Caput LXIII. Virgo propior adstat cruci.
Standing with the Virgin at the Cross
The recluse is urged to approach Christ's cross not as a mocker but as a worshipper, pleading that Christ's own mercy and compassion speak on her behalf.
Here I am, Lord — one who worships your majesty, not the one who took your body down; one who reveres your death, not one who mocks your suffering; one who gazes on your mercy, not one who despises your weakness. And so may your gentle kindness speak on my behalf; may your unspeakable devotion commend me to the Father. Speak then, gentle Lord, Father — forgive him.
Beholding the Virgin's Sorrow
The recluse is exhorted to draw near to the cross alongside the Virgin Mother and the beloved disciple, and to weep with the grieving Mother whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow.
But you, virgin, who have greater confidence with the Virgin's Son than the women standing far off — come to the cross with the virgin mother and the virgin disciple, and look closely at that face drenched in pallor. What then? Will you watch the tears of the most loving Lady without tears of your own? Will you stay dry-eyed when a sword of grief has pierced her soul? Will you hear, without a sob, the words spoken to the mother: 'Woman, here is your son,' and to John: 'Here is your mother'?
Wounds Transformed into Shelter and Feast
From the scriptural echoes of Christ's passion, the text moves into a lush mystical exhortation: the recluse is urged to drink from the sacramental streams of blood-turned-wine and water-turned-milk, and to find refuge and kisses in the wounds of Christ's body.
XIX, 26, 27)? As he was entrusting his mother to the disciple, he was promising paradise to the thief; then one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance, and blood and water came out (Ibid.✦✦ 34). Hurry, don't delay — eat your honeycomb with your honey.✦ Drink your wine with your milk.✦ Blood is changed for you into wine so that you may be drunk; water is changed into milk so that you may be nourished. They have become streams for you in the rock, wounds in his members, and a hiding place in the wound of his body — places where you may shelter like a dove, and kiss each one.✦ From his blood let your lips become like a scarlet cord, and your speech be sweet.✦
Read the original Latin
Ecce ego, Domine, tuae majestatis adorator, non tui corporis interfector; tuae mortis venerator, non tuae passionis irrisor; tuae misericordiae contemplator, non infirmitatis contemptor. Interpellet itaque pro me tua dulcis humanitas, commendet me Patri tua ineffabilis pietas. Dic ergo, dulcis Domine, Pater, ignosce illi. At tu, virgo, cui major est apud Virginis Filium confidentia quam mulieribus, quae longe stant, cum matre virgine et discipulo virgine accede ad crucem, et perfusum pallore vultum cominus intuere. Quid ergo? Tu sine lacrymis, amantissimae dominae lacrymas videbis? Tu siccis oculis manes, et ejus animam pertransiit gladius doloris? Tu sine singultu audies dicentem matri: Mulier, ecce filius tuus; et Joanni: Ecce mater tua (Joan.
XIX, 26, 27)? Cum discipulo matrem committeret, latroni paradisum promitteret; tunc unus ex militibus lancea latus ejus aperuit, et exivit sanguis et aqua (Ibid. 34). Festina, ne tardaveris, comede favum cum melle tuo. Bibe vinum tuum cum lacte tuo. Sanguis tibi in vinum vertitur, ut inebrieris; in lac aqua mutatur, ut nutriaris. Facta sunt tibi in petra flumina, in membris ejus vulnera, et in maceria corporis ejus caverna, in quibus instar columbae latitas, et deoscularis singula. Ex sanguine ejus fiant sicut vitta coccinea labia tua, et eloquium tuum dulce.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Luke.23.43 — And he said to him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
- ↩John.19.34 — But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
- ↩Song.5.1 — I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends; drink, and be drunk with love.
- ↩Song.5.1 — I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends; drink, and be drunk with love.
- ↩Song.2.14 — O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding place of the steep path, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
- ↩Josh.2.18 — Look, when we come into the land, you must tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down. Gather your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household into your house.
De institutione inclusarum (A Rule of Life for a Recluse) companion
A rule only lives if you keep it daily
Chosen Portion gives your new rule its anchor: one free devotional portion every day.
Aelred built his sister's day around fixed times of prayer and meditation; Chosen Portion supplies the fixed daily portion that makes a modern rule of life keepable.
- Anchor your rule with a fixed 10-minute daily portion
- Practice Aelred's threefold meditation with guided daily prompts
- Review and adjust your one-page rule after 30 days of tracked practice