CHAPTER XIX. On The Taking Down From the Cross
The Servant.--Ah, pure Mother and
tender Lady! When did thy great and bitter affliction of heart which thou hadst
for thy Son, come to an end?
Answer.--Listen to my words with sorrowful
compassion. When my tender Child had expired, and when He hung suspended before
me, and all the strength of my heart was utterly broken, though I could do
nothing else, I yet cast many a glance up at my dead Child. And when they came
to take Him down, it was as if I had been roused from the dead. With what
motherly love did I not press them to my blood-stained cheeks, and when He was
lowered down to me, how affectionately beyond measure did I not embrace Him,
dead as He was in my arms; how did I not strain to my heart my only love elect,
and kiss again and again the fresh bleeding wounds of His face! And yet, with
what revishing beauty His entire body was transformed, all hearts could not
sufficiently contemplate. Then did I take my tender Child on to my lap, and
look at Him. I looked at Him, and He was dead! I looked at Him again and again,
but He had neither voice nor consciousness. Then did I fetch many a deep and
heart-rending sigh, my eyes shed many tears, my whole figure was deplorable to
see, scarcely had my doleful words reached my lips, when they were choked by
grief, and only half expressed. Alas, alas, cried I, whenever was anyone so
cruelly used on earth as Thou, my innocent and beloved Child! Alas, my Child,
my only consolation, my only joy, how art Thou changed for me into a source of
much bitterness! Where is now the joy I experienced at Thy birth? Where the
delight I had in Thy childhood? Where the honour and dignity I had in Thy
presence? Whither is all gone that could ravish my heart? Oh sorrow! Oh
anguish! Oh bitterness! Oh desolation of heart! truly is everything transformed
into an unfathomable desolation of heart, into a mortal agony! Alas, Thou Child
of mine, how am I so shorn of all love, how has my heart become utterly
disconsolate! Such, and many such words of lamentation did I utter, because of
my deceased Child.
The Servant.--Oh, pure and beautiful
Mother, permit me once more to console my heart in this moment with thy dear
Child, my Lord, the Eternal Wisdom, before the hour of separation comes, before
He is snatched away from us to the grave. Immaculate Mother! however
unfathomable thy heart's affliction way, however strongly it may touch all
other hearts, thou didst yet, methinks, find some pleasure in the affectionate
embracing of thy deceased Child. Oh, pure and gentle Lady, I desire that thou
wouldst offer me thy dear Child, as He appeared in death, on the lap of my
soul, so that I may experience, according to my ability, in spirit and
meditation, what thou didst in thy body. Lord, my eyes are turned to Thee in
the most rapturous joy and in deepest, heart-felt love, such as no only love
was ever regarded with by the beloved. Lord, my soul expands to Thy embrace
even as the tender rose expands to the pure sun's brightness. Lord, my soul
stretches out her arms to Thee with infinite desire. Oh, my loving Lord, with
ardent desire I embrace Thee today, and press Thee to the bottom of my heart
and soul, and put Thee in mind of the loving hour of Thy death, that Thou
mayest never allow it to be lost in me; and I request that neither life, nor
death, nor joy, nor sorrow, may ever separate Thee from me. Lord, my eyes
contemplate Thy dead countenance, my soul kisses again and again all Thy fresh
bleeding wounds, all my senses are fed with this sweet fruit beneath the living
tree of the cross; and it is reasonable, for this person consoles himself with
his innocent life, the other with his great exercises and strict conduct; the
one with this, the other with that; but, as for me, all my consolation, all my
trust, are lodged wholly in Thy Passion, in Thy satisfaction and merited
reward, and therefore, I shall at all times carry Thy Passion joyfully in the
bottom of my heart, and show the image of it outwardly, in words and deeds, to
the utmost of my ability.
Oh, enchanting brightness of eternal light, how
art Thou now for me utterly extinguished! Extinguish in me the burning lust of
all vice.
Oh, pure transparent mirror of divine majesty,
how art Thou now defiled! Cleanse away the great stains of my evil deeds!
Oh, beautiful image of paternal goodness, how art
Thou befouled and utterly defaced! Restore the defaced and faded image of my
soul!
Oh, Thou innocent Lamb, how wretchedly art Thou
used! Amend and atone for my guilty, sinful life!
Oh, Thou King of all kings, and Lord of all
lords, how does my soul see Thee lying here in so lamentable and ghastly a
plight! Grant, that since my soul now embraces Thee with sorrow and lamentation
in Thy dereliction, she may be embraced by Thee with joy in Thy everlasting
glory. Amen.