After
the Saviour 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.
Watch how he was nailed and and how they turned the cross over
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.
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| Turning the cross over |
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.
watch how the cross was maliciously raised
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 Saviour on his Cross and fastened its foot in the hole they had 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 people. The Jews blasphemed, the kindhearted 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 invites us to hasten with joy to quench our thirst and wash off the stains of our sins (Is. 12, 3). No one shall be excused who does not quickly approach to drink of them; since the waters are sold without exchange of silver or gold, and they are given freely to those who will but receive them.
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 Saviour on his Cross and fastened its foot in the hole they had 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 people. The Jews blasphemed, the kindhearted 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 invites us to hasten with joy to quench our thirst and wash off the stains of our sins (Is. 12, 3). No one shall be excused who does not quickly approach to drink of them; since the waters are sold without exchange of silver or gold, and they are given freely to those who will but receive them.
Then
they crucified also the two thieves and planted their crosses to the right and
the left of the Saviour; for thereby they wished to indicate that He deserved
the most conspicuous place as being the greatest malefactor. 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
(Matth. 27, 39) they threw stones and dirt at the Cross of the Lord and his
royal Person, saying: “Ah Thou, who
destroyest the temple and in three days rebuildest it, save now Thyself; others
He has made whole, Himself He cannot save; if this be the Son of God let Him
descend from the Cross, and we will believe in Him” (Matth. 27, 42).
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| The high priest mocking Christ: "if you are the son of God come down from the cross... |
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The
two thieves in the beginning also mocked the Lord and said: “If Thou art the Son of God, save Thyself
and us.” These blasphemies of the two thieves caused special sorrow to our
Lord, since theywere so near to death and were losing the fruit 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.
