De corona domini nostri Jesu Christi
The Mystery of the Crown of Thorns
The author reflects on the theological significance of Christ's crown of thorns as a source of both suffering and salvation for the faithful.
Let no orthodox person be surprised if the joyful solemnity of the Lord's Crown spends this day in praises of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ; for even if this crown was placed on the Savior's head for pain and mockery on the day of Preparation, still, because that day is one not of joy but of sorrow—since the members suffer with their Head—it is deferred. In the meantime, let the faithful offer devoted songs of praise to the eternal King of glory for this joyful feast, in which we recall the salvation of our soul, since it was propagated from the seed of thorns. Today, in place of a royal crown, a crown of mockery crowns the King of all, whose disgrace brings us a crown of glory. Christ's crown is woven from sharp thorns, by which the power of the world is honored by the ministers of hell. The crown on Christ's head, bathed in sacred blood, purges the guilty of their crimes by paying the debt of their punishment. In a wondrous way, the lowering of the Head obtained mercy and grace for the body, and the members were made whole by the struck vertex. The Synagogue, indeed, acting as the mother of Christ according to the flesh, showed herself a stepmother in her affection of cruelty and in her effect, and crowned our Solomon with a crown of thorns. Let the members be ashamed, therefore, to seek glory when their Head is shown to be so inglorious, surrounded by the thorns of our sins; let the member be ashamed to become delicate under a thorn-crowned head. For Judea crowns their King with a crown of thorns; the lily stands among the thorns, blooming with a rosy gore, knowing nothing of the guilt of thorns, the prick of the thorn with its sting. For John the Evangelist wrote: 'Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe,' and he appears like our champion in arms of red garments. Let us go out, therefore, to Him who goes out outside the camp, bearing His reproach, His affliction. Considering our own, let us say with David: 'I am fixed in my affliction, while the thorn is fixed.'
A Prayer to the Sacred Crown
A devotional address to the Crown of Thorns, concluding with a petition for Christ's protection.
O blessed thorn, your points reddened by drops of blood-dew, you break the strength of the king of hell and unlock the bolts of the starry kingdom! O glory of thorns, which provide us with so many remedies; O honor of the Church, glorious thorn, crown of the King of glory, medicine for the world, and the sweetness and balm for our present distress! May He who suffered for us, Jesus Christ, deign to grant that we who praise You today may be kept from ruin. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Non miretur orthodoxormn quispiam, si jucunda dominicae coronae sollemnitas diem hane expendat in landibus redeimtoris nostri Jesu Christi, quia, si haec corona capiti salvatoris ad poenam et ludibrium in die parasceues fuerit applicata, tamen quia dies illa non est gaudii, sed moeroris, quoniam membra capiti compatiuntur, differtur. Interim haec gratulabunda festivitas, in qua recolimus salutem nostrae animae, siquidem de spinarum semine propagatam, ideo aeterno regi gloriae devota laudum cantica fideles solvant. Hodie pro corona dominica coronat regem omnium corona contumeliae, cujus nobis opprobriun coronam confert gloriae, de spinarum aculeis Christi corona plectitur, qua ministris tartareis mundi potestas colitur, corona Christi capitis sacro perfusa sanguine poenis solutis debitis reos purgat a crimine, Miro enim modo dejectio capitis obtinuit veniam et gratiam corpori et percusso vertice solidata sunt membra. Synagoga siquidem mater Christi secundum carnem noverca se exhibens affectu crudelitatis et effectu nostrum Salomonem corona spinea coro'mavit. Pudeat ergo sectari gloriam membra, quibus caput suum tam ingloriosum exhibetur peccatorum nostrorum spinis cirenmdatum , pudeat sub spinato capite membrum fieri delicatum, Coronat enim Judaea regem eorum serto spineo, stat inter spinas lilium vernans cruore roseo spinarum culpae nesciuin, spinae punctum aculeo. Scripsit namque Johannes evangelista: exivit Jesus portans spineam coronam et purpureum vestimentum, et quasi pugil noster in armis vestimentis rubeis apparet. Exeamus ergo ad enm egredientem extra castra improperium ejus portantes, aerumnam ejus. nostram reputantes et dicamus cum David: confixus sum in aerumna mea, dum configitur spina.
O felix spina, cujus aculei guttis rubent roris sanguinei, vires frangunt regis tartarei, seras pandunt regni siderei, O spinarum gloria, quae tot nobis praestant remedia, O decus ecelesiae, gloriosa spina, sertum regis gloriae, mundi medicina, praesentis angustiae dulcor et resina! te laudantes hodie serves a ruins, Quod praestare dignetur Jesus Christus pro nobis passus, Amen.
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
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