This meditation was submitted by Sister Mary Claire and her little sister Kathy at Camp Littlemore Farm in Iowa.
It is taken from their beloved copy of Jesus, the Model of Religious, a book of meditations translated from the German by a Sister of Notre Dame, and known for its simple, direct insights that stir both the mind and the heart.
Title of the Meditation for Wednesday
Jesus—the Lamb of God
“The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him, and he saith: ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world’” (John 1, 29).
First Prelude: Picture St. John on the banks of the Jordan, pointing to Jesus, and saying: “Behold, the Lamb of God.”
Second Prelude: O Jesus, Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, cleanse me also from my sins, and make me worthy to be numbered among those who will one day follow Thee in heaven whithersoever Thou goest.
First Point
Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Divine Victim in His Mortal Life
The holy precursor designates Jesus before the multitudes as the “Lamb of God,” as Him Who was expected for centuries to redeem the world from the misery into which sin had plunged it. The Saviour is the Lamb of immolation given to us by the heavenly Father Himself, the accomplishment and consummation of the typical sacrifices of the Old Law, to which Isaias (5, 3, 7) had reference with the words: “He was offered because it was His own will; and He opened not His mouth: He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and He shall not open His mouth.” From the moment of Christ’s entrance into the world, His death was ever present before Him: “My sorrow is always before Me” (Ps. 37, 18), in virtue of which constant remembrance, He was for the term of His whole life, a Victim for our salvation. Jesus is further called the Lamb of God to indicate the attributes of the Messiah, namely, purity, innocence, meekness, patience, and simplicity. Through these He wills to establish His kingdom on earth as we read in Holy Writ, “Send forth, O Lord, the Lamb, the ruler of the earth” (Isaias 16, 1). The Divine Lamb immolated Himself for us; we will make a complete sacrifice of ourselves to Him; we will offer Him our self-love, our pride and self-will. Jesus takes away sin from us, if we approach Him with a truly penitential spirit. Let us show ourselves grateful and help others to cleanse themselves of their sins by our humility and meekness and anticipation of their every want. If the Lord should send us crosses and sufferings, let us also imitate the patience of the Lamb. By our patience we must merit the privilege of one day bearing the name of the Lamb engraven on our foreheads.
Second Point
Jesus, the Lamb of God, in His Glorified Life
It did not suffice for our Divine Saviour to immolate Himself to the heavenly Father for our salvation. His love urged Him to remain with us in the adorable Sacrament of the Altar to the end of time. What an immeasurable grace for us! Does not a single Holy Mass surpass in worth the countless sacrifices of the Old Law? These were efficacious only in view of the spotless Sacrifice of the New Dispensation that was to come, and of which they were but types. In the Sacrifice of the Mass we offer to the Most High the “Lamb of God Himself.” But can we not apply to many the word of St. John: “There has stood One in the midst of you, whom you know not” (John 1, 26). O my Saviour, enlighten the blindness of those who will not know and love Thee in the Sacrament of Thy Love. Oh, that we, at least, were penetrated with a lively conviction of the majesty of the hidden God, of the goodness and mercy of His Sacred Heart! Let us excite humble and boundless confidence whenever we hear the words of St. John: “Behold, the Lamb of God,” which Holy Mother Church repeats again and again at Holy Communion, as a confession of faith in the Divinity of Christ. In the Apocalypse, St. John saw the King of Glory under the figure of a Lamb, on Mt. Sion, surrounded by His elect. We, too, have been purchased from among human kind as first fruits for God and the Lamb. Oh, how great is our hope, being called, by the practice of virginal chastity, to the nuptials of the Lamb. Let us, then, prepare our wedding ornaments, and seek ever more to replenish our lamps with the oil of charity, that when we shall hear the cry: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh,” we may enter the marriage feast with the prudent virgins.
Are these immortal hopes not worth being purchased by a life of labor, of exertion, and sufferings?
Affections: O Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us! Have mercy on my poor soul! Take away my sins and my misery. Let me ever better recognize the gratitude I owe Thee for having purchased me at the price of Thy Precious Blood, for having left it as perpetual satisfaction for my sins, even as the nourishment of my soul. Grant me courage, strength and grace to immolate myself to Thee with all that I am and have. May I help to recognize Thy love. Oh, do not permit me to abuse the graces Thou dost offer me so generously, or to squander my time in indifference and sloth as did the foolish virgins! Behold, with renewed fervor I will arise from my tepidity that Thou mayest recognize me in life and in death as Thy true spouse.
Resolution: In union with our dear Saviour, we will cheerfully make the sacrifices that God asks of us today.
