V. Contempla le mie pene, o peccatore
The Call to Contemplate the Cross
Christ invites the sinner to witness the depth of His love and the sacrifice He made to secure their eternal life.
Contemplate my sufferings, O sinner, and the martyrdom I endure: see that I do not spare myself—I hang on the cross for love of you.✦ Consider that I left the noble kingdom; I took pity on you, and I am fixed on this bitter wood with such cruelty. My love was without measure: I chose this martyrdom, and I willed to die, so that you might live with me in great honor.1
The Wounds of Love
A detailed meditation on the physical suffering of Christ, contrasting His agony with the vanity of worldly pursuits.
Look carefully. Look at the crown, sharp and so cruel: see my flesh as it is tormented.✦ The gall is ready; in this anguish I have no faithful friend, no relief for my pains; through five thick veins my blood pours out—and you go seeking honor.✦23 —4
A Prayer for Mercy
The sinner responds to the vision of the Passion with a prayer for mercy and a confession of faith.
Lord, I look carefully at your great sorrow and bitter Passion. O my sweet Jesus, you alone accomplished the redemption.5 My soul and heart are in affliction; I have hope and faith that, with your accustomed mercy, you will show mercy to the sinner.6 —
Read the original Latin
– Contempla le mie pene, o peccatore, E nel martìr, ch’ i’ sono: Vedi ch’ i’ non perdono A me, che pendo in croce per tuo amore.
Contempla ch’ io lasciai il nobil regno, Di te presi pietate E son confitto in questo amaro legno Con tanta crudeltate. Sanza misura fu mie caritate: Elessi tal martìre E sì volsi morire, Perchè vivessi meco in grande onore.
Contempla bene. Alla corona mira Acuta e sì crudele: Vedi la carne mia che si martira. Apparecchiato è el fele; Non ò in questa angoscia alcun fedele, Rifriger di mie pene; Per cinque grosse vene Verso ’l mio sangue, e tu cerchi d’ onore. –
– Contemplo ben, Signore, il tuo gran duolo E l’ aspra passïone. O dolce Gesù mio, tu fusti solo Alla redenzïone. L’ anima e’l cor è con afflizïone; I’ ò speranza e fede, Con l’ usata mercede Farai misericordia al peccatore. –
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.15.13;Gal.2.20 — No one has greater love than this: that someone lay down his life for his friends. Gal.2.20 — I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
- ↩Matt.27.29;John.19.2-John.19.5 — And they twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' John.19.2 — And the soldiers, having woven a crown of thorns, placed it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. 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. John.19.4 — And Pilate went out again and said to them, 'See, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no charge against him.' John.19.5 — So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate said to them, "Behold, the man."
- ↩Matt.27.34;Ps.69.21 — They gave him wine to drink mixed with gall; and when he tasted it, he was not willing to drink. Ps.69.21 — Reproach has broken my heart, and I am sick with grief; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found no one.
Notes
- 1 ↩Italian caritate is the theological virtue of charity; rendered as love per default lexeme policy while keeping the Passion’s covenantal force.
- 2 ↩Rifriger (refrigerio): rendered as 'relief' (coolness/comfort of pain); could also be read more tightly as appositive to fedele ('no faithful comforter of my pains').
- 3 ↩Per cinque grosse vene: traditional five-wound Passion imagery; verso taken as pours/flows (versare), not the preposition 'toward'.
- 4 ↩Speaker-turn dash marking the shift from Christ’s address to the sinner’s reply in the following section.
- 5 ↩Italian “tu fusti solo / Alla redenzïone” stresses Christ’s solitude in the work of redemption (not merely loneliness during the Passion).
- 6 ↩“usata mercede” rendered as “accustomed mercy”: in this register mercede means merciful favor/reward rather than wages; it pairs with “farai misericordia.”
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