09-30-2026, 07:23 AM
Chapter XVIII. An Exhortation to Take Comfort and to Follow the Example of Perfection Set Forth by Christ the Crucified
Come ye, oh my blessed children, and gaze on this Cross and on Christ who died upon it for our sins, and weep with me because our countless iniquities were the cause of so much suffering. And albeit ye have not offended God as deeply as have I (who am all sin), yet weep ye none the less, for it is not ye yourselves who have resisted sin, but the grace of God which hath preserved and defended you through the merits of the Cross of Christ. Therefore, ye saints and innocents, ye should not lament your state less than do I, the sinner. For the greater the grace which hath been vouchsafed unto you, the greater is your debt; and since ye have not been as thankful as ye should be, ye have in some degree sullied your lives and have lost somewhat of your purity. Wherefore must ye all lament and weep and raise the eyes of your minds unto that Cross; because in gazing upon the Cross (unto the which the soul cannot attain save by constant prayer, as hath already been said) are we granted full knowledge of our sins, we are overcome with grief and contrition because of them, and are given the light of profound humility. Of a certainty, when in gazing upon the Cross the soul beholdeth all its sins in general and each one in particular, and how for all together and each in particular, Christ was crucified and afflicted, it is overwhelmed with sadness and is thereby moved to punish and reform itself, with all its members and its senses.
Observe, then, ye sons of the blessed God, and behold in Christ crucified the principal example of life, and from Him learn true perfection. Behold the Book of Life, namely, the life and death of Christ crucified, the Man of Sorrows; through gazing upon His Passion and Cross the soul attaineth unto the knowledge of its sins, and through profound humility unto knowledge of the heart.
The soul doth likewise behold and know the multitude of its sins, and how grievously it offendeth God in all its members. Also doth it behold above it the manifestation of divine mercy, that is to say, it perceiveth how Christ crucified did endure cruel pain in all the members of His body, because of the sins of each of our members. Thus by means of the Cross it may reflect how greatly and in what manner it hath offended God. Firstly, by the head: man doth wash, comb, and anoint his head, doing also divers other things to render himself pleasing unto men, and then he perceiveth how because of this his sin, Christ hath done penance in His own head and hath borne grievous pains. To make reparation for man's washing, combing, anointing, and twisting of his hair, Christ's most holy head was shorn of its hair, it was pierced by the crown of thorns, beaten with rods and made all bloody with His blood. In like manner the soul beholdeth the other members (as Christ Himself, as though unwittingly, in certain visions and sayings doth almost murmur and lament against us, counting over all the members), and not only doth it behold the multitude of sins committed by each member, but likewise the grievousness thereof.
Verily, when the soul meditateth upon the Cross the infinite grievousness of sin is made plainly manifest; then doth it comprehend that its guilt could never have been wiped away, its offences forgiven and its punishment remitted if Christ had not done such great penance for its misdeeds, which is a surpassing great matter to think upon. Moreover, the soul will read in this Book (more clearly than in any other book whatsoever) of divine justice and of how impossible it is for sin ever to remain unpunished.
Come ye, oh my blessed children, and gaze on this Cross and on Christ who died upon it for our sins, and weep with me because our countless iniquities were the cause of so much suffering. And albeit ye have not offended God as deeply as have I (who am all sin), yet weep ye none the less, for it is not ye yourselves who have resisted sin, but the grace of God which hath preserved and defended you through the merits of the Cross of Christ. Therefore, ye saints and innocents, ye should not lament your state less than do I, the sinner. For the greater the grace which hath been vouchsafed unto you, the greater is your debt; and since ye have not been as thankful as ye should be, ye have in some degree sullied your lives and have lost somewhat of your purity. Wherefore must ye all lament and weep and raise the eyes of your minds unto that Cross; because in gazing upon the Cross (unto the which the soul cannot attain save by constant prayer, as hath already been said) are we granted full knowledge of our sins, we are overcome with grief and contrition because of them, and are given the light of profound humility. Of a certainty, when in gazing upon the Cross the soul beholdeth all its sins in general and each one in particular, and how for all together and each in particular, Christ was crucified and afflicted, it is overwhelmed with sadness and is thereby moved to punish and reform itself, with all its members and its senses.
Observe, then, ye sons of the blessed God, and behold in Christ crucified the principal example of life, and from Him learn true perfection. Behold the Book of Life, namely, the life and death of Christ crucified, the Man of Sorrows; through gazing upon His Passion and Cross the soul attaineth unto the knowledge of its sins, and through profound humility unto knowledge of the heart.
The soul doth likewise behold and know the multitude of its sins, and how grievously it offendeth God in all its members. Also doth it behold above it the manifestation of divine mercy, that is to say, it perceiveth how Christ crucified did endure cruel pain in all the members of His body, because of the sins of each of our members. Thus by means of the Cross it may reflect how greatly and in what manner it hath offended God. Firstly, by the head: man doth wash, comb, and anoint his head, doing also divers other things to render himself pleasing unto men, and then he perceiveth how because of this his sin, Christ hath done penance in His own head and hath borne grievous pains. To make reparation for man's washing, combing, anointing, and twisting of his hair, Christ's most holy head was shorn of its hair, it was pierced by the crown of thorns, beaten with rods and made all bloody with His blood. In like manner the soul beholdeth the other members (as Christ Himself, as though unwittingly, in certain visions and sayings doth almost murmur and lament against us, counting over all the members), and not only doth it behold the multitude of sins committed by each member, but likewise the grievousness thereof.
Verily, when the soul meditateth upon the Cross the infinite grievousness of sin is made plainly manifest; then doth it comprehend that its guilt could never have been wiped away, its offences forgiven and its punishment remitted if Christ had not done such great penance for its misdeeds, which is a surpassing great matter to think upon. Moreover, the soul will read in this Book (more clearly than in any other book whatsoever) of divine justice and of how impossible it is for sin ever to remain unpunished.
"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