JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR US
He hath loved us, and washed us from our
sins in His own blood.
He hath loved us, and washed us from our
sins in His own blood. Behold, O men, how far the love of Jesus for us has carried him, in
order to cleanse us from the filthiness of our sins. He has even shed every
drop of his blood that he might prepare for us in this his own blood a bath of
salvation: "He offers his own
blood," says a learned writer, "speaking better than the blood of
Abel: for that cried for justice; the blood of Christ for mercy."
Whereupon
St. Bonaventure exclaims, "O good Jesus, what hast Thou done?" O my
Saviour, what indeed hast Thou done? How far hath Thy love carried Thee? What
hast Thou seen in me which hath made Thee love me so much? "Wherefore hast
Thou loved me so much? Why, Lord, why? What am I?" Wherefore didst Thou choose
to suffer so much for me? Who am I that Thou wouldst win to Thyself my love at
so dear a price? Oh, it was entirely the work of Thy in finite love! Be Thou
eternally praised and blessed for it.
O all ye that pass by the way, attend and
see if there be any sorrow like to My sorrow. The same seraphic Doctor, considering these words of
Jeremias as spoken of our blessed Redeemer while he was hanging on the cross dying
for the love of us, says, " Yes, Lord, I will attend and see if there be any
love like unto Thy love." 'By which he means, I do indeed see and
understand, O my most loving Redeemer, how much Thou didst suffer upon that
infamous tree; but what most constrains me to love Thee is the thought of the
affection which Thou hast shown me in suffering so much, in order that I might
love Thee.
That
which most inflamed St. Paul with the love of Jesus was the thought that he
chose to die, not only for all men, but for him in particular: He loved me, and
delivered Himself up for me? Yes, he has loved me, said he, and for my sake he
gave himself up to die. And thus ought every one of us to say; for St. John
Chrysostom asserts that God has loved every individual man with the same love
with which he has loved the world: "He loves each man separately with the
same measure of charity with which he loves the whole world." So that each
one of us is under as great obligation to Jesus Christ for having suffered for
every one, as if he had suffered for him alone.
For
supposing, my brother, Jesus Christ had died to save you alone, leaving all
others to their original ruin, what a debt of gratitude you would owe to him ' But you ought to feel that you
owe him a greater obligation still for having died for the salvation of all. For if he had died for you
alone, what sorrow would it not have caused you to think that your neighbors,
parents, brothers, and friends would be damned, and that you would, when this
life was over, be forever separated from them? If you and your family had been
slaves, and some one came to rescue you alone, how would you not entreat of him
to save your parents and brothers together with yourself! And how much would you
thank him if he did this to please you! Say, therefore, to Jesus:
O
my sweetest Redeemer! Thou hast done this for me without my having asked Thee;
Thou hast not only saved me from death at the price of Thy blood, but also my
parents and friends, so that I may have a good hope that we may all together
enjoy Thy presence forever in paradise. O Lord! I thank Thee, and I love Thee,
and I hope to thank Thee for it, and to love Thee forever in that blessed
country.
By St. Alphonsus de Liguori
No comments:
Post a Comment