Book 2, Chapter 21 of the Mystical City of God, Volume 3, by the venerable sister Mary of Jesus of a Greta. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Book 2, Chapter 21, Pilate pronounces the sentence of death against the author of life, the Lord takes up the cross on which he is to die. His most holy mother follows him, what she did on this occasion to restrain the devil and other happenings. To the great satisfaction and joy of the priests and Pharisees, Pilate then decreed the sentence of death on the cross against life itself, Jesus our Savior. Having announced it to the one, they had thus condemned in spite of his innocence. They brought him to another part of the house of Pilate where they stripped him of the purple mantle in which they had derided him as mock king. All happened by the mysterious dispensation of God, though on their part it was due to the concerted malice of the Jews, for they wished to see him undergo the punishment of the cross in his own clothes so that in them he might be recognized by all. Only by his garments could he now be recognized by the people since his face had been disfigured beyond recognition by the scourging, the impure spittle, and the crown of thorns. They again clothed him with a seamless tunic, which at the command of the queen was brought to him by the angels, for the executioners had thrown it into a corner of another room in the house where they left it to place upon him the mocking and scandalous purple cloak. But the Jews neither understood nor noticed any of these circumstances since they were too much taken up with the desire of hastening his death. Through the diligence of the Jews, in spreading the news of the sentence, decreed against Jesus of Nazareth, the people hastened in multitudes to the house of Pilate in order to see him brought forth to execution. Since the ordinary number of inhabitants was increased by the gathering of numerous strangers from different parts to celebrate the Pash, the city was full of people. All of them were stirred by the news and filled the streets up to the very palace of Pilate. It was a Friday, the day of the Perescave, which in Greek signifies preparation or getting ready, for on that day the Jews prepared themselves or got ready for the ensuing Sabbath, their greatest feast, on which no servile work was to be performed, not even such as cooking meals. All this had to be done on this Friday. In the sight of all these multitudes they brought forth our Saviour in his own garments and with accountinance, so disfigured by wounds, blood, and spittle, that no one would have again recognized him as the one they had seen or known before.  At the sight of such a harrowing spectacle, a confused shouting and clamor arose from the people so that nothing could be understood, but all formed one uproar and confusion of voices. But above all the rest were heard the shouts of the priests and Pharisees, who in their unrestrained joy and exultation harangue the people to become quiet and clear the streets through which the divine victim was to pass, in order that they might hear the sentence of death proclaimed against him. The people were divided and confused in their opinions, according to the suggestions of their own hearts. At this spectacle were present different kinds of people who had been benefited and suckered by the miracles and the kindness of Jesus and such as had heard and accepted his teachings and had become his followers and friends. These now showed their sympathy, some in bitter tears, others by asking what this man had done to deserve such punishment, others were dumbfounded and began to be troubled and confused by this universal confusion and tumult. Of the eleven apostles Saint John alone was present, he, with the sorrowful mother and the three Mary's, stood within sight of the Lord, though in a retired corner. When the holy apostle saw his divine master brought forth, the thought of whose love toward him now shot through his mind, he was so filled with grief that his blood congealed in his veins and his face took on the appearance of death. The three Mary's fell away into a prolonged swoon, but the queen of virtues remained unconquered and her magnanimous heart, though overwhelmed by a grief beyond all conception of man, never fainted or swooned. She did not share the imperfections or weaknesses of the others. In all her actions she was most prudent, courageous and admirable. Calmly she comforted Saint John and the pious women. She besought the Lord to strengthen them in order that she might have their company to the end of the passion. In virtue of this prayer the apostle and the holy women were consoled and encouraged so that they regained their senses and could speak to the mistress of heaven. Amid all this bitterness and confusion she did nothing unbecoming or inconsiderate but shed forth incessant tears with the dignity of a queen. Her attention was riveted upon her son, the true God. She prayed to the eternal Father and offered to him his sorrows and torments, imitating in her actions all that was done by our Savior. She recognized the malice of sin, penetrated the mysteries of the redemption, appealed to the angels and interceded for friends and enemies. While giving way to her maternal love and to the sorrows corresponding to it, she at the same time practiced all the virtues, exciting the highest admiration of all heaven and delighting in the highest degree the eternal God had. Since it is not possible for me to describe the sentiments filling the heart of this mother of wisdom, nor those at times also uttered by her lips, I leave them to be imagined by Christian piety. The servants and priests sought to quiet the multitudes in order that they might be able to hear the sentence pronounced against Jesus of Nazareth, for after it had been made known to him in person they desired to have it read before the people and in his presence. When the people had quieted down they began to read it in a loud voice so that all could hear it while Jesus was standing in full view as a criminal. The sentence was proclaimed also in the different streets and at the foot of the cross, and it was afterwards published and spread in many copies. According to the understanding given to me, the copies were a faithful reproduction, accepting some words which have been added. I will not discuss them for the exact words of this sentence have been shown me and I give them here without change. Literal rendering of the sentence of death pronounced against Jesus of Nazareth, our savior. I, Pontius Pilate, presiding over Lower Galilee and governing Jerusalem in fealty to the Roman Empire and being within the executive mansion, judge, decide and proclaim that I condemn to death Jesus of the Nazarene people and a Galilean by birth, a man seditious and opposed to our laws, to our senate and to the great emperor Tiberius Caesar.  He has continued to raise tummels throughout Judea, proclaiming himself the son of God and king of Israel, at the same time threatening to ruin this renowned city of Jerusalem and its temple and of the sacred empire, refusing tribute to Caesar. And because he dared to enter in triumph this city of Jerusalem and the temple of Solomon, accompanied by a great multitude of the people carrying branches of palms. I command the first centurion, called Quintus Cornelius, to lead him for a greater shame through the said city of Jerusalem, bound as he is and scourged by my orders. Let him also wear his own garments, that he may be known to all, and let him carry the cross on which he is to be crucified.  I desire also and command in this my sentence, that this malfactor, having been thus led through the public streets, be brought outside the city through the Pagora Gate, now called the Antonian Portal, and under the proclamations of the herald, who shall mention all the crimes pointed out in my sentence, he shall be conducted to the summit of the mountain called Calvary, where justice is want to be executed upon wicked transgressors. There, fastened and crucified upon the cross, which he shall carry as decreed above, his body shall remain between the aforesaid thieves. Above the cross, that is, at its top, he shall have place for him, his name and title in the three languages, namely in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and in all and each one of them shall be written. This is Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews, so that it may be understood by all and become universally known. At the same time I command that no one, no matter of what condition, under pain of the loss of his goods in life and under punishment for rebellion against the Roman Empire, presume audaciously to impede the execution of this just sentence, ordered by me to be executed with all rigor according to the decrees and laws of the Romans and Hebrews. Year of the creation of the world, 5233, the 25th day of March. Pontius Pilatus Eudex, at Gubinator, Galilei, Inferiori's pro-Romano Imperio, Quisupropropria Manu. Pontius Pilate, judge and governor of Lower Galilee, for the Roman Empire, who signed the above with his own hand. According to the above reckoning, the creation of the world happened in March and from the day on which Adam was created until the incarnation of the world, 5199 years. Adding the nine months, during which he remained in the virginal womb of his most holy mother, and the 33 years of his life, we complete the 5233 years and three months, which according to the reckoning of the Romans, intervened between the anniversary of his birth and the 25th of March, the day of his death. According to the reckoning of the Roman Church, there is not more than nine months and seven days to the first year, since it begins its count of years with the first of January of the second year of the world. Of all the opinions of the teachers of the Church, I have understood the one which corresponds to the reckoning of the Roman Church in the Roman martyrology to be the correct one. This I have also stated in the chapter of the incarnation of Christ our Lord in the first book of the second part, chapter 11. The sentence of Pilate against our Savior, having been published in a loud voice before all the people, the executioners loaded the heavy cross on which he was to be crucified upon his tender and wounded shoulders. In order that he might carry it, they loosened the bonds holding his hands, but not the others, since they wished to drag him along by the loose ends of the ropes that bound his body. In order to torment him the more, they drew two loops around his throat. The cross was fifteen feet long, of thick and heavy timbers. The herald began to proclaim the sentence, and the whole confused and turbulent multitude of the people, the executioners and soldiers, with great noise, uproar and disorder, began to move from the house of Pilate to Mount Calvary through the streets of Jerusalem. The master and redeemer of the world, Jesus, before receiving the cross, looked upon it with accountenance full of extreme joy and exultation, such as would be shown by a bridegroom looking at the rich adornments of his bride, and on receiving it he addressed it as follows. O cross, beloved of my soul, now prepared and ready to steal my longings, come to me that I may be received in thy arms, and that, attached to them as on an altar, I may be accepted by the Eternal Father as the sacrifice of his everlasting reconciliation with the human race. In order to die upon thee, I have descended from heaven and assume mortal and passable flesh, for thou art to be the scepter with which I shall triumph over all my enemies, the key with which I shall open the gates of heaven for all the predestined. Isaiah chapter 22 verse 22 The sanctuary in which the guilty sons of Adam shall find mercy and the treasure-house for the enrichment of their poverty. Upon thee I desire to exalt and recommend, dishonor and reproach among men, in order that my friends may embrace them with joy, seek them with anxious