IEsù Christo se lamenta de la chiesa Romana
The Bridegroom's Devotion
Christ recounts his initial love for the Church and the miraculous spread of the faith through his disciples.
Jesus Christ laments that the Roman Church has responded to the love he has shown her with ingratitude and contempt. After I took on human nature, I endured suffering and a cruel death; I took the faithful and pure Church as my bride and cared for her with a burning love. I sent my humble disciples out into the world, set their hearts ablaze with the Holy Spirit, and through them sowed my most holy faith; I performed many signs throughout the whole world. When the blind world saw so many signs displayed and heard uneducated men speak with such wisdom, people were filled with wonder, believed, and were baptized; those disciples worked the signs that left the world amazed.✦
Trials of the Early Church
The Church faces external persecution, martyrdom, and the internal threat of heresy, which Christ counters through his teachers.
Idolatry rose up with its terrible error, attributing the Lord’s signs to magic and blinding the people; kings and emperors cruelly killed every messenger who was sent. The early faith was so fervent that killing one believer left a thousand heirs; the butchers grew weary of the slaughter, but the martyred faith lived on, hardened by fire.1 Heresy rose up and gathered a powerful force; it waged a great battle against the truth, twisted it with sophistry, and sowed its own weeds. That crisis didn't pass without suffering.2 I sent out my teachers, endowed with my wisdom; they debated and showed the truth without error, defeated and drove out every false belief, and revealed my wisdom through living an ordered life.
The Lament of the Betrayed
Christ expresses his profound grief over the corruption of the clergy and the destruction of his labor.
Look at my grief—look at what I’ve been reduced to! The corrupt clergy have killed and destroyed me; they’ve made me lose the fruit of all my labor, and at their hands I’ve suffered pain worse than death.
Read the original Latin
IEsù Christo se lamenta de la chiesa Romana, che gli è engrata & uillana de l’amor che gli à portato.
Da poi ch’io presi carne de la humana natura, sostenni passione con una morte dura; desponsai la ecclesia fidelissima & pura, puse en lei mia cura d’uno amore apicciato.
Gli mei pouer discipoli per lo mondo mandai, de lo spirito sancto lor coragio enflammai, la fede mia sanctissima per lor sì semenai, molti segni mostrai per l’uniuerso stato.
Vedendo el mondo cieco tanti segni mostrare, a homini ydioti tanto saper parlare, fuor presi d’amiranza, credere & baptizare, essi quegl segni fare onde serà amirato.
Leuossi l’ydolatria col suo pessimo errore, puose en arte magica li signi del Signore, accecò gli populi; rege, emperadore occisero a dolore omne messo mandato.
Tanto era lo feruore de la primera fede, occidendone uno, mille lassaua herede; stancaua li carnifici de farne tanta cede, martyrizata fede uicque per adurato.
Leuosse la eresìa et fece gran semblaglia, contra la ueritate fece gran battaglia, sophysticato uero sua seminò zizaglia, non fo senza trauaglia cotal ponto passato.
Mandai li mei doctori con la mia sapienza, disputaron, el uero mostraro senza fallenza, sconfissero & cacciaro omne falsa credenza, demonstrar mia prudenza de uiuere ordenato.
Vedete el mio cordoglio a que so mo reducto! lo falso clericato sì m’à morto & destructo; d’ogne mio lauoreccio me fon perder lo fructo, maior dolor che morte da lor aggio portato.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Acts.4.13 — Now as they observed the boldness of Peter and John, and realized that they were uneducated, ordinary men, they were astonished; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Notes
Lauds companion
A prayer for every moment, already on your phone
Chosen Portion puts a curated historic prayer in front of you each day — so the words are there before the moment arrives.
Chosen Portion is the digital descendant of the carried prayer book: the short daily prayers this collection preserves, delivered one a day to your pocket.
- One short, memorable prayer delivered daily — build your repertoire a card at a time
- Prayers matched to real situations: fear, gratitude, decisions, grief, sleep
- Save favourites into your personal pocket collection you can open anywhere