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← Office of the Passion (Long Hours of the Passion)/Book 1 · Officium de Passione Domini
Chapter 2OffPassBona.1.2

Ad Nocturnum

The Call to Prayer

The office begins with an antiphon and psalm reflecting on the betrayal of the soul, followed by the opening prayers.

Antiphon. Men without mercy rose up against me, and they did not spare my soul. Psalm. Why do the nations rage, etc.1 V. I left my house; I abandoned my inheritance.✦ R. I gave my beloved soul into the hands of sinners.✦ Our Father. Absolution. May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ lead us to the joys of paradise. R. Amen.

The Scourging and Mockery

The first reading recounts the scourging of Jesus, the crowning with thorns, and the mockery of the soldiers.

Please give a blessing, sir.2 May you be blessed.3 Through his holy Passion, may the Lord bless us. R. Amen. First reading. Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns, placed it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him and saying, "Hail, King of the Jews."✦ They struck him with blows, and spitting on him, they took a reed and kept striking his head.✦4 But you, O Lord.5 R.6 The elders took counsel together to seize Jesus by deceit and kill him.✦ They went out with swords and clubs as if against a robber.✦7 V.8 The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered to take counsel, so that they might seize Jesus by deceit and kill him.✦9 With swords.✦10

The Way of the Cross

The second reading describes the journey to Golgotha and Christ's prayer for his executioners.

Please give a blessing, Father.11 Blessing.12 By the power of the holy Cross, may the Lord lead us to the joys of the true light. R.13 Amen. The second reading. Then the soldiers took Jesus and led him out. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place called the Place of the Skull—in Hebrew, Golgotha—where they crucified him, along with two others, one on either side, and Jesus in the middle. But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." But you. R. You've come out with swords and clubs to seize me, as if I were a robber. Day after day I was among you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me; and look—you lead me, scourged, away to be crucified. V. And when they had laid hands on Jesus and seized him, he said to them: Day after day among you.

The Final Sacrifice

The third reading details the final moments on the cross, the thirst of Christ, and the surrender of his spirit.

Sir, bid a blessing.14 Blessing.15 May the sprinkling of Christ's blood be for us everlasting salvation and protection. Response. Amen. The third lesson. After this, Jesus, knowing that everything had been accomplished, said—so that Scripture might be fulfilled—“I thirst.” So a vessel full of vinegar had been set there. They put a sponge soaked in vinegar on a sprig of hyssop and held it up to his mouth.✦ So when Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said, "It is finished," and bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.✦ But you, O Lord.16 Response. Darkness fell while the Jews crucified Jesus.✦ And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"✦ And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.✦17 Versicle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." And bowing his head.✦18 Glory to the Father. And bowing his head.✦19

Read the original Latin

Antiph. Insurrexerunt in me viri sine misericordia, et non pepercerunt animae meae. Psalmus. Quare fremuerunt gentes etc. V. Reliqui domum meam, dimisi hereditatem meam. R. Dedi dilectam animam meam in manus peccatorum.

Pater noster. Absolutio. Passio Domini nostri Iesu Christi perducat nos ad gaudia paradisi. R. Amen.

Iube domne benedicere. Bened. Per suam sanctam passionem det nobis Dominus suam benedictionem. R. Amen. Lectio prima. Apprehendit Pilatus Iesum et flagellavit. Et milites, plectentes coronam de spinis, imposuerunt capiti eius et veste purpurea circumdederunt eum.

Et veniebant ad eum et dicebant: Ave Rex Iudaeorum. Et dabant ei alapas et exspuentes in eum, acceperunt arundinem et percutiebant caput eius. Tu autem. R. Seniores consilium fecerunt in unum, ut Iesum dolo tenerent et occiderent. * Cum gladiis et fustibus exierunt tanquam ad latronem. V. Collegerunt Pontifices et Pharisaei consilium, ut Iesum dolo tenerent et occiderent.

Cum gladiis.

Iube domne benedicere. Bened. Per virtutem sanctae crucis, perducat nos Dominus ad gaudia verae lucis. R. Amen. Lectio secunda. Susceperunt autem milites Iesum et eduxerunt, et baiulans sibi crucem, exivit in eum, qui dicitur Calvariae locus, Hebraice autem Golgotha, ubi crucifixerunt eum, et cum eo alios duos hinc et hinc, medium autem Iesum. Iesus autem dicebat: Pater dimitte illis; non enim sciunt, quid faciunt.

Tu autem. R. Tanquam ad latronem existis cum gladiis et fustibus comprehendere me. * Quotidie apud vos eram in templo docens, et non tenuistis me, et ecce, flagellatum ducitis ad crucifigendum. V. Cumque iniecissent manus in Iesum et tenuissent eum, dixit ad eos. Quotidie apud vos.

Iube domne benedicere. Bened. Sanguinis Christi aspersio sit nobis sempiterna salus et protectio. R. Amen. Lectio tertia. Postea sciens Iesus, quia omnia consummata sunt, ut impleretur Scriptura, dixit: Sitio. Vas ergo erat positum aceto plenum.

Illi autem spongiam plenam aceto hyssopo circumponentes, obtulerunt ori eius. Cum ergo accepisset Iesus acetum, dixit: Consummatum est, et inclinato capite, tradidit spiritum. Tu autem. R. Tenebrae factae sunt, dum crucifixissent Iesum Iudaei. Et circa horam nonam exclamavit Iesus voce magna: Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquisti me? * Et inclinato capite, emisit spiritum. V.

