THE LENTEN GOSPELS

FOR

DAILY MEDITATION

DURING THE

HOLY SEASON OF LENT

Printed and distributed by Our Sunday Visitor

Hunting-ton, Indiana



IMPRIMATUR

:

i* JOHN FRANCIS NOLL, D. D.,

Bishop of Fort Wayne.



FOREWORD

The best subject for meditation during* the Holy
Season of Lent is found in the life of Our Lord, as
narrated in the four gospels. A pericope is a section
of the gospels, or of any other of the biblical books,
which is selected for reading and meditation. The
pericopes of the proper of the Lenten Masses are here
collected, so that the devout reader may during the
days of Lent have at hand the pericopes of the daily
gospels taken from the Lenten Masses.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy
Saturday. The Sundays which occur during this season
are not counted as Lenten days. It will therefore be

found that the forty pericopes of Lent are read only

on the week days of the season. In the following
calendar is found the numbering of the forty days of

Lent, which numbers are found at the head of the fol-

lowing forty pericopes. The devout reader will aline

this calendar with the current calendar, and thus daily

read the gospel of the day, as found in the missal.

Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat.

Ash

Wed.

2 3 4

First Sunday 5 6 7 8 9 10

Second Sunday 11 12 13 14 15 16

Third Sunday 17 18 19 20 21 22

Fourth Sunday 23 24 25 26 27 28

Passion Sunday 29 30 31 32 33 34

Palm Sunday 35 36 37 38 39
~40~

Easter Sunday

Before reading the pericope of the Lenten day, say a

short prayer, and then read the pericope devoutly and

slowly, pondering on the words and keeping them in

mind. After having read the pericope, begin to medi-

tate on the gospel, and now and then re-read the

words or sentence or sentences, which impressed your



soul. In this manner you spend this holy season in

the spirit of Holy Mother Church, and draw a great

amount of grace for your soul, and give great glory

to God. So did the holy souls in the past, and so

should we all do, in order to profit by the holy Season

of Lent.



THE LENTEN GOSPELS

FOR DAILY MEDITATION

DURING THE

HOLY SEASON OF LENT

1—ASH WEDNESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 6.

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: When you
fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure

their face, that they may appear unto men to fast.
Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head and wash

thy face; that thou appear not to men to fast, but to

thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth

in secret will repay thee. Lay not up to yourselves

treasures on earth, where the rust and moth consume,

and where thieves break through and steal. But lay

up to yourselves treasures in heaven, whether neither

the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves

do not break through nor steal. For where thy trea-

sure is, there is thy heart also.

2—THURSDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 8.

At that time, when Jesus had entered into Caphar-

naum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him,

and saying: Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of

the palsy, and is grievously tormented. And Jesus



6 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

saith to him: I will come and heal him. And the cen-
turion making answer said: Lord, I am not worthy
that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say
the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also>
am a man under authority, having under me soldiers,*:
and I say to this: Go, and he goeth; and to another:

Come, and he cometh; and to my servant: Do this, and
he doth it. And Jesus hearing this, marvelled, and

said to them that followed him: Amen, I say to you,

I have not found so great faith in Israel. And I say

to you, that many shall come from the east and the

west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and

Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of

the kingdom shall be cast out into exterior darkness:

there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And

Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as thou hast be-

lieved, so be it done to thee. And the servant was

healed at the same hour.

3—FRIDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 5 & 6.

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: You have

heard that it hath been said: Thou shalt love thy

neighbour, and hate thy enemy. But I say to you:

love your enemies, do good to them that hate you,

and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you;

that you may be the children of your Father who is

in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good

and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust. For

if you love them that love you, what reward shall you

have? do not even the publicans this? And if you

salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not

also the heathens this? Be you therefore perfect, as

also your heavenly F'ather is perfect. Take heed that

you do not your justice before men to be seen by them:

otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father

who is in heaven. Therefore, when thou dost an alms-



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 7

deed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypo-

crites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that

they may be honoured by men. Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward. But when thou dost

alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand

doth; that thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father,
who seeth in secret, will repay thee.

4—SATURDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Mark, c. 6.

At that time: When it was late, the ship was in the
midst of the sea, and Jesus alone on the land. And

seeing them labouring in rowing (for the wind was

against them), and about the fourth watch of the

night, he cometh to them, walking upon the sea, and

he would have passed by them. But they seeing him

walking upon the sea, thought it was an apparition,

and they cried out. For they all saw him, and were

troubled. And immediately he spoke with them, and

said to them: Have a good heart, it is I, fear ye not.

And he went up to them into the ship, and the wind

ceased; and they were far more astonished within

themselves. For they understood not concerning the

loaves; for their heart was blinded. And when they

had passed over, they came into the land of Genezar-

eth, and set to the shore. And when they were gone

out of the ship, immediately they knew him. And

running through that whole country, they began to

carry about in beds those that were sick, where they

heard he was. And whithersoever he entered, into

towms or villages or cities, they laid the sick in the

streets, and besought him that they might touch but

the hem of his garment; and so many as touched him

were made whole.



8 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

5—MONDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Mathtew, c. 25.

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: When the
Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his

majesty. And all nations shall be gathered together

before him, and he shall separate them one from an-

other, as the shepherd separaeth the sheep from the

goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand,

but the goats on his left. Then shall the King say to

them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed

of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world. For I was

hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and

you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took

me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and you
visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.

Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when

did we see thee hungry, and fed thee? thirsty, and

gave thee drink? And when did we see thee a strang-

er, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? or

when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to

thee? And the King answering, shall say to them:

Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of

these my least brethren, you did it to me. Then shall
he say to them also that shall be on his left hand:

Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire,

which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For

I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat; I was

thirsty, and you gave me not to drink; I was a

stranger, and you took me not in; naked, and you

covered me not; sick, and in prison, and you did not

visit me. Then they also shall answer him, saying:

Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a

stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not

minister to thee? Then he shall answer them, saying:

Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it not to one



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 9

of these least, neither did you it to me. And these

shall go into everlasting punishment; but the just,

into life everlasting.

6—TUESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 21.

At that time: When he was come into Jerusalem,

the whole city was moved, saying: Who is this? And
the people said: This is Jesus the prophet, from Naz-

areth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of

God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the

temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-chang-

ers, and the chairs of them that sold doves. And he

saith to them: It is written: My house shall be
called the house of prayer: but you have made it a

den of thieves. And there came to him the blind and

the lame in the temple: and he healed them. And the

chief priests and scribes seeing the wonderful things

that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and

saying: Hosanna to the son of David; were moved with

indignation, and said to him: Hearest thou what these

say? And Jesus said to them: Yea, have you never

read: Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings thou

hast perfected praise? And leaving them, he went out
of the city into Bethania, and remained there.

7—WEDNESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 12.

At that time: Some of the scribes and pharisees
answered Jesus, saying: Master, we would see a sign
from thee. Who answering said to them: An evil and
adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall

not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the Prophet.

For as Jonas was in the whale’s belly three days and



10 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

three nights, so shall the Son of man be in the heart

of the earth three days and three nights. The men

of Ninive shall rise in judgment with this generation,

and shall condemn it: because they did penance at the

preaching of Jonas; and behold a greater than Jonas

here. The queen of the south shall rise in judgment

with this generation, and shall condemn it, because

she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wis-

dom of Solomon; and behold a greater than Solomon

here. When an unclean spirit is gone out of a man,
he walketh through dry places, seeking rest and find-

eth none. Then he saith: I will return into my house,
from whence I came out. And coming, he findeth

it empty, swept, and garnished. Then he goeth, and

taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked

than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and

the last state of that man is made worse than the

first. So shall it be also to this wicked generation.

As he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold

his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking

to speak to him. And one said unto him: Behold

thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking

thee. But he answering him that told him, said: Who
is my mother, and who are my brethren ? And
stretching forth his hand towards his disciples, he

said: Behold my mother and my brethren; for who-
soever shall do the will of my F'ather that is in
heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.

8—THURSDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 15.

At that time: Jesus went from thence, and retired

into the coasts of Tyre and Sid on. And behold a

woman of Canaan who came out of those coasts crying

out, said to him: Have mercy on me, 0 Lord, thou

Son of David: my daughter is grievously troubled by
a devil. Who answered her not a word. And his



FOR DAILY MEDICATION 11

disciples came and besought him, saying: Send her

away, for she crieth after us. And he answering, said:

I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the

house of Israel. But she came and adored him, say-

ing: Lord, help me. Who answering, said: It is not

good to take the bread of the children, and to cast

it to the dogs. But she said: Yea, Lord; for the

whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the

table of their masters. Then Jesus answering, said

to her: 0 woman, great is thy faith: be it done to

thee as thou wilt. And her daughter was cured from

that hour.

9—FRIDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 5.

At that time: there was a festival day of the Jews,

and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Je-
rusalem a pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew

is named Bethsaida, having five porches. In these

lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of

withered, waiting for the moving of the water. And

an Angel of the Lord descended at certain times into

the pond: and the water was moved. And he that

went down first into the pond after the motion of

the water, was made whole of whatsoever infirmity

he lay under. And there was a certain man there, that

had been eight-and-thirty years under his infirmity.

