Meditation On The Passion: Of The Crowning Of Our Lord. III

ANGELICO, Fra 
Mocking of Christ (Cell 7) 
1440-42

And they spit upon him, and they took a reed, and struck his head with the reed, and they gave him blows.

Consider first, 4 other kinds of mockings. 1. (They spit upon him) defiling in so unworthy & scurrily manner not only his face, but his breast also, & his whole body: Yea the body of him, Who is the brightness of glory, and the substance of the Father, whom the Angels desire to behold. 2. (They take a reed) feigning to do him service, as though they would ease him, being weary of the burden of his Scepter. 3. (they strike his head with the reed) that the Thorns might be deeper fastened into his head. Mark how by these blows the throne pierced to the very Scull of his head, & fastened in the joining of the bones, & were there broken.4. (They gave him blows) not with their bare hand, but being armed against the pricking of the thorns. Here do thou adore together with his other virtues, our Lord’s Charity, Patience, Meekness, Benignity, & above all his humble obedience, by which yielded himself to the will of his torments, and being commanded to sit down, to lift up his head to the Thorns, to hold the Reed in his hand, to expose his Face to blows, he obeyed without delay.

Consider secondly, that these Ethnicks, though they offered many injuries to our Lord; yet they never covered his face; that Christ with the eyes of his mercy might behold us lovingly, and forsaking the Jews might of Gentiles make us Christians. Thou learnest first, not to cover the truth with new opinions, nor to decline to Heresy: but only to profess the true Faith, how great a sinner soever thou be. Thou earnest secondly not to neglect thy conscience, when it pricketh and warneth thee of thy sins: For the beginning of thy conversion is, when thy conscience reproveth thee. Pray unto thy Lord, that he never turn his face from thee, that he preserve thee in the true Faith, and adorn thee with true virtues, especially with humble and willing obedience, that thou mayest faithfully obey thy betters, not only on light and easy things, but also in great, sharpe, and difficult matters.

Fr. Francois Coster S.J.

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