Jesus, Man of Sorrows from the Womb
of His Mother
EXTRACT FROM The Incarnation, Birth
and Infancy
of Jesus,
St. Alphonsus Liguori
with Nihil Obstat
and Imprimatur
Virum dolorum et
scientem infirmitatem.
"A man of sorrows,
acquainted with infirmity."-----Isaiah
53:3
Thus does the prophet Isaias
designate our Lord Jesus Christ
"the man
of sorrows;" yes, because this man was created on purpose to suffer,
and
from His infancy began to endure the greatest sorrows that any man ever
suffered. The first man, Adam, enjoyed for some time upon this earth
the
delights of the earthly paradise; but the second Adam, Jesus Christ,
did
not pass a moment of His life without sorrows and anguish; for even
from
a child He was afflicted by the foresight of all the sufferings and
ignominy
that He would have to endure during His life, and especially at His
death,
when He was to close that life immersed in a tempest of sorrow and
opprobrium,
as David had predicted: I am come into the depth of the sea, and a
tempest
hath overwhelmed Me. [Ps. 68:3]
Even from the womb of Mary, Jesus Christ accepted obediently the sacrifice which His Father had desired Him to make, even His Passion and death: Becoming obedient unto death. [Phil. 2:8] So that even from the womb of Mary He foresaw the scourges and presented to them His flesh; He foresaw the thorns, and presented to them His head; He foresaw the blows, and presented to them His cheeks; He foresaw the nails, and presented to them His hands and His feet; He foresaw the Cross, and offered His life. Hence it is true that even from His earliest infancy our blessed Redeemer every moment of His life suffered a continual martyrdom; and He offered it every moment for us to His eternal Father.
Even from the womb of Mary, Jesus Christ accepted obediently the sacrifice which His Father had desired Him to make, even His Passion and death: Becoming obedient unto death. [Phil. 2:8] So that even from the womb of Mary He foresaw the scourges and presented to them His flesh; He foresaw the thorns, and presented to them His head; He foresaw the blows, and presented to them His cheeks; He foresaw the nails, and presented to them His hands and His feet; He foresaw the Cross, and offered His life. Hence it is true that even from His earliest infancy our blessed Redeemer every moment of His life suffered a continual martyrdom; and He offered it every moment for us to His eternal Father.
But what afflicted Him
most was the sight of the
sins which
men would commit even after this painful redemption. By His Divine
light
He well knew the malice of every sin, and therefore did He come into
the
world to do away with all sins; but when He saw the immense number
which
would be committed, the sorrow that the Heart of Jesus felt was greater
than all the sorrows that all men ever suffered or ever will suffer
upon
earth.
Affections
and Prayers
My sweetest Redeemer, when
shall I begin to be grateful
to Thy
infinite goodness? When shall I begin to acknowledge the love that Thou
hast borne me, and the sorrows Thou hast endured for me? Hitherto,
instead
of love and gratitude, I have returned Thee offenses and contempt;
shall
I then continue to live always ungrateful to Thee, my God, Who hast
spared
nothing to acquire my love? No, my Jesus, it shall not be so. During
the
days that may yet remain to me I will be grateful to Thee; and Thou
wilt,
I trust, help me to be so. If I have offended Thee, Thy sufferings and
Thy death are my hope. Thou hast promised to forgive the penitent.
I
repent with my whole soul of having despised Thee. Fulfill therefore,
Thy
promise, my Beloved, and forgive me. O dearest Infant, I behold Thee in
the manger already nailed to Thy Cross; which is constantly present to
Thee, and which Thou dost already accept for me. O my crucified Infant!
I thank Thee for it, and I love Thee. Stretched upon this straw.
suffering
already for me, and preparing Thyself even now to die for this love of
me, Thou dost command and invite me to love Thee: Love the Lord thy
God. And I desire nothing more than to love Thee. Since, therefore,
Thou willest that I should love Thee, give me all that love that Thou
requirest
of me; love for Thee is Thy gift. and the greatest gift that Thou canst
make to a soul. Accept, O my Jesus! for Thy lover a sinner who has so
greatly
offended Thee. Thou didst come from Heaven to seek the lost sheep; do
Thou,
therefore, seek me, and I will seek none other but Thee. Thou desirest
my soul. and my soul desires nothing but Thee. Thou lovest him that
loves
Thee, and sayest, Those that love Me I love. [Prov. 8:17] I
love
Thee, do Thou also love me; and if Thou lovest me, bind me to Thy love;
but bind me so that I may never again be able to disengage myself from
Thee. Mary, my Mother, do thou help me. Let it be thy glory also to see
thy Son loved by a miserable sinner, who has hitherto so greatly
offended
Him.
