“The fifth spear which pierced my heart, was His most bitter and cruel death.” (Saint Brigid of Sweden, Book 1, Chapter 87).
I have come – at last – to the final spear that pierced the Holy Heart if the Blessed Virgin, which she revealed to Saint Brigid of Sweden and which Saint Brigid of Sweden recorded in Book 1, Chapter 87 of the revelations of Saint Brigid.
Our Blessed Mother said to Saint Brigid that, “The fifth spear which pierced my heart, was His most bitter and cruel death…. But when His death drew near and His heart burst from the unendurable pain, then His whole body shook and His head, which was bent backwards, raised itself a little.”
And I have been considering the terrible agony and death of Christ – but also the agony of watching that death come to completion.
You see, Christ is God. God is LIFE. God is the CREATOR OF ALL LIFE. And that means something significant in light of the suffering of the Blessed Virgin in enduring the pain of this fifth spear. You see, the Blessed Virgin – with her wisdom, knowledge and understanding – witnessed something tremendous when she witnessed the death of God.
And I have been considering why this was such a great agony to the Blessed Virgin. Obviously, it is unendurable agony for any parent to witness the death of any child of theirs. And the primary reason for this suffering is because such a death of a child is unnatural. You see, we have a natural inclination to reproduce and bear offspring, which was instilled into humankind in the Garden of Eden at the creation of Adam and Eve, when God told them to “go forth and multiply” (Genesis 1:24). And so, it is very unnatural when the issue of our multiplication – our children – do not survive us.
This is in fact, an effective consequence of sin, because the consequence of sin was to DISRUPT the NATURAL order of creation…
So now, when I consider the death – not only of the Blessed Virgin’s Child – but of God Himself, I can begin to comprehend the magnanimity of the Virgin’s suffering.
You see, I killed my CREATOR. And I did it through sin. And I do it every day. Again and again and again. And the Blessed Virgin stood at the foot of the Cross and witnessed that DESECRATION OF DIVINITY. And still she said nothing. Because she accepted – in all entirety – the Holy Will of God. And that meant that she did not JUDGE that Will. And that meant that she did not ADVISE God about His Will. That meant that she ACCEPTED that Will.
That means that WHATEVER HAPPENED IN HER LIFE, the Blessed Virgin understood and knew – deep in her soul – that GOD WILLED IT SO.
And knowing that – even standing as she was at the Foot of the Cross – The Blessed Virgin endured that anguish and bore the fifth spear because her faith was so great that she understood that God had Willed it so.
And I have been thinking about that as I consider what it is that I have done to my Beloved. And my heart trembles to think that I killed my Creator – and I shall do it again, many many times before I die…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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