An excerpt from the “The Passion of Jesus Christ” by St. Alphonsus de Liguori, part 1:4
“St. John writes that our Savior, in order to make his disciples understand the death
he was to suffer upon the cross, said, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will
draw all things to Myself. Now this he said, signifying what death he should die.2
And, in fact, by exhibiting himself crucified and dead, how many souls has Jesus
drawn to himself, so that they have left all to give themselves up entirely to his
divine love. Ah, my Jesus! draw my soul to Yourself, which was one time lost;
draw it by the chains of Your love, so that it may forget the world to think of
nothing else but of loving and pleasing You. Draw me after You by the odor of Your
Ointments.3
My Lord, You know my weakness and the offences that I have committed against
You. Draw me out of the mire of my passions; draw all my affections to Yourself,
so that I may attend to nothing but Your pleasure only, O my God, most lovely!
Hear me, O Lord! by the merits of Your death, and make me wholly Yours.
St. Leo tells us that he who looks with confidence upon Jesus dead upon the
cross is healed of the wounds caused by his sins. “They who with faith behold the
death of Christ are healed from the wounds of sin.”4 Every Christian, therefore,
should keep Jesus crucified always before his eyes, and say with St. Paul, I judged
not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.5 In
short, the Apostle says, that he did not desire any other knowledge in this world
than that of knowing how to love Jesus Christ crucified. My beloved Savior, to
obtain for me a good death You have chosen a death so full of pain and desolation!
I cast myself into the arms of Your mercy. I see that many years ago I ought to have
been in hell, separated from You forever, for having at one time despised Your
grace; but You have called me to penance, and I hope have pardoned me; but if
through my fault You have not yet pardoned me, pardon me at this moment. I
repent, O my Jesus! with my heart, for having turned my back upon You, and
driven You from my soul. Restore me to Your grace. But that is not enough: give
me strength to love You with all my soul during my whole life. And when I come to
the hour of my death, let me expire burning with love for You, and saying, my
Jesus, I love You, I love You, and thus continue to love You for all eternity. From
this moment I unite my death to Your holy death, through which I hope for my
salvation. In You, O Lord, have I hoped; I shall not be confounded forever.6
O great mother of God, you after Jesus are my hope. In you, O Lady, have I hoped;
I shall not be confounded forever. O devout souls, when the devil wishes to
make us distrustful about our salvation by the remembrance of our past sins, let us
lift up our eyes to Jesus dead upon the cross, in order to deliver us from eternal
death. After a God has made us know by means of the holy faith the desires he has
of our salvation, having even sacrificed his life for us, if we are resolved really to
love him for the remainder of our lives, cost what it may, we should be on our
guard against any weakness of confidence in his mercy. After he has given us so
many signs of his love for us, and of his desire for our salvation, it is a kind of sin
against him not to put our whole confidence and hope in his goodness.
Full, then, of holy confidence, let us hope for every good from the hands of a God
so liberal and so loving; and at the same time let us give ourselves to him without
reserve, and thus pray to him: O eternal God, we are sinners, but You who are
Almighty can make us saints; grant that henceforth we may neglect nothing that we
know to be for Your glory, and may do all to please You. Blessed shall we be if we
lose all to gain You, the infinite good. Grant that we may spend the remainder of
our lives in pleasing You alone. Punish us as You will for our past sins, but deliver
us from the chastisement of not being able to love You; deprive us of all things save
Yourself. You have loved us without reserve; we also will love You without reserve,
O infinite Love, O infinite Good. O Virgin Mary, draw us wholly to God; you can
do so; do so for the love that you have for Jesus Christ.”
1 Love of God, Bk. 7. ch. 8.
2 “Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum.” John 12.32.
3 “Trahe me post te in odorem unguentorum tuorum.” (Cf. Song 1.3)
4 “Qui intuentur fide mortem Christi, sanantur a morsibus peccatorum.” In Jo. tr. 12.
5 “Non enim judicavi me scire aliquid inter vos, nisi Jesum Christum, et hunc crucifixum.” 1 Cor. 2.2.
6 “In te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in aeternum.” Ps. 30.2.
A Holy Legacy 