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Chapter 75MedVC.1.75

Meditatio passionis Christi ante matutinum

Returning to the Passion Meditation

The reader is invited to resume the Passion narrative from the Last Supper discourse and follow Christ into Gethsemane, contemplating his profound humility as he prays to the Father.

Take up again, then, those meditations from the beginning of the Passion, and follow them through in order all the way to the end. I'll touch on them only briefly, as it seems to you; but you, as you wish, may exercise yourself in greater things, so that the Lord himself will also give to you. Pay close attention to each detail, as if you were there in person; and watch him carefully when, going out from supper, the discourse completed, he goes into the garden with his disciples. Now enter at last, and consider carefully how affectionately, companionably, and familiarly he speaks to them, and how he exhorts them to prayer; and how he himself also — advancing a short distance, that is, a stone's throw — on bended knees, humbly and reverently, prays to the Father.✦ Here pause a little while, and turn over in your devout mind the wonders of the Lord your God. Now the Lord Jesus prays. But I have read several times that he prayed in this way: then he prayed for us, as an advocate for us; but now he was praying for himself.✦ Have compassion, and wonder at his most profound humility. For since he is God, coeternal and coequal with his Father, he seems to have forgotten that he is God, and he prays as a man; he stands there like any humble little person from among the people, praying.✦

Christ's Obedience and the Father's Will

Christ's perfect obedience is examined as he prays to escape death yet submits to the Father's will, revealing the unspeakable love of both Father and Son in handing him over for humanity's sake.

Consider, then, this most perfect obedience. What, then, does he pray? Surely he prays to the Father that the hour of death might be taken away from him — it is possible for this to be granted, that he would not die, if it pleased him — and yet he is not heard, because of, I say, a certain will that was in him.✦ There was, however, in him a manifold will, so to speak. And here too you should sympathize, because the Father wills that he die completely, and — even though he is his own true and only Son — he did not spare him, but handed him over like this for all of us.✦ For he loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son.✦ The Lord Jesus undertakes this obedience, and carries it out reverently. See in the third place the unspeakable love shown toward us — both of the Father and of the Son — with compassion, with admiration, and with most worthy reverence.

The Prayer of Christ in His Own Words

The text presents Christ's prayer in the garden as a sustained scriptural lament, blending Psalm texts with the Gethsemane gospel narrative as he asks the Father to remove the cup yet submits to the divine will.

For our sake this death is imposed, and is sustained on account of their exceeding love. Therefore the Lord Jesus prays at length to the Father, saying: My most merciful Father, I ask you to hear my prayer, and do not despise my plea. Attend to me and hear me, because I am sorrowful in my trial, and my spirit is troubled within me, and my heart is disturbed within me.✦ Incline your ear toward me, therefore, and attend to the voice of my plea.✦ To you, Father, it pleased you to send me into the world, so that for the wrong done by man I might make satisfaction. And as soon as you willed it, I said: Behold, I go.✦ And just as it is written of me in the beginning of the book, that I should do your will, so I have borne it.✦ I have proclaimed your truth and your salvation.✦ Behold, I have been in labors from my youth, doing your will, and all that you commanded, I have done.✦ I'm also ready to finish what's left. If, however, it can be so, my Father, take away from me this great bitterness — as great as is prepared by my adversaries.✦ See, Father, how many oppose me, and how many and how great are the things they impose on me — on account of which they have plotted to take my life.✦ But, holy Father, if I have done those things, if there is iniquity in my hands, if I have repaid evil to those who repaid me evil, let me deservedly fall helpless at the hands of my enemies.✦ For I have always done the things that are pleasing to you.✦ But they themselves have set evil against me in exchange for good, and hatred in exchange for my love; they corrupted my disciple and made their own leader my destroyer, and they weighed out my price — thirty silver pieces — by which I was valued by them.✦✦ I ask you, my Father, that you take this cup away from me.✦

Surrender to the Father's Will

Christ completes his prayer by yielding entirely to the Father's will, pleading for mercy on his persecutors while lamenting the evil returned for good, and committing himself to divine justice.

But if it seems otherwise to you, let your will be done, and not mine.✦ Rise up, Father, to my help — hurry, so that you may come to my aid.✦ Grant then, most beloved Father, since they did not know me as your son — because I lived an innocent life among them and bestowed many good things on them — that they should not, Father, be so cruel to me.✦1 B.2 Remember, I ask, that I stood in your presence to speak good on their behalf, so that I might turn your indignation away from them.✦3 But — woe — is evil really repaid for good?✦4 But they themselves dug a pit for my soul, and prepared a most shameful death.✦5 You see it, Lord — do not be silent, do not depart from me, since tribulation is near, and there is no one to help.✦6

The Threefold Prayer and the Bloody Sweat

Christ prays three times in Gethsemane, and during his prolonged agony his sacred blood bursts forth as sweat; an angel, Michael, strengthens him, offering his prayer and sweat to the Father, who declares that redemption requires the shedding of blood.

