545 part v: daily meditations O my Jesus! What do I hear about You? Are You going to be stripped of Your clothes, You, who adorn all things with fitting garments? Are You going to be tied to a pole, You, the unattainable One, nonetheless present everywhere and in every place? Are You going to be lashed with scourges, You, Who are not only just, but Justice itself; not only innocent, but Innocence itself; not only pure and free of any evil deed, but the Redeemer, the Purifier of all evil deeds? And yet, You receive the many scourges of a sinner (cf. Ps 31:10) [DRB]. You, the living rock (cf. Ps 78:20), are scourged because of the wickedness of Your people (cf. Is 53:8), I say, because of my wickedness. Therefore, on the one hand, the pain tears my heart asunder out of sympathy for You, dearly beloved Jesus. But on the other hand, I overflow with joy, because thanks to Your scourging I shall avoid mine, which I deserve on account of my sins. My soul heavily grieves, and it should grieve, for unless it grieves it would be impious. I say, my soul grieves as it realizes that You, O Jesus my hope, are condemned to scourging as if the greatest of criminals; but the same soul exults to the highest degree and should exult, [f.178v] for unless it exults it would be ungrateful. My soul, I say, exults to the highest degree, when it sees You, touched by love for it, ineffably desiring to receive a thousand scourges for its salvation, and when it hears You saying with the king-psalmist: “Behold I am ready for scourges” (cf. Ps 37:18) [DRB]. May it be so, my Lord, that I, for the sake of Your honor and to avoid offending You, no longer indulge my body and insolent flesh, just as for the sake of my salvation and redemption You did not spare Your body. Command, O Lord, what You will, and bring it about that I do Your command.277 2. Picture to yourself the murderous haste with which they performed their duty as well as the kind of tools used for scourging. 277 Cf. AC, Bk. X, Ch. 29: “My entire hope is exclusively in [Y]our very great mercy, [O God]. Grant what [Y]ou command, and command what [Y]ou will.”
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