Today I ran across this wonderfully fresh translation of the hymn Stabat Mater. A notable number of scholars point to Jacapone da Todi as author, since two 14th century codices and the 1495 edition of the sequence attribute the hymn's authorship to him. The composition's general tone and sensitivity undeniably parallel that of da Todi's poems, yet strictly stylistic comparisons yield uncertain and even disputable results. Recent scholars L. Russo and M. Cassella aren't convinced by the arguments in favor of Jacopone's authorship. The Stabat Mater has two qualities that most scholars date from the 12th century: an intricate rhyme scheme and a regular meter (usually trochaic). The translation, done by Dr. Tom Barber in 2010, appears on:
His Mother Wept
His mother wept. She stood
beside the cross. Upon its wood
hung the body of her Son.
Her spirit moaned
with sadness, pained
and punctured.
How grieved and lost,
and yet how blessed,
childless and alone
In sadness,
trembling, witness
to His despair.
Who would not ache
to see such pain?
Christ’s mother –
Imagine any mother –
the loss of any other
mother’s love…
She beheld his torment,
Punishment –
for us, for sins. There
She stayed. She was there
in that place where
he gave his spirit up.
Mother, source of love,
join me when I grieve –
mourn with me.
Make my heart strong
in love of Christ. I long
to please.
Holy Mother, help me understand
the meaning of the wounds.
Help me to believe
All injuries,
all penalties
are His, for me.
Let me ever share
the weight you bear,
the crucifixion.
Let me also stand
beside the cross, in
witness to His passion.
Woman among women,
mother, also virgin,
please be kind.
Let me also know His death,
hear with you his parting breath,
healed, no longer blind.
Scales lifted from my eyes,
mind open, alive
for His love’s sake.
Spread light, sow love,
Virgin, lift me up
in my last days.
Let the cross protect
by faith, in life and death,
with grace.
And when my body dies
grant me paradise!
A new beginning, not an end.
Amen.
Amen forever, Amen.
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