SR
Chapter 26Ansl.1.26

ORATIO XXVI. AD CHRISTUM. Cum sacerdos diligenter contemplatur quam misericorditer Redemptor noster naturam nostri limi, unde nos fecit, pro nobis suscepit.

A Sinner's Plea for Merciful Restraint

The priest prays that Christ hear only those petitions that serve his soul's salvation, acknowledging his constant vulnerability to worldly illusions and begging God to restrain his sinful impulses.

Highest Priest, greater than all other priests, Lord Jesus Christ, to whom every priest clings close—indeed, every Christian who walks before you in truth—hear my voice with the ears of your mercy, and if I pray rightly, hear my prayer. For I do not wish, sweetest Father, to ask you for anything that in the asking could justly offend you. And if through some ignorance or carnal desire I should want to ask you for anything that works against the salvation of my soul, this above all I beg of you, most merciful Lord: never consent to hear me in petitions of that kind. You know, and you know well, most kind God, with what great illusions, what great vanities, what great pleasures of fleshly desires, what great cravings of worldly appetites my unhappy mind is wounded every hour, without a moment's pause. And it often happens that you yourself, most guiding Lord, can see that if you were to let me go according to my worst desires, I would hurl myself headlong into a great abyss of sin.1 Therefore I ask you, sweetest Father, because I know I am exceedingly a sinner and have almost no strength against sin, that through your great mercy you would restrain my fury, which drags me toward sin, and that you would shatter and destroy every evil desire that twists every sense of uprightness within me.

The Weight of Priestly Unworthiness

Trembling before the dignity of his office, the priest confesses the vast gap between his title and his unclean life, yet finds hope in God's providence and mercy rather than despair.

Sometimes, O God who loves humanity, when I think more carefully and call to mind the wrongs I have done so often and — wretched sinner that I am — have still not stopped doing, and when I look closely at how I live and how I ought to grieve for those very evils I have committed and still commit, I am afraid: I bear the name of priest, yet I do not fulfill the office of a priest with deeds worthy of it, and though I have much to fear from many other things I have done, I tremble above all else at the dignity of this office, which I carry though I am utterly unworthy of it — more than at anything else that could happen to me. The dignity of this office is beyond all estimation — great and immeasurably precious to God and to people, provided the priest lives as the one who holds this office ought to live. I bear the name of this dignity, but my wretched life contradicts it in nearly everything — by my evil conduct I contradict the worth of this title. For my heart is unclean, every sense of my body is unclean, and so — inside and out — I am entirely unclean; I find nothing clean in my whole self, no place where I could fittingly and as is proper set down the body of the Lord. So I find myself in great distress, not knowing what I ought most to do — turning this way and that, now thinking this, now thinking that — and I cast about, searching my whole conscience more carefully, in the hope that I might find some sound counsel that I could recognize as a path to some healing for my soul. So I survey everything that concerns me, and finding almost nothing good — or very little — in my whole self, I can scarcely detect even that tiny trace of good, if it should even be called good — the good that I lack in myself I love when I see it in another, and when I don't have it, I humbly acknowledge that I don't. I believe myself to be a sinner and more wretched than anyone else — and yet I do not despair of the mercy of almighty God. For I believe that the One who cared for me before I existed, bringing me into being, and who still provides me with what I need for this life out of his mercy — that he will also, in his loving kindness, give me the grace to do some good work still, or at least, if not fully, to begin some good work, and if not entirely, then at least to stop — even if only a little — from my sins.

The Immensity of God's Mercy in the Incarnation and Eucharist

God's refusal to destroy his creature is shown supremely in the Incarnation: Christ took our clay, refined it on the cross, and offers it as healing food and drink, a mercy beyond all telling.

For God is devout and merciful, and in no way wishes to destroy his own creature, but mercifully warns by every means so that it may return to his own tender care. How much he loves his own creature, how unwilling he is to let it perish, he truly shows in this: when he came down from heaven to earth, when he who had no beginning chose to take a beginning for love of his creature, and took up the clay from which he made us for our redemption — and that very clay, that is, his own flesh, which he took up for us — after it had been well refined through the passion of the cross on the altar of that same cross, he offers to us to eat, and with the blood of that same flesh, pressed out on the winepress of that same cross, he gives us to drink while he quenches the thirst of our soul.2 When we eat this flesh of our Redeemer and drink his blood, when we mix it with our own clay, as if making a poultice from it and applying it to the weaknesses of our soul, if we receive it worthily, we immediately cast out from the deepest parts of our soul everything that draws us toward the danger of damnation.3 O immense Lord our God —4 Christ —5 what mercy! O wondrous and inexpressible mercy! If some powerful man, traveling with a large retinue, happened to pass near a road along which he would go, and saw in some mud a poor person submerged, who by himself could in no way pull himself out of that mud in which he was sunk — if, moved by compassion, that same powerful man pulled the poor person out by his own effort, there is no doubt that such great mercy and such great love would be proclaimed by all, and would be extolled with great praise by all who have sound judgment.6

Christ the Sun Descends into the Mire

Expanding the parable, the priest contemplates how Christ—like a pure Sun—descended into the filth of human sin without contamination, drew the wretched sinner out of perdition, and fed him with His own flesh and blood.

