not at all to my own works, but solely to Thy great mercy.
CHAPTER XXI
☙ Of the plundering, and the sharing of the garments of Christ
I BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee,
O Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all
things, and Giver of all good things,
for the rude plundering and the mocking partition of Thy garments; when, as soon as
Thou hadst been cruelly nailed to Thy Cross, Thou
wast savagely despoiled of all Thy clothing, and
wast driven forth disinherited even to the last farthing; so that there was not left Thee even a
stitch of clothing wherewith to cover Thy nakedness, nor even a piece of linen for a shroud, in
which after Thy death Thou mightest be wrapped,
and be decently laid in Thy grave. If Thou art
not to go to Thy grave naked, a winding-sheet
will have to be obtained for Thee from strangers,
and will have to be given as an act of kindness to
one utterly poor and destitute. How hungry was
the covetousness of those soldiers — soldiers indeed,
nay rather low vagabonds! How shameless was
the rapacity of those base men of the guard set
over Him, who in their unholy greed were not
ashamed of despoiling Jesus of His scraps of
worldly goods; but sated, as best they might,
their thirst for gain by making the meagre garments of the Crucified their prey! Having taken
His garments, they made of them four parts, to
every soldier a part, leaving entire the coat only,
because it had no seam; and for it they cast lots,
