Darts of Fire: OR PROOFS THAT JESUS CHRIST HAS GIVEN US OF HIS LOVE IN THE WORK OF REDEMPTION by St. Alphonsus Liguori XV. Comprehenderunt Jesum, et ligaverunt eum. "They took Jesus and bound Him."------John, xviii. 10 A God taken and bound! What could the Angels have said at seeing their King with His hands bound, led between soldiers through the streets of Jerusalem! And what ought we to say at the sight of our God, Who is content for our sake to be bound as a thief, to be presented to the judge who is to condemn Him to death? St. Bernard laments, saying, "What hast Thou to do with chains?" [Lib. de Pass. c. 4] What have malefactors and chains to do with Thee, O my Jesus, Thou Who art infinite goodness and majesty? They should belong to us sinners, guilty of Hell, and not to Thee Who art innocent and the Holy of holies. St. Bernard goes on to say, on seeing Jesus guilty of death, "What hast Thou done, my innocent Saviour, that Thou shouldst be thus condemned?" [Ibid.] O my dear Saviour, Thou art innocence itself; for what crime hast Thou been thus condemned? Ah, I will tell Thee, he replies: the crime Thou hast committed is the too great love Thou hast borne to men, Thy sin is love.   My beloved Jesus, I kiss the cords that bind Thee, for they have freed me from those eternal chains which I have deserved. Alas! how many times have I renounced Thy friendship and made myself a slave of Satan, dishonoring Thine infinite majesty! I grieve above all things for having so grievously insulted Thee. Ah, my God, bind my will to Thy feet with the sweet cords of Thy holy love, that it may wish for nothing but what is pleasing to Thee. May I take Thy will for the one guide of my life. As Thou hast had so great care or my good, may I not care for anything but to love Thee. I love Thee, my sovereign Good; I love Thee, the only object of my affections. I know that Thou alone last loved me truly, and Thee alone will I love. I renounce everything. Thou alone art sufficient for me. The Back spray takes you to the previous page and the Forward to the next.  E-Mail HOME-----------------------CHILDREN--------------------CHRISTMAS www.catholictradition.org/Christmas/darts-fire15.htm