na tla, pa če me ubijete!'

Takoj zunaj vrat se je odlepila ozka, slaba pot, vodeč navzgor na Kalvarijo. Tam so postavili kol  s tablico, kjer je bila zapisana smrtna obsodba nad Jezusom in razbojnikoma. V bližini je stala skupina jokajočih in glasno tožečih žena. Bile so mladenke in žene z otroki; hitele so iz Jeruzalema ter tu prehitele sprevod. Med njimi so bile tudi žene iz Hebrona, Betlehema in drugih krajev. Prišle so k praznikom in se tu priključile jeruzalemskim ženam.

Tu se je zgrudil Jezus kakor nezavesten, četudi ni padel čisto na zemljo. Simon je naslonil križ na tla in stopil h Gospodu, da bi ga podprl. Jezus se je naslonil nanj. To je bil peti Odrešenikov padec pod križem. Žene so ob pogledu na tolikšno bedo na ves glas jokale in tožile. Jezus pa se je obrnil k njim in rekel: 'Hčere jeruzalemske! Ne jokajte nad menoj! Jokajte nad seboj in svojimi otroki! Zakaj, glejte, prišli bodo časi, ko se bo reklo: Blagor nerodovitnim, blagor telesom, ki niso rodila, in tem,  ki niso dojile. Takrat bodo rekli hribom: 'Padite na nas', in gričem: 'Pokrijte nas! Kajti, če se to godi zelenemu lesu, kaj se bo zgodilo šele s suhim?'

Sprevod je za čas obstal. Drhal z mučilnim orodjem je  šla naprej na Kalvarijo. Sprevodu se je priključilo še sto rimskih vojakov. Poslal jih je Pilat. 

3. Zopet se je vse vzdignilo in šlo dalje. Jezusa pa so peljali naprej na vrveh po grdi in strmi poti na goro Kalvarijo. Pot je kmalu zavila navkreber na drugo stran. In tedaj je padel ubogi Jezus šestič pod težo križa. Zdaj pa so Ga tepli in podili še huje kakor prej, da je Jezus, ko je prišel do vrha sodnih skal, s križem že sedmič padel na tla. Simon iz Cirene, sam že zaničevan in zdelan, je bil ves potrt vsled usmiljenja. Hotel je še pomagati ubogemu Jezusu, ali biriči so ga s suvanjem in zaničevanjem zapodili nazaj. Tudi vse nepotrebne potepine in pobaline, ki so z njimi leteli, so zapodili nazaj. Farizeji pa so prijezdili od večerne strani po boljši poti na konjih na goro Kalvarijo. Odtod se je vse videlo čez mestno zidovje. Vrh te strašne gore je bila ravnina, morišče imenovana, naokrog z zvišano zemljo ograjena. Farizeji so obstali na večerni strani, kamor je bil hrib nekoliko nagnjen. Okoli sto rimskih vojakov iz zgornje  Italije je bilo razpostavljenih po gori in ob mejah morišča. Veliko ljudstva, večjidel revni ljudje, tujci, sužnji, pogani in veliko žen, ljudje, ki se niso bali onečiščenja zaradi praznikov, so stali okrog. Vedno pa jih je še več prihajalo z bližnjih potov, ki so peljali proti mestu. Na gori Gibonu proti večeru je stala cela truma velikonočnih gostov in od daleč jih je gledalo veliko, ki so se vedno bolj bližali.

O pravični Zveličar! Tresem se od strahu pred kaznijo, ki jo bom moral trpeti, če bom podoben suhemu, nerodovitnemu drevesu! Moji brezštevilni grehi me silijo k joku, ko vidim, kako si Ti, o moj Bog, moral trpeti zanje. Ljubeznivi in milostljivi glas Tvoje krvi me drami iz grešnega spanja. O, večni Oče, bodi potolažen s tem, kar Tvoj nedolžni Sin trpi! Akoravno sem zaslužil, da bi bil kakor suho in nerodovitno drevo vržen v večni ogenj, vendar Te ponižno prosim zaradi zasluženja Tvojega božjega Sina, usmili se me! Oh, ne glej na moje pregrehe! Ozri se na drago kri Tvojega Sina, ki vpije v nebo za usmiljenje zame! Meni pa daj milost, da odslej objokujem svoje grehe! Zakaj, boljše je zdaj ob času milosti točiti solze pokore, kakor kdaj točiti v peklu solze obupanja. Oh, objokovati hočem svoje grehe! Daj pa, da te solze ne bodo nerodovitne! Daj, da se v resnici poboljšam! Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Prijazen hočem biti nasproti vsakemu in tolažiti hočem revne, bolne in žalostne.  

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (39)

7. Jezus na Golgoti 

Zdaj so gnali Jezusa po kameniti poti med mestnim obzidjem in Kalvarijo. Tu je šestič padel. Še huje so ga bili pehali, dokler ni mukoma dosegel vrha, kjer se je sedmič zgrudil.

Tudi s Simonom z Cirene so grdo ravnali. Od jeze in sočutja je bil ves iz sebe. Hotel je pomagati Odrešeniku na noge. Toda rablji so ga nagnali, zmerjaje in suvaje ga, po poti navzdol. Kmalu zatem je prišel k učencem. – Pognali so nazaj tudi vse odvečne pobaline in pomagače. Farizeji so prijezdili na vrh po udobnejši poti. Na vrhu kalvarijske gore je okrogla raven, obdana z nizkim nasipom. Farizeji so se ustavili ob nasipu. Rimska stotnija se je tudi postavila tam, deloma pa še po pobočju. Nekaj vojakov je stražilo oba razbojnika, ki so jih pustili niže spodaj. Položili so jih na hrbtu leže na zemljo. Zelo veliko ljudstva, večinoma nižjih slojev, je stalo za vojaki ob nasipu po bližnjih vzpetinah. Ti se niso bali, da bi se onečistili.

Bilo je malo pred dvanajsto uro, ko so pritirali Jezusa s križem na vrh, potem ko so Simona odpodili. Z vrvmi so ga zvlekli pokonci in razvezali drogove križa. O, kako reven, razmesarjen, krvav in bled je stal Jezus tam, na kraju mučeništva! Zdaj so ga, norčevaje se, vrgli na tla. 'Moramo ti pomeriti tvoj prestol, ti kralj.' On pa je sam voljno legel na križ. Če bi bil zmogel, da bi bil hitreje legel, bi ga ne bilo treba vreči na tla. Raztegnili so ga po križu in zaznamovali mesta za roke in noge. Nato so ga zvlekli na noge in ga peljali kakih sedemdeset korakov po pobočju navzdol v skalnato jamo, podobno kleti. Dvignili so vrata in ga pahnili v jamo tako neusmiljeno, da bi si bil brez čudeža moral razbiti kolena na skalnatem dnu. Zaprli so vrata nad njim in postavili stražo. Mislim, da so mu angeli pomagali, da se pri padcu ni pobil.

Rablji so začeli s pripravami. Sredi morišča je bila vzpetina z nekaj stopnicami. Tam so izdolbli tri jame, kjer bodo stali križi. Debli obeh križev za razbojnika so že zdaj postavili. Bili sta nižji kakor Jezusov križ in zgoraj poševno odžagani.. Prečna droga, na katerih so jima zdaj še bile pritrjene roke, so potem pri križanju pribili tik pod vrhom debla.

Rablji so položili Odrešenikov križ na kraj križanja tako, da ga bodo mogli potem dvigniti in spustiti v pripravljeno jamo. Vtaknili so na desni in levi prečna kola v deblo, pribili čok za noge, izvrtali luknje za žeblje in zabili zagozde pod prečna droga. Za vzpetino, kjer bodo stali križi, so zabili kole s prečnim drogom, da bodo preko njega z vrvmi potegnili križ kvišku.

6. Jezusa slečejo in Mu dajo piti kisa

1. Bilo je okrog dvanajste ure, ko je Jezus na morišču padel pod križem in so Simona zapodili. Potegnili so tedaj Jezusa na vrveh pokonci! O, kako reven, žalosten, raztrgan, krvav, bled – strašna podoba – je stal Jezus na kraju trpljenja! Pa Jezus se je prostovoljno vlegel na križ. Raztegnili so Ga po križu in naredili znamenje dolgosti na rokah in nogah; farizeji pa so se norčevali iz Njega. Postavili so Ga zopet pokonci in Ga peljali zvezanega do sedemdeset korakov na zgornjo stran Kalvarije, navzdol v neko v kamen vsekano jamo, katero so odprli in Ga neusmiljeno pahnili vanjo, da bi si brez čudeža moral razbiti kolena na kamnitih tleh. Slišalo se je Njegovo milo zdihovanje. Zaprli so vrata in postavili stražo. Jezus je zdihoval in tožil, da bi se bil kamen pod Njim omehčal. Tedaj so začeli biriči hitro svoja pripravljanja. Sredina morišča je bila za kaka dva čevlja vzvišena in na tej so dolbli jame za križe, ki so jih drugi skupaj zbijali.  

Pomisli, o duša, kaj je pač občutil Jezus med tem strašnim pripravljanjem, ko je slišal to nabijanje s kladivi, slišal kletvine in zmerjanje hlapcev. Oh, bil je to Njegov zadnji, bolečin polni pokoj! Zdihoval je in neprenehoma molil za svoje sovražnike ter se še enkrat pripravil na svojo krvavo, darilno smrt. Oh, daroval je vse svoje že darovane bolečine in vso že prelito kri in tudi svojo prihodnjo smrt vnovič svojemu nebeškemu Očetu za grehe vesoljnega sveta. O, žalostni pokoj, ki si nam dodelil večni pokoj in večni mir z Bogom. Bodi nam večno hvaljen in češčen!

2. Ko se je Marija, potem ko se je sešla z Jezusom, nekoliko odpočila, jo je gnala ljubezen in hrepenenje, da bi bila pri svojem Sinu, da bi trpela vse z Njim in Ga ne zapustila do konca. Ona in njene spremljevalke so hitele, zavite v tenčice, v hišo Lazarjevo pri vratih, kjer so bile zbrane tudi druge svete žene z Marijo Magdaleno in Marto v solzah. Tudi nekaj otrok je bilo pri njih. Odtod jih je šlo kakih sedemnajst v svoji žalosti častito in resnobno za Jezusom po križevem potu. Prav nič se niso zmenile za zaničevanje ljudstva. Prišle so čez trg, kjer je prevzel Jezus svoj križ, in so poljubile tla; potem so šle po vsem križevem potu in so počastile kraj Jezusovega trpljenja. Marija in nekatere bolj razsvetljene so hodile po Njegovih stopinjah. Presveta Devica je v duhu vse videla in občutila. Vodila jih je, vse imenitnejše kraje si je globoko v srce vcepila. Štela je stopinje in kazala svojim spremljevalkam svete kraje. In tako je bil ustanovljen sveti križev pot v najzvestejši Materni ljubezni, pod nogami Jezusovimi, ki je prvi šel po tej trnjevi poti. Trpljenje strašnih Marijinih bolečin na tej poti, pri pogledu na morišče in pri prihodu na goro, se ne da popisati. Bile so v duhu vse bolečine Jezusove in poleg njih še zavest, da bo ostala sama. Marija Magdalena je bila vsa potrta in bolečin omamljena, kakor pogreznjena iz trpljenja v trpljenje. Vedno so jo morale druge podpirati, varovati, svariti in celo skrivati. Tako so prišle na goro. Kakšen pogled za Marijo na tem morišču, na gori križanja! Strašen križ leži pred njo: kladiva, vrvi, grozovite žeblje prenašajo semtertja! Navzočnost Jezusova je trpljenje Mariji le povečala. Vedela je, da Jezus še živi; hrepenela Ga je videti; a groza jo je obdajala, kajti videti Ga bo morala v strašnem trpljenju.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (40)

8. Marija in svete žene

Videla sem sveto Devico, ko se je vzpenjala na Kalvarijo. Z njo so šle Magdalena, Marta in druge žene ter nekaj otrok. Vseh skupaj jih je bilo sedemnajst. Hodile so, ne meneč se za zasmeh drhali, resno, odločno. Njihova žalost je vzbujala spoštovanje. Sveta Devica je videla in prepoznala odtise stopinj svojega Sina in je kazala drugim ta sveta mesta.

Pri Veronikini hiši so se ustavile. Vstopile so, ker je pravkar prihajal Pilat s svojim oddelkom. Videle so Odrešenikovo obličje na potnem prtu. Jokale so in slavile Jezusovo dobroto. Vzele so posodo z odišavljenim vinom, ki ga Veronika ni mogla dati Gospodu, in nadaljevale pot. Pridružilo se jim je še nekaj dobrih ljudi. Nepopisno ganljivo jih je bilo videti, ko so tako mirno v zadržani žalosti stopali po ulicah. Ne da se povedati, kaj je Marija trpela na tem potu. Občutila je z Jezusom vse njegove muke. Magdalena je bila vsa razrvana, vsa iz sebe od bolečin. Drugi so jo morali podpirati, braniti, opominjati in prikrivati.

Dospeli so na hrib. Kakšen pogled za Marijo! Mesto križanja. Na tleh strašni križ. Kladiva. Vrvi.- Žeblji. In zraven preklinjajoči, pijani krvniki. – Debli križev obeh razbojnikov sta bili že postavljeni in klini so že tičali v izvrtanih luknjah, da bo rabelj stopil nanje. Jezusa ni bilo videti, kar je še povečalo Marijino muko. Vedela je, da še živi, in je hrepenela po njem, dasi je trepetala pred trenutkom, ko ga bo videla tako neizrekljivo trpečega.

3. Tedaj so šli štirje biriči po zgornji strani do jame ter so potegnili iz nje Jezusa, ki je prosil Boga za pomoč in se je še enkrat daroval za grehe sovražnikov. Podili in vlekli, bili in zaničevali so Ga na tej zadnji poti Njegovega trpljenja. Ponudili so zvezanemu Zveličarju kozarec, napolnjen z vinom, ki mu je bil primešan pelin; poskusil je, a ni pil. Bilo je navzočih okoli osemnajst rabljev. Eni so imeli opraviti z Jezusom, drugi z razbojnikoma; delali so in popivali. Bili so to umazani, napol nagi, majhni, a trdni ljudje strašnega obraza, trdih las in ščetinaste brade. Zdelo se je, kakor da bi se večkrat med križanjem nad Gospodom prikazale množice jokajočih angelov, ravnotako presveti Devici in pobožnim, ki so jih tolažili in krepčali. In tedaj so rablji potegnili Gospodu oblačila s telesa in ko Mu niso mogli rjavkaste suknje brez šiva, katero Mu je naredila Njegova Mati Marija, potegniti čez široko trnjevo krono, so Mu krono potegnili z glave, da so se ponovile rane, zavihali stkano suknjo in med zasmehovanjem vlekli čez krvavordečo ranjeno glavo. Nato so Mu krono zopet na glavo posadili. Tedaj je stal Sin človekov ves obdan s krvjo, z zasušenimi in krvavečimi ranami. Volnena obleka se je k Njegovim ranam prisušila in se vtisnila med krvjo v nove, globoke rane, katere Mu je napravila teža križa na ramah. Neusmiljeno so potegnili oblačila z Njega. On pa, ki je oblačil ljudi in živali, je stal strašno raztrgan in zatečen v svoj nagoti. Pleča in rameni so bile razmesarjene do kosti; volna je ostala semtertja v ranah in v prisušeni krvi na prsih. O, kako strašno reven je bil Gospod!

O Jezus! Če se domislim grozovitosti, s katero so Te Tvoji morilci napadali, ko so Te že vdrugič oropali Tvojih oblačil, me spreleti neka strašna groza. Oblačilo je bilo v tekoči krvi vtisnjeno v ranjeno telo globoko, napol prisušeno. Ko so Te divjaki slačili, so Ti celo telo raztrgali in Tvoja draga kri se je zopet pocedila v curkih po Tebi. O, kako grozen, strašen pogled v tem trpljenju! Kakšno krvavo bolečino je prizadelo Tvoji najčistejši duši, da si moral stati grozno razmesarjen pred vsem ljudstvom v sramoto! In pa, kako mi mora biti pri srcu, ko mi Ti kličeš, da so moje in vsega sveta grde pregrehe vzrok te  Tvoje sramote in vsega Tvojega trpljenja! Nečimrna in nesramna noša, zapeljivo gizdanje in oskrunjanje našega telesa, neštevilna pohujšanja – te številne pregrehe so padale nate, o moj Zveličar. Oh, moj Bog in moj sodnik, tudi jaz sem eden izmed tistih tolovajev, ki so ropali Tvoje oblačilo. Kakšna hudobija! Oh, odpusti in prizanesi mi zaradi Tvoje svete krvi! Oh, da bi pač dovolil, da bi ena sama kaplja Tvoje, med oropanjem oblačila prelite krvi, kanila name, da bi me to zveličavno mazilo obvarovalo plesnobe nečistosti, da bi naprej s čistim in nedolžnim telesom vse dni svojega življenja le Tebi služil! Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: V jedi in pijači si hočem kaj pritrgati in opustiti vso nezmernost.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (41)

9. Jezusa oropajo oblačil

Štirje rablji so šli k zaprti jami, jo odprli in izvlekli  Jezusa iz nje. V jami je Jezus molil za moč in se daroval za grehe svojih sovražnikov. Zdaj so ga vlekli po zadnji poti njegovega trpljenja. Ljudstvo je gledalo in ga še zasmehovalo. Ob straneh so stali vojaki hladnih, brezčutnih obrazov; rablji so ga obkrožili.

Svete žene so izročile nekemu možu denar in ga prosile, naj ga da vojakom, da bi ponudili Jezusu odišavljenega vina. Denar so sprejeli, vino pa so pozneje sami popili. Imeli pa so tam v posodi kis z žolčem, v drugi pa vino s pelinom in miro. Iz te druge so nalili čašo in jo podali Gospodu. Poskusil je pijačo, a ni pil.

Na delu je bilo osemnajst krvnikov. Strgal so Gospodu plašč z ramen, mu odvzeli pas z vrvmi in njegov lastni pas. Nato so mu potegnili čez glavo belo gornje oblačilo in sneli dolg, ozek prt z ramen. Niso pa mogli dobiti preko široke trnove krone rjave suknje brez šiva, delo njegove matere. Sneli so krono, zavihali suknjo in mu jo potegnili preko krvaveče glave.

Tako je stal tam Sin božji, trepetajoč, pokrit s krvjo in oteklinami, razbrazdan od bičev. Rana mu je bila odprta do kosti. Videč, da se jim bo zdaj zdaj zgrudil, so privalili kamen in ga posadili nanj. Znova so mu potisnili trnovo krono na glavo ter mu ponudili piti iz druge posode, kjer so imeli kis. Jezus pa je molče obrnil glavo stran.

 

XI. KRIŽANJE

1. Jezusa pribijejo na križ 

1. Jezusa, podobo grozne revščine, so rablji pahnili na križ. Sedel je, oni pa so ga vrgli vznak, Mu potegnili desno roko do desne luknje na križu in Mu vso roko privezali na križ. Eden je pokleknil na Njegove svete prsi, drugi pa je nastavil dolg in debel žebelj, ki je bil popiljen na koncu, na sredo svete desnice in z divjo srditostjo je bil s težkim železnim kladivom po njem. Sladek, milolep zdihljaj se je slišal iz Gospodovih ust. Njegova kri je škropila rabljeve roke. Žile na roki so se pretrgale in trioglati žebelj jih je potisnil v majhno luknjo križa. Presveta Devica je zdihovala navidez nezavestna. Marija Magdalena pa je omedlela. Ko so desno roko Gospodovo pribili, so morilci zapazili, da leva roka ne seže do zvrtane luknje, ker so jo za dva palca predaleč zvrtali. Privezali so tedaj vrvi za levico ter jo, z nogami se opiraje na križ, tako silno nategovali, da je rama skočila iz člena. Njegove prsi so se visoko dvignile, kolena so se skrčila. Klečali so Mu na rokah in na prsih, privijali Mu trdo roke ter zabili še drugi strašni žebelj skozi levico Gospodovo. Kri je škropila okoli.  Sladek, milolep vzklik se je zopet slišal iz ust Gospodovih med udarci strašnega kladiva. Presveta Devica je vse čutila z Jezusom. Bleda je bila kot mrlič in tihi, otožnomili zdihljaji so prihajali iz njenih ust. Farizeji so se posmehovali in jo zmerjali. Marija Magdalena pa je bila kakor brez uma; trgala je svoj obraz; njene oči in lica so bila krvava.

2. Vse telo našega Zveličarja je bilo vsled silnega nategovanja rok do predaleč zvrtanih lukenj potegnjeno kvišku in Njegova kolena so se krčevito vzdignila. Tedaj pa so rablji divje padli nanje in zadrgnili noge z vrvmi; in zaradi napačne razdalje lukenj niso noge nikakor mogle seči do njih. In tedaj so začeli rablji kleti in se rotiti. Eni so menili, naj bi se zvrtale druge luknje, drugi pa so divjali: 'Noče se stegniti, Mu bomo že pomagali.' Privezali so Mu vrvi na noge ter so jih nategovali s strašno, neusmiljeno močjo prav do luknje in jih trdo privili drugo na drugo. Nategovanje telesa pa je bilo tako silno, da so Jezusu pokale prsi in je glasno zdihoval: 'O Bog, o Bog!' Privezali so Ga tudi čez prsi in roke, da bi se roke ne snele iz žebljev. Njegovo telo je bilo sključeno, prsi vzdignjene, kakor bi se hotela rebra odtrgati od njih. Bilo je grozovito trpljenje! Tedaj so popadli najdaljši, najstrašnejši žebelj in ga srdito pribijali na navzkriž položene noge. Pribijanje nog je bilo grozovitejše nego vse drugo. 

3. Presveta Devica se je pri nategovanju, pokanju in milem otožnem zdihovanju Jezusovem, pri pribijanju nog, premagana groznih bridkosti, zgrudila v naročje svojih spremljevalk. Jezusova zdihovanja pa so bili le glasovi bolečin, posnetih iz psalmov, ki so se sedaj, že davno prerokovani, izpolnjevali. Bilo je tedaj, kakor bi se jokajoči angeli prikazovali nad Jezusom med temi grozovitimi mukami in trpljenjem. Bila je že ura dvanajst, ko so Jezusa križali. Ko so vzdigovali križ, se je od templja sem razleglo trobentanje velike trobente: znamenje, da je bilo tam zaklano velikonočno jagnje, podoba pravega Jagnjeta božjega, ki je vzelo nase grehe sveta in je bilo tukaj pribito na križ. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (42)

KRIŽANJE

1. Jezusa pribijejo na križ 

Zdaj so rablji raztegnili Gospoda po križu. Sam je sedel nanj, oni pa so ga pahnili, da je legel, mu potegnili desnico na izvrtano luknjo prečnega droga ter jo trdo privezali. Pri tem mu je rabelj klečal na prsih in držal roko, ki se je stiskala, odprto. Drugi je nastavil dolg, debel, ostro pripiljen žebelj na palčno blazino in ga s silnimi zamahi železnega kladiva zabil skozi. Kri Gospodova je brizgala po rabljevih rokah. Kite na roki so bile raztrgane in s trozobim žebljem vred potisnjene v izvrtano luknjo. Težka kladiva so bila iz enega samega kosa železa. Žeblji so bili dolgi; če ga je vzel rabelj v pest, je gledal na obeh straneh ven. Ploščica na zgornjem koncu je bila izbočena, ko tolar velika. Trozobi žeblji so bili zgoraj ko palec, spodaj ko mezinec debeli in ostro pripiljeni. Konice žebljev so po križanju gledale skozi les.

Ko so pribili desno roko, so videli, da Gospodova levica, ki so jo tudi že privezali, ne sega do zanjo izvrtane luknje. Odvezali so jo in pritrdili vrv na roko samo, se uprli z nogami v križ in potegnili roko toliko, da je prišla dlan nad izvrtano luknjo. Klečeč na prsih in na roki Odrešenikovi so mu privezali levico na križ in zabili drugi žebelj. Zaradi natezanja sta roki skočili iz sklepov, da so rame ostale votle. Prsi so se visoko dvignile, kolena se skrčila.

Sveta Devica  je nedopovedljivo trpela. Bila je bleda ko mrlič. Farizeji so klicali proti njej zasmehljive opazke. Zato jo je Janez odvedel malo dalj od njih k drugim ženam.

Ob spodnji tretjini križa je bil pribit čok, kamor naj bi pribili Jezusu noge tako, da bi bolj stal ko visel. Sicer bi se bile roke v ranah pretrgale in nog ne bi mogli pribiti, ne da bi jih zlomili. V tem podstavku je bila izvrtana luknja za največji žebelj.

Pri nasilnem natezanju rok se je vse Odrešenikovo telo dvignilo, kolena so se skrčila. Rablji so se vrgli nanje, jih ovili z vrvmi in jih trdo privezali na križ. A noge niso segle do podstavka. Med preklinjevanjem so vpili, da bo treba izvrtati za roke nove luknje, ker čoka ne morejo prestaviti više. Drugi so robantili, da se noče iztegniti, pa da mu bodo že pomagali. Pričvrstili so mu vrv na desno nogo in jo z vso silo vlekli, da je segla do podstavka, nakar so jo privezali. Pritrdili so ga h križu tudi okrog prsi in obeh rok, da se niso iztrgale iz žebljev. Zdelo se je, da se rebra lomijo od prsne kosti. Grozovite muke! – Prav tako so privezali levo nogo z vrvmi preko desne, levo nogo so prebodli s tanjšim žebljem. Nato pa so vzeli najstrašnejši, mnogo daljši žebelj, ga z veliko težavo spravili skozi prebodeno nart leve noge, in dalje skozi spodaj ležečo desno nogo in skozi deblo križa. Isti žebelj je prebil obe nogi.

Pribijanje nog je bilo groznejše kakor vse prejšnje muke, zaradi strašnega raztezanja vsega telesa. Naštela sem šestintrideset udarcev s kladivom. – Med križanjem so se slišali tu in tam izmed množice vzkliki: 'Da zemlja ne požre teh grozovitežev! Da jih ne požge ogenj z neba!' Z druge strani pa jim je odgovarjal zasmeh.

Jezus je molil posamezna mesta iz psalmov in prerokov, katerih napovedi so se zdaj izpolnjevale. Ves čas svojega bridkega trpljenja je neprestano tako molil. Slišala sem njegove besede, in kadar molim psalme, se jih vedno spomnim. Zdaj pa sem tako presunjena ob mukah nebeškega Ženina, da jih ne znam ponoviti. Med groznim mučenjem vidim angele, ki jokajo nad božjim Trpinom.

Ko so začeli s križanjem, je dal poveljnik rimske straže pritrditi zgoraj na križ tablico s Pilatovim napisom. Farizeji so se jezili, kajti Rimljani so se glasno smejali zaradi besed 'Kralj Judov'. Nekaj farizejev je odjezdilo v mesto, da bi izsilili od Pilata drug napis.

Po stanju sonca sodeč je bilo četrt na eno, ko so Jezusa križali.

2. Povzdignjenje križa 

Ko so našega Gospoda pribili, so biriči vlekli križ z vrvmi na kvišku; drugi pa so pomagali z oporami in so spodnji konec naravnavali v jamo. Vrh križa so potegnili naprej, da se je vzdignil pokonci ter se je vsa njegova teža zgrudila s hrupom v jamo. Križ se je potresel, Jezus pa je glasno vzkliknil, razpeta teža vsega telesa se je posedla, rane so postale širše, kri je tekla zopet obilnejše in razdrti členi so pokali. Strašen, a ganljiv trenutek je bil, ko se je med vpitjem in zmerjanjem biričev, rabljev in farizejev ter mrmranjem vsega okoli stoječega ljudstva, katero ga je moglo tudi sedaj videti – križ povzdigoval in se zgrudil s hrupom v jamo. Pa tudi pobožni, sveti zdihljaji so se slišali, najsvetejši vse zemlje, milotrpeči glas njegove matere in prijateljev ter prijateljic. In vsi, ki so bili čistega srca, so bridko pozdravili na križ povzdignjeno, večno, učlovečeno Besedo z ginljivim sočutjem, in vse roke ljubečih so se trepetaje povzdigovale, kakor bi Mu hotele pomagati, ko je bil Najsvetejši vseh svetih, ženin čistih duš, na križu pribit, v rokah grešnikov kvišku povzdignjen.  Sveti križ je stal prvikrat,  postavljen v sredo zemlje, kakor drugo drevo življenja v raju, in iz Jezusovih ran so kapali štirje studenci na zemljo, da zadoste za prekletstvo in jo Njemu, novemu Adamu, posvete v nov raj. Obraz Jezusov je bil obrnjen prozi zahodu.

Spomni se, o sladki Jezus, kar si mi obljubil, da boš vlekel vse nase, ko boš povzdignjen od zemlje. Akoravno sem zaradi svojih pregreh slabši kakor nič, vendar zato ne neham biti Tvoje dete. Ko tedaj, o Gospod, sedaj vse nase vlečeš, oh stori, da ne bom ločen od tega števila. Vleci me k sebi, o moj Bog! Zedini me s teboj, spremeni me popolnoma vase! O Ljubezen, o Jezus, o križani Jezus! Pribij me s seboj na ta križ; drugega ne vem govoriti, drugega Te ne prositi! Naj bo zaradi mene v tem trenutku vse končano, da le Ti edini, moj križani Jezus, ostaneš pri meni, ker Ti si ljubezen moje duše, moje zveličanje, moje edino in Vse! Ti sam, o Gospod, govori, živi, kraljuj, posedi, žgi in sežgi moje srce, ker naprej hočem biti in ostati ves Tvoj. Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Hočem se pripeti s Kristusom na križ in odmreti vsem stvarem in nečimernemu razveseljevanju. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (43)

2. Križ dvignejo

Ko so pribili Odrešenika na križ, so z vrvmi potegnili križ pri zgornjem koncu na vzpetino, kjer je bila skopana jama za križ. Potem so vrgli vrvi preko zadaj pripravljenega prečnega droga. Več biričev je nato potegnilo križ pokonci. Drugi so pomagali pri vznožju križa in ga potisnili do jame. Z vrvmi so križ dvignili tako, da je stal navpično in zdrknil nato s pretresljivim sunkom z vso težo v jamo. Raztegnjeno telo se je z vso težo povesilo, rane so se večale, kri je tekla močneje. Premikali so križ, dokler ni trdno stal in zabili okrog njega pet zagozd.

Bil je grozen, presunljiv pogled, ko se je med porogljivim vpitjem farizejev in biričev ter bolj oddaljenega ljudstva križ majaje se dvigal in se sunkovito vgreznil. Pa tudi tožeči, pobožni glasovi so se slišali. Najsvetejši glasovi te zemlje, glas najbolj žalostne svete Matere, glasovi svetih žena, ljubljenca Gospodovega in vseh, ki so bili istega srca, so pozdravili na križu povzdignjeno, večno učlovečeno Besedo s presunljivimi tožbami. Roke vseh ljubečih so se iztezale, kot da bi hotele pomagati, ko se je križ z Najsvetejšim vseh svetih, Ženinom duš, na križ pribitim, v rokah grešnikov majaje se dvigal. Ko pa je križ s truščem zdrsnil v zemljo, je za hip vse umolknilo. Bilo je, kot da je vse prevzelo neko novo čustvo. Celo pekel se je prestrašil, ko se je vsadil križ v zemljo.

 Še enkrat se je oglasil v svojih slugah z zasmehom in kletvijo. Med ubogimi vernimi dušami in v predpeklu je zavladalo plaho veselje, polno pričakovanja. Prisluhnili so sunku s hrepenečim upanjem. Bilo jim je, ko da trka prihajajoči zmagovalec na vrata odrešenja. Sveti križ je stal prvikrat dvignjen na zemlji kakor drugo rajsko drevo življenja. Iz razširjenih Jezusovih ran so kapljali štirje sveti studenci na zemljo, da izbrišejo z nje prekletstvo in jo spremene njemu, novemu Adamu, v rodoviten raj.

Ko je visel Odrešenik na dvignjenem križu in je zasmehovanje za trenutke utihnilo, se je zaslišal glas trobent od templja sem. Naznanjale so, da se je pričelo klanje velikonočnega jagnjeta. Slovesno so pretrgale glasne tožbe, pa tudi zasmeh okrog pravega velikonočnega Jagnjeta. Marsikatero trdo srce se je pretreseno spomnilo Krstnikovih besed: 'Glejte Jagnje božje, ki je vzelo nase grehe sveta!'

Preden je zdrsnil križ v jamo, so bile Gospodove noge za višino moža od zemlje. Potem pa, ko je tičal v zemlji, so mogli njegovi prijatelji objeti in poljubiti noge svojega Učenika. Obličje Jezusovo je bilo obrnjeno proti severozahodu.

3. Jezus na križu in oba razbojnika

1. Po hudem, trdem padcu postavljenega križa je vnovič obilno tekla kri iz Jezusove glave, ki se je, obložena s trnjevo krono, zelo pretresla. Tudi iz nog in rok so vreli studenci Njegove svete krvi na tla. Jezus je naslonil glavo na prsi in je visel okoli sedem minut v omedlevici, kakor mrtev. Njegovo obličje s strašno krono, s krvjo, ki je napolnjevala oči, brado in lase ter hrepeneče odprta usta, je bilo nagnjeno proti prsim. Pozneje se je zaradi velikosti trnjeve krone tudi moglo dvigniti le z neizrečenimi bolečinami. Njegove prsi so bile široko razpete in silno raztegnjene. Njegove pazduhe so bile votle in strašno razvlečene, Njegovi komolci in členki na rokah vsi potegnjeni iz udov. Kri je tekla po rokah iz široko raztegnjenih ran. Njegovi udje so bili tako silno pretegnjeni, vse žile in raztrgana koža tako neusmiljeno napeta, da bi se bile mogle vse Njegove kosti prešteti. Kri je kapljala od strašnega žeblja, ki je prebodel Njegove svete noge, po križu na zemljo. Vse Njegovo sveto telo je bilo le ena velika rana. Od prehudega nateganja so rane vnovič pokale in se širile in rdeča kri je semtertja iznova tekla. Pozneje je postala kri bledejša in bolj  vodena; tudi sveto telo je postajalo vedno bolj bledo. Prisušena kri se je trgala in podobna je bila razkrvavljenemu mesu. Po vsem tem strašnem razdejanju pa je bilo telo našega Gospoda Jezusa Kristusa na križu neizrečeno plemenito in ginljivo. Sin božji, večna, darovana ljubezen, je bil čist v razdejanem, z grehi vseh ljudi obloženem telesu umirajočega velikonočnega Jagnjeta.

2. Ko je bil Jezus že križan, je prišla vrsta na ona dva razbojnika. Bila sta to dva tolovaja – morilca. Levi razbojnik je bil starejši, velik hudodelec, zapeljivec, učitelj desnega – spreobrnjenega. Navadno se imenuje spreobrnjeni razbojnik Dizma, hudobni pa Gezma. Obadva sta bila izmed tistih razbojnikov na egiptovski meji, kjer je nekdaj prenočila sveta družina na begu v Egipt z detetom Jezusom; in Dizma je bil oni gobavi otrok, ki je bil v vodeni kopeli deteta Jezusa na nasvet Marije okopan po svoji materi in je hipoma ozdravel. Milost in obramba, katero je takrat Dizmova mati izkazala sveti družini pred tolovaji, je bila poplačana v tistem očiščevanju, ki se je sedaj na križu izpolnilo, ko je bil v krvi Jezusovi očiščen. Dizma je bil ves isprijen in ni poznal Jezusa, vendar pa ni bil docela hudoben, ker Gospodova potrpežljivost ga je močno ganila. Bila sta tedaj obadva razbojnika križana, Dizma na desno, Gezma na levo stran Jezusa. Strašno sta tulila. Križa sta stala na desno in levo na kraju griča, toliko proč od Jezusovega križa, da je jezdec lahko mimo jezdil. Bila sta nekoliko drug proti drugemu obrnjena in sta stala malo niže. Pogled na ta dva razbojnika na križu je bil strašen.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (44)

3. Križanje razbojnikov 

Medtem ko so pribijali Jezusa na križ, sta čakala oba razbojnika na hrbtu ležeč zastražena na pobočju. Oba sta se bila pojavila kot bogata trgovca na nekem gradu med Jeruzalemom in Jafo. Pilat je tam prisostvoval vojaškim vajam. Začelo pa se je govoriti, da sta umorila neko Judinjo in njene otroke na potovanju. Prijeli so ju. Dolgo sta  sedela v ječi. Dokazalo se je, da sta res kriva umorov. Obsodili so ju na smrt. Podrobnosti se ne spominjam. Desni razbojnik je bil starejši in večji hudodelec ter je zapeljal in učil drugega. Navadno jih imenujejo Dizma in Gezma. Pravi imeni sem pozabila in bom imenovala desnega Dizma, levega pa Gezma.

Oba sta pripadala onim razbojnikom na egiptovski meji, ki so prenočili sveto družino na begu v Egipt. Dizma je bil gobavi deček, ki je hipoma ozdravel v vodi, v kateri je Marija okopala Jezuščka. Zdaj pa bo ob smrti popolnoma očiščen s krvjo Jezusovo. Dizma je globoko padel. Jezusa ni poznal. Izprijen pa ni bil in Jezusova potrpežljivost ga je osupnila in ganila. Ko je zdaj tam ležal, je z Gezmom govoril o Jezusu. Dejal je: 'Strašno ravnajo z Galilejcem. Kar je zakrivil s svojo novo postavo, mora biti hujše ko vsa najina dela. Ampak kako je potrpežljiv in kakšno moč ima med ljudmi.' Gezma je odvrnil: 'Kakšno moč neki? Če bi jo imel, bi vendar nam vsem trem pomagal.' Tako sta se pogovarjala. Ko so križ dvignili, so prišli biriči ponju češ, zdaj sta vidva na vrsti. Odvezali so ju od prečnih drogov. Delali so naglo, ker sonce se je pomračilo in vse je bilo čudno nemirno, kakor pred nevihto.

Biriči so splezali po lestvah in pritrdili prečna droga na vrh že postavljenih kolov. Nato so ob vsak križ prislonili po dve lestvi za rablje. Medtem so dali razbojnikoma piti kisa z miro, ju slekli in morala sta se po klinih, zabitih v kola, povzpeti na križ. Pomagali so jima  z vrvmi, privezanimi na njunih rokah, ki so jih vlekli preko gornjih prečnih drogov. Zatem so jima ude z vrvmi privezali na križ, vtaknili v zanke palice in jih zavijali tako močno, da so jima mišice krvavele. Obsojenca sta nečloveško rjovela. Ko se je Dizma vzpenjal na križ, je še rekel: 'Če bi bili naju dva tako zdelali, kakor so ubogega Galilejca, naju ne bi bilo več treba vleči na križ.'

4. Razdelitev Jezusovih oblačil

Nekoliko časa je bilo vse naokoli tiho. Naenkrat pa zadoni glas trobente od templja. Jezus, naše zveličanje in zveličanje  vsega sveta, je visel kakor mrtev, prevzet od bolečin. Križavci so Jezusova oblačila razdelili med seboj. Bila so vsa premočena od Jezusove kri. Zaradi Njegove rjavkaste suknje brez šiva pa niso bili edini – saj bi jim raztrgana nič ne koristila. Zato so vzeli desko s številkami in fižolu podobne kamenčke z vdelanimi pikami, katere so imeli s seboj, in so jih metali na desko in vadljali za suknjo. Tedaj pa je prišel nek človek, poslan od Nikodema in Jožefa Arimatejca po hribu gori in jim rekel, da so spodaj kupci za Jezusova oblačila. Oni so zgrabili vso obleko skupaj, tekli po hribu doli in jo prodali, in tako so te svetinje ostale kristjanom.

O neizrečena slepota ljudi! Ko je Jezus visel v strašnih bolečinah med nebom in zemljo pribit na križ, so igrali pri Njegovih nogah. Tako je prišla lakomnost celo pod križ. Jezus pa je dovolil, da so Ga oropali celo oblačil, dal se je povzdigniti nad zemljo, v znamenje, da noče imeti nobenega deleža na njej in da bi s tem zadostil za našo preveliko ljubezen do nečimrnosti tega sveta in da bi nam pokazal, kako se moramo vsemu odpovedati, če hočemo biti Njegovi učenci.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (45)

4. Biriči si razdelijo Jezusova oblačila

Na mesto, kjer sta prej ležala razbojnika, so medtem biriči znosili Jezusova oblačila, da bi si jih razdelili. Plašč se je zoževal proti gornjemu robu in bil gosto naguban ter na prsih dvojen. Razcepili so ga v dolge kose in si jih razdelili. Tudi dolgo belo suknjo, ki se je na prsih zapenjala z jermeni, so razkosali. Enako so si razdelili druga oblačila. Vsa so bila prepojena z Gospodovo krvjo. Za rjavo scela tkano suknjo pa se niso mogli zediniti, ker če bi jo trgali, bi nihče ne imel nič od nje. Vzeli so torej desko s številkami in drobne kamenčke z znaki. Vrgli so jih na desko. Tako so vadljali za suknjo. V tem je pritekel mož, poslan od Nikodema in Jožefa iz Arimateje, ter jim povedal, da bi se našli kupci za Jezusova oblačila. Tako so te svetinje ostale kristjanom.

'O grešnik!' kliče zveličana Ivana od Križa, 'položi svoje obličje v duhu na obličje Kristusovo. On naj te tolaži. Mir hoče skleniti s teboj in s svojo sveto krvjo da bi se ti v nebeški ljubezni ogrel! O moj preljubi Jezus! Ti si torej grozd, položen v stiskalnico, iz Tebe teče slaščica večne sprave, vino svete moči, da bi vse potegnil nase! Oh, obupati nočem, dasi sem najnevrednejša, najnadležnejša stvar, ki je kdaj živela na svetu! Pribežim pod drevo križa, da me valovi obupanja ne potegnejo s seboj. Kapljaj name, o draga kri mojega Zveličarja! Ti mi s tisoč jeziki govoriš v mojo dušo: Zaupaj vame, ki umiram, da bi tebi življenje dodelil! Oh, nagni se k meni, Ti moje zveličanje, moje življenje, moj edini Zveličar, da  Tebe, razdejanega, trpečega in krvavega ljubega svojega morem objeti!' Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Na nikogar nočem biti nejevoljen in nad nobenim se nočem pritoževati in odpustiti hočem vsem iz srca.

5. Jezusa na križu zasramujejo, prva Jezusova beseda na križu

1. Po križanju razbojnikov in po razdeljenju Jezusovih oblačil so pobrali biriči vse svoje orodje skupaj, zmerjali, zasmehovali in zaničevali še Jezusa in odšli proč. Tudi drugi navzoči farizeji so se naokrog pred Jezusa vstopili, Ga z nespodobnimi besedami zasmehovali in potem tudi odjahali. Tudi stoteri rimski vojaki so odšli, ker je prišlo petdeset drugih, ki so bili za stražo razpostavljeni. Stotnik te nove čete je bil Abenadar, rojen  Arabec, ki je pozneje pri svetem krstu dobil ime Ktezifon. Podstotnik je bil Kasij, služabnik Pilatov, kasneje Longin imenovan. Ti so bili na straži pri Jezusu. In mimoidoči so ga preklinjali in s svojimi glavami majali in rekli: 'Glej no, kako tempelj božji podiraš in v treh dneh zopet sezidaš! Pomagaj sam sebi in stopi s križa, če si Sin božji.' 

2. In ravno tako Ga je ljudstvo zasmehovalo: 'Drugim je pomagal, sam sebi ne more pomagati. V Boga je zaupal, naj Ga zdaj reši, če Ga ima rad.' Tudi vojaki so Ga zasramovali in so pristopili in Mu jesiha ponujali, rekoč: 'Če si kralj Judov, pomagaj sam sebi!' Vse to se je zgodilo, ko so prvi vojaki odhajali in drugi pod Abenadarjem prihajali. Jezus pa je nekoliko povzdignil svojo glavo in je rekel: 'Oče, odpusti jim, saj ne vedo, kaj delajo!' In je tiho molil naprej. Tako je molil Jezus na križu za svoje najhujše sovražnike, ki so Ga do zadnjega zdihljaja zaničevali in tako grozovito umorili. S tem nam je zapustil prelep zgled, da moramo blagoslavljati one, ki nas kolnejo, in moliti za one, ki nas preganjajo. O kako daleč smo pogosto še od te ljubezni!

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (46)

5. Jezus in razbojnika na križu

Ko je bil Gospodov križ postavljen, so se povzpeli biriči na lestve in odvezali vrvi, s katerim so bili privezali najsvetejše telo na deblo križa, da se ne bi pri dviganju snelo z žebljev. Vse muke so se podvojile. Jezus je visel nekaj časa kot mrtev, pogreznjen v morje bolečin. Naokrog je zavladala tišina. Pod težo trnove krone mu je omahnila glava na prsi. Kri iz neštetih ran je zalila očesni votlini in usta, prepojila lase in brado. Usta so se onemoglo odprla. Gospodovi udje so bili tako grozovito raztegnjeni, vse mišice in raztrgana koža tako strašno napete, da je bilo resnično mogoče prešteti vse kosti. Izpod strašnega žeblja, ki je prebadal svete noge, je kapljala kri po križu navzdol. Rane, ki so se že posušile, so znova zakrvavele. Zaradi izgube krvi je najsvetejše telo vse bolj bledelo. Toda kljub strašni razmesarjenosti je bil Gospod na križu nepojmljivo dostojanstven in plemenit. Sin božji, večna Ljubezen, ki se je v času žrtvovala, je ostal lep, čist in svet tudi z razrušenim, z grehi vsega sveta obloženim telesom umirajočega velikonočnega Jagnjeta.

Kakor njegova sveta mati je bil tudi Kristus lepe, nekoliko rumenkaste polti s prosojno rdečico. Zaradi mnogih potovanj v zadnjih letih so bila Gospodova lica zagorela. Ramena in dvignjene prsi so mu bila široka, mišice krepke. Ledja je imel močna, prav tako noge, ki so bile lepo oblikovane, od mnoge hoje na podplatih žuvljave. Roke so bile lepe, a ne mehkužno mehke. Na krepkem vratu je počivala lepa glava z visokim čelom in podolgovatim obrazom. Mehki, s prečko razdeljeni lasje so mu padali na tilnik, brada je bila kratka in razdeljena.
Zdaj pa je bila vsa lepota Sinu človekovega iznakažena.

Gospodov križ je bil na zadnji strani zaobljen, spredaj pa raven in mestoma izdolben. Sestavljen je bil iz lesa različnih barv, rjave, rumene, deblo pa je bilo temno kakor les, ki je ležal dalj čas v vodi.
Križa razbojnikov sta bila bolj surovo obdelana. Stala sta na desnem in levem robu vzpetine, obrnjena drug proti drugemu in sta bila od Gospodovega križa komaj toliko odmaknjena, da je mogel mož mimo. Pogled na križana razbojnika je bil strahoten, posebno na levega, ki je besnel. Visela sta tam vsa zvita, polomljena, nabrekla, z rjavomodrim obrazom. Ustnice so jima bile temne od navala krvi, oči rdeče, izbuljene. Vpila in rjovela sta, ko so ju vezali na križ. Gezma je preklinjal. Žeblji pritrjenih prečnih drogov so jima tiščali glave naprej. Vztrepetavala sta in se zvijala od bolečin. Četudi sta bila na vso moč zadrgnjena z vrvmi, je vendar Gezma potegnil nogo navzgor tako, da mu je ostala v kolenu skrčena.

6. Prva beseda na križu

Ko so biriči opravili svoje delo, so pobrali orodje, vrgli Jezusu mimogrede nekaj zasmehljivih opazk in odšli. Farizeji so pognali svoje konje prav pred križ, izustili še zadnje psovke Jezusu v obraz in odjezdili v mesto. Odkorakala je tudi stotnija rimskih vojakov in zamenjala jih je četa petdesetih drugih s stotnikom Abenadarjem, po rodu Arabcem, na čelu. Stotnik se je dal pozneje krstiti. Podčastnik Kasij je bil Pilatov sel in je kasneje dobil ime Longin. Še je prijezdila na vrh skupina farizejev, saducejev, pismoukov, med njimi tudi oni, ki so šli k Pilatu z zahtevo, naj spremeni napis na križu. Ker jih ni hotel sprejeti, so bili še bolj razkačeni. Jezdili so okrog okopa in zmerjaje pregnali od tam najsvetejšo mater. Janez pa jo je privedel nazaj. Pred Gospodovim križem so se ustavili, zaničljivo zmajevali z glavami in govorili: 'Sram te bodi, lažnivec! Tako podiraš tempelj in ga v treh dneh zopet postavljaš! Vedno si hotel drugim pomagati, sam sebi pa ne moreš? Ako si Sin božji, stopi s križa! Če si judovski kralj, stopi s križa in verovali bomo vate! V Boga si zaupal, naj ti zdaj pomaga!' Tudi vojaki so se norčevali: 'Kralj Judov, pomagaj samemu sebi!'

Jezus je trudno dvignil glavo in zaprosil: 'Oče, odpusti jim, saj ne vedno, kaj delajo!' In je tiho dalje molil. Gezma mu je zaklical: 'Če si Kristus, pomagaj sebi in nama!' Še so ga zasmehovali. Desni razbojnik Dizma pa je bil globoko ganjen, ko je Jezus molil za svoje sovražnike. Jezusova molitev mu je naklonila razsvetljenje. Ko je sveta Devica stopila spet bliže, je spoznal, da sta mu Jezus in Marija pomagala že kot otroku. Takoj je povzdignil glas in zaklical: 'Kako, ali je mogoče? Vi ga sramotite, a on moli za vas. Vi se mu posmehujete, a on molči in trpi. On je prerok, naš kralj, Sin božji.' Ta nepričakovani ukor na križ razpetega hudodelca je razburil zasmehovalce. Pobirali so kamenje, da bi ga kamenjali. Toda stotnik Abenadar je posegel vmes in ukazal, naj jih razženejo.

Ob Jezusovi molitvi je začutila presveta Devica novo moč. Dizma se je obrnil k svojemu tovarišu, ki je tudi zasmehoval Jezusa, in mu rekel: 'Se tudi ti ne bojiš Boga, ko vendar trpiš isto obsodbo? Midva trpiva po pravici, ker sva prejela plačilo za svoja dejanja, ta pa ni storil nič hudega. Misli na svoje grehe in se spreobrni!' In Dizma je prejel milost globokega kesanja.

6. Druga in tretja Jezusova beseda na križu

1. Tedaj je rekel Gezma, levi razbojnik: 'Ako si  Kristus, pomagaj sam sebi in nama!' In še bolj je Jezusa zaničeval. Dizma pa, desni razbojnik, je bil ganjen, ko je Jezus molil za svoje sovražnike. Ko je Marija zaslišala glas svojega Sina, je njene tovarišice niso mogle več držati. Silila je proti križu in stotnik ji ni branil. Dizma, desni razbojnik, je dobil zaradi Jezusove molitve žarek razsvetljenja. Ko je presveta Devica pristopila, mu je bilo razodeto, da sta mu Jezus in Njegova  Mati že kot otroku pomagala, in povzdignil je svoj glas in nekako takole govoril: 'Kako je mogoče, vi Ga preklinjate in On moli za vas? Tiho je bil in je trpel in molil je za vas, in vi Ga zaničujete? On je prerok, On je naš kralj, in je Sin božji!' Zaradi tega nepričakovanega svarjenja iz ust nesrečno visečega ubijalca je vstal hrup med njimi in kamenje so pobirali, da bi ga na križu kamenjali. Stotnik Abenadar pa  tega ni dopustil in je naredil mir. Medtem se je čutila presveta Devica zaradi Jezusove molitve okrepčana in Dizma je rekel Gezmu: 'Se tudi ti ne bojiš Boga, ko trpiš isto kazen? Midva sicer po pravici, saj prejemava po zasluženju svojih del; ta pa ni ničesar hudega storil.' Bil je razsvetljen, ganjen in je spoznal svoj greh, rekoč: 'Gospod, če me pogubiš, se mi prav zgodi; pa usmili se me!' Dizma je zadobil milost pravega kesanja. Čez nekaj časa, okoli četrt ure, je ves skesan, v ponižnem zaupanju, povzdignil svojo glavo proti Jezusu in rekel: 'Gospod, spomni se me, ko prideš v svoje kraljestvo.' In Jezus mu je rekel: 'Resnično ti povem, danes boš z menoj v raju!' In tako je ta ubijalec zadnjo uro svojega življenja zadobil odpuščanje svojih velikih pregreh pri Jezusu, v večni spomin, da ne sme niti največji grešnik nikoli obupati. Dizma je postal celo svetnik. 'Da pa ne grešiš predrzno nad božjo milostjo,' pravi sv. Avguštin, 'se ozri tudi na levega razbojnika, ki je ravno tako na strani Jezusa, ki je ravno tako na strani Jezusa visel in je ravno s tisto drago krvjo bil oškopljen, ki je pa zaradi svoje trdovratne nespokornosti nesrečno umrl.'                       

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (47)

7. Druga beseda na križu

Okrog šeste ure se je nebo čudno pomračilo. Od vzhoda sem se je pomikala temna gmota, ki je naraščala in prekrila sonce. Jedro mu je bilo bledo, obdajal ga je rdeč, žareč obroč. Nebo je potemnelo in zvezde so rdeče migotale. Vse je prevzel neznan strah. Živali so tožeč begale sem in tja, ptice so nemirno iskale zavetja ter v jatah padale na višine okrog Kalvarije. Mogli bi jih poloviti z rokami. Zasmehovalci so obmolknili, farizeji pa so skušali vse naravno razložiti, a se jim je slabo posrečilo. Tudi nje same je popadla groza. Vse je gledalo proti nebu. Mnogi so vili roke, se trkali na prsi in klicali: 'Njegova kri naj pride nad morilce!' Nekaj jih je padlo na kolena in prosili so Jezusa odpuščanja. In On je obrnil oči nanje.

Ko je vse strmelo v nebo in je bila ob križu le Jezusova mati in njegovi najožji prijatelji, se je Dizma globoko skesan v ponižnem zaupanju obrnil h Gospodu in zaprosil: 'Gospod, spomni se me, ko prideš v svoje kraljestvo.' In Jezus mu je odgovoril: 'Resnično ti povem, še danes boš z menoj v raju.'

2. Mati Jezusova, Salome, Marija Kleofova, Marija Magdalena in Janez so stali med križi razbojnikov in Jezusovim ter so gledali na Gospoda. Presveta Devica, od materinske ljubezni vsa prevzeta, je srčno, pa na tihem zdihovala, da bi ji Jezus vendar dovolil, da bi z Njim vred umrla. In tedaj se je Gospod ozrl na svojo Mater, resnobno pa milo, se je obrnil proti Janezu in ji rekel: 'Žena, glej, tvoj sin!' Nato je rekel Janezu: 'Sin, glej, tvoja mati!' In Janez je objel Jezusovo mater, ki je tedaj tudi njegova mati postala, častito kakor pobožni sin pod križem umirajočega Odrešenika. Presveta Devica pa je bila pri tem slovesnem trenutku svojega umirajočega Sina od bolečin in bridkosti tako presunjena, da je v naročju svetih žena omedlela. Gospod ni imenoval v tej uri presvete Device mater, ampak 'ženo', zakaj v tej uri je bila v časti  žene, ki ima kači streti glavo; v tej uri,  ko se je v darovanju smrti Sina človekovega, njenega Sina, tista obljuba izpolnila, katero je dal Bog našim prvim staršem, in v tej uri je izročil Gospod v Janezu z besedami: 'Glej, tvoja mati!' Marijo za mater vsem, ki Njega kakor Janez sprejmejo, v Njegovo ime verujejo in so božji otroci, in niso ne iz krvi, ne iz volje mesa, ampak iz Boga rojeni. In Marija, najčistejša, najponižnejša, najpokornejša, je angelu rekla: 'Glej, dekla sem Gospodova, zgodi se mi po tvoji besedi!' in je tako postala mati večne učlovečene Besede; zato je tudi zdaj ponižno zdihnila, ko je od svojega umirajočega Sina zaslišala, da bo duhovna mati drugega sina, v sredi neznanih bolečin grozne ločitve, ponižna, pokorna v svojem srcu: 'Glej, dekla sem Gospodova, zgodi se mi po tvoji besedi!' in je sprejela tako vse otroke božje, vse brate Jezusove, za svoje otroke. O kakšno tolažilo za nas! Marija je naša mati!

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (48)

8. Tretja beseda

Mati Gospodova je v duši iskreno molila, da bi smela umreti s svojim Sinom. Odrešenik jo je pogledal resno in sočutno, nato pa pogledal na Janeza ter ji rekel: 'Žena, glej tvoj sin.' Pohvalil je Janeza, rekoč: 'Bil je vedno iskreno veren in nikoli se ni pohujševal, razen takrat, ko je njegova mati hotela, da bi bil povišan.' In učenec je spoštljivo objel kot dober sin Mater Jezusovo, ki je bila zdaj tudi njegova mati. Presveta Devica pa je bila ob tej oporoki tako presunjena od bolečine in veličine trenutka, da so jo svete žene vzele in jo za čas posadile na okop nasproti križa.

