Troisième semaine (Jours 27 à 33)
Sujet de la semaine : Connaissance de Jésus Christ
Démarche : Méditation sur Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Actes d’Amour de Dieu, de charité envers le prochain. Support des épreuves et pardon des injures. Chemin de la croix. Actions de grâces pour les bienfaits de Jésus, pour ses Sacrements, pour le don qu’il nous a fait de sa Mère. Résolution de faire ou de renouveler notre consécration à Marie.
Nous étudierons donc Notre Seigneur. Mais qu’étudier dans le Christ-Jésus ? D’abord l’Homme-Dieu, sa grâce et sa gloire ; puis ses titres à son domaine souverain sur nous : Verbe par qui tout a été créé, et duquel nous dépendons en toute chose ; notre Rédempteur qui nous a tiré du péché par sa mort et qui nous abreuve de son sang ; notre Chef qui nous anime et à qui nous devons sans cesse obéir ; l’Époux de notre âme qui s’est livré pour elle aux souffrances de la Passion, et à qui nous devons rendre amour pour amour.
Après avoir renoncé à Satan et au monde, nous avons pris Notre-Seigneur pour notre Roi et notre unique Maître et Seigneur. Qu’étudier encore ? Ses actions extérieures dans l’Évangile, sa vie intérieure aussi, c’est-à-dire les vertus et les actes de son Sacré Coeur ; ses rapports avec Marie dans le mystère de l’Annonciation et de l’Incarnation, dans la sainte Eucharistie et la vie cachée, aux noces de Cana et sur le calvaire ; au ciel même où Il règne en compagnie de sa virginale Mère, qu’il a associée à sa gloire et à tous ses pouvoirs
Readings
Seq S Evangelii sec Matthaeum
[1] Et factum est : cum consummasset Jesus sermones hos omnes, dixit discipulis suis : [2] Scitis quia post biduum Pascha fiet, et Filius hominis tradetur ut crucifigatur. [Mat 26]
[26] Coenantibus autem eis, accepit Jesus panem, et benedixit, ac fregit, deditque discipulis suis, et ait : Accipite, et comedite : hoc est corpus meum. [27] Et accipiens calicem, gratias egit : et dedit illis, dicens : Bibite ex hoc omnes. [28] Hic est enim sanguis meus novi testamenti, qui pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum. [29] Dico autem vobis : non bibam amodo de hoc genimine vitis usque in diem illum, cum illud bibam vobiscum novum in regno Patris mei. [Mat 26]
[36] Tunc venit Jesus cum illis in villam, quae dicitur Gethsemani, et dixit discipulis suis : Sedete hic donec vadam illuc, et orem. [37] Et assumpto Petro, et duobus filiis Zebedaei, coepit contristari et moestus esse. [38] Tunc ait illis : Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem : sustinete hic, et vigilate mecum. [39] Et progressus pusillum, procidit in faciem suam, orans, et dicens : Pater mi, si possibile est, transeat a me calix iste : verumtamen non sicut ego volo, sed sicut tu. [40] Et venit ad discipulos suos, et invenit eos dormientes, et dicit Petro : Sic non potuistis una hora vigilare mecum?
[41] Vigilate, et orate ut non intretis in tentationem. Spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma. [42] Iterum secundo abiit, et oravit, dicens : Pater mi, si non potest hic calix transire nisi bibam illum, fiat voluntas tua. [43] Et venit iterum, et invenit eos dormientes : erant enim oculi eorum gravati. [44] Et relictis illis, iterum abiit, et oravit tertio, eumdem sermonem dicens. [45] Tunc venit ad discipulos suos, et dicit illis : Dormite jam, et requiescite : ecce appropinquavit hora, et Filius hominis tradetur in manus peccatorum.
[46] Surgite, eamus : ecce appropinquavit qui me tradet.[Mat 26]
Cornelius a Lapide
Verses 1-2: The meaning is, as S. Thomas expresses it, “When Christ had fulfilled His office as a Teacher, He began to prepare Himself for the office of a Redeemer and a Saviour.”
The Passover. This means in Hebrew, passing over, because the angel passed over the houses of the Hebrews. For pasach means to pass over. But the Syrians write pascha not with samech, as the Hebrews, but with tsade, and then pascha signifies joy and gladness, for the feast of the Passover was a time of utmost joyfulness.
Verses 26-29:
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| Accipite et comedite. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
still reclining at the table as it was spread for the feast. Therefore Matthew says, whilst they were at supper. Here take notice that this supper of Christ was threefold.
At present, indeed, for the sake of reverence of so great a Sacrament, it is, says S. Augustine (Epist. 128), an Apostolic tradition that the Eucharist should only be taken by those who are fasting. Moreover, in the place of the second and ordinary supper, which Paul calls the Lord’s Supper, there succeeded in ancient times, among Christians, the Agape, that is, a feast common to all, as a sign and incentive of charity, but taken after the reception of the Eucharist.
