13 April, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations for Every Day

The Crucifixion

1. After a painful and exhausting journey Jesus reaches Calvary, where He is to be crucified. Once again He is stripped of His garments, which by this time have become stuck to His swollen sores. Then He is stretched upon the wooden cross, to which one of the brutal executioners fastens His hands and feet with blows from a hammer. The sharp nails are driven through His flesh into the hard wood. Jesus looks upwards and offers Himself in silence as a victim of expiation on behalf of His tormentors and of all of us. His mother Mary is standing a few paces away in the company of the holy women and of the beloved disciple. The blows of the hammer pierce the maternal heart of the Blessed Virgin, but she remains silent also and prays. When we have been afflicted by misfortune or sorrow and our hearts are racked with grief, how do we behave? Have we the resignation, the trust in God, and the spirit of prayer which Jesus and Mary had on Calvary? Let us remind ourselves that we are members of the Mystical Body of Christ. If Jesus, our Head, has suffered, how much more do miserable sinners like the rest of us deserve to suffer. Jesus wishes us to participate in the work of redemption by uniting our sufferings to His. “I rejoice now,” says St. Paul, “in the sufferings I bear... and what is lacking of the sufferings of Christ I fill up in my flesh... (Col. 1:24) Let us face adversity with courage, therefore, and keep our eyes hopefully towards Heaven. Let us remember, as St. Paul also says, that even as we share in the sufferings of Christ, so we shall share in His triumph. (Cf. 2 Cor. 1:7) Jesus had to ascend Mount Calvary before He could ascend to Heaven. If we are to walk in His footsteps, we shall have to do the same.

2. When Jesus had been nailed to the cross and the executioners had dug a hole nearby, they lifted the heavy piece of wood and thrust it into the ground. The whole weight of Jesus' body was borne by His hands and feet, so that the shock caused the wounds made by the nails to become enlarged and sent an acute quiver of pain through His suffering members. He raised His glazed eyes towards Heaven and murmured a prayer of forgiveness and love. For three long hours Jesus hung suspended between earth and sky as a victim of reparation for our sins. His precious blood fell drop by drop from the wounds in His worn-out body. He gasped for breath in an ever-increasing agony, while His heart throbbed with infinite love. He looked down and saw His most holy Mother and the beloved disciple. Having sacrificed everything for us, He desired to leave us the last precious possession which remained to Him—His Mother. He turned to her and then to the beloved disciple. "Woman, behold thy son," He said. "Son, behold thy Mother." We were all present in the person of St. John, and we were all entrusted to the loving maternal care of Mary. From that moment we were taken into her protection. Let us turn to her, therefore, in sorrow and in temptation. Let us be faithful to her during life and she will be always at our side, especially at the hour of death.

3. On either side of Jesus there were two other crosses, to which two robbers had been tied. When one of these saw how Jesus prayed and forgave in the midst of His sufferings, he was touched by the grace of God. He began to hate his crimes and sins, and to believe in the divine Redeemer. Turning towards Jesus, he begged for forgiveness. "Lord, he said, "remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Jesus returned his gaze at once and replied: "This day thou shalt be with me in paradise." This moving episode holds two main lessons for us. (1) No matter how great and numerous are our sins, God in His infinite mercy will forgive us if we sincerely repent, and resolve to lead better lives. (2) We should not, on the other hand, put off our conversion until the moment of death. As St. Augustine points out, only one of the two thieves is reported to have been converted. We are taking a grave risk whenever we abuse God's goodness and mercy.