June 2018 SPECIAL EDITION December 2015 Issue | Page 8

December 2015
(Continued from page 1)

his body. A robe is
placed on Jesus’ body.
The blood glues the
robe to his body.
Later, the robe is
ripped off, causing
eruptions of new pain
as Jesus’ wounds are
torn open.
A crown of
thorns is driven into
Jesus’ scalp. The
scalp is one of the
most veined parts of
the body. The pain
and bleeding are
horrific.
Five to seven inch spikes are driven through
Jesus’ wrists and the bundle of nerves beneath. The
pain is excruciating. More spikes are driven through
his feet. The cross is then dropped into a hole. The
impact causes the wounds all over his body to
fiercely vibrate with extraordinary pain.
As Jesus pushes up with his feet to avoid
suffocating to death, the spikes in his feet tear
through the nerves between the metatarsal bones in
his feet, causing searing pain to shoot up his entire
body.
After hours of unimaginable pain, Jesus dies.
For us!
So, I have some more questions. How do we
sacrifice to repay Jesus for, out o f divine love, dying
that way to forgive ours sins and open heaven to us?
Do we pray? Daily? Meaningfully? Do we belong
to ministries so that we can do what Our Lord
commands: serve and not be served? Do we
sacrificially give of our money? At least some, as
Jesus orders, from our need? Once again, if the
answers are no, we should not only be ashamed, we
should do something about it.
My sisters and brothers, I am not trying to
make us feel guilty. However, I am calling us to
sacrifice. Jesus teaches us sacrifice is the only way
to truly love. And, love is the only key that will
open the Pearly Gates.

died bankrupt.
Shortly after he signed the Declaration of
Independence, John Hart’s wife fell seriously ill. As
she was dying, Hart’s home was attacked by British
soldiers. Hart fled to nearby forests where he lived for
more than a year. When he finally got a chance to
return home, he found his home, fields and mill
destroyed. His wife was dead. His thirteen children
were missing. Hart died a few weeks later. He died
from exhaustion.
I have a question. How do we sacrifice to
repay the brave men who gave us the tremendous
freedoms we now enjoy? Do we meaningfully
participate in the political process? Do we vote at
every election? If our answers are no, we should feel
appropriate shame and do something about it.
The freedoms our Founding Fathers gave us
last a lifetime. The forgiveness Jesus Christ gave us,
though, is infinitely more valuable and it lasts forever.
And, boy, did Jesus suffer to give it to us.

The emotional agony Jesus suffers in the
Garden of Gethsemane resulted in a condition called
hermatidrosis. Jesus is so scared he sweats blood.
Trained sadists use whips with
balls of lead tied near the end of each
thong to tear chunks of flesh from all
over Jesus’ body. At the end, Jesus’
body is spurting blood from deep within

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