Good Friday

[Stone]

INSTRUCTION ON GOOD FRIDAY

Taken from Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays, and Festivals throughout the Ecclesiastical Year

36th edition, 1880

THIS day was formerly for the Jewish people a day of preparation for Easter, and was called by them the Parasceve; for us Christians it is the anniversary of the death and burial of our Lord who on this day, being Him-self both High-Priest and Victim, offered Himself upon the cross for the salvation of the world.


Why do Catholics hold this day in such veneration?
Because it is one of the greatest days from the beginning of the world to its end. On this day the designs which God had from all eternity were perfected, as Jesus Himself expressed when He said: All is consummated; for on this day He was given up to the Gentiles by the Jews, was scourged, crowned with thorns, loaded with the cross, dragged to Calvary amid taunts and sneers, there nailed to the cross between two thieves, and by His painful death finished the great work of redemption.


Why did Christ suffer so much to redeem us?
To show us what an immense evil sin is, on account of which He underwent such cruel sufferings that He might satisfy divine justice. His love for us was so great that He gave the last drop of His blood to save us. He rendered satisfaction for all men without exception, that none might be lost, that every one might possess eternal life. Look up to-day, and every day of thy life, to Christ on the cross, and see how God punishes sin, since He did not even spare His only-begotten Son, who took upon Himself our sins, and for them died this cruel death. What death is due to thee, if thou dost not despise and flee from sin?


Why does the Church celebrate the commemoration of the passion of Christ in such solemn quietness?
That we may be induced to thank the Saviour for our redemption, and to move us to sincere love for Him by serious meditation on His passion. For this reason St. Paul ordered the observance of this day, and the Christians even in his time sanctified it by deep mourning, and rigorous fasting.


Why do we not observe Good Friday with such festivities as do the Protestants in Europe?
Because our grief for our Saviour's death is too great to permit us to celebrate it joyously, even nature mourned His death; the sun was darkened, the earth -trembled and the rocks were rent. Although the Christian rejoices on this day in the grace of redemption through Christ, he is aware that his joy cannot be pleasing to God unless he endeavors to participate in the merits of the passion and death of Christ by sorrow for his sins, by amendment and penance; and this is the very reason why the Church solemnizes this day in a sad and touching manner.


Why are there no candles lighted at the beginning of the service?
To signify that on this day Christ, the Light of the world, became, as it were, extinguished.



Why does the priest prostrate himself before the altar at the beginning of the service?
That with him we should consider in deepest sorrow and humility how the Saviour died on the cross for our sins, and how unworthy we are on account of them to lift up our faces.



Why does the service commence with the reading of two lessons?
Because Christ died for Jews and Gentiles. The first lesson is from the Prophet Osee, (Osee vi. i 6.) and the other from Exodus, (Exod. xii. i n.) from them we infer that by the bloody death of the immaculate Lamb Jesus we are healed of our sins, and redeemed from death.


After the first lesson the priest says the following:

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH O God! from whom Judas received the punishment of his sin, and the thief the reward of his confession: grant us the effects of Thy mercy; that as our Lord Jesus Christ at the time of His passion bestowed on each a different recompense of his merits, so having destroyed the old man in us, He may give us the grace of His Resurrection. Who liveth, etc.


REMARK After the Passion: the priest prays in behalf of the one, only true Church, that she may increase, and that peace and unity may always remain with her; for the pope, that his government may be blessed; for the bishops, priests , the clergy , and the people, that they may serve Gad in justice; for those converted to the faith, that they may continue to grow in knowledge and in zeal for the holy religion; for rulers as defenders of the Church, that they may govern with wisdom and justice, and that those under them may be loyal to them with fidelity and obedience; for the unfortunate, that God may have mercy on them; for heretics and apostates, that they may be brought back from error to the truth of the Catholic faith; for the Jews, that they may be enlightened; for the heathens, that they may be converted.

Before each prayer the priest says, Oremus, (Let us pray)  Flectamus genua, (Let us kneel); when kneeling, we say Amen, and at the, call Levate (Rise up) we rise: except at the prayer for the Jews, when the genuflection is omitted, be- cause the Jews bent the knee in mockery before our Lord. As Christ on this day prayed for all men, the Church desires, that we do the same; say, therefore, the following:

PRAYER O Lord Jesus! who on the cross, while enduring the most excruciating pain, didst pray with a loud voice for all men, we humbly pray Thee for Thy vicar, Pope N., for our bishop N., for all the priests and clergy, for our civil government, for the neophytes, for the unfortunate and oppressed, for all Catholics, that Thou mayst preserve them in the true faith, and strengthen them, that they may serve Thee according to their different vocations. We pray Thee also for all unbelievers, and those separated from the true fold, for the Jews, and for the heathens, that Thou mayst unite all in Thy holy Church, and bring them to eternal salvation. Amen.

What is done by the priest after these prayers?
The priest then goes down from the epistle side of the altar, takes the veiled crucifix, and extending it towards the people, uncovers it so much that the head is seen, and sings in a low voice: Ecce lignum crucis, etc.: Behold the wood of the cross on which the Salvation of the world was hanged! The choir answers: Venite, adoremus: Come, let us adore at which all kneel, adoring Christ who died on the cross for us.

The priest then advances to the corner of the altar, uncovers the right arm of the Crucifix, and sings in a higher tone: Ecce lignum crucis, etc.; to which the choir responds as before. Then at the middle of the altar he uncovers the entire Crucifix, and elevating it, sings in a still higher tone than before: Ecce lignum, et. The choir responds again : Venite adoremus.

The image of the crucified Redeemer, which has been hidden from our view since Passion Sunday should make a deep impression upon us; it teaches us at the same time how the Saviour became gradually known to the world. Jesus is adored three times, because He was mocked three times: in the court-yard of the high-priest, in Pilate's house, and on Mount Calvary. When the crucifix is unveiled the priest carries it to the place prepared for it, and kneeling he places it on the cushion covered with a white veil to represent the laying of Christ in the sepulchre; he then retires to the gospel side of the Altar where he puts off his shoes, like Moses, when he was about to approach Almighty God; he then kneels and meditates on the passion of Christ; goes a few steps forward, again kneels, and still a third time, this time directly in front of the crucifix. He adores Jesus with humility, considers His infinite love, which brought Him to the cross and laid Him in the sepulchre for our Redemption, and then kisses with reverence the image of the crucified Saviour.

During this veneration of the cross the choir chants alternately the versicles called the Reproaches, and between each part of the canticle the following words in Greek and Latin: "Holy God! Holy and strong God! Holy and immortal God ! have mercy on us!" In these versicles Christ tenderly and lovingly reproaches the people who crucified Him, which we may also take to ourselves, who have so often crucified Jesus anew by sin. They are therefore called reproaches, words of complaint, and continue during the veneration of the cross by the priest. Afterwards a hymn of praise composed by St. Fortunatus is sung in honor of the victory gained on the cross by our Saviour, which calls upon us also to render praise and thanks to Jesus crucified.

Adore also in deepest humility the Saviour who died on the cross, and is now victoriously enthroned; ask with sincere contrition the forgiveness of your sins, and by a threefold advance, kiss with sincere love His sacred wounds, promising to love all men, even your enemies, and to have pity n all in distress, according to His example.


What follows the veneration of the cross?
The sacred Host consecrated on Holy Thursday, and kept in the chalice, is brought by the priest in procession, from the repository to the high altar, incensed in sign of adoration, and after a few short prayers the priest elevates It with the right hand, breaks It, puts one part in the chalice and communicates, and soon after leaves the altar.


Is there, then, no Mass said on this day?
No; for on this day there is no bread and wine consecrated, which is the essential part of the Sacrifice of the Mass.


Why is no Mass said on this day?
Because Jesus Christ having this day sacrificed Himself on the altar of the cross in a bloody offering, it is not meet that His death sacrifice should be to-day repeated even in an unbloody manner. Besides this, Mass is a joyous and comforting sacrifice, and is therefore omitted because of our mourning.


What devotions may be practised today?
Besides adoring Jesus in the holy sepulchre, the stations may be said, meditations made on the sufferings of our Lord. Let the words of St. Augustine touch your heart, when he places the crucified Redeemer before our mind in the following words: "Behold the wounds of Jesus who is hanging on the cross, the blood of the dying, the price of our redemption! His head is bowed to give the kiss of peace; His side is open to love; His arms are extended to embrace us; His whole body sacrificed for our redemption." Let these words be the subject of your meditation that He may be wholly in your heart who is nailed to the cross for you.

MANNER OF CONTEMPLATING CHRIST'S BITTER PASSION

"Christ also suffered for us: leaving you an example that you should follow his steps." (i Peter ii. 21.)

WHENCE does it come," writes St. Alphonsus Ligouri, "that so many of the faithful look with so much indifference at Christ on the cross? They generally assist during Holy Week at the commemoration of His death without any feeling of gratitude or compassion, as if it were a fable or an event in which they had no interest. Know they not, or believe they not what the gospel relates of Christ's passion? Indeed they know it, and believe it, but do not think of it. It is impossible that he who believes and meditates, should fail to become burning with love for God who suffers and dies for love of him." But why, we may ask here, are there so many who draw so little benefit even from the contemplation of the passion and death of Jesus? Because they fail to consider and imitate the example which Christ gives in His sufferings."

The cross of Christ," says St. Augustine, "is not only a bed of death, but a pulpit of instruction." It is not only a bed upon which Christ dies, but the pulpit from which He teaches us what we must do. It should now be our special aim to meditate upon the passion of Christ, and to imitate those virtues which shone forth so preeminently in His passion and death. But many neglect to do this. They usually content themselves with compassion when they see Christ enduring such great pains, but they see not 'with what love, humility, and meekness He bears them, and so do not endeavor to imitate His example. That you, O Christian soul, may avoid this mistake, and that you may draw the greatest possible benefit for your soul, from the contemplation of the passion and death of Christ, attend to that which is said of it by that pious servant of God, Alphonse Rodriguez: We must endeavor to derive from the meditation on the mysteries of the passion and death of Christ this effect, that we may imitate His virtues, and this by slowly and attentively considering each virtue by itself, exercising ourselves in forming a very great desire for it in our hearts, making a firm resolution to practice it in words and works, and also to conceive a holy aversion and horror of the opposite vice; for instance, when contemplating Christ's condemnation to the death of the cross by Pilate, consider the humility of Jesus Christ, who being God, as humble as He was innocent, voluntarily submitted and silently accepted the unjust sentence and the ignominious death. Here you see from the example given by Jesus, how you should despise yourself, patiently bear all evil, unjust judgment, and detraction, and even seek them with joy as giving you occasion to resemble Him. To produce these necessary effects and resolutions, you should at each mystery contemplate the following particulars:


First, Who is it that suffers? The most innocent, the holiest, the most loving, the only-begotten Son of the Almighty Father, the Lord of heaven and earth.

Secondly, What pains and torments, exterior and interior, does He suffer?

Thirdly, In what manner does He suffer, with what patience, humility, meekness and love, does He bear all ignominy and outrage?

Fourthly, For whom does He suffer? For all men, for His enemies and His executioners.

Fifthly, By whom does He suffer? By Jews and heathens, by soldiers and tyrants, by the devil and all impious children of the world to the end of time, and all who were then united in spirit with His enemies.

Sixthly, Why does He suffer? To make reparation for all the sins of the whole world, to satisfy the justice of God, to reconcile the Heavenly Father, to open heaven, to give us His infinite merits that we may from them have strength to follow the way to heaven.

At the consideration of each of these points, and indeed at each mystery of the passion of Christ, the imitation of the example of His virtues is the main object, because the true life of the Christian consists in the imitation of Jesus. In considering each stage of the passion of Christ place vividly before your mind the virtue which He practiced therein; contemplate it and ask yourself whether you possess this virtue, or whether you still cherish the opposite vice. If you find the latter to be the case make an act of contrition, with the firm resolution to extirpate this vice, and excite in yourself a sincere desire for the opposite virtue. In this way you will draw the greatest advantage from the contemplation of Christ's passion, and will resemble Christ, and, as the pious Louis of Granada says, there can be no greater honor and adornment for a Christian than to resemble his divine Master, not in the way that Lucifer desired, but in that which He pointed out, when He said: "I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so do you also."

THE PASSION OP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN

(CHAPS. XVIII., XIX.)

AT THAT TIME, Jesus went forth with his disciples, over the brook of Cedron, where there was a garden into which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place: because Jesus had often resorted thither together with his disciples. Judas therefore having received a band of men and servants from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said to them: Whom seek ye? They answered him: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith to them: I am he. And Judas also, who betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said to them: I am he; they went backward, and fell to the ground.

Again therefore he asked them: Whom seek ye? And they said: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered: I have told you, that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go away. That the word might be fulfilled which he had said: Of them whom thou hast given me, I have not lost any one. Then Simon Peter having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high-priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Then Jesus said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the scabbard. The cup which my Father hath given me, shall not I drink it?

Then the band, and the tribune, and the servants of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him: and they led him away to Annas first: for he was father-in-law to Caiphas, who was the high-priest of that year. Now Caiphas was he who had given the council to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. And that disciple was known to the high-priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high-priest. But Peter stood at  the door without. Then the other disciple who was known to the high priest, went out, and spoke to her that kept the door: and brought in Peter. And the maid that waited at the door, saith to Peter: Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith: I am not. Now the servants and officers stood at a fire of coals, because it was cold, and warmed themselves and with them was Peter also standing, and warming himself. The high-priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him: I have spoken openly to the world: I have always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither all the Jews resort: and in secret I have spoken nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them who have heard what I have spoken to them: behold they know what things I have said. And when he had said these things, one of the officers standing by, gave Jesus a blow, saying: Answerest thou the high-priest so? Jesus answered him: If I have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil: but if well, why strikest thou me? And Annas sent him bound to Caiphas the high-priest. And Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him: Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it and said: I am not. One of the servants of the high-priest, a kinsman to him whose ear Peter cut off, saith to him: Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Then Peter again denied, and immediately the cock crowed. Then they led Jesus from Caiphas to the governor's hall. And it was morning: and they went not into the hall, that they might not be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate therefore went out to them, and said: What accusation bring you against this man? They answered and said to him: If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up to thee. Pilate then said to them: Take him you, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said to him: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. That the word of Jesus might be fulfilled which he said, signifying what death he should die. Pilate therefore went into the hall again, and called Jesus, and said to him: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered: Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have others told it thee of me. Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Thy own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered thee up to me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence. Pilate therefore said to him: Art thou a king then? Jesus answered: Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth: every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice. Pilate saith to him: What is truth?And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and saith to them: I find no cause in him. But you have a custom .that I should release one unto you at the Passover: will you therefore that I release unto you the king of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying: Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Then, therefore, Pilate took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head: and they put on him a purple garment, and they came to him, and said: Hail, King of the Jews! And they gave him blows. Pilate, therefore, went forth again, and saith to them: Behold I bring him forth to you that you may know that I find no cause in him. So Jesus came forth bearing the crown of thorns, and the purple garment. And he saith to them: Behold the man. When the chief priests, therefore, and the officers had seen him, they cried out, saying: Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Take him you, and crucify him; for I find no cause in him. The Jews answered him: We have a law; and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore had heard this saying, he feared the more. And he entered into the hall again, and he said to Jesus: Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him: Speakest thou not to me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release thee? Jesus answered: Thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore he that hath delivered me to thee, hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying: If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend. For whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar. Now when Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus forth: and sat down in the judgment-seat, in the place that is called the Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the Parasceve of the Passover, about the sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews: Behold your king. But they cried out: Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered: We have no king but Caesar. Then therefore, he delivered him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him forth. And bearing his own cross he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title also, and he put it upon the cross. And the writing was: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. The title, therefore, many of the Jews did read, because the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew,  in Greek, and in Latin. Then the chief-priest of the Jews said to Pilate: Write not, the king of the Jews: but that he said: l am the king of the Jews. Pilate answered: What I have written, I have written.