Lastly, Christ, after the supper upon the lamb and the ordinary supper, but before the institution of the Eucharist washed the disciples’ feet. He did this to signify with what purity we ought to approach so great Mysteries. This is plain from John xiii. 4. After the washing, He took and consecrated bread and wine, which were still upon the table, and converted them into the Eucharist, that is, into His own Body and Blood.
Lastly, listen to the Council of Trent (Sess. 22, c. 1): “After Christ had celebrated the ancient Passover, which the multitude of the sons of Israel sacrificed in memory of their going out of Egypt, He instituted a new Passover, that He Himself should be immolated by the Church (ab ecclesia), by means of (per) the priests, under (sub) visible signs, in memory of His passage from this world to the Father, when He redeemed us by the shedding of His Blood, and delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us to His Kingdom.”
Jesus took bread. Observe here five actions of Christ.
1st He took bread.
2d He gave thanks to the Father.
3d He blessed bread.
4th He brake bread.
5th He extended it, and as He was extending it to them He said, Take and eat; this is My.Body. For these are the words by which He offered it to them as well as by which He consecrated it.
Blessed. Observe, Christ before consecration, 1st gave thanks to God the Father, as Luke and Paul say; and that, after His manner, with His eyes lifted up to Heaven, as it is in the Canon of the Mass and the Liturgy of S. James. Whence this Sacrament is called the Eucharist, i.e., Giving of Thanks, because it is itself the greatest and chief Thanksgiving. Lastly, it seems that Christ blessed the bread by making over it the sign of the cross, and in blessing, invoked the power of God, that it might become consecrated and transubstantiated. For, according to the practice of the Church, priests in consecration bless the bread and the wine with the sign of the cross. This they do after the example of Christ.
This is My Body. From hence it is plain that the Eucharist is not the figure of the Body of Christ, as the Innovators perversely say, but the true and proper Body of Christ, which was born of the Virgin Mary, and crucified on Calvary, as the Church has believed in all ages, and defined in many Councils. This I have shown on 1 Cor. xi. 24. There Paul, in the same words, repeats and relates the institution of the Eucharist.
Luke also adds, This do ye for a commemoration of Me. By these words Christ gave to the Apostles, and to the Priests who were to be ordained by them, power, as well as commandments, to consecrate and transubstantiate bread into His Body, and wine into His Blood. Wherefore by these words Christ constituted and ordained His Apostles Priests and Bishops, as the Council of Trent teaches (Sess. 22, cap. 1).
Ver. 27. And taking the chalice, &c. For Christ instituted this Sacrifice after the manner of a feast, for which wine is required for drink, as well as bread for food. Thus likewise in the Old Testament, in the sacrifice of the mincha, that is, of fine flour, equally as in the sacrifice of animals, there was added a drink-offering, i.e., a pouring forth of wine and oil.
Observe, that Christ divided the bread into thirteen parts, one of which He took first Himself, and then gave the remaining parts to the Apostles, one by one. But with the contents of the chalice, being liquid, He could not do this. Wherefore, after it was consecrated, Christ first drank of it Himself, and then gave it to his next neighbour,...and thus the chalice passed round the company, and all the Apostles drank of it. ...this precept of drinking, where He said, Drink ye all of this (as the Church has always understood), pertained only to the Apostles, who alone were then present. For Christ at that time was consecrating them Priests, and He bade them consecrate the Sacrament and Sacrifice of the Eucharist under both kinds, and bade them receive both kinds, that they might complete a perfect Sacrifice. But He did not command this to the laity, to whom, inasmuch as they do not sacrifice, but only receive the Eucharist as a Sacrament, it is sufficient that they take it under one kind, because in one kind they receive the whole effect and fruit of the Sacrament. And it is especially to be considered that in so great a number of lay people communicating, the chalice might easily be overturned, and the Blood of Christ contained in it spilt upon the ground, which would be an act of great irreverence.
For this is My Blood of the New Testament. Syr. Covenant, &c. The Ethiopic has, This is My very Blood. He means, “in this chalice, by this My consecration, wine is turned into My Blood. Wherefore, after this consecration, there is no longer wine there, but My Blood, by which the new Covenant and Testament are confirmed and rectified, by means of My mediation between God and man.”
Where observe: The mystery of the faith signifies—1st That the Blood of Christ veiled beneath the species is a hidden (arcanam) thing, which can be recognised and believed by faith alone. 2nd That the very Blood of Christ, as it was shed in His Passion, is the object of faith whereby we are justified. For we believe that we are justified and cleansed from our sins by the merits of the Passion and Death of Christ.
