Lamentation for the burial of Christ

Where are you going, carried by you, Sweetest Jesus? Where are you going from us, our Hope and Refuge? Where are you hiding from our eyes, our Light, the never-setting Sun? How do you recognize Your sunset? Stop, you who bear Him Who carries the whole world in His hand! Stop, you who bear the One who bore the sinful burden of the entire human race! Bearers, stop, seeing on the Cross the One by whom the sun and moon are set in their place. Do not forbid us, children, from coming to the Father, even if he is already dead. Do not forbid your children to cry for the common Parent of all, Who gave birth to us with His Blood! Let us shed at least a few tear drops over Him Who poured out streams of His Blood from His entire Body for us and water with Blood from His ribs. Oh what do I see? A terrible, terrible vision! Oh what I see! I see what the eyes of our forefathers have not seen since the beginning of time. Who has ever seen God naked, beaten, crowned with thorns, drunk with sap and gall, wounded with nails and a spear, and dead? Be terrified at this, you who fear heaven, and let the foundations of the earth shake (Jer. 2:12). What do I see? I see a lifeless God, a dead Giver of Life, a darkened Light, a saddened Sweetness, the most beautiful of all the sons of men (Ps. 44:3); I see a not majestic appearance: He was despised and humbled above all the sons of men (Is. 53:3). I see the Most Pure, Most Blessed Body of my Christ, inexpressibly born of the Most Pure, Most Blessed Virgin, the Body - all bloodied, all wounded, torn like sackcloth, not intact from head to toe. The most pure head is wounded, that head which with its wisdom arranges everything, controls everything and invents wondrous conveniences for desperate human salvation, this head is wounded to the brain by sharp thorns. Now we see the Word of God caught among thorns, and the thorns grew up and crushed it (Matthew 13:7). Now we see the fulfillment of the ancient words of God to man, who said: Cursed is the ground for your deeds; it will bring forth thorns and thistles for you (Gen. 3:17-18). Behold, the accursed land has grown thorns on the head of my Jesus! The eyes darkened, those eyes that mercifully looked at everyone, from whose bright gaze those who loved Him rejoiced, the sad ones were comforted and sinners turned to repentance: these eyes are filled with tears and Blood and are surrounded by death. The most pure, bright, God-like face, which, illuminated on Tabor by the glory of the Divine, shone like the sun, darkened. This face is now spat upon, dishonored, struck by a strong hand and filled with blue: Your beauty has disappeared, O Beautiful, Most Lovable! Sweet lips, from which flowed a stream of heavenly sweetness, words sweeter than honey and honeycomb, fell silent, saddened by honey and bile. The tongue of God has fallen silent, the throat of the Divine voice has fallen silent, silence has been imposed on the word of God. Who will console those who cry? Who will heal the sick with a word and raise the dead? Who will say to a sinner: Her many sins are forgiven (Luke 7:47)? The hands were wounded, at the touch of which death trembled, which were a healing plaster for all ailments, in which the small loaves were multiplied to abundance to feed thousands of people. These hands, wounded by long iron nails, turned blue from being tied. The hands that created man have been inhumanly tormented by man. The feet that walked on the waters as if on dry land were wounded; the sinner, known to all, washed them with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head, and received forgiveness of many of her sins; those feet of which, if anyone is worthy to be a footstool, he will be above the whole world. These feet were also pierced through with long iron nails, so that His feet were drenched in Blood. The life-giving ribs of the One who created from a rib a helper to our forefather Adam were pierced. Now He, the Heavenly Bridegroom, creates for Himself from His side a beloved Bride, our dear Mother, His Holy Church, in order to give birth to many children by water and the Spirit (see Luke 3:16). Our Lord called Himself the Door, saying: I am the Door: whoever enters by Me will be saved (John 10:9). And he also said: Knock, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). But there is no longer any need to knock on it, for the military hand pushed it and opened it wide: One of the soldiers pierced His ribs with a spear (John 19:34). This Door is already open: let anyone who wants to enter it and come out and find pasture (John 10:9). The ribs were pierced with a sharp, iron, long spear, which, having passed through the length of the insides, reached the very heart and wounded - wounded the heart, which was the source and beginning of all love, wounded the heart of Him who, having loved His own who were in the world, loved them to the end (John 3:1). A compassionate, merciful, compassionate heart for the needy is wounded. The world wounded the heart of Christ because Christ loved the world with all his heart. Now we know how Christ loved the ungrateful world with all his heart: God so loved the world that he gave (the heart) of His only