Beatus qui sedet solitarius et tacet, et stat super custodiam suam jugiter nocte ac die; ut adhuc in hoc fragili corpusculo positus, prælibare valeat aliquatenus dulcedinem tuam.
Rogo te per illa salutifera vulnera tua, quæ passus es in cruce pro salute nostra, ex quibus emanavit ille pretiosus sanguis quo sumus redempti, vulnera hanc animam peccatricem, pro qua eliam mori dignatus es; vulnera eam igneo et potentissimo telo tuæ ninli;e charitatis. Vivus es, sermo Dei, et efficax et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti ( Hebr. IV, ). Tu sagitta electa, et gladius acutissimus, qui durum scutum bumani cordis penetrare tua potentia vales, confige cor meum jaculo tui amoris: ut dicat ubi anima mea, Charitate tua vulnerata suni; ita ut ex ipso vulnere amoris tui uberrim;e fluant lacrymæ nocte ac die.
Blessed is the one who sits alone and is silent, and stands continually upon his guard night and day, so that even while still placed in this fragile little body, he may be able to taste your sweetness in some measure.
I ask you by those saving wounds of yours, which you suffered on the cross for our salvation, from which flowed that precious blood by which we are redeemed—wound this sinful soul, for which you even deigned to die; wound it with the fiery and most powerful arrow of your love. You are the living and effective Word of God, and sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4). You are the chosen arrow and the sharpest sword, which by your power can pierce the hard shield of the human heart; transfix my heart with the dart of your love, so that my soul may say, "I am wounded by your love," and thus from that very wound of your love tears may flow most abundantly night and day.
Percute, Domine, percute, obsecro, hanc durissimam mentem meam prævalida cuspide dilectionis tuæ, et altius ad intima penetra potenti virtute, et sic da capiti men aquam immensam, et oculis meis infunde,'crum fontem lacrymarum jugiter manantem, ex nimio affectu et desiderio visionis pulchritudinis tuæ, ut lugeam nocte ac die, nullam in præsenti vita recipiens consolationem, donec te in coelesti thalamo merear videre dilectum et pulcherrimum sponsum maum Deum et Dominum meum, ut ibi videns gloriosam et admirabilem ct pulcherrimam faciem tuam, omni dulcedine plenam, cum his quos elegisti, majestatem tuam supplex adorem, et illic tan lem cœlesti et ineffabili repletus jubilo æternae exsultationis, exclamem cum diligentibus te, dicens: Ecce quod concupivi jam video, quod speravi jam teneo, quod desi. deravi jam haheo: Illi jam in coelis junctus sum, quem in terris positus tota virtute dilexi, tota chari. taLe amplexus sum. Cui toto amore inhrsi, ipsum laudo, benedico atque adoro, qui vivit et regnat Deus in saecula sæculorum. Amen.
Strike, Lord, strike, I beseech you, this most hardened mind of mine with the most powerful spear of your love, and penetrate it more deeply to its inmost parts with your potent virtue, and so give to my head an immense water, and pour into my eyes a fountain of tears flowing continually, out of the exceeding affection and desire of the vision of your beauty, that I may mourn night and day, receiving no consolation in the present life, until I merit to see you in the heavenly bridal chamber, my beloved and most beautiful bridegroom, my God and my Lord, so that there, seeing your glorious and admirable and most beautiful face, full of all sweetness, with those whom you have chosen, I may suppliantly adore your majesty, and there, filled with such heavenly and ineffable jubilation of eternal exultation, I may cry out with those who love you, saying: Behold, what I have longed for I now see; what I hoped for I now hold; what I desired I now have. I am now joined in the heavens to him whom, placed on earth, I loved with all my strength, whom I embraced with all my love. To him I have clung with all my affection; him I praise, bless, and adore, who lives and reigns, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
CAPUT XXXVIII. Precatio in afflictione. Miserere, Domine, miserere, pie, miserere milii miserrimo peccatori indigna agenti, et digna patienti; assidue peccanti, et tua flagella quotidie sustinenti. Si penso malum quod feci, non est tantum quod patior; gravius est quod commisi, levius quod tolero. Justus es, Domine; ct rectum judicium mun: omnia judicia tua justa el vera sunt. Justus ct rectus es tu, Domine Deus noster, et non est ulla iniquitas in te. Non enim injuste neque crudeliter aflligis nos peccatores, omnipotens et misericors Domine: qui cum non essemus, potenter fecisti nos, et cum perditi fuissemus culpa nostra, pictate et bonitate tua mirabiliter recuperasti nus 2. Scio et certuS suns, quod vita nostra non temerariis motibus agitur, sed a te Domino Deo disponitur et gubernatur. Unde tibi cura est de omnibus, præcipue de servis tuis, qui totam spem suam posuerunt in sola misericordia tua. IdcircO obsecro et suppliciter rogo, ut non facias mihi secundum peccata mea, quibus iram tuam merui; sed secundum magnam misericordiam tuam, quæ superat etiam peccata totius mundi. Tu, Domine. qui exterius flagella irrogas, da semper interius indeficientem patientiam: ita ut laus tua non recedat ex ore meo. Miserere mei, Domine, miserere mei, et adjuva ine sicut tu nobti quod milii necesse est in corpore et in anima: scis omnia, potes omnia, qui vivis in sæcula.
CHAPTER XXXVIII. A Prayer in Affliction. Have mercy, Lord, have mercy, O merciful one, have mercy on me, the most wretched of sinners, who do what is unworthy and suffer what is worthy; who sin continually and endure your scourges daily. If I weigh the evil I have done, what I suffer is not so great; heavier is what I have committed, lighter what I endure. You are just, Lord, and your judgment is right: all your judgments are just and true. You are just and right, O Lord our God, and there is no iniquity in you. For you do not afflict us sinners unjustly or cruelly, O almighty and merciful Lord: you who, when we were not, powerfully made us, and when we had been lost by our own fault, wonderfully recovered us by your loving-kindness and goodness. I know and am certain that our life is not driven by rash impulses, but is ordered and governed by you, Lord God. Hence you have care for all things, especially for your servants, who have placed their whole hope in your mercy alone. Therefore I beseech and humbly ask that you not deal with me according to my sins, by which I have deserved your wrath, but according to your great mercy, which surpasses even the sins of the whole world. You, Lord, who inflict scourges outwardly, grant always inwardly unfailing patience, so that your praise may not depart from my mouth. Have mercy on me, Lord, have mercy on me, and help me as you know I need in body and in soul: you know all things, you can do all things, who live for ever.
