Lesson 8
ON OUR LORD'S PASSION, DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND ASCENSION

The Passion, that is, the terrible sufferings of Our Lord, began after
the Last Supper, and ended at His death. On Thursday evening, Our Lord
sat down for the last time with His dear Apostles. He had been talking,
eating, and living with them for over three years; and now He is going
to take His last meal with them before His death. He told them then how
He was to suffer, and that one of them was going to betray Him. They
were very much troubled, for only Judas himself knew what he was about
to do.

78 Q. What did Jesus Christ suffer?
A. Jesus Christ suffered a bloody sweat, a cruel scourging, was crowned
with thorns, and was crucified.

After the Supper, Our Lord went with His Apostles to a little country
place just outside Jerusalem, and separated from it by a small stream.
He told the three Apostles, Peter, James, and John, to stay near the
entrance, and to watch and pray, while He Himself went further into the
Garden of Olives, or Gethsemani, as this place was called, and throwing
Himself upon His face, prayed long and earnestly, but the Apostles fell
asleep.

We often find persons who are in great anguish or dread covered with a
cold perspiration. Now, Our Lord's agony in the garden was so intense
that great drops, not of sweat, but of blood, oozed from every pore, and
trickled to the ground. There are three reasons given for this dreadful
agony.

(1) The clear, certain knowledge of the sufferings so soon to be
endured. If we were to be put to death tomorrow and knew exactly the
manner of our death and the pain it would inflict, how great would be
our fear! Our Lord, knowing all things, knew in every particular what He
would have to undergo. Moreover, His sufferings were greater than ours
could be, even if we suffered the same kind of death; because His body
was most perfect, and therefore more susceptible of pain than ours. A
wound in the eye, because the most sensitive and delicate part of the
body, would cause us greater pain than a wound on the foot or hand.
Thus, all the parts of Our Lord's body being so perfect and sensitive,
we can scarcely imagine His dreadful torments, the very thought of which
caused Him such agony.

(2) The sins, past, present, and future of all men. He knew all things,
as we have said, and looking back upon the world He saw all the sins
committed, of thought, word, and deed, from the time of Adam down to His
own; and seeing all these offenses against His Father, He was very much
grieved.

(3) The third reason why He grieved. He looked forward and saw how
little many persons would profit by all the sufferings He was about to
endure. He saw all the sins that would be committed from the time of His
death down to the end of the world. He saw us also sinning with the
rest. No wonder then that He suffered so much in the garden. This
suffering on that night is called "Our Lord's Agony in the Garden." That
night Judas, who had betrayed Him to His enemies, came with a great band
of soldiers and people, with swords and clubs, to make Our Lord a
prisoner. He did not try to escape, but stood waiting for them, though
all His Apostles, who had promised to stay with Him, ran away. Then the
soldiers led Our Lord to the house of the Chief Priest. Then they
gathered the priests, and gave Him a kind of trial, and said He was
guilty of death. But at that time the Jews had no power to put persons
to death according to the law; so they had to send Our Lord to Pontius
Pilate, the Roman Governor, to be condemned, because they were under the
power of the Romans. The Jews acted against their laws in the trial of
Our Lord.

(1) They tried Him at night; and (2) they allowed Him no witnesses in
His defense, but even employed false witnesses to testify against Him,
and thus acted against all law and justice. Early in the morning they
led Him to Pilate, who commanded that He should be scourged. Then they
stripped Our Lord of His garments, fastened His hands to a low stone
pillar, and there He was "scourged" by the Roman soldiers. The lashes
used by the Romans were made of leather, with pieces of bone, iron, or
steel fastened into it, so that every stroke would lay open the flesh.
It is most likely these were the lashes used upon Our Lord till every
portion of His body was bruised and bleeding, and they replaced His
garments upon Him. Now, you know if you put a cloth upon a fresh wound
the blood will soak into it and cause it to adhere to the mangled flesh.
Our Blessed Lord's garment, thus saturated with His blood, adhered to
His wounded body, and when again removed caused Him unspeakable pain.
Next, the soldiers, because Our Lord had said He was a king--meaning a
spiritual king--led Him into a large hall and mocked Him. They made a
crown of long, sharp thorns, and forced it down upon His brow with a
heavy rod or reed; every stroke driving the thorns into His head, and
causing the blood to roll down His sacred face. They again took off His
garments, and opened anew the painful wounds. Because kings wore purple,
they put an old purple garment upon Him, and made Him a mock king,
genuflecting in ridicule as they passed before Him. They struck Him in
the face and spat upon Him; and yet it seems our patient Lord said not a
word in complaint. Then they put His garments upon Him, and Pilate asked
the people what he should do with Him, and they cried, "Crucify Him." It
was then Friday morning, and probably about ten or eleven o'clock. They
made a cross of heavy beams, and laying it upon His shoulders, forced
Him to carry it to Calvary--the place of execution, just outside the
city; for it was not allowed to execute anyone in the city. Our Lord had
not eaten anything from Thursday evening, and then with all He suffered
and the loss of blood, He must have been very weak at eleven o'clock on
Friday morning. He was weak, and fell many times under the Cross. His
suffering was increased by seeing His Blessed Mother looking at Him.
When He arrived at Calvary they tore off His garments and nailed Him to
the Cross, driving the rough nails through His hands and feet. It was
then about twelve o'clock. From twelve to three in the afternoon Our
Blessed Saviour was hanging on the Cross, with a great multitude of His
enemies about Him mocking and saying cruel things. Even the two thieves
that were crucified with Him reviled Him, though one of them repented
and was pardoned before death. Our Lord's poor Mother and His few
friends stood at a little distance witnessing all that was going on.
When Our Lord was thirsty His executioners gave Him gall to drink. At
three o'clock He died, and there was an earthquake and darkness, and the
people were sorely afraid.