Pri takih premišljevanjih se mi zde posameznosti tako same po sebi razumljive, pozneje pa jih ne znam prav povedati. Tako se pod križem ne zdi prav nič čudno, da Jezus ne reče presveti Devici mati. Čutiš njeno dostojanstvo žene, ki bo strla kači glavo v tej uri, ko se bo z zadostilno smrtjo njenega Sina izpolnila dana obljuba. Čutila sem tudi, da je Jezus s temi besedami dal Marijo za mater vsem, ki jo sprejmejo, kakor jo je sprejel Janez, in ki verujejo v njegovo ime. In Marija je v svojem srcu zdaj spet ponižno govorila: 'Glej, dekla sem Gospodova, zgodi se mi po tvoji besedi.'  Sprejela je vse božje otroke in brate Jezusove za svoje otroke. Vse to se zdi tam na mestu dogajanja tako preprosto in nujno, pozneje pa morem to z božjo milostjo bolj čutiti, kakor izraziti z besedami.

'Nikoli ni v stanju kak jezik izgovoriti in nobeno srce občutiti,' pravi sv. Bernard, 'v kake neznane bolečine je bila pogreznjena duša preblažene Device Marije pod križem. O Marija, pač drago si zares tu plačala bolečine, katerih si bila oproščena pri svojem svetem porodu. Nobenih težav nisi občutila, ko si rodila Sina, pa tisočkratno bolečino si trpela ob smrti svojega Božjega Sina.... Tedaj si izgubila svojega Gospoda, svojega Boga, božjega Sina in svojega edinoljubljenega Sina, in zanj si dobila nas revne grešnike za svoje otroke! Oh, kakšna zamena! Morilca za umorjenega Sina! Ker pa je bilo to Bogu všeč in si se tudi ti temu ponižno vdala – o bodi nam torej mati, ki si nas v tolikih bolečinah rodila! Bodi naša ljuba mati, izprosi nam milost, da ti bomo tudi mi vedno tvoji zvesti otroci!. Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Marijo si hočem vnovič izvoliti za mater.

7. Sonce otemni

1. Okrog šeste ure, po našem okrog pol ene, je sonce čudno otemnelo in velika znamenja so se prikazala. Luna je sijala nad Oljsko goro, polna in bleda; sonce pa je otemnelo, rdeč blišč, kakor goreč pas, ga je obdajal. Nebo je potemnelo, zvezde so rdeče blestele. Velika groza je obhajala ljudi in živali. Živina je tulila in plaho begala, ptiči so frčali in se skrivali in padali v celih trumah na goro Kalvarijo; z rokami bi jih bili lahko lovili. Zaničevalci so potihnili. Farizeji pa so hoteli vse naravno razlagati, a se ni dalo in tudi nje je groza obšla. Vse se je oziralo proti nebu, mnogi so se trkali na prsi in vili roke in so vpili: 'Njegova kri naj pride nad Njegove morilce!' Nekateri so padali na kolena in so prosili Jezusa za odpuščanje; in Jezus se je v svojih bolečinah proti njim oziral.

2. Tudi po Jeruzalemu je vladal strah in groza. Megla in tema je stala po cestah in ljudje so zbegani tavali okrog. Nekateri so si zakrili glavo, se poskrili in trkali na prsi; drugi so šli na strehe, gledali proti nebu in silno tarnali.

3. V templju je vladal strah in groza; ravno je bilo velikonočno jagnje  zaklano, ko je nastopila tema. Vse je bilo zbegano in semtertje se je čulo bridko zdihovanje. Veliki duhovniki so si na vse mogoče načine prizadevali, da bi ljudstvo utolažili in pomirili; prižgali so naglo vse luči, pa zmešnjava je bila vedno hujša.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (49)

9. Tema

V Jeruzalemu je bilo vse prestrašeno in razburjeno. Ulice so bile temne. Ljudje so se poskrili si zakrivali glave in se trkali na prsi. Mnogi so stali na strehah, gledali proti nebu in glasno tarnali. Živali so rjule in se skrivale. Ptice so nizko letale in padale na tla. Pilat je obiskal Heroda. Razgledovala sta se na isti terasi, od koder je dopoldne Herod opazoval, kako so Jezusa zasramovali. Gledala sta proti nebu in govorila, da je vse le naraven pojav. Ampak z Jezusom, da so pa le prehudo ravnali. Herod je nato šel s Pilatom v njegovo palačo. Oba sta bila prestrašena in sta zelo hitro hodila. Imela sta stražo pri sebi. Pilat se ni upal ozreti proti sodnemu stolu Gabbatha, kjer je obsodil Jezusa. Ves trg je bil prazen in pust. Ljudje so se pozaprli v hiše in so tam tarnajoč begali sem in tja. Tu in tam se je na kakem trgu zbrala skupina ljudi. Pilat je dal poklicati k sebi judovske starešine in jih vprašal, kaj naj po njihovem mnenju ta tema pomeni. On sam meni, da je to preteče znamenje. Zdi se, da se njihov Bog srdi, ker so nasilno zahtevali Galilejčevo smrt. Gotovo je bil prerok in kralj. On, Pilat, si je v nedolžnosti umil roke. Starešine pa so razlagali, da je tema in vse drugo le naravni pojav, in so ostali zakrknjeni. Veliko število drugih Judov in nekaj vojakov pa se je spreobrnilo.

Postopoma se je nabralo pred Pilatovo palačo mnogo ljudstva. Tu, kjer so zjutraj vpili: 'Proč z njim! Križaj ga!' so zdaj kričali: 'Krivični sodnik! Njegova kri pridi nad morilce!' Pilat se je obdal  še z novimi oddelki vojakov. Stopil je pred ljudstvo in mu vrgel v obraz težke očitke: on ni kriv Jezusove smrti. Galilejec ni bil njegov prerok, kralj in sveti, ampak njihov. Njega nič ne briga, da so ga usmrtili, saj so oni zahtevali in določili njegovo smrt.

Največji preplah pa je zavladal v templju. Ravno, ko so klali velikonočno jagnje, je nastopila tema. Nastala je zmešnjava. Tu in tam so se zaslišali tožeči glasovi. Veliki duhovniki so si prizadevali, da bi napravili red in pomirili ljudi. Prižgali so svetilke. Hana je v silni grozi begal iz kota v kot, hoteč se skriti. Tema pa je naraščala.

8. Jezus zapuščen

Med temi dogodki je visel Zveličar v največjem zapuščenju na križu, obrnjen proti nebeškemu Očetu, in je molil za svoje sovražnike, katere je ljubil. Trpel je vse, kar more trpeti ubog, zatrt človek v največjem zapuščenju, brez vse človeške in božje tolažbe, ko je njegova vera, upanje in ljubezen brez vsega razsvetljenja in tolažbe preizkušana. V tem trpljenju nam je ljubeznivi Zveličar zadobil moč, da moremo premagati največjo revo in zapuščenje, zedinjeni z zasluženjem Njegovega zapuščenja, ko je daroval svojo revščino, svojo nadlogo, svoje zapuščenje na križu za nas uboge grešnike, tako da onemu, ki je z Jezusom združen, ni treba obupati tudi v najhujši uri, četudi vse otemni in zbeži vsa svetloba in tolažba.  

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (50)

10. Zapuščenost

Nastala je moreča tišina. Ljudje so bežali proti mestu. Hudobno izzivanje farizejev je umolknilo. Konji in osli jezdecev so silili skupaj in so stali povešenih glav. Vse je zagrinjala megla.

Jezus je v svojih nepojmljivih mukah trpel največjo zapuščenost brez vsake tolažbe. Molil je k nebeškemu Očetu z besedami psalmov, ki so se zdaj na njem uresničevale. Videla sem angele, ki so ga obdajali. V tem trpljenju nam je Jezus zadobil moč, da zmagovito prebijemo največjo zapuščenost, ko prenehajo vse zveze z zemeljskim življenjem. Tako nam z Jezusom združenim ni treba obupati, ko pride tema, ko izgine vsaka luč, vsaka tolažba. V temo notranje puščobe ne stopamo več sami in ogroženi.

Zdaj torej visi moj preljubi Jezus na lesu svetega križa v največjih bolečinah! S tisočerimi ranami visi moj Zveličar tu. Njegovo telo in Njegova duša trpi, ker Ga zaničujejo in prištevajo med razbojnike in zasramujejo Njegovi sovražniki, pa reven in zapuščen od vseh. O, moj Odrešenik, vsa narava žaluje za Teboj. Sonce je otemnelo, ker noče biti priča strašne dogodbe. Vse nebo žalostno gleda nate; Tvoja Mati, v bolečine pogreznjena, joka pod Tvojim križem in z njo vred Tvoj ljubeznivi učenec sv. Janez, srčno ljubljeni prijatelj Tvoje duše. Oh, oni žalujejo, oni jokajo, pa Ti ne morejo pomagati in Tvoje bolečine so tako velike! Tvoj nebeški Oče se ne da izprositi. Njegova pravica terja Tvojo smrt, ves dar Tvojega življenja. Oh, zaradi tega bridkega zapuščenja se me usmili! Ne zapusti me v mojih nadlogah, zlasti ne v moji zadnji uri, ko me bo vse drugo zapustilo. Tudi v tistih nesrečnih trenutkih me ne zapusti, o Jezus, v katerih zaslepljen ne iščem Tvoje pomoči, ko me moje grdo življenje vleče v greh! Ne zapusti me takrat s svojo milostjo, temveč reši me s svojo neskončno dobroto! Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: V žalosti in zapuščenju hočem ostati srčen in Bogu služiti ne samo zaradi tolažbe.

9. Četrta, peta, šesta in sedma Jezusova beseda na križu

    Jezusova smrt

1. Jezus se je prepustil vsej bridkosti, vsemu zapuščenju, tako da kristjan ni v smrtni uri sam sebi prepuščen. Za kristjana ni več nobene puščave, nobene samote, nobenega obupanja v smrtni sili; zakaj Jezus, ki je luč, pot in resnica, je šel to temno pot in je blagoslavljajoč pregnal ves strah in je svoj križ postavil v tej puščavi. Jezus, ves zapuščen, ves reven, je sam sebe dal, kakor zna le ljubezen. Svoje zapuščenje je spremenil v bogat zaklad, ker se je daroval z vsem svojim življenjem, delom, ljubeznijo in trpljenjem, tudi z grenko zavestjo naše nehvaležnosti – svojemu nebeškemu Očetu za našo revščino in slabost. Pred Bogom je naredil svojo oporoko ter je dal vse svoje zasluženje sveti Cerkvi in grešnikom. Vseh se je spomnil. V svojem zapuščenju je bil pri vseh do konca sveta. To zapuščenje pa je bilo bridkejše, kakor ga kdaj more prenesti kak človek. Ker je bil Jezus ves z božjo naravo združen in Bog in človek skupaj, toda zdaj v od Boga popolnoma zapuščeni naravi, je občutil kakor Sin človekov bridkost zapuščenja v polni meri; in tako je v svojem trpljenju okoli tretje ure Jezus z močnim glasom zavpil: 'Eli! Eli! lama sabaktani?' kar pomeni: 'Moj Bog, moj Bog! Zakaj si me zapustil?' Ko je ta glasni klic našega Gospoda pretrgal strašno tihoto. so se nekateri zasmehovalci zopet proti križu obrnili, in eni so rekli; 'Glejte, Elija kliče.' Drugi pa: 'Glejmo, ali Ga pride Elija rešit.'

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (51)

11. Četrta beseda na križu

Proti tretji uri je zaklical Jezus z močnim glasom: 'Eli, Eli, lama sabaktani!' Moj Bog, moj Bog, zakaj si me zapustil?
Gospodov glasni klic je pretrgal morečo tišino. Takoj se je eden izmed tistih, ki so prej zasmehovali Jezusa, obrnil h križu in rekel: 'Elija kliče,' in drugi: 'Bomo videli, če bo Elija prišel in mu pomagal s križa.'

Medtem ko je okrog stoječe ljudstvo omahovalo in tarnalo, se je približala skupina kakih trideset odličnih mož na konjih. Bili so na poti k prazniku. Prišli pa so iz Jafe in iz drugih krajev v Judeji. Ko so videli, kako grozno so trpinčili Jezusa, in pod vplivom pretečih znamenj v naravi, so se zgrozili in klicali: 'Gorje! Treba bi bilo do temeljev požgati to grozovito mesto, če ne bi stal tempelj božji v njem. Nakopalo si je strašno krivdo.'

Ljudstvo je povzelo besede odličnih tujcev. Mrmranje in tožbe so naraščale. Dobri so se strnili. Tako sta nastali dve skupini: eni so tožili, drugi so jih zmerjali in se togotili nad njimi. Farizeji pa so postali čisto majhni. Bali so se, da se bo ljudstvo dvignilo. Zato so govorili s stotnikom Abenadarjem. Dali so zapreti mestna vrata, da so tako pretrgali zvezo z mestom. Poslali so tudi sla k Pilatu, naj bi pomnožil vojaško stražo, da ne bo prišlo do vstaje. Stotnik je napravil red s tem, da je prepovedal vsako zasmehovanje, da ne bi več razburjali ljudstva.

Čez nekaj časa je postalo malo svetleje. Gospodovo telo je viselo izkrvavelo, bledo na križu. 

2. Kmalu po tretji uri je postalo bolj svetlo. Luna se je umikala soncu, sonce se je kazalo za oblaki rdeče in luna je naglo zatonila. Tudi sončni žarki so prisijali in zvezde so izginile; vendar pa je bilo še vedno le mračno. Ko je postalo nekoliko svetlejše, se je videlo telo Gospodovo na križu, kako je bilo bledo, oslabljeno in popolnoma omagano. Bolj bledo kakor prej, ker se je bilo izkrvavelo. Jezus, ves omagan, zdihne z zasušenim jezikom; 'Žejen sem!' Na to Njegovo prošnjo je eden od vojakov pomočil gobo v jesih, ki je stal tu v posodi, in primešal žolča. Nataknil je gobo na kratek hisopov prevotljen konec, katerega je nasadil na svojo sulico in vzdignil proti Gospodovemu obličju. - Jezus pa je hotel trpeti to strašno žejo, da bi za našo požrešnost zadostil in da bi nam pokazal, kako goreče Ga žeja po našem zveličanju in kako hrepeni po naši ljubezni. Oh, pogasi torej Njegovo gorečo žejo s popolnoma nerazdeljeno ljubeznijo in hrepeni tudi ti  po Jezusu!

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (52)

12. Zadnje besede na križu - Jezusova smrt

Jezus je bil do konca izčrpan. Z izsušenim jezikom je spregovoril: 'Žejen sem.' Ko so njegovi prijatelji  slišali to tožbo, so prosili vojake, naj mu vendar dajo požirek vode. ponudili so jim denar za to. Eden izmed vojakov je vzel gobo, jo pomočil v kis in jo ponudil Odrešeniku.

3. Ko je tedaj ura Gospodova prišla, se je boril s smrtjo in mrzel pot Ga je oblil. Janez je stal poleg križa ter Mu brisal noge s potnim prtom. Magdalena, od bolečin vsa potrta, je slonela zdaj pri križu. Presveta Devica pa je stala med Jezusom in križem spreobrnjenega razbojnika. Marija Kleofova in Marija Salome sta jo držali; ona pa se je ozirala na umirajočega Sina. Tedaj je rekel Jezus: 'Dopolnjeno je.' In z močnim glasom je zavpil: 'Oče, v Tvoje roke izročim svojo dušo!' Bil je sladak in glasen klic, ki je presunil nebo in zemljo; potem je glavo nagnil in izdihnil svojo dušo; in duša Njegova je šla kakor svetla senca poleg križa v zemljo pred pekel. Janez in svete žene so popadali na svoje obraze. Bilo je torej okrog tretje ure popoldne, ko je Jezus izdihnil.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (53)

Ko je prišla Gospodova ura, se je začel boriti s smrtjo.
Mrzel znoj ga je oblival. Janez je stal ob križu in je brisal Učenikove noge s potnim prtom. Magdalena, vsa strta od bolečine, je slonela na zadnji strani križa. Presveta Devica je stala med križem svojega Sina in križem desnega razbojnika. Podpirali sta jo Marija Kleofa in Saloma. Kar  zakliče Jezus: 'Dopolnjeno je!'

Nato je dvignil glavo in zaklical z močnim glasom: 'Oče, v tvoje roke izročam svojo dušo!' Bil je to glasen krik, ki je presunil nebo in zemljo. Nato je nagnil  glavo in izdihnil svojo dušo. Videla sem njegovo dušo kot blestečo senco, ki se je spustila ob križu navzdol v predpekel. Janez in svete žene so zdrsnili na zemljo in se z obrazom dotikali tal.

'O sveta smrt, o sladka smrt, o mile rane, o radostno drevo, o neskončna ljubezen!' zakličem s častitim Ludovikom Granaškim. 'Da bi nas uboge sužnje v nebesa pripeljal, si umrl, Gospod vseh nebes, na lesu križa in si izročil svojo dušo nebeškemu Očetu. Zato, o Gospod, zdihujem ponižno k Tebi: Potrdi me z bolečino svoje svete smrti, ko je Tvoja presveta duša Tvoje telo zapustila, in okrepčaj z močjo te skrivnosti mojo revno dušo v tisti uri, ko se bo morala od mojega telesa ločiti, ker ne more noben živ človek temu strašnemu trenutku uiti, da sklenem svoje življenje s tistimi besedami, s katerimi si Ti sklenil svoje, da izročim svojo dušo v Tvoje roke in da jo Ti milostljivo sprejmeš. Dovoli mi, da zadnje trenutke svojega življenja preživim v tvojih svetih ranah in tamkaj sprejmi zadnje moje zdihljaje!' Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem z danes: Sam zase hočem notranje umreti in zadušiti lastno svojo ljubezen.

XII. DOGODKI OB IN PO JEZUSOVI SMRTI

1. Stotnikovo spreobrnjenje

    Dogodki ob Jezusovi smrti

1. Ko je Jezus nagnil glavo in izdihnil, je vso naravo prešinil strah in groza. Zagrinjalo v templju se je pretrgalo. Tempeljnove stene so se nagnile, hribi in pohištva so se na več krajih pogreznila. In tedaj je zadela stotnika Abenadarja milost. Vrgel je sulico od sebe in se z močno pestjo udaril na svoje prsi in je glasno vzkliknil kakor prerojen: 'Hvaljen bodi Bog, Vsemogočni, Bog Abrahamov, Izakov in Jakobov! Resnično, ta človek je bil pravičen, resnično, bil je Sin božji!' In veliko vojakov, ganjenih od teh stotnikovih besed, je ravno to trdilo. Ko pa je Abenadar postal nov, odrešen človek in je očitno pripoznal Sina božjega, ni hotel več biti v službi Njegovih sovražnikov. Dal je svojega konja podstotniku Kasiju, ki se je pozneje imenoval Longin, je pobral svojo sulico, jo izročil njemu, ter je še nekaj govoril vojakom in Kasiju, ki je stopil na konja in je tu zapovedoval; Abenadar pa je hitel čez Kalvarijo po Gibonski dolini v votline Hinoma in je naznanil tam skritim učencem Gospodovo smrt in tekel v mesto k Pilatu. Veliko se jih je spreobrnilo, ki so se trkali na prsi, zdihovali in tavali s hriba po dolini domov. Drugi so oblačila raztrgali in si pepel na glavo tresli. Vse je bilo polno strahu in groze.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (54)

DOGODKI OB IN PO JEZUSOVI SMRTI

1. Stotnikovo spreobrnjenje

 Abenadar je obstal s konjem tik pred vzpetino križev. Dolgo je globoko presunjen nepremično strmel v Kristusovo obličje, ovenčano s trnjem. Ob smrti Jezusovi se je zemlja stresla, skala med Gospodovim križem in levim razbojnikom se je razklala. Božje pričevanje je šlo kakor strah in groza opominjajoč skozi žalujočo naravo. Sorodna srca je presunil meč bolečin. Milost je zadela Abenadarjevo dušo. Konj je trepetal, stotnikov trdi, ponosni duh se je razklal kakor kalvarijska skala. Odvrgel je sulico, se s pestjo krepko bil na prsi in zaklical z glasom novega človeka: 'Hvaljen bodi Bog, Vsemogočni!  Ta je bil pravičen. Resnično, on je Sin božji.' In mnogi, presunjeni zaradi njegovih besed, so storili isto.

Abenadar, ki je bil zdaj, ko je očitno počastil Sina božjega, nov, odrešen človek, ni hotel biti več v službi njegovih sovražnikov. Obrnil je konja proti podčastniku Kasiju, ki ga imenujemo navadno Longin; razjezdil je, pobral sulico in mu jo dal. Nato je govoril Kasiju in vojakom. Podčastnik je zajezdil konja in prevzel poveljstvo, Abenadar je odhitel. Prišel je do votlin v dolini Hinom, kjer je tam skrivajočim se učencem sporočil Gospodovo smrt. Nato je hitel dalje v mesto k Pilatu.

Ob glasnem kriku umirajočega Jezusa je prevzel vse navzoče silen strah, ker se je zemlja stresla in so skale pokale. Strah je pretresel vso naravo. Zagrinjalo v templju se je pretrgalo. Mnogo mrtvih je vstalo iz grobov. Stene v templju so padale. Na več krajih so se zrušili hribi in poslopja.

Od navzočega ljudstva, kakor tudi od farizejev, ki so nazadnje prispeli, se jih je več spreobrnilo. Trkali so se na prsi in se glasno tožeč razhajali. Nekateri so trgali svoja oblačila in si posipali glave s pepelom.

2. Ko je ljubljeni Gospod poplačal za grešnike strašni dolg s smrtjo in kakor človek dušo svojemu Bogu in Očetu izročil in svoje telo dal v smrt, je to sveto, potrto, bledo posodo obšla mrzla barva smrti. Njegovo obličje se je podaljšalo, Njegova lica upadla, Njegov nos stanjšal, Njegove čeljusti pobesile, Njegove zaprte, krvi polne oči so se odprle. Vzdignil je svojo s trnjem kronano glavo zadnjikrat nekoliko potem ko jo je izpustil na prsi pod težo bolečin. Njegove ustnice so bile višnjevo napete, videl se je v odprtih ustih krvav jezik; Njegove roke, prej bolj stisnjene, so se pa odprle; ko so se komolci raztegnili, se je pritisnil hrbet na križ in vsa teža svetega trupla se je spustila na noge. Kolena so se pripognila in se nagnila na stran. Tedaj so otrpnile roke Njegovi Materi, Njene oči so zatemnele, smrtno bleda je postala, ušesa niso več slišala, noge so omahnile in se zgrudile na tla, in tudi Marija Magdalena, Janez in drugi so popadali z zakritim obrazom in se prepustili bolečinam. In ko je najbolj ljubeča, najbolj žalostna Mati, po prijateljih vzdignjena, odprla svoje oči, je videla telo svojega Sina, meso svojega mesa, kosti svojih kosti, srce svojega srca, oropano vse lepote in svoje svete duše, razdejano, potrto in umorjeno od grešnikov, katere je prišel zveličat! Oh, zavržena, zaničevana, zasramovana je visela izpraznjena posoda, posoda vse lepote, resnice in ljubezni, razpeta na križu med dvema morilcema! – Kdo bo doumel bolečino Matere Jezusove, kraljice mučencev?!

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (55)

Bilo je malo po tretji uri, ko je Jezus izdihnil. Po prvem preplahu je nekaterim farizejem spet zrasel pogum. Prišli so k zevajoči razpoki kalvarijskega hriba, metali kamenje vanjo, zvezali več vrvi skupaj in se spustili navzdol. Ko pa niso prišli do dna, jim je zmanjkalo besed. Zbali so se tudi sprevrženega razpoloženja ljudstva in so odjezdili. Kasij je ostal s petimi vojaki v bližini križa. Jezusovi prijatelji so obstopili Gospodovo mrtvo telo, drugi pa so sedeli v globoki žalosti križu nasproti. – Postajalo je tiho in samotno na Kalvariji. Tu in tam so se pojavili na bližnjih vzpetinah posamezni učenci. Strahoma so gledali proti križu in se spet umaknili, brž ko se je kdo bližal.

O, križ, ti najzvestejši tovariš mojega Gospoda, pusti Ga zdaj in Ga daj meni, sprejeti Ga hočem v svojo dušo! Počivaj zdaj, o Gospod, po tolikem trpljenju, po tolikih bolečinah in pridi v dušo, ki omaguje hrepenenja po Tebi in je tako potrebna Tvoje pričujočnosti. Pridi vanjo, počivaj v njej, vzemi jo Ti, posedi jo Ti kakor svojo posest, ker si jo Ti ustvaril! Dopolni na njej delo, katero si na križu pričel. Amen

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Sam sebe hočem zaničevati in nikoli samega sebe hvaliti in tudi ne pričakovati nobene hvale od drugih.

2. Potres

    Prikazen mrtvih v  Jeruzalemu 

1. V templju so veliki duhovni darovanje, katero je bila ovirala strašna tema, zopet nekoliko uredili ter se veselili zadobljene svetlobe, kar se naenkrat potrese zemlja in se zasliši votlo bobnenje. Oba velika stebra pri vhodu v najsvetejše templja, med katerima je viselo dragoceno zagrinjalo, sta se upognila in veliko zagrinjalo se je pretrgalo od vrha do tal, tako da je padlo pretrgano ob straneh na tla. To zagrinjalo je bilo rdeče, modro, belo in rumeno. Tedaj se je videlo v najsvetejše. V najsvetejšem se je prikazal med templjem in oltarjem ubiti Zaharija in je govoril ostre besede o moritvi prerokov. Na oltarju se je prikazal Jeremija z žugajočimi besedami: Darovanje je končano in začenja se novo darovanje. Naenkrat se zasliši velik šum. Vrata svetišča se razpočijo in sliši se glas: Bežimo odtod! Bili so angeli, ki so hiteli iz templja. Oltar kadila se potrese, kadilnice se zvrnejo, zavitki pisem popadajo, prižnica v lopi se pogrezne; zidovje se je na več krajih podrlo. Najprej je  tiha groza obšla množico, semtertje je kdo iz strahu zavpil. Duhovni so ljudi tolažili in urejevali, pa je vse bilo zastonj. Preplašeni vsled angelskega glasu in ob prikazni mrtvih so zapuščali ljudje tempelj.

2. Veliki duhoven sam je govoril in tudi drugim duhovnom je ukazal oznanjevati, da so znamenja božje jeze prišla zaradi tistih, ki so s križanim Galilejcem držali in so zaradi tega stopili oskrunjeni v tempelj. Veliko tega je tudi pripisoval čarovnijam tega Galilejca. Darovanje je nehalo in praznik je bil ustavljen, dokler bi ne bil tempelj očiščen. Veliko jagnjet ni bilo poklanih.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (56)

2. Potres

Ko je Jezus z glasnim klicem izročil dušo v roke nebeškega Očeta in je šla Jezusova duša v predpekel, jo je spremljala blesteča truma angelov. Obenem so angeli pognali veliko število hudobnih duhov navzdol v brezno. Jezus je poslal več duš iz predpekla v njihova telesa, da bi prestrašile in opominjale trdovratneže in pričevale zanj.

O potresnem sunku, ki je spremljal Jezusovo smrt, se je po svetu zrušilo in pogreznilo mnogo zgradb, največ po Palestini in v Jeruzalemu. Komaj so se v mestu in v templju malo pomirili zaradi nastale teme, se je stresla zemlja in na več mestih so se zrušila poslopja. In ko so ljudje tarnajoč begali sem in tja, so jim stopili v njih nepopisno grozo naproti vstali mrliči, ki so jih svarili z votlimi glasovi.

Veliki duhovnik Kajfa pa v svoji brezupni predrznosti ni izgubil glave. S satansko mirnostjo je dosegel vsaj toliko, da ni nastala splošna, hrupna zmešnjava. Posrečilo se mu je tudi, da je prepričal ljudi, da ti strahotni opomini nikakor ne pričajo, da je bil Jezus nedolžen. Tudi rimska posadka na gradu Antoniji je storila vse, da je ohranila red. Tako so sicer morali opustiti praznovanje, do upora pa le ni prišlo.

Oba visoka stebra ob vhodu v najsvetejše sta se razkrečila. Velika  zavesa, viseča med njima, se je rezko pretrgala od zgornjega do spodnjega roba; obvisela je na obeh straneh tako, da je bil odprt pogled v najsvetejše. Tu se je prikazal veliki duhovnik Zaharija, ki so ga nekoč ubili med templjem in oltarjem. Govoril je preteče besede in omenjal umor prerokov. Na učeniškem mestu sta se pojavila dva zgodaj umrla sinova pobožnega velikega duhovna Simona Justa. Opominjala sta navzoče, naj se spreobrnejo k veri v Križanega. Ob oltarju se je prikazal Jeremija. Oznanil je, da je daritev zaključena in da se pričenja nova daritev. Te prikazni so videli in slišali samo Kajfa in duhovniki. O tem ni nihče ničesar izvedel. Prepovedali so pod težko kaznijo o tem govoriti. 

Tempelj je bil poln neznanega hrupa. Vrata so se na stežaj odpirala in slišal se je glas: 'Pustite nas, da odidemo!' Videla sem trumo angelov, ki so zapuščali tempelj. Oltar kadilnih žrtev se je potresel in posoda s kadilom se je prevrnila. Tudi posoda z zvitki pisma se je razbila in zvitki so se razsuli na vse strani.

Hana, resnični glavni sovražnik Jezusov, ki je že dolgo vodil vse naklepe proti njemu in njegovim učencem in je tudi nahujskal tožitelje, je kakor blazen od strahu begal iz kota v kot in v najbolj skrite kote templja. Tam je ležal ves zverižen v krčih, ječal je in kričal. Prišel je tja tudi Kajfa, ga trdno prijel in ga skušal opogumiti. A zaman. Prikazen mrtvih ga je spravila v obup.

Tudi Kajfa je bil ves prestrašen. A v njega se je naselil hudič, tako ošaben in trdovraten, da na zunaj ni kazal strahu. Kljuboval je vsemu. Predrzno, srdito in trmasto se je upiral pretečim božjim znamenjem in lastnemu strahu. Ko niso mogli nadaljevati s svetimi obredi,  je ukazal, naj pred ljudstvom prikrijejo vse, kar se še da prikriti. Sam je govoril in naročil tudi drugim duhovnikom, naj prepričujejo ljudstvo, da je Bog poslal ta znamenja svoje jeze zaradi Galilejčevih privržencev, ki so prišli nečisti v tempelj. Krivi so le sovražniki svete postave, ki jo je tudi Galilejec hotel ovreči. Velik del je treba pripisati tudi njegovi čarovniji. Še v trpljenju in smrti je skušal kaliti mir v templju. Tako se je Kajfu posrečilo, da je marsikoga premotil, druge pa z grožnjami preplašil. Mnoge pa je vse globoko presunilo, a skrivali so svoje mišljenje. Polagoma se je ljudstvo razšlo.

3. Ko se je vse to po templju godilo, je vladal na mnogih krajih v Jeruzalemu ravno tak strah. Ko je ura odbila tri, se je podrlo več grobov, zlasti na južni strani blizu mesta. V Kajfovi hiši so se podrle stopnice, na katerih je bil Jezus zasramovan. V Pilatovi dvorani se je razpočil kamen in kraj se je pogreznil, kjer je bil Jezus pred ljudstvo postavljen. Vse se je majalo, vse treslo. Tudi drugod so se stene podirale in zidovje je pokalo. Tudi Pilat in Herod sta bila vsa preplašena. Okrog sto mrtvih iz vseh časov je bilo, katere so v Jeruzalemu in njegovi okolici videli vstati s svojimi telesi iz pogreznjenih grobov; večji del so se  po dva po mestu prikazovali in semtertje begajoče ljudstvo ustavljali in pričali svarilne besede o Jezusu. Okoli štirih so se vrnili mrliči zopet v svoje grobove. Vse je bilo v zmešnjavi. Le malokdo je na večer jedel velikonočno jagnje.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (57)

V času, ko se je v templju vse to dogajalo, je na več krajih v mestu nastal enak preplah. Kmalu po tretji uri so se vdrli mnogi grobovi. Videla sem v odprtih grobovih ležati zavite mrliče, v nekaterih pa strohnela oblačila in okostja. – V Kajfovi hiši se je vdrlo stopnišče, kjer so zasramovali Jezusa. Zrušil se je tudi del ognjišča, ob katerem je Peter zatajil Učenika. Tam se je prikazal veliki duhovnik Simon Just. Izrekel je grožnje zaradi krivične sodbe nad Jezusom – bili so tam nekateri člani velikega zbora. – Možje, ki so prejšnji večer omogočili vstop Petru in Janezu, so se spreobrnili. Zatekli so se v votline, kjer so se zadrževali učenci. – Pri Pilatovi palači se je vdrlo mesto, od koder je Pilat ljudstvu pokazal razbičanega Odrešenika.  Zmedeni, praznoverni Pilat je bil silno prestrašen, nezmožen za vsako delo. Potres je razmajal njegovo palačo. Tla so se mu izmikala pod nogami. Iz preddvora so se oglašali glasovi mrtvih in mu očitali njegovo krivično sodbo in protislovne izjave. Pilat je menil, da so to prerokovi bogovi. Zaklenil se je v najbolj skrite prostore gradu in tam kadil in daroval svojim bogovom. Govoril jim je tudi razne zaobljube, samo da mu Galilejčevi bogovi ne bi mogli škodovati. – Tudi Herod je bil v svoji palači kot iz uma od strahu in je dal zakleniti vsa vrata.

Mrliči, ki so tu in tam v dvoje hodili po ulicah, niso premikali nog pod svojimi mrtvaškimi oblačili. Z lahkotnostjo so lebdeli preko tal. Bledi, rumeni obrazi so strmeli izsušeni iznad dolgih brad. Glasovi so jim doneli tuje, kot iz groba. Ustavljali so se posebno na cestnih križiščih, kjer so bili prej med trobentanjem razglašali Jezusovo smrtno obsodbo. Klicali so gorje nad morilce. Ljudje so stali od daleč, poslušali trepetaje in zbežali, ko so se mrtvi spet odpravili dalje.

Okrog četrte ure so se mrtvi vrnili v grobove. Mnogi pa so se prikazali tudi še po Gospodovem vstajenju.

Potres in mrk ni bil samo v Jeruzalemu, ampak tudi po drugih krajih v sveti deželi, da, tudi v nekaterih daljnih deželah. Povsod je vladalo opustošenje in preplah. V nekaterih krajih, kjer so se zadrževali hudobni duhovi, sem videla, kako so z razrušenimi poslopji vred strmoglavili v globino.

Ves lep si Ti, o Jezus, ves mil, ves sladak, ves ljubezniv, kadar trkaš na srca grešnikov. Tvoje oči spreobračajo duše, Tvoje besede omečujejo srca. Tvoj prihod vleče nase tiste, ki so od prave poti odstopili... Ti se ves daruješ za grešnikovo ljubezen. Ali je tedaj mogoče, da bi Te ne ljubil, kdor premišljuje Tvojo ljubezen? Ta Tvoja ljubezen me bolj gane, kakor ko bi videl vse čudeže Tvoje vsemogočnosti. Potres zemlje, otemnenje sonca so velika znamenja Tvojega veličastva: pa bolj čudna je še tvoja ljubezen. Četudi pridejo mrtvi iz grobov in pričajo o Tebi, je vendar Tvoja ljubezen, s katero si zame umrl na križu, mogočnejša, da omeči moje srce. Kogar Tvoja ljubezen ne gane, ga tudi prikazen mrtvih ne bo ganila. Zato Te hočem ljubiti, o večna ljubezen! Dodeli mi, da ta ljubezen nikoli več ne ugasne v meni. Amen.

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Odtrgati se hočem od vsega posvetnega in ne navezovati svojega srca na posvetno blago, ampak poslušati milost božjo.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (58)

Jožef iz Arimateje pri Pilatu

Komaj se je mesto malo pomirilo, že so prihajala k prestrašenemu Pilatu od vseh strani poročila o tem, kar se je bilo zgodilo. Sinedrij je poslal svoje ljudi s prošnjo, naj križanim polomijo kosti in jih snamejo s križa, da ne bodo viseli preko sobote. Pilat je poslal na morišče nekaj biričev, da bi to opravili.

Takoj zatem je prišel k njemu Jožef iz Arimateje. Vedel  je že, da je Jezus mrtev, in skupaj z Nikodemom sta sklenila, da bosta pokopala Gospoda v novem skalnatem grobu na Jožefovem vrtu nedaleč od Kalvarije. Videla sem ga že tam, ko je pregledoval grob. Že so ga očistili in v notranjosti še to in ono zgotovili. Nikodem pa je kupil prte in dišave za Gospodovo telo.

Jožef je našel Pilata vznemirjenega in prestrašenega. Prosil ga je pogumno in brez ovinkov, naj mu dovoli sneti Jezusovo telo in ga pokopati v svoj grob. Pilata je še bolj zmedlo, da tako ugleden mož nujno prosi,  da bi smel pokopati Jezusa, ki ga je dal on tako sramotno križati. Še bolj se je zavedel, da je obsodil nedolžnega. Toda potajil se je in vprašal  samo: 'Torej je že mrtev?' Saj je šele pred nekaj minutami poslal rablje, da polomijo križanim kosti in jih s tem usmrtijo. Dal  je poklicati stotnika Abenadarja in ga vprašal, če je kralj Judov že mrtev. Stotnik mu je pripovedoval, kako je bilo. Pravil mu je o njegovih zadnjih besedah, glasnem kriku, o potresu in kako se je skala razklala. Pilat se je pretvarjal, kot da se mu samo čudno zdi, da je tako hitro umrl, ker križani navadno dalj živijo. V resnici pa se je še bolj bal in bil še bolj zmeden, ko je slišal, da so vsa ta znamenja nastopila prav ob Jezusovi smrti. Morda je hotel svoj greh vsaj malo popraviti, ker je takoj napisal Jožefu pismeno pooblastilo, da sname Jezusovo telo s križa in ga pokoplje. Vesel je bil, da bo s tem razjezil velike duhovne. Saj ti bi radi, da bi Jezusa nečastno zagrebli z razbojnikoma vred.

Jožef iz Arimateje je odhitel k Nikodemu, ki ga je pričakoval pri neki dobri  ženi, prodajalki dišav. Jožef je pri njej že prej nakupil  različnih potrebščin za pokop. Česar žena sama ni imela, je preskrbela od drugih: razne vrste dišav, prtiče in povoje. Vse to je lepo spravila v zavoj, da ga je mogel vzeti s seboj. Jožef pa je šel še sam kupit zelo lep, tanek bombažni prt. Dolg je bil šest komolcev in nekaj komolcev širok. Ženini služabniki so prinesli iz shrambe poleg Nikodemove hiše lestve, kladiva, cevi za vodo, posodo, gobe in vse potrebno. Z vsem tem so napravili lahka nosila, podobna tistim, na katerih so Janezovi učenci odnesli Krstnikovo truplo iz Maheronta.

3. Jožef iz Arimateje

1. Komaj se je po teh strašnih dogodkih po Jeruzalemu nekoliko pomirilo, že  je veliki judovski zbor, kar je bilo že zjutraj sklenjeno, k Pilatu poslal, naj bi dal vsem križanim kosti polomiti, da bi potem umorjene s križa sneli, da ne bi viseli čez praznike na križih. Pilat je tedaj poslal zato biriče na Golgoto. Kmalu pa pride tudi Jožef iz Arimateje, svetovalec judovskega zbora, k Pilatu. Jožef je videl, da je Pilat ves prestrašen in zbegan; naravnost brez vse boječnosti je poprosil Pilata, naj bi mu dovolil, da s križa sname telo Jezusa, judovskega kralja, ker Ga hoče pokopati v svoj grob. Pilat se je še bolj zavzel, ko je tako imeniten gospod prosil za Jezusovo telo, da bi Mu poslednjo čast izkazal, katerega je on dal tako zaničljivo križati. Nedolžnost Jezusova mu je stopila bolj živo pred oči, a hlinil se je in je vprašal: 'Kaj je že mrtev?' ker je ravnokar šele biriče poslal, da bi križanim kosti polomili in jih tako umorili. Poklical je stotnika Abenadarja, ki je ravno nazaj prišel in ga vprašal, če je že umrl kralj judovski. In Abenadar je pripovedoval, kako je Gospod ob treh umrl, kaj je nazadnje govoril, kako je na glas zavpil, kako se je zemlja tresla in skale pokale. Pilat se je hinavsko čudil, da je tako naglo umrl, bil pa je ves presunjen, ker je spoznal, da so se ta znamenja s smrtjo Gospodovo strinjala. Svojo grozovitost je hotel morebiti s tem nekoliko omiliti, da je napisal Jožefu iz Arimateje povelje, naj se mu telo judovskega kralja da, da ga tedaj sme s križa sneti in pokopati. Veselilo ga je, da bo s tem ponagajal velikim duhovnom, ki so hoteli, da bi bil Jezus pokopan z razbojnikoma vred brez vsake časti.

4. Vojak odpre Jezusovo stran

1. Medtem je postalo vse tiho in žalostno po Golgoti. Ljudstvo se je s strahom in grozo razšlo ali poskrilo. Mati Jezusova in Janez, Marija Magdalena, Marija Kleofova in Salome so stale in sedele z zakritimi obrazi križu nasproti in so žalovale. Nekoliko vojakov je bilo še na mestu; ti so zapičili svoje sulice v tla zraven sebe. Kasij je semtertje jezdaril. Nebo je bilo oblačno, vsa narava je zagrnjena v veliko žalost. In tedaj je prišlo šest biričev. Imeli so s seboj lestve, lopate in vrvi; prinesli so težke, trioglate železne kole, da bi kosti polomili. Zdrobili so s temi koli razbojnikoma kosti med strašnim tuljenjem Gezma, kateremu so s tremi udarci tudi prsa strli. Dizma se je zvijal, da je umrl v tem mučenju, in on je bil prvi izmed umirajočih, ki je zopet videl svojega Zveličarja. Biriči so še dvomili, ali je Jezus res mrtev ali ne, in presveta Devica je bila v novi, strašni bridkosti, da bi ti tolovaji tudi Njegovega telesa ne bili. Pa podstotnik Kasij, pozneje Longin imenovan, je vzel svojo sulico, jo prijel z obema rokama in jo je s toliko močjo porinil v napeto desno stran presvetega telesa skozi drob in srce, da se je celo na levi strani mala rana naredila, in ko je sulico s silo nazaj potegnil, je pritekla iz velike rane desne strani kri in voda ter je njegovo obličje z zveličanjem in milostjo oblila. Skočil je s konja, padel na svoja kolena, trkal se na prsi in je očitno Jezusa pripoznal pred vsemi navzočimi. 

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (59)

Prebodena stran

Medtem je bilo na Kalvariji tiho in žalostno. Ljudstvo se je razšlo. Le Jezusova mati in njegovi prijatelji so sedeli in stali poleg križa. Po okopu je posedalo tudi nekaj vojakov. Sulice so zapičili poleg sebe v zemljo. Kasij je jezdil sem in tja. Vojaki preko skale so govorili navzdol z drugimi, ki so bili razpostavljeni niže na pobočju. Kar se pojavi šest biričev z lestvami, lopatami in vrvmi. Nosili so tudi težke železne bate, s katerimi bodo polomili križanim kosti.

Ko so prišli na vrh, so se Jezusovi prijatelji umaknili nekoliko nazaj. Blažena Devica je zatrepetala v novi bojazni, da bi se znašali še nad mrtvim Jezusom. Povzpeli so se namreč  tik h križu in sunili v sveto truplo, češ, da se samo dela mrtvega. Janez se je obrnil k vojakom, ki so potrdili Jezusovo smrt. Biriči sami so se prepričali, da je truplo že popolnoma mrzlo in otrplo. Pustili so ga torej, a videti je bilo, da še ne verjamejo čisto, da je mrtev. Po lestvah so se povzpeli k razbojnikoma. Dva sta z ostrimi bati polomila kosti rok, tretji pa je medtem zdrobil kosti nog. Gezma je strašno rjovel. S tremi udarci so mu zdrobli še prsi. Dizma je bil prvi za Odrešenikom umrli, ki ga je videl v onostranstvu. Biriči so odvezali vrvi, da sta trupli padli na zemljo. Z vrvmi so ju vlekli po hribu navzdol in ju zagrebli.

Po tem grozovitem prizoru so se Jezusovi prijatelji še bolj bali, da bi se rablji utegnili vrniti k Jezusovemu truplu. Naenkrat je zgrabila Kasija čudna vnema. Bil je star šele petindvajset let. Škilil je in bil nepreudarno nagel, tako, da so se mu podrejeni večkrat posmehovali. Kruto nasilje biričev, strah Jezusovih prijateljev in milost so ga v hipu spremenili v izvrševalca dane prerokbe. Obrnil je konja in ga s silo pognal na vrh pod križ. Obstal je na desni ob  Jezusovem križu ter z obema rokama zgrabil sulico in sunil s tako silo navzgor v desno stran Jezusovo skozi srce, da je konica pogledala na levi strani prsi ven, pustivši tam majhno rano. Ko je z vso močjo potenil sulico nazaj,  je brizgnil iz široke rane močan curek krvi in vode na njegov navzgor obrnjen obraz, in z njim je prišla milost v njegovo dušo. Skočil je s konja, padel na kolena, se trkal na prsi in glasno izpovedal vero v Jezusa.

Presveta Devica in druge svete žene, katerih pogledi so viseli na mrtvem Jezusu, so videle bliskovito dejanje in njihov tožeči krik je spremljal sunek sulice. Marija je čutila ostro železo, kot da je prebodlo njeno lastno srce. Kasij pa je že na kolenih zahvaljeval Boga. Prejel je notranje razsvetljenje vere, pa tudi telesne oči so mu bile ozdravljene, videl je jasno in razločno. Vse pa je prevzelo spoštljivo ganotje, ko so videli Odrešenikovo kri, ki se je z vodo pomešana nabrala v jamici pod križem. Marija, svete žene, Janez in Kasij so jo pobrali z ruticami.

Tudi vojake je presunil čudež, ki se je zgodil nad njihovim poveljnikom. Padli so na kolena in izpovedovali vero v Jezusa.

2. Ko je bila sveta stran Jezusova prebodena, je čutila Marija, kakor bi bilo njeno lastno srce prebodeno ter se je zgrudila v naročje svojih prijateljic. Ko se je zopet okrepčala, so ona in druge žene, sv. Janez in Kasij pobrali sveto kri in so s prti posušili tla. Vse to se je zgodilo pri križu po četrti uri. Tako je tedaj hotel Jezus, ko je nagnil že svojo glavo, še svoje najsvetejše Srce dati prebosti, da bi iztekla zadnja kaplja krvi iz ljubezni do nas. 

Zato zakliče sv. Bernard ves začuden: 'Danes je srd in grozovitost s sulico predrla že z Njegovo ljubeznijo ranjeno Srce Jezusovo! Glejte tu novo kri, ki mora utrditi naše zaupanje! Glejte Njegovo pravičnim in grešnikom odprto stran! Vsi brez razločka so tu sem povabljeni! Pridi, kliče On duši pravičnega, pridi, moja ljuba golobica, v moje svete odprte rane in zlasti v rano mojega Srca! Pa ravno tako kliče On grešnike, naj bi pribežali v to skrivnostno rano, kjer bodo zavarovani pred puščicami božje pravice in kjer bo njih duša vseh madežev svojih pregreh očiščena in oprana. O čudovita ljubezen Jezusova, pa tudi od ljudi tako malo spoznana, tako slabo povračevana ljubezen!

Sklep: Iz ljubezni do Tebe, o Jezus, sklenem za danes: Večkrat hočem obuditi svete zdihljaje ljubezni v sebi. 'O moj Bog, vzemi me meni in daj me vsega sebi!' (Nikol. iz Flue)

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (60)

Jezusa snamejo s križa

Ko sta prišla Jožef in Nikodem do mestnih vrat, sta jih našla zaklenjena. Poti okrog obzidja je zasedlo vojaštvo. To so dosegli farizeji, hoteč preprečiti nemire. Jožef  jim je pokazal pismeno pooblastilo, in bili so pripravljeni, da mu puste prost prehod. Toda že sami so poskušali  odpreti vrata, a niso mogli. Očividno so se ob potresu kako zagozdila. Ko pa sta Jožef in Nikodem odrinila zapahe, so se vrta v splošno začudenje odprla.

Bilo je še vse mrko in megleno, ko sta prispela na Kalvarijo. Tam sta našla svete žene. Nekoliko stran od njih je stal plaho in spoštljivo Kasij z nekaj vojaki. Pravkar je prišel stotnik Abenadar. V globoki žalosti so z vsem spošovanjem začeli s svetim delom ljubezni – s snemanjem s križa in pripravami za pokop.

Presveta Devica je sedela z Magdaleno na vzpetini med križema: Gospodovim in Dizmovim. Druge žene so pripravljale dišave in prte, vodo, gobe in posode. Ko je Kasij zagledal stotnika, je pristopil in mu povedal, da se mu je vid čudežno ozdravil. Vsi so bili ganjeni, slovesno resni, žalostni in polni tihe ljubezni.

Nikodem in Jožef sta pristavila lestev zadaj na križ in sta se povzpela nanjo z velikim prtom, na katerega sta bila pritrdila tri široke jermene. Privezala sta Gospodovo telo pod rokami in pod koleni na deblo križa. Roke sta ovila s prti in jih tako tesno pritrdila h križu. Nato sta nastavila železne ploščice zadaj na konice žebljev in izbila žeblje iz rok; žeblji so šli radi iz ran, ki so se bile pod težo telesa močo razširile. Sveto telo tudi ni več viselo na žebljih, ker so ga privezali h križu. Jožef je izbil  žebelj iz leve, Nikodem pa iz desne roke. Nato sta rahlo spustila povite roke ob telesu navzdol. Medtem pa je Abenadar z velikim trudom izbil žebelj iz nog.

Kasij je spoštljivo pobral žeblje in jih položil na tla ob Mariji. Zdaj so prislonili lestev ob sprednjo stran križa tik ob Gospodovem telesu. Odvezali so gornji  jermen od debla križa in ga obesili na klin lestve; prav tako so storili z obema drugima jermenoma. Nato so prestavljali jermene po klinih vedno niže in tako spuščali Gospodovo telo navzdol proti stotniku, ki ga je prijel pod koleni, Jožef in Nikodem pa sta držala gornje telo in stopala rahlo in oprezno po lestvi navzdol, kakor da nosita težko ranjenega, dragega prijatelja.

Snemanje s križa je bilo nepopisno ganljivo. Delali so tako previdno in nežno, kot da bi se bali, da ne bi povzročili Gospodu bolečin. Navdajala jih je ista ljubezen in spoštovanje do svetega telesa, kakor so ga čutili prej do Gospoda. Vsi navzoči so gledali navzgor k Odrešenikovemu telesu in spremljali z očmi vsak gib. Vsi so molčali in tudi možje, ki so bili zaposleni s snemanjem, so si v globokem spoštovanju kakor pri svetem obredu le polglasno povedali najpotrebnejše. Ob udarcih kladiva je vse presunila bolečina, saj so jih spomnili na strašno pribijanje na križ.

Možje so položili sveto Odrešenikovo telo Mariji v naročje. Sprejela ga je hrepeneče, v brezmejni bolečini.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (61)

Priprave za pokop

Presveta Devica je sedela na razprostrtem pregrinjalu. S hrbtom se je naslanjala na zvite plašče. Presveta glava božjega Sina je slonela na nekoliko dvignjenem kolenu. Telo je ležalo iztegnjeno na pregrinjalu. Bolečina presvete Matere se je kosala z njeno ljubeznijo. Zdaj je držala v naročju telo ljubega Sina, kateremu v njegovih mukah ni mogla izkazati svoje ljubezni. Iz neposredne bližine je gledala tu strašne sledove trpinčenja, njegove grozne rane. Poljubila mu je krvava lica. Magdalena je ležala z obrazom na njegovih nogah. Možje so odšli po pobočju nekoliko navzdol, kjer so imeli posla s pripravami za opremo mrliča. Vojaki so stali malo oddaljeni in so pomagali, kakor hitro je bilo česa treba.
Žene so imele usnjene, zložljive cevi za vodo. Nad žarečim ogljem so jo grele v večji posodi. Podajale so Mariji in Magdaleni posode s čisto vodo in z gobami. Porabljene so izžemale v usnjene posode. Tudi rabljene vode niso izlile proč, ampak so jo spravile v ceveh.

Presveta Devica je bila v svoj neizrekljivi boli vendar čudovito pogumna in močna. Svetega telesa ni hotela pustiti v tako žalostnem stanju in ga je takoj začela čistiti in negovati. Previdno je snela z glave trnovo krono, morala jo je zadaj odvezati. Pri tem so ji drugi pomagali. Da ne bi ran od trnov pri snemanju krone še povečali, so morali posamezne trne odstriči. Krono so položili poleg žebljev. Marija je izdirala posamezne dolge trne iz ran in jih žalostna kazala ostalim. Polagali so jih h kroni.  Nekatere so si navzoči vzeli za spomin.

Gospodovo obličje je bilo komaj mogoče spoznati, tako je bilo izmaličeno od ran in krvi. Razmršeni lasje in brada so bili zlepljeni s krvjo. Marija je umila glavo in obraz in je z mokrimi gobami razmakala strnjeno kri v laseh. Pri tem se je vedno bolj odkrivalo, kako grozovite so bile rane. Videla sem, kako je sveta Devica z rutico, ovito okrog prsta, izmivala rane na sveti glavi, očistila usta, zobe in ustnice. Uredila mu je malo še preostalih las, ki mu jih suroveži niso izpulili.

Ko je tako očistila sveto glavo, je trpeča mati poljubila lice mrtvega Sina in mu prekrila obličje. Nato je na isti način očistila sveto telo. Rama, kjer je nosil Jezus križ, je bila razmesarjena. Velika rana je zevala na prsih: skozi njo je sulica prebodla Odrešenikovo srce. Marija je izmila vse te rane. Od časa do časa ji je Magdalena nekoliko pomagala.
Zatem so vse rane balzamirali. Svete žene so klečale pred božjo Materjo in ji podajale posodo, iz katere je Marija vedno zopet nekaj vzela in dajala v rane, potem pa jih še zgoraj pomazilila. Videla sem, kako je vzela Jezusove roke v svojo levico, jih spoštljivo poljubila in potem napolnila velike rane od žebljev z dišavo. Vojaki so od časa do časa prinesli vodo. – Nato je Marija zatisnila mrtve oči svojegaa Sina in jih nekaj časa držala zatisnjene. Zaprla je usta Odrešenikova in jokaje sklonila svoj obraz na njegovega.

Jožef in Nikodem sta že nekaj časa stoje čakala. Janez je pristopil k Mariji in jo poprosil, naj se poslovi od Jezusa, da bodo pripravili telo za pokop, ker se bliža sobota. Marija je še prisrčneje objela truplo svojega Sina in se ločila od njega z ganljivimi besedami. Možje so s prtom vred dvignili Gospodovo telo z Marijinega naročja in ga nesli malo niže po pobočju navzdol. Tam so imeli vse razpostavljeno za balzamiranje.

 Položili so sveto telo na zemljo in ga spoštljivo zravnali. Bilo je namreč v kolenih in pri sredi še skrčeno, ker je v tej legi na križu otrpnilo. Okrog ledij so mu dali za komolec širok in kake tri komolce dolg prt in so dobesedno napolnili vse s šopki zelišč ter jih potresli z nekim prahom, ki ga je prinesel Nikodem s seboj. Še enkrat so mazilili rane, jih potresli z dišavami in obložili telo vse do nog z zelišči in nato vse skupaj povili.

 Marija je pokleknila h glavi in položila podnjo tanek prt, katerega ji je dala Pilatova žena. Marija ga je dotlej nosila pod plaščem okrog vratu. Nato je z drugimi ženami prostor med rameni in glavo napolnila s šopki tenkih, vlaknastih zelišč in jih potresla s prahom. Sveta Devica sama je nato vse okrog glave in ramen prevezala s prtom. Magdalena je še vlila stekleničko dišav v odprto Gospodovo stran. Zatem so možje prekrižali otrple  Jezusove roke, napolnili vse z dišavami in zavili truplo do prsi v velik prt, nekako tako, kakor povijemo otroka. Nato so vtaknili pod eno ramo širok povoj in povili glavo ter vse telo, pri čemer so ga morali privzdigniti. Končno so položili sveto truplo na velik, šest komolcev dolg prt, ki ga je kupil Jožef iz Arimateje. Mrlič je ležal na njem povprek. En vogal so zavihali od nog do prsi, drugega preko glave in ramen, obe strani pa so ovili okrog telesa.

(Anna Katherina Emmerich – Življenje in trpljenje Jezusa Kristusa) (62)

Pokop

Možje so položili sveto telo na usnjena nosila, jih prekrili z rjavim pregrinjalom in vtaknili ob straneh skozenj dva droga. Nikodem in Jožef sta poprijela nosila spredaj, zadaj pa Janez in Abenadar. Za nosili so stopale svete žene, za njimi pa Kasij z vojaki. Tudi predaj je šlo nekaj vojakov. Nosili so bakle. V temni votlini groba so namreč potrebovali luči.