CAPUT XXXIX. — Precatio ad Deum mixta timore et fiducia. Confessio iniquitatum. Conversio ad Patrem unde indulgeat. Humilis a Filio veniæ postulatio. Judicii horror. Ad misericordiam Dei confugit. Jesu nomen fiduciam præbet. Domine Jesu Chiibte, Fili Dei vivi, qui expansis in cruce manibus propter mortalium omnium redemptionem hausisti calicem passionis, mihi hodie præbere digneris auxilium.
Ecce pauper venio ad te divitem, miser ad misericordem, ne recedam vacuus vel contemptus. Esuriens incipio te quaTere, ne deserar a te jejunus; famelicus accedo, ne rccedam impastus. Et Si antequam comedam suspiro, da vel post suspiria ut comedam. In primis, dulcissime Jesu, coram magnificentia tuns suavitatis conlitcor adversum me injustitiam meam. Ecce, Domine, in peccatis fui conceptus et natus, et tu me abluisti et sanctificasti, et ego postea ine majuribus sordidavi peccatis.
CHAPTER XXXIX. A Prayer to God, Blending Fear and Trust. Confession of Iniquities. Turning to the Father, That He May Pardon. A Humble Request for Forgiveness from the Son. The Horror of Judgment. He Flees to the Mercy of God. The Name of Jesus Gives Confidence. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who with hands outstretched on the cross drank the cup of suffering for the redemption of all mortals, deign today to grant me help.
Behold, I come poor to you who are rich, wretched to you who are merciful, lest I depart empty or despised. Hungering, I begin to seek you, lest I be abandoned by you starving; famished I approach, lest I depart unfed. And if I sigh before I eat, grant that even after my sighs I may eat. First of all, sweetest Jesus, before the magnificence of your sweetness I confess against myself my injustice. Behold, Lord, I was conceived and born in sins, and you washed me and sanctified me, and afterward I defiled myself with greater sins.
Fui enim in necessariis natus, postea in spontancis volutatus; sed tuæ, Doniine, miserationis non immemor, tulisti ine de domo patris mei carnalis, et de tabernaculis peccatorum, et inspirasti mihi ut sequcrer te cum generationc quærentium faciem tuam, ambulantium semitam rectam, commorantium inter lilia castitatis; et tecum discumbentium in coenaculo altissimæ paupertatis: et ego tut beneficiorum ingratus, post rcligionis ingressum inulta commisi illicita, multa perpetravi neta.da; ct ubi pecca emendare debui, peccata petcatis addidi. Hic sunt mala ira, Doniinc, quibus exhonoravi te, et maculavi me, quem ad imaginem et similitudinem tuam creasti (Gen. I, 27), seperbia, vana gloria, et cætera multa alia, quibus vexatur et affligitur, laceratur et destruitur infelix anima mea. Ecce, Domine, iniquitates meae supergressæ sunt caput meum, et sicut onus grave gravatæ sunt super me (Psal. XXXVIII, 5); ei nisi tu, cui proprium est misereri semper et parcere, dexteram tuæ majestatis supponas. mergi cogor miserabiliter in profundum.
For I was born among things necessary, and afterward I was tossed about among things voluntary; but you, Lord, not unmindful of your mercy, took me out of the house of my fleshly father and out of the tents of sinners, and you inspired me to follow you with the generation of those who seek your face, who walk in the straight path, who dwell among the lilies of chastity, and who recline with you in the upper room of the deepest poverty. And I, ungrateful for your benefits, after entering religion committed many unlawful things, perpetrated many things to be corrected, and where I ought to have amended my sins, I added sins to sins. Here are the evils of wrath, Lord, by which I dishonored you and defiled myself, whom you created in your image and likeness (Gen. 1:27), by pride, vainglory, and many other evils by which my unhappy soul is vexed and afflicted, torn and destroyed. Behold, Lord, my iniquities have gone over my head, and like a heavy burden they weigh upon me (Ps. 38:5); and unless you, whose property it is always to have mercy and to spare, place beneath me the right hand of your majesty, I am forced to be miserably sunk into the deep.
Attende, Domine Deus, ct vide, quoniam sanctus: et ecce insultat adversum me inimicus meus, dicens, Deus dereliquit eum, persequar et comprehendam cum, quia non est qui eripiat ( Psal. LXX, 11). Et tu, Dotumne, usquequo? Convertere et eripe animam meam, salvum me fac propter misericordiam tuam (Psal. VI, 5). Miserere filio tuo, quem dolore non modico peperisti: et noli auenderc malum meum, ut obliviscaris bonum tuum. Qu:s est pater, qui filium non liberet? Ant quis filius, quem pater pietatis baculo non corripiat? Ergo, Pater et Domine, licet peccatur sim, non possum non esse filius tuns, quia tu me fecisti et refecisti. Sicut peccavi, emenda me, et prius flagello me emendatum trade me Filio tuo. Numquid oblivisci potest mater infantem uteri sui? Et certe si illa oblita fuerit, tu, Pater, promisisti te non oblivisci (Isai. XLIX, 15). Ecce clamo, et non exaudis me; dolore crucior, et non consolaris me. Quid dicam vet quid faciam miserrimus? Ego tanto destitutus solatio, projectus sum a facie oculorum tuorum (Psal. xxx, 23). Heu mc! de quanto bouo in quantum malum cecidi I Quo tendebam, et quo deveni? Ubi sum, et ubi non sum? Ad quem aspiravi, et nunc in quibus suspiro? Quæsivi bona, et ecce turbatio. Ecce jam morior, et Jesus non est mecum. Et certe melius est mihi non esse, quam sine Jesu esse; melius est nou vivcre, qnam vivere sine viia.