Him when Jesus had seen lying, and knew that he
had been now a long time, he saith to him: Wilt thou

be made whole? The infirm man answered him: Sir,
I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me
into the pond; for whilst I am coming, another goeth
down before me. Jesus saith to him: Arise, take up

thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was
made whole; and he took up his bed and walked.

And it was the Sabbath that day. The Jews therefore
said to him that was healed: It is the Sabbath, it



THE LENTEN GOSPELS12

is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed. He answered
them: He that made me whole, he said to me: Take
up thy bed and walk. They asked him, therefore:

Who is that man who said to thee: Take up thy bed,
and walk? But he who was healed, knew not who

it was: for Jesus went aside from the multitude stand-

ing in the place. Afterwards Jesus findeth him in

the temple, and saith to him: Behold thou art made

whole: 'sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to

thee. The man went his way, and told the Jews
that it was Jesus who had made him whole.

10—SATURDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 17.

And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter

and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them

up into a high mountain apart; and he was trans-

figured before them. And his face did shine as the

sun; and his garments became white as snow. And

behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talk-

ing with him. And Peter answering said to Jesus:

Lord it is good for us to be here; if thou wilt let us

make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for

Moses, and one for Elias.

And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud

overshadowed them. And, lo, a voice out of the cloud,

saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased: hear ye him. And the disciples hearing, fell

upon their face, and were very much afraid. And

Jesus came and touched them, and said to them: Arise,

and fear not. And they lifted up their eyes and saw

no one but only Jesus. And as they came down from

the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the

vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from

the dead.



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 13

11—MONDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 8.

At that time: Jesus said to the multitude of the

Jews: I go, and you shall seek me, and you shall die

in your sin. Whither I go, you cannot come. The

Jews, therefore, said: Will he kill himself, because he

said: Whither I go, you cannot come? And he said

to them: You are from beneath, I am from above.
You are of this world, I am not of this world. There-

fore I said to you, that you shall die in your sins.

For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in
your sin. They said therefore to him: Who art thou?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak

unto you. Many things I have to speak and to judge

of you. But he that sent me is true; and the things

I have heard of him, these same I speak in the world.

And they understood not that he called God his Father.

Jesus therefore said to them: When you shall have
lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I

am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the
Father hath taught me, these things I speak: and he

that sent me is with me, and he hath not left me
alone: for I do always the things that please him.

12—TUESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 23.

At that time: Jesus spoke to the multitudes and

to his disciples, saying: The scribes and the pharisees

have sitten on the chair of Moses. All things therefore

whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do; but

according to their works, do ye not; for they say, and

do not. For they bind heavy and insupportable bur-

dens, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but with a



14 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

finger of their own they will not move them. And all

their works they do to be seen of men: for they make

their phylacteries broad, and enlarge their fringes.

And they love the first places at feasts, and the first

chairs in the synagogues, and salutations in the mar-

ket-places, and to be called by men, Rabbi. But be

not you called Rabbi; for one is your master, and all

you are brethren. And call none your father upon

earth; for one is your Father, who is in heaven.

Neither be ye called masters; for one is your Master,

Christ. He that is the greatest among you, shall be

your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself,

shall be humbled; and he that shall humble himself,

shall be exalted.

13—WEDNESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 20.

At that time: Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the

twelve disciples apart, and said to them: Behold we

go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be be-
trayed to the chief priests and the scribes, and they

shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him

to the Gentiles, to be mocked, and scourged, and cru-

cified, and the third day he shall rise again. Then

came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee, with

her sons, adoring and asking something of him. Who
said to her: What wilt thou? She saith to him: Say
that these my two sons may sit the one on thy right
hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom. And

Jesus answering, said: You know not what you ask.

Can you drink the chalice that I shall drink? They

said to him: We can. He saith to them: My chalice,
indeed, you shall drink; but to sit on my right or left
hand is not mine to give to you, but to them for whom
it is prepared by my Father. And the ten hearing it,
were moved with indignation against the two brethren.

But Jesus called them to him, and said: You know



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 15

that the princes of the gentiles lord it over them; and

they that are the greater, exercise power over them.

It shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be

the greater among you, let him be your minister; and

he that will be first among you, shall be your servant.

Even as the Son of man is not come to be ministered

unto, but to minister, and to give his life a redemp-

tion for many.

‘ 14—THURSDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Luke, c. 16.

At that time: Jesus said to the pharisees: There

was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and

fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. And

there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay

at his gate full of sores; desiring to be filled with

the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table; and

no one did give him: moreover the dogs came and

licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar

died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s

bosom. And the rich man also died, and he was buried

in hell. And lifting up his eyes, when he was in tor-

ments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his

bosom. And he cried and said: Father Abraham, have

mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the
tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue, for I am
tormented in this flame. And Abraham said to him:

Son, remember that thou didst receive good things in

thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now

he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And besides

all this, between us and you there is fixed a great

chaos; so that they who would pass from hence to you

cannot, nc»r from thence come hither. And he said:
Then, father, I beseech thee that thou wouldst send

him to my father’s house; for I have five brethren.,
that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into
this place of torments. And Abraham said to him:



16 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

Then have Moses and the prophets; let them hear

them. But he said: No, father Abraham, but if any

one went to them from the dead, they will do penance.

And he said to him: If they hear not Moses and the

prophets, neither will they believe if one rise again

from the dead.

15—FRIDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 21.

At that time: Jesus spoke this parable to the multi-

tude of the Jews and the chief priests: There was a

man an householder who planted a vineyard, and made

a hedge round about it, and dug in it a press, and built

a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into

a strange country. And when the time of the fruits

drew nigh, he sent his servants to the husbandmen,

that they might receive the fruits thereof: and the

husbandmen laying hands on his servants, beat one,

and killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent

other servants more than the former, and they did to

them in like manner; and last of all he sent to them

his son, saying: They will reverence my son. But the
husbandmen seeing the son, said among themselves:

This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and we shall

have his inheritance; and taking him they cast him

forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. When there-
fore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he

do to those husbandmen? They say to him: He will

bring those evil men to an evil end, and will let out

his vineyard to other husbandmen, that shall render

him the fruit in due season. Jesus saith to them:

Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone

which the builders rejected, the same is become the

head of the corner? By the Lord this has been done,

and it is wonderful in our eyes. Therefore I say to

you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you,

and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits there-



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 1?

of. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be

broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind

him to powder. And when the chief priests and

pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he

spoke of them; and seeking to lay hands on him, they

feared the multitudes, because they held him as a

prophet.

16—SATURDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Luke, c. 15.

At that time: Jesus spoke to the pharisees and

scribes this parable: A certain man had two sons;
and the younger of them said to his father: Father,

give me the portion of substance that falleth to me.

And he divided unto them his substance. And not

many days after, the younger son gathering all to-

gether, went abroad into a far country: and there

wasted his substance living riotously. And after he

had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that

country, and he began to be in want. And he went,

and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country.

And he sent him into his farm to feed swine. And he

would fain have filled his belly with the husks the

swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And re-
turning to himself, he said: How many hired servants
in my father’s house abound with bread, and I here
perish with hunger? I will arise, and will go to my
father, and say to him: F'ather, I have sinned against

heaven, and before thee: I am not now worthy to be
called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
And rising up, he came to his father. And when he
was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was
moved with compassion, and running to him, fell upon

his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before

thee: I am not now worthy to be called thy son. And
the father said to his servants: Bring forth quickly

the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on

his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the



18 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry:

because this my son was dead, and is come to life
again; was lost, and is found. And they began to be

merry. Now his elder son was in the field, and when
he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music

and dancing: and he called one of the servants, and

asked what these things meant. And he said to him:

Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the

fatted calf, because he hath received him safe. And

he was angry, and would not go in. His father there-

fore coming out, began to entreat him. And he answer-

ing, said to his father: Behold, for so many years do

I serve thee, and I have never transgressed thy com-

mandment, and yet thou hast never given me a kid

to make merry with my friends; but as soon as this
thy son is come, who hath devoured his substance with

harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. But

he said to him: Son, thou art always with me, and

all I have is thine. But it was fit that we should

make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was

dead, and is come to life again; he was lost, and

is found.

17—MONDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Luke, c. 4.

At that time: Jesus said to the pharisees: Doubt-

less you will say to me this similitude: Physician, heal
thyself; as great things as we have heard done in

Capharnaum, do also here in thy own country. And

he said: Amen, I say to you, that no prophet is ac-

cepted in his own country. In truth, I say to you,

there were many widows in the days of Elias in Israel,

when heaven was shut up three years and six months,

when there was a great famine throughout all the

earth: and to none of them was Elias sent, but to

Sarephta of Sidon, to a widow woman. And there were

many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the pro-
phet; and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 19

Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, hearing these

things, were filled with anger and they rose up and

thrust him out of the city; and they brought him to

the brow of the hill, whereon their city was built that

they might cast him down headlong. But he passing

through the midst of them, went his way.

18—TUESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 18.