Tako so šli pogrebci, tiho in žalostno pojoč psalme. Zgoraj na vzpetini sem videla Jakoba starejšega, kako je gledal za sprevodom. Izginil je in šel poročat drugim učencem po votlinah.

Ko so prišli pred grob, so odkrili nosila in dvignili mrtvo telo. Grob je bil še nov. Nikodemovi služabnik so ga pospravili in očistili. Votlina je bila lepo izklesana v skalo. Mrtvaško ležišeče je bilo pri glavi nekoliko širše ko pri nogah, izdolbeno v obliki povitega trupla. Svete žene so sedle nasproti odprtine v grob. Štirje možje so nesli Gospodovo telo v votlino, ga položili na tla in napolnili del vdolbine z dišavami. Nato so jo prekrili s prtom in položili vanjo sveto telo. Podloženi prt je visel preko ležišča. Še enkrat so z ljubeznijo jokaje objeli svojega Gospoda in zapustili grob. Nato je stopila v grob presveta Devica. Jokaje se je sklonila nad truplo svojega otroka. Ko je prišla ven, je hitela v grob Magdalena. Na vrtu je bila natrgala cvetlic in vejic in tožeč objela Učenikove noge. Možje pa so jo priganjali naj pohiti. Vrnila se je k drugim. Spodnji prt so zdaj zavihali čez truplo in položili čez še rjavo preprogo. Nato so zaklenili kovinasta vrata. Velik kamen, ki naj bi zavaroval grob, je bil zelo težak. Z drogovi in vzvodi so ga prevalili pred vhod.

Že se je začel sobotni praznik. Nikodem in Jožef sta odšla skozi vratca skozi mestno obzidje, v mesto. Njuni služabniki so se vrnili na Kalvarijo, da so tam pobrali svoje orodje. Vojaki so se pridružili onim, ki so stražili ob mestnih vratih. Kasij pa je šel k Pilatu in mu o vsem poročal. Pilat ga je poslušal s prikrito grozo, a se je delal, kot da ga ima za sanjača. Presveta Devica je šla s spremljevalkami še enkrat na Kalvarijo, kjer so skupno molile. Nato so se tudi one vrnile skozi mala vratca v mesto.

___

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc15.htm

CHAPTER I.

Jesus in the Garden of Olives.

WHEN Jesus left the supper-room with the eleven Apostles, after the institution of the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar, his soul was deeply oppressed and his sorrow on the increase. He led the eleven, by an unfrequented path, to the Valley of Josaphat. As they left the house, I saw the moon, which was not yet quite at the full, rising in front of the mountain.

Our Divine Lord, as he wandered with his Apostles about the valley, told them that here he should one day return to judge the world, but not in a state of poverty and humiliation, as he then was, and that men would tremble with fear, and cry: 'Mountains, fall upon us!' His disciples did not understand him, and thought, by no means for the first time that night, that weakness and exhaustion had affected his brain. He said to them again: 'All you shall be scandalised in me this night. For it is written: I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE DISPERSED. But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.'

The Apostles were still in some degree animated by

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the spirit of enthusiasm and devotion with which their reception of the Blessed Sacrament and the solemn and affecting words of Jesus had inspired them. They eagerly crowded round him, and expressed their love in a thousand different ways, earnestly protesting that they would never abandon him. But as Jesus continued to talk in the same strain, Peter exclaimed: 'Although all shall be scandalised in thee, I will never be scandalised!' and our Lord answered him: 'Amen, I say to thee, that in this night, before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice.' But Peter still insisted, saying: 'Yea, though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee.' And the others all said the same. They walked onward and stopped, by turns, for the sadness of our Divine Lord continued to increase. The Apostles tried to comfort him by human arguments, assuring him that what he foresaw would not come to pass. They tired themselves in these vain efforts, began to doubt, and were assailed by temptation.

They crossed the brook Cedron, not by the bridge where, a few hours later, Jesus was taken prisoner, but by another, for they had left the direct road. Gethsemani, whither they were going, was about a mile and a half distant from the supper-hall, for it was three quarters of a mile from the supper-hall to the Valley of Josaphat, and about as far from thence to Gethsemani. The place called Gethsemani (where latterly Jesus had several times passed the night with his disciples) was a large garden, surrounded by a hedge, and containing only some fruit trees and flowers, while outside there stood a few deserted unclosed buildings.

The Apostles and several other persons had keys of this garden, which was used sometimes as a pleasure ground, and sometimes as a place of retirement for prayer. Some arbours made of leaves and branches had been raised there, and eight of the Apostles remained in them, and were later joined by others of the disciples. The Garden of Olives was separated by a road from that of Gethsemani, and was open. Surrounded only by an

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earthern wall, and smaller than the Garden of Gethsemani. There were caverns, terraces, and many olive-trees to be seen in this garden, and it was easy to find there a suitable spot for prayer and meditation. It was to the wildest part that Jesus went to pray.

It was about nine o'clock when Jesus reached Gethsemani with his disciples. The moon had risen, and already gave light in the sky, although the earth was still dark. Jesus was most sorrowful, and told his Apostles that danger was at hand. The disciples felt uneasy, and he told eight of those who were following him, to remain in the Garden of Gethsemani whilst he went on to pray. He took with him Peter, James, and John, and going on a little further, entered into the Garden of Olives. No words can describe the sorrow which then oppressed his soul, for the time of trial was near. John asked him how it was that he, who had hitherto always consoled them, could now be so dejected 'My soul is sorrowful even unto death,' was his reply. And he beheld sufferings and temptations surrounding him on all sides, and drawing nearer and nearer, under the forms of frightful figures borne on clouds. Then it was that he said to the three Apostles: 'Stay you here and watch with me. Pray, lest ye enter into temptation.' Jesus went a few steps to the left, down a hill, and concealed himself beneath a rock, in a grotto about six feet deep, while the Apostles remained in, a species of hollow above. The earth sank gradually the further you entered this grotto, and the plants which were hanging from the rock screened its interior like a curtain from persons outside.

When Jesus left his disciples, I saw a number of frightful figures surrounding him in an ever-narrowing circle.

His sorrow and anguish of soul continued to increase, and he was trembling all over when he entered the grotto to pray, like a wayworn traveller hurriedly seeking shelter from a sudden storm, but the awful visions pursued him even there, and became more and more clear and distinct. Alas! this small cavern appeared to contain the awful

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picture of all the sins which had been or were to be committed from the fall of Adam to the end of the world, and of the punishment which they deserved. It was here, on Mount Olivet, that Adam and Eve took refuge when driven out of Paradise to wander homeless on earth, and they had wept and bewailed themselves in this very grotto.

I felt that Jesus, in delivering himself up to Divine Justice in satisfaction for the sins of the world, caused his divinity to return, in some sort, into the bosom of the Holy Trinity, concentrated himself, so to speak, in his pure, loving and innocent humanity, and strong only in his ineffable love, gave it up to anguish and suffering.

He fell on his face, overwhelmed with unspeakable sorrow, and all the sins of the world displayed themselves before him, under countless forms and in all their real deformity. He took them all upon himself, and in his prayer offered his own adorable Person to the justice of his Heavenly Father, in payment for so awful a debt. But Satan, who was enthroned amid all these horrors, and even filled with diabolical joy at the sight of them, let loose his fury against Jesus, and displayed before the eyes of his soul increasing awful visions, at the same time addressing his adorable humanity in words such as these: 'Takest thou even this sin upon thyself? Art thou willing to bear its penalty? Art thou prepared to satisfy for all these sins?'

And now a long ray of light, like a luminous path. in the air, descended from Heaven; it was a procession of angels who came up to Jesus and strengthened and reinvigorated him. The remainder of the grotto was filled with frightful visions of our crimes; Jesus took them all upon himself, but that adorable Heart, which was so filled with the most perfect love for God and man, was flooded with anguish, and overwhelmed beneath the weight of so many abominable crimes. When this huge mass of iniquities, like the waves of a fathomless ocean, had passed over his soul, Satan brought forward innumerable temptations, as he had formerly done in the desert, even daring to adduce various accusations against him. 'And takest

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thou all these things upon thyself,' he exclaimed, 'thou who art not unspotted thyself?' Then he laid to the charge of our Lord, with infernal impudence, a host of imaginary crimes. He reproached him with the faults of his disciples, the scandals which they had caused, and the disturbances which he had occasioned in the world by giving up ancient customs. No Pharisee, however wily and severe, could have surpassed Satan on this occasion; he reproached Jesus with having been the cause of the massacre of the Innocents, as well as of the sufferings of his parents in Egypt, with not having saved John the Baptist from death, with having brought disunion into families, protected men of despicable character, refused to cure various sick persons, injured the inhabitants of Gergesa by permitting men possessed by the devil to overturn their vats, 1 and demons to make swine cast themselves into the sea; with having deserted his family, and squandered the property of others; in one word Satan, in the hopes of causing Jesus to waver, suggested to him every thought by which he would have tempted at the hour of death an ordinary mortal who might have performed all these actions without a superhuman intention; for it was hidden from him that Jesus was the Son of God, and he tempted him only as the most just of men. Our Divine Saviour permitted his humanity thus to preponderate over his divinity, for he was pleased to endure even those temptations with which holy souls are assailed at the hour of death concerning the merit of their good works. That he might drink the chalice of suffering even to the dregs, he permitted the evil spirit to tempt his sacred humanity, as he would have tempted a man who should wish to attribute to his good works some special value in themselves, over and above what they might have by their union with the merits of our Saviour. There was

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not an action out of which he did not contrive to frame some accusation, and he reproached Jesus, among other things, with having spent the price of the property of Mary Magdalen at Magdalum, which he had received from Lazarus.

Among the sins of the world which Jesus took upon himself, I saw also my own; and a stream, in which I distinctly beheld each of my faults, appeared to flow towards me from out of the temptations with which he was encircled. During this time my eyes were fixed upon my Heavenly Spouse; with him I wept and prayed, and with him I turned towards. the consoling angels. Ah, truly did our ear Lord writhe like a worm beneath the weight of his anguish and sufferings!

Whilst Satan was pouring forth his accusations against Jesus, it was with difficulty that I could restrain my indignation, but when he spoke of the sale of Magdalen's property, I could no longer keep silence, and exclaimed: 'How canst thou reproach him with the sale of this property as with a crime! Did I not myself see our Lord spend the sum which was given him by Lazarus in works of mercy, and deliver twenty-eight debtors imprisoned at Thirza?'

At first Jesus looked calm, as he kneeled down and prayed, but after a time his soul became terrified at the sight of the innumerable crimes of men, and of their ingratitude towards God, and his anguish was so great that he trembled and shuddered as he exclaimed: 'Father, if it is possible, let this chalice pass from me! Father, all things are possible to thee, remove this chalice from me!' But the next moment he added: 'Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.' His will and that of his Father were one, but now that his love had ordained that he should be left to all the weakness of his human nature, he trembled at the prospect of death.

I saw the cavern in which he was kneeling filled with frightful figures; I saw all the sins, wickedness, vices, and ingratitude of mankind torturing and crushing him to the earth; the horror of death and terror which he felt

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as man at the sight of the expiatory sufferings about to come upon him, surrounded and assailed his Divine Person under the forms of hideous spectres. He fell from side to side, clasping his hands; his body was covered with a cold sweat, and he trembled and shuddered. He then arose, but his knees were shaking and apparently scarcely able to support him; his countenance was pale, and quite altered in appearance, his lips white, and his hair standing on end. It was about half-past ten o'clock when he arose from his knees, and, bathed in a cold sweat, directed his trembling, weak footsteps towards his three Apostles. With difficulty did he ascend the left side of the cavern, and reach a spot where the ground was level, and where they were sleeping, exhausted with fatigue, sorrow and anxiety. He came to them, like a man overwhelmed with bitter sorrow, whom terror urges to seek his friends, but like also to a good shepherd, who, when warned of the approach of danger, hastens to visit his flock, the safety of which is threatened; for he well knew that they also were being tried by suffering and temptation. The terrible visions never left him, even while he was thus seeking his disciples. When he found that they were asleep, he clasped his hands and fell down on his knees beside them, overcome with sorrow and anxiety, and said: 'Simon, sleepest thou?' They awoke, and raised him up, and he, in his desolation of spirit, said to them: 'What? could you not watch one hour with me?' When they looked at him, and saw him pale and exhausted, scarcely able to support himself, bathed in sweat, trembling and shuddering,--when they heard how changed and almost inaudible his voice had become, they did not know what to think, and had he not been still surrounded by a well-known halo of light, they would never have recognised him as Jesus. John said to him: 'Master, what has befallen thee? Must I call the other disciples? Ought we to take to flight?' Jesus answered him: 'Were I to live, teach, and perform miracles for thirty-three years longer, that would not suffice for the accomplishment of what must be fulfilled before this time to-morrow.

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not the eight; I did not bring them hither, because they could not see me thus agonising without being scandalised; they would yield to temptation, forget much of the past, and lose their confidence in me. But you, who have seen the Son of Man transfigured, may also see him under a cloud, and in dereliction of spirit; nevertheless, watch and pray, lest ye fall into temptation, for the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.'

By these words he sought at once to encourage them to persevere, and to make known to them the combat which his human nature was sustaining against death, together with the cause of his weakness. In his overwhelming sorrow, he remained with them nearly a quarter of an hour, and spoke to them again. He then returned to the grotto, his mental sufferings being still on the increase, while his disciples, on their part, stretched forth their hands towards him, wept, and embraced each other, asking, 'What can it be? What is happening to him? He appears to be in a state of complete desolation.' After this, they covered their heads, and began to pray, sorrowfully and anxiously.

About an hour and a half had passed since Jesus entered the Garden of Olives. It is true that Scripture tells us he said, 'Could you not watch one hour with me?' but his words should not be taken literally, nor according to our way of counting time. The three Apostles who were with Jesus had prayed at first, but then they had fallen asleep, for temptation had come upon them by reason of their want of trust in God. The other eight, who had remained outside the garden, did not sleep, for our Lord's last words, so expressive of suffering and sadness, had filled their hearts with sinister forebodings, and they wandered about Mount Olivet, trying to find some place of refuge in case of danger.

The town of Jerusalem was very quiet; the Jews were in their houses, engaged in preparing for the feast, but I saw, here and there, some of the friends and disciples of Jesus walking to and fro, with anxious countenances, convening earnestly together, and evidently expecting some

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great event. The Mother of our Lord, Magdalen, Martha, Mary of Cleophas, Mary Salome, and Salome had gone from the supper-hall to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark. Mary was alarmed at the reports which were spreading, and wished to return to the town with her friends, in order to hear something of Jesus. Lazarus, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and some relations from Hebron, came to see and endeavour to tranquillise her, for, as they were aware, either from their own knowledge or from what the disciples had told them, of the mournful predictions which Jesus had made in the supper-room, they had made inquiries of some Pharisees of their acquaintance, and had not been able to hear that any conspiracy was on foot for the time against our Lord. Being utterly ignorant of the treason of Judas, they assured Mary that the danger could not yet be very great, and that the enemies of Jesus would not make any attempts upon his person, at least until the festival was over. Mary told them how restless and disturbed in mind Judas had latterly appeared, and how abruptly he had left the supper-room. She felt no doubt of his having gone to betray our Lord, for she had often warned him that he was a son of perdition. The holy women then returned to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark.

When Jesus, unrelieved of all the weight of his sufferings, returned to the grotto, he fell prostrate, with his face on the ground and his arms extended, and prayed to his Eternal Father; but his soul had to sustain a second interior combat, which lasted three-quarters of an hour. Angels came and showed him, in a series of visions, all the sufferings that he was to endure in order to expiate sin; how great was the beauty of man, the image of God, before the fall, and how that beauty was changed and obliterated when sin entered the world. He beheld how all sins originated in that of Adam, the signification and essence of concupiscence, its terrible effects on the powers of the soul, and likewise the signification and essence of all the sufferings entailed by concupiscence. They showed him the satisfaction which he would have to offer to Divine

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[paragraph continues]Justice, and how it would consist of a degree of suffering in his soul and body which would comprehend all the sufferings due to the concupiscence of all mankind, since the debt of the whole human race had to be paid by that humanity which alone was sinless--the humanity of the Son of God. The angels showed him all these things under different forms, and I felt what they were saying, although I heard no voice. No tongue can describe what anguish and what horror overwhelmed the soul of Jesus at the sight of so terrible an expiation--his sufferings were so great, indeed, that a bloody sweat issued forth from all the pores of his sacred body.

Whilst the adorable humanity of Christ was thus crushed to the earth beneath this awful weight of suffering, the angels appeared filled with compassion; there was a pause, and I perceived that they were earnestly desiring to console him, and praying to that effect before the throne of God. For one instant there appeared to be, as it were, a struggle between the mercy and justice of God and that love which was sacrificing itself. I was permitted to see an image of God, not, as before, seated on a throne, but under a luminous form. I beheld the divine nature of the Son in the Person of the Father, and, as it were, withdrawn into his bosom; the Person of the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father and the Son, it was, so to speak, between them, and yet the whole formed only one God--but these things are indescribable.

All this was more an inward perception than a vision under distinct forms, and it appeared to me that the Divine Will of our Lord withdrew in some sort into the Eternal Father, in order to permit all those sufferings which his human will besought his Father to spare him, to weigh upon his humanity alone. I saw this at the time when the angels, filled with compassion, were desiring to console Jesus, who, in fact, was slightly relieved at that moment. Then all disappeared, and the angels retired from our Lord, whose soul was about to sustain fresh assaults.

When our Redeemer, on Mount Olivet, was pleased to

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experience and overcome that violent repugnance of human nature to suffering and death which constitutes a portion of all sufferings, the tempter was permitted to do to him what he does to all men who desire to sacrifice themselves in a holy cause. In the first portion of the agony, Satan displayed before the eyes of our Lord the enormity of that debt of sin which he was going to pay, and was even bold and malicious enough to seek faults in the very works of our Saviour himself. In the second agony, Jesus beheld, to its fullest extent and in all its bitterness, the expiatory suffering which would be required to satisfy Divine Justice. This was displayed to him by angels; for it belongs not to Satan to show that expiation is possible, and the father of lies and despair never exhibits the works of Divine Mercy before men. Jesus having victoriously resisted all these assaults by his entire and absolute submission to the will of his Heavenly Father, a succession of new and terrifying visions were presented before his eyes, and that feeling of doubt and anxiety which a man on the point of making some great sacrifice always experiences, arose in the soul of our Lord, as he asked himself the tremendous question: 'And what good will result from this sacrifice?' Then a most awful picture of the future was displayed before his eyes and overwhelmed his tender heart with anguish.

When God had created the first Adam, he cast a deep sleep upon him, opened his side, and took one of his ribs, of which he made Eve, his wife and the mother of all the living. Then he brought her to Adam, who exclaimed: 'This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. . . . Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh.' That was the marriage of which it is written: 'This is a great Sacrament, I speak in Christ and in the Church.' Jesus Christ, the second Adam, was pleased also to let sleep come upon him--the sleep of death on the cross, and he was also pleased to let his side be opened, in order that the second Eve, his virgin Spouse, the Church, the mother of all the living, might be formed from it, It was his will

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to give her the blood of redemption, the water of purification, and his spirit--the three which render testimony on earth--and to bestow upon her also the holy Sacraments, in order that she might be pure, holy, and undefiled; he was to be her head, and we were to be her members, under submission to the head, the bone of his bones, and the flesh of his flesh. In taking human nature, that he might suffer death for us, he had also left his Eternal Father, to cleave to his Spouse, the Church, and he became one flesh with her, by feeding her with the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar, in which he unites himself unceasingly with us. He has been pleased to remain on earth with his Church, until we shall all be united together by him within her fold, and he has said: 'The gates of hell shall never prevail against her.' To satisfy his unspeakable love for sinners, our Lord had become man and a brother of these same sinners, that so he might take upon himself the punishment due to all their crimes. He had contemplated with deep sorrow the greatness of this debt and the unspeakable sufferings by which it was to be acquitted. Yet he had most joyfully given himself up to the will of his Heavenly Father as a victim of expiation. Now, however, he beheld all the future sufferings, combats, and wounds of his heavenly Spouse; in one word, he beheld the ingratitude of men.

The soul of Jesus beheld all the future sufferings of his Apostles, disciples, and friends; after which he saw the primitive Church, numbering but few souls in her fold at first, and then in proportion as her numbers increased, disturbed by heresies and schisms breaking out among her children, who repeated the sin of Adam by pride and disobedience. He saw the tepidity, malice, and corruption of an infinite number of Christians, the lies and deceptions of proud teachers, all the sacrileges of wicked priests, the fatal consequences of each sin, and the abomination of desolation in the kingdom of God, in the sanctuary of those ungrateful human beings whom he was about to redeem with his blood at the cost of unspeakable sufferings.

The scandals of all ages, down to the present day and

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oven to the end of the world-every species of error, deception, mad fanaticism, obstinacy, and malice--were displayed before his eyes, and he beheld, as it were floating before him, all the apostates, heresiarchs, and pretended reformers, who deceive men by an appearance of sanctity. The corrupters and the corrupted of all ages outraged and tormented him for not having been crucified after their fashion, or for not having suffered precisely as they settled or imagined he should have done. They vied with each other in tearing the seamless robe of his Church; many ill-treated, insulted, and denied him, and many turned contemptuously away, shaking their heads at him, avoiding his compassionate embrace, and hurrying on to the abyss where they were finally swallowed up. He saw countless numbers of other men who did not dare openly to deny him, but who passed on in disgust at the sight of the wounds of his Church, as the Levite passed by the poor man who had fallen among robbers. Like unto cowardly and faithless children, who desert their mother in the middle of the night, at the sight of the thieves and robbers to whom their negligence or their malice has opened the door, they fled from his wounded Spouse. He beheld all these men, sometimes separated from the True Vine, and taking their rest amid the wild fruit trees, sometimes like lost sheep, left to the mercy of the wolves, led by base hirelings into bad pasturages, and refusing to enter the fold of the Good Shepherd who gave his life for his sheep. They were wandering homeless in the desert in the midst of the sand blown about by the wind, and were obstinately determined not to see his City placed upon a hill, which could not be hidden, the House of his Spouse, his Church built upon a rock, and with which he had promised to remain to the end of ages. They built upon the sand wretched tenements, which they were continually pulling down and rebuilding, but in which there was neither altar nor sacrifice; they had weathercocks on their roofs, and their doctrines changed with the wind, consequently they were for ever in opposition one with the other. They never could come to a mutual understanding,

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and were for ever unsettled, often destroying their own dwellings and hurling the fragments against the Corner-Stone of the Church, which always remained unshaken.

As there was nothing but darkness in the dwellings of these men, many among them, instead of directing their steps towards the Candle placed on the Candlestick in the House of the Spouse of Christ, wandered with closed eyes around the gardens of the Church, sustaining life only by inhaling the sweet odours which were diffused from them far and near, stretching forth their hands towards shadowy idols, and following wandering stars which led them to wells where there was no water. Even when on the very brink of the precipice, they refused to listen to the voice of the Spouse calling them, and, though dying with hunger, derided, insulted, and mocked at those servants and messengers who were sent to invite them to the Nuptial Feast. They obstinately refused to enter the garden, because they feared the thorns of the hedge, although they had neither wheat with which to satisfy their hunger nor wine to quench their thirst, but were simply intoxicated with pride and self-esteem, and being blinded by their own false lights, persisted in asserting that the Church of the Word made flesh was invisible. Jesus beheld them all, he wept over them, and was pleased to suffer for all those who do not see him and who will not carry their crosses after him in his City built upon a hill--his Church founded upon a rock, to which he has given himself in the Holy Eucharist, and against which the gates of Hell will never prevail.

Bearing a prominent place in these mournful visions which were beheld by the soul of Jesus, I saw Satan, who dragged away and strangled a multitude of men redeemed by the blood of Christ and sanctified by the unction of his Sacrament. Our Divine Saviour beheld with bitterest anguish the ingratitude and corruption of the Christians of the first and of all succeeding ages, even to the end of the world, and during the whole of this time the voice of the tempter was incessantly repeating: 'Canst thou resolve to suffer for such ungrateful reprobates?' while the

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various apparitions succeeded each other with intense rapidity, and so violently weighed down and crushed the soul of Jesus, that his sacred humanity was overwhelmed with unspeakable anguish. Jesus--the Anointed of the Lord--the Son of Man--struggled and writhed as he fell on his knees, with clasped hands, as it were annihilated beneath the weight of his suffering. So violent was the struggle which then took place between his human will and his repugnance to suffer so much for such an ungrateful race, that from every pore of his sacred body there burst forth large drops of blood, which fell trickling on to the ground. In his bitter agony, he looked around, as though seeking help, and appeared to take Heaven, earth, and the stars of the firmament to witness of his sufferings.

Jesus, in his anguish of spirit, raised his voice, and gave utterance to several cries of pain. The three Apostles awoke, listened, and were desirous of approaching him, but Peter detained James and John, saying: 'Stay you here; I will join him.' Then I saw Peter hastily run forward and enter the grotto. 'Master,' he exclaimed, 'what has befallen thee?' But at the sight of Jesus, thus bathed in his own blood, and sinking to the ground beneath the weight of mortal fear and anguish, he drew back, and paused for a moment, overcome with terror. Jesus made him no answer, and appeared unconscious of his presence. Peter returned to the other two, and told them that the Lord had not answered him except by groans and sighs. They became more and more sorrowful after this, covered their heads, and sat down to weep and pray.

I then returned to my Heavenly Spouse in his most bitter agony. The frightful visions of the future ingratitude of the men whose debt to Divine Justice he was taking upon himself, continued to become more and more vivid and tremendous. Several times I heard him exclaim: 'O my Father, can I possibly suffer for so ungrateful a race? O my Father, if this chalice may not pass from me, but I must drink it, thy will be done!'

Amid all these apparitions, Satan held a conspicuous

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place, under various forms, which represented different species of sins. Sometimes he appeared under the form of a gigantic black figure, sometimes under those of a tiger, a fox, a wolf, a dragon, or a serpent. Not, however, that he really took any of these shapes, but merely some one of their characteristics, joined with other hideous forms. None of these frightful apparitions entirely resembled any creature, but were symbols of abomination, discord, contradiction, and sin--in one word, were demoniacal to the fullest extent. These diabolical figures urged on, dragged, and tore to pieces, before the very eyes of Jesus, countless numbers of those men for whose redemption he was entering upon the painful way of the Cross. At first I but seldom saw the serpent; soon, however, it made its appearance, with a crown upon its head. This odious reptile was of gigantic size, apparently possessed of unbounded strength, and led forward countless legions of the enemies of Jesus in every age and of every nation. Being armed with all kinds of destructive weapons, they sometimes tore one another in pieces, and then renewed their attacks upon our Saviour with redoubled rage. It was indeed an awful eight; for they heaped upon him the most fearful outrages, cursing, striking, wounding, and tearing him in pieces. Their weapons, swords, and spears flew about in the air, crossing and recrossing continually in all directions, like the flails of threshers in an immense barn; and the rage of each of these fiends seemed exclusively directed against Jesus--that grain of heavenly wheat descended to the earth to die there, in order to feed men eternally with the Bread of Life.

Thus exposed to the fury of these hellish bands, some of which appeared to me wholly composed of blind men, Jesus was as much wounded and bruised as if their blows had been real. I saw him stagger from side to side, sometimes raising himself up, and sometimes falling again, while the serpent, in the midst of the crowds whom it was unceasingly leading forward against Jesus, struck the ground with its tail, and tore to pieces or swallowed all whom it thus knocked to the ground

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It was made known to me that these apparitions were all those persons who in divers ways insult and outrage Jesus, really and truly present in the Holy Sacrament. I recognised among them all those who in any way profane the Blessed Eucharist. I beheld with horror all the outrages thus offered to our Lord, whether by neglect, irreverence, and omission of what was due to him; by open contempt, abuse, and the most awful sacrileges; by the worship of worldly idols; by spiritual darkness and false knowledge; or, finally, by error, incredulity, fanaticism, hatred, and open persecution. Among these men I saw many who were blind, paralysed, deaf, and dumb, and even children;--blind men who would not see the truth; paralytic men who would not advance, according to its directions, on the road leading to eternal life; deaf men who refused to listen to its warnings and threats; dumb men who would never use their voices in its defence; and, finally, children who were led astray by following parents and teachers filled with the love of the world and forgetfulness of God, who were fed on earthly luxuries, drunk with false wisdom, and loathing all that pertained to religion. Among the latter, the sight of whom grieved me especially, because Jesus so loved children, I saw many irreverent, ill-behaved acolytes, who did not honour our Lord in the holy ceremonies in which they took a part. I beheld with terror that many priests, some of whom even fancied themselves full of faith and piety, also outraged Jesus in the Adorable Sacrament. I saw many who believed and taught the doctrine of the Real Presence, but did not sufficiently take it to heart, for they forgot and neglected the palace, throne, and seat of the Living God; that is to say, the church, the altar, the tabernacle, the chalice, the monstrance, the vases and ornaments; in one word, all that is used in his worship, or to adorn his house.

Entire neglect reigned everywhere, all things were left to moulder away in dust and filth, and the worship of God was, if not inwardly profaned, at least outwardly dishonoured. Nor did this arise from real poverty, but from

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indifference, sloth, preoccupation of mind about vain earthly concerns, and often also from egotism and spiritual death; for I saw neglect of this kind in churches the pastors and congregations of which were rich, or at least tolerably well off. I saw many others in which worldly, tasteless, unsuitable ornaments had replaced the magnificent adornments of a more pious age.

I saw that often the poorest of men were better lodged in their cottages than the Master of heaven and earth in his churches. Ah, how deeply did the inhospitality of men grieve Jesus, who had given himself to them to be their Food! Truly, there is no need to be rich in order to receive him who rewards a hundredfold the glass of cold water given to the thirsty; but how shameful is not our conduct when in giving drink to the Divine Lord, who thirsts for our souls, we give him corrupted water in a filthy glass! In consequence of all this neglect, I saw the weak scandalised, the Adorable Sacrament profaned, the churches deserted, and the priests despised. This state of impurity and negligence extended even to the souls of the faithful, who left the tabernacle of their hearts unprepared and uncleansed when Jesus was about to enter them, exactly the same as they left his tabernacle on the altar.

Were I to speak for an entire year, I could never detail all the insults offered to Jesus in the Adorable Sacrament which were made known to me in this way. I saw their authors assault Jesus in bands, and strike him with different arms, corresponding to their various offences. I saw irreverent Christians of all ages, careless or sacrilegious priests, crowds of tepid and unworthy communicants, wicked soldiers profaning the sacred vessels, and servants of the devil making use of the Holy Eucharist in the frightful mysteries of hellish worship. Among these bands I saw a great number of theologians, who had been drawn into heresy by their sins, attacking Jesus in the Holy Sacrament of his Church and snatching out of his Heart, by their seductive words and promises, a number of souls for whom ha had shed his blood. Ah! it was indeed an

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awful sight, for I saw the Church as the body of Christ; and all these bands of men, who were separating themselves from the Church, mangled and tore off whole pieces of his living flesh. Alas! he looked at them in the most touching manner, and lamented that they should thus cause their own eternal loss. He had given his own divine Self to us for our Food in the Holy Sacrament, in order to unite in one body--that of the Church, his Spouse--men who were to an infinite extent divided and separated from each other; and now he beheld himself torn and rent in twain in that very body; for his principal work of love, the Holy Communion, in which men should have been made wholly one, was become, by the malice of false teachers, the subject of separation. I beheld whole nations thus snatched out of his bosom, and deprived of any participation in the treasure of graces left to the Church. Finally, I saw all who were separated from the Church plunged into the depths of infidelity, superstition, heresy, and false worldly philosophy; and they gave vent to their fierce rage by joining together in large bodies to attack the Church, being urged on by the serpent which was disporting itself in the midst of them. Alas! it was as though Jesus himself had been torn in a thousand pieces!

So great was my horror and terror, that my Heavenly Spouse appeared to me, and mercifully placed his hand upon my heart, saying: 'No one has yet seen all these things, and thy heart would burst with sorrow if I did not give thee strength.'

I saw the blood flowing in large drops down the pale face of our Saviour, his hair matted together, and his beard bloody and entangled. After the vision which I have last described, he fled, so to speak, out of the cave, and returned to his disciples. But he tottered as he walked; his appearance was that of a man covered with wounds and bending beneath a heavy burden, and he stumbled at every step.

When he came up to the three Apostles, they were not lying down asleep as they had been the first time, but

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their heads were covered, and they had sunk down on their knees, in an attitude often assumed by the people of that country when in sorrow or desiring to pray. They had fallen asleep, overpowered by grief and fatigue. Jesus, trembling and groaning, drew nigh to them, and they awoke.

But when, by the light of the moon, they saw him standing before them, his face pale and bloody, and his hair in disorder, their weary eyes did not at the first moment recognise him, for he was indescribably changed. He clasped his hands together, upon which they arose and lovingly supported him in their arms, and he told them in sorrowful accents that the next day he should be put to death,--that in one hour's time he should be seized, led before a tribunal, maltreated, outraged, scourged, and finally put to a most cruel death. He besought them to console his Mother, and also Magdalen. They made no reply, for they knew not what to say, so greatly had his appearance and language alarmed them, and they even thought his mind must be wandering. When he desired to return to the grotto, he had not strength to walk. I saw John and James lead him back, and return when he had entered the grotto. It was then about a quarter-past eleven.

During this agony of Jesus, I saw the Blessed Virgin also overwhelmed with sorrow and anguish of soul, in the house of Mary, the mother of Mark. She was with Magdalen and Mary in the garden belonging to the house, and almost prostrate from grief, with her whole body bowed down as she knelt. She fainted several times, for she beheld in spirit different portions of the agony of Jesus. She had sent some messengers to make inquiries concerning him, but her deep anxiety would not suffer her to await their return, and she went with Magdalen and Salome as far as the Valley of Josaphat. She walked along with her head veiled, and her arms frequently stretched forth towards Mount Olivet; for she beheld in spirit Jesus bathed in a bloody sweat, and her gestures were as though she wished with her extended hands to

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wipe the face of her Son. I saw these interior movements of her soul towards Jesus, who thought of her, and turned his eyes in her direction, as if to seek her assistance. I beheld the spiritual communication which they had with each other, under the form of rays passing to and fro between them. Our Divine Lord thought also of Magdalen, was touched by her distress, and therefore recommended his Apostles to console her; for he knew that her love for his adorable Person was greater than that felt for him by any one save his Blessed Mother, and he foresaw that she would suffer much for his sake, and never offend him more.

About this time, the eight Apostles returned to the arbour of Gethsemani, and after talking together for some time, ended by going to sleep. They were wavering, discouraged, and sorely tempted. They had each been seeking for a place of refuge in case of danger, and they anxiously asked one another, 'What shall we do when they have put him to death? We have left all to follow him; we are poor and the offscouring of the world; we gave ourselves up entirely to his service, and now he is so sorrowful and so dejected himself, that he can afford us no consolation.' The other disciples had at first wandered about in various directions, but then, having heard something concerning the awful prophecies which Jesus had made, they had nearly all retired to Bethphage.

I saw Jesus still praying in the grotto, struggling against the repugnance to suffering which belonged to human nature, and abandoning himself wholly to the will of his Eternal Father. Here the abyss opened before him, and he had a vision of the first part of Limbo. He saw Adam and Eve, the patriarchs, prophets, and just men, the parents of his Mother, and John the Baptist, awaiting his arrival in the lower world with such intense longing, that the sight strengthened and gave fresh courage to his loving heart. His death was to open Heaven to these captives,--his death was to deliver them out of that prison in which they were languishing in eager hope! When Jesus had, with deep emotion, looked upon these

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saints of antiquity, angels presented to him all the bands of saints of future ages, who, joining their labours to the merits of his Passion, were, through him, to be united to his Heavenly Father. Most beautiful and consoling was this vision, in which he beheld salvation and sanctification flowing forth in ceaseless streams from the fountain of redemption opened by his death.

The apostles, disciples, virgins, and holy women, the martyrs, confessors, hermits, popes, and bishops, and large bands of religious of both sexes--in one word, the entire army of the blessed--appeared before him. All bore on their heads triumphal crowns, and the flowers of their crowns differed in form, in colour, in odour, and in perfection, according to the difference of the sufferings, labours and victories which had procured them eternal glory. Their whole life, and all their actions, merits, and power, as well as all the glory of their triumph, came solely from their union with the merits of Jesus Christ.

The reciprocal influence exercised by these saints upon each other, and the manner in which they all drank from one sole Fountain--the Adorable Sacrament and the Passion of our Lord-formed a most touching and wonderful spectacle. Nothing about them was devoid of deep meaning,--their works, martyrdom, victories, appearance, and dress,--all, though indescribably varied, was confused together in infinite harmony and unity; and this unity in diversity was produced by the rays of one single Sun, by the Passion of the Lord, of the Word made flesh, in whom was life, the light of men, which shined in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The army of the future saints passed before the soul of our Lord, which was thus placed between the desiring patriarchs, and the triumphant band of the future blessed, and these two armies joining together, and completing one another, so to speak, surrounded the loving Heart of our Saviour as with a crown of victory. This most affecting and consoling spectacle bestowed a degree of strength and comfort upon the soul of Jesus. Ah! he so loved his brethren and creatures that, to accomplish the redemption of

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one single soul, he would have accepted with joy all the sufferings to which he was now devoting himself. As these visions referred to the future, they were diffused to a certain height in the air.

But these consoling visions faded away, and the angels displayed before him the scenes of his Passion quite close to the earth, because it was near at hand. I beheld every scene distinctly portrayed, from the kiss of Judas to the last words of Jesus on the cross, and I saw in this single vision all that I see in my meditations on the Passion. The treason of Judas, the flight of the disciples, the insults which were offered our Lord before Annas and Caiphas, Peter's denial, the tribunal of Pilate, Herod's mockery, the scourging and crowning with thorns, the condemnation to death, the carrying of the cross, the linen cloth presented by Veronica, the crucifixion, the insults of the Pharisees, the sorrows of Mary, of Magdalen, and of John, the wound of the lance in his side, after death--in one word, every part of the Passion was shown to him in the minutest detail. He accepted all voluntarily, submitting to everything for the love of man. He saw also and felt the sufferings endured at that moment by his Mother, whose interior union with his agony was so entire that she had fainted in the arms of her two friends.

When the visions of the Passion were concluded, Jesus fell on his face like one at the point of death; the angels disappeared, and the bloody sweat became more copious, so that I saw it had soaked his garment. Entire darkness reigned in the cavern, when I beheld an angel descend to Jesus. This angel was of higher stature than any whom I had before beheld, and his form was also more distinct and more resembling that of a man. He was clothed like a priest in a long floating garment, and bore before him, in his hands, a small vase, in shape resembling the chalice used at the Last Supper. At the top of this chalice, there was a small oval body, about the size of a bean, and which diffused a reddish light. The angel, without touching the earth with his feet, stretched forth his right hand to Jesus, who arose, when he placed the mysterious food in his

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mouth, and gave him to drink from the luminous chalice. Then he disappeared.

Jesus having freely accepted the chalice of his sufferings, and received new strength, remained some minutes longer in the grotto, absorbed in calm meditation, and returning thanks to his Heavenly Father. He was still in deep affliction of spirit, but supernaturally comforted to such a degree as to be able to go to his disciples without tottering as he walked, or bending beneath the weight of his sufferings. His countenance was still pale and altered, but his step was firm and determined. He had wiped his face with a linen cloth, and re-arranged his hair, which hung about his shoulders, matted together and damp with blood.

When Jesus came to his disciples, they were lying, as before, against the wall of the terrace, asleep, and with their heads covered. Our Lord told them that then was not the time for sleep, but that they should arise and pray: 'Behold the, hour is at hand, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners,' he said: 'Arise, let us go, behold he is at hand that will betray me. It were better for him, if that man had not been born.' The Apostles arose in much alarm, and looked round with anxiety. When they had somewhat recovered themselves, Peter said warmly: 'Lord, I will call the others, that so we may defend thee.' But Jesus pointed out to them at some distance in the valley, on the other side of the Brook of Cedron, a band of armed men, who were advancing with torches, and he said that one of their number had betrayed him. He spoke calmly, exhorted them to console his Mother, and said: 'Let us go to meet them--I shall deliver myself up without resistance into the hands of my enemies.' He then left the Garden of Olives with the three Apostles, and went to meet the archers on the road which led from that garden to Gethsemani.

When the Blessed Virgin, under the care of Magdalen and Salome, recovered her senses, some disciples, who had seen the soldiers approaching, conducted her back to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark. The archers took a

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shorter road than that which Jesus followed when he left the supper-room.

The grotto in which Jesus had this day prayed was not the one where he usually prayed on Mount Olivet. He commonly went to a cabin at a greater distance off, where, one day, after having cursed the barren fig-tree, he had prayed in great affliction of spirit, with his arms stretched out, and leaning against a rock.

The traces of his body and hands remained impressed on the stone, and were honoured later, but it was not known on what, occasion the miracle had taken place. I have several times seen similar impressions left upon the stone, either by the Prophets of the Old Testament, or by Jesus, Mary, or some of the Apostles, and I have also seen those made by the body of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai. These impressions do not seem deep, but resemble what would be made upon a thick piece of dough, if a person leaned his hand upon it.

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Footnotes

101:1 On the 11th of December 1812, in her visions of the public life of Jesus, she saw our Lord permit the devils whom he had expelled from the men of Gergesa to enter into a herd of swine. She also saw, on this particular occasion, that the possessed men first overturned a large vat filled with some fermented liquid.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc16.htm

CHAPTER II.

Judas and his Band.

JUDAS had not expected that his treason would have produced such fatal results. He had been anxious to obtain the promised reward, and to please the Pharisees by delivering up Jesus into their hands, but he had never calculated on things going so far, or thought that the enemies of his Master would actually bring him to judgment and crucify him; his mind was engrossed with the love of gain alone, and some astute Pharisees and Sadducees, with whom he had established an intercourse, had constantly urged him on to treason by flattering him. He was sick of the fatiguing, wandering, and persecuted life which the Apostles led. For several months past he had continually stolen from the alms which were consigned to his care, and his avarice, grudging the expenses incurred by Magdalen when she poured the precious ointment on the feet of our Lord, incited him to the commission

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of the greatest of crimes. He had always hoped that Jesus would establish a temporal kingdom, and bestow upon him some brilliant and lucrative post in it, but finding himself disappointed, he turned his thoughts to amassing a fortune. He saw that sufferings and persecutions were on the increase for our Lord and his followers, and he sought to make friends with the powerful enemies of our Saviour before the time of danger, for he saw that Jesus did not become a king, whereas the actual dignity and power of the High Priest, and of all who were attached to his service, made a very strong impression upon his mind.

He began to enter by degrees into a close connection with their agents, who were constantly flattering him, and assuring him in strong terms that, in any case, an end would speedily be put to the career of our Divine Lord. He listened more and more eagerly to the criminal suggestions of his corrupt heart, and he had done nothing during the last few days but go backwards and forwards in order to induce the chief priests to come to some agreement. But they were unwilling to act at once, and treated him with contempt. They said that sufficient time would not intervene before the festival day, and that there would be a tumult among the people. The Sanhedrin alone listened to his proposals with some degree of attention. After Judas had sacrilegiously received the Blessed Sacrament, Satan took entire possession of him, and he went off at once to complete his crime. He in the first place sought those persons who had hitherto flattered and entered into agreements with him, and who still received him with pretended friendship. Some others joined the party, and among the number Annas and Caiphas, but the latter treated him with considerable pride and scorn. All these enemies of Christ were extremely undecided and far from feeling any confidence of success, because they mistrusted Judas.

I saw the empire of Hell divided against itself; Satan desired the crime of the Jews, and earnestly longed for the death of Jesus, the Converter of souls, the holy Teacher, the Just Man, who was so abhorrent to him; but at the

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same time he felt an extraordinary interior fear of the death of the innocent Victim, who would not conceal himself from his persecutors. I saw him then, on the one hand, stimulate the hatred and fury of the enemies of Jesus, and on the other, insinuate to some of their number that Judas was a wicked, despicable character, and that the sentence could not be pronounced before the festival, or a sufficient number of witnesses against Jesus be gathered together.

Every one proposed something different, and some questioned Judas, saying: 'Shall we be able to take him? Has he not armed men with him?' And the traitor replied: 'No, he is alone with eleven disciples; he is greatly depressed, and the eleven are timid men.' He told them that now or never was the time to get possession of the person of Jesus, that later he might no longer have it in his power to give our Lord up into their hands, and that perhaps he should never return to him again, because for several days past it had been very clear that the other disciples and Jesus himself suspected and would certainly kill him if he returned to them. He told them likewise that if they did not at once seize the person of Jesus, he would make his escape, and return with an army of his partisans, to have himself proclaimed king. These threats of Judas produced some effect, his proposals were acceded to, and he received the price of his treason-thirty pieces of silver. These pieces were oblong, with holes in their sides, strung together by means of rings in a kind of chain, and bearing certain impressions.

Judas could not help being conscious that they regarded him with contempt and distrust, for their language and gestures betrayed their feelings, and pride suggested to him to give back the money as an offering for the Temple, in order to make them suppose his intentions to have been just and disinterested. But they rejected his proposal, because the price of blood could not be offered in the Temple. Judas saw how much they despised him, and his rage was excessive. He had not expected to reap the bitter fruits of his treason even before it was accomplished, but he had gone so far with these men that he

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was in their power, and escape was no longer possible. They watched him carefully, and would not let him leave their presence, until he had shown them exactly what steps were to be taken in order to secure the person of Jesus. Three Pharisees accompanied him when he went down into a room where the soldiers of the Temple (some only of whom were Jews, and the rest of various nations) were assembled. When everything was settled, and the necessary number of soldiers gathered together, Judas hastened first to the supper-room, accompanied by a servant of the Pharisees, for the purpose of ascertaining whether Jesus had left, as they would have seized his person there without difficulty, if once they had secured the doors. He agreed to send them a messenger with the required information.

A short time before when Judas had received the price of his treason, a Pharisee had gone out, and sent seven slaves to fetch wood with which to prepare the Cross for our Saviour, in case he should be judged, because the next day there would not be sufficient time on account of the commencement of the Paschal festivity. They procured this wood from a spot about three-quarters of a mile distant, near a high wall, where there was a great quantity of other wood belonging to the Temple, and dragged it to a square situated behind the tribunal of Caiphas. The principal piece of the Cross came from a tree formerly growing in the Valley of Josaphat, near the torrent of Cedron, and which, having fallen across the stream, had been used as a sort of bridge. When Nehemias hid the sacred fire and the holy vessels in the pool of Bethsaida, it had been thrown over the spot, together with other pieces of wood,--then later taken away, and left on one side. The Cross was prepared in a very peculiar manner, either with the object of deriding the royalty of Jesus, or from what men might term chance. It was composed of five pieces of wood, exclusive of the inscription. I saw many other things concerning the Cross, and the meaning of different circumstances was also made known to me, but I have forgotten all that.

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Judas returned, and said that Jesus was no longer in the supper-room, but that he must certainly be on Mount Olivet, in the spot where he was accustomed to pray. He requested that only a small number of men might be sent with him, lest the disciples who were on the watch should perceive anything and raise a sedition. Three hundred men were to be stationed at the gates and in the streets of Ophel, a part of the town situated to the south of the Temple, and along the valley of Millo as far as the house of Annas, on the top of Mount Sion, in order to be ready to send reinforcements if necessary, for, he said, all the people of the lower class of Ophel were partisans of Jesus. The traitor likewise bade them be careful, lest he should escape them--since he, by mysterious means, had so often hidden himself in the mountain, and made himself suddenly invisible to those around. He recommended them, besides, to fasten him with a chain, and make use of certain magical forms to prevent his breaking it. The Jews listened to all these pieces of advice with scornful indifference, and replied, 'If we once have him in our hands, we will take care not to let him go.'

Judas next began to make his arrangements with those who were to accompany him. He wished to enter the garden before them, and embrace and salute Jesus as if he were returning to him as his friend and disciple, and then for the soldiers to run forward and seize the person of Jesus. He was anxious that it should be thought they had come there by chance, that so, when they had made their appearance, he might run away like the other disciples and be no more heard of. He likewise thought that, perhaps, a tumult would ensue, that the Apostles might defend themselves, and Jesus pass through the midst of his enemies, as he had so often done before. He dwelt upon these thoughts especially, when his pride was hurt by the disdainful manner of the Jews in his regard; but he did not repent, for he had wholly given himself up to Satan. It was his desire also that the soldiers following him should not carry chains and cords, and his accomplices pretended to accede to all his

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wishes, although in reality they acted with him as with a traitor who was not to be trusted, but to be cast off as Soon as he had done what was wanted. The soldiers received orders to keep close to Judas, watch him carefully, and not let him escape until Jesus was seized, for he had received his reward, and it was feared that he might ran off with the money, and Jesus not be taken after all, or another be taken in his place. The band of men chosen to accompany Judas was composed of twenty soldiers, selected from the temple guard and from others of the military who were under the orders of Annas and Caiphas. They were dressed very much like the Roman soldiers, had morions like them, and wore hanging straps round their thighs, but their beards were long, whereas the Roman soldiers at Jerusalem had whiskers only, and shaved their chins and upper lips. They all had swords, some of them being also armed with spears, and they carried sticks with lanterns and torches; but when they set off they only lighted one. It had at first been intended that Judas should be accompanied by a more numerous escort, but he drew their attention to the fact that so large a number of men would be too easily seen, because Mount Olivet commanded a view of the whole valley. Most of the soldiers remained, therefore, at Ophel, and sentinels were stationed on all sides to put down any attempt which might be made to release Jesus. Judas set off with the twenty soldiers, but he was followed at some distance by four archers, who were only common bailiff, carrying cords and chains, and after them came the six agents with whom Judas had been in communication for some time. One of these was a priest and a confidant of Annas, a second was devoted to Caiphas, the third and fourth were Pharisees, and the other two Sadduceans and Herodians. These six men were courtiers of Annas and Caiphas, acting in the capacity of spies, and most bitter enemies of Jesus.

The soldiers remained on friendly terms with Judas until they reached the spot where the road divides the Garden of Olives from the Garden of Gethsemani, but

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there they refused to allow him to advance alone, and entirely changed their manner, treating him with much insolence and harshness.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc17.htm

CHAPTER III.

Jesus is arrested.

JESUS was standing with his three Apostles on the road between Gethsemani, and the Garden of Olives, when Judas and the band who accompanied him made their appearance. A warm dispute arose between Judas and the soldiers, because he wished to approach first and speak to Jesus quietly as if nothing was the matter, and then for them to come up and seize our Saviour, thus letting him suppose that he had no connection with the affair. But the men answered rudely, 'Not so, friend, thou shalt not escape from our hands until we have the Galilean safely bound,' and seeing the eight Apostles who hastened to rejoin Jesus when they heard the dispute which was going on, they (notwithstanding the opposition of Judas) called up four archers, whom they had left at a little distance, to assist. When by the light of the moon Jesus and the three Apostles first saw the band of armed men, Peter wished to repel them by force of arms, and said: 'Lord, the other eight are close at hand, let us attack the archers,' but Jesus bade him hold his peace, and then turned and walked back a few steps. At this moment four disciples came out of the garden, and asked what was taking place. Judas was about to reply, but the soldiers interrupted, and would not let him speak. These four disciples were James the Less, Philip, Thomas, and Nathaniel; the last named, who was a son of the aged Simeon, had with a few others joined the eight Apostles at Gethsemani, being perhaps sent by the friends of Jesus to know what was going on, or possibly simply incited by curiosity and anxiety. The other disciples were wandering to and fro, on the look out, and ready to fly at a moment's notice.

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Jesus walked up to the soldiers and said in a firm and clear voice, 'Whom seek ye?' The leaders answered, 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus said to them, 'I am he.' Scarcely had he pronounced these words than they all fell to the ground as if struck with apoplexy. Judas, who stood by them, was much alarmed, and as he appeared desirous of approaching, Jesus held out his hand and said: 'Friend, whereto art thou come?' Judas stammered forth something about business which had brought him. Jesus answered in few words, the sense of which was: 'It were better for thee that thou hadst never been born;' however, I cannot remember the words exactly. In the mean time, the soldiers had risen, and again approached Jesus, but they waited for the sign of the kiss, with which Judas had promised to salute his Master that they might recognise him. Peter and the other disciples surrounded Judas, and reviled him in unmeasured terms, calling him thief and traitor; he tried to mollify their wrath by all kinds of lies, but his efforts were vain, for the soldiers came up and offered to defend him, which proceeding manifested the truth at once.

Jesus again asked, 'Whom seek ye?' They replied: 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus made answer, 'I have told you that I am he,' 'if therefore you seek me, let these go their way.' At these words the soldiers fell for the second time to the ground, in convulsions similar to those of epilepsy, and the Apostles again surrounded Judas and expressed their indignation at his shameful treachery. Jesus said to the soldiers, 'Arise,' and they arose, but at first quite speechless from terror. They then told Judas to give them the signal agreed upon instantly, as their orders were to seize upon no one but him whom Judas kissed. Judas therefore approached Jesus, and gave him a kiss, saying, 'Hail Rabbi.' Jesus replied, 'What, Judas, dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss?' The soldiers immediately surrounded Jesus, and the archers laid hands upon him. Judas wished to fly, but the Apostles would not allow it; they rushed at the soldiers and cried out, 'Master, shall we strike with the sword?'

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[paragraph continues]Peter, who was more impetuous than the rest, seized the sword, and struck Malchus, the servant of the high priest, who wished to drive away the Apostles, and cut off his right ear; Malchus fell to the ground, and a great tumult ensued.

The archers had seized upon Jesus, and wished to bind him; while Malchus and the rest of the soldiers stood around. When Peter struck the former, the rest were occupied in repulsing those among the disciples who approached too near, and in pursuing those who ran away. Four disciples made their appearance in the distance, and looked fearfully at the scene before them; but the soldiers were still too much alarmed at their late fall to trouble themselves much about them, and besides they did not wish to leave our Saviour without a certain number of men to guard him. Judas fled as soon as he had given the traitorous kiss, but was met by some of the disciples, who overwhelmed him with reproaches. Six Pharisees, however, came to his rescue, and he escaped whilst the archers were busily occupied in pinioning Jesus.

When Peter struck Malchus, Jesus said to him, 'Put up again thy sword into its place; for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me presently more than twelve legions of angels? How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done?' Then he said, 'Let me cure this man;' and approaching Malchus, he touched his ear, prayed, and it was healed. The soldiers who were standing near, as well as the archers and the six Pharisees, far from being moved by this miracle, continued to insult our Lord, and said to the bystanders, 'It is a trick of the devil, the powers of witchcraft made the ear appear to be cut off, and now the s a power gives it the appearance of being healed.'

Then Jesus again addressed them, 'You are come out as it were to a robber, with swords and clubs, to apprehend me. I sat daily with you teaching in the Temple, and you laid not hands upon me, but this is your hour and the power of darkness.' The Pharisees ordered him to be bound still more

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strongly, and made answer in a contemptuous tone, 'Ah! thou couldst not overthrow us by thy witchcraft.' Jesus replied, but I do not remember his words, and all the disciples fled. The four archers and the six Pharisees did not fall to the ground at the words of Jesus, because, as was afterwards revealed to me, they as well as Judas, who likewise did not fall, were entirely in the power of 'Satan, whereas all those who fell and rose again were afterwards converted, and became Christians; they had only surrounded Jesus, and not laid hands upon him. Malchus was instantly converted by the cure wrought upon him, and during the time of the Passion his employment was to carry messages backwards and forwards to Mary and the other friends of our Lord.

The archers, who now proceeded to pinion Jesus with the greatest brutality, were pagans of the lowest extraction, short, stout, and active, with sandy complexions, resembling those of Egyptian slaves, and bare legs, arms, and neck.

They tied his hands as tightly as possible with hard new cords, fastening the right-hand wrist under the left elbow, and the left-hand wrist under the right elbow. They encircled his waist with a species of belt studded with iron points, and bound his hands to it with osier bands, while on his neck they put a collar covered with iron points, and to this collar were appended two leathern straps, which were crossed over his chest like a stole and fastened to the belt. They then fastened four ropes to different parts of the belt, and by means of these ropes dragged our Blessed Lord from side to side in the most cruel manner. The ropes were new; I think they were purchased when the Pharisees first determined to arrest Jesus. The Pharisees lighted fresh torches, and the procession started. Ten soldiers walked in front, the archers who held the ropes and dragged Jesus along, followed, and the Pharisees and ten other soldiers brought up the rear. The disciples wandered about at a distance, and wept and moaned as if beside themselves from grief. John alone followed, and walked at no great distance from the

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soldiers, until the Pharisees, seeing him, ordered the guards to arrest him. They endeavoured to obey, but he ran away, leaving in their hands a cloth with which he was covered, and of which they had taken hold when they endeavoured to seize him. He had slipped off his coat, that he might escape more easily from the hands of his enemies, and kept nothing on but a short under garment without sleeves, and the long band which the Jews usually wore, and which was wrapped round his neck, head, and arms. The archers behaved in the most cruel manner to Jesus as they led him along; this they did to curry favour with the six Pharisees, who they well knew perfectly hated and detested our Lord. They led him along the roughest road they could select, over the sharpest stones, and through the thickest mire; they pulled the cords as tightly as possible; they struck him with knotted cords, as a butcher would strike the beast he is about to slaughter; and they accompanied this cruel treatment with such ignoble and indecent insults that I cannot recount them. The feet of Jesus were bare; he wore, besides the ordinary dress, a seamless woollen garment, and a cloak which was thrown over all. I have forgotten to state that when Jesus was arrested, it was done without any order being presented or legal ceremony taking place; he was treated as a person without the pale of the law.

