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(Source: "Meditations for Lent from St. Thomas Aquinas", pp. 50-52, 1937 Imp.)

Friday

THE CROWN OF THORNS

Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon

in the diadem, wherewith his mother crowned him

in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the joy of

his heart. -Cant. iii. n.

This is the voice of the Church inviting the
souls of the faithful to behold the marvellous
beauty of her spouse. For the daughters of Sion,
who are they but the daughters of Jerusalem,
holy souls, the citizens of that city which is above,
who with the angels enjoy the peace that knows
no end, and, in consequence, look upon the glory
of the Lord?

1. Go forth, shake off the disturbing commerce
of this world so that, with minds set free, you
may be able to contemplate him whom you love.
And see king Solomon, the true peacemaker, that is
to say, Christ Our Lord.

In the diadem wherewith his mother crowned him,
as though the Church said, "Look on Christ garbed
with flesh for us, the flesh He took from the flesh
of his mother." For it is his flesh that is here called
a diadem, the flesh which Christ assumed for us, the
flesh in which he died and destroyed the reign of
death, the flesh in which, rising once again, he
brought to us the hope of resurrection.

This is the diadem of which St. Paul speaks,
We see Jesus for the suffering of death crowned with
glory and honour (Heb. ii. 9). His mother is spoken
of as crowning him because Mary the Virgin it
was who from her own flesh gave him flesh.

In the day of his espousals, that is, in the hour of his
Incarnation, when he took to himself the Church
not having spot or wrinkle (Eph. v. 27), the hour again
when God was joined with man. And in the day
of the joy of his heart. For the joy and the gaiety
of Christ is for the human race salvation and
redemption. And coming home, he calls together
his friends and neighbours saying to them, Rejoice
with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost
(Luke xv. 6).

2. We can however refer the whole of this
text simply and literally to the Passion of Christ.
For Solomon, foreseeing through the centuries
the Passion of Christ, was uttering a warning for
the daughters of Sion, that is, for the Jewish
people.

Go forth and see king Solomon, that is, Christ, in his
diadem, that is to say, the crown of thorns with
which his mother the Synagogue has crowned him;
in the day of his espousals, the day when he joined to
himself the Church; and in the day of the joy of his
heart, the day in which he rejoiced that by his
Passion he was delivering the world from the
power of the devil. Go forth, therefore, and leave
behind the darkness of unbelief, and see, under- 
stand with your minds that he who suffers as man
is really God.

Go forth, beyond the gates of your city, that
you may see him, on Mount Calvary, crucified.

(In Cant. 3.)

Blessed be St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles!

The Papal Restoration Staff

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