O eyes of our loved one,
closed in the sleep of death!
O face,
on whom the angels longed to gaze,
now become pale.
O lips,
which like a honeycomb exuded words of eternal life,
now become livid.
O head,
before which the angels trembled,
now hanging limp.
Of those hands and whose touch
leprosy was cured,
life was restored,
eyesight was recovered,
devils were put to flight,
bread was multiplied –
are now pierced with nails and
stained with the precious blood!
O, the compassion of divine clemency!
O, the patience of the Father’s goodness!
O, the profound and inscrutable mystery of the divine will!
Father, you have seen your only son, equal to you,
bound like a criminal to a pillar
and scourged like a murderer.
How could you have borne this?
We thank you, Holy Father,
because the sufferings and scourges of
your beloved Son
have freed us from the shackles of sin
and from the power of evil. To you be glory for all ages. Amen.
Saint Anthony of Padua (taken from two of his sermons)
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