When Our Lord had given up the ghost great events took place, that struck terror to the hearts of those who witnessed them, and which were told from mouth to mouth. The great veil of the Temple, behind which stood the holy of holies, was rent. A terrible earthquake shook the earth, so that the rocks were burst asunder. The graves opened and men buried for years came forth and stalked about the streets of the city. Then the centurion, who stood beneath the cross and witnessed these supernatural manifestations, exclaimed to those who stood by him that truly this must have been the Son of God. The soldier saw that all was over, and he had but one duty more to perform before he could go away: that of piercing the Heart of Jesus with the lance. Then they took the body of the Lord from the cross, and laid it for a moment in the arms of Mary. Preparations were made by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus for the burial; hurried preparations, for it was the eve of the Pasch. They laid the body in the tomb, whence, on Easter Sunday, Jesus rose triumphantly. Prayer. Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc. A Method of Hearing Mass by Way of Meditation. Before The Service Begins, While Waiting For The Priest To Come In call to mind the Last Supper, in which Christ instituted the sacrifice of the Mass, and gave Himself to us all to be our food. Oughtest thou not to acknowledge and give Him thanks for this excess of love? _Affections._ Jesus, “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them unto the end.”—John xiii. 1. “For Thou hast prepared a table before me, against them that afflict me.”—Ps. xxii. 5. “I will sacrifice to Thee the sacrifice of praise, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.”—Ps. cxv. 17. When The Priest Is Descending From The Altar Before Commencing The Mass, consider Christ after the Last Supper going from Mount Sion, where the Supper had been held, to the Garden of Gethsemani. “And His disciples also followed Him.”—Luke xxii. 39. And wilt thou forsake thy God in the time of temptation and trial? _Affections._ “In what place soever Thou shalt be, my Lord King, ... there will Thy servant be.”—2 Kings xv. 21. “It is good for me to stick close to my God: to put my hope in the Lord God.”—Ps. lxxii. 28. “Lord, I am ready to go with Thee both into prison and to death.”—Luke xxii. 33. At The Confession contemplate Christ praying in His agony, when “His sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground.”—Luke xxii. 44. Thy sins forced out His blood; and wilt thou not grieve on account of them? _Affections._ “Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? and I will weep day and night.”—Jer. ix. 1. “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before Thee. I am not now worthy to be called Thy son.”—Luke xv. 21. “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”—Luke xviii. 13.