Woman of Faith: The Crucifixion
Fr. J. Patrick Gaffney, SMM
“He who hangs upon a tree is accursed of God”. (Dt 21:23). In such severe terms, Scripture promulgates that whosoever is crucified has incurred the damnation of God. The fifth sorrowful mystery of the Rosary fixes our contemplative gaze on Jesus who takes on the condemnation of us all.
Woman of Faith
The horrors of that first Good Friday exceed the limits of human language.
We can only approximate a description of that blackest day in the history of the universe. On the hill of Golgotha outside Jerusalem’s walls, Jesus, scourged and crowned with thorns, stumbles and falls for the third and final time. Once again, the soldiers rip off his robe, now glued to His torn Body so drenched with Blood. Every wound now bleeds profusely.
Stretched out upon the wood of the cross, his feet and hands are nailed to the tree and with an excruciating jolt, the cross is dropped into the hole prepared for it. Jesus, stripped, scourged, mocked, reviled, scorned, now hangs in public view for the last few hours of his agonizing dying. The universe itself shudders at the sight. “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour … and behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, the earth shook, and the rocks were split …”. (Mt 27:45,51).
The small company of Mary, faithful, strong, stands bravely at the foot of The Cross, proud to be identified with the Criminal hanging upon the tree. After three hours of unspeakable torture, Jesus collapses in death, breathing a sigh of love to His Abba; “Father, into thy hands, I commit my spirit”. (Lk. 23:46).
A crucifixion is a bloodcurdling sight. However, to reflect only on the torture inflicted upon Jesus is not a rosary meditation. Saint Louis de Montfort calls us to deeper contemplation, requesting that we meditate upon three questions.
- Who is dying on the Cross?
- Why is He dying?
- What are the repercussions of His death?
Who is Dying on The Cross?
Hundreds of criminals were crucified during the years when Pontius Pilate was procurator in Jerusalem. What is it that makes the execution of Jesus so unique? It is not primarily the intensity of the torment wrought on Jesus; rather, it is the Person of Jesus which makes His death so horrible. This man Jesus is personally our God. He who hangs upon the tree is the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom of the Father. He is our God in a fully human way. We have crucified the Lord of Glory! (cf. 1 Cor 2:8). Creation is executing its Incarnate Creator. The Word made flesh is being slain by His own. The sin of the world has reached its climactic distortion.
Why is Jesus Dying on The Cross?
The Romans would say, as the inscription on the cross advertised, that Jesus was being put to death because He was a ringleader of a rebellion against Caesar; that He pretended to be the King of the Jews. Some of the leaders of His people view Him as a blasphemer for He called God His Abba and broke the sabbath. (cf Jn 5:18). How far from the mark!
Madonna and Child: painter Elisabetta Sirani: 1663
Elisabetta took over the studio of her father Giovanni Sirani in 1654-1655. This painting resides in the National Museum of Woman Arts in Washington, DC.
Through her continual obedience, entailing such intense participation in the Cross of her Son, she becomes the true “Mother of All the Living”. “Behold your mother,” Jesus proclaims to all of us as He hangs dying upon The Cross.
This is the eleventh in a series of articles on the Mysteries of the Rosary.
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Jesus dies “for us and for our salvation”. As the climactic point of creation’s union with God, He is the summary of the entire cosmos. “In Him all things hold together”. (Col 1:17). He is the representative of us all, upon Him are all our sins and our sorrows (cf Is 53). Jesus, although so caught up in the horrors of crucifixion dies in loving harmony with the Father, out of love for us. His voice, His heart, are the voice and heart of this rebellious creation and in Him, all creation now cries out in love to the Father. His arms out- stretched in an eternal call of love, He dies as He lives; for us.
The trumped-up charges of His enemies cannot destroy the truth that the Wisdom of the Father has assumed all of sinful humanity – and therefore our death – out of love for us. As Jesus Himself has stated; “The Son of Man has come not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for all”. (Mk 10:45).
What are the Repercussions of Jesus’ Death?
Saint Louis de Montfort joins in with the early Fathers of the Church in calling the cross the Tree of Life. In the Garden of Eden, humankind enters into rebellion against God through a tree, a man and a woman. The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve who ate the fruit of the tree thereby forever closing off entry to the Tree of Life. (cf Gen 3). Victory over sin and eternal death is won in the same way that life was lost; a new Tree of Life – The Cross; the new Adam – Jesus; a new Eve – Mary. Rebellion of man is conquered by the obedience of the God-man. As Eve shares in our collapse, so Mary shares in our restoration.
Through her continual obedience, entailing such intense participation in the Cross of her Son, she becomes the true “Mother of All the Living”. “Behold your mother,” Jesus proclaims to all of us as He hangs dying upon the Cross.
What, then are the repercussions of the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross? Estrangement is conquered by Infinite Love; Sin by Infinite Obedience, Darkness by Eternal Light; Death by Divine Life, Folly by the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom.
Victorious
The Cross is our Victorious standard, leading us by its power to the true Promised Land, Jesus the Lord. Behold the wood of the Cross, sings the Church on Good Friday, on which hung our salvation.
We pray with Saint Louis de Montfort; May the grace of the mystery of the Crucifixion come down into our hearts.