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: If thy

brother shall offend thee, go, and rebuke him between

thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt

gain thy brother; and if he will not hear thee, take

with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two

or three witnesses every word may stand; and if he

will not hear them, tell the church; and if he will not

hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen

and publican. Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall
bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven: and

whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed

also in heaven. Again, I say to you, that if two of

you shall consent upon earth, concerning any thing

whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them

by my Father, who is in heaven; for where there are
two or three gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them. Then came Peter unto
him, and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend
against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times,

but till seventy times seven times.

19—WEDNESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Matthew, c. 15.

At that time: The scribes and pharisees came to

Jesus from Jerusalem saying: Why do thy disciples
transgress the tradition of the ancients? For they

wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he



20 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

answering, said to them: Why do you also transgress
the commandment of God for your tradition? For

God said: Honour thy father and mother; and: He

that shall curse father or mother let him die the death.

But you say: Whosoever shall say to father or mother:

The gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit

thee; and he shall not honour his father or his mother:

and you have made void the commandment of God

for your tradition. Hypocrites, well hath Isaias pro-

phesied of you, saying: This people honoureth me
with their lips, but their heart is far from me: and

in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and

commandments of men. And having called together

the multitudes unto him, he said to them: Hear ye

and understand. Not that which goeth into the mouth,

defileth a man; but what cometh out of the mouth,

this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said

to him: Dost thou know that the pharisees, when they

heard this word, were scandalized? But he answering

said: Every plant which my heavenly Father hath
not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they

are blind, and leaders of the blind. And if the blind

lead the blind, both fall into the pit. And Peter answer-

ing, said to him: Expound to us this parable. But he

said: Are you also yet without understanding? Do

you not understand that whatsoever entereth into tho

mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the

privy ? But the things which proceed out of the mouth,

come forth from the heart, and those things defile a

man. For from the heart come forth evil thoughts,

murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testi-

monies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile

a man. But to eat with unwashed hands doth not de-

file a man.

20—THURSDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Luke, c. 4.

At that time: Jesus rising up out of the synagogue,

went into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 21

was taken with a great fever, and they besought him

for her. And standing over her, he commanded the

fever, and it left her. And immediately rising, she

ministered to them. And when the sun was down, all

they that had any sick with divers diseases brought

them to him. But he, laying his hands on every one

of them, healed them. And devils went out from many,

crying out and saying: Thou art the Son of God. And

rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, for

they knew that he was Christ. And when it was

day, going out, he went into a desert place, and the

multitudes sought him, and came unto him; and they

stayed him that he should not depart from them. To

whom he said: To other cities also I must preach the
kingdom of God; for therefore am I sent. And he
was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

21—FRIDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 4.

At that time: Jesus came to a city of Samaria which

is called Sichar, near the land which Jacob gave to

his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus
therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on

the well. It was about the sixth hour. There cometh

a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith to
her: Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone
into the city to buy meats.) Then that Samaritan

woman saith to him: How dost thou, being a Jew, ask
of me to drink, who am a Samaritan woman? For
the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans.

Jesus answered and said to her: If thou didst know

the gift of God, and who he is that saith to thee: Give

me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him,
and he would have given thee living water. The woman
saith to him: Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw,

and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou

living water? Art thou greater than our father



22 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof him-

self, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered

and said to her: Whosoever drinketh of this water shall

thirst again; but he that shall drink of the water that

I will give him shall not thirst for ever; but the water

that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain

of water, springing up into life everlasting. The

woman saith to him: Sir, give me this wTater, that I
may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. Jesus saith
to her: Go, call thy husband and come hither. The

woman answered and said: I have no husband. Jesus
said to her: Thou hast said well, I have no husband,

for thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou
now hast is not thy husband. This thou hast said

truly. The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that

thou art a prophet. Our fathers adored on this moun-

tain; and you say that at Jerusalem is the place

where men must adore. Jesus saith to her: Woman,

believe me, that the hour cometh, when you shall

neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem adore the

Father. You adore that which you know not; we adore

that which we know: for salvation is of the Jews.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true

adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth.

For the Father also seeketh such to adore him. God

is a spirit^ and they that adore him, must adore him

in spirit and in truth. The woman saith to him: I

know that the Messias cometh (who is called Christ);

therefore when he is come, he will tell us all things.

Jesus saith to her: I am he who am speaking with
thee. And immediately his disciples came: and they

wondered that he talked with the woman; yet no man

said : What seekest thou, or why talkest thou with her ?
The woman therefore left her water-pot and went her
way into the city, and saith to the men there: Come,

and see a man who has told me all things whatsoever

I have done: is not he the Christ? They went there-

fore out of the city, and came unto him. In the mean-

time, the disciples prayed him, saying: Rabbi, eat. But

he said to them: I have meat to eat which you know



FOR DAIRY MEDITATION 23

not. The disciples therefore said one to another: Hath

any man brought him to eat? Jesus saith to them,

My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, that
I may perfect his work. Do not you say: There are

yet four months, and then the harvest cometh? Be-

hold I say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the coun-

tries, for they are white already to harvest. And he

that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto

life everlasting; that both he that soweth and he that

reapeth may rejoice together. For in this is the say-

ing true, that it is one man that soweth, and it is an-

other that reapeth. I have sent you to reap that in

which you did not labour: other have laboured, and

you have entered into their labours. Now of that city
many of the Samaritans believed in him, for the word

of the woman giving testimony: He told me all things
whatsoever I have done. So when the Samaritans

were come to him, they desired him that he would

tarry there. And he abode there two days. And many
more believed in him because of his own word. And

they said to the woman: We now believe, not for thy
saying; for we ourselves have heard him, and know

that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.

22—SATURDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 8.

At that time: Jesus went unto Mount Olivet. And
early in the morning he came again into the temple,
and all the people came to him, and sitting down he
taught them. And the scribes and pharisees bring
unto him a woman taken in adultery, and they set
her in the midst, and said to him: Master, this woman
was even now taken in adultery. Now, Moses in the
law commanded us to stone such a one: but what
sayest thou? And this they said tempting him, that
they might accuse him. But Jesus, bowing himself
down, wrote with his finger on the ground. When



24 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

therefore they continued asking him, he lifted up him-

self, and said to them: He that is without sin among

you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again

stooping down, he wrote on the ground. But they

hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the

eldest; and Jesus alone remained, and the woman
standing in the midst. Then Jesus lifting up himself,

said to her: Woman, where are they that accused

thee? Hath no man condemned thee? Who said:
No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I con-

demn thee. Go, and now sin no more.

23—MONDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 2.

At that time: The Pasch of the Jews was at hand,

and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in

the temple them that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves,

and the changers of money sitting. And when he

had made as it were a scourge of little cords, he drove

them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the

oxen; and the money of the changers he poured out,

and the tables he overthrew. And to them that sold

doves he said: Take these things hence, and make not

the house of my Father a house of traffic. And his
disciples remembered that it was written: The zeal

of thy house hath eaten me up. The Jews therefore

answered, and said to him: What sign dost thou show

unto us, seeing thou dost these things? Jesus answered

and said to them: Destroy this temple, and in three

days I will raise it up. The Jews then said: Six and

forty years was this temple in building, and wilt thou

raise it up in three days? But he spoke of the temple

of his body. When therefore he was risen again from
the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said

this, and they believed the Scripture, and the word

that Jesus had said. Now when he was at Jerusalem
at the Pasch, upon the festival day, many believed



25FOR DAILY MEDITATION

in his name, seeing his signs which he did. But Jesus

did not trust himself unto them, for that he knew all

men, and because he needed not that any should give

testimony of man: for he knew what was in man.

24—TUESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 7.

At that time: About the midst of the feast, Jesus

went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews

wondered, saying: How doth this man know letters,

having never learned? Jesus answered them, and

said: My doctrine is 'not mine, but his that sent me.
If any man will do the will of him, he shall know

of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I

speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself, seeketh

his own glory; but he that seeketh the glory of him

that sent him, he is true, and there is no injustice in

him. Did not Moses give you the law ? And yet

none of you keepeth the law. Why seek you to kill
me? The multitude answered and said: Thou hast a

devil: who seeketh to kill thee? Jesus answered, and

said to them: One work I have done, and you all

wonder. Therefore Moses gave you circumcision (not

because it is of Moses, but of the fathers); and on

the Sabbath-day you circumcise a man. If a man re-
ceive circumcision on the Sabbath-day that the law

of Moses may not be broken, are you angry at me,
because I have healed the whole man on the Sabbath-
day? Judge not according to the appearance, but

judge just judgement. Some therefore of Jerusalem

said: Is not this he whom they seek to kill? And
behold he speaketh openly, and they say nothing to

him. Have the rulers known for a truth that this is

the Christ? But we know this man whence he is.
But when the Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence
he is. Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teach-

ing and saying: You both know me, and you know



26 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

whence I am; and I am not come of myself, but he
that sent me is true, whom you know not; I know
him because I am from him, and he hath sent me. They
sought therefore to apprehend him; and no man laid

hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

But of the people many believed in him.

25—WEDNESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 9.

