ORATIO XIV. AD SPIRITUM SANCTUM.
The Spirit Invited to Dwell Within
The soul calls upon the Holy Spirit to enter the heart, wound it with divine love, and satisfy it with God's pleasure so that worldly desires lose their appeal.
Now, love of the divine will, holy communion of the almighty Father and of the most blessed offspring, almighty Paraclete, Spirit, most merciful consoler of those who grieve: now glide into the innermost chambers of my heart with your powerful might, and as a gracious dweller, brighten with the splendor of your shining light every dark corner of my neglected household, and by visiting, make fruitful with the abundance of your dew what has long withered in dryness and squalor.✦✦ Wound the secret places of my inner self with the dart of your love, and by penetrating with salutary flames, kindle the sluggish marrows of my liver, and by illuminating with the holy fire of fervor, feed every innermost part of my mind and body.✦ Give me a drink from the torrent of your pleasure (Psalm✦ XXXV, 9), so that I may no longer wish to taste anything of this world, once I have come to honor your revered sweetness.
The Spirit as Judge and Trindwelling Guest
The soul prays for divine judgment and teaching, then professes faith that the indwelling Spirit brings the whole Trinity to make its home within.
Judge me, Lord, and distinguish my cause from an unholy people; teach me to do your will, for you are my God. I believe, therefore, that whomever you inhabit, you establish as a dwelling of the Father and, equally, of the Son.✦ Blessed is the one who will deserve you as a guest: because through you, the Father and the Son will make their dwelling with him.✦✦
The Litany of the Comforter
A cascading litany of invocations addresses the Spirit by every title of mercy and consolation needed by the afflicted soul.
Come now, come, most kindly comforter of the grieving soul in opportune moments, and helper in tribulations. Come, cleanser of sins, healer of wounds. Come, strength of the frail, lifter of those who fall; come, teacher of the humble, destroyer of the proud. Come, merciful father of orphans, gentle judge of widows. Come, hope of the poor, restorer of those who are fainting. Come, star of those who sail, harbor of the shipwrecked. Come, singular glory of all who live, only salvation of the dying.
The Final Plea and Doxology
The prayer culminates in a closing petition for mercy, union with God, and a Trinitarian doxology sealed with 'Amen.'
Come, most holy Spirit, come and have mercy on me; fit me to yourself, and graciously stoop down to me, so that my smallness may be pleasing to your greatness, and my weakness to your strength, according to the abundance of your mercies, through Jesus Christ my Savior, who lives and reigns with the Father in your unity, forever and ever. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Jam et divini amor numinis, Patris omnipotentis, prolisque beatissimae sancta communicatio, omnipotens Paraclete Spiritus, moerentium consolator clementissime, jam cordis mei penetralibus potenti illabere virtute, et tenebrosa quaeque laris neglecti latibula corusci luminis fulgore pius inhabitator laetifica, tuique roris abundantia longo ariditatis marcentia squalore visitando fecunda. Saucia interioris hominis arcana tui amoris jaculo, et torpentis medullas jecoris flammis salutaribus penetrando succende, sanctique fervoris igne illustrando, intima mentis et corporis universa depasce. Pota me torrente voluptatis tuae (Psal. XXXV, 9), ut nihil jam mundanorum degustare libeat veneratae dulcedinis. Judica me, Domine, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta; doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu. Credo ergo quod quemcunque inhabitaveris, Patris, ac pariter Filii domicilium condis. Beatus qui te merebitur hospitem: quoniam per te Pater et Filius apud eum facient mansionem.
Veni jam, veni, benignissime dolentis animae consolator in opportunitatibus, et in tribulationibus adjutor. Veni, mundator scelerum, curator vulnerum. Veni, fortitudo fragilium, relevator labentium; veni, humilium doctor, superborum destructor. Veni, orphanorum pius pater, viduarum dulcis judex. Veni, spes pauperum, refocillator deficentium. Veni, navigantium sidus, naufragantium portus. Veni, omnium viventium singulare decus, morientium unica salus. Veni, sanctissime Spiritus, veni et miserere mei, apta me tibi: et condescende propitius mihi, ut mea tuae magnitudini exiguitas, roborique tuo mea imbecillitas, secundum multitudinem tuarum complaceat miserationum, per Jesum Christum Salvatorem meum, qui cum Patre in tua unitate vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.133.3 — Like the dew of Hermon falling upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing — life forevermore.
- ↩Hos.14.5 — I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.
- ↩Song.4.9 — You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck.
- ↩Ps.35.9 — Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD; it will exult in his salvation.
- ↩John.14.23 — Jesus answered him, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'
- ↩John.14.23 — Jesus answered him, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'
- ↩Rev.3.20 — Look, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to them and eat with them, and they with me.
Orationes sive Meditationes — Collection for Princess Adeliza of Normandy companion
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