Look, in your sight there are those who afflict me, seeking my life.✦ Reproach has overtaken my heart, and misery.✦ And returning to his disciples, the Lord Jesus rouses them and strengthens them about praying. And again he returned to prayer a second and a third time; for in three different places set apart from one another by a stone's throw — not as far as someone stretching out an arm could hurl it, but as far as one might throw a stone without great force, perhaps as far as the length of houses apart — Mark 14, v. 46.✦ " krem. . — as I have from our brother who was there, and still in those same places there are traces of the churches that were built there. Returning, then, to prayer — as I said — a second and a third time, he prayed the same words and added: Father, if you have so decreed that I must fully undergo the crossbeam of the cross, let your will be done.✦ But I entrust to you my most beloved mother, and my disciples, whom I have kept safe until now; my Father, guard them from this hour onward.✦ And meanwhile that most sacred blood of his body, bursting forth in the form of sweat during this agony — or struggle — as he prays at greater length, flows down abundantly to the ground.✦ Consider him now, then — how great the anguish of his soul is at this moment. But notice this here as well, against our own impatience: the Lord prayed three times before he received an answer from the Father.✦ But when the Lord Jesus, troubled, was praying in this way, behold, an angel of the Lord — the prince of the heavenly host, namely Michael — stood by him, strengthening him, and saying: 'Greeting, my God, Jesus.'✦ [The text is too corrupt to translate with confidence.] I have offered your prayer and your bloody sweat to your Father in the presence of the whole heavenly court; and all of us, falling down, begged that he would take this cup away from you.✦ And the Father answered: My most beloved Son Jesus knows that the redemption of the human race, which we so desire, cannot fittingly be accomplished without the shedding of his blood. And therefore, if he wants the salvation of souls, he must die for them.✦

Christ's Choice and Angelic Comfort

Christ declares his willingness to die for the souls the Father created; the angel comforts him to act with courage, and the text explores the fourfold will in Christ — flesh, sensuality, reason, and divinity — to explain his real human distress.

So what do you decide? Then the Lord Jesus answered the angel: I want the salvation of souls completely, and so I choose rather to die so that the souls the Father created in his own image may be saved, than to refuse to die and have them go unredeemed.78 Let my Father's will be done, then.9 And the angel said to him: Take courage, then, and act like a man — for it's fitting for the exalted to do great things, and for the great-hearted to endure what is hard.10 Punishing things will quickly pass, and glorious things will follow forever.11 The Father says that he is always with you, and that he himself will keep your mother and your disciples, and return them to you unharmed. And the humble Lord receives this comfort reverently and humbly, even from his own creature, considering that he has been made a little lower than the angels while he is in this wretched valley of darkness.✦12 And so he was grieved as a man, and said farewell to him.13 And so from the angel's words he was strengthened as a man, asking that he might commend his prayers to the Father and to the heavenly court. He rises therefore for the third time from prayer, drenched all over with blood. Look at him wiping his face, or perhaps also washing in the brook, and observe him wholly afflicted. Sympathize with him deeply, because this could not have happened to him without the most intense bitterness of pain. The wise men and the commentators say that the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father not so much out of fear of suffering as out of mercy for the former people — because he sympathized with the Jews, because on account of his most cruel death they would be destroyed. For they themselves ought not to kill him, because he came from them and was contained in their law, and he bestowed such great benefits upon them. While he prayed to the Father for the salvation of the Jews, he said: "So that the multitude of the nations may believe, I do not refuse the passion."✦ If indeed the Jews are to be cut off so that others may see — not my will, but yours be done.✦ For there was in Christ, then, a fourfold will: the will of the flesh, which by no means wished to suffer; the will of sensuality, which murmured and feared; the will of reason, which in the garden obeyed and consented; and the will of divinity, which commanded and dictated its own decree. This will obeyed and consented, for according to Isaiah it is said: "He was offered because he himself willed it."✦ And there was in him the will of divinity, which commanded and dictated the decree itself.

The Watch Over the Flock and the Arrest

After his prayer, Christ returns to his sleeping disciples with pastoral care, then rises to meet Judas and the armed crowd, allowing himself to be betrayed with a kiss and seized as the good shepherd who does not flee.

Because he was truly human, he found himself in deep distress, just as any person would. And so sympathize deeply with him, and consider carefully, and see all the acts and each individual affection of the Lord your God. He came, though, to his so-called disciples: 'Sleep now, and rest' — they who had been asleep there for only a short while.14 The good shepherd watches over the care of his little flock. O great love!15 Truly he loved them to the end, for even while enduring such great agony he secured rest for them.16 He saw his enemies approaching from a distance with torches and weapons, yet he did not wake his disciples until they were near and right there beside them. Then he said to them: 'Enough — you've slept long enough. Look, the one who will betray me is coming.' And while he was still speaking, Judas appeared before them — that wicked man, the worst of merchants — and he kissed him.17 For it is said that it was the Lord Jesus' custom to welcome back the disciples he had sent out with a kiss when they returned. And so that cunning man, as a sign, betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and going ahead of the others, he came back with a kiss, as if to say: 'I am not one of these armed men.' But returning in his usual way, he kissed him and said: 'Hail, Rabbi.'18

The Patient Sufferer Led to Annas and Caiaphas

Christ endures the betrayer's kiss, allows himself to be bound and led away, and is brought before the chief priests where he is mocked, struck, and spat upon, bearing all with patient silence while his scattered disciples grieve like terrified orphans.