The procession proceeded at a good pace; when they left the road which runs between the Garden of Olives a, that of Gethsemani, they turned to the right, and soon reached a bridge which was thrown over the Torrent of Cedron. When Jesus went to the Garden of Olives with the Apostles, he did not cross this bridge, but went by a private path which ran through the Valley of Josaphat, and led to another bridge more to the south. The bridge over which the soldiers led Jesus was long, being thrown over not only the torrent, which was very large in this part, but likewise over the valley, which extends a considerable distance to the right and to the left, and is much lower than the bed of the river. I saw our Lord fall twice before he reached the bridge, and these falls were caused

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entirely by the barbarous manner in which the soldiers dragged him; but when they were half over the bridge they gave full vent to their brutal inclinations, and struck Jesus with such violence that they threw him off the bridge into the water, and scornfully recommended him to quench his thirst there. If God had not preserved him, he must have been killed by this fall; he fell first on his knee, and then on his face, but saved himself a little by stretching out his hands, which, although so tightly bound before, were loosened, I know not whether by miracle, or whether the soldiers had out the cords before they threw him into the water. The marks of his feet, his elbows, and. his fingers were miraculously impressed on the rock on which he fell, and these impressions were afterwards shown for the veneration of Christians. These stones were less hard than the unbelieving hearts of the wicked men who surrounded Jesus, and bore witness at this terrible moment to the Divine Power which had touched them.

I had not seen Jesus take anything to quench the thirst which had consumed him ever since his agony in the garden, but he drank when he fell into the Cedron, and I heard him repeat these words from the prophetic Psalm, 'In his thirst he will drink water from the torrent' (Psalm cviii.).

The archers still held the ends of the ropes with which Jesus was bound, but it would have been difficult to draw him out of the water on that side, on account of a wall which was built on the shore; they turned back and dragged him quite through the Cedron to the shore, and then made him cross the bridge a second time, accompanying their every action with insults, blasphemies, and blows. His long woollen garment, which was quite soaked through, adhered to his legs, impeded every movement, and rendered it almost impossible for him to walk, and when he reached the end of the bridge he fell quite down. They pulled him up again in the most cruel manner, struck him with cords, and fastened the ends of his wet garment to the belt, abusing him at the same time in the most cowardly manner. It was not quite midnight when I saw the four

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archers inhumanly dragging Jesus over a narrow path, which was choked up with stones, fragments of rock, thistles, and thorns, on the opposite shore of the Cedron. The six brutal Pharisees walked as close to our Lord as they could, struck him constantly with thick pointed sticks, and seeing that his bare and bleeding feet were torn by the stones and briars, exclaimed scornfully: 'His precursor, John the Baptist, has certainly not prepared a good path for him here;' or, 'The words of Malachy, "Behold, I send my angel before thy face, to prepare the way before thee," do not exactly apply now.' Every jest uttered by these men incited the archers to greater cruelty.

The enemies of Jesus remarked that several persons made their appearance in the distance; they were only disciples who had assembled when they heard that their Master was arrested, and who were anxious to discover what the end would be; but the sight of them rendered the Pharisees uneasy, lest any attempt should be made to rescue Jesus, and they therefore sent for a reinforcement of soldiers. At a very short distance from an entrance opposite to the south side of the Temple, which leads through a little village called Ophel. to Mount Sion, where the residences of Annas and Caiphas were situated, I saw a band of about fifty soldiers, who carried torches, and appeared ready for anything; the demeanour of these men was outrageous, and they gave loud shouts, both to announce their arrival, and to congratulate their comrades upon the success of the expedition. This caused a slight confusion among the soldiers who were leading Jesus, and Malchus and a few others took advantage of it to depart, and fly towards Mount Olivet.

When the fresh band of soldiers left Ophel, I saw those disciples who had gathered together disperse; some went one way, and some another. The Blessed Virgin and about nine of the holy women, being filled with anxiety, directed their stops towards the Valley of Josaphat, accompanied by Lazarus, John the son of Mark, the son of Veronica, and the son of Simon. The last-named was at Gethsemani with Nathaniel and the eight Apostles, and had fled when

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the soldiers appeared. He was giving the Blessed Virgin the account of all that had been done, when the fresh band of soldiers joined those who were leading Jesus, and she then heard their tumultuous vociferations, and saw the light of the torches they carried. This sight quite overcame her; she became insensible, and John took her into the house of Mary, the mother of Mark.

The fifty soldiers who were sent to join those who had taken Jesus, were a detachment from a company of three hundred men posted to guard the gates and environs of Ophel; for the traitor Judas had reminded the High Priests that the inhabitants of Ophel (who were principally of the labouring class, and whose chief employment was to bring water and wood to the Temple) were the most attached partisans of Jesus, and might perhaps make some attempts to rescue him. The traitor was aware that Jesus had both consoled, instructed, assisted, and cured the diseases of many of these poor workmen, and that Ophel was the place where he halted during his journey from Bethania to Hebron, when John the Baptist had just been executed. Judas also knew that Jesus had cured many of the masons who were injured by the fall of the Tower of Siloe. The greatest part of the inhabitants of Ophel were converted after the death of our Lord, and joined the first Christian community that was formed after Pentecost, and when the Christians separated from the Jews and erected new dwellings, they placed their huts and tents in the valley which is situated between Mount Olivet and Ophel, and there St. Stephen lived. Ophel was on a hill to the south of the Temple, surrounded by walls, and its inhabitants were very poor. I think it was smaller than Dulmer. 1

The slumbers of the good inhabitants of Ophel were disturbed by the noise of the soldiers; they came out of their houses and ran to the entrance of the village to ask the cause of the uproar; but the soldiers received them roughly, ordered them to return home, and in reply to

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their numerous questions, said, 'We have just arrested Jesus, your false prophet--he who has deceived you so grossly; the High Priests are about to judge him, and he will be crucified.' Cries and lamentations arose on all sides; the poor women and children ran backwards and forwards, weeping and wringing their hands; and calling to mind all the benefits they had received from our Lord, they cast themselves on their knees to implore the protection of Heaven. But the soldiers pushed them on one side, struck them, obliged them to return to their houses, and exclaimed, 'What farther proof is required? Does not the conduct of these persons show plainly that the Galilæan incites rebellion?'

They were, however, a little cautious in their expressions and demeanour for fear of causing an insurrection in Ophel, and therefore only endeavoured to drive the inhabitants away from those parts of the village which Jesus was obliged to cross.

When the cruel soldiers who led our Lord were near the gates of Ophel he again fell, and appeared unable to proceed a step farther, upon which one among them, being moved to compassion, said to another, 'You see the poor man is perfectly exhausted, he cannot support himself with the weight of his chains; if we wish to get him to the High Priest alive we must loosen the cords with which his hands are bound, that he may be able to save himself a little when he falls.' The band stopped for a moment, the fetters were loosened, and another kind-hearted soldier brought some water to Jesus from a neighbouring fountain. Jesus thanked him, and spoke of the 'fountains of living water,' of which those who believed in him should drink; but his words enraged the Pharisees still more, and they overwhelmed him with insults and contumelious language. I saw the heart of the soldier who had caused Jesus to be unbound, as also that of the one who brought him water, suddenly illuminated by grace; they were both converted before the death of Jesus, and immediately joined his disciples.

The procession started again, and reached the gate of

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[paragraph continues]Ophel. Here Jesus was again saluted by the cries of grief and sympathy of those who owed him so much gratitude, and the soldiers had considerable difficulty in keeping back the men and women who crowded round from all parts. They clasped their hands, fell on their knees, lamented, and exclaimed, 'Release this man unto us, release him! Who will assist, who will console us, who will cure our diseases? Release him unto us!' It was indeed heartrending to look upon Jesus; his face was white, disfigured, and wounded, his hair dishevelled, his dress wet and soiled, and his savage and drunken guards were dragging him about and striking him with sticks like a poor dumb animal led to the slaughter. Thus was he conducted through the midst of the afflicted inhabitants of Ophel, and the paralytic whom he had cured, the dumb to whom he had restored speech, and the blind whose eyes he had opened, united, but in vain, in offering supplications for his release.

Many persons from among the lowest and most degraded classes had been sent by Annas, Caiphas, and the other enemies of Jesus, to join the procession, and assist the soldiers both in ill-treating Jesus, and in driving away the inhabitants of Ophel. The village of Ophel was seated upon a hill, and I saw a great deal of timber placed there ready for building. The procession had to proceed down a hill, and then pass through a door made in the wall. On one side of this door stood a large building erected originally by Solomon, and on the other the pool of Bethsaida. After passing this, they followed a westerly direction down a steep street called Millo, at the end of which a turn to the south brought them to the house of Annas. The guards never ceased their cruel treatment of our Divine Saviour, and excused such conduct by saying that the crowds who gathered together in front of the procession compelled them to severity. Jesus fell seven times between Mount Olivet and the house of Annas.

The inhabitants of Ophel were still in a state of consternation and grief, when the sight of the Blessed Virgin, who passed through the village accompanied by the holy

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women and some other friends on her way from the Valley of Cedron to the house of Mary the mother of Mark, excited them still more, and they made the place reëcho with sobs and lamentations, while they surrounded and almost carried her in their arms. Mary was speechless from grief, and did not open her lips after she reached the house of Mary the mother of Mark, until the arrival of John, who related all he had seen since Jesus left the supper-room; and a little later she was taken to the house of Martha, which was near that of Lazarus. Peter and John, who had followed Jesus at a distance, went in haste to some servants of the High Priest with whom the latter was acquainted, in order to endeavour by their means to obtain admittance into the tribunal where their Master was to be tried. These servants acted as messengers, and had just been ordered to go to the houses of the ancients, and other members of the Council, to summon them to attend the meeting which was convoked. As they were anxious to oblige the Apostles, but foresaw much difficulty in obtaining their admittance into the tribunal, they gave them cloaks similar to those they themselves wore, and made them assist in carrying messages to the members in order that afterwards they might enter the tribunal of Caiphas, and mingle, without being recognised, among the soldiers and false witnesses, as all other persons were to be expelled. As Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and other well-intentioned persons were members of this Council, the Apostles undertook to let them know what was going to be done in the Council, thus securing the presence of those friends of Jesus whom the Pharisees had purposely omitted to invite. In the mean time Judas wandered up and down the steep and wild precipices at the south of Jerusalem, despair marked on his every feature, and the devil pursuing him to and fro, filling his imagination with still darker visions, and not allowing him a moment's respite.

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Footnotes

134:1 Dulmen is a small town in Westphalia, where Sister Emmerich lived at this time.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc18.htm

CHAPTER IV.

Means employed by the enemies of Jesus for carrying out their designs against him.

No sooner was Jesus arrested than Annas and Caiphas were informed, and instantly began to arrange their plans with regard to the course to be pursued. Confusion speedily reigned everywhere--the rooms were lighted up in haste, guards placed at the entrances, and messengers dispatched to different parts of the town to convoke the members of the Council, the Scribes, and all who were to take a part in the trial. Many among them had, however, assembled at the house of Caiphas as soon as the treacherous compact with Judas was completed, and had remained there to await the course of events. The different classes of ancients were likewise assembled, and as the Pharisees, Sadducces, and Herodians were congregated in Jerusalem from all parts of the country for the celebration of the festival, and had long been concerting measures with the Council for the arrest of our Lord, the High Priests now sent for those whom they knew to be the most bitterly opposed to Jesus, and desired them to assemble the witnesses, gather together every possible proof, and bring all before the Council. The proud Sadducces of Nazareth, of Capharnaum, of Thirza, of Gabara, of Jotapata, and of Silo, whom Jesus had so often reproved before the people, were actually dying for revenge. They hastened to all the inns to seek out those persons whom they knew to be enemies of our Lord, and offered them bribes in order to secure their appearance. But, with the exception of a few ridiculous calumnies, which were certain to be disproved as soon as investigated, nothing tangible could be brought forward against Jesus, excepting, indeed, those foolish accusations which he had so often refuted in the synagogue.

The enemies of Jesus hastened, however, to the tribunal of Caiphas, escorted by the Scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem, and accompanied by many of those merchants whom our Lord drove out of the Temple when

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they were holding market there; m also by the proud doctors whom he had silenced before all the people, and even by some who could not forgive the humiliation of being convicted of error when he disputed with them in the Temple at the age of twelve. There was likewise a large body of impenitent sinners whom he had refused to cure, relapsed sinners whose diseases had returned, worldly young men whom he would not receive as disciples, avaricious persons whom he had enraged by causing the money which they had been in hopes of possessing to be distributed in alms. Others there were whose friends he had cured, and who had thus been disappointed in their expectation of inheriting property; debauchees whose victims he had converted; and many despicable characters who made their fortunes by flattering and fostering the vices of the great.

All these emissaries of Satan were overflowing with rage against everything holy, and consequently with an indescribable hatred of the Holy of the Holies. They were farther incited by the enemies of our Lord, and therefore assembled in crowds round the palace of Caiphas, to bring forward all their false accusations and to endeavour to cover with infamy that spotless Lamb, who took upon himself the sins of the world, and accepted the burden in order to reconcile man with God.

Whilst all these wicked beings were busily consulting as to what was best to be done, anguish and anxiety filled the hearts of the friends of Jesus, for they were ignorant of the mystery which was about to be accomplished, and they wandered about, sighing, and listening to every different opinion. Each word they uttered gave rise to feelings of suspicion on the part of those whom they addressed, and if they were silent, their silence was set down as wrong. Many well-meaning but weak and undecided characters yielded to temptation, were scandalised, and lost their faith; indeed,. the number of those who persevered was very small indeed. Things were the same then as they oftentimes are now, persons were willing to serve God if they met with no opposition from their fellow

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creatures, but were ashamed of the Cross if held in contempt by others. The hearts of some were, however, touched by the patience displayed by our Lord in the midst of his sufferings, and they walked away silent and sad.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc19.htm

CHAPTER V.

A Glance at Jerusalem.

THE customary prayers and preparations for the celebration of the festival being completed, the greatest part of the inhabitants of the densely-populated city of Jerusalem, as also the strangers congregated there, were plunged in sleep after the fatigues of the day, when, all at once, the arrest of Jesus was announced, and every one was aroused, both his friends and foes, and numbers immediately responded to the summons of the High Priest, and left their dwellings to assemble at his court. In some parts the light of the moon enabled them to grope their way in safety along the dark and gloomy streets, but in other parts they were obliged to make use of torches. Very few of the houses were built with their windows looking on the street, and, generally speaking, their doors were in inner courts, which gave the streets a still more gloomy appearance than is usual. at this hour. The steps of all were directed towards Sion, and an attentive listener might have heard persons stop at the doors of their friends, and knock, in order to awaken them--then hurry on, then again stop to question others, and, finally, set off anew in haste towards Sion. Newsmongers and servants were hurrying forward to ascertain what was going on, in order that they might return and give the account to those who remained at home; and the bolting and barricading of doors might be plainly heard, as many persons were much alarmed and feared an insurrection, while a thousand different propositions were made and opinions given, such as the following:--'Lazarus and his sisters will soon know who is this man in whom they have placed such firm reliance.

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[paragraph continues]Joanna, Chusa, Susannah, Mary the mother of Mark, and Salome will repent, but too late, the imprudence of their conduct; Seraphia, the wife of Sirach, win be compelled to make an apology to her husband now, for he has so often reproached her with her partiality for the Galilæan. The partisans of this fanatical man, this inciter of rebellion, pretended to be filled with compassion for all who looked upon things in a different light from themselves, and now they will not know where to hide their heads. He will find no one now to cast garments and strew olive-branches at his feet. Those hypocrites who pretended to be so much better than other persons will receive their deserts, for they are all implicated with the Galilæan. It is a much more serious business an was at first thought. I should like to know how Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea will get out of it; the High Priests have mistrusted them for some time; they made common cause with Lazarus: but they are extremely cunning. All will now, however, be brought to light.'

Speeches such as these were uttered by persons who were exasperated, not only against the disciples of Jesus, but likewise with the holy women who had supplied his temporal wants, and had publicly and fearlessly expressed their veneration for his doctrines, and their belief in his Divine mission.

But although many persons spoke of Jesus and his followers in this contemptuous manner, yet there were others who held very different opinions, and of these some were frightened, and others, being overcome with sorrow, sought friends to whom they might unburden their hearts, and before whom they could, without fear, give vent to their feelings; but the number of those sufficiently daring openly to avow their admiration for Jesus was but small.

Nevertheless, it was in parts only of Jerusalem that these disturbances took place--in those parts where the messengers had been sent by the High Priests and the Pharisees, to convoke the members of the Council and to call together the witnesses. It appeared to me that I saw feelings of hatred and fury burst forth in different parts

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of the city, under the form of flames, which flames traversed the streets, united with others which they met, and proceeded in the direction of Sion, increasing every moment, and at last came to a stop beneath the tribunal of Caiphas, where they remained, forming together a perfect whirlwind of fire.

The Roman soldiers took no part in what was going on; they did not understand the excited feelings of the people, but their sentinels were doubled, their cohorts drawn up, and they kept a strict look out; this, indeed, was customary at the time of the Paschal solemnity, on account of the vast number of strangers who were then assembled together. The Pharisees endeavoured to avoid the neighbourhood of the sentinels, for fear of being questioned by them, and of contracting defilement by answering their questions. The High Priests had sent a message to Pilate intimating their reasons for stationing soldiers round Ophel and Sion; but he mistrusted their intentions, as much ill-feeling existed between the Romans and the Jews. He could not sleep, but walked about during the greatest part of the night, hearkening to the different reports and issuing orders consequent on what he heard; his wife slept, but her sleep was disturbed by frightful dreams, and she groaned and wept alternately.

In no part of Jerusalem did the arrest of Jesus produce more touching demonstrations of grief than among the poor inhabitants of Ophel, the greatest part of whom were day-labourers, and the rest principally employed in menial offices in the service of the Temple. The news came unexpectedly upon them; for some time they doubted the truth of the report, and wavered between hope and fear; but the sight of their Master, their Benefactor, their Consoler, dragged through the streets, torn, bruised, and ill-treated in every imaginable way, filled them with horror; and their grief was still farther increased by beholding his afflicted Mother wandering about from street to street, accompanied by the holy women, and endeavouring to obtain some intelligence concerning her Divine Son. These holy women ware often obliged to hide in corners and

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under door-ways for fear of being seen by the enemies of Jesus; but even with these precautions they were oftentimes insulted, and taken for women of bad character--their feelings were frequently harrowed by hearing the malignant words and triumphant expressions of the cruel Jews, and seldom, very seldom, did a word of kindness of pity strike their ears. They were completely exhausted before reaching their place of refuge, but they endeavoured to console and support one another, and wrapped thick veils over their heads. When at last seated, they heard a sudden knock at the door, and listened breathlessly--the knock was repeated, but softly, therefore they made certain that it was no enemy, and yet they opened the door cautiously, fearing a stratagem. It was indeed a friend, and they eagerly questioned him, but derived no consolation from his words; therefore, unable to rest quiet any longer, they issued forth and walked about for a time, and then again returned to their place of refuge--still more heartbroken than before.

The majority of the Apostles, overcome with terror, wore wandering about among the valleys which surround Jerusalem, and at times took refuge in the caverns beneath Mount Olivet. They started if they came in contact with one another, Spoke in trembling tones, and separated on the least noise being heard. First they concealed themselves in one cave and then in another, next they endeavoured to return to the town, while some of their number climbed to the top of Mount Olivet and cast anxious glances at the torches, the light of which they could see glimmering at and about Sion; they listened to every distant sound, made a thousand different conjectures, and then returned to the valley, in hopes of getting some certain intelligence.

The streets in the vicinity of Caiphas's tribunal were brightly illuminated with lamps and torches, but, as the crowds gathered around it, the noise and confusion continued to increase. Mingling with these discordant sounds might be heard the bellowing of the beasts which were tethered on the outside of the walls of Jerusalem. and the

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plaintive bleating of the lambs. There was something most touching in the bleating of these lambs, which were to be sacrificed on the following day in the Temple,--the one Lamb alone who was about to be offered a willing sacrifice opened not his mouth, like a sheep in the hands of the butcher, which resists not, or the lamb which is silent before the shearer; and that Lamb was the Lamb of God-the Lamb without spot--the true Paschal Lamb--Jesus Christ himself.

The sky looked dark, gloomy, and threatening-the moon was red, and covered with livid spots; it appeared as if dreading to reach its full, because its Creator was then to die.

Next I cast a glance outside the town, and, near the south gate, I beheld the traitor, Judas Iscariot, wandering about, alone, and a prey to the tortures of his guilty conscience; he feared even his own shadow, and was followed by many devils, who endeavoured to turn his feelings of remorse into black despair. Thousands of evil spirits were busying themselves in all parts, tempting men first to one sin and then to another. It appeared as if the gates of hell were flung open, and Satan madly striving and exerting his whole energies to increase the heavy load of iniquities which the Lamb without spot had taken upon himself. The angels wavered between joy and grief; they desired ardently to fall prostrate before the throne of God, and to obtain permission to assist Jesus; but at the same time they were filled with astonishment, and could only adore that miracle of Divine justice and mercy which had existed in Heaven for all eternity, and was now about to be accomplished; for the angels believe, like us, in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, who began on this night to suffer under Pontius Pilate, and the next day was to be crucified, to die, and be buried; descend into hell, rise again on the third day, ascend into Heaven, be seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and from thence come to judge the

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living and the dead; they likewise believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc20.htm

CHAPTER VI.

Jesus before Annas.

IT was towards midnight when Jesus reached the palace of Annas, and his guards immediately conducted him into a very large hall, where Annas, surrounded by twenty-eight councillors, was seated on a species of platform, raised a little above the level of the floor, and placed opposite to the entrance. The soldiers who first arrested Jesus now dragged him roughly to the foot of the tribunal. The room was quite full, between soldiers, the servants of Annas, a number of the mob who had been admitted, and the false witnesses who afterwards adjourned to Caiphas's hall.

Annas was delighted at the thought of our Lord being brought before him, and was looking out for his arrival with the greatest impatience. The expression of his countenance was most repulsive, as it showed in every lineament not only the infernal joy with which he was filled, but likewise all the cunning and duplicity of his heart. He was the president of a species of tribunal instituted for the purpose of examining persons accused of teaching false doctrines; and if convicted there, they were then taken before the High Priest.

Jesus stood before Annas. He looked exhausted and haggard; his garments were covered with mud, his hands manacled, his head bowed down, and he spoke not a word. Annas was a thin ill-humoured-looking old man, with a scraggy beard. His pride and arrogance were great; and as he seated himself he smiled ironically, pretending that he knew nothing at all, and that he was perfectly astonished at finding that the prisoner, whom

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he had just been informed was to be 'brought before him, was no other than Jesus of Nazareth. 'Is it possible,' said he, 'is it possible that thou art Jesus of Nazareth? Where are thy disciples, thy numerous followers? Where is thy kingdom? I fear affairs have not turned out as thou didst expect. The authorities, I presume, discovered that it was quite time to put a stop to thy conduct, disrespectful as it was towards God and his priests, and to such violations of the Sabbath. What disciples hast thou now? Where are they all gone? Thou art silent! Speak out, seducer! speak out, thou inciter of rebellion! Didst thou not eat the Paschal lamb in an unlawful manner, at an improper time, and in an improper place? Dost thou not desire to introduce new doctrines? Who gave thee the right of preaching? Where didst thou study? Speak, what are the tenets of thy religion?'

Jesus then raised his weary head, looked at Annas, and said, 'I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in the synagogue, and in the Temple, whither all the Jews resort; and in secret I have spoken nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them who have heard what I have spoken unto them; behold, they know what things I have said.'

At this answer of Jesus the countenance of Annas flushed with fury and indignation. A base menial who was standing near perceived this, and he immediately struck our Lord on the face with his iron gauntlet, exclaiming at the same moment, 'Answerest thou the High Priest so?' Jesus was so nearly prostrated by the violence of the blow, that when the guards likewise reviled and struck him, he fell quite down, and blood trickled from his face on to the floor. Laughter, insults, and bitter words resounded through the hall. The archers dragged him roughly up again, and he mildly answered, 'If I have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil; but if well, why strikest thou me?'

Annas became still more enraged when he saw the calm demeanour of Jesus, and, turning to the witnesses, he desired them to bring forward their accusations. They

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all began to speak at once:--'He has called himself king; he says that God is his Father; that the Pharisees are an adulterous generation. He causes insurrection among the people; he cures the sick by the help of the devil on the Sabbath-day. The inhabitants of Ophel assembled round him a short time ago, and addressed him by the titles of Saviour and Prophet. He lets himself be called the Son of God; he says that he is sent by God; he predicts the destruction of Jerusalem. He does not fast; he eats with sinners, with pagans, and with publicans, and associates with women of evil repute. A short time ago he said to a man who gave him some water to drink at the gates of Ophel, "that he would give unto him the waters of eternal life, after drinking which he would thirst no more." He seduces the people by words of double meaning,' &c., &c.

These accusations were all vociferated at once; some of the witnesses Stood before Jesus and insulted him while they spoke by derisive gestures, and the archers went so far as oven to strike him, saying at the same time, 'Speak; why dost thou not answer?' Annas and his adherents added mockery to insult, exclaiming at every pause in the accusations, 'This is thy doctrine, then, is it? What canst thou answer to this? Issue thy orders, great King; man sent by God, give proofs of thy mission.' 'Who art thou?' continued Annas, in a tone of cutting contempt; 'by whom art thou sent? Art thou the son of an obscure carpenter, or art thou Elias, who was carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot? He is said to be still living, and I have been told that thou canst make thyself invisible when thou pleasest. Perhaps thou art the prophet Malachy, whose words thou dost so frequently quote. Some say that an angel was his father, and that he likewise is still alive. An impostor as thou art could not have a finer opportunity of taking persons in than by passing thyself off as this prophet. Tell me, without farther preamble, to what order of kings thou dost belong? Thou art greater than Solomon,--at least thou pretendest so to be, and dost even expect to be believed. Be easy, I

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will no longer refuse the title and the sceptre which are so justly thy due.'

Annas then called for the sheet of parchment, about a yard in length, and six inches in width; on this he wrote a series of words in large letters, and each word expressed some different accusation which had been brought against our Lord. He then rolled it up, placed it in a little hollow tube, fastened it carefully on the top of. a reed, and presented this reed to Jesus, saying at the same time, with a contemptuous sneer, 'Behold the sceptre of thy kingdom; it contains thy titles, as also the account of the honours to which thou art entitled, and of thy right to the throne. Take them to; the High Priest, in order that he may acknowledge thy regal dignity, and treat thee according to thy deserts. Tie the hands of this king, and take him before the High Priest.'

The hands of Jesus, which had been loosened, were then tied across his breast in such a manner as to make him hold the pretended sceptre, which contained the accusations of Annas, and he was led to the Court of Caiphas, amidst the hisses, shouts, and blows lavished upon him by the brutal mob.

The house of Annas was not more than three hundred steps from that of Caiphas; there were high walls and common-looking houses on each side of the road, which was lighted up by torches and lanterns placed on poles, and there were numbers of Jews standing about talking m an angry excited manner. The soldiers could scarcely make their way through the crowd, and those who had behaved so shamefully to Jesus at the Court of Annas continued their insults and base usage during the whole of the time spent in walking to the house of Caiphas. I saw money given to those who behaved the worst to Jesus by armed men belonging to the tribunal, and I saw them push out of the way all who looked compassionately at him. The former wore allowed to enter the Court of Caiphas.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc21.htm

CHAPTER VII.

The Tribunal of Caiphas.

To enter Caiphas's tribunal persons had to pass through a large court, which maybe called the exterior court; from thence they entered into an inner court, which extended all round the building. The building itself was of far greater length than breadth, and in the front there was a kind of open vestibule surrounded on three sides by columns of no great height. On the fourth side the columns were higher, and behind them was a room almost as large as the vestibule itself, where the seats of the members of the Council were placed on a species of round platform raised, above the level of the floor. That assigned to the High Priest was elevated above the others; the criminal to be tried stood in the centre of the half-circle formed by the seats. The witnesses and accusers stood either by the side or behind the prisoner. There were three doors at the back of the judges` seats which led into another apartment, filled likewise with seats. This room was used for secret consultation. Entrances placed on the right and left hand sides of this room opened into the interior court, which was round, like the back of the building. Those who left the room by the door on the right-hand side saw on the left-hand side of the court the gate which led to a subterranean prison excavated under the room. There were many underground prisons there, and it was in one of these that Peter and John were confined a whole night, when they had cured the lame man in the Temple after Pentecost. Both the house and the courts were filled with torches and lamps, which made them as light as day. There was a large fire lighted in the middle of the porch, on each side of which were hollow pipes to serve as chimneys for the smoke, and round this fire were standing soldiers, menial servants, and witnesses of the lowest class who had received bribes for giving their false testimony. A few women were there likewise, whose employment was to pour out a species of red beverage for the

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soldiers, and to bake cakes, for which services they received a small compensation. The majority of the judges were already seated around Caiphas, the others came in shortly afterwards, and the porch was almost filled, between true and false witnesses, while many other persons likewise endeavoured to come in to gratify their curiosity, but were prevented. Peter and John entered the outer court, in the dress of travellers, a short time before Jesus was led through, and John succeeded in penetrating into the inner court, by means of a servant with whom he was acquainted. The door was instantly closed after him, therefore Peter, who was a little behind, was shut out. He begged the maid-servant to open the door for him, but she refused both his entreaties and those of John, and he must have remained on the outside had not Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who came up at this moment, taken him with them. The two Apostles then returned the cloaks which they had borrowed, and stationed themselves in a place from whence they could see the judges, and hear everything that was going on. Caiphas was seated in the centre of the raised platform, and seventy of the members of the Sanhedrim were placed around him, while the public officers, the Scribes, and the ancients were standing on either side, and the false witnesses behind them. Soldiers were posted from the base of the platform to the door of the vestibule through which Jesus was to enter. The countenance of Caiphas was solemn in the extreme, but the gravity was accompanied by unmistakable signs of suppressed rage and sinister intentions. He wore a long mantle of a dull red colour, embroidered in flowers and trimmed with golden fringe; it was fastened at the shoulders and on the chest, besides being ornamented in the front with gold clasps. His head-attire was high, and adorned with hanging ribbons, the sides were open, and it rather resembled a bishop's mitre. Caiphas had been waiting with his adherents belonging to the Great Council for some time, and so impatient was he that he arose several times, went into the outer court in his magnificent dress, and asked angrily whether Jesus of Nazareth was come. When

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he saw the procession drawing near he returned to his seat.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc22.htm

CHAPTER VIII.

Jesus before Caiphas.

JESUS was led across the court, and the mob received him with groans and hisses. As he passed by Peter and John, he looked at them, but without turning his head, for fear of betraying them. Scarcely had he reached the council-chamber, than Caiphas exclaimed in a loud tone, 'Thou art come, then, at last, thou enemy of God, thou blasphemer, who dost disturb the peace of this holy night!' The tube which contained the accusations of Annas, and was fastened to the pretended sceptre in the hands of Jesus, was instantly opened and read.

Caiphas made use of the most insulting language, and the archers again struck and abused our Lord, vociferating at the same time, 'Answer at once! Speak out! Art thou dumb?' Caiphas, whose temper was indescribably proud and arrogant, became even more enraged than Annas had been, and asked a thousand questions one after the other, but Jesus stood before him in silence, and with his eyes cast down. The archers endeavoured to force him to speak by repeated blows, and a malicious child pressed his thumb into his lips, tauntingly bidding him to bite. The witnesses were then called for. The first wore persons of the lowest class, whose accusations were as incoherent and inconsistent as those brought forward at the court of Annas, and nothing could be made out of them; Caiphas therefore turned to the principal witnesses, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, who had assembled from all parts of the country. They endeavoured to speak calmly, but their faces and manner betrayed the virulent envy and hatred with which their hearts were overflowing, and they repeated over and over again the same accusations, to which he had already replied so many times: 'That he cured the sick, and cast out devils, by the help of devils--that he

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profaned the Sabbath--incited the people to rebel--called the Pharisees a race of vipers and adulterers--predicted the destruction of Jerusalem--frequented the society of publicans and sinners--assembled the people and gave himself out as a king, a prophet, and the Son of God.' They deposed 'that he was constantly speaking of his kingdom,--that he forbade divorce,--called himself the Bread of Life, and said that whoever did not eat his flesh and drink his blood would not have eternal life.'

Thus did they distort and misinterpret the words he had uttered, the instructions he had given, and the parables by which he had illustrated his instructions, giving them the semblance of crimes. But these witnesses could not agree in their depositions, for one said, 'He calls himself king;' and a second instantly contradicted, saying, 'No, he allows persons to call him so; but directly they attempted to proclaim him, he fled.' Another said, 'He calls himself the Son of God,' but he was interrupted by a fourth, who exclaimed, 'No, he only styles himself the Son of God because he does the will of his Heavenly Father.' Some of the witnesses stated that he had cured them, but that their diseases had returned, and that his pretended cures were only performed by magic. They spoke likewise of the cure of the paralytic man at the pool of Bethsaida, but they distorted the facts so as to give them the semblance of crimes, and even in these accusations they could not agree, contradicting one another. The Pharisees of Sephoris, with whom he had once had a discussion on the subject of divorces, accused him of teaching false doctrines, and a young man of Nazareth, whom he had refused to allow to become one of his disciples, was likewise base enough to bear witness against him.

It was found to be utterly impossible to prove a single fact, and the witnesses appeared to come forward for the sole purpose of insulting Jesus, rather than to demonstrate the truth of their statements. Whilst they were disputing with one another, Caiphas and some of the other members of the Council employed themselves in questioning Jesus, and turning his answers into derision. 'What species of

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king art thou 'Give proofs of thy power! Call the legions of angels of whom thou didst speak in the Garden of Olives! What hast thou done with the money given unto thee by the widows, and other simpletons whom thou didst seduce by thy false doctrines? Answer at once: speak out,--art thou dumb? Thou wouldst have been far wiser to have kept silence when in the midst of the foolish mob: there thou didst speak far too much.'

All these questions were accompanied by blows from the under-servants of the members of the tribunal, and had our Lord not been supported from above, he could not have survived this treatment. Some of the base witnesses endeavoured to prove that he was an illegitimate son; but others declared that his mother was a pious Virgin, belonging to the Temple, and that they afterwards saw her betrothed to a man who feared God. The witnesses upbraided Jesus and his disciples with not having offered sacrifice in the Temple. It is true that I never did see either Jesus or his disciples offer any sacrifice in the Temple, excepting the Paschal lamb; but Joseph and Anna used frequently during their lifetime to offer sacrifice for the Child Jesus. However, even this accusation was puerile, for the Essenians never offered sacrifice, and no one thought the less well of them for not doing so. The enemies of Jesus still continued to accuse him of being a sorcerer, and Caiphas affirmed several times that the confusion in the statements of the witnesses was caused solely by witchcraft.

Some said that he had eaten the Paschal lamb on the previous day, which was contrary to the law, and that the year before he had made different alterations in the manner of celebrating this ceremony. But the witnesses contradicted one another to such a degree that Caiphas and his adherents found, to their very great annoyance and anger, that not one accusation could be really proved. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were called up, and being commanded to say how it happened that they had allowed him to eat the Pasch on the wrong day in a room which belonged to them, they proved from ancient documents

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that from time immemorial the Galilæans had been allowed to eat the Pasch a day earlier than the rest of the Jews. They added that every other part of the ceremony had been performed according to the directions given in the law, and that persons belonging to the Temple were present at the supper. This quite puzzled the witnesses, and Nicodemus increased the rage of the enemies of Jesus by pointing out the passages in the archives which proved the right of the Galilæans, and gave the reason for which this privilege was granted. The reason was this: the sacrifices would not have been finished by the Sabbath if the immense multitudes who congregated together for that purpose had all been obliged to perform the ceremony on the same day; and although the Galilæans had not always profited by this right, yet its existence was incontestably proved by Nicodemus; and the anger of the Pharisees was heightened by his remarking that the members of the Council had cause to be greatly offended at the gross contradictions in the statements of the witnesses, and that the extraordinary and hurried manner in which the whole affair had been conducted showed that malice and envy were the sole motives which induced the accusers, and made them bring the case forward at a moment when all were busied in the preparations for the most solemn feast of the year. They looked at Nicodemus furiously, and could not reply, but continued to question the witnesses in a still more precipitate and imprudent manner. Two witnesses at last came forward, who said, 'This man said, "I will destroy this Temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another not made with hands."' However, even these witnesses did not agree in their statements, for one said that the accused wished to build a new Temple, and that he had eaten the Pasch in an unusual place, because he desired the destruction of the ancient Temple; but the other said, 'Not so: the edifice where he ate the Pasch was built by human hands, therefore he could not have referred to that.'

The wrath of Caiphas was indescribable; for the cruel treatment which Jesus had suffered, his Divine patience,

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and the contradictions of the witnesses, were beginning to make a great impression on many persons present, a few hisses were heard, and the hearts of some were So touched that they could not silence the voice of their consciences. Ten soldiers left the court under pretext of indisposition, but in reality overcome by their feelings. As they passed by the place where Peter and John were standing, they exclaimed, 'The silence of Jesus of Nazareth, in the midst of such cruel treatment, is superhuman: it would melt a heart of iron: the wonder is, that the earth does not open and swallow such reprobates as his accusers mast be. But tell us, where must we go?' The two Apostles either mistrusted the soldiers, and thought they were only seeking to betray them, or they were fearful of being recognised by those around and denounced as disciples of Jesus, for they only made answer in a melancholy tone: 'If truth calls you, follow it, and all will come right of itself.' The soldiers instantly went out of the room, and left Jerusalem soon after. They met persons on the outskirts of the town, who directed them to the caverns which lay to the south of Jerusalem, on the other side of Mount Sion, where many of the Apostles had taken refuge. These latter were at first alarmed at seeing strangers enter their hiding-place; but the soldiers soon dispelled all fear, and gave them an account of the sufferings of Jesus.

The temper of Caiphas, which was already perturbed, became quite infuriated by the contradictory statements of the two last witnesses, and rising from his seat he approached Jesus, and said: 'Answerest thou nothing to the things which these witness against thee?'

Jesus neither raised his head nor looked at the High Priest, which increased the anger of the latter to the greatest degree; and the archers perceiving this seized our Lord by the hair, pulled his head back, and gave him blows under the chin; but he still kept his eyes cast down. Caiphas raised his hands, and exclaimed in an enraged tone: 'I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us if thou be Christ the Messiah, the son of the living God?'

A momentary and solemn pause ensued. Then Jesus

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in a majestic and superhuman voice replied, 'Thou hast said it. Nevertheless I say to you, Hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of Heaven.' Whilst Jesus was pronouncing these words, a bright light appeared to me to surround him; Heaven was opened above his head; I saw the Eternal Father; but no words from a human pen can describe the intuitive view that was then vouchsafed me of him. I likewise saw the angels, and the prayers of the just ascending to the throne of God.

At the same moment I perceived the yawning abyss of hell like a fiery meteor at the feet of Caiphas; it was filled with horrible devils; a slight gauze alone appeared to separate him from its dark flames. I could see the demoniacal fury with which his heart was overflowing, and the whole house looked to me like hell. At the moment that our Lord pronounced the solemn words, 'I am the Christ, the Son of the living God,' hell appeared to be shaken from one extremity to the other, and then, as it were, to burst forth and inundate every person in the house of Caiphas with feelings of redoubled hatred towards our Lord. These things are always shown to me under the appearance of some material object, which renders them less difficult of comprehension, and impresses them in a more clear and forcible manner on the mind, because we ourselves being material beings, facts are more easily illustrated in our regard if manifested through the medium of the senses. The despair and fury which these words produced in hell were shown to me under the appearance of a thousand terrific figures in different places. I remember seeing, among other frightful things, a number of little black objects, like dogs with claws, which walked on their hind legs; I knew at the time what kind of wickedness was indicated by this apparition, but I cannot remember now. I saw these horrible phantoms enter into the bodies of the greatest part of the bystanders, or else place themselves on their head or shoulders. I likewise at this moment saw frightful spectres come out of the sepulchres on the other side of Sion; I believe they were evil spirits. I

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saw in the neighbourhood of the Temple many other apparitions, which resembled prisoners loaded with chains: I do not know whether they were demons, or souls condemned to remain in some particular part of the earth, and who were then going to Limbo, which our Lord's condemnation to death had opened to them.

It is extremely difficult to explain these facts, for fear of scandalising those who have no knowledge of such things; but persons who see feel them, and they often cause the very hair to stand on end on the head. I think that John saw some of these apparitions, for I heard him speak about them afterwards. All whose hearts were not radically corrupted felt excessively terrified at these events, but the hardened were sensible of nothing but an increase of hatred and anger against our Lord.

Caiphas then arose, and, urged on by Satan, took up the end of his mantle, pierced it with his knife, and rent it from one end to the other, exclaiming at the same time, in a loud voice, 'He hath blasphemed, what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy: what think you?' All who wore then present arose, and exclaimed with astounding malignancy, 'He is guilty of death!'

During the whole of this frightful scene, the devils were in the most tremendous state of excitement; they appeared to have complete possession not only of the enemies of Jesus, but likewise of their partisans and cowardly followers. The powers of darkness seemed to me to proclaim a triumph over the light, and the few among the spectators whose hearts still retained a glimmering of light were filled with such consternation that, covering their heads, they instantly departed. The witnesses who belonged to the upper classes were less hardened than the others; their consciences were racked with remorse, and they followed the example given by the persons mentioned above, and left the room as quickly as possible, while the rest crowded round the fire in the vestibule, and ate and drank after receiving full pay for their services. The High Priest then addressed the archers, and said, 'I deliver

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this king up into your hands; render the blasphemer the honours which are his due.' After these words he retired with the members of his Council into the round room behind the tribunal, which could not be seen from the vestibule.

In the midst of the bitter affliction which inundated the heart of John, his thoughts were with the Mother of Jesus; he feared that the dreadful news of the condemnation of her Son might be communicated to her suddenly, or that perhaps some enemy might give the information in a heartless manner. He therefore looked at Jesus, and saying in a low voice, 'Lord, thou knowest why I leave thee,' went away quickly to seek the Blessed Virgin, as if he had been sent by Jesus himself. Peter was quite over. come between anxiety and sorrow, which, joined to fatigue, made him chilly; therefore, as the morning was cold, he went up to the fire where many of the common people were warming themselves. He did his best to hide his grief in their presence, as he could not make up his mind to go home and leave his beloved Master.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc23.htm

CHAPTER IX.

The Insults received by Jesus in the Court of Caiphas.

No sooner did Caiphas, with the other members of the Council, leave the tribunal than a crowd of miscreants--the very scum of the people--surrounded Jesus like a swarm of infuriated wasps, and began to heap every imaginable insult upon him. Even during the trial, whilst the witnesses were speaking, the archers and some others could not restrain their cruel inclinations, but pulled out handfuls of his hair and beard, spat upon him, struck him with their fists, wounded him with sharp-pointed sticks, and even ran needles into his body; but when Caiphas left the hall they set no bounds to their barbarity. They first placed a crown, made of straw and the bark of trees, upon his head, and then took it off, saluting him at the

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same time with insulting expressions, like the following: 'Behold the Son of David wearing the crown of his father.' 'A greater than Solomon is here; this is the king who is preparing a wedding feast for his son.' Thus did they turn into ridicule those eternal truths which he had taught under the form of parables to those whom he came from heaven to save; and whilst repeating these scoffing words, they continued to strike him with their fists and sticks, and to spit in his face. Next they put a crown of reeds upon his head, took off his robe and scapular, and then threw an old torn mantle, which scarcely reached his knees, over his shoulders; around his neck they hung a long iron chain, with an iron ring at each end, studded with sharp points, which bruised and tore his knees as he walked. They again pinioned his arms, put a reed into his hand, and covered his Divine countenance with spittle. They had already thrown all sorts of filth over his hair, as well as over his chest, and upon the old mantle. They bound his eyes with a dirty rag, and struck him, crying out at the same time in loud tones,--'Prophesy unto us, O Christ, who is he that struck thee?' He answered not one word, but sighed, and prayed inwardly for them.

After many more insults, they seized the chain which was hanging on his neck, dragged him towards the room into which the Council had withdrawn, and with their sticks forced him in, vociferating at the same time, 'March forward, thou King of Straw! Show thyself to the Council with the insignia of the regal honours we have rendered unto thee.' A large body of councillors, with Caiphas at their head, were still in the room, and they looked with both delight and approbation at the shameful scene which was enacted, beholding with pleasure the most sacred ceremonies turned into derision. The pitiless guards covered him with mud and spittle, and with mock gravity exclaimed, 'Receive the prophetic unction--the regal unction.' Then they impiously parodied the baptismal ceremonies, and the pious act of Magdalen in emptying the vase of perfume on his head. 'How canst thou presume,' they exclaimed, 'to appear before the Council in such a

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condition? Thou dost purify others, and thou art not pure thyself; but we will soon purify thee.' They fetched a basin of dirty water, which they poured over his face and shoulders, whilst they bent their knees before him, and exclaimed, 'Behold thy precious unction, behold the spikenard worth three hundred pence; thou hast been baptised in the pool of Bethsaida.' They intended by this to throw into ridicule the act of respect and veneration shown by Magdalen, when she poured the precious ointment over his head, at the house of the Pharisee.

By their derisive words concerning his baptism in the pool of Bethsaida, they pointed out, although unintentionally, the resemblance between Jesus and the Paschal lamb, for the lambs were washed in the first place in the pond near the Probatica gate, and then brought to the pool of Bethsaida, where they underwent another purification before being taken to the Temple to be sacrificed. The enemies of Jesus likewise alluded to the man who had been infirm for thirty-eight years, and who was cured by Jesus at the pool of Bethsaida; for I saw this man either washed or baptised there; I say either washed or baptised, because I do not exactly remember the circumstances.

They then dragged Jesus round the room, before all the members of the Council, who continued to address him in reproachful and abusive language. Every countenance looked diabolical and enraged, and all around was dark, confused, and terrific. Our Lord, on the contrary, was from the moment that he declared himself to be the Son of God, generally surrounded with a halo of light. Many of the assembly appeared to have a confused knowledge of this fact, and to be filled with consternation at perceiving that neither outrages or ignominies could alter the majestic expression of his countenance.

The halo which shone around Jesus from the moment he declared himself to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God, served but to incite his enemies to greater fury, and. yet it was so resplendent that they could not look at it, and I believe their intention in throwing the dirty rag over his head was to deaden its brightness.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc24.htm

CHAPTER X.

The Denial of St. Peter.

AT the moment when Jesus uttered the words, 'Thou hast said it,' and the High Priest rent his garment, the whole room resounded with tumultuous cries. Peter and John, who had suffered intensely during the scene which had just been enacted, and which they had been obliged to witness in silence, could bear the sight no longer. Peter therefore got up to leave the room, and John followed soon after. The latter went to the Blessed Virgin, who was in the house of Martha with the holy women, but Peter's love for Jesus was so great, that he could not make up his mind to leave him; his heart was bursting, and he wept bitterly, although he endeavoured to restrain and hide his tears. It was impossible for him to remain in the tribunal, as his deep emotion at the sight of his beloved Master's sufferings would have betrayed him; therefore he went into the vestibule and approached the fire, around which soldiers and common people were sitting and talking in the most heartless and disgusting manner concerning the sufferings of Jesus, and relating all that they themselves had done to him Peter was silent, but his silence and dejected demeanour made the bystanders suspect something. The portress came up to the fire in the midst of the conversation, cast a bold glance at Peter and said, 'Thou also wast with. Jesus the Galilæan.' These words startled and alarmed Peter; he trembled as to what might ensue if he owned the truth before his brutal companions, and therefore answered quickly, 'Woman, I know him not,' got up, and left the vestibule. At this moment the cock crowed somewhere in the outskirts of the town. I do not remember hearing it, but I felt that it was crowing. As he went out, another maid-servant looked at him, and said to those, who were with her, 'This man was also with him,' and the persons she addressed immediately demanded of Peter whether her words were true, saying, 'Art thou not one

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of this man's disciples?' Peter was even more alarmed than before, and renewed his denial in these words, 'I am not; I know not the man.'

He left the inner court, and entered the exterior court; he was weeping, and so great was his anxiety and grief, that he did not reflect in the least on the words he had just uttered. The exterior court was quite filled with persons, and some had climbed on to the top of the wall to listen to what was going on in the inner court which they were forbidden to enter. A few of the disciples were likewise there, for their anxiety concerning Jesus was so great that they could not make up their minds to remain concealed in the eaves of Hinnom. They came up to Peter, and with many tears questioned him concerning their loved Master, but be was so unnerved and so fearful of betraying himself, that he briefly recommended them to go away, as it was dangerous to remain, and left them instantly. He continued to indulge his violent grief, while they hastened to leave the town. I recognised among these disciples, who were about sixteen in number, Bartholomew, Nathaniel, Saturninus, Judas Barsabeas, Simon, who was afterwards bishop of Jerusalem, Zacheus, and Manahem, the man who was born blind and cured by our Lord.

Peter could not rest anywhere, and his love for Jesus prompted him to return to the inner court, which he was allowed to enter, because Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had, in the first instance, taken him in. He did not reënter the vestibule, but turned to the right and went towards the round room which was behind the tribunal, and in which Jesus was undergoing every possible insult and ignominy from his cruel enemies. Peter walked timidly up to the door, and although perfectly conscious that he was suspected by all present of being a partisan of Jesus, yet he could not remain outside; his love for his Master impelled him forward; he entered the room, advanced, and soon stood in the very midst of the brutal throng who were feasting their cruel eyes on the sufferings of Jesus. They were at that moment dragging him ignominiously

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backwards and forwards with the crown of straw upon his head; he cast a sorrowful and even severe glance upon Peter, which cut him to the heart, but as he was still much alarmed, and at that moment heard some of the bystanders call out, 'Who is that man?' he went back again into the court, and seeing that the persons in the vestibule were watching him, came up to the fire and remained before it for some time. Several persons who had observed his anxious troubled countenance began to speak in opprobrious terms of Jesus, and one of them said to him, 'Thou also art one of his disciples; thou also art a Galilæan; thy very speech betrays thee.' Peter got up, intending to leave the room, when a brother of Malchus came up to him and said, 'Did I not see thee in the garden with him? didst thou not cut off my brother's ear?'

Peter became almost beside himself with terror; he began to curse and to swear 'that he knew not the man,' and ran out of the vestibule into the outer court; the cock then crowed again, and Jesus, who at that moment was led across the court, cast a look of mingled compassion and grief upon his Apostle. This look of our Lord pierced Peter to the very heart,--it recalled to his mind in the most forcible and terrible manner the words addressed to him by our Lord on the previous evening: 'Before the cock crows twice, thou shalt thrice deny me.' He had forgotten all his promises and protestations to our Lord, that he would die rather than deny him--he had forgotten the warning given to him by our Lord;--but when Jesus looked at him, he felt the enormity of his fault, and his heart was nigh bursting with grief. He had denied his Lord, when that beloved Master was outraged, insulted, delivered up into the hands of unjust judges,--when he was suffering all in patience and in silence. His feelings of remorse were beyond expression; he returned to the exterior court, covered his face and wept bitterly; all fear of being recognised was over;--he was ready to proclaim to the whole universe both his fault and his repentance.

What man will dare assert that he would have shown

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more courage than Peter if, with his quick and ardent temperament, he were exposed to such danger, trouble, and sorrow, at a moment, too, when completely unnerved between fear and grief, and exhausted by the sufferings of this sad night? Our Lord left Peter to his own strength, and he was weak, like all who forget the words: 'Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.'

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XI.

Mary in the House of Caiphas.

THE Blessed Virgin was ever united to her Divine Son by interior spiritual communications; she was, therefore, fully aware of all that happened to him--she suffered with him, and joined in his continual prayer for his murderers. But her maternal feelings prompted her to supplicate Almighty God most ardently not to suffer the crime to be completed, and to save her Son from such dreadful torments. She eagerly desired to return to him; and when John, who had left the tribunal at the moment the frightful cry, 'He is guilty of death,' was raised, came to the house of Lazarus to see after her, and to relate the particulars of the dreadful scene he had just witnessed, she, as also Magdalen and some of the other holy women, begged to be taken to the place where Jesus was suffering John, who had only left our Saviour in order to console her whom he loved best next to his Divine Master, instantly acceded to their request, and conducted them through the streets, which were lighted up by the moon alone, and crowded with persons hastening to their homes. The holy women were closely veiled; but the sobs which they could not restrain made many who passed by observe them, and their feelings were harrowed by the abusive epithets they overheard bestowed upon Jesus by those who were conversing on the subject of his arrest. The Blessed Virgin, who ever beheld in spirit the opprobrious treatment her dear Son was receiving, continued

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[paragraph continues]'to lay up all these things in her heart;' like him she suffered in silence; but more than once she became totally unconscious. Some disciples of Jesus, who were returning from the hall of Caiphas, saw her fainting in the arms of the holy women, and, touched with pity, stopped to look at her compassionately, and saluted her in these words: 'Hail! unhappy Mother--hail, Mother of the Most Holy One of Israel, the most afflicted of all mothers!' Mary raised her head, thanked them gratefully, and continued her sad journey.

When in the vicinity of Caiphas's house, their grief was renewed by the sight of a group of men who were busily occupied under a tent, making the cross ready for our Lord's crucifixion. The enemies of Jesus had given orders that the cross should be prepared directly after his arrest, that they might without delay execute the sentence which they hoped to persuade Pilate to pass on him. The Romans had already prepared the crosses of the two thieves, and the workmen who were making that of Jesus were much annoyed at being obliged to labour at it during the night; they did not attempt to conceal their anger at this, and uttered the most frightful oaths and curses, which pierced the heart of the tender Mother of Jesus through and through; but she prayed for these blind creatures who thus unknowingly blasphemed the Saviour who was about to die for their salvation, and prepared the cross for his cruel execution.

'Mary, John, and the holy women traversed the outer court attached to Caiphas's house. They stopped under the archway of a door which opened into the inner court. Mary's heart was with her Divine Son, and she desired most ardently to see this door opened, that she might again have a chance of beholding him, for she knew that it alone separated her from the prison where he was confined. The door was at length opened, and Peter rushed out, his face covered with his mantle, wringing his hands, and weeping bitterly. By the light of the torches he soon recognised John and the Blessed Virgin, but the sight of them only renewed those dreadful feelings of remorse

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which the look of Jesus had awakened in his breast, Mary approached him instantly, and said, 'Simon, tell me, I entreat you, what is become of Jesus, my Son!' These words pierced his very heart; he could not even look at her, but turned away, and again wrung his hands. Mary drew close to him, and said in a voice trembling with emotion: 'Simon, son of John, why dost thou not answer me?'--'Mother!' exclaimed Peter, in a dejected tone, 'O, Mother, speak not to me--thy Son is suffering more than words can express: speak not to me! They have condemned him to death, and I have denied him. three times.' John came up to ask a few more questions, but Peter ran out of the court as if beside himself, and did not stop for a single moment until he reached the cave at Mount Olivet--that cave on the stones o which the impression of the hands of our Saviour had b en miraculously left. I believe it is the cave in which Adam took refuge to weep after his fall.

The Blessed Virgin was inexpressibly grieved at hearing of the fresh pang inflicted on the loving heart of her Divine Son, the pang of hearing himself denied by that disciple who had first acknowledged him as the Son of the Living God; she was unable to support herself, and fell down on the door-stone, upon which the impression of her feet and hands remains to the present day. I have seen the stones, which are preserved somewhere, but I cannot at this moment remember where. The door was not again shut, for the crowd was dispersing, and when the Blessed Virgin came to herself, she begged to be taken to some place as near as possible to her Divine Son. John, therefore, led her and the holy women to the front of the prison where Jesus was confined. Mary was with Jesus in spirit, and Jesus was with her; but this loving Mother wished to hear with her own ears the voice of her Divine Son. She listened and heard not only his moans, but also the abusive language of those around him. It was impossible for the holy women to remain in the court any longer without attracting attention. The grief of Magdalen was so violent that she was unable to conceal

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it; and although the Blessed Virgin, by a special grace from Almighty God, maintained a calm and dignified exterior in the midst of her sufferings, yet even she was recognised, and overheard harsh words, such as these: 'Is not that the Mother of the Galilæan? Her Son will most certainly be executed, but not before the festival, unless, indeed, he is the greatest of criminals.'

