glorycloud's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the hill of Calvary "Note that the Blessed Virgin did not stand to one side of the cross, facing north, as some people think and as she is sometimes portrayed in art; she stood to the west, turned a little to the south, in order to face her son directly. The place where she and the other women stood lamenting Christ is marked near the hill of Calvary and is venerated by the faithful. There is a chapel here, attached to the outer wall of the Holy Sepulcher. Stand with her by the cross and grieve for the Lord who died for you. We ought to stand there willingly more in mind than in body, treasuring the memory of the Savior as he was hanging on the cross. Such remembrance is very useful for us. There we find our refuge from the evils of sin and our refreshment from the evils of punishment; there we are instructed concerning the good things of grace and are shown the way to the good things of glory. Pleasant and desirable is the shade beneath the wings of Jesus, where fugitives find a home and the weary refreshment. One wing safeguards us in prosperity, the other in adversity, twin shields against the evils of sin and suffering. Bernard, absorbed in the memory of these things, exclaims, "O Lord, wherever I go I always see you on the cross!" Consider now how Jesus is exalted as he had foretold: As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert on a pole, so must the Son of man be lifted up on the cross." That brazen serpent held aloft in the desert was a type of this lifting up. Just as it had the likeness of a serpent, but, being fashioned of bronze, it was not poisonous, so Christ, who was reputed with the wicked, had the likeness of sinful flesh but had no sin. And as those who had been bitten were healed when they looked upon the bronze serpent lifted up on a pole, so there is no more effective remedy for the bites and temptation of the devil than gazing upon the Savior who suffered on the cross for us. If a serpent of bronze delivered people from bodily death, how much more does faith in Christ crucified save us from spiritual death. See your Lord placed on a lofty throne, preparing to judge: two men are placed on either side of him, one who is saved and the other is condemned. See how Christ, the high priest of the good things to come, with hands and arms outstretched offers a pure victim, his own precious flesh for us on the altar of the cross' 'The Life of Jesus Christ' Part Two Volume 2, Chapters 58-89 pg.240, 241 Ludolph of Saxony 1:11 p.m. - 2022-05-30 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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