Gorzkie Zale

Gorzkie Zale

Lenten Lamentations

The Ancient chants retracing the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ form the essence of this typically Polish weekly Lenten service that takes its name from the words of the hymn, "Gorzkie zale przybywajcia" (Come to us, bitter lamentations). Many Poles know the texts of the entire three-part cycle by heart.

The Gorzkie Zale [gosh-geh-zahl-leh] began in Warsaw's Holy Cross Church during the 1700s. The devotion incorporates prose and verse, chant and reading, prayer and meditation, inviting participants to reflect on the mystery of Christian redemption, the Passion and death of the Christ. This deep appreciation for the Passion is seen in the most popular Polish image of Christ, Chrystus Frasobliwy, the so-called "sorrowing Christ," which depicts Christ in the Garden, bent in prayer and sorrow. The Lamentations highlight the very emotional nature of Polish spirituality, inviting a personal identification with the Suffering Lord and His Mother. The devotion is most often preceded by Benediction and chanted kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament.

The Lamentations take the shape of a three-part cycle; one part is sung each service. Each of the three parts has a parallel form and structure, with repeated musical motifs. The text changes from one part to the next. Each of the three cycles of Gorzkie Zale are structured as follows:

Part I – Introductory Hymn */ Pobudka do rozmyslania meki Panskiej:*

All three parts begin with the same Introductory Hymn. These same invocations, from which the title Gorzkie Zale is taken, set the truly somber and grieving mood for the lamentations. The opening lines intone: "Gorzkie zale przybywajcia" (Come to us, bitter lamentations), "Serca nasze przenikajcie" (as we prepare our hearts):

Gorzkie zale przybywajcie, Serce nasze przenikajcie. (2x)	Come to us bitter lamentations, Prepare our hearts.

Rozplyncie sie me zrenice, Toczcie smutnych lez krynice. (2x)	With eyes tearful, hearts repenting, Let us grieve with no relenting.

Placza rzewnie Aniolowie, A ktoz zalosc ich wypowie. (2x)	Host of Angels, sadly weeping; Who'll explain their deep bereaving.

Opoki sie twarde kraja, Z grobow unmarli powstaja. (2x)	Mountains, cliffs, and rocks are crumbling; Sealed tombs open, loudly thundering.

Coz jest pytam, co sie dzieje? Wszystko stworzenie truchleje. (2x)	Why such grief? Desolation? Overwhelming all creation?

Na bol meki Chrystusowej, Zal przejmuje bez wymowy. (2x)	'Tis our Saviour's sacred passion Moving all to deep compassion.

Uderz Jezu bez odwloki, W twarde serc naszych opoki. (2x)	Touch our hearts, O Lord most Holy, With contrite hearts, true and lowly.

Upal serca mego chlodze, Gdy w przepasc Meki Twej wchodze. (2x)	May our lenten lamentations Curb false ardor as we contemplate Your Passion.

Part II – Intentions / Intencja

This spoken part directs the faithful toward focused contemplation, aiming at three different sections of the Lord's passion. It also guides the faithful in offering their contemplations as acts of veneration and penance.

Part III – Hymn

The first Hymn focuses on the particular sufferings of Christ:

Zal dusze sciska, serce bolesc czuje, Gdy slodki Jezus, na smierc sie gotuje: Kleczyc w Ogrojcu, gdy krwawy pot leje, Serce me mdleje.	Sorrow afflicts me, my heart bleeds with pain. As Sweet Jesus prepares himself for death. Drenched in bloody sweat, The cup He accepts, On death he reflects.

Pana swietosci uczen zly caluje, Zolnierz okrutny powrozmi krepuje, Jezus tym wiezom dla nas sie poddaje, Na smierc wydaje.	Soldiers approach Him while Judas draws near. To kiss his Master, without shame or fear. Like hungry wild wolves, they betray our Lord, Betray our Savior.

Bije, popycha tlum nieposkromiony, Nielitosciwie z tej i owej strony, Za wlosy targa; znosi w cierpliwosci, Krol z wysokosci.	The rabble frenzied with fury and hate, Strike blows, Push, kick Him; lead Him through the gate. They spit in His face and pull on His hair, The meek King of the Highest.

Zsiniale przedtem, krwia zachodza usta, Gdy zbrojna zolnierz rekawica chlusta, Wnet sie zmienilo w placzliwe wzdychanie, Serce kochanie.	One soldier in arms lifts his iron fists, At the sacred Face blood purples Christ's lips. Tenderly His eyes look up filled with tears, The Beloved Heart looks at the crowd who jeers.

Oby sie serce we lzy rozplywalo, Ze Cie moj Jezu, sprosnie obrazalo, Zal mi, ach! Zal mi! ciezkich moich zlosci, Dla Twej milosci.	Let my heart of stone be smitten with grief, O my sweet Jesus, cure my unbelief. I'm sorry, Jesus, for offending You. My God, I love You.

