As we begin our celebration of Holy Week, here is another one of Fr. de Montfort’s “Holy Week Hymns”. May these holiest days of the year be for all of us a true occasion for the renewal and conversion of our hearts. St. Louis de Montfort, who so ardently loved the Cross of Our Savior, pray for us!
FOR SATURDAY
JESUS DIES AND IS BURIED
O abominable sinners,
It is finished. Jesus is dead.
We are, all of us, the guilty ones.
What will become our fate?
It is for us, O sinners,
That he has died in pain.
Let us not leave, but stay on Calvary.
Let us all die here in this place,
That we might attempt to satisfy
The justice of Almighty God.
It is for us, O sinners,
That he has died in pain.
Do you see his holy Mother
Who kisses him with a sigh?
Her grief is so very bitter,
For her love is so very great.
It is for us, O sinners,
That she endures these pains.
She groans. She swoons.
She says in her mounting weakness,
“O! Dearest desire of my soul,
Is that You? O! I am dying.”
It is for us, O sinners,
That she endures these pains.
“Is this the adorable body
Of my dear Son that I see?
Alas! So miserable and so wretched!
Yes, it is him. I know it.”
It is for us, O sinners,
That she endures these pains.
“I see upon your face
Only spittle, only blood,
More than beauty, more than grace.
O my Son! How great a change!”
It is for us, O sinners,
That she endures these pains.
“From where have come these stripes of bruises,
These two arms stretched and dislocated,
This clotted blood, these injuries,
And these pierced hands, these pierced feet?”
It is for us, O sinners,
That she endures these pains.
Let us mingle our tears with hers.
Let us embrace his sacred feet.
And in the blood from his veins
All of our sins let us erase.
It is for us, O sinners,
That he has died in pain.
That we may avoid the vengeance
Of God the angry Father,
Let us place ourselves securely
Within his most sacred side.
It is for us, O sinners,
That he has died in pain.
Let us seek a profound peace
With Jesus in the tomb,
There to live far from the world
There to make a heart that is new.
It is for us, O sinners,
That he has died in pain.
Obtain for us, O Mary,
The pardon of your Son!
Our lives we long to change,
Listen to our repentant hearts.
It is for us, O sinners,
That he has died in pain.
O sweet Jesus! May an arrow
Of the love of your own heart
Make a breach within our own
For us to die within of sorrow.
It is for us, O sinners,
That he has died in pain.
Engrave within our memory
Your death and all your pains
So that we may have in heaven
A sharing in your splendors.
We desire from this moment
To acknowledge all your blessings.