“The third spear was His crown of thorns that pierced His sacred head so violently that the blood flowed down into His mouth and His beard and ears.” (Saint Brigid of Sweden, Chapter 87).
Though I considered the first two spears to pierce the heart of the Blessed Virgin during the Passion and Death of her Blessed Son, it was the third spear as revealed to Saint Brigid of Sweden and recorded in Book 1, Chapter 87 of the revelations of Saint Brigid that has consumed my mind today.
We commemorate – in the third sorrowful mystery of the Most Holy Rosary – the terrible suffering and sorrow of the moment when Christ was crowned with thorns. And Our Blessed Mother revealed to Saint Brigid that “The third spear was His crown of thorns that pierced His sacred head so violently that the blood flowed down into His mouth and His beard and ears.”
When I was a little girl I imagined the crown of thorns to look something like a circlet that I have seen on crucifixes that were scattered around the homes and churches that I visited. I imaged a couple of centimetres in diameter and thorns the length of rose-bush thorns – about a centimetre or less long. I imagined some pain associated with such a crown – obviously anything that pierces the skin would hurt – but I did not really reflect very much on what the Crown of Thorns really was.
In reality – during the brutality of such an execution – the crown of thorns looked nothing like the stylised version that I had conceived in my child-mind. Instead, the crown of thorns was actually shaped like a helmet. It was made of the thorns of a plant where the thorns were up to five centimetres in length. To put that into perspective, that is almost the same length as my little pinkie finger. Now, that crown of thorns was not placed on Christ’s head and left there like a party hat. No. The soldiers would have used their swords and batons to push it down onto His Holy Head with all their strength.
That crown of thorns was not given to Christ as a SYMBOL of His suffering and degradation. No. It was given to Him to CAUSE His suffering and His degradation.
And so, when the Blessed Virgin watched them making that instrument of torture, and then watched them press it into His Holy Head. She witnessed such terrible pain in her beloved and blameless child that her suffering was unimaginable. And as reflect on the suffering of mothers who witness the pain of their children, I consider the ongoing suffering of the Blessed Virgin, which is caused by those thorns. Because every time I sin I am pushing them further and further into her Blessed Son;s sacred flesh. And yet – the Blessed Virgin stands still in silence and waits for me to realise what a terrible thing I have done. And then – rather than turn me away for the HARM I caused to her Beloved – she takes me by the hand and stands with me so that I can confess my sins to Him and “try not to sin again”.
And when I think of that today, I can see why that spear was so terrible. Because not only did the Blessed Virgin watch those thorns upon the Head of God once, she sees them for all eternity, and knowing that it was my hand that caused such great pain, she still holds my hand, to lead me home…
Oh how lucky am I to have my Mother who is God’s Mother. How lucky am I!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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