(A sermon by Martin Luther,it is taken from volume II:183-192 of The Sermons of Martin Luther, published by Baker Book House (Grand Rapids, MI). It was originally published in 1906 in english by Lutherans in All Lands Press (Minneapolis, MN), as The Precious and Sacred Writings of Martin Luther, vol. 11. The original title of this sermon appears below. The pagination from the Baker edition has been maintained for referencing. This e-text was scanned and edited by Richard Bucher, it is in the public domain and it may be copied and distributed without restriction.)

（这是马丁·路德的一篇讲道，以下讲道英文摘自贝克书屋（密歇根州大急流城）出版的《马丁·路德的讲道》卷 II:183-192。 它最初由路德教会于 1906 年在 All Lands Press（明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯）以英文出版，名为《马丁路德的珍贵和神圣著作》，卷11。中文翻译为Deepl翻译）

How to Contemplate Christ’s Holy Sufferings

当如何默想基督的神圣受难

I.     THE FALSE VIEWS OF CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS

一、对基督受难的错误看法

In the first place, some reflect upon the sufferings of Christ in a way that they become angry at the Jews, sing and lament about poor Judas, and are then satisfied; just like by habit they complain of other persons, and condemn and spend their time with their enemies. Such an exercise may truly be called a meditation not on the sufferings of Christ, but on the wickedness of Judas and the Jews.

首先，有些人反思基督的苦难，对犹太人感到愤怒，为可怜的犹大哀叹，然后就满足了； 就像他们抱怨别人的习惯一样，，谴责别人，并与他们的敌人共度时光。 这样的实践确实可以被称为默想，不是对基督的苦难，而是对犹大和犹太人的邪恶的沉思。

In the second place, others have pointed out the different benefits and fruits springing from a consideration of Christ’s Passion. Here the saying ascribed to Albertus is misleading, that to think once superficially on the sufferings of Christ is better than to fast a whole year or to pray the Psalter every day, etc. The people thus blindly follow him and act contrary to the true fruits of Christ’s Passion; for they seek therein their own selfish interests. Therefore they decorate themselves with pictures and booklets, with letters and crucifixes, and some go so far as to imagine that they thus protect themselves against the perils of water, of fire, and of the sword, and all other dangers. In this way the suffering of Christ is to work in them an absence of suffering, which is contrary to its nature and character.

其次，还有人指出了思考基督受难所带来的不同益处和成果。在这里，阿尔贝图斯的说法具有误导性，即肤浅地思考一次基督的苦难，胜过整年禁食或每天祈祷《诗篇》等。人们就这样盲目地追随他，与基督受难的真正果实背道而驰；因为他们在其中寻求的是自己的私利。因此，他们用画像和小册子、字母和十字架来装饰自己，有些人甚至幻想这样就能保护自己免受水火刀剑和其他一切危险的侵袭。这样，基督的苦难就在他们身上产生了一种不受苦的效果，而这是与苦难的性质和特点背道而驰的。

A third class so sympathize with Christ as to weep and lament for him because he was so innocent, like the women who followed Christ from Jerusalem, whom he rebuked, in that they should better weep for themselves and for their children. Such are they who run far away in the midst of the Passion season, and are greatly benefitted by the departure of Christ from Bethany and by the pains and sorrows of the Virgin Mary, but they never get farther. Hence they postpone the Passion many hours, and God only knows whether it is devised more for sleeping than for watching. And among these fanatics are those who taught what great blessings come from the holy mass, and in their simple way they think it is enough if they attend mass. To this we are led through the sayings of certain teachers, that the mass opere operati, non opere operantis, is acceptable of itself, even without our merit and worthiness, just as if that were enough.

