O my dear Jesus, Thou art altogether forsaken; there is nothing from which Thou canst gather consolation and support. Even in the hour of death Thou dost enter the portals of the other world without one friendly face before Thine eyes. Yes, Thou art forsaken; Thy strength, the assistance of Thy Father, the light of Thine eyes, Thy holy Mother, hath no consolation for Thee. The people that stood around the cross did not know what that great cry meant. Only Jesus knew it. He felt it. How few people understand the language of divine love! Who could think that the Father would desert His Son, and would not be satisfied but with the most extreme punishment! We should sympathize with Our Lord in His cruel abandonment, we who have been the cause of this agony. Our Lord suffers the same feeling of desertion when we do not visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Let it be our joy, our pastime, our recreation, to go to Him, and to thank Him for His great love for us. Prayer. Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc. Thirty‐eighth Day. The last words which Our Lord uttered were, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” Again Jesus calls God His Father. God has accepted the sacrifice, and has taken His divine Son to His bosom, hence the Lord calls Him Father. The sacred countenance of Jesus takes on the pallor of death, the lips are parted and the last breath is gone. His soul has flown to the Father; the adorable spirit of Jesus has entered the realms of eternal bliss, where He is joyfully received. Jesus is dead, but by the infinite merits of His death and Passion He has freed us from death. Jesus is dead, but by His death we have become children of God. Jesus is dead, but we acknowledge Him to be our good Lord, our Master and our King. The death of Christ is our life, but we must exterminate sin, and let the love of Jesus flame up in our hearts. Prayer. Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc. Thirty‐ninth Day. “It is consummated.” All the sufferings of Our Lord are now over. The depth of humiliation has been reached, the bitter chalice has been drained, the soul of Jesus has left the body, and the body is dead. How often, dear Jesus, have I tried to shake off the cross which God has imposed on me! I, too, ought to remain fixed to the cross, until all is over and the soul leaves my body. The fact is that I have not the virtue of perseverance, that sister virtue of patience, which protects our sanctity. I ought to be able to say with Our Lord, “The work which I was to do is completed.” The day will come when I, and the whole world, will see the mystery of my crosses: when I shall see clearly the purpose for which I had to bear them. Give me the grace, gracious Jesus, that I may welcome that day, because I am conscious that I have done my duty. With the consummation of the work will also come my reward. Prayer. Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc. Fortieth Day.