At that time: Jesus passing by, saw a man who

was blind from his birth; and his disciples asked him:

Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man, or his parents, that

he should be born blind? Jesus answered: Neither

hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the

works of God should be made manifest in him. I

must work the works of him that sent me, whilst it

is day; the night cometh when no man can work. As

long as I am in the world, I am the light of the
world. When he had said these things, he spat on
the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and spread

the clay upon his eyes, and said to him: Go, wash in

the pool of Siloe, (which is interpreted, Sent). He

went therefore, and washed, and he came seeing. The

neighbours therefore, and they who had seen him be-

fore that he was a beggar, said: Is not this he that

sat, and begged? Some said: This is he. But others

said: No, but he is like him. But he said: I am he.
They said therefore to him: How were thy eyes open-
ed? He answered: That man that is called Jesus,

made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me: Go
to the pool of Siloe, and wash. And I went, I washed,

and I see. And they said to him: Where is he? He
saith: I know not. They bring him that had been

blind to the pharisees. Now it was the Sabbath when
Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Again

therefore the pharisees asked him how he had received

his sight. But he said to them: He put clay upon my



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 27

eyes, and I washed, and I see. Some therefore of

the pharisees said: This man is not of God, who keep-

eth not the Sabbath. But others said: How can a
man that is a sinner do such miracles ? And there was

a division among them. They say therefore to the

blind man again: What sayest thou of him that hath

opened thy eyes? And he said: He is a prophet. The

Jews then did not believe concerning him, that he had

been blind and had received his sight, until they called

the parents of him that had received his sight, and

asked them, saying: Is this your son, who you say was

born blind? How then doth he now see? His parents
answered them and said: We know that this is our
son, and that he was born blind; but how he now

seeth, we know not: or who hath opened his eyes, we

know not: ask himself; he is of age, let him speak for

himself. These things his parents said, because they

feared the Jews: for the Jews had already agreed

among themselves, that if any man should confess him

to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

Therefore did his parents say: He is of age, ask him-

self. They therefore called the man again that had

been blind, and said to him: Give glory to God. We
know that this man is a sinner. He said therefore to
them: If he be a sinner, I know not: one thing I know,

that whereas I was blind, now I see. They said then

to him: What did he to thee? How did he open thy
eyes? He answered them: I have told you already,

and you have heard: why would you hear it again?
will you also become his disciples? They reviled him

therefore and said: Be thou his disciple; but we are

the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to
Moses; but as to this man, we know not from whence

he is. The man answered, and said to them: W'hy,
herein is a wonderful thing that you know not from

whence he is, and he hath opened my eyes. Now we
know that God doth not hear sinners; but if a man
be a server of God, and doth his will, him he heareth.

From the beginning of the world it hath not been

heard, that any man hath opened the eyes of one born



28 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

blind. Unless this man were of God, he could not do
anything. They answered, and said to him: Thou

wast wholly born in sins, and dost thou teach us?

And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had

cast him out: and when he had found him, he said

to him: Dost thou believe in the Son of God? He
answered, and said: Who is he, Lord, that I may be-
lieve in him? And Jesus said to him: Thou hast both

seen him; and it is he that talketh with thee. And he

said: I believe, Lord. And falling down he adored him.

26—THURSDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Luke, c. 7.

At that time: Jesus went into a city that is called

Naim; and there went with him his disciples, and a

great multitude. And when he came nigh to the gate

of the city behold a dead man was carried out, the

only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a

great multitude of the city was with her. Whom when
the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards

her, he said to her: Weep not. And he came near,

and touched the bier. And they that carried it stood

still. And he said: Young man, I say to thee, arise.

And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak.

And he gave him to his mother. And there came a

fear on them all, and they glorified God, saying: A
great prophet is risen up among us, and God hath

visited his people.

27—FRIDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 11.

At that time: There was a certain man sick, named

Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and of



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 29

Martha her sister. (And Mary was she that anointed

the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her

hair; whose brother Lazarus was sick.) His sisters

therefore sent to him saying: Lord, behold he whom
thou lovest is sick. And Jesus hearing it, said to

them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the

glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified

by it. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary,
and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he
was sick, he still remained in the same place two days.

Then after that, he said to his disciples: Let us go

into Judea again. The disciples say to him: Rabbi,

the Jews but now sought to stone thee; and goeth thou

thither again? Jesus answered: Are there not twelve

hours of the day? If a man walk in the day, he
stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of

this world; but if he walk in the night, he stumbleth,

because the light is not in him. These things

he said, and after that he said to them: Laza-

rus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake

him out of sleep. His disciples therefore said: Lord,

if he sleep, he shall do well. But Jesus spoke of his

death, and they thought that he spoke of the repose of

sleep. Then therefore Jesus said to them plainly:

Lazarus is dead; and I am glad for your sakes that

I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go

to him. Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus,

said to his fellow disciples: Let us also go that we

may die with him. Jesus therefore came, and found

that he had been four days already in the grave.

(Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen fur-

longs off.) And many of the Jews were come to

Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their

brother. Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that

Jesus was come, went to meet him; but Mary sat at

home. Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if thou

hadst been here, my brother had not died. But now
also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God

will give it thee. Jesus saith to her: Thy brother

shall rise again. Martha saith to him: I know that



30 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life:
he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall

live; and every one that liveth, and believeth in me,

shall not die for ever. Believest thou this? She saith

to him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ

the Son of the living God, who art come into this

world. And when she had said these things, she went,

and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The master

is come, and calleth for thee. She, as soon as she

heard this, riseth quickly, and cometh to him. For

Jesus was not yet come into the town, but he was

still in that place where Martha had met him. The

Jews therefore, who were with her in the house and

comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up

speedily, and went out, followed her, saying: She goeth

to the grave to weep there. When Mary therefore
was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down

at his feet, and saith to him: Lord, if thou hadst been

here, my brother had not died. Jesus therefore, when
he saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with

her, weeping, groaned in the spirit, and troubled him-

self and said: Where have you laid him? They say

to him: Lord, come and see. And Jesus wept. The

Jews therefore said: Behold how he loved him! But

some of them said: Could not he that opened the eyes

of the man born blind, have caused that this man
should not die? Jesus therefore again groaning in

himself, cometh to the sepulchre. Now it was a cave;
and a stone was laid over it. Jesus saith; Take away

the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead,

saith to him: Lord, by this time he stinketh; for he

is now of four days. Jesus saith to her: Did not I say

to thee that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory

of God? They took therefore the stone away; and

Jesus, lifting up his eyes, said: Father, I give thee

thanks that thou hast heard me; and I knew that thou

hearest me always, but because of the people who
stand about have I said it, that they may believe that
thou hast sent me. When he had said these things,



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 31

he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth. And

presently he that had been dead came forth, bound

feet and hands with winding-bands, and his face was

bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them:

Loose him, and let him go. Many therefore of the

Jews who were come to Mary and Martha, and had

seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.

28—SATURDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 8.

At that time: Jesus spoke to the multitude of the

Jews, saying: I am the light of the world; he that
followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have

the light of life. The pharisees therefore said to him:

Thou givest testimony of thyself; thy testimony is not

true. Jesus answered and said to them: Although I give

testimony of myself, my testimony is true: for I know
whence I came and whither I go, but you know not

whence I come, or whither I go. You judge

according to the flesh, I judge not any man. And

if I do judge, my judgment is true; because
I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent
me. And in your law it is written, that the testi-

mony of two men is true. I am one, that give testi-
mony of myself; and the Father that sent me, giveth

testimony of me. They said therefore to him: where

is thy Father? Jesus answered: Neither me do you
know, nor my Father; if you did know me, perhaps
you would know my Father also. These words Jesus
spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple: and no

man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet
come.

29—PASSION MONDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 7.

At that time: The rulers and pharisees sent minist-

ers to apprehend Jesus. Jesus therefore said to them:



32 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

Yet a little while I am with you; and then I go to him
that sent me. You shall seek me, and shall not find

me; and where I am, thither you cannot come. The

Jews therefore said among themselves: Whither will

he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto

the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gen-

tiles? What is this saying that he hath said: You

shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am,

you cannot come? And on the last and great day of

the festivity, Jesus stood and cried, saying: If any

man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. He that
believeth in me, as the Scripture saith: Out of his

belly shall flow rivers of living water. Now this he
said of the Spirit which they should receive who be-

lieved in him.

30—PASSION TUESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 7.

At that time: Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would

not walk in Judea, because the Jews’ feast of Taber-

nacles was at hand. And his brethren said to him:

Pass from hence and go into Judea, that thy disciples

also may see thy works which thou dost. For there

is no man that doth anything in secret, and he him-

self seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these

things, manifest thyself to the world. For neither did

his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said to them:

My time is not yet come; but your time is always
ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth:

because I give testimony of it, that the works thereof

are evil. Go you up to this festival day, but I go not

up to this festival day: because my time is not accom-
plished. When he had said these things, he himself

stayed in Galilee. But after his brethren were gone

up, when he also went up to the feast, not openly, but

as it were in secret. The Jews therefore sought him

on the festival day, and said: Where is he? And there



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 33

was much murmuring among the multitude concerning

him. For some said: He is a good man. And others

said: No, but he seduceth the people. Yet no man
spoke openly of him, for fear of the Jews.

