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St. Alphonsus: As a most unjust judge, (Pilate) condemned Him to be scourged… Scourging was the chastisement inflicted on slaves only. Therefore, says St. Bernard… “Taking not only the form of a slave, that He might submit, but even of a bad slave, that He might be beaten and suffer the punishment of the slave of sin.”
Ah, my Jesus, pardon me the offenses
that I have committed against Thee,
and then chastise me as shall please Thee.
St. Bridget, as she understood the Blessed Mother to say: Then led to the pillar, My Son stripped Himself, and He Himself stretched His hands to the pillar, which His enemies pitilessly bound. They scourged His Body pure from all spot or stain… His whole Body lacerated with scourges tipped with sharp points turned back, not pulling out, but ploughing up… His Body bruised and beaten to the very ribs so that the ribs could be seen… His very flesh was furrowed with the thongs. My Son stood thus, all bloody, all torn, so that no soundness could be found on him nor any spot to scourge.
Teresa’s vision: The pillar to which Our Savior is bound is rather tall. He is suspended by His hands but only so that the Body is stretched tight. Our Savior stands on the ground. He is mercilessly scourged by two men at the same time… The executioners are changed twice so that actually six men scourge Him. Our dear Savior is scourged all over His Body; first on His back, and then He is turned and scourged in front.
Venerable Maria’s vision: The third pair of executioners found no spot in which to open further veins. Nevertheless, these commenced to scourge Him with inhuman cruelty… Even pieces of His flesh fell to the ground and in many parts of His shoulders the bones were laid bare and became plainly visible, all covered with Blood. In some places the surfaces of the bones thus laid bare was greater than the palm of the hand…The Precious Blood flowed down in streams to the earth and collected in pools on the ground.
Josefa: Blow after blow is discharged by the executioners on My Body, already covered with bruises and broken with fatigue… With whips and knotted cords they strike Me with such violence that My very bones are shaken and I am torn with innumerable wounds…bits of My divine flesh are rent off by the scourges… Blood flows from every limb, and I am reduced to such a state of pitiable disfigurement as no longer to resemble a human being.
Dr. Buckley, after examining the Shroud of Turin: The body is that of an adult male, 5’10” in length. Estimated body weight is 175 pounds. The body appears to be about 30 to 35 years of age.
On the body is a variety of injuries, ranging from simple contusions to large areas of puncture where there has been an outflow of blood… (Injuries on the back) range from the top of the shoulders down to the areas of the calf. They consist of double puncture-type wounds which…have obviously been made by some implement with sharp edges. The implement was applied to the skin in a flicking fashion in such a way as to pull out bits of skin.
Msgr. Ricci: (The scourgers used) whips weighted with heavy balls made of metal or bone. On the Shroud, (we see) trickles of blood caused by the metal balls which were sharpened. They had spikes at the ends. Complete examination of the Shroud gives us two scourgers, because the directions (of the wounds) converge, one from the right, one from the left, and the number of strokes is excessive, more than 120.
Teresa: When the soldiers have fully satisfied their cruelty, they untie Our Savior and He falls down; it is a heartrending sight.
St. Alphonsus: Cornelius Lapide says that in this torment Jesus Christ ought, naturally speaking, to have died; but He willed, by His divine power, to keep Himself in life, in order to suffer yet greater pains for love of us.
Ah, my most loving Lord…
Thou has suffered so much in order that I might love Thee.
Oh, never permit me, instead of loving Thee,
to offend or displease Thee more!
Josefa’s vision: What struck me most was the expression of His tortured eyes…closed, swollen and filled with Blood, especially the right eye. His hair damp with Blood fell over His face, eyes and mouth. He was standing, but bent and bound… His Body was furrowed with wounds and dark bruises, the veins of His arms all swollen and blackened. From His left shoulder hung a fragment of torn flesh about to detach itself, and the same was the case in several other parts of His Body. His garments lay at His feet, crimsoned with His Blood.
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Compiled and © 1993 by Terry A. Modica
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