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified him, took his garments (and they made four parts, to every soldier a part) and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said then one to another: Let us not cut it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the Scripture might be fulfilled which saith: They have parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they have cast lots. And the soldiers did indeed these things. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing, whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman! behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own.

Afterwards, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst. Now there was a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they put a sponge full of vinegar, about hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus, therefore, had taken the vinegar, he said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.

Then the Jews (because it was the Parasceve) that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath-day (for that was a great Sabbath-day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers, therefore, came: and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers opened his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it gave testimony, and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true, that you also may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of him. And again another Scripture saith: They shall look on him whom they pierced. And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews), besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took away the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus also came, he who at the first came to Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. They took therefore the body of Jesus, and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified; and in the garden anew sepulchre , wherein no man yet had been laid. Therefore, because of the Parasceve of the Jews, they laid Jesus there; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

THE PEOPLE AT THE CROSS  AND THE PEOPLE OF TODAY

AT Golgotha, in sight of the temple and city of Jerusalem, in the presence of two or three millions of Jews, who had come to the city from all lands, Jesus, the Son of God, hung upon the cross, an expiatory sacrifice for mankind burdened with all manner of sin. Near the cross of her dying Son stood Mary, His mother, filled with grief; by her side John, the beloved disciple, and kneeling at the foot of the cross almost insensible from sorrow and anguish, convulsively winding her arms around the wood of the cross, was Mary Magdalen, the penitent.

On a cross at the right hand hung a penitent thief turned towards the Saviour; at the left hand on another cross groaned another criminal of impenitent heart, blaspheming the Holy One of Israel. Around the agonizing Saviour stood the Scribes and Pharisees, that hypocritical class of practiced miscreants,who hated and persecuted the innocent Lamb Jesus, even in death, who blind to all the predictions of the prophets whose books they had read, blind to the actual miracles which Jesus had wrought before their eyes to prove His divinity and His mission, filled with envy and hatred, reviled the dying Redeemer. At a distance stood a crowd of curious, indifferent people, who had come to Jerusalem to attend the feast of the Passover, and having heard of Jesus were present at His crucifixion. Not far from them the rough soldiers and executioners lay around, dividing among themselves the Saviour's clothes and casting lots for His seamless garment.

This was the society that surrounded the Son of God and Redeemer of the world bleeding on the cross, and in their different phases they are types of the men of today. Only few were there who clung to the Saviour in unwavering faith and true love, ready to die with Him, and for Him. There were few who suffered all taunts and sneers, all revilings and blasphemies, and departed not from the cross. Of these three were especially faithful, viz. Mary, John, and Magdalen. Those who like Mary and John are pure and innocent, or like Magdalen are weeping for their sins, who confess Jesus with their heart and lips, cling faithfully to Him, and permit neither persecution nor death to separate them from Him, are like the faithful three at the cross.

As then by the cross, so today, the number of the faithful is small, and great is the number of those who, like the careless spectators of the crucifixion, are not decided enemies of Jesus crucified, nor yet His firm friends. They have indeed been baptized in the name of Jesus, they remain externally with the Catholic Church, which Christ founded, but they are sunk in lukewarmness, have no living faith, and are wavering to and fro like a reed between the world and Jesus. They fear the sneers of the so-called learned and enlightened, many of whom are well represented by the Scribes and Pharisees, who, having no faith in Christ themselves, bear in their hearts only hatred and contempt for His Church; they shun the cross, because it is too heavy for their sensuality; they do not, it is true, commit public crimes, they prize highly a good name, occasionally observe the law of the Church, but are accessible to every error; their ears incline to every blasphemy against the religion of Jesus and His ministers, the priests.

Instead of standing fearlessly and boldly for Christ, for the holy faith He has taught, and which the Church teaches,they turn away, are silent, even go with the Church's enemies that they may not be sneered at. The are neither hot, nor cold, so that the words of the Scriptures are verified in them: Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. (Apoc. iii. 16.) The Lord casts away from Him these lukewarm, indifferent Christians, as nauseous saliva, and leaves them to their destruction. The true Pharisees of our day are those who purposely close their eyes to the light of truth, who have put aside faith in Jesus, and are no longer disposed to receive instruction. Their pride, their egotism has blinded them , with their poor reason they wish to understand the mysteries of the Almighty, with their weak intellect to fathom His ways, even seek to be equal to God; they deny every revealed truth, they deny the existence of heaven and hell, they propose to live like the animals, without God, but their end is ruin!

Few of them, having seen their error, as the thief on the cross at the right hand of Jesus, turn repentingly to the Redeemer; obdurate as the robber and murderer at His left, the
Pharisees of our day cease not to blaspheme the Crucified, and to revile His holy Church. These are assisted by the apostates and unbelievers, who, like the soldiers and executioners, divide among themselves His clothes, and cast lots for His seamless garment. Those clothes which the soldiers divided among themselves, are the truths which the apostates and heretics yet retain after their apostasy from the Church. They have divided these truths, for they have separated themselves into thousands of sects, and ppsrs,ess only portions of the one truth, which Jesus has laid down in His Church, whole and complete. "Upon my vesture they have cast lots."


This seamless vesture of Christ is His holy Church that cannot be separated or divided, she is one, and must remain one to the end of time. Concerning this one true Church, the sects all quarrel, all want to be the true Church without considering that, as but one soldier, by lots, received Christ's seamless garment, so only one association of men can be the true Church, and that is association which Christ has chosen.

Thus we find at the cross on Golgotha the different classes of people of our day represented, namely, the pure and innocent; the repenting sinners, firm adherents of Jesus and His teachings; as also the lukewarm, wavering, nominal Christians; obdurate heretics, professed infidels and apostates. So today mankind is divided into like parties. To which party do you belong, O Christian soul?

To which do you wish to belong? Choose! The time of the division is near. The Lord already holds in His hand the winnowing shovel to clear His floor. If you are not a firm adherent of Jesus and His Church, in the storm that is gathering you will be blown like chaff. If you remain with the small group at the cross, in persevering courage, you will stand firm, and on the day when the cross shall appear in the clouds of heaven, you, with Mary, the mother of the faithful, with John and with Magdalen, will triumph forever, as a victorious knight of the cross. Decide!

[Stone]

Fr. Hewko's Good Friday Conferences


2016







2019





2022





2023





2024

[Stone]

Improperia or The Reproaches

The Improperia are a series of antiphons and responses, expressing the remonstrance of Jesus Christ with His people. Also known as the Reproaches, they are sung In the Catholic liturgy as part of the observance of the Passion, usually on the afternoon of Good Friday. The Improperia appear in the Pontificale of Prudentius (846-61) and gradually came into use throughout Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, finally being incorporated into the Roman Ordo in the fourteenth century.

Roman Rite
In their present form in the Roman Rite, the Improperia are a series of three couplets, sung en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiphon by cantors and followed by alternate Greek and Latin responses from the two halves of the choir; and nine other lines sung by the cantors, with the full choir responding after each with the refrain "Popule meus, quid feci tibi? . . . ." Thus the Improperia begin with this couplet that includes parts of the Trisagion:

Latin
Cantor 1: Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo constristavi te? Responde mihi.
Cantor 2: Quia eduxi te de terra Ægypti: parasti Crucem Salvatori tuo.

Choir A: Hagios o Theos.
Choir B: Sanctus Deus.

Choir A: Hagios Ischyros.
Choir B: Sanctus Fortis.

Choir A: Hagios Athanatos, eleison hymas.
Choir B: Sanctus Immortalis, miserere nobis.


English
My people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!
I led you out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom, but you led your Saviour to the cross.

Holy is God!
Holy is God!

Holy and strong!
Holy and strong!

Holy immortal One, have mercy on us.
Holy immortal One, have mercy on us.


The second couplet is sung antiphonally by two cantors of the second choir, and the third couplet by two cantors of the first choir; after each the two choirs respond as above. The nine following reproaches are sung alternately by the cantors of each choir, beginning with the second, with the full choir responding after each reproach with the line, "Popule meus . . .":

Latin
Cantors 3 & 4: Ego propter te flagellavi Ægyptum cum primogenitis suis: et tu me flagellatum tradidisti.
Choirs A & B: Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo constristavi te? Responde mihi.

Cantors 1 & 2: Ego eduxi te de Ægypto, demerso Pharaone in mare rubrum: et tu me tradidisti principibus sacerdotum.
Choirs A & B: Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo constristavi te? Responde mihi.

English
For your sake I scourged your captors and their firstborn sons, but you brought your scourges down on me.
My people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!

I led you from slavery to freedom and drowned your captors in the red sea, but you handed me over to your high priests.
My people . . . .[4]

After the last Improperium and its refrain, the hymns Crux fidelis and Pange lingua are sung.

Adapted from here.

[Stone]

Good Friday

Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

The Morning

The sun has risen upon Jerusalem. But the Priests and Scribes have not waited all this time without venting their anger upon Jesus. Annas, who was the first to receive the divine Captive, has had him taken to his son-in-law Caiphas, the High Priest. Here he is put through a series of insulting questions, which disdaining to answer, he receives a blow from one of the High Priest’s servants. False witnesses had been already prepared: they now come forward and depose their lies against Him who is the very Truth—but their testimony is contradictory. Then, Caiphas, seeing that this plan for convicting Jesus of blasphemy is only serving to expose his accomplices, turns to another. He asks him a question which will oblige our Lord to make an answer; and in this answer, he, Caiphas, will discover blasphemy, and blasphemy would bring Jesus under the power of the Synagogue. This is the question: I adjure thee, by the living God, that thou tell us, if thou be the Christ the Son of God? Our Savior, in order to teach us that we should show respect to those who are in authority, breaks the silence he has hitherto observed, and answers: Thou hast said it: I am: and hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Hereupon, the impious Pontiff rises, rends his garments, and exclaims: He hath blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? Behold! now ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? The whole place resounds with the cry: He is guilty of death!

The Son of God has come down upon the earth, in order to restore man to Life; and yet, here we have this creature of death daring to summon his Divine Benefactor before a human tribunal, and condemning him to Death! And Jesus is silent! and bears with him these presumptuous, these ungrateful, blasphemers! Well may we exclaim, in the words wherewith the Greek Church frequently interrupts today’s reading of the Passion: “Glory be to thy Patience, O Lord!”

Scarcely have the terrible words He is guilty of death been uttered, than the servants of the High Priest rush upon Jesus. They spit upon him, and blindfolding him, they strike him, saying: Prophesy! who is it struck thee! Thus does the Synagogue treat the Messias, who, they say, is to be their glory! And yet, these outrages, frightful as they are, are but the beginning of what our Redeemer has to go through.

But there is something far more trying than all this to the heart of Jesus, and it is happening at this very time. Peter has made his way as far as the court of the High Priest’s Palace! He is recognized by the bystanders as a Galilean, and one of Jesus’ Disciples. The Apostle trembles for his life; he denies his Master, and affirms, with an oath, that he does not even know him. What a sad example is here of the punishment of presumption! But Jesus has mercy on his Apostle. The servants of the High Priest lead him to the palace, near where Peter is standing; he casts upon him a look of reproach and pardon; Peter immediately goes forth, and weeps bitterly. From this hour forward, he can do nothing but lament his sin; and it is only on Easter Morning, when Jesus shall appear to him after his Resurrection, that he will admit any consolation to his afflicted heart. Let us make him our model, now that we are spending these hours, with our holy Mother the Church, in contemplating the Passion of Jesus. Peter withdraws, because he fears his own weakness; let us remain to the end, for what have we to fear? May our Jesus give us one of those looks which can change the hardest and worst of hearts!

Meanwhile, the day-dawn breaks upon the City, and the chief Priests make arrangements for taking Jesus before the Roman Governor. They themselves have found him guilty; they have condemned him as a Blasphemer, and, according to the law of Moses, a Blasphemer must be stoned to death: but they cannot apply the law: Jerusalem is no longer free, or governed by her own laws. The power over life and death may only be exercised by her conquerors, and that in the name of Cæsar. How is it that these Priests and Scribes can go through all this and never once remember the prophecy of Jacob—that the Messias would come, when the scepter should be taken away from Juda? They know off by heart, they are the appointed guardians of tose Prophecies, Which describe the death to which this Messias is to be put—and yet, they are the very ones who bring it about! How is all this?—They are blind, and it is Jealousy that blinds them.

The rumor of Jesus’ having been seized during the night, and that he is on the point of being led before the Roman Governor, rapidly spreads through the City, and reaches Judas’ ear. This wretched man had a passion for money, but there was nothing to make him desire the death of his Divine Master. He knew Jesus’ supernatural power. He perhaps flattered himself that He who could command nature and the elements, would easily escape from the hands of his enemies. But now when he sees that he does not escape, and that he is to be condemned to death—he runs to the Temple, and gives back the thirty pieces of silver to the Chief Priests. Is it that he is converted? and is about to ask his Master to pardon him? Alas! no: despair has possession of him, and he puts an end to his existence. The recollection of all the merciful solicitations made to him, yesterday, by Jesus, both during the Last Supper and in the Garden, gives him no confidence; it only serves to increase his despair. Surely, he well knew what a merciful Savior he had to deal with! And yet he despairs, and this at the very time when the Blood, which washes away the sins of the whole world, is about to be shed! He is lost, because he despaired.