Look carefully, then, and as you follow the Lord, see how patiently and graciously he receives the embrace of that wretched man, and the kisses of the betrayer — whose feet he had washed only a little while before, and whom he had fed with the very best food.✦ And see how he allows himself to be seized, bound, struck, and led away furiously, as if he were a criminal, and completely unable to defend himself. See too how he has compassion on his own disciples as they flee and go astray. But you can also perceive their sorrows: how unwillingly and grievingly they uttered groans and sighs, and like orphans terrified with fear they drew back, and their pain grew greater and greater when they saw the Lord their master dragged along so shamefully, and those dogs dragging him like a sacrifice, and him — like a most gentle lamb — following them without any resistance.✦ Now observe him: see how he is led by those most wicked men up from the brook to Jerusalem, hurriedly and anxiously, his hands bound behind his back, stripped of his cloak, his tunic hitched up carelessly, his head uncovered, and bent over from fatigue, walking with violent haste. When he is brought before the chief priests of Annas and Caiaphas and the other assembled elders, they exult over him like a lion with its prey captured; they question him, they procure false witnesses to condemn him, and they spit on his most holy face, blindfold him, strike him with fists, beat him with slaps, saying, 'Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?'✦ And with many insults they torment him, and in all things he bore himself patiently. And here, look at him in each of these moments, and have compassion on him.

The Night of Mockery in Prison

Christ is imprisoned overnight, bound to a stone column, and subjected to relentless verbal and physical mockery by guards who taunt him about his wisdom and claim he deserves death.

At last those elders withdrew, sending him into a certain prison there beneath a solarium, which can still be seen to this day, or what remains of it; and they bound him to a stone column — the reading is uncertain — part of which was later broken off and is still visible, as I have it from our brother who saw it. They nevertheless assigned certain men as guards — the text is badly corrupted here — who harassed him through the entire remaining night with mockery and insults, taking every opportunity to do so. Consider, then, how the bold and the worst among them hurl abuse at him, saying: "Did you really believe you were better and wiser than our rulers? What folly was yours!" You should not have opened your mouth against them — how dared you do such a thing? But now your wisdom shows itself — that you stand just as it suits your own kind, and you are without doubt worthy of death, and you will have it. And so through the whole night, now one and now another took turns insulting him with words and with deeds. How many things, do you think, these hired men say and do? With the vilest reproaches they rush at him, shamelessly and without reverence.

Christ's Silent Patience and the Hour of Darkness

Christ stands bound in patient, reverent silence through the night while John brings word to the Virgin and her companions, provoking their bitter lamentation as they realize the Lord is about to die.

Look now upon the Lord, reverently and patiently keeping silent in prayer, as one caught in guilt, with your face cast down to the ground, and suffer with him intensely. O Lord, into whose hands you have come! How great is your patience! Truly, this is the hour of darkness.✦ And so he stood upright, bound to that column, all the way until morning. Meanwhile, John goes to the Lady and her companions, gathered in the house of Magdalene, where they had made supper, and he tells them all the things that had happened to the Lord and to the disciples. Then there was unspeakable lamentation, wailing, and a cry of grief there. Look at them, and have compassion, because they are in the greatest affliction and most vehement grief over their beloved Lord, because they clearly see and now believe that the Lord himself is about to die.

The Virgin's Prayer of Entreaty

The Virgin Mary withdraws to pray, entrusting her Son to the Father, pleading for his life, appealing to divine omnipotence and mercy, and grieving with the wholehearted sorrow of a mother who sees her Son given up to sinners.

At last the Lady withdraws to a wall, turns in prayer, and says: "Most reverend Father, most pious Father, most merciful Father, I entrust my most beloved Son to you." "Don't be cruel to him, for you are kind to all." "Eternal Father, will my son Jesus die?" "For he has done nothing wrong."✦ "But, righteous Father, if you wish for the redemption of the human race through some other means, I beg you — do so; for all things are possible to you."✦ "I ask you, most holy Father, if it pleases you, let my son Jesus not die; deliver him from the hands of sinners, and give him back to me."✦ "He, on account of your obedience and reverence, does not help himself."✦ "He has given himself up, and is among them as if he were weak and powerless."✦ So help him, Lord — you, help him. And with things like these the Lady was praying with all her heart and effort, and with great bitterness in her heart. Now have compassion with her, when you see her so afflicted.

