For@thelonelybrilliance and my other Catholic friends here’s a really interesting Polish song for Easter period.
This song is titled “Ludu, mój ludu” (”People, my people”) and it’s a lament of Christ who’s asking the Chosen Nation why did they put Him - their God - through suffering,
Each paragrath starts with:
“People, my people, what have I done to you [to deserve it]?
How have I saddened you?
How have I wronged you?”
And proceeds with depiction of good things God gave His Chosen Nation and what was done to Him during crucificion.
This is one of my favorite religious songs and one that is sung during Lent.
I hope it will get you all into a mood.
Edit:
Here’s lyrics:
Ludu, mój ludu! Cóżem ci uczynił? [People, my people, what have I done to you?] W czymem zasmucił, albo w czym zawinił? [How have I saddened you, how have I wronged you?] Jam cię wyzwolił z mocy faraona, [I’ve freed you from Pharaoh’s power] A tyś przyrządził krzyż na Me ramiona. [And you’ve put/made cross on My arms.]
Ludu, mój ludu! Cóżem ci uczynił? [People, my people, what have I done to you?] W czymem zasmucił, albo w czym zawinił? [How have I saddened you, how have I wronged you?] Jam cię wprowadził w kraj miodem płynący, [I’ve led you into the land of milk and honey] Tyś Mi zgotował śmierci znak hańbiący. [You gave Me the disgraceful sign of death.]
Ludu, mój ludu! Cóżem ci uczynił? [People, my people, what have I done to you?] W czymem zasmucił, albo w czym zawinił? [How have I saddened you, how have I wronged you?] Jam ciebie szczepił, winnico wybrana, [I’ve interlocked you, chosen vineyard.] A tyś Mnie octem poił, swego Pana. [And you watered me, Your Lord, with vinegar.]
Ludu, mój ludu! Cóżem ci uczynił? [People, my people, what have I done to you?] W czymem zasmucił, albo w czym zawinił? [How have I saddened you, how have I wronged you?] Jam dla cię spuszczał na Egipt karanie, [I’ve sent punishment on Egypt.] A tyś Mnie wydał na ubiczowanie. [And you’ve spent Me on whipping.]”
Now, I’ve stumbled upon verisons with verse like these:
“Ludu, mój ludu! Cóżem ci uczynił? [People, my people, what have I done to you?] W czymem zasmucił, albo w czym zawinił? [How have I saddened you, how have I wronged you?] Jam ciebie karmił manny rozkoszami, [i’ve feed you with the pleasures of manna lichen,] Tyś Mi odpłacił policzkowaniami. [You’ve repaid me with slapping.]
Ludu, mój ludu! Cóżem ci uczynił? [People, my people, what have I done to you?] W czymem zasmucił, albo w czym zawinił? [How have I saddened you, how have I wronged you?] Jam ci dał berło Judzie powierzone, [I gave you the Judah’s septer,] A tyś Mi wtłoczył cierniową koronę. [And you crammed thorned crown on Me.]
Many of you may see crucifixion pieces that look like this. Beautiful as they may be, I believe they fail to truly convey reality.
Before Jesus was crucified, he was scourged. The flagrum that would have been used included pieces of bone and metal woven into a leather whip. It would have torn chunks of Jesus’ flesh from his body, and left deep and bloody gashes.
After this, Jesus was taken and the scarlet robe and crown of thorns were placed on him. He was subsequently spat on and struck on the head with a reed, which would have pressed the crown further into him. The pain at this point would already have been excruciating. Many people died by the scourge.
He was then forced to carry his own cross to the place where he would be crucified. Of course this was nearly impossible, and that is why Jesus fell multiple times and why Simon the Cyrene was conscripted to help carry it.
When Jesus finally made it to Golgotha, he would first have been laid down on the cross, his hands and feet nailed to it, and then the cross would be raised. This painting illustrates the scars and blood which would be on Jesus’ body by this point.
When Jesus was on the cross, each breath would have been excruciating. The nails would be ripping at his hands, gravity taking its toll. One thing you need to keep in mind is that crucifixion was considered one of the lowest forms of death. It was shameful and dishonorable, so much so that the idea of the Son of God being crucified was itself a mockery, an insult. Romans who heard that the Christian Messiah was crucified would likely have seen this as impossible, how could God’s Son be put through such a despicable thing?
In a more spiritual sense, tradition holds that while Jesus was on the cross, he witnessed and felt every single sin that would be committed in all of time, and that because he took all of them upon himself, he was entirely cut off from God the Father. The weight of not just the world’s sin, but the entirety of humanity in all times past, present, and future, would have accompanied Jesus alongside his physical pain. This cannot be understated. Jesus did not merely experience a horrific physical death, but also the pain and suffering of all sin and of the experience of being cut off from God. Being cut off from God is one of the aspects of being in hell, so on the cross he would have experienced a sort of literal hell.
Jesus died after three hours of suffering on the cross. “My God my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Now, I want you to imagine things from the perspective of Mary. We know God does not experience emotions as we do, but I think Mary gives us a glimpse, a sort of shadow, of what God would have “felt” seeing His exalted Son cut off from him and put to death.
Mary watched her only Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, be put through all this. Today we know how awful it is for mothers to lose their children, whether it be in a miscarriage or an accident in adult life. So, then, we know that Mary would have experienced something truly awful. I cannot fathom what it must have been like to see your son, the messiah, bloodied and crucified.
Today, let us remember what Christ did for us, and what he earned for us. He did not have to go through all this. We do not deserve salvation. But he won it for us. It is a gift freely given. So we must accept it and live our lives as he did. We must take up our own cross.