longings, and follow me on the path which I, through thee, shall open up before them. My Father and Eternal God, I confess thee as the Lord of heaven and earth. Matthew chapter 11 verse 25 Subjecting myself to thy power and to thy divine wishes, I take upon my shoulders the wood for the sacrifice of my innocent and passable humanity, and I accept it willingly for the salvation of men. Receive thou, Eternal Father, this sacrifice as acceptable to thy justice, in order that from today on they may not anymore be servants, but sons and heirs of thy kingdom, together with me. Romans chapter 8 verse 17 None of these sacred mysteries and happenings were hidden from the great lady of the world, Mary, for she had a most intimate knowledge and understanding of them, far beyond that of all the angels. The events, which she could not see with the eyes of her body, she perceived by her intelligence and revealed science, which manifested to her the interior operation of her most holy son. By this divine light she recognized the infinite value of the wood of the cross, after once it had come in contact with the deified humanity of Jesus our Redeemer. Immediately she venerated and adored it in a manner befitting it. The same was also done by the heavenly spirits attending upon the Queen. She imitated her divine son in the tokens of affections with which he received the cross, addressing it in the words suited to her office as co-attetrics of the Redeemer. By her prayers to the Eternal Father, she followed him in his exalted sentiments as the living original and exemplar, without failing in the least point. When she heard the voice of the herald, publishing and rehearsing the sentence through the streets, the heavenly mother, in protest against the accusations contained in the sentence and in the form of comments on the glory and honor of the Lord, composed a canticle of praise and worship of the innocence and sinlessness of her all holy son and God. In the composing of this canticle, the holy angels helped her, conjointly with them, she arranged and repeated it while the inhabitants of Jerusalem were blaspheming their creator and savior. As all the faith, knowledge and love of creatures, during this time of the passion, was enshrined in its highest essence in the magnanimous soul of the mother of wisdom, she alone had the most proper conception and correct judgment of the suffering and death of God for men. Without for a moment failing in the attention necessary to exterior actions, her wisdom penetrated all the mysteries of the redemption and the manner in which it was to be accomplished through the ignorance of the very men who were to be redeemed. She entered into the highest consideration of the dignity of the one who was suffering, of what he was suffering, from and for whom he was suffering, of the dignity of the person of Christ our Redeemer, uniting within himself the divine and human natures of their perfections and attributes, the most blessed Mary alone, possessed the highest and intuitive knowledge outside of the Lord himself. On this account, she alone among all mere creatures, attached sufficient importance to the passion and death of her son and of the true God. Of what he suffered, she was not only an eyewitness, but she experienced it personally within herself, occasioning the holy envy not only of men, but of the angels themselves, who were not thus favored. But they well knew that their great queen and mistress felt and suffered in her soul and body, the same torments and sorrows as her most holy son, and that the holy trinity was inexpressibly pleased with her, and therefore they sought to make up by their praise and worship for the pains which they could not share. Sometimes, when the sorrowful mother could not personally witness the sufferings of her son, she was made to feel in her virginal body and in her spirit the effects of his torments before her intelligence made her aware of them. Thus surprised, she would say, Ah, what new martyrdom have they devised for my sweetest Lord and Master? And then she would receive the clearest knowledge of what the Lord was enduring. The most loving mother was so admirably faithful in her sufferings and in imitating the example of Christ our God that she never permitted herself any easement either of her bodily pains such as rest or nourishment or sleep, nor any relaxation of the spirit such as any consoling thoughts or considerations except when she was visited from on high by divine influence. Then only she would humbly and thankfully accept relief in order that she might recover strength to attend still more fervently to the object of her sorrows and to the cause of his sufferings. The same wise consideration she applied to the malicious behavior of the Jews and their servants, to the needs of the human race, to their threatening ruin, and to the ingratitude of men for whom he suffered. Thus she perfectly and intimately knew of all these things and felt it more deeply than all the creatures. Another hidden and astonishing miracle was wrought by the right hand of God through the instrumentality of the Blessed Mary against Lucifer and his infernal spirits. It took place in the following manner. The dragon and his associates, though they could not understand the humiliation of the Lord, were most attentive to all that happened in the Passion of the Lord. Now when he took upon himself the cross, all these enemies felt a new and mysterious tremor and weakness which caused in them great consternation and confused distress. Conscious of these unwanted and invincible feelings, the Prince of Darkness feared that in the Passion and Death of Christ our Lord, some dire and irreparable destruction of his reign was imminent. In order not to be overtaken by it in the presence of Christ our God, the dragon resolved to retire and fly with all his followers to the Caverns of Hell. But when he sought to execute this resolve, he was prevented by the great Queen and Mistress of all creation for the most high, enlightening her and intimating to her what she was to do, at the same time investing her with his power. The Heavenly Mother, turning toward Lucifer and his squadrons, by her Imperial command, hindered them from flying, ordering them to await and witness the Passion to the End on Mount Calvary. The demons could not resist the command of the mighty Queen, for they recognized and felt the divine power operating in her. Subject to her sway, they followed Christ as so many prisoners dragged along in chains to Calvary where the eternal wisdom had decreed to triumph over them from the throne of the cross as we shall see later on. There is nothing which can exemplify the discouragement and dismay which from that moment began to oppress Lucifer and his demons. According to our way of speaking, they walked along to Calvary like criminals condemned to a terrible death and seized by the dismay and consternation of an inevitable punishment. This punishment of the demon was in conformity with his malicious nature and proportion to the evil committed by him in introducing death and sin into the world to remedy which God himself was now undergoing death. Our Savior proceeded on the way to Calvary bearing upon his shoulders according to the saying of Isaiah's his own government and principality. Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 which was none else than his cross from whence he was to subject and govern the world meriting thereby that his name should be exalted above all other names and rescuing the human race from the tyrannical power of the demon over the sons of Adam. Letter to the Colossians chapter 2 verse 15 The same Isaiah calls it the yoke and scepter of the oppressor and executor who was imperiously exacting the tribute of the first guilt. In order to destroy this tyrant and break the scepter of his reign in the yoke of our servitude Christ our Savior placed the cross upon his shoulders namely upon that place where are born both the yoke of slavery and the scepter of royal power. He wished to intimate thereby that he despoil the demon of this power and transferred it to his own shoulders in order that thence forward the captive children of Adam should recognize him for their legitimate lord and true king. All mortals are to follow him in the way of the cross. Matthew chapter 14 verse 24 and learn that by this cross they were subjected to his power. John chapter 12 verse 32 and now become his vassals and servants bought by his own lifeblood. First letter to the Corinthians chapter 4 verse 20 but alas the pity of our most ungrateful forgetfulness that the Jews and ministers of the passion should be ignorant of this mystery hidden to princes of this world and that they should not dare touch the cross of the Savior because they consider it the wood of ignominy and shame was their own fault and a very great one.  Letter to the Hebrews chapter 6 verse 6 O my sweetest love Jesus light of my intellect and glory of my soul do not oh my lord trust in my sluggish torpedoity to follow thee with my cross on thy way take it upon thee to do me this favor draw me after thee to run after the fragrance of thy sweetest love Canticles chapter 1 verse 3 of thy ineffable patience of thy deepest humility that I may desire for contempt and anguish and seek after participation of thy ignominy insults and sorrows let this be my portion and my inheritance in this mortal and oppressing life let this be my glory and my repose and outside of the cross and its ignominy I desire not to live or to be consoled or to partake of any rest or enjoyment as the Jews and all of that blind multitude avoided the touch of the cross of him who was so innocently sentenced to die upon it he opened with it a passage and cleared for himself away his perfidious persecutors looked upon his glorious dishonor as a contagion and they fled from its approach though all the rest of the streets were full of shouting and clamoring people who crowded aside as the herald advanced proclaiming the sentence the executioners, bear of all human compassion and kindness dragged our savior Jesus along with incredible cruelty and insults some of them jerked him forward by the ropes in order to accelerate his passage while others pulled from behind in order to retard it on account of this jerking and the weight of the cross they caused him to sway to and fro and often to fall to the ground by the hard knocks he thus received on the rough stones great wounds were opened especially on the two knees and they were widened at each repeated fall the heavy cross also inflicted a wound on the shoulder on which it was carried the unsteadiness caused the cross sometimes to knock against his sacred head and sometimes the head against the cross thus the thorns of his crown penetrated deeper and wounded the parts which they had not yet reached to these torments of the body the ministers of evil added many insulting words and excruable affronts ejecting their impure spittle and throwing the dirt of the pavement into his face so mercilessly that they blinded the eyes that looked upon them with such divine mercy thus they of their own account condemned themselves to the loss of the graces with which his very looks were fraught by the haste with which they dragged him along in their eagerness to see him die they did not allow him to catch his breath for his most innocent body having been in so few hours overwhelmed with such a storm of torments was so weakened and bruised that to all appearances he was ready to yield up life under his pains and sorrows from the house of Pilate the sorrowful and stricken mother followed with the multitudes on the way to the divine son accompanied by St. John and the pious women as the surgeon crowds hindered her from getting very near to the Lord she asked the eternal father to be permitted to stand at the foot of the cross of her blessed son and see him die with her own eyes with the divine consent she ordered her holy angels to manage things in such a way as to make