Jesus Crowned with Thorns
Source: THE SCHOOL
OF JESUS CRUCIFIED, Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus,
TAN
BOOKS, with Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, 1895
Meditation
THE soldiers, having scourged Jesus, are inspired
by the devil with a new method of torturing Him. They take a bundle of
long, sharp, strong thorns, and having woven them into a crown, place
it
on His head, thus constituting Him the King of ignominy and suffering.
Consider:
1. The inexpressible agony inflicted by this
torture.
If a single thorn were to pierce
your head, what exquisite pain would it not cause? But if it were ever
so slightly pressed, the anguish would become quite insupportable. The
sacred Head of Jesus is encircled with a whole wreath of long sharp
thorns
which pierce it on every side. Oh, what torture must our suffering
Redeemer
now experience. Behold what your impure thoughts, guilty pleasures, and
sinful desires have cost Jesus! Behold by what exquisite sufferings
Jesus
has expiated your ambitious designs, your vanity, and your pride, and
at
how dear a rate he has purchased for you the graces of humility,
patience
and contempt of the world! The barbarous soldiers, eager to inflict all
possible torture upon our patient Saviour, violently press down the
crown
upon His brow, by repeated blows, so that the sharp thorns wound and
pierce
the most delicate parts of that adorable Head. My soul, contemplate
this
King of Sorrows, and behold the streams of blood flowing from every
part
of His wounded Head, disfiguring and discoloring His amiable
countenance.
Oh, how much blood has thy salvation cost Jesus! Compassionate thy
suffering
Redeemer, and recognize the fruit of thy hateful sins in those thorns,
those wounds, and those streams of blood. Each time that thou hast
deliberately
entertained evil thoughts, so often hast thou crowned the sacred Head
of
Jesus with sharp thorns. Is it possible that thou canst ever more
indulge
in vain, blasphemous, and impure thoughts, or in desires of earthly
grandeur,
after reflecting upon Jesus crowned with thorns?
2. The disgraceful character of this torture.
The enemies of Jesus Christ seem
to take peculiar satisfaction in making Him a mock King, in ridiculing
His sufferings, and in subjecting Him to every species of degradation
and
insult. They furiously tear off His garments, and clothe Him in a
ragged
purple mantle. This outrage is a source of exquisite suffering to
Jesus,
for the tearing off His garments re-opens all the wounds which have
been
so lately inflicted by His flagellation, so that fresh blood flows from
the lacerated limbs. Oh, how much have the pleasures of our sinful
flesh,
the delicacy of our bodies, the luxury and vanity of our clothing, cost
our sweet Jesus!
They place in His
hand a reed as a scepter, to constitute Him a mock King, a King of a
theater!
Jesus refuses it not, but receives and holds it in His hand, rejoicing
by so great a dishonor to merit for you graces of strength and
perseverance
in virtue, and to purchase for you a heavenly kingdom. In this state
Jesus
appears to the insolent soldiery a proper subject for mockery, and they
proceed to ridicule Him in a manner worthy of their cruelty. They all
march
before Him, saluting Him in the most derisive terms King of the Jews.
They
deride Him as a wretched impostor, adding shameful insults and
reproaches
to the most humiliating expressions of scorn and ridicule; they spit in
His face, give him blows, and, taking the reed out of His hand, strike
the crown of thorns with it so violently as to enlarge every wound, and
cause Him the most exquisite pain. They vie with each other in deriding
and insulting Him, and in rendering His sufferings yet more cruel and
ignominious.
Oh, how ingenious is human cruelty in torturing Jesus! But, in the
meantime,
His most holy Soul, though overwhelmed with the weight of so much
ignominy
and suffering, rejoices in offering to His Eternal Father the sacrifice
of humiliations so profound, in reparation of the outrages offered to
His
Majesty by our sins. Bow down in adoration before this Divine King,
return
Him thanks for His infinite charity, and promise that you will love Him
alone for the remainder of your life.
3. The patience of Jesus.
Amid His bitterest sufferings and most excessive
humiliations, Jesus never once opens His
mouth to complain. A frightful crown of thorns
pierces His head on every side, and causes Him the acutest pain, yet he
makes not the slightest complaint of the cruelty of His enemies. What
do
you say to this example of divine and superhuman patience, O you who
are
ever seeking after worldly pleasures and sensual gratifications, and
who
cannot endure even the slight thorn of some small inconvenience or
trifling
pain? You ought indeed to feel ashamed of living in luxury, when you
behold
your King, your Creator, and your God crowned with sorrow and ignominy.
Do you calculate upon entering Heaven crowned with the roses of
pleasure
instead of the thorns of mortification, suffering, and penance?
Deceptive
hope! Jesus Christ beholds Himself abandoned by all in the power of His
cruel enemies, outraged, defied with spittle, buffeted, and smitten,
yet
He maintains peace of soul, and calmness of demeanor, and makes not the
slightest gesture of anger or impatience. And you, wretched worm of the
earth, unworthy sinner---you have not yet learned
to submit in peace and silence to an insult, injury, or wrong done you
by your neighbors! Is it possible that the sight of a God thus loaded
with
ignominy and suffering, and yet so patient and so humble, should not be
sufficient to teach you patience and humility? If you do not imitate
the
example of Jesus Christ, you will not partake of His glory.
The Fruit
On all those
occasions when it is your lot to suffer some inconvenience, annoyance,
or illness, or any mortification of your senses and inclinations,
imagine
that Jesus offers you one of His thorns,
and willingly accept and submit to it for
love of Him. In time of temptation, and when assailed by evil thoughts,
remember Jesus crowned with thorns, cast your eyes mentally upon His
pierced
head, and resolve that you will never renew His sufferings.
Example
A soul that loves
Christ Crucified is ingenious in discovering ways of suffering in
imitation
of Him. When Saint Paul of the Cross was walking without shoes or
stockings
through wild and stony paths, sharp thorns would often enter his feet,
and he would allow them to run in deeply, being well satisfied to
suffer
acute pain for the love of his Crucified Lord. Sometimes one of his
companions
would perceive what had happened, and, being anxious to relieve his
pain,
would express sorrow for it, and offer to extract the thorn. But then
the
servant of God would answer that what he suffered was nothing, since
Jesus
his Redeemer had permitted so many sharp thorns to transfix His most
sacred
Head.
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