The Lay Dominicans of the Queen of the Holy Rosary Group will be posting meditations for the fifteen Tuesdays leading up to the feast of our Father Dominic on August 8th.   See here for more information on the 15 Tuesdays devotion.

The Scourging of Christ Jesus shows us the weakness of human flesh. How easy it is to break the barrier of our body and expose our innermost flesh to pain at every movement! Every word and action of Our Lord has a deeper meaning, as does every silent moment. “As a lamb led to the slaughter He was silent and opened not His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). He willingly allowed this suffering to teach us how to suffer, to be the Sacrifice for forgiveness of sin. This is what sin looks like; it tears us apart and exposes us to more pain and suffering. “He who knew no sin was made sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21). He took our punishment in His own Flesh, and sanctified it. He made it holy in His holy Body. Not only did He embrace and sanctify the eternal punishment of original sin, the purity of the God-Man’s Flesh made holy all that we suffer in this life, giving new meaning and purpose to a life aligned with God’s will.

Our spiritual Father St. Dominic took the Blessed Scourging to prayer, and then made it come alive. In his Nine Ways of Prayer we see that the Third is self-flagellation, an entering into Christ’s own experience of bodily pain and suffering. God blessed Dominic’s desire with the grace and courage to purify his flesh for his own few sins, as well as for the purification of poor sinners. Dominic’s life was one of mortification, a continual separation from the worldly in order to more freely move toward the eternal. He ate little, slept little, donated his precious books to give money to those even poorer than himself. Father Dominic used an iron chain on himself, but only asked his followers to use wooden switches.

Today it is a rare calling to suffer with Christ on the path of extreme mortification, but we can take comfort in the example of Our Blessed Mother. Although she did not suffer visible scourging, we know that She was mysteriously and intimately united with Her Son in all His sufferings by means of a perfectly-aligned will. By following Her example and accomplishing God’s will, we too are drawn into His suffering through faithful meditation on His Passion and Death, the sacrifice of His Flesh for the sanctification of our own. We should strive in our prayer life to know God more fully, and in knowing Him we will love Him. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear” (1 John 4:18). Let us rejoice and give thanks for His mercy, justice, and love, and never cease to pray: Lord, increase our desire to accomplish your holy will.