HOLY WEEK HYMNS - WEDNESDAY

The Wednesday in Holy Week is observed in different ways by different communities. Some will gather for the Service of Shadows called Tenebrae. Some may have a common Seder Meal to learn more about the Passover Meal that is behind the Lord's Supper.

May this Wednesday be a day of rich blessings for you in the presence of Christ's Holy Spirit.

Not a hymn, but an excerpt from the Townley Plays:

Jesus
Go forth, John and Peter, to yon city;
when ye come there, ye shall then see
In the street, as tyte, a man
bearing water in a can;
The house that he goes to grith,
ye shall follow and go him with;
The lord of that house ye shall find,
A simple man of cely kind;
To him ye shall speak, and say
That I come here by the way;
Say I pray him, if his will be,
A little while to ease me,
That I and my disciples all
might rest a while in his hall,
That we may eat oure pasch there.

Peter
lord, we shall hie us before,
Till that we come to that city;
your pasch shall ordained be.
Sir, our master the prophet
comes behinde in the street;
And of a chamber he you prays,
To eae and drink therein with ease.

Pater Familias
Sirs, he is welcome unto me,
and so is all his company;
with all my heart and all my will
is he welcome me until.
lo, here a chamber fast by,
Therein to make your mangery,
I shal warrant fair strewed;
it should, not else to you be shewed,.

John
Sir, youre meat is ready bowne,
will ye wash and sit down?

Jesus
yea, give us water till our hand,
take we the grace that god has send;
Come forth, both one and other;
If I be master I will be brother.
Judas, what means thou?

Judas
Nothing, lord, but eat with you.

Jesus
Eat on, brother, heartily,
for one of you shall [me] betray.

Peter
lord, who ever that be may,
lord, I shall never thee betray;
Dear master, is it I?

Jesus
Nay thou, peter, certainly.

John
Master, is I he then?

Jesus
Nay, for truth, John, I thee ken.

Annas
Master, am [I] that shrew?

Jesus
Nay, for sooth, thou andrew.

Simeon
Master, then is I?

Jesus
Nay, thou Simon, certainly .

Philip
Is it I that should do that deed?

Jesus
Nay, philip, without dread.

Thadeus
was it t I that hight thadee?

Jacobus
Or we two Iamys?

Jesus
Nay none of you is he;
Bot he that eats with me in dish,
he shall my body betray, I wys.

Judas
what then, wene ye that I it am?

Jesus
Thou says sooth, thou bears the blame;
Each of you shall this night
forsake me, and fain he might.

John
Nay certes, god forbid
that ever should we do that deed!

Peter
If all, master, forsake thee,
shall I never from thee flee.

Jesus
Peter, thou shall thrice apon a thraw
forsake me, before the cockcrow.
Take up this cloth and let us go,
for we have othere things to do.
Sit all downe, and here and sees,
for I shall wash your feet on knees.

Peter
lord, should thou wash feet mine?
thou art my lord, and I thy hyne.

Jesus
why I do it thou wot not yet,
peter, hereafter shall thou wytt.

Peter
Nay, master, I the heytt,
thou shall never wash my feet.

Jesus
But I thee wash, thou must miss
part with me in heaven’s bliss.

Peter
Nay, lord, lest I that forgo,
wash head, hands, and feet also.

Jesus
ye are clean, but not all;
that shall be seen when time shall fall;
who shall be washed as I ween,
he thar not wash his feet clean;
And for sooth clean are ye,
but not all as ye should, be.
I shall you say take good heed
why that I have done the deed;
ye call me master and lord, by name;
ye say full well, for so I am;
Since I, both lord and master, to you would knele
to wash your feet, so must ye well.
Now ye know what I have done;
Example have I given you to;
look ye do so eft sone;
Each of you wash other feet, lo!

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
that man to judge thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.
Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.
'Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee:
I crucified thee.
Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
the slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
for our atonement, while we nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.
For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
thy mortal sorrow, and thy life's oblation;
thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
for my salvation.
Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
not my deserving.

+ + +
Words: Johann Heermann (1585-1647); trans. Robert Seymour Bridges

O come and mourn with me awhile;
O come ye to the Savior's side;
O come, together let us mourn;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified.
Have we no tears to shed for him,
while soldiers scoff and foes deride?
Ah! look how patiently he hangs;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified.
How fast his hands and feet are nailed;
his blessed tongue with thirst is tied,
his failing eyes are blind with blood:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified.
His mother cannot reach his face;
she stands in helplessness beside;
her heart is martyred with her Son's:
Jesus, our Love, is Crucified.
Seven times seven he spoke, seven words of love;
and all three hours his silence cried
for mercy on the souls of men;
Jesus, our Love, is crucified.
O break, O break, hard heart of mine!
Thy weak self-love and guilty pride
his Pilate and his Judas were:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified.
A broken heart, a fount of tears,
ask, and they will not be denied;
a broken heart love's cradle is:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified.
O love of God! O sin of man!
In this dread act your strength is tried;
and victory remains with love;
for he, our Love, is crucified.

+ + +
Words: Frederick Wm. Faber

The Rose (This is not really a Lenten song, but it speaks to the seed of faith deep within us -- growing -- growing--
by Bette Midler

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed,
Some say love, it is a razor
That leads your soul to bleed,

Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need,
I say love, it is a flower
And you, its only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes a chance.

It's the one who won't be taken

Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dying
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely,
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,

Just remember in the winter;
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed that with the Son's love
In the spring becomes the rose.

Drop, drop, slow tears

That's a beautiful hymn that we sing to a wonderful Gibbons tune. Here's one that we use on Good Friday that I never seem to make it through without breaking down:

Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle
Sing the last, the dread affray;
O'er the Cross, the victor's trophy,
Sound the high triumphal lay:
Tell how Christ, the world's Redeemer,
As a victim won the day.

God, His Maker, sorely grieving
That the first-made Adam fell,
When he ate the fruit of sorrow,
Whose reward was death and hell,
Noted then this Wood, the ruin
Of the ancient wood to quell.

Wherefore, when the sacred fulness
Of the appointed time was come,
This world's Maker left His Father,
Sent the heav'nly mansion from,
And proceeded, God Incarnate,
Of the Virgin's holy womb.

Thirty years among us dwelling,
His appointed time fulfilled,
Born for this, He meets His Passion,
For that this He freely willed:
On the Cross the Lamb is lifted,
Where His life-blood shall be spilled.

He endured the nails, the spitting,
Vinegar, and spear, and reed;
From that holy Body broken
Blood and water forth proceed:
Earth, and stars, and sky, and ocean,
By that flood from stain are free.

Faithful Cross! above all other,
One and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peers may be;
Sweetest Wood and sweetest Iron!
Sweetest Weight is hung on thee.

Bend thy boughs, O Tree of glory!
Thy relaxing sinews bend;
For awhile the ancient rigor,
That thy birth bestowed, suspend;
And the King of heavenly beauty
On thy bosom gently tend!

To the Trinity be glory
Everlasting, as is meet;
Equal to the Father, equal
To the Son, and Paraclete:
Trinal Unity, whose praises
All created things repeat.

Author: Venantius Fortunatus (530-609)

From the "Gather at the River" thread: Father_Elihah: In this week in which we recall Judas' betrayal, I am praying both for justice as well as for conversion and reconciliation of the sexual offenders with God. I find it hard to pray for them sometimes, but I know the Lord is calling me to intercede for the salvation of their souls just as surely as the Lord calls me to pray for the healing of all of the victims. The Lord wants to save each and every soul.

Salvation: Well spoken!

Part of my penace is to pray for some people who unjustly fired me from a job every time that thought comes into my mind.

Can you imagine the number of possible total re-conversions of these fallen priests if we would all pray just one prayer for them every time a thought or a bit of anger about this current reality came into our minds?

The power is the Lord, God Almighty's!

And may I add, 'sing a song' to that 'say a prayer' mentioned above?

Litany of the Passion
(For private devotion.)
LORD, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven,1
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God, the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Jesus, the Eternal Wisdom,
Jesus, sold for thirty pieces of silver,
Jesus, prostrate on the ground in prayer,
Jesus, strengthened by an angel,
Jesus, in Thine agony bathed in a bloody sweat,
Jesus, betrayed by Judas with a kiss,
Jesus, bound by the soldiers,
Jesus, forsaken by Your disciples,
Jesus. brought before Annas and Caiphas.1
Jesus, struck in the face by a servant,
Jesus, accused by false witnesses,
Jesus, declared guilty of death,
Jesus, spat upon,
Jesus, blindfolded,
Jesus, smitten on the cheek,
Jesus, thrice denied by Peter,
Jesus, delivered up to Pilate,
Jesus, despised and mocked by Herod,
Jesus, clothed in a white garment,
Jesus, rejected for Barabbas,
Jesus, torn with scourges,
Jesus, bruised for our sin,
Jesus, esteemed a leper,
Jesus, covered with a purple robe,
Jesus, crowned with thorns
Jesus, struck with a reed upon the head,
Jesus, demanded for crucifixion by the Jews,
Jesus, condemned to an ignominious death,
Jesus, given up to the will of Thine enemies,
Jesus, loaded with the heavy weight of the cross,
Jesus, led like a sheep to the slaughter,
Jesus, stripped of Your garments,
Jesus, fastened with nails to the cross,
Jesus, reviled by the malefactors,
Jesus, promising paradise to the penitent thief,
Jesus, commending St. John to Your Mother as her son,
Jesus, declaring Yourself forsaken by Your Father,
Jesus, in Your thirst given gall and vinegar to drink,
Jesus, testifying that all things written concerning Thee were accomplished,
Jesus, commending Your spirit into the hand of Your Father,1
Jesus, obedient even to the death of the cross,
Jesus, pierced with a lace,
Jesus, made a propitiation for us,
Jesus, taken down from the cross,
Jesus, laid in the sepulcher,
Jesus, rising gloriously from the dead,
Jesus, ascending into heaven,
Jesus, our advocate with the Father,
Jesus, sending down on Your disciples the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete,
Jesus, exalting Your Mother above the choirs of angels,
Jesus, Who shalt come to judge the living and the dead,
Be merciful, Spare us, 0 Lord.
Be merciful, Graciously hear us, 0 Lord.
From all evil,
From all sin,
From anger, hatred, and every evil will,
From war, famine, and pestilence,
From all dangers of mind and body,
From everlasting death,
Through Your most pure conception,
Through Your miraculous nativity,
Through Your humble circumcision
Through Your baptism and holy fasting,
Through Your labors and watchings,
Through Your cruel scourging and crowning,
Through Your thirst, and tears, and nakedness,
Through Your precious death and cross,
Through Your glorious resurrection and ascension,
Through Your sending forth the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete,
In the day of judgment, We sinners beseech Thee, hear us. That Thou would spare us,
That Thou would pardon us,
That Thou would vouchsafe to bring us to true penance,
That Thou would vouchsafe mercifully to pour into our hearts the grace of the Holy Spirit,
That Thou would vouchsafe to defend and propagate Your holy Church,
That Thou would vouchsafe to preserve and increase all societies assembled in Your holy name,
That Thou would vouchsafe to bestow upon us true peace,
That Thou would vouchsafe to give us perseverance in grace and in Your holy service,
That Thou would vouchsafe to deliver us from unclean thoughts, the temptations of the devil, and everlasting damnation,
That Thou would vouchsafe to unite us to the company of Your saints,
That Thou would vouchsafe graciously to hear us,
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, 0 Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, 0 Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, 0 Lord.
Christ, hear us; Christ, graciously hear us.
V. We adore Thee, 0 Christ, and praise Thee:
R . Because by Your holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world
Let Us Pray
ALMIGHTY and eternal God, Who hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son the Savior of the world, and hast willed to be appeased with His blood, grant that we may so venerate this price of our salvation, and by its might be so defended upon earth from the evils of this present life, that in heaven we may rejoice in its everlasting fruit. Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Have mercy on us.
2. Lord Jesus, deliver us.
3. Lord Jesus deliver us .
4. We beseech Thee, hear us.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rev. F.X.Lasance, My Prayer Book, Benziger Brothers (1908), pp. 478-82.
Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus Sacred Heart Catholic Church and St. Yves Mission and the Packwood Catholic Community Awaken to prayer: how to pray as a

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