第三类人同情基督，为他哭泣和哀叹，因为他是如此无辜，就像那些从耶路撒冷跟随基督的妇女一样，基督斥责她们最好为自己和孩子哭泣。这些人在耶稣受难期间跑得远远的，他们因基督离开伯大尼和圣母玛利亚的痛苦和悲伤而受益匪浅，但他们却从未走得更远。因此，他们将耶稣受难的时间推迟了很多个小时，天知道这是不是为了睡觉而不是为了观看而设计的。在这些狂热者中，还有一些人教导我们，圣弥撒能带来多么大的祝福，他们简单地认为只要参加弥撒就足够了。某些教师的说法让我们明白了这一点，他们说弥撒作工，非施行之人作工，即使没有我们的功劳和价值，弥撒本身也是可以接受的，似乎这就足够了。

Nevertheless the mass was not instituted for the sake of its own worthiness, but to prove us, especially for the purpose of meditating upon the sufferings of Christ. For where this is not done, we make a temporal, unfruitful work out of the mass, however good it may be in itself. For what help is it to you, that God is God, if he is not God to you? What benefit is it that eating and drinking are in themselves healthful and good, if they are not healthful for you, and there is fear that we never grow better by reason of our many masses, if we fail to seek the true fruit in them?

然而，设立弥撒并不是为了它本身的价值，而是为了证明我们，尤其是为了让我们默想基督的苦难。如果不这样做，弥撒就会成为一种暂时的、没有结果的工作，无论它本身多么美好。因为如果上帝对你来说不是上帝，那么他是上帝对你又有什么帮助呢？吃喝本身是有益健康的，如果对你们没有益处，那又有什么益处呢？如果我们不在我们众多的弥撒中寻求真正的果实，恐怕我们永远不会因为我们的弥撒而变得更好。

II.    THE TRUE VIEW OF CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS.

二. 对基督苦难的真实看法。

Fourthly, they meditate on the Passion of Christ aright, who so view Christ that they become terror-stricken in heart at the sight, and their conscience at once sinks in despair. This terror- stricken feeling should spring forth, so that you see the severe wrath and the unchangeable earnestness of God in regard to sin and sinners, in that he was unwilling that his only and dearly beloved Son should set sinners free unless he paid the costly ransom for them as is mentioned in Isaiah 53, 8: “For the transgression of my people was he stricken.” What happens to the sinner, when the dear child is thus stricken? An earnestness must be present that is inexpressible and unbearable, which a person so immeasurably great goes to meet, and suffers and dies for it; and if you reflect upon it real deeply, that God’s Son, the eternal wisdom of the Father, himself suffers, you will indeed be terror-stricken; and the more you reflect the deeper will be the impression.

第四，他们正确地默想基督的受难，他们如此看待基督，以至于一看到基督就心生恐惧，他们的良心立刻陷入绝望。这种惊恐万状的感觉应该涌现出来，让你看到上帝对罪和罪人的严厉忿怒和永不改变的恳切，因为他不愿意让他的独生爱子使罪人获得自由，除非他为罪人付出昂贵的代价，正如以赛亚书第53章第8节所提到的：”他因我百姓的过犯受害”。当亲爱的孩子如此受难时，罪人会怎样呢？一定会有一种难以言表、难以忍受的恳切，一个如此伟大的一位去满足这种恳切，并为此受苦、受死；如果你真正深刻地反思，上帝的儿子，天父永恒的智慧，亲自受苦，你确实会感到恐惧；你反思得越多，印象就越深。

Fifthly, that you deeply believe and never doubt the least, that you are the one who thus martyred Christ. For your sins most surely did it. Thus St. Peter struck and terrified the Jews as with a thunderbolt in Acts 2, 36-37, when he spoke to them all in common: “Him have ye crucified,” so that three thousand were terror-stricken the same day and tremblingly cried to the apostles:” beloved brethren what shall we do?” Therefore, when you view the nails piercing through his hands, firmly believing it is your work. Do you behold his crown of thorns, believe the thorns are your wicked thoughts, etc.

第五，你们要深信不疑，你们就是使基督殉道的人。因为这肯定是你们的罪孽造成的。因此，在《使徒行传》第 2 章第 36-37 节中，当圣彼得对犹太人众口一词地说：”你们把他钉在十字架上 “时，犹太人如遭雷击，惊恐万分，以致当天就有三千人受到惊吓，战战兢兢地向使徒们喊道：”亲爱的弟兄们，我们该怎么办？” 因此，当你看到钉子穿透他的双手时，要坚信这是你的杰作。当你们看到他的荆棘冠冕时，是否会相信荆棘是你们邪恶的想法等等。

Sixthly, now see, where one thorn pierces Christ, there more than a thousand thorns should pierce thee, yea, eternally should they thus and even more painfully pierce thee. Where one nail is driven through his hands and feet, thou should eternally suffer such and even more painful nails; as will be also visited upon those who let Christ’s sufferings be lost and fruitless as far as they are concerned. For this earnest mirror, Christ, will neither lie nor mock; whatever he says must be fully realized.