Hence, then, it is plain that the Eucharist is not only a Sacrament, but a Sacrifice, in truth, the only Sacrifice of the New Law, which has succeeded to all the ancient sacrifices, and which contains them all in their completeness in Itself. Therefore Christ is called “a Priest after the order of Melchizedek,” not of Aaron. For Aaron offered sheep, but Melchizedek bread and wine, even as Christ did, and transubstantiated them into His Body and Blood (see Ps. cx. 4 and Heb. v. 6, 7).
...the Greek of all three Evangelists is ε̉κχυνόμενον, which is shed, in the present tense, that is to say, now, in this Supper and consecration of the Eucharist. Therefore He speaks of the present Sacrifice of the Eucharist, and not only of that which was about to take place upon the Cross.
The Sacrifice of the Eucharist, then, is a whole burnt-offering, because in consecrating and eating we offer whole Christ to God. The same is a peace-offering, because by It we ask and obtain peace, that is, all good things from God. The same also is a sin-offering, because it is offered to God, and obtains from Him remission of venial sins and temporal punishments. But It obtains remission of mortal sins indirectly, because It obtains from God prevenient grace and contrition, by which they are blotted out. (See Council of Trent, Sess. 22. q. 2. See also S. Thomas and the Scholastics on the Eucharistic Sacrifice.)
Lastly, to the Blood of Christ rather than to His Body is ascribed remission of sins, although it pertains to both. The reason is, that in the Old Testament expiation is attributed to blood, and in the sin-offering the victim’s blood was poured out. Also by the shedding of His Blood the Death of Christ is signified, which was the all-worthy price, expiation and satisfaction for our sins.
The first reason, then, which moved Christ to institute the Eucharist, was to ordain a most excellent and Divine Sacrament in the New Law, by means of which He might feed the faithful with Divine Food. And that the Church might worthily, by It, as well unceasingly honour and worship God. For the victim which is offered to God in the Eucharistic Sacrifice is of infinite value. It is commensurate and co-equal with God Himself. For the victim is Christ Himself, who is both God and man. God Himself therefore is offered to God. Wherefore, since all our other worship, inasmuch as it is but that of creatures, is poor and worthless, therefore Christ made Himself to be the Victim in the Eucharist, that by It, as being God’s equal, we might render due and equal worship to God, even such as He of right requires. Moreover, this Sacrifice chiefly consists in the consecration. For by it Christ is mystically slain, when His Body and His Blood are severally apportioned (seorsim allocantur)
The second reason was, that He might leave unto us a perpetual exhibition (ideam) of His Life and Passion, to continually stir up in every one the memory of so great a redemption. For in the Eucharist the Blood is consecrated by Itself, and the Body of Christ is consecrated by Itself, that His Passion may thereby be set forth, in which His Blood was shed, and separated from His Body.
The third reason was, the greatness of the love of Christ towards His faithful people, by which, as He united our flesh, hypostatically, in the Incarnation, to His Deity, so in the Eucharist, sacramentally, He unites the same together with His Godhead, to each faithful communicant, and as it were incorporates them, that each may become Divine, and in a certain sense a Christ and God. For as He Himself says in Prov. (viii. 31), “My delights are with the sons of men.”
That by this extremity of love He may entice, yea, compel us, ardently to love Him back. For a “magnet is the love of love.” It was this love which, as a sharp goad, drove S. Laurence to the flames, S. Vincent to the “wooden horse,” S. Sebastian to the arrows, S. Ignatius to the lions, and all the other martyrs bravely to endure and overcome all manner of pains and torments, that they might pay back love for love, life for life death for Christ’s death. This was why they were ambitious of martyrdom, and rejoiced and triumphed in it. And these things were the effect of the Eucharist. This supplied them with strength and gladness in all temptations and sufferings. Wherefore, of old time, the Christians in days of persecution used to communicate daily, that they might strengthen themselves for martyrdom. Indeed, they took the Eucharist home with them, and received It with their own hands (as Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, when she was kept captive in England, and had no Priest with her). Christ before His Passion instituted the Eucharist, that by means of It He might arm the Apostles to meet temptation.
A fourth reason was, that in the Eucharist Christ might give us the opportunity of exercising every virtue. For in it our faith is exercised, when we believe that He who is true God and man is invisibly, but really and truly, contained in a small host. Hope is exercised, because when we believe that Christ giveth Himself unto us, we hope that He will give us all other things, which are far less than Himself. Charity is exercised, because the Eucharist is a furnace of love, which Christ exhales, and breathes upon us, that we may love Him again. Religion is exercised, because we worship and invoke God with the highest form of worship, and sacrifice to Him Christ Himself. Humility is exercised, because we ignore our eyes and senses and natural judgment, which suggests to us that there is only bread and wine in the Eucharist, and humbly submit ourselves to the words of Christ, who says, This is My Body: This is My Blood. Gratitude is exercised, because by it we render highest thanks to God for all His benefits, which is why it is called Eucharist. Abstinence is exercised, because it is not right to communicate otherwise than fasting. Patience and mortification are exercised, because it is a lively mirror of Christ’s sufferings and crucifixion, and so on.
