'The whole virtue of the meditation of the suffering of Christ lies in this, that man should come to a knowledge of himself and sink and tremble. If you are so hardened that you do tremble, then you have reason to tremble. Pray to God that he may soften your heart and make fruitful your meditation upon the suffering of Christ, for we of ourselves are incapable of proper reflection unless God instills it.
But if one does meditate rightly on the suffering of Christ for a day, an hour, or even a quater of an hour, this we may confidently say is better than a whole year of fasting, days of psalm sinigng, yes, than even one hundred masses, because this reflection changes the whole man and makes him new, as once he was in baptism.'
Martin Luther in Nancy Guthrie (Ed.), Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passsion and Power of Easter, p.12.
But if one does meditate rightly on the suffering of Christ for a day, an hour, or even a quater of an hour, this we may confidently say is better than a whole year of fasting, days of psalm sinigng, yes, than even one hundred masses, because this reflection changes the whole man and makes him new, as once he was in baptism.'
Martin Luther in Nancy Guthrie (Ed.), Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passsion and Power of Easter, p.12.
