Evening Devotions: Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent

Sentiments of Grief and Compassion for the Sufferings of Jesus.

Daughters of Jerusalem, come forth and see King Solomon with the diadem with which his mother, the Synagogue, has crowned him. Alas! it is not a mother, but a cruel and inhuman tyrant who crowns himself with roses and his God with thorns. Daughters of Jerusalem, Christian souls, observe this Man of Sorrows! Behold the man who has saved you, the man whom you have crucified! Behold the man who loves you infinitely, the man whom you cease not to persecute!

II.

Oh, most holy God, thou hast sought a man to appease thy anger, and one who would submit himself to thy vengeance. Behold him whom we present to thee! Look on the face of thy Christ, the sight of whose sorrows will subdue the hearts of sinners and whose intercession will render thee favourable to their prayers. Behold the Man for whom thou hast created all men and through whom thou lovest all men. Behold the robe of thy Son Joseph torn and bloody. Dost thou not recognize it? Behold the King of martyrs, crowned with grief and ignominy! Behold the High Priest of the New Law, who offers thee his blood for the salvation of men! Will not this blood efface thy anger? Is not this blood sufficient to cancel all our debts?

III.

Daughter of Zion, holy and sorrowful Virgin Mother, come and see the diadem that has been placed upon the head of thy divine Son. Behold the Son whom thou didst conceive by the Holy Ghost, and bring forth without pain or sorrow, whom thou didst watch over with so much anxiety, and sacrifice with so much love! Behold this glorious and magnificent King who ought to sit on the throne of David and reign over all the earth! Behold this High Priest, whose office it is to appease the anger of God! What a Priest! What a King! What a Child! What a Man! What a spectacle of grief for thee, oh most afflicted Mother! How is it that thou didst survive so sorrowful a sight? Ah, it is because it is necessary for thee to accompany him to Calvary and behold him die between two thieves!

Resolution: I will give alms today in honor of the Sorrowful Virgin.

Prayer: Oh, holiest of men, greatest of kings, Christians renounce thee as well as the Jews and desire no other king than Caesar, that is to say, the world. The avaricious desire a rich king, the sensual a voluptuous king, and the ambitious a king who is glorious on earth. But, as for me, I choose for my king this Man of Sorrows who is poor and despised. I desire no other king than Jesus, and no other crown than that of Jesus. O Mary, sorrowful Queen of Martyrs, pray for me!