But you will ask, how could these soldiers be so cruel? They were
Romans; and in those days men called gladiators used to fight with
swords before the Roman Emperor and all the people--just as actors play
now for the amusement of their audience. People who could enjoy such
scenes as men slaying one another in deadly conflict would scarcely be
moved to pity by seeing a man scourged. Again, in the early ages of the
Church, during the persecutions, the Emperors used to order the
Christians to be thrown to wild beasts to be torn to pieces in the
presence of the people--who applauded these horrible sights. They who
could see so many put to death would not mind putting one to death, even
in the most terrible manner.

79 Q. On what day did Christ die?
A. Christ died on Good Friday.

"Good Friday," so called since that time.

*80 Q. Why do you call that day "good" on which Christ suffered so
sorrowful a death?
A. We call that day good on which Christ died, because by His death He
showed His great love for man, and purchased for him every blessing.

*81 Q. Where did Christ die?
A. Christ died on Mount Calvary.

"Mount Calvary," a little hill just outside the city of Jerusalem. For
every city they have a special prison or place where all their criminals
are executed. Now, as the great Temple of God was in Jerusalem, the city
itself was called the City of God, because in the Temple God spoke to
the priests in the Holy of Holies. The Temple was divided into two
parts: one part, something like the body of our churches, called the
Holy, and the other part, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, called
the Holy of Holies. It had about the same relation to the Temple as our
altar and sanctuary have to our churches. The Ark of the Covenant was a
box about four feet long, two and a half feet high, and two and a half
feet wide, made of the finest wood, and ornamented with gold in the most
beautiful manner. In it were the tables of stone, on which were written
the Commandments of God; also the rod that Aaron--Moses'
brother--changed into a serpent before King Pharaoh; also some of the
manna with which the people were miraculously fed during their forty
years' journey in the desert when they fled out of Egypt. All these
things were figures of the true religion. The Ark itself was a figure of
the tabernacle, and the manna of the Holy Eucharist. The Holy of Holies
was hidden from the people by a veil. Only the Chief Priest was allowed
into that sacred place, and but once a year. The veil--called the veil
of the Temple--hiding that Holy of Holies, though the things mentioned
above were no longer in it, was torn asunder when Our Lord died on the
Cross (Matt. 27:51); because after His death there was no need any
longer of figures; for after His death we have the tabernacle itself and
the real manna, the real bread from Heaven, viz., the body of Our Lord.
The veil was rent to show also that God would not remain any longer in
the Temple, but would be for the future only in the Christian Church. On
account of all these things, therefore, Jerusalem was called the Holy
City, and no criminals were put to death in it, but were conducted to
Calvary--which means the place of skulls--and were there put to death. I
now call your attention to one thing. If the Jews showed such great
respect and reverence for the Ark containing only figures of the Blessed
Sacrament, how should we behave in the presence of the tabernacle on the
altar containing the Blessed Sacrament itself!

*82 Q. How did Christ die?
A. Christ was nailed to a cross and died on it, between two thieves.

