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| "Good Friday Morning: Jesus in Prison " -- byJames Tissot |
This day was formerly for
the Jewish people a day of preparation for Easter, and was called by
them the Parasceve; for us Christians it is the anniversary of the
death and burial of our Lord who on this day, being Himself both
High-Priest and Victim, offered Himself upon the cross for the
salvation of the world.
Why do Catholics hold
this day in such veneration?
Because it is one of the
greatest days from the beginning of the world to its end. On this day
the designs which God had from all eternity were perfected, as Jesus
Himself expressed when He said, All il consummated; for on this day
He was given up toy the Gentiles by the Jews, was scourged, crowned
with thorns, loaded with the cross, dragged to Calvary amid taunts
and sneers, there nailed to the cross between two thieves, and by His
painful death finished the great work of redemption.
Why did Christ suffer
so much to, redeem, us?
To show us what an
immense evil sin is, on account of which He underwent such cruel
sufferings that He might satisfy divine justice. His love for us was
so great that He gave the last drop of His blood to save us. He
rendered satisfaction for all men without exception, that none might
be lost, that every one might possess eternal life. Look up today,
and every day of thy life, to Christ on the cross, and see how God
punishes sin, since He did not even spare His only-begotten Son, who
took upon Himself our sins, and for them died this cruel death. What
death is due to thee, if thou dost not despise and flee from sin?
Why does the Church
celebrate the commemoration of the passion of Christ in such solemn
quietness?
That we may be induced to
thank the Saviour for our redemption, and to move us to sincere love
for Him by serious meditation on His passion. For this reason St.
Paul ordered the observance of this day, and the Christians even in
his time sanctified it by deep mourning, and rigorous fasting.
Why do we not observe
Good Friday with such festivities as do the Protestants? [in
Europe.]
Because our grief for our
Saviour's death is too great to permit us to celebrate it joyously,
even nature mourned His death; the sun was darkened, the earth
trembled and the rocks were rent. Although the Christian rejoices on
this day in the grace of redemption through Christ, he is aware that
his joy cannot be pleasing to God unless he endeavors to participate
in the merits of the passion and death of Christ by sorrow for his
sins, by amendment and penance; and this is the very reason why the
Church solemnizes this day in a sad and touching manner.
Why are there no
candles lighted at the beginning of the service?
To signify that on this
day Christ, the Light of the world, became, as it were, extinguished.
Why does the priest
prostrate himself before the altar at the beginning of the service?
That with him we should
consider in deepest sorrow and humility how the Saviour died on the
cross for our sins, and how unworthy we are on account of them to
lift up our faces.
Why does the service
commence with the reading of two lessons?
Because Christ died for
Jews and Gentiles. The first lesson is from the Prophet Osee, (Osee
VI, 1-6.) and the other from Exodus, (Exod. XII. 1-11.) from them we
infer that by the bloody death of the immaculate Lamb Jesus we are
healed of our sins, and redeemed from death.
After the first lesson
the Priest says the following:
COLLECT O God!
from whom Judas received the punishment of his sin, and the thief the
reward of his confession: grant us the effects of Thy mercy; that as
our Lord Jesus Christ at the time of His passion bestowed on each a
different recompense of his merits, so having destroyed the old man
in us, He may give us the grace of His Resurrection. Who liveth, &
c.
REMARK After the
Passion the priest prays in behalf of the one, only true Church, that
she may increase, and that peace and unity may always remain with
her; for the pope, that his government may be blessed; for the
bishops, priests, the clergy, and the people, that they may serve God
in justice; for those converted to the faith, that they may continue
to grow an knowledge and an zeal for the holy religion; for rulers as
defenders of the Church, that they may govern with wisdom and
justice, and that those under them may be loyal to them with fidelity
and obedience; for the unfortunate, that God may have mercy on them;
for heretics and apostates, that they may be brought back from error
to the truth of the Catholic faith; for the Jews, that they may be
enlightened; for the heathens, that they may be converted. Before
each gayer the priest says Oremus, (Let us pray Flectamus genua, (Let
us kneel; when kneeling, we say Amen, and at the call Levate (Rise
up) we rise: except at the prayer for the Jews, when the genuflection
is omitted, because the Jews bent the knee in mockery before our
Lord. As Christ on this day prayed for all men, the Church desires,
that we do the same; say, therefore, the following:
PRAYER O Lord
Jesus! who on the cross, while enduring the most excruciating pain,
didst pray with a loud voice for all men, we humbly pray Thee for Thy
vicar, Pope N., for our bishop N., for all the priests and clergy,
for our civil government, for the neophytes, for the unfortunate and
oppressed, for all Catholics, that Thou mayst preserve them in the
true faith, and strengthen them, that they may serve Thee according
to their different vocations. We pray Thee also for all unbelievers,
and those separated from the true fold, for the Jews, and for the
heathens, that Thou mayst unite all in Thy holy Church, and bring
them to eternal salvation. Amen.
