A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom [36]
Even as I present Thee before Thy heavenly Father, so do I present Thy pure
tender mother before Thee. Look at her mild eyes which so often looked
kindly on Thee; behold Those fair cheeks which she so often affectionately
pressed to Thy infant face. O look at her sweet mouth which used to kiss
Thee so fondly and tenderly again and again. Look at her pure hands which so
often ministered to Thee. O Thou goodness above all goodness, how canst thou
deny anything to her who suckled Thee so affectionately and bore Thee in her
arms; who laid Thee to rest, wakened Thee and tenderly reared Thee! O Lord,
let me remind Thee of all the love Thou ever didst experience from her in
Thy childhood's days, when Thou didst sit in her motherly lap, and with Thy
playful eyes didst laugh so pleasantly and tenderly in her face with that
fathomless love Thou hadst for her above all other creatures! Think, too, of
the heart-rending woe which her maternal heart endured with Thee under the
gibbet of Thy miserable cross, where she saw Thee in the agony of death, and
when her heart and soul so often died away in sorrow and distress with Thee.
Lord, I entreat Thee, for her sake, to grant me every means of shaking off
my sins, of acquiring Thy grace, and never losing it again.
CHAPTER XVII. On The Unutterable Heart-Rending Grief of The Pure Queen of
Heaven
The Servant.--Who will give my eyes as many tears as there are letters,
so that with bright tears I may write down the miserable tears of the
unfathomable heart-rending grief of my Blessed Lady? Pure Lady and noble
Queen of Heaven and Earth, touch my stony heart with one of thy scalding
tears, one of those which thou didst shed in bitter distress for thy tender
Child under the wretched cross, so that my heart of stone may be softened,
and may hearken to thee; for heart-rending grief is of such a nature, that
no one can have a true knowledge of it, except him whom it touches. Touch
then my heart, O Lady Elect, with thy sorrowful words, and tell me in short
significant terms, simply as an admonition, how it was with thee in thy
mind, and how thou didst support thyself at the foot of the cross, when thou
didst behold thy tender Child, the beautiful and tender Wisdom, so
lamentably expire.
Answer.--Thou shouldst hearken to it with sorrow and heartfelt woe; for
although I am now exempt from suffering, yet, at that time I was not. Before
I had reached the foot of the cross, I had endured many a great unspeakable
anguish of heart, especially at the spot where I first caught sight of the
beating, kicking, and ill-usage of my Child, on beholding which my strength
forsook me, and thus helpless was I carried after my dear Son to the foot of
the cross. But, in respect of what thou askest, how I felt in my mind, and
how I supported myself, listen to as much as it is possible for thee to
know; for the whole no heart that ever was made can fathom. Understand,
then, that all the sorrow that ever could afflict a heart would only be as a
drop in the ocean compared to the unfathomable sorrow which my maternal
heart at that time endured; and, understand, at the same time, that the
dearer, the sweeter, the more precious the beloved one is, the more
insupportable is his loss and death. Now, where on the whole earth was there
ever a more tender one born, a lovelier one seen than my own best beloved
one, Jesus Christ, by whom and in whom I had entire possession of all that
the world could bestow? I was already dead to myself, and lived only in Him,
and when at last my own fair love was slain, then only did I utterly die;
and, as my only love was but one, and, moreover, dear to me above all other
loves, so my only sorrow was but one, and a sorrow above all sorrows that
ever were expressed. His fair and gentle humanity was, to me, a delightful
spectacle; His dignified divinity was, to my eyes, a sweet contemplation; to
think of Him was my heart's delight; to speak of Him was my pastime; to hear
His sweet words was music