The Reproaches (Improperia) of the Good Friday liturgy

The Reproaches (Improperia) of the Good Friday liturgy

Popule meus — the Reproaches of Good Friday

“O my people, what have I done to thee?”: Christ's lament, sung at the adoration of the Cross

Latin and GreekEnglish

Improperia maiora

The major Reproaches

℣. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.
℣. Quia eduxi te de terra Aegypti: parasti Crucem Salvatori tuo.
℟. Agios o Theos. ℟. Sanctus Deus.
℟. Agios ischyros. ℟. Sanctus fortis.
℟. Agios athanatos, eleison imas. ℟. Sanctus immortalis, miserere nobis.

℣. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.
℣. Because I led thee out of the land of Egypt, thou hast prepared a cross for thy Saviour.
℟. Hagios o Theos. ℟. Holy God.
℟. Hagios ischyros. ℟. Holy Strong One.
℟. Hagios athanatos, eleison imas. ℟. Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.

℣. Quia eduxi te per desertum quadraginta annis, et manna cibavi te, et introduxi te in terram satis bonam: parasti Crucem Salvatori tuo.
℟. Agios o Theos. ℟. Sanctus Deus.
℟. Agios ischyros. ℟. Sanctus fortis.
℟. Agios athanatos, eleison imas. ℟. Sanctus immortalis, miserere nobis.

℣. Because I led thee through the desert forty years, and fed thee with manna, and brought thee into a land exceeding good, thou hast prepared a cross for thy Saviour.
℟. Hagios o Theos. ℟. Holy God.
℟. Hagios ischyros. ℟. Holy Strong One.
℟. Hagios athanatos, eleison imas. ℟. Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.

℣. Quid ultra debui facere tibi, et non feci? Ego quidem plantavi te vineam meam speciosissimam: et tu facta es mihi nimis amara: aceto namque sitim meam potasti: et lancea perforasti latus Salvatori tuo.
℟. Agios o Theos. ℟. Sanctus Deus.
℟. Agios ischyros. ℟. Sanctus fortis.
℟. Agios athanatos, eleison imas. ℟. Sanctus immortalis, miserere nobis.

℣. What more ought I to have done for thee, and have not done? I planted thee, indeed, my most beautiful vineyard: and thou hast become exceeding bitter to me: for in my thirst thou gavest me vinegar to drink: and with a spear thou hast pierced the side of thy Saviour.
℟. Hagios o Theos. ℟. Holy God.
℟. Hagios ischyros. ℟. Holy Strong One.
℟. Hagios athanatos, eleison imas. ℟. Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.

Improperia minora

The lesser Reproaches

℣. Ego propter te flagellavi Aegyptum cum primogenitis suis: et tu me flagellatum tradidisti.
℟. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.

℣. For thy sake I scourged Egypt with its firstborn: and thou didst deliver me up to be scourged.
℟. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.

℣. Ego eduxi te de Aegypto, demerso Pharaone in Mare Rubrum: et tu me tradidisti principibus sacerdotum.
℟. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.

℣. I led thee out of Egypt, having drowned Pharao in the Red Sea: and thou didst deliver me up to the chief priests.
℟. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.

℣. Ego ante te aperui mare: et tu aperuisti lancea latus meum.
℟. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.

℣. I opened the sea before thee: and thou with a spear hast opened my side.
℟. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.

℣. Ego ante te praeivi in columna nubis: et tu me duxisti ad praetorium Pilati.
℟. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.

℣. I went before thee in a pillar of cloud: and thou hast led me to the judgment hall of Pilate.
℟. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.

℣. Ego te pavi manna per desertum: et tu me cecidisti alapis et flagellis.
℟. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.

℣. I fed thee with manna in the desert: and thou hast struck me with blows and scourges.
℟. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.

℣. Ego te potavi aqua salutis de petra: et tu me potasti felle et aceto.
℟. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.

