On His Passion

The demons always lead us into sin by means of deceitful fantasies.  Through the fantasy of gaining wealth they led the wretched Judas to betray the Lord and God of all; through the deceit of worthless bodily comfort and esteem, gain and glory, they put the noose around his neck and brought him to age-long death.  The scoundrels requited him with precisely the opposite of what their fantasy, or provocation, had suggested to him.  St. Hesychius the priest 

 

For Christ, the mystery of the Cross is the mystery of His glory.  The overwhelming suffering the Lord underwent, His psychological torment at the injustice and crookedness of His trial, the desertion of His disciples, the treachery of Judas, and the knowledge that the high priests had agreed with one of His disciples to put a value of just thirty pieces of silver on His life - all this was a path for Him to leave the world of passing trivialities and enter into the glory of the Father.  We, in every time and place, must tread the same path.  Matthew the Poor, The Communion of Love

 

 

A marvelous thing is longsuffering; it places the soul as in a quiet harbor, fleeing it from tossings and evil spirits.  And this everywhere Christ hath taught us, but especially now, when He is judged, and dragged, and led about ....St. John Chrysostom 

 

 

He is bruised and wounded, but He heals every disease and every infirmity (Is. 53:23).  He is lifted up and nailed to the tree, but by the Tree of Life He restores us; yea, He saves even the robber crucified with Him (Luke 23:43); yea, He wrapped the visible world in darkness.  He is given vinegar to drink.  Who?  He Who turned the water into wine (John 2:1-11), Who is the Destroyer of the bitter taste, Who is Sweetness and altogether desire.  St. Gregory the Theologian

 

 

He lays down His life, but He has the power to take it again (John 10:18); and the veil is torn in two, for the mysterious doors of heaven are opened, the rocks are shattered, the dead arise (Matt. 27:51-53). He dies, but He gives life; and by His death, destroys death.  He is buried, but He rises again.  He goes down into Hell, but He brings up the souls.  He ascends to heaven, and shall come again to judge the living and the dead.  St. Gregory the Theologian