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"Who is Christ if not the Word of God? "n the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" This Word of God was made flesh and dwelt among us. He had no power of himself to die for us: he had to take from us our mortal flesh. This was the way in which, though immortal, he was able to die; the way in which he chose to give life to mortal men: he would first share with us, and then enable us to share with him. Of ourselves we had no power to live, nor did he of himself have the power to die.
In other words, he performed the most wonderful exchange with us. Through us, he died; through him, we shall live.
The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves."

-S.Augustine, homily, matins of Monday in Holy Week.

Here it is.

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It is finished. Long, dramatic theological explanation of all the details with quotes from the fathers and scriptures soon to come.

"Proprio Filio suo..

Non pepercit Deus, sed pro nobis omnibus tradiddit illum."

"God spared not even his own Son,but delivered him up for us all"

- 1st antiphon, Lauds.

" If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. “Sacrifice a lamb without blemish”, commanded Moses, “and sprinkle its blood on your doors”. If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ." 

-S.John Chrysostom 

Seven Peniential Psalms with prayers.

Dom Gueranger on Good Friday.

Palm Sunday, Post I

"Let us go together to meet Christ on the Mount of Olives. Today he returns from Bethany and proceeds of his own free will toward his holy and blessed passion, to consummate the mystery of our salvation. He who came down from heaven to raise us from the depths of sin, to raise us with himself, we are told in Scripture, above every sovereignty, authority and power, and every other name that can be named, now comes of his own free will to make his journey to Jerusalem. He comes without pomp or ostentation. As the psalmist says: He will not dispute or raise his voice to make it heard in the streets. He will be meek and humble, and he will make his entry in simplicity

Let us run to accompany him as he hastens toward his passion, and imitate those who met him then, not by covering his path with garments, olive branches or palms, but by doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before him by being humble and by trying to live as he would wish. Then we shall be able to receive the Word at his coming, and God, whom no limits can contain, will be within us

In his humility Christ entered the dark regions of our fallen world and he is glad that he became so humble for our sake, glad that he came and lived among us and shared in our nature in order to raise us up again to himself. And even though we are told that he has now ascended above the highest heavens - the proof, surely, of his power and godhead - his love for man will never rest until he has raised our earthbound nature from glory to glory, and made it one with his own in heaven.

So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him. Now that the crimson stains of our sins have been washed away in the saving waters of baptism and we have become white as pure wool, let us present the conqueror of death, not with mere branches of palms but with the real rewards of his victory. Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches as we join today in the childrens' holy song: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel."

-Sermon of S.Andrew of Crete.

"AVE Rex noster,Fili David, Redemptor mundi,quem prophetae praedixerunt Salvatorem esse venturum.Te enim ad salutarem victimam Pater misit in mundum,quem expectabant omnes sancti ab origine mundi: Et nunc:'Hosanna Filio David, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.Hosanna in excelsis.'"

"HAIL, thou, our king, thou Son of David and Redeemer of the world! Thou whom the prophets didst predict to be the Saviour to come; thee did the Father send into the world as a saving victim,thou who wast waited for by all the saints from the foundation of the world! And to thee now they say: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!Hosanna in the highest!"."

-Magnificat antiphon, first Vespers.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given to mankind an example of humility to follow in Our Saviour's taking upon him flesh and suffering the death of the Cross: mercifully grant that by following the example of his patience, we may also merit to be made partakers of his resurrection. Through the same

-Collect of the day.

Aside, as you guys can see, I've basically given up translating the Latin texts into modern English. Since this is the liturgical English I'm familiar with, I just do it this way from now on.Besides, it's Just Better. And also, I'm pretty sure that I got at least one phrase from the magnificat wrong. Oh well.

Ash Wednesday.

"Let us look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world. Let us turn to every age that has passed, and learn that, from generation to generation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all such as would be converted unto Him. Noah preached repentance, and as many as listened to him were saved. Jonah proclaimed destruction to the Ninevites; Jonah iii but they, repenting of their sins, propitiated God by prayer, and obtained salvation, although they were aliens to the covenant of God.

The ministers of the grace of God have, by the Holy Spirit, spoken of repentance; and the Lord of all things has himself declared with an oath regarding it, "As I live, says the Lord, I desire not the death of the sinner, but rather his repentance;" Ezekiel 33:11 adding, moreover, this gracious declaration, "Repent, O house of Israel, of your iniquity." Say to the children of my people, Though your sins reach from earth to heaven, and though they be redder than scarlet, and blacker than sack-cloth, yet if you turn to me with your whole heart, and say, Father! I will listen to you, as to a holy people.

And in another place He speaks thus: "Wash you and become clean; put away the wickedness of your souls from before my eyes; cease from your evil ways, and learn to do well; seek out judgment, deliver the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and see that justice is done to the widow; and come, and let us reason together. He declares, Though your sins be like crimson, I will make them white as snow; though they be like scarlet, I will whiten them like wool. And if you be willing and obey me, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse, and will not hearken unto me, the sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things." Desiring, therefore, that all His beloved should be partakers of repentance, He has, by His almighty will, established these declarations.

Let us therefore, brethren, be of humble mind, laying aside all haughtiness, and pride, and foolishness, and angry feelings; and let us act according to that which is written (for the Holy Spirit says, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, neither let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glories glory in the Lord, in diligently seeking Him, and doing judgment and righteousness" ), being especially mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus which He spoke teaching us meekness and long-suffering. For thus He spoke: "Be merciful, that you may obtain mercy; forgive, that it may be forgiven to you; as you do, so shall it be done unto you; as you judge, so shall you be judged; as you are kind, so shall kindness be shown to you; with what measure ye mete, with the same it shall be measured to you. " By this precept and by these rules let us establish ourselves, that we walk with all humility in obedience to His holy words. For the holy word says, "On whom shall I look, but on him that is meek and peaceable, and that trembles at my words?""

