After three hours of agony Jesus has died. The Evangelists narrate that the sky darkened while the Lord was hanging on the cross, and extraordinary events took place, for it was the Son of God who was dying. The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom,1 signifying that with the death of Christ the worship of the Old Covenant had expired; now, the worship pleasing to God is rendered through the Humanity of Christ, who is Priest and Victim.
Friday evening was advancing and it was necessary to remove the bodies; they could not remain there on Saturday. Before the first star shone in the firmament they had to be buried. Since it was the Parasceve (the day of preparation for the Passover), so that the bodies would not remain on the cross, for that Sabbath was a great day, the Jews begged Pilate to break their legs and take them away. Pilate sent soldiers to break the legs of the thieves, so that they might die more quickly. Jesus was already dead, but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out instantly. This event, in addition to the historical fact that St. John witnessed, has a profound meaning. St. Augustine and the Christian tradition see the sacraments and the Church itself flowing from the open side of Jesus: "There the door of life was opened, from which flowed the sacraments of the Church, without which one does not enter into true life...". The Church "grows visibly by the power of God. Its beginning and growth are symbolized in the blood and water that flowed from the open side of the crucified Christ". The death of Christ signified the supernatural life that we receive through the Church.
This wound, which reaches the heart and pierces it, is a wound of superabundance of love that is added to the others. It is a way of expressing what no words can say. Mary understands and suffers, as Coredemptrix. Her Son could no longer feel her, but she did. And so the prophecy of Simeon is fulfilled to the end: a sword will pierce your soul
They took Christ down from the cross with affection and veneration, and placed him with all care in the arms of his Mother. Although his Body is a pure wound, his face is serene and full of majesty. Let us look at Jesus slowly and with pity, as the Blessed Virgin would look at him. Not only has he rescued us from sin and death, but he has taught us to fulfill the will of God above all our own plans, to live detached from everything, to know how to forgive when the one who offends does not even repent, to know how to excuse others, to be apostles until the moment of death, to suffer without sterile complaints, to love men even if we are suffering because of them.... "Do not hinder the work of the Paraclete: unite yourself to Christ, to purify yourself, and feel, with Him, the insults, and the spittle, and the slaps..., and the thorns, and the weight of death..., and the irons breaking your flesh, and the anxieties of a helpless death....
"And enter into the open side of Our Lord until you find safe shelter in his wounded Heart "8. 8 There we will find peace. St. Bonaventure says, speaking of this mystical living within the wounds of Christ: "Oh, what a good thing it is to be with Jesus Christ crucified! I want to make three dwellings in him: one in his feet, another in his hands, and a perpetual one in his precious side. Here I want to rest and rest, and sleep and pray. Here I will speak to His heart, and He will grant me all that I ask of Him. Oh, most gracious wounds of our pious Redeemer (...). In them I live, and by their food I sustain myself".
We look at Jesus slowly and, in the intimacy of our heart, we say to him: O good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds, hide me. Do not allow me to turn away from You. From the evil enemy, defend me. In the hour of my death, call me. And command me to come to Thee, that with Thy Saints I may praise Thee. For ever and ever.
Hablar con Dios