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Chapter 22Ansl.1.22

ORATIO XXII. AD CHRISTUM. Orat. poenitentis divinum auxilium humiliter postulantis.

Praise and Thirst for God

The soul praises Christ as Redeemer and mercy, then pours out a deep, restless longing for God's presence.

Lord Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, my mercy, my salvation, my consolation, my life — I praise you, I give you thanks. Your goodness created me; your mercy cleansed me from original sin; your presence, after that cleansing, has tolerated me, nourished me, and waited for me in the other filth of my pleasures until now. Lord God, my Creator, my Sustainer, my Nourisher, and my Helper — I thirst for you, I hunger for you, I desire you, I sigh for you, I long for you.✦ Most kind, most sweet, most serene — I want you, I seek you, I hope to see you. My soul has refused to be consoled unless it be by you, my sweetness.✦

Come, Lord — The Cry of Longing

The soul pleads for God's presence, comfort, and glory, using vivid images of thirst, hunger, and drunken delight drawn from the Psalms.

Come to me, Lord; appear to me, and I will be comforted; show me your face, and I will be safe; grant me your presence, and my longing will be filled.✦ Reveal your glory, and my joy will be complete. My soul has thirsted for you — and how deeply my flesh thirsts for you! When will you come to me, my comforter?✦✦1 Oh, when will I see the joy I long for! Oh, when will I be satisfied, when the glory of the one I hunger for appears!2 Oh, if only I could be drunk from the abundance of your house (Psalm 35✦3 — verse 9) — the one I sigh for!✦4 Oh, if only you would let me drink from the torrent of your delight — the very thing I thirst for!✦5

Bread of Tears in Exile

In exile, the penitent asks God to feed the soul with the bread of tears and sorrow until the day of consolation arrives, closing with a humble 'Amen.'

Give me, Lord, in this exile the bread of pain and of tears, which I hunger for beyond every abundance of delights.✦ Let my tears sometimes be my bread, Lord, by day and by night, until it is said to me: Behold your God; until I hear: Behold your bridegroom.✦✦ Feed me in the meantime, Lord, with my sobs; refresh me with my sorrows.6 Amen.

Read the original Latin

Domine Jesu Christe Redemptor meus, misericordia mea, salus mea, consolatio mea, vita mea, te laudo, tibi gratias ago; tua bonitas me creavit, tua misericordia me ab originali peccato mundavit; tua praesentia post illam emundationem me in aliis sordibus voluptatum hactenus toleravit, nutrivit et exspectavit. Domine Deus, Creator meus, tolerator meus, nutritor meus, et adjutor meus, te sitio, te esurio, te desidero, ad te suspiro, te concupisco. Benignissime, suavissime, serenissime, te volo, te quaero, te spero videre. Renuit consolari anima mea, nisi de te, dulcedo mea.

Accede ad me, Domine; appare mihi, et consolatus ero; ostende mihi faciem tuam, et salvus ero; exhibe praesentiam tuam, et implebitur desiderium meum. Revela gloriam tuam, et perfectum erit gaudium meum. Sitivit in te anima mea, quam multipliciter tibi caro mea: quando venies ad me, consolator meus? O si quando videbo gaudium meum, quod desidero! O si quando satiabor, cum apparuerit gloria ejus quem esurio! O si inebriabor ab ubertate domus (Psal. XXXV, 9) ejus, ad quem suspiro! O si potabis me torrente voluptatis tuae, quam sitio!

Da mihi, Domine, in hoc exsilio panem doloris et lacrymarum, quem esurio supra omnem copiam deliciarum. Sint interdum mihi, Domine, lacrymae meae panes die ac nocte, donec dicatur mihi: Ecce Deus tuus; donec audiam: Ecce sponsus tuus. Pasce me interim, Domine, singultibus meis, refocilla me doloribus meis. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Ps.42.2 — As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, God.
  2. ↩Lam.3.24 — The LORD is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in him.
  3. ↩Ps.17.8 — Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.
  4. ↩Ps.41.3 — The LORD will keep him alive and preserve him; he will be called blessed in the land. Do not give him over to the will of his enemies.
  5. ↩Ps.62.2 — Only before God is my soul silent; from him comes my salvation.
  6. ↩Ps.35.9 — Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD; it will exult in his salvation.
  7. ↩Ps.35.9 — Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD; it will exult in his salvation.
  8. ↩Ps.35.9 — Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD; it will exult in his salvation.
  9. ↩Ps.106.5 — to see the good of your chosen ones, to rejoice in the joy of your nation, to glory with your inheritance—
  10. ↩Isa.62.5 — For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
  11. ↩Isa.40.9 — Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"

Notes

  1. 1 ↩quam multipliciter: the adverb is intensified ('how greatly, how in many ways'); rendered as 'how deeply' to capture both the intensity and the layered meaning — soul and body together.
  2. 2 ↩cum apparuerit: 'cum' here is temporal ('when'), not causal or concessive; the moment of satisfaction coincides with the appearance of divine glory.
  3. 3 ↩Psalm citation is incomplete in the source; the parenthetical reference is cut off. The allusion is to Psalm 35:9 (Vulg. 34:9).
  4. 4 ↩This sentence is a continuation of the parenthetical Psalm citation from s6. The verse number and closing parenthesis are supplied by the source apparatus; the ejus refers back to God as the object of longing.
  5. 5 ↩torrente voluptatis tuae: 'voluptas' here carries the sense of divine pleasure/delight, not carnal indulgence; rendered as 'delight' to preserve the positive devotional sense.
  6. 6 ↩refocilla is a rare verb meaning to warm or revive again; rendered as 'refresh' to capture the sense of being restored amid suffering.

Orationes sive Meditationes — Collection for Princess Adeliza of Normandy companion

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