-S.Clement of Rome, Epistle to the Corinthians.

"With the armour of God, let us give ourselves to much patience and fasting."

-Antiphon,sext.

Collect of the day:

"Grant us,O Lord, to begin the campaign of our Christian warfare with holy fasting;so that, as we go forth to battle against the spirits of evil,we may be defended by the strength of self-control.Through Our Lord."

Vigil of the Epiphany.

A homily of S.Augustine:

"Our Lord Jesus Christ, dearest brethren, who in eternity is the Creator of all things, was as at this time born of a mother and became our Saviour. It was as at this time that he willed to be born for us in earthly time, so as to lead us to the Father's eternity. God is made man, that man may be made as God. That man may eat Angels' food, the Lord of Angels was as on this day made man.

Now is fulfilled that prophecy : Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness : let the earth open, and bring forth a Saviour. He who made all things is therefore himself made, that those who are lost may be found. It is even as man is made to testify of himself in the Psalms : Before I was humbled, I went wrong. Man sinned and became guilty. God is born man, that the guilty may be delivered. Man fell, but God descended. Man fell miserably, God descended mercifully. Man fell by pride, God descended with grace.

O my brethren, what a miracle! what a wonder! The laws of nature are changed concerning man : God is born, a Virgin conceiveth without an husband ; the Word of God is wedded to one who knoweth no man ; she is at once Mother and Virgin. A Mother, yet ínviolate : a Virgin having a Son ; knowing no man, ever sealed, yet not unfruitful. For he alone was born without sin. He alone was born without human embrace, begotten not of the will of the flesh, but of the obedience of the mind."

"In praesepio iacebat, et in caelis fulgebat; ad nos veniebat, et apud Patrem manebat."
"In the manger did he lay, and in the height shone bright as day: He did come to us, and yea, with the Father did he stay."

-Benedictus antiphon, Lauds.

Collect:
"Grant, to thy people, we beseech thee O Lord, an inviolable firmness of faith: That, as they confess thine Only-begotten Son with thee eternally in thy glory, and truly born of our flesh of the Virgin Mary, they may be delivered from present adversities, and so attain the joys which remain."

Late, I know, but I had some bad congestion today and didn't feel well. The good news is that I don't have to watch my five obnoxious,rambunctious little anklebiters five lovely, well-behaved nieces and nephews tomorrow like I thought. The bad news is that I'll probably be so congested and coughing so much, I'll have to stay home. The cough medicine I used today worked well enough, but I'm out and the only store that sells it is halfway across the city in University City.

Mary, the Holy Mother of God.

"Rubum, quem víderat Móyses incombústum, conservátam agnóvimus tuam laudábilem virginitátem. Dei Génetrix, intercéde pro nobis."
"As the bush, which Moses saw unconsumed, even thus preserved we know is thy glorious virginity:O mother of God, intercede for us."
Third antiphon, Vespers.

"For by the singular gift of Him who is our Lord and God, and withal, her own son, she is to be confessed most truly and most blessedly--The mother of God 'Theotocos,' but not in the sense in which it is imagined by a certain impious heresy which maintains, that she is to be called the Mother of God for no other reason than because she gave birth to that man who afterwards became God, just as we speak of a woman as the mother of a priest, or the mother of a bishop, meaning that she was such, not by giving birth to one already a priest or a bishop, but by giving birth to one who afterwards became a priest or a bishop. Not thus, I say, was the holy Mary 'Theotocos,' the mother of God, but rather, as was said before, because in her sacred womb was wrought that most sacred mystery whereby, on account of the singular and unique unity of Person, as the Word in flesh is flesh, so Man in God is God."

-Vincent of Lerins, Commonitory for the Antiquity and Universality of the Catholic Faith, 15

"And so you say, O heretic, whoever you may be, who deny that God was born of the Virgin, that Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ ought not to be called Theotocos, i.e., Mother of God, but Christotocos, i.e., only the Mother of Christ, not of God. For no one, you say, brings forth what is anterior in time. And of this utterly foolish argument whereby you think that the birth of God can be understood by carnal minds, and fancy that the mystery of His Majesty can be accounted for by human reasoning, we will, if God permits, say something later on. In the meanwhile we will now prove by Divine testimonies that Christ is God, and that Mary is the Mother of God."

-John Cassian, The Incarnation of Christ, II:2

Here's a medieval hymn, the mirror image of the popular "Stabat Mater Dolorosa":
Stabat Mater Speciosa.
And it's really hard to pick one section of today's office to quote, the whole thing is so beautiful So, If you're good for it, Here's the whole office according to the typical version.

St.John of Damascus.

"I do not worship matter; I worship the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake, who willed to take His abode in matter; who worked out my salvation through matter. Never will I cease honoring the matter which wrought my salvation! .... Through [matter] my salvation has come to me. Was not the thrice-happy and thrice-blessed wood of the cross matter? Was not the holy and exalted mountain of Calvary matter? What of hte life-bearing rock, the holy and l ife-giving tomb, the fountain of our resurreciton, was it not matter? Is not the ink in the most holy Gospel book matter? Is not the life-giving altar matter? From it we receive the bread of life! Are not gold and silver matter? From them we make crosses, patens, chalices! And over and above all these things, is not the Body and Blood of our Lord matter? Either do away with the honor and veneration these things deserve, or accept the Tradition of the Church and the veneration of images."
-On The Divine Images.