Thursday, February 21, 2019

Love’s Captive


Taken from the book “Holy Hours” by Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey

Have you ever reflected on these words unfathomable in the mystery of charity that they imply: "Jesus captive, Jesus imprisoned for love in the Tabernacle"? Look at Him through that door, behind the walls of the Tabernacle, there is Jesus prisoner, overcome by his own Heart... Twenty centuries ago, on Maundy Thursday, towards the middle of the night, He allowed Himself to be led bound, from the Garden of the Agony to the dungeon to which He was condemned by a wicked judge… And that night of ignominy and horror, of deadly loneliness caused by the abandonment of all those who loved His Heart, yes, that night is prolonged in all the Tabernacles of the world…

Blasphemy, denials, indifference, impurity, pride , sacrileges… all the outcries of deicides, and all the torrent of vileness and ignominy have the awful privilege of reaching Jesus' feet, of rising to His face and profaning it as it was profaned by Judas' kiss… And Jesus Christ does not go away!... He is love's captive, betrayed by His own Heart… He is there, crushed by the outrages of men… He is there, seated on the criminal's bench… He has committed a great crime, the sublime crime of loving man with divine passion…. And see how man repays Him— with neglect and loneliness!...