I renounce my claim to Paradise because I take “some wretched pleasure or despicable interest!” (Father Ignatius of the Side of Christ).
I have been reflecting on the torture of Christ.
Saint Augustine of Hippo, who – after thirty three years of sinful life gave his life to God and became a doctor of the Church – wrote, “As they were looking on, so we too gaze on His wounds as He hangs. We see His blood as He dies. We see the price offered by the redeemer, touch the scars of His resurrection. He bows His head, as if to kiss you. His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love to you. His arms are extended that He may embrace you. His whole body is displayed for your redemption. Ponder how great these things are. Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind: as He was once fixed to the cross in every part of his body for you, so He may now be fixed in every part of your soul.”
And I have been thinking about that torture and that idea of Christ fixed on the Cross for love of me so that I can fix Him on my soul for love of Him… For you see, there is nothing that I could ever do that would make me worthy of my Beloved, and yet, He did EVERYTHING for love of me…
“Jesus Christ did not think the sovereign beatitude and glory of Heaven too dearly purchased at the price of unspeakable tortures, and by suffering His sacred flesh to be mangled by nails, thorns, and scourges. Great indeed must be the value of that which cost the Son of God so dear! And yet we esteem it so little, as to be even ready to renounce our claim to it, as, in fact, so many of us do, for the sake of some wretched pleasure or despicable interest! Ye blind and deluded children of men, contemplate the Wounds of your Crucified God, and see in what manner the gates of the kingdom of glory have been opened to you! See what it has cost Him to place you in possession of it, and understand, if possible, how infinite a benefit was bestowed upon you by the Son of God when He purchased for you Heaven, which you had lost by sin! … Enter in spirit into these sacred Wounds, and you will comprehend the value and sublimity of that eternal felicity which they have acquired for you, and you will learn to detach your heart from the earth and from creatures, so as to place all your affections and desires upon Heaven.” (Father Ignatius of the Side of Christ, from “The School of Jesus Crucified” at pages 226-227).
And there is really nothing else to add… God died for love of me. And He died tortured and in pain. And for that dear price of my Beloved, I renounce my claim to Paradise because I take “some wretched pleasure or despicable interest!” (Father Ignatius of the Side of Christ).
And when I think about that today, it does not seem fair to my Lord and God that I simply ignore His torture, which He suffered for love of me. It simply does not seem fair at all…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.