第六，现在请看，在一根荆棘刺穿基督的地方，应该有一千多根荆棘刺穿你，是的，它们应该永远这样刺穿你，甚至更加痛苦。一根钉子钉进他手脚的地方，你也要永远受这样的钉子，甚至更痛苦的钉子；那些让基督的苦难失去意义、毫无结果的人，也要受这样的苦难。因为基督这面恳切的镜子既不会撒谎，也不会嘲弄；他所说的一切都必须完全实现。

Seventhly, St. Bernard was so terror-stricken by Christ’s sufferings that he said: I imagined I was secure and I knew nothing of the eternal judgment passed upon me in heaven, until I saw the eternal Son of God took mercy upon me, stepped forward and offered himself on my behalf in the same judgment. Ah, it does not become me still to play and remain secure when such earnestness is behind those sufferings. Hence he commanded the women: “Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” Luke 23, 28; and gives in the 31st verse the reason: “For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” As if to say: Learn from my martyrdom what you have merited and how you should be rewarded. For here it is true that a little dog was slain in order to terrorize a big one. Likewise the prophet also said: “All generations shall lament and bewail themselves more than him”; it is not said they shall lament him, but themselves rather than him. Likewise were also the apostles terror-stricken in Acts 2, 37, as mentioned before, so that they said to the apostles: “0, brethren, what shall we do?” So the church also sings: I will diligently meditate thereon, and thus my soul in me will exhaust itself.

第七，圣伯纳德被基督的苦难深深震撼，他说：”我曾以为我是安全的，我对天堂对我的永恒审判一无所知：直到我看到永恒的上帝之子怜悯我，挺身而出，在同样的审判中为我献身。啊，当这些苦难的背后是如此的恳切时，我还在玩耍和保持安全是不合适的。因此，他吩咐妇女们： “不要为我哭，要为你们自己和你们的儿女哭”。–路加福音23：28，并在第 31 节中给出了理由：”「这些事既行在有汁水的树上，那枯干的树将来怎么样呢？」“好像在说： 你们要从我的殉道中学习你们的功绩和应得的奖赏。因为在这里，确实是为了恐吓大狗而杀死了一只小狗。同样，先知也说： “世世代代都要哀叹，哀叹自己胜过哀叹他”；这里不是说哀叹他，而是说哀叹自己胜过哀叹他。同样，在使徒行传第 2 章第 37 节中，就像前面提到的那样，他们对使徒们说 “弟兄们，我们该怎么办？” 教会也唱道：我要殷勤默想，这样我里面的灵魂就会耗尽。

Eighthly, one must skillfully exercise himself in this point, for the benefit of Christ’s sufferings depends almost entirely upon man coming to a true knowledge of himself, and becoming terror- stricken and slain before himself And where man does not come to this point, the sufferings of Christ have become of no true benefit to him. For the characteristic, natural work of Christ’s sufferings is that they make all men equal and alike, so that as Christ was horribly martyred as to body and soul in our sins, we must also like him be martyred in our consciences by our sins. This does not take place by means of many words, but by means of deep thoughts and a profound realization of our sins. Take an illustration: If an evil-doer were judged because he had slain the child of a prince or king, and you were in safety, and sang and played, as if you were entirely innocent, until one seized you in a horrible manner and convinced you that you had enabled the wicked person to do the act; behold, then you would be in the greatest straits, especially if your conscience also revolted against you. Thus much more anxious you should be, when you consider Christ’s sufferings. For the evil doers, the Jews, although they have now judged and banished God, they have still been the servants of your sins, and you are truly the one who strangled and crucified the Son of God through your sins, as has been said.