The Chief Priests, taking Jews with them, present themselves at the Governor’s Palace, demanding audience for a case of importance. Pilate comes forward, and peevishly asks them: What accusation bring ye against this man?—They answered: If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up to thee. It is very evident from these first words that Pilate has a contempt for these Jewish Priests; it is not less evident that they are determined to gain their cause. Take him you, says Pilate, and judge him according to your Law.—The Chief Priests answered: It it not lawful for us to put any man to death.

Pilate leaves the Hall, in order to speak with these men. He returns, and commands Jesus to be brought in. The son of God and the representative of the pagan world are face to face. Pilate begins by asking them: Art thou the King of the Jews?— To this Jesus replies: My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews, But, now, my Kingdom is not from hence.—Art thou a King, then? says Pilate.—Thou sayest, answers Jesus, that I am a King. Having, by these last words, confessed his august dignity, our Lord offers a grace to this Roman; he tells him that there is something worthier of Man’s ambition than earthly honors. For this, says Jesus, was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the Truth. Every one that is of the Truth, heareth my voice.—What is Truth? asks Pilate; but without waiting for the answer, he leaves Jesus, for he is anxious to have done with this case. He returns to the Jews, and says to them: I find no cause in him. Pilate fancies that this Jesus must be a leader of some Jewish sect whose teachings give offense to the Chief Priests, but which are not worth his examining into them; yet at the same time, he is convinced that he is a harmless man, and that it would be foolish and unjust to accuse him of disturbing the state.

Scarcely has Pilate expressed his opinion in favor of Jesus, than a long list of accusations is brought up against him by the Chief Priests. Pilate is astonished at Jesus’ making no reply, and says to him: Dost thou not hear how great testimonies they allege against thee?—These words are kindly meant, but Jesus still remains silent: they, however, excite his enemies to fresh fury, and they cry out: He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, even to this place. This word Galilee suggests a new idea to Pilate. Herod, the Tetrarch of Galilee, happens to be in Jerusalem at this very time. Jesus is his subject; he must be sent to him. Thus Pilate will get rid of a troublesome case, and this act of courteous deference will reestablish a good understanding between himself and Herod.

The Savior is therefore dragged through the streets of Jerusalem, from Pilate’s house to Herod’s place. His enemies follow him with relentless fury; but Jesus still observes his noble silence. Herod, the murder of John the Baptist, insults him, and ordering him to be clothed in a white garment as a Fool, he sends him back to Pilate. Another plan for ridding himself of this troublesome case now strikes the Roman Governor. At the feast of the Pasch, he had the power of granting pardon to any one criminal the people may select. They are assembled together at the court gates. He feels sure that their choice will fall upon Jesus, for it is but a few days ago that they led him in triumph through the City: besides, he intends to make the alternative one who is an object of execration to the whole people; he is a murderer, and his name is Barabbas. Whom will you that I release to you? says Pilate: Barabbas, or Jesus, that is called the Christ?—He has not long to wait for the answer: the crowd exclaim: Not this man, but Barabbas!—What then, replies Pilate, shall I do with Jesus, that is called the Christ?—Crucify him!—Why, what evil hath he done? I will chastise him, therefore, and let him go.—But they growing irritated at this, cry out so much the louder: Crucify him! Crucify him!

Pilate’s cowardly subterfuge has failed, and left him in a more difficult position than he was before. His putting the innocent on a level with a murderer was, in itself, a gross injustice; and yet, he has not gone far enough for a people that is blind with passion. Neither does his promise to chastise Jesus satisfy them: they want more than his Blood: they insist on his Death!

Here let us pause and offer our Savior a reparation for the insult he here receives. He is put in competition with a murderer, and the murderer is preferred! Pilate makes an attempt to save Jesus: but on what terms!—he must be put on a footing with a vile wretch, and even so, be worsted! Those very lips that a few days back sang “Hosannah to the Son of David,” now clamor for his Crucifixion! The City Magistrate and Governor pronounces him innocent: and yet he condemns him to be scourged, because he fears a disturbance!

Jesus is made over to the soldiers to be scourged. They rudely strip him of his garments, and tie him to the pillar, which is kept for this kind of torture. Fiercely do they strike him; the blood flows down his sacred Body. Let us adore this the second Bloodshedding of our Jesus, whereby he expiates for the sins we and the whole world have committed by the flesh. This Scourging is by the hands of Gentiles: the Jews delivered him up to be punished, and the Romans were the executioners:—thus have we all had our share in the awful Deicide!

At last, the soldiers are tired; they loosen their Victim; but it is not out of anything like pity. Their cruelty is going to rest, and their rest is derision. Jesus has been called “King of the Jews:” a King, say they, must have a Crown! Accordingly they make one for the Son of David! It is of Thorns. They press it violently upon his head, and this is the third Bloodshedding of our Redeemer. Then, that they may make their scoffing perfect, the soldiers throw a scarlet cloak over his shoulders, and put a reed, for a scepter, into his hand; and bending their knee before him, they thus salute him: Hail, King of the Jews!—This insulting homage is accompanied with blows upon his face; they spit upon him; and, from time to time, take the reed from his hand, wherewith to strike the Thorns deeper into his head.

Here, the Christian prostrates himself before his Savior, and says to him with a heart full of compassion and veneration: “Yes! my Jesus! Thou art King of the Jews! Thou art the Son of David, and therefore our Messias and our Redeemer! Israel, that has so lately proclaimed thee King, now unkings thee; the Gentiles scoff at thy Royalty, making it a subject for keener insult: but reign thou must, and over both Jews and Gentiles: over the Jews, by thy justice, for they are soon to feel the scepter of thy revenge; over the Gentiles, by thy mercy, for thine Apostles are soon to lead them to thy feet. Receive, dearest King! our homage and submission! Reign now and forever over our hears, yea, over our whole being!”

Thus mangled and bleeding, holding the reed in his hand, and with the scarlet tatters on his shoulders, Jesus is led back to Pilate. It is just the sight that will soften the hearts of the people—at least Pilate thinks so—and taking him with him to a balcony of the palace, he shows him to the crowd below, saying: Behold the Man! Little did Pilate know all that these few words conveyed! He says not: “Behold Jesus!” nor “Behold the King of the Jews!” he says: Behold the Man!—Man!—the Christian understands the full force of the word thus applied to our Redeemer. Adam, the first Man, rebelled against God and, by his sin, deranged the whole work of the Creator: as a punishment for his pride and intemperance, the flesh tyrannized over the spirit; the very earth was cursed, and thorns were to be its growth. Jesus, the New Man, comes into this world, bearing upon him not the reality, but the appearance, the likeness, of sin: in him, the work of the Creator regains its primeval order; but the change was not wrought without violence. To teach us that the flesh must be brought into subjection to the spirit, Jesus’ Flesh was torn by the scourges: to teach us that pride must give way to humility, the only Crown that Jesus wears is made of Thorns. Yes, Behold Man!—the triumph of the spirit over the flesh, the triumph of humility over pride.

Like the tiger that grows fiercer as he sees blood, so is Israel at the sight of Jesus after his scourging. Crucify him! Crucify him!—the cry is still the same. Take him you, says Pilate, and crucify him; for I find no cause in him. And yet, he has ordered him to be scourged enough to cause his death! Here is another device of the base coward; but it too fails. The Jews have their answer ready: they put forward the right granted by the Romans to the nations that are tributary to the Empire. We have, say they, a law, and according to the law he ought to die; because he made himself the Son of God. Disconcerted by the reply, Pilate takes Jesus aside into the hall, and says to him: Whence art thou? Jesus is silent; Pilate was not worthy to hear the answer to his question. This silence irritates him. Speakest thou not to me? says he. Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release thee? Here Jesus deigns to speak; and he speaks, in order to teach us that every power of government, even where pagans are in question, comes from God, and not from a pretended social compact: Thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore, he that hath delivered me to thee, hath the greater sin.

This dignified reply produces an impression upon Pilate: he resolves to make another attempt to save Jesus. But the people vociferate a threat which alarms him: If thou release this man, thou art not Cæsar’s friend; for whosoever maketh himself a King, speaketh against Cæsar. Still, he is determined to try and pacify the crowd. He leaves the hall, sits upon the judgment-seat, orders Jesus to be placed near him, and thus pleads for him: Behold your King! as though he would say, “What have you or Cæsar to fear from such a pitiable object as this?” The argument was unavailing, and only provokes the cry: Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! As though he did not believe them to be in earnest, Pilate says to them: Shall I crucify your King? This time the Chief Priests give the answer: We have no king but Cæsar. When the very Ministers of God can talk thus, religion is at an end. No king but Cæsar!—then the scepter is taken from Juda, and Jerusalem is cast off, and the Messias is come!

Pilate, seeing that nothing can quell the tumult, and that his honor as Governor is at stake, decides on making Jesus over to his enemies. Though against his own inclination, he passes the Sentence, which is to cause him such remorse of conscience that he will afterwards seek relief in suicide. He takes a tablet, and with a style, writes the Inscription which is to be fastened to the Cross. The people demand that two thieves should be crucified at the same time—it would be an additional insult to Jesus: this too, he grants, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaias: And with the wicked was he reputed. Having thus defiled his soul with the most heinous of crimes, Pilate washes his hands before the people, and says to them: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look ye to it! They answer him with this terrible self-imprecation: His blood be upon us and upon our children! The mark of Parricide here fastens on this ungrateful and sacrilegious people; Cain-like, they shall wander fugitives on the earth. Eighteen hundred years have passed since them; slavery, misery, and contempt, have been their portion; but the mark is still upon them. Let us Gentiles—upon whom this Blood of Jesus has fallen as the dew of heaven’s mercy—let us return fervent thanks to the goodness of our heavenly Father, who hath so loved the world, as to give it his Only Begotten Son. Let us give thanks to the Son, who, seeing that our iniquities could not be blotted out save by his Blood, shed it, on this day, even to the very last drop.

Here commences “The Way of the Cross;” the House of Pilate, where our Jesus receives the sentence of Death, is the First Station. Our Redeemer is consigned, by the Governor’s order, into the hands of the Jews. The Soldiers seize him, and drag him from the Court. They strip him of the scarlet cloak, and bid him clothe himself with his own garments, as before the Scourging. The Cross is ready and they put it on his wounded shoulders. The place where the new Isaac loads himself with the wood of his sacrifice, is the Second Station. To Calvary!—this is the word of command, and it is obeyed: soldiers, executioners, priests, scribes, people—these form the procession. Jesus moves slowly on; but after a few paces, exhausted by the loss of Blood and by his Sufferings, he falls under the weight of his Cross. It is the first fall, and marks the Third Station.

He falls, not so much by the weight of his Cross, as by that of our sins! The Soldiers roughly lay their hands on him, and force him up again. Scarcely has he resumed his steps, than he is met by his afflicted Mother. The Valiant Woman, whose love is stronger than death, was not to be absent at such an hour as this. She must see her Son, follow him, keep close to him, even to his last breath. No tongue could tell the poignancy of her grief. The anxiety she has endured during the last few days has exhausted her strength. All the Sufferings of Jesus have been made known to her by a divine revelation; she has shared each one of them with him. But now, she cannot endure to be absent, and makes her way through the crowd. The Sacrifice is nigh its consummation; no human power could keep such a Mother from her Jesus. The faithful Magdalene is by her side, bathed in tears; John, Mary (the mother of James the Less) and Salome (the mother of John) are also with her: they weep for their Divine Master, she for her Son. Jesus sees her, but cannot comfort her, for all this is but the beginning of what he is to endure. Oh! what an additional suffering was this for his loving Heart—to see his Mother agonizing with sorrow! The executioners observe the Mother of their Victim, but it would be too much mercy in them to allow her to speak to him; she may follow, if she please, with the crowd; it is more than she could have expected, to have been allowed this Meeting, which we venerate as the Fourth Station of the Way of the Cross.

But from this to the last there is a long distance, for there is a law that criminals are to be executed outside the City Walls. The Jews are afraid of Jesus’ expiring before reaching the place of Sacrifice. Just at this time, they behold a man coming from the country; his name is Simon of Cyrene; they order him to help Jesus to carry his Cross. It is out of a motive of cruelty to our Lord, but it gives Simon the honor of sharing with him the fatigue of bearing the instrument of the world’s salvation. The spot where this happens is the Fifth Station.

A little farther on, an incident occurs which strikes the executioners themselves with astonishment. A woman makes her way through the crowd, and setting the soldiers at defiance, comes close up to Jesus. She holds her veil in her hands, and with it respectfully wipes the Face of our Lord, for it is covered with blood, sweat, and spittle. She loves Jesus, and cares not what may happen to her, so she can offer him this slight comfort. Her love receives its reward: she finds her Veil miraculously impressed with the likeness of Jesus’ Face. This courageous act of Veronica marks the Sixth Station of the Way of the Cross.

Jesus grows weaker at each step: he falls a second time: it is the Seventh Station. Again do the soldiers violently raise him up, and push him along the road. It is easy to follow in his footsteps, for a streak of Blood shows where he has passed. A group of women is following close behind the soldiers; they heed not the insults heaped upon them; their compassion makes them brave. But the last brutal treatment shown to Jesus is more than they can bear in silence; they utter a cry of pitiful lamentation. Our Savior is pleased with these women, who, in spite of the weakness of their sex, are showing more courage than all the men of Jerusalem put together. He affectionately turns towards them, and tells them what a terrible chastisement is to follow the crime they are now witnessing. The Chief Priests and Scribes recognize the dignity of the Prophet that had so often spoken to them: they listen with indignation, and, at this the Eighth Station of the great Way, they hear these words: Daughters of Jerusalem! weep not over me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck. They shall be begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us! And to the hills: Cover us!

At last, they reach the foot of the hill. Calvary is steep; but it is the place of Jesus’ Sacrifice. He begins the ascent, but falls a third time: the hallowed spot is counted as the Ninth Station. A third time the soldiers force Jesus to rise and continue his painful journey to the summit of the hill, which is to serve as the Altar for the holocaust that is to surpass all others in holiness and power. The executioners seize the Cross and lay it upon the ground, preparatory to their nailing the Divine Victim to it. According to a custom, practiced both by the Romans and the Jews, a cup containing wine and myrrh is offered to Jesus. This drink, which had the bitterness of gall, was given as a narcotic, in order to deaden, in some degree, the feeling of the criminal, and lessen his pain. Jesus raises to his lips the cup, with was proffered him rather from custom than from any idea of kindness; but he drinks not its contents, for he wishes to feel the full intensity of the sufferings he accepts for our sakes. Then the executioners, having violently stripped him of his garments, which had fastened to his wounds, lead him to the Cross. This place where he was thus stripped of his garments, and where the cup of bitter drink was presented to him, is venerated as the Tenth Station of the Way of the Cross. The first nine, from Pilate’s hall to the foot of Calvary, are still to be seen in the streets of Jerusalem; but the Tenth and the remaining four are in the interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, whose spacious walls enclose the spot where the last mysteries of the Passion were accomplished.

