Solus ad victimam procedis, Domine

Solis ad victimam procedis, Domine.  Peter Abelard* (1079-1142). From Hymnarius Paraclitensis, the book of hymns that Abelard wrote for the religious house of The Paraclete, where Heloise was Prioress (see Paraclete Hymnal*). It was written for the third nocturnal office on Good Friday. It beautifully combines the lament for the solitary figure of Christ ‘going forth’ to His sufferings and death with the promise that if we share His sufferings (‘Tu tibi compati sic fac nos, Domine') we may participate in the joys of Easter (‘Ut risum tribuas paschalis gloriae’):   Solus ad victimam procedis, Domine,Morti te offerens quam venis tollere:Quid nos miserrimi possumus dicereQui quae commisimus...