第42章 THE THIRD PART(1)

ONE HUNDRED MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS

COMPRISED IN FEW WORDS

ON SUNDAY,OR AT MATINS

O Eternal Wisdom,my heart reminds Thee of Thy sorrow of soul.1.When after the Last Supper on the Mount,Thou wast bathed in Thy bloody sweat because of the anxiety of Thy heart;2.And when like an enemy Thou wast made prisoner,cruelly bound,and led miserably away;3.When,Lord,Thou wast sacrilegiously maltreated in the night with hard blows,and with blindfolding of Thine eyes;4.Early accused before Caiphas and pronounced worthy of death;5.Seen by Thy affectionate mother with unspeakable sorrow of heart;6.Thou wast ignominiously presented before Pilate,falsely accused,and condemned to die;7.Thou,O Eternal Wisdom,wast mocked as a fool in a white garment before Herod;8.Thy fair body was torn and rent without mercy by the cruel whips of Thy scourgers;9.Thy delicate head was pierced with sharp thorns and Thy sweet face,in consequence,drenched with blood;10.Thus condemned Thou wast led miserably and shamefully with Thy cross to death.

Alas,my only hope,let me,therefore,remind Thee to give me Thy fatherly aid in all my distresses.Oh,unloose my sinful fetters,guard me against secret vice and open guilt,shelter me from the false councils of the enemy,and from the occasion of all crime,inspire me with a sincere sympathy for Thy own sufferings and for those of Thy tender mother.Lord,at my last departure,judge me mercifully,teach me to condemn worldly honours,and to serve Thee wisely.Let all my infirmities be healed in Thy wounds.

Let my reason be fortified and adorned by the injuries inflicted on Thy head,and may Thy whole Passion be imitated by me according to my ability.

Amen.

Sweet Lord!1.When on the high branches of the cross Thy eyes were extinguished and turned in their sockets;2.Thy divine ears filled with mockery and blasphemy;3.Thy delicate nostrils stopped with rank smells;4.

Thy sweet mouth with bitter drink;5.Thy tender feeling visited with rude blows.Therefore do I beg that Thou wouldst guard this day my eyes from all dissolute sights,my ears from voluptuous speech.Lord,take away from me all relish of bodily things,make all temporal things unpleasant to me,and rid me of all tenderness for my own body.

ON MONDAY,AT PRIME

Ah,tender Lord!1.When Thy divine head was bowed down by weakness and utter debility;2.Thy fair throat very grievously distended;3.Thy blessed features polluted with spittle and blood;4.Thy clear complexion made livid;5.All Thy beautiful form smitten with death.Grant me,therefore,Lord,to love bodily pain,and to seek all my rest in Thee,to endure injuries willingly from others,to desire contempt,to die to my affections and all my lusts.

Sweet Lord!1.When Thy right hand was nailed down;2.Thy left hand struck through;3.Thy right arm extended;4.Thy left stretched out;5.Thy right foot hammered through;6.Thy left made fast;7.Thou didst hang suspended in a swoon;8.And in great weariness of Thy divine limbs;9.All Thy tender joints were immovably strained on the hard bed of the cross;10.

Thy body was drenched in many places with Thy hot blood.Therefore,O Lord,I beseech that I may be made immovably fast to Thee in joy and sorrow,that all the powers of my body and soul may be distended on Thy cross,and my reason and affections nailed to it.Grant me inability to indulge in bodily pleasure,promptness in seeking Thy praise and honour.I crave that no limb of my body may be without a living token of Thy death,a spontaneous proof of the image of Thy Passion.

TUESDAY,OR AT TIERCE

Tender Lord!1.Thy blooming body pined and withered away on the cross;

2.Thy weary and tender back leant uneasily against the hard wood;3.Thy heavy frame painfully gave way;4.All Thy limbs were covered with sores;5.

Thy heart endured it lovingly.Lord,be Thy withering a re-blooming to me for ever.Thy uneasy leaning my spiritual rest.Thy giving way,my powerful support.All Thy wounds must heal mine,and Thy loving heart inflame mine with fervour.

Sweet Lord!1.First in Thy mortal agony Thou wast mocked with scornful words;2.And with contemptuous gestures;3.Thou wast utterly annihilated in their hearts;4.Thou didst continue under it steadfast;5.And didst pray to Thy Father for them lovingly;6.Thou,the innocent Lamb,wast numbered with the guilty;7.Thou wast condemned and reviled by the thief on Thy left;8.But wast invoked by him on the right;9.Thou forgavest the latter all his sins;10.Thou didst unlock for him the gates of paradise.

Beloved Lord!teach me,Thy servant,to bear with firmness every ignominious word,every scornful gesture,and all sorts of contempt for Thy sake,and lovingly to excuse my enemies before Thee.Ah,Thou infinite good,behold,this day I offer up,before the eyes of Thy heavenly Father,Thy innocent death for my guilty life.Lord,with the thief I cry out to Thee:

Remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom!Condemn me not for my evil deeds,forgive all my sins,undo for me the gates of the heavenly paradise!

ON WEDNESDAY,OR AT SEXT

Tender Lord!1.At that hour Thou wast forsaken for my sake of all men;

2.Thy friends had renounced Thee;3.Thou stoodst naked and robbed of all honour and raiment;4.Thy power then seemed overcome;5.They treated Thee without mercy,and Thou didst bear it all in meekness and silence;6.Alas,for Thy gentle heart,Thou who alone didst know at that time the depth of Thy Mother's sorrow of heart;7.And didst see her deplorable state;8.And didst hear her lamentable words;9.And at Thy mortal separation didst commend her to the filial piety of Thy disciple;10.And the disciple to her maternal love.