What is done by the
priest after these prayers?
The priest then goes down
from the epistle side of the altar, takes the veiled crucifix, and
extending it towards the people, uncovers it so much that the head is
seen, and sings in a low voice: Ecce lignum. crucis, &c.: Behold
the wood of the cross on which the Salvation of the world was hanged!
The choir answers: Venite, adoremus: Come, let us adore! at which all
kneel, adoring Christ who died on the cross for us. The priest then
advances to the corner of the altar, uncovers the right arm of the
Crucifix, and sings in a higher tone: Ecce lignum crucis, &c.; to
which the choir responds as before. Then at the middle of the altar
he uncovers the entire Crucifix, and elevating it, sings in a still
higher tone than before: Ecce lignum, &c. The choir responds
again: Venite adoremus. The image of the crucified Redeemer, which
has been hidden from our view since Passion Sunday should make a deep
impression upon us; it teaches us at the same time how the Saviour
became gradually known to the world. Jesus is adored three times,
because He was mocked three times: in the court-yard of the
high-priest, in Pilate's house, and on mount Calvary. When the
crucifix is unveiled the priest carries it to the place prepared for
it, and kneeling he places it on the cushion covered with a white
veil to represent the laying of Christ in the sepulchre; he then
retires to the gospel side of the Altar where he puts off his shoes,
like Moses, when he was about to approach Almighty God; he then
kneels and meditates on the passion of Christ; goes a few steps
forward, again kneels, and still a third time, this time directly in
front of the crucifix. He adores Jesus with humility, considers His
infinite love, which brought Him to the cross and laid Him in the
sepulchre for our Redemption; and then kisses with reverence the
image of the crucified Saviour. During this veneration of the cross
the choir chants alternately the versicles called the Reproaches, and
between each part of the canticle the following words in Greek and
Latin: "Holy God! Holy and strong God! Holy and immortal God!
have mercy on us!" In these versicles Christ tenderly and
lovingly reproaches the people who crucified Him, which we may also
take to ourselves, who have so often crucified Jesus anew by sin.
They are therefore called reproaches, words of complaint, and
continue during the veneration of the cross by the priest. Afterwards
a hymn of praise composed by St. Fortunatus is sung in honor of the
victory gained on the cross by our Saviour, which calls upon us also
to render praise and thanks to Jesus crucified.
Adore also in deepest
humility the Saviour who died on the cross, and is now victoriously
enthroned; ask with sincere contrition the forgiveness of your sins,
and by a threefold advance, kiss with sincere love His sacred wounds,
promising to love all men, even your enemies, and to have pity on all
in distress, according to His example.
What follows the
veneration of the cross?
The sacred Host
consecrated on Holy Thursday, and kept in the chalice, is brought by
the priest in procession, from the repository to the high altar,
incensed in sign of adoration, and after a few short prayers the
priest elevates It with the right hand, breaks It, puts one part in
the chalice and communicates, and soon after leaves the altar.
Is there, then, no
Mass said on this day?
No; for on this day there
is no bread and wine consecrated, which is the essential part of the
Sacrifice of the Mass.
Why is no Mass said on
this day?
Because Jesus Christ
having this day sacrificed Himself on the altar of the cross in a
bloody offering, it is not meet that His death sacrifice should be
today repeated even in an unbloody manner. Besides this, Mass is a
joyous and comforting sacrifice, and is therefore omitted because of
our mourning.
What devotions may be
practised to-day?