The tropological reason is, that by feeding us with His Divine Flesh, He may call us away from earthly flesh, and its pleasures and concupiscences, that we may live a life that is not carnal, but spiritual and divine, and may say with S. Paul, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” A Christian ought therefore so to live, speak, work, as though it were not he himself, but Christ who is living, speaking, working in him. Let him live, therefore, like an angel, “For man did eat angels’ food.” And S. Cyril of Jerusalem says (Cateches. 4, Myst.), “In the Eucharist we are made concorporate, and of the same blood with Christ.”
Moreover, S. Chrysostom says (Hom. 36, in 1 Cor.), “Where Christ is eucharistically, there is not wanting the frequent presence of angels. Where there is such a King and such a Prince, there is the celestial palace, yea, there is Heaven itself.” Wherefore we read concerning S. Ammon in the Lives of the Fathers, that when he was celebrating, an angel was seen to stand at the altar, sign the communicants with the sign of the cross, and write their names in a book. And S. Chrysostom (lib. 3, de Sacerdotio) relates that choirs of angels have been seen round about the altar, who, with bowed heads, showed deepest reverence to Christ their King, and uttered awe-inspiring voices. When, therefore, we communicate, or say or hear Mass, let us think that we are sitting by the side of Christ at the Last Supper. Let us think that Christ is speaking by the mouth of the Priest, is celebrating, is transubstantiating bread and wine into His Body and Blood, and is feeding us therewith. For it is Christ who is the chief Agent, and works the Eucharistic miracle, as the Council of Trent teaches (Sess. 22).
The anagogical reason is, that Christ, in the Eucharist, gave us a pledge, a prelibation and a foretaste of the celestial inheritance. Wherefore the Church sings, with S. Thomas, in the Office of the Adorable Sacrament, “0 sacred Feast, in which Christ is received, in which the memory of His Passion is recalled, the soul is filled with grace, and to us is given a pledge of future glory.”
S. Thomas says, “In the Eucharist spiritual sweetness is tasted at the very fountain.” This was what S. Francis, S. Monica, S. Catherine of Sienna, and many others were wont to feel at the Holy Eucharist, who were inebriated with heavenly delights, and kept jubilee, exulted, and were rapt in ecstasy, saying with the Psalmist, “My heart and my flesh exult in the living God. For whom have I in Heaven but Thee, and who is there upon earth that I desire in comparison of Thee? God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”
"“My Jesus, my Love, my God, and my all.”"
Again, the Eucharist is the Food of immortality, because by virtue of It our bodies rise to the life immortal, according to that saying of Christ (John vi.), “Whoso eateth of this Bread shall live for ever.”
And our Thomas, taught of God, says in the 4th Book of the Imitation, Whence he gathers (chap. v.), “that when a Priest celebrates devoutly, he honours God, makes glad the angels, builds up the Church, assists the living, affords rest to the departed, and makes himself to have a share in all these good things.” “For what is His goodness, and what is His beauty, unless it be the wheat of the elect, and the wine that bringeth forth virgins?” (Zech. ix. 17) Vulgate.
Ver. 29. I say unto you . . . fruit of the vine;
Christ intended, therefore, by these words only to signify that He, from henceforth, would not sup with His disciples after the accustomed manner; but that this was His last supper, after which He was about to be taken and put to death. You will say that Christ after His Resurrection, in order to prove it to His Apostles, ate with them, and, as it would appear, also drank wine with them. How, then, does He here say that He will no more drink wine with them? I answer, that Christ did indeed both eat and drink with His Apostles after the Resurrection, but only by the way as it were, and to prove to them that He had risen, but not to satisfy the requirements of nature, as He had done before His death. Wherefore, speaking after the manner of men, that reception of food after the Resurrection cannot be counted eating.
And when they had sung an hymn, &c. This, then, was the custom of the ancient Hebrews, to sing hymns at the Paschal Supper, which the Christians afterwards followed, in that after the Eucharist and the Agape, a common feast of charity for all the faithful, they sung hymns and psalms by way of giving thanks to God. This is gathered from S. Paul (Eph. v. 19), and Tertullian eloquently shows the same (Apol. c. 39), and S. Cyprian (Epist. ad Donat.).
The ancient heathen had a similar practice at their feasts, in honour of their gods.
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| Watch and pray. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Ver. 41. Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. Of denying and forsaking Me for fear of the Jews. If my dangers move you not, may your own do so. There hangs over you the great temptation of denying Me; watch and pray to overcome it. “The more spiritual a man is,” says Origen, “the more anxious should he be lest his great goodness should have a great fall.” Watchfulness and prayer are the great means of foreseeing and overcoming the arts of devils and men.
