Tractatus Prior, Pars Altera, Cap. 32. Depositio Domini lesu de crace.

Tractatus Prior, Pars Altera, Cap. 32. Depositio Domini lesu de crace.

I bless you and give thanks to you, Lord Jesus Christ, divine strength, for your humble deposition from the height of the cross at the evening hour, when you hung until sunset for our salvation, for which you were commanded to be taken down according to the ancient statutes of the law and because of the approaching feast of Easter on Holy Saturday. I praise and glorify you for the devoted service given to you by your loving friends, when those righteous men Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, a teacher of the law, approached the cross with their companions and, having raised a ladder to the height, one climbed to the right, another to the left, while a third prepared to remove your feet with all reverence and piety, extracting three precious nails, shining with gold and more worthy than the holy hands and feet of yours, and together, joined with powerful companions, they reverently embraced your most noble body and gently laid it down. Blessed are you, men of mercy, who have shown this mercy to the Lord your God, so that you may give Him a proper burial. For the loyalty you showed to your friend while he was alive, you’ve also chosen to show even greater devotion to him now that he has passed away. Therefore, you will receive a special reward from God in heaven, because you have shown such faithfulness in the world. And to whom you have already prepared a place for burial on earth, without a doubt he will again prepare for you a happier dwelling in the heavenly realms, just as he promised his disciples last night. If only I, the least of all the servants of God, could have been present at the funeral of my Lord, so that I could have offered Him at least a small service. Surely I would have gladly held the ladder of the cross, or lifted up a small tool for removing the nails, or even offered my hand to assist those carrying Him. Oh, how wonderful it would have been for me if I had stood so close that I could have received one of the Lord's nails, as it fell from on high, into my bosom as a sweet memorial of His passion, so that whenever I looked at it, I would be moved to tears immediately. I praise and honor you for that cherished embrace when you were received and held in the hands and arms of your sorrowful mother, and given over to her from the loving devotion of the faithful, resting in her pure womb. O how pure were the tears that flowed from His most holy eyes then, and how warm were the drops that hung from His most chaste cheeks, which soon fell from the maternal face above Your lifeless body. O how pure were the lips that pressed against your lifeless body, O Mother of purity, how sorrowfully and earnestly she gazed upon the sacred wounds. O how the blessed fruit of your mother's womb was bound with votive arms, and how he saw that he would be sacrificed for the salvation of the world on the altar of the cross. Who among the faithful can bear the anguish of such great sorrow? Who could adequately express the abundance of those tears that the loving mother of Jesus shed at that time? Now, therefore, draw near, my soul, and with devotion kiss the red wounds of Jesus. Indeed, while He hung on the cross, enclosed and without any way to approach Him due to the force of the crowd pressing in and the height of the cross, now He is found in the bosom of His grieving mother, where He lies wounded and dead. So come, you great sinner, who are terrified by the fear of eternal damnation, because the Lamb was slain for you, and the offering was made for you, which took away the sins of the whole world. The Lord Jesus is so kind and merciful, and His mother Mary is so loving and sweet, that no one should leave empty-handed, no one should depart without consolation, if they ask for forgiveness with all their heart. O how sweet are these words to me, a sinner, more than honey and the honeycomb to my heart. For I see that everything has been done for me, whatever Christ suffered in the flesh. Everything that the blessed Virgin did for Christ—whatever good she accomplished in her life, whatever she offered in sacred ministry, and whatever hardships she endured in the world with Jesus—serves as both merit and comfort for me. So keep, therefore, chosen Mother, in your embrace your only beloved Son, who was slain for me; keep Him outside the tomb for as long as I humbly kneel to adore Him on the ground, until I pour out my prayers before Him and kiss His wounds and the parts of His body that were tormented in martyrdom. Hear me, my Lady, be gracious to me, fulfill my vows, and extend to me to kiss the one whom my soul loves.