When the
great Queen of the angels, most holy Mary, perceived that the Jews in their
perfidy and obstinate envy vied in dishonouring 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 Jeremiahs had prophesied (Jer. 11, 19), " And I
was as a meek lamb, that is carried to be a victim: and I knew not that they
had devised counsels against me, saying: Let us put wood on his bread, and cut
him off from the land of the living, and let his name be remembered no more. "
She
was inflamed with a new zeal for the honour of her Son and true God. Prostrate
before the person of the Crucified, and adoring Him,
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| She prostrates on the ground and prays |
She besought the eternal
Father to see to the honour of his Only begotten and manifest it 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 had provided for all that was to happen at the death of
his Only begotten. The Lord enlightened and moved the hearts of many of the
bystanders 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 as had never seen Him or
witnessed his miracles. For the same reason Pilate was also inspired not to
change the title of the Cross which they had placed over the head of the Saviour
in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. For when the Jews protested and asked Him not to
write: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the
Jews;
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| And Pilate wrote: Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews |
but: This one says, He is King of the Jews; Pilate answered: “What is written, is written, and I do not
wish it to be changed.” All the inanimate creatures, by divine will, obeyed
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 dead alive. 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 perfidy 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 Saviour, 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 19, 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 (Psalm 21)
“They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast
lots.”
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| “They parted my garments among them; |
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| and upon my vesture they cast lots.” |
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 thenceforward possess and enjoy it entirely.
