dearer wert Thou on the Cross; dearest of all art Thou when sitting upon the Throne of Thy Kingdom; for though, in the weakness of Thy flesh, Thou didst hang upon the Cross, yet now by the Power of God, Thou livest, and art sitting at the Right Hand of the Father, exalted above every creature for ever and ever. Amen.
CHAPTER XXV
grief and His commendation the one to the other
of Blessed Mary and St. John
I BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, Comforter of all that mourn, for the sorrowful glance which, in Thy mercy, Thou didst cast upon Thy dearly-loved Mother as she stood beneath Thy Cross, worn out with the intensity of her grief. How intense that grief was. Thou alone best knew, from Whom the most secret motions of her heart were not hid; for, upon earth, there was nothing more dear to Thee than Thy Virgin Mother; and she loved nothing so much as Thee, her God and her Son, Whom, although Thou wert the Fruit of her womb, she knew, without doubt, to be her Maker and the Lord of all things. When, therefore, she saw Thee, Whom she loved above all else, hanging upon the Cross, her heart was in Thee, rather than in herself; and being lifted, as it were, outside herself, she will, in spirit, have hung with Thee upon the Cross, even when, in the body, she was standing weeping at its foot.
I praise and glorify Thee for the exceeding great compassion with which, as a Son, Thou didst con-
