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← Orationes sive Meditationes — Collection for Princess Adeliza of Normandy/Book 1 · Orationes sive Meditationes
Chapter 2Ansl.1.2

ORATIO II. AD DEUM PATREM PER MERITA FILII INCARNATI.

Calling Upon the Father Through the Son

The soul opens by calling upon God in truth, recognizing that true prayer is to call upon the Father through the Son, the Word who is truth itself, and finds sweetness in invoking the Father through the name of the Only-Begotten.

I call upon you, my God, I call upon you, because you are near to all who call upon you — but to those who call upon you in truth. For you are truth. Teach me, I beg — through your mercy, O holy truth — teach me to call upon you in truth, because I don't know how this ought to be done. But to be taught by you, O blessed truth, is what I humbly implore.1 Apart from you, to be wise is to be foolish; but to know you is to know perfectly. Instruct me, O divine wisdom, and teach me your law. For I believe that blessed will be the one whom you instruct and teach from your law. With longing I desire to call upon you — and I beg that this may be done in truth.2 What is it to call upon the truth in truth, except to call upon the Father through the Son? Therefore, holy Father, your Word is truth — the beginning of your words is truth.3 This, surely, is the beginning of your words: that in the beginning was the Word.✦4 In that same beginning I worship you, the highest Source; in the Word of truth itself I call upon you, O perfect truth: in you may that same truth guide me and teach me in truth.✦5 For what is sweeter than to beseech the Father in the name of the Only-Begotten, to move the Father to tenderness by calling to mind the Son, and to soften the King by invoking the name of his most beloved child!✦✦67

The Advocate Who Snatches from Prison

Using legal and familial analogies, the soul pleads for deliverance from sin's chains and death sentence through Christ, the sole intercessor and atonement, who sits at the Father's right hand.

And so it happens that the accused are pulled from their prison cells, that those in bondage are freed from their chains, and that those who have received a death sentence are not only acquitted but go on to receive extraordinary grace — provided only that they have shown love to the angry princes on behalf of the chosen child.✦ In the same way, when erring servants face their masters' punishment, they escape — as long as the tenderness of the sons steps in on their behalf. So I call upon you, almighty Father, through the love of your almighty Son: lead my soul out of its prison to confess your name; free me from the chains of sin through your only-begotten, coeternal Son — this I entreat. And I, whose own merits threaten me with a death sentence, restore me by the intercession of your most precious child, who sits at your right hand — be reconciled and give me life.✦✦ For whom else could I set as my intercessor before you? I know of no one except this one, who is the atonement for our sins, who sits at your right hand interceding for us.✦✦

Behold the Lamb: The Passion Before the Father's Eyes

The soul presents Christ's suffering body to the Father — the holy sacrifice, the silent Lamb, the sinless one bearing our sins, obedient unto death — asking the Father to look upon the Son who suffered for the servant's sake.

Look—my advocate before you, God and Father: the supreme High Priest, who needs no one else's blood to atone, because his own blood shines forth, drenched as he is in gore.✦ Look—the holy sacrifice, well-pleasing and perfect, offered and accepted as a fragrance of sweetness.✦ Look—the Lamb without blemish, who fell silent before those who sheared him, who was struck with blows, smeared with spit, treated with insults—and did not open his mouth.✦✦ See the one who committed no sin, who bore our sins and healed our weaknesses with his own bruises.✦✦ Look, loving Father, upon your most loving Son, who suffered such wrongs for my sake. Look upon him, most merciful King—who is it that suffers?—and in your kindness remember for whom he suffers. Is this not that innocent one, my Lord—the one you handed over as your Son, so that you might redeem a servant?8 Is this not the author of life himself—the one led like a sheep to slaughter, who became obedient to you even unto death, and did not shrink from undergoing the most brutal kind of killing?✦✦✦9

The Son Who Took Our Weakness

A brief but pivotal recollection that the Son, though begotten of the Father's power, willingly became a sharer in human weakness.

Remember, dispenser of our whole salvation, that this is the one whom, though you begot him from your own power, you nevertheless willed him to become a sharer in my weakness.✦101112

Gazing Upon the Crucified

The soul meditates on the crucified body — the stretched hands, the pierced side, the nail-pierced feet — and begs the Father to forgive, renew, and guide the sinner through the Redeemer's wounds.

Truly this is your deity: having put on my nature, it ascended the cross-beam of the cross, and, having taken on flesh, bore the grievous punishment. Turn your majestic eyes, my God, upon the work of your ineffable compassion; behold the leader born, his whole body stretched out; see his innocent hands streaming with devoted blood, and, now propitiated, forgive the sins my hands have committed. Look at his defenseless side, pierced through by a cruel spear-point, and renew me with the sacred fountain that I believe flowed from it. See his spotless footprints, which never stood in the way of sinners but always walked in your law, now pierced with dreadful nails. Direct my steps in your paths, and make me hate every way of wickedness. Merciful one, remove the way of wickedness from me, and graciously lead me to choose the way of truth. I beg you, King of the ages, through this Redeemer of mine: make me run in the way of your commandments, so that I may be united to him in spirit — him who did not shrink from being clothed in my flesh.