Attend, Lord God, and see, for you are holy; and behold, my enemy insults me, saying, God has forsaken him; I will pursue and overtake him, for there is no one to deliver him (Ps. 70:11). And you, Lord, how long? Turn and deliver my soul; save me for your mercy's sake (Ps. 6:5). Have mercy on your son, whom you bore with no little pain; and do not turn away from my evil, so as to forget your good. What father is there who would not free his son? Or what son is there whom a father of loving-kindness would not correct with the rod? Therefore, Father and Lord, although I am a sinner, I cannot but be your son, because you made me and remade me. As I have sinned, correct me, and first chastise me, and hand me over, corrected, to your Son. Can a mother forget the infant of her womb? And surely if she should forget, you, Father, have promised that you will not forget (Isa. 49:15). Behold, I cry out, and you do not hear me; I am tormented with pain, and you do not console me. What shall I say, or what shall I do, most wretched as I am? I, destitute of such great consolation, have been cast away from the face of your eyes (Ps. 30:23). Alas for me! From how great a good into how great an evil I have fallen! Where was I heading, and where have I come? Where am I, and where am I not? After what did I aspire, and now in what do I sigh? I sought good things, and behold, turmoil. Behold, now I die, and Jesus is not with me. And surely it is better for me not to be than to be without Jesus; it is better not to live than to live without life.
Et tu, Domine Jesu, ubi sunt misericordia - tuæ antiquæ (Paal. LXXXVIII, 50)? Numquid irasceris mihi in finem (Psal. LXXXIV, 6)? Placare, obsecro, et miserere mei, et non avertas faciem tuam a me (Psal. xxvi, 9), qui pro me redimendo non avertisti faciem tuam ab increpantibus et conspuentibus in te. Fatcor quia peccavi, et conscientia mea meretur damnationem, et poenitentia non sufficit ad satisfactionem: sed creditum est quod misericordia tua superat omnem offensionem. Noli, quæso, piissime Domine, scribere adversum me amaritudines meas (Job. XIII, 26). ut iutres in judicium cum servo tuo (Psa/. CLXII, 2): sed secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum dele iniquitatem meam (Psal. I.., ). Væ mihi misero cum venerit dies judicii, et aperti fuerint libri conscientiarum; cum dicetur de me, Ecce homo et opera ejus. Quid faciam tunc, Domine Deus mens, cum coeli revelabunt iniquitatem meam, et adversum me terra consurget? Ecce nihil respondere potero; sed demisso capite præ confusione coram te stabo trepidus et confusus. Heu me miserum! quid dicam? Clamabo ad te, Domine Deus meus. Quare tacens consumor? Verumtamen si locutus fuero, non requiescit dolor meus: et si tacuero, amarissima amaritudine crucior interius. Plange, anima mea, sicut vidua super virum pubertatis tuæ: ulula, miseni, et plora; quoniam dimisit te sponsus tuus, id est, Christus.
And you, Lord Jesus, where is your ancient mercy (Ps. 88:50)? Will you be angry with me to the end (Ps. 84:6)? Be appeased, I beseech you, and have mercy on me, and do not turn your face away from me (Ps. 26:9), who, to redeem me, did not turn your face away from those who rebuked and spat upon you. I confess that I have sinned, and my conscience deserves damnation, and my penitence does not suffice for satisfaction; but it is believed that your mercy surpasses every offense. Do not, I pray, most loving Lord, write my bitter things against me (Job 13:26), so as to enter into judgment with your servant (Ps. 142:2); but according to the multitude of your mercies, blot out my iniquity (Ps. 50:3). Woe to me, wretched man, when the day of judgment comes and the books of consciences are opened; when it is said of me, Behold the man and his works. What shall I do then, Lord my God, when the heavens reveal my iniquity, and the earth rises up against me? Behold, I will be able to answer nothing; but with my head lowered for shame, I will stand trembling and confounded before you. Alas, wretched me! What shall I say? I will cry out to you, Lord my God. Why am I consumed in silence? Yet if I have spoken, my sorrow does not rest; and if I have been silent, I am tormented within by the most bitter bitterness. Mourn, my soul, like a widow over the husband of your youth; howl, wretched one, and weep; for your bridegroom, that is, Christ, has sent you away.
Ira Omnipotentis, ne irruas saper me, quia nunquam capi posses in me. Certe non est in toto me, quod posset tolerare te. Miserere, ne desperem. scd sperando respirem. Et si ego commisi unde me damnare potes, tu non amisisti unde salvare soles. Tn, Domine, non vis mortem peccatorum (Ezech. XXXIII, 11), nec lætaris in perditine morientium: imo ut mortui viverent, tu mortuus es, et mors tua perca. lorum mortem occidil, Et si ipsi te moriente vixerunt, obsecro, Domine, ut ego te vivente non moriar. Mille manum tuam de alto, et libera me de manu inimicorum meorum: ne supergaudeant milii et dicant, Dcvoravimus cum (Psal. xxxiv, 25). Quis unquam, bone Jesu, de tua misericordia diffidat? qui cum inimici tui essemus, redemisti nos in sanguine tuo, et reconciliasti nos Deo (Rom. v, iO). Ecce sub tuæ misericordiæ umbra protectus ad thronum gloriæ veniam postulanscurro, clamans et pulsans donec mise. rearis mihi. Si enim ad veniam nos vocasti, veniam non quærentes; quanto magis veniam impetrabimus postulantes?