But we must here interrupt our history: we have already anticipated the hours of this great Friday, and we shall have to return, later on, to the hill of Calvary. It is time to assist at the service of our holy Mother the Church, in which she celebrates the Death of her Divine Spouse. We must not wait for the usual summons of the Bells; they are silent; we must listen to the call of our faith and devotion. Let us, then, repair to the House of God.

To be continued...

[Stone]

The Morning Service

Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

Good Friday pdf

The Service of this morning consists of four parts, which we now proceed to explain. First of all, we have the Lessons; next, the Prayers; thirdly, the Veneration of the Cross; and lastly, the Mass of the Presanctified. These solemn and unusual rites announce to the Faithful the sacredness of this Day, as also the suspension of the daily Sacrifice, for which they are substituted. The Altar is stripped; the Cross is covered with a black veil; the Candles are of yellow wax—everything in the Sanctuary bespeaks mournfulness. As soon as the Choir have recited None, the Celebrant and sacred Ministers approach the Altar; their black Vestments denote the grief of holy Church. Being come to the foot of the Altar, they prostrate, and pray in silence, while the Acolytes cover the Altar with a single cloth, instead of the three which are always required when Mass is celebrated. The Celebrant and Ministers then rise, and the Lessons are begun.

The Lessons.—The first portion of this morning’s function consists of two prophetic passages from the Old Testament, and of the Passion according to St. John. The passage from the Prophet Osee tells us of the merciful designs of God in favor of his new people, the Gentiles, who were dead and who, nevertheless, were to rise again, in three days, with Christ, whom they do not so much as yet know. Ephraim and Judah are to be treated otherwise: their material sacrifices have not been acceptable to a God who loves mercy above every other gift, and rejects the offerings of those whose hearts are filled with bitterness.

Lesson
(Osee, Chap. VI.)
Hæc dicit Dominus: In tribulatione sua mane consurgent ad me. Venite, et revertamur ad Dominum: quia ipse cepit, et sanabit nos: percutiet, et curabit nos. Vivificabit nos post duos dies: in die tertia suscitabit nos, et vivemus in conspectu ejus. Sciemus sequemurque, ut cognoscamus Dominum. Quasi diluculum præparatus est egressus ejus; et veniet quasi imber nobis tempraneus et serotinus terræ. Quid faciam tibi Ephraïm? Quid faciam tibi Juda? Misericordia vestra quasi nubes matutina: et quasi ros mane pertransiens. Propter hoc dolavi in prophetis, et occidi eos in verbis oris mei: et judicia tua, quasi lux, egredientur. Quia misericordiam volui, et non sacrificium: et scientiam Dei, plus quam holocausta.

Thus saith the Lord: In their affliction they will rise early to me. Come, and let us return to the Lord: For he hath taken us, and he will heal us: he will strike, and he will cure us. He will revive us after two days; o the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. We shall know, and we shall follow on, that we may know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning light, and he will come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth. What shall I do to thee, O Ephraim? what shall I do to thee, O Juda? Your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth away in the morning. For this reason have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth; and thy judgments shall go forth as the light. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than holocausts.


The Tract is taken from the Canticle of the Prophet Habacuc, and which we have already sung at Lauds. It foretells the second coming of Christ, when he shall come, in glory and majesty, to judge them that have crucified him.

Tract
Domine, audivi auditum tuum, et timui: consideravi opera tua, et expavi. 
Lord, I have heard thy works, and was afraid: I considered thy works, and trembled.

℣. In medio duorum animalium innotesceris: dum appropinquaverint anni, cognosceris: dum advenerit tempus, ostenderis. 
℣. Thou wilt appear between two animals; when the years draw near, thou wilt be known; when the time shall come, thou wilt be shown.

℣. In eo, dum conturbata fuerit anima mea: in ira misericordiæ memor eris. 
℣. When my soul shall be in trouble, even in thy wrath thou wilt remember thy mercy.

℣. Deus a Libano veniet, et sanctus de monte umbroso et condenso. 
℣. God will come from Libanus, and the Holy One from the dark mountains.

℣. Operuit coelis;los majestas ejus: et laudis ejus plena est terra. 
℣. His majesty hath clouded the heavens; and the earth is full of his praise.



The Church sums up, in the following Collect, the prayers of her children. She reminds our heavenly Father of his justice towards Judas and his mercy towards the Good Thief, and begs that every remnant of the old man may be removed from us, and we rise again with our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Deacon says:
Flectamus genua. 
Let us kneel down.

The Subdeacon:
Levate. 
Stand up again.


Collect
Deus, a quo et Judas reatus sui pœnam, et confessionis suæ latro præmium sumpsit: concede nobis tuæ propitationis effectum: ut, sicut in passione sua Jesus Christus Dominus noster diversa utrisque intulut stipendia meritorium; ita nobis, ablato vetustatis errore, resurrectionis suæ gratiam largiatur. Qui tecum. 

O God, from whom both Judas received the punishment of his sin, and the Thief the reward of his confession: grant us the effects of thy mercy; that as our Lord Jesus Christ, at the time of his Passion, bestowed on both different rewards according to their merits; so, having destroyed the old man within us, he may give us grace to rise again with him. Who liveth, &c.


The second Lesson now follows. It is taken from the book of Exodus, and describes to us the ancient rite of the Paschal Lamb, which was the figure of the reality that is given to us today. It is to be a Lamb without spot or blemish. Its blood has the power of preserving from death those whose dwellings are sprinkled with it. It is not only to be immolated; it is to be eaten by them that have been saved by it. It is to be the food of the wayfarer; and they who partake of it must stand while they eat, like unto men who have no time to lose during this passing life. Its immolation is the signal of the Pasch—the immolation of our Emmanuel, the Lamb of God, is the signal of our Pasch.

Lesson
(Exod. Chap. XII.)
In diebus illis: Dixit Dominus ad Moysen at Aaron in terra Ægypti: Mensis iste vobis principium mensium: primus erit in mensibus anni. Loquimini ad universum cœtum filiorum Israël, et dicite eis: Decima die mensis hujus tollat unisquisque agnum per familias et domos suas. Sin autem sufficere possit ad vescendum agnum, assumet vicinum suum, qui junctus est domui suæ: juxta numerum animarum, quæ sufficere possunt ad esum agni. Erit autem agnus absque macula, masculus, anniculus: juxta quem ritum tolletis et hœdum. Et servabitis eum usque ad quartam decimam diem mensis hujus. Immolabitque eum universa multitudo filiorum Israël ad vesperam. Et sument de sanguine ejus: ac ponent super utrumque postem, et in superliminaribus domorum, in quibus comedent illum. Et edent carnes nocte illa assas igni, et azymos panes, cum lactucis agrestibus. Non comedetis ex eo crudum quid, nec coctum aqua: sed tantum assum igni. Caput cum pedibus ejus et intestinis vorabitis: nec remanebit quidquam ex eo usque mane. Si quid residuum fuerit, igne comburetis. Sic autem comedetis illum. Renes vestros accingetis: et calceamenta habebitis in pedibus, tenentes baculos in manibus: et comedetis festinanter. Est enim Phase, id est Transitus, Domini. 

In those days: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the Land of Egypt: This month shall be to you the beginning of months: it shall be the first in the months of the year. Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month, let every man take a lamb by their families and houses. But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb, he shall take unto him his neighbor that joineth to his house, according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb. And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male of one year; according to which rite also he shall kill a kid. And you shall keep it unto the fourteenth day of this month: and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both the sideposts, and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire, and unleavened bread, with wild lettuce. You shall not eat thereof any thing raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted at the fire: you shall eat the head with the feet and entrails thereof. Neither shall there remain any thing of it until morning. If there be any thing left, you shall burn it with fire. And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall eat in haste: for it is the Phase (that is, the Passage) of the Lord.


This magnificent prophecy is followed by a Tract taken from the 139th Psalm, in which the Church represents our Redeemer (who has been betrayed into the hands of his enemies), praying to his Eternal Father.

Tract
Eripe me Domine ab homine malo: a viro iniquo libera me. 
Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.

℣. Qui cogitaverunt malitias in corde: tota die constituebant prælia. 
℣. Who have devised iniquities in their hearts; all the day long they designed battles.

℣. Acuerunt linguas suas sicut serpentis: venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum. 
℣. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.

℣. Custodi me Domine de manu peccatoris: et ab hominibus iniquis libera me. 
℣. Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked, and from unjust me deliver me.

℣. Qui cogitaverunt supplantare gressus meos: absconderunt superbi laqueum mihi. 
℣. Who have proposed to supplant my steps: the proud have hid a net for me.

℣. Et funes extenderunt in laqueum pedibus meis: juxta iter scandalum posuerunt mihi. 
℣. And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the way side.

℣. Dixi Domino: Deus meus es tu: exaudi Domine vocem orationis meæ.
℣. I said to the Lord: thou art my God; hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.

℣. Domine, Domine, virtus salutis meæ, obumbra caput meum in die belli.
℣. O Lord, Lord, the might of my salvation: cover thou my head in the day of battle.

℣. Ne tradas me a desiderio meo peccatori: cogitaverunt adversus me, ne derelinquas me, ne unquam exaltentur. 
℣. Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me, do not thou forsake me, lest they should triumph.

℣. Caput circuitus eorum: labor labiorum ipsorum operiet eos. 
℣. The head of their compassing me about: the labor of their lips shall overwhelm them.

℣. Verumtamen justi confitebuntur nomini tuo: et habitabunt recti cum vultu tuo. 
℣. But as for the just they shall give glory to thy name; and the upright shall dwell with thy countenance.


The Prophets have prepared us for the fulfillment of their types. Holy Church is now going to relate to us the history of our Savior’s Passion. It is St. John, the fourth of the Evangelists, and an eyewitness of what took place on Calvary, who is about to describe to us the last moments of Jesus’ mortal life. Let us be all attention, and beg our Lord to give us something of that devotion which filled the soul of his Beloved Disciple as he stood at the foot of the Cross.

The Passion

Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christ secundum Joannem.
Cap. XVIII. XIX

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

Ch. XVIII. XIX.

Hæc cum dixisset Jesus, egressus est cum discipulis suis trans torrentem Cedron, ubi erat hortus, in quem introivit ipse, et discipuli ejus. Sciebat autem et Judas, qui tradebat eum, locum: quia frequenter Jesus convenerat illuc cum discipulis suis. Judas ergo cum accepisset cohortem, et a pontificibus et pharisæis ministros, venit illuc cum laternis, et facibus, et armis. Jesus itaque sciens omnia quæ ventura erant super eum, processit, et dixit eis: Quem quæritis? Responderunt ei: Jesum Nazarenum. Dicit eis Jesus: Ego sum. Stabat autem et Judas, qui tradebat eum, cum ipsis. [6] Ut ergo dixit eis: Ego sum: abierunt retrorsum, et ceciderunt in terram. Iterum ergo interrogavit eos: Quem quæritis? Illi autem dixerunt: Jesum Nazarenum. Respondit Jesus: Dixi vobis, quia ego sum: si ergo me quæritis, sinite hos abire. Ut impleretur sermo, quem dixit: Quia quos dedisti mihi, non perdidi ex eis quemquam. Simon ergo Petrus habens gladium eduxit eum: et percussit pontificis servum, et abscidit auriculam ejus dexteram. Erat autem nomen servo Malchus. Dixit ergo Jesus Petro: Mitte gladium tuum in vaginam. Calicem, quem dedit mihi Pater, non bibam illum? 

When Jesus had said these things, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where there was a garden, into which he entered with his disciples. And Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place; because Jesus had often resorted thither together with his disciples. Judas therefore having received a band of soldiers and servants from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said to them: Whom seek ye? They answered him: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith to them: I am he. And Judas also, who betrayed him, stood with them. As soon therefore as he had said to them: I am he; they went backward, and fell to the ground. Again therefore he asked them: Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way. That the word might be fulfilled which he said: Of them whom thou hast given me, I have not lost any one. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Jesus therefore said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the scabbard. The chalice which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?


Cohors ergo, et tribunus, et ministri Judæorum comprehenderunt Jesum, et ligaverunt eum. Et adduxerunt eum ad Annam primum: erat enim socer Caiphæ, qui erat pontifex anni illius. Erat autem Caiphas, qui consilium dederat Judæis: Quia expedit unum hominem mori pro populo. Sequebatur autem Jesum Simon Petrus, et alius discipulus. Discipulus autem ille erat notus pontifici, et introivit cum Jesu in atrium pontificis. Petrus autem stabat ad ostium foris. Exivit ergo discipulus alius, qui erat notus pontifici, et dixit ostiariæ: et introduxit Petrum. Dicit ergo Petro ancilla ostiaria: Numquid et tu ex discipulis es hominis istius? Dicit ille: Non sum. Stabant autem servi et ministri ad prunas, quia frigus erat, et calefaciebant se: erat autem cum eis et Petrus stans, et calefaciens se. 

Then the band and the tribune, and the servants of the Jews, took Jesus, and bound him: And they led him away to Annas first, for he was father in law to Caiphas, who was the high priest of that year. Now Caiphas was he who had given the counsel to the Jews: That it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. And that disciple was known to the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the court of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. The other disciple therefore, who was known to the high priest, went out, and spoke to the portress, and brought in Peter. The maid therefore that was portress, saith to Peter: Art not thou also one of this man’ s disciples? He saith: I am not. Now the servants and ministers stood at a fire of coals, because it was cold, and warmed themselves. And with them was Peter also, standing, and warming himself.


Pontifex ergo interrogavit Jesum de discipulis suis, et de doctrina ejus. Respondit ei Jesus: Ego palam locutus sum mundo: ego semper docui in synagoga, et in templo, quo omnes Judæi conveniunt, et in occulto locutus sum nihil. Quid me interrogas? interroga eos qui audierunt quid locutus sim ipsis: ecce hi sciunt quæ dixerim ego. Hæc autem cum dixisset, unus assistens ministrorum dedit alapam Jesu, dicens: Sic respondes pontifici? Respondit ei Jesus: Si male locutus sum, testimonium perhibe de malo: si autem bene, quid me cædis? Et misit eum Annas ligatum ad Caipham pontificem. Erat autem Simon Petrus stans, et calefaciens se. Dixerunt ergo ei: Numquid et tu ex discipulis ejus es? Negavit ille, et dixit: Non sum. Dicit ei unus ex servis pontificis, cognatus ejus, cujus abscidit Petrus auriculam: Nonne ego te vidi in horto cum illo? Iterum ergo negavit Petrus: et statim gallus cantavit. 

