Seeing Her own lamb being led to the slaughter,
Mary, was worn out,
and She followed Him with the other women, crying,
Whither goest Thou, Child? Why dost Thou travel along so fast?
Maybe there is another wedding in Cana
and Thou art hurrying now to make for them wine out of water?
Shall I come with Thee, O My Child, and stay with Thee?
Say something to Me, O Word, who didst preserve My chastity.
Please do not pass Me by silence.
Thou art My Son and My God.
Today He who hung the earth upon the waters Is hung on the tree.
The King of the Angels Is decked with a crown of thorns.
He who wraps the heavens in clouds Is wrapped in the purple of mockery.
He who freed Adam in the Jordan Is slapped on the face.
The BrideGroom of the Church Is affixed to the Cross with nails.
The Son of the Virgin Is pierced by a spear.
We worship Thy passion, O Christ.
Show us also Thy glorious Resurrection.
O Thou, who coverest Thyself with Light as with a garment,
Was taken down from the Cross by Joseph, with the help of Nicodemus.
When he saw Thee dead, naked, and unburied, he took up a moving
lamentation and stricken with grief, he said,
Alas, O Sweetest Jesus!
When the sun saw Thee hanging on the Cross just a little while ago,
it wrapped itself in darkness;
and out of fear, the earth was quaking;
and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
And now I see Thee willingly submitting to death for My sake.
How am I to bury Thee, O My God? Or how can I wrap Thee in a shroud?
With what hands shall I touch Thine Immaculate body,
or what dirges should I sing at Thy departure, O tender-loving Lord?
I magnify Thy Passion, and I extol Thy burial and Thy Resurrection,
as I cry out: O Lord, glory to Thee!
When Joseph saw that the sun had hidden its rays and the veil of the temple had been rent in two at the death of the Savior,
he approached Pilate and entreated him, saying,
Give me this Stranger, who since infancy Has been a Stranger in the world.
Give me this Stranger, killed in hatred by His own people as a Stranger.
Give me this Stranger, whom I welcome as a Stranger, as I see the strangeness of His death.
Give me this Stranger, Who knew how to welcome the strangers and poor
and those who were estranged from the world.
Give me this Stranger, Whom hebrews out of envy
have made a Stranger to this world.
Give me this Stranger, that I may hide in a tomb one, Who,
as a Stranger, Has no place to lay His head.
Give me this Stranger, Whose Mother, when She saw Him, cried out,
O My Son and My God,
though I am wounded to the core and torn to the heart
as I see Thee dead,
yet confident in My Resurrection, I magnify Thee.
When he had with words like this entreated Pilate,
the noble Joseph took the Savior’s body,
and having in fear wrapped It in a winding sheet with myrrh,
he placed Thee in a tomb,
O Thou who grantest Eternal Life and Great Mercy to all.