第八，在这一点上，人必须巧妙地锻炼自己，因为基督受难的益处几乎完全取决于人对自己的真正认识，并在自己面前变得惊恐万状，被自己所杀。如果人没有达到这一点，基督的受难对他就没有真正的益处。因为基督受难的特点和自然功用在于，它使所有人都变得平等和相似，这样，就像基督在我们的罪中身体和灵魂都可怕地殉道一样，我们也必须像他一样在我们的良心中因我们的罪而殉道。这不是通过许多言语，而是通过深思和对我们罪孽的深刻认识来实现的。举个例子： 如果一个恶人因为杀害了王子或国王的孩子而受到审判，而你却安然无恙，还在唱歌、玩耍，好像你完全是无辜的，直到有人以一种可怕的方式抓住你，让你相信是你让这个恶人做出了这种行为；看哪，你会陷入最大的困境，尤其是如果你的良心也反叛你的话。因此，考虑到基督所受的苦难，你就应该更加焦虑。因为作恶的犹太人，虽然他们现在已经审判并处罚了上帝，但他们仍然是你们罪孽的奴仆，你们才是真正因你们的罪孽而扼杀上帝之子并将他钉死在十字架上的人，正如已经说过的那样。

Ninthly, whoever perceives himself to be so hard and sterile that he is not terror-stricken by Christ’s sufferings and led to a knowledge of him, he should fear and tremble. For it cannot be otherwise; you must become like the picture and sufferings of Christ, be it realized in life or in hell; you must at the time of death, if not sooner, fall into terror, tremble, quake and experience all Christ suffered on the cross. It is truly terrible to attend to this on your deathbed; therefore you should pray God to soften your heart and permit you fruitfully to meditate upon Christ’s Passion. For it is impossible for us profoundly to meditate upon the sufferings of Christ of ourselves, unless God sink them into our hearts. Further, neither this meditation nor any other doctrine is given to you to the end that you should fall fresh upon it yourself, to accomplish the same; but you are first to seek and long for the grace of God, that you may accomplish it through God’s grace and not through your own power. For in this way it happens that those referred to above never treat the sufferings of Christ aright; for they never call upon God to that end, but devise out of their own ability their own way, and treat those sufferings entirely in a human and an unfruitful manner.

第九，凡是认为自己坚硬无比，不能被基督的苦难所震慑，不能认识基督的人，都应该恐惧和颤抖。因为不可能不是这样；你必须变得像基督的形象和受苦一样，不管是在生活中还是在地狱里实现；你必须在死的时候，如果不是更早的话，陷入恐惧、颤抖、震颤，经历基督在十字架上所受的一切。在临终前去经历这些真的很可怕；因此，你应该祈求上帝软化你的心，允许你有效地默想基督的受难。因为除非上帝将基督的苦难铭刻在我们的心中，否则我们不可能深刻地默想基督的苦难。此外，无论是这种默想还是任何其他教义，都不是为了让你们自己沉浸其中，去完成同样的事情；你们首先要寻求和渴慕上帝的恩典，以便通过上帝的恩典而不是自己的力量来完成它。这样一来，上文提到的那些人就从来没有正确对待过基督的苦难；因为他们从来没有为此呼求过上帝，而是凭着自己的能力想出了自己的办法，完全以一种人自己的和没有结果的方式对待这些苦难。

Tenthly, whoever meditates thus upon God’s sufferings for a day, an hour, yea, for a quarter of an hour, we wish to say freely and publicly, that it is better than if he fasts a whole year, prays the Psalter every day, yea, than if he hears a hundred masses. For such a meditation changes a man’s character and almost as in baptism he is born again, anew. Then Christ’s suffering accomplishes its true, natural and noble work, it slays the old Adam, banishes all lust, pleasure and security that one may obtain from God’s creatures; just like Christ was forsaken by all, even by God.

第十，凡是这样默想上帝的苦难一天、一小时，甚至一刻钟的人，我们都想公开自由地说，这比他禁食一整年，每天祈祷《诗篇》，甚至听一百次弥撒都要好。因为这样的冥想会改变一个人的性格，几乎就像在洗礼中重生一样。然后，基督的苦难完成了它真正的、自然的和崇高的工作，它杀死了老亚当，驱逐了人可能从上帝的创造物中获得的一切欲望、享乐和安全感；就像基督被所有人，甚至被上帝抛弃一样。

Eleventhly, since then such a work is not in our hands, it happens that sometimes we pray and do not receive it at the time; in spite of this one should not despair nor cease to pray. At times it comes when we are not praying for it, as God knows and wills; for it will be free and unbound: then man is distressed in conscience and is wickedly displeased with his own life, and it may easily happen that he does not know that Christ’s Passion is working this very thing in him, of which perhaps he was not aware, just like the others so exclusively meditated on Christ’s Passion that in their knowledge of self they could not extricate themselves out of that state of meditation. Among the first the sufferings of Christ are quite and true, among the others a show and false, and according to its nature God often turns the leaf, so that those who do not meditate on the Passion, really do meditate on it; and those who hear the mass, do not hear it; and those who hear it not, do hear it.

