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BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, Power of God, for Thy lowly descent, at the hour of Vespers, from the lofty Cross, upon which, tor our Salvation, Thou didst hang till sunset; and whence Thou wast then ordered to be taken down, in accordance with the Jewish law, and because the Paschal Feast was about to be kept on Holy Saturday.

I praise and glorify Thee for the faithful service so lovingly rendered Thee by Thy familiar friends, what time those most just men, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, a Doctor of the Law, came with their servants to the Cross, and having set up ladders against it, mounted one on the right and another on the left, while a third was engaged in loosing Thy Feet. With due reverence and love, they drew from Thy sacred Hands and Feet three precious nails, more precious than burnished gold; and then with the help of their companions, they reverently took hold of Thy most illustrious Body, and modestly and carefully lowered It to the ground.

Blessed and full of pity were ye, who did this act of mercy to the Lord your God, in order ta prepare His Body for the grave; ye were careful to show even more faithful devotion to your Friend when He was dead than ye had shown to Him when He was alive. Therefore in Heaven shall ye receive a special reward from God, to Whom