The Blessed Virgin left the court, and went up to the fireplace in the vestibule, where a certain number of persons were still standing. When she reached the spot where Jesus had said that he was the Son of God, and the wicked Jews cried out, 'He is guilty of death,' she again fainted, and John and the holy women carried her away, in appearance more like a corpse than a living person. The bystanders said not a word; they seemed struck with astonishment, and silence, such as might have been produced in hell by the passage of a celestial being, reigned in that vestibule.

The holy women again passed the place where the cross was being prepared; the workmen appeared to find as much difficulty in completing it as the judges had found in pronouncing sentence, and were obliged to fetch fresh wood every moment, for some bits would not fit, and others split; this continued until the different species of wood were placed in the cross according to the intentions of Divine Providence. I saw angels who obliged these men to recommence their work, and who would not let them rest, until all was accomplished in a proper manner; but my remembrance of this vision is indistinct.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XII.

Jesus confined in the subterranean Prison.

THE Jews, having quite exhausted their barbarity, shut Jesus up in a little vaulted prison, the remains of which subsist to this day. Two of the archers alone remained with him, and they were soon replaced by two others.

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[paragraph continues]He was still clothed in the old dirty mantle, and covered with the spittle and other filth which they had thrown over him; for they had not allowed him to put on his own clothes again, but kept his hands tightly bound together.

When our Lord entered this prison, he prayed most fervently that his Heavenly Father would accept all that he had already suffered, and all that he was about to suffer, as an expiatory sacrifice, not only for his executioners, but likewise for all who in future ages might have to suffer torments such as he was about to endure, and be tempted to impatience or anger.

The enemies of our Lord did not allow him a moment's respite, even in this dreary prison, but tied him to a pillar which stood in the centre, and would. not allow him to lean upon it, although he was so exhausted from ill treatment, the weight of his chains, and his numerous falls, that he could scarcely support himself on his swollen and torn feet. Never for a moment did they cease insulting him; and when the first set were tired out, others replaced them.

It is quite impossible to describe all that the Holy of Holies suffered from these heartless beings; for the sight affected me so excessively that I became really ill, and I felt as if I could not survive it. We ought, indeed, to be ashamed of that weakness and susceptibility which renders us unable to listen composedly to the descriptions, or speak without repugnance, of those sufferings which our Lord endured so calmly and patiently for our salvation. The horror we feel is as great as that of a murderer who is forced to place his hands upon the wounds he himself has inflicted on his victim. Jesus endured all without opening his mouth; and it was man, sinful man, who perpetrated all these outrages against one who was at once their Brother, their Redeemer, and their God. I, too, am a great sinner, and my sins caused these sufferings. At the day of judgment, when the most hidden things will be manifested, we shall see the share we have had in the torments endured by the Son of God; we shall see how

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far we have caused them by the sins we so frequently commit, and which are, in fact, a species of consent which we give to, and a participation in, the tortures which were inflicted on Jesus by his cruel enemies. If, alas! we reflected seriously on this, we should repeat with much greater fervour the words which we find so often in prayer-books: 'Lord, grant that I may die, rather than ever wilfully offend thee again by sin.'

Jesus continued to pray for his enemies, and they being at last tired out left him in peace for a short time, when he leaned against the pillar to rest, and a bright light shone around him. The day was beginning to dawn,--the day of his Passion, of our Redemption,--and a faint ray penetrating the narrow vent-hole of the prison, fell upon the holy and immaculate Lamb, who had taken upon himself the sins of the world. Jesus turned towards the ray of light, raised his fettered hands, and, in the most touching manner, returned thanks to his Heavenly Father for the dawn of that day, which had been so long desired by the prophets, and for which he himself had so ardently sighed from the moment of his birth on earth, and concerning which he had said to his disciples, 'I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptised, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished? I prayed with him; but I cannot give the words of his prayer, for I was so completely overcome, and touched to hear him return thanks to his Father for the terrible sufferings which he had already endured for me, and for the still greater which he was about to endure. I could only repeat over and over with the greatest fervour, 'Lord, I beseech thee, give me these sufferings: they belong to me: I have deserved them in punishment for my sins.' I was quite overwhelmed with feelings of love and compassion when I looked upon him thus welcoming the first dawn of the great day of his Sacrifice, and that ray of light which penetrated into his prison might, indeed, be compared to the visit of a judge who wishes to be reconciled to a criminal before the sentence of death which he has pronounced upon him is executed.

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The archers, who were dozing, woke up for a moment, and looked at him with surprise: they said nothing, but appeared to be somewhat astonished and frightened. Our Divine Lord was confined in this prison during an hour, or thereabouts.

Whilst Jesus was in this dungeon, Judas, who had been wandering up and down the valley of Hinnom like a madman, directed his steps towards the house of Caiphas, with the thirty pieces of silver, the reward of his treachery, still hanging to his waist. All was silent around, and he addressed himself to some of the sentinels, without letting them know who he was, and asked what was going to be done to the Galilæan. 'He has been condemned to death, and he will certainly be crucified,' was the reply. Judas walked to and fro, and listened to the different conversations which were held concerning Jesus. Some spoke of the cruel treatment he had received, others of his astonishing patience, while others, again, discoursed concerning the solemn trial which was to take place in the morning before the great Council. Whilst the traitor was listening eagerly to the different opinions given, day dawned; the members of the tribunal commenced their preparations, and Judas slunk behind the building that he might not be seen, for like Cain he sought to hide himself from human eyes, and despair was beginning to take possession of his soul. The place in which he took refuge happened to be the very spot where the workmen had been preparing the wood for making the cross of our Lord; all was in readiness, and the men were asleep by its side. Judas was filled with horror at the sight: he shuddered and fled when he beheld the instrument of that cruel death to which for a paltry sum of money he had delivered up his Lord and Master; he ran to and fro in perfect agonies of remorse, and finally hid himself in an adjoining cave, where he determined to await the trial which was to take place in the morning.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc27.htm

CHAPTER XIII.

The Morning Trial.

CAIPHAS, Annas, the ancients, and the scribes assembled again in the morning in the great hall of the tribunal, to have a legal trial, as meetings at night were not lawful, and could only be looked upon in the light of preparatory audiences. The majority of the members had slept in the house of Caiphas, where beds had been prepared for them, but some, and among them Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, had gone home, and returned at the dawn of day. The meeting was crowded, and the members commenced their operations in the most hurried manner possible. They wished to condemn Jesus to death at once, but Nicodemus, Joseph, and some others opposed their wishes and demanded that the decision should be deferred until after the festival, for fear of causing an insurrection among the people, maintaining likewise that no criminal could be justly condemned upon charges which were not proved, and that in the case now before them all the witnesses contradicted one another. The High Priests and their adherents became very angry, and told Joseph and Nicodemus, in plain terms, that they were not surprised at their expressing displeasure at what had been done, because they were themselves partisans of the Galilæan and his doctrines, and were fearful of being convicted. The High Priest even went so far as to endeavour to exclude from the Council all those members who were in the slightest degree favourable to Jesus. These members protested that they washed their hands of all the future proceedings of the Council, and leaving the room went to the Temple, and from this day never again took their seats in the Council. Caiphas then ordered the guards to bring Jesus once more into his presence, and to prepare everything for taking him to Pilate's court directly he should have pronounced sentence. The emissaries of the Council hurried off to the prison, and with their usual brutality untied the hands of Jesus, dragged off the old mantle

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which they had thrown over his shoulders, made him plat on his own soiled garment, and having fastened ropes round his waist, dragged him out of the prison. The appearance of Jesus, when he passed through the midst of the crowd who were already assembled in the front of the house, was that of a victim led to be sacrificed; his countenance was totally changed and disfigured from ill-usage, and his garments stained and torn; but the sight of his sufferings, far from exciting a feeling of compassion in the hard hearted Jews, simply filled them with disgust, and increased their rage. Pity was, indeed, a feeling unknown in their cruel breasts.

Caiphas, who did not make the slightest effort to conceal his hatred, addressed oar Lord haughtily in these words: 'If thou be Christ, tell us plainly.' Then Jesus raised his head, and answered with great dignity and calmness, 'If I shall tell you, you will not believe me; and if I shall also ask you, you will not answer me, nor let me go. But hereafter the Son of Man shall be sitting on the night hand of the power of God.' The High Priests looked at one another, and said to Jesus, with a disdainful laugh, 'Art thou, then, the Son of God?' And Jesus answered, with the voice of eternal truth, 'You say that I am.' At these words they all exclaimed, 'What need we any further testimony? For we ourselves have heard it from his own mouth.'

They all arose instantly and vied with each other as to who should heap the most abusive epithets upon Jesus, whom they termed a low-born miscreant, who aspired to being their Messiah, and pretended to be entitled to sit at the right hand of God. They ordered the archers to tie his hands again, and to fasten a chain round his neck (this was usually done to criminals condemned to death), and they then prepared to conduct him to Pilate's hall, where a messenger had already been dispatched to beg him to have all in readiness for trying a criminal, as it was necessary to make no delay on account of the festival day.

The Jewish Priests murmured among themselves at

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being obliged to apply to the Roman governor for the confirmation of their sentence, but it was necessary, as they had not the right of condemning criminals excepting for things which concerned religion and the Temple alone, and they could not pass a sentence of death. They wished to prove that Jesus was an enemy to the emperor, and this accusation concerned those departments which were under Pilate's jurisdiction. The soldiers were all standing in front of the house, surrounded by a large body of the enemies of Jesus, and of common persons attracted by curiosity. The High Priests and a part of the Council walked at the head of the procession, and Jesus, led by archers, and guarded by soldiers, followed, while the mob brought up the rear. They were obliged to descend Mount Sion, and cross a part of the lower town to reach Pilate's palace, and many priests who had attended the Council went to the Temple directly afterwards, as it was necessary to prepare for the festival.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XIV.

The Despair of Judas

WHILST the Jews were conducting Jesus to Pilate, the traitor Judas walked about listening to the conversation of the crowd who followed, and his ears were struck by words such as these: 'They are taking him before Pilate; the High Priests have condemned the Galilæan to death; he will be crucified; they will accomplish his death; he has been already dreadfully ill-treated; his patience is wonderful; he answers not; his only words are that he is the Messiah, and that he will be seated at the right hand of God; they will crucify him on account of those words; had he not said them they could not have condemned him to death. The miscreant who sold him was one of his disciples, and had a short time before eaten the Paschal lamb with him; not for worlds would I have had to do with such an act; however guilty the Galilæan may

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be, he has not at all events sold his friend for money; such an infamous character as this disciple is infinitely more deserving of death.' Then, but too late, anguish, despair, and remorse took possession of the mind of Judas. Satan instantly prompted him to fly. He fled as if a thousand furies were at his heel, and the bag which was hanging at his side struck him as he ran, and propelled him as a spur from hell; but he took it into his hand to prevent its blows. He fled as fast as possible, but where did he fly? Not towards the crowd, that he might cast himself at the feet of Jesus, his merciful Saviour, implore his pardon, and 'beg to die with him,--not to confess his fault with true repentance before God, but to endeavour to unburden himself before the world of his crime, and of the price of his treachery. He ran like one beside himself into the Temple, where several members of the Council had gathered together after the judgment of Jesus. They looked at one another with astonishment; and then turned their haughty countenances, on which a smile of irony was visible, upon Judas. He with a frantic gesture tore the thirty pieces of silver from his side, and holding them forth with his right hand, exclaimed in accents of the most deep despair, 'Take back your silver--that silver with which you bribed me to betray this just man; take back your silver; release Jesus; our compact is at an end; I have sinned grievously, for I have betrayed innocent blood.' The priests answered him in the most contemptuous manner, and, as if fearful of contaminating themselves by the contact of the reward of the traitor, would not touch the silver he tended, but replied, 'What have we to do with thy sin? If thou thinkest to have sold innocent blood, it is thine own affair; we know what we have paid for, and we have judged him worthy of death. Thou hast thy money, say no more.' They addressed these words to him in the abrupt tone in which men usually speak when anxious to get rid of a troublesome person, and instantly arose and walked away. These words tilled Judas with such rage and despair that he became almost frantic: his hair stood

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on end on his head; he rent in two the bag which contained the thirty pieces of silver, cast them down in the Temple, and fled to the outskirts of the town.

I again beheld him rushing to and fro like a madman in the valley of Hinnom: Satan was by his side in a hideous form, whispering in his ear, to endeavour to drive him to despair, all the curses which the prophets had hurled upon this valley, where the Jews formerly sacrificed their children to idols.

It appeared as if all these maledictions were directed against him, as in these words, for instance: 'They shall go forth, and behold the carcases of those who have sinned against me, whose worm dieth not, and whose fire shall never be extinguished.' Then the devil murmured in his ears, 'Cain, where is thy brother Abel? What hast thou done?--his blood cries to me for vengeance: thou art cursed upon earth, a wanderer for ever.' When he reached the torrent of Cedron, and saw Mount Olivet, he shuddered, turned away, and again the words vibrated in his ear, 'Friend, whereto art thou come Judas, dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss?' Horror filled his soul, his head began to wander, and the arch fiend again whispered, 'It was here that David crossed the Cedron when he fled from Absalom. Absalom put an end to his life by hanging himself. It was of thee that David spoke when he said: "And they repaid me evil for good; hatred for my love. May the devil stand at his right hand; when he is judged, may he go out condemned. May his days be few, and his bishopric let another take. May the iniquity of his father be remembered in the sight of the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out, because he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor man and the beggar and the broken in heart, to put him to death. And he loved cursing, and it shall come unto him. And he put on cursing like a garment, and it went in like water into his entrails, and like oil into his bones. May it be unto him like, a garment which covereth him; and like a girdle, with which he is girded continually."' Overcome by these terrible thoughts Judas rushed on, and

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reached the foot of the mountain. It was a dreary, desolate spot filled with rubbish and putrid remains; discordant sounds from the city reverberated in his ears, and Satan continually repeated, 'They are now about to put him to death; thou hast sold him. Knowest thou not the words of the law, "He who sells a soul among his brethren, and receives the price of it, let him die the death"? Put an end to thy misery, wretched one; put an end to thy misery.' Overcome by despair Judas tore off his girdle, and hung himself on a tree which grow in a crevice of the rock, and after death his body burst asunder, and his bowels were scattered around.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XV.

Jesus is taken before Pilate.

THE malicious enemies of our Saviour led him through the most public part of the town to take him before Pilate. The procession wended its way slowly down the north side of the mountain of Sion, then passed through that section on the eastern side of the Temple, called Acre, towards the palace and tribunal of Pilate, which were seated on the north-west side of the Temple, facing a large square. Caiphas, Annas, and many others of the Chief Council, walked first in festival attire; they were followed by a multitude of scribes and many other Jews, among whom were the false witnesses, and the wicked Pharisees who had taken the most prominent part in accusing Jesus. Our Lord followed at a short distance; he was surrounded by a band of soldiers, and led by the archers. The multitude thronged on all sides and followed the procession, thundering forth the most fearful oaths and imprecations, while groups of persons were hurrying to and fro, pushing and jostling one another. Jesus was stripped of all save his under garment, which was stained and soiled by the filth which had been flung upon it; a long chain was hanging round his neck. which struck his knees as he

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walked; his hands were pinioned as on the previous day, and the archers dragged him by the ropes which were fastened round his waist. He tottered rather than walked, and was almost unrecognisable from the effects of his sufferings during the night;--he was colourless, haggard, his face swollen and even bleeding, and his merciless persecutors continued to torment him each moment more and more. They had gathered together a large body of the dregs of the people, in order to make his present disgraceful entrance into the city a parody on his triumphal entrance on Palm Sunday. They mocked, and with derisive gestures called him king, and tossed in his path stones, bits of wood, and filthy rags; they made game of, and by a thousand taunting speeches mocked him, during this pretended triumphal entry.

In the corner of a building, not far from the house of Caiphas, the afflicted Mother of Jesus, with John and Magdalen, stood watching for him. Her soul was ever united to his; but propelled by her love, she left no means untried which could enable her really to approach him. She remained at the Cenacle for some time after her midnight visit to the tribunal of Caiphas, powerless and speechless from grief; but when Jesus was dragged forth from his prison, to be again brought before his judges, she arose, cast her veil and cloak about her, and said to Magdalen and John: 'Let us follow my Son to Pilate's court; I must again look upon him.' They went to a place through which the procession must pass, and waited for it. The Mother of Jesus knew that her Son was suffering dreadfully, but never could she have conceived the deplorable, the heartrending condition to which he was reduced by the brutality of his enemies. Her imagination had depicted him to her as suffering fearfully, but yet supported and illuminated by sanctity, love, and patience. Now, however, the sad reality burst upon her. First in the procession appeared the priests, those most bitter enemies of her Divine Son. They were decked in flowing robes; but ah, terrible to say, instead of appearing resplendent in their character of priests of the Most High, they were transformed

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into priests of Satan, for no one could look upon their wicked countenances without beholding there, portrayed in vivid colours, the evil passions with which their souls were filled--deceit, infernal cunning, and a raging anxiety to carry out that most tremendous of crimes, the death of their Lord and Saviour, the only Son of God. Next followed the false witnesses, his perfidious accusers, surrounded by the vociferating populace; and last of all--himself--her Son--Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, loaded with chains, scarcely able to support himself, but pitilessly dragged on by his infernal enemies, receiving blows from some, buffets from others, and from the whole assembled rabble curses, abuse, and the most scurrilous language. He would have been perfectly unrecognisable even to her maternal eyes, stripped as he was of all save a torn remnant of his garment, had she not instantly marked the contrast between his behaviour and that of his vile tormentors. He alone in the midst of persecution and suffering looked calm and resigned, and far from returning blow for blow, never raised his hands but in acts of supplication to his Eternal Father for the pardon of his enemies. As he approached, she was unable to restrain herself any longer, but exclaimed in thrilling accents: 'Alas! is that my Son? Ah, yes! I see that it is my beloved Son. O, Jesus, my Jesus!' When the procession was almost opposite, Jesus looked upon her with an expression of the greatest love and compassion; this look was too much for the heartbroken mother: she became for the moment totally unconscious, and John and Magdalen endeavoured to carry her home, but she quickly roused herself, and accompanied the beloved disciple to Pilate's palace.

The inhabitants of the town of Ophel were all gathered together in an open space to meet Jesus, but far from administering comfort, they added a fresh ingredient to his cup of sorrow; they inflicted upon him that sharp pang which must ever be felt by those who see their friends abandon them in the hour of adversity. Jesus had done much for the inhabitants of Ophel, but no sooner

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did they see him reduced to such a state of misery and degradation, than their faith was shaken; they could no longer believe him to be a king, a prophet, the Messiah, and the Son of God. The Pharisees jeered and made game of them, on account of the admiration they had formerly expressed for Jesus. 'Look at your king now,' they exclaimed; 'do homage to him; have you no congratulations to offer him now that he is about to be crowned, and seated on his throne? All his boasted miracles are at an end; the High Priest has put an end to his tricks and witchcraft.'

Notwithstanding the remembrance which these poor people had of the miracles and wonderful cures which had been performed under their very eyes by Jesus; notwithstanding the great benefits he had bestowed upon them their faith was shaken by beholding him thus derided and pointed out as an object of contempt by the High Priest and the members of the Sanhedrim, who were regarded in Jerusalem with the greatest veneration. Some went away doubting, while others remained and endeavoured to join the rabble, but they wore prevented by the guards, who had been sent by the Pharisees, to prevent riots and confusion.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc30.htm

CHAPTER XVI.

Description of Pilate's Palace and the adjacent Buildings.

THE palace of the Roman Governor, Pilate, was built on the north-west side of the mountain on which the Temple stood, and to reach it persons were obliged to ascend a flight of marble steps. It overlooked a large square surrounded by a colonnade, under which the merchants sat to sell their various commodities. A parapet, and an entrance at the north, south, east, and west sides alone broke the uniformity of this part of the market-place, which was called the forum, and built on higher ground than the adjacent streets, which sloped down from it. The palace of Pilate was not quite close, but separated

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by a large court, the entrance to which at the eastern side was through a high arch facing a street leading to the door called the 'Probatica,' on the road to the Mount of Olives. The southern entrance was through another arch, which leads to Sion, in the neighbourhood of the fortress of Acre. From the top of the marble steps of Pilate's palace, a person could see across the court as far as the forum, at the entrance of which a few columns and stone seats were placed. It was at these seats that the Jewish priests stopped, in order not to defile themselves by entering the tribunal of Pilate, a line traced on the pavement of the court indicating the precise boundary beyond which they could not pass without incurring defilement. There was a large parapet near the western entrance, supported by the sides of Pilate's Prætorium, which formed a species of porch between it and the square. That part of Pilate's palace which he made use of when acting in the capacity of judge, was called the Prætorium. A number of columns surrounded the parapet of which we have just spoken, and in the centre was an uncovered portion, containing an underground part, where the two thieves condemned to be crucified with our Lord were confined, and this part was filled with Roman soldiers. The pillar upon which our Lord was scourged was placed on the forum itself, not far from this parapet and the colonnade. There were many other columns in this place; those nearest to the palace were made use of for the infliction of various corporal punishments, and the others served as posts to which were fastened the beasts brought for sale. Upon the forum itself, opposite this building, was a platform filled with seats made of stone; and from this platform, which was called Gabbatha, Pilate was accustomed to pronounce sentence on great criminals. The marble staircase ascended by per sons going to the governors palace led likewise to an uncovered terrace, and it was from this terrace that Pilate gave audience to the priests and Pharisees, when they brought forward their accusations against Jesus. They all stood before him in the forum, and refused to advance further than the stone seats before mentioned. A person

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speaking in a loud tone of voice from the terrace could be easily heard by those in the forum.

Behind Pilate's palace there were many other terraces, and likewise gardens, and a country house. The gardens were between the palace of the governor and the dwelling of his wife, Claudia Procles. A large moat separated these buildings from the mountain on which the Temple stood, and on this side might be seen the houses inhabited by those who served in the Temple. The palace of Herod the elder was placed on the eastern side of Pilate's palace; and it was in its inner court that numbers of the Innocents were massacred. At present the appearance of these two buildings is a little altered, as their entrances are changed. Four of the principal streets commenced at this part of the town, and ran in a southerly direction, three leading to the forum and Pilate's palace, and the fourth to the gate through which persons passed on their way to Bethsur. The beautiful house which belonged to Lazarus, and likewise that of Martha, were in a prominent part of this street.

One of these streets was very near to the Temple, and began at the gate which was called Probatica. The pool of Probatica was close to this gate on the right-hand side, and in this pool the sheep were washed for the first time, before being taken to the Temple; while the second and more solemn washing took place in the pool of Bethsaida, which is near the south entrance to the Temple. The second of the above-mentioned streets contained a house belonging to St. Anne, the Mother of the Blessed Virgin, which she usually inhabited when she came up to Jerusalem with her family to offer sacrifice in the Temple. I believe it was in this house that the espousals of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin were celebrated.

The forum, as I have already explained, was built on higher ground than the neighbouring streets, and the aqueducts which ran through these streets flowed into the Probatica pool. On Mount Sion, directly opposite to the old castle of King David, stood a building very similar to the forum, while to the south-east might be seen the Cenacle, and a little towards the north the tribunals of

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[paragraph continues]Annas and Caiphas. King David's castle was a deserted fortress, filled with courts, empty rooms, and stables, generally let to travellers. It had long been in this state of ruin, certainly before the time of our Lord's nativity. I saw the Magi with their numerous retinue enter it before going into Jerusalem.

When in meditation I behold the ruins of old castles and temples, see their neglected and forlorn state, and reflect on the uses to which they are now put, so different from the intentions of those who raised them, my mind always reverts to the events of our own days, when so many of the beautiful edifices erected by our pious and zealous ancestors are either destroyed, defaced, or used for worldly, if not wicked purposes. The little church of our convent, in which our Lord deigned to dwell, notwithstanding our unworthiness, and which was to me a paradise upon earth, is now without either roof or windows, and all the monuments are effaced or carried away. Our beloved convent, too, what will be done with it in a short time I that convent, where I was more happy in my little cell with my broken chair, than a king could be on his throne, for from its window I beheld that part of the church which contained the Blessed Sacrament. In a few years, perhaps, no one will know that it ever existed,--no one will know that it once contained hundreds of souls consecrated to God, who spent their days in imploring his mercy upon sinners. But God will know all, he never forgets,--the past and the future are equally present to him. He it is who reveals to me events which took place so long ago, and on the day of judgment, when all must be accounted for, and every debt paid, even to the farthing, he will remember both the good and the evil deeds performed in places long since forgotten. With God there is no exception of persons or places, his eyes see all, even the Vineyard of Naboth. It is a tradition among us that our convent was originally founded by two poor nuns, whose worldly possessions consist ed in a jar of oil and a sack of beans. On the last day God will reward them for the manner in which they put out this small talent to interest,

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and for the large harvest which they reaped and presented to him. It is often said that poor souls remain in purgatory in punishment for what appears to us so small a crime as not having made restitution of a few coppers of which they had unlawful possession. May God therefore have mercy upon those who have seized the property of the poor, or of the Church.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XVII.

Jesus before Pilate.

IT was about eight in the morning, according to our method of counting time, when the procession reached the palace of Pilate. Annas, Caiphas, and the chiefs of the Sanhedrim stopped at a part between the forum and the entrance to the Prætorium, where some stone seats were placed for them. The brutal guards dragged Jesus to the foot of the fight of stairs which led to the judgment-seat of Pilate. Pilate was reposing in a comfortable chair, on a terrace which overlooked the forum, and a small three-legged table stood by his side, on which was placed the insignia of his office, and a few other things. He was surrounded by officers and soldiers dressed with the magnificence usual in the Roman army. The Jews and the priests did not enter the Prætorium, for fear of defiling themselves, but remained outside.

When Pilate saw the tumultuous procession enter, and perceived how shamefully the cruel Jews had treated their prisoner, he arose, and addressed them in a tone as contemptuous as could have been assumed by a victorious general towards the vanquished chief of some insignificant village: 'What are you come about so early? Why have you ill-treated this prisoner so shamefully? Is it not possible to refrain from thus tearing to pieces and beginning to execute your criminals even before they are judged? They made no answer, but shouted out to the guards, 'Bring him on--bring him to be judged!' and then, turning

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to Pilate, they said, 'Listen to our accusations against this malefactor; for we cannot enter the tribunal lest we defile ourselves! Scarcely had they finished these words, when a voice was heard to issue from the midst of the dense multitude; it proceeded from a venerable-looking old man, of imposing stature, who exclaimed, 'You are right in not entering the Prætorium, for it has been sanctified by the blood of Innocents; there is but one Person who has a right to enter, and who alone can enter, because he alone is pure as the Innocents who were massacred there.' The person who uttered these words in a loud voice, and then disappeared among the crowd, was a rich man of the name of Zadoc, first-cousin to Obed, the husband of Veronica; two of his children were among the Innocents whom Herod had caused to be butchered at the birth of our Saviour. Since that dreadful moment he had given up the world, and, together with his wife, followed the rules of the Essenians. He had once seen our Saviour at the house of Lazarus, and there heard him discourse, and the sight of the barbarous manner in which he was dragged before Pilate recalled to his mind all he himself had suffered when his babes were so cruelly murdered before his eyes, and he determined to give this public testimony of his belief in the innocence of Jesus. The persecutors of our Lord were far too provoked at the haughty manner which Pilate assumed towards them, and at the humble position they were obliged to occupy, to take any notice of the words of a stranger.

The brutal guards dragged our Lord up the marble staircase, and led him to the end of the terrace, from whence Pilate was conferring with the Jewish priests. The Roman governor had often heard of Jesus, although he had never seen him, and now he was perfectly astonished at the calm dignity of deportment of a man brought before him in so pitiable a condition. The inhuman behaviour of the priests and ancients both exasperated him and increased his contempt for them, and he informed them pretty quickly that he had not the slightest intention of condemning Jesus without satisfactory proofs of the truth

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of their accusations. 'What accusation do you bring against this man?' said he, addressing the priests in the most scornful tone possible. 'If he were not a malefactor we would not have delivered him up to thee,' replied the priests sullenly. 'Take him,' said Pilate, 'and judge you him according to your law.' 'Thou knowest well,' replied they, 'that it is not lawful for us to condemn any man to death.' The enemies of Jesus were furious--they wished to have the trial finished off, and their victim executed as quickly as possible, that they might be ready at the festival-day to sacrifice the Paschal lamb, not knowing, miserable wretches as they were, that he whom they had dragged before the tribunal of an idolatrous judge (into whose house they would not enter, for fear of defiling themselves before partaking of the figurative victim), that he, and he alone, was the true Paschal Lamb, of which the other was only the shadow.

Pilate, however, at last ordered them to produce their accusations. These accusations were three in number, and they brought forward ten witnesses to attest the truth of each. Their great aim was to make Pilate believe that Jesus was the leader of a conspiracy against the emperor, in order that he might condemn him to death as a rebel. They themselves were powerless in such matters, being allowed to judge none but religious offences. Their first endeavour was to convict him of seducing the people, exciting them to rebellion, and of being an enemy to public peace and tranquillity. To prove these charges they brought forward some false witnesses, and declared likewise that he violated the Sabbath, and even profaned it by curing the sick upon that day. At this accusation Pilate interrupted them, and said in a jeering tone, 'It is very evident you were none of you ill yourselves--had you been so you would not have complained of being cured on the Sabbath-day.' 'He seduces the people, and inculcates the most disgusting doctrines. He even says, that no person can attain eternal life unless they eat his flesh and drink his blood.' Pilate was quite provoked at the intense hatred which their words and countenances expressed,

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and, turning from them with a look of scorn, exclaimed, 'You most certainly must wish to follow his doctrines and to attain eternal life, for you are thirsting for both his body and blood.'

The Jews then brought forward the second accusation against Jesus, which was that he forbad the people to pay tribute to the emperor. These words roused the indignation of Pilate, as it was his place to see that all the taxes were properly paid, and he exclaimed in an angry tone, 'That is a lie! I must know more about it than you.' This obliged the enemies of our Lord to proceed to the third accusation, which they did in words such as these: 'Although this man is of obscure birth, he is the chief of a large party. When at their head, he denounces curses upon Jerusalem, and relates parables of double meaning concerning a king who is preparing a wedding feast for his son. The multitude whom he had gathered together on a mountain endeavoured once to make him their king; but it was sooner than he intended: his plans were not matured; therefore he fled and hid himself. Latterly he has come forward much more: it was but the other day that he entered Jerusalem at the head of a tumultuous assembly, who by his orders made the people rend the air with acclamations of "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed be the empire of our Father David, which is now beginning." He obliges his partisans to pay him regal honours, and tells them that he is the Christ, the Anointed of the Lord, the Messiah, the king promised to the Jews, and he wishes to be addressed by these fine titles.' Ten witnesses gave testimony concerning these things.

The last accusation-that of Jesus causing himself to be called king--made some impression upon Pilate; he became a little thoughtful, left the terrace and, casting a scrutinising glance on Jesus, went into the adjoining apartment, and ordered the guards to bring him alone into his presence. Pilate was not only superstitious, but likewise extremely weak-minded and susceptible. He had often, during the course of his pagan education, heard mention made of sons of his gods who had dwelt for a

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time upon earth; he was likewise fully aware that the Jewish prophets had long foretold that one should appear in the midst of them who should be the Anointed of the Lord, their Saviour, and Deliverer from slavery; and that many among the people believed this firmly. He remembered likewise that kings from the east had come to Herod, the predecessor of the present monarch of that name, to pay homage to a newly-born king of the Jews, and that Herod had on this account given orders for the massacre of the Innocents. He had often heard of the traditions concerning the Messiah and the king of the Jews, and even examined them with some curiosity; although of course, being a pagan, without the slightest belief. Had he believed at all, he would probably have agreed with the Herodians, and with those Jews who expected a powerful and victorious king. With such impressions, the idea of the Jews accusing the poor miserable individual whom they had brought into his presence of setting himself up as the promised king and Messiah, of course appeared to him absurd; but as the enemies of Jesus brought forward these charges in proof of treason against the emperor, he thought it proper to interrogate him privately concerning them.

'Art thou the king of the Jews?' said Pilate, looking at our Lord, and unable to repress his astonishment at the divine expression of his countenance.

Jesus made answer, 'Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have others told it thee of me?'

Pilate was offended that Jesus should think it possible for him to believe such a thing, and answered, 'Am I a Jew? Thy own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee up to me as deserving of death: what hast thou done?'

Jesus answered majestically, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from hence.'

Pilate was somewhat moved by these solemn words, and said to him in a more serious tone, 'Art thou a king, then?'

Jesus answered, 'Thou sayest that I am a king. For 

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this was I born, and for this I came into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.'

Pilate looked at him, and rising from his seat said, The truth! what is truth?'

They then exchanged a few more words, which I do not now remember, and Pilate returned to the terrace. The answers and deportment of Jesus were far beyond his comprehension; but he saw plainly that his assumption of royalty would not clash with that of the emperor, for that it was to no worldly kingdom that he laid claim; whereas the emperor cared for nothing beyond this world. He therefore again addressed the chief priests from the terrace, and said, 'I find no cause in him.' The enemies of Jesus became furious, and uttered a thousand different accusations against our Saviour. But he remained silent, solely occupied in praying for his base enemies, and replied not when Pilate addressed him in these words, 'Answerest thou nothing? Behold in how many things they accuse thee!' Pilate was filled with astonishment, and said, 'I see plainly that all they allege is false.' But his accusers, whose anger continued to increase, cried out, 'You find no cause in him?' Is it no crime to incite the people to revolt in all parts of the kingdom?--to spread his false doctrines, not only here, but in Galilee likewise?'

The mention of Galilee made Pilate pause: he reflected for a moment, and then asked, 'Is this man a Galilæan, and a subject of Herod's?' They made answer, 'He is; his parents lived at Nazareth, and his present dwelling is in Capharnaum.'

'Since that is the case,' replied Pilate, 'take him before Herod; he is here for the festival, and can judge him at once, as he is his subject.' Jesus was immediately led out of the tribunal, and Pilate dispatched an officer to Herod, to inform him that Jesus of Nazareth, who was his subject, was about to be brought to him to be judged. Pilate had two reasons for following this line of conduct; in the first place he was delighted to escape having to pass sentence himself, as he felt very uncomfortable about

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the whole affair; and in the second place he was glad of an opportunity of pleasing Herod, with whom he had had a disagreement, for he knew him to be very curious to see Jesus.

The enemies of our Lord were enraged at being thus dismissed by Pilate in the presence of the whole multitude, and gave vent to their anger by ill-treating him even more than before. They pinioned him afresh, and then ceased not overwhelming him with curses and blows as they led him hurriedly through the crowd, towards the palace of Herod, which was situated at no great distance from the forum. Some Roman soldiers had joined the procession.

During the time of the trial Claudia Procles, the wife of Pilate, had sent him frequent messages to intimate that she wished extremely to speak to him; and when Jesus was sent to Herod, she placed herself on a balcony and watched the cruel conduct of his enemies with mingled feelings of fear, grief, and horror.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XVIII.

The Origin of the Way of the Cross.

DURING the whole of the scene which we have just described, the Mother of Jesus, with Magdalen and John, had stood in a recess in the forum: they were overwhelmed with the most bitter sorrow, which was but increased by all they heard and saw. When Jesus was taken before Herod, John led the Blessed Virgin and Magdalen over the parts which had been sanctified by his footsteps. They again looked at the house of Caiphas, that of Annas, Ophel, Gethsemani, and the Garden of Olives; they stopped and contemplated each Spot where he had fallen, or where he had suffered particularly; and they wept silently at the thought of all he had undergone. The Blessed Virgin knelt down frequently and kissed the ground where her Son had fallen, while Magdalen wrung her hands in bitter grief, and John, although he could not restrain his own

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tears, endeavoured. to console his companions, supported, and led them on. Thus was the holy devotion of the 'Way of the Cross' first practised; thus were the Mysteries of the Passion of Jesus first honoured, even before that Passion was accomplished, and the Blessed Virgin, that model of spotless purity, was the first to show forth the deep veneration felt by the Church for our dear Lord. How sweet and consoling to follow this Immaculate Mother, passing to and fro, and bedewing the sacred spots with her tears. But, ah! who can describe the sharp, sharp sword of grief which then transfixed her tender soul? She who had once borne the Saviour of the world in her chaste womb, and suckled him for so long,--she who had truly conceived him who was the Word of God, in God from all eternity, and truly God,--she beneath whose heart, full of grace, he had deigned to dwell nine months, who had felt him living within her before he appeared. among men to impart the blessing of salvation and teach them his heavenly doctrines; she suffered with Jesus, sharing with him not only the sufferings of his bitter Passion, but likewise that ardent desire of redeeming fallen man by an ignominious death, which consumed him.

In this touching manner did the most pure and holy Virgin lay the foundation of the devotion called the Way of the Cross; thus at each station, marked by the sufferings of her Son, did she lay up in her heart the inexhaustible merits of his Passion, and gather them up as precious stones or sweet-scented flowers to be presented as a choice offering to the Eternal Father in behalf of all true believers. The grief of Magdalen was so intense as to make her almost like an insane person. The holy and boundless love she felt for our Lord prompted her to cast herself at his feet, and there pour forth the feeling of her heart (as she once poured the precious ointment on his head as he sat at table); but when on the point of following this impulse, a dark gulf appeared to intervene between herself and him. The repentance she felt for her faults was immense, and not less intense was

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her gratitude for their pardon; but when she longed to offer acts of love and thanksgiving as precious incense at the feet of Jesus, she beheld him betrayed, suffering, and about to die for the expiation of her offences which he had taken upon himself, and this sight filled her with horror, and almost rent her soul asunder with feelings of love, repentance, and gratitude. The sight of the ingratitude of those for whom he was about to die increased the bitterness of these feelings tenfold, and every step, word, or movement demonstrated the agony of her soul. The heart of John was filled with love, and he suffered intensely, but he uttered not a word. He supported the Mother of his beloved Master in this her first pilgrimage through the stations of the Way of the Cross, and assisted her in giving the example of that devotion which has since been practised with so much fervour by the members of the Christian Church

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XIX.

Pilate and his Wife.

WHILST the Jews were leading Jesus to Herod, I saw Pilate go to his wife, Claudia Procles. She hastened to meet him, and they went together into a small garden-house which was on one of the terraces behind the palace. Claudia appeared to be much excited, and under the influence of fear. She was a tall, fine-looking woman, although extremely pale. Her hair was plaited and slightly ornamented, but partly covered by a long, veil which fell gracefully over her shoulders. She wore earrings, a necklace, and her flowing dress was drawn together and held up by a species of clasp. She conversed with Pilate for a long time, and entreated him by all that he held sacred not to injure Jesus, that Prophet, that saint of saints; and she related the extraordinary dreams or visions which she had had on the previous night concerning him.

Whilst she was speaking I saw the greatest part of

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these visions: the following were the most striking. In the first place, the principal events in the life of our Lord--the annunciation, the nativity, the adoration of the shepherds and that of the kings, the prophecy of Simeon and that. of Anna, the flight into Egypt, the massacre of the Innocents, and our Lord's temptation in the wilderness. She had likewise been shown in her sleep the most striking features of the public life of Jesus. He always appeared to her environed with a resplendent light, but his malicious and cruel enemies were under the most horrible and disgusting forms imaginable. She saw his intense sufferings, his patience, and his inexhaustible love, likewise the anguish of his Mother, and her perfect resignation. These visions filled the wife of Pilate with the greatest anxiety and terror, particularly as they were accompanied by symbols which made her comprehend their meaning, and her tender feelings were barrowed by the sight of such dreadful scenes. She had suffered from them during the whole of the night; they were sometimes obscure, but more often clear and distinct; and when morning dawned and she was roused by the noise of the tumultuous mob who were dragging Jesus to be judged, she glanced at the procession and instantly saw that the unresisting victim in the midst of the crowd, bound, suffering, and so inhumanely treated as to be scarcely recognisable, was no other than that bright and glorious being who had been so often brought before her eyes in the visions of the past night. She was greatly affected by this sight, and immediately sent for Pilate, and gave him an account of all that had happened to her. She spoke with much vehemence and emotion; and although there was a great deal in what she had seen which she could not understand, much less express, yet she entreated and implored. her husband in the most touching terms to grant her request.

Pilate was both astonished and troubled by the words of his wife. He compared the narration with all he had previously heard concerning Jesus; and reflected on the hatred of the Jews, the majestic silence of our Saviour,

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and the mysterious answers he had given to all his questions. He hesitated for some time, but was at last overcome by the entreaties of his wife, and told her that he had already declared his conviction of the innocence of Jesus, and that he would not condemn him, because he saw that the accusations were mere fabrications of his enemies. He spoke of the words of Jesus to himself, promised his wife that nothing should induce him to condemn this just man, and even gave her a ring before they parted as a pledge of his promise.

The character of Pilate was debauched and undecided, but his worst qualities were an extreme pride and meanness which made him never hesitate in the performance of an unjust action, provided it answered his ends. He was excessively superstitious, and when in any difficulty had recourse to charms and spells. He was much puzzled and alarmed about the trial of Jesus; and I saw him running backwards and forwards, offering incense first to one god and then to another, and imploring them to assist him; but Satan filled his imagination with still greater confusion; he first instilled one false idea and then another into his mind. He then had recourse to one of his favourite superstitious practices, that of watching the sacred chickens eat, but in vain,--his mind remained enveloped in darkness, and he became more and more undecided. He first thought that he would acquit our Saviour, whom he well knew to be innocent, but then he feared incurring the wrath of his false gods if he spared him, as he fancied he might be a species of demigod, and obnoxious to them 'It is possible,' said he inwardly, 'that this man may really be that king of the Jews concerning whose coming there are so many prophecies. It was a king of the Jews whom the Magi came from the East to adore. Perhaps he is a secret enemy both of our gods and of the emperor; it might be most imprudent in me to spare his life. Who knows whether his death would not be a triumph to my gods?' Then he remembered the wonderful dreams described to him by his wife, who had never seen Jesus, and he again changed, and decided that it would be safer

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not to condemn him. He tried to persuade himself that he wished to pass a just sentence; but he deceived himself, for when he asked himself, 'What is the truth?' he did not wait for the answer. His mind was filled with confusion, and he was quite at a loss how to act, as his sole desire was to entail no risk upon himself

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CHAPTER XX.

Jesus before Herod.

THE palace of the Tetrarch Herod was built on the north side of the forum, in the new town; not very far from that of Pilate. An escort of Roman soldiers, mostly from that part of the country which is situated between Switzerland and Italy, had joined the procession. The enemies of Jesus were perfectly furious at the trouble they were compelled to take in going backwards and forwards, and therefore vented their rage upon him. Pilate's messenger had preceded the procession, consequently Herod was expecting them. He was seated on a pile of cushions, heaped together so as to form a species of throne, in a spacious hall, and surrounded by courtiers and warriors. The Chief Priests entered and placed themselves by his side, leaving Jesus at the entrance. Herod was much elated and pleased at Pilate's having thus publicly acknowledged his right of judging the Galilæans, and likewise rejoiced at seeing that Jesus who had never deigned to appear before him reduced to such a state of humiliation and degradation. His curiosity had been greatly excited by the high terms in which John the Baptist had announced the coming of Jesus, and he had likewise heard much about him from the Herodians, and through the many spies whom he had sent into different parts: he was therefore delighted at this opportunity of interrogating him in the presence of his courtiers and of the Jewish priests, hoping to make a grand display of his own knowledge and talents. Pilate having sent him word,

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[paragraph continues]'that he could find no cause in the man,' he concluded that these words were intended as a hint that he (Pilate) wished the accusers to be treated with contempt and mistrust. He, therefore, addressed them in the most haughty distant manner possible, and thereby increased their rage and anger indescribably.

They all began at once to vociferate their accusations, to which Herod hardly listened, being intent solely on gratifying his curiosity by a close examination of Jesus, whom he had so often wished to see. But when he beheld him stripped of all clothing save the remnant of a mantle, scarcely able to stand, and his countenance totally disfigured from the blows he had received, and from the mud and missiles which the rabble had flung at his head, the luxurious and effeminate prince turned away in disgust, uttered the name of God, and said to the priests in a tone of mingled pity and contempt, 'Take him hence, and bring him not back into my presence in such a deplorable state.' The guards took Jesus into the outer court, and procured some water in a basin, with which they cleansed his soiled garments and disfigured countenance; but they could not restrain their brutality even while doing this, and paid no regard to the wounds with which he was covered.

Herod meantime accosted the priests in much the same Strain as Pilate had done. 'Your behaviour vastly resembles that of butchers,' he said, 'and you commence your immolations pretty early in the morning.' The Chief Priests produced their accusations at once. Herod, when Jesus was again brought into his presence, pretended to feel some compassion, and offered him a glass of wine to recruit his strength; but Jesus turned his head away and refused this alleviation.

Herod then began to expatiate with great volubility on all he had heard concerning our Lord. He asked a thousand questions, and exhorted him to work a miracle in his presence; but Jesus answered not a word, and stood before him with his eyes cast down, which conduct both irritated and disconcerted Herod, although he endeavoured to conceal

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his anger, and continued his interrogations. He at first expressed surprise, and made use of persuasive words. 'Is it possible, Jesus of Nazareth,' he exclaimed, 'that it is thou thyself that appearest before me as a criminal? I have heard thy actions so much spoken of. Thou art not perhaps aware that thou didst offend me grievously by setting free the prisoners whom I had confined at Thirza, but possibly thy intentions were good. The Roman governor has now sent thee to me to be judged; what answer canst thou give to all these accusations? Thou art silent? I have heard much concerning thy wisdom, and the religion thou teachest, let me hear thee answer and confound thy enemies. Art thou the king of the Jews? Art thou the Son of God? Who art thou? Thou art said to have performed wonderful miracles; work one now in my presence. I have the power to release thee. Is it true that thou hast restored sight to the blind, raised up Lazarus from the dead, and fed two or three thousand persons with a few loaves? Why dost thou not answer? I recommend thee to work a miracle quickly before me; perhaps thou mayest rejoice afterwards at having complied with my wishes.'

Jesus still kept silence, and Herod continued to question him with even more volubility.

'Who art thou?' said he. 'From whence hast thou thy power? How is it that thou dost no longer possess it? Art thou he whose birth was foretold in such a wonderful manner? Kings from the East came to my father to see a newly-born king of the Jews: is it true that thou wast that child? Didst thou escape when so many children were massacred, and how was thy escape managed? Why hast thou been for so many years unknown? Answer my questions? Art thou a king? Thy appearance certainly is not regal. I have been told that thou wast conducted to the Temple in triumph a short time ago. What was the meaning of such an exhibition?--speak out at once!--Answer me!'

Herod continued to question Jesus in this rapid manner; but our Lord did not vouchsafe a reply. I was shown

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[paragraph continues](as indeed I already knew) that Jesus was thus silent because Herod was in a state of excommunication, both on account of his adulterous marriage with Herodias, and of his having given orders for the execution of St. John the Baptist. Annas and Caiphas, seeing how indignant Herod was at the silence of Jesus, immediately endeavoured to take advantage of his feelings of wrath, and recommenced their accusations, saying that he had called Herod himself a fox; that his great aim for many years had been the overthrow of Herod's family; that he was endeavouring to establish a new religion, and had celebrated the Pasch on the previous day. Although Herod was extremely enraged at the conduct of Jesus, he did not lose sight of the political ends which he wished to forward. He was determined not to condemn our Lord, both because he experienced a secret and indefinable sensation of terror in his presence, and because he still felt remorse at the thought of having put John the Baptist to death, besides which he detested the High Priests for not having allowed him to take part in the sacrifices on account of his adulterous connection with Herodias.

But his principal reason for determining not to condemn Jesus was, that he wished to make some return to Pilate for his courtesy, and he thought the best return would be the compliment of showing deference to his decision and agreeing with him in opinion. But he spoke in the most contemptuous manner to Jesus, and turning to the guards and servants who surrounded him, and who were about two hundred in number, said: 'Take away this fool, and pay him that homage which is his due; he is mad, rather than guilty of any crime.'

Our Lord was immediately taken into a large court, where every possible insult and indignity was heaped upon him. This court was between the two wings of the palace, and Herod stood a spectator on a platform for some time. Annas and Caiphas wore by his side, endeavouring to persuade him to condemn our Saviour. But their efforts were fruitless, and Herod answered in a tone loud enough to be heard by the Roman soldiers: 'No, I should act quite

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wrongly if I condemned him.' His meaning was, that it would be wrong to condemn as guilty one whom Pilate had pronounced innocent, although he had been so courteous as to defer the final judgment to him.

When the High Priests and the other enemies of Jesus perceived that Herod was determined not to give in to their wishes, they dispatched emissaries to that division of the city called Acre, which was chiefly inhabited by Pharisees, to let them know that they must assemble in the neighbourhood of Pilate's palace, gather together the rabble, and bribe them to make a tumult, and demand the condemnation of our Lord. They likewise sent forth secret agents to alarm the people by threats of the divine vengeance if they did not insist on the execution of Jesus, whom they termed a sacrilegious blasphemer. These agents were ordered likewise to alarm them by intimating that if Jesus were not put to death, he would go over to the Romans, and assist in the extermination of the Jewish nation, for that it was to this he referred when he spoke of his future kingdom They endeavoured to spread a report in other parts of the city, that Herod had condemned him, but still that it was necessary for the people likewise to express their wishes, as his partisans were to be feared; for that if he were released he would join the Romans, make a disturbance on the festival day, and take the most inhuman revenge. Some among them circulated contradictory and alarming reports, in order to excite the people, and cause an insurrection; while others distributed money among the soldiers to bribe them to ill-treat Jesus, so as to cause his death, which they were most anxious should be brought about as quickly as possible, lest Pilate should acquit him.

Whilst the Pharisees wore busying themselves in this manner, our Blessed Saviour was suffering the greatest outrages from the brutal soldiers to whom Herod had delivered him, that they might deride him as a fool. They dragged him into the court, and one of their number having procured a large white sack which had once been filled with cotton, they made a hole in its centre with a

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sword, and then tossed it over the head of Jesus, accompanying each action with bursts of the most contemptuous laughter. Another soldier brought the remnant of an old scarlet cloak, and passed it round his neck, while the rest bent their knee before him--shoved him--abused him--spat upon him--struck him on the cheek, because he had refused to answer their king, mocked him by pretending to pay homage--threw mud upon him--seized him by the waist, pretending to make him dance; then, having thrown him down, dragged him through a gutter which ran on the side of the court, thus causing his sacred head to strike against the column and sides of the wall, and when at last they raised him up, it was only in order to recommence their insults. The soldiers and servants of Herod who were assembled in this court amounted to upwards of two hundred, and all thought to pay court to their monarch by torturing Jesus in some unheard-of way. Many were bribed by the enemies of our Lord to strike him on the head with their sticks, and they took advantage of the confusion and tumult to do so. Jesus looked upon them with compassion; excess of pain drew from him occasional moans and groans, but his enemies rejoiced in his sufferings, and mocked his moans, and not one among the whole assembly showed the slightest degree of compassion. I saw blood streaming from his head, and three times did the blows prostrate him, but angels were weeping at his side, and they anointed his head with heavenly balsam. It was revealed to me that had it not been for this miraculous assistance he must have died from those wounds. The Philistines at Gaza, who gave vent to their wrath by tormenting poor blind Samson, were far less barbarous than these cruel executioners of our Lord.

The priests were, however, impatient to return to the Temple; therefore, having made certain that their orders regarding Jesus would be obeyed, they returned to Herod, and endeavoured to persuade him to condemn our Lord. But he, being determined to do all in his power to please Pilate, refused to accede to their wishes, and sent Jesus back again clothed in the fool's garment.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc35.htm

CHAPTER XXI.

Jesus led back from the Court of Herod to that of Pilate.

THE enemies of Jesus were perfectly infuriated at being obliged to take Jesus back, still uncondemned, to Pilate, who had so many times declared his innocence. They led him round by a much longer road, in order in the first place to let the persons of that part of the town see him in the state of ignominy to which he was reduced, and in the second place to give their emissaries more time to stir up the populace.

This road was extremely rough and uneven; and the soldiers, encouraged by the Pharisees, scarcely refrained a moment from tormenting Jesus. The long garment with which he was clothed impeded his steps, and caused him to fall heavily more than once; and his cruel guards, as also many among the brutal populace, instead of assisting him in his state of exhaustion, endeavoured by blows and kicks to force him to rise.

To all these outrages Jesus offered not the smallest resistance; he prayed constantly to his Father for grace and strength that he might not sink under them, but accomplish the work of his Passion for our redemption.

It was about eight o'clock when the procession reached the palace of Pilate. The crowd was dense, and the Pharisees might be seen walking to and fro, endeavouring to incite and infuriate them still more. Pilate, who remembered an insurrection which had taken place the year before at the Paschal time, had assembled upwards of a thousand soldiers, whom he posted around the Prætorium, the Forum, and his palace.

The Blessed Virgin, her elder sister Mary (the daughter of Heli), Mary (the daughter of Cleophas), Magdalen, and about twenty of the holy women, were standing in a room from whence they could see all which took place, and at first John was with them.

The Pharisees led Jesus, still clothed in the fool's garment, through the midst of the insolent mob, and

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had done all in their power to gather together the most vile and wicked of miscreants from among the dregs of the people. A servant sent by Herod had already reached Pilate, with a message to the effect that his master had fully appreciated his polite deference to his opinion, but that be looked upon the far-famed Galilæan as no better than a fool, that he had treated him as such, and now sent him back. Pilate was quite satisfied at finding that Herod had come to the same conclusion as himself, and therefore returned a polite message. From that hour they became friends, having been enemies many years; in fact, ever since the falling-in of the aqueduct. 1 Jesus was

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again led to the house of Pilate. The archers dragged him up the stairs with their usual brutality; his feet became entangled in his long robe, and he fell upon the white marble steps, which were stained with blood from his sacred head. His enemies had again taken their seats at the entrance of the forum; the mob laughed at his fall, and the archers struck their innocent victim, instead of assisting him to rise. Pilate was reclining on a species of easy-chair, with a little table before him, and surrounded with officers and persons who held strips of parchment covered with writing in their hands. He came forward and said to the accusers of Jesus: 'You have presented unto me. this man, as one that perverteth the people, and behold I, having examined him before you, find no came in this man in those things wherein you accuse him. No, nor Herod neither. For I sent you to him, and behold,

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nothing worthy of death is done to him. I will chastise him, therefore, and release him.'

When the Pharisees heard these words, they became furious, and endeavoured to the utmost of their power to persuade the people to revolt, distributing money among them to effect this purpose. Pilate looked around with contempt, and addressed them in scornful words.

It happened to be the precise time when, according to an ancient custom, the people had the privilege of demanding the deliverance of one prisoner. The Pharisees had dispatched emissaries to persuade the people to demand the death, and not the life, of our Lord. Pilate hoped that they would ask for Jesus, and determined to give them to choose between him and a criminal called Barabbas, who had been convicted of a dreadful murder committed during a sedition, as also of many other crimes, and was, moreover, detested by the people.

There was considerable excitement among the crowd; a certain portion came forward, and their orators, addressing Pilate in a loud voice, said: 'Grant us the favour you have always granted on the festival day.' Pilate made answer: 'It is customary for me to deliver to you a criminal at the Paschal time; whom will you that I release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus that is called Christ?'

Although Pilate did not in his own mind feel at all certain that Jesus was the King of the Jews, yet he called him so, partly because his Roman pride made him take delight in humbling the Jews by calling such a despicable-looking person their king; and partly because he felt a kind of inward belief that Jesus might really be that miraculous king, that Messiah who had been promised. He saw plainly that the priests were incited by envy alone in their accusations against Jesus; this made him most anxious to disappoint them; and the desire was increased by that glimmering of the truth which partly enlightened his mind. There was some hesitation among the crowd when Pilate asked this question, and a few voices answered, 'Barabbas.' A servant sent by Pilate's wife asked for him at this moment; he left the platform, and the messenger

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presented the pledge which he had given her, saying at the same time: 'Claudia Procles begs you to remember your promise this morning.' The Pharisees and the priests walked anxiously and hastily about among the crowd, threatening some and ordering others, although, in fact, little was required to incite the already infuriated multitude.

Mary, with Magdalen, John, and the holy women, stood in a corner of the forum, trembling and weeping; for although the Mother of Jesus was fully aware that the redemption of man could not be brought about by any other means than the death of her Son, yet she was filled with the anguish of a mother, and with a longing desire to save him from those tortures and from that death which he was about to suffer. She prayed God not to allow such a fearful crime to be perpetrated; she repeated the words of Jesus in the Garden of Olives: 'If it is possible, let this chalice pass away.' She still felt a glimmering of hope, because there was a report current that Pilate wished to acquit Jesus. Groups of persons, mostly inhabitants of Capharnaum, where Jesus had taught, and among whom he had wrought so many miraculous cures, were congregated in her vicinity; they pretended not to remember either her or her weeping companions; they simply cast a glance now and then, as if by chance, at their closely-veiled figures. Many thought, as did her companions likewise, that these persons at least would reject Barabbas, and beg for the life of their Saviour and Benefactor; but these hopes were, alas, fallacious.