The Torn Limbs of the Beloved Son

A vivid, anguished portrait of Christ's body on the cross — the bowed head, the pale face, the bloodied side, the rigid arms — culminating in the recognition that this innocent one, in whom no deceit was found, was struck down for the sins of the people.

Don't you see, loving Father, the most beloved head of your young Son, bowed down on that snow-white neck, his precious body surrendered to death? Look, most gentle Creator, upon the humanity of your beloved offspring, and have mercy on the weakness of your frail creature. His stripped chest gleams white, his bloody side is red, his taut flesh is parched and dry, his beautiful eyes grow faint, his royal face turns pale, his long arms hang rigid, his marble-white legs dangle, and a stream of holy blood soaks his pierced feet. Behold, glorious Father, the torn limbs of your most gracious Son, and remember — you who are kind — that this is my very nature. Look upon the punishment of the God-man, and release the misery of created humanity. See the suffering of the Redeemer, and forgive the sin of the redeemed. This is he, my Lord, whom you struck down for the sins of your people — even though he is the beloved one in whom I was well pleased.✦ This is that innocent one in whom no deceit was found — and yet he was reckoned among the wicked.✦✦

It Is I Who Wounded You

The soul turns from contemplating Christ's innocence to confessing its own guilt, recognizing that every sinful act is the cause of the Savior's suffering, and marvels at the mystery by which the just is punished for the wicked.

What have you done to deserve this, sweetest child, that you should be judged in this way? What have you done, most loving young man, that you should be treated this way? What crime is yours, what harm is yours, what cause of death, what occasion of your damnation? It is I who am the wound that causes you pain, the guilt that brings about your slaughter. I am the envy that drives your suffering, the toil that torments you. I am the reason you must die, the disgrace that earns your punishment. O wonderful ordering of judgment, and ineffable arrangement of mystery! The wicked one sins, and the just one is punished; the guilty one has transgressed, and the innocent one is beaten; the impious one offends, and the pious one is condemned. What the evil one deserves, the good one suffers. What the servant perpetrates, the lord pays for. What man commits, God endures.

How Far Has Your Love Reached?

A crescendo of wonder at the depth of Christ's humility, love, devotion, kindness, and compassion, culminating in a sweeping contrast between human sin and divine suffering — the guilty rejoice while the innocent is torn by nails.

How far, O Son of God, how far has your humility stooped? How far has your love burned? How far has devotion advanced? How far has kindness grown? How far has your love reached? How far has compassion come? I have acted wickedly, and you are punished with penalty; I have committed a crime, and you are struck down with vengeance; I have perpetrated an offense, and you are subjected to torture; I have been proud, and you are humbled; I have swelled with arrogance, and you are made weak; I have stood forth as disobedient, and you atone to the Father for the guilt of disobedience by being obedient; I have yielded to gluttony, and you are afflicted with hunger; burning desire for what is forbidden has carried me away, while perfect love leads you to the cross; I presumed upon what was forbidden, and you underwent the rack; I delight in food, and you labor on the gibbet; I enjoy pleasures, and you are torn by nails; I tasted the sweetness of the fruit, and you taste the bitterness of gall. For me, guilty as I am, Eve the laughing one rejoices; for you, Mary the weeping one devoutly suffers with you.

What Can I Repay the Lord?

The soul acknowledges that no human heart can repay God's gifts, yet finds one possible response: to crucify the flesh with its vices and, by God's grace, to suffer with Christ even unto material persecution for his love.

Look, King of glory — look at my impiety, and see your piety shine out against my injustice, your justice standing clear. What can I ever repay you, my King and my God, for everything you've repaid me? No human heart can hold anything worthy of being repaid in return for gifts like these. Can any human shrewdness scheme its way to something that could be compared with divine compassion? No creature can strive for the task of justly recompensing the Creator's protection. And yet, Son of God, within this wondrous dispensation of yours, there is something my frailty can manage — if my mind, pierced by your visitation, crucifies the flesh with its vices and desires.13 And if this is granted by you — if it can even begin to suffer with you, since you deigned to die for my sin — then through the victory of the inner self, with you as leader, strength will be armed for the outer battle: once spiritual persecution has been overcome, it will not fear to submit to the material sword for the sake of your love.14 So the smallness of our condition — if it pleases your piety — will be able to answer the greatness of the Creator with whatever strength it has.

The Antidote of Divine Love

A brief invocation naming Christ's love as the heavenly medicine and antidote for the soul's poison.