The high priest therefore asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him: I have spoken openly to the world: I have always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither all the Jews resort; and in secret I have spoken nothing. Why asketh thou me? ask them who have heard what I have spoken unto them: behold they know what things I have said. And when he had said these things, one of the servants standing by, gave Jesus a blow, saying: Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him: If I have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil; but if well, why strikest thou me? And Annas sent him bound to Caiphas the high priest. And Simon Peter was standing, and warming himself. They said therefore to him: Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said: I am not. One of the servants of the high priest (a kinsman to him whose ear Peter cut off) saith to him: Did I not see thee in the garden with him? Again therefore Peter denied; and immediately the cock crew.


Adducunt ergo Jesum a Caipha in prætorium. Erat autem mane: et ipsi non introierunt in prætorium, ut non contaminarentur, sed ut manducarent Pascha. Exivit ergo Pilatus ad eos foras, et dixit: Quam accusationem affertis adversus hominem hunc? Responderunt, et dixerunt ei: Si non esset hic malefactor, non tibi tradidissemus eum. Dixit ergo eis Pilatus: Accipite eum vos, et secundum legem vestram judicate eum. Dixerunt ergo ei Judæi: Nobis non licet interficere quemquam. Ut sermo Jesu impleretur, quem dixit, significans qua morte esset moriturus. Introivit ergo iterum in prætorium Pilatus: et vocavit Jesum, et dixit ei: Tu es rex Judæorum? Respondit Jesus: A temetipso hoc dicis, an alii dixerunt tibi de me? Respondit Pilatus: Numquid ego Judæus sum? gens tua et pontifices tradiderunt te mihi: quid fecisti? Respondit Jesus: Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo. Si ex hoc mundo esset regnum meum, ministri mei utique decertarent ut non traderer Judæis: nunc autem regnum meum non est hinc. Dixit itaque ei Pilatus: Ergo rex es tu? Respondit Jesus: Tu dicis quia rex sum ego. Ego in hoc natus sum, et ad hoc veni in mundum, ut testimonium perhibeam veritati: omnis qui est ex veritate, audit vocem meam. Dicit ei Pilatus: Quid est veritas? Et cum hoc dixisset, iterum exivit ad Judæos, et dicit eis: Ego nullam invenio in eo causam. Est autem consuetudo vobis ut unum dimittam vobis in Pascha: vultis ergo dimittam vobis regem Judæorum? Clamaverunt ergo rursum omnes, dicentes: Non hunc, sed Barabbam. Erat autem Barabbas latro. 

Then they led Jesus from Caiphas to the governor’ s hall. And it was morning; and they went not into the hall, that they might not be defiled, but that they might eat the pasch. Pilate therefore went out to them, and said: What accusation bring you against this man? They answered, and said to him: If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up to thee. Pilate therefore said to them: Take him you, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said to him: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death; That the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he said, signifying what death he should die. Pilate therefore went into the hall again, and called Jesus, and said to him: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered: Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have others told it thee of me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Thy own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered thee up to me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence. Pilate therefore said to him: Art thou a king then? Jesus answered: Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice. Pilate saith to him: What is truth? And when he said this, he went out again to the Jews, and saith to them: I find no cause in him. But you have a custom that I should release one unto you at the pasch: will you, therefore, that I release unto you the king of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying: Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.


Tunc ergo apprehendit Pilatus Jesum, et flagellavit. Et milites plectentes coronam de spinis, imposuerunt capiti ejus: et veste purpurea circumdederunt eum. Et veniebant ad eum, et dicebant: Ave, rex Judæorum: et dabant ei alapas. Exivit ergo iterum Pilatus foras, et dicit eis: Ecce adduco vobis eum foras, ut cognoscatis quia nullam invenio in eo causam. (Exivit ergo Jesus portans coronam spineam, et purpureum vestimentum.) Et dicit eis: Ecce homo. Cum ergo vidissent eum pontifices et ministri, clamabant, dicentes: Crucifige, crucifige eum. Dicit eis Pilatus: Accipite eum vos, et crucifigite: ego enim non invenio in eo causam. Responderunt ei Judæi: Nos legem habemus, et secundum legem debet mori, quia Filium Dei se fecit. Cum ergo audisset Pilatus hunc sermonem, magis timuit. Et ingressus est prætorium iterum: et dixit ad Jesum: Unde es tu? Jesus autem responsum non dedit ei. Dicit ergo ei Pilatus: Mihi non loqueris? nescis quia potestatem habeo crucifigere te, et potestatem habeo dimittere te? Respondit Jesus: Non haberes potestatem adversum me ullam, nisi tibi datum esset desuper. Propterea qui me tradidit tibi, majus peccatum habet. Et exinde quærebat Pilatus dimittere eum. Judæi autem clamabant dicentes: Si hunc dimittis, non es amicus Cæsaris. Omnis enim qui se regem facit, contradicit Cæsari. Pilatus autem cum audisset hos sermones, adduxit foras Jesum: et sedit pro tribunali, in loco qui dicitur Lithostrotos, hebraice autem Gabbatha. 

Then therefore, Pilate took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head; and they put on him a purple garment. And they came to him, and said: Hail, king of the Jews; and they gave him blows. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith to them: Behold, I bring him forth unto you, that you may know that I find no cause in him. (Jesus therefore came forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) And he saith to them: Behold the Man. When the chief priests, therefore, and the servants, had seen him, they cried out, saying: Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Take him you, and crucify him: for I find no cause in him. The Jews answered him: We have a law; and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore had heard this saying, he feared the more. And he entered into the hall again, and he said to Jesus: Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore saith to him: Speakest thou not to me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release thee? Jesus answered: Thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore, he that hath delivered me to thee, hath the greater sin. And from henceforth Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying: If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar’s friend. For whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar. Now when Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat, in the place that is called Lithostrotos, and in Hebrew Gabbatha.


Erat enim parasceve Paschæ, hora quasi sexta, et dicit Judæis: Ecce rex vester. Illi autem clamabant: Tolle, tolle, crucifige eum. Dicit eis Pilatus: Regem vestrum crucifigam? Responderunt pontifices: Non habemus regem, nisi Cæsarem. Tunc ergo tradidit eis illum ut crucifigeretur. Susceperunt autem Jesum, et eduxerunt. Et bajulans sibi crucem exivit in eum, qui dicitur Calvariæ locum, hebraice autem Golgotha: ubi crucifixerunt eum, et cum eo alios duos hinc et hinc, medium autem Jesum. Scripsit autem et titulum Pilatus, et posuit super crucem. Erat autem scriptum: Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judæorum. Hunc ergo titulum multi Judæorum legerunt: quia prope civitatem erat locus, ubi crucifixus est Jesus, et erat scriptum hebraice, græce, et latine. Dicebant ergo Pilato pontifices Judæorum: Noli scribere: Rex Judæorum: sed quia ipse dixit: Rex sum Judæorum. Respondit Pilatus: Quod scripsi, scripsi. Milites ergo cum crucifixissent eum, acceperunt vestimenta ejus (et fecerunt quatuor partes, unicuique militi partem) et tunicam. Erat autem tunica inconsutilis, desuper contexta per totum. Dixerunt ergo ad invicem: Non scindamus eam, sed sortiamur de illa cujus sit. Ut Scriptura impleretur, dicens: Partiti sunt vestimenta mea sibi: et in vestem meam miserunt sortem. Et milites quidem hæc fecerunt. 

And it was the parasceve of the pasch, about the sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews: Behold your king. But they cried out: Away with him; away with him; crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered: We have no king but Caesar. Then therefore he delivered him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him forth. And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha. Where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title also, and he put it upon the cross. And the writing was: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. This title therefore many of the Jews did read: because the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered: What I have written, I have written. The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified him, took his garments (and they made four parts, to every soldier a part), and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said then one to another: Let us not cut it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith: “They have parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they have cast lots.” And the soldiers indeed did these things.


Stabant autem juxta crucem Jesu mater ejus, et soror matris ejus, Maria Cleophæ, et Maria Magdalene. Cum vidisset ergo Jesus matrem, et discipulum stantem, quem diligebat, dicit matri suæ: Mulier, ecce filius tuus. Deinde dicit discipulo: Ecce mater tua. Et ex illa hora accepit eam discipulus in sua. Postea sciens Jesus quia omnia consummata sunt, ut consummaretur Scriptura, dixit: Sitio. Vas ergo erat positum aceto plenum. Illi autem spongiam plenam aceto, hyssopo circumponentes, obtulerunt ori ejus. Cum ergo accepisset Jesus acetum, dixit: Consummatum est. Et inclinato capite tradidit spiritum. 

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. Afterwards, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst. Now there was a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they, putting a sponge full of vinegar and hyssop, put it to his mouth. Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.

Here, a pause is made, as on Palm Sunday. All kneel down and, if such be the custom of the place, they prostrate and kiss the ground.

Judæi ergo (quoniam Parasceve erat), ut non remanerent in cruce corpora sabbato (erat enim magnus dies ille sabbati), rogaverunt Pilatum, ut frangerentur eorum crura, et tollerentur. Venerunt ergo milites: et primi quidem fregerunt crura, et alterius qui crucifixis est cum eo. Ad Jesum autem cum venissent, ut viderunt eum jam mortuum, non fregerunt ejus crura; sed unus militum landea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua. Et qui vidit, testimonium perhibuit: et verum est testimonium ejus. Et ille scit, quia vera dicit, ut et vos credatis. Facta sunt enim hæc, ut scriptura impleretur: Os non comminuetis ex eo. Et iterum alia scriptura dicit: Videbunt in quem transfixerunt. 

Then the Jews (because it was the Parasceve), that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day (for that was a great sabbath-day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came; and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other, that was crucified with him. But after they came to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it, hath given testimony; and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true; for you also may believe. For these things were done that the scripture might be fulfilled: “You shall not break a bone of him.” And again another scripture saith: “They shall look on him whom they pierced.”

Here, the Deacon kneels at the foot of the Altar and prays in silence that there may descend upon him the blessing of God; but he does not ask the blessing, as usual, from the Celebrant, either upon the incense or himself. Neither do the Acolytes hold their torches while he sings the Gospel. The Subdeacon does not offer the Missal to the Priest at the end of the Gospel. The omission of all these ceremonies is expression of the grief which fills the soul of the Spouse of Christ, the Church.

Post hæc autem rogavit Pilatum Joseph ab Arimathæa (eo quod esset discipulus Jesu, occultus autem propter metum Judæorum) ut tolleret corpus Jesu. Et permisit Pilatus. Venit ergo, et tulit corpus Jesu. Venit autem et Nicodemus, qui venerat ad Jesum nocte primum, ferens mixturam myrrhæ et aloes, quasi libras centum. Acceperunt ergo corpus Jesu, et ligaverunt illus linteis cum aromatibus, sicut mos est Judæis sepelire. Erat autem in loco, ubi cricifixus est, hortus; et in horto monumentum novum, in quo nondum quisquam positus erat. Ibi ergo propter Pasceven Judæorum, quia juxta erat monumentum, posuerunt Jesum. 

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews) besought Pilate that he might take the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave leave. He came therefore and took away the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus also came, he who was at the first came to Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about one hundred pound weight. They took therefore the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now there was in the place where he was crucified, a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein no man had yet been laid. There, therefore, because of the Parasceve of the Jews, they laid Jesus, because the sepulcher was nigh at hand.

The Prayers

Having thus described to us the Passion and Death of her Divine Spouse, the Church would follow the example set her by this the Mediator of the world. St. Paul tells us that our Jesus, when dying on the Cross, offered up to his Eternal Father, and this for all mankind, prayers and supplications, with a strong cry and tears. Therefore it is that from the earliest ages, the Church has presented to the Divine Majesty, upon this day, a solemn formula of “Prayers” in which she intercedes for the necessities of the whole world. How truly is she the Mother of men, and the affectionate Spouse of Jesus! None, not even the Jews, are excluded from this her intercession, which she makes, under the shadow of the Cross, to the Father of all ages.

Each of these “Prayers” is prefaced by a few words, which show its object. The Deacon then bids the Faithful kneel down; and the Subdeacon tells them to rise, and unite in the Prayer made by the Priest.

Oremus dilectissimmi nobis, pro Ecclesia sancta Dei: ut eam Deus et Dominus noster, pacificare, adunare, et custodire dignetur toto orbe terrarum: subjiciens ei principatus, et potestates: detque nobis quietam et tranquillam vitam degentibus, glorificare Deum Patrem omnipotenem. 
Let us pray, most dearly beloved brethren, for the holy Church of God, that the Lord God would be pleased to grant it peace, maintain it in union, and preserve it all over the earth. That he would likewise bring into her bosom the princes and potentates of the whole world, and grant us peace and tranquility in this life, and to glorify God the Father Almighty.

Oremus 
Let us pray

The Deacon: Flectamus genua. 
The Deacon: Let us kneel down.

The Subdeacon: Levate. 
The Subdeacon: Stand up again.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui gloriam tuam omnibus in Christo gentibus revelasti: custodi opera misericordiæ tuæ: ut Ecclesia tua toto orbe diffusa, stabili fide in confessione tui Nominis perseveret. Per eumdem.  ℟. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, who, by Christ, hast revealed thy glory to all nations; preserve the works of thine own mercy, that thy Church, which is spread over the whole world, may persevere with a constant faith in the confession of thy name. Through the same, &c. ℟. Amen.


Oremus et pro beatissimo Papa nostro N. ut Deus Dominus noster, qui elegit eum in ordine Episcopatus, salvum atque incolumem custodiat Ecclesiæ suæ sanctæ, ad regendum populum sanctum Dei. 
Let us pray also for our most holy Father, Pope N., that our Lord God, who hath made choice of him in the order of the Episcopacy, may preserve him in health and safety for the good of his holy Church, and to govern the holy people of God.

Oremus 
Let us pray

The Deacon: Flectamus genua. 
The Deacon: Let us kneel down.

The Subdeacon: Levate. 
The Subdeacon: Stand up again.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, cujus judicio universa fundantur: respice propitus ad preces nostras, et electum nobis Antistitem tua pietate conserva: ut Christiana plebs, quæ te gubernatur auctore, sub tanto Pontifice, credulitatis suæ meritis augeatur. Per Dominum.  ℟. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, by whose appointment all things are established and maintained; mercifully regard our prayers, and by thy goodness preserve the Prelate chosen to govern us; that the Christian people who are governed by thy authority, may increase the merits of their faith under so great a Pontiff. Through, &c.  ℟. Amen.


