The first meditation is: We are going to contemplate our High Priest who sacrificed Himself for us; we are going to look into the eyes of the suffering and triumphant Christ. The subject of our considerations will be found in these words of the Creed: "Who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. .. He rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven." Love for our Lord will flame up within us when we look upon His infinite sacrifice for us, when we gaze upon His sufferings, His agony. That our reflections may be of lasting benefit to our souls, we must see clearly the purpose of our Lord's suffering. We must try to grasp man's spiritual misery and his unavailing spiritual struggle before the coming of Christ. Why did the Son of God become man, what is original sin, who is this Redeemer, what is this redemption, what do we mean when we say that we are now redeemed? These are the questions we must first consider so that we may take our stand in spirit beside our Savior as He climbs His lonely path to Cal vary, suffering for our sakes. Today we ask what brought Christ to our midst on earth; in other words, the reason why the Son of God became man. We can answer that the Son of God became man to teach us, to redeem us, and to educate us to the perfect glorification at God.