Today’s sequence for the Feast of the Seven Sorrows:
| STABAT Mater dolorosa iuxta Crucem lacrimosa, dum pendebat Filius. |
AT, the Cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to Jesus to the last. |
| Cuius animam gementem, contristatam et dolentem pertransivit gladius. |
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, all His bitter anguish bearing, now at length the sword has passed. |
| O quam tristis et afflicta fuit illa benedicta, mater Unigeniti! |
O how sad and sore distressed was that Mother, highly blest, of the sole-begotten One. |
| Quae maerebat et dolebat, pia Mater, dum videbat nati poenas inclyti. |
Christ above in torment hangs, she beneath beholds the pangs of her dying glorious Son. |
| Quis est homo qui non fleret, matrem Christi si videret in tanto supplicio? |
Is there one who would not weep, whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ’s dear Mother to behold? |
| Quis non posset contristari Christi Matrem contemplari dolentem cum Filio? |
Can the human heart refrain from partaking in her pain, in that Mother’s pain untold? |
| Pro peccatis suae gentis vidit Iesum in tormentis, et flagellis subditum. |
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled, she beheld her tender Child All with scourges rent: |
| Vidit suum dulcem Natum moriendo desolatum, dum emisit spiritum. |
For the sins of His own nation, saw Him hang in desolation, Till His spirit forth He sent. |
| Eia, Mater, fons amoris me sentire vim doloris fac, ut tecum lugeam. |
O thou Mother! fount of love! Touch my spirit from above, make my heart with thine accord: |
| Fac, ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum Deum ut sibi complaceam. |
Make me feel as thou hast felt; make my soul to glow and melt with the love of Christ my Lord. |
| Sancta Mater, istud agas, crucifixi fige plagas cordi meo valide. |
Holy Mother! pierce me through, in my heart each wound renew of my Savior crucified: |
| Tui Nati vulnerati, tam dignati pro me pati, poenas mecum divide. |
Let me share with thee His pain, who for all my sins was slain, who for me in torments died. |
| Fac me tecum pie flere, crucifixo condolere, donec ego vixero. |
Let me mingle tears with thee, mourning Him who mourned for me, all the days that I may live: |
| Iuxta Crucem tecum stare, et me tibi sociare in planctu desidero. |
By the Cross with thee to stay, there with thee to weep and pray, is all I ask of thee to give. |
| Virgo virginum praeclara, mihi iam non sis amara, fac me tecum plangere. |
Virgin of all virgins blest!, Listen to my fond request: let me share thy grief divine; |
| Fac, ut portem Christi mortem, passionis fac consortem, et plagas recolere. |
Let me, to my latest breath, in my body bear the death of that dying Son of thine. |
| Fac me plagis vulnerari, fac me Cruce inebriari, et cruore Filii. |
Wounded with His every wound, steep my soul till it hath swooned, in His very Blood away; |
| Flammis ne urar succensus, per te, Virgo, sim defensus in die iudicii. |
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh, lest in flames I burn and die, in His awful Judgment Day. |
| Christe, cum sit hinc exire, da per Matrem me venire ad palmam victoriae. |
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence, by Thy Mother my defense, by Thy Cross my victory; |
| Quando corpus morietur, fac, ut animae donetur paradisi gloria. Amen. |
While my body here decays, may my soul Thy goodness praise, safe in paradise with Thee. Amen. |
In the mid-1900’s, French Composer Francis Poulenc wrote a new setting of this hymn. It was one of his last major compositions before his death. Poulenc is known for being one of the first openly homosexual composers in history, and is often seized upon by some as a great champion of the LGBT movement. Indeed, he once said “You know that I am as sincere in my faith, without any messianic screamings, as I am in my Parisian sexuality.” However, as he matured, he saw the burdens and pains that come with the homosexual lifestyle, and after the death of a close friend in the 1920’s, he had a conversion. His music turned away from purely secular aims, and began to focus on God and the Church. Even his operas began to reflect a Godly focus (see Dialogues of the Carmelites). He finished the Stabat Mater in 1950, and died in 1963 after having written “Sept Répons des Ténèbres.”
Tags: Homosexuality, Liturgy, Music Sacred Catholic Liturgical and Chant, Orthodoxy at Work, Reflection
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Poulenc exemplifies the struggle between the world, the flesh and the devil versus our real spiritual work. His situation is similar to Charles Gounod, the French composer, who would write some beautiful sacred music and then run off to meet the Parisian “ladies”. Later, filled with regret , he would write another hymn; for an example, go to “YouTube” and listen to “Repentir”.
Holy Mary, pray for us.