Oremus et pro omnibus Episcopis, Presbyteris, Diaconibus, Subdiaconibus, Acolythis, Exorcistis, Lectoribus, Ostiariis, Confessoribus, Virginibus, Viduis: et pro omni populo sancto Dei. 
Let us also pray for all Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Subdeacons, Acolytes, Exorcists, Readers, Doorkeepers, Confessors, Virgins, Widows, and for all the holy people of God.

Oremus 
Let us pray

The Deacon: Flectamus genua. 
The Deacon: Let us kneel down.

The Subdeacon: Levate.
The Subdeacon: Stand up again.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, cujus Spiritu totum corpus Ecclesiæ sanctificatur et regitur: exaudi nos pro universis Ordinibus supplicantes: ut gratiæ tuæ munere, ab omnibus tibi gradibus fideliter serviatur. Per Dominum. ℟. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, by whose spirit the whole body of the Church is sanctified and governed; hear our prayers for all Orders thereof; that, by the assistance of thy grace, thou mayest be served by every rank and condition. Through, &c. ℟. Amen


The Church of Rome, in the following “Prayer,” had in view the Emperor of Germany, who was formerly the head of the germanic confederation and, in the Middle Ages, was entrusted, by the Church, with the charge of propagating the Faith among the northern nations. This “Prayer” is now omitted, excepting in those countries which are subject to Austria.

Oremus et pro christianissimo Imperatore nostro N. ut Deus et Dominus noster subditas illi faciat omnes barbaras nationes, ad nostram perpetuam pacem. Let us pray also for the most Christian Emperor N., that the Lord God may reduce to his obedience all barbarous nations for our perpetual peace.

Oremus 
Let us pray

The Deacon: Flectamus genua. 
The Deacon: Let us kneel down.

The Subdeacon: Levate.
The Subdeacon: Stand up again.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, in cujus manu sunt omnium potestates, et omnium jura regnorum: respice ad Romanum benignus Imperium: ut gentes, quæ in sua feritate confidunt, potentiæ tuæ dextera comprimantur. Per Dominum.  ℟. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, in whose hands are the power and right of all kingdoms, graciously look down on the Roman Empire: that those nations who confide in their own haughtiness and strength, may be reduced by the power of thy right hand.  ℟. Amen.


Oremus et pro catechumenis nostris: ut Deus et Dominus noster adaperiat aures præcordiorum ipsorum, januamque misericordiæ: ut per lavacrum regenerationis, accepta remissione omnium peccatorum, et ipsi inveniantur in Christo Jesu Domino nostro. 
Let us pray also for our Catechumens, that our Lord God may open for them the ears of their hearts, and the gates of mercy; that having received the remission of sin by the laver of regeneration, they may also belong to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Oremus 
Let us pray

The Deacon: Flectamus genua. 
The Deacon: Let us kneel down.

The Subdeacon: Levate. 
The Subdeacon: Stand up again.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui Ecclesiam tuam nova semper prole fœcundas: auge fidem et intellectum catechumenis nostris: ut renati fonte baptismatis, adoptionis tuæ filiis aggregentur. Per Dominum.  ℟. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, who continually makest the church fruitful in new children, increase the faith and understanding of our Catechumens, that, being again born at the font of baptism, they may be joined to thy adopted children. Through, &c. ℟. Amen.


Oremus, dilectissimi nobis, Deum Patrem omnipotentem, ut cunctis mundum purget erroribus: morbos auferat: famem depellat: aperiat carceres: vincula dissolvat: peregrinantibus reditum, infirmantibus sanitatem, navigantibus portum salutis indulgeat. 
Let us pray, most dearly beloved brethren, to God the Father Almighty, that he would purge the world of all errors, cure diseases, drive away famine, open prisons, break chains, grant a safe return to travellers, health to the sick, and a secure harbor to such as are at sea.

Oremus 
Let us pray

The Deacon: Flectamus genua. 
The Deacon: Let us kneel down.

The Subdeacon: Levate. 
The Subdeacon: Stand up again.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, mœstorum consolatio, laborantium fortitudo, perveniant ad te preces de quacumque tribulatione clamantium: ut omnes sibi in necessitatibus suis misericordiam tuam gaudeant adfuisse. Per Dominum.   ℟. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, the comfort of the afflicted, and the strength of those that labor; let the prayers of all such as call upon thee in tribulation, come to thee; that all, with joy, may find the effects of thy mercy in their necessities. Through, &c. ℟. Amen.


Oremus et pro hæreticis et schismaticis: ut Deus et Dominus noster eruat eos ab erroribus universis: et ad sanctam matrem Ecclesiam Catholicam atque Apostolicam revocare dignetur. 
Let us pray also for all heretics and schismatics, that our Lord God would be pleased to deliver them from all their errors, and call them back to our Holy Mother the Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Oremus 
Let us pray

The Deacon: Flectamus genua. 
The Deacon: Let us kneel down.

The Subdeacon: Levate. 
The Subdeacon: Stand up again.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui salvas omnes, et neminem vis perire: respice ad animas diabolica fraude deceptas: ut omni hæretica pravitate deposita, errantium corda resipiscant, et ad veritatis tuæ redeant unitatem. Per Dominum.  ℟. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, who savest all and wouldst have none to perish; look down on those souls that are seduced by the deceits of the devil; that the hearts of all those who err, laying aside all heretical malice, may repent and return to the unity of the truth. Through, &c. ℟. Amen. 


Oremus et pro perfidis Judæis: ut Deus et Dominus noster auferat velamen de cordibus eorum, ut et ipsi agnoscant Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum. 
Let us pray also for the perfidious Jews; that the Lord God would withdraw the veil from their hearts, that they also may acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son.

Here, the Deacon does not invite the Faithful to kneel. The Church has no hesitation in offering up a “Prayer” for the descendants of Jesus’ executioners, but, in doing so, she refrains from genuflecting: because this mark of adoration was turned by the Jews into an insult against our Lord during the Passion. She prays for his scoffers; but she shrinks from repeating the act wherewith they scoffed him.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui etiam Judaicam perfidiam a tua misericordia non repellis: exaudi preces nostras, quas pro illius populi obcæcatione deferimus: ut agnita veritatis tuæ luce, quæ Christus est, a suis tenebris eruantur. Per eumdem Dominum.  ℟. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, who deniest not thy mercy even to the perfidious Jews; hear our prayers which we pour forth for the blindness of that people; that by acknowledging the light of thy truth, which is the Christ, they may be brought out of their darkness. Through the same, &c. ℟. Amen.


Oremus et pro paganis: ut Deus omnipotens auferat iniquitatem a cordibus eorum: ut relictis idolis suis, convertantur ad Deum vivum et verum, et unicum Filium ejus Jesum Christum, Deum et Dominum nostrum. 
Let us pray also for the pagans, that Almighty God would remove all iniquity from their hearts; that quitting their idols, they may be converted to the true and living God, and his only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Oremus 
Let us pray

The Deacon: Flectamus genua. 
The Deacon: Let us kneel down.

The Subdeacon: Levate. 
The Subdeacon: Stand up again.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui non mortem peccatorum, sed vitam semper inquiris: suscipe propitius orationem nostram: et libera eos ab idolorum cultura: et aggrega Ecclesiæ tuæ sanctæ, ad laudem et gloriam Nominis tui. Dominum.  ℟. Amen.
O Almighty and Eternal God, who seekest not the death of sinners, but that they should live; mercifully hear our prayers, and deliver them from their idolatry: and, to the praise and glory of thy name, admit them into thy holy Church. Through, &c. ℟. Amen.

The Veneration of the Cross

The “Prayers” are ended. The charity and zeal of the Church have embraced the whole universe of men, invoking upon them the merciful effusion of that precious blood, which is now flowing from the Wounds of her Crucified Lord. She turns next to her faithful Children. Filled with holy indignation at the humiliations heaped upon her Jesus, she invites us to an act of solemn reparation: it is to consist in our venerating that Cross, which our Divine Lord has borne to the summit of Calvary, and to which he is to be fastened with nails. The Cross is a stumbling-block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Gentiles; but to us Christians, it is the trophy of Jesus’ victory, and the instrument of the world’s Redemption. It is worthy of our deepest veneration, because of the honor conferred upon it by the Son of God: he consecrated it by his own Blood, he worked our salvation by its means. No time could be more appropriate than this for the honoring it with the humble tribute of our veneration.

The holy ceremony of venerating the Cross on Good Friday was first instituted at Jerusalem, in the 4th century. Owing to the pious zeal of the Empress St. Helen, the True Cross had then recently been discovered, to the immense joy of the whole Church. The Faithful, as might be expected, were desirous to see the precious Relic, and, accordingly, it was exposed every Good Friday. This brought a very great number of pilgrims to Jerusalem; and yet how few, comparatively, could hope to have the happiness of such a visit, or witness the magnificent ceremony? An imitation of what was done, on this day, at Jerusalem, was a natural result of these pious desires. It was about the 7th century that the practice of publicly venerating the Cross on Good Friday was introduced into other Churches. True, it was but an image of the True Cross that these other Churches could show to the people; but as the respect that is paid to the True Cross refers to Christ himself, the Faithful could offer him a like homage of adoration, even though not having present before their eyes the sacred Wood which had been consecrated by the Blood of Jesus. Such was the origin of the imposing ceremony, at which holy Church now invites us to assist.

The Celebrant takes off the Chasuble, which is the badge of the Priesthood; it is in order that the Reparation, which he is to be first to offer our outraged Jesus, may be made with all possible humility. He then stands on the step near the Epistle side of the Altar, and turns his face towards the people. The Deacon takes down the Cross from the Altar, and gives it to the Celebrant, who then unveils the upper part as far as the arms. He raises it a little, and sings these words:

Ecce lignum Crucis; 
Behold the wood of the Cross;

Then he continues, joined by the Deacon and Subdeacon:

in quo salus mundi pependit. 
on which hung the salvation of the world.

The people then kneel down, and venerate the Cross, while the Choir sings these words:

Venite adoremus. 
Come, let us adore.


This first exposition, which is made at the side of the Altar, and in a low tone of voice, represents the first preaching of the Cross, that, namely, which the Apostles made when, for fear of the Jews, they dared not to speak of the great Mystery except to the few faithful Disciples of Jesus. For the same reason, the Priest but slightly elevates the Cross. The homage here paid to it is intended as a reparation for the insults and injuries offered to our Redeemer in the house of Caiphas.

The Priest then comes to the front of the step and is thus nearer to the people. He unveils the right arm of the Cross, and holds up the holy Sign of our Redemption higher than the first time. He then sings, and on a higher note:

Ecce lignum Crucis; 
Behold the wood of the Cross;

Then he continues, joined by the Deacon and Subdeacon:

in quo salus mundi pependit. 
on which hung the salvation of the world.

The people then fall upon their knees, and continue in that posture, while the Choir sings:

Venite adoremus. 
Come, let us adore.


This second elevation of the holy Cross signifies the Apostles’ extending their preaching the mystery of our Redemption to the Jews, after the descent of the Holy Ghost; by which preaching they made many thousand converts, and planted the Church in the very midst of the Synagogue. It is intended as a reparation to our Savior, for the treatment he received in the Court of Pilate.

The Priest then advances to the middle of the Altar, and, with his face still turned towards the people, he removes the veil entirely from the Cross. He elevates it more than he did the two preceding times, and triumphantly sings on a still higher note:

Ecce lignum Crucis; 
Behold the wood of the Cross;

The Deacon and Subdeacon here unite their voices with his:

in quo salus mundi pependit. 
on which hung the salvation of the world.

The people fall down upon their knees, and the Choir sings:

Venite adoremus. 
Come, let us adore.


This third and unreserved manifestation represents the mystery of the Cross being preached to the whole earth, when the apostles, after being rejected by the majority of the Jewish people, turned towards the Gentiles, and preached Jesus Crucified, even far beyond the limits of the Roman Empire. It is intended as a Reparation to our Lord for the outrages offered to him on Calvary.

There is another teaching embodied in this ceremony of holy Church. By this gradual unveiling of the Cross, she would express to us the contrast of the Jewish and the Christian view. The one finds nothing in Christ Crucified but shame and ignominy: the other discovers in him the power and the wisdom of God. Honor, then, and veneration to his Cross! The veil is removed by Faith. Unveiled let it be upon our Altar, for He that died upon it is soon to triumph by a glorious Resurrection! Yea, let every Crucifix in our Church be unveiled, and every Altar beam once more with the vision of the glorious Standard!

But the Church is not satisfied with showing her Children the Cross that has saved them; she would have them approach, and kiss it. The Priest leads the way. He has already taken off his Chasuble; he now takes off his shoes also, and then advances towards the place where he has put the Crucifix. He makes three genuflections at intervals, and finally kisses the Cross. The Deacon and Subdeacon follow him, then the clergy, and lastly the people.

The chants which are used during this ceremony are exceedingly fine. First of all, there are the Improperia, that is, the Reproaches made by our Savior to the Jews. Each of the first three stanzas of this plaintive Hymn is followed by the Trisagion, or Prayer to the Thrice Holy God, who, as Man, suffers death for us. Oh! let us fervently proclaim him to be The Holy, The Immortal! This form of prayer was used at Constantinople, so far back as the 5th Century. The Roman Church adopted it, retaining even the original Greek words, to which, however, she adds a beautiful Latin translation. The rest of this beautiful chant contains the comparison made by our Lord, between the favors he has bestowed upon the Jewish people, and the injuries he has received from them in return.

The “Improperia,” or “Reproaches”

Popule meus, quid feci tibi, aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi. Quia eduxi te de terra Ægypti! parasti crucem Salvatori tuo.
My people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? Answer me. Because I brought thee out of the land of Egypt, thou hast prepared a Cross for thy Savior.

Agios o Theos. 
O Holy God!

Sanctus Deus. 
O Holy God!

Agios ischyros. 
O Holy and Strong!

Sanctus fortis. 
O holy and Strong!

Agios athanatos, eleison imas. 
O Holy and Immortal! have mercy on us.

Sanctus immortalis, miserere nobis. 
O Holy and Immortal! have mercy on us.

Quia eduxi te per desertum quadraginta annis: et manna cibavi te, et introduxi te in terram satis bonam, parasti crucem Salvatori tuo. 
Because I was thy guide through the desert for forty years, and fed thee with manna, and brought thee into an excellent land, thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior.

Agios o Theos, &c. O Holy God, &c.


Quid ultra debui facere tibi, et non feci? Ego quidem plantavi te vineam meam speciosissimam: et tu facta es mihi nimis amara: aceto namque sitim meam potasti: et lancea perforasti latus Salvatori tuo. 
What more should I have done to thee, and have not done? I have planted thee for my most beautiful vineyard: and thou hast proved very bitter to me, for in my thirst thou gavest me vinegar to drink; and piercedst the side of thy Savior with a spear.

