His Mother at His feet in such bitter anguish, that compassion for her caused Him to die without consolation, so much so that the blessed Baptista, being supernaturally enlightened as to the greatness of this suffering of Jesus, exclaimed, 'Oh Lord, tell me no more of this thy sorrow, for I can no longer bear it.’

'All,' says Simon of Cascia, who then saw this Mother silent, and not uttering a complaint in the midst of such great suffering, were filled with astonishment.' But if Mary's lips were silent, her heart was not so, for she incessantly offered the life of her Son to the Divine Justice for our salvation. Therefore, we know that by the merits of her Dolours she co-operated in our birth to the life of grace; and hence we are the children of her sorrows. Christ,' says Lanspergius, 'was pleased that she, the co-operatress in our redemption, and whom He had determined to give us for our Mother, should be there present; for it was at the foot of the cross that she was to bring us, her children, forth." If any consolation entered that sea of bitterness, the heart of Mary, the only one was this, that she knew that by her sorrows she was leading us to eternal salvation, as Jesus Himself revealed to Saint Bridget: My Mother Mary, on account of her compassion and love, was made the Mother of all in heaver and on earth.' '3 And indeed these were the last words with which Jesus bid her farewell before His death; this was His last recommendation, leaving us to her for her children in the person of Saint John: "Woman, behold thy Son." 4 From that time Mary began to perform this good office of a Mother for us; for Saint Peter Damian attests: that by the prayers of Mary, who stood between the cross of the good thief and that of her Son,

1 Stupebant omnes qui noverant hujus Hominis Matrem, quod etiam in tantæ angustia pressura silentium servabat. †

2 Voluit eam Christus cooperatricem nostræ redemptionis adstare, quam nobis constituerat dare Matrem: debebat enim ipsa sub cruce nos parere filios.-Hom xliv de Pass. D.

3 Maria Mater mea, propter compassionem et charitatem, facta est Mater omnium in cœlis, et in terra.

Mulier ecce filius tuus.-Joan. xix, 26.

the thief was converted and saved, and thereby she repaid a former service.' 1 For, as other authors also relate, this thief had been kind to Jesus and Mary on their journey to Egypt; and this same office the Blessed Virgin has ever continued, and still continues, to perform.

EXAMPLE.

A young man in Perugia promised the devil, that if he would enable him to attain a sinful object he had in view, he would give him his soul, and he gave him a written contract to this effect, signed in his own blood. When the crime had been committed, the devil demanded the performance of the promise; and for this purpose led him to the brink of a well, at the same time threatening, that if he did not throw himself in, he would drag him, body and soul, to hell. The wretched youth, thinking that it would be impossible to escape from his hands, got on the little parapet to cast himself in; but terrified at the idea of death, he told the devil that he had not courage to take the leap, but that if he was determined on his death, he must push him in. The young man wore a scapular of the Dolours of Mary, the devil therefore said, take off that scapular, and then I will push thee in. But the youth, discovering in the scapular the protection still vouchsafed to him by the Divine Mother, refused to do so, and at length, after much altercation, the devil, filled with confusion, departed; and the sinner, grateful to his sorrowful Mother, went to thank her, and penitent for his sins, presented as a votive offering to her altar in the church of Sancta Maria la Nuova, in Perugia, a picture of what had taken place.2

1 Idcirco resipuit bonus latro, quia B. Virgo inter cruces Filii et latronis posita, Filium pro latrone deprecabatur, hoc suo beneficio antiquum latronis obsequium recompensans. †

2 Monum. Conv. Pec. ap, P. Sinisch. Sans. 16. †

PRAYER.

Ah, Mother, the most sorrowful of all mothers, thy Son is then dead, that Son so amiable, and who loved thee so much! Weep then, for thou hast reason to weep. Who can ever console thee? The thought alone, that Jesus by His death conquered hell, opened heaven until then closed to men, and gained so many souls, can console thee. From that throne of the cross He will reign in so many hearts which, conquered by His love, will serve Him with love. Disdain not, in the meantime, oh my Mother, to keep me near thee to weep with thee, since I have so much reason to weep for the crimes by which I have offended Him. Ah, Mother of Mercy, I hope, first through the death of my Redeemer, and then through thy sorrows, to obtain pardon and eternal salvation. Amen.

ON THE SIXTH DOLOUR.

The Piercing of the Side of Jesus, and His descent from the Cross.