31—PASSION WEDNESDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 10.

At that time: It was the feast of the Dedication at

Jersusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in

the temple, in Solomon’s porch. The Jews therefore

came round about him, and said to him: How long
dost thou hold our souls in suspense? If thou be the

Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them: I speak

to you, and you believe not: the works that I do in

the name of my Father they give testimony of me;
but you do not believe, because you are not my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me. And I give them life everlasting, and they

shall not perish for ever, and no man shall pluck them

out of my hand. That which my Father hath given
me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them
out of the hand of my Father. I and the Father are
one. The Jews then took up stones to stone him.

Jesus answered them: Many good works I have showed

you from my Father; for which of those works do you
stone me? The Jews answered him: F'or a good work

we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that

thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered

them: Is it not written in your law: I said, You are

gods? If he called them gods to whom the word of
God was spoken, and the Scripture cannot be broken,

do you say of him, whom the Father hath sanctified,
and sent into the world: Thou blasphemest, because I

said: I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of
my Father, believe me not; but if I do, though you
will not believe me, believe the works, that you may

know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in

the Father.



34 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

32—PASSION THURSDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Luke, c. 7.

At that time: One of the pharisees desired Jesus

to eat with him. And he went into the house of the

pharisee, and sat down to meat. And behold a woman

that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that he

sat at meat in the pharisee’s house, brought an ala-

baster box of ointment; and standing behind at his

feet, she began to wash his feet with tears, and wiped

them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet,

and anointed them with the ointment. And the phari-

see, who had invited him, seeing it, spoke within him-

self, saying: This man, if he were a prophet, would

know surely who and what manner of woman this is

that toucheth him, that she is a sinner. And Jesus

answering, said to him: Simon, I have somewhat to

say to thee. But he said: Master, say it. A certain
creditor had two debtors: the one owed him five hun-

dred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had

not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which

therefore of the two loveth him most? Simon answer-

ing, said: I suppose that he to whom he forgave most.
And he said to him: Thou hast judged rightly. And

turning to the woman, he said unto Simon: Dost thou

see this woman? I entered into thy house; thou gavest

me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased

to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not
anoint; but she with ointment hath anointed my feet.
Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her,

because she hath loved much. But to whom less is
forgiven, he loveth less. And he said to her: Thy sins

are forgiven thee. And they that sat at meat with

him began to say with themselves: Who is this that
forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman: Thy

faith hath made thee safe: go in peace.



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 35

33—PASSION FRIDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 11.

At that time: The chief priests and pharisees gath-

ered a council against Jesus, and said: What do we,

for this man doth many miracles? If we let him

alone so, all will believe in him; and the Romans will

come, and take away our place and nation. But one

of them, named Caiphas, being the high priest that

year, said to them: You know nothing, neither do you

consider that it is expedient for you that one man

should die for the people, and that the whole nation

perish not. And this he spoke not of himself; but

being the high priest of that year, he prophesied that

Jesus should die for the nation; and not only for the

nation, but to gather together in one the children of

God, that were dispersed. From that day therefore

they devised to put him to death. Wherefore Jesus

walked no more openly among the Jews, but he went

into a country near the desert, unto a city that is called

Ephrem, and there he abode with his disciples.

34—PASSION SATURDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 12.

At that time: The chief priests thought to kill Laz-

arus also, because many of the Jews by reason of him

went away, and believed in Jesus. And on the next

day a great multitude, that was come to the festival

day, when they had heard that Jesus was coming to

Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth

to meet him, and cried: Hosanna, blessed is he that

cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!

And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it, as it



36 THE LENTEN GOSPELS'

is written: Fear not, daughter of Sion; behold thy

king cometh sitting on an ass’s colt. These things his

disciples did not know at the first, but when Jesus was

glorified, they then remembered that these things were

written of him, and that they had done these things

to him. The multitude therefore gave testimony, which

was with him, when he called Lazarus out of the

grave, and raised him from the dead. For which

reason also the people came to meet him, because they

heard that he had done this miracle. The pharisees

therefore said among themselves: Do you see that we

prevail nothing? behold the whole world is gone after

him. Now there were certain Gentiles among them,
who came up to adore on the festival day. These

therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of

Galilee, and desired him saying: Sir, we would see

Jesus. Philip cometh, and telleth Andrew. Again An-

drew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them,

saying: The hour is come that the Son of man should

be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the

grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself re-

maineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much

fruit. He that loveth his life, shall lose it; and he

that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life

eternal. If any man minister to me, let him follow
me; and where I am, there also shall my minister be.
If any man minister to me, him will my Father hon-
our. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say?
Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause
I came unto this hour. F'ather, glorify thy name. A
voice therefore came from heaven: I have both glori-

fied it, and will glorify it again. The multitude there-

fore that stood and heard, said that it thundered.

Others said: An angel spoke to him. Jesus answered
and said: This voice came not because of me, but for

your sakes. Now is the judgment of the world; now
shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if

I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to

myself. (Now this he said, signifying what death he

should die.) The multitude answered him: We have



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 37

heard out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever;

and how sayest thou: the Son of man must be lifted

up? Who is this Son of man? Jesus therefore said to
them: Yet a little while, the light is among you. Walk

whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake

you not; and he that walketh in darkness knoweth not

whither he goeth. Whilst you have the light, believe

in the light, that you may be the children of light.

These things Jesus spoke, and he went away and hid

himself from them.

35—PALM MONDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 12.

Six days before the pasch, Jesus came to Bethania,

where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to
life. And they made a supper there: and Martha served,

but Lazarus was one of them that were at the table

with him. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment

of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the

feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and

the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was

about to betray him, said: Why was not this ointment
sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor,
but because he was a thief, and having the purse, car-

ried what was put therein. But Jesus said: Let her

alone, that she may keep it against the day of my
burial. For the poor you have always with you: but

me you have not always. A great multitude therefore
of the Jews knew that he was there; and they came,

not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see La-

zarus, whom he had raised from the dead.



38 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

36—PALM TUESDAY

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to

St. Mark, c. 14 and 15.

At that time: The feast of the pasch and of the

azymes was after two days: and the chief priests, and

the scribes, sought how they might by some wile lay

hold on him, and kill him. But they said: Not on the

festival day, lest there should be a tumult among the

people.

And when he was in Bethania, in the house of Si-

mon the leper, and was at meat, there came a woman

having an alabaster box of ointment of precious spike-

nard: and breaking the alabaster box, she poured it

out upon his head. Now there were some that had
indignation within themselves and said: Why was this
waste of the ointment made? For this ointment might

have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and

given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

But Jesus said: Let her alone, why do you molest her?

She hath wrought a good work upon me. For the

poor you have always with you; and whensoever you

will, you may do them good: but me you have not

always. She hath done what she could; she is come

beforehand to anoint my body for the burial. Amen
I say to you, wheresoever this Gospel shall be preach-

ed in the whole world, that also which she hath done,

shall be told for a memorial of her.

And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the

chief priests to betray him to them. Who hearing it
were glad and they promised that they would give

him money. And he sought how he might convenient-

ly betray him.

Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, when
they sacrificed the pasch, the disciples say to him:

Whither wilt thou that we go, and prepare for thee

to eat the pasch? And he sendeth two of his dis-

ciples, and saith to them: Go ye into the city: and



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 39

there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of

water, follow him: and whithersoever he shall go in

say to the master of the house: The master saith:

Where is my refectory, where I may eat the pasch with
my disciples? And he will show you a large dining-
room furnished; and there prepare ye for us. And

his disciples went their way, and came into the city,

and they found as he had told them, and they pre-

pared the pasch.

And when evening was come, he cometh with the

twelve. And when they were at table and eating,

Jesus saith: Amen I say to you, one of you that eateth
with me shall betray me. But they began to be sor-
rowful, and to say to him one by one: Is it I? Who
saith to them: One of the twelve who dippeth with me

his hand in the dish. And the Son of man indeed

goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man

by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed. It were
better for him, if that man had not been born.

And whilst they were eating, Jesus took bread: and

blessing broke, and gave to them, and said: Take ye:

This is my body. And having taken the chalice, giv-
ing thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of

it. And he said to them: This is my blood of the New
Testament, which shall be shed for many. Amen I
say to you, that I will drink no more of this fruit of

the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new in

the kingdom of God. And when they had sung an
hymn, they went forth to the mount of Olives.

And Jesus saith to them: You will all be scandalized

in my regard this night: for it is written: I will strike
the shepherd, and the sheep shall be dispersed. But

after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into

Galilee. But Peter saith to him: Although all shall be

scandalized in thee, yet not I. And Jesus saith to
him: Amen I say to thee, to-day, even in this night,
before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice.
But he spoke the more vehemently: Although I should

die together with thee, I will not deny thee. And in
like manner also said they all.



40 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

And they came to a farm called Gethsemani. And

he saith to his disciples: Sit you here, while I pray.