Agios o Theos, &c. O Holy God, &c.


Ago propter te flagellavi Ægyptum cum primogenitis suis: et tu me flagellatum tradidisti.
For thy sake I scourged Egypt with her first-born; and thou hast delivered me up to be scourged.

Popule meus, quid feci tibi, aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi. 
My people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? Answer me.

Ego eduxi te de Ægypto, demerso Pharaone in mare Rubrum: et tu me tradidisti principibus sacerdotum. 
I led thee out of Egypt, having drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea; and thou hast delivered me up to the chief priests.

Popule meus, &c. My people, &c.

Ego ante te aperui mare: et tu aperuisti lancea latus meum. 
I opened the sea before thee; and thou hast opened my side with a spear.

Popule meus, &c. My people, &c.

Ego ante te præivi in columna nubis: et tu me duxisti ad prætorium Pilati.
 I went before thee in a pillar of cloud; and thou hast brought me to the court of Pilate.

Popule meus, &c. My people, &c.

Ego te potavi aqua salutis de petra: et tu me potasti felle et aceto.
I gave thee wholesome water to drink out of the rock, and thou hast given me for my drink gall and vinegar.

Popule meus, &c. My people, &c.

Ego propter te Chananæorum reges percussi: et tu percussisti arundine caput meum. 
For thy sake I smote the king of Canaan; and thou hast smote my head with a cane.

Ego dedi tibi sceptrum regale: et tu dedisti capiti meo spineam coronam. 
I gave thee a royal scepter, and thou hast given to my head a crown of thorns.

Popule meus, &c. My people, &c.

Ego te exaltavi magna virtute: et tu me suspendisti in patibulo crucis. 
By great might I raised thee on high; and thou hast hanged me on the gibbet of the Cross.

Popule meus, &c. 
My people, &c.


The Improperia are followed by this solemn Antiphon, in which the two great Mysteries are blended together: the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. This union eloquently expresses the Triumph of our Redeemer.

Crucem tuam adoramus, Domine: et sanctam Resurrectionem tuam laudamus, et glorificamus: ecce enim propter lignum venit gaudium in universo mundo. We adore thy Cross, O Lord, and we praise and glorify thy holy Resurrection, for by the wood of the Cross the whole earth is filled with joy.

Ps. Deus misereatur nostri, et benedicat nobis: illuminet vultum suum super nos, et misereatur nostri. 
Ps. My God have mercy on us and bless us; may his countenance shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.

Then, is repeated: Crucem tuam, &c. 
Then, is repeated: We adore, &c.

If the Adoration of the Cross is not yet finished, the following Hymn is sung. It was composed by Mamertus Claudianus, in the 6th century. One of the stanzas is repeated after each six verses, as the burden of the Hymn.

Hymn

Crux fidelis, inter omnes,
Arbor una nobilis:
Nulla silva talem profert,
Fronde, flore, germine. 

O Faithful Cross! thou noblest of all trees. No forest yields thy like, in leaf, or flower, or fruit.

Dulce lignum, dulces clavos,
Dulce pondus sustinet. 

Sweet is the Wood, that hath nails so sweet, and bears so sweet a weight!

Pange lingua gloriosi
Lauream certaminis,
Et super crucis trophæo
Dic triumphum nobilem;
Qualiter Redemptor orbis
Immolatus vicerit. 

O sing, my tongue, the victory of the glorious combat! Tell how was won the noble triumph on the trophy of the Cross, and how the world’s Redeemer, when immolated, conquered.

Repeat: Crux fidelis. 
Repeat: O faithful Cross.

De parentis protoplasti
Fraude factor condolens,
Quando pomi noxialis
In necum morsu ruit,
Ipse lignum tunc notavit,
Damna ligni ut solveret. 

Our Creator compassionated his creature, our First Parent, when being deceived, he became a victim of death by eating the fatal fruit: and even then he chose the Tree, whereby to make good the evils brought on us by that other tree.

Repeat: Dulce lignum. 
Repeat: Sweet is the Wood.

Hoc opus nostræ salutis
Ordo depoposcerat,
Multiformis proditoris
Ars ut artem falleret;
Et medelam ferret inde,
Hostis unde læserat.

This was the plan designed for our salvation—that artifice divine should foil the artifice of Satan, the arch-seducer; and turn the very instrument, wherewith the enemy had wounded us, into our remedy.

Repeat: Crux fidelis. 
Repeat: O faithful Cross.

Quando venit ergo sacri
Plenitudo temporis,
Missus est ab arce Patris
Natus orbis conditor;
Atque ventre virginali
Carne amictus prodiit. 

When, therefore, the fullness of God’s time had come, the Son, by whom the world was made, was sent from heaven; and having clothed himself with our flesh, in the Virgin’s womb, he came among us.

Repeat: Dulce lignum. 
Repeat: Sweet is the Wood.

Vagit infans, inter arcta
Conditus præsepia:
Membra pannis involuta
Virgo mater alligat,
Et Dei manus, pedesque
Stricta cingit fascia. 

He lies a weeping Babe in a little crib. His Virgin Mother swathes his limbs with clothes. The hands and feed of God are tied with bands!

Repeat: Crux fidelis. 
Repeat: O faithful Cross.

Lustra sex qui jam peregit,
Tempus implens corporis:
Sponte libera Redemptor
Passioni deditus:
Agnus in crucis levatur
Immolandus stipite. 

Thirty years he lived on earth, and his mortal life was nigh its end. He, our Redeemer, willingly gave himself up to his Passion; He, the Lamb of Sacrifice, was raised upon the Cross.

Repeat: Dulce lignum. 
Repeat: Sweet is the Wood.

Felle potus, ecce languit;
Spina, clavi, lancea,
Mite corpus perforarunt;
Unda manat et cruor:
Terra, pontus, astra, mundus
Quo lavantur flumine. 

His drink is gall;—his strength is gone; his tender flesh is pierced with thorns, and nails, and spear; and from it flows a stream of water and blood, wherewith the earth and sea, the stars and world, are washed.

Repeat: Crux fidelis. 
Repeat: O faithful Cross.

Flecte ramos arbor alta,
Tensa laxa viscera:
Et rigor lentescat ille,
Quem dedit nativitas:
Et superni membra Regis
Tende miti stipite. 

Bow down thy branches, lofty Tree! unstring thy sinews, soften thine inborn hardness, and gently welcome the body of our Almighty King!

Repeat: Dulce lignum. 
Repeat: Sweet is the Wood.

Sola digna tu fuisti
Ferre mundi victimam,
Atque portum præparare
Arca mundo naufrago:
Quam sacer cruor perunxit,
Fusus Agni corpore. 

Thou alone wast found worthy to bear the Victim of the world! Thou wast the Ark that led this ship-wrecked world into the haven of salvation! The sacred Blood that flowed from the Lamb covered and anointed thee.

Repeat: Crux fidelis. 
Repeat: O faithful Cross.

Sempiterna sit beatæ
Trinitati gloria;
Æqua Patri, Filioque,
Par decus Paraclito;
Unius Trinique nomen
Laudet universitas. Amen. 

To the Blessed Trinity be glory everlasting! To the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be equal praise! May heaven and earth praise the Name of the Triune God! Amen.

Repeat: Dulce lignum. 
Repeat: Sweet is the Wood!

Towards the end of the Veneration of the Cross, the Candles are lighted, and the Deacon spreads a Corporal upon the Altar, for the Blessed Sacrament is to be placed there. As soon as the Faithful have finished their Adoration, the Priest takes the Cross and replaces it over the Altar.

Mass of the Presanctified

So vividly is the Church impressed with the remembrance of the great Sacrifice offered today on Calvary, that she refrains from renewing, on her Altars, the immolation of the Divine Victim: she contents her self with partaking of the sacred mystery by Communion. Formerly, the Clergy and Laity were also permitted to communicate; but the present discipline is that only the Priest shall receive. After the priest has resumed his Chasuble, the Clergy go in procession to the Altar, where the consecrated Host has been reserved since yesterday’s Mass. The Deacon takes the Chalice which contains it, and places it on the Altar. The Priest, having offered the homage of his adoration to our Redeemer, takes into his hands the Chalice, wherein He is enclosed, whom heaven and earth cannot contain. The Clergy, with lighted tapers in their hands, return to the High Altar, and sing, during the procession, the Hymn of the Cross.

Hymn

Vexilla Regis prodeunt;

Fulget Crucis mysterium,
Qua Vita mortem pertulit,
Et morte vitam protulit. 

The Standard of our King comes forth: the mystery of the Cross shines upon us—that Cross on which Life suffered death, and by his Death gave life.

Quæ vulnerata lanceæ
Mucrone diro, criminum
Ut nos lavaret sordibus
Manavit unda et sanguine. 

He was pierced with the cruel Spear, that, by the Water and the Blood, which flowed from the wound, he might cleanse us from sin.

Impleta sunt quæ concinit
David fideli carmine,
Dicendo nationibus:
Regnavit a ligno Deus. 

Here, on the Cross was fulfilled the prophecy foretold in David’s truthful words: “God hath reigned from the Tree.”

Arbor decora et fulgida,
Ornata regis purpura,
Electa digno stipite
Tam sancta membra tangere. 

O fair and shining Tree! beautified by the scarlet of the King, and chosen as the noble trunk that was to touch such sacred limbs!

Beata cujus brachiis
Pretium pependit sæculi,
Statera facta corporis,
Tulitque prædam tartari. 

O blessed Tree! on whose arms hung the ransom of the world! It was the balance, wherein was placed the Body of Jesus, and thereby hell lost its prey.

O Crux, ave spes unica,
Hoc Passionis tempore,
Piis adauge gratiam,
Reisque dele crimina. 

Hail, O Cross! our only hope! During these days of the Passion, increase to the good their grace, and cleanse sinners from their guilt.

Te, fons salutis, Trinitas,
Collaudet omnis spiritus:
Quibus Crucis victoriam
Largiris, adde præmium. Amen. 

May every spirit praise thee, O Holy Trinity, thou Fount of Salvation! and by the Cross, whereby thou gavest us victory, give us, too, our recompense. Amen.

As soon as the Priest has reached the altar, the Deacon receives the Sacred host upon a Paten, and pours wine and water into the Chalice. Let us reverently fix our eyes upon the Altar. The Priest censes the offerings and the Altar, as usual; but to express the grief which now fills the soul of the Church, he himself is not thurified. He says, secretly, the following prayers:

Incensum istud, a te benedictum, ascendat ad te, Domine: et descendat super nos misericordia tua. 
May this incense, which hath been blessed by thee, O Lord, ascend unto thee; and may thy mercy descend upon us.

Dirigatur, Domine, oratio mea, sicut incensum in conspectu tuo. Elevatio manuum mearum sacrificium vespertinum. Pone, Domine, custodiam ori meo, et ostium circumstantiæ labiis meis; ut non declinet cor meum in verba malitiæ, ad excusandas excusationes in peccatis.
Let my prayer, O Lord, ascend like incense in thy sight. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Place, O Lord, a guard upon my mouth, and a gate of prudence before my lips; that my heart may not incline to evil words, to make excuses in sins.


Giving the thurible to the Deacon, he says:

Accendat in nobis Dominus ignem sui amoris, et flammam æternæ charitatis. Amen. 
May the Lord kindle within us the fire of his love, and the flame of everlasting charity. Amen.
Here, he washes his hands, and then returns to the middle of the Altar, where he says the following prayer in secret:

In spiritu humilitatis, et in animo contrito suscipiamur a te, Domine: et sic fiat sacrificium nostrum in conspecto tuo hodie, ut placeat tibi, Domine Deus. Receive us, O Lord, coming to thee in the spirit of humility, and with a contrite heart: and grant that the sacrifice of this day may be so celebrated by us, as to be well pleasing unto thee, O Lord our God!


He then turns towards the people, and asks their prayers, saying:

Orate fratres: ut meum ac vestrum sacrificium acceptabile fiat apud Deum Patrem Omnipotentem. 
Brethren, pray: that this my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty.

The usual answer, Suscipiat, is omitted: and the Celebrant immediately sings, on the Ferial tone, the Pater noster.
 
Let us join, with earnest confidence, in the seven petitions. Our Jesus, with his arms extended on the Cross, is now offering them, for us, to his Eternal Father. This is the solemn hour, when every prayer offered to heaven, through his mediation, is sure to be granted.

Pater noster, qui es in cœlis, sanctificetur nomen tuum; adveniat regnum tuum; fiat voluntas tua, sicut in cœlo, et in terra; panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie; et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus deboritoribus nostris; et ne nos inducas in tentationem.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation.

℟. Sed libera nos a malo. 
℟. But deliver us from evil.

The Celebrant having answered Amen, in secret, says aloud the following Prayer, which is always secretly said in every Mass. He there prays that we may be delivered from every evil, set free from sin, and established in peace.

Libera nos, quæsumus, Domine, ab omnibus malis, præteritis, præsentibus, et futuris; et intercedente beata et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beatis apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque Andrea, et omnibus sanctis, da propitius pacem in diebus nostris, ut ope misericordiæ tuæ adjuti, et a peccato simus semper liberi, et ab omni perturbatione securi. Per eumdum Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivat et regnat, in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus: per omnia sæcula sæculorum. ℟. Amen.
Deliver us, we beseech thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present, and to come: and by the intercession of the blessed and ever glorious Virgin Mary Mother of God, and of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and of Andrew, and of all the Saints, mercifully grant peace in our days, that through the assistance of thy mercy, we may be always free from sin, and secure from all disturbance. Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth God: world without end.
℟. Amen. 


But before receiving the Sacred Host in holy Communion, the Priest invites us to adore it. Taking, then, in his right hand, the adorable Body of our Redeemer, he raises it on high, as he, our Jesus, was raised up on the Cross. The Faithful, who are kneeling during this part of the Service, bow down in profound adoration before their Crucified Lord.

The Priest then divides the Host into three parts, one of which he puts into the Chalice, that thus he may sanctify the wine and water which he is to take after having communicated. The wine is not changed into the Bod of Jesus by contact with the sacred particle; but it thereby receives a very special benediction, similar to that which attached to the garments worn by our Savior.

After this, the Celebrant recites, in secret, the last of the three prayers which precede Communion; and then, taking the two portions of the host into his left hand, he says thrice:

Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum; sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea. 
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof: say but the word, and my soul shall be healed.

