By Elizabeth Prata
“Prayer on Good-Friday” From: Little Treasure of Prayers, by Anonymous
Prayer on Good-Friday.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou innocent and spotless Lamb of God, who didst suffer for us the ignominious death of the cross, which it is Thy will that it never be forgotten by us. From the depth of our hearts we again give Thee praise, honor and thanks for this Thy love and mercy, that Thou didst so dearly purchase us poor sinners by Thy innocent sufferings and death, and didst become obedient to Thy heavenly Father, unto death on the cross. Thou didst also shed Thy precious blood to wash away and blot out our sins, and didst lay down Thy life in order to rescue us from eternal death. O faithful Saviour! how much didst Thou suffer in our behalf; what unspeakable torture and pain didst Thou endure in body and soul in order that we might be free from it forever. O Lord Jesus!
Thou patient Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world, we confess, that with our manifold and gross sins we have caused Thee such pains and labors and brought about this Thy death. Be gracious and merciful unto us and let this Thy bitter and painful suffering not be in vain for us. Grant unto us Thy grace that daily we may think of Thy death, heartily praise and thank Thee for the same, and by the contemplation of these Thy sufferings and crucifixion we may crucify and mortify in us all lusts of the flesh and evil passions of our corrupt nature, and since Thou didst suffer for us, help therefore also, that we may obediently follow Thee with the cross, which we daily deserve on account of our sins, and for Thy sake, bear all things patiently, that, finally, we may, with all the elect, be and forever remain with Thee in heavenly joy and bliss. Amen.
Prayer by Anonymous. Located at Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro) Italian
Source for art & caption Metropolitan Museum of Art
This early work by Fra Angelico accentuates the drama of the Crucifixion by showing the Virgin collapsed in grief with the lamenting Maries and emphasizing the varied attitudes of the Roman soldiers and their horses. There is an exquisite delicacy about this work that Fra Angelico will develop in his mature paintings. The innovative circular composition was inspired by the bronze doors created by Lorenzo Ghiberti for the Baptistry of Florence.
the-end-time.org 
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