the crucified orator 728 thirsty Savior: Hand yourself over to Him! Why do you delay your own conversion? See, after seeking you, He is tired, and being tired, He sits down, and while He is sitting down, He seeks the opportune moment for speaking to you through holy inspirations or other means. When He repeats this effort, you disregard Him. He offers Himself to you, you turn away; He shows how much He is willing and eager to forgive you so many and such serious sins, but do you not see this. Finally, He asks for a drink of your tears, and do you grant it? When He asks, “Give me a drink,” He does not desire anything else but the pure water from the fount of your eyes. But I come now to the ultimate thirst of my Lord. He hung on the tree of the Cross in between two thieves. He was covered with many, many wounds; His hands and feet were pierced, and He was bloodstained by the crown of thorns. Moreover, He was flayed with the bitterest sneers of the blasphemers. Meanwhile the Sun, terrified at such a dreadful spectacle and at such a monstrous sin of men against their Creator, hid itself from their eyes. A black night covered the whole world. Furthermore, the earth sighed, the heavens thundered, rocks were split asunder, and the veil of the temple was torn. All of nature was agitated. Only Jesus, remaining immobile in unspeakable torments, cried out in a slow voice: “I thirst.” Here Magdalene, ardently compassionate for her Liberator, lamented in silence: Ah! You cry “I thirst!”: These rocks have no water. The streams flow only from [our] eyes. Drink those. The Most Holy Mother and the other women present at this most sorrowful tragedy did nothing contrary: They offered their tears to their Beloved Savior to quench His thirst. Only a soldier, seldom moved to compassion, awakened the thirst of the heavenly Emperor with a new wickedness. “So they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to [H]is mouth” (Jn 19:29). Thus John, the disciple of Christ, relates about the disciples of Mars. I believe that the Lord did then the very same thing as He did shortly before with the wine mixed with gall: Namely, “but when [H]e tasted it, [H]e would not drink it”
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