Do not rush upon me in the wrath of the Almighty, for it could never be contained in me. Surely there is not in all of me what could endure you. Have mercy, lest I despair; but let me breathe again in hoping. And if I have committed what you can condemn me for, you have not lost what you are wont to save with. You, Lord, do not will the death of sinners (Ezek. 33:11), nor do you rejoice in the destruction of the dying; rather, that the dead might live, you died, and your death destroyed their death. And if they lived by your dying, I beseech you, Lord, that I may not die while you live. Send forth your hand from on high, and deliver me from the hand of my enemies, lest they exult over me and say, We have devoured him (Ps. 34:25). Who, good Jesus, ever despaired of your mercy? You, when we were your enemies, redeemed us in your blood and reconciled us to God (Rom. 5:10). Behold, protected under the shadow of your mercy, I run to the throne of glory seeking pardon, crying out and knocking until you have mercy on me. For if you called us to pardon when we were not seeking pardon, how much more shall we obtain pardon when we ask for it?
Ne memineris, dulcissime Jesu, tuas juslitim adversus peccatorem tuum; sed esto meinor benignitatis tunc adversus creaturam tuam. Ne memineris ire adversus reum; sed memor esto miserationis tuæ adversus miserum. Obliviscere superbum provo* cantem, et respice miserum invocantem. Quid enim est Jesus, nisi Salvator? Ergo, Jesu, per temetipsum exsurge in adjutorium mihi: et dic animæ Incar, Salus tua ego sum (Psal. XXXIV, 5). Multum, Domine, de tua bonitate præsumo, quoniam tu ipse doccs petere, quærere et pulsare (Matth. VII, 7): et ideo tua oratione admonitus peto, quæro et pulso. Et tu, Domine, qui jubes petere, fac accipere; consulis quærere, da et invenire; doces pulsare, aperi pulsant. Confirma me infirmum, restaura me perditum, suscita me mortuum: et omnes sensus mens, cogitatus ct actus dirigere et gubernare digneris in beneplacito tno, ut de eætero tibi serviam, tibi vivam, tibique me tradam. Scio, Domine mi, quia ex hoc quod ine foci. sti, debeo tibi me ipsum; et quia me rcdemisti, ct pro me homo factus es, deberem tibi plus quam me, si haberem. quanto III major es, pro quo dedisti te ipsum. Ecce Dee plus habeo, nec quod habeo, dare tibi pos um sine te; sed accipe me tu, et trate me ad te, ut tuus sim imitatione et dilectione, sicut tuus sum conditione, qui vivis et rognas in sæcula.
Do not remember, sweetest Jesus, your justice against your sinner; but be mindful of your kindness toward your creature. Do not remember wrath against the guilty; but be mindful of your compassion toward the wretched. Forget the proud provoker, and look upon the wretched one who calls upon you. For what is Jesus, except Savior? Therefore, Jesus, by yourself arise to help me: and say to my soul, I am your salvation (Ps. 34:5). Much, Lord, do I presume upon your goodness, since you yourself teach us to ask, to seek, and to knock (Matt. 7:7): and therefore, admonished by your prayer, I ask, I seek, and I knock. And you, Lord, who command us to ask, make us to receive; you counsel us to seek, grant us also to find; you teach us to knock, open to the one who knocks. Strengthen me, weak as I am; restore me, lost as I am; raise me up, dead as I am: and may you deign to direct and govern all my senses, thoughts, and actions in your good pleasure, so that from henceforth I may serve you, live for you, and hand myself over to you. I know, my Lord, that from the fact that you made me, I owe you myself; and because you redeemed me and became man for me, I would owe you more than myself, if I had it, inasmuch as you are greater than that for which you gave yourself. Behold, God, I have more, nor can I give you what I have without you; but receive me, and draw me to yourself, so that I may be yours by imitation and love, as I am yours by creation, who lives and reigns forever.
CAPUT XL. Deo omnia sua commendat. Orat avoeari vitiu, virtutes concedi. Sanctos interpellat. Pro uni-. versis supplicat. Rursum pro se atiisque precatur. Domine Dens omnipotens, qui es trinus et unus, qui es semper in omnibus, et eras ante omnia, et eris semper in omnibus Deus benedictus in sacula: tibi commendo hodie et omni tempore animam meam, corpus ineam, visum, auditum, gustum, odoratum ct tactum, omnes cogitationes meas, afflictiones, locutiones, aciiones, omnia exteriora et inrteriora, sensum et intellectum, memoriam meam, sidem et credulitatem meam, ct perseverantiam meam, in manus potentiæ tuæ; ut custodias eas diebus et noctibus, horis atqun momentis.
Exaudi me, Trinitas sancta, et conserva mc ab omni malo, ab omni scandalo, et ab omni mortali peccato, ab omnibus insidiis et infeslationihns daemonum, et inimicorum visibilium et invisibilinm, per orationes Patriarcharum, per merita Prophetarum, per suffragia Apostolorum, per constantiam martyrum, per fidem confessorum, per castitatem virginum, Ct per intercessionem omnium sanctorum qui tibi placuerunt ab initio mundi. Expelle a ine jactantiam mentis, et auge conpunctionem cordis; minue superbiam meam, et perfice in me humilitatem veraro, suscita in me fletum, mollifica cor meum durum et lapideum. Libera me, Domine, et animam meam ab omnibus insidiis inimici, et conserva me in tua. voluntate.
CHAPTER XL. He commends all that is his to God. He prays that vice may be taken away and virtues granted. He calls upon the saints. He supplicates for all. Again he prays for himself and others. Lord God almighty, who art three and one, who art always in all things, and wast before all things, and wilt be always in all things, God blessed for ever: to thee I commend today and at all times my soul, my body, my sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, all my thoughts, afflictions, words, actions, all things outward and inward, sense and intellect, my memory, my faith and belief, and my perseverance, into the hands of thy power; that thou mayest guard them by day and by night, by hours and by moments.
Hear me, holy Trinity, and preserve me from all evil, from all scandal, and from all mortal sin, from all snares and assaults of demons, and of enemies visible and invisible, through the prayers of the Patriarchs, through the merits of the Prophets, through the suffrages of the Apostles, through the constancy of the martyrs, through the faith of the confessors, through the chastity of the virgins, and through the intercession of all the saints who have pleased thee from the beginning of the world. Drive from me the boasting of the mind, and increase compunction of heart; lessen my pride, and perfect in me true humility, stir up in me weeping, soften my hard and stony heart. Deliver me, Lord, and my soul from all the snares of the enemy, and preserve me in thy will.