Exclamans Iesus voce magna, ait: Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum. Et inclinato. Gloria Patri. Et inclinato.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Jer.12.7 — I have forsaken my house; I have abandoned my heritage; I have given the beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
  2. ↩Jer.12.7 — I have forsaken my house; I have abandoned my heritage; I have given the beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
  3. ↩John.19.3 — And they kept coming up to him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and striking him with their hands." Completes the sentence and gives the repeated action a clearer spoken rhythm.
  4. ↩John.19.3;Matt.27.30;Mark.15.19 — And they kept coming up to him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and striking him with their hands." Completes the sentence and gives the repeated action a clearer spoken rhythm. Matt.27.30 — And they spit on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. Mark.15.19 — And they kept striking his head with a reed and spitting on him, and kneeling down they bowed before him.
  5. ↩Matt.26.3-Matt.26.4;Mark.14.1;Ps.2.2 — Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the courtyard of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas. Matt.26.4 — and they plotted together that they might seize Jesus by stealth and kill him Mark.14.1 — Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were two days away, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might seize him by stealth and kill him. Ps.2.2 — The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed.
  6. ↩Matt.26.55;Mark.14.48;Luke.22.52 — In that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a criminal? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me." Mark.14.48 — And Jesus answered them, 'Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit?' Luke.22.52 — Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders who had come against him, 'Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a bandit?'
  7. ↩Matt.26.3-Matt.26.4;John.11.47-John.11.53 — Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the courtyard of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas. Matt.26.4 — and they plotted together that they might seize Jesus by stealth and kill him John.11.47 — So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and were saying, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs." John.11.48 — If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. John.11.49 — But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You do not know anything at all." John.11.50 — You do not consider that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish. John.11.51 — Now he did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation— John.11.52 — and not for the nation only, but in order that he might also gather into one the children of God who are scattered. John.11.53 — So from that day on they plotted to kill him.
  8. ↩Matt.26.47;Mark.14.43;Luke.22.52 — And while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Mark.14.43 — And while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrives, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Luke.22.52 — Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders who had come against him, 'Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a bandit?'
  9. ↩John.19.29 — A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and held it to his mouth.
  10. ↩John.19.30 — When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
  11. ↩Matt.27.45;Mark.15.33;Luke.23.44 — Now from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. Mark.15.33 — And when the sixth hour had come, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. Luke.23.44 — And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.
  12. ↩Ps.22.1;Matt.27.46;Mark.15.34 — For the Director. Upon the Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David. Matt.27.46 — And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Mark.15.34 — And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
  13. ↩John.19.30 — When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
  14. ↩John.19.30 — When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
  15. ↩John.19.30 — When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Liturgical psalm incipit with etc.; the office expects the remainder of the psalm to be recited from the known text.
  2. 2 ↩Fixed office formula Iube, domne, benedicere: the reader asks a human superior (domne, not Domine) for the blessing before the lesson.
  3. 3 ↩Bened. expanded as Benedictio (Blessing), the usual rubric label for the blessing that follows Iube domne benedicere.
  4. 4 ↩alapas: open-handed blows/slaps to the face (not rod-strokes); rendered as 'blows' to stay plain without losing the force of the assault.
  5. 5 ↩Liturgical lesson-closing cue abbreviated from 'Tu autem, Domine, miserere nobis' ('But you, O Lord, have mercy on us'). Rendered as the conventional English Office cue rather than expanded beyond the printed Latin.
  6. 6 ↩Rubric abbreviation for Responsory / Response; left as R. to match office-book form.
  7. 7 ↩Leading asterisk in the source is a responsory resume mark (*), not spoken text; omitted from the English surface.
  8. 8 ↩Rubric abbreviation for Versicle; left as V. to match office-book form.
  9. 9 ↩Pontifices here means the Jewish high priests/chief priests of the Passion narrative, not later Christian 'pontiffs'.
  10. 10 ↩Abbreviated response incipit; the fuller form in the neighboring unit is Cum gladiis et fustibus exierunt tanquam ad latronem (With swords and clubs they went out as against a robber).
  11. 11 ↩Standard pre-reading choir formula: the reader asks the superior (domne) to bid/give the blessing (iube ... benedicere).
  12. 12 ↩Bened. expands as Benedictio, the blessing rubric before the reading.
  13. 13 ↩R. marks the Response (Responsorium) in the office.
  14. 14 ↩Liturgical formula before a lesson: Iube, domne, benedicere. Domne is the vocative used of the superior; rendered Sir (not divine Lord).
  15. 15 ↩Bened. is the office abbreviation for Benedictio (Blessing).
  16. 16 ↩Liturgical cue abbreviated as 'Tu autem.' Full office formula is typically 'Tu autem Domine, miserere nobis' ('But you, O Lord, have mercy on us'). Rendered as the common short English cue.
  17. 17 ↩Source opens with a rubrical asterisk ('* Et...'); treated as an office/choir mark, not part of the spoken text.
  18. 18 ↩Truncated office cue; full form in the neighboring verse is 'Et inclinato capite, emisit spiritum' (And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit).
  19. 19 ↩Same truncated responsory cue as s2; full form is 'Et inclinato capite, emisit spiritum'.

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