Lectio Prima
Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiae prophetae.
ALEPH. Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo! Facta est quasi vidua domina gentium;
princeps provinciarum facta est sub tributo.
BETH. Plorans ploravit in nocte, et lacrimæ ejus in maxillis ejus: non est qui consoletur eam, ex omnibus caris ejus; omnes amici ejus spreverunt eam, et facti sunt ei inimici.
GHIMEL. Migravit Judas propter afflictionem, et multitudinem servitutis; habitavit inter gentes, nec invenit requiem: omnes persecutores ejus apprehenderunt eam inter angustias.
DALETH. Viæ Sion lugent, eo quod non sint qui veniant ad solemnitatem: omnes portæ ejus destructæ, sacerdotes ejus gementes; virgines ejus squalidæ, et ipsa oppressa amaritudine.
HE. Facti sunt hostes ejus in capite; inimici ejus locupletati sunt: quia Dominus locutus est super eam propter multitudinem iniquitatum ejus. Parvuli ejus ducti sunt in captivitatem ante faciem tribulantis.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.
So begins the Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah.
ALEPH. How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the cities has become a vassal.
BETH. She weeps bitterly in the night, tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.
GHIMEL. Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
DALETH. The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her maidens have been dragged away, and she herself suffers bitterly.
HE. Her foes have become the head, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God.
Seconda Lamentatione
VAU. Et egressus est a filia Sion omnis decor ejus;
facti sunt principes ejus velut arietes non invenientes pascua, et abierunt absque fortitudine ante faciem subsequentis.
ZAIN. Recordata est Jerusalem dierum afflictionis suæ, et prævaricationis, omnium desiderabilium suorum, quæ habuerat a diebus antiquis, cum caderet populus ejus in manu hostili, et non esset auxiliator: viderunt eam hostes, et deriserunt sabbata ejus.
HETH. Peccatum peccavit Hierusalem, propterea instabilis facta est: omnes qui glorificabant eam spreverunt illam: quia viderunt ignominiam eius:
ipsa autem gemens et conversa retrorsum.
TETH. Sordes eius in pedibus eius: nec recordata est finis sui. Deposita est vehementer: non habens consolatorem. Vide Domine afflictionem meam: quoniam erectus est inimicus.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.
VAU. From the daughter of Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like harts that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.
ZAIN. Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and bitterness all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, the foe gloated over her, mocking at her downfall.
HETH. Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; yea, she herself groans, and turns her face away.
TETH. Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her doom; therefore her fall is terrible, she has no comforter. "O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!"
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God.
Il Pianto della Madonna (Stabat Mater)
Stabat Mater dolorosa
Iuxta crucem lacrimosa
Dum pendebat Filius.
Cuius animam gementem
Contristatam et dolentem
Pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta
Fuit illa benedicta
Mater unigeniti!
Quae moerebat et dolebat,
Pia Mater, dum videbat
Nati poenas incliti.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si videret
In tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari,
Christi Matrem contemplari
Dolentem cum Filio?
Pro peccatis suae gentis
Vidit Iesum in tormentis,
Et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem natum
Moriendo desolatum
Dum emisit spiritum.
Eja Mater, fons amoris
Me sentire vim doloris
Fac, ut tecum lugeam.
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
In amando Christum Deum
Ut sibi complaceam.
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide.
Tui nati vulnerati,
Tam dignati pro me pati,
Poenas mecum divide.
Fac me tecum, pie, flere,
Crucifixo condolere,
Donec ego vixero.
Juxta crucem tecum stare,
Et me tibi sociare
In planctu desidero.
Virgo virginum praeclara,
Mihi jam non sis amara
Fac me tecum plangere.
Fac, ut portem Christi mortem
Passionis fac consortem,
Et plagas recolere.
Fac me plagis vulnerari,
Fac me cruce inebriari,
Et cruore Filii.
Flammis ne urar succensus
Per te, Virgo, sim defensus
In die judicii.
Fac me cruce custodiri
Morte Christi praemuniri
Confoveri gratia
Quando corpus morietur,
Fac, ut animae donetur
Paradisi gloria. Amen.
The Lament of the Madonna
Near the cross his anguish sharing
Stood the mother near despairing
While her Son was hanging there
Hers the soul so devastated
Sorrowful and desolated
That the sword to pierce did dare
O how sad and so dejected
Was that mother so respected
Of her sole-begotten one
Holy Mother, tearful, doleful,
Seeing all those wounds so woeful
Of her own illustrious Son
Is there someone so uncaring
As to shun that mother sharing
In that monstrous punishment?