it possible for her to execute her wishes the holy angels obeyed her with great reverence and they speedily led the queen through some by-street in order that she might meet her son thus it came that both of them met face to face in sweetest recognition of each other and in mutual renewal of each other's interior sorrows yet they did not speak to one another nor would the fierce cruelty of the executioners have permitted such an intercourse but the most prudent mother adored her divine son, Andrew God laden with the cross and interiorly besought him that since she could not relieve him of the weight of the cross and since she was not permitted to command her holy angels to lighten it he would inspire these ministers of cruelty to procure someone for his assistance this prayer was heard by the Lord Christ and so it happened that Simon of Cyrene was afterwards impressed to carry the cross with the Lord Matthew chapter 27 verse 32 the Pharisees and the executioners moved to this measure some of them out of natural compassion others for fear less Christ the author of life should lose his life by exhaustion before it could be taken from him on the cross beyond all human thought and estimation was the sorrow of the most sincere dove and virgin mother while she thus witnessed with her own eyes her son carrying the cross to Mount Calvary for she alone could fittingly know and love him according to his true worth it would have been impossible for her to live through this ordeal if the divine power had not strengthened her and preserved her life with bitter as sorrow she addressed the Lord and spoke to him in her heart my son an eternal God light of my eyes and life of my soul receive, oh Lord the sacrifice of my not being able to relieve the of the burden of the cross and carry it myself who am a daughter of Adam for it is I who should die upon it in love of thee as thou now wishest to die in most ardent love of the human race oh most loving mediator between guilt and justice how dis thou cherish mercy in the midst of so great injuries and such heinous offenses oh charity without measure or bounds which permits such torments and affronts in order to afford it a wider scope for its ardor and efficacy oh infinite and sweetest love would that the hearts and the wills of men were all mine so that they could give no such thankless return for all that thou endurest oh who will speak to the hearts of the mortals to teach them what they owe to thee since thou hast paid so dearly for their salvation from ruin other most prudent and exalted sentiments besides these were conceived by the great lady so that I cannot express them by words of mine as the evangelist tells us there were other women among the crowds who followed the savior in bitter tears and lamentations Luke chapter 23 verse 27 the sweetest Jesus turning toward them addressed 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 shall say blessed are the barren and the wombs that have not born 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 by these mysterious words the Lord acknowledged the tears shed on account of his passion and to a certain extent by showing his appreciation of them he approved of them in these women he wished to teach us for what purpose our tears should be shed so that they may attain their end these compassionate disciples of the Lord were at that time ignorant of the true reason for their tears since they wept over his sufferings and injuries and not over the cause of these sufferings and therefore they merited to be instructed and admonished of the truth it was as if the savior had said to them weep over your sins and over the sins of your children and attribute what I suffer to those sins I suffer not for my sins for I am guilty of none and it is not even possible that I be guilty of any if I approve of your compassion for me as good and just much more do I desire you to weep over your sins for which I suffer and by this manner of weeping you shall acquire for yourselves and your children the price of my blood and of my redemption ignored by this blind people will come days namely the days of universal judgment and chastisement in which those shall be held fortunate who have not be gotten children and the fore known shall call upon the mountains and the hills to shield them against my wrath for if their sins now only assumed by me have such effects on me who am innocent what horrible punishments will they draw upon those who are so barren and without any fruits of grace and merits as a reward for their tears and their compassion these women were enlightened so as to understand this doctrine in fulfillment of the prayerful wish of the blessed mother the Pharisees and ministers were inspired with the resolve to engage some man to help Jesus our Savior in carrying the cross to Mount Calvary at this juncture Simon of Cyrene the father of the disciples Alexander and Rufus Mark chapter 15 verse 21 happened to come along he was called by this name because he was a native of Cyrene a city of Libya and had come to Jerusalem this Simon was now forced by the Jews to carry the cross a part of the way they themselves would not touch it yea would not even come near it as being the instrument of punishment for one whom they held to be a notorious malfactor by this pretended caution and avoidance of his cross they sought to impress with a horror for Jesus the Cyrenean took hold of the cross and Jesus was made to follow between the two thieves in order that all might believe him to be a criminal and malfactor like them the virgin mother walked very closely behind Jesus as she had desired and asked from the eternal father to his divine will she so conformed herself in all the labors and torments of her son that witnessing with her own eyes and partaking of all the sufferings of her son in her blessed soul and in her body she never allowed any sentiment or wish to arise interiorly or exteriorly which could be interpreted as regret for the sacrifice she had made in offering her son for the death of the cross and its sufferings her charity and love of men and her grace and holiness were so great that she vanquished all these movements of her human nature instruction which the great queen lady gave me I desire that the fruit of the obedience with which thou writest the history of my life shall be that thou become a true disciple of my most holy son and of myself the main purpose of the exalted and venerable mysteries which are made known to thee and of the teachings which I so often repeat to thee is that thou deny and strip thyself, estranging thy heart from all affection to creatures neither wishing to possess them nor accept them for other purposes by this precaution thou wilt overcome the impediments which the devil seek to place in the way of the dangerous softness of thy nature I who know thee thus advise and lead thee by the way of instruction and correction as thy mother and instructress by the divine teaching thou knowest the mysteries of the passion and death of Christ and the one true way of life which is the cross and thou knowest that not all are called are chosen many there are who wish to follow Christ and very few who truly dispose themselves to imitate him for as soon as they feel the sufferings of the cross they cast it aside. Laborious exertions are very painful and adverse to human nature according to the flesh and the fruits of the spirit are more hidden and few guide themselves by the light. On this account there are so many among mortals who, forgetful of the eternal truths, seek the flesh and the continual indulgence of its pleasures. They ardently seek honors and fly from injuries they strive after riches and condemn poverty. They long after pleasure and dread mortification all these are enemies of the cross of Christ. Letter to the Philippians Chapter 3 verse 18 And with dreadful adversion they fly from it, deeming it sheer ignominy just like those who fight Christ, the Lord. Another deceit has spread through the world. Many imagine that they are following Christ their master though they neither suffer affliction nor engage in any exertion or labor. They are content with avoiding boldness and committing sins and place all their perfection in a certain prudence or hollow self-love which prevents them from denying anything to their will and from practicing any virtues at the cost of their flesh. They could easily escape this deception if they would consider that my son was not only the redeemer but their teacher and that he left in this world the treasures of his redemption, not only as a remedy against its eternal ruin, but as a necessary medicine for the sickness of sin in human nature. No one knew so much as my son and Lord. No one could better understand the quality of love than the Divine Master who was wisdom and charity itself and no one was more able to fulfill all his wishes. First Letter of Saint John Chapter 4 Verse 16 Nevertheless although he well could do it he chose not a life of softness and ease for the flesh but one full of labors and pains for he judged his instructions to be incomplete and insufficient to redeem man if he failed to teach them how to overcome the demon the flesh and their own self he wished to inculcate that this magnificent victory is gained by the cross, by labors penances, mortifications and the acceptance of contempt all of which are the trademarks and evidences of true love and the special watchwords of the predestined. Thou, my daughter knowest the value of the Holy Cross and the honor which it confers upon ignominies and tribulations do thou embrace the cross and bear it with joy in imitation of my son and thy master. Matthew Chapter 16 Verse 24 In this mortal life let thy glory be in tribulations persecutions contempt, infirmities poverty, humiliation and in whatever is painful and adverse to mortal flesh and in order that in all thy exercises thou mayest imitate me and give me pleasure let thou seek no rest or consolation in any earthly thing thou must not dwell in thy thoughts upon what thou bearest nor seek to relieve thyself by enlisting the compassion of others much less must thou make much of or try to impress others with the recital of the persecutions or molestations of creatures nor should it ever be heard from thy lips how much thou endurest nor shouldest thou compare thy sufferings with those of others I may not wish to say that it is a sin to accept of some reasonable and moderate alleviation or to mention thy afflictions but in thee my dearest much alleviation if not a sin would be an infidelity to thy spouse and lord for he has put thee personally under more obligation than many generations of men and thy response in suffering and love will be defective so faithful does the lord wish thy correspondence to be that thou must allow thy weak nature not even one sigh for mere natural relief and consolation if love alone impels thee thou wilt allow thyself to be carried along by its sweet force and rest in it alone and the love of the cross would immediately dispense with such natural relief in such a way as thou knowest I have done in my total self sacrifice let this be to thee a general rule that all human consolation is an imperfection and a danger and that thou shouldest welcome only that which the most high sends to thee himself or through his holy angels and even these favors of the divine right hand thou must accept only in so far as they strengthen thee to suffer more constantly and to withdraw thee from all that ministers to the senses end of chapter 21 book 2 chapter 22 of the mystical city of God volume 3 by the venerable sister Mary of Jesus of a Greta this LibriVox recording is in the public domain book 2 chapter 22 how our savior Jesus was crucified on Mount Calvary the seven words spoken by him on the cross and the attendance of his sorrowful mother and his sufferings our savior then the new and true Isaac the son of the eternal father reached the mountain of sacrifice which is the same one to which his prototype and