第十一，因为这样的工作不在我们的手中，所以有时我们祈祷了，却没有得到它；尽管如此，我们不应该绝望，也不应该停止祈祷。有时，当我们没有祈祷时，它就来了，这是上帝知道的，也是上帝的旨意；因为它将是自由的、无拘无束的：这时，人的良心会感到痛苦，会对自己的生活产生邪恶的不满，很容易发生这样的情况：他不知道基督的受难正在他身上做这件事，也许他并不知道，就像其他人如此专注地冥想基督的受难一样，在他们对自我的认识中，他们无法从这种冥想状态中解脱出来。在前者中，基督的苦难是真实的，在后者中，基督的苦难是虚假的，上帝常常根据其本质翻转树叶，使那些不默想苦难的人，真的默想苦难；听到弥撒的人，没有听到弥撒；没有听到弥撒的人，却听到了弥撒。

III.   THE COMFORT OF CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS.

三． 基督苦难的安慰

Until the present we have been in the Passion week and have celebrated Good Friday in the right way: now we come to Easter and Christ’s resurrection. When man perceives his sins in this light and is completely terror-stricken in his conscience, he must be on his guard that his sins do not thus remain in his conscience, and nothing but pure doubt certainly come out of it; but just as the sins flowed out of Christ and we became conscious of them, so should we pour them again upon him and set our conscience free. Therefore, see well to it that you act not like perverted people, who bite and devour themselves with their sins in their heart, and run here and there with their good works or their own satisfaction, or even work themselves out of this condition by means of indulgences and become rid of their sins; which is impossible, and, alas, such a false refuge of satisfaction and pilgrimages has spread far and wide.

在此之前，我们一直处于受难周，并以正确的方式庆祝了耶稣受难日：现在，我们迎来了复活节和基督的复活。当人从这一角度认识到自己的罪孽，并在良心上感到完全恐惧时，他必须警惕，他的罪孽不会就这样留在他的良心中，除了纯粹的怀疑之外，肯定不会有任何东西从良心中流出；但正如罪孽从基督那里流出，我们意识到它们一样，我们也应该把它们再次倾倒在基督身上，让我们的良心获得自由。因此，你们要注意自己的行为，不要像那些变态的人一样，心里装着自己的罪孽，咬牙切齿地吞噬着自己，然后用自己的善行或自己的满足感跑到这里跑到那里，甚至用放纵自己的方式来摆脱这种状况，摆脱自己的罪孽；这是不可能的，唉，这种虚假的满足感和朝圣的避难所已经传播得很远很远了。

Thirteenthly. Then cast your sins from yourself upon Christ, believe with a festive spirit that your sins are his wounds and sufferings, that he carries them and makes satisfaction for them, as Is aiah 53:6 says: “Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;” and St. Peter in his first Epistle 2, 24: “Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree” of the cross; and St.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “Him who knew no sin was made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”Upon these and like passages you must rely with all your weight, and so much the more the harder your conscience martyrs you. For if you do not take this course, but miss the opportunity of stilling your heart, then you will never secure peace, and must yet finally despair in doubt. For if we deal with our sins in our conscience and let them continue within us and be cherished in our hearts, they become much too strong for us to manage and they will live forever. But when we see that they are laid on Christ and he has triumphed over them by his resurrection and we fearlessly believe it, then they are dead and have become as nothing. For upon Christ they cannot rest, there they are swallowed up by his resurrection, and you see now no wound, no pain, in him, that is, no sign of sin. Thus St. Paul speaks in Romans 4: 25, that he was delivered up for our trespasses and was raised for our justification; that is, in his sufferings he made known our sins and also crucified them; but by his resurrection he makes us righteous and free from all sin, even if we believe the same differently.