Read the original Latin

Reassume ergo meditationes istas a principio passionis, et prosequere per ordinem usque in finem, de quibus, sicut mihi videtur, modicum tangam: tu vero, ut placet, exerciteris in amplioribus, ut et tibi Dominusipse dabit. Attende ergo ad singula, ac si praesens esses; et cerne eum attente, cum a coena exiens, sermone completo, in hortum cum discipulis suis vadit. Ultimo nunc intra, et perpende quomodo affectuose, socialiter ac familiariter eis loquitur, et ad orationem hortatur; quomodo eliam ipse pusillum, id est, per jactum lapidis progrediens, hurailiter ac reverenter positis genibus orat Patrera. Hic parumper subsiste, et mirabilia Doraini Dei tui mente pia revolve. Orat nunc Dominus Jesus. Sed hactenus legi- oe oral tur pluries sic orasse: sed pro nobis tunc ut "'0"" in advocatus noster, nunc autem pro se orabat. '^°'^'° Compatere, et admirare profundissimam suam humilitatera. Cum enim sit Deus Patri suo coaeternus et coaequahs, oblitus videtur se Demn esse, et orat ut homo, stat tanquam quilibet homunculus de populo, Dorainura orans.

Considera eliara perfectissiraara obedientiam. Quid enira orat? certe orat Patrem, ut hora mortis ab eo transferatur; habet hoc expedire ut non moreretur, si ei placeret; et non exauditur, secundura aliquara dico voluntatem, quae in eo erat. Fuit tamen in eo multiplex voluntas, ut dicam. Et hic etiam tu compatere, quia vult Pater ut penitus moriatur, et ei, quamvis vero et unico ^ filio proprio, non pepercit, sed pro nobis omnibus illum sic tradidit. Sic euira ^ dilexit mundum, ut filium suum unigenitum daret. Dominus autem Jesus hanc obedientiam suscipit, et exequitur reverenter. Yide in tertio loco indicibilem ad nos charitatem, tam Patris, quam Filii, compassione, admiratione venerationeque dignissimara.

Propler nos hasc mors indicitur, et sustinetur propter nimiam charitatem ipsorum. Orat ergo Dorainus Jesus Patrem prolixe, dicens: Mi Pater clementissime, rogo te, ut ^ exaudias orationem meam, et ne despexeris deprecationem meam. Intende mihi et exaudi me, quia contristatus sum in exercitatione mea, et anxiatus est in me spiritus meus, et in me turbatum est cor meum. Inclina ergo ad me aurem tuam, et intende voci deprecationis mece. Tibi, Pater, placuit me in mundum mittere, ut pro injuria libi ab homine facta satisfacerem. Et statim cum voluisti, dixi '; Ecce vado. Et sicut m capite libri scriptum est de me, ut facerem vohmtatem tuam, sic Tolui. Yeritatem tuamet salutare tuum annuntiavi.

Paitper fui, et in laboribus a juventute mea, faciens voluntatem tuam, et omnia quae mandasti, feci. Paratus sum etiam complere quae restant. Si tamen, Pater mi, fieri potest, toUe a rae tantam amaritudinem, quanta mitii parata est ab adversariis meis. Vide enim, Pater, quanti adversantur adversum me, et quot et quanta mihi imponunt, propter quae accipere animam meam consiliati sunt. Sed Pater sancte ', si feci ea, si est iniquitas in manibus meis, si reddidi retribuentibus mihi mala, decidam merito ab inimicis meis inanis. Ego enim ' quce tibi placita sunt, feci semper. Ipsi vero '' posueruut adversum me mala pro bonis, et odium pro dilectione mea, et discipulum meum corruperunt, et suum ducem ad me perdendum fecerunt, et ^ appenderunt mercedem meam triginta argenteis, quibus appretiatus sum ab eis. Rogo te, Pater mi, ut ^ transferas a me calicem istum.

Si autem aliter tibi videtur '', fiat voluntas tua, et non mea. Sed exurge, Pater, in adjutorium meum, festina ut me adjuves. Dato enim, dilectissime Pater, quod me nescierunt filium tuum, quia innocentem vitam cum eis duxi, et multa bona eis contuli, non deberent, Pater, sic mihi esse crudeles. B. ecordare namque *, quod steterim in conspectu tuo, ut loquerer pro eis bonum, ut avertam indignationem tuam ab eis. Sed Vce, numquid redditur pro bono malum? ipsi autem foderunt foveam animoe meoB, et mortem turpissimam paraverunt. Tu vides ^, Domine, ne sileas, ne discedas a me: quoniam^'^ tribulalio proxima est, etnon est qui adjuvet.

Ecce " in conspeclu tuo sunt qui tribulant me, qucerentes animam meam. Improperium eocpectavit cor meum, et miseriam. Et rediens Dominus Jesus ad discipulos suos, excitat, et de orando confortat. Et iterum secundo et tertio ad orationem rediit; in tribus enim diversis locis distantibus ab invicem per jactum lapidis, non quantum quis excutiens brachium projicere posset, sed quantum sine magna violentia lapidem mitteret, forte quanta cst longitudo domorum nos— " Marc, XIV, u6. " krem. . trarum, ut habeo a fratre nostro, qui fuit ibi, et adhuc in ipsis locis sunt vcstigia ecclesiarum, quce ibi factae fuerunt. Rediens ergo ad orationem, ut dixi, secundo et tertio eumdem sermonem oravit, et addidit: Pater, si sic decrevisti, ut penitus crucis patibulum subeam, fiat voluntas tua.

