THE PASSION AND CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE SEVEN LAST WORDS FROM THE CROSS By St. ALPHONSUS …
[XVII-XVIII Century A.D. - St. Alphonsus de Liguori; Kingdom of Naples]
‘III Jesus Carries His Cross
The cross began to torture Jesus Christ before he was nailed upon it; for after he was condemned by Pilate, the cross on which he was to die was given to him to carry to Calvary, and, without refusing, he took it upon his shoulders. Speaking of this, St. Augustine [261] writes: "If we regard the wickedness of his tormentors, the insult was great; if we regard the love of Jesus, the mystery is great"; for in carrying the cross, our Captain then lifted up the standard under which his followers upon this earth must be enrolled and must fight, in order to be made his companions in the kingdom of heaven.
St. Basil, speaking of the passage in Isaiah, A child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon His shoulder, says "that earthly tyrants load their subjects with unjust burdens, in order to increase their own power; but Jesus Christ chose to take upon himself the …More
"The saints, when adversities befall them, unite themselves with the divine will, and suffer them with patience; but how can the sinner calm himself by recollecting the divine will, when he is living at enmity with God? The pains of the enemies of God are unmixed pains, pains without relief. Wherefore St. Teresa was accustomed to say "that he who loves God embraces the cross, and thus does not feel it; while he who does not love him drags the cross along by force and thus cannot but feel it."
"Speaking of this, St. Augustine [261] writes: "If we regard the wickedness of his tormentors, the insult was great; if we regard the love of Jesus, the mystery is great"; for in carrying the cross, our Captain then lifted up the standard under which his followers upon this earth must be enrolled and must fight, in order to be made his companions in the kingdom of heaven."