And this heavenly medicine—good Jesus—is this antidote of your love.

Let Nothing Be Sweet Without You

The soul prays for complete reorientation of desire: that only God be sweet, that tears become bread, that God's law be cherished above gold, and that pride and self-deception be kept far away.

I pray you, through your ancient mercies, pour into my inmost parts: that, once the viper's contagion of bile has been cast off, you may restore me to my former safety; and that, once I have tasted the nectar of your sweetness, you may make me despise with my whole heart the alluring prosperity of the world, and fear none of its adversities for your sake — and, mindful of my perpetual nobility, may I always disdain the winds of this passing fear.✦ Let nothing, I beg, be sweet to me without you; let nothing please me, nothing be precious; let nothing but you smile beautifully upon me. Let all things, I beseech you, become worthless without you; let everything together grow foul. What is adverse to you, let it be troublesome to me; and let your good pleasure be my unfailing desire. Let it weary me to rejoice without you, and let it delight me to be sad for you.✦ Let your name be my refreshment, and the memory of you my consolation. Let my tears become my bread day and night, as I search out your ordinances. Let the law of your mouth be good to me, above thousands of gold and silver. Let obeying you be pleasant to me, and resisting you detestable.✦✦ I ask you, my hope, through all your mercies, that you may be propitious to all my impieties. Open my ears to your commandments, and do not let my heart turn aside — I entreat you, through your holy name — into words of malice, to make excuses for my excuses in sin.✦ I ask also, through your admirable humility, that the foot of pride may not come to me, and that the hand of the sinner may not move me.✦

I Have Sent My Advocate to You

The soul declares that it has offered everything precious to the Father and has sent Christ — the Word made flesh, who endured bonds, mockings, and the cross — as mediator and intercessor, now glorified at the Father's right hand.

Look, almighty God, Father of my Lord, arrange it graciously so that you may have mercy on me, since whatever more precious thing I found, I offered to you devoutly, and whatever dearer thing I discovered, I presented to you humbly. I have left nothing for myself without exposing it to your majesty. There is nothing now that I might add, because I have entrusted my every hope to you. I have directed my advocate to you — your beloved Son — I have sent a glorious offspring between me and you as mediator.✦ I have sent, I say, an intercessor through whom I trust to receive forgiveness. I have sent in words the Word that I said was sent for my sake in deeds, and I have counted out to you the death of your most holy offspring, which I believe was endured for me.✦ I believe that our Deity, sent by you, took up humanity — humanity in which he deemed it worthy to endure bonds, blows, spit, and mockings, and also to receive crosses and nails.✦ This humanity, once worn down by the cries of infancy, bound tight by the swaddling clothes of boyhood, vexed by sweats, weakened by fastings, afflicted by vigils, wearied by journeys — and later scarred by scourges, torn by punishments, and counted among the dead — he has now brought in, endowed with the glory of resurrection and the joys of the heavens, and placed at the right hand of your majesty.✦✦

The Good Shepherd Brings Home the Sheep

The soul pleads with the Father to look upon the Shepherd who sought the dying sheep through mountain and valley, restored human nature without stain, and now sits at the Father's right hand as the soul's only hope.

You are my appeasement and my propitiation. Look here, O loving One, on the Son you have begotten, and here on the servant you have redeemed. Look upon your Maker, and do not despise your creature. Embrace with serenity the Shepherd, and receive back with mercy the sheep brought home on his own shoulders.✦ This is that most faithful Shepherd who long ago had sought the wandering sheep through the steep mountains and the precipices of the valleys with many and varied labors, and who, now finding her at last — already dying, already fainting through long exile — joyfully placed himself beneath her, and with a wonderful effort of love lifted her, struggling, from the deep abyss of ruin, and clasping her in tender embraces, brought the one sheep that had perished back to the ninety-nine.✦ See, my Lord, my King, almighty God — see, the good Shepherd returns to you what you entrusted to him.✦ He undertook, by your ordering, the saving of the human being, whom he restored to you free from every stain. See, your most beloved Son reconciles to you the creature that had gone far astray from you. See, the gentle Shepherd to your flock restores what the violent robber had driven away. He returns to your sight the servant whom his own conscience had made a fugitive, so that the one who through himself deserved punishment may through the Maker of the world deserve pardon. And for each one, hell remained on account of his own sins; but now, with so great a leader, let him trust to be called back to his homeland.✦✦ I was able to offend you, holy Father, by my own power, but I was not able to appease you by my own power. My helper has become — my God, your beloved Son, sharing in my humanity — so that he might heal my weakness, so that from where guilt had emerged as offense, from there he might offer you a sacrifice of praise, and through this render me appeasable to your mercy. And sitting at your right hand, he would always show himself to be a partner in my nature.✦✦ See, my hope — see, my entire confidence. If you look down on me for my wickedness, as is only right, then at least look on me with pity for the love of your beloved offspring. Fix your gaze on the Son, through whom your servant may find you propitious.