Who would fail to share the sorrow
Son’s and mother’s grief to borrow
In their sad abandonment?
For the sins of his own creatures
Mary saw his anguished features
As the scourges took their toll
She beheld her Son and master
Die in desolate disaster
As he yielded up his soul
Holy Mother, fount of gladness
Make me feel the power of sadness
So that I may grieve with Thee
Make my heart be ever burning
For the love of Christ be yearning
So I may his solace be
Holy Mother, help me duly
in my heart the wounds fix truly
of the One that’s crucified
For my sake your Son in anguish
Deigned upon the cross to languish
All his pains with me divide
Let me join your pious weeping
With the crucified one keeping
Watch as long as I shall live
Near the cross to stand beside you
And to share the grief inside you
That is what I want to give
Virgin of all virgins splendid
With me do not feel offended
Let me weep along with you
Make me bear Christ’s crucifixion
Share with him his dereliction
And myself his wounds renew
Make the scourges lacerate me
Make his cross inebriate me
Your Son’s blood upon me spray
Lest I burn in flames rejected,
Virgin, let me be protected
through you on the Judgement Day
Christ, when hence I’m called to meet Thee
Let Thy Mother come to greet me
With the palm of victory
When my body is arisen
May my soul, all sins forgiven,
Rest in Paradise with Thee. Amen.
Tertia Lamentatione
De Lamentatione Jeremiae Prophetae.
HETH. Misericordiæ Domini, quia non sumus consumpti; quia non defecerunt miserationes ejus.
HETH. Novi diluculo, multa est fides tua.
HETH. Pars mea Dominus, dixit anima mea; propterea exspectabo eum.
TETH. Bonus est Dominus sperantibus in eum, animæ quærenti illum.
TETH. Bonum est præstolari cum silentio salutare Dei.
TETH. Bonum est viro cum portaverit jugum ab adolescentia sua.
JOD. Sedebit solitarius, et tacebit, quia levavit super se.
JOD. Ponet in pulvere os suum, si forte sit spes.
JOD. Dabit percutienti se maxillam: saturabitur opprobriis.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.
The Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah.
HETH. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
HETH. they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
HETH. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
TETH. The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
TETH. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
TETH. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
JOD. Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him;
JOD. Let him put his mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope;
JOD. Let him give his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God.
Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiae prophetae.
ALEPH. Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo! Facta est quasi vidua domina gentium;
princeps provinciarum facta est sub tributo.
BETH. Plorans ploravit in nocte, et lacrimæ ejus in maxillis ejus: non est qui consoletur eam, ex omnibus caris ejus; omnes amici ejus spreverunt eam, et facti sunt ei inimici.
GHIMEL. Migravit Judas propter afflictionem, et multitudinem servitutis; habitavit inter gentes, nec invenit requiem: omnes persecutores ejus apprehenderunt eam inter angustias.
DALETH. Viæ Sion lugent, eo quod non sint qui veniant ad solemnitatem: omnes portæ ejus destructæ, sacerdotes ejus gementes; virgines ejus squalidæ, et ipsa oppressa amaritudine.
HE. Facti sunt hostes ejus in capite; inimici ejus locupletati sunt: quia Dominus locutus est super eam propter multitudinem iniquitatum ejus. Parvuli ejus ducti sunt in captivitatem ante faciem tribulantis.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.
So begins the Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah.
ALEPH. How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the cities has become a vassal.
BETH. She weeps bitterly in the night, tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.
GHIMEL. Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
DALETH. The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her maidens have been dragged away, and she herself suffers bitterly.
HE. Her foes have become the head, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God.
Seconda Lamentatione
VAU. Et egressus est a filia Sion omnis decor ejus;
facti sunt principes ejus velut arietes non invenientes pascua, et abierunt absque fortitudine ante faciem subsequentis.
ZAIN. Recordata est Jerusalem dierum afflictionis suæ, et prævaricationis, omnium desiderabilium suorum, quæ habuerat a diebus antiquis, cum caderet populus ejus in manu hostili, et non esset auxiliator: viderunt eam hostes, et deriserunt sabbata ejus.
HETH. Peccatum peccavit Hierusalem, propterea instabilis facta est: omnes qui glorificabant eam spreverunt illam: quia viderunt ignominiam eius:
ipsa autem gemens et conversa retrorsum.
TETH. Sordes eius in pedibus eius: nec recordata est finis sui. Deposita est vehementer: non habens consolatorem. Vide Domine afflictionem meam: quoniam erectus est inimicus.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.
VAU. From the daughter of Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like harts that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.
