Jesus dies on the Cross

Consummatum est. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

Our Lenten meditations continue with posts taken from a Simple Exposition of the Circumstances of the Passion of Jesus Christ (1761) by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori.

I have inserted references in the text to numbered footnotes. These references are not hyperlinked but may be found by scrolling to the end of the relevant paragraph.

Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt. Tecum tutus semper sum.
Ad Jesum per Mariam.

This grace I ask of thee to-day: obtain for me a continual remembrance of the passion of Jesus, and of thine also, and a tender devotion to them.

Jesus dies on the Cross

Jesus is offered vinegar. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

The amiable Redeemer approaches the end of life. My soul, behold those eyes grow dim; that beautiful countenance becomes pale; that heart palpitates feebly; that sacred body is abandoned to death. Jesus, therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said, It is consummated. [1] When on the point of expiring, Jesus placed before his eyes all the sufferings of his life,—the poverty, fatigues, pains, and injuries which he had suffered,—and, again offering them all to his Eternal Father, he said. All is now accomplished—all is consummated. All that the prophets foretold of me is consummated; in a word, the sacrifice which God expected in order to be appeased with the world is perfectly consummated, and full satisfaction is made to the divine justice.

[1] [30] Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.
Cum ergo accepisset Jesus acetum, dixit : Consummatum est. Et inclinato capite tradidit spiritum. [John 19]

It is consummated, said Jesus, turning to his Eternal Father: It is consummated, he said, at the same time turning to us. As if he had said, O men, I have done all that I can do, in order to save your souls and to gain your love. I have done my part; do you now do yours. Love me, and be not unwilling to love a God who has gone so far as to die for you. Ah, my Jesus, that I also, at the hour of my death could say, at least for the part of my life which yet remains, It is consummated. Lord, I have accomplished Thy will: I have obeyed all Thy wishes! Give me strength, O my Jesus, for with Thy aid I purpose and hope to do Thy will in all things.

The last words. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit. [2] These were the last words which Jesus spoke on the cross. Seeing that his blessed soul was about to be separated from his mangled body, he said, with perfect resignation to the divine will, and with filial confidence, Father, to Thee I recommend my spirit. As if he had said, My Father, I have no will; I do not wish either to live or die. If it is pleasing to Thee that I continue to suffer on this cross, behold, I am ready; into Thy hands I consign my spirit; do with it what Thou wilt. Oh that we also would say the same when we meet any cross, leaving ourselves to be guided by the Lord in all things, according to his good pleasure! This, says St. Francis de Sales, is that holy abandonment in God which constitutes all perfection. We ought to act in this manner particularly at the hour of death; but, in order to do it well then, we should practise it frequently during life.

[2] [46] And Jesus crying out with a loud voice, said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And saying this, he gave up the ghost.
Et clamans voce magna Jesus ait : Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum. Et haec dicens, expiravit. [Luke 23]
 

Yes, my Jesus, in Thy hands I place my life and my death; in Thee I abandon myself entirely, and I recommend my soul to Thee now for the last moments of my life. Receive it into Thy wounds, as Thy Father received Thy spirit, when Thou didst expire on the cross.But behold, Jesus dies. O angels of heaven, come, come to be present at the death of your God; and thou, O sorrowful mother of God, approach nearer to the cross, raise thy eyes to behold thy Son; look at him more steadfastly, for he is about to expire. Behold, the Redeemer already calls on death, and gives it permission to come and take away his life. O death, he says, perform thy office; take away my life and save my sheep.

The earthquake. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

Behold, the earth trembles, the graves are opened, the veil of the Temple is rent in two; behold, in fine, how the violence of his pains deprives the dying Lord of strength, of the natural heat, of respiration; his body is abandoned to death; he bows down his head on his breast, he opens his mouth, and expires: And bowing down His head, He gave up the ghost.[3]

[3] [30] Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.
Cum ergo accepisset Jesus acetum, dixit : Consummatum est. Et inclinato capite tradidit spiritum. [John 19]



 

Ah, my Son, Thou art dead. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

Go forth, O beautiful soul of my Saviour, go forth; go to open paradise, which has been hitherto shut against us; go to present thyself to the divine Majesty, and to obtain for us pardon and salvation. The crowd, turning to Jesus, on account of the loud voice in which he spoke these words, look at him with attention and in silence; they see him expire, and, observing that he is motionless, they exclaim, He is dead—he is dead.  

Mary hears this from all the bystanders, and she also says, Ah, my Son, Thou art dead. He is dead. O God, who is dead? The author of life, the only-begotten of God, the Lord of the world. O death which was the astonishment of heaven and of nature! A God to die for his creatures! O infinite charity! A God to sacrifice himself entirely! To sacrifice his delights, his honor, his blood, his life; and for whom?

For ungrateful creatures. And to die in a sea of sorrows and insults, and in order to atone for our sins. My soul, raise thy eyes, and behold that crucified Man-God. Behold that divine Lamb sacrificed on that altar of pain; consider that he is the beloved Son of the Eternal Father, and consider he has died through the love he has borne thee. See how his arms are stretched out to embrace thee; his head bowed down to give thee the kiss of peace; his side opened to receive thee. What dost thou say? Does a God so good and so loving deserve to be loved?

Longinus. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

Listen to what the Lord says to thee from the cross: My Son, see if there is any one in this world who has loved thee more than I, thy God, have loved thee. Ah, my God and my Redeemer, Thou, then, hast died, and died a death the most infamous and painful. And why? To gain my love. But what love of a creature can ever compensate the love of his Creator, who has died for him? 

