Jesus is quickly thrown backwards with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum is then lifted in place at the top of the stipes [the vertical beam].... The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified as He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain – the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurs. As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward... Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen... Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermit tent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber: Then another agony begins. A deep crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart... It is now almost over – the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level – the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues – the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air... The body of Jesus is now in extremis and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues... His mission of atonement has been completed. Finally he can allow His body to die.

C. Truman Davis

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
		Chocolate, Information	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Always melt chocolate with gentle heat because it scorches easily. If
chocolate is to be melted alone, make certain that the container and
utensils are absolutely dry; a tiny drop of moisture will cause the
chocolate to become lumpy and stiff.  If this should happen, stir in
one teaspoon of vegetable shortening for each ounce of chocolate.
Remember that unsweetened chocolate liquifies when melted, but
semisweet and baking chocolate will hold their shapes until stirred.
For faster melting, cut or chop chocolate into smaller pieces. To  melt
chocolate, place it in a heavy saucepan over low heat and stir  until
melted. Or, place chocolate in top of a double boiler and melt  over
hot water, stirring until smooth. To melt chocolate in a  microwave
oven, place a 1-ounce square in a 1-cup glass measure.  Microwave,
uncovered, at MEDIUM (50% power) for 1 to 2 minutes or  until chocolate
is almost melted. Stir until completely melted and  smooth. Add 10
seconds for each additional ounce of chocolate. To  melt chocolate
morsels in a microwave oven, place 1 cup chocolate  morsels in a 2-cup
measure. Microwave, uncovered, at MEDIUM (50%  power) for 2 to 4
minutes or until morsels are glossy. Stir until  smooth. Formatted by
Rose Capoccia drnd29a From Chocolate Fantasies  From Gemini's MASSIVE
MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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