Sed recoinmendo tibi dilectissimam matrem meam, et discipulos meos, quos hucusque servavi, Pater mi, serva eos amodo. Et interim sacratissiraus ille sanguis corporis sui, in moduin sudoris erumpens in hac agonia, sive certamine, dum prolixius orat, usque ad terram abundanter decurrit. Considera nunc ergo eum, quanta nunc est animae suae angustia. Sed et hic illud animadverte contra impatientiam nostram, quia Dominus tribus vicibus oravit, antequam a Patre responsionem acciperet. Cum autem sic orat anxiatus Dominus Jesus, Micbaei ecce angelus Domiui, princeps militiae coelestis ^clti"exercitus, Michaelscilicetastititconfortans eum, tum in et dicens: Salutem, Deus meus Jesu. Ego ora- *^°"''*. tionem vestram, et sudorem vestrum sanguineum Patri vestro obtuli in conspectu totius curiae superna:), et omnes procidentes supplicavimus, ut calicem hunc transferret a vobis. Et respondit Pater: Novit dilectissimus filius meus Jesus, quod humani generis redemptio, quam sic optamus, sine sanguinis sui effusione sic decenter fieri non potest: et ideo, si salutem vult animarum, oportet eum pro eis mori.

Quid ergo decernitis? Ttinc respondit Dominus Jesus angelo: salutem animarum omnino volo, et idcirco potius eligo mori utsalventur animae, quas ad imaginem suam Pater creaverat, quam velim non mori, et animce non redimantur. Fiat ergo voluntas Patris mei. Et angelus ad eum: Confortamini ergo, et viriliter agite: excelsum enim decet magnifica facere, et magnanimum ardua tolerare. Cito pertransibunt poenalia, et succedent perpetuo gloriosa. Dicit Pater quod semper vobiscum est, et quod matrem vestram et discipulos ipse servabit, ipsosque incolumes vobis reddet. Et humilis Domiuus reverenter et humiliter suscipit hanc confortationcm etiam a sua creatura, considerans se esse minoratum paulo minus ab angelis, dum est in hac valle misera tenebrarum. Et sic contristabalur ut homo, et valefecit ei.

Et sic " ex verbis angeli fuit confortatus ut homo, rogans ut eura Patri ac coelesti curiae commendaret. Surgit ergo tertio ab oratione totus sanguine madefactus: quem conspice tergentem sibi vultum, vel eliam forte in torrente lavan- • tem, totumque afflictum reverenfer cerne, eique intime compatere, quia sine ingenti acerbitate doloris Loc sibi contingere nullatenus potuit. Dicunt sapientes et expositores, quod oravit Dominus Jesus Patrem,non tam timore patiendi, quam misericordia prioris populi: quia compatiebatur Judfeis, quia pro sua morte saevissima perderentur. Non enim ipsi occidere eum debebant^ quia ex ipsis erat, et in lege eorum continebatur, et tanta eisbeneficiaimpendebat, dum orabat Patrem pro salute Judeeorum, et dicebat: Ut credat multitudo gentium, non recuso passionem. Si vero Judaei excsecandi sunt ut alii videant, non mea voluntas, sed tua fiat. Quadra- Fuit enim in Cliristo lunc quadruplex voluntas, piexvo- scilicet voluntas carnis, et hsec nullo modo vochristi lcbat pati; voluntas sensualitatis, et haec re;^"°^ """^' murmurabat, et timebat: voluntas rationis, et m horto. haec obediebat, et consentiebat, nam juxta Isaiam dicitur *: Oblatus est, quia ipse voluit. Et fuit in eo voluntas divinitatis, et haec imperabat, et sententiam ipsa dictabat.

Igitur quia vcrus erat homo, ut homo erat in magna angustia positus. Et ideo intime compatere ei, et considera, et vide dihgenter omnes actus et singulas afiectiones Domini Dei tui. Venit autem ad discipulos suos diceos ^; Dormife jam, et requiescite, qui ibi aliquantulum dormierunt. Bonus autem pastor vigilat super custodiam gregis sui pusilli. 0 grandisamor! vere in finem dilexit eos, cum in tanta positus agonia eorum procurat quietem. Videbat autem a longe adversarios suos veaientes cum facibus et armis, nec tameu discipulos excitavit, nisi cum prope et juxta eos erant, tunc dicit eis: Sufficit, satis dormistis, ecce qui me tradet, appropinquat, christus Et loquente, venit ante illos nequam capiiur judas, pcssimus mercator, et osculalus est eum. Dicitur enim quod moris erat Domini Jesu, discipulos quos emittebat, in osculo recipere redeuntes; et propterea pruditor ille in signum Jesum per osculum tradidit, et praecedens alios cum osculo rediit, quasi dicat: Non sum ego cum istis armatis; sed rediens more solito, te osculor et dico: Ave, Rabbi.

