For Friday
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.
"1. Place yourself in the presence of God, kneeling with hands clasped.
2. Read slowly and devoutly
St. Luke xxii. verses 40 to 46 (as it occurs in the Passion on Holy Wednesday).
3. Bring what you have read before you, as a picture.
4. Then say to Him whatever comes into your mind to say; for instance:—
(1) What is it that bows down the Almighty Son of God? What is it that so terrifies and overwhelms my dear Saviour? What is it that thus convulses Him from head to foot? See how He trembles! He falls on his knees as under a tremendous load! His flesh quivers, and at length out of its pores comes a dew. It is red, and it trickles down Him, and falls heavily on the ground. It is His precious blood, and this is His agony.
(2) Alas! I know well enough what was the cause of it. He came on earth to undergo it, and to destroy it by undergoing it. It is the weight of sin. The sins of every child of Adam, of the whole race, were all then heaped into one mass, higher than the mountains, and placed upon His head. The burden would have crushed anyone else, even the highest Archangel, even the Blessed Mother of God. One human heart alone could undergo it, the heart of the Divine Son; yet see how His soul and body agonised with it, though it was the soul and body of God Incarnate.
(3) My most dear Saviour, give me some little tenderness to grieve for Thee suffering for me.
5. Conclusion.—My dear Mother Mary, thou wert sinless, teach me to grieve with Thee. "
Meditations and Devotions
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.
"1. Place yourself in the presence of God, kneeling with hands clasped.
2. Read slowly and devoutly
St. Luke xxii. verses 40 to 46 (as it occurs in the Passion on Holy Wednesday).
3. Bring what you have read before you, as a picture.
4. Then say to Him whatever comes into your mind to say; for instance:—
(1) What is it that bows down the Almighty Son of God? What is it that so terrifies and overwhelms my dear Saviour? What is it that thus convulses Him from head to foot? See how He trembles! He falls on his knees as under a tremendous load! His flesh quivers, and at length out of its pores comes a dew. It is red, and it trickles down Him, and falls heavily on the ground. It is His precious blood, and this is His agony.
(2) Alas! I know well enough what was the cause of it. He came on earth to undergo it, and to destroy it by undergoing it. It is the weight of sin. The sins of every child of Adam, of the whole race, were all then heaped into one mass, higher than the mountains, and placed upon His head. The burden would have crushed anyone else, even the highest Archangel, even the Blessed Mother of God. One human heart alone could undergo it, the heart of the Divine Son; yet see how His soul and body agonised with it, though it was the soul and body of God Incarnate.
(3) My most dear Saviour, give me some little tenderness to grieve for Thee suffering for me.
5. Conclusion.—My dear Mother Mary, thou wert sinless, teach me to grieve with Thee. "
Meditations and Devotions
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