St. Peter once asked Our Lord how many times he must forgive an offender. Jesus answered that if necessary, he must forgive "seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22). According to Maria, Jesus embodied His teaching perfectly and was an example passed to his disciples. When He called out to God to pardon His tormentors and murderers, He was passing such a test, answering with a resounding Yes! The question may still linger for us. Is such costly forgiveness truly possible?

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide His garments. And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He is the Christ of God, His Chosen One!" The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up and offering Him vinegar, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!" - Luke 23:34-37

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)

As the Cross was raised atop Calvary's hill, multitudes were quickly drawn to Jesus. Today our attention is still riveted on the Man of the Cross. He draws us all to Himself. We may cherish Him, we may despise Him, we may puzzle over Him. But we cannot ignore Him. Sooner or later, we each must choose: will we, like His mother, take our place with Him or remain indifferent like the mob? Anne Catherine insisted, the Cross becomes a tree of life.

When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull), they offered Him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when He tasted it, He would not drink it. And when they had crucified Him, they divided His garments among them by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over Him there. And over His head they put the charge against Him, which read, "This is Jesus the King of the Jews." Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. - Matthew 27:33-38

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)

We should not be surprised that in Maria's vision, at the time the executioners prepared the Cross, Jesus was praying for you, for me, and for us all. He asked that we be granted mercy instead of condemnation. He prayed for our deliverance from Satan's slavery. He begged to save us and make a place for us in the family of God. And He revealed once more His passion to accomplish the salvation of man for the glory of God.

Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son so that the Son may glorify You, since You have given Him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. ... I do not pray that You would take them out of the world, but that You would keep them from the evil one. ... For their sake I consecrate Myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. ... I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their word." - John 17:1-2, 15, 19-20

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)

Jesus' tormentors intended to wound both His body and His soul. The goal was humiliation when they stripped Him naked in public. Ever since the sin of our first parents in Eden, nakedness had been linked to shame. Instead, Jesus' nakedness revealed the blessed Body that was broken and given for our salvation. Maria's vision details the wounds that flowed as Jesus' tunic was torn away, and to the eyes of faith those wounds shine with a bloody beauty. The divine nakedness was exposed so that our shame might be taken away.

And they stripped [Jesus] and put a scarlet robe upon Him, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand. ... And when they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe, and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. ... And when they had crucified Him, they divided His garments among them. - Matthew 27:28-29, 31, 35

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)

Consider Simon of Cyrene, the Everyman of the passion story. Like most of us, he was not prepared to be inconvenienced. In the Simon of Anne Catherine's vision, he resented helping a total stranger, especially when he had no choice. Yet with one look into Jesus' eyes, everything changed for Simon. His heart began to melt, and before long, he was carrying that Cross to a new eternal destiny. So it is with us: God honors even the most reluctant acts of charity with abundant grace.

When they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe, and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. As they were marching out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry His cross. - Matthew 27:31-32

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)

In the traditional Stations of the Cross, Jesus meets Mary as He trudges through Jerusalem toward Calvary. In Maria's vision, mother and Son meet several times. Consider the scene: Any mother would be crushed to see her child endure so horrendous a passion. How much more, then, the mother of this Child, who loved so perfectly the One who was so worthy of perfect love! The Mother of Sorrows drew close to the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), leaving an example for us all.

And His father and His mother marveled at what was said about Him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. ... And His mother kept all of these things in her heart. - Luke 2:34-35, 51

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)

At the very heart of His sorrowful passion, Jesus felt some sense of joy because He knew the purpose of His suffering: "Jesus ... for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). Yet we may still find unsettling Maria's vision of Christ as He lifted the cross to carry it. More than simply enduring it, she saw Him embracing it. The lives of certain saints suggest that by imitating Our Lord, they gave themselves up to God in martyrdom. As Maria's vision reveals, any delight Jesus may have taken in the Cross was in reality something a delight in the brothers and sisters He would reconcile to God through it.

You were dead in sins and uncircumcised in the flesh. But God brought you back to life with Christ, having forgiven us all our sins. He has canceled our debt to the Law, which had been charged against us. He obliterated it by nailing it to the Cross. He disarmed the demonic principalities and powers, parading them publicly behind Him in the triumphal procession of the Cross. - Colossians 2:13-15

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)

When Pilate went to render judgment, he was forced to entertain a possibility every man and woman must face: Jesus claimed to be the divine Son of God. Could it be true? Our Lord had pressed the issue some days before with His disciples, asking, "Who do you say that I am?" Anne Catherine's vision reminds us that all who judge Christ will themselves be judged by Christ one day. Each of us, in answering His question, "Who do you say that I am?" is rendering a judgment on Him.

Pilate said to them, "Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no crime in Him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He has made Himself the Son of God." When Pilate heard these words, he was the more afraid; he entered the praetorium again and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave no answer. Pilate therefore said to Him, "You will not speak to me? Do You not know that I have power to release You, and power to crucify You?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over Me unless it had been given you from above." - John 19:6-11 93

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)

Scourging was a brutal form of punishment. When the leather was sufficiently hardened and the blows savagely applied, the pain was excruciating. If enough blows were given, the loss of blood alone could lead to death. Pilate thought the grisly sight would be enough to satisfy the mob's thirst for blood, and they would drop their demands for Christ's death. Even so, it was not to be. Mary of Agreda's vision takes us close up to this gruesome scene. If we let it, the sight can draw us more deeply into the startling mystery of Christ's passion.

Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and arrayed Him in a purple robe; they came up to Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck Him with their hands. Pilate went out again, and said to them, "See, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no crime in Him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Behold the man!" When the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" - John 19:1-6

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)

If we compare Herod and Pilate in the Gospel accounts, Herod comes across as the simpler man, and certainly the more shallow of the two. He seems driven by curiosity; he wants to be entertained. In Anne Catherine's vision, the king's interrogation sounds much like a modern tabloid reporter trying to interview a reluctant celebrity. Herod seems less interested in pursuing the truth than in enjoying a sensational story. Jesus understandably refused to play their sick game.

When [Pilate] learned that [Jesus] belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see Him, because he had heard about Him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by Him. So he questioned Him at some length; but He made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing Him. And Herod with his soldiers treated Him with contempt and mocked Him; then, arraying Him in gorgeous apparel, he sent Him back to Pilate. - Luke 23:7-11

With excerpts from:

• The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (https://bit.ly/3kaeP6l)
• The Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda (https://bit.ly/3IhySaO)

GET THE BOOK - The Passion: Reflections on the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ by Paul Thigpen (https://bit.ly/3IiSNpM)