“I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint” (Psalms 22:14)  

Earth and Heaven never witnessed a more tragic spectacle of sorrow! In soul and body, our Lord felt Himself to be weak as water poured upon the ground. The placing of the cross in its socket shook Him with great violence, strained all His ligaments, pained every nerve, and more or less dislocated His bones. Burdened with His own weight, He felt the strain with every breath those agonizing six long hours. He became nothing but a mass of misery and swooning sickness. When Daniel saw a great vision, he said, "no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength” (Daniel 10:8). How much weaker must Christ have been when He saw the vision of the wrath of God, and felt it in His own soul! To us, the things our Lord experienced would have been impossible to bear, and unconsciousness would have come to our rescue; but in His case, since He was crucified for our sins, He had to drink the entire cup of His Father, tasting every drop (Matthew 26:42). 

 "O King of Grief! (a title strange, yet true To Thee of all kings only due) O King of Wounds! how shall I grieve for Thee, Who in all grief preventest me!" 

 As we kneel before Christ, let’s remember how He prepared a throne of grace for us; let’s drink of His cup in spirit, so we’ll be strengthened for our time of sorrow, when it comes. Every member of His natural body suffered, and so it must be for His spiritual Body, the Church; but just as His body was transformed in power and glory, so shall we, His mystical Body, be raise incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:53).