Besides adoring Jesus in
the holy sepulchre, the stations may be said, meditations made on the
sufferings of our Lord. Let the words of St. Augustine touch your
heart, when he places the crucified Redeemer before our mind in the
following words: "Behold the wounds of Jesus who is hanging on
the cross, the blood of the dying, the price of our redemption! His
head is bowed to give the kiss of peace; His side is open to love;
His arms are extended to embrace us; His whole body sacrificed for
our redemption. Let these words be the subject of your meditation
that He may be wholly in your heart who is nailed to the cross for
you."
MANNER OF
CONTEMPLATING CHRIST'S BITTER PASSION
Christ also suffered for
us: leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. (I Peter
II. 21.)
Whence does it come,"
writes St. Alphonsus Ligouri, "that so many of the faithful look
with so much indifference at Christ on the cross? They generally
assist during Holy Week at the commemoration of His death without any
feeling of gratitude or compassion, as if it were a fable or an event
in which they had no interest. Know they not, or believe they not
what the gospel relates of Christ's passion? Indeed they know it, and
believe it, but do not think of it. It is impossible that he who
believes and meditates, should fail, to become burning with love for
God who suffers and dies for love of him." But why, we may ask
here, are there so many who draw so little benefit even from the
contemplation of the passion and death of Jesus? Because they fail to
consider and imitate the example which Christ gives in His
sufferings.
"The cross of
Christ," says St. Augustine, "is not only a bed of death,
but a pulpit of instruction." It is not only a bed upon which
Christ dies, but the pulpit from which He teaches us what we must do.
It should now be our special aim to meditate upon the passion of
Christ, and to imitate those virtues which shone forth so
preeminently in His passion and death. But many neglect to do this:
They usually content themselves with compassion when they see Christ
enduring such great pains, but they see not with what love, humility,
and meekness He bears them; and so do not endeavor to imitate His
example. That you, O Christian soul, may avoid this mistake, and that
you may draw the greatest possible benefit for your soul, from the
contemplation of the passion, and death of Christ, attend to that
which is said of it by that pious servant of Gods Alphonse Rodriguez:
We must endeavor to
derive from the meditation on the mysteries of the passion and death
of Christ this effect, that we may imitate His virtues, and this by
slowly and attentively considering each virtue by itself, exercising
ourselves in forming a very great desire for it in our hearts, making
a firm resolution to practice it in words and works, and also to
conceive a holy aversion and horror of the opposite vice; for
instance, when contemplating Christ's condemnation to the death of
the cross by Pilate, consider the humility of Jesus Christ, who being
God, as humble as He was innocent, voluntarily submitted and silently
accepted the unjust sentence and the ignominious death. Here you see
from the example given by Jesus, how you should despise yourself,
patiently bear all evil, unjust judgment; and detraction, and even
seek them with joy as giving you occasion to resemble Him. To produce
these necessary effects and resolutions, you should at each mystery
contemplate the following particulars:
First, Who is it that
suffers? The most innocent, the holiest, the most loving; the
only-begotten Son of the Almighty Father, the Lord of heaven and
earth. Secondly; What pains and torments, exterior and interior, does
He suffer? Thirdly, In what manner does He suffer, with what
patience, humility, meekness and love, does He bear all ignominy and
outrage? Fourthly, For whom does He suffer? For all men, for His
enemies and His executioners. Fifthly, By whom does He suffer? By
Jews and heathens, by soldiers and tyrants, by the devil and all
impious children of the world to the end of time, and all who were
then united in spirit with His enemies. Sixthly, Why does He suffer?
To make reparation for all the sins of the whole world, to satisfy
the justice of God, to reconcile the Heavenly Father, to open heaven,
to give us His infinite 'merits that we may from them have strength
to follow the way to heaven. At the consideration of each of these
points, and indeed at each mystery of the passion of Christ, the
imitation of the example of His virtues is the main object, because
the true life of the Christian consists in the imitation of Jesus. In
considering each stage of the passion of Christ place vividly before
your mind the virtue which He practiced therein; contemplate it and
ask yourself whether you possess this virtue, or whether you still
cherish the opposite vice. If you find the latter to be the case make
an act of contrition, with the firm resolution to extirpate this
vice, and excite in yourself a sincere desire for the opposite
virtue. In this way you will draw the greatest advantage from the
contemplation of Christ's passion, and will resemble Christ, and, as
the pious Louis of Granada says, there can be no greater honor and
adornment for a Christian than to resemble his divine Master, not in
the way that Lucifer desired, but in that which He pointed out, when
He said: "I have given you an example, that as I have done to
you, so do you also."