figure Isaac was brought by the patriarch Abraham Genesis chapter 22 verse 9 upon the most innocent lamb of God was to be executed the rigor of the sentence which had been suspended in the favor of the patriarch Mount Calvary was held to be a place of defilement and ignominy being reserved for the chastisement of condemned criminals whose cadavers spread around it their stench and attached to it a still more evil fame our most loving Jesus arrived at its summit so worn out wounded, torn and disfigured that he almost altogether transformed into an object of pain and sorrows which deified his most holy humanity by his hypostatic union helped him not to lighten his pains but to strengthen him against death so that still retaining life until death should be permitted to take it away on the cross he might satiate his love to the fullest extent the sorrowful and afflicted mother in the bitterness of her soul also arrived at the summit of the mount and remained very close to her divine son but in the sorrows of her soul she was as it were beside herself being entirely transformed by her love and by the pains which she saw Jesus suffer near her were Saint John and the three Marys for they alone through her intercession and the favor of the eternal father had obtained the privilege of remaining so constantly near to the savior and to his cross when the most prudent mother perceived that now the mysteries of the redemption were to be fulfilled and that the executioners were about to strip Jesus of his clothes for crucifixion she turned in spirit to the eternal father and prayed as follows my Lord and eternal God thou art the father of thy only begotten son by eternal generation he is engendered God of the true God namely thyself and as man he was born of my womb and received from me this human nature in which he now suffers and sustained him at my own breast and as the best of sons that ever can be born of any creature I love him with maternal love as his mother I have a natural right in the person of his most holy humanity and thy providence will never infringe upon any rights held by thy creatures this right of a mother then I now yield to thee and once more place in thy hands thy and my son as a sacrifice for the redemption of man except my Lord this pleasing offering since this is more than I can ever offer by submitting my own self as a victim or to suffering this sacrifice is greater not only because my son is the true God and of thy own substance but because this sacrifice cost me a much greater sorrow and pain for if the lots were changed and I should be permitted to die in order to preserve his most holy life I would consider it a great relief and the fulfillment of my dearest wishes the eternal father received this prayer of the exalted queen with ineffable pleasure and complacency the patriarch Abraham was permitted to go no further than to prefigure and attempt the sacrifice of a son because the real execution of such a sacrifice God reserved to himself and to his only begotten nor was Sarah the mother of Isaac informed of the mystical ceremony this being prevented not only by the promptness of Abraham's obedience but also because he mistrusted lest the maternal love of Sarah though she was a just and holy woman should impel her to prevent the execution of the divine command but not so was it with most holy Mary to whom the eternal father could fearlessly manifest his unchangeable will in order that she might as far as her powers were concerned unite with him in the sacrifice of his only begotten the invincible mother finished her prayer and she perceived that the impious ministers were preparing to give the Lord the drink of wine, myrrh and gall of which Saint Matthew and Saint Mark speak Matthew chapter 27 verse 34 Mark chapter 15 verse 23 taking occasion from the words of Solomon give strong drink to the sorrowful and wine to those that suffer the bitterness of heart the Jews were accustomed to give to those about to be executed a drink of strong and aromatic wine in order to raise their vital spirits and to help them to bear their torments with greater fortitude this custom they now perverted in order to augment the sufferings of the Savior Proverbs chapter 3 verse 6 the drink which was intended to assist and strengthen other criminals by the perfidy of the Jews the blessed mother was aware of their intentions and in her maternal tenderness and compassion asked the Lord not to drink of it Jesus in deference to the petition of his mother without rejecting entirely this new suffering tasted of the mixture but would not drink it entirely Matthew chapter 27 verse 34 it was already the sixth hour which corresponds to our noon time and the executioners intending to crucify the Savior naked, despoiled him of the seamless tunic and of his garments as the tunic was large and without opening in front they pulled it over the head of Jesus without taking off the crown of thorns but on account of the rudeness with which they proceeded they inhumanly tore off the crown with the tunic thus they opened anew all the wounds of his head and in some of them remained the thorns which in spite of their being so hard and sharp were wrenched off by the violence with which the executioners despoiled him of his tunic and with it of the crown with heartless cruelty they again forced it down upon his sacred head opening up wounds upon wounds by the rude tearing off of the tunic were renewed also the wounds of his whole body since the tunic had dried into the open places as evil was, as David says adding new pains to his wounds Psalm 68 verse 27 four times during the passion did they despoil Jesus of his garments and again vest him the first time in order to scourge him at the pillar the second time in order to clothe him in the mock purple the third when they took this off in order to clothe him in his tunic the fourth when they finally took away his clothes this last was the most painful because his wounds were more numerous his holy humanity was much weakened and there was less shelter against the sharp wind on Mount Calvary for also this element was permitted to increase the sufferings of his death struggle by sending it's cold blasts across the mount to all these sufferings was added the confusion of being bereft of his garments in the presence of his most blessed mother of her pious companions and in full sight of the multitudes gathered around by his divine power he however reserved for himself the nether garment which his mother had wound around his loins in Egypt for neither at the scourging nor at the crucifixion could the executioners remove it and he was laid in the sepulcher still covered with this cloth that this really happened has been revealed to me many times certainly he desired to die in the greatest poverty and to take nothing of all that he created and possessed in this world he would gladly have died entirely despoiled and bereft of even this covering if it had not been for the desires and the prayers of his blessed mother to which Christ wished to yield on her account he substituted this perfect obedience of a son toward his mother for extreme poverty at his death the holy cross was lying on the ground and the executioners were busy making the necessary preparations for crucifying him and the two thieves in the meanwhile our redeemer and master prayed to the father in the following terms eternal father and my lord god to the incomprehensible majesty of thy infinite goodness and justice I offer my entire humanity and all that according to thy will it has accomplished in descending from thy bosom to assume passable and mortal flesh your redemption of man my brethren I offer thee lord with myself also my most loving mother her love her most perfect works her sorrows her sufferings her anxious and prudent solicitude in serving me imitating me and accompanying me unto death I offer thee the little flock of my apostles the holy church and congregation of the faithful such as it is now and as it shall be to the end of the world and with it I offer to thee all the mortal children of Adam all this I place in thy hands as the true and almighty lord and god as far as my wishes are concerned I suffer and die for all and I desire that all shall be saved under the condition that all follow me and prophet of my redemption thus may they pass from the slavery of the devil to be thy children my brethren and coheirs of the grace guided by me especially oh my lord do I offer to thee the poor the despised and afflicted who are my friends and who follow me on the way to the cross I desire that the just and the predestined be written in thy eternal memory I beseech thee my father to withhold thy chastisement and not to raise the scourge of thy justice over men let them not be punished as they merit for their sins their father as thou art mine I beseech thee also that they may be helped to ponder upon my death and pious affection and be enlightened from above and I pray for those who are persecuting me in order that they may be converted to the truth above all do I ask thee for the exultation of thy ineffable and most holy name the prayer and supplication of our savior Jesus were known to the most holy mother and she imitated him and made the same petitions to the eternal father in as far as she was concerned the most prudent virgin never forgot or disregarded the first word which she had heard from the mouth of her divine son as an infant become like unto me my beloved his promise that in return for the new human existence which she had given him in her virginal womb he would by his almighty power give her a new existence the divine and eminent grace above all other creatures was continually fulfilled to this favor was due also her deep science and enlightenment concerning all the operations of the sacred humanity of her son none of which ever escaped her knowledge and attention whatever she thus perceived she imitated so that she was always anxious to study and penetrate them with deep understanding to put them promptly into action and to practice them courageously and zealously during all her life in this neither sorrow could disturb her nor anguish hinder her nor persecution detain her nor the bitterness of her suffering weaken her if the great queen had assisted at the passion with the same sentiments as the rest of the just it would indeed have been admirable but not so admirable as the way in which she suffered she was singular and extraordinary sufferings for as I have said above she felt in her own virginal body all the torments of Christ our Lord both interior and exterior on account of this conformity we can say that also the heavenly mother was scourged crowned spit upon buffeted laden with the cross and nailed upon it for she felt these pains and all the rest in her purest body although she felt them in a different manner yet she felt them in such conformity that the mother was altogether a faithful likeness of her son besides the greatness of her dignity which in most holy Mary must on this account have corresponded in the highest possible degree with that of Christ there was concealed therein another mystery this was that the desire of Christ to see his exalted love and benignity as exhibited in his passion copied in all its magnitude in a mere creature was fulfilled in her and no one possessed a greater right to this favor than his own mother in order to find the places for the auger holes on the cross the executioners haughtily commanded the creator of the universe oh dreadful temerity to stretch himself out upon it the teacher of humility obeyed without hesitation but they following their inhuman instinct of cruelty mark the places for the holes not according to the size of his body but larger having in mind a new torture for their victim this inhuman intent was known to the mother of light and the knowledge of it was one of the greatest afflictions of her chasest heart during the whole passion she saw through the intentions of these ministers of sin and she