And the more generously this work of mercy was done for the poor and helpless, the more clearly would the merciful and loving God reveal Himself to all the devout and true Christians. What, then, what estimate can be formed of the great devotion of our Lord Jesus Christ, of His ineffable mercy and love, who, though He is without beginning, took on a mortal beginning and mortality for the poor wretch — and beyond measure a poor and helpless one — so as to draw him out of the filthiest mire of sin, in which that wretched and miserable creature had plunged himself? Besides this, the wretched man was enduring such misery, and so unhappily was he sunk in the very gulfs of eternal perdition, oppressed by great distress, great sorrows, hunger, and thirst. On the one hand, then, he suffered the unbearable stench of the mire in which he was sunk; on the other, finding no one to share in his misery and grief, he was tormented by intolerable anguish — as much from the foul mire in which he lay as from the despair of any consolation, which no one offered him. And if it were delayed any longer — if mercy from some compassionate person were not at last shown to him — he would already be dying, beyond recovery, from the very torments of eternal perdition. The merciful Creator came, bearing ineffable loving-kindness, to this sinner lying in the mire of sins. He did not strip Himself of the garment of His glory; He clothed Himself in the rags of our misery. He came like the purest Sun, passing through those stenches yet suffering no contamination from the filth, right up to that wretched sinner. Wiping him clean of those foul stains, He took him by the arm and drew him out onto level ground. And once He had drawn him out of the pit of misery and the mire of filth, He fed him with the bread of saving wisdom. And after that, He fed and gave him to drink with His very flesh, which He had taken on for that man's redemption, and with His blood, which had been poured out for the forgiveness of sins. And so He restored the one who had been tormented by those pains by which he had been so grievously afflicted, and He eased his suffering.

From Mud to Heaven: The Priest's Final Supplication

The priest marvels that the very human nature Christ assumed from our mud now reigns in heaven, and prays for worthily celebrating the Eucharist so as to come at last to unending communion with Christ.

This flesh, then, which he gave to be eaten, was from the nature of the same mud from which he first formed man, whom he created in his own image and likeness. That likeness, which the first man disfigured through his own fault, Christ restored to wholeness through the eating of his flesh and right faith. And this flesh, or the nature of this mud, after Christ suffered on the cross, after he rose again on the third day, he carried to the heavens and placed at the right hand of the Father, and gave him dominion over angels and archangels.78 See how the clay that by its nature always clings to the earth was carried by our Redeemer into heaven, and now holds heaven itself and everything in it under his dominion.9 To this mud no believer can or will ever ascend unless they first take wholesome care to eat it and drink its blood here on earth.1011 I, who am but some minister or priest of this flesh and blood, as I contemplate the great mercy and the sweetness of that mercy which our Redeemer shows toward his creature, I do not lose confidence in his immense goodness.1213 Come to my aid, then, Lord Jesus Christ — come to the aid of your priest. Pardon his sins and offenses, so that I may be worthy to celebrate the mystery of your Body and Blood, and, celebrating worthily, may worthily eat and drink the truth of your Body and Blood. And so, persevering continually to the end, may I be able after the death of the flesh to come to you — where, not at intervals as now, but without interruption, with all the saints, I may be able to eat and drink you yourself, who are truth and life. Amen.141516

Read the original Latin

Summe Sacerdos, et major caeteris sacerdotibus Domine Jesu Christe, cui adhaeret omnis sacerdos, imo omnis Christianus qui ambulat coram te in veritate, auribus pietatis tuae audi vocem meam, et si recte precor, exaudi orationem meam; non enim volo, dulcissime Pater, aliquid te rogare, quod in rogando te juste possit offendere. Et si aliqua inscitia, vel carnali voluntate, quod sit contra salutem animae meae, aliquid te rogare volo, hoc super omnia, misericordissime Domine, precor ne in hujusmodi petitionibus me unquam velis exaudire. Nosti, et bene nosti, benignissime Deus, quantis illusionibus, quantis vanitatibus, quantis carnalium desideriorum voluptatibus, quantis saecularium cupiditatum appetitionibus omni hora, et sine intermissione vulneretur infelix animus meus. Et multoties evenit ut tu ipse, ducissime Domine, perspicis, quia si me permitteres ire secundum meam pessimam voluntatem, totum meipsum in magnam peccatorum voraginem praecipitarem. Propterea te, dulcissime Pater, rogo, quia scio nimis me esse peccatorem et adversus peccatum nullam fere habere virtutem, ut per magnam misericordiam tuam retineas furorem meum, qui me trahit ad peccatum, et confundas et destruas omne malum desiderium, quod pervertit in me omnem rectitudinis sensum.