Pilate sent back the pledge to his wife, as an assurance of his intention to keep his promise. He again came forward on the platform, and seated himself at the little table. The Chief Priests took their seats likewise, and Pilate once more demanded: 'Which of the two am I to deliver up to you?' A general cry resounded through the hall: 'Not this man, but Barabbas!' 'But what am I to do with Jesus, who is called Christ?' replied Pilate. All exclaimed in a tumultuous manner: 'Let him be crucified! let him be crucified!' 'But what evil has he done?' asked

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[paragraph continues]Pilate for the third time. 'I find no cause in him. I will scourge and then acquit him.' But the cry, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' burst from the crowd, and the sounds echoed like an infernal tempest; the High Priests and the Pharisees vociferated and hurried backwards and forwards as if insane. Pilate at last yielded; his weak pusillanimous character could not withstand such violent demonstrations; he delivered up Barabbas to the people, and condemned Jesus to be scourged.

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Footnotes

201:1 The cause of the quarrel between Pilate and Herod was, according to the account of Sister Emmerich, simply this: Pilate had undertaken to build an aqueduct on the south-east side of the mountain on which the Temple stood, at the edge of the torrent into which the waters of the pool of Bethsaida emptied themselves, and this aqueduct was to carry off the refuse of the Temple. Herod, through the medium of one of his confidants, who was a member of the Sanhedrim, agreed to furnish him with the necessary materials, as also with twenty-eight architects, who were also Herodians. His aim was to set the Jews still more against the Roman governor, by causing the undertaking to fail. He accordingly came to a private understanding with the architects, who agreed to construct the aqueduct in such a manner that it would be certain to fall. When the work was almost finished, and a number of bricklayers from Ophel were busily employed in removing the scaffolding, the twenty-eight builders went on to the top of the Tower of Siloe to contemplate the crash which they knew must take place. Not only did the whole of the building crumble to pieces, fall, and kill ninety-three workmen, but even the tower containing the twenty-eight architects came down, and not one escaped death. This accident occurred a short time previous to the 8th of January, two years after Jesus had commenced preaching; it took place on Herod's birthday, the same day that John the Baptist was beheaded in the Castle of Marcherunt. No Roman officer attended these festivities on account of the affair of the aqueduct, although Pilate had, with hypocritical politeness, been requested to take a part in them. Sister Emmerich saw some of the disciples of Jesus carry the news of this event into Samaria, where he was teaching, on the 8th of January. Jesus went from thence to Hebron, to comfort the family of John; and she saw him, on the 13th of January, cure many among the workmen of Ophel who had been injured by the fall of the aqueduct. We have seen by the relation previously given how little gratitude they p. 202 showed him. The enmity of Herod towards Pilate was still farther increased by the manner in which the latter revenged himself on the followers of Herod. We will insert here a few details which were communicated at different times to Sister Emmerich. On the 25th of March, of the second year of our Lord's preaching, when Jesus and his disciples were in the neighbourhood of Bethania, they were warned by Lazarus that Judas of Gaulon intended to excite an insurrection against Pilate. On the 28th of March, Pilate issued a proclamation to the effect that he intended to impose a tax, the proceeds of which were partly to cover the expenses he had incurred in raising the building which had just fallen to the ground. This announcement was followed by a sedition headed by Judas of Gaulon, who always stood up for liberty, and who was (unknown to himself) a tool in the hands of the Herodians. The Herodians were rather like our Freemasons. On the 30th of March, at ten o'clock P.M., Jesus, dressed in a dark garment, was teaching in the Temple, with his Apostles and thirty disciples. The revolt of the Galilæans against Pilate burst forth on this very day, and the rebels set free fifty of their number who had been imprisoned the day before; and many among the Romans were killed. On the 6th of April, Pilate caused the Galilæans to be massacred at the moment of offering sacrifice, by disguised soldiers whom he had concealed in the Temple. Judas was killed with his companions. This massacre exasperated Herod still more against Pilate, and we have just seen by what means their reconciliation was affected.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc36.htm

CHAPTER XXI.

The Scourging of Jesus.

THAT most weak and undecided of all judges, Pilate, had several times repeated these dastardly words: 'I find no crime in him: I will chastise him, therefore, and let him go;' to which the Jews had continued to respond, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' but he determined to adhere to his resolution of not condemning our Lord to death, and ordered him to be scourged according to the manner of the Romans. The guards were therefore ordered to conduct him through the midst of the furious multitude to the forum, which they did with the utmost brutality, at the same time loading him with abuse, and striking him with their staffs. The pillar where criminals were scourged stood to the north of Pilate's palace, near the guard-house, and the executioners Soon arrived, carrying whips, rods, and ropes, which they tossed down at its base. They were six in number, dark, swarthy men, somewhat shorter than Jesus; their chests were covered with a piece of leather, or with some dirty stuff; their loins were girded, and their hairy, sinewy arms bare. They were malefactors from the frontiers of Egypt, who had been condemned for their crimes to hard labour, and were employed principally in making canals, and in erecting public buildings, the most criminal being selected to act as executioners in the Prætorium.

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These cruel men had many times scourged poor criminals to death at this pillar. They resembled wild beasts or demons, and appeared to be half drunk. They struck our Lord with their fists, and dragged him by the cords with which he was pinioned, although he followed them without offering the least resistance, and, finally, they barbarously knocked him down against the pillar. This pillar, placed in the centre of the court, stood alone, and did not serve to sustain any part of the building; it was not very high, for a tall man could touch the summit by stretching out his arm; there was a large iron ring at the top, and both rings and hooks a little lower down. It is quite impossible to describe the cruelty shown by these ruffians towards Jesus: they tore off the mantle with which he had 'been clothed in derision at the court of Herod, and almost threw him prostrate again.

Jesus trembled and shuddered as he stood before the pillar, and took off his garments as quickly as he could, but his hands were bloody and swollen. The only return he made when his brutal executioners struck and abused him was, to pray for them in the most touching manner: he turned his face once towards his Mother, who was standing overcome with grief; this look quite unnerved her: she fainted, and would have fallen, had not the holy women who were there supported her. Jesus put his arms round the pillar, and when his hands were thus raised, the archers fastened them to the iron ring which was at the top of the pillar; they then dragged his arms to such a height that his feet, which were tightly bound to the base of the pillar, scarcely touched the ground. Thus was the Holy of holies violently stretched, without a particle of clothing, on a pillar used for the punishment of the greatest criminals; and then did two furious ruffians who were thirsting for his blood begin in the most barbarous manner to scourge his sacred body from head to foot. The whips or scourges which they first made use of appeared to me to be made of a species of flexible white wood, but perhaps they were composed of the sinews ot the ox, or of strips of leather.

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Our loving Lord, the Son of God, true God and true Man, writhed as a worm under the blows of these barbarians; his mild but deep groans might be heard from afar; they resounded through the air, forming a kind of touching accompaniment to the hissing of the instruments of torture. These groans resembled rather a touching cry of prayer and supplication, than moans of anguish. The clamour of the Pharisees and the people formed another species of accompaniment, which at times as a deafening thunder-storm deadened and smothered these sacred and mournful cries, and in their place might be heard the words, 'Put him to death!' 'Crucify him!' Pilate continued parleying with the people, and when he demanded silence in order to be able to speak, he was obliged to proclaim his wishes to the clamorous assembly by the sound of a trumpet, and at such moments you might again hear the noise of the scourges, the moans of Jesus, the imprecations of the soldiers, and the bleating of the Paschal lambs which were being washed in the Probatica pool, at no great distance from the forum. There was something peculiarly touching in the plaintive bleating of these lambs: they alone appeared to unite their lamentations with the suffering moans of our Lord.

The Jewish mob was gathered together at some distance from the pillar at which the dreadful punishment was taking place, and Roman soldiers were stationed in different parts round about. Many persons were walking to and fro, some in silence, others speaking of Jesus in the most insulting terms possible, and a few appearing touched, and I thought I beheld rays of light issuing from our Lord and entering the hearts of the latter. I saw groups of infamous, bold-looking young men, who wore for the most part busying themselves near the watch-house in preparing fresh scourges, while others went to seek branches of thorns. Several of the servants of the High Priests went up to the brutal executioners and gave them money; as also a large jug filled with a strong bright red liquid, which quite inebriated them, and increased their cruelty tenfold towards their innocent victim. The two ruffians

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continued to strike our Lord with unremitting violence for a quarter of an hour, and were then succeeded by two others. His body was entirely covered with black, blue, and red marks; the blood was trickling down on the ground, and yet the furious cries which issued from among the assembled Jews showed that their cruelty was far from being satiated.

The night had been extremely cold, and the morning was dark and cloudy; a little hail had fallen, which surprised every one, but towards twelve o'clock the day became brighter, and the sun shone forth.

The two fresh executioners commenced scourging Jesus with the greatest possible fury; they made use of a different kind of rod,--a species of thorny stick, covered with knots and splinters. The blows from these sticks tore his flesh to pieces; his blood spouted out so as to stain their arms, and he groaned, prayed, and shuddered. At this moment, some strangers mounted on camels passed through the forum; they stopped for a moment, and were quite overcome with pity and horror at the scene before them, upon which some of the bystanders explained the cause of what they witnessed. Some of these travellers had been baptised by John, and others had heard the sermon of Jesus on the mountain. The noise and the tumult of the mob was even more deafening near the house of Pilate.

Two fresh executioners took the places of the last mentioned, who were beginning to flag; their scourges were composed of small chains, or straps covered with iron hooks, which penetrated to the bone, and tore off large pieces of flesh at every blow. What word, alas! could describe this terrible--this heartrending scene!

The cruelty of these barbarians was nevertheless not yet satiated; they untied Jesus, and again fastened him up with his back turned towards the pillar. As he was totally unable to support himself in an upright position, they passed cords round his waist, under his arms, and above his knees, and having bound his hands tightly into the rings which wore placed at the upper part of the pillar,

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they recommenced scourging him with even greater fury than before; and one among them struck him constantly on the face with a new rod. The body of our Lord was perfectly torn to shreds,--it was but one wound. He looked at his torturers with his eyes filled with blood, as if entreating mercy; but their brutality appeared to increase, and his moans each moment became more feeble.

The dreadful scourging had been continued without intermission for three quarters of an hour, when a stranger of lowly birth, a relation to Ctésiphon, the blind man whom Jesus had cured, rushed from amidst the crowd, and approached the pillar with a knife shaped like a cutlass in his hand. 'Cease!' he exclaimed, in an indignant tone; 'Cease! scourge not this innocent man unto death!' The drunken miscreants, taken by surprise, stopped short, while he quickly severed the cords which bound Jesus to the pillar, and disappeared among the crowd. Jesus fell almost without consciousness on the ground, which was bathed with his blood. The executioners left him there, and rejoined their cruel companions, who were amusing themselves in the guard-house with drinking, and plaiting the crown of thorns.

Our Lord remained for a short time on the ground, at the foot of the pillar, bathed in his own blood, and two or three bold-looking girls came up to gratify their curiosity by looking at him. They gave a glance, and were turning away in disgust, but at the moment the pain of the wounds of Jesus was so intense that he raised his bleeding head and looked at them. They retired quickly, and the soldiers and guards laughed and made game of them.

During the time of the scourging of our Lord, I saw weeping angels approach him many times; I likewise heard the prayers he constantly addressed to his Father for the pardon of our sins--prayers which never ceased during the whole time of the infliction of this cruel punishment. Whilst he lay bathed in his blood I saw an angel present to him a vase containing a bright-looking beverage which appeared to reinvigorate him in a certain degree. The archers soon returned, and after giving him some

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blows with their sticks, bade him rise and follow them. He raised himself with the greatest difficulty, as his trembling limbs could scarcely support the weight of his body; they did not give him sufficient time to put on his clothes, but threw his upper garment over his naked shoulders and led him from the pillar to the guard-house, where he wiped the blood which trickled down his face with a corner of his garment. When he passed before the benches on which the High Priests were seated, they cried out, 'Put him to death! Crucify him! crucify him!' and then turned away disdainfully. The executioners led him into the interior of the guard-house, which was filled with slaves, archers, hodmen, and the very dregs of the people, but there were no soldiers.

The great excitement among the populace alarmed Pilate so much, that he sent to the fortress of Antonia for a reinforcement of Roman soldiers, and posted these well-disciplined troops round the guard-house; they were permitted to talk and to deride Jesus in every possible way, but were forbidden to quit their ranks. These soldiers, whom Pilate had sent for to intimidate the mob, numbered about a thousand.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc37.htm

CHAPTER XXIII.

Mary, during the Flagellation of our Lord.

I SAW the Blessed Virgin in a continual ecstasy during the time of the scourging of her Divine Son; she saw and suffered with inexpressible love and grief all the torments he was enduring. She groaned feebly, and her eyes were, red with weeping. A large veil covered her person, and she leant upon Mary of Heli, her eldest sister, 1 who was

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old and extremely like their mother, Anne. Mary of Cleophas, the daughter of Mary of Heli, was there also. The friends of Jesus and Mary stood around the latter; they wore large veils, appeared overcome with grief and anxiety, and were weeping as if in the momentary expectation of death. The dress of Mary was blue; it was long, and partly covered by a cloak made of white wool, and her veil was of rather a yellow white. Magdalen was totally beside herself from grief, and her hair was floating loosely under her veil.

When Jesus fell down at the foot of the pillar, after the flagellation, I saw Claudia Procles, the wife of Pilate, send some large pieces of linen to the Mother of God. I know not whether she thought that Jesus would be set free, and that his Mother would then require linen to dress his wounds, or whether this compassionate lady was aware of the use which would be made of her present. At the termination of the scourging, Mary came to herself for a time, and saw her Divine Son all torn and mangled, being led away by the archers after the scourging: he wiped his eyes, which were filled with blood, that he might look at his Mother, and she stretched out her hands towards him, and continued to look at the bloody traces of his footsteps. I soon after saw Mary and Magdalen approach the pillar where Jesus had been scourged; the mob were at a distance, and they were partly concealed by the other holy women, and by a few kind-hearted persons who had joined them; they knelt down on the ground near the pillar, and wiped up the sacred blood with the linen which Claudia Procles had sent. John was not at that time with the holy women, who were about twenty in number. The sons

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of Simeon and of Obed, and Veronica, as also the two nephews of Joseph of Arimathea--Aram and Themni--were in the Temple, and appeared to be overwhelmed with grief. It was not more than nine o'clock A.M. when the scourging terminated.

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Footnotes

210:1 Mary of Heli is often spoken of in this relation. According to Sister Emmerich, she was the daughter of St. Joachim and St. Anne, and was born nearly twenty years before the Blessed Virgin. She was not the child of promise, and is called Mary of Heli, by which she is distinguished from the other of the same name, because p. 211 she was the daughter of Joachim, or Heliachim. Her husband bore the name of Cleophas, and her daughter that of Mary of Cleophas. This daughter was, however, older than her aunt, the Blessed Virgin, and had been married first to Alpheus, by whom she had three sons, afterwards the Apostles Simon, James the Less and Thaddeus. She had one son by her second husband, Sabat and another called Simon, by her third husband, Jonas. Simon was afterwards Bishop of Jerusalem.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc38.htm

CHAPTER XXIV.

Interruption of the Visions of the Passion by the Appearance of St. Joseph under the form of a Child.

DURING the whole time of the visions which we have just narrated (that is to say, from the 18th of February until the 8th of March), Sister Emmerich continued to suffer all the mental and bodily tortures which were once endured by our Lord. Being totally immersed in these meditations, and, as it were, dead to exterior objects, she wept and groaned like a person in the hands of an executioner, trembled, shuddered, and writhed on her couch.. while her face resembled that of a man about to expire under torture, and a bloody sweat often trickled over her chest and shoulders. She generally perspired so profusely that her bed and clothes were saturated. Her sufferings from thirst were likewise fearful, and she might truly be compared to a person perishing in a desert from the want of water. Generally speaking, her mouth was so parched in the morning, and her tongue so contracted and dried up, that she could not speak, but was obliged by signs and inarticulate sounds to beg for relief. Her constant state of fever was probably brought on by the great pains she endured, added to which she likewise often took upon herself the illnesses and temporal calamities merited by others. It was always necessary for her to rest for a time before relating the different scenes of the Passion, nor was it always that she could speak of what she had seen, and she was even often obliged to discontinue her narrations for the day. She was in this state of suffering on Saturday the 8th of March, and with the greatest difficulty and

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suffering described the scourging of our Lord which she had seen in the vision of the previous night, and which appeared to be present to her mind during the greatest part, of the following day. Towards evening, however, a change took place, and there was an interruption in the course of meditations on the Passion which had latterly followed one another so regularly. We will describe this interruption, in order, in the first place, to give our readers a more full comprehension of the interior life of this most extraordinary person; and, in the second, to enable them to pause for a time to rest their minds, as I well know that meditations on the Passion of our Lord exhaust the weak, even when they remember that it was for their salvation that he suffered and died.

The life of Sister Emmerich, both as regarded her spiritual and intellectual existence, invariably harmonised with the spirit of the Church at different seasons of the year. It harmonised even more strongly than man's natural life does with the seasons, or with the hours of the day, and this caused her to be (if we may thus express ourselves) a realisation of the existence and of the various intentions of the Church. Her union with its spirit was so complete, that no sooner did a festival day begin (that is to say, on the eve), than a perfect change took place within her, both intellectually and spiritually. As soon as the spiritual sun of these festival days of the Church was set, she directed all her thoughts towards that which would rise on the following day, and disposed all her prayers, good works, and sufferings for the attainment of the special graces attached to the feast about to commence, like a plant which absorbs the dew, and revels in the warmth and light of the first rays of the sun. These changes did not, as will readily be believed, always take place at the exact moment when the sound of the Angelus announced the commencement of a festival, and summoned the faithful to prayer; for this bell is often, either through ignorance or negligence, rung at the wrong time; but they commenced at the time when the feast really began.

If the Church commemorated a sorrowful mystery, she

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appeared depressed, faint, and almost powerless; but the instant the celebration of a joyful feast commenced, both body and soul revived to a new life, as if refreshed by the dew of new graces, and she continued in this calm, quiet, and happy state, quite released from every kind of suffering, until the evening. These things took place in her soul quite independently of her will; but as she had had from infancy the most ardent desire of being obedient to Jesus and to his Church, God had bestowed upon her those special graces which give a natural facility for practising obedience. Every faculty of her soul was directed towards the Church, in the same manner as a plant which, even if put into a dark cellar, naturally turns its leaves upwards, and appears to seek the light.

On Saturday, 8th of March 1823, after sunset, Sister Emmerich had, with the greatest difficulty, portrayed the different events of the scourging of our Lord, and the writer of these pages thought that her mind was occupied in the contemplation of the 'crowning with thorns,' when suddenly her countenance, which was previously pale and haggard, like that of a person on the point of death, became bright and serene, and she exclaimed in a coaxing tone, as if speaking to a child, 'O, that dear little boy! Who is he?--Stay, I will ask him. His name is Joseph. He has pushed his way through the crowd to come to me. Poor child, he is laughing; he knows nothing at all of what is going on. How light his clothing is! I fear he must be cold, the air is so sharp this morning. Wait, my child; let me put something more over you.' After saying these words in such a natural tone of voice that it was almost impossible for those present not to turn round and expect to see the child, she held up a dress which was near her, as would be done by a kind-hearted person wishing to clothe a poor frozen child. The friend who was standing by her bedside had not sufficient time to ask her to explain the words she had spoken, for a sudden change took place, both in her whole appearance and manner, when her attendant pronounced the word obedience,--one of the vows by which she had consecrated herself to our

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Lord. She instantly came to herself, and, like an obedient child awakening from a sound sleep and starting up at the voice of its mother, she stretched forth her hand, took the rosary and crucifix which were always at her side, arranged her dress, rubbed her eyes, and sat up. She was then carried from her bed to a chair, as she could neither stand nor walk; and it being the time for making her bed, her friend left the room in order to write out what he had heard during the day.

On Sunday, the 9th of March, the friend asked her attendant what Sister Emmerich meant the evening before when she spoke of a child called Joseph. The attendant answered, 'She spoke of him again many times yesterday evening; he is the son of a cousin of mine, and a great favourite of hers. I fear that her talking so much about him is a sign that he is going to have an illness, for she said so many times that the poor child was almost without clothing and that he must be cold.'

The friend remembered having often seen this little Joseph playing on the bed of Sister Emmerich, and he supposed that she was dreaming about him on the previous day. When the friend went to see her later in the day to endeavour to obtain a continuation of the narrations of the Passion, he found her, contrary to his expectation, more calm, and apparently better in health than on the previous day. She told him that she had seen nothing more after the scourging of our Lord; and when he questioned her concerning what she had said about little Joseph, she could not remember having spoken of the child at all. He then asked the reason of her being so calm, serene, and apparently well in health; and she answered, 'I always feel thus when Mid-Lent comes, for then the Church sings with Isaias in the introit at Mass; "Rejoice, O, Jerusalem, and come together all you that love her; rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow, that you may exult and be filled from the breasts of your consolation." Mid-Lent Sunday is consequently a day of rejoicing; and you may likewise remember that, in the gospel of this day, the Church relates how our Lord fed

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five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes, of which twelve baskets of fragments remained, consequently we ought to rejoice.'

She likewise added, that our Lord had deigned to visit her on that day in the Holy Communion, and that she always felt especial spiritual consolation when she received him on that particular day of the year. The friend cast his eyes on the calendar of the diocese of Munster, and saw that on that day they not only kept Mid-Lent Sunday, but likewise the Feast of St. Joseph, the foster-father of our Lord; he was not aware of this before, because in other places the feast of St. Joseph is kept on the 19th, and he remarked this circumstance to Sister Emmerich, and asked her whether she did not think that was the cause of her speaking about Joseph. She answered that she was perfectly aware of its being the feast of the foster-father of Jesus, but that she had not been thinking of the child of that name. However, a moment after, she suddenly remembered what her thoughts had been the day before, and explained to her friend that the moment the feast of St. Joseph began, her visions of the sorrowful mysteries of the Passion ceased, and were superseded by totally different scenes, in which St. Joseph appeared under the form of a child, and that it was to him that the words we have mentioned above were addressed.

We found that when she received these communications the vision was often in the form of a child, especially in those cases when an artist would have made use of that simile to express his ideas. If, for instance, the accomplishment of some Scripture prophecy was being shown to her, she often saw by the side of the illustration a child, who clearly designated the characteristics of such or such a prophet, by his position, his dress, and the manner in which he held in his hand and waved to and fro the prophetic roll appended to a staff.

Sometimes, when she was in extreme suffering, a beautiful child, dressed in green, with a calm and serene countenance, would approach, and seat himself in a posture of resignation at the side of her bed, allowing himself to be

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moved from one side to the other, or even put down on to the ground, without the smallest opposition and constantly looking at her affectionately and consoling her. If, when quite prostrate from illness and the sufferings of others which she had taken upon herself, she entered into communication with a saint, either by participation in the celebration of his feast, or from his relics being brought to her, she sometimes saw passages of the childhood of this saint, and at others the most terrible scenes of his martyrdom. In her greatest sufferings she was usually consoled, instructed, or reproved (whichever the occasion called for) by apparitions under the form of children. Sometimes, when totally overcome by trouble and distress, she would fall asleep, and be carried back in imagination to the scenes and perils of her childhood. She sometimes dreamed, as her exclamations and gestures demonstrated, that she was once more a little country girl of five years old, climbing over a hedge, caught in the briars, and weeping with fear.

These scenes of her childhood were always events which had really occurred, and the words which escaped her showed what was passing in her mind. She would exclaim (as if repeating the words of others): 'Why do you call out so?' 'I will not hold the hedge back until you are quiet and ask me gently to do so.' She had obeyed this injunction when she was a child and caught in the hedge, and she followed the same rule when grown up and suffering from the most terrible trials. She often spoke and joked about the thorn hedge, and the patience and prayer which had then been recommended to her, which admonition she, in after-life, had frequently neglected, but which had never failed her when she had recourse to it. This symbolical coincidence of the elements of her childhood with those of her riper years shows that, in the individual no less than in humanity at large, prophetic types may be found. But, to the individual as well as to mankind in general, a Divine Type has been given in the person of our Redeemer, in order that both the one and the other, by walking in his footsteps and with his assistance,

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may surpass human nature and attain to perfect wisdom and grace with God and man. Thus it is that the will of God is done on earth as in heaven, and that his kingdom is attained by 'men of good will.'

She then gave a short account of the visions which had, on the previous night, interrupted her visions of the Passion at the commencement of the feast of St. Joseph.

    

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CHAPTER XXV.

Description of the personal Appearance of the Blessed Virgin.

WHILE these sad events were taking place I was in Jerusalem, sometimes in one locality and sometimes in another; I was quite overcome, my sufferings were intense, and I felt as if about to expire. During the time of the scourging of my adorable Spouse, I sat in the vicinity, in a part which no Jew dared approach, for fear of defiling himself; but I did not fear defilement, I was only anxious for a drop of our Lord's blood to fall upon me, to purify me. I felt so completely heartbroken that I thought I must die as I could not relieve Jesus, and each blow which he received drew from me such sobs and moans that I felt quite astonished at not being driven away. When the executioners took Jesus into the guardhouse, to crown him with thorns, I longed to follow that I might again contemplate him in his sufferings. Then it was that the Mother of Jesus, accompanied by the holy women, approached the pillar and wiped up the blood with which it and the ground around were saturated. The door of the guard-house was open, and I heard the brutal laughter of the heartless men who were busily employed in finishing off the crown of thorns which they had prepared for our Lord. I was too much affected to weep, but I endeavoured to drag myself near to the place where our Lord was to be crowned with thorns.

I once more saw the Blessed Virgin; her countenance was wan and pale, her eves red with weeping, but the

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simple dignity of her demeanour cannot be described. Notwithstanding her grief and anguish, notwithstanding the fatigue which she had endured (for she had been wandering ever since the previous evening through the streets of Jerusalem, and across the Valley of Josaphat), her appearance was placid and modest, and not a fold of her dress out of place. She looked majestically around, and her veil fell gracefully over her shoulders. She moved quietly, and although her heart was a prey to the most bitter grief, her countenance was calm and resigned. Her dress was moistened by the dew which had fallen upon it during the night, and by the tears which she had shed in such abundance; otherwise it was totally unsoiled. Her beauty was great, but indescribable, for it was superhuman--a mixture of majesty, sanctity, simplicity, and purity.

The appearance of Mary Magdalen was totally different; she was taller and more robust, the expression of her countenance Showed greater determination, but its beauty was almost destroyed by the strong passions which she had so long indulged, and by the violent repentance and grief she had since felt. It was painful to look upon her; she was the very picture of despair, her long dishevelled hair was partly covered by her torn and wet veil, and her appearance was that of one completely absorbed by woe, and almost beside herself from sorrow. Many of the inhabitants of Magdalum were standing near, gazing at her with surprise and curiosity, for they had known her in former days, first in prosperity and afterwards in degradation and consequent misery. They pointed, they even cast mud upon her, but she saw nothing, knew nothing, and felt nothing, save her agonising grief.

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CHAPTER XXVI.

The Crowning with Thorns.

No sooner did Sister Emmerich recommence the narrative of her visions on the Passion than she again became extremely ill, oppressed with fever, and so tormented by violent thirst that her tongue was perfectly parched and contracted; and on the Monday after Mid-Lent Sunday, she was so exhausted that it was not without great difficulty, and after many intervals of rest, that she narrated all which our Lord suffered in his crowning with thorns. She was scarcely able to speak, because she herself felt every sensation which she described in the following account:

Pilate harangued the populace many times during the time of the scourging of Jesus, but they interrupted him once, and vociferated, 'He shall be executed, even if we die for it.' When Jesus was led into the guard-house, they all cried out again, 'Crucify him, crucify him!'

After this there was silence for a time. Pilate occupied himself in giving different orders to the soldiers, and the servants of the High Priests brought them some refreshments; after which Pilate, whose superstitious tendencies made him uneasy in mind, went into the inner part of his palace in order to consult his gods, and to offer them incense.

When the Blessed Virgin and the holy women had gathered up the blood of Jesus, with which the pillar and the adjacent parts were saturated, they left the forum, and went into a neighbouring small house, the owner of which I do not know. John was not, I think, present at the scourging of Jesus.

A gallery encircled the inner court of the guard-house where our Lord was crowned with thorns, and the doors were open. The cowardly ruffians, who were eagerly waiting to gratify their cruelty by torturing and insulting our Lord, were about fifty in number, and the greatest part slaves or servants of the jailers and soldiers. The mob gathered round the building, but were soon displaced

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by a thousand Roman soldiers, who were drawn up in good order and stationed there. Although forbidden to leave their ranks, these soldiers nevertheless did their utmost by laughter and applause to incite the cruel executioners to redouble their insults; and as public applause gives fresh energy to a comedian, so did their words of encouragement increase tenfold the cruelty of these men.

In the middle of the court there stood the fragment of a pillar, and on it was placed a very low stool which these cruel men maliciously covered with sharp flints and bits of broken potsherds. Then they tore off the garments of Jesus, thereby reopening all his wounds; threw over his shoulders an old scarlet mantle which barely reached his knees; dragged him to the seat prepared, and pushed him roughly down upon it, having first placed the crown of thorns upon his head. The crown of thorns was made of three branches plaited together, the greatest part of the thorns being purposely turned inwards so as to pierce our Lord's head. Having first placed these twisted branches on his forehead, they tied them tightly together at the back of his head, and no sooner was this accomplished to their satisfaction than they put a large reed into his hand, doing all with derisive gravity as if they were really crowning him king. They then seized the reed, and struck his head so violently that his eyes were filled with blood; they knelt before him, derided him, spat in his face, and buffeted him, saying at the same time, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' Then they threw down his stool, pulled him up again from the ground on which he had fallen, and reseated him with the greatest possible brutality.

It is quite impossible to describe the cruel outrages which were thought of and perpetrated by these monsters under human form. The sufferings of Jesus from thirst, caused by the fever which his wounds and sufferings had brought on, were intense. 1 He trembled all over, his

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flesh was torn piecemeal, his tongue contracted, and the only refreshment he received was the blood which trickled from his head on to his parched lips. This shameful scene was protracted a full half-hour, and the Roman soldiers continued during the whole time to applaud and encourage the perpetration of still greater outrages.

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Footnotes

221:1 These meditations on the sufferings of Jesus filled Sister Emmerich with such feelings of compassion that she begged of God p. 222 to allow her to suffer as he had done. She instantly became feverish and parched with thirst, and, by morning, was speechless from the contraction of her tongue and of her lips. She was in this state when her friend came to her in the morning, and she looked like a victim which had just been sacrificed. Those around succeeded, with some difficulty, in moistening her mouth with a little water, but it was long before she could give any further details concerning her meditations on the Passion.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XXVII.

Ecce Homo.

THE cruel executioners then reconducted our Lord to Pilate's palace, with the scarlet cloak still thrown over his shoulders, the crown of thorns on his head, and the reed in his fettered hands. He was perfectly unrecognisable, his eyes, mouth, and beard being covered with blood, his body but one wound, and his back bowed down as that of an aged man, while every limb trembled as be walked. When Pilate saw him standing at the entrance of his tribunal, even he (hard-hearted as he usually was) started, and shuddered with horror and compassion, whilst the barbarous priests and the populace, far from being moved to pity, continued their insults and mockery. When Jesus had ascended the stairs, Pilate came forward, the trumpet was sounded to announce that the governor was about to speak, and he addressed the Chief Priests and the bystanders in the following words: 'Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that I find no cause in him.'

The archers then led Jesus up to Pilate, that the

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people might again feast their cruel eyes on him, in the state of degradation to which he was reduced. Terrible and heartrending, indeed, was the spectacle he presented, and an exclamation of horror burst from the multitude, followed by a dead silence, when he with difficulty raised his wounded head, crowned as it was with thorns, and cast his exhausted glance on the excited throng. Pilate exclaimed, as he pointed him out to the people; 'Ecce homo! Behold the man!' The hatred of the High Priests and their followers was, if possible, increased at the right of Jesus, and they cried out, 'Put him to death; crucify him.' 'Are you not content?' said Pilate. 'The punishment he has received is, beyond question, sufficient to deprive him of all desire of making himself king.' But they cried out the more, and the multitude joined in the cry, 'Crucify him, crucify him!' Pilate then sounded the trumpet to demand silence, and said: 'Take you him and crucify him, for I find no cause in him.' 'We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,' replied the priests, 'because he made himself the Son of God.' These words, 'he made himself the Son of God,' revived the fears of Pilate; he took Jesus into another room, and asked him; 'Whence art thou?' But Jesus made no answer. 'Speakest thou not to me?' said Pilate; 'knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and power to release thee?' 'Thou shouldst not have any power against me,' replied Jesus, 'unless it were given thee from above; therefore he that hath delivered me to thee hath the greater sin.'

The undecided, weak conduct of Pilate filled Claudia Procles with anxiety; she again sent him the pledge, to remind him of his promise, but he only returned a vague, superstitious answer, importing that he should leave the decision of the case to the gods. The enemies of Jesus, the High Priests and the Pharisees, having heard of the efforts which were being made by Claudia to save him, caused a report to be spread among the people, that the partisans of our Lord had seduced her, that he would be released, and then join the Romans and bring about the

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destruction of Jerusalem, and the extermination of Jews.

Pilate was in such a state of indecision and uncertainty as to be perfectly beside himself; he did not know what step to take next, and again addressed himself to the enemies of Jesus, declaring that 'he found no crime in him,' but they demanded his death still more clamorously. He then remembered the contradictory accusations which had been brought against Jesus, the mysterious dreams of his wife, and the unaccountable impression which the words of Jesus had made on himself, and therefore determined to question him again in order thus to obtain some information which might enlighten him as to the course he ought to pursue; he therefore returned to the Prætorium, went alone into a room, and sent for our Saviour. He glanced at the mangled and bleeding Form before him, and exclaimed inwardly: 'Is it possible that he can be God?' Then he turned to Jesus, and adjured him to tell him if he was God, if he was that king who had been promised to the Jews, where his kingdom was, and to what class of gods he belonged. I can only give the sense of the words of Jesus, but they were solemn and severe. He told him 'that his kingdom was not of this world,' and he likewise spoke strongly of the many hidden crimes with which the conscience of Pilate was defiled; warned him of the dreadful fate which would be his, if he did not repent; and finally declared that he himself, the Son of Man, would come at the last day, to pronounce a just judgment upon him.

Pilate was half frightened and half angry at the words of Jesus; he returned to the balcony, and again declared that he would release Jesus; but they cried out: 'If thou release this man, thou art not Cæsar's friend. For whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cæsar.' Others said that they would accuse him to the Emperor of having disturbed their festival; that he must make up his mind at once, because they were obliged to be in the Temple by ten o'clock at night. The cry, 'Crucify him! crucify him!' resounded on all sides; it reëchoed

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even from the flat roofs of the houses near the forum, where many persons were assembled. Pilate saw that all his efforts were vain, that he could make no impression on the infuriated mob; their yells and imprecations were deafening, and he began to fear an insurrection. Therefore he took water, and washed his hands before the people, saying, 'I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it.' A frightful and unanimous cry then came from the dense multitude, who were assembled from all parts of Palestine, 'His blood be upon us, and upon our children.'

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XXVIII.

Reflections on the Visions.

WHENEVER, during my meditations on the Passion of our Lord, I imagine I hear that frightful cry of the Jews, 'His blood be upon us, and upon our children,' visions of a wonderful and terrible description display before my eyes at the same moment the effect of that solemn curse. I fancy I see a gloomy sky covered with clouds, of the colour of blood, from which issue fiery swords and darts, lowering over the vociferating multitude; and this curse, which they have entailed upon themselves, appears to me to penetrate even to the very marrow of their bones, even to the unborn infants. They appear to me encompassed on all sides by darkness; the words they utter take, in my eyes, the form of black flames, which recoil upon them, penetrating the bodies of some, and only playing around others.

The last-mentioned were those who were converted after the death of Jesus, and who were in considerable numbers, for neither Jesus nor Mary ever ceased praying, in the midst of their sufferings, for the salvation of these miserable beings.

When, during visions of this kind, I turn my thoughts to the holy souls of Jesus and Mary, and to those of the enemies of Christ, all that takes place within them is

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shown me under various forms. I see numerous devils among the crowd, exciting and encouraging the Jews, whispering in their ears, entering their months, inciting them still more against Jesus, but nevertheless trembling at the sight of his ineffable love and heavenly patience. Innumerable angels surrounded Jesus, Mary, and the small number of saints who were there. The exterior of these angels denotes the office they fall; some represent consolation, others prayer, or some of the works of mercy.

I likewise often see consolatory, and at other times menacing voices, under the appearance of bright or coloured gleams of light, issuing from the mouths of these different apparitions; and I see the feelings of their souls, their interior sufferings, and in a word, their every thought, under the appearance of dark or bright rays. I then understand everything perfectly, but it is impossible for me to give an explanation to others; besides which, I am so ill, and so totally overcome by the grief which I feel for my own sins and for those of the world, I am so overpowered by the sight of the sufferings of our Lord, that I can hardly imagine how it is possible for me to relate events with the slightest coherency. Many of these things, but more especially the apparitions of devils and of angels, which are related by other persons who have had visions of the Passion of Jesus Christ, are fragments of symbolical interior perceptions of this species, which vary according to the state of the soul of the spectator. Hence the numerous contradictions, because many things are naturally forgotten or omitted.

Sister Emmerich sometimes spoke on these subjects, either during the time of her visions on the Passion, or before they commenced; but she more often refused to speak at all concerning them, for fear of causing confusion in the visions. It is easy to see how difficult it must have been for her, in the midst of such a variety of apparitions, to preserve any degree of connection in her narrations. Who can therefore be surprised at finding some omissions and confusion in her descriptions?

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CHAPTER XXIX.

Jesus condemned to be crucified.

PILATE, who did not desire to know the truth, but was solely anxious to get out of the difficulty without harm to himself, became more undecided than ever; his conscience whispered--'Jesus is innocent;' his wife said, 'he is holy;' his superstitious feelings made him fear that Jesus was the enemy of his gods; and his cowardice filled him with dread lest Jesus, if he was a god, should wreak his vengeance upon his judge. He was both irritated and alarmed at the last words of Jesus, and he made another attempt for his release; but the Jews instantly threatened to lay an accusation against him before the Emperor. This menace terrified him, and he determined to accede to their wishes, although firmly convinced in his own mind of the innocence of Jesus, and perfectly conscious that by pronouncing sentence of death upon him he should violate every law of justice, besides breaking the promise he had made to his wife in the morning. Thus did he sacrifice Jesus to the enmity of the Jews, and endeavour to stifle remorse by washing his hands before the people, saying, 'I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it.' Vainly dost thou pronounce these words, O Pilate! for his blood is on thy head likewise; thou canst not wash his blood from thy soul, as thou dost from thy hands.

Those fearful words, 'His blood be upon us and upon our children,' had scarcely ceased to resound, when Pilate commenced his preparations for passing sentence. He called for the dress which he wore on state occasions, put a species of diadem, set in precious stones, on his head, changed his mantle, and caused a staff to be carried before him. He was surrounded with soldiers, preceded by officers belonging to the tribunal, and followed by Scribes, who carried rolls of parchments and books used for inscribing names and dates. One man walked in front, who carried the trumpet. The procession marched in this order from Pilate's palace to the forum, where an elevated seat, used

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on these particular occasions, was placed opposite to the pillar where Jesus was scourged. This tribunal was called Gabbatha; it was a kind of round terrace, ascended by means of staircases; on the top was a seat for Pilate, and behind this seat a bench for those in minor offices, while a number of soldiers were stationed round the terrace and upon the staircases. Many of the Pharisees had left the palace and were gone to the Temple, so that Annas, Caiphas, and twenty-eight priests alone followed the Roman governor on to the forum, and the two thieves were taken there at the time that Pilate presented our Saviour to the people, saying: 'Ecce homo!'

Our Lord was still clothed in his purple garment, his crown of thorns upon his head, and his hands manacled, when the archers brought him up to the tribunal, and placed him between the two malefactors. As soon as Pilate was seated, he again addressed the enemies of Jesus, in these words, 'Behold your King!'

But the cries of 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' resounded on all sides.

'Shall I crucify your King?' said Pilate.

'We have no King but Cæsar!' responded the High Priests.

Pilate found it was utterly hopeless to say anything more, and therefore commenced his preparations for passing sentence. The two thieves had received their sentence of crucifixion some time before; but the High Priests had obtained a respite for them, in order that our Lord might suffer the additional ignominy of being executed with two criminals of the most infamous description. The crosses of the two thieves were by their sides; that intended for our Lord was not brought, because he was not as yet sentenced to death.

The Blessed Virgin, who had retired to some distance after the scourging of Jesus, again approached to hear the sentence of death pronounced upon her Son and her God. Jesus stood in the midst of the archers, at the foot of the a staircase leading up to the tribunal. The trumpet was sounded to demand silence, and then the cowardly, the

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base judge, in a tremulous undecided voice, pronounced the sentence of death on the Just Man. The sight of the cowardice and duplicity of this despicable being, who was nevertheless puffed up with pride at his important position, almost overcame me, and the ferocious joy of the executioners--the triumphant countenances of the High Priests, added to the deplorable condition to which our loving Saviour was reduced, and the agonising grief of his beloved Mother--still further increased my pain. I looked up again, and saw the cruel Jews almost devouring their victim with their eyes, the soldiers standing coldly by, and multitudes of horrible demons passing to and fro and mixing in the crowd. I felt that I ought to have been in the place of Jesus, my beloved Spouse, for the sentence would not then have been unjust; but I was so overcome with anguish, and my sufferings were so intense, that I cannot exactly remember all that I did see. However, I will relate all as nearly as I can.

After a long preamble, which was composed principally of the most pompous and exaggerated eulogy of the Emperor Tiberias, Pilate spoke of the accusations which had been brought against Jesus by the High Priests. He said that they had condemned him to death for having disturbed the public peace, and broken their laws by calling himself the Son of God and King of the Jews; and that the people had unanimously demanded that their decree should be carried out. Notwithstanding his oft-repeated conviction of the innocence of Jesus, this mean and worthless judge was not ashamed of saying that he likewise considered their decision a just one, and that he should therefore pronounce sentence--which he did in these words: 'I condemn Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, to be crucified;' and he ordered the executioners to bring the cross. I think I remember likewise that he took a long stick in his hands, broke it, and threw the fragments at the feet of Jesus.

On hearing these words of Pilate the Mother of Jesus became for a few moments totally unconscious, for she was now certain that her beloved Son must die the most ignominious

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and the most painful of all deaths. John and the holy women carried her away, to prevent the heartless beings who surrounded them from adding crime to crime by jeering at her grief; but no sooner did she revive a little than she begged to be taken again to each spot which had been sanctified by the sufferings of her Son, in order to bedew them with her tears; and thus did the Mother of our Lord, in the name of the Church, take possession of those holy places.

Pilate then wrote down the sentence, and those who stood behind him copied it out three times. The words which he wrote were quite different from those he had pronounced; I could see plainly that his mind was dreadfully agitated--an angel of wrath appeared to guide his hand. The substance of the written sentence was this: 'I have been compelled, for fear of an insurrection, to yield to the wishes of the High Priests, the Sanhedrim, and the people, who tumultuously demanded the death of Jesus of Nazareth, whom they accused of having disturbed the public peace, and also of having blasphemed and broken their laws. I have given him up to them to be crucified, although their accusations appeared to be groundless. I have done so for fear of their alleging to the Emperor that I encourage insurrections, and cause dissatisfaction among the Jews by denying them the rights of justice.'

He then wrote the inscription for the cross, while his clerks copied out the sentence several times, that these copies might be sent to distant parts of the country.

The High Priests were extremely dissatisfied at the words of the sentence, which they said were not true; and they clamorously surrounded the tribunal to endeavour to persuade him to alter the inscription, and not to put King of the Jews, but that he said, I am the King of the Jews.

Pilate was vexed, and answered impatiently, 'What I have written I have written!'

They were likewise anxious that the cross of our Lord should not be higher than those of the two thieves, but it was necessary for it to be so, because there would otherwise

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not have been sufficient place for Pilate's inscription; they therefore endeavoured to persuade him not to have this obnoxious inscription put up at all. But Pilate was determined, and their words made no impression upon him; the cross was therefore obliged to be lengthened by a fresh bit of wood. Consequently the form of the cross was peculiar--the two arms stood out like the branches of a tree growing from the stem, and the shape was very like that of the letter Y, with the lower part lengthened so as to rise between the arms, which had been put on separately, and were thinner than the body of the cross. A piece of wood was likewise nailed at the bottom of the cross for the feet to rest upon.

During the time that Pilate was pronouncing the iniquitous sentence, I saw his wife, Claudia Procles, send him back the pledge which he had given her, and in the evening she left his palace and joined the friends of our Lord, who concealed her in a subterraneous vault in the house of Lazarus at Jerusalem. Later in the same day, I likewise saw a friend of our Lord engrave the words, Judex injustus, and the name of Claudia Procles, on a green-looking stone, which was behind the terrace called Gabbatha--this stone is still to be found in the foundations of a church or house at Jerusalem, which stands on the spot formerly called Gabbatha. Claudia Procles became a Christian, followed St. Paul, and became his particular friend.

No sooner had Pilate pronounced sentence than Jesus was given up into the hands of the archers, and the clothes which he had taken off in the court of Caiphas were brought for him to put on again. I think some charitable persons had washed them, for they looked clean. The ruffians who surrounded Jesus untied his hands for his dress to be changed, and roughly dragged off the scarlet mantle with which they had clothed him in mockery, thereby reopening all his wounds; he put on his own linen under-garment with trembling hands, and they threw his scapular over his shoulders. As the crown of thorns was too large and prevented the seamless robe, which his

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[paragraph continues]Mother had made for him, from going over his head., they pulled it off violently, heedless of the pain thus inflicted upon him. His white woollen dress was next thrown over his shoulders, and then his wide belt and cloak. After this, they again tied round his waist a ring covered with sharp iron points, and to it they fastened the cords by which he was led, doing all with their usual brutal cruelty.

The two thieves were standing, one on the right and the other on the left of Jesus, with their hands tied and a chain round their necks; they were covered with black and livid marks, the effects of the scourging of the previous day. The demeanour of the one who was afterwards converted was quiet and peaceable, while that of the other, on the contrary, was rough and insolent, and he joined the archers in abusing and insulting Jesus, who looked upon his two companions with love and compassion, and offered up his sufferings for their salvation. The archers gathered together all the implements necessary for the crucifixions, and prepared everything for the terrible and painful journey to Calvary.

Annas and Caiphas at last left off disputing with Pilate, and angrily retired, taking with them the sheets of parchment on which the sentence was written; they went away in haste, fearing that they should get to the Temple too late for the Paschal sacrifice. Thus did the High Priests, unknowingly to themselves, leave the true Paschal Lamb. They went to a temple made of stone, to immolate and to sacrifice that lamb which was but a symbol, and they left the true Paschal Lamb, who was being led to the Altar of the Cross by the cruel executioners; they were most careful not to contract exterior defilement, while their souls were completely defiled by anger, hatred, and envy. They had said, 'His blood be upon us and upon our children!' And by these words they had performed the ceremony, and had placed the hand of the sacrificer upon the head of the Victim. Thus were the two paths formed--the one leading to the altar belonging to the Jewish law, the other leading to the Altar of Grace: Pilate, that proud and irresolute pagan,

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that slave of the world, who trembled in the presence of the true God, and yet adored his false gods, took a middle path, and returned to his palace.

The iniquitous sentence was given at about ten in the morning.

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CHAPTER XXX.

The Carriage of the Cross.

WHEN Pilate left the tribunal a portion of the soldiers followed him, and were drawn. up in files before the palace; a few accompanying the criminals. Eight-and- twenty armed Pharisees came to the forum on horseback, in order to accompany Jesus to the place of execution, and among these were the six enemies of Jesus, who had assisted in arresting him in the Garden of Olives. The archers led Jesus into the middle of the court, the slaves threw down the cross at his feet, and the two arras were forthwith tied on to the centre piece. Jesus knelt down by its side, encircled it with his sacred arms, and kissed it three times, addressing, at the same time, a most touching prayer of thanksgiving to his Heavenly Father for that work of redemption which he had begun. It was the custom among pagans for the priest to embrace a new altar, and Jesus in like manner embraced his cross, that august altar on which the bloody and expiatory sacrifice was about to be offered. The archers soon made him rise, and then kneel down again, and almost without any assistance, place the heavy cross on his right shoulder, supporting its great weight with his right hand. I saw angels come to his assistance, otherwise he would have been unable even to raise it from the ground. Whilst he was on his knees, and still praying, the executioners put the arms of the crosses, which were a little curved and not as yet fastened to the centre pieces, on the backs of the two thieves, and tied their hands tightly to them. The middle parts of the crosses were carried by slaves, as the transverse pieces wore not to be fastened to them until just before the time of execution.

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[paragraph continues]The trumpet sounded to announce the departure of Pilate's horsemen, and one of the Pharisees belonging to the escort came up to Jesus, who was still kneeling, and said, 'Rise, we have had a sufficiency of thy fine speeches; rise and set off.' They pulled him roughly up, for he was totally unable to rise without assistance, and he then fell upon his shoulders the weight of that cross which we must carry after him, according to his true and holy command to follow him. Thus began that triumphant march of the King of King, a march so ignominious on earth, and so glorious in heaven.

By means of ropes, which the executioners had fastened to the foot of the cross, two archers supported it to prevent its getting entangled in anything, and four other soldiers took hold of the ropes, which they had fastened to Jesus underneath his clothes. The sight of our dear Lord trembling beneath his burden, reminded me forcibly of Isaac, when he carried the wood destined for his own sacrifice up the mountain. The trumpet of Pilate was sounded as the signal for departure, for he himself intended to go to Calvary at the head of a detachment of soldiers, to prevent the possibility of an insurrection. He was on horseback, in armour, surrounded by officers and a body of cavalry, and followed by about three hundred of the infantry, who came from the frontiers of Italy and Switzerland. The procession was headed by a trumpeter, who sounded his trumpet at every corner and proclaimed the sentence. A number of women and children walked behind the procession with ropes, nails, wedges, and baskets filled with different articles, in their hands; others, who were stronger, carried poles, ladders, and the centre pieces of the crosses of the two thieves, and some of the Pharisees followed on horseback. A boy who had charge of the inscription which Pilate had written for the cross, likewise carried the crown of thorns (which had been taken off the head of Jesus) at the end of a long stick, but he did not appear to be wicked and hard-hearted like the rest. Next I beheld our Blessed Saviour and Redeemer--his bare feet swollen and bleeding--his back bent as though he were

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about to sink under the heavy weight of the cross, and his whole body covered with wounds and blood. He appeared to be half fainting from exhaustion (having had neither refreshment or sleep since the supper of the previous night), weak from loss of blood, and parched with thirst produced by fever and pain. He supported the cross on his right shoulder with his right hand, the left hung almost powerless at his side, but he endeavoured now and then to hold up his long garment to prevent his bleeding feet from getting entangled in it. The four archers who held the cords which were fastened round his waist, walked at some distance from him, the two in front pulled him on, and the two behind dragged him back, so that he could not get on at all without the greatest difficulty. His hands were cut by the cords with which they had been bound; his face bloody and disfigured; his hair and beard saturated with blood; the weight of the cross and of his chains combined to press and make the woollen dress cleave to his wounds, and reopen them: derisive and heartless words alone were addressed to him, but he continued to pray for his persecutors, and his countenance bore an expression of combined love and resignation. Many soldiers under arms walked by the side of the procession, and after Jesus came the two thieves, who were likewise led, the arms of their crosses, separate from the middle, being placed upon their backs, and their hands tied tightly to the two ends. They were clothed in large aprons, with a sort of sleeveless scapular which covered the upper part of their bodies, and they had straw caps upon their heads. The good thief was calm, but the other was, on the contrary, furious, and never ceased cursing and swearing. The rear of the procession was brought up by the remainder of the Pharisees on horseback, who rode to and fro to keep order. Pilate and his courtiers were at a certain distance behind; he was in the midst of his officers clad in armour, preceded by a squadron of cavalry, and followed by three hundred foot soldiers; he crossed the forum, and then entered one of the principal streets, for he was marching through the town in order to prevent any insurrection among the people.

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Jesus was conducted by a narrow back street, that the procession might not inconvenience the persons who were going to the Temple, and likewise in order that Pilate and his band might have the whole principal street entirely to themselves. The crowd had dispersed and started in different directions almost immediately after the reading of the sentence, and the greatest part of the Jews either returned to their own houses, or to the Temple, to hasten their preparations for sacrificing the Paschal Lamb; but a certain number were still hurrying on in disorder to see the melancholy procession pass; the Roman soldiers prevented all persons from joining the procession, therefore the most curious were obliged to go round by back streets, or to quicken their steps so as to reach Calvary before Jesus. The street through which they led Jesus was both narrow and dirty; he suffered much in passing through it, because the archers were close and harassed him. Persons stood on the roofs of the houses, and at the windows, and insulted him with opprobrious language; the slaves who were working in the streets threw filth and mud at him; even the children, incited by his enemies, had filled their pinafores with sharp stones, which they throw down before their doors as he passed, that he might be obliged to walk over them.

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CHAPTER XXXI.

The first Fall of Jesus.

THE street of which we have just spoken, after turning a little to the left, became rather steep, as also wider, a subterranean aqueduct proceeding from Mount Sion passed under it, and in its vicinity was a hollow which was often filled with water and mud after rain, and a large stone was placed in its centre to enable persons to pass over more easily. When Jesus reached this spot, his strength was perfectly exhausted; he was quite unable to move; and as the archers dragged and pushed him without showing the slightest compassion, he fell quite down against this

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stone, and the cross fell by his side. The cruel executioners were obliged to stop, they abused and struck him unmercifully, but the whole procession came to a standstill, which caused a degree of confusion. Vainly did he hold out his hand for some one to assist him to rise: 'Ah!' he exclaimed, 'all will soon be over;' and he prayed for his enemies. 'Lift him up,' said the Pharisees, I otherwise he will die in our hands.' There were many women and children following the procession; the former wept, and the latter were frightened. Jesus, however, received support from above, and raised his head; but these cruel men, far from endeavouring to alleviate his sufferings, put the crown of thorns again on his head before they pulled him out of the mud, and no sooner was he once more on his feet than they replaced the cross on his back. The crown of thorns which encircled his head increased his pain inexpressibly, and obliged him to bend on one side to give room for the cross, which lay heavily on his shoulders.

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CHAPTER XXXII.

The second Fall of Jesus.

THE afflicted Mother of Jesus had left the forum, accompanied by John and some other women, immediately after the unjust sentence was pronounced. She had employed herself in walking to many of the spots sanctified by our Lord and watering them with her tears; but when the sound of the trumpet, the rush of people, and the clang of the horsemen announced that the procession was about to start for Calvary, she could not resist her longing desire to behold her beloved Son once more, and she begged John to take her to some place through which he must pass. John conducted her to a palace, which had an entrance in that street which Jesus traversed after his first fall; it was, I believe, the residence of the high priest Caiphas, whose tribunal was in the division called Sion. John asked and obtained leave from a kind-hearted servant

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to stand at the entrance mentioned above, with Mary and her companions. The Mother of God was pale, her eyes were red with weeping, and she was closely wrapped in a cloak of a bluish-gray colour. The clamour and insulting speeches of the enraged multitude might be plainly heard; and a herald at that moment proclaimed in a. loud voice, that three criminals were about to be crucified. The servant opened the door; the dreadful sounds became more distinct every moment; and Mary threw herself on her knees. After praying fervently, she turned to John and said, 'Shall I remain? ought I to go a-way? shall I have strength to support such a sight?' John made answer, 'If you do not remain to see him pass, you will grieve afterwards.' They remained therefore near the door, with their eyes fixed on the procession, which was still distant, but advancing by slow degrees. When those who were carrying the instruments for the execution approached, and the Mother of Jesus saw their insolent and triumphant looks, she could not control her feelings, but joined her hands as if to implore the help of heaven; upon which one among them said to his companions: 'What woman is that who is uttering such lamentations?' Another answered: 'She is the Mother of the Galilæan.' When the cruel men heard this, far from being moved to compassion, they began to make game of the grief of this most afflicted Mother: they pointed at her, and one of them took the nails which were to be used for fastening Jesus to the cross, and presented them to her in an insulting manner; but she turned away, fixed her eyes upon Jesus, who was drawing near, and leant against the, pillar for support, lest she should again faint from grief, for her cheeks were as pale as death, and her lips almost blue. The Pharisees on horseback passed by first, followed by the boy who carried the inscription. Then came her beloved Son. He was almost sinking under the heavy weight of his cross,. and his head, still crowned with thorns, was drooping in agony on his shoulder. He cast a look of compassion and sorrow upon his Mother, staggered, and fell for the second time upon his hands and knees. Mary was perfectly agonised

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at this sight; she forgot all else; she saw neither soldiers nor executioners; she saw nothing but her dearly loved Son; and, springing from the doorway into the midst of the group who were insulting and abusing him, she threw herself on her knees by his side and embraced him. The only words I heard were, 'Beloved Son!' and 'Mother!' but I do not know whether these words were really uttered, or whether they were only in my own mind.