Part IV – The Soul's Lament / *Lament duszy nad cierpiacym Jesuzem*

*The Soul's Lament recasts moments of the Passion, interjected with the repeated refrain Jezu moj kochany! (My beloved Jesus!):*

Jezu! Na zabicie okrutne, Cichy Baranku, od wrogow szukany, Jezu moj kochany!	Jesus, sought by the maddened rabble, like meekest of lambs driven to Your slaughter, My Jesus, I love you!

Jezu! Za trzydziesci srebnikow, Od niewdziecznego ucznia zaprzedany, Jezu moj kochany!	Jesus, for thirty silver pieces sold ungratefully by Judas the traitor. My Jesus, I love you!

Jezu! W ciezkim smutku zaloscia, Jakos sam wyznal przed smiercia nekany, Jezu moj kochany!	Jesus, downcast with sorrow and pain, longing anxiously, death for man's salvation. My Jesus, I love you!

Jezu! na modlitwie w Ogrojcu, Strumieniem potu krwawego zalany, Jezu moj kochany!	Jesus, in the dark Olive Garden shedding bloody sweat, accepting the Chalice. My Jesus, I love you!

Jezu! calowaniem zdradliwym, Od niegodnego Judasza wydany, Jezu moj kochany!	Jesus, snared slyly into cruel hands by Judas traitor, ungrateful disciple. My Jesus, I love you!

Jezu! powrozami grubymi, Od swawolnego zol dactwa zwiazany, Jezu moj kochany!	Jesus, roughly bound by drugged hirelings; the rope, coarse and strong tearing your flesh sorely, My Jesus, I love you!

Jezu! od pospolstwa zelzywie, Przed Annaszowym sadem zniewazany, Jezu moj kochany!	Jesus, jeered and scoffed by the rabble before the mock-court of the high-priest Annas. My Jesus, I love you!

Jezu! przez ulice sromotnie, Przed sad Kaifasza za wlosy targany, Jezu moj kochany!	Jesus, dragged rudely through the dark streets by the beastly mob to the house of Caiaphas. My Jesus, I love you!

Jezu! od Malchusa srogiego, Reka z brodnicza wypoliczkowany, Jezu moj kochany!	Jesus, struck in the face severely with an iron glove by Malchus the servant. My Jesus, I love you!

Badz pozdrowiony, badz pohanbiony, Dla nas zelzony i pohanbiony! Badz uwielbiony, badz wyslawiony! Boze nieskonczony!	All hail, O Jesus, All honor to You, For man degraded, humiliated, To you, All Holy, praises and glory. To You, Christ Redeemer.

Part V – Mary-s Dialogue with the Soul / Rozmowa duszy z Matka Bolesna

The Dialogue includes a conversation with the Blessed Mother, in which she is questioned about her grief and in turn offers answers regarding the nature of her suffering. This aspect of the Gorzkie Zale may be seen as uniquely Polish. It reaffirms the Marian nature of Polish spirituality as expressed in the central icon of Polish Catholicism, Our Lady of Czestochowa. It models this spirituality through its inclusion of Mary's suffering at the center of the Lamentations:

Ach! Ja, Matka tak zalosna! Bolesc mnie sciska nieznosna, Miecz me serce przenika. (2x)	Oh, how sad and sorely stricken, My soul tried by God, most Holy, As the sword pierces my heart. (2x)

Czemusz, Matko ukochana! Ciezko na sercu stroskana, Czemusz wszystka truchlejesz? (2x)	Why, O Beloved Mother, are you worried? Why your heart so heavily harried? Why, Mother, are you dismayed? (2x)

Co mie pytasz? Wszystkam w mdlosci, Mowic nie moge z zalosci, Krew mi Serce zalewa! (2x)	Ask me not, I'm faint with anguish; I am speechless and I languish With the pain that grips my heart. (2x)

Powiedz mi, O Pani moja, Czemu blednieje twarz Twoja? Czemu gorzkie lzy lejesz? (2x)	Tell me, tell me, Blessed Mary, Why so pale, what grief you carry? Why so bitterly you weep? (2x)

Widze ze Syn ukochany, W Ogrojcu caly zalany, Potu krwawym potokiem! (2x)	Lo, see my Son dejected In the Garden, all rejected, Sweating blood in grief and pain. (2x)

O Matko! Zrodlo milosci, Niech czuje gwalt Twej zalosci, Dozwol mi z soba plakac! (2x)	O Mother! Fount of love and sorrow, May my spirit from you borrow Some of your profound tears! (2x)

Part VI - Final Refrain / Ktorys cierpal za nas rany

The final refrain is repeated three times as the closing motif for the Lamentations. It begs for the Lord's mercy. The thrice-repeated refrain echoes the "Lord have Mercy/ Kyrie" of the Mass and is also sung as the last invocation of each of the Polish Stations of the Cross: "Ktorys za nas cierpial rany, Jezu Chryste, zmiluj sie nad nami."