THE PASSION OF OUR
LORD JESUS CHRIST
ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN.
(CHAPS. XVIII., XIX.)
At that time, Jesus went
forth with his disciples, over the brook of Cedron, where there was a
garden into which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas also, who
betrayed him, knew the place: because Jesus had often resorted
thither together with his disciples. Judas therefore having received
a band of men and servants from the chief priests and the Pharisees,
cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus,
therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth
and said to them: Whom seek ye? They answered him: Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus saith to them: I am he. And Judas also, who betrayed him, stood
with them. As soon then as he had said to them: I am he; they, went
backward, and fell to the ground.
Again therefore he asked
them: Whom seek ye? And they said: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered:
I have told you, that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go
away. That the word might be fulfilled which he had said: Of them
whom thou bast given me, I have not lost any one. Then Simon Peter
having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high-priest,
and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus.
Then Jesus said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the scabbard. The cup
which my Father hath given me, shall not I drink it?
Then the band, and the
tribune, and the servants of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him: and
they led him away to Annas first: for he was father-in-law to
Caiphas, who was the high-priest of that year. Now Caiphas was he who
had given the council to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man
should die for the people.
And Simon Peter followed
Jesus, and so did another disciple. And that disciple was known to
the high-priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the
high-priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then the other
disciple who was known to the high-priest, went out, and spoke to her
that kept the door: and brought in Peter. And the maid that waited at
the door, saith to Peter: Art not thou also one of this man's
disciples? He saith : I am not.
Now the servants and
officers stood at a fire of coals, because it was cold, and warmed
themselves: and with them was Peter also standing, and warming
himself.
The high-priest then
asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered
him: I have spoken openly to the world: I have always taught in the
synagogue, and in the temple, whither all the Jews resort: and in
secret I have spoken nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them who have
heard what I have spoken to them: behold they know what things I have
said. And when he had said these things, one of the officers standing
by, gave Jesus a blow, saying: Answerest thou the high-priest so?
Jesus answered him: If I have spoken, evil, give testimony of the
evil: but if well, why strikest thou me?
And Annas sent him bound
to Caiphas the high-priest.
And Simon Peter was
standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him: Art not
thou also one of his disciples? He denied it and said: I am not. One
of the servants of the high-priest, a kinsman to him whose ear Peter,
cut off, saith to him: Did not I see thee in the garden with him?
Then Peter: again denied, and immediately the cock crowed. Then they
led Jesus from Caiphas to the governor hall. And it was morning: and
they went not into the hall, that they might not be defiled, but that
they might eat the passover.
Pilate therefore went out
to there, and said: What accusation bring you against this man? They
answered and said to him: If he were not a malefactor, we would not
have delivered him up to thee. Pilate then said to them: Take him
you, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said to
him: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. That the word
of Jesus might be fulfilled which he said, signifying what death he
should die. Pilate therefore went into the hall again, and called
Jesus, and said to him: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus
answered: Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have others told it
thee of me. Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Thy own nation, and the
chief priests, have delivered thee up to me. What hast thou done?
Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were
of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not
be, delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence.
Pilate therefore said to him: Art thou a king then? Jesus answered:
Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came
I into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth: every
one that is of the truth, heareth my voice.
Pilate saith to him: What
is truth?
And when he had said
this, he went out again to the Jews, and saith to them: I find no
cause in him. But you have a custom that I should release one unto
you at the passover: will you therefore that I release unto you the
king of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying: Not this man,
but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
Then, therefore, Pilate
took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platting a crown of
thorns, put it upon his head: and they put on him a purple garment,
and they came to him, and said: Hail, King of the Jews! And they gave
him blows. Pilate, therefore, went forth again, and saith to them:
Behold I bring him forth to you that you may know that I find no
cause in him. So Jesus came forth bearing the down of thorns, and the
purple garment. And he saith to them: Behold the man. When the chief
priests, therefore, and the officers had seen him, they cried out,
saying: Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Take him you,
and crucify him; for I find no cause in him. The Jews answered him:
We have a law; and according to the law he ought to die, because he
made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore had heard this
saying, he feared the more. And he entered into the hall again, and
he said to Jesus: Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
Pilate therefore said to him: Speakest thou not to me? knowest thou
not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release
thee? Jesus answered: Thou shouldst not have any power against me,
unless it were given thee from above. Therefore he that hath
delivered me to thee, hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth
Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying: If thou
release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend. For whosoever maketh
himself a king, speaketh against Caesar.