A momentary confusion ensued. John and the holy women endeavoured to raise Mary from the ground, and the archers reproached her, one of them saying, 'What hast thou to do here, woman? He would not have been in our hands if he had been better brought up.'

A few of the soldiers looked touched; and, although they obliged the Blessed Virgin to retire to the doorway, not one laid hands upon her. John and the women surrounded her as she fell half fainting against a stone, which was near the doorway, and upon which the impression of her hands remained. This stone was very hard, and was afterwards removed to the first Catholic church built in Jerusalem, near the Pool of Bethsaida, during the time that St. James the Less was Bishop of that city. The two disciples who were with the Mother of Jesus carried her into the house, and the door was shut. In the mean time the archers had raised Jesus, and obliged him to carry the cross in a different manner. Its arms being unfastened from the centre, and entangled in the ropes with which he was bound, he supported them on his arm, and by this means the weight of the body of the cross was a little taken of, as it draped more on the ground. I saw numbers of persons standing about in groups, the greatest part amusing themselves by insulting our Lord in different ways, but a tow veiled females were weeping.

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CHAPTER XXXIII.

Simon of Cyrene.--Third Fall of Jesus.

THE procession had reached an arch formed in an old wall belonging to the town, opposite to a square, in which three streets terminated, when Jesus stumbled against a large stone which was placed in the middle of the archway, the cross slipped from his shoulder, he fell upon the Stone, and was totally unable to rise. Many respectable-looking persons who were on their way to the Temple stopped, and exclaimed compassionately: 'Look at that poor man, he is certainly dying!' but his enemies showed no compassion. This fall caused a fresh delay, as our Lord could not stand up again, and the Pharisees said to the soldiers: 'We shall never got him to the place of execution alive, if you do not find some one to carry his cross.' At this moment Simon of Cyrene, a pagan, happened, to pass by, accompanied by his three children. He was a gardener, just returning home after working in a garden near the eastern wall of the city, and carrying a bundle of lopped branches. The soldiers perceiving by his dress that he was a pagan, seized him, and ordered him to assist Jesus in carrying his cross. He refused at first, but was soon compelled to obey, although his children, being frightened, cried and made a great noise, upon which some women quieted and took charge of them. Simon was much annoyed, and expressed the greatest vexation at being obliged to walk with a man in so deplorable a condition of dirt and misery; but Jesus wept, and cast such a mild and heavenly look upon him that he was touched, and instead of continuing to show reluctance, helped him to rise, while the executioners fastened one arm of the cross on his shoulders, and he walked behind our Lord, thus relieving him in a great measure from its weight; and when all was arranged, the procession moved forward. Simon was a stout-looking man, apparently about forty years of age. His children were dressed in tunics made of a variegated material. the two eldest, named Rufus and

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[paragraph continues]Alexander, afterwards joined the disciples; the third was much younger, but a few years later went to live with St. Stephen. Simon had not carried the cross after Jesus any length of time before he felt his heart deeply touched by grace.

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CHAPTER XXXIV.

The Veil of Veronica.

WHILE the procession was passing through a long street, an incident took place which made a strong impression upon Simon. Numbers of respectable persons were hurrying towards the Temple, of whom many got out of the way when they saw Jesus, from a Pharisaical fear of defilement, while others, on the contrary, stopped and expressed pity for his sufferings. But when the procession had advanced about two hundred steps from the spot where Simon began to assist our Lord in carrying his cross, the door of a beautiful house on the left opened, and a woman of majestic appearance, holding a young girl by the hand, came out, and walked up to the very head of the procession. Seraphia was the name of the brave woman who thus dared to confront the enraged multitude; she was the wife of Sirach, one of the councillors belonging to the Temple, and was afterwards known by the name of Veronica, which name was given from the words vera icon (true portrait), to commemorate her brave conduct on this day.

Seraphia had prepared some excellent aromatic wine, which she piously intended to present to our Lord to refresh him on his dolorous way to Calvary. She had been standing in the street for some time, and at last went back into the house to wait. She was, when I first saw her, enveloped in a long veil, and holding a little girl of nine years of age, whom she had adopted, by the hand; a large veil was likewise hanging on her arm, and the little girl endeavoured to hide the jar of wine when the procession approached. Those who were marching at the head of the

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procession tried to push. her back; but she made her way through the mob, the soldiers, and the archers, reached Jesus, fell on her knees before him, and presented the veil, saying at the same time, 'Permit me to wipe the face of my Lord.' Jesus took the veil in his left hand, wiped his bleeding face, and returned it with thanks. Seraphia kissed it, and put it under her cloak. The girl then timidly offered the wine, but the brutal soldiers would not allow Jesus to drink it. The suddenness of this courageous act of Seraphia had surprised the guards, and caused a momentary although unintentional halt, of which she had taken advantage to present the veil to her Divine Master. Both the Pharisees and the guards were greatly exasperated, not only by the sudden halt, but much more by the public testimony of veneration which was thus paid to Jesus, and they revenged themselves by striking and abusing him, while Seraphia returned in haste to her house.

No sooner did she reach her room than she placed the woollen veil on a table, and fell almost senseless on her knees. A friend who entered the room a short time after, found her thus kneeling, with the child weeping by her side, and saw, to his astonishment, the bloody countenance of our Lord imprinted upon the veil, a perfect likeness, although heartrending and painful to look upon. He roused Seraphia, and pointed to the veil. She again knelt down before it, and exclaimed through her tears, 'Now I shall indeed leave all with a happy heart, for my Lord has given me a remembrance of himself.' The texture of this veil was a species of very fine wool; it was three times the length of its width, and was generally worn on the shoulders. It was customary to present these veils to persons who were in affliction, or over-fatigued, or ill, that they might wipe their faces with them, and it was done in order to express sympathy or compassion. Veronica kept this veil until her death, and hung it at the head of her bed; it was then given to the Blessed Virgin, who left It to the Apostles, and they afterwards passed it on to the Church.

Seraphia and John the Baptist were cousins, her father

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and Zacharias being brothers. When Joachim and Anna brought the Blessed Virgin, who was then only four years old, up to Jerusalem, to place her among the virgins in the Temple, they lodged in the house of Zacharias, which was situated near the fish-market. Seraphia was at least five years older than the Blessed Virgin, was present at her marriage with St. Joseph, and was likewise related to the aged Simeon, who prophesied when the Child Jesus was put into his arms. She was brought up with his sons, both of whom, as well as Seraphia, he imbued with his ardent desire of seeing our Lord. When Jesus was twelve years old, and remained teaching in the Temple, Seraphia, who was not then married, sent food for him every day to a little inn, a quarter of a mile from Jerusalem, where he dwelt when he was not in the Temple. Mary went there for two days, when on her way from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to offer her Child in the Temple. The two old men who kept this inn were Essenians, and well acquainted with the Holy Family; it contained a kind of foundation for the poor, and Jesus and his disciples often went there for a night's lodging.

Seraphia married rather late in life; her husband, Sirach, was descended from the chaste Susannah, and was a member of the Sanhedrim. He was at first greatly opposed to our Lord, and his wife suffered much on account of her attachment to Jesus, and to the holy women, but Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus brought him to a better state of feeling, and he allowed Seraphia to follow our Lord. When Jesus was unjustly accused in the court of Caiphas, the husband of Seraphia joined with Joseph and Nicodemus in attempts to obtain the liberation of our Lord, and all three resigned their seats in the Council.

Seraphia was about fifty at the time of the triumphant procession of our Lord when he entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and I then saw her take off her veil and spread it on the ground for him to walk upon. It was this same veil, which she presented to Jesus, at this his second procession, a procession which outwardly appeared

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to be far less glorious, but was in fact much more so. This veil obtained for her the name of Veronica, and it is still shown for the veneration of the faithful...

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CHAPTER XXXV.

The fourth and fifth Falls of Jesus.--The Daughters of Jerusalem.

THE procession was still at some distance from the south-west gate, which was large, and attached to the fortifications, and the street was rough and s

teep; it had first to pass under a vaulted arch, then over a bridge, and finally under a second arch. The wall on the left side of the gate rims first in a southerly direction, then deviates a little to the west, and finally runs to the south behind Mount Sion. When the procession was near this gate, the brutal archers shoved Jesus into a stagnant pool, which was close to it; Simon of Cyrene, in his endeavours to avoid the pool, gave the cross a twist, which caused Jesus to fall down for the fourth time in the midst of the dirty mud, and Simon had the greatest difficulty in lifting up the cross again. Jesus then exclaimed in a tone which, although clear, was moving and sad: 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered together thy children as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldst not?' When the Pharisees heard these words, they became still more angry, and recommencing their insults and blows endeavoured to force him to get up out of the mud. Their cruelty to Jesus so exasperated Simon of Cyrene that he at last exclaimed, 'If you continue this brutal conduct, I will throw down the cross and carry it no farther. I will do so if you kill me for it.'

A narrow and stony path was visible as soon as the gate was passed, and this path ran in a northerly direction, and led to Calvary. The high road from which it deviates divided shortly after into three branches, one to the southwest, which led to Bethlehem, through the vale of Gihon;

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a second to the south towards Emmaus and Joppa; a third, likewise to the south-west, wound round Calvary, and terminated at the gate which led to Bethsur. A person standing at the gate through which Jesus was led might easily see the gate of Bethlehem. The officers had fastened an inscription upon a post which stood at the commencement of the road to Calvary, to inform those who passed by that Jesus and the two thieves were condemned to death. A group of women had gathered together near this spot, and were weeping and lamenting; many carried young children in their arms; the greatest part were young maidens and women from Jerusalem, who had preceded the procession, but a few came from Bethlehem, from Hebron, and from other neighbouring places, in order to celebrate the Pasch.

Jesus was on the point of again falling, but Simon, who was behind, perceiving that he could not stand, hastened to support him; he leant upon Simon, and was thus saved from falling to the ground. When the women and children of whom we have spoken above, saw the deplorable condition to which our Lord was reduced, they uttered loud cries, wept, and, according to the Jewish custom, presented him cloths to wipe his face. Jesus turned towards them and said: 'Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold the days shall come wherein they will say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall upon us, and to the hills, Cover us. For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry?' He then addressed a few words of consolation to them, which I do not exactly remember.

The procession made a momentary halt. The executioners, who set off first, had reached Calvary with the instruments for the execution, and were followed by a hundred of the Roman soldiers who had started with Pilate; he only accompanied the procession as far as the gateway, and returned to the town.

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CHAPTER XXXVI

Jesus 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 town and 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. At last they reached a. spot where the pathway turned suddenly to the south; here he stumbled and fell for the sixth time. The fall was a dreadful one, but the guards only struck him the harder to force him 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 to remain that he might assist Jesus, but the archers first reviled, and then drove him away, and he soon after joined the body of disciples. The executioners then ordered the workmen and the boys who had carried the instruments for the execution to depart, and the Pharisees soon arrived, for they 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 separate entrances. This appeared to be the usual number in those parts, for there were five roads at the baths, at the place where they baptised, at the pool of Bethsaida, and there were likewise many towns with five gates. In this, as in many other peculiarities of the Holy Land, there was a deep prophetic signification; that number five, which so often occurred, was a type of those five sacred wounds of our Blessed Saviour, which were to open to us the gates of Heaven.

The horsemen stopped on the west side of the mount,

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where the declivity was not so steep; for the side 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 brought to the top, but ordered to halt before they reached it, and to lie on the ground with their arms fastened to their crosses. Soldiers stood around and guarded them, while crowds of persons who did not fear defiling themselves, stood near the platform or on the neighbouring heights; these were mostly of the 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 precise spot where he was to be crucified. The barbarous executioners dragged him up by the cords which they had fastened round his waist, and then untied the arms of the cross, and threw them on the ground. The sight of our Blessed Lord at this moment was, indeed, calculated to move the hardest heart 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, although wounds 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 brutally down, exclaiming in a jeering tone, 'Most powerful king, we are about to prepare thy throne.' Jesus immediately placed himself upon the cross, and they measured him and marked the places for his feet and hands, whilst the Pharisees continued to insult their unresisting Victim. When the measurement was finished, they led him to a cave cut in the rock, which had been used formerly as a cellar, opened the door, and pushed him in so roughly that had it not been for the support of angels, his legs must have been broken by so hard a fall on the rough stone floor. I most distinctly heard his groans of pain, but they closed the door quickly, and placed guards before it, and the archers continued their preparations for the crucifixion. The

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centre of the platform mentioned above was the most elevated part of Calvary,--it was a round eminence, about two feet high, and persons were obliged to ascend two or three steps to reach its top. The executioners dug the holes for the three crosses at the top of this eminence, and placed those intended for the thieves one on the right and the other on the left of our Lord's; both were lower and more roughly made than his. They then carried the cross of our Saviour to the spot where they intended to crucify him, and placed it in such a position that it would easily fall into the hole prepared for it. They fastened the two arms strongly 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 receive the head and back of our Lord, in order that his body might rest against the cross, instead of being suspended from it. Their aim in this was the prolongation of his tortures, for if the whole weight of his body was allowed to fall upon the hands the holes might be quite torn open, and death ensue more speedily than they desired. The executioners then drove into the ground the pieces of wood which were intended to keep the cross upright, and made a few other similar preparations.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XXXVII.

The Departure of Mary and the holy Women of Calvary.

ALTHOUGH the Blessed Virgin was carried away fainting after the sad meeting with her Son loaded with his cross, yet she soon recovered consciousness; for love, and the ardent desire of seeing him once more, imparted to her a supernatural feeling of strength. Accompanied by her companions she went to the house of Lazarus, which was at the bottom of the town, and where Martha, 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

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house, about seventeen in number, to make the way of the cross, that is to say, to follow every step Jesus had taken 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 Mary that touching devotion which has since been so constantly practised in the Church. Mary imparted it 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 her children through the revered voice of tradition.

When these holy women reached the house of Veronica they entered it, because Pilate and his officers were at that moment passing through the street, on their way home. They burst forth into unrestrained tears when they beheld the countenance of Jesus imprinted on the veil, and they returned thanks to God for the favour he had bestowed on his faithful servant. They took the jar of aromatic wine 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 sufferings of our Lord had filled with pity had joined them, and they ascended the west side of Calvary, as the declivity there was not so great. The Mother of Jesus, accompanied by her niece, Mary (the daughter of Cleophas), John, and Salome went quite up to the round platform; but Martha, Mary of Heli, Veronica, Johanna, Chusa, Susanna, and Mary, the mother of Mark, remained below with Magdalen, who could hardly support herself. Lower down on the mountain there was a third group of holy women, and there were a few scattered individuals between the three groups, who carried messages from one to the other. The Pharisees on horseback rode to and fro among the people, and the five entrances were guarded by Roman soldiers. Mary kept her eyes fixed on the fatal spot, and stood as if entranced,--if

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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 frightful instruments of torture stood the brutal executioners, half drank, and almost without clothing, swearing and blaspheming, whilst making their preparations. The sufferings of the Blessed Virgin were greatly increased by her not being able to see her Son; she knew that he was still alive, and she felt the most ardent desire once more to behold him, while the thought of the torments he still had 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 ten o'clock, and a thick red fog began to obscure it towards twelve.

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CHAPTER XXXVIII.

The Nailing of Jesus to the Cross.

THE preparations for the crucifixion being finished four archers went to the cave where they had confined our Lord and dragged him out with their usual brutality, while the mob looked on and made use of insulting language, and the Roman soldiers regarded all with indifference, and thought of nothing but maintaining order. When Jesus was again brought forth, the holy women gave a man some money, and begged him to pay the archers anything they might demand if they would allow Jesus to drink the wine which Veronica had prepared; but the cruel executioners, instead of giving it to Jesus, drank it themselves. They had brought two vases with them, one of which contained vinegar 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.

There were eighteen archers on the platform; the six who had scourged Jesus, the four who had conducted him to Calvary, the two who held the ropes which supported

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the cross, and six others who came for the purpose of crucifying him. They were strangers in the pay of either the Jews or the Romans, and were short thick-set men, with most ferocious countenances, rather resembling wild beasts than human beings, and employing themselves alternately in drinking and in making preparations for the crucifixion.

This scene was rendered the more frightful to me by the sight of demons, who were invisible to others, and I Saw large bodies of evil spirits under the forms of toads, serpents, sharp-clawed dragons, and venomous insects, urging these wicked men to still greater cruelty, and perfectly darkening the air. They crept into the mouths and into the hearts of the assistants, sat upon their shoulders, filled their minds with wicked images, and incited them to revile and insult our Lord with still greater brutality. Weeping angels, however, stood around Jesus, and the sight of their tears consoled me not a little, and they were accompanied by little angels of glory, whose heads alone I saw. There were likewise angels of pity and angels of consolation among them; the latter frequently approached the Blessed Virgin and the rest of the pious persons who were assembled there, and whispered words of comfort which enabled them to bear up with firmness.

The executioners soon pulled off our Lord's cloak, the belt to which the ropes were fastened, and his own belt, when they found it was impossible to drag the woollen garment which his Mother had woven for him over his head, on account of the crown of thorns; they tore off this most painful crown, thus reopening every wound, and seizing the garment, tore it mercilessly over his bleeding and wounded head. Our dear Lord and Saviour then stood before his cruel enemies, stripped of all save the short scapular which was on his shoulders, and the linen which girded his loins. His scapular was of wool; the wool had stuck to the wounds, and indescribable was the agony of pain he suffered when they pulled it roughly off. He Shook like the aspen as he stood before them, for he

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was so weakened from suffering and loss of blood that he could not support himself for more than a few moments; he was covered with open wounds, and his shoulders and back were torn to the bone by the dreadful scourging he had endured. He was about to fall when the executioners, fearing that he might die, and thus deprive them of the barbarous pleasure of crucifying him, led him to a large stone and placed him roughly down upon it, but no sooner was he seated than they aggravated his sufferings by putting the crown of thorns again upon his head. They then offered him some vinegar and gall, from which, however, he turned away in silence. The executioners did not allow him to rest long, but bade him rise and place himself on the cross that they might nail him to it. Then seizing his right arm they dragged it to the hole prepared for the nail, and having tied it tightly down with a cord, one of them knelt upon his sacred chest, a second held his hand flat, and a third taking a long thick nail, pressed it on the open palm of that adorable hand, which had ever been open to bestow blessings and favours on the ungrateful Jews, and with a great iron hammer drove it through the flesh, and far into the wood of the cross. Our Lord uttered one deep but suppressed groan, and his 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 the size of a crown piece, and the thickness that of a man's thumb, while the points came through at the back of the cross. The Blessed Virgin stood motionless; from time to time you might distinguish her plaintive moans; she appeared as if almost fainting from grief, and Magdalen was quite beside herself. When the executioners had nailed the right hand of our Lord, they perceived that his left hand did not reach the hole they had bored to receive the nail, therefore they tied ropes to his left arm, and having steadied their feet against the cross, pulled the left hand violently until it reached the place prepared for it. This dreadful process caused our Lord indescribable agony, his breast heaved, and lib legs

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were quite contracted. They again knelt upon him, tied down his arms, and drove the second nail into his left hand; his blood flowed afresh, and his feeble groans were once more heard between the blows of the hammer, but nothing could move the hard-hearted executioners to the slightest pity. The arms of Jesus, thus unnaturally stretched out, no longer covered the arms of the cross, which were sloped; there was a wide space between them and his armpits. Each additional torture and insult inflicted on our Lord caused a fresh pang in the heart of his Blessed Mother; she became white as a corpse, but as the Pharisees endeavoured to increase her pain by insulting words and gestures, the disciples led her to a group of pious women who were standing a little farther off.

The executioners had fastened a piece of wood at the lower part of the cross under where the feet of Jesus would be nailed, that thus the weight of his body might not rest upon the wounds of his hands, as also to prevent the bones of his feet from being broken when nailed to the cross. A hole had been pierced in this wood to receive the nail when driven through his feet, and there was likewise a little hollow place for his heels. These precautions were taken lest his wounds should be torn open by the weight of his body, and death ensue before he had suffered all the tortures which they hoped to see him endure. The whole body of our Lord had been dragged upward, and contracted by the violent manner with which the executioners had stretched out his arms, and his knees were bent up; they therefore flattened and tied them down tightly with cords; but soon perceiving that his feet did not reach the bit of wood which was placed for them to rest upon, they became infuriated. Some of their number proposed making fresh holes for the nails which pierced his hands, as there would be considerable difficulty in removing the bit of wood, but the others would do nothing of the sort, and continued to vociferate, 'He will not stretch himself out, but we will help him;' they accompanied these words with the most fearful oaths and imprecations, and having fastened a rope to his right leg,

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dragged it violently until it reached the wood, and then tied it down as tightly as possible. The agony which Jesus suffered from this violent tension was indescribable; the words 'My God, my God,' escaped his lips, and the executioners increased his pain by tying his chest and arms to the cross, lest the hands should be torn from the nails. They then fastened his left foot on to his right foot, having first bored a hole through them with a species of piercer, because they could not be placed in such a position as to be nailed together at once. Next they took a very long nail and drove it completely through both feet into the cross below, which operation was more than usually painful, on account of his body being so unnaturally stretched out; I counted at least six and thirty blows of the hammer. During the whole time of the crucifixion our Lord never ceased praying, and repeating those passages in the Psalms which he was then accompanying, although from time to time a feeble moan caused by excess of suffering might be heard. In this manner he had prayed when carrying his cross, and thus he continued to pray until his death. I heard him repeat all these prophecies; I repeated them after him, and I have often since noted the different passages when reading the Psalms, but I now feel so exhausted with grief that I cannot at all connect them.

When the crucifixion of Jesus was finished, the commander of the Roman soldiers ordered Pilate's inscription to be nailed on the top of the cross. The Pharisees were much incensed at this, and their anger was increased by the jeers of the Roman soldiers, who pointed at their crucified king; they therefore hastened back to Jerusalem, determined to use their best endeavours to persuade the governor to allow them to substitute another inscription.

It was about a quarter past twelve when Jesus was crucified; and at the moment the cross was lifted up, the Temple resounded with the blast of trumpets, which were always blown to announce the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb.

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CHAPTER XXXIX.

Erection of the Cross.

WHEN the executioners had finished the crucifixion of our Lord, they tied ropes to the trunk of the cross, and fastened the ends of these ropes round a long beam which was fixed firmly in the ground at a little distance, and by means of these ropes they raised the cross. Some of their number supported it while others shoved its foot towards the hole prepared for its reception--the heavy cross fell into this hole with a frightful shock--Jesus uttered a faint cry, and his wounds were torn open in the most fearful manner, his blood again burst forth, and his half dislocated bones knocked one against the other. The archers pushed the cross to get it thoroughly into the hole, and caused it to vibrate still more by planting five stakes around to support it.

A terrible, but at the same time a touching sight it was to behold the cross raised up in the midst of the vast concourse of persons who were assembled all around; not only insulting soldiers, proud Pharisees, and the brutal Jewish mob were there, but likewise strangers from all parts. The air resounded with acclamations and derisive cries when they beheld it towering on high, and after vibrating for a moment in the air, fall with a heavy crash into the hole cut for it in the rock. But words of love and compassion resounded through the air at the same moment; and need we say that these words, these sounds, were emitted by the most saintly of human beings--Mary--John--the holy women, and all who were pure of heart? They bowed down and adored the 'Word made flesh,' nailed to the cross; they stretched forth their hands as if desirous of giving assistance to the Holy of Holies, whom they beheld nailed to a cross and in the power of his furious enemies. But when the solemn sound of the fall of the cross into the hole prepared for it in the rock was heard, a dead silence ensued, every heart was filled with an undefinable feeling of awe--a feeling never before experienced, and for

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which no one could account, even to himself; all the inmates of hell shook with terror, and vented their rage by endeavouring to stimulate the enemies of Jesus to still greater fury and brutality; the souls in Limbo were filled with joy and hope, for the sound was to them a harbinger of happiness, the prelude to the appearance of their Deliverer. Thus was the blessed cross of our Lord planted for the first time on the earth; and well might it be compared to the tree of life in Paradise, for the wounds of Jesus were as sacred fountains, from which flowed four rivers destined both to purify the world from the curse of sin, and to give it fertility, so as to produce fruit unto salvation.

The eminence on which the cross was planted was about two feet higher than the surrounding parts; the feet of Jesus were sufficiently near the ground for his friends to be able to reach to kiss them, and his face was turned to the north-west.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XL.

Crucifixion of the Thieves.

DURING the time of the crucifixion of Jesus, the two thieves were left lying on the ground at some distance off; their arms were fastened to the crosses on which they were to be executed, and a few soldiers stood near on guard. The accusation which had been proved against them was that of having assassinated a Jewish woman who, with her children, was travelling from Jerusalem to Joppa. They were arrested, under the disguise of rich merchants, at a castle in which Pilate resided occasionally, when employed in exercising his troops, and they had been imprisoned for a long time before being brought to trial. The thief placed on the left-hand side was much older than the other; a regular miscreant, who had corrupted the younger. They were commonly called Dismas and Gesmas, and as I forget their real names I shall distinguish them by these terms,

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calling the good one Dismas, and the wicked one Gesmas. Both the one and the other belonged to a band of robbers who infested the frontiers of Egypt; and it was in a cave inhabited by these robbers that the Holy Family took refuge when flying into Egypt, at the time of the massacre of the Innocents. The poor leprous child, who was instantly cleansed by being dipped in the water which had been used for washing the infant Jesus, was no other than this Dismas, and the charity of his mother, in receiving and granting hospitality to the Holy Family, had been rewarded by the cure of her child; while this outward purification was an emblem of the inward purification which was afterwards accomplished in the soul of Dismas on Mount Calvary, through that Sacred Blood which was then shed on the cross for our redemption. Dismas knew nothing at all about Jesus, but as his heart was not hardened, the sight of the extreme patience of our Lord moved him much. When the executioners had finished putting up the cross of Jesus, they ordered the thieves to rise without delay, and they loosened their fetters in order to crucify them at once, as the sky was becoming very cloudy and bore every appearance of an approaching storm. After giving them some myrrh and vinegar, they stripped off their ragged clothing, tied ropes round their arms, and by the help of small ladders dragged them up to their places on the cross. The executioners then bound the arms of the thieves to the cross, with cords made of the bark of trees, and fastened their wrists, elbows, knees, and feet in like manner, drawing the cords so tight that their joints cracked, and the blood burst out. They uttered piercing cries, and the good thief exclaimed as they were drawing him up, 'This torture is dreadful, but if they had treated us as they treated the poor Galilæan, we should have been dead long ago.'

The executioners had divided the garments of Jesus, in order to draw lots for them; his mantle, which was narrow at the top, was very wide at the bottom, and lined over the chest, thus forming a pocket between the lining and the material itself; the lining they pulled out, tore into bands, and divided. They did the same with his

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long white robe, belt, scapular, and under-garment, which was completely saturated with his Sacred Blood. Not being able to agree as to who was to be the possessor of the seamless robe woven by his Mother, which could not be cut up and divided, they brought out a species of chessboard marked with figures, and were about to decide the point by lots, when a messenger, sent by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, informed them that there were persons ready to purchase all the clothes of Jesus; they therefore gathered them together and sold them in a bundle. Thus did the Christians get possession of these precious relies.

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CHAPTER XLI.

Jesus hanging an the Cross between two Thieves.

THE tremendous concussion caused by the fall of the cross into the hole prepared for it drove the sharp points of the crown of thorns, which was still upon the head of our dear Saviour, still deeper into his sacred flesh, and blood ran down again in streams, both from it and from his hands and feet. The archers then placed ladders against the sides of the cross, mounted them and unfastened the ropes with which they had bound our Lord to the cross, previous to lifting it up, fearing that the shock might tear open the wounds in his hands and feet, and that then the nails would no longer support his body. His blood had become, in a certain degree, stagnated by his horizontal position and the pressure of the cords, but when these wore withdrawn, it resumed its usual course, and caused such agonising sensations throughout his countless wounds, that he bowed his head, and remained as if dead for more than seven minutes. A pause ensued; the executioners were occupied with the division of his garments; the trumpets in the temple no longer resounded; and all the actors in this fearful tragedy appeared to be exhausted, some by grief, and others by the efforts they had made to compass their wicked ends, and

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by the joy which they felt now at having at last succeeded in bringing about the death of him whom they had so long envied. With mixed feelings of fear and compassion I cast my eyes upon Jesus,--Jesus my Redeemer,--the Redeemer of the world. I beheld him motionless, and almost lifeless. I felt as if I myself must expire; my heart was overwhelmed between grief, love, and horror; my mind was half wandering, my hands and feet burning with a feverish heat; each vein, nerve, and limb was racked with inexpressible pain; I saw nothing distinctly, excepting my beloved Spouse hanging on the cross. I contemplated his disfigured countenance, his head encircled with that terrible crown of thorns, which prevented his raising it even for a moment without the most intense suffering, his mouth parched and half open from exhaustion, and his hair and beard clotted with blood. His chest was torn with stripes and wounds, and his elbows, wrists, and shoulders so violently distended as to be almost dislocated; blood constantly trickled down from the gaping wounds in his hands, and the flesh was so torn from his ribs that you might almost count them. His legs and thighs, as also his arms, were stretched out almost to dislocation, the flesh and muscles so completely laid bare that every bone was visible, and his whole body covered with black, green, and reeking wounds. The blood which flowed from his wounds was at first red, but it became by degrees light and watery, and the whole appearance of his body was that of a corpse ready for interment. And yet, notwithstanding the horrible wounds with which he was covered, notwithstanding the state of ignominy to which he was reduced, there still remained that inexpressible look of dignity and goodness which had ever filled all beholders with awe.

The complexion of our Lord was fair, like that of Mary, and slightly tinted with red; but his exposure to the weather during the last three years had tanned him considerably. His chest was wide, but not hairy like that of St. John Baptist; his shoulders broad, and his arms and thighs sinewy; his knees were strong and

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hardened, as is usually the case with those who have either walked or knelt much, and his legs long, with very strong muscles; his feet were well formed, and his hands beautiful, the fingers being long and tapering, and although not delicate like those of a woman, still not resembling those of a man who had laboured hard. His neck was rather long, with a well-set and finely proportioned head; his forehead large and high; his face oval; his hair, which was far from thick, was of a golden brown colour, parted in the middle and falling over his shoulders; his beard was not any great length, but pointed and divided under the chin. When I contemplated him on the cross, his hair was almost all torn off, and what remained was matted and clotted with blood; his body was one wound, and every limb seemed as if dislocated.

The crosses of the two thieves were placed, the one to the right and the other to the left of Jesus; there was sufficient space left for a horseman to ride between them. Nothing can be imagined more distressing than the appearance of the thieves on their crosses; they suffered terribly, and the one on the left-hand side never ceased cursing and swearing. The cords with which they were tied were very tight, and caused great pain; their countenances were livid, and their eyes inflamed and ready to start from the sockets. The height of the crosses of the two thieves was much less than that of our Lord.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XLII.

First Word of Jesus on the Cross.

As soon as the executioners had crucified the two thieves and divided the garments of Jesus between them, they gathered up their tools, addressed a few more insulting words to our Lord, and went away. The Pharisees, likewise, rode up to Jesus, looked at him scornfully, made use of some opprobrious expressions, and then left the place. The Roman soldiers, of whom a hundred had

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been posted round Calvary, were marched away, and their places filled by fifty others, the command of whom was given to Abenadar, an Arab by birth, who afterwards took the name of Ctésiphon in baptism; and the second in command was Cassius, who, when he became a Christian, was known by the name of Longinus: Pilate frequently made use of him as a messenger. Twelve Pharisees, twelve Sadducees, as many Scribes, and a few Ancients, accompanied by those Jews who had been endeavouring to persuade Pilate to change the inscription on the Cross of Jesus, then came up: they were furious, as the Roman governor had given them a direct refusal. They rode round the platform, and drove away the Blessed Virgin, whom St. John led to the holy women. When they passed the Cross of Jesus, they shook their heads disdainfully at him, exclaiming at the same time, 'Vah! thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again, save thyself, coming down from the Cross. Let Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the Cross, that we may see and believe.' The soldiers, likewise, made use of deriding language.

The countenance and whole body of Jesus became even more colourless: he appeared to be on the point of fainting, and Gesmas (the wicked thief) exclaimed, 'The demon by whom he is possessed is about to leave him.' A soldier then took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, put it on a reed, and presented it to Jesus, who appeared to drink. If thou art the King of the Jews,' said the soldier, 'save thyself, coming down from the Cross.' These things took place during the time that the first band of soldiers was being relieved by that of Abenadar. Jesus raised his head a little, and said, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' And Gesmas cried out, 'If thou art the Christ, save thyself and us.' Dismas (the good thief) was silent, but he was deeply moved at the prayer of Jesus for his enemies. When Mary heard the voice of her Son, unable to restrain herself, she rushed forward, followed by John, Salome, and Mary of Cleophas, and approached the Cross, which the kind-hearted centurion

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did not prevent. The prayers of Jesus obtained for the good thief a most powerful grace; he suddenly remembered that it was Jesus and Mary who had cured him of leprosy in his childhood, and he exclaimed in a loud and clear voice, 'How can you insult him when he prays for you? He has been silent, and suffered all your outrages with patience; he is truly a Prophet--he is our King--he is the Son of God.' This unexpected reproof from the lips of a miserable malefactor who was dying on a cross caused a tremendous commotion among the spectators; they gathered up stones, and wished to throw them at him; but the centurion Abenadar would not allow it.

The Blessed Virgin was much comforted and strengthened by the prayer of Jesus, and Dismas said to Gesmas, who was still blaspheming Jesus, 'Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art under the same condemnation. And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done no evil. Remember thou art now at the point of death, and repent.' He was enlightened and touched: he confessed his sins to Jesus, and said: 'Lord, if thou condemnest me it will be with justice.' And Jesus replied, 'Thou shalt experience my mercy.' Dismas, filled with the most perfect contrition, began instantly to thank God for the great graces he had received, and to reflect over the manifold sins of his past life. All these events took place between twelve and the half-hour shortly after the crucifixion; but such a surprising change ad taken place in the appearance of nature during that time as to astonish the beholders and fill their minds with awe and terror.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XLIII.

Eclipse of the Sun.--Second and third Word of Jesus on the Cross.

A LITTLE hail had fallen at about ten o'clock,--when Pilate was passing sentence,--and after that the weather cleared up, until towards twelve, when the thick red-looking fog began to obscure the sun. Towards the sixth

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hour, according to the manner of counting of the Jews, the sun was suddenly darkened. I was shown the exact cause of this wonderful phenomenon; but I have unfortunately partly forgotten it, and what I have not forgotten I cannot find words to express; but I was lifted up from the earth, and beheld the stars and the planets moving about out of their proper spheres. I saw the moon like an immense ball of fire rolling along as if flying from the earth. I was then suddenly taken back to Jerusalem, and I beheld the moon reappear behind the Mountain of Olives, looking pale and full, and advancing rapidly towards the sun, which was dim and overshrouded by a fog. I saw to the east of the sun a large dark body which had the appearance of a mountain, and which soon entirely hid the sun. The centre of this body was dark yellow, and a red circle like a ring of fire was round it. The sky grew darker and the stars appeared to cast a red and lurid light. Both men and beasts were struck with terror; the enemies of Jesus ceased reviling him, while the Pharisees endeavoured to give philosophical reasons for what was taking place, but they failed in their attempt, and were reduced to silence. Many were seized with remorse, struck their breasts, and cried out, 'May his blood fall upon his murderers!' Numbers of others, whether near the Cross or at a distance, fell on their knees and entreated forgiveness of Jesus, who turned his eyes compassionately upon them in the midst of his sufferings. However, the darkness continued to increase, and every one excepting Mary and the most faithful among the friends of Jesus left the Cross. Dismas then raised his head, and in a tone of humility and hope said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom.' And Jesus made answer, 'Amen, I say to thee, This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.' Magdalen, Mary of Cleophas, and John stood near the Cross of our Lord and looked at him, while the Blessed Virgin, filled with intense feelings of motherly love, entreated her Son to permit her to die with him; but he, casting a look of ineffable tenderness upon her, turned to John and said, 'Woman, behold thy son;' then he said to

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[paragraph continues]John, 'Behold thy mother.' John looked at his dying Redeemer, and saluted this beloved mother (whom he henceforth considered as his own) in the most respectful manner. The Blessed Virgin was so overcome by grief at these words of Jesus that she almost fainted, and was carried to a short distance from the Cross by the holy women.

I do not know whether Jesus really pronounced these words, but I felt interiorly that he gave Mary to John as a mother, and John to Mary as a son. In similar visions a person is often conscious of things which are not written, and words can only express a portion of them, although to the individual to whom they are shown they are so clear as not to require explanation. For this reason it did not appear to me in the least surprising that Jesus should call the Blessed Virgin 'Woman,' instead of 'Mother.' I felt that he intended to demonstrate that she was that woman spoken of in Scripture who was to crush the head of the serpent, and that then was the moment in which that promise was accomplished in the death of her Son. I knew that Jesus, by giving her as a mother to John, gave her also as a mother to all who believe in him, who become children of God, and are not born of flesh and blood, or of the will of man, but of God. Neither did it appear to me surprising that the most pure, the most humble, and the most obedient among women, who, when saluted by the angel as 'full of grace,' immediately replied, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word,' and in whose sacred womb the Word was instantly made flesh,--that she, when informed by her dying Son that she was to become the spiritual mother of another son, should repeat the same words with humble obedience, and immediately adopt as her children all the children of God, the brothers of Jesus Christ. These things are much easier to feel by the grace of God than to be expressed in words. I remember my celestial Spouse once saying to me, 'Everything is imprinted in the hearts of those children of the Church who believe, hope, and love.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc58.htm

CHAPTER XLIV.

The Fear felt by the Inhabitants of Jerusalem.--Fourth Word of Jesus on the Cross.

IT was about half-past one o'clock when I was taken into Jerusalem to see what was going on there. The inhabitants were perfectly overcome with terror and anxiety; the streets dark and gloomy, and some persons were feeling their way about, while others, seated on the ground with their heads veiled, struck their breasts, or went up to the roofs of their houses, looked at the sky, and burst forth in bitter lamentations. Even the animals uttered mournful cries, and hid themselves; the birds flew low, and fell to the ground. I saw Pilate conferring with Herod on the alarming state of things: they were both extremely agitated, and contemplated the appearance of the sky from that terrace upon which Herod was standing when he delivered up Jesus to be insulted by the infuriated rabble. 'These events are not in the common course of nature,' they both exclaimed: 'they must be caused by the anger of the gods, who are displeased at the cruelty which has been exercised towards Jesus of Nazareth.' Pilate and Herod, surrounded by guards, then directed their hasty trembling steps through the forum to Herod's palace. Pilate turned away his head when he passed Gabbatha, from whence he had condemned Jesus to be crucified. The square was almost empty; a few persons might be seen reëntering their houses as quickly as possible, and a few others running about and weeping, while two or three small groups might be distinguished in the distance. Pilate sent for some of the Ancients and asked them what they thought the astounding darkness could possibly portend, and said that he himself considered it a terrific proof of the anger of their God at the crucifixion of the Galilæan, who was most certainly their prophet and their king: he added that he had nothing to reproach himself with on that head, for he had washed his hands of the whole affair, and was, therefore, quite

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innocent. The Ancients were as hardened as over, and replied, in a sullen tone, that there was nothing unnatural in the course of events, that they might be easily accounted for by philosophers, and that they did not repent of anything they had done. However, many persons were converted, and among others those soldiers who fell to the ground at the words of our Lord when they were sent to arrest him in the Garden of Olives.

The rabble assembled before Pilate's house, and instead of the cry of 'Crucify him, crucify him!' which had resounded in the morning, you might have heard vociferations of 'Down with the iniquitous judge!' 'May the blood of the just man fall upon his murderers!' Pilate was much alarmed; he sent for additional guards, and endeavoured to cast all the blame upon the Jews. He again declared that the crime was not his; that he was no subject of this Jesus, whom they had put to death unjustly, and who was their king, their prophet, their Holy One; that they alone were guilty, as it must be evident to all that he condemned Jesus solely from compulsion.

The Temple was thronged with Jews, who were intent on the immolation of the Paschal lamb; but when the darkness increased to such a degree that it was impossible to distinguish the countenance of one from that of the other, they were seized with fear, horror, and dread, which they expressed by mournful cries and lamentations. The High Priests endeavoured to maintain order and quiet. All the lamps were lighted; but the confusion became greater every moment, and Annas appeared perfectly paralysed with terror. I saw him endeavouring to hide first in one place, and then in another. When I left the Temple, and walked through the streets, I remarked that, although not a breath of wind was stirring, yet both the doors and windows of the houses were shaking as if in a storm, and the darkness was becoming every moment more dense.

The consternation produced by the sudden darkness at Mount Calvary was indescribable. When it first commenced,

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the confusion of the noise of the hammers, the vociferations of the rabble, the cries of the two thieves on being fastened to their crosses, the insulting speeches of the Pharisees, the evolutions of the soldiers, and the drunken shouts of the executioners, had so completely engrossed the attention of every one, that the change which was gradually coming over the face of nature was not remarked; but as the darkness increased, every sound ceased, each voice was hushed, and remorse and terror took possession of every heart, while the bystanders retired one by one to a distance from the Cross. Then it was that Jesus gave his Mother to St. John, and that she, overcome by grief, was carried away to a short distance. As the darkness continued to grow more and more dense, the silence became perfectly astounding; every one appeared terror-struck; some looked at the sky, while others, filled with remorse, turned towards the Cross, smote their breasts, and were converted. Although the Pharisees were in reality quite as much alarmed as other persons, yet they endeavoured at first to put a bold face on the matter, and declared that they could see nothing unaccountable in these events; but at last even they lost assurance, and were reduced to silence. The disc of the sun was of a dark-yellow tint, rather resembling a mountain when viewed by moonlight, and it was surrounded by a bright fiery ring; the stars appeared, but the light they cast was red and lurid; the birds were so terrified as to drop to the ground; the beasts trembled and moaned; the horses and the asses of the Pharisees crept as close as possible to one another, and put their heads between their legs. The thick fog penetrated everything.

Stillness reigned around the Cross. Jesus hung upon it alone; forsaken by all,--disciples, followers, friends, his Mother even was removed from his side; not one person of the thousands upon whom he had lavished benefits was near to offer him the slightest alleviation in his bitter agony,--his soul was overspread with an indescribable feeling of bitterness and grief,--all within him was dark, gloomy, and wretched. The darkness which reigned around

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was but symbolical of that which overspread his interior; he turned, nevertheless, to his Heavenly Father, he prayed for his enemies, he offered the chalice of his sufferings for their redemption, he continued to pray as he had done during the whole of his Passion, and repeated portions of those Psalms the prophecies of which were then receiving their accomplishment in him. I saw angels standing around. Again I looked at Jesus--my beloved Spouse on his Cross, agonising and dying, yet still in dreary solitude. He at that moment endured anguish which no mortal pen can describe,--he felt that suffering which would overwhelm a poor weak mortal if deprived at once of all consolation, both divine and human, and then compelled, without refreshment, assistance, or light, to traverse the stormy desert of tribulation upheld by faith, hope, and charity alone.

His sufferings were inexpressible; but it was by them that he merited for us the grace necessary to resist those temptations to despair which will assail us at the hour of death,--that tremendous hour when we shall feel that we are about to leave all that is dear to us here below. When our minds, weakened by disease, have lost the power of reasoning, and even our hopes of mercy and forgiveness are become, as it were, enveloped in mist and uncertainty,--then it is that we must fly to Jesus, unite our feelings of desolation with that indescribable dereliction which he endured upon the Cross, and be certain of obtaining, a glorious victory over our infernal enemies. Jesus then offered to his Eternal Father his poverty, his dereliction, his labours, and, above all, the bitter sufferings which our ingratitude had caused him to endure in expiation for our sins and weaknesses; no one, therefore, who is united to Jesus in the bosom of his Church must despair at the awful moment preceding his exit from this life, even if he be deprived of all sensible light and comfort; for he must then remember that the Christian is no longer obliged to enter this dark desert alone and unprotected,' as Jesus has cast his own interior and exterior dereliction on the Cross into this gulf of desolation, consequently he will not

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be left to cope alone with death, or be suffered to leave this world in desolation of spirit, deprived of heavenly consolation. All fear of loneliness and despair in death must therefore be cast away; for Jesus, who is our true light, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, has preceded us on that dreary road, has overspread it with blessings, and raised his Cross upon it, one glance at which will calm our every fear. Jesus then (if we may so express ourselves) made his last testament in the presence of his Father, and bequeathed the merits of his Death and Passion to the Church and to sinners. Not one erring soul was forgotten; he thought of each and every one; praying, likewise, even for those heretics who have endeavoured to prove that, being God, he did not suffer as a man would have suffered in his place. The cry which he allowed to pass his lips in the height of his agony was intended not only to show the excess of the sufferings he was then enduring, but likewise to encourage all afflicted souls who acknowledge God as their Father to lay their sorrows with filial confidence at his feet. It was towards three o'clock when he cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani?' 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' These words of our Lord interrupted the dead silence which had continued so long; the Pharisees turned towards him, and one of them said, 'Behold, he calleth Elias;' and another, 'Let us see whether Elias will come to deliver him.' When Mary heard the voice of her divine Son, she was unable to restrain herself any longer, but rushed forwards, and returned to the foot of the Cross, followed by John, Mary the daughter of Cleophas, Mary Magdalen, and Salome. A troop of about thirty horsemen from Judæa and the environs of Joppa, who were on their way to Jerusalem for the festival, passed by just at the time when all was silent round the Cross, both assistants and spectators being transfixed with terror and apprehension. When they beheld Jesus hanging on the Cross, saw the cruelty with which he had been treated, and remarked the extraordinary signs of God's wrath which overspread the face of nature, they were filled with horror,

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and exclaimed, 'If the Temple of God were not in Jerusalem, the city should be burned to the ground for having taken upon itself so fearful a crime.' 'These words from the lips of strangers--strangers too who bore the appearance of persons of rank--made a great impression on the bystanders, and loud murmurs and exclamations of. grief were heard on all sides; some individuals gathered together in groups, more freely to indulge their sorrow, although a certain portion of the crowd continued to blaspheme and revile all around them. The Pharisees were compelled to assume a more humble tone, for they feared an insurrection among the people, being well aware of the great existing excitement among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They therefore held a consultation with Abenadar, the centurion, and agreed with him that the gate of the city, which was in the vicinity, should be closed, in order to prevent farther communication, and that they should send to Pilate and Herod for 500 men to guard against the chance of an insurrection, the centurion, in the mean time, doing all in his power to maintain order, and preventing the Pharisees from insulting Jesus, lest it should exasperate the people still more.

Shortly after three o'clock the light reappeared in a degree, the moon began to pass away from the disc of the sun, while the sun again shone forth, although its appearance was dim, being surrounded by a species of red mist; by degrees it became more bright, and the stars vanished, but the sky was still gloomy. The enemies of Jesus soon recovered their arrogant spirit when they saw the light returning; and it was then that they exclaimed, 'Behold, he calleth Elias.'

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XLV.

Fifth, sixth, and seventh Words of Jesus on the Cross.--His Death.

THE light continued to return by degrees, and the livid exhausted countenance of our Lord again became

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visible. His body was become much more white from the quantity of blood he had lost; and I heard him exclaim, 'I am pressed as the grape, which is trodden in the winepress. My blood shall be poured out until water cometh, but wine shall here be made no more.' I cannot be sure whether he really pronounced these words, so as to be heard by others, or whether they were only an answer given to my interior prayer. I afterwards had a vision relating to these words, and in it I saw Japhet making wine in this place.

Jesus was almost fainting; his tongue was parched., and he said: 'I thirst.' The disciples who were standing round the Cross looked at him with the deepest expression of sorrow, and he added, 'Could you not have given me a little water?' By these words he gave them to understand that no one would have prevented them from doing so during the darkness. John was filled with remorse, and replied: 'We did not think of doing so, O Lord.' Jesus pronounced a few more words, the import of which was: 'My friends and my neighbours were also to forget me, and not give me to drink, that so what was written concerning me might be fulfilled.' This omission had afflicted him very much. The disciples then offered money to the soldiers to obtain permission to give him a little water: they refused to give it, but dipped a sponge in vinegar and gall, and were about to offer it to Jesus, when the centurion Abenadar, whose heart was touched with compassion, took it from them, squeezed out the gall, poured some fresh vinegar upon it, and fastening it to a reed, put the reed at the end of a lance, and presented it for Jesus to drink. I heard our Lord say several other things, but I only remember these words: 'When my voice shall be silent, the mouths of the dead shall be opened.' Some of the bystanders cried out: 'He blasphemeth again.' But Abenadar compelled them to be silent.

The hour of our Lord was--at last come, his death-struggle had commenced; a cold sweat overspread every limb. John stood at the foot of the Cross, and wiped the feet of Jesus with his scapular. Magdalen was crouched

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to the ground in a Perfect' frenzy of grief behind the Cross. The Blessed Virgin stood between Jesus and the good thief, supported by Salome and Mary of Cleophas, with her eyes rivetted on the countenance of her dying Son. Jesus then said: 'It is consummated;' and, raising his head, cried out in a loud voice, 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' These words, which he uttered in a clear and thrilling tone, resounded through heaven and earth; and a moment after, he bowed down his head and gave up the ghost. I saw his soul, under the appearance of a bright meteor, penetrate the earth at the foot of the Cross. John and the holy women fell prostrate on the ground. The centurion Abenadar had kept his eyes steadfastly fixed on the disfigured countenance of our Lord, and was perfectly overwhelmed by all that had taken place. When our Lord pronounced his last words, before expiring, in a loud tone, the earth trembled, and the rock of Calvary burst asunder, forming a deep chasm between the Cross of our Lord and that of Gesmas. The voice of God--that solemn and terrible voice--had reëchoed through the whole universe; it had broken the solemn silence which then pervaded all nature. All was accomplished. The soul of our Lord had left his body: his last cry had filled every breast with terror. The convulsed earth had paid homage to its Creator: the sword of grief had pierced the hearts of those who loved him. This moment was the moment of grace for Abenadar, his horse trembled under him; his heart was touched; it was rent like the hard rock; he threw his lance to a distance, struck his breast, and cried out: 'Blessed be the Most High God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; indeed this Man was the Son of God!' His words convinced many among the soldiers, who followed his example, and were likewise converted.

Abenadar became from this moment a new man; he adored the true God, and would no longer serve his enemies. He gave both his horse and his lance to a subaltern of the name of Longinus, who, having addressed a few words to the soldiers, mounted his horse, and took the command upon himself. Abenadar then left Calvary,

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and went through the Valley of Gihon to the caves in the Valley of Hinnom, where the disciples were hidden, announced the death of our Lord to them, and then went to the town, in order to see Pilate. No sooner had Abenadar rendered public testimony of his belief in the divinity of Jesus, than a large number of soldiers followed his example, as did also some of the bystanders, and even a few Pharisees. Many struck their breasts, wept, and returned home, while others rent their garments, and cast dust on their heads, and all were filled with horror and fear. John arose; and some of the holy women who were at a short distance came up to the Blessed Virgin, and led her away from the foot of the Cross.

When Jesus, the Lord of life and death, gave up his soul into the hands of his Father, and allowed death to take possession of his body, this sacred body trembled and turned lividly white; the countless wounds which were covered with congealed blood appeared like dark marks; his cheeks became more sunken, his nose more pointed, and his eyes, which were obscured with blood, remained but half open. He raised his weary head, which was still crowned with thorns, for a moment, and then dropped it again in agony of pain; while his parched and torn lips, only partially closed, showed his bloody and swollen tongue. At the moment of death his hands, which were at one time contracted round the nails, opened and returned to their natural size, as did also his arms; his body became stiff, and the whole weight was thrown upon the feet, his knees bent, and his feet twisted a little on one side.

What words can, alas, express the deep grief of the Blessed Virgin? Her eyes closed, a death-like tint overspread her countenance; unable to stand, she fell to the ground, but was soon lifted up, and supported by John, Magdalen, and the others. She looked once more upon her beloved Son--that Son whom she had conceived by the Holy Ghost, the flesh of her flesh, the bone of her bone, the heart of her heart--hanging on a cross between two thieves; crucified, dishonoured, contemned by those

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whom he came on earth to save; and well might she at this moment be termed 'the queen of martyrs.'"

The sun still looked dim and suffused with mist; and during the time of the earthquake the air was close and oppressive, but by degrees it became more clear and fresh.

It was about three o'clock when Jesus expired. The Pharisees were at first much alarmed at the earthquake; but when the first shock was over they recovered themselves, began to throw stones into the chasm, and tried to measure its depth with ropes. Finding, however, that they could not fathom its bottom, they became thoughtful, listened anxiously to the groans of the penitents, who were lamenting and striking their breasts, and then left Calvary. Many among the spectators were really converted, and the greatest part returned to Jerusalem perfectly overcome with fear. Roman soldiers were placed at the gates, and in other principal parts of the city, to prevent the possibility of an insurrection. Cassius remained on Calvary with about fifty soldiers. The friends of Jesus stood round the Cross, contemplated our Lord, and wept; many among the holy women had returned to their homes, and all were silent and overcome with grief.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc60.htm

CHAPTER XLVI.

The Earthquake.--Apparitions of the Dead in Jerusalem.

I SAW the soul of Jesus, at the moment he expired, appear under the form of a bright orb, and accompanied by angels, among whom I distinguished the angel Gabriel penetrate the earth at the foot of the Cross. I likewise saw these angels cast a number of evil spirits into the great abyss, and I heard Jesus order several of the souls in Limbo to reënter the bodies in which they once dwelt, in order that the sight might fill sinners with a salutary terror, and that these souls might render a solemn testimony to his divinity.

The earthquake which produced the deep chasm at

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[paragraph continues]Calvary did much damage in different parts of Palestine, but its effects were even more fatal in Jerusalem Its inhabitants were just beginning to be a little reassured by the return of light, when their terror was reawakened with double force by the shocks of the earthquake, and the terrible noise and confusion caused by the downfall of houses and walls on all sides, which panic was still farther increased by the sudden appearance of dead persons, confronting the trembling miscreants who were flying to hide themselves, and addressing them in the most severe and reproachful language.

The High Priests had recommenced the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb (which had been stopped by the unexpected darkness), and they were triumphing at the return of light, when suddenly the ground beneath them trembled, the neighbouring buildings fell down, and the veil of the Temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. Excess of terror at first rendered those on the outside speechless, but after a time they burst forth into cries and lamentations. The confusion in the interior of the Temple was not, however, as great as would naturally have been expected, because the strictest order and decorum were always enforced there, particularly with regard to the regulations to be followed by those who entered to make their sacrifice, and those who left after having offered it. The crowd was great, but the ceremonies were so solemnly carried out by the priests, that they totally engrossed the minds of the assistants. First came the immolation of the lamb, then the sprinkling of its blood, accompanied by the chanting of canticles and the sounding of trumpets. The priests were endeavouring to continue the sacrifices, when suddenly an unexpected and most appalling pause ensued; terror and astonishment were depicted on each countenance; all was thrown into confusion; not a sound was heard; the sacrifices ceased; there was a general rush to the gates of the Temple; every one endeavoured to fly as quickly as possible. And well might they fly, well might they fear and tremble; for in the midst of the multitude there suddenly appeared persons who had been dead.

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and buried for many years! These persons looked at them sternly, and reproved them most severely for the crime they had committed that day, in bringing about the death of 'the just man,' and calling down his blood upon their heads. Even in the midst of this confusion, some attempts were, however, made by the priests to preserve order; they prevented those who were in the inner part of the Temple from rushing forward, pushing their way through the crowds who were in advance of them, and descending the steps which led out of the Temple: they even continued the sacrifices in some parts, and endeavoured to calm the fears of the people.

The appearance of the Temple at this moment can only be described by comparing it to an ant-hill on which persons have thrown stones, or which has been disturbed by a stick being driven into its centre. The ants in those parts on which the stones have fallen, or which the stick has disturbed, are filled with confusion and terror; they run to and fro and do nothing; while the ants in those parts which have not been disturbed continue to labour quietly, and even begin to repair the damaged parts.

The High Priest Caiphas and his retinue did not lose their presence of mind, and by the outward tranquillity which their diabolical hardness of heart enabled them to preserve, they calmed the confusion in a great degree, and then did their utmost to prevent the people from looking upon these stupendous events as testimonies of the innocence of Jesus. The Roman garrison belonging to the fortress of Antonia likewise made great efforts to maintain order; consequently, the disturbance of the festival was not followed by an insurrection, although every heart was fixed with fear and anxiety, which anxiety the Pharisees endeavoured (and in some instances with success) to calm.

I remember a few other striking incidents: in the first place, the two columns which were placed at the entrance of their Holy of Holies, and to which a magnificent curtain was appended, were shaken to the very foundations; the column on the left side fell down in a

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southerly, and that on the right side in a northerly direction, thus rending the veil in two from the top to the bottom with a fearful sound, and exposing the Holy of Holies uncovered to the public gaze. A large stone was loosened and fell from the wall at the entrance of the sanctuary, near where the aged Simeon used to kneel, and the arch was broken. The ground was heaved up, and many other columns were thrown down in other parts of the Temple.