Doce me, Domine, voluntatem tuam facere, quia Deus meus es ill (Psal. CXLII, 10). Da mihi, Domine, sensum perfectum ct intellectum, ut suscipere valeam profundam benignitatemtuam. Illud da mllii petere, quod le audirc delectet et mihi expediat. Da mihi lacrymas ex toto affectu, quæ peccatorgm meorum possint dissolvere vincula. Audii, Domine meus et Deus meus, audi quæ peto, et da quan pctam ut audias. Si despicis, perco; si respicis, vivo; si justitiam meam requiris, mortuus fcleo; si cun misericordia respexeris, fctentem resuscitas de sepulcro. Quod odis in mc, longe fac a me 1, et castitatis ac continentiæ spiritum insere in me; ut quodculnquo pcticro, in ipsa petitione te non oflendam. Tolle a me quod nocet, ct præbe quod juvet. Præsta mihi, Domine, medicinam, undo mea possint curari vulnera. Da mihi, Domine, timorem tuum, cordis compunctionem, mentis humilitatem, et conscientiam puram. Præsta milii, Domine, ut fraternam semper tenere valcam charitatem; ct mala mea non obliviscar, aliena non requiram. Parce animæ meæ, parce malis meis, parce peccatis meis, parce criminibus meis. Visita me infirinum, cura me ægrum, sana me languentem, ct suscitn me mortuum. Da milii, Domine, cor quod te timeat, mentem qu.e te diligat, sensum qui tc intelligat, aures quae te audiant, oculos qui te vidcant.
Teach me, Lord, to do your will, for you are my God. Give me, Lord, a perfect sense and understanding, that I may be able to receive your deep goodness. Grant me to ask that which delights you to hear and is expedient for me. Give me tears from my whole affection, which can dissolve the chains of my sins. Hear, my Lord and my God, hear what I ask, and grant what I ask, that you may hear. If you despise me, I perish; if you look upon me, I live; if you require my righteousness, I am altogether dead; if you look upon me with mercy, you raise up the stinking from the tomb. Put far from me what you hate in me, and implant in me the spirit of chastity and continence; so that whatever I ask, I may not offend you in the asking itself. Take from me what harms, and provide what helps. Grant me, Lord, the medicine by which my wounds can be healed. Give me, Lord, your fear, compunction of heart, humility of mind, and a pure conscience. Grant me, Lord, always to be able to hold fast to brotherly charity; and not to forget my own evils, nor to seek after those of others. Spare my soul, spare my evils, spare my sins, spare my crimes. Visit me in my infirmity, cure me in my sickness, heal me in my languishing, and raise me up in my death. Give me, Lord, a heart that fears you, a mind that loves you, a sense that understands you, ears that hear you, eyes that see you.
Miserere mei, Deus, misercre mei, ct respice me de sede sancta majestatis tuae, et tenebras ' cordis mei radio splendoris lui illumina. Da mibi, Domine, discretionem discernendi inter bonum et malum, et concede ut sensum habcam vigilem. Pcio a te, Domine, remissionem omnium peccatorum meorum, a quo et per quem mihi fiat propitiatio in tempore necessitatis et angustia; mere.
Sancta et immaculata virgo Dei genitrix Maria, ct mater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, inlorvenirc pro me digneris apud illum cujus meruisti effici templum. Sancte Michael, aancle Gabriel, sancte Kaphael, sancti chori Angelorum atque Archangelorum, Patriarcharum atquc Prophetarum, Apostolorum, Evangelistarum, martyrum, confessorum, sacerdotum, levitarum, monachorum, virginum, omniumquc justorum, per illum qui vos elegit, et de cujus contemplatione gaudetis, vos rogare praesumo, ut pro me culpabili Ipsi Deo supplicare dignemini, quatenus de faucibus diaboli, ct de morte perpetua mercar liberari. Largiri mihi digneris, Domine, perpetuam vitam, secundum elementiam ac benignissimam misericordiam tuam.
Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me, and look upon me from the holy seat of your majesty, and illuminate the darkness of my heart with the ray of your splendor. Grant me, Lord, the discernment to distinguish between good and evil, and grant that I may have a vigilant understanding. I ask of you, Lord, the remission of all my sins, from whom and through whom may propitiation be made for me in the time of need and distress; [mere].
Holy and immaculate virgin, Mother of God, Mary, and mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, deign to intercede for me with him whose temple you were worthy to become. Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, holy choirs of Angels and Archangels, of Patriarchs and Prophets, of Apostles, Evangelists, martyrs, confessors, priests, levites, monks, virgins, and of all the just, through him who chose you and in whose contemplation you rejoice, I presume to ask you to deign to supplicate for me, guilty as I am, to God himself, that I may deserve to be freed from the jaws of the devil and from eternal death. Deign to bestow on me, Lord, eternal life, according to your clemency and your most benign mercy.
Da, Domine Jesu Christe, sacerdotibus concordiam, regibus, episcopis, et principibus juste judicantibus tranquillitatem cl pacem. Oro, Domine, pro universa sancta Ecclesia catholica, pro viris et feminis, pro rcligiosis et sacculai ibus, pro omnibus rectoribus Christianorum, cunctisquc in te credentibus qui pro tuo amore sancto laborant, ut perseverantiam boni operis obtineant. Praesta, Domine rex a:ternc, virginibus castitatem, Dco dicatis continentiam, conjugatis sanctimoniam, poenitentibus indulgentiam, viduis et orphanis sustentationem, paupcribus prOlectionem, peregrinantibus reditum, lugentibus consolationem, defunctis fidclibus requiem sempiternam, navigantibus in portum venire salutis; optimis ut in bonitate semper consistant; bonis et mediocribus, ut meliores fiant; pravc agentibus et delinqueutibus, ut cito se corrigant.