"Two thieves," because they thought this would make His death more
disgraceful--making Him equal to common criminals. One of these thieves,
called the penitent thief, repented of his sins and received Our Lord's
pardon before his death. The other thief died in his sins. Holy writers
tell us that one of these thieves was saved to give poor sinners hope,
and to teach them that they may save their souls at the very last moment
of their lives if only they are heartily sorry for their sins and
implore God's pardon for them. The other thief remained and died
impenitent, that sinners may fear to put off their conversion to the
hour of death, thus rashly presuming on God's mercy. Persons who
willfully delay their conversion and put off their repentance to the
last moment, living bad lives with the hope of dying well, may not
accept the grace to repent at the last moment, but may, like the
unfortunate, impenitent thief, die as they lived, in a state of sin.

83 Q. Why did Christ suffer and die?
A. Christ suffered and died for our sins.

It was not necessary for Our Lord to suffer so much, but He did it to
show how much He loved us and valued our souls, and how much He was
willing to give for them. We, alas! do not value our souls as Christ
did; we sometimes sell them for the merest trifle--a moment's
gratification. How sinful!

*84 Q. What lessons do we learn from the sufferings and death of Christ?
A. From the sufferings and death of Christ we learn the great evil of
sin, the hatred God bears to it, and the necessity of satisfying for it.

We learn "the great evil of sin" also from the misery it brought into
the world; the "hatred God bears to it," from the punishment He
inflicted on the wicked angels and on our first parents for it; and
lastly, the "necessity of satisfying for it," from the fact that God
allowed His dear and only Son to suffer death itself for the sins even
of others.

*85 Q. Whither did Christ's soul go after His death?
A. After Christ's death His soul descended into hell.

*86 Q. Did Christ's soul descend into the hell of the damned?
A. The hell into which Christ's soul descended was not the hell of the
damned, but a place or state of rest called Limbo, where the souls of
the just were waiting for Him.

Hell had many meanings in olden times. The grave was sometimes called
hell. Jacob, when he heard that wild beasts had devoured his son Joseph,
said: "I will go down with sorrow into hell." He meant the grave. Limbo
is not the same as Purgatory. It does not exist now, or, if it does, is
only for little children who have never committed actual sin and who
have died without Baptism. They will never get into Heaven or see God,
but they will not have to suffer pains as they who are in Purgatory or
Hell endure.

*87 Q. Why did Christ descend into Limbo?
A. Christ descended into Limbo to preach to the souls who were in
prison--that is, to announce to them the joyful tidings of their
redemption.

*88 Q. Where was Christ's body while His soul was in Limbo?
A. While Christ's soul was in Limbo His body was in the Holy Sepulchre.

"Sepulchre" is the same as tomb. It is like a little room. In it the
coffin is not covered up with earth as it is in the grave, but is placed
upon a stand. We call such places vaults, and you can see many of them
in any cemetery or burying ground. Sometimes they are cut in the side of
elevated ground with their entrance level with the road, and sometimes
they are built altogether under the ground. The one in which Our Lord
was placed was cut out of the side of a rock, and had for a door a great
stone against the entrance. Our Lord was not placed in a coffin, but was
wrapped in a linen cloth. It was the custom of the Jewish people and of
many other ancient nations to embalm the bodies of the dead, wrap them
in cloths, and cover them with sweet spices. (Matt. 27:59). Thus it was
that Mary Magdalene and other good women came early in the morning to
anoint the body of Our Lord. But you will say, why did they not do it on
Friday evening or night? The reason was this: The day with the Jews
began at sunset--generally about six o'clock--and ended at sunset on the
next evening. We count our twenty-four hours, or day, from twelve at
midnight till twelve the next night. Therefore, with the Jews six
o'clock on Friday evening was the beginning of Saturday. They kept
Saturday, or the Sabbath, instead of Sunday as a day of worship. On that
day, which they kept very strictly, it was not allowable to do work of
any kind; so they could not anoint Our Lord's body till the Sabbath
ended, which was about six o'clock, or sunset on Saturday evening. So,
as the Holy Scripture tells us, they came very early in the morning; for
Mary Magdalene and these good women were Jews, and strictly observed the
Jewish law. You must know that Our Lord Himself, the Blessed Virgin, St.
Joseph, and the Apostles were Jews; and that the Jewish religion was the
true religion up to the coming of Our Lord; but as it was only a figure
and a promise of the Christian religion, it ceased to have any meaning
or to be the true religion when the Christian religion itself was
established by Our Lord.

89 Q. On what day did Christ rise from the dead?
A. Christ rose from the dead, glorious and immortal, on Easter Sunday,
the third day after His death.

