From a sermon given on the Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
O King of glory, Jesus my Savior! what marvelous virtue Thou dost display in this flood of sorrows, sufferings, and humiliations, which overwhelmed Thy Heart! What meekness, what resignation, what patience, what charity! Thou dost pray for those who outrage Thee. Thou offerest Thy sufferings for those who persecute and afflict Thee. How unlike I am to Thee, my divine Model! How great is the change that must be effected in me, if I wish to be Thy true disciple and to bear a resemblance to Thee!
In all sincerity, however, I pray: “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.” How different a rule of life, how great a reform of conduct is required of me before I shall be able to say with the Apostle: “I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me.” (Gal 2:20) How unwilling I am to bear the slightest pain! How I shrink from the lightest cross! How impatient I am in sufferings, disappointments, and contradictions! And yet the Holy Ghost tells us, “Jesus Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps” (1 Pt 2:21); and again, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer.” (2 Tim 3:12)
For if we be dead with Him, we shall live also with Him.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him, He will also deny us.
- 2 Timothy 2:11-12
Jesus, the eternal Wisdom, have mercy on us.
Jesus, sold for thirty pieces of silver, have mercy on us.
Jesus, prostrate on the ground in prayer, have mercy on us.
Jesus, strengthened by an angel, have mercy on us.
Jesus, in Thine agony bathed in a bloody sweat, have mercy on us.
Jesus, betrayed by Judas with a kiss, have mercy on us.
Jesus, bound by the soldiers, have mercy on us.
Jesus, forsaken by Thy disciples, have mercy on us.
“Behold, Jesus Christ crucified, who is the only foundation of our hope; He is our mediator and advocate; the Victim and Sacrifice for our sins. He is goodness and patience itself; His mercy is moved by the tears of sinners, and He never refuses pardon and grace to those who ask it with a truly contrite and humbled heart.”
- St. Charles Borromeo