Enter into temptation. Be not ensnared, as birds in a net and fishes with a hook. Not to be tempted is often not in our own power, nor is it God’s will for us. He wills we should be tempted, to try our faith, to increase our virtue, and to crown our deserts. But we must not enter into temptation, so that it should occupy, possess, and rule over us. So Theophylact and S. Jerome.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. I know your readiness in spirit, but your weakness in the flesh. By the flesh is meant our natural feelings, which shrink from suffering and death. Pray, therefore, that your weak flesh may not enfeeble your spirit and compel it to deny Me; but may God by His grace so strengthen both your spirit and your flesh, that ye may not only be ready, but strong to overcome all adversities, so that for My sake ye may eagerly wish for death, and bravely endure it. “The more, therefore,” says S. Jerome, “we trust to the warmth of our feelings, the more let us fear for the weakness of the flesh.”
Ver. 42. He went away again the second time, and prayed... Christ absolutely wished and prayed to drink the cup of His Passion, which was decreed and destined for Him by the will of God. For He plainly and expressly asked that the will of God might be fulfilled in Him in and through all things.
Ver. 43. And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. With sorrow and watching, and afterwards with sleep. “For,” says S. Chrysostom, “it was a wild night,” adding that “Christ did not reprove them, since their weakness was great.”
Ver. 44. And He left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, using the same words. 1st To show the intensity of His sorrow; for, as S. Luke says, He sweated blood, and an angel comforted Him. But this was only when He prayed the third time, and not the first and second time, as Jansen maintains. 2nd To teach us that if God hears us not in our first prayer, we should pray more frequently and fervently, till He hears us, and we obtain our request. Perseverance crowns the work, in prayer especially. And if Christ was not heard in His first and second prayer, what wonder if we are not heard at once? Let us persevere, and we shall gain the fruit of our prayer, strengthening, calming of sorrow, and power of mind to withstand and overcome our trials.
Symbolically: 1. Remigius says, “He prays thrice for the Apostles, and especially for Peter, who was about to deny Him thrice.” 2. Rabanus says “that He prayed thrice, in order that we should ask pardon for past sins, protection in present, and caution in future perils; that we should direct all our prayers to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and that our body, soul, and spirit should be preserved blameless.”
Behold, the hour has arrived. Fixed from eternity by the Father, and decreed for My Passion and death.
And the Son of Man is betrayed, i.e., is about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners—sinners in a special manner, such as Judas and the Jews who were raging against Him. For there was no nation more wicked at that time, and therefore Christ had resolved to be born and die at that very time, in order that He might suffer more atrocious cruelties from such a people. His supreme goodness resolved to do battle with their consummate malice, in order that He might crush in them, as its head, the malice of all men, subject it to Himself, and convert it into goodness. The divine clemency and power of Christ were equally manifested in converting to Himself and making saints of those self-same wicked Jews, by Peter and the other apostles.
Ver. 46. Rise, let us be going: behold, he hath come who will betray Me. He bids them rise, not in order to fly with Him, but to go forth to meet Judas. It is hence clear that Christ was heard in His last prayer; that, comforted of God by the angel, He had thrown off His sadness and sorrow, and went forth to meet Judas and the death of the cross with great and noble resolution. “For,” as Origen says, “He saw in the spirit Judas the traitor drawing nigh, though he was not yet seen by the disciples.” “He therefore in every way teaches His disciples,” says S. Chrysostom, “that this was not a matter of necessity or of weakness, but of a certain incomprehensible dispensation, for He foresaw that they were coming, and so far from flying, He went forth to meet them.”
Christ in thus going forth, as indeed in the whole of His Passion, left three points most worthy of notice. 1st His innocence in boldly going forth to meet His enemies. 2nd His majesty, forethought, and power, wherewith as God He orders and foretells the approach of His enemies, and so moderates their fury that they could do no more than He permitted and foreordained. 3rd The readiness with which He voluntarily met Judas, to show that it was not from weakness or unwillingness, but with the highest dignity, condescension, and generous love that He suffered and died for us. “Rise, let us be going,” to meet Judas; and, as S. Jerome says, “let us go of our own accord to death.”
Morally: Christ here teaches us to arouse ourselves, and go forth to meet our sufferings. It is the act of an heroic mind to weaken by its own resolution the force of any imminent evil, and by voluntarily embracing it to overcome and subdue it. Great evils are more easily overcome by a great mind than minor evils by a small one. As says the poet, “Yield not to trials; boldly go to meet them, as a lion shuts its eyes when rushing on its foes” (Plin. N.H. viii. 16). The cross therefore pursues those who fly from it, and flies those who seek for it As is said of honour.
St Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 26
[1] And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended all these words, he said to his disciples: [2] You know that after two days shall be the pasch, and the son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified:[Mat 26]
[26] And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body. [27] And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. [28] For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. [29] And I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.
[41] Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak. [42] Again the second time, he went and prayed, saying: My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, thy will be done. [43] And he cometh again and findeth them sleeping: for their eyes were heavy. [44] And leaving them, he went again: and he prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word. [45] Then he cometh to his disciples, and saith to them: Sleep ye now and take your rest; behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.
[46] Rise, let us go: behold he is at hand that will betray me.
Évangile : Mathieu 26 :1-2, 26-29, 36-46
Lorsque Jésus eut terminé tout ce discours, il s’adressa à ses disciples : « Vous savez que la Pâque a lieu dans deux jours, et que le Fils de l’homme va être livré pour être crucifié. » Mathieu 26 :1-2
Pendant le repas, Jésus, ayant pris du pain et prononcé la bénédiction, le rompit et, le donnant aux disciples, il dit : « Prenez, mangez : ceci est mon corps. » Puis, ayant pris une coupe et ayant rendu grâce, il la leur donna, en disant : « Buvez-en tous, car ceci est mon sang, le sang de l’Alliance, versé pour la multitude en rémission des péchés. Je vous le dis : désormais je ne boirai plus de ce fruit de la vigne, jusqu’au jour où je le boirai, nouveau, avec vous dans le royaume de mon Père. » Mathieu 26 :26-29
Alors Jésus parvient avec eux à un domaine appelé Gethsémani et leur dit : « Asseyez-vous ici, pendant que je vais là-bas pour prier. » Il emmena Pierre, ainsi que Jacques et Jean, les deux fils de Zébédée, et il commença à ressentir tristesse et angoisse. Il leur dit alors : « Mon âme est triste à en mourir. Restez ici et veillez avec moi. » Allant un peu plus loin, il tomba face contre terre en priant, et il disait : « Mon Père, s’il est possible, que cette coupe passe loin de moi ! Cependant, non pas comme moi, je veux, mais comme toi, tu veux. » Puis il revient vers ses disciples et les trouve endormis ; il dit à Pierre : « Ainsi, vous n’avez pas eu la force de veiller seulement une heure avec moi ? Veillez et priez, pour ne pas entrer en tentation ; l’esprit est ardent, mais la chair est faible. » De nouveau, il s’éloigna et pria, pour la deuxième fois ; il disait : « Mon Père, si cette coupe ne peut passer sans que je la boive, que ta volonté soit faite ! »
Revenu près des disciples, de nouveau il les trouva endormis, car leurs yeux étaient lourds de sommeil. Les laissant, de nouveau il s’éloigna et pria pour la troisième fois, en répétant les mêmes paroles. Alors il revient vers les disciples et leur dit : « Désormais, vous pouvez dormir et vous reposer. Voici qu’elle est proche, l’heure où le Fils de l’homme est livré aux mains des pécheurs. Levez-vous ! Allons ! Voici qu’il est proche, celui qui me livre. » Mt. 26 :36-46
Troisème Semaine: Prières quotidiennes
- Litaniae de Sancto Spiritu: see below.
- Ave Maris Stella: see below.
- Litaniae Sanctissimi Nominis Iesu: see below.
- Oraison à Jésus: see below.
- Prier un Rosaire ou un Chapelet
Litaniae de Sancto Spiritu
From the Coeleste Palmetum, 1741 edition. Courtesy of Thesaurus Precum Latinarum.Kyrie, eleison
R. Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison
R. Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison
R. Kyrie, eleison.
Spiritus sancte a Patre Filioque procedens,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus Domini Deus Israel,
R. Miserere nobis.
Dominator hominum,
R. Miserere nobis.
Replens orbem terrarum,
R. Miserere nobis.
Habens omnem virtutem,
R. Miserere nobis.
Omnia bona operans, et omnia prospiciens,
R. Miserere nobis.
Ornans caelos, stabilis, et securus,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus veritatis omnia suggerens, et distribuens,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus sapientiae et intellectus,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus consilii, fortitudinis, scientiae, et pietatis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus timoris Domini et prudentiae,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus, quo inspirante locuti sunt sancti Dei homines,
