Theological Foundations new file

84 Theological Foundations many swords pierced your heart! And who had sharpened those swords; were these not the sinners of the world? The Blessed Mother saw them all in spirit, gathered on Calvary. And it was to them that this plea from her heart was addressed: O sons of man, since you have wounded my Son so cruelly, run here and heal your wounds in the Wounds of Jesus. My Son died for you to give you life: here are His hands outstretched to you and His Heart open for you. Come, therefore, with heart to the Heart! He will forgive you and I shall ask [His forgiveness] for you (...). But I ask you, too: do not crucify my Son again and again, but love Him with me.” 91 As Mary followed the body of her Son being carried to the grave, she was filled with pain but also with peace because she was reconciled with God’s will. She set an example of how to cope with the loss of a loved one. 92 Millions followed her to the Cross and the Grave and she led them all. Her faith was not shaken even for one moment. She believed that the One who died as man, would rise as God. Her only desire was that her Son would be loved. 93 Having become man and accepted the misery of the human nature, Christ wanted to show us the way in which a Christian is to model himself after Him. He gave us an example of how to suffer, live and pray. Had He not suffered persecution, it would be difficult for us to maintain a balance of spirit. Had He not prayed for His enemies, the virtue of forgiveness would be foreign to us now. Had He not expe- rienced sadness, we would be unable to experience consolation in our own sadness. He wanted to experience every kind of sadness and dis- tress that we experience. Divinity had taken human nature to itself and the Soul of Christ had drowned in the sea of pain, burdened by the sins of the world. The author tells us to count at least those sins by which God is being offended in our town alone, and to keep in mind that this town is only a tiny point in the vastness of the world. He tells us to take only one day into account and consider what its significance is in com- parison with the centuries that have already passed. Or, one might con- sider the life of only one person — count his sins, recall places and years, see the atrocity of the sins he had committed and then multiply