Again, if we follow Garrigou-Lagrange in his thoughts on the Passion, we see that Christ endured a suffering which encompassed the suffering of those who are betrayed, humiliated, hated, tortured, killed.
He lowered Himself, as God, to the most abject sufferings. In this manner, we may have to come to such a place of accepting a tiny bit of the Lord's Passion.
That the Church will and has suffered with Christ, there is no doubt.
If we come to this type of suffering, not exactly, of course, as we are so far below God, but perhaps sharing in a bit of His suffering, can we do this with love? These brief meditations are merely the beginning of a larger series on such a topic.
The Extreme Sufferings Of The Passion
He lowered Himself, as God, to the most abject sufferings. In this manner, we may have to come to such a place of accepting a tiny bit of the Lord's Passion.
That the Church will and has suffered with Christ, there is no doubt.
If we come to this type of suffering, not exactly, of course, as we are so far below God, but perhaps sharing in a bit of His suffering, can we do this with love? These brief meditations are merely the beginning of a larger series on such a topic.
The Extreme Sufferings Of The Passion
Reply. Christ did not endure all sufferings specifically, because many of them are mutually exclusive, such as burning and drowning. It did not become Him to suffer interior bodily sicknesses, for, as St. John Chrysostom says: "It did not befit Him who healed the infirmities of others to have His own body afflicted with the same."[1780]
But Christ endured every human suffering, because: (1) He suffered something from Jews and Gentiles, from the chief priests and their servants, from the mob, even from friends and acquaintances; (2) He suffered from His friends who abandoned Him, in His reputation, His honor, in His soul from sadness and weariness, in His body from wounds and scourgings; (3) He suffered in all His bodily members, from head to foot, and in all His senses.
Reply to second objection. "As Christ was uplifted above others in gifts of graces, so He was lowered beneath others by the ignominy of His sufferings."
Reply to third objection. "The very least one of Christ's sufferings was sufficient of itself to redeem the human race from all sins." However, because of His great love for us, He willed to offer Himself as a most perfect holocaust for us, and generically endure all sufferings.
To be continued....
To be continued....