Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
April 10, 2020
Today, in Mercy, we pray within the incomprehensible Love Who is Jesus.
A most beautiful hymn from the Good Friday liturgy is the Popule Meus.
Popule Meus, also known as the ‘Improperia‘ or the ‘Reproaches,‘ is the hymn sung after the Adoration of the Cross on Good Friday. Christ reproaches the People, contrasting the innumerable favors God has bestowed upon them with the injuries He has received from their hands. Where God led them to the Chosen Land, the Peole led Him to the Cross. Where God gave a royal scepter, the People returned a crown of thorns.
This prayer focuses us on our own relationship with God. We too are Children of the Promise. How have we responded? How do we find ourselves as we kneel before the Cross?
The Trisagion prayer is an ancient chant repeated within the Popule Meus. It is a verse we can repeat as a mantra whenever we meditate on the Cross.
Ágios o Theos.
Ágios íschyros.
Ágios athánatos, eléison imas.
Holy God,
Holy Mighty One,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us.
During the hours from Noon until 3:00 on this Good Friday, and since we are inhibited from Church attendance, some may wish to read parts of the Good Friday liturgy. I found this site with a complete service. However, the book is formatted in such a way that you must skip from side to side to follow in order. It’s not hard, just look for the page numbers in the lower left of each page.
(I was not particularly fond of the hymns offered in this program. So in a second post today, I have listed Handel’s meditations on the Passion and Death of Christ for your prayerful listening)