℣. I gave thee the water of salvation from the rock to drink: and thou hast given me gall and vinegar.
℟. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.

℣. Ego propter te Chananaeorum reges percussi: et tu percussisti arundine caput meum.
℟. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.

℣. For thy sake I struck the kings of the Chanaanites: and thou hast struck my head with a reed.
℟. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.

℣. Ego dedi tibi sceptrum regale: et tu dedisti capiti meo spineam coronam.
℟. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.

℣. I gave thee a royal sceptre: and thou hast given to my head a crown of thorns.
℟. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.

℣. Ego te exaltavi magna virtute: et tu me suspendisti in patibulo Crucis.
℟. Popule meus, quid feci tibi? aut in quo contristavi te? responde mihi.

℣. I exalted thee with great power: and thou hast hanged me on the gibbet of the Cross.
℟. O my people, what have I done to thee? or in what have I grieved thee? answer me.

Antiphona

Antiphon

℣. Crucem tuam adoramus, Domine: et sanctam resurrectionem tuam laudamus et glorificamus: ecce enim, propter lignum venit gaudium in universo mundo.
℣. Deus misereatur nostri et benedicat nobis: illuminet vultum suum super nos, et misereatur nostri.
℟. Crucem tuam adoramus, Domine: et sanctam resurrectionem tuam laudamus et glorificamus: ecce enim, propter lignum venit gaudium in universo mundo.

℣. We adore thy Cross, O Lord: and we praise and glorify thy holy resurrection: for behold, by the wood of the Cross joy has come into the whole world.
℣. May God have mercy on us and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.
℟. We adore thy Cross, O Lord: and we praise and glorify thy holy resurrection: for behold, by the wood of the Cross joy has come into the whole world.

SourceThe Reproaches (Improperia) of the Good Friday liturgy · “O my people, what have I done to thee?”: Christ's lament, sung at the adoration of the Cross

The history of this prayer

The Reproaches (Latin improperia, “rebukes”, “complaints”) are sung on Good Friday while the faithful come forward to adore the Cross. In them it is Christ himself, nailed to the wood, who speaks to his people: he recalls all he did for them, from the going out of Egypt onwards, and sets beside each gift the ingratitude with which it was repaid.

The question that forms the refrain comes from the prophet Micah: “O my people, what have I done to thee, or in what have I molested thee? answer thou me” (Micah 6:3). The image of the vineyard turned bitter comes from Isaiah 5 and Jeremiah 2. It is not an accusation aimed at others: in the liturgy the people addressed as “my people” is the Church herself, each of us, who by our sins prepared the Cross for the Saviour.

The chant in Greek

In the first three Reproaches two choirs alternate the Trisagion, “Holy God, Holy Strong One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us”, first in Greek (Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς) and then in Latin. It is one of the few places where the Roman rite has kept Greek, a sign of ancient origins and of ties with the Christian East.

The exact date when the Reproaches entered the liturgy is not known. Some parts of them, alternating with the Trisagion, are already found in Gallican liturgical books of the ninth century, and they were only later taken into the books of Rome. In the liturgy as renewed after the Council they remain among the chants provided for the adoration of the Cross.

How to pray them

Outside the liturgy they can be prayed before a crucifix on Good Friday, or on any Friday in Lent, as an examination of conscience: each verse silently asks what answer we give to so much love.

The Latin is that of the traditional Roman Missal; the English and Portuguese translations were made here from it.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Reproaches?

They are the Good Friday chants sung during the adoration of the Cross, in which Christ reminds his people of the gifts he gave them and the ingratitude he received, with the refrain “O my people, what have I done to thee?”.

Where does “Popule meus, quid feci tibi” come from?

From the prophet Micah (6:3). The liturgy places these words on the lips of Christ crucified.

Why is there Greek in the Reproaches?

The Trisagion, “Hagios o Theos”, is sung in Greek and in Latin, an ancient custom the Roman rite has kept on Good Friday.

More prayers: Lent and Holy Week

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