ness as well as the painfulness of his wounds, to hold out, falls under its weight.
O most loving Jesus, thou art the the Son of God, the adorable Creator of heaven and earth — infinitely great and powerful. How is it, therefore, that thou languishest and fallest under the weight of the cross? O Lord, what a terrible evil must sin be, since, when placed on thy divine shoulders, it makes thee fall to the earth for very horror! The cross weighed thee down only when on the way to Calvary; but my sins have weighed on thee night and day during the whole of thy mortal life, painting thee with their deformity, and present to thy mind in all their malice. I am sorry for having committed them; and would to God they had never been committed! I thank thee for having, with so much love, taken upon thyself the burden of my sins, to free me from the chastisement due to them. I love thee, O loving Lord; I love thee, my amiable Redeemer; I wish always to love thee, and never more to offend thee.
SIXTH REFLECTION.
Jesus nailed to the Cross.
The sorrowful Jesus having arrived with extreme difficulty on Calvary, the executioners strip him of his clothes, tearing them violently from his sacred body, to which they adhered closely by the wounds and clotted blood. Meditate, O my soul, what pain must have been caused to our suffering Lord in opening his wounds in this manner. Then say to thyself: Behold the repose that is given to my suffering Redeemer, after so long and painful a journey! See the comfort they provide for him before his cruel crucifixion! Jesus, the victim destined for the sacrifice, having received orders to lie down upon the gibbet prepared for him, in obedience and silence