Now when Pilate had heard
these words, he brought Jesus forth: and sat down in the
judgment-seat, in the place that is called the Pavement, and in
Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the parasceve of the passover, about the
sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews: Behold your king. But they
cried out: Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith to
them: Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered: We have
no king but Ceasar. Then therefore, he delivered him to them to be
crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him forth. And bearing his
own cross he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in
Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on each side, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title
also, and he put it upon the cross. And the writing was: Jesus of
Nazareth, the king of the Jews.
The title, therefore,
many of the Jews did read, because the place where Jesus was
crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, in
Greek, and in Latin. Then the chief-priest of the Jews said to
Pilate: Write not, the king of the Jews: but that he said: I am the
king of the Jews. Pilate answered: What I have written, I have
written. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified him, took his
garments (and they made four parts, to, every soldier a part) and
also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top
throughout.
They said then one to
another: Let us not cut it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it
shall be: that the Scripture might be fulfilled which saith: They
have parted my garments among, them, and upon my vesture they have
cast lots. And the soldiers did indeed these things. Now there stood
by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of
Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus therefore saw
his mother, and the disciple standing, whom he loved, he saith to his
mother: Woman! behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple:
Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his
own. Afterwards, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished,
that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst. Now there was
a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they put a sponge full of
vinegar, about hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus,
therefore, had taken the vinegar, he said: It is consummated. And
bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.
Then the Jews (because it
was the parasceve) that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on
the Sabbath-day(for that was a great Sabbath-day), besought Pilate
that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
The soldiers, therefore, came: and they broke the legs of the first,
and of the other that was crucified with him.
But after they were come
to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break
his legs. But one of the soldiers opened his side with a spear, and
immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it gave
testimony, and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith
true, that you also may believe.
For these things were
done that the Scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a
bone of him. And again another Scripture saith: They shall look on
him whom they pierced.
And after these things,
Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly
for fear of the Jews), besought Pilate that he might take away the
body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took
away the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus also came, he who at the first
came to Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes; about
a hundred pound weight.
They took therefore the
body of Jesus, and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, as the
manner of the Jews is, to bury. Now there was a garden in the place
where he was crucified; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein no
man yet had been laid. Therefore, because of the parasceve of the
Jews, they laid Jesus there; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
THE PEOPLE AT THE
CROSS, AND THE PEOPLE OF TODAY
At Golgotha, in sight of
the temple and city of Jerusalem, in the presence of two or three
millions of Jews, who had come to the city from all lands, Jesus, the
Son of God, hung upon the cross, an , expiatory sacrifice for mankind
burdened with all manner of sin. Near cross of her dying Son stood
Mary, His mother, filled with grief; by her side John, the beloved
disciple, and kneeling at the foot of the cross almost insensible
from sorrow and anguish, convulsively winding her arms around the
wood of the cross, was Mary Magdalen, the penitent. On a cross at the
right hand hung a penitent thief turned towards the Saviour; at the
left hand on another cross groaned another criminal of impenitent
heart, blaspheming the Holy One of Israel. Around the agonizing
Saviour stood the Scribes and Pharisees, that hypocritical class of
practiced miscreants, who hated and persecuted the innocent Lamb
Jesus, even in death, who blink to all the predictions of the
prophets whose books they had read, blind to the actual miracles
which Jesus had wrought before their eyes to prove His divinity and
His mission, filled with envy and hatred, reviled the dying Redeemer.
At a distance stood a crowd of curious, indifferent people, who had
come to Jerusalem to attend the feast of the Passover, and having
heard of Jesus were present at His crucifixion. Not far from them the
rough soldiers and executioners lay around, dividing among themselves
the Saviour's clothes and casting lots for His seamless garment.