Grant, Lord Jesus Christ, concord to priests; to kings, bishops, and princes who judge rightly, tranquility and peace. I pray, Lord, for the whole holy catholic Church, for men and women, for religious and secular, for all the rulers of Christians, and for all who believe in you and labor for your holy love, that they may obtain perseverance in good work. Bestow, Lord, eternal King, chastity upon virgins, continence upon those dedicated to God, holiness upon the married, forgiveness upon the penitent, support upon widows and orphans, protection upon the poor, safe return upon travelers, consolation upon the mourning, eternal rest upon the faithful departed, and upon those who sail, to come into the harbor of salvation; upon the best, that they may always remain in goodness; upon the good and the middling, that they may become better; upon the wicked and the sinful, that they may quickly correct themselves.
dulcissime ct misericordissime Domine Jesu Christe, Fili Dei vivi, Redemptor mundi, inter omnes ct pcr omnia me miserum peccatorem confiteor: sed tu, clementissime Patcr et summe, qui omnium misereris, non IDe patiaris a tua misericordia fieri alienum. Et tu, Domine Rex regum, qui inducias vivendi præstas, corrigendi mibi devotionem tribue; excita in mc mentem quæ te requirat, tc desideret, et te, qui cs ubique totus trinus et unus, semper præ omnibus amet, te timeat, luamquc voluntatem faciat. Præcipue ergo te, Domine sancte Pater, deprecor, qui cs benedictus et gloriosus per omnia sæcuia, ut omnes qui mei memoriam faciunt in suis orationibus, ct qui indignis orationibus meis se commendaverunt, ei qui mihi aliquod charitatis officium et pietatis studium impenderunt, seu et illos qui consanguinitate ac cognationis affectu sunt mihi propinqui, lam et illos qui nunc consistunt in corpore, quam et illos qui teguntur funere, misericorditer gubernare digneris ne poreant. Omnibus etiam (hristianis vivis adjutorim præstare digneris, et dcfunctis fidelibus absolutionem et requiem sempiternam per æterna sæcula.
Most sweet and most merciful Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Redeemer of the world, among all and through all things I confess myself a wretched sinner; but you, most clement and supreme Father, who have mercy on all, do not allow me to be made a stranger to your mercy. And you, Lord King of kings, who grant delays of living, grant me devotion to amend; stir up in me a mind that seeks you, desires you, and always loves you before all things—you who are everywhere whole, three and one—fears you, and does your will. Therefore especially I beseech you, holy Lord Father, who are blessed and glorious through all ages, that all who make remembrance of me in their prayers, and who have commended themselves to my unworthy prayers, and those who have bestowed on me any office of charity and zeal of piety, and also those who are near to me by consanguinity and the affection of kinship, both those who now abide in the body and those who are covered by the grave, you may deign mercifully to govern, lest they perish. To all Christians also who are living, deign to grant help, and to the faithful departed, absolution and eternal rest through everlasting ages.
Nec non et illud magnopere supplico, Domine, qui es at et, ut cum extrema dies mea finisque vitæ meæ advenerit, lu ipse mihi sis misericors judcx contra malignum accusatorem diabolum, et sis mihi perpetuus defensor adversus insidias hostis antiqui, ct in societatem Angelorum omniumque sanctorum in sancto paradiso tuo perseverare facias, qui es benedictus in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.
CAPUT XLI. Gratiarum actio et amoris desiderium. Beneficia Dei ad hoc recolit, ut amorem excitet. Passionis et resurrectionis Christi meditatio. Ardens Dei sitis. Domine Jesu Christe, redemptio mea, misericordia mea, salus mea, te laudo, tibi gratias ago. Quamv.s valde imparcs tuis beneficiis, quamvis multum expertes dignæ devotionis, quamvis nimis macras a desiderata pinguedine dulcissimi tui affectus, tamen qu ilescumque laudes, qualescumque gratias, non quales £cio me debere, sed sicut potest conari, libi persolvit anima mea. Spes cordis mci, virtussanimæ meæ, auxilium infirmitatis meæ, compleat tua potentissima benignitas, quod conatur mea tepidissima imbecillit. s. Vita mea, finis intentionis meu, etsi nondum nuTui te tantum, quantum debitor sum, amarc: utique sal. tem dcsidero te tantum quantum debco, amare. Illuminatio mea, tu vides conscientiam Ineam, quia, Domine, ante te omne desiderium meum (Psal. XXXVII, 10), et tu donas si quid bene vult conscicntia mea.
I also earnestly entreat this, Lord, who are and will be, that when my final day and the end of my life has come, you yourself may be merciful to me as judge against the malignant accuser the devil, and may be my perpetual defender against the snares of the ancient enemy, and may make me to persevere in the fellowship of the angels and of all the saints in your holy paradise, who are blessed forever and ever. Amen.
CHAPTER XLI. Thanksgiving and desire of love. He recalls God's benefits to this end, that he may stir up love. Meditation on the passion and resurrection of Christ. Ardent thirst for God. Lord Jesus Christ, my redemption, my mercy, my salvation, I praise you, I give thanks to you. Although they are very unequal to your benefits, although they are very lacking in worthy devotion, although they are too lean compared with the desired richness of your most sweet affection, nevertheless my soul pays you whatever praises, whatever thanks—not such as I know I ought, but as it can attempt. Hope of my heart, strength of my soul, help of my weakness, may your most powerful goodness complete what my most lukewarm weakness attempts. My life, the end of my intention, even if I do not yet love you as much as I am bound to: at least I desire to love you as much as I ought. My illumination, you see my conscience, because, Lord, all my desire is before you, and you grant whatever my conscience rightly wills.
Si bonum cst, Domine, quod inspiras, imo quia bonum est ut te velim amare; da quod IDe facis velic da ut quantum jubes, tantum te merear amare. L oudes et gratias tibi ago pro desidcrio quod inspirastiLaudes et preces offero, nc sit mihi donum tuum illfructuosum, quod tua sponte dcdisti. Perfice quod incepisti, dona quod me benigne præveniendo desiderare fccisii. Converte, misericordissiiuc, meam teporem in serventissimum tui ainorcm.
