09-10-2026, 08:56 AM
Chapter V. The Necessity of a Constant Consideration and Profound Knowledge of Christ Crucified
A constant consideration and a profound knowledge of Christ crucified are here necessary, for as we behold so do we love, and the more we do behold of the Son of God, Jesus Christ the Crucified, the more perfectly and purely do we love Him and for love do become one with Him. And according as we do become one with Him through love, so do we likewise share in the sufferings which the soul witnesseth in God, the Man of Sorrows. And seeing that we do love according as we see and know, so doth the soul lament according as it beholdeth the sufferings of its Beloved, and doth suffer with His suffering.
Likewise, the more intimately any person knoweth this Man of Sorrows, the more doth he love Him and suffer with His sufferings, and through grief is made one with Him whom he loveth. And as the soul is made one with this most sweet Christ through love, so is it likewise united with Him through suffering; and all this cometh about through perfect vision and the knowledge of God and of ourselves. In truth, moreover, since the soul beholdeth the infinitude of the divine majesty (of the which I will not speak for fear I should rather disgrace it than speak of it worthily), and since it beholdeth, upon the other hand, the vileness and great unworthiness of sinners (whose friend and kinsman the most sublime God hath deigned to be, and for their sake, moreover, hath borne the most shameful death), it doth sincerely transform itself in the love of the Son of God, Jesus Christ; and the more it knoweth and doth profoundly and inwardly consider and behold Him, the more doth it then enter into His love.
When it further beholdeth the sinners and the creature full of faults, it perceiveth and discerneth that these faults are so numerous that its comprehension of them is as nothing in comparison with their number. When, however, being illumined by the divine light, the soul recogniseth that it hath itself been the only cause of such great and sublime suffering as Christ Jesus did bear for its sake, and reflecteth upon the infinitude of the divine goodness which for the sake of so vile a creature did so abase itself that it became mortal man and was tormented with great and immeasurable suffering — and this not only once, but continually the while He did live — and how in the end He who was the Creator of heaven and earth was willing to die a shameful death, when the soul perceiveth and understandeth this it is itself overwhelmed with grief — and the more clearly it doth perceive, and the more profoundly it doth consider, the more is it moved unto yet greater grief.
More deeply moved yet is the soul when it perceiveth how, by reason of his sins, miserable man is deprived of all good things and benefits, that he hath merited eternal suffering, and is despised and derided of that sublime Divinity, and of the angels and demons and of all creatures, and that, in order to raise man up again from out of this adverse poverty, the most high God, Christ Jesus, the most rich in all things, did make Himself poor for our sake; how He, the most beatific and most joyful, did make Himself most wretched in order that through His infinite suffering He might redeem man and save him from everlasting and unspeakable pain. The soul doth perceive, moreover, how the God of Glory, worthy above all things to be praised, did make Himself obedient and humble, willing to be despised, mocked at and reviled, seemingly of no account and thus reputed, and He did this in order that despised man might thereby be made glorious and honourable.
When the soul doth well consider and more clearly perceive these things, the more doth it incline itself unto Him and suffer with His suffering. For the more clearly the soul doth know God and His exaltedness, His mercy and infinite goodness and worthiness (which things it maketh known unto man and proveth them by means of their effect), and the more clearly it beholdeth the wretchedness of man, his faults, his unworthiness, his ingratitude, infirmities, and vileness, the more deeply is it moved towards the love of Christ and the grief of His Passion, and is transformed into the likeness thereof, wherein consisteth all the perfection of man.
It hath thus been made clear, therefore, that the knowledge of God and of ourselves is absolutely necessary and above all other things profitable. Wherefore must we constantly dwell upon such knowledge, day and night, and the more profound man's contemplation of the aforesaid things, the more perfectly can he transform himself into the likeness of Christ, both in sorrow and in love, as hath already been said.
A constant consideration and a profound knowledge of Christ crucified are here necessary, for as we behold so do we love, and the more we do behold of the Son of God, Jesus Christ the Crucified, the more perfectly and purely do we love Him and for love do become one with Him. And according as we do become one with Him through love, so do we likewise share in the sufferings which the soul witnesseth in God, the Man of Sorrows. And seeing that we do love according as we see and know, so doth the soul lament according as it beholdeth the sufferings of its Beloved, and doth suffer with His suffering.
Likewise, the more intimately any person knoweth this Man of Sorrows, the more doth he love Him and suffer with His sufferings, and through grief is made one with Him whom he loveth. And as the soul is made one with this most sweet Christ through love, so is it likewise united with Him through suffering; and all this cometh about through perfect vision and the knowledge of God and of ourselves. In truth, moreover, since the soul beholdeth the infinitude of the divine majesty (of the which I will not speak for fear I should rather disgrace it than speak of it worthily), and since it beholdeth, upon the other hand, the vileness and great unworthiness of sinners (whose friend and kinsman the most sublime God hath deigned to be, and for their sake, moreover, hath borne the most shameful death), it doth sincerely transform itself in the love of the Son of God, Jesus Christ; and the more it knoweth and doth profoundly and inwardly consider and behold Him, the more doth it then enter into His love.
When it further beholdeth the sinners and the creature full of faults, it perceiveth and discerneth that these faults are so numerous that its comprehension of them is as nothing in comparison with their number. When, however, being illumined by the divine light, the soul recogniseth that it hath itself been the only cause of such great and sublime suffering as Christ Jesus did bear for its sake, and reflecteth upon the infinitude of the divine goodness which for the sake of so vile a creature did so abase itself that it became mortal man and was tormented with great and immeasurable suffering — and this not only once, but continually the while He did live — and how in the end He who was the Creator of heaven and earth was willing to die a shameful death, when the soul perceiveth and understandeth this it is itself overwhelmed with grief — and the more clearly it doth perceive, and the more profoundly it doth consider, the more is it moved unto yet greater grief.
More deeply moved yet is the soul when it perceiveth how, by reason of his sins, miserable man is deprived of all good things and benefits, that he hath merited eternal suffering, and is despised and derided of that sublime Divinity, and of the angels and demons and of all creatures, and that, in order to raise man up again from out of this adverse poverty, the most high God, Christ Jesus, the most rich in all things, did make Himself poor for our sake; how He, the most beatific and most joyful, did make Himself most wretched in order that through His infinite suffering He might redeem man and save him from everlasting and unspeakable pain. The soul doth perceive, moreover, how the God of Glory, worthy above all things to be praised, did make Himself obedient and humble, willing to be despised, mocked at and reviled, seemingly of no account and thus reputed, and He did this in order that despised man might thereby be made glorious and honourable.
When the soul doth well consider and more clearly perceive these things, the more doth it incline itself unto Him and suffer with His suffering. For the more clearly the soul doth know God and His exaltedness, His mercy and infinite goodness and worthiness (which things it maketh known unto man and proveth them by means of their effect), and the more clearly it beholdeth the wretchedness of man, his faults, his unworthiness, his ingratitude, infirmities, and vileness, the more deeply is it moved towards the love of Christ and the grief of His Passion, and is transformed into the likeness thereof, wherein consisteth all the perfection of man.
It hath thus been made clear, therefore, that the knowledge of God and of ourselves is absolutely necessary and above all other things profitable. Wherefore must we constantly dwell upon such knowledge, day and night, and the more profound man's contemplation of the aforesaid things, the more perfectly can he transform himself into the likeness of Christ, both in sorrow and in love, as hath already been said.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre