TUESDAY, OR AT TIERCE
Tender Lord! 1. Thy blooming body pined and
withered away on the cross; 2. Thy weary and tender back leant uneasily against
the hard wood; 3. Thy heavy frame painfully gave way; 4. All Thy limbs were
covered with sores; 5. Thy heart endured it lovingly. Lord, be Thy withering a
re-blooming to me for ever. Thy uneasy leaning my spiritual rest. Thy giving
way, my powerful support. All Thy wounds must heal mine, and Thy loving heart
inflame mine with fervour.
Sweet Lord! 1. First in Thy mortal agony Thou
wast mocked with scornful words; 2. And with contemptuous gestures; 3. Thou
wast utterly annihilated in their hearts; 4. Thou didst continue under it
steadfast; 5. And didst pray to Thy Father for them lovingly; 6. Thou, the
innocent Lamb, wast numbered with the guilty; 7. Thou wast condemned and
reviled by the thief on Thy left; 8. But wast invoked by him on the right; 9.
Thou forgavest the latter all his sins; 10. Thou didst unlock for him the gates
of paradise.
Beloved Lord! teach me, Thy servant, to bear with
firmness every ignominious word, every scornful gesture, and all sorts of
contempt for Thy sake, and lovingly to excuse my enemies before Thee. Ah, Thou
infinite good, behold, this day I offer up, before the eyes of Thy heavenly
Father, Thy innocent death for my guilty life. Lord, with the thief I cry out
to Thee: Remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom! Condemn me not for my
evil deeds, forgive all my sins, undo for me the gates of the heavenly
paradise!