Intuere ergo bene, et prosequens Dominum, vide quo modo patienter et benigne suscipit ipsius infelicis amplexus, et oscula proditoris, cujus paulo ante pedes laverat, et summo cibaverat cibo. Et quo modo se patitur capi, hgari, percuti, et furibunde duci, ac si esset malefactor, et omnino impotens ad se defendendum. Quo modo etiam compatitur discipulis suis fugientibus et errantibus. Sed et ipsorum dolores cernere potes, quomodo inviti et dolentes gemitus et suspiria dabant, et velut orphani et timore perterriti recedebant, et magis ac magis eorum augebatur dolor, cum videbant et Dominum suum sic viliter trahi, et canes istos trahentes eum ad victimam, et illum quasi agnum mansuetissimum sine resistentia ipsos sequi. Conspice nunc eum, quomodo dicitur ab illis nequissimis de torrente sursum Hierusalem festinanter et anxie, manibus post tergum hgatis, exchlamydatus tunica, supercinctus non curiose, capite discoopertus, et curvus ex fatigatione, et vehementi acceleratione incedens. Cum autem praesentatur principibus sacerdotum Annae et Caiphae et aliis senioribus congregatis, illi quasi leo capta praeda exultant, ipsum examinant, falsos procurant tesles, qui eura conderanant et expuunt in ejus sacratissimam faciem, oculos velant, colaphizant, alapis caedunt, dicentes *: Prophetiza, quis est qui te percussit? Et mullis opprobriis eura vexant; et in omnibus se patienter habebat. Et hic in singulis eum conspice, et compatere.

Tandem illi majores recesserunt, mittentes eum in quemdam carcerem ibi subtus solarium, qui adhuc videri potest, vel ejus vestigium; et ligaverunt eum ad quamdara coluranara lapideam, cujus pars postea comminuta est, et adhuc apparet, ut habeo ex fratre nostro, qui vidit. Dimiserunt nihilorainus aliquos arraatos ad tutiorera custodiara, qui eum per totam uoctem residuara vexaverunt derisionibus et malediclis vacantes. lutuere ergo qualiter audaces et pessirai conviciantur eidem, dicentes: Credebas tu raelior et sapientior esse principibus nostris: quas stultitia erat tua! non debebas aperire os taum contra eos: quomodo fuisti ausus sic facere? Sed nunc apparet sapieutia tua, ut stes modo sicut tuis convenit paribus, et dignus proculdubio es morte, et tu eam habebis. Et sic per totam noctem modo unus, et modo alius insultabat verbis, et factis contra eum. Quanta, credis, dicunt, et faciunt hi mercenarii? opprobriis vilissimis indiscrete et irreverenter ei insiiltant.

Intuere nunc Dominum verecunde et palienter tacenletu ad orania, tanquam in culpa deprehensura, et vultu in terram demisso; et sibi oompatere vehementer. 0 Domine, ad quorum manus venisti! quanta est patientia tua! Yere ista est hora tenebrarum. Et sic stelit rectus ad illam coluranam hgatus usque ad mane. Interim autera Joannes vadit ad Dominam et socias in domum Magdalense congregatas, in qua coenam fecerant, et narrat cuncta quffi Domino et discipulis contigerunt. Tunc indicibilis planctus, ejulatus et clamor lactus est ibi. Intuere eas, et compatere, quia in aiDictione permaxima et dolore vehementissimo sunt de dilecto Domino suo, quia bene vident et credunt nunc ipsum Dominum moriturum.

Tandem Domina secedit ad parietem,etin orationeai se convertit, dicens: Pater reverendissime, Pater piissime, Pater misericordissime, recommendo vobis iilium meum dilectissimum. Non sis ei crudelis, quia cuuctis es benignus. Pater aeterne, morieturne filius meus Jesus? iSihil enim mali fecit. Sed, Pater juste, si redemptionem vultis humani generis^ per aUum modum, obsecro, faciatis; omnia namque possibilia sunt vobis. Rogo vos, Pater sanctissime, si placet vobis, non raoriatur filius meus Jesus; hberate ipsum de manibus peccatorum, et reddite ipsuin mihi. Ipse propter obedientiam vestram et reverentiam non se juvat. DereUquit seipsum, et tanquam imbecillis et impotens est inter istos.

Unde vos illum, Domine, adjuvate. Haec et his simiUa orabat Domina cum affectu suo toto et conatu, et cum magna amaritudine cordis sui. Compatere nunc ei, quam sic cernis alflictam