anticipated the torments to be endured by her beloved son when his limbs should be wrenched from their sockets and being anything to prevent it as it was the will of the Lord to suffer these pains for men when he rose from the cross and they said about boring the holes the great lady approached and took hold of one of his hands adoring him and kissing it with greatest reverence the executioners allowed this because they thought that the sight of his mother would cause so much the greater affliction to the Lord for they wish to spare him no sorrow they could cause him but they were afraid of the hidden mysteries for the Lord during his passion had no greater source of consolation and interior joy than to see in the soul of his most blessed mother the beautiful likeness of himself and the full fruits of his passion and death this joy to a certain extent comforted Christ our Lord also in that hour having bored the three holes into the cross the executioners again commanded Christ the Lord to stretch himself out in order to be nailed to it the supreme and almighty king as the author of patience obeyed and at the will of the hangman placed himself without stretched arms upon the blessed would the Lord was so weakened disfigured and exhausted that if the atrocious cruelty of these men had left the least room for natural reason and kindness they could not have brought themselves to inflict further torments upon the innocent and meek lamb humbly suffering nameless sorrows and pains but not so with them for the judges and their executioners oh terrible and most hidden judgments of the Lord were transformed in their malice and deathly hatred into demons void of the feelings of sensible and earthly men and urged on only by diabolical wrath and fury presently one of the executioners sees the hand of Jesus our savior and place it upon the auger hole while another hammered a large and rough nail through the palm the veins and seniors were torn and the bones of the sacred hand which made the heavens and all that exists were forced apart when they stretched out the other hand they found that it did not reach up to the auger hole for the seniors of the other arm had been shortened and the executioners had maliciously set the holes too far apart as I have mentioned above in order to overcome the difficulty they took the chain with which the savior had been bound in the garden and looping one end through a ring around his wrist they with unheard of cruelty pulled the hand over the hole and fastened it with another nail there upon they seized his feet and placing them one above the other they tied the same chain around both and stretch them with barbarous ferocity down to the third hole then they drove through both feet a large nail into the cross the sacred body in which dwelled the divinity was nailed motionless to the holy cross and the handiwork of his deified members formed by the holy ghost was so stretched and torn asunder that the bones of his body dislocated and forced from their natural position could all be counted the bones of his breast of his shoulders and arms and of his whole body yielded to the cruel violence and were torn from their seniors it is impossible for human tongue or words of mouth to describe the torments of our savior Jesus and what he suffered on this occasion on the last day alone more will be known in order that his cause may be justified before sinners and the praise and exultation of the saints may be so much the greater but at present while our faith in this truth gives us occasion and obliges us to apply our reason if such we possess implore and beseech the children of the holy church each one for himself to study this venerable sacrament let us contemplate it and weigh it with all its circumstances and we shall find powerful motives to abhor and firmly resolve to avoid sin as the cause of all this suffering to the author of life let us contemplate and look upon his virgin mother so afflicted in spirit and overwhelmed by the torments of her purist body in order that through this gate of light we may enter to see the sun that illumines our heart oh mistress and queen of virtues oh mother of the immortal king of ages become man it is true oh my lady that the hardness of our ungrateful hearts makes us very unfit and unworthy of suffering thy pains and those of thy most holy son our lord but through thy clemency make us partakers of this favor which we do not deserve purify and free us from this deadening luke warmness and gross neglect if we are the cause of these sufferings what propriety or what justice can there be in visiting them only on thee and on thy beloved let the chalice pass from the lips of the innocent in order that it may be tasted by the guilty who deserve it but alas where is our good sense where wisdom and knowledge where is the light of our eyes that so entirely deprived us of our understanding who has robbed us of our human and sensible hearts if I oh lord had not received from thee this being according to thy image and likeness if thou hadst not given me life in motion if all the elements and creatures form by thy hand for my service ecclesiasticus chapter 39 verse 30 we're not giving me continual of thy immense love at least thy being nailed so outrageously to the cross and all thy torments and sorrows for my salvation should have suffice to draw me to thee with the bonds of compassion and gratitude of love and confidence and thy ineffable kindness but if so many voices cannot awaken me if such love does not incandle mine if thy passion and death do not move me if such great benefits cannot oblige me what shall I expect as the result of my foolishness after the Savior was nailed to the cross the executioners judged it necessary to bend the points of the nails which projected through the back of the wood in order that they might not be loosened and drawn out by the weight of the body for this purpose they raised up the cross in order to turn it over so that the body of the Lord would rest face downward upon the ground with the weight of the cross upon him this new cruelty appalled all the bystanders and a shout of pity arose in the crowd but the sorrowful and compassionate mother intervened by her prayers and asked the eternal Father not to permit this boundless outrage to happen in the way the executioners had intended she commanded her holy angels to come to the assistance of their creator when therefore the executioners raised up the cross to let it fall with the crucified Lord face downward upon the ground the holy angels supported him and the cross above the stony and fetid ground so that his divine countenance did not come in contact with the rocks and pebbles thus altogether ignorant of the miracle the executioners bent over the points of the nails for the sacred body was so near to the ground and the cross was so firmly held by the angels that the Jews thought it rested upon the hard rock then they dragged the lower end of the cross with the crucified God near to the hole wherein it was to be planted some of them getting under the upper part of the cross with their shoulders others pushing upward with their halberds and lances they raised the savior on his cross and fastened its foot in the hole they drilled into the ground thus our true life and salvation now hung in the air upon the sacred wood in full view of the innumerable multitudes of different nations and countries I must not omit mentioning another barbarity inflicted upon the Lord as they raised him for some of them placed the sharp points of their lances and halberds to his body and fearfully lacerating him under the armpits in helping to push the cross into position at this spectacle new cries of protest arose with still more vehemence and confusion from the multitude of the people the Jews blasphemed the kind-hearted lamented the strangers were astounded some of them called the attention of the bystanders to the proceedings others turned away their heads in horror and pity others took to themselves a warning from this spectacle of suffering and still others proclaimed him a just man all these different sentiments were like arrows piercing the heart of the afflicted mother the sacred body now shed much blood from the nail wounds which by its weight and the shock of the cross falling into the hole had widened they were the fountains now opened up to which Isaiah's invites us to hasten with joy to quench our thirst and wash off the stains of our sins Isaiah chapter 12 verse 3 no one shall be excused who does not quickly approach to drink them since the waters are sold without exchange of silver or gold and they are given freely to those who will but receive them Isaiah chapter 54 verse 1 then they crucified also the two thieves and planted their crosses to the right and to the left of the Saviour for thereby they wished to indicate that he deserved the most conspicuous place as being the greatest mouth factor the Pharisees and priests forgetting the two thieves turned all the venom of their fury against the sinless and holy one by nature wagging their heads in scorn and mockery Matthew chapter 27 verse 39 they threw stones and dirt at the cross of the Lord and his royal person saying Matthew chapter 27 verse 42 these blasphemies of the two thieves cause special sorrow to our Lord since they were so near to death and were losing the fruits of their death pains by which they could have satisfied in part for their justly punished crimes soon after however one of them availed himself of the greatest opportunity that a sinner ever had in this world and was converted from his sins when the great queen of the angels most holy Mary perceived that the Jews in their perfidy and obstinate envy vied in dishonoring him in blaspheming him as the most wicked of men and in desiring to blot out his name from the land of the living as Jeremiah had prophesied Jeremiah chapter 11 verse 19 she was inflamed with a new zeal for the honor of her son and true god prostrate before the person of the crucified and adoring him she besought the eternal father to see the honor of his only begotten and manifested by such evident signs that the perfidy of the Jews might be confounded and their malice frustrated of its intent having presented this petition to the father she with the zeal and authority of the queen of the universe addressed all the irrational creatures and said insensible creatures created by the hand of the almighty do you manifest your compassion which in deadly foolishness is denied to him by men capable of reason ye heavens thou sun moon and ye stars and planets stop in your course and suspend your activity in regard to mortals ye elements change your condition earth lose thy stability let your rocks and cliffs be rent ye sepulchres and monuments of the dead open and send forth your contents for the confusion of the living thou mystical and figurative veil of the temple divide into two parts and by thy separation threaten the unbelievers with chastisement give witness to the truth and to the glory of their creator and redeemer which they are trying to obscure in virtue of this prayer and of the commands of Mary the mother of the crucified the omnipotence of God have provided for all that was to happen at the death of his only begotten the Lord enlightened and moved the hearts by standards at the time of these happenings on earth and even before that time in order that they might confess Jesus crucified as holy just and as the true son of God this happened for instance with the centurion and many others mentioned in the gospels who went away from Calvary striking their breasts in sorrow among them were not only those who previously had heard and believed his doctrine but also a great number of such people who have never seen him or witnessed his miracles for the same reason pilot was also inspired not to change the title of the cross which they had placed over the head of the savior in Hebrew Greek and Latin for when the Jews protested and asked him not to write Jesus of