This was the society that
surrounded the Son of God and Redeemer of the world bleeding on the
cross, and in their different phases they are types of the men of
today.
Only few were there who
clung to the Saviour in unwavering faith and true love, ready to die
with Him, and for Him. There were few who suffered all taunts and
sneers all revilings and blasphemies, .and departed not from the
cross. Of these three were especially faithful, viz. Mary, John, and
Magdalen. Those who like Mary and John are pure and innocent, or like
Magdalen are weeping for their sins, who confess Jesus with their
heart and lips, cling faithfully to Him, and permit neither
persecution nor death to separate them from Him, are like the
faithful three at the cross. As then by the cross, so today, the
number of the faithful is small, and great is the number of those
who, like the careless spectators of the crucifixion, are not decided
enemies of Jesus crucified, nor yet His firm friends. They have
indeed been baptized in the name of Jesus, they remain externally
with the Catholic Church, which Christ founded, but they are sunk in
lukewarmness, have no living faith, and are wavering to and fro like
a reed between the world and Jesus. They fear the sneers of the
so-called learned and enlightened, many of whom are well represented
by the Scribes and Pharisees, who, having no faith in Christ
themselves, bear in - their hearts only hatred and contempt for His
Church; they shun the cross, because it is too heavy for their
sensuality; they do not, it is true, commit public crimes, they prize
highly a good name, occasionally observe the law of the Church, but
are accessible to every error; their ears incline to every blasphemy
against the religion of Jesus and His ministers, the priests. Instead
of standing fearlessly and boldly for Christ, for the holy faith He
has taught, and which the Church teaches, they turn away, are silent,
even go with the Church's enemies that they may not be sneered at.
The are neither hot, nor cold, so that the words of the Scriptures
are verifled in them: Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold,
nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. (Apoc. III. 16.)
The Lord casts away from Him these lukewarm, indifferent Christians,
as nauseous saliva, and leaves them to their destruction. The true
Pharisees of our day are those who purposely close their eyes to the
light of truth, who have put aside faith in Jesus, and are no longer
disposed to receive instruction. Their pride, their egotism has
blinded them, with their poor reason they wish to understand the
mysteries of ,the Almighty, with their weak intellect to fathom His
ways, even seek to be equal to God; they deny every revealed truth,
they deny the existence of heaven and hell, they propose to live like
the animals, without God, — but their end is, ruin! Few of them,
having seen their error, as the thief on the cross at the right hand
of Jesus, turn repentingly to the Redeemer; obdurate as the robber
and murderer at His left, the Pharisees of our day cease not to
blaspheme the Crucified, and to revile His holy Church. These are
assisted by the apostates and unbelievers, who, like the soldiers and
executioners, divide among themselves His clothes, and cast lots for
His seamless garment. Those clothes which the soldiers divided among
themselves, are the truths which the apostates and heretics yet
retain after their apostacy from the Church. They have divided these
truths, for they have separated themselves into thousands of sects,
and possess only portions of the one truth, which Jesus has laid down
in. His Church, whole and complete. "Upon my vesture they have
cast lots."
This seamless vesture of
Christ is His holy Church that cannot be separated or divided, she is
one, and must remain one to the end of time. Concerning this one true
Church, the sects all quarrel, all want to be the true Church without
considering that, as but one soldier, by the lots, received Christ's
seamless garment, so only one association of men can be the true
Church, and that is the association which Christ has chosen.
Thus we find at the cross
on Golgotha the different classes of people of our day represented,
namely, the pure and innocent; the repenting sinners, firm adherents
of Jesus and His teachings; as also the lukewarm, wavering, nominal
Christians; obdurate heretics, professed infidels and apostates. So
today mankind is divided into like parties.
To which party do you
belong, O Christian soul? To which do you wish to belong? Choose! The
time of the division is near. The Lord already holds in His hand the
winnowing shovel to clear His floor. If you are not a firm adherent
of Jesus and His Church, in the storm that is gathering you will be
blown like chaff. If you remain with the small group at the cross, in
persevering courage, you will stand firm, and on the day when the
cross shall appear in the clouds of heaven, you, with Mary, the
mother of the (faithful, with John and with Magdalen, will triumph
forever, as a victorious knight of the cross. Decide!
– Goffine's
Devout Instructions