Ad hoc, clementissime, tendit hæc oratio mea, hæc memoria et beneficiorum tuorum meditatio, ut accendam in me tuum amorem. Tua me, Domine, bonitas creavit, tua miscricordia creatum ab originali peccato mundavit, tua patientia post illam emund. tionem Baptismi in aliis peccatorum sordibus volutatum hactenus toleravit, nutrivit, exspectavit. Exspectas tu, bone Domine, correctionem; exspectat anilia mea ad sufficienter pœnitendum, ad bc. e vivendum, tuægratiæ inspirationem. Deus meus, ercator meus, tolerator meus et nutritor meus, esto adjutor meus.
If it is good, Lord, that you inspire, indeed because it is good that I wish to love you; grant what you command, grant that I may merit to love you as much as you command. I give you praise and thanks for the desire you have inspired. I offer praises and prayers, lest your gift be unfruitful for me, which you gave of your own accord. Perfect what you have begun, grant what by kindly preventing me you have made me desire. Convert, most merciful one, my lukewarmness into the most fervent love of you.
To this end, most clement one, my prayer tends, this remembrance and meditation on your benefits, that I may kindle your love in me. Your goodness, Lord, created me, your mercy cleansed me, once created, from original sin, your patience after that cleansing of Baptism has until now tolerated, nourished, and awaited me as I wallowed in other filths of sins. You await, good Lord, my correction; my old age awaits the inspiration of your grace, to repent sufficiently, to live blessedly. My God, my creator, my tolerator and my nourisher, be my helper.
Te sitio, te esurio, te desidero, ad te suspiro, te concupisco: et sicut pupillus benignissimi pilris orbatus præsentia, flens et cjulans incessanter ejus dilectam faciem toto corde amplectitur; sic et ego, non quantum debeo, sed quantum queo, memor passionis tuæ, memor alaparum tuarum, memor flagellorum, memor crucis, memor vulnerum tuorum, memor qualiter pro me occisus es, qualiter conditus, qualiter sepultos, simul memor gloriosae tuae resurrect onis et admirabilis ascensionis, hæc indubitata fide teneo, exsilii mei ærumnas defieo, spero tur adveulus solam consolationem, ardenter desidero' tui vultus gloriosam contemplationem.
Heu mihi, qui videre non potui Dominum Angelorum, humiliatum ad conversationem bominum, ut homines exaltaret ad conversationem Angelorum, cum Deus offensus moriebatur, ut peccator vivere! Ileu qui tam admirabili, tam inæastimabili pictate præsens obstupescere non merui! Cur, o anima mea, ic præsentem non transfivit gladius acutissimi delloris, cum ferre uon posses vuluerari lancea Ilus lui Salvatoris, cnm videre nequires violari clavis manus cl pedes tui Plasmatoris, eum horreres effundi sanguinem lui Redemptoris? Cur non cs inebriata lacrymarum amaritudine, cum illc potaretur amaritudine fellis? Cur non es compassa castissimæ Virgini, dignissimæ matri ejus, benignissimæ dominæ tuæ?
I thirst for you, I hunger for you, I long for you, I sigh for you, I desire you; and as an orphaned child, bereft of the presence of his most kind father, weeping and wailing ceaselessly embraces with his whole heart his beloved father's face, so too I, not as much as I ought but as much as I can, mindful of your passion, mindful of your blows, mindful of your scourges, mindful of the cross, mindful of your wounds, mindful of how you were slain for me, how you were anointed, how you were buried, and at the same time mindful of your glorious resurrection and wondrous ascension—these things I hold with undoubted faith, I bewail the miseries of my exile, I hope for your coming as my only consolation, I ardently desire the glorious contemplation of your face.
Woe to me, who could not see the Lord of Angels humbled to the conversation of men, that he might exalt men to the conversation of Angels, when God, offended, was dying that the sinner might live! Woe to me, who did not merit to stand astonished in his presence, so wondrous and so inestimable in his loving-kindness! Why, O my soul, did the sword of most sharp sorrow not pierce you then, when you could not bear that your Savior's side be wounded by the lance, when you could not see the hands and feet of your Creator violated by nails, when you shuddered that the blood of your Redeemer was poured out? Why were you not intoxicated with the bitterness of tears, when he was given to drink the bitterness of gall? Why did you not suffer with the most chaste Virgin, his most worthy mother, your most kind lady?
Domina mea misericordissima, quos fontes dicam erupisse de pudicissimis oculis, com attenderes unicum filium tuum innocentem coram te ligari, flagellari, mactari? Quos fletus2 credam perfudisse piissimum vultum, cum suspiceres cumdem et Deum ct Dominum tuum in cruce sine culpa extendi, et carnem de carne tua ab impiis crudeliter dissecari 'I Quibus singultibus æstimabo purissimum pectus vexatum esse, cum tu audires: Mlier, ecce filius tuus; et discipulus, Ecce mater tua (Joan. XIX, et 27):cum acciperes discipulum | ro Magistro, servum pro Domino? Utinam cum felice Joseph Dominum meum de ciucc dcposuissem, aromatibus condissem, in scpulcro collocassem, ant saltem prosecutus vel conscentus essem, ut tanto funeri non dcesset aliquid mci obsequii! Utinam cum beatis mulieribus corusca visione Angelorum essem perterritus, ut audissem nuntium dominicæ resurrectionis, nuntium mc;c consolationis, nuntium tam exspectatum, nuntium lam desideratum! Utinam, inquam, audissem ex ore Angeli, Nolite timere vos: Jesum quæritis crucifixum; surrexit, nou est hie (Marc. XVI, 6)! Beniguissime. suavissime, serenissune, quando restaurabis mihi, quia nou vidi illam beatam tuæ carnis incorruptionem, quia non fui deoscuatus loca vulnerum, fixuras clavorum, quia non respersi lacrymis gaudii cicatrices testes veri corporis?