The Sacrament of the Flesh

The soul asks the Father to look upon the Eucharistic wounds and blood of the Son, that the very flesh which provoked divine anger might now incline the Father to mercy.

Look upon the Sacrament of the flesh, and for the sake of the flesh forgive the guilt; remember that the good Son suffered, and forget that the wicked slave did evil. As often as the wounds of the blessed Offspring are laid open to you, let my sins, I beg you, be hidden; as often as the precious blood flows red from the holy side, let the stain of my defilement be wiped away, I pray. And because the flesh provoked you to anger, let the flesh, I pray, move you to mercy — so that just as the flesh led me astray into sin, the flesh may lead me to pardon.

The Redeemer's Justice Surpasses Our Sin

The soul weighs human impiety against the Redeemer's devotion and finds the latter immeasurably greater — as far as east from west, as hell from heaven — because the humility of the Son of God lays low every pride and destroys death's dominion.

Great indeed is what my own impiety would deserve; but far greater is what the devotion of my Redeemer demands as a matter of right — for my injustice is great, yet the justice of my Redeemer is far greater still. For by how much higher God is than man, by so much is my malice lower than his goodness — in quality just as in quantity. For what could man sin that the Son of God, having become man, did not redeem? What pride could swell that such great humility would not lay low? What dominion of death could there be that the punishment of the cross, borne by the one born of God, would not destroy? Surely, my God, if the iniquities of sinful man and the grace of the Author's redemption were weighed on an equal scale, it is not so far as the east is from the west, or as the depths of hell are separated from the highest heaven — that is how far the devotion of the Redeemer surpasses the malice of the sinner.✦✦

Now Forgive: Let His Virtues Answer My Sins

The prayer reaches its climax as the soul asks the Father to forgive every fault through the Son's immense labors, letting Christ's humility, patience, kindness, obedience, and love answer and overcome the soul's corresponding sins.

Now, best Creator of light, now forgive my faults for the sake of the immense labors of your beloved Son. Now, I pray, let my impiety be given over to his devotion, my perversity to his gentleness, and my fierceness to his meekness. Now let his humility answer my pride, his patience my impatience, his kindness my harshness, his obedience my disobedience, his tranquility my restlessness, his sweetness my bitterness, his gentleness my anger — and let his love win over my cruelty.15 Who is with you. And so on.

Read the original Latin

Invoco te, Deus meus, invoco te, quia prope es omnibus invocantibus te, sed invocantibus in veritate: tu enim veritas es. Doce me, quaeso, per clementiam tuam, sancta veritas, doce me invocare te in veritate, quia quomodo hoc fieri oporteat nescio, sed doceri a te, beata veritas, humiliter imploro. Abs te enim sapere, desipere est: te vero nosse est perfecte scire. Erudi me, o divina sapientia, et doce me legem tuam. Credo namque quia beatus erit, quem tu erudieris et de lege tua docueris eum. Desiderio invocare te, quod quaeso fiat in veritate. Quid est invocare in veritate veritatem, nisi in Filio Patrem? Ergo, sancte Pater, sermo tuus veritas est, principium verborum tuorum veritas.

Hoc quippe est verborum tuorum principium, quod in principio erat Verbum. In ipso principio te summum adoro principium; in ipso veritatis Verbo te, perfecta, invoco, veritas: in quo ipsa eadem veritas, dirigas me et doceas in veritate. Quid enim dulcius quam Genitorem in nomine Unigeniti exorare, Patrem in recordatione Filii ad pietatem flectere, Regem charissimae sobolis denominatione mitigare!

Sic rei solent carceribus eripi, sic mancipati vinculis liberari, sic tristem capitis excipientes sententiam, non solum absolvi, sed insuper nancisci insolitam gratiam, dummodo iratis principibus delectae prolis intimaverint charitatem. Sic delinquentes servuli evadunt supplicia dominorum, dum pro eis intervenit dulcedo filiorum. Sic te, Pater omnipotens, per omnipotentis Filii tui charitatem postulo, educ de carcere animam meam ad confitendum nomini tuo, libera me a vinculis peccatorum, per coaeternum tibi natum unicum flagito; meque, cui propria merita lethalem minantur sententiam, pretiosissimae ad dexteram tuam consedentis prolis interpellatione restaura placatus ad vitam. Quem alium enim dirigam intercessorem pro me tibi, nescio nisi hunc, qui est propitiatio pro peccatis nostris, qui sedet ad dexteram tuam interpellans pro nobis.