"Rose" by His own power. This is the greatest of all Our Lord's
miracles, because all He taught is confirmed by it and depends upon it.
A miracle is a work that can be performed only by God, or by someone to
whom He has given the power. If anyone performs a real miracle to prove
what he says, his words must be true; for God, who is infinite truth,
could not sanction a lie--could not help an impostor to deceive us. Now
Our Lord said He was the Son of God; that He could forgive sins, etc.;
and He performed miracles to prove what He said. Therefore He must have
told the truth. So all those whom God sent to do any great work were
given the power to perform miracles that the people might know they were
really messengers from God. They, on the other hand, who claim--as many
have done from time to time in the world--that they have been sent by
God to do some great work, and can give no convincing proof of their
mission, are not to be believed. Thus, when Martin Luther claimed that
he was sent by God to reform the Catholic Church--which had existed
nearly 1,500 years before he was born--he performed no miracles, nor did
he give any other proof that he had any such commission from God; and he
cannot therefore be believed.

God has established all the laws of nature permanently. They will not
vary or change, so that we can depend upon them. We can always be sure
that the sun will rise and set; that the seasons will come; that fire
will burn, etc. Now, if we see three young men in a great fiery furnace
without being burned (Dan. 3), we say it is a great miracle; because
naturally the fire would burn them up if God did not prevent it. Again,
water will not stand up like a high wall without something keeping it
back; it will always run about and fill every empty spot near it. If,
therefore, we see water standing up like a high wall, as it did in the
Red Sea at the command of Moses, and in the River Jordan, we say it is a
miracle. So in all cases where the laws of nature do not work in the
ordinary manner, we say a miracle is being performed. Now Our Lord
performed many such miracles--many times He suspended the laws of
nature--which God alone can do, since He alone established them. Our
Lord called back the soul to the body after death, thus raising the
dead. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cured the lame, etc.,
when all medicine and natural means were useless. He did all these
things instantly as a rule, and without remedies. Therefore His miracles
prove His divine power. Since the resurrection was a great miracle, and
Our Lord performed it to prove that He was the true and only Son of God,
He must have been just what He said He was.

"Glorious." Our Lord rose in the same body He had before His death; but
when He rose it had new qualities--it was glorified. The qualities of a
glorified body are four, viz.: brilliancy, agility, subtility, and
impassability. (1) It has brilliancy; that is, it shines like a light;
it gives forth light; the soul shines through the body. You have heard
of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. One day He took three of His
Apostles--Peter, James, and John--unto a high mountain (Matt. 17); and
as He was speaking to them, suddenly His whole body began to shine like
the sun. Then Moses and Elias--two great and holy men of the Old
Law--came and conversed with Him. The Apostles were astonished and
delighted at the sight, and wished to remain there always. Our Lord's
body at that time showed one of the qualities of a glorified body. The
same three Apostles that saw Him thus transfigured and heard the voice
of the Heavenly Father saying, "This is My beloved Son," were present in
the garden during Our Lord's agony. He allowed them to see the
Transfiguration, so that when they should see Him suffering as man, they
would remember that they saw Him on the mountain glorified as God. (2)
Agility; that is, a glorified body can move rapidly from one place to
another, like the lightning itself. After His resurrection Our Lord was
in Jerusalem, and almost immediately He appeared near the village of
Emmaus to two disciples going there. (Luke 24). They had left Jerusalem
after the Crucifixion, probably through fear, and were going along
together talking about what had happened during the days of Our Lord's
Passion. Suddenly Our Lord came and walked and talked with them, but
they did not know Him. They asked Him to stay that night at their house,
for it was growing dark. He did not stop with them, and at supper they
knew Him, and then He vanished from their sight. An ordinary person
would have to get up and walk away; but He vanished, showing on this
occasion the second quality of His glorified body--agility. (3)
Subtility; that is, such a body can go where it pleases and cannot be
resisted by material things. It can pass through closed doors or gates,
and even walls cannot keep it out. It passes through everything, as
light does through glass without breaking it. At one time after Our
Lord's resurrection the Apostles were gathered together in a room, for
they were still afraid of being put to death, and the doors were tightly
closed. Suddenly Our Lord stood in the midst of them and said: "Peace be
to you." (John 20:19). They did not open the door for Him; neither wood
nor stone could keep Him out: and thus He showed that His body had the
third quality. (4) His body had the fourth quality also--impassability,
which means that it can no longer suffer. Before His death, and at it,
Our Lord suffered dreadful torments, as you know; but after His
resurrection nothing could injure or hurt Him. The spear could not hurt
His side, nor the nails His hands, nor the thorns His head. Shortly
after His resurrection Our Lord appeared to His Apostles while Thomas,
one of them, was absent. (John 20:24). When Thomas returned, the other
Apostles told him that they had seen the Lord risen from the dead; but
he would not believe them, saying: "Unless I see the holes where the
nails were in His hands and feet, and put my finger into His side, I
will not believe." Now Our Lord, knowing all things, knew this also; so
He came again when Thomas was present, and said to him: "Now, Thomas,
put your hand into My side." Thomas cried out: "My Lord and my God!" He
believed then, because he saw. Now if this body of Our Lord's had been
an ordinary body, it would have caused Him pain to allow anyone to put
his hand into the wound; but it was impassable. It seems very strange,
does it not, that Thomas would not believe what the other Apostles told
him? God permitted this. Why? Because, if they all believed easily, some
enemies of Our Lord might say the Apostles were simple men that believed
everything without any proof. Now they cannot truly say so, because here
was one of the Apostles, Thomas, who would not believe without the very
strongest kind of proof. Another person, one would think, would have
been satisfied with seeing Our Lord's wounds; but Thomas would not trust
even his eyes--he must also touch before he would believe: showing,
therefore, that the Apostles were not deceived in anything Our Lord did
in their presence, for they had always the most convincing proofs.

