Tenth Station Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
Scripture: They gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall; but when he had tasted it, He would not drink it. Then after they had crucified Him, they divided His clothes, casting lots, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, “They divided my clothes among them, and upon my garments they cast lots.” (Mt. 27, 34-35)
The Tunic of Thomas a’Kempis
Meditation from Book 3, Chapter 19: Bearing Injuries and Who is Proved to Be Truly Patient.
Christ: The better you condition yourself for suffering, the more wisely you will act, and the more you merit: and you will bear it more easily, your mind being well prepared for, and accustomed to suffering.
Do not say: ‘I cannot take these things, and things of this kind are not to be suffered by me for a great injury has done to me, and I am upbraided with things I never thought of; but I will suffer willingly from another, and I shall judge what is fitting for me to suffer.’
Foolish are the thoughts which do not measure the virtue of patience. As are thoughts by whom it shall be brought upon you, but rather patience weighs the persons and the offenses committed.
To be truly patient you must suffer more than you think is allowed and from whomever it pleases to endure that suffering. The truly patient person does not chronicle who it is that imposes the suffering, whether by a superior, or by an equal, or even by one of an inferior position: whether by a good and holy person, or by one that is perverse and unworthy.
But no matter how much and how often you encounter adversity from anything created, you should take it all with equality of mind, as from the Hand of God, with thanksgiving and count it a great gain (Jas 1:2). For nothing that is suffered for God’s sake, no matter how small can pass without merit in the sight of God.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Creator of all things and Giver of all good things, I bless and thank You for enduring You for enduring your violent disrobing and, amid mockery, the ripping off of Your clothing. After being nailed to your Cross, You were cruelly despoiled of all Your clothes, leaving you dispossessed even to the last scrap of cloth. Who will give me a small piece of my Lord Jesus’ sacred garments or permit me to touch them with a devout heart or to kiss them with my lips….Lord Jesus, grant that I may, for Your greater praise and glory, be able with a devout mind to undo the tangled web that …was woven for your sorrow*. Amen.
*From Chapter 17 of “On the Passion of Christ According to the Four Evangelists, by Thomas a’Kempis, Ignatius Press, 2004.