第十三 然后把你的罪孽从你自己身上卸给基督，带着喜乐的心情相信你的罪孽就是他的伤口和苦难，他背负着这些罪孽，并为它们做了赎价，正如《以赛亚书》53章6节所说：”我们都如羊走迷； 各人偏行己路； 耶和华使我们众人的罪孽都归在他身上。”；圣彼得在他的第一封书信2章24节中说：”他被挂在木头上，亲身担当了我们的罪，使我们既然在罪上死，就得以在义上活。因他受的鞭伤，你们便得了医治。的罪”；圣保罗在《哥林多后书》5章21节中说：”那无罪的，替我们成为罪，使我们在他里面成为神的义”。

你必须全心全意地依靠这些经文和类似的经文，而且你的良知越是强烈地折磨你，你就越是要这样做。因为如果你不这样做，而是错过了让你的心平静下来的机会，那么你将永远无法获得安宁，最终还必须在怀疑中绝望。因为如果我们在良心中处理我们的罪孽，让它们在我们的内心继续存在，在我们的心中被珍视，它们就会变得太强大，我们无法控制，它们就会永远活着。但是，当我们看到它们被放在基督身上，基督通过复活战胜了它们，并且我们无畏地相信这一点时，它们就死了，变得无足轻重。因为在基督身上，它们无法安息，在那里，它们被他的复活所吞没，你现在在他身上看不到任何伤口，看不到任何痛苦，也就是说，看不到任何罪的痕迹。因此，圣保罗在《罗马书》第4章第25节中说，耶稣被交给人，是为我们的过犯；复活，是为叫我们称义。也就是说，他在受难中使我们知道了自己的罪，并将我们的罪钉在十字架上；但通过他的复活，他使我们成了义人，摆脱了所有的罪。

Fourteenthly. Now if you are not able to believe, then, as I said before, you should pray to God for faith. For this is a matter in the hands of God that is entirely free, and is also bestowed alike at times knowingly, at times secretly, as was just said on the subject of suffering.

第十四， 现在，如果你不能相信，那么，正如我之前所说，你应该向神祈求信心。 因为这是上帝手中的事情，是完全自由的，并且有时是有意地、有时是秘密地给予的，正如刚才关于苦难的主题所说的那样。

(Fifteenthly), But now bestir yourself to the end: first, not to behold Christ’s sufferings any longer; for they have already done their work and terrified you; but press through all difficulties and behold his friendly heart, how full of love it is toward you, which love constrained him to bear the heavy load of your conscience and your sin. Thus will your heart be loving and sweet toward him, and the assurance of your faith be strengthened. Then ascend higher through the heart of Christ to the heart of God, and see that Christ would not have been able to love you if God had not willed it in eternal love, to which Christ is obedient in his love toward you; there you will find the divine, good father heart, and, as Christ says, be thus drawn to the Father through Christ. Then will you understand the saying of Christ in John 3:16: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,” etc. That means to know God aright, if we apprehend him not by his power and wisdom, which terrify us, but by his goodness and love; there our faith and confidence can then stand immovable and man is truly thus born anew in God.

(第十五），但现在你要振作起来：首先，不要再看基督的苦难，因为它们已经做了工作，使你害怕；而是要克服一切困难，看他那友好的心，它对你是多么充满爱，这种爱迫使他承受你的良心和你的罪的重担。这样，你对他的心就会充满爱和甜蜜，你的信心也会更加坚定。然后再通过基督的心上升到上帝的心，看看如果不是上帝在永恒的爱中的旨意，基督是不可能爱你的，基督在他对你的爱中顺从了永恒的爱。这样，你就会明白基督在约翰福音 3：16 中所说的：”上帝爱世人，甚至将他的独生子赐给他们”。这就是说，如果我们不是通过他那使我们恐惧的能力和智慧，而是通过他的良善和慈爱来认识他，那么我们就能正确地认识上帝；在那里，我们的信心就能坚定不移，人就能真正地在上帝里面重生。

