In four days' time, we start celebrating the Easter Triduum, which is the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ, the apex of the whole Liturgical Year. It is of great benefit to delve deeper into Jesus' love for us, a love which Saint John aptly describes in the 13th chapter of his Gospel in which Jesus continued showing to his disciples (us included) "to the end".
The instruments of the Passion of Jesus Christ clearly manifest how Jesus loved us to the end. These instruments can rightly be called Arma Christi (or "Weapons of Christ"), since these are the very weapons Christ used to conquer Satan once and for all.
The Arma Christi are the Cross on which Jesus was crucified, the crown of thorns, the column where Jesus was scourged, the whips, the holy sponge, the holy lance, the nails, the veil of Veronica and the reed. Other common Arma Christi are the purple robe, the titulus crucis (the INRI, Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum inscription), the holy grail (chalice), the seamless robe of Jesus, the dice, the rooster (cock), the vessel that held the gall and vinegar, the ladder used for the deposition of Jesus' body, the hammer, the pincers, the myrrh, the shroud, the sun and moon that represent the eclipse that happened during the Passion, the 30 pieces of silver, a spitting face, the hand, the chains or cords that bound Jesus overnight in prison, the lantern and swords used by the soldiers who arrested Jesus, the sword used by Peter to cut off the High Priest's servant and that of Pontius Pilot washing his hands.
The Passion instruments bring back to life the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the suffering servant of Yahweh. "This servant shall be lifted up and exalted. His astonishing appearance makes him beyond human semblance. "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely, he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities" (Is 53:2-5).
Pondering prayerfully on such a sublime love, numerous saints and doctors of the Church commented on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. One day, Saint Francis was found by a gentleman shedding tears and crying loudly. When asked why the Poverello of Assisi replied: "I weep over the sorrows and disgraces of my Lord: and what causes me the greatest sorrow is, that men, for whom he suffered so much, live in forgetfulness of him." On saying this, he started to weep even more. The gentleman was so impressed by his powerful example that he began to weep as well.
The great Franciscan philosopher and theologian, Saint Bonaventure, said: "He who desires to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace, should meditate continually on the Passion of Jesus... there is no practice more profitable for the entire sanctification of the soul than the frequent meditation of the sufferings of Jesus Christ." His close friend, the Dominican genius Saint Thomas Aquinas, said: "I have drawn more wisdom from the Cross at the feet of Jesus Crucified than from any learned treatise ever written."
Finally, the Italian mystic and founder of the Passionists, Saint Paul of the Cross, said: "The holy sufferings of Jesus are a sea of sorrows, but it is also a sea of love. Ask the Lord to teach you to fish in this sea. Immerse yourself in it, and, no matter how deeply you go, you will never reach the bottom. Allow yourself to be penetrated with love and sorrow. In this way, you will make the sufferings of the gentle Jesus your own. Fish for the pearls of the virtues of Jesus; this holy fishing is done without words."
Fully immersed in this holy silence, I cordially invite you to visit the Arma Christi exhibition in the foyer of Mater Day Outpatients Department. Let this exhibition help you fish for the hidden virtues of Jesus he boldly demonstrated during his Passion and Death on the Cross.
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap