Oracio pauperis et amantis, et mori cupientis, et de laude caritatis diuine

Oracio pauperis et amantis, et mori cupientis, et de laude caritatis diuine

A devoted poor person, when troubled by a lack, can pray and say: 'Lord my God, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and deign to look upon the heavy burden that has been laid upon my body, so that it does not delay in weighing down my soul.' My flesh is failing because of the struggles of this life, which is why even spiritual strength is forced to grow weary. For what I had in this world and what I experienced in this world, I have consumed entirely, and nothing remains except that you lead my soul to another age where my most precious treasure and my richest substance exist, and where it remains unchanging. Therefore, may I live without defect, rejoice without pain, and enjoy without weariness; and in loving you, seeing you, and praising you, may I be satisfied eternally. You are indeed my treasure. O death, where are you lingering? Why do you come so late to the living one, but to the mortal one, why don't you embrace the one who longs for you? Who can even begin to imagine the sweetness of You, who are the end of our sighing, the beginning of our desire, and the door to unending joy? You are the end of struggles, the goal of labor, the beginning of fruits, the gateway to joys. Here I am, I yearn and long for you; if you come, I will be saved at once. Because of love, I'm so caught up that I can't fully enjoy what I long for until I've tasted the joy you promise. Indeed, if I must pass through this mortal life, and since it is necessary to do so through you, just as all my forefathers have done; I ask you not to delay too long, and not to keep yourself away from me for too long. Look, I languish with love; I long to die, and I burn for you. But indeed, not for your sake, but for my Savior Jesus, whom I hope to see after I have passed on into eternity. O death, how good is your judgment for the needy man, whose soul has become sweetened by love, indeed for the man who loves Christ, who contemplates heavenly things, and who is gently consumed by the fire of the Holy Spirit! Indeed, after death, one is taken up to the angelic melody, because even in music, one dwells in a spirit that has been purified and is advancing. For in the melody, he will die in a wondrous way, who meditates deeply on the sweet name while living, and he will be received with honor into the hall of the eternal Emperor, standing among the celestial beings in the blessed seat. To this end, love has led him, so that he may live so delicately within, and endure all that happens with joy, considering death not with horror but with sweetness: indeed, he believes he truly lives when it is granted to him to pass from this light. O sweet love, you are truly the most delightful sweetness, which so clearly intoxicates the minds that you capture with your love, that it swiftly makes all transient things seem insignificant. You make vain joys seem worthless, and in your desires alone, I long for something truly wonderful. You have come to me, and behold, all the depths of my heart and soul are filled with sweetness and delight, overflowing with spiritual joy. Indeed, I languish in love for the radiant flower, and I burn within with the fire of love. I wish I could escape from this place of exile! How can anyone think of anything else unless they have felt comfort within themselves, singing from the heart and caught up in the care of love? This is indeed the most delightful thing that I receive from here, and I almost die as it happens, so deeply am I consumed by fervent love, now that my beloved grants me the grace to cease. Because death, which many fear, would be to me like a sweet melody, even though now, as if placed in paradise, I would remain, sitting in solitude, there sweetly singing a loving song, in the delights that my beloved has given me.