+JMJ
A Meditation From The Spiritual Exercises Of St. Ignatius
Our Lord chose to suffer the ignominious death of the cross. This death was the most humiliating, most disgraceful, and most heinous way to die in the Roman Empire. You can see the break downs of what Jesus suffered physically here. It is just heart wrenching.
But His death had to be a copious and agonizing death to atone for all the sins committed throughout all of time. The more I meditate in the Passion and Death of our Lord the more I see the love in it. The more I see the beauty in it. I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but it is true.
I was always confused seeing bare crosses. On jewelry, in homes, in front of non-catholic churches, in front of some Catholic Churches even. I understand the idea that Jesus rose from the dead and is no longer on the cross, but the cross without Christ on it would mean nothing. If our Lord had saw it fitting to die in some other manner to make reparation for the sins of the earth, then that instrument would hold the meaning instead of the cross.
It begs the question: Where does the power of the cross come from? Because from what I can see the cross without Christ represents despair, depression, anguish, and humiliation. A cross with nothing on it means damnation for all.
The Meditation On Hell
St. Ignatius has a mediation in his spiritual exercises concerning hell. I will briefly summarize it here from The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius or Manresa published by Tan Classics, p. 249-251.
St. Ignatius describes hell as “a place of torment.” A place riddled with misery and shrouded in night where “the lake of the anger of God” is found. It is filled with damned souls and demons that are “bound together like a bundle of thorns, or like a heap of tow thrown into the flames, accusing, cursing themselves, tearing one another.”
They are tormented in all the aspects of their soul. In the memory as all their sins are recollected in the greatest detail. In the understanding as they are shown the damage of sin, the glory of God, and the fairness of the punishments they endure. Finally, in their will as they are torn between “regret, remorse, jealously, desire, hatred of God, and of themselves.”
They are tormented in all their senses. They see all “the flames, the devils, the damned….. the cross of Jesus Christ imprinted on the roof of hell.” They hear the screams, cries, blasphemies, and curses. They smell “the infection exhaled from so many bodies.” They taste a “maddening hunger…. which will force the damned to devour his own flesh” and an unquenchable thirst. They feel a “fire that preserves the victim, and at the same time every moment exhausts and renews his sensibility, so as to render his pain eternal.”
These tortures persist forever without any relief…. always….. for all eternity…..
My Meditation
I began to picture the horrors of hell. In the middle on top of a fiery hill is a cross it. It is bare, but whole despite the flames. As I stare at it a series of questions started to flow through my mind:
How many years will the damned be chained in this fiery prison? Forever….
A cross with nothing on it…..
How many years will they be shrouded in darkness? Forever….
A cross with nothing on it….
How many years will they groan in tears of despair? Forever….
A cross with nothing on it…..
How many years will they be condemned to the society of demons? Forever….
A cross with nothing on it….
How many years and centuries will they burn in torment? Forever….
A cross with nothing on it….
How many years will they suffer unquenchable hunger and thirst? Forever….
A cross with nothing on it…..
Will God have pity on their misery? Never…
A cross with nothing on it….
Will God show them any compassion? Never….
A cross with nothing on it….
Will they have any relief from their torment? Never…
A cross with nothing on it…
Will there ever be any reprieve from their pain? Never….
A cross with nothing on it…
Those are the answers for those condemned to eternal fire. Always and never. They will always suffer forever and never receive any comfort. That is the choice made when we choose sin.
Hope
It hit me this week, and this being Good Friday, that Jesus puts the power into the cross, infused into the wood by His Precious Blood. The cross with nothing remains imprinted on the roof of hell as a sign of despair to the souls in hell. Lord conquered death by rising after that gruesome murder, but they did not choose Him. They have chosen the path of agony and fire.
Jesus suffered so many torments on the horrifying death of the crucifixion. He suffered all the despair, all the sorrow, all the anguish, all the misery, all the pain, all the thirst, all the tortures. And all of this He suffered unmerited. He the most innocent and pure of any person to ever walk the earth took these miseries willingly. In so doing providing us miserable sinners with the hope of eternal salvation. This is where the beauty of the Passion and Death are found. In His sacrificial unending love.
As lent draws to a close embrace your cross. The cross that our Lord personally infused with the gift of His Precious Blood of hope just for you. Our Lord said, “Take up your cross and follow Him.” So, turn to Christ crucified this Good Friday and see the love, beauty, compassion, and hope nailed there.
Thrive in Jesus, my Friends!
How can you choose Him today? How can you embrace the cross Our Lord has given you?