Sixteenthly. When your heart is thus established in Christ, and you are an enemy of sin, out of love and not out of fear of punishment, Christ’s sufferings should also be an example for your whole life, and you should meditate on the same in a different way. For hitherto we have considered Christ’s Passion as a sacrament that works in us and we suffer; now we consider it, that we also work, namely thus: if a day of sorrow or sickness weighs you down, think, how trifling that is compared with the thorns and nails of Christ. If you must do or leave undone what is distasteful to you: think, how Christ was led hither and thither, bound and a captive. Does pride attack you: behold, how your Lord was mocked and disgraced with murderers. Do unchastity and lust thrust themselves against you: think, how bitter it was for Christ to have his tender flesh torn, pierced and beaten again and again. Do hatred and envy war against you, or do you seek vengeance: remember how Christ with many tears and cries prayed for you and all his enemies, who indeed had more reason to seek revenge. If trouble or whatever adversity of body or soul afflict you, strengthen your heart and say: Ah, why then should I not also suffer a little since my Lord sweat blood in the garden because of anxiety and grief? That would be a lazy, disgraceful servant who would wish to lie in his bed while his lord was compelled to battle with the pangs of death.

第十六条 当你的心在基督里如此建立，你出于爱而不是出于对惩罚的恐惧，成为罪的敌人时，基督的苦难也应该成为你一生的榜样，你应该以不同的方式默想同样的苦难。因为在此之前，我们一直认为基督的受难是一种圣事，它在我们身上起作用，我们也受苦；现在我们认为它也在我们身上起作用，即：如果一天的忧伤或疾病使你感到沉重，想想看，与基督的荆棘和钉子相比，那是多么微不足道。如果你必须做或不做你不喜欢的事：想一想，基督是怎样被牵来牵去，被捆绑，被俘虏的。傲慢是否会攻击你：看，你的主是如何与杀人犯一起被嘲弄，蒙羞的。贞洁和情欲是否会攻击你：想一想，基督的嫩肉被一次次撕裂、刺穿和殴打是多么痛苦。仇恨和嫉妒是否与你作对，或者你是否寻求报复：请记住基督是如何流着泪水和哭声为你和他所有的敌人祈祷的，而他的敌人确实更有理由寻求报复。如果麻烦或任何身体或灵魂的逆境折磨着你，请坚定你的心，说：”啊，为什么我不也是这样呢？啊，既然我的主在花园里因为焦虑和悲伤而流汗流血，我为什么不也受一点苦呢？那将是一个懒惰、可耻的仆人，当他的主人被迫与死亡的痛苦搏斗时，他却想躺在床上。

Behold, one can thus find in Christ strength and comfort against all vice and bad habits. That is the right observance of Christ’s Passion, and that is the fruit of his suffering, and he who exercises himself thus in the same does better than by hearing the whole Passion or reading all masses. And they are called true Christians who incorporate the life and name of Christ into their own life, as St. Paul says in Galatians 5: 24: “And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.” For Christ’s Passion must be dealt with not in words and a show, but in our lives and in truth. Thus St. Paul admonishes us in Hebrews 12: 3: “For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls;” and St. Peter in his 1 Epistle 4:1: “As Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind.” But this kind of meditation is now out of use and very rare, although the Epistles of St. Paul and St. Peter are full of it. We have changed the essence into a mere show, and painted the meditation of Christ’s sufferings only in letters and on walls.

看哪，人们可以在基督里找到力量和安慰，抵御一切罪恶和不良习惯。这就是对基督受难的正确理解，这就是基督受难的果实，在基督受难中锻炼自己的人比听完整部受难经或读所有弥撒经的人做得更好。正如圣保罗在《加拉太书》第 5 章第 24 节中所说：”凡属基督耶稣的人，是已经把肉体连肉体的邪情私欲同钉在十字架上了。”。因为基督的受难不是用言语和表演来表达的，而是用我们的生命和真理来表达的。因此，希伯来书第12章第3节中告诫我们：”那忍受罪人这样顶撞的，你们要思想，免得疲倦灰心。”圣彼得在彼得前书第4章第1节中告诫我们：”基督既在肉身受苦，你们也当将这样的心志作为兵器，因为在肉身受过苦的，就已经与罪断绝了。“但这种默想现在已不再使用，而且非常罕见，尽管圣保罗和圣彼得的书信中充满了这种默想。我们把本质变成了单纯的表演，把对基督受难的默想只画在纸上和墙上了。