The Scourging at the PillarThese meditations are taken from "The City of God", by Venerable Mary of Agreda (Spain) and are used with permission of JMJ Book Co. Necedah, Wisconsin, USA. Our Lady is alleged to have appeared to Venerable Mary daily over a period of approx. 10 years, instructing her to write the story of the lives of Jesus and Mary. A condensed version of the "City of God", which itself is 4 volumes, (over 1600 pages) is called "Divine Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary", and costs just $6.00. One of the best books on the Rosary that I have ever read.At the dawn of Friday morning, the ancients, chief priests and scribes met to decide the Death of Christ, which they all desired. Having done so, they brought Jesus to the house of Pilate, the Governor of Judea, who had the authority to pass a Death sentence. Pilate could find no crime in Him worthy of a Death sentence, so to satisfy the Jews he decided he would punish Him and then dismiss Him. But the jews, crying out loudly, demanded that Christ be crucified. Then Pilate washed his hands in the presence of all the people, saying: `I have no share in the death of this Just Man whom you condemn.' Look to yourselves in what you are doing.' Thereupon they brought Jesus to the place of punishment. There they removed His tunic, and bound Him brutally to one of the marble columns. Then two at a time, His six torturers began to scourge Him with such inhuman cruelty, as was possible only in men possessed by Lucifer. In their sacrilegious fury, they strained all the powers of their body to inflict the blows, each trying to outdo the other. His Sacred Blood bespattered and drenched the garments of His torturers, running down also in streams to the pavement. Their ceaseless blows inhumanly tore His Flesh, and scattered pieces about the pavement. In several places bones were exposed, and showed red through the flowing Blood. |