And he taketh Peter, and James, and John with him:

and he began to fear and to be heavy. And he saith to

them: My soul is sorrowful, even unto death: stay
you here, and watch. And when he was gone forward

a little, he fell flat on the ground; and he prayed,

that if it might be, the hour might pass from him:

and he said: Abba, Father, all things are possible to

thee, remove this chalice from me; but not what I

will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth

them sleeping. And he saith to Peter: Simon, sleepest

thou? couldst thou not watch one hour? Watch ye

and pray, that you enter not into temptation. The

spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And

going away again, he prayed, saying the same words.

And when he returned, he found them again asleep

(for their eyes were heavy), and they knew not what

to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and

saith to them: Sleep ye now, and take your rest. It

is enough: the hour is come; behold the Son of man

shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up;

let us go. Behold he that will betray me is at hand.

And while he was yet speaking, cometh Judas Isca-

riot, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude

with swords and staves, from the chief priests and

the scribes and the ancients. And he that betrayeth

him had given them a sign, saying : Whomsoever I

shall kiss, that is he, lay hold on • him, and lead him

away carefully. And when he was come, immediately

going up to him, he saith: Hail, Rabbi; and he kissed

him. But they laid hands on him, and held him. And

one of them that stood by drawing a sword, struck a

servant of the chief priest, and cut off his ear. And

Jesus answering, said to them: Are you come out as

to a robber, with swords and staves to apprehend me?

I was daily with you in the temple, teaching, and you

did not lay hands on me. But that the scriptures may

be fulfilled. Then his disciples leaving him, all fled

away. And a certain young man followed him, having



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 41

a linen cloth cast about his naked body: and they laid

hold on him. But he casting off the linen cloth, fled

from them naked.

And they brought Jesus to the high priest: and all

the priests and the scribes and the ancients assembled

together. And Peter followed him afar off, even into

the court of the high priest: and he sat with the ser-

vants at the fire, and warmed himself. And the chief

priests and all the council sought for evidence against

Jesus, that they might put him to death, and they

found none. For many bore false witness against

him, and their evidences were not agreeing. And

some rising up, bore false witness against him, saying:

We heard him say, I will destroy this temple made
with hands, and within three days I will build another

not made with hands. And their witness did not agree.

And the high priest rising up in the midst, asked Jesus,

saying: Answerest thou nothing to the things that

are laid to thy charge by these men? But he held his

peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest

asked him, and said to him: Art thou the Christ the

Son of the blessed God? And Jesus said to him: I am.

And you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right
hand of the power of God, and coming with the clouds

of heaven. Then the high priest, rending his gar-

ments, saith: What need we any further witnesses?

you have heard the blasphemy. What think you? Who
all condemned him to be guilty of death. And some

began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to

buffet him, and to say unto him: Prophesy. And the

servants struck him with the palms of their hands.

Now when Peter was in the court below, there cometh
one of the maid-servants of the high priest: and when

she had seen Peter warming himself, looking on him,

she saith: Thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But

he denied, saying: I neither know, nor understand what

thou sayest. And he went forth before the court;

and the cock crew. And again a maid-servant seeing
him began to say to the standers by: This is one of

them. But he denied again. And after a while they



42 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

that stood by, said again to Peter: Surely thou art

one of them: for thou also art a Galilean. But he be-

gan to curse and to swear, saying: I know not this

man of whom you speak, and immediately the cock
crew again. And Peter remembered the word that

Jesus had said unto him: Before the cock crow twice,

thou shalt deny me thrice. And he began to weep.

And straight way in the morning the chief priests

holding a consultation with the ancients and the scribes

and the whole council, bound Jesus, and led him away,

and delivered him to Pilate. And Pilate asked him:

Art thou the king of the Jews? But he answering

saith to him: Thou sayest it. And the chief priests

accused him in many things. And Pilate again asked

him, saying: Answerest thou nothing? Behold in how

many things they accuse thee. But Jesus still answer-

ed nothing; so that Pilate wondered.

Now on the festival day he was wont to release unto
them one of the prisoners, whomsoever they demand-

ed. And there was one called Barabbas, who was put

in prison with some seditious men, who in the sedi-

tion had committed murder. And when the multitude

was come up they began to desire that he would do as

he had ever done to them. And Pilate answered them,

and said: Will you that I release to you the King of

Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had de-

livered him up out of envy. But the chief priests

moved the people, that he should rather release Barab-

bas to them. And Pilate again answering, saith to

them: What will you then that I do to the King of

the Jews? But they again cried out: Crucify him.

And Pilate saith to them: Why, what evil hath he

done? But they cried out the more: Crucify him. So

Pilate being willing to satisfy the people, released to

them Barabbas, and delivered up Jesus, when he had

scourged him, to be crucified.

And the soldiers led him away into the court of

the palace, and they called together the whole band,

and they clothed him with purple, and platting a

crown of thorns, they put it upon him. And they be-



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 43

gan to salute him: Hail, King of the Jews. And they

struck his head with a reed: and they did spit on him,

and bowing their knees, they worshipped him. And

after they had mocked him, they took off the purple

from him, and put his own garments on him, and they

led him out to crucify him. And they forced one Si-

mon, a Cyrenean, who passed by coming out of the

country, the father of Alexander and of Rufus, to take

up his cross. And they bring him into the place called

Golgotha, which being interpreted, is the place of Cal-

vary. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with

myrrh: but he took it not. And crucifying him, they

divided his garments, casting lots upon them, what

every man should take. And it was the third hour,

and they crucified him. And the inscription of his

cause was written over: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
And with him they crucify two thieves, the one on his

right hand, and the other on his left. And the scrip-

ture was fulfilled which saith: And with the wicked

he was reputed.

And they that passed by blasphemed him, wagging

their heads, and saying: Vah! thou that destroyest the

temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again:

save thyself, coming down from the cross. In like

manner also the chief priests mocking, said with the

scribes one to another: He saved others, himself he

cannot save. Let Christ, the King of Israel, come

down now from the cross, that we may see and be-

lieve. And they that were crucified with him, reviled

him.

And when the sixth hour was come, there was dark-

ness over the whole earth until the ninth hour. And

at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice:

Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani? which is, being in-

terpreted: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? And some of the standers-by hearing, said: Be-

hold, he calleth Elias. And one running and filling a

sponge with vinegar, and putting it upon a reed, gave

him to drink, saying: Stay, let us see if Elias come



44 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

to take him down. And Jesus having cried out with

a loud voice, gave up the ghost.

And the veil of the temple was rent in two, from

the top to the bottom. And the centurion who stood

over against him, seeing that crying out in this man-

ner he had given up the ghost said: Indeed this man

was the Son of God. And there were also women look-

ing on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalen,
and Mary, the mother of James the Less and of Jo-

seph, and Salome; who also when he was in Galilee,

followed him and ministered unto him, and many other

women that came up with him to Jerusalem.

And when evening was now come (because it was

the parasceve, that is the day before the Sabbath),

Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counsellor, who was also

himself looking for the kingdom of God, came and

went in boldly to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus.

But Pilate wondered that he should be already dead.

And sending for the centurion, he asked him if he

were already dead. And when he understood it by

the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And Jo-

seph buying fine linen, and taking him down, wrapped

him up in the fine linen, and laid him in a sepulchre

which was hewed out of a rock, and he rolled a stone

to the door of the sepulchre.

37—SPY WEDNESDAY

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to

St. Luke, c. 22 & 23.

At that time: The feast of unleavened bread, which

is called the pasch, was at hand: and the chief priests

and the scribes sought how they might put Jesus to

death: but they feared the people. And satan entered

into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariot, one of the

twelve. And he went and discoursed with the chief

priests and the magistrates, how he might betray him

to them. And they were glad and covenanted to give



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 45

him money. And he promised. And he sought oppor-

tunity to betray him in the absence of the multitude.

And the day of the unleavened bread came, on which

it was necessary that the pasch should be killed. And

he sent Peter and John, saying: Go, and prepare us

the pasch, that we may eat. But they said: Where

wilt thou that we prepare? And he said to them: Be-

hold, as you go into the city, there shall meet you a

man carrying a pitcher of water: follow him into the

house where he entereth in: and you shall say to the

good man of the house: The master saith to thee:

Where is the guest-chamber, where I may eat the

pasch with my disciples? And he will show you a
large dining-room, furnished; and there prepare. And

they going, found as he had said to them, and they

made ready the pasch. And when the hour was come,

he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And

he said to them: With desire I have desired to eat

this pasch with you, before I suffer. For I say to you,

that from this time I will not eat it, till it be ful-

filled in the kingdom of God.

And having taken the chalice, he gave thanks and

said: Take and divide it among you. For I say to you,

that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine till the

kingdom of God come. And taking bread, he gave

thanks and brake, and gave to them, saying: This is

my body, which is given for you: do this for a com-
memoration of me. In like manner, the chalice also,

after he had supped, saying: This is the chalice, the

new testament in my blood which shall be shed for you.
But yet behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is
with me on the table. And the Son of man indeed

goeth, according to that which is determined: but yet,

woe to that man by whom he shall be betrayed. And
they began to inquire among themselves, which of

them it was that should do this thing.