Ecce advocatus meus apud te Deum et Patrem: ecce Pontifex summus, qui non eget alieno expiari sanguine, quia proprio refulget perfusus cruore. Ecce hostia sancta, beneplacens et perfecta, in odorem suavitatis et oblata et accepta. Ecce Agnus sine macula, qui coram se tondentibus obmutuit, qui alapis caesus, sputis illitus, probris affectus, os suum non aperuit. En qui peccatum non fecit, peccata nostra pertulit, et languores nostros suo livore sanavit. Aspice, pie Pater, piissimum Filium tuum pro me tam impia passum. Respice, rex clementissime, quis patitur, et reminiscere benignus pro quo patitur. Nonne hic est ille innocens, mi Domine, quem ut servum redimeres Filium tradidisti? Nunquid non auctor vitae hic est, qui ut ovis ad occisionem ductus, tibique obediens usque ad mortem factus, atrocissimae non timuit necis genus subire?

Recole, totius salutis dispensator, quia hic ipse est, quem etsi ex tua virtute genuisti, meae tamen infirmitatis participem fieri voluisti.

Vere haec est tua deitas, quae, meam induta naturam, crucis ascendit patibulum, in assumptaque carne triste tulit supplicium. Reduc, Deus meus, oculos majestatis tuae super opus ineffabilis pietatis, intuere ducem natum toto corpore extensum, cerne manus innocuas pio manantes sanguine, et remitte placatus scelera quae patraverunt manus meae. Considera inerme latus crudeli perfossum cuspide, et renova me sacro fonte, quem inde fluisse credo. Vide immaculata vestigia, quae non steterunt in via peccatorum, sed semper ambulaverunt in lege tua, diris confixa clavis, et perfice gressus meos in semitis tuis; et fac me odio habere omnem viam iniquitatis; viam iniquitatis, misericors, amove a me: et fac me propitius viam veritatis eligere. Oro te, rex saeculorum, per hunc Redemptorem meum, fac me currere viam mandatorum tuorum, ut ei valeam spiritu uniri, qui non horruit mea carne vestiri.

Nunquid non attendis, pie Pater, adolescentis Filii charissimum caput, nivea cervice deflexa, pretiosissimam resolutum in mortem? Aspice, mitissime Conditor, dilectae sobolis humanitatem, et miserere super infirmi plasmatis debilitatem. Candet nudatum pectus, rubet cruentum latus, tensa arent viscera, decora languent lumina, regia pallent ora, procera rigent brachia, pendent crura marmorea, rigat terebratos pedes sacri sanguinis unda. Specta, gloriose Genitor, gratissimae prolis lacerata membra, et memorare benignus quae mea est substantia. Conspicare Dei hominis poenam, et relaxa conditi hominis miseriam. Vide Redemptoris supplicium, et redempti dimitte delictum. Hic est, Domine mi, quem propter peccata populi tui percussisti, licet ipse sit dilectus in quo tibi bene complacui ti. Hic est ille innocens in quo dolus non est inventus, et tamen cum iniquis deputatus est.

Quid commisisti, dulcissime puer, ut sic judicareris? Quid commisisti, amantissime juvenis, ut sic tractareris. Quod scelus tuum, quae noxa tua, quae causa mortis, quae occasio tuae damnationis? Ego enim sum tui plaga doloris, tuae culpa occisionis. Ego tuae livor passionis, tui cruciatus labor. Ego tuae mortis meritum, tuae vindictae flagitium. O mirabilis censurae conditio, et ineffabilis mysterii dispositio! peccat iniquus, et punitur justus; deliquit reus, et vapulat innocens; offendit impius, et damnatur pius; quod meretur malus, patitur bonus; quod perpetrat servus, exsolvit dominus; quod committit homo, sustinet Deus.

Quo, Nate Dei, quo tua descendit humilitas? quo tua flagravit charitas? quo processit pietas? quo excrevit benignitas? quo tuus attigit amor? quo pervenit compassio? Ego enim inique egi, tu poena multaris; ego facinus admisi, tu ultione plecteris; ego crimen edidi, tu torturae subjiceris; ego superbivi, tu humiliaris; ego tumui, tu attenuaris; ego inobediens exstiti, tu obediens Patri scelus inobedientiae luis; ego gulae parui, tu inedia afficeris; me ad illicitam rapuit concupiscentia ardorem, te perfecta charitas ducit ad crucem; ego praesumpsi vetitum, tu subiisti equuleum; ego delector cibo, tu laboras in patibulo; ego fruor deliciis, tu laniaris clavis; ego pomi dulcedinem, tu fellis gustas amaritudinem; mihi reo ridens congaudet Eva; tibi pie plorans compatitur Maria.

Ecce, Rex gloriae, ecce impietas mea et claret pietas tua, in mea injustitia, et tua liquet justitia. Quid, Rex meus, et Deus meus, quid retribuam tibi pro omnibus quae retribuisti? Non enim inveniri potest in corde hominis quod condigne talibus referatur praemiis. Nunquid potest sagacitas machinari humana, cui comparetur miseratio divina? Nec est creaturae moliri officium, quo juste Creatoris recompenset praesidium. Est autem, Nate Dei, in hac tua admirabili dispensatione, est cui mea fragilitas in aliquo suppetit, si tua visitatione compuncta mens carnem suam crucifigat cum vitiis et concupiscentiis. Et si hoc a te conceditur, quasi jam tibi incipit compati, quia et tu pro peccato meo dignatus es mori, sicque per interiorem hominis victoriam te duce, armabitur ad exteriorem palmam, quatenus devicta persecutione spiritali, non vereatur pro amore tuo subjici gladio materiali. Ita exiguitas conditionis, si tuae complaceat pietati, magnitudini valebit pro viribus respondere Creatoris.

Et haec coelestis medicina, bone Jesu, hoc tui antidotum amoris.

Oro te per antiquas misericordias tuas, infunde meis visceribus quod, rejecta viperae contagionis bile reintegret me incolumitati pristinae, quod, gustato nectare tuae suavitatis, faciat me illecebrosa mundi prospera toto affectu despicere, et nulla ejus adversa pro te formidare, memorque perpetuae nobilitatis semper fastidiam ventos hujus transitorii timoris. Nihil, quaeso, sine te mihi dulcescat, nihil complaceat, nihil pretiosum, nihil praeter te mihi arrideat speciosum; vilescant, obsecro, absque te mihi omnia, sordeant universa. Quod tibi adversum est, sit mihi molestum; et beneplacitum tuum, mihi indeficiens desiderium; taedeat me gaudere sine te, et delectet me tristari pro te. Sit mihi nomen tuum refocillatio, et memoria tua mea consolatio; fiant mihi lacrymae meae panes die ac nocte, tuas investigando justificationes, sit bonum mihi lex oris tui, super millia auri et argenti; sit obedire tibi mihi amabile, et resistere tibi exsecrabile. Rogo te, spes mea, per omnes pietates tuas, ut propitieris omnibus impietatibus meis. Adaperi aures meas mandatis tuis, et ne declines, flagito, per nomen sanctum tuum, in verba malitiae cor meum, ad excusandas excusationes in peccatis. Peto etiam per admirabilem humilitatem tuam, ne veniat mihi pes superbiae, et manus peccatoris non moveat me.

Ecce, omnipotens Deus, Pater Domini mei, dispone benignus quo mihi miserearis, quoniam quidquid pretiosius inveni, devote tibi obtuli, quidquid carius reperi, suppliciter praesentavi; mihi nihil reliqui quin tuae exposuerim majestati; nihil jam superest quod adjiciam, quia totam tibi delegavi spem meam. Direxi tibi advocatum meum, tuum dilectum Filium, misi gloriosam progeniem inter me et te mediatorem. Misi, inquam, intercessorem, per quem confido veniam; misi verbis Verbum quod pro meis dixi missum factis, et numeravi tibi sanctissimae sobolis mortem quam pro me credo fuisse perpessam. Credo a te missam Deitatem nostram suscepisse humanitatem, in qua dignum duxit vincula, alapas, sputa, irrisionesque perferre, nec non cruces clavosque suscipere. Hanc olim infantiae vagitibus demolitam, pueritiae pannis constrictam, sudoribus vexatam, jejuniis maceratam, vigiliis afflictam, itineribus fessam postea affectam flagris, laceratam suppliciis, deputatam cum mortuis, dotatam vero gloria resurrectionis coelorum gaudiis induxit, et in dextera tuae celsitudinis collocavit.

Tu placatio mea et propitiatio mea, hic intende pius quem genueris Filium, et quem redemeris servum, hic aspice Factorem, et ne despicias facturam, amplectere serenus Pastorem, et recipe misericors allatam propriis humeris ovem. Hic ipse est fidelissimus Pastor ille, qui dudum errabundam ovem per abrupta montium, per praecipitia vallium multis variisque quaesierat laboribus, quique jam morienti, jam per longa exsilia deficienti tandem inventae gaudens se supposuit, et miro sibi adnisu charitatis annixam de profunda confusionis abysso levavit, piisque astrictam complexibus ad nonaginta novem, unam quae perierat, reportavit ovem. Ecce, Domine, mi Rex, omnipotens Deus, ecce Pastor bonus refert tibi quod commisisti ei. Suscepit, te disponente, ad salvandum hominem, quem tibi restituit omni labe immunem; ecce tibi tuum charissimus Filius plasma reconciliat quod a te procul deviaverat. En gregi tuo mitis Pastor reformat quod praedo violentus abegerat, reddit tuis conspectibus servum quem sua fecerat conscientia fugitivum, ut qui per se poenam meruit, per Factorem mundi mereatur veniam, cuique pro culpis suis supererat gehenna, tanto duce jam confidat revocari ad patriam. Potui per me te, sancte Pater, offendere, sed non potui per me te mihi placare; factus est adjutor meus, Deus meus, tuus dilectus Filius, meam participans humanitatem, ut curaret infirmitatem, quatenus unde culpa emerserat offensionis, inde tibi immolaret sacrificium laudis, meque per hoc tuae redderet pietati placabilem, quo sedens ad dexteram tuam semper meae substantiae se ostenderet esse consortem. Ecce spes mea, ecce tota fiducia. Si me pro mea, ut dignum est, despicis iniquitate, respice me saltem misertus pro dilectae sobolis charitate; attende in Filio quo propitieris servo.