O my adored Jesus, O love of my soul! how shall I be ever able to forget Thee? How shall I be able to love anything but Thee, after having seen Thee dying through pain on this cross in order to atone for my sins and to save my soul? How can I behold Thee dead, hanging on this tree, and not love Thee with all my strength? Can I think that my sins have reduced Thee to this condition, and not weep always with intense sorrow for the offences that I have committed against Thee?

Italian made crucifix. Gift to author's family in 1960s.

O God, had the vilest of all men suffered for me what Jesus Christ has suffered; had I beheld a man torn with scourges, fastened to a cross, and made the laughing-stock of the people in order to save my life, could I remember his sufferings without feeling for him the tenderest affection? And were the likeness of my expiring lover brought before me, could I behold it with indifference, and say, Oh! the miserable man has died thus in torture for the love of me? Had he not loved me he would not have died for me. Alas, how many Christians keep a beautiful crucifix in their room, but only as a fine piece of furniture! They praise the workmanship and the expression of grief, but it makes as little impression on their hearts as if it were not the image of the incarnate Word, but of a man who was a stranger and unknown to them. Ah, my Jesus, do not permit me to be one of them. Remember that Thou didst promise that when Thou wouldst be elevated on the cross, Thou wouldst draw all hearts to Thee.

Presaging the future.  JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

Behold, my heart, softened into tenderness by Thy death, will no longer resist Thy calls. Ah, draw all its affections to Thy love. Thou hast died for me, and I wish to live only for Thee. O sorrows of Jesus, O ignominies of Jesus, O death of Jesus,

O love of Jesus! may you be fixed in my heart, and may the sweet remembrance of you remain there forever, to wound me continually, and to inflame me with love. O Eternal Father, behold Jesus dead for my sake, and, through the merits of this Son, show me mercy. My soul, be not diffident on account of the sins thou hast committed against God. It is the Father himself that has given the Son to the world for our salvation, and it is the Son that has voluntarily offered himself to atone for our sins. Ah, my Jesus, since to pardon me Thou hast not spared Thyself, behold me with the same affection with which Thou didst one day behold me, agonizing for me on the cross.

Behold me and enlighten me; and pardon particularly my past ingratitude to Thee, in thinking so little of Thy Passion, and on the love Thou hast shown me in Thy sufferings. I thank Thee for the light which Thou givest me, in making me see in these wounds and lacerated members, as through so many lattices, Thy great and tender affection for me. Unhappy me, if, after this light, I should neglect to love Thee, or if I loved anything out of Thee. May I die (I will say with the enamoured St. Francis of Assisi) for the love of Thee, O my Jesus, who hast condescended to die for the love of me. O pierced heart of my Redeemer, O blessed dwelling of loving souls! do not disdain to receive also my miserable soul.

Mary cradles her lifeless son. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

O Mary, O mother of sorrows! recommend me to thy Son, whom thou dost hold lifeless in thy arms. 

Behold his lacerated flesh, behold his divine blood shed for me, and see in them how pleasing it is to him that thou shouldst recommend my salvation to him. 

My salvation consists in loving him; this love thou hast to obtain for me, but let it be a great and eternal love.

Commenting on the words of St. Paul, The charity of Christ presseth us, [4] St. Francis de Sales says: “Since we know that Jesus, the true God, has loved us so as to suffer death, and the death of the cross, for our salvation, must not our hearts be under a press which squeezes and forces love from them by a violence which is strong in proportion as it is amiable?” [5] The saint afterwards says that “the hill of Calvary is the mountain of lovers.” [6] He then adds: “Ah, why, then, do we not cast ourselves on Jesus crucified, in order to die on the cross with him who has voluntarily died upon it for the love of us? I will hold him, we ought to say, and will never forsake him; I will die with him, and will burn in the flames of his love. One and the same fire shall consume this divine Creator and his miserable creature. My Jesus gives himself to me, and I give myself entirely to him. I will live and die on his bosom; neither life nor death shall separate me from him. O eternal love! my soul seeks Thee, and chooses Thee for eternity. Ah! come, O Holy Ghost, and inflame our hearts with the love of Thee. Either to love or to die. To die to every other love, in order to live to that of Jesus. O Saviour of our souls! grant that we may sing for eternity: “Live Jesus; I love Jesus. Live Jesus, whom I love; I love Jesus, who lives forever and ever.” [7]

Let us, in conclusion, say: O Lamb of God, who hast sacrificed Thyself for our salvation! O victim of love, who hast been consumed by sorrows on the cross! Oh that I knew how to love Thee as Thou dost deserve to be loved! Oh that I could die for Thee, who hast died for me! By my sins I have been a cause of pain to Thee during Thy entire life; grant that I may please Thee during the remainder of my life, living only in Thee, my love, my all. O Mary, my mother, thou art my hope after Jesus; obtain for me the grace to love Jesus.

[4] [14] For the charity of Christ presseth us: judging this, that if one died for all, then all were dead.
Caritas enim Christi urget nos : aestimantes hoc, quoniam si unus pro omnibus mortuus est, ergo omnes mortui sunt : [2 Cor 5]

[5] Love of God. B 7 ch 8

[6] Ibid B 12 ch 13

[7] Ibid B 7 ch 8,  B 12 ch 13