Nazareth king of the Jews but this one says he is king of the Jews pilot answered what is written is written and I do not wish it to be all the inanimate creatures by divine will obey the command of the most holy Mary from the noon hour until three o'clock in the afternoon which was called the ninth hour when the Lord expired they exhibited the great disturbances and changes mentioned in the gospels the sun hid its light the planets showed great alterations the earth quaked many mountains were rent the rocks shook one against the other the graves opened and sent forth some of the life the changes in the elements and in the whole universe were so notable and extraordinary that they were evident on the whole earth all the Jews of Jerusalem were dismayed and astonished although their outrageous profite and malice made them unworthy of the truth and hindered them from accepting what all the insensible creatures preached to them the soldiers who had crucified Jesus our savior according to a custom permitting the executioners to take possession of the property of those whom they executed now proceeded to divide the garments of the innocent lamb the cloak or outside mantle which by divine disposition they had brought to Mount Calvary and which was the one Christ had laid aside at the washing of the feet they divided among themselves cutting it into four parts John chapter 19 verse 23 but the seamless tunic by a mysterious decree of providence they did not divide but they drew lots and assigned it entirely to the one who drew the lot for it thus fulfilling the prophecy in the 21st Psalm the mysterious signification of the undivided tunic is variously explained by the saints and doctors one of these explanations being that though the Jews lacerated and tore with wounds the sacred humanity of Christ our Lord yet they could not touch or injure the divinity which was enclosed in the sacred humanity and whoever should draw the lot of justification by partaking of his divinity should thus forward possess and enjoy it entirely as the wood of the cross was the throne of his majesty and the chair of the doctrine of life and as he was now raised upon it confirming his doctrine by his example Christ now uttered those words of highest charity and perfection father forgive them for they know what they do Luke chapter 23 verse 34 this principle of charity and fraternal love the divine teacher had appropriated to himself and proclaimed by his own lips John chapter 15 verse 12 Matthew chapter 15 verse 44 he now confirmed and executed it upon the cross not only pardoning and loving his enemies but excusing those under the plea of forgiveness whose malice had reached the highest point possible to men and persecuting blaspheming and crucifying their god and redeemer such was the difference between the behavior of ungrateful men favored with so great enlightenment instruction and blessing and the behavior of Jesus in his most burning charity while suffering the crown of thorns the nails and the cross and unheard of blasphemy at the hands of men oh incomprehensible love loveable sweetness oh patience inconceivable to men admirable to the angels and fearful to the devils one of the two thieves called dismiss became aware of some of the mysteries being assisted at the same time by the prayers and intercession of most holy Mary he was interiorly enlightened concerning his rescuer and master by the first word on the cross moved by true sorrow and contrition for his sins he turned to his companion and said neither does thou fear God sing that 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 and thereupon speaking to Jesus he said Lord remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom Luke chapter 23 verse 40 in this happiest of thieves in the centurion and the others who confess Jesus Christ on the cross began to appear the results of the redemption but the one most favored was this dismiss who merited to hear the second word of the savior on the cross amen I say to thee this day shalt thou be with me in paradise oh fortunate thief who of all others heard those words so much desired by all the saints and just of the earth such a word the ancient patriarchs and prophets did not hear they had judged themselves very happy to be allowed to descend into limbo and wait through the long ages for paradise which thou in changing so happily thy condition disacquire in one moment thou hast now ceased to rob earthly possessions of thy neighbor and immediately snatches heaven from the hands of thy master thou seizes it injustice and he yields it to thee in grace since thou was the last disciple of the patron on earth and the most alert of all in practicing it after having heard it from his mouth thou hast lovingly corrected thy brother confessed thy creator reprehended those who blasphemed him imitated him in patient suffering asking him humbly as thy redeemer not to forget thy miseries and he as thy exalted has at once fulfilled thy desires without delaying the garden merited for thee and all the mortals having thus justified the good thief jesus turned his loving gaze upon his afflicted mother who was saint john was standing at the foot of the cross speaking to both he first addressed his mother saying woman behold thy son and then to the apostle behold thy mother john chapter 19 verse 26 the lord called her woman and not mother because this name of mother had in it something of sweetness and consolation the very pronouncing of which would have been a sensible relief during his passion he would admit of no exterior consolation having renounced for that time all exterior alleviation and easement as I have mentioned above by this word woman he tassently and by implication wished to say woman blessed among all women the most prudent among all the daughters of Adam woman strong and constant unconquered by any fault of thy own unfailing in my service and most faithful in thy love toward me which even the mighty waters of my passion could not extinguish or resist canticles chapter 8 verse 7 I am going to my father and cannot accompany thee further my beloved disciple will attend upon thee and serve thee as his mother and he will be thy son all this the heavenly queen understood the holy apostle on his part received her as his own from that hour on for he was enlightened anew in order to understand and appreciate the greatest treasure of the divinity in the whole creation next to the humanity of Christ our savior in this light he reverenced and served her for the rest of her life as I will relate farther on our lady also accepted him as her son in humble subjection and obedience always practicing the highest possible perfection and holiness without failing on any occasion and not permitting even the immensity of her present suffering to weigh down her magnanimous and most prudent heart she promised then and there that she would show him this obedience during her whole life already the ninth hour of the day was approaching although the darkness and confusion of nature made it appear to be rather a chaotic night our savior spoke the fourth word from the cross in a loud and strong voice so that all the bystanders could hear it my God my God why hast thou forsaken me Matthew chapter 27 verse 46 although the Lord had uttered these words in his own Hebrew language they were not understood by all since they began with Eli Eli some of them thought he was calling upon Elias and a number of them mocked him saying let us see whether Elias shall come to free him from our hands but the mystery concealed beneath these words was just as profound as it was unintelligible to the Jews and Gentiles and they have been interpreted in many ways by the doctors of the church I shall give the interpretation which has been manifested to me the dereliction of which Christ speaks was not one in which the divinity separated from the humanity dissolving the hypostatic union nor including a cessation of the beatific vision in his soul for both of these he enjoyed from the first moment of his conception by the Holy Ghost in the virginal womb and could never lose but certainly the sacred humanity was in so far forsaken by the divinity as it did not ward off death or the most bitter sorrows of his passion though on the other hand the eternal father did not forsake him entirely since he showed his concern by causing the visible creation in order to give witness for his honor at his death Christ our savior intimated quite a different dereliction by these words of complaint one which originated from his immense love for men namely from his love of the fore known as lost and the reprobate which during his last hour caused in him the same anguish as it did during his prayer in the garden he grieved that his copious and super abundant redemption offered for the whole human race should not be efficacious in the reprobate and that he should find himself deprived of them in the eternal happiness for which he had created and redeemed them as this was to happen in consequence of the decree of his father's eternal will he lovingly and sorrowfully complained of it in the words my God my God why hast thou forsaken me that is in so far as God deprived him of the salvation of the reprobate in confirmation of this sorrow the Lord added I thirst the sufferings of the Lord in his anguish could easily cause a natural thirst but for him this was not a time to complain of this thirst or to quench it and therefore Jesus would not have spoken of it so near to its expiration unless in order to give expression to a most exalted mystery he was thirsting to see the captive children of Adam the use of the liberty which he merited for them and offered to them and which so many were abusing he was a thirst with the anxious desire that all should correspond with him in the faith and love due to him that they profit by his merits and sufferings except his friendship and grace now acquired for them and that they should not lose the eternal happiness which he was to leave as an inheritance to those that wish to merit and accept it the most of our savior and master and the most blessed Mary alone understood it perfectly and began with ardent affection and charity to invite and interiorly call upon all the poor the afflicted, the humble the despised and downtrodden to approach their savior and thus quench at least in part his thirst which they could not quench entirely but the perfidious Jews and the executioners evidencing their unhappy hard-heartedness fastened a sponge soaked in gall in vinegar to a reed and mockingly raised it to his mouth in order that he might drink of it thus was fulfilled the prophecy of David in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink John chapter 16 verse 28 Psalm 68 verse 22 Our most patient savior tasted of it partaking of this drink in mysterious submission to the condemnation of the reprobate but at the instance of his blessed mother he immediately desisted because the mother of grace was to be the portal and mediatrix of those who were to profit of the passion and the redemption of mankind in connection with this same mystery the savior then pronounced the sixth word Consumatum asked it is consummated John chapter 19 verse 29 Now is consummated this work of my coming from heaven and I have obeyed the command of my eternal father who sent me to suffer and die for the salvation of mankind now are fulfilled the holy scriptures the prophecies and figures of the Old Testament and the course of my earthly and mortal life assumed in the womb of my mother now are established on earth my example my doctrines my sacraments and my remedies for the sickness of sin now is appeased the justice of my eternal father in regard to the debt of the children of Adam now is my holy church enriched with the remedies for the sins committed by men the whole work of my coming into the world is perfected in so far as concerns me its restore the secure foundation of the triumphant church is now laid in the church militant so that nothing can