An apparition of the High Priest Zacharias, who was slain between the porch and the altar, was seen in the sanctuary. He uttered fearful menaces, spoke of the death of the second Zacharias, 1 and of that of St. John Baptist, as also of the violent deaths of the other prophets. The two sons of the High Priest Simon, surnamed the Just (ancestors of the aged Simeon who prophesied when Jesus was presented in the Temple), made their appearance in the part usually occupied by the doctors, of the law; they also spoke in terrific terms of the deaths of the prophets, of the sacrifice of the old law which was now about to cease, and they exhorted all present to be converted, and to embrace the doctrines which had been preached by him whom they had crucified. The prophet Jeremiah likewise appeared; he stood near the altar, and proclaimed, in a menacing tone, that the ancient sacrifice was at an end, and that a new one had commenced. As these apparitions took place in parts where none but priests were allowed to enter, Caiphas and a few others were alone cognisant of them, and they endeavoured, as far as possible, either to deny their reality, or to conceal them. These prodigies were followed by others still more extraordinary. The doors of the sanctuary flew open of themselves, and a voice was heard to utter these words: 'Let us leave this place;' and I saw all the angels of the Lord instantly leave the Temple. The thirty-two Pharisees

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who went to Calvary a short time before our Lord expired were almost all converted at the foot of the Cross. They returned to the Temple in the midst of the confusion, and were perfectly thunderstruck at all which had taken place there. They spoke most sternly, both to Annas and to Caiphas, and left the Temple. Annas had always been the most bitter of the enemies of Jesus, and had headed every proceeding against him; but the supernatural events which had taken place had so completely unnerved him that he knew not where to hide himself. Caiphas was, in reality, excessively alarmed, and filled with anxiety, but his pride was so great that. he concealed his feelings as far as possible, and endeavoured to reassure Annas. He succeeded for a time; but the sudden appearance of a person who had been dead many years marred the effect of his words, and Annas became again a prey to the most fearful terror and remorse.

Whilst these things wore going on in the Temple, the confusion and panic were not less in Jerusalem. Dead persons were walking about, and many walls and buildings had been shaken by the earthquake, and parts of them fallen down. The superstition of Pilate rendered him even more accessible to fear; he was perfectly paralysed and speechless with terror; his palace was shaken to the very foundation, and the earth quaked beneath his feet. He ran wildly from room to room, and the dead constantly stood before him, reproaching him with the unjust sentence he had passed upon Jesus. He thought that they were the gods of the Galilæan, and took refuge in an inner room, where he offered incense, and made vows to his idols to invoke their assistance in his distress. Herod was equally alarmed; but he shut himself up in his palace, out of the sight of every one.

More than a hundred persons who had died at different epochs reëntered the bodies they had occupied when on earth, made their appearance in different parts of Jerusalem, and filled the inhabitants with inexpressible consternation. Those souls which had been released by Jesus from Limbo uncovered their faces and wandered to and

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fro in the streets, and although their bodies were, the same as those which they had animated when on earth, yet these bodies did not appear to touch the ground as they walked. They entered the houses of their descendants, proclaimed the innocence of Jesus, and reproved those who had taken part in his death most severely. I saw them passing through the principal streets; they were generally in couples, and appeared to me to glide through the air without moving their feet. The countenances of some were pale; others of a yellow tint; their beards were long, and their voices sounded strange and sepulchral. Their grave-clothes were such as it was customary to use at the period of their decease. When they reached the place where sentence of death was proclaimed on Jesus before the procession started for Calvary they paused for a moment, and exclaimed in a loud voice: 'Glory be to Jesus for ever and ever, and destruction to his enemies!' Towards four o'clock all the dead returned to their graves. The sacrifices in the Temple had been so interrupted, and the confusion caused by the different prodigies was so great that very few persons ate the Paschal lamb on that evening.

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Footnotes

277:1 The Zacharias here referred to was the father of John the Baptist, who was tortured and afterwards put to death by Herod, because he would not betray John into the hands of the tyrant, He was buried by his friends within the precincts of the Temple.

'

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XLVII.

The Request of Joseph of Arimathea to be allowed to have the Body of Jesus.

SCARCELY had the commotion which the town had been thrown into begun to subside in a degree, when the Jews belonging to the Council sent to Pilate to request that the legs of the criminals might be broken, in order to put an end to their lives before the Sabbath-day dawned. Pilate immediately dispatched executioners to Calvary to carry out their wishes.

Joseph of Arimathea then demanded an audience; he had heard of the death of Jesus, and he and Nicodemus had determined to bury him in a new sepulchre which he had made at the end of his garden, not far from Calvary.

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[paragraph continues]Pilate was still filled with anxiety and solicitude, and was much astonished at seeing a person holding a high position like Joseph so anxious for leave to give honourable burial to a criminal whom he had sentenced to be ignominiously crucified. He sent for the centurion Abenadar, who returned to Jerusalem after he had conferred with the disciples who were hidden in the caverns, and asked him whether the King of the Jews was really dead. Abenadar gave Pilate a full account of the death of our Lord, of his last words, and of the loud cry he uttered immediately before death, and of the earthquake which had rent the great chasm in the rock. The only thing at which Pilate expressed surprise was that the death of Jesus should have taken place so quickly, as those who were crucified usually lived much longer; but although be said so little, every word uttered by Joseph increased his dismay and remorse. He instantly gave Joseph an order, by which he was authorised to take down the body of the King of the Jews from the Cross, and to perform the rites of sepulture at once. Pilate appeared to endeavour, by his readiness in granting this request, to wish to make up, in a degree, for his previous cruel and unjust conduct, and he was likewise very glad to do what he was certain would annoy the priests extremely, as he knew their wish was to have Jesus buried ignominiously between the two thieves. He dispatched a messenger to Calvary to see his orders executed. I believe the messenger was Abenadar, for I saw him assisting in taking Jesus down from the Cross.

When Joseph of Arimathea left Pilate's palace, he instantly rejoined Nicodemus, who was waiting for him at the house of a pious woman, which stood opposite to a large street, and was not far from that alley where Jesus was so shamefully ill-treated when he first commenced carrying his Cross. The woman was a vendor of aromatic herbs, and Nicodemus had purchased many perfumes which were necessary for embalming the body of Jesus from her. She procured the more precious kinds from other places, and Joseph went away to procure a fine winding-sheet. His servants then fetched ladders, hammers, pegs, jars of

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water, and sponges, from a neighbouring shed, and placed them in a hand-barrow similar to that on which the disciples of John the Baptist put his body when they carried it off from the castle of Macherus.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XLVIII.

The Opening Of the Side of Jesus.--Death of the two Thieves.

WHILST these events were taking place in Jerusalem, silence reigned around Calvary. The crowd which had been for a time so noisy and tumultuous was dispersed; all were panic-stricken; in some that panic had produced sincere repentance, but on others it had had no beneficial effects. Mary, John, Magdalen, Mary of Cleophas, and Salome had remained, either standing or sitting before the Cross, closely veiled and weeping silently. A few soldiers were leaning over the terrace which enclosed the platform; Cassius rode up and down; the sky was lowering, and all nature wore a garb of mourning. Six archers soon after made their appearance, bringing with them ladders, spades, ropes, and large iron staves for the purpose of breaking the legs of the criminals, in order to hasten their deaths. When they approached our Lord's Cross, his friends retired a few paces back, and the Blessed Virgin was seized with fear lest they should indulge their hatred of Jesus by insulting even his dead body. Her fears were not quite unfounded, for when they first placed their ladders against the Cross they declared that he was only pretending to be dead; in a few moments, however, seeing that he was cold and stiff, they left him, and removed their ladders to the crosses on which the two thieves were still hanging alive. They took up their iron staves and broke the arms of the thieves above and below the elbow; while another archer at the same moment broke their legs, both above and below the knee. Gesmas uttered frightful cries, therefore the executioner finished him off by three heavy blows of a cudgel on his chest. Dismas gave a deep groan, and expired:

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be was the first among mortals who had the happiness of rejoining his Redeemer. The cords were then loosened, the two bodies fell to the ground, and the executioners dragged them to a deep morass, which was between Calvary and the walls of the town, and buried them there.

The archers still appeared doubtful whether Jesus was really dead, and the brutality they had shown in breaking the legs of the thieves made the holy. women tremble as to what outrage they might next perpetrate on the body of our Lord. But Cassius, the subaltern officer, a young man of about five-and-twenty, whose weak squinting eyes and nervous manner had often excited the derision of his companions, was suddenly illuminated by grace, and being quite overcome at the sight of the cruel conduct of the soldiers, and the deep sorrow of the holy women, determined to relieve their anxiety by proving beyond dispute that Jesus was really dead. The kindness of his heart prompted him, but unconsciously to himself he fulfilled a prophecy. He seized his lance and rode quickly up to the mound on which the Cross was planted, stopped just between the cross of the good thief and that of our Lord, and taking his lance in both hands, thrust it so completely into the right side of Jesus that the point went through the heart, and appeared on the left side. When Cassius drew his lance out of the wound a quantity of blood and water rushed from it, and flowed over his face and body. This species of washing produced effects somewhat similar to the vivifying waters of Baptism: grace and salvation at once entered his soul. He leaped from his horse, threw himself upon his knees, struck his breast, and confessed loudly before all his firm belief in the divinity of Jesus.

The Blessed Virgin and her companions were still standing near, with their eyes fixed upon the Cross, but when Cassius thrust his lance into the side of Jesus they were much startled, and rushed with one accord up to it. Mary looked as if the lance had transfixed her heart instead of that of her Divine Son, and could scarcely support herself. Cassius meantime remained kneeling and

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thanking God, not only for the graces he had received but likewise for the cure of the complaint in his eyes, which had caused the weakness and the squint. This cure had been effected at the same moment that the darkness with which his soul was previously filled was removed. Every heart was overcome at the sight, of the blood of our Lord, which ran into a hollow in the rock at the foot of the Cross. Mary, John, the holy women, and Cassius, gathered up the blood and water in flasks, and wiped up the remainder with pieces of linen. 1

Cassius, whose sight was perfectly restored at the same moment that the eyes of his soul were opened, was deeply moved, and continued his humble prayer of thanks( giving. The soldiers were struck with astonishment at the miracle which had taken place, and cast themselves on their knees by his side, at the same time striking their breasts and confessing Jesus. The water and blood continued to flow from the large wound in the side of our Lord; it ran into the hollow in the rock, and the holy women put it in vases, while Mary and Magdalen mingled their tears. The archers, who had received a message from Pilate, ordering them not to touch the body of Jesus, did not return at all.

All these events took place near the Cross, at a little before four o'clock, during the time that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were gathering together the articles necessary for the burial of Jesus. But the servants of Joseph having been sent to clean out the tomb, informed the friends of our Lord that their master intended to take the body of Jesus and place it in his new sepulchre. John

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immediately returned to the town with the holy women; in the first place, that Mary might recruit her strength a little, and in the second, to purchase a few things which would be required for the burial. The Blessed Virgin had a small lodging among the buildings near the Cenaculum. They did not reënter the town through the gate which was the nearest to Calvary, because it was closed, and guarded by soldiers placed there by the Pharisees; but they went through that gate which leads to Bethlehem.

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Footnotes

283:1 Sister Emmerich added: 'Cassius was baptised by the name of Longinus; and was ordained deacon, and preached the faith. He always kept some of the blood of Christ,--it dried up, but was found in his coffin in Italy. He was buried in a town at no great distance from the locality where St. Clare passed her life. There. is a lake with an island upon it near this town, and the body of Longinus must have been taken there.' Sister Emmerich appears to designate Mantua by this description, and there is a tradition preserved in that town to the same effect. I do not know which St. Clare lived in the neighbourhood.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER XLIX.

A Description of some Parts of ancient Jerusalem.

THIS chapter will contain some descriptions of places given by Sister Emmerich on various occasions. They will be followed by a description of the tomb and garden of Joseph of Arimathea, that so we may have no need to interrupt the account of the burial of our Lord.

The first gate which stood. on the eastern side of Jerusalem, to the south of the south-east angle of the Temple, was the one leading to the suburb of Ophel. The gate of the sheep was to the north of the north-east angle of the Temple. Between these two gates there was a third, leading to some streets situated to the east of the Temple, and inhabited for the most part by stonemasons and other workmen. The houses in these streets were supported by the foundations of the Temple; and almost all belonged to Nicodemus, who had caused them to be built, and who employed nearly all the workmen living there. Nicodemus had not long before built a beautiful gate as an entrance to these streets, called the Gate of Moriah. It was but just finished, and through it Jesus had entered the town on Palm Sunday. Thus he entered by the new gate of Nicodemus, through which no one had yet passed, and was buried in the new monument of Joseph of Arimathea, in which no one had yet been laid. This gate was afterwards walled up, and there was a

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tradition that the Christians were once again to enter the town through it. Even in the present day, a walled-up gate, called by the Turks the Golden Gate, stands on this spot.

The road leading to the west from the gate of the sheep passed almost exactly between the north-western side of Mount Sion and Calvary. From this gate to Golgotha the distance was about two miles and a quarter; and from Pilate's palace to Golgotha about two miles. The fortress Antonia was situated to the north-west of the mountain of the Temple, on a detached rock. A person going towards the west, on leaving Pilate's palace, would have had this fortress to his left. On one of its walls there was a platform commanding the forum, and from which Pilate was accustomed to make proclamations to the people: he did this, for instance, when he promulgated new laws. When our Divine Lord was carrying his Cross, in the interior of the town, Mount Calvary was frequently on his right hand. This road, which partly ran in a south-westerly direction, led to a gate made in an inner wall of the town, towards Sion. Beyond this wall, to the left, there was a sort of suburb, containing more gardens than houses; and towards the outer wall of the city stood some magnificent sepulchres with stone entrances. On this side was a house belonging to Lazarus, with beautiful gardens, extending towards that part where the outer western wall of Jerusalem turned to the south. I believe that a little private door, made in the city wall, and through which Jesus and his disciples often passed by permission of Lazarus, led to these gardens. The gate standing at the north-western angle of the town led to Bethsur, which was situated more towards the north than Emmaus and Joppa. The western part of Jerusalem was lower than any other: the land on which it was built first sloped in the direction of the surrounding wall, and then rose again when close to it; and on this declivity there stood gardens and vineyards, behind which wound a wide road, with paths leading to the walls and towers. On the other side, without the

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wall, the land descended towards the valley, so that the walls surrounding the lower part of the town looked as if built on a raised terrace. There are gardens and vineyards even in the present day on the outer hill. When. Jesus arrived at the end of the Way of the Cross, he had on his left hand that part of the town where there were so many gardens; and it was from thence that Simon of Cyrene was coming when he met the procession. The gate by which Jesus left the town was not entirely facing the west, but rather the south-west. The city wall on the left-hand side, after passing through the gate, ran somewhat in a southerly direction, then turned towards the west, and then again to the south, round Mount Sion. On this side there stood a large tower, like a fortress. The gate by which Jesus left the town was at no great distance from another gate more towards the south, leading down to the valley, and where a road, turning to the left in the direction of Bethlehem, commenced. The road turned to the north towards Mount Calvary shortly after that gate by which Jesus left Jerusalem when bearing his Cross. Mount Calvary was very steep on its eastern side, facing the town, and a gradual descent on the western; and on this side, from which the road to Emmaus was to be seen, there was a field, in which I saw Luke gather several plants when he and Cleophas were going to Emmaus, and met Jesus on the way. Near the walls, to the east and south of Calvary, there were also gardens, sepulchres, and vineyards. The Cross was buried on the northeast side, at the foot of Mount Calvary.

The garden of Joseph of Arimathea 1 was situated near

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the gate of Bethlehem, at about a seven minutes' walk from Calvary: it was a very fine garden, with tall trees, banks, and thickets in it, which gave much shade, and was situated. on a rising ground extending to the walls of the city. A person coming from the northern side of the valley, and entering the garden, had on his left hand a slight ascent extending as far as the city wall; and on his right, at the end of the garden, a detached rock, where the cave of the sepulchre was situated. The grotto in which it was made looked to the east; and on the southwestern and north-western sides of the same rock were two other smaller sepulchres, which were also new, and with depressed fronts. A pathway, beginning on the western side of this rock, ran all round it. The ground in front of the sepulchre was higher than that of the entrance, and a person wishing to enter the cavern had to descend several steps. The cave was sufficiently large for four men to be able to stand close up to the wall on either side without impeding the movements of the bearers of the body. Opposite the door was a cavity in the rock, in which the tomb was made; it was about two feet above the level of the ground, and fastened to the rock by one side only, like an altar: two persons could stand, one at the head and one at the foot; and there was a place also for a third in front, even if the door of the cavity was closed. This door was made of some metal, perhaps of brass, and had two folding doors. These doors could be closed by a stone being rolled against them; and the stone used for this purpose was kept outside the cavern. Immediately after our Lord was placed in the sepulchre it was rolled in front of the door. It was very large, and could not be removed without the united efforts of several men. Opposite the entrance of the cavern there stood a stone bench, and. by mounting on this a person could climb on to the rock,

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which was covered with grass, and from whence the city walls, the highest parts of Mount Sion, and some towers could be seen, as well as the gate of Bethlehem and the fountain of Gihon. The rock inside was of a white colour, intersected with red and blue veins.

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Footnotes

286:1 We must here remark that, in the four years during which Sister Emmerich had her visions, she described everything that had happened to the holy places from the earliest times down to our own. More than once she beheld them profaned and laid waste, but always venerated, either publicly or privately. She saw many stones and pieces of rock, which had been silent witnesses of the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord, placed by St. Helena in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre upon occasion of the foundation of that sacred building. When Sister Emmerich visited it in spirit she was accustomed to venerate the spots where the Cross had stood and the holy Sepulchre been situated. It must be observed, however, p. 287 that she used sometimes to see a greater distance between the actual position of the Tomb and the spot where the Cross stood than there is between the chapels which bear their names in the church of Jerusalem.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER L.

The Descent from the Cross.

AT the time when every one had left the neighbourhood of the Cross, and a few guards alone stood around it, I saw five persons, who I think were disciples, and who had come by the valley from Bethania, draw nigh to Calvary, gaze for a few moments upon the Cross, and then steal away. Three times I met in the vicinity two men who were making examinations and anxiously consulting together. These men were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. The first time was during the Crucifixion (perhaps when they caused the clothes of Jesus to be brought back from the soldiers), and they were then at no great distance from Calvary. The second was when, after standing to look whether the crowd was dispersing, they went to the tomb to make some preparations. The third was on their return from the tomb to the Cross, when they were looking around in every direction, as if waiting for a favourable moment, and then concerted together as to the manner in which they should take the body of our Lord down from the Cross, after which they returned to the town.

Their next care was to make arrangements for carrying with them the necessary articles for embalming the body, and their servants took some tools with which to detach it from the Cross, as well as two ladders which they found in a barn close to Nicodemus's house. Each of these ladders consisted of a single pole, crossed at regular intervals by pieces of wood, which formed the steps. There were hooks which could be fastened on any part of the pole, and by means of which the ladder could be steadied

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or on which, perhaps, anything required for the work could also be hung.

The woman from whom they had bought their spices had packed the whole neatly together. Nicodemus had bought a hundred pounds' weight of roots, which quantity is equal to about thirty-seven pounds of our measure, as has been explained to me. They carried these spices in little barrels make of bark, which were hung round their necks, and rested on their breasts. One of these barrels contained some sort of powder. They had also some bundles of herbs in bags made of parchment or leather, and Joseph carried a box of ointment; but I do not know what this box was made of. The servants were to carry vases, leathern bottles, sponges, and tools, on a species of litter, and they likewise took fire with them in a closed lantern. They left the town before their master, and by a different gate (perhaps that of Bethania), and then turned their steps towards Mount Calvary. As they walked through the town they passed by the house where the Blessed Virgin, St. John, and the holy women had gone to seek different things required for embalming the body of Jesus, and John and the holy women followed the servants at a certain distance. The women were about five in number, and some of them carried large bundles of linen under their mantles. It was the custom for women, when they went out in the evening, or if intending to perform some work of piety secretly, to wrap their persons carefully in a long sheet at least a yard wide. They began by one arm, and then wound the linen so closely round their body that they could not walk without difficulty. I have seen them wrapped up in this manner, and the sheet not only extended to both arms, but likewise veiled the head. On the present occasion, the appearance of this dress was most striking in my eyes, for it was a real mourning garment. Joseph and Nicodemus were also in mourning attire, and wore black sleeves and wide sashes. Their cloaks, which they had drawn over their heads, were both wide and long, of a common gray colour, and served to conceal everything that they were carrying.

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They turned their steps in the direction of the gate leading to Mount Calvary. The streets were deserted and quiet, for terror kept every one at home. The greatest number were beginning to repent, and but few were keeping the festival. When Joseph and Nicodemus reached the gate they found it closed, and the road, streets, and every corner lined with soldiers. These were the soldiers whom the Pharisees had asked for at about two o'clock, and whom they had kept under arms and on guard, as they still feared a tumult among the people. Joseph showed an order, signed by Pilate, to let them pass freely, and the soldiers were most willing that they should do so, but explained to him that they had endeavoured several times to open the gate, without being able to move it; that apparently the gate had received a shock, and been strained in some part; and that on this account the archers sent to break the legs of the thieves had been obliged to return to the city by another gate. But when Joseph and Nicodemus seized hold of the bolt, the gate opened as if of itself, to the great astonishment of all the bystanders.

It was still dark and the sky cloudy when they reached Mount Calvary, where they found the servants who had been sent on already arrived, and the holy women sitting weeping in front of the Cross. Cassius and several soldiers who were converted remained at a certain distance, and their demeanour was respectful and reserved. Joseph and Nicodemus described to the Blessed Virgin and John all they had done to save Jesus from an ignominious death, and learned from them how they had succeeded in preventing the bones of our Lord from being broken, and how the prophecy had been fulfilled. They spoke also of the wound which Cassius had made with his lance. No sooner was the centurion Abenadar arrived than they began, with the deepest recollection of spirit, their mournful and sacred labour of taking down from the Cross and embalming the adorable body of our Lord.

The Blessed Virgin and Magdalen were seated at the foot of the Cross; while, on the right-hand side, between

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the cross of Dismas and that of Jesus, the other women were engaged in preparing the linen, spices, water, sponges, and vases. Cassius also came forward, and related to Abenadar the miraculous cure of his eyes. All were deeply affected, and their hearts overflowing with sorrow and love; but, at the same time, they preserved a solemn silence, and their every movement was full of gravity and reverence. Nothing broke the stillness save an occasional smothered word of lamentation, or a Stifled groan, which escaped from one or other of these holy personages, in spite of their earnest eagerness and deep attention to their pious labour. Magdalen gave way unrestrainedly to her sorrow, and neither the presence of so many different persons, nor any other consideration, appeared to distract her from it.

Nicodemus and Joseph placed the ladders behind the Cross, and mounted them, holding in their hands a large sheet, to which three long straps were fastened. They tied the body of Jesus, below the arms and knees, to the tree of the Cross, and secured the arms by pieces of linen placed underneath the hands. Then they drew out the nails, by pushing them from behind with strong pins pressed upon the points. The sacred hands of Jesus were thus not much shaken, and the nails fell easily out of the wounds; for the latter had been made wider by the weight of the body, which, being now supported by the cloths, no longer hung on the nails. The lower part of the body, which since our Lord's death had sunk down on the knees, now rested in a natural position, supported by a sheet fastened above to the arms of the Cross. Whilst Joseph was taking out the nail from the left hand, and then allowing the left arm, supported by its cloth, to fall gently down upon the body, Nicodemus was fastening the right arm of Jesus to that of the Cross, as also the sacred crowned head, which had sunk on the right shoulder. Then he took out the right nail, and having surrounded the arm with its supporting sheet, let it fall gently on to the body. At the same time, the centurion Abenadar, with great difficulty, drew out the large nail

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which transfixed the feet. Cassius devoutly received the nails, and laid them at the feet of the Blessed Virgin.

Then Joseph and Nicodemus, having placed ladders against the front of the Cross, in a very upright position, and close to the body, untied the upper strap, and fastened it to one of the hooks on the ladder; they did the same with the two other straps, and passing them all on from hook to hook, caused the sacred body to descend gently towards the centurion, who having mounted upon a stool received it in his arms, holding it below the knees; while Joseph and Nicodemus, supporting the upper part of the body, came gently down the ladder, stopping at every step, and taking every imaginable precaution, as would be done by men bearing the body of some beloved friend who had been grievously wounded. Thus did the bruised body of our Divine Saviour reach the ground.

It was a most touching sight. They all took the same precautions, the same care, as if they had feared to cause Jesus some suffering. They seemed to have concentrated on the sacred body all the love and veneration which they had felt for their Saviour during his life. The eyes of each were fixed upon the adorable body, and followed all its movements; and they were continually uplifting their hands towards Heaven, shedding tears, and expressing in every possible way the excess of their grief and anguish. Yet they all remained perfectly calm, and even those who were so busily occupied about the sacred body broke silence but seldom, and, when obliged to make some necessary remark, did so in a low voice. During the time that the nails were being forcibly removed by blows of the hammer, the Blessed Virgin, Magdalen, and all those who had been present at the Crucifixion, felt each blow transfix their hearts. The sound recalled to their minds all the sufferings of Jesus., and they could not control their trembling fear, lest they should again hear his piercing cry of suffering; although, at the same time, they grieved at the silence of his blessed lips, which proved, alas too surely, that he was really dead. When the body was taken down it was wrapped in linen from the knees to the waist, and then

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placed in the arms of the Blessed Virgin, who, overwhelmed with sorrow and love, stretched them forth to receive their precious burden.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER LI.

The Embalming of the Body of Jesus.

THE Blessed Virgin seated herself upon a large cloth spread on the ground, with her right knee, which was slightly raised, and her back resting against some mantles, rolled together so as to form a species of cushion. No precaution had been neglected which could in any way facilitate to her--the Mother of Sorrows--in her deep affliction of soul, the mournful but most sacred duty which she was about to fulfil in regard to the body of her beloved Son. The adorable head of Jesus rested upon Mary's knee, and his body was stretched upon a sheet. The Blessed Virgin was overwhelmed with sorrow and love. Once more, and for the last time, did she hold in her arms the body of her most beloved Son, to whom she had been unable to give any testimony of love during the long hours of his martyrdom. And she gazed upon his wounds and fondly embraced his blood-stained cheeks, whilst Magdalen pressed her face upon his feet.

The men withdrew into a little cave, situated on the south-west side of Calvary, there to prepare the different things needful for the embalming; but Cassius, with a few other soldiers who had been converted, remained at a respectful distance. All ill-disposed persons were gone back to the city, and the soldiers who were present served merely to form a guard to prevent any interruption in the last honours which were being rendered to the body of Jesus. Some of these soldiers even gave assistance when desired. The holy women held the vases, sponges, linen, unction, and spices, according as required; but when not thus employed, they remained at a respectful distance, attentively gazing upon the Blessed Virgin as she proceeded

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in her mournful task. Magdalen did not leave the body of Jesus; but John gave continual assistance to the Blessed Virgin, and went to and fro from the men to the women, lending aid to both parties. The women had with them some large leathern bottles and a vase filled. with water standing upon a coal fire. They gave the Blessed Virgin and Magdalen, according as they required, vases filled with clear water, and sponges, which they afterwards squeezed in the leathern bottles.

The courage and firmness of Mary remained unshaken even in the midst of her inexpressible anguish. 1 It was absolutely impossible for her to leave the body of her Son in the awful state to which it had been reduced by his sufferings, and therefore she began with indefatigable earnestness to wash and purify it from the traces of the outrages to which it had been exposed. With the utmost care she drew off the crown of thorns, opening it behind, and then cutting off one by one the thorns which had sunk deep into the head of Jesus, in order that she might not widen the wounds. The crown was placed by the side of the nails, and then Mary drew out the thorns which had remained in the skin with a species of rounded pincers, 2 and sorrowfully showed them to her friends. These

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thorns were placed with the crown, but still some of them must have been preserved separately.

The divine face of our Saviour was scarcely recognisable, so disfigured was it by the wounds with which it was covered. The beard and hair were matted together with blood. Mary washed the head and face, and passed damp sponges over the hair to remove the congealed blood. As she proceeded in her pious office, the extent of the awful cruelty which had been exercised upon Jesus became more and more apparent, and caused in her soul emotions of compassion and tenderness which increased as she passed from one wound to another. She washed the wounds of the head, the eyes filled with blood, the nostrils, and the ears, with a sponge and a small piece of linen spread over the fingers of her right hand; and then she purified, in the same manner, the half-opened mouth, the tongue, the teeth, and the lips. She divided what remained of our Lord's hair into three parts, 1 a part falling over each temple, and the third over the back of

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his head; and when she had disentangled the front hair and smoothed it, she passed it behind his ears. When the head was thoroughly cleansed and purified, the Blessed Virgin covered it with a veil, after having kissed the sacred cheeks of her dear Son. She then turned her attention to the neck, shoulders, chest, back, arms, and pierced hands. All the bones of the breast and the joints were dislocated, and could not be bent. There was a frightful wound on the shoulder which had borne the weight of the Cross, and all the upper part of the body was covered with bruises and deeply marked with the blows of the scourges. On the left breast there was a small wound where the point of Cassius's lance had come out, and on the right side was the large wound made by the same lance, and which had pierced the heart through and through. Mary washed all these wounds, and Magdalen, on her knees, helped her from time to time; but without leaving the sacred feet of Jesus, which she bathed with tears and wiped with her hair.

The head, bosom, and feet of our Lord were' now washed, and the sacred body, which was covered with brown stains and red marks in those places where the skin had been torn off, and of a bluish-white colour, like flesh that has been drained of blood, was resting on the knees of Mary, who covered the parts which she had washed with a veil, and then proceeded to embalm all the wounds. The holy women knelt by her side, and in turn presented to her a box, out of which she took some precious ointment, and with it filled and covered the wounds. She also anointed the hair, and then, taking the sacred hands of Jesus in her left hand, respectfully kissed them, and filled the large wounds made by the nails with this ointment or sweet spice. She likewise filled the ears, nostrils, and wound in the side with the same precious mixture. Meanwhile Magdalen wiped and embalmed our Lord's feet, and then again washed them with her tears, and often pressed her face upon them.

The water which had been used was not thrown away, but poured into the leathern bottles in which the sponges

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had been squeezed. I saw Cassius or some other soldier go several times to fetch fresh water from the fountain of Gihon, which was at no great distance off. When the Blessed Virgin had filled all the wounds with ointment, she wrapped the head up in linen cloths, but she did not as yet cover the face. She closed the half-open eyes of Jesus, and kept her hand upon them for some time. She also closed the mouth, and then embraced the sacred body of her beloved Son, pressing her face fondly and reverently upon his. Joseph and Nicodemus had been waiting for some time, when John drew near to the Blessed Virgin, and besought her to permit the body of her Son to be taken from her, that the embalming might be completed, because the Sabbath was close at hand. Once more did Mary embrace the sacred body of Jesus, and utter her farewells in the most touching language, and then the men lifted it from her arms on the sheet, and carried it to some distance. The deep sorrow of Mary had been for the time assuaged by the feelings of love and reverence with which she had accomplished her sacred task; but now it once more overwhelmed her, and she fell, her head covered with her veil, into the arms of the holy women. Magdalen felt almost as though her Beloved were being forcibly carried away from her, and, hastily ran forward a few steps, with her arms stretched forth; but then, after a moment, returned to the Blessed Virgin.

The sacred body was carried to a spot beneath the level of the top of Golgotha, where the smooth surface of a rock afforded a convenient platform on which to embalm the body. I first saw a piece of open-worked linen, looking very much like lace, and which made me think of the large embroidered curtain hung between the choir and nave during Lent. 1 It was probably worked in that open stitch for the water to run through. I also saw another large sheet unfolded. The body of our Saviour was placed on

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the open-worked piece of linen, and some of the other men held the other sheet spread above it. Nicodemus and Joseph then knelt down, and underneath this covering took off the linen which they had fastened round the loins of our Saviour, when they took his body down from the Cross. They then passed sponges under this sheet and washed the lower parts of the body; after which they lifted it up by the help of pieces of linen crossed beneath the loins and knees, and washed the back without turning it over. They continued washing until nothing but clear water came from the sponges when pressed. Next they poured water of myrrh over the whole body, and then, handling it with respect, stretched it out full length, for it was still in the position in which our Divine Lord had died--the loins and knees bent. They then placed beneath his hips a sheet which was a yard in width and three in length, laid upon his lap bundles of sweet-scented herbs, and shook over the whole body a powder which Nicodemus had brought. Next they wrapped up the lower part of the body, and fastened the cloth which they had placed underneath round it strongly. After this they anointed the wounds of the thighs, placed bundles of herbs between the legs, which were stretched out to their fall length, and wrapped them up entirely in these sweet spices.

Then John conducted the Blessed Virgin and the other holy women once more to the side of the body. Mary knelt down by the head of Jesus, and placed beneath it a piece of very fine linen which had been given her by Pilate's wife, and which she had worn round her neck under her cloak; next, assisted by the holy women, she placed from the shoulders to the cheeks bundles of herbs, spices, and sweet-scented powder, and then strongly bound this piece of linen round the head and shoulders. Magdalen poured besides a small bottle of balm into the wound of the side, and the holy women placed some more herbs into those of the hands and feet. Then the men put sweet spices around all the remainder of the body, crossed the sacred stiffened arms on the chest, and bound the large white sheet round the body as high as the chest, in the

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game manner as if they had been swaddling a child. Then, having fastened the end of a large band beneath the armpits, they rolled it round the head and the whole body. Finally, they placed our Divine Lord on the large sheet, six yards in length, which Joseph of Arimathea had bought, and wrapped him in it. He was lying diagonally upon it, and one corner of the sheet was raised from the feet to the chest, the other drawn over the head and shoulders, while the remaining two ends were doubled round the body.

The Blessed Virgin, the holy women, the men-all were kneeling round the body of Jesus to take their farewell of it, when a most touching miracle took place before them. The sacred body of Jesus, with all its wounds, appeared imprinted upon the cloth which covered it, as though he had been pleased to reward their care and their love, and leave them a portrait of himself through all the veils with which he was enwrapped. With tears they embraced the adorable body, and then reverently kissed the wonderful impression which it had left. Their astonishment increased when, on lifting up the sheet, they saw that all the bands which surrounded the body had remained white as before, and that the upper cloth alone had been marked in this wonderful manner. It was not a mark made by the bleeding wounds, since the whole body was wrapped up and covered with sweet spices, but it was a supernatural portrait, bearing testimony to the divine creative power ever abiding in the body of Jesus. I have seen many things relative to the subsequent history of this piece of linen, but I could not describe them coherently. After the resurrection it remained in the possession of the friends of Jesus, but fell twice into the hands of the Jews, and later was honoured in several different places. I have seen it in a city of Asia, in the possession of some Christians who were not Catholics. I have forgotten the name of the town, which is situated in a province near the country of the Three Kings.

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Footnotes

294:1 On Good Friday, March 30th, 1820, as Sister Emmerich was contemplating the descent from the Cross she suddenly fainted, in the presence of the writer of these lines, and appeared to be really dead. But after a time she recovered her senses and gave the following explanation, although still in a state of great suffering: 'As I was contemplating the body of Jesus lying on the knees of the Blessed Virgin I said to myself: "How great is her strength! She has not fainted even once!" My guide reproached me for this thought--in which there was more astonishment than compassion--and said to me, "Suffer then what she has suffered!" And at the same moment a sensation of the sharpest anguish transfixed me like a sword, so that I believed I must have died from it.' She had to endure this suffering for a long time, and, in consequence of it, had an illness which reduced her almost to the brink of the grave.

294:2 Sister Emmerich said that the shape of these pincers reminded her of the scissors with which Samson's hair was out off. In her visions of the third year of the public life of Jesus she had seen our Lord keep the Sabbath-day at Misael--a town belonging p. 295 to the Levites, of the tribe of Aser--and as a portion of the Book of Judges was read in the synagogue, Sister Emmerich beheld upon that occasion the life of Samson.

295:1 Sister Emmerich was accustomed, when speaking of persons of historical importance, to explain how they divided their hair. 'Eve,' she said, 'divided her hair in two parts, but Mary into three.' And she appeared to attach importance to these words. No opportunity presented itself for her to give any explanation upon the subject, which probably would have shown what was done With the hair in sacrifices, funerals, consecrations, or vows, &c. She once said of Samson: 'His fair hair, which was long and thick, was gathered up on his head in seven tresses, like a helmet, and the ends of these tresses were fastened upon his forehead and temples. His hair was not in itself the source of his strength, but only as the witness to the vow which he had made to let it grow in God's honour. The powers which depended upon these seven tresses were the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. He must have already broken his vows and lost many graces, when he allowed this sign of being a Nazarene to be out off. I did not see Dalila out off all his hair, and I think one look remained on his forehead. He retained the grace to do penance and of that repentance by which he recovered strength sufficient to destroy his enemies. The life of Samson is figurative and prophetic.'

297:1 This refers to a custom of the Diocese of Munster. During Lent there was hung up in the churches a curtain, embroidered in open work, representing the Five Wounds, the instruments of the, Passion, &c.

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CHAPTER LII.

The Body of our Lord placed in the Sepulchre.

THE men placed the sacred body on a species of leathern hand-barrow, which they covered with a brown-coloured cloth, and to which they fastened two long stakes. This forcibly reminded me of the Ark of the Covenant. Nicodemus and Joseph bore on their shoulders the front shafts, while Abenadar and John supported those behind. After them came the Blessed Virgin, Mary of Heli, her eldest sister, Magdalen and Mary of Cleophas, and then the group of women who had been sitting at some distance--Veronica, Johanna Chusa, Mary the mother of Mark, Salome the wife of Zebedee, Mary Salome, Salome of Jerusalem, Susanna, and Anne the niece of St. Joseph. Cassius and the soldiers closed the procession. The other women, such as Marone of Naïm, Dina the Samaritaness, and Mara the Suphanitess, were at Bethania, with Martha and Lazarus. Two soldiers, bearing torches in their hands, walked on first, that there might be some light in the grotto of the sepulchre; and the procession continued to advance in this order for about seven minutes, the holy men and women singing psalms in sweet but melancholy tones. I saw James the Greater, the brother of John, standing upon a hill the other side of the valley, to look at them as they passed, and he returned immediately afterwards, to tell the other disciples what he had seen.

The procession stopped at the entrance of Joseph's garden, which was opened by the removal of some stakes, afterwards used as levers to roll the stone to the door of the sepulchre. When opposite the rock, they placed the Sacred Body on a long board covered with a sheet. The grotto, which had been newly excavated, had been lately cleaned by the servants of Nicodemus, so that the interior was neat and pleasing to the eye. The holy women sat down in front of the grotto, while the four men carried in the body of our Lord, partially filled the hollow couch destined for its reception with aromatic spices, and spread

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over them a cloth, upon which they reverently deposited the sacred body. After having once more given expression to their love by tears and fond embraces, they left the grotto. Then the Blessed Virgin entered, seated herself close to the head of her dear Son, and bent over his body with many tears. When she left the grotto, Magdalen hastily and eagerly came forward, and flung on the body some flowers and branches which she had gathered in the garden. Then she clasped her hands together, and with sobs kissed the feet of Jesus; but the men having informed her that they must close the sepulchre, she returned to the other women. They covered the sacred body with the extremities of the sheet on which it was lying, placed on the top of all the brown coverlet, and closed the folding-doors, which were made of a bronze-coloured metal, and had on their front two sticks, one straight down and the other across, so as to form a perfect cross.

The large stone with which they intended to close the sepulchre, and which was still lying in front of the grotto, was in shape very like a chest 1 or tomb; its length was such that a man might have laid himself down upon it, and it was so heavy that it was only by means of levers that the men could roll it before the door of the sepulchre. The entrance of the grotto was closed by a gate made of branches twined together. Everything that was done within the grotto had to be accomplished by torchlight, for daylight never penetrated there.

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Footnotes

301:1 Apparently Sister Emmerich here spoke of the ancient eases in which her poor countrymen keep their clothes. The lower part of these cases is smaller than the upper, and this gives them some likeness to a tomb. She had one of these cases, which she called her chest. She often described the stone by this comparison, but her descriptions have not, nevertheless, given us a very clear idea of its shape.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER LIII.

The Return from the Sepulchre.--Joseph of Arimathea is put in Prison.

THE Sabbath was close at hand, and Nicodemus and Joseph returned to Jerusalem by a small door not far from the garden, and which Joseph had been allowed by special favour to have made in the city wall. They told the Blessed Virgin, Magdalen, John, and some of the women, who were returning to Calvary to pray there, that this door, as well as that of the supper-room, would be opened to them whenever they knocked. The elder sister of the Blessed Virgin, Mary of Heli, returned to the town with Mary the mother of Mark, and some other women. The servants of Nicodemus and Joseph went to Calvary to fetch several things which had been left there.

The soldiers joined those who were guarding the city gate near Calvary; and Cassius went to Pilate with the lance, related all that he had seen, and promised to give him an exact account of everything that should happen, if he would put under his command the guards whom the Jews would not fail to ask to have put round the tomb. Pilate listened to his words with secret terror, but only told him in reply that his superstition amounted to madness.

Joseph and Nicodemus met Peter and the two Jameses in the town. They all shed many tears, but Peter was perfectly overwhelmed by the violence of his grief. He embraced them, reproached himself for not having been present at the death of our Saviour, and thanked them for having bestowed the rites of sepulture upon his sacred body. It was agreed that the door of the supper-room should be opened to them whenever they knocked, and then they went away to seek some other disciples who were dispersed in various directions. Later I saw the Blessed Virgin and her companions enter the supper-room; Abenadar next came and was admitted; and by

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degrees the greatest part of the Apostles and disciples assembled there. The holy women retired to that part of the building where the Blessed Virgin was living. They took some food, and spent a few minutes more in tears, and in relating to one another what each had seen. The men changed their dresses, and I saw them standing under the lamp, and keeping the Sabbath. They ate some lambs in the supper-room, but without observing any ceremony, for they had eaten the Paschal lamb the evening before. They were all perturbed in spirit, and filled with grief. The holy women also passed their time in praying with the Blessed Virgin under the lamp. Later, when night had quite fallen, Lazarus, the widow of Naïm, Dina the Samaritan woman, and Mara of Suphan, 1 came

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from Bethania, and then, once more, descriptions were given of all that had taken place, and many tears shed.

Joseph of Arimathea returned home late from the supper-room, and he was sorrowfully walking along the streets of Sion, accompanied by a few disciples and women, when all on a sudden a band of armed men, who were lying in ambuscade in the neighbourhood of Caiphas's tribunal, fell upon them, and laid hands upon Joseph, whereupon his companions fled, uttering loud cries of terror. He was confined in a tower contiguous to the city wall, not far from the tribunal. These soldiers were pagans, and had not to keep the Sabbath, therefore Caiphas had been able to secure their services on this occasion. The intention was to let Joseph die of hunger, and keep his disappearance a secret.

Here conclude the descriptions of all that occurred on the day of the Passion of our Lord; but we will add some supplementary matter concerning Holy Saturday, the Descent into Hell, and the Resurrection.

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Footnotes

303:1 According to the visions of Sister Emmerich, the three women named in the text had been living for some time at Bethania, in a sort of community established by Martha for the purpose of providing for the maintenance of the disciples when our Lord wag moving about, and for the division and distribution of the alms which were collected. The widow of Naïm, whose son Martial was raised from the dead by Jesus, according to Sister Emmerich, on the 28th Marcheswan (the 18th of November), was named Maroni. She was the daughter of an uncle, on the father's side, of St. Peter. Her first husband was the son of a sister of Elizabeth, who herself was the daughter of a sister of the mother of St. Anne. Maroni's first husband having died without children, she had married Elind, a relation of St. Anne, and had left Chasaluth, near Tabor, to take up her abode at Naïm, which was not far off, and where she soon lost her second husband.

Dina, the Samaritan woman, was the same who conversed with Jesus by Jacob's well. She was born near Damascus, of parents who were half Jewish and half Pagan. They died while she was yet very young, and she being brought up by a woman of bad character, the seeds of the most evil passions were early sown in her heart. She had had several husbands, who supplanted one another in turn, and the last lived at Sichar, whither she had followed him and changed her name from Dina to Salome. She had three grown-up daughters and two sons, who afterwards joined the disciples. Sister Emmerich used to say that the life of this Samaritan woman was prophetic--that Jesus had spoken to the entire sect of Samaritans in her person, and that they were attached to their errors by as many ties as she had committed adulteries.

Mara of Suphan was a Moabitess, came from the neighbourhood of Suphan, and was a descendant of Orpha, the widow of Chélion, Noëmi's son. Orpha had married again in Moab. By p. 304 Orpha, the sister-in-law of Ruth, Mara was connected with the family of David, from whom our Lord was descended. Sister Emmerich saw Jesus deliver Mara from four devils and grant her forgiveness of her sins on the 17th Elud (9th September) of the second year of his public life. She was living at Ainon, having been repudiated by her husband, a rich Jew, who had kept the children he had had by her with him. She had with her three others, the offspring of her adulteries.

'I saw,' Sister Emmerich would say,--'I saw how the stray branch of the stock of David was purified within her by the grace of Jesus, and admitted into the bosom of the Church. I cannot express how many of these roots and offshoots I see become entwined with each other, lost to view, and then once more brought to light.'

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER LIV.

On the Name of Calvary.

WHILST meditating on the name of Golgotha, Calvary, the place of skulls, borne by the rock upon which Jesus was crucified, I became deeply absorbed in contemplation, and beheld in spirit all ages from the time of Adam to that of Christ, and in this vision the origin of the name was made known to me. I here give all that I remember on this subject.

I saw Adam, after his expulsion from Paradise, weeping in the grotto where Jesus sweated blood and water, on Mount Olivet. I saw how Seth was promised to Eve in the grotto of the manger at Bethlehem, and how she brought him forth in that same grotto. I also saw Eve living in some caverns near Hebron, where the Essenian Monastery of Maspha was afterwards established.

I then beheld the country where Jerusalem was built, as it appeared after the Deluge, and the land was all unsettled, black, stony, and very different from what it had been before. At an immense depth below the rock which constitutes Mount Calvary (which was formed in this spot by the rolling, of the waters), I saw the tomb of Adam and Eve. The head and one rib were wanting to one of the skeletons, and the remaining head was placed within the same skeleton, to which it did not belong. The bones of Adam and Eve had not all been left in this grave, for Noah had some of them with him in the ark, and they were transmitted from generation to generation by the Patriarchs. Noah, and also Abraham, were in the habit, when offering sacrifice, of always laying some of Adam's bones upon the altar, to remind the Almighty of his promise. When Jacob gave Joseph his variegated robe, he at the same time gave him some bones of Adam, to be kept as relies. Joseph always wore them on his bosom, and they were placed with his own bones in the first reliquary which the children of Israel brought out of Egypt

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[paragraph continues]I have seen many similar things, bat some I have for. gotten, and the others time fails me to describe.

As regards the origin of the name of Calvary, I here give all I know. I beheld the mountain which bears this name as it was in the time of the Prophet Eliseus. It was not the same then as at the time of our Lords Crucifixion, but was a hill, with many walls and caverns, resembling tombs, upon it. I saw the Prophet Eliseus descend into these caverns, I cannot say whether in reality or only in a vision, and I saw him take out a skull from a stone sepulchre in which bones were resting. Some one who was by his side--I think an angel--said to him, 'This is the skull of Adam.' The prophet was desirous to take it away, but his companion forbade him. I saw upon the skull some few hairs of a fair colour.

I learned also that the prophet having related what had happened to him, the spot received the name of Calvary. Finally, I saw that the Cross of Jesus was placed vertically over the skull of Adam. I was informed that this spot was the exact centre of the earth; and at the same time I was shown the numbers and measures proper to every country, but I have forgotten them, individually as well as in general. Yet I have seen this centre from above, and as it were from a bird's-eye view. In that way a person sees far more clearly than on a map all the different countries, mountains, deserts, seas, rivers, towns, and even the smallest places, whether distant or near at hand.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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https://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/pjc/pjc69.htm

CHAPTER LV.

The Cross and the Wine-press.

As I was meditating upon these words or thoughts of Jesus when hanging on the Cross: 'I am pressed like wine placed here under the press for the first time; my blood must continue to flow until water comes, but wine shall no more be made here an explanation was given me by means of another vision relating to Calvary.

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I saw this rocky country at a period anterior to the Deluge; it was then less wild and less barren than it afterwards became, and was laid out in vineyards and fields. I saw there the Patriarch Japhet, a majestic dark-complexioned old man, surrounded by immense flocks and herds and a numerous posterity: his children as well as himself had dwellings excavated in the ground, and covered with turf roofs, on which herbs and flowers were growing. There were vines all around, and a new method of making wine was being tried on Calvary, in the presence of Japhet. I saw also the ancient method of preparing wine, but I can give only the following description of it. At first men were satisfied with only eating the grapes; then they pressed them with pestles in hollow stones, and finally in large wooden trenches. Upon this occasion a new winepress, resembling the holy Cross in shape, had been devised; it consisted of the hollow trunk of a tree placed upright, with a bag of grapes suspended over it. Upon this bag there was fastened a pestle, surmounted by a weight; and on both sides of the trunk were arms joined to the bag, through openings made for the purpose, and which, when put in motion by lowering the ends, crushed the grapes. The juice flowed out of the tree by five openings, and fell into a stone vat, from whence it flowed through a channel made of bark and coated with resin, into the species of cistern excavated in the rock where Jesus was confined before his Crucifixion. At the foot of the wine-press, in the stone vat, there was a sort of sieve to stop the skins, which were put on one side. When they had made their wine-press, they filled the bag with grapes, nailed it to the top of the trunk, placed the pestle, and put in motion the side arms, in order to make the wine flow. All this very strongly reminded me of the Crucifixion, on account of the resemblance between the wine-press and the Cross. They had a long reed, at the end of which there were points, so that it looked like an enormous thistle, and they ran this through the channel and trunk of the tree when there was any obstruction. I was reminded of the lance and sponge. There were also

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some leathern bottles, and vases made of bark and plastered with resin. I saw several young men, with nothing but a cloth wrapped round their loins like Jesus, working at this wine-press. Japhet was very old; he wore a long beard, and a dress made of the skins of beasts; and he looked at the new wine-press with evident satisfaction. It was a festival day, and they sacrificed on a stone altar some animals which were running loose in the vineyard, young asses, goats, and sheep. It was not in this place that Abraham came to sacrifice Isaac; perhaps it was on Mount Moriah. I have forgotten many of the instructions regarding the wine, vinegar, and skins, and the different ways in which everything was to be distributed to the right and to the left; and I regret it, because the veriest trifles in these matters have a profound symbolical meaning. If it should be the will of God for me to make them known, be will show them to me again.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER LVI.

Apparitions on Occasion of the Death of Jesus.

AMONG the dead who rose from their graves, and who were certainly a hundred in number, at Jerusalem, there were no relations, of Jesus. I saw in various parts of the Holy Land others of the dead appear and bear testimony to the Divinity of Jesus. Thus I saw Sadoch, a most pious man, who had given all his property to the poor and to the Temple, appear to many persons in the neighbourhood of Hebron. This Sadoch had lived a century before Jesus, and was the founder of a community of Essenians: he had ardently sighed for the coming of the Messias, and had had several revelations upon the subject. I saw some others of the dead appear to the hidden disciples of our Lord, and give them different warnings.

Terror and desolation reigned even in the most distant parts of Palestine, and it was not in Jerusalem only that frightful prodigies took place. At Thirza, the towers of

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the prison in which the captive's delivered by Jesus had been confined fell down. In Galileo, where Jesus had travelled so much, I saw many buildings, and in particular the houses of those Pharisees who had been the foremost in persecuting our Saviour, and who were then all at the festival, shaken to the ground, crushing their wives and children. Numerous accidents happened in the neighbourhood of the Lake of Genazareth. Many buildings fell down at Capharnaum; and the wall of rocks which was in front of the beautiful garden of the centurion Zorobabel cracked across. The lake overflowed into the valley, and its waters descended as far as Capharnaum, which was a mile and a half distant. Peter's house, and the dwelling of the Blessed Virgin in front of the town, remained standing. The lake was strongly convulsed; its shores crumbled in several places, and its shape was very much altered, and became more like what it is at the present day. Great changes took place, particularly at the south-eastern extremity, near Tarichea, because in this part there was a long causeway made of stones, between the lake and a sort of marsh, which gave a constant direction to the course of the Jordan when it left the lake. The whole of this causeway was destroyed by the earthquake. Many accidents happened on the eastern side of the lake, on the spot where the swine belonging to the inhabitants of Gergesa cast themselves in, and also at Gergesa, Gerasa, and in the entire district of Chorazin. The mountain where the second multiplication of the loaves took place was shaken, and the stone upon which the miracle had been worked split in two. In Decapolis, whole towns crumbled to the earth; and in Asia, in several localities, the earthquake was severely felt, particularly to the cast and north-east of Paneas. In Upper Galilee, many Pharisees found their houses in ruins when they returned from keeping the feast. A number of them, while yet at Jerusalem, received the news of what had happened, and it was on that account that the enemies of Jesus made such very slight efforts against the Christian community at Pentecost.

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A part of the Temple of Garizim crumbled down. An idol stood there above a fountain, in a small temple, the roof of which fell into the fountain with the idol. Half of the synagogue of Nazareth, out of which Jesus had been driven, fell down, as well as that part of the mountain from which his enemies had endeavoured to precipitate him. The bed of the Jordan was much changed by all these shocks, and its course altered in many places. At Macherus, and at the other towns belonging to Herod, everything remained quiet, for that country was out of the sphere of repentance and of threats, like those men who did not fall to the ground in the Garden of Olives, and, consequently, did not rise again.

In many other parts where there were evil spirits, I saw the latter disappear in large bodies amid the falling mountains and buildings. The earthquakes reminded me of the convulsions of the possessed, when the enemy feels that he must take to flight. At Gergesa, a part of the mountain from which the devils had cast themselves with the swine into a marsh, fell into this same marsh; and I then saw a band of evil spirits cast themselves into the abyss, like a dark cloud.

It was at Nice, unless I am mistaken, that I saw a singular occurrence, of which I have only an imperfect remembrance. There was a port there with many vessels in it; and near this port stood a house with a high tower, in which I saw a pagan whose office was to watch these vessels. He had often to ascend this tower, and see what was going on at sea. Having heard a great noise over the vessels in the port, he hurriedly ascended the tower to discover what was taking place, and he saw several dark figures hovering over the port, and who exclaimed to him in plaintive accents: 'If thou desirest to preserve the vessels, cause them to be sailed out of this port, for we must return to the abyss: the great Pan is dead.' They told him several other things; laid injunctions upon him to make known what they were then telling him upon his return from a certain voyage which he was soon to make, and to give a good reception to the messengers who would

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come to announce the doctrine of him who had just died. The evil spirits were forced in this manner by the power of God to inform this good man of their defeat, and announce it to the world. He had the vessels put in safety, and then an awful storm arose: the devils cast themselves howling into the sea, and half the city fell down. His house remained standing. Soon afterwards he went on a great journey, and announced the death of the great Pan, if that is the name by which our Saviour had been called. Later he came to Rome, where much amazement was caused by what he related. His name was something like Thamus or Thramus.

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, [1862], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER LVII.

Guards are placed around the Tomb of Jesus.

LATE on Friday night, I saw Caiphas and some of the chief men among the Jews holding a consultation concerning the best course to pursue with regard to the prodigies which had taken place, and the effect they had had upon the people. They continued their deliberations quite into the morning, and then hurried to Pilate's house, to tell him that, as that seducer said, while he was yet alive, 'After three days I will rise again,' it would be right to command the sepulchre to be guarded until the third day, as otherwise his disciples might come and steal him away, and say to the people, 'He is risen from the dead,' and the last error would be worse than the first. Pilate was determined to have nothing more to do with the business, and he only answered: 'You have, a guard; go, guard it as you know.' However, he appointed Cassius to keep a watch over all that took place, and give him an exact account of every circumstance. I saw these men, twelve in number, leave the town before sunrise, accompanied by some soldiers who did not wear the Roman uniform, being attached to the Temple. They carried lanterns fastened to the end of long poles, in order that they might be able to see every surrounding object, in spite of the darkness

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of the night, and also that they might have some light in the dark cave of the sepulchre.

No sooner had they reached the sepulchre than, having first seen with their own eyes that the body of Jesus was really there, they fastened one rope across the door of the tomb, and a second across the great stone which was placed in front, sealing the whole with a seal of half-circular shape. They then returned to the city, and the guards stationed themselves opposite the outer door. They were five or six in number, and watched three and three alternately. Cassius never left his post, and usually remained sitting or standing in front of the entrance to the cave, so as to see that side of the tomb where the feet of our Lord rested. He had received many interior graces, and been given to understand many mysteries. Being wholly unaccustomed to this state of spiritual enlightenment, he was perfectly transported out of himself, and remained nearly all the time unconscious of the presence of exterior things. He was entirely changed, had become a new man, and spent the whole day in penance, in making fervent acts of gratitude, and in humbly adoring God.