And there was also a strife amongst them, which of

them should seem to be greater. And he said to

them: The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them: and



46 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

they that have power over them are called beneficent.

But you not so: but he that is the greater among you,

let him become as the younger: and he that is the

leader, as he that serveth. For which is greater, he

that sitteth at table, or he that serveth ? Is not he that

sitteth at table? But I am in the midst of you, as he
that serveth: and you are they who have continued

with me in my temptations: and I dispose to you, as
my F’ather hath disposed to me, a kingdom: that you
may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom: and
may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of

Israel.

And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold satan hath

desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:

and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.

Who said to him: Lord, I am ready to go with thee,
both into prison, and to death. And he said: I say to

thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, till thou

thrice deniest that thou knowest me.

And he said to them: When I sent you without
purse and scrip and shoes, did you want any thing?

But they said: Nothing. Then he said unto them: But

now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise

a scrip: and he that hath not, let him sell his coat, and

buy a sword. For I say to you, that this that is

written, must yet be fulfilled in me: And with the

wicked was he reckoned. For the things concerning

me have an end. But they said: Lord, behold here are

two swords. And he said to them: It is enough.

And going out, he went, according to his custom, to

the mount of Olives. And his disciples also followed

him. And when he was come to the place, he said to

them: Pray, lest ye enter into temptation. And he was

withdrawn away from them a stone’s cast: and kneel-

ing down, he prayed, saying: Father, if thou wilt, re-

move this chalice from me; but yet not my will, but
thine be done. And there appeared to him an angel

from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 47

agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as

drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. And

when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his

disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow. And he

said to them: Why sleep you? arise, pray, lest you
enter into temptation.

As he was yet speaking, behold a multitude; and he

that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before

them, and drew near to Jesus for to kiss him. And

Jesus said to him: Judas, dost thou betray the Son of

man with a kiss? And they that were about him,

seeing what would follow, said to him: Lord, shall we

strike with the sword? And one of them struck the

servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

But Jesus answering, said: Suffer ye thus far. And

when he had touched his ear, he healed him. And

Jesus said to the chief priests and magistrates of the

temple and the ancients that were come to him: Are

ye come out as it were against a thief, with swords

and clubs? When I was daily with you in the temple,

you did not stretch forth your hands against me; but

this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

And apprehending him they led him to the high

priests house: but Peter followed afar off. And when

they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and

were sitting about it, Peter was in the midst of them.

Whom when a certain servant-maid had seen sitting
at the light, and had earnestly beheld him, she said:

This man was also with him. But he denied him, say-
ing: Woman, I know him not. And after a little while,

another seeing him said: Thou also art one of them,,

But Peter said : 0 man, I am not. And after the
space as it were of one hour, another certain man
affirmed, saying: Of a truth this man was also with
him: for he is also a Galilean. And Peter said: Man,

I know not what thou sayeth. And immediately, as he

was yet speaking, the cock crew. And the Lord turn-
ing looked on Peter. And Peter remembered the word
of the Lord, as he had said: Before the cock crow, thou



48 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

shalt deny me thrice. And Peter going out wept
bitterly.

And the men that held him, mocked him and struck

him. And they blindfolded him and smote his face.

And they asked him, saying: Prophesy, who is it that

struck thee ? and blaspheming many other things

they said against him. And as soon as it was day,

the ancients of the people, and the chief priests, and

the scribes came together, and .they brought him into

their council, saying: If thou be the Christ, tell us.

And he saith to them: If I shall tell you, you will not

believe me: and if I shall also ask you, you will not

answer me, nor let me go. But hereafter the Son of
man shall be sitting on the right hand of the power

of God. Then said they all: Art thou then the Son of

God? Who said: You say that I am. And they said:
What need we any farther testimony? for we ourselves

have heard it from his own mouth.

And the whole multitude of them, rising up, led him

away to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, say-

ing: We have found this man perverting our nation,
and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying

that he is Christ the King. And Pilate asked him,

saying: Art thou the King of the Jews? But he ans-

wering, said: Thou sayest it. And Pilate said to the

chief priests and to the multitudes: I find no cause

in this man. But they were more earnest, saying: He

stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judea,

beginning from Galilee to this place. But Pilate hear-

ing Galilee asked if the man were of Galilee? And

when he understood that he was of Herod’s jurisdic-

tion, he sent him away to Herod, who was also him-

self at Jerusalem in those days.

And Herod seeing Jesus, was very glad, for he was

desirous of a long time to see him, because he had

heard many things of him: and he hoped to see some

sign wrought by him: and he questioned him in many

words. But he answered him nothing. And the chief

priests and the scribes stood by, earnestly accusing



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 49

him. And Herod with his army set him at nought

and mocked him, putting on him a white garment,

and sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate

were made friends that same day; for before they

were enemies one to another.

And Pilate, calling together the chief priests and

the magistrates and the people, said to them: You

have presented unto me this man, as one that per-

verteth the people, and behold I, having examined

him before you, find no cause in this man, those

things wherein you accuse him. No, nor Herod

neither; for I sent you to him, and behold, nothing

worthy of death is done to him. I will chastise him

therefore, and release him.

Now of necessity, he was to release unto them one
upon the feast day. But the whole multitude together

cried out, saying: Away with this man, and release
unto us Barabbas: who, for a certain sedition made

in the city and for a murder, was cast into prison.

And Pilate again spoke to them, desiring to release

Jesus. But they cried again, saying: Crucify him,

crucify him. And he said to them the third time: Why,

what evil hath this man done? I find no cause of

death in him: I will chastise him therefore and let

him go. But they were instant with loud voices, re-

quiring that he might be crucified: and their voices

prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should

be as they required. And he released unto them him,

who for murder and sedition had been cast into prison,

whom they had desired; but Jesus he delivered up to
their will.

And as they led him away, they laid hold of one

Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country: and they

laid the cross on him to carry after Jesus. And there

followed him a great multitude of people, and of

women: who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus

turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep

not over me, but weep for yourselves and for your

children. For, behold, the days shall come, wherein



to THE LENTEN GOSPELS

they will say; Blessed are the barren and the wombs

that have not borne and the paps that have not given

suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains:

Fall upon us: and to the hills: Cover us. For if in

the green wood they do these things, what shall be

done in the dry ? And there were also two other

malefactors led with him to be put to death.

And when they were come to the place which is

called Calvary, they crucified him there; and the rob-

bers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know

not what they do. But they, dividing his garments,

cast lots. And the people stood beholding, and the

rulers with them, derided him, saying: He saved others,

let him save himself, if he be Christ, the elect of God.

And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and

offering him vinegar, and saying: If thou be the King

of the Jews, save thyself. And there was a super-

scription written over him in letters of Greek and

Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE
JEWS. And one of those robbers who were hanged,

blasphemed him, saying: If thou be Christ, save thy-

self, and us. But the other answering, rebuked him,

saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art

under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly,

for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this

man hath done no evil. And he said to Jesus: Lord,

remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom.

And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee: This day
thou shalt be with me in paradise.

And it was almost the sixth hour; and there was

darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And

the sun was darkened; and the veil of the temple was

rent in the midst. And Jesus, crying with a loud voice,

said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.
And saying this, he gave up the ghost.

Now, the centurion seeing what was done, glorified

God, saying: Indeed this was a just man. And nil the

multitude of them that were come together to that



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 5i

sight, and saw the things that were done, returned,

striking their breasts. And all his acquaintance, and

the women that had followed him from Galilee, stood

afar off, beholding these things.

And behold there was a man named Joseph, who

was a counsellor, a good and a just man (the same

had not consented to their counsel and doings), of

Arimathea, a city of Judea, who also himself looked

for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate,

and begged the body of Jesus. And taking him down,

he wrapped him in fine linen and laid him in a sepul-

chre that was hewed in stone, wherein never yet any

man had been laid.

38—MAUNDY THURSDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

John, c. 13.

Before the festival day of the pasch, Jesus knowing

that his hour was come, that he should pass out of

this world to the Father: having loved his own who

were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And

when supper was done (the devil having now put into

the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to be-

tray him), knowing that the Father had given him all

things into his hands, and that he came from God, and

goeth to God: he riseth from supper, and layeth aside

him garments: and having taken a towel, he girded

himself. After that, he poureth water into a basin,

and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to

wipe them with the towel, wherewith he was girded.

He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith

to him: Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus an-
swered and said to him: What I do, thou knowest not

now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith to

him: Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus an-
swered him: If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no

part with me. Simon Peter saith to him: Lord, not

only my feet, but also my hands, and my head. Jesus



52 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

saith to him: He that is washed, needeth not but to
wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean,

but not all: for he knew who he was that would be-

tray him: therefore he said: You are not all clean.

Then after he had washed their feet and taken his

garments, being set down again, he said to them:

Know you what I have done to you? You call me
Master and Lord: and you say well, for so I am. If

then I, being your Lord and Master, have washed your

feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For

I have given you an example, that as I have done to

you, so you do also.

39—GOOD FRIDAY

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to

St. John, c. 18 and 19.