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Luke.22.41;Matt.26.36-Matt.26.39;Mark.14.32-Mark.14.36 — And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, Matt.26.36 — Then Jesus comes with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he says to the disciples, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' Matt.26.37 — And taking Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be grieved and troubled. Matt.26.38 — Then he said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, even to death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Matt.26.39 — And going forward a little, he fell on his face, praying and saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.' Mark.14.32 — And they come to a place whose name is Gethsemane, and he says to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." Mark.14.33 — And he took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be deeply troubled and distressed. Mark.14.34 — And he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch." Mark.14.35 — Going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. Mark.14.36 — And he was saying, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But not what I want; what you want.'
  2. ↩1John.2.1 — My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One.
  3. ↩Phil.2.6-Phil.2.7 — who, existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to exploit, Phil.2.7 — but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and appearing as a human being.
  4. ↩Matt.26.39;Luke.22.42 — And going forward a little, he fell on his face, praying and saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.' Luke.22.42 — Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; but not my will, but yours be done.
  5. ↩Rom.8.32 — He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
  6. ↩John.3.16 — For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.
  7. ↩Ps.142.7-Ps.142.8 — Listen to my cry, for I am brought very low; rescue me from my pursuers, for they are stronger than I. Ps.142.8 — Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name; the righteous will crown themselves around me, for you will deal bountifully with me.
  8. ↩Ps.17.6;Ps.19.6 — I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my words. Ps.19.6 — Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and its circuit reaches to the other end; and nothing is hidden from its heat.
  9. ↩Heb.10.7 — Then I said, 'Behold, I have come — in the scroll of the book it is written of me — to do your will, O God.'
  10. ↩Heb.10.7;Ps.39.8-Ps.39.9;Ps.41.7-Ps.41.8 — Then I said, 'Behold, I have come — in the scroll of the book it is written of me — to do your will, O God.' Ps.39.8 — And now, what do I wait for, O Lord? My hope is in you. Ps.39.9 — From all my transgressions deliver me; do not make me the scorn of the fool. Ps.41.7 — And if one comes to see me, his heart speaks falsehood; it gathers iniquity to itself; he goes out and speaks it. Ps.41.8 — Together they whisper against me—all my enemies—plotting evil against me.
  11. ↩Ps.39.11;Ps.41.10 — Remove your scourge from me; I am fading under the assault of your hand. Ps.41.10 — Even the man who was my close friend, who trusted in me, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
  12. ↩Ps.21.11 — You will destroy their fruit from the earth, and their seed from among the children of humanity.
  13. ↩Matt.26.39 — And going forward a little, he fell on his face, praying and saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'
  14. ↩Ps.34.15;John.10.31 — Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. John.10.31 — Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him.
  15. ↩Ps.6.9-Ps.6.11;Ps.7.4-Ps.7.6 — Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. Ps.6.10 — The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will receive my prayer. Ps.6.11 — Let all my enemies be put to shame and be utterly dismayed; let them turn back, be put to shame in an instant. Ps.7.4 — LORD my God, if I have done this—if there is wrong in my hands— Ps.7.5 — if I have repaid my ally with evil, or plundered my enemy without cause," POETIC-DAILY: "if I paid back a friend with harm, if I robbed an enemy who had done me no wrong," MESSAGE-DAILY: "if I've done wrong to someone at peace with me, if I've ripped off an enemy who didn't deserve it," This verse should carry the missing conditional claims, not the curse that belongs in v.6. Ps.7.6 — then let my enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and trample my life to the ground, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah." Add "then" to complete the oath sequence begun in vv.4-5.
  16. ↩John.8.29 — And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.
  17. ↩Ps.34.12;Ps.109.5 — Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Ps.109.5 — They have set evil against me instead of good, and hatred in place of my love.
  18. ↩Matt.26.15 — and he said, 'What are you willing to give me, and I will hand him over to you?' And they weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver.
  19. ↩Matt.26.39 — And going forward a little, he fell on his face, praying and saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'
  20. ↩Matt.26.39;Luke.22.42 — And going forward a little, he fell on his face, praying and saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.' Luke.22.42 — Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; but not my will, but yours be done.
  21. ↩Ps.35.2;Ps.70.5-Ps.70.6 — Take up shield and buckler, and rise up to help me. Ps.70.5 — But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "God is great!" Ps.70.6 — But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!
  22. ↩Luke.23.34 — Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided his garments by casting lots.
  23. ↩Ps.106.23;Exod.32.11-Exod.32.14 — And he said that he would have destroyed them, had not Moses his chosen one stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath from destroying. Exod.32.11 — And Moses entreated the face of the LORD his God, and said, 'Why, O LORD, does your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?' Exod.32.12 — Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger and relent concerning the disaster against your people. Exod.32.13 — Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by yourself, and spoke to them: 'I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.' Exod.32.14 — And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken to do to his people.
  24. ↩Prov.17.13;Jer.18.20 — Whoever returns evil for good, evil will not depart from their house. Jer.18.20 — Is good repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you to speak good on their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them.
  25. ↩Ps.35.7;Ps.119.85;Jer.18.22 — For without cause they have hidden for me the pit of their net; without cause they have dug a pit for my life. Ps.119.85 — The arrogant have dug pits for me, which is not according to your law. Jer.18.22 — Let a cry be heard from their houses, for you will bring a raiding band upon them suddenly; for they have dug a pit to capture me, and hidden snares for my feet.
