by Prince Mathew
Preface for Meditation:
There was much proclaimed by the prophets about the mystery of the Passover:
that mystery is Christ, and to him be glory for ever and ever. For the sake of
suffering humanity he came down from heaven to earth, clothed himself in that
humanity in the Virgin's womb, and was born a man. Having then a body capable of
suffering, he took the pain of fallen man upon himself; he triumphed over the
diseases of soul and body that were its cause, and by his Spirit, which was
incapable of dying, he dealt man's destroyer, death, a fatal blow.
He was led forth like a lamb; he was slaughtered like a sheep. He ransomed us
from our servitude to the world, as he had ransomed Israel from the hand of
Egypt; he freed us from our slavery to the devil, as he had freed Israel from
the hand of Pharaoh. He sealed our souls with his own Spirit, and the members of
our body with his own blood.
He is the One who covered death with shame and cast the devil into mourning, as
Moses cast Pharaoh into mourning . He is the One that smote sin and robbed
iniquity of offspring, as Moses robbed the Egyptians of their offspring. He is
the One who brought us out of slavery into freedom, out of darkness into light,
out of death into life, out of tyranny into an eternal kingdom; who made us a
new priesthood, a people chosen to be his own for ever. He is the Passover that
is our salvation.
It is he who endured every kind of suffering in all those who foreshadowed him.
In Abel he was slain, in Isaac bound, in Jacob exiled, in Joseph sold, in Moses
exposed to die. He was sacrificed in the Passover lamb, persecuted in David,
dishonored in the prophets.
It is he who was made man of the Virgin, he who was hung on the tree; it is he
who was buried in the earth, raised from the dead, and taken up to the heights
of heaven. He is the mute lamb, the slain lamb born of Mary, the fair ewe. He
was seized from the flock, dragged off to be slaughtered, sacrificed in the
evening, and buried at night. On the tree no bone of his was broken; in the
earth his body knew no decay. He is the One who rose from the dead, and who
raised man from the depths of the tomb.
Bible Reading Passages:
Evening Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of
God." - St. Matthew 14:33
Fifth Thursday of The Holy Lent
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