R. Miserere nobis.
Quae ventura annuntians,
R. Miserere nobis.
Donum et promissio Patris,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus sancte Paraclite arguens mundum,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus, in quo daemonia eiiciuntur,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus, ex quo renascimur,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus, per quem caritas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus adoptionis filiorum Dei,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus gratiae et misericordiae,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus adiuvans infirmitatem nostram et reddens testimonium spiritui nostro, quod simus filii Dei,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus suavis, benigne, super mel dulcis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus pignus hereditatis nostrae, deducens nos in terram rectam,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus principalis, vivificans et confortans,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus salutis, iudicii et gaudii,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus fidei, pacis, et ardoris,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus humilitatis, caritatis, et castitatis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus benignitatis, bonitatis, longanimitatis, ac mansuetudinis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus lenitatis, veritatis, unitatis ac consolationis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus compunctionis, promissionis, renovationis, ac sanctificationis,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus vitae, patientiae, continentiae, ac modestiae,
R. Miserere nobis.
Spiritus omnium gratiarum,
R. Miserere nobis.
Propitius esto,
R. Parce nobis sancte Spiritus.
Propitius esto,
R. Exaudi nos sancte Spiritus.
A spiritu erroris,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
A spiritu immundo,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
A spiritu blasphemiae,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Ab omni obstinatione et desperatione,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Ab omni praesumptione et veritatis contradictione,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Ab omni malitia, et prava consuetudine,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Ab invidia fraternae caritatis,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
A finali impaenitentia,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per aeternam a Patre et Filio processionem tuam,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per invisibilem unctionem tuam,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per omnem gratiarum plenitudinem, qua Virginem Mariam semper possedisti,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per supereffluentem sanctitatis abyssum, qua conceptione Verbi Matrem Dei inundare fecisti,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per sanctam in baptismo Christi apparitionem tuam,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per salutarem super apostolos adventum tuum,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Per ineffabilem bonitatem tuam, qua Ecclesiam gubernas, concilias Praesides, Martyres corroboras, Doctores illuminas, Religiones instituis,
R. Libera nos, Spiritus Dei vivi.
Peccatores,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut in spiritu ambulemus, et desideria carnis non adimpleamus,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut Te numquam contristemus,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut omnes Ecclesiasticos Ordines in sancta religione, et vero spiritu conservare digneris,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut cuncto populo Christiano cor unum et animam unam donare digneris,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut virtutem omnium complementum nobis donare digneris,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut nos exaudire digneris,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Spiritus Dei,
R. Te rogamus, audi nos.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. Effunde in nos Sanctum Spiritum.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. Emitte in nos promissum Patris Spiritum.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. Da nobis spiritum bonum. (Lk 11:13)
V. Spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum:
R. Et hoc, quod continet omnia, scientiam habet vocis.
Oremus
Adsit nobis, quaesumus Domine, virtus Spiritus Sancti: quae et corda nostra clementer expurget, et ab omnibus tueatur adversis. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate eiusdem Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
Ave Maris Stella
The first verse of the following hymn is said genuflecting.Ave maris stella,
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix cæli porta.
Sumens illud Ave
Gabriélis ore,
Funda nos in pace,
Mutans Hevæ nomen.
Solve vincla reis,
Profer lumen cæcis,
Mala nostra pelle,
Bona cuncta posce.
Monstra te esse matrem,
Sumat per te preces,
Qui pro nobis natus,
Tulit esse tuus.
Virgo singuláris,
Inter omnes mitis,
Nos culpis solútos
Mites fac et castos.
Vitam præsta puram,
Iter para tutum,
Ut vidéntes Iesum,
Semper collætémur.
Sit laus Deo Patri,
Summo Christo decus,
Spirítui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus.
Amen.
Litaniae Sanctissimi Nominis Iesu
The Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus was likely composed in the 15th century by St. John Capistrano (1386-1456) and by St. Bernadine of Siena (1380-1444) who both preached extensively on the devotion to the Name of Jesus. The Litany was approved for private usage by Pope Sixtus V in 1585. The present form was approved by Pope Pius IX for local usage in 1862, and then in 1866 Pope Leo XIII approved it for public use in the Universal Church. A partial indulgence is attached to this prayer. Courtesy of Thesaurus Precum Latinarum.
Kyrie, eleison
R. Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison. Iesu, audi nos
R. Iesu, exaudi nos.
Pater de caelis, Deus,
R. miserere nobis.
Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus,
R. miserere nobis.
Spiritus Sancte, Deus,
R. miserere nobis.
Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, Fili Dei vivi,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, splendor Patris,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, candor lucis aeternae,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, rex gloriae,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, sol iustitiae,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, Fili Mariae Virginis,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, amabilis,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, admirabilis,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, Deus fortis,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, pater futuri saeculi,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, magni consilii angele,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu potentissime,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu patientissime,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu oboedientissime,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, mitis et humilis corde,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, amator castitatis,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, amator noster,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, Deus pacis,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, auctor vitae,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, exemplar virtutum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, zelator animarum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, Deus noster,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, refugium nostrum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, pater pauperum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, thesaure fidelium,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, bone pastor,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, lux vera,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, sapientia aeterna,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, bonitas infinita,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, via et vita nostra,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, gaudium Angelorum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, rex Patriarcharum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, magister Apostolorum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, doctor Evangelistarum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, fortitudo Martyrum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, lumen Confessorum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, puritas Virginum,