Vide carnis sacramentum, et carnis remitte reatum; recole quod bonus perpessus est Filius, et obliviscere quod malus operatus est servus. Quoties beatae prolis tibi patent vulnera, delitescant, obsecro, scelera mea; quoties rubet pretiosus sanguis pio de latere, deleatur, supplico, labes meae pollutionis. Et quia te caro lacessivit ad iram, caro te inflectat, precor, ad misericordiam, ut sicut me caro seduxit ad culpam, caro deducat ad veniam.

Multum quippe est quod mea mereretur impietas; longe autem majus est quod Redemptoris mei reposcit jure pietas; magna enim est mea injustitia, multo vero major est Redemptoris mei justitia. Quanto enim superior est Deus homine, tanto mea malitia est inferior bonitate ejus, ut qualitate, ita etiam quantitate. Quid enim delinquere posset homo quod non redemerit Dei Filius factus homo? Quae tanta superbia tumeret, quam non tanta humilitas sterneret? Quodnam esset mortis imperium quod nati Dei non destrueret crucis supplicium? Nimirum, Deus meus, si aequa lance iniquitates peccantis hominis et redimentis gratia librentur Auctoris, non tantum oriens distat ab occidente, seu inferior separatur infernus a summo coeli cardine; quantum pietas Redemptoris superat malitiam peccatoris.