overthrow or change it these are the mysteries contained in the few words Consumatum asked and established the work of redemption in all its perfection it was becoming that the incarnate word just as he came forth from the father to enter mortal life John chapter 16 verse 8 should enter into immortal life of the father through death therefore Christ our savior added the last words uttered by him Father into thy hands I commend my spirit the Lord spoke these words in a loud and strong voice the bystanders heard them in pronouncing them he raised his eyes to heaven as once speaking with the eternal father and with the last accent he gave up his spirit and inclined his head by the divine force of these words Lucifer with all his demons were hurled into the deepest caverns of hell where they lay motionless as I shall relate in the next chapter the invincible queen and mistress of all virtues understood these mysteries beyond the understanding of all creatures as she was the mother of the savior and the co-atatrix of his passion in order that she might participate in it to the end just as she had felt in her own body the other torments of her son she now though remaining alive felt and suffered the pangs and agony of his death she did not die in reality but this was because God miraculously preserved her life when according to the natural course death should have followed this miraculous aid was more wonderful than all the other favors she received during the passion for this last pain was more intense and penetrating and all that the martyrs and the men sentenced to death have suffered from the beginning of the world cannot equal what the blessed mother suffered during the passion the great lady remained at the foot of the cross until evening when the sacred body as I shall relate was interred but in return for this last anguish of death was still of this mortal life in the virginal body of the purest mother was more than ever exalted and spiritualized many of the sacraments and mysteries connected with the doings of Christ our savior on the cross the evangelists make no mention and we as Catholics can only form prudent conjectures founded upon the infallible certainty of our faith but among those which have been manifested to me in this history and concerning this part of the passion is a prayer which Christ addressed to his eternal father before speaking the seven words on the cross recorded by the evangelists I call it a prayer because it was addressed to the father but in reality it was a last bequest or testament which he made as a true and most wise father in order to consign his possessions to his family that is to the whole human race even natural reason teaches us that he who is the head of a family or the Lord over many or few possessions would not be a prudent dispenser of his goods and inattentive to his office or dignity if at the hour of his death he would not make known his will in regard to the disposition of his goods and his estate in order that each one of his family may know what belongs to him and may possess it justly and peacefully without recourse to lawsuits for this very reason and in order that they may set their minds at ease in preparation for the hour of death men of the world make their last testaments and even the religious resign the things permitted them for daily use because in that hour earthly matters are apt to fill the mind with anxieties and prevent them from rising toward their creator although earthly things could not disturb our savior since he neither possessed them nor if he had possessed any could he be embarrassed by them in his infinite power yet it was fitting that he should in that hour dispose of the spiritual riches and treasures which he had amassed for mankind in the course of his pilgrimage of these eternal goods the savior made his last disposition on the cross distributing them and pointing out those who should be legitimate heirs and those who should be disinherited and mentioning the reasons for the one as well as the other all this he did in conference with his eternal father as the supreme lord and the most just judge of all creatures for in this testament are rehearsed the mysteries of the predestination of the saints and of the reprobation of the wicked it was a testament hidden and sealed for mankind only the blessed Mary understood it because in addition to her being informed of the operations of the divine soul of Christ she was also to be the universal heiress of all creation as she was the co-attetrics of salvation she was also to be the testamentary executrix for the son placed all things in her hands just as the father had assigned the whole creation to him she was to execute his will and she was to distribute all the treasures acquired and due to her son as God on account of his infinite merits this understanding has been given me as part of this history for the exultation of our queen and in order that sinners might approach her as the custodian of all the treasures gained by her son and our redeemer in the sight of his eternal father all help and assistance is in the hands of most holy Mary and she is to distribute it according to her most sweet kindness and liberality testament made by Christ our lord on the cross in his prayer to the eternal father when the wood of the cross had been raised on Mount Calvary bearing aloft with it the incarnate word crucified before speaking any of the seven words Christ prayed interiorly to his heavenly father and said my father and eternal God I confess and magnify thee from this tree of the cross and I offer thee a sacrifice of praise in my passion and death for by the hypostatic union with the divine nature thou hast raised my humanity to the highest dignity that of Christ the God man anointed with thy own divinity I confess thee on account of the plentitude of the highest possible graces and glory which from the first instant of my incarnation thou hast communicated to my humanity and because from all eternity up to this present hour thou hast consigned to me full dominion of the universe both in the order of grace and of nature thou hast made me the lord of the heavens and of the elements Matthew chapter 28 verse 18 of the sun, the moon and the stars of fire and air of the earth and the sea of all the animate and inanimate creatures therein thou hast made me the disposer of the seasons of the days and nights with full lordship and possession according to my free will and thou hast set me as the head the king and lord of all angels and men letter to the Ephesians chapter 1 verse 21 to govern and command them to punish the wicked and to reward the good John chapter 5 verse 22 thou hast given me the dominion and power of disposing all things from highest heavens to deepest abysses of hell apocalypse chapter 20 verse 1 thou hast placed in my hands the eternal justification of men, the empires kingdoms and principalities the great and the little rich and the poor and of all that are capable of thy grace and glory thou hast made me the justifier the redeemer and glorifier the universal lord of all the human race of life and death of the holy church its treasures, laws, and blessings of grace all hast thou my father consigned to my hands subject to my will and my decrees and for this I confess, exalt and magnify thy holy name at this moment, my lord and eternal father when I am returning from this world to thy right hand through this death on the cross by which I complete the task of the redemption of men assigned to me I desire that this same cross shall be the tribunal of our justice and mercy, nailed to it I desire to judge those for whom I give my life having justified my cause I wish to dispense the treasures of my coming into the world and of my passion to the death, to the just and the reprobate according as each one merits by his works of love or hatred I have sought to gain all mortals and invite them to partake of my friendship and grace from the first moment of my incarnation I have ceaselessly labored for them I have borne inconveniences fatigues, insults ignominies, reproaches scourges, a crown of thorns and now suffer the bitter death of the cross I have implored thy vast kindness upon all of them I have watched in prayer fasted and wandered about teaching them the way of eternal life as far as in Millet I have sought to secure eternal happiness for all men just as I merited it for all without excluding anyone I have established and built up the law of grace and have firmly and forever established the church in which all human beings can be saved in our knowledge and foresight we are aware, my God and Father that on account of their malice and rebellious obstinacy not all men desire to accept our eternal salvation nor avail themselves of our mercy and of the way I have opened to them by my labors, life and death but that many will prefer to follow their sinful ways unto perdition thou art just, my Lord and Father and most equitable are thy judgments Psalm 68 verse 137 and therefore it is right since thou hast made me the judge of the living and the dead of the good and the bad Acts of the Apostles Chapter 10 verse 3 that I give to the good the reward of having served and followed me and to sinners the chastisement of their perverse obstinacy that the just should share in my goods and the wicked be deprived of the inheritance which they refuse to accept now then my eternal Father in my and thy name and for thy glorification I make my last bequest according to my human will which is conformable to thy eternal and divine will first shall be mentioned my most pure mother who gave me human existence her I constitute my soul and universal heiress of all the gifts of nature and of grace and of glory that are mine and possessor of them all the gifts of grace of which as a mere creature she is capable she shall actually receive now while those of glory I promise to confer upon her in their time I desire that she shall be mistress of angels and men claim over them full possession and dominion and command the service and obedience of all the demons shall fear her and be subject to her all the irrational creatures the heavens the stars the planets the elements with all the living beings the birds the fishes and the animals contained in them shall likewise be subject to her and acknowledge her as mistress exalting and glorifying her with me I wish also that she be the treasurer and dispenser of all the goods in heaven and on earth whatever she ordains and disposes in my church for my children the sons of men shall be confirmed by the three divine persons we ask for mortals now afterwards and forever we shall concede according to her will and wishes to the holy angels who have obeyed thy holy and just will I assigned as habitation the highest heavens as their proper and eternal abode and with it the joys of eternal vision and fruition of our divinity I desire that they enjoy its everlasting possession together with our company and friendship I decree that they recognize my mother as their legitimate queen and lady that they serve her a company and attend upon her bear her up in their hands in all places and times obeying her in all that she wishes to ordain and command the demons rebellious to our perfect and holy will I cast out and deprive of our vision and company again do I condemn them to our abhorrence to eternal loss of our friendship and glory to provision of the vision of my mother, of the saints and of my friends the just I appoint and assign to them as their eternal dwelling the place most remote from our royal throne namely the infernal caverns the center of the earth deprived of light and full of horrors of sensible darkness Letter of St. Jude verse 6 I decree this to be their portion and inheritance as chosen by them in their pride and obstinacy against the divine being and decrees in those eternal dungeons of darkness they shall be tormented by everlasting and inextinguishable fire for the multitudes of men in the fullness of my good will I call, select