He then communicates. After which, he takes also the wine and water, and the sacred particle which he had put into the Chalice. He then washes his fingers, returns to the middle of the Altar, and says, in secret, the following prayer:

Quod ore sumpsimus, Domine, puramente capiamus, ut de munere temporali fiat nobis remedium sempiternum. 
Grant, O Lord, that what we have taken with our mouth, we may receive with a pure mind; that of a temporal gift it may become to us an eternal remedy.


Thus terminates the Mass of the Presanctified. The Priest, with the sacred Ministers, makes a genuflection at the foot of the Altar to the Cross, and retires to the Sacristy. The Choir immediately begin Vespers, which are simply recited.

[Stone]

Good Friday
by St. Alphonsus Liguori




Morning Meditation
OUR SALVATION IS IN THE CROSS.

"Behold the wood of the Cross on which hung the salvation of the world!"--so sings the Church on this day. In the Cross is our salvation, our strength against temptations, detachment from earthly pleasures; in the Cross is found the true love of God. We must, therefore, resolve to carry with patience the cross Jesus Christ sends, and die upon it for the sake of Jesus Christ Who died upon His Cross for the love of us.

I.

In the Cross is our salvation, our strength against temptations, detachment from earthly pleasures; in the Cross is found the true love of God. We must, therefore, resolve to carry with patience that cross Jesus Christ sends us, and to die upon it for the sake of Jesus Christ Who died upon His Cross for the love of us. There is no other way to enter Heaven but to resign ourselves to tribulations until death. And thus may we find peace, even in suffering. When the cross comes, what means is there for enjoying peace, other than the uniting of ourselves to the Divine will? If we do not take this means, let us go where we will, let us do what we may, we shall never escape from the weight of the cross. On the other hand, if we carry it with good-will, it will bear us to Heaven, and give us peace upon earth.

What does he gain who refuses the cross? He increases its weight. But he who embraces it, and bears it with patience, lightens its weight, and the weight itself becomes a consolation; for God abounds with grace to all those who carry the cross with good-will in order to please Him. By the law of nature there is no pleasure in suffering; but Divine love, when it reigns in a heart, enables it to take delight in its sufferings.

Oh, that we would consider the happy condition we shall enjoy in Paradise, if we be faithful to God in enduring toils without lamenting; if we do not complain against God Who commands us to suffer, but say with Job: Let this be my comfort, that he should not spare in afflicting me, nor I contradict the words of the Holy One. (Job vi. 10). If we are sinners and have deserved hell, this should be our comfort in the tribulations which befall us, that we are chastised in this life; because this is the sure sign that God will deliver us from eternal chastisement. Miserable is that sinner who prospers in this world! Whoever suffers a bitter trial, let him cast a glance at the hell he has deserved, and thus the pains he endures will seem light. If, then, we have committed sins, this ought to be our continual prayer to God: "O Lord, spare not pains, but give me, I pray Thee, strength to endure them with patience, that I may not oppose myself to Thy holy will. I will not oppose the words of the Holy One; in everything I unite myself to that which Thou wilt appoint for me, saying always, with Jesus Christ: Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight." (Matt. xi. 26).

II.

The soul which is governed by Divine love seeks only God. When a man has given all the substance of his house for love, he will despise it as nothing. (Cant. viii. 7). He that loves God despises and renounces everything that does not help him to love God; and in all the good works that he does, in his penitential acts and his labours for the glory of God, he seeks not consolations and sweetnesses of spirit; it is enough for him to know that he pleases God. In a word, he ever strives in all things to deny himself, renouncing every pleasure of his own; and then he boasts of nothing and is puffed up with nothing; but calls himself an unprofitable servant, and, setting himself in the lowest place, he abandons himself to the Divine will and mercy.

We must change our tastes in order to become Saints. If we do not arrive at a state in which bitter appears sweet and sweet bitter, we shall never attain to a perfect union with God. In this consists all our security and perfection: in suffering with resignation all things that are contrary to our inclinations, as they happen to us day by day, whether they are small or great. And we must suffer them for those purposes for which the Lord desires that we should endure them, namely, to purify ourselves from the sins we have committed, to merit eternal life, and to please God--which is the chief and most noble end at which we aim in all our actions.

Let us, then, ever offer ourselves to God, to suffer every cross that He may send us; and let us take care to be ever ready to endure every toil for the love of Him, in order that, when it comes, we may be ready to embrace it, saying, as Jesus Christ said to Peter when He was taken in the Garden by the Jews to be led to death: The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? (Jo. xviii. 11). God hath given me this cross for my good, and shall I say to Him that I will not receive it?

And whenever the weight of any cross seems very heavy, let us immediately have recourse to prayer, and God will give us strength to endure it meritoriously.

And let us then recollect what St. Paul said, that no tribulation of this world, however grievous it may be, can be compared with the glory which God prepares for us in the world to come. (Rom. viii. 18). Let us, therefore, reanimate our Faith whenever tribulations afflict us; let us first cast our eyes upon the crucified One Who was in agony for us upon the Cross, and let us look also at Paradise, and on the blessings that God prepares for those who suffer for His love; and thus we shall not be faint-hearted, but shall thank Him for the pains He gives us to suffer, and shall desire that He may give us even more. Oh, how the Saints rejoice in Heaven, not that they have possessed honours and pleasures upon earth, but that they have suffered for Jesus Christ! Everything that passes is trifling; that only is great which is eternal, and never passes away.

O my Jesus, how comforting is that which Thou sayest to me: Turn unto me, and I will turn to you. (Zack. i. 3). For the sake of creatures, and of my own miserable tastes, I have left Thee; now I leave all and turn to Thee; and I am confident that Thou wilt not reject me if I desire to love Thee; for Thou hast told me that Thou art ready to embrace me. Receive me, then, into Thy Grace: make me know the great Good that Thou art, and the love Thou hast borne to me, that I may no more leave Thee. O my Jesus, pardon me! O my Beloved, pardon me the offences I have committed against Thee. Give me Thy love and then do with me what Thou wilt; chastise me as much as Thou wilt; deprive me of everything, but deprive me not of Thyself. Were the whole world to come and offer me all its goods, I declare that I desire Thee alone, and nothing more. O my Mother Mary, recommend me to thy Son. He giveth thee whatever thou askest; in thee I trust.

Spiritual Reading
MEDITATION ON THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST

Meditation on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ is a great means of acquiring Divine love. It is certain that the fact of Jesus Christ being so little loved in the world arises from the negligence and ingratitude of mankind, and from not considering, at least occasionally, how much He has suffered for us, and the love wherewith He has suffered for us. "To mankind it has appeared foolish," as St. Gregory observes, "that God should die for us." It seems folly says the Saint, that God should have been willing to die in order to save us miserable slaves; and, nevertheless, it is of Faith that He has done so. He has loved us, and delivered himself for us. (Eph. v. 2). And He has willed to shed all His Blood in order to wash away our sins therewith: Who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. (Apoc. i. 5).

St. Bonaventure says: "My God, so much hast Thou loved me, that through Thy love for me, Thou dost seem to have gone so far as even to have hated Thyself." Besides, He has yet further willed that He Himself should become our Food in Holy Communion. And here the angelic Doctor, St. Thomas, speaking of this Most Holy Sacrament, says that God has so humbled Himself for us, that it is as if He were our servant, and each of us His God: "as though He were the servant of men, and each of them were God's God."

Hence it is that the Apostle says: For the charity of Christ presseth us. (2 Cor. v. 14). St. Paul says that the love Jesus Christ has borne us constrains us, and, in a certain sense, forces us, to love Him. O my God, what is there that men will not do out of love for some creature on which they have set their affections! And how little is their love for One Who is, moreover, God! For One Whose goodness and loveliness are infinite, and Who has even gone so far as to die upon a Cross for each one of us! Ah, let us all follow the example of the Apostle who said: But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Gal. vi. 14). So spoke the holy Apostle; and what greater glory can I hope for in the world than that of having a God to sacrifice His Blood and Life, out of love for me?

And this is what everyone who has Faith must say, and if he has Faith, how will it be possible for him to love any other than God? O my God! how can a soul--contemplating Jesus crucified, as, suspended on three nails, He hangs from those same Wounds of His in His Hands and Feet, and dies of sheer anguish, through His love for us--not perceive itself drawn, and, as it were, constrained, to love Him with all its powers?

Let a soul be as cold as it can be in Divine love; if it have Faith, I know not how it be possible for it not to find itself urged to love Jesus Christ. Even the most hasty consideration of the Holy Scripture reveals to us the love which He manifested towards us in His Passion, and in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. As regards His Passion, we read in Isaias: Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows; and in the verse that follows: But he was wounded for our iniquities; he was bruised for our sins. (Is. liii. 4). So that it is of Faith that Jesus Christ has willed to suffer in His own person pains and afflictions, to set free from them us sinners to whom they were justly due. And why is it that He has done so, if it be not for the love He bore towards us? Christ hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us (Eph. v. 2), as St. Paul says. And St. John says: Who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. (Apoc. i. 5). And in respect to the Sacrament of the Eucharist, it was Jesus Himself Who said to us all when He instituted it: Take ye, and eat; this is my body. (1 Cor. xi. 24). And in another passage: He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me and I in him. (John vi. 57). How can anyone who has Faith read this without feeling himself, as it were, forced to love his Redeemer, Who, after having sacrificed His Blood and Life out of love for him, left him His own Body in the Sacrament of the Altar, to be the Food of his soul, and the means of uniting him wholly to Himself in Holy Communion?

We may add one more brief reflection on the Passion of Jesus Christ. He shows Himself to us on the Cross pierced by three nails, with His Blood issuing from every pore, and agonizing in the pangs of death. I ask, why is it that Jesus manifests Himself to us in such a pitiable condition? Is it, perchance, that we may compassionate Him? No: it is not so much to gain our compassion as to become the object of our love that He has reduced Himself to so miserable a state. It ought to have been a motive more than sufficient to gain our love had He given us to know that His love for us was for all eternity: I have loved thee with an everlasting love. (Jer. xxxi. 3). But seeing that this was not enough for our lukewarmness, the Lord, in order to move us to love Him according to His desires, willed thus to give us indeed a practical demonstration of the love He bore us, by showing Himself to us covered with Wounds, and dying with anguish through His love for us, that by means of His sufferings we may understand the immensity and tenderness of the love He cherishes towards us; as it is so well expressed in these words of St. Paul: He has loved us and delivered himself for us. (Eph. v. 2).

Evening Meditation
JESUS HANGING DEAD UPON THE CROSS

I.

Raise up thine eyes, my soul, and behold that crucified Man. Behold the Divine Lamb now sacrificed upon that altar of pain. Consider that He is the beloved Son of the Eternal Father; and consider that He is dead for the love that He has borne thee. See how He holds His arms stretched out to embrace thee; His Head bent down to give thee the kiss of peace; His side open to receive thee into His Heart. What dost thou say? Does not a God so loving deserve to be loved? Listen to the words He addresses to thee from that Cross: "Look, My son, and see whether there be any one in the world who has loved Thee more than I have." No, my God, there is none that has loved me more than Thou. But what return shall I ever be able to make to a God Who has been willing to die for me? What love from a creature will ever be able to recompense the love of his Creator Who died to gain his love?

O God, had the vilest one of mankind suffered for me what Jesus Christ has suffered, could I ever refrain from loving him? Were I to see any man torn to pieces with scourges and fastened to a cross in order to save my life, could I ever call it to mind without feeling a tender emotion of love? And were there to be brought to me the portrait of him, as he lay dead upon the cross, could I behold it with a look of indifference, when I considered: "This man is dead, tortured thus, for love of me. Had he not loved me he would not so have died. "Ah, my Redeemer, O Love of my soul! How shall I ever again be able to forget Thee? How shall I ever be able to think that my sins have reduced Thee so low, and not always bewail the wrongs that I have done to Thy goodness? How shall I ever be able to see Thee dead of pain on this Cross for love of me, and not love Thee to the uttermost of my power?

II.

O my dear Redeemer, well do I recognise in these Thy Wounds, and in Thy lacerated Body, as it were through so many lattices the tender affection which Thou dost retain for me. Since, then, in order to pardon me, Thou hast not pardoned Thyself, oh, look upon me now with the same love wherewith Thou didst one day look upon me from the Cross, whilst Thou wert dying for me. Look upon me and enlighten me, and draw my whole heart to Thyself, so that, from this day forth, I may love none else but Thee. Let me not ever be unmindful of Thy Death. Thou didst promise that, when raised up upon the Cross, Thou wouldst draw all our hearts to Thee. Behold this heart of mine, which, made tender by Thy Death and enamoured of Thee, desires to offer no further resistance to Thy calls. Oh, do Thou draw it to Thyself, and make it all Thine own.

Thou hast died for me, and I desire to die for Thee; and if I continue to live, I will live for Thee alone. O Pains of Jesus, O Ignominies of Jesus, O Death of Jesus, O Love of Jesus, fix yourselves within my heart, and let the remembrance of you abide there always, to be continually smiting me, and inflaming me with love. I love Thee, O Infinite Goodness; I love Thee, O Infinite Love. Thou art and shalt ever be, my one and only Love. O Mary, Mother of love, do thou obtain me love.

[Stone]

Hymns on the Sufferings of Christ



Luke xxiii. 33: "And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, they crucified Him there."

Part I         

O come and mourn with me awhile;
See, Mary calls us to her side;
O come and let us mourn with her
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

Have we no tears to shed for Him,
While soldiers scoff and Jews deride;
Ah! look how patiently He hangs;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

How fast His hands and feet are nailed,
His blessed tongue with thirst is tied,
His failing eyes are blind with blood;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

His Mother cannot reach His face;
She stands in helplessness beside;
Her heart is martyred with her Son's;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

Seven times He spoke, seven words of love,
And three long hours His silence cried
For mercy on the souls of men,
Jesus, Our Love, is crucified!

What was Thy crime, my dearest Lord?
By earth, by heaven, Thou hast been tried,
And guilty found of too much love;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!



Part II         

Found guilty of excess of love,
It was Thine own sweet will that tied
Thee tighter far than helpless nails;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

Death came, and Jesus meekly bowed;
His failing eyes He strove to guide
With mindful love to Mary's face;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

O break, O break, hard heart of mine,
Thy weak self-love and guilty pride
His Pilate and His Judas were;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

Come, take Thy stand beneath the cross,
And let the blood from out His side
Fall gently on Thee drop by drop:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

A broken heart, a fount of tears,
Ask, and they will not be denied:
A broken heart love's cradle is;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

O love of God! O sin of man!
In this dread act your sin is tried;
And victory remains with love,
For He, our Love is crucified!

[Stone]

Common Liturgy for Good Friday


Monastic Liturgy for Good Friday

[Stone]

The Crucifixion
by St. Cyril of Jerusalem

[Stone]

Lucifer and the Last Seven Words of Christ