[ין

Oh, all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow. Devout souls, listen to what the sorrowful Mary says this day: My beloved children, I do not wish you to console me; no, for my soul is no longer susceptible of consolation in this world after the death of my dear Jesus. If you wish to please me, this is what I ask of you; behold me, and see if there ever has been in the world a grief like mine, in seeing Him who was all my love torn from me with such cruelty. But my sovereign Lady, since thou wilt not be consoled, and hast so great a thirst for sufferings, I must tell thee, that, even with the death of thy Son, thy sorrows have not ended. On this day thou wilt be wounded by

O vos omnes qui transitis per viam, attendite, et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus.-Thren. i, 12.

another sword of sorrow, a cruel lance will pierce the side of thy Son already dead, and thou hast to receive Him in thine arms after He is taken down from the cross. And now we are to consider the Sixth Dolour which afflicted this poor Mother. Attend and weep. Hitherto the dolours of Mary tortured her one by one; on this day they are all, as it were, united to assail her. It is enough to tell a mother that her son is dead to excite all her love towards her lost child. Some persons, that they may lessen a mother's grief, remind her of the displeasure at one time caused by her departed child. But I, my Queen, did I thus wish to lighten thy grief for the death of Jesus, of what displeasure that He ever caused thee, could I remind thee? No, indeed! He always loved thee, always obeyed thee, and always respected thee. Now thou hast lost Him, who can ever tell thy grief? Do thou explain it, thou who hast experienced? A devout author says, that when our beloved Redeemer was dead, the first care of the great Mother was, to accompany in spirit the most holy soul of her Son, and present it to the Eternal Father. I present thee, O my God,' Mary must then have said, 'the Immaculate soul of Thine, and my Son, He has now obeyed Thee unto death, do Thou, then, receive it in Thine arms. Thy justice is now satisfied, Thy will is accomplished; behold the great sacrifice to Thy eternal glory is consummated.' Then, turning towards the lifeless members of her Jesus: 'O wounds,' she said, 'O wounds of love, I adore you, and in you do I rejoice; for, by your means, salvation is given to the world. You will remain open in the body of my Son, and be the refuge of those who have recourse to you. Oh, how many, through you, will receive the pardon of their sins, and by you be inflamed with love for the supreme good.!

That the joy of the following Paschal Sabbath might not be disturbed, the Jews desired that the body of Jesus should be taken down from the cross; but as this could not be done unless the criminals were dead, men came with iron bars to break our Lord's legs, as they had already

done those of the two thieves who were crucified with Him. Mary was still weeping over the death of her Son, when she saw these armed men advancing towards her Jesus. At this sight she first trembled with fear, and then exclaimed: Ah, my Son is already dead, cease to outrage Him, torment me no more, who am His poor Mother. She implored them, writes Saint Bonaventure, not to break His legs.1 But while she thus spoke, oh God, she saw a soldier brandish a lance, and pierce the side of Jesus: "One of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water.”2 At the stroke of the spear the cross shook, and, as it was afterwards revealed to Saint Bridget, the heart of Jesus was divided in two.3 There came out blood and water; for only those few drops of blood remained, and even those our Saviour was pleased to shed, that we might understand that He had no more blood to give us. The injury of that stroke was inflicted on Jesus, but Mary suffered its pain. 'Christ,' says the devout Lanspergius, shared this wound with His Mother; He received the insult, His Mother endured its agony.'4 The holy Fathers maintain that this was literally the sword foretold to the Blessed Virgin by Saint Simeon: a sword, not a material one, but one of grief, which transpierced her blessed soul in the heart of Jesus, where it always dwelt. Thus, amongst others, Saint Bernard says: "The lance which opened His side, passed through the soul of the Blessed Virgin, which could never leave her Son's heart.'5 The Divine Mother herself revealed the same thing to Saint Bridget: 'When the spear was drawn out the point appeared red with blood:

1 Hanc misericordiam mecum facite, ne Ipsum confringatis, ut saltem integrum valeam tradere sepulturæ. Non expedit, ut ejus crura frangatur: videtis enim quod jam mortuus est et migravit.-De Vit. C. cap. lxxx.

2 Unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis, et aqua. -Joan. xix, 34.

3 Ita ut ambæ partes essent in lancea.-Rev. lib. ii, c. 21.

Ipse quidem vulnus in corpore, sed beata Maria vulneris dolorem accepit in mente.--In Pass. Dom. art. lxv.

5 Mente Mater erat percussa cuspide teli, quo membra Christi servi foderunt iniqui. Ipsa enim erat quam dolor tenebat." In mente ejus creverant immersi dolores, nec poterant extra refundi.-De lament. B. M. V.