and separate all the just and the predestined who through my grace save themselves by imitating me doing my will and obeying my holy law these next to my most pure mother I appoint as the inheritors of all my mysteries, my blessings my sacramental treasures of the mysteries concealed in the holy scriptures of my humility meekness of heart of the virtues of faith, hope and charity of prudence, justice fortitude and temperance of my divine gifts and favors of my cross, labors contempt, poverty and nakedness this shall be their portion and inheritance in this present and mortal life I must choose these in order to labor profitably I assign to them the trials I have chosen for myself in this life as a pledge of my friendship in order that they may undergo them with joy I offer them my protection and defense my holy inspirations my favors and powerful assistance my blessings and my justification according to each one's disposition and degree of love I promise to be to them a father, a brother and a friend and they shall be my chosen and beloved children and as such I appoint them as the inheritors of all my merits and treasures without limitation I desire that all who dispose themselves shall partake of the goods of my holy church and of the sacraments that if they should lose my friendship they shall be able to restore themselves and recover my graces and blessings through my cleansing blood for all of them shall be open the intercession of my mother of the saints and she shall recognize them as her children shielding them and holding them as her own my angels shall defend them guide them, protect them and bear them up in their hands lest they stumble and if they fall they shall help them rise Psalm 90 verses 11 and 12 likewise it is my will that my just and chosen ones shall stand high above the reprobate and the demons that they shall be and obeyed by my enemies that all the rational and irrational creatures shall serve them that all the influences of the heavens the planets and the stars shall favor them and give them life that the earth, its elements and animals shall sustain them all the creatures that are mine and serve me shall be theirs and shall serve also them as my children and friends first letter to the Corinthians chapter 3 verse 22 wisdom chapter 16 verse 24 and their blessing shall be the dew of heaven and in the fruits of the earth Genesis chapter 27 verse 28 I wish to hold with them my delights Proverbs chapter 8 verse 31 communicate to them my secrets converse with them intimately and live with them in the militant church in the species of bread and wine as an earnest and infallible pledge of the eternal happiness and glory promised to them I make them partakers and heirs in order that they may enjoy it with me in heaven by perpetual right and in unfailing beatitude I consent that the foreknown and reprobate though they were created for another and much higher end shall be permitted to possess as their portion and inheritance the concupiscence of the flesh and the eyes John chapter 1 verses 2 through 16 pride in all its effects that they eat and be satisfied with the dust of the earth namely with riches with the fumes and the corruption of the flesh and its delights and with the vanity and presumption of the world for such possessions have they labored and applied all the diligence of their mind and body in such occupations have they consumed their powers, their gifts and blessings bestowed upon them by us and they have of their own free will chosen deceit despising the truth I have taught them in the holy law letter to the Romans chapter 2 verse 8 they have rejected the law which I have written in their hearts and the one inspired by my grace they have despised my teachings and my blessings and listened to my and their own enemies they have accepted their deceits and have loved vanity Psalm 4 verse 3 wrought injustice followed their ambitions sought their delight in vengeance persecuted the poor humiliated the just mocked the simple and the innocent strove to exalt themselves and desire to be raised above all the cedars of Lebanon in following the laws of injustice Psalm 36 verse 35 since they have done all this in opposition to our divine goodness and remain obstinate in their malice and since they have renounced the rights of sonship merited for them by me I disinherit them of my friendship and glory just as Abraham separated the children of the slave setting aside some possessions for them and reserving the principal heritage for Isaac the son of the freedwoman Sarah Genesis chapter 25 verse 5 thus I set aside their claims on my inheritance by giving them the transitory goods which they themselves have chosen separating them from our company and from that of my mother of the angels and saints I condemn them to the eternal dungeons and the fire of hell in company of Lucifer and his demons whom they have freely served I deprive them forever of all hope of relief this is oh my father the sentence which I pronounce as the head and the judge of men and angels letter to the Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 letter to the Colossians chapter 2 verse 10 and this is the testament made at my death this is the effect of my redemption whereby each one is rewarded with that which he has justly merited according to his works and according to thy incomprehensible wisdom in the equity of thy strictest justice second letter to St. Timothy chapter 4 verse 8 such was the prayer of Christ our savior on the cross to his eternal father it was sealed and deposited in the heart of the most holy Mary as the mysterious and sacramental testament in order that through her intercession and solicitous care it might at its time and even from that moment be executed in the church just as it had before this time been prepared imperfected by the wise providence of God in whom all the past and the future is always one with the present instruction which the queen of heaven Mary gave me my daughter seek with all the powers of thy mind during thy whole life to remember the mysteries manifested to thee in this chapter I as thy mother and thy instructress shall ask the Lord by his divine power to impress in thy heart the knowledge which I have about safe thee in order that it may remain blessed and ever present to thee as long as thou livest in virtue of this blessing keep in thy memory Christ crucified who is my divine son and thy spouse and never forget the sufferings of the cross and the doctrine taught by him upon it this is the mirror by which thou must arrange all thy adornments and the source from which thou art to draw thy interior beauty like a true daughter of the prince in order that thou mayest be prepared proceed and reign as the spouse of the supreme king as this honorable title obliges thee to seek with all thy power to imitate him as far as is becoming thy station and possible to thee by his grace and as this is to be the true fruit of my doctrine I wish that from today on thou live crucified with Christ entirely assimilated to thy exempler and dead to this earthly life second letter to the Corinthians chapter 5 verse 15 I desire that in thee shall vanish the effects of the first sin that thou live only for the operations and movements of divine virtue and that thou renounce thy inheritance as a daughter of the first Adam in order that in thee may bear fruit the inheritance of the second Adam who is Jesus Christ thy redeemer and teacher thy state of life must be for thee a most rigid cross on which thou must remain crucified and thou must not widen thy path by seeking for dispensation or weakening interpretation of thy rules to make it easy and comfortable but at the same time insecure and full of imperfections this is the deception into which the children of Babylon and of Adam fall that each one according to his state seeks to find ease in the work commanded by the law of God they set aside the salvation of their soul in their efforts to buy heaven very cheaply or risk losing it by dreading the restrictions and entire subjection necessary to observe rigorously the divine law and its precepts hence arises the desire to find explanations and opinions which smooth the paths and highways of eternal life without heating the doctrine of my divine son that the path of life is very narrow Matthew chapter 7 verse 14 they forget that the lord himself has walked these narrow paths in order that no one might imagine he can reach eternal life over paths more spacious and comfortable to the flesh and to the inclinations vitiated by sins this danger is greater for ecclesiastics and religious who by their very state must follow the master and must accommodate themselves to his life of poverty and must choose for this purpose the way of the cross some of them however are apt to seek the dignities attached to the religious state for their temporal advantage for the increase of their own honor and praise in order to secure it they lighten the cross they have promised to bear so that they live a carnal life little restricted and much eased by deceptive dispensations and vain excuses in their time they shall recognize the truth of the being of the Holy Ghost each one thinks his path secure but the Lord weighs in his hands the hearts of men Proverbs chapter 21 verse 2 so far from this deceit do I wish thee to be my daughter that thou must live strictly up to the rigorous demands of thy profession in such a way that thou canst not stretch thyself in any way being nailed immovably to the cross with Christ thou must set aside all temporal advantages for the least point pertaining to the utmost perfection of thy state thy right hand my daughter must be nailed to the cross by obedience and reserve not for thyself the least movement the least activity or word or thought not controlled by this virtue thou must not maintain any position that is of thy own choice but only such as is willed by others thou must not appear wise in thy own conceit in anything but ignorant and blind in order to follow entirely the guidance of thy superiors Proverbs chapter 3 verse 7 he that promises says the wise man Proverbs chapter 6 verse 1 finds his hands and by his words shall he be bound and chained thou hast bound thy hand by the vow of obedience and hast thereby lost thy liberty and thy right of wishing or not wishing thy left hand thou hast nailed to the cross by the vow of poverty depriving thee of all right to follow any inclination toward the objects usually coveted by the eyes for both in the use and in the desire for such creatures thou must rigorously imitate Christ impoverished and dispoiled upon the cross by the third vow that of chastity thy feet are nailed to the cross in order that all thy steps and movements are chaste and beautiful for this thou must not permit in thy presence the least word offensive to purity nor by looking upon or touching any human creature allow any sensual image or impression within thee thy eyes and all thy senses are to remain consecrated to chastity without making more use of them than to fix them upon Jesus crucified the fourth vow of perpetual enclosure thou wilt maintain in the bosom of the divine Son to which I can sign thee in order that this doctrine may appear to thee sweet and this path less narrow contemplate and consider in thy heart the image of my Son and Lord full of blood, torments, sorrows and at last nail to the cross no part of his sacred body being exempt from wounds and excruciating pains the Lord and I were most solicitous and compassionate toward all the children of men we suffered and endured such bitter sorrows in order that they might be encouraged not to refuse less severe sufferings for their own eternal good and in return for so obliging a love, therefore let mortals show themselves thankful willingly entering upon the rough and thorny path and accepting the cross to bear it after Christ thus will they walk upon the direct path toward heaven and gain an eternal happiness Matthew chapter 16 verse 24 End of chapter 22