begotten Son (John 3:16). The heart of Christ was greatly inflamed, and kindled by love for man, burning immeasurably, and in order to cool down a little from that heat, He deigned to take cold iron inside His heart, so that the cold wind would pass through the warmth of the heart: He opened his ribs like a door, and his heart, having accepted the wound, became like an open window. Arise, O north, and come, O south, and breathe into the heart of Him who loved us, who burns mortally with immeasurable love for us. Scripture called Christ God Fire, saying: Our God is a consuming Fire! (Deut.4:24). God is Fire both because He gives light to everyone and because He warms everyone, and nothing can be hidden from His warmth (Ps. 18:7). That Fire, strongly heated by love for the human race, is cooled by its own sources - Blood and water flowing from the ribs. Moses once struck a stone in the desert with a rod, and waters flowed: a warrior struck the side of the Stone of Christ with a spear, and immediately Blood and water flowed out (John 19:34). O tormenting hand that dared to painfully touch the side of Christ! O hearts of stone that decided to commit such a murder! But the time will come when they will look at Him whom they pierced (John 19:37). Our Lord flowed from His most pure ribs two sources: Blood and water. Water is for our washing, and Blood is for sanctification, water is for quenching our thirst, and Blood is for our healing. Thirsty, all of you go to the waters (Isa. 55:1), sick in soul and body, come to the healing Blood of the Immaculate Lamb of Christ: not by His glory, but by His stripes we were healed (1 Peter 2:24). Who were the people who sucked honey from the stone (Deut. 32:13)? O our dearest Stone, Christ! We drink sweetness from Your most pure ribs. O sweetness, sweetness, with which we always want to be satisfied with an insatiable desire! O sweetness, sweetness, which we always strive to enjoy with the most loving love! Word of God, Son of the Virgin! You are all desire, all sweetness! You are our Father, for you gave us birth to life by Your death: You are our Mother, for you nourish us with Your love; We are Your children, sucking Your Blood like milk. O sweetness, most desirable sweetness! O sweetness, most amiable sweetness! Neither our eyes want to turn away to any other place from the vision of Your wounds that are dear to us, nor our lips want to deviate anywhere from kissing Your sweet wounds to us, nor does our heart want to cleave to anything other than You. If anyone loves anything else, let him love as he wants, but it is good for us to cleave to You, our God (Ps. 73:28). O sweetness, sweetness that cannot be defined by any language! O sweetness, sweetness, inscrutable by any language! This accursed world, lying all in evil (see 1 John 5:19), is filled with bitterness beyond measure, but our Lord opened in His ribs a source of indescribable sweetness, incomparably superior to all sensual sweetness, wanting to sweeten the wormwood and bile world. But alas for me! This sweetness is neglected in vain. O world, damned world! How do you want to sweeten your bitterness if you despise this sweetness? But I neglect the bustle world, I look at myself. I see before my eyes God calling out to me with his wounds, as if with his lips: I loved you, love me too; I do not demand anything else from you except love, and I seek only your love; I was born for you; I have labored since my youth for your sake; I hungered, thirsted and fasted for your sake; suffered and tasted bitterness and gall for your sake; crucified, received wounds and died for you; for all this, I do not want to receive anything, as long as you love Me. I love You, Lord, my strength! The Lord is my stronghold and my refuge (Ps. 17:2-3). What else can we love besides You, our most dear Lord, by whom we desire to be loved in all ages? How else shall we sweeten our bitterness, if not You, Sweetest Jesus, with Whom we hope to be sweetly satisfied throughout our endless life? Only You Yourself have instilled in us the love that You desire, give us so that we love You and love You. Grant to us that we desire You and thirst for You, dissolve us into Your love, Word of God, Only Begotten! Let the nails and the spear with which You, Lord, were wounded for the sake of love for us, be driven into our hearts so that we love You, the Lord. May Your wounds, Jesus, teach our hearts to be wounded in love towards You. May Thy love, O Lord, captivate us into Thy love. Draw us, and we will run after You (Song. 1:3). I too will follow You along with everyone, O Love that conquers every desire, Jesus! You are the Body, but let us be buried with You in our hearts! Let the Sepulcher be the Sepulcher of Your Most Pure Body, and let Your Most Pure Wounds be the Sepulcher and Burial of our hearts. We know that on the third day You will come out of the Tomb, but let our hearts not leave Your most pure wounds until we move into our Tomb. After all, what could be more desirable for our hearts, what is more kind, what is sweeter than Your most pure wounds, which we contemplate with tears with our eyes, touch, although unworthy, with love with our hearts, and sweetly kiss with our lips? Amen.