R. miserere nobis.
Iesu, corona Sanctorum omnium,
R. miserere nobis.
Propitius esto,
R. parce nobis, Iesu.
Propitius esto,
R. exaudi nos, Iesu.
Ab omni malo,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Ab omni peccato,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Ab ira tua,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Ab insidiis diaboli,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
A spiritu fornicationis,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
A morte perpetua,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
A neglectu inspirationum tuarum,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per mysterium sanctae Incarnationis tuae,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per nativitatem tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per infantiam tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per divinissimam vitam tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per labores tuos,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per agoniam et passionem tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per crucem et derelictionem tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per languores tuos,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per mortem et sepulturam tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per resurrectionem tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per ascensionem tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per sanctissimae Eucharistiae institutionem tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per gaudia tua,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Per gloriam tuam,
R. libera nos, Iesu.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. parce nobis, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. exaudi nos, Iesu.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
R. miserere nobis, Iesu.
Iesu, audi nos.
R. Iesu, exaudi nos.
Oremus;
Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixisti: Petite et accipietis; quaerite et invenietis; pulsate et aperietur vobis; quaesumus, da nobis petentibus divinissimi tui amoris affectum, ut te toto corde, ore et opere diligamus et a tua numquam laude cessemus.
Sancti Nominis tui, Domine, timorem pariter et amorem fac nos habere perpetuum, quia numquam tua gubernatione destituis, quos in soliditate, tuae dilectionis instituis. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Make us, O Lord, to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy name, for Thou never failest to govern those who Thou dost solidly establish in Thy love. Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.
Oraison à Jésus (de Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort)
Mon aimable Jésus, permettez-moi de m’adresser à vous pour vous témoigner la reconnaissance où je suis de la grâce que vous m’avez faite, en me donnant à votre sainte Mère par la dévotion de l’esclavage, pour être mon avocate auprès de votre Majesté, et mon supplément universel dans ma très grande misère. Hélas! Seigneur, je suis si misérable que, sans cette bonne Mère, je serais infailliblement perdu. Oui, Marie m’est nécessaire auprès de vous, partout: nécessaire pour vous calmer dans votre juste colère, puisque je vous ai tant offensé tous les jours; nécessaire pour arrêter les châtiments éternels de votre justice que je mérite; nécessaire pour vous regarder, pour vous parler, vous prier, vous approcher et vous plaire; nécessaire pour sauver mon âme et celle des autres; nécessaire, en un mot, pour faire toujours votre sainte volonté et procurer en tout votre plus grande gloire. Ah! que ne puis-je publier par tout l’univers cette miséricorde que vous avez eue envers moi! Que tout le monde ne connaît-il que, sans Marie, je serais déjà damné! Que ne puis-je rendre de dignes actions de grâces d’un si grand bienfait! Marie est en moi, haec facta es mihi. Oh! quel trésor! Oh! quelle consolation! Et je ne serais pas, après cela, tout à elle! Oh! quelle ingratitude, mon cher Sauveur! Envoyez-moi plutôt la mort que ce malheur m’arrive: car j’aime mieux mourir que de vivre sans être tout à Marie. Je l’ai mille et mille fois prise pour tout mon bien avec saint Jean l’Evangéliste, au pied de la croix et je me suis autant de fois donné à elle; mais, si je ne l’ai pas encore bien fait selon vos désirs, mon cher Jésus, je le fais maintenant comme vous le voulez que je le fasse; et si vous voyez en mon âme et mon corps quelque chose qui n’appartienne pas à cette auguste Princesse, je vous prie de me l’arracher et de le jeter loin de moi, puisque, n’étant pas à Marie, il est indigne de vous.
Ô Saint-Esprit! Accordez-moi toutes ces grâces et plantez, arrosez et cultivez en mon âme l’aimable Marie, qui est l’Arbre de vie véritable, afin qu’il croisse, qu’il fleurisse et apporte du fruit de vie avec abondance.
Ô Saint-Esprit! Donnez-moi une grande dévotion et un grand penchant vers votre divine Epouse, un grand appui sur son sein maternel et un recours continuel à sa miséricorde, afin qu’en elle vous formiez en moi Jésus-Christ au naturel, grand et puissant, jusqu’à la plénitude de son âge parfait. Ainsi soit-il.
Ô Jésus vivant en Marie
Ô Jésus vivant en Marie, venez et vivez en nous, en votre esprit de sainteté, en la plénitude de vos dons, en la perfection de vos voies, en la vérité de vos vertus, en la communion de vos mystères. Dominez en nous sur toutes les puissances ennemies, le monde, le démon et la chair, en la vertu de votre Esprit et pour la gloire de votre Père. Amen.
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