by Reginal Walsh O.P.
Love of the
Saints
For The
Passion
A certain devout solitary prayed to God to teach him what he could do in order to love Him perfectly. Our Lord revealed to him that there was no more efficient way to arrive at the perfect love of Him than to meditate constantly on His Passion. Saint Teresa lamented and complained of certain books which had taught her to leave off meditation on the Passion of Our Lord, because this might be an impediment to the contemplation of His Divinity; and the Saint exclaimed, “O Lord of my soul, O my Jesus Crucified, my treasure, I never remember this opinion without thinking that I have been guilty of very great treachery. Is it possible, my Lord, could be an obstacle to me in the way of a greater good? Where, then do all good things come to me, but for You?” She added, “I have seen, that in order to please God, and to induce Him to grant us great graces, He wills that they should all pass through the hands of His Most Sacred Humanity, in which His Divine Majesty declared He took pleasure.”
For this reason, Father Balthazar Alvarez said, that ignorance of the treasures we possess in Jesus was the ruin of Christians; and therefore his favorite and usual meditation was on the Passion of Jesus Christ. He meditated especially on three of the sufferings of Jesus—in poverty, in contempt, and pain; he exhorted his penitents to meditate often on the Passion of our Redeemer, telling them that they should not consider that they had done anything at all, until they had arrived at retaining Jesus Crucified continually present in their hearts. “He who desires,” says Saint Bonaventure, “to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace, should meditate continually on the Passion of Jesus.” Adding “that there is no practice more profitable for the entire sanctification of the soul than the frequent meditation of the sufferings of Jesus Christ.”
Ignorance of the Treasures we Possess in Jesus is the Ruin of Christians.
Saint Augustine tells us that a single tear shed at the remembrance of the Passion of Jesus is worth more than a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or a year of fasting on bread and water. Because it was for this end that our Lord suffered so much, in order that we should think of His sufferings; for, if we think on them, it is impossible not to be inflamed with divine love: The charity of Christ presses us, says Saint Paul. (2 Cor. 5:14) Our Lord is loved by so few, because few consider the pains He has suffered for us; but he that frequently considers them cannot live without loving Jesus. The charity of Christ presses us—we shall find ourselves so constrained by His love that we shall not find it possible to refrain from loving a God so full of love, who has suffered so much to win our love.
Therefore, Saint Paul said that he desired nothing but Jesus, and Jesus Crucified—that is, the love that our Lord has shown us on the Cross: I judged not myself to know anything among you but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (I Cor. 2:2) In truth, from what book can we better learn the Science of the Saints—that is, the science of loving God—than from Jesus Crucified! That great servant of God, Brother Bernard of Corleone, the Capuchin, not being able to read, his brother religious wanted to teach him, upon which he went to consult his crucifix; but Jesus answered him from the Cross: “What is reading? What are books? Behold I am the book in which you may continually read the love I have borne thee.” O great subject to be considered during our whole life; and during all eternity. A God dead for love of me! A God dead for love of me! O wonderful subject!
A single tear shed at the remembrance of the Passion of Jesus is worth more than a pilgrimage to Jerusalem or a year of fasting on bread and water.
Saint Augustine
Saint Thomas Aquinas was one day visiting Saint Bonaventure, and asked him from what book he had drawn all the beautiful lessons he had written. Saint Bonaventure showed him the image of the Crucified, which was completely blackened by all the kisses that he had given it, and said, “This is my book where I receive everything that I write; and it has taught me whatever little I know.”
It was this sweet study of the crucifix which made Saint Francis become a great seraph. He wept so continually in meditating on the sufferings of Jesus Christ, that he almost entirely lost his sight. We fancy sometimes as we read the Lives of the Saints, that it was easy enough for them to have an intense devotion to the Passion, since they were, at least many of them, favored with such sensible graces and miraculous favors. Take, for example, Blessed James of Bevagna from whose crucifix flowed a stream of miraculous blood, as he knelt before it, while a voice issued from it, giving him the assurance of his salvation. How could he ever again have looked upon his crucifix without realizing the love of his Divine Master in pouring out that Precious Blood for the salvation of the human race?
Or when the crucifix spoke to Saint Peter Martyr, in his hour of trial, and said, “I, Peter, what had I done?” How easy for him to draw the lesson of patience and resignation under calumny! But we forget that these and other similar favors were but exterior signs of God’s grace and love; and that, before the saints received them, they had long practiced devotion.
Look at the life of any saint you like, and you will find an extraordinary devotion to the Passion. It was the distinguishing mark of the saints; they would not have been saints without it. But apart from the miraculous graces vouchsafed to the chosen servants of God, something of the same kind has happened to ourselves hundreds of times in the course of our lives. Who can say that the crucifix has never spoken to him?—spoken in times of trial, of temptation, of difficulty?—I will not calumniate, but when a voice has risen up against us, and we have been tempted to maintain our dignity, stand up for our rights and what we thought was due to us?—as we cast our eyes upon the crucifix, has it not spoken to our hearts; has it not reproved us; and said almost in an audible voice, I did not act thus! Does it not teach us the same lessons it taught the saints, only not in the same sensible way?
Oh, how many times the crucifix has spoken to us and given us courage and grace which have enabled us to bear the trials that surround us. It is not necessary for us to see, and hear, and feel these things as the saints did. We need not desire to see with Saint Catherine and many of the saints the scenes of the Passion in a sensible form in our imagination, or wish to go in spirit with the venerable Anne Emmerich to the spot where our Divine Lord suffered and died; for we have all these things and more than this.
Our lord is loved by so few, because few consider the Pains he has suffered for us; but he that frequently considers them cannot live without loving Jesus.
Though they were miraculous graces, they were but representations; we have the reality. Every morning at Mass, we assist, not at the representation, but at the renewal of the tremendous sacrifice on Calvary and the mystic outpouring of that Most Precious Blood. The blood which flowed from Blessed James’ crucifix was only miraculous blood; but in the Mass we have the same Precious Blood poured out anew as on Calvary itself; the Sacred Body is broken again for us, and in Holy Communion, which we receive so often, is given into our very hearts, while our lips are dyed with the most Precious Blood of the Crucified.
In order, then, that we may under- stand and reverence and love the Sacred Passion of our Lord, let us, with an ever-increasing love, fervor and attention, apply ourselves to the study and contemplation of each mystery of His suffering life—strive to attain closer union with our Lord through His Passion. Let us make our hearing of Holy Mass an act of special devotion to the Passion—such as it would have been actually on Mount Calvary with Mary, the Mother of Sorrows.
When receiving Holy Communion let us approach with greatest love the Sacrament of Love, that, becoming more and more united with Jesus, our dear Lord, we may be able to share also in His sufferings. Saint Gertrude says beautifully, that, “as no one can handle flour without carrying some of it about on them, so no one can meditate devoutly and assiduously on the Passion without deriving great fruit from it.” As Saint Gertrude was on one occasion occupied in considering the Passion of our Lord it was made known to her that there is infinitely more merit in meditating on the Passion of Jesus then in any other exercise. When anyone reads anything concerning the Passion they at least dispose their souls to receive the fruit of it, as it is more meritorious to meditate on it then on any other subject. Let us therefore endeavor to reflect on it constantly that it may be honey to our lips, music to our ears, and joy to our hearts.