After the Resurrection, at the last day, the bodies of all those who are
to be in Heaven will have the qualities I have mentioned; that is, they
will be glorified bodies.

Speaking of Our Lord's wounds, I might tell you what the stigmata means,
if you should ever hear or read of it. There have been some persons in
the world--saints, of course--who have had upon their hands, feet, and
side wounds just like those Our Lord had, and these wounds caused them
great pain. For example, St. Francis of Assisi (see Butler's Lives of
the Saints, Oct. 4th). Up to 1883--that is, only a few years ago--there
lived in Belgium a young girl named Louise Lateau who had the stigmata.
We have the most positive proof of it, as you may see in the accounts of
her life now published. Her wounds caused her great pain and bled every
Friday for many years. She was a delicate seamstress, and lived with her
mother and sisters in almost continual poverty. She had always been
remarkable for her true piety, patience in suffering, and charity to the
sick. I mention this young girl because she lived in our own time, and
is the latest person we know of who had the stigmata, or wounds of Our
Lord. So if you ever hear of the stigmata of St. Francis or others, you
will know that it means wounds like those of Our Lord impressed on their
bodies in a miraculous manner.

"Immortal"--that is never to die again, as it will be with us also after
the Resurrection.

"The third day." It was not three full days, but the parts of three
days. Suppose someone should ask you on Friday evening how long from now
to Sunday; you would answer: Sunday will be the third day from today.
You would count thus: Friday one, Saturday two, and Sunday itself three.
So it was with Our Lord. He died on Friday at about three in the
afternoon, and remained in the sepulchre till Sunday morning.

*90 Q. How long did Christ stay on earth after His resurrection?
A. Christ stayed on earth forty days after His resurrection, to show
that He was truly risen from the dead, and to instruct His Apostles.

After Our Lord's resurrection He remained on earth forty days: but you
must not think He was visible all that time. No. He did not appear to
everybody, but only to certain persons, and not all the time to them
either. He appeared to His Apostles and others in all about nine times;
at least, we know for certain that He appeared nine times, though He may
have appeared oftener. He showed that "He was truly risen," for He ate
with His Apostles and conversed with them. (Luke 24:42). It was after
the resurrection that He breathed on them and gave them the power to
forgive sins. (John 20).

91 Q. After Christ had remained forty days on earth, whither did He go?
A. After forty days Christ ascended into Heaven, and the day on which He
ascended into Heaven is called Ascension Day.

One day He was on a mountain with His Apostles and disciples; and as He
was talking to them He began to rise up slowly and quietly, just as you
have sometimes seen a balloon soar up into the air without noise. Higher
and higher He ascended; and as they gazed up at Him, the clouds opened
to receive Him, then closed under Him: and that was the last of Our
Lord's mission as man upon earth. The Ascension took place forty days
after the resurrection. (Acts 1).

*92 Q. Where is Christ in Heaven?
A. In Heaven Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

*93 Q. What do you mean by saying that Christ sits at the right hand of
God?
A. When I say that Christ sits at the right hand of God, I mean that
Christ as God is equal to His Father in all things, and that as man He
is in the highest place in Heaven next to God.