Today, is poised upon a cross he that poised the earth upon the waters. He that is the King of angels, is wreathed with a crown of thorns. He that covereth the heaven with clouds, is covered with a mock scarlet robe, He that, in the Jordan, set Adam free, is buffeted. The Spouse of the Church is pierced with nails. The Son of the Virgin is wounded with a spear. O Jesus! we adore thy sufferings. Show unto us, also, thy glorious Resurrection. Hodie in cruce appenditur, qui super aquas terram appendit: corona spinea circumdatur Rex angelorum: false purpura operitur, qui operit coelum nubilous: alapam suscipit, qui in Jordane libertati dedit Adamum: clavis confixus est Sponsus Ecclesiae: lancea punetus est filius Virginis. Adoramus passiones tuas, Christe. Et ostende nobis etiam gloriosam resurrectionem tuam.
Mary, the Mother, saw her Lamb dragged to the slaughter, and, in company with other women, followed him, saying: 'Whither goest thou, my Son? Wherefore this hurried step? Is it to a second marriage�feast at Cana that thou thus hastenest, there to turn water into wine? Must I come with thee, my Son? or must I wait thy return? O Word of the Father! speak one word to me. Pass me not by in silence, O thou, my Child and my God I who didst make me thy Virgin�Mother!' Intuens agna agnum suum trahi ad occisionem: sequebatur Maria afflicta una cum aliis mulieribus, trace clamans: Quo progrederis, nate? Cujus rei gratia velocem cursum perficis? Num aliae nuptiae rursus fiunt in Cana; et eo tu nunc festinas, ut eis ex aqua vinum facias? Tecum veniam, nate; an te potius exspectabo? Da mihi verbum, O Verbum: ne sirens me praetereas, qui me castam servasti filius et Deus meus.
For our sake, O Jesus! thou didst permit thy whole sacred Body to be ignominiously tortured: thy head with thorns; thy face with spittle; thy cheeks with blows: thy mouth with vinegar and gall; thine ears with impious blasphemies; thy back with scourges; thy hand with a reed; thy whole body, with the cross; thy hands and feet with nails; thy side with a spear. O almighty Saviour! who didst suffer for us, and by thy sufferings, didst make us free! O thou, that out of love for man didst humble thyself with us, that thus thou mightest exalt us! have mercy on us! Singula sanctae carnis tuae membra ignominiam propter nos sustinuerunt; spinas caput; facies sputa; maxilla alapas; os aceto mistum fel in gustu; impias blasphemias aures; dorsum flagellationem; et menus arundinem; totiusque corporia extensiones in Bruce; artus clavos; et latus lanceam. Qui passus es pro nobis, et patiens liberos nos fecisti; quique amore erga homines una nobiscum te demisisti, nosque sublimasti, omnipotens Salvator, miserere nostri.
Today, the sinless Virgin saw thee, O Word! hanging on the cross: she wept over thee with a mother's love: her heart was cruelly wounded: and thus, with doleful sobs and tears, she spake from her inmost soul: 'Alas! my divine Son! Alas! thou light of the world! why hast thou departed from my sight, O Lamb of God?' The angel host was seized with trembling, and said: 'Glory be to thee, O incomprehensible Lord!' Hodie in cruce te suspensum, O Verbum, inculpate Virgo spectans, maternis visceribus moerens, corde vulnerabatur amare, et gemens dolenter ex animae profundo flebilitor exclamabat: Hen me, divine Nate! heu me, O lux mundi! cur ex oculis meis abscessisti, Ague Dei? Inde incorporeorum spirituum exercitus tremore corripiebantur, dicentes: Incomprehensibilis Domine, gloria tibi.
Fear and trembling fell upon thy creatures, O Lord, when thou didst ascend thy cross. Yet wouldst thou not permit the earth to swallow up them that crucified thee; nay, thou gavest leave to death to set its captives free. Thou camest into the world, O Judge of the living and the dead! that thou mightest bring, not death, but life. Glory be to thee, O Lover of mankind! Domine, ascendente te in crucem, timor et tremor cecidit in creaturam: et terram quidem prohibebas absorbere eos, qui te crucifigebant: inferno autem permittebas remittere vinctos. Judex vivorum et mortuorum, venisti ut vitam praestares et non mortem: amens hominum, gloria tibi.
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