  26. ↩Ps.22.11;Ps.38.21-Ps.38.22 — Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help. Ps.38.21 — Those who repay evil for good oppose me, because I pursue what is good. Ps.38.22 — Do not forsake me, O LORD; my God, do not be far from me.
  27. ↩Ps.35.15 — But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered; they gathered against me, cripples I did not know. They tore at me and did not stop.
  28. ↩Ps.69.20 — You know my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor; before you are all my adversaries.
  29. ↩Mark.14.46 — So they laid their hands on him and seized him.
  30. ↩Matt.26.42;Mark.14.36 — Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, let your will be done.' Mark.14.36 — And he was saying, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But not what I want; what you want.'
  31. ↩John.17.11-John.17.12 — And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are one. John.17.12 — While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
  32. ↩Luke.22.44 — And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
  33. ↩Matt.26.39-Matt.26.44 — And going forward a little, he fell on his face, praying and saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.' Matt.26.40 — And he comes to the disciples and finds them sleeping, and he says to Peter, 'So! You were not able to keep watch with me one hour?' Matt.26.41 — Watch and pray, so that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matt.26.42 — Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, let your will be done.' Matt.26.43 — And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. Matt.26.44 — And leaving them again, he went away and prayed a third time, saying the same words once more.
  34. ↩Luke.22.43 — And an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.
  35. ↩Matt.26.39 — And going forward a little, he fell on his face, praying and saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'
  36. ↩Heb.9.22 — And under the law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
  37. ↩Heb.2.7;Ps.8.5 — You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor. Ps.8.5 — What is man that you remember him, and the son of Adam that you visit him?
  38. ↩John.12.20-John.12.24 — Now there were some Greeks among those who had gone up to worship at the feast. John.12.21 — These men came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." John.12.22 — Philip comes and tells Andrew; Andrew and Philip come and tell Jesus. John.12.23 — And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." John.12.24 — Truly, truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
  39. ↩Luke.22.42;Matt.6.10 — Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; but not my will, but yours be done. Matt.6.10 — Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
  40. ↩Isa.53.7 — He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb led to slaughter, and like a sheep silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.
  41. ↩John.13.27 — And after the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus said to him, 'What you are doing, do quickly.'
  42. ↩Isa.53.7;John.1.29 — He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb led to slaughter, and like a sheep silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth. John.1.29 — The next day he sees Jesus coming toward him and says, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
  43. ↩Matt.26.68;Luke.22.64 — They said, "Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who is it that struck you?" Luke.22.64 — And having blindfolded him, they began asking him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?"
  44. ↩Luke.22.53 — When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
  45. ↩John.18.38;Luke.23.41 — Pilate said to him, 'What is truth?' And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, 'I find no basis for a charge against him.' Luke.23.41 — And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we have earned; but this man has done nothing wrong.
  46. ↩Matt.19.26 — Jesus looked at them and said, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
  47. ↩John.17.15 — I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
  48. ↩Phil.2.8;Matt.26.53 — And he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Matt.26.53 — Or do you think that I cannot call upon my Father, and he will at once place at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
  49. ↩2Cor.13.4 — For indeed he was crucified out of weakness, but he lives out of the power of God. For indeed we also are weak in him, but we will live with him out of the power of God toward you.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Dato is rendered as an imperative ('Grant') following the candidate gloss; the form could also be read as a perfect participle ('Having been given'), but the imperative fits the prayer context.
  2. 2 ↩The single letter 'B.' is uncertain — possibly an abbreviation, section marker, or scribal notation. Rendered as-is pending further source investigation.
  3. 3 ↩The form 'ecordare' is a scribal variant of 'recordare' (imperative of recordor). The asterisk in the normalized text marks an uncertain reading.
  4. 4 ↩'Vce' is rendered as 'woe' following the candidate gloss, though the form is uncertain (possibly 'vae').
  5. 5 ↩'animoe meoB' contains uncertain scribal forms — likely 'animae meae' (for my soul). Rendered according to the most plausible intended sense.
  6. 6 ↩'tribulalio' is a variant of 'tribulatio'; 'etnon' is a scribal fusion of 'et' + 'non'. Both normalized in translation.
  7. 7 ↩Normalized compressed 'utsalventur' as 'ut salventur' (so that they may be saved); scribal compression in source.
  8. 8 ↩Normalized scribal variant 'animce' as 'animae' (souls).
  9. 9 ↩Uncontracted 'Let...be done' retained for solemn Christological prayer moment; 'ergo' rendered as sentence-final 'then' for natural cadence.
  10. 10 ↩Rendered 'Confortamini' as 'Take courage' (natural modern idiom) and 'viriliter agite' as 'act like a man' (preserving the Latin gendered idiom in plain English).
  11. 11 ↩Rendered 'poenalia' as 'punishing things' and 'gloriosa' as 'glorious things' to preserve the Latin's compressed noun-adjective pairing in plain English.
  12. 12 ↩Normalized scribal variants 'Domiuus' → 'Dominus' and 'confortationcm' → 'consolationem'.
  13. 13 ↩Normalized scribal variant 'contristabalur' as 'contristabatur'.
  14. 14 ↩The manuscript forms diceos and Dormife are uncertain readings; the translation follows the most plausible intended sense (discipulos and dormite/sleep).
  15. 15 ↩The manuscript form grandisamor is uncertain; the translation follows the most plausible intended sense.
  16. 16 ↩in finem dilexit echoes John 13:1 (dilexit eos in finem), carrying both temporal and superlative force — 'to the very end' and 'completely.'
  17. 17 ↩Several manuscript forms are uncertain: veaientes (coming), tameu (yet), capiiur (is captured), pcssimus (worst), osculalus (kissed). The translation follows the most plausible intended sense in each case.
  18. 18 ↩The manuscript form pruditor is uncertain; the translation renders it as 'shrewd one' in keeping with the context of Judas's calculated betrayal.

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