纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 066圣荆棘之匣（3）（在线收听）

For medieval Christians, the only hope of escaping the torments of hell lay in the redeeming blood that Christ had shed. At the very centre of the Reliquary is Christ, showing us his wounds. And here, just below him, before your very eyes and only inches away from you, is one of the long, needle-like thorns that caused that holy blood to flow. 'Ista est una spinea corone Domini nostril Ihesu Christi', reads the enamel label: 'This is a thorn from the crown of our Lord Jesus Christ'.

It is, I think, impossible to exaggerate how powerfully this object would affect anyone kneeling in front of it. The blood drawn by this worthless thorn will save immortal souls, and so nothing earthly can be too precious for it. Neither the sapphire it stands on, nor the rock crystal that protects it, nor the rubies and the pearls that frame it. This is a sermon in gold and jewels, an aid to intense contemplation and a source of the deepest comfort. Here's the Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds, the Right Reverend Arthur Roche:

"I'm sure that the devotion to a relic such as this thorn has actually in some ways sanctified it. It certainly becomes a focus for the consideration, reflection on deeper things, as to the cost of suffering. Especially when you think that, if that thorn is authentic, then it was actually piercing the head of Christ during the course of his suffering and his crucifixion, and in some sense connects our suffering on this earth to his suffering for us. The focus gives us a strength to endure the things that we are presently going through."

在中世纪，基督徒相信逃脱地狱折磨的唯一希望就蕴藏在耶稣曾流下的救赎之血中。因此圣物匣的中心是裸露着伤口的耶稣，他的脚下是一根针一样的长荆棘，正是它导致圣血的流淌。珐琅刻绘的标签上写着"Ista est una spinea corone?Domini nostri Ihesu Christi”,意即“这是我主基督耶稣荆棘冠上的荆棘”。

利兹的天主教主教亚瑟·洛克强调了它的重要性：

在思考受难的代价这类更深层次的问题时，它自然成了焦点。尤其当你认为它就是那件切实的圣物，曾在耶酥承受痛苦、被钉死在十字架上的过程中刺穿过他的头，它在某种程度上就将我们在这个世界上所遭受的苦难与基督替我们承受的苦难联系起来。这个焦点赐予我们力量，让我们能够忍受背负的痛苦。