Jam, lucis optime Creator, jam culpis ignosce meis pro dilecti Filii tui laboribus immensis. Jam, quaeso, ejus pietati mea impietas, ejus modestiae mea perversitas, et ejus mansuetudini mea donetur ferocitas. Jam sua humilitas meam superbiam, patientia impatientiam, benignitas duritiam, ohedientia inobedientiam, tranquillitas inquietudinem, dulcedo amaritudinem, suavitas iram, charitas lucrifaciat crudelitatem. Qui tecum. etc.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩John.1.1 — In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  2. ↩John.1.1-John.1.14 — In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John.1.2 — He was in the beginning with God. John.1.3 — All things came into being through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. John.1.4 — In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John.1.5 — And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John.1.6 — There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. John.1.7 — He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. John.1.8 — He himself was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. John.1.9 — The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. John.1.10 — He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. John.1.11 — He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. John.1.12 — But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God—to those who believed in his name. John.1.13 — who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John.1.14 — And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
  3. ↩1John.2.1-1John.2.2 — My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. 1John.2.2 — And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
  4. ↩John.1.14 — And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
  5. ↩Rom.8.34 — Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus—the one who died, and more than that, was raised—who is also at the right hand of God, and who also intercedes for us.
  6. ↩Rom.8.34;Heb.7.25 — Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus—the one who died, and more than that, was raised—who is also at the right hand of God, and who also intercedes for us. Heb.7.25 — Therefore he is able to save completely those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.
  7. ↩Ps.102.20 — For he looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven to earth he gazed—
  8. ↩1John.2.1-1John.2.2 — My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. 1John.2.2 — And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
  9. ↩Rom.8.34 — Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus—the one who died, and more than that, was raised—who is also at the right hand of God, and who also intercedes for us.
  10. ↩1John.2.1 — My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One.
  11. ↩Eph.5.2 — and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a fragrant aroma
  12. ↩Isa.53.7 — He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb led to slaughter, and like a sheep silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.
  13. ↩1Pet.2.22-1Pet.2.23 — He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. 1Pet.2.23 — When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
  14. ↩Isa.53.4-Isa.53.5 — And Surely he carried our sicknesses and bore our pains, yet we considered him stricken, struck by God, and afflicted. Isa.53.5 — But he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
  15. ↩1Pet.2.24 — He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness — by whose wounds you were healed.
  16. ↩Isa.53.7 — He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb led to slaughter, and like a sheep silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.
  17. ↩Phil.2.8 — And he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
  18. ↩Acts.3.15 — But you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. Of this we are witnesses.
  19. ↩Heb.2.14 — Since, therefore, the children have shared in blood and flesh, he himself also in like manner partook of the same, so that through death he might destroy the one having the power of death, that is, the devil,
  20. ↩Matt.3.17 — And behold, a voice from the heavens said, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'
  21. ↩Isa.53.12 — Therefore I will give him a share among the many, and he will divide spoil with the strong, because he poured out his life to death and was counted with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors.
  22. ↩Isa.53.9 — And they assigned his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death, because he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
  23. ↩Ps.51.6 — Against you, you alone, I have sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified when you speak, and blameless when you judge.
  24. ↩Phil.2.13 — For God is the one working in you, both to desire and to work for his good pleasure.
  25. ↩Ps.119.72 — The law from your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver.
  26. ↩Ps.119.24 — Your testimonies are my delight, the men of my counsel.
  27. ↩Prov.28.13 — Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will receive mercy.
  28. ↩Ps.36.11 — Let not the foot of the arrogant tread upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
  29. ↩1Tim.2.5 — For there is one God and one mediator between God and humankind, the man Christ Jesus,
  30. ↩John.1.1 — In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  31. ↩Matt.26.67 — Then they spat in his face and struck him, and some slapped him,
  32. ↩Phil.2.6-Phil.2.9 — who, existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to exploit, Phil.2.7 — but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and appearing as a human being. Phil.2.8 — And he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Phil.2.9 — Therefore God also exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name,
  33. ↩Acts.2.33 — Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear.
  34. ↩Luke.15.4-Luke.15.6 — Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? Luke.15.5 — And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Luke.15.6 — And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'
  35. ↩Luke.15.4-Luke.15.7 — Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? Luke.15.5 — And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Luke.15.6 — And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Luke.15.7 — I tell you, there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents more than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.
  36. ↩John.10.11 — I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
  37. ↩John.10.10 — The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
  38. ↩Luke.15.4-Luke.15.7 — Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? Luke.15.5 — And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Luke.15.6 — And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Luke.15.7 — I tell you, there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents more than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.
  39. ↩Heb.4.15 — For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in every way, yet without sin.
  40. ↩Ps.109.1 — To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, do not be silent.
  41. ↩Ps.102.12 — My days are like a shadow that stretches out, and I wither like grass.
  42. ↩Isa.55.9 — For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩'Sancta veritas' and 'beata veritas' are vocative addresses to God as Truth itself, blending the divine attribute with direct prayer.
  2. 2 ↩'Desiderio' rendered as 'with longing' to capture the devotional yearning of the Latin, not mere intellectual desire.
  3. 3 ↩'Sermo tuus veritas est' identifies the Father's Word (Logos/Christ) as truth itself, echoing John 1:1 and John 14:6.
  4. 4 ↩Alludes to John 1:1 (Vulgate: 'In principio erat Verbum'). The clause 'in principio erat Verbum' is a direct quotation from the Prologue of John's Gospel.
  5. 5 ↩The address 'perfecta, veritas' (O perfect truth) is vocative, directed to God the Father through the Word. The shift from 'principium' (source/origin) to 'Verbo' (Word) holds together the Father as source and the Son as the Word through whom the Father is known.
  6. 6 ↩The sentence is a rhetorical question expecting the answer 'nothing.' The threefold infinitive structure (exorare, flectere, mitigare) builds a crescendo of intimate prayer: the worshiper approaches the Father through the Son's name, appeals to the Father's memory of the Son's love, and so disarms the sovereign King's severity.
  7. 7 ↩'Charissimae sobolis' rendered as 'most beloved child' rather than 'offspring' or 'progeny' to preserve the tender, familial intimacy of the address. 'Sobolis' is a warm, almost tender word for offspring.
  8. 8 ↩ut rendered as purpose ('so that') rather than complementizer; subjunctive redimeres supports purpose reading
  9. 9 ↩ut rendered as comparative ('like') given the simile with ovis
  10. 10 ↩dispensator (dispenser): title of address to God the Father, emphasizing His role as steward and administrator of the economy of salvation.
  11. 11 ↩etsi…tamen (although…nevertheless): the concessive-adversative pairing underscores the paradox that the Son, begotten of the Father's divine power, was nonetheless willed to partake of human infirmitas (weakness).
  12. 12 ↩participem fieri (to become a sharer): the infinitive of becoming stresses that sharing in human weakness is not a given of divine nature but a deliberate act of the Father's will.
  13. 13 ↩compuncta mens: the participle compuncta may function as an ablative absolute ('when the mind has been pierced') or as an attributive modifier ('a mind that has been pierced'). The translation takes it as participial attribution to mens.
  14. 14 ↩incipit compati: the deponent infinitive compati is complementary to incipit; the sense is 'begins to share in your suffering' or 'begins to suffer with you.' The quasi jam construction suggests an incipient grace.
  15. 15 ↩lucrifaciat (jussive subjunctive of lucrifacio) rendered as 'win over' to capture the sense of gaining or redeeming what is lost, rather than a literal 'profit' reading.

Orationes sive Meditationes — Collection for Princess Adeliza of Normandy companion

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