Spiritual Bouquet: “Behold the Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sins of the world!”
It is taken from their beloved copy of Jesus, the Model of Religious, a book of meditations translated from the German by a Sister of Notre Dame, and known for its simple, direct insights that stir both the mind and the heart.
Title of the Meditation for Wednesday
Jesus—the Lamb of God
“The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him, and he saith: ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world’” (John 1, 29).
First Prelude: Picture St. John on the banks of the Jordan, pointing to Jesus, and saying: “Behold, the Lamb of God.”
Second Prelude: O Jesus, Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, cleanse me also from my sins, and make me worthy to be numbered among those who will one day follow Thee in heaven whithersoever Thou goest.
First Point
Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Divine Victim in His Mortal Life
The holy precursor designates Jesus before the multitudes as the “Lamb of God,” as Him Who was expected for centuries to redeem the world from the misery into which sin had plunged it. The Saviour is the Lamb of immolation given to us by the heavenly Father Himself, the accomplishment and consummation of the typical sacrifices of the Old Law, to which Isaias (5, 3, 7) had reference with the words: “He was offered because it was His own will; and He opened not His mouth: He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and He shall not open His mouth.” From the moment of Christ’s entrance into the world, His death was ever present before Him: “My sorrow is always before Me” (Ps. 37, 18), in virtue of which constant remembrance, He was for the term of His whole life, a Victim for our salvation. Jesus is further called the Lamb of God to indicate the attributes of the Messiah, namely, purity, innocence, meekness, patience, and simplicity. Through these He wills to establish His kingdom on earth as we read in Holy Writ, “Send forth, O Lord, the Lamb, the ruler of the earth” (Isaias 16, 1). The Divine Lamb immolated Himself for us; we will make a complete sacrifice of ourselves to Him; we will offer Him our self-love, our pride and self-will. Jesus takes away sin from us, if we approach Him with a truly penitential spirit. Let us show ourselves grateful and help others to cleanse themselves of their sins by our humility and meekness and anticipation of their every want. If the Lord should send us crosses and sufferings, let us also imitate the patience of the Lamb. By our patience we must merit the privilege of one day bearing the name of the Lamb engraven on our foreheads.
Second Point
Jesus, the Lamb of God, in His Glorified Life
It did not suffice for our Divine Saviour to immolate Himself to the heavenly Father for our salvation. His love urged Him to remain with us in the adorable Sacrament of the Altar to the end of time. What an immeasurable grace for us! Does not a single Holy Mass surpass in worth the countless sacrifices of the Old Law? These were efficacious only in view of the spotless Sacrifice of the New Dispensation that was to come, and of which they were but types. In the Sacrifice of the Mass we offer to the Most High the “Lamb of God Himself.” But can we not apply to many the word of St. John: “There has stood One in the midst of you, whom you know not” (John 1, 26). O my Saviour, enlighten the blindness of those who will not know and love Thee in the Sacrament of Thy Love. Oh, that we, at least, were penetrated with a lively conviction of the majesty of the hidden God, of the goodness and mercy of His Sacred Heart! Let us excite humble and boundless confidence whenever we hear the words of St. John: “Behold, the Lamb of God,” which Holy Mother Church repeats again and again at Holy Communion, as a confession of faith in the Divinity of Christ. In the Apocalypse, St. John saw the King of Glory under the figure of a Lamb, on Mt. Sion, surrounded by His elect. We, too, have been purchased from among human kind as first fruits for God and the Lamb. Oh, how great is our hope, being called, by the practice of virginal chastity, to the nuptials of the Lamb. Let us, then, prepare our wedding ornaments, and seek ever more to replenish our lamps with the oil of charity, that when we shall hear the cry: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh,” we may enter the marriage feast with the prudent virgins.
Are these immortal hopes not worth being purchased by a life of labor, of exertion, and sufferings?
Affections: O Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us! Have mercy on my poor soul! Take away my sins and my misery. Let me ever better recognize the gratitude I owe Thee for having purchased me at the price of Thy Precious Blood, for having left it as perpetual satisfaction for my sins, even as the nourishment of my soul. Grant me courage, strength and grace to immolate myself to Thee with all that I am and have. May I help to recognize Thy love. Oh, do not permit me to abuse the graces Thou dost offer me so generously, or to squander my time in indifference and sloth as did the foolish virgins! Behold, with renewed fervor I will arise from my tepidity that Thou mayest recognize me in life and in death as Thy true spouse.
Resolution: In union with our dear Saviour, we will cheerfully make the sacrifices that God asks of us today.
Spiritual Bouquet: “Behold the Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sins of the world!”
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