At that time: Jesus went forth with his disciples

over the brook Cedron, where there was a garden,

into which he entered with his disciples. And Judas

also, who betrayed him, knew the place: because Jesus

had often resorted thither, together with his disciples.

Judas, therefore, having received a band of soldiers

and servants from the chief priests and the pharisees,

cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come

upon him, went forth and said to them: Whom seek
ye? They answered him: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus

said to them: I am he. And Judas, also, who betrayed
him, stood with them. As soon, therefore, as he had

said to them: I am he: they went backward, and fell

to the ground. Again, therefore, he asked them:

Whom seek ye? And they said: Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus answered: I have told you that I am he. If,
therefore, you seek me, let these go their way. That

the word might be fulfilled which he said: Of them

whom thou hast given me, I have not lost any one.
Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it: and struck

the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right



FOR DAILY MEDITATION 53

ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Jesus

therefore said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the

scabbard. The chalice which my Father hath given
men, shall I not drink it?

Then the band, and the tribune, and the servants

of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him: and they led

him away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to

Caiphas, who was the high priest of that year. Now,

Caiphas was he who had given counsel to the Jews:

that it was expedient that one man should die for the

people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did

another disciple. And that disciple was known to the

high priest, and went in with Jesus into the court

of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door with-

out. The other disciple therefore, who was known to

the high priest, went out, and spoke to the portress,

and brought in Peter. And the maid that was port-

ress saith to Peter: Art not thou one of this man's

disciples? He saith: I am not. Now, the servants and
officers stood at a fire of coals because it was cold,

and warmed themselves. And with them was Peter

also standing, and warming himself.

The high priest therefore asked Jesus of his dis-

ciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him: I

have spoken openly to the world: 1 have always taught

in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither all the

Jews resort: and in secret I have spoken nothing. Why
askest thou me? ask them who have heard what I

have spoken to them: behold they know what things

I have said. And when he had said these things, one

of the servants standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying:

Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered

him : If I have spoken evil, give testimony of the

evil, but if well, why strikest thou me?

And Annas sent him bound to Caiphas, the high

priest. And Simon Peter was standing warming him-

self. They said, therefore, to him: Art not thou also

one of his disciples? He denied it, and said: I am
not. One of the servants of the high priest (a kins-



54 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

man to him whose ear Peter cut off) saith to him:
Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Then

Peter again denied: and immediately the cock crew.

Then they led Jesus from Caiphas to the governor’s

hall. And it was morning: and they went not into
the hall, that they might not be defiled, but that they

might eat the pasch. Pilate, therefore, went out to

them, and said: What accusation bring you against
this man? They answered and said to him: If he
w~ere not a malefactor, we would not have delivered

him up to thee. Pilate therefore said to them: Take

him you, and judge him according to your law. The

Jews, therefore, said to him: It is not lawful for us

to put any man to death. That the word of Jesus
might be fulfilled, which he said, signifying what death

he should die.

Pilate, therefore, went into the hall again, and

called Jesus, and said to him: Art thou the king of

the Jews? Jesus answered: Sayest thou this thing

of thyself, or have others told it thee of me? Pilate

answered: Am I a Jew? Thy own nation and the
chief priests have delivered thee up to me: what hast

thou done? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of
this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my
servants would certainly strive that I should not be

delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not
from hence. Pilate, therefore, said to him: Art thou

a king then? Jesus answered: Thou sayest that I am
a king. For this was I born, and for this came I

into the world, that I should give testimony to the

truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my
voice. Pilate saith to him: What is truth? And

when he* had said this, he went out again to the Jews,

and saith to them: I find no cause in him. But you

have a custom that I should release one unto you at

the pasch: will you, therefore, that I release unto you

the king of the Jews? Then cried they all again, say-

ing: Not this man, but Barabbas. Now, Barabbas was

a robber.



i
;ok dAily Meditation 55

Then, therefore, Pilate took Jesus and scourged him.

And the soldiers, platting a crown of thorns, put it

upon his head: and they put on him a purple gar-

ment. And they came to him and said: Hail
;
king

of the Jews; and they gave him blows. Pilate, there-

fore, went forth again, and saith to them: Behold, I

bring him forth unto you, that you may know that I
find no cause in him. (Jesus therefore came forth

bearing the crown of thorns, and the purple garment.)

And he saith to them: Behold the Man. When the
chief priests, therefore, and the servants had seen him,

they cried out, saying: Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate

saith to them: Take him you, and crucify him: for I

find no cause in him. The Jews answered him: We
have a law, and according to the law, he ought to

die, because he made himself the Son of God. When
Pilate, therefore, had heard this saying, he feared the

more. And he entered into the hall again; and he said

to Jesus: Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no

answer. Pilate therefore saith to him: Speakest thou

not to me? Knowest thou not that I have power to

crucify thee, and I have power to release thee? Jesus

answered: Thou shouldst not have any power against

me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore

he that hath delivered me to thee hath the greater sin.

And from henceforth Pilate sought to release him.

But the Jews cried out, saying: If thou release this

man, thou art not Caesar's friend. For whosoever

maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar. Now
when Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus

forth; and sat down in the judgment-seat, in the

place that is called Lithostrotos, and in Hebrew, Gab-

batha. And it was the parasceve of the pasch, about

the sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews: Behold your

king. But they cried out: Away with him, away with

him, crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Shall I crucify

your king? The chief priests answered: We have no
king but Caesar. Then, therefore, he delivered him to

them to be crucified.



56 THE LENTEN GOSPELS

And they took Jesus and led him forth. And bearing

him own cross, he went forth to that place which is

called Calvary but in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they

crucified him, and with him two others, one on each

side, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title

also: and he put it upon the cross. And the writing

was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE
JEWS. This title, therefore, many of the Jews did

read, because the place where Jesus was crucified was

nigh to the city. And it was written in Hebrew, in

Greek, and in Latin. Then the chief priests of the

Jews said to Pilate: Write not: The King of the Jews;

but that he said: I am the king of the Jews. Pilate
answered: What I have written, I have written.

The soldiers, therefore, when they had crucified

him, took his garments (and they made four parts,

to every soldier a part) and also his coat. Now the
coat was without seam, woven from the top through-

out. They said then one to another: Let us not cut

it, but let us cast lots for it whose it shall be: that the

Scripture might be fulfilled, saying: They have parted

my garments among them; and upon my vesture they
have cast lots. And the soldiers indeed did these

things.

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother,
and his mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary

Magdalen. When Jesus, therefore, had seen his mother
and the disciple standing, whom he loved, he saith to
his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he

saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from

that hour the disciple took her to his own. Afterwards

Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished,

that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst.

Now there was a vessel set there full of vinegar. And
they putting a sponge full of vinegar about hyssop,

put it to his mouth. Jesus, therefore, when he had

taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bow-

ing his head, he gave up the ghost.

Then the Jews (because it was the Parasceve), that



57'FOR DAILY MEDITATION*

the bodies might not remain Upon the cross on the

sabbath-day (for that was a great sabbath-day), be-

sought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and

that they might be taken away. The soldiers, there-

fore came, and they broke the legs of the first, and

of the other that was crucified with him. But after

they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was

already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of

the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and im-

mediately there came out blood and water. And he

that saw it hath given testimony: and his testimony

is true. And he knoweth that he saith true: that you

also may believe. For these things were done that

the Scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break

a bone of him. And again another Scripture saith:

They shall look on him whom they pierced.

And after these things Joseph of Arimathea (be-

cause he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear

of the Jews) besought Pilate that he might take away

the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave. He

came, therefore, and took away the body of Jesus. And

Nicodemus also came, he who at the first came to

Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and

aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. They took,

therefore, the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen

cloths with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is

to bury. Now there was a garden in the place where
he was crucified: and in the garden a new sepulchre,

wherein no man yet had been laid. There, therefore,

because of the parasceve of the Jews, they laid Jesus,

because the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

40—HOLY SATURDAY

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St.

Mark, c. 16.

At that time, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother
of James and Salome brought sweet spices, that com-

ing they might anoint Jesus. And very early in the



58 The lenten gospels

morning, the first day of the week, they come to the

sepulchre, the sun being now risen. And they said

one to another: Who shall roll back the stone from
the door of the sepulchre? And looking, they saw the

stone rolled back. For it was very great. And enter-

ing into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting

on the right side, clothed with a white robe; and they

were astonished. And he saith to them: Be not af-

frighted; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was cru-

cified; he is risen, he is not here. Behold the place

where they laid him. But go tell his disciples and

Peter, that he goeth before you into Galilee: there you

shall see him, as he told you.

Devout Catholics who meditate on the Gospels dur-

ing the holy season of Lent will on Holy Saturday add

to the above the reading of the Passion according to

St. Matthew, from the preceding Palm Sunday (which

will be found in a New Testament or Missal). The
Holy Saturday Mass is, strictly speaking, not a Lenten

Mass, but the ancient Easter midnight Mass.



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THE DIVINE ROMANCE 20c

THE SEVEN LAST WORDS 15c

QUEEN OF SEVEN SWORDS 15c

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(For Good Friday) 25c

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