My most merciful Lady, what fountains shall I say burst forth from your most pure eyes, when you beheld your only innocent son bound, scourged, and slain before you? What tears shall I believe bathed your most loving face, when you saw the same one, both your God and your Lord, stretched upon the cross without guilt, and flesh from your flesh cruelly cut apart by the wicked? By what sobs shall I reckon your most pure heart was tormented, when you heard: Woman, behold your son; and to the disciple, Behold your mother (John 19:26-27): when you received the disciple in place of the Master, the servant in place of the Lord? Would that I had, with the fortunate Joseph, taken down my Lord from the cross, embalmed him with spices, and laid him in the tomb, or at least had followed or accompanied him, so that some service of mine might not have been lacking at so great a funeral! Would that I had been with the blessed women, terrified by the shining vision of angels, so that I might have heard the message of the Lord's resurrection, the message of my consolation, the message so long awaited, the message so long desired! Would that, I say, I had heard from the angel's mouth: Fear not, you: you seek Jesus who was crucified; he is risen, he is not here (Mark 16:6)! Most kind, most sweet, most serene one, when will you restore to me, because I did not see that blessed incorruption of your flesh, because I did not kiss the places of the wounds, the piercings of the nails, because I did not sprinkle with tears of joy the scars, the witnesses of the true body?
Admirabilis, inæstimabilis, incomparabilis, quando consolaberis inc et compesces a dolore meo? Non enim capit in me dolor meus quamdiu peregrinus sum a Domino meo. Heu mihi, Domine, heu animæ me:,'; recessisti, consolator vitæ meae. nec va!c dixisti mihi! Ingrediens vias tuas benedixisti tuis, nec adfui: elevatis manibus a nube susceptus es in cœlum (Luc. XXIV, et 51), liCe vidi; Angeli promiscrunt te rediturum, nec audivi.
Quid dicam? quid faciam? quo vadam? ubi cum quæram? ubi vel quando inveniam? Quem rogabo? Quis nuntiabit. dilecto, quia amorc languco? Defecit gaudium cordis mei, versus cst in luctum risus mens: defecit caro mca ct cor meum, Deus cordis mei et pars mea Deus in æternum. Renuit consolari anima mea, nisi do te, dulcedo mea. Quid enim mihi est in coelo, ct a te quid volui super terram? To volo, tc spero, te quero: libi dixit cor meum, Quæsivi vultum tuum; vultum tuum, Domine, requiram, ne avertas faciem tuam a me. Amator hominum benignissime, Lit'i derelictus est pauper; orphano tu cris adjutor. Mi advocate tutissime, miserere orphani derelicti: pupillus factus sum absque patrc; anima mIca quasi vidua.
Wonderful, inestimable, incomparable, when will you console me and restrain me from my grief? For my grief cannot be contained in me as long as I am a stranger from my Lord. Woe to me, Lord, woe to my soul: you have withdrawn, consoler of my life, and you did not say to me, "Go!" Entering your ways, you blessed your own, and I was not there; with hands lifted up you were taken up on a cloud into heaven (Luke 24:51), and I did not see it; the angels foretold that you would return, and I did not hear it.
What shall I say? What shall I do? Where shall I go? Where shall I seek you? Where or when shall I find you? Whom shall I ask? Who will announce to my beloved that I languish with love? The joy of my heart has failed, my laughter has been turned into mourning; my flesh and my heart have failed, O God of my heart and my portion, O God, forever. My soul has refused to be consoled, unless in you, my sweetness. For what is there for me in heaven, and apart from you what have I desired on earth? You I will, you I hope for, you I seek: my heart has said to you, I have sought your face; your face, Lord, I will seek; do not turn your face away from me. Most kindly lover of men, the poor man has been left to you; you will be a helper to the orphan. My most safe advocate, have mercy on the abandoned orphan: I have become a fatherless child; my soul is like a widow.
Respice orbitatis ct viduitatis moæ lacrymas, quas tibi offero donee redeas, Age jam, Domine1, appare milii, et consolitus ero; ostende faciem tuam, et salus ero; exhibe præsentiam tuam, et consecutus cro desiderium meum; revcla gloriam luam, et crit perfectum gaudium meum. Sitivit in te anima mea, quain multipliciter tibi caro mea (Psal. LXII, 2). Sitivit anima luca ad Deum fontem vivum, quando veniam et apparcbo autc faciem Dei mei (Psal. XLI, 5)?Quando venies, consolator meus, quem exspecto? si quando videbo gaudium mcum quod dcsidcro! si satiabor cum apparuerit gloria tua (Psal. xvi, 15), quam esurio! si inebriabor ab ubertate domus tuæ, ad quam suspiro; si potabis mc torrente voluptatis tux (Psal. XXXV, 9), quam sitio! Sint mihi Domine interim lacrymæ meæ panes dig ac nocte, donec dicatur mihi, Ecce Deus tuus (Psal. xli, 4); douce audiam. Anima, ecce sponsus tuus. Pasce me interim singultibus meis, pola me interim fletibus meis, refocilla me doloribus meis: veniet interea fortasse Redemptor meus, quia houns est; ncc tardabit, qaia pius est. Ipsi gloria in sæcula sæculorum Amen.
Look upon the tears of my bereavement and widowhood, which I offer to you until you return. Come now, Lord, appear to me, and I shall be consoled; show your face, and I shall be saved; display your presence, and I shall have obtained my desire; reveal your glory, and my joy shall be perfect. My soul has thirsted for you, and in how many ways my flesh has thirsted for you (Ps. 62:2). My soul has thirsted for you, the living fountain, when shall I come and appear before the face of my God (Ps. 41:5)? When will you come, my consoler, whom I await? If only I might see my joy, which I desire! If only I might be satisfied when your glory appears (Ps. 16:15), for which I hunger! If only I might be inebriated with the abundance of your house, for which I sigh; if only you might give me to drink from the torrent of your delight (Ps. 35:9), for which I thirst! Let my tears be to me, Lord, meanwhile my bread day and night, until it is said to me, Behold your God (Ps. 41:4); until I hear: Soul, behold your bridegroom. Feed me meanwhile with my sobs, nourish me meanwhile with my weepings, refresh me with my sorrows: perhaps in the meantime my Redeemer will come, because he is good; and he will not delay, because he is loving. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.