ZAIN. Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and bitterness all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, the foe gloated over her, mocking at her downfall.
HETH. Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; yea, she herself groans, and turns her face away.
TETH. Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her doom; therefore her fall is terrible, she has no comforter. "O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!"
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God.
Il Pianto della Madonna (Stabat Mater)
Stabat Mater dolorosa
Iuxta crucem lacrimosa
Dum pendebat Filius.
Cuius animam gementem
Contristatam et dolentem
Pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta
Fuit illa benedicta
Mater unigeniti!
Quae moerebat et dolebat,
Pia Mater, dum videbat
Nati poenas incliti.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si videret
In tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari,
Christi Matrem contemplari
Dolentem cum Filio?
Pro peccatis suae gentis
Vidit Iesum in tormentis,
Et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem natum
Moriendo desolatum
Dum emisit spiritum.
Eja Mater, fons amoris
Me sentire vim doloris
Fac, ut tecum lugeam.
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
In amando Christum Deum
Ut sibi complaceam.
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide.
Tui nati vulnerati,
Tam dignati pro me pati,
Poenas mecum divide.
Fac me tecum, pie, flere,
Crucifixo condolere,
Donec ego vixero.
Juxta crucem tecum stare,
Et me tibi sociare
In planctu desidero.
Virgo virginum praeclara,
Mihi jam non sis amara
Fac me tecum plangere.
Fac, ut portem Christi mortem
Passionis fac consortem,
Et plagas recolere.
Fac me plagis vulnerari,
Fac me cruce inebriari,
Et cruore Filii.
Flammis ne urar succensus
Per te, Virgo, sim defensus
In die judicii.
Fac me cruce custodiri
Morte Christi praemuniri
Confoveri gratia
Quando corpus morietur,
Fac, ut animae donetur
Paradisi gloria. Amen.
The Lament of the Madonna
Near the cross his anguish sharing
Stood the mother near despairing
While her Son was hanging there
Hers the soul so devastated
Sorrowful and desolated
That the sword to pierce did dare
O how sad and so dejected
Was that mother so respected
Of her sole-begotten one
Holy Mother, tearful, doleful,
Seeing all those wounds so woeful
Of her own illustrious Son
Is there someone so uncaring
As to shun that mother sharing
In that monstrous punishment?
Who would fail to share the sorrow
Son’s and mother’s grief to borrow
In their sad abandonment?
For the sins of his own creatures
Mary saw his anguished features
As the scourges took their toll
She beheld her Son and master
Die in desolate disaster
As he yielded up his soul
Holy Mother, fount of gladness
Make me feel the power of sadness
So that I may grieve with Thee
Make my heart be ever burning
For the love of Christ be yearning
So I may his solace be
Holy Mother, help me duly
in my heart the wounds fix truly
of the One that’s crucified
For my sake your Son in anguish
Deigned upon the cross to languish
All his pains with me divide
Let me join your pious weeping
With the crucified one keeping
Watch as long as I shall live
Near the cross to stand beside you
And to share the grief inside you
That is what I want to give
Virgin of all virgins splendid
With me do not feel offended
Let me weep along with you
Make me bear Christ’s crucifixion
Share with him his dereliction
And myself his wounds renew
Make the scourges lacerate me
Make his cross inebriate me
Your Son’s blood upon me spray
Lest I burn in flames rejected,
Virgin, let me be protected
through you on the Judgement Day
Christ, when hence I’m called to meet Thee
Let Thy Mother come to greet me
With the palm of victory
When my body is arisen
May my soul, all sins forgiven,
Rest in Paradise with Thee. Amen.
Tertia Lamentatione
De Lamentatione Jeremiae Prophetae.
HETH. Misericordiæ Domini, quia non sumus consumpti; quia non defecerunt miserationes ejus.
HETH. Novi diluculo, multa est fides tua.
HETH. Pars mea Dominus, dixit anima mea; propterea exspectabo eum.
TETH. Bonus est Dominus sperantibus in eum, animæ quærenti illum.
TETH. Bonum est præstolari cum silentio salutare Dei.
TETH. Bonum est viro cum portaverit jugum ab adolescentia sua.
JOD. Sedebit solitarius, et tacebit, quia levavit super se.
JOD. Ponet in pulvere os suum, si forte sit spes.
JOD. Dabit percutienti se maxillam: saturabitur opprobriis.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.
The Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah.
HETH. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
HETH. they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
HETH. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
TETH. The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
TETH. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
TETH. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
JOD. Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him;
JOD. Let him put his mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope;
JOD. Let him give his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God.