779 discourse iii: the scourging of the sinner very scourges, by which His most handsome and most holy Body was furrowed (at the sight of which anyone would tremble and rightly lament), what were they, if not our sins? He Himself spoke through the mouth of David regarding this: “They gathered around me with scourges, yet I did not take notice” (Ps 35:15) [DRB]. The Archbishop of Canterbury Anselm,25 both an eloquent and astute scholar of the Holy Scriptures, ponders and explains those words: “The Lord heard the raging strokes of the whip,” he says, “but He did not know of the scourges which touched Him.”26 How could He not know? To impute a lack of knowledge to Christ, who is Eternal Wisdom, would be very mistaken and very inappropriate, I believe. He did know in His heart by whom and for whom He was flogged by such instruments. So, the true God from eternity was not ignorant of His lashes. Nevertheless, He was truly innocent, to such an extent unworthy of injuries, that it was justly proclaimed through David: “They gathered around me with scourges, yet I did not take notice” (Ps 35:15). It is as if He had said, in our own way of speaking: “I am conscious of no fault of my own, of not even the smallest imperfection. I do not know of any personal transgression, for which I am lashed so violently.” Who can tell us, then, if He who knows everything, says He does not know? Let the Heavenly Father Himself respond through Isaiah: “[He was] stricken for the transgression of [M]y people” (Is 53:8), the Son of God was altogether “wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole” (Is 53:5). Thus, let everyone individually own up to their responsibility, since Christ was flogged for our sins. And even more, let everyone mourn, weep most bitterly, and cry over [their sins] until at death 25 Cf. Vagaggini, Cipriano, Anselmo d’Aosta, santo e dottore della Chiesa († 1109), ECat I, 1406-1415. He was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093. 26 This quote was noted by Stanislaus as taken from the “tractatum de Passione,” however this work was not able to be found among the works of Anselm and may no longer be extant.
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