Aliquando, amator hominum Deus, cum studiosius cogito, et male quae multoties feci et adhuc miser et peccator facere non desisto ad memoriam reduco, et diligenter intueor qualiter vivam, qualiter ipsa mala quae feci et adhuc facio plangam, quod sacerdos dicor, sed officium sacerdotis operibus dignis non impleo, quamvis et de multis aliis quae feci, multum pertimescam, de hujus officii dignitate, quam indignus porto, super omnia quae mihi evenire possunt formido. Est autem hujus officii dignitas, plusquam aestimari possit, magna et inaestimabiliter Deo et hominibus chara, si sacerdos ita vivit sicut ille vivere debet qui hujus officii curam gerit. Porto autem ego nomen hujus dignitatis, sed infelix vita mea fere in omnibus contradicit, male agendo, hujus nominis dignitati. Est enim cor meum immundum, omnes sensus corporis mei immundi, et sic intus et foris totus immundus non invenio in toto me aliquid mundum, ubi honeste et sicut decet possim reponere corpus Dominicum. In magnis itaque angustiis constitutus, et quid potissimum mihi sit faciendum nescio, huc illucque, modo hoc modo illud cogitans, me circumfero diligentiusque omnem conscientiam meam revolvo, si forte aliquod consilium salubre invenirem quod ad aliquam salutem animae mihi esse intelligerem. Omnia ergo quae erga me geruntur, circumspiciens, et fere nihil aut parum boni in toto me inveniens, hoc tantillum boni ibi vix animadverti, si tamen bonum debeat dici quod bonum quod ego non habeo, in alio, cum habet, diligo, et, cum non habeam, humiliter me non habere recognosco, quod peccatorem et miserum plusquam alium quemlibet me esse credo, et tamen de misericordia Dei omnipotentis non despero. Credo enim quod illi cui cura fuit me, cum non essem, facere, et adhuc cura est mihi ea quae ad hujus vitae usum sunt necessaria, pro misericordia sua providere, cura illi erit pro pietate sua mihi dare adhuc aliquod bonum opus facere, vel saltem, si non ex toto totum, aliquod bonum valeam inchoare, et, si non ex toto, a malis vel aliquantulum cessare.

Est enim Deus pius et misericors, et nullo modo creaturam suam perdere volens, sed modis omnibus ut ad pietatem suam redeat, misericorditer monens. Quantum vero suam creaturam diligat, quantum invitus eam perdat, in hoc veraciter ostendit, cum de coelo in terram descendit, cum ille qui sine initio erat, initium pro amore creaturae habere voluit, limumque unde nos fecit pro redemptione nostra assumpsit, et ipsum limum, scilicet carnem suam, quam pro nobis assumpsit, postquam per passionem crucis in ipsius crucis ara bene excocta est, nobis ad manducandum porrigit et ipsius carnis sanguine ejusdem crucis torculari expresso dum nos potat, sitim animae nostrae exstinguit. Hanc autem carnem nostri Redemptoris cum manducamus et sanguinem bibimus, cum limo nostro miscemus, et de hoc quasi emplastrum facientes nostraeque animae infirmitatibus apponentes, si digne sumimus, omne protinus quod ad damnationis periculum nos pertrahit ex interioribus animae nostrae projicimus. O immensa Domini nostri J. C. pietas! o admiranda et ineffabilis misericordia! Si aliquis potens homo, cum magno comitatu hominum pergens, forte juxta viam per quam transiret, in aliquo coeno aliquem pauperem immersum videret, qui se per seipsum nullo modo extrahere posset de illo coeno in quo immersus esset, miseratione motus eumdem pauperem per seipsum de illo coeno extraheret, nulli dubium quin hujusmodi magnae misericordiae magnaeque pietatis ab omnibus praedicaretur, magnis laudibus ab omnibus rectum sensum habentibus extolleretur.

Et quanto hoc opus misericordiae pro paupere et inope fecisset, tanto plus pius et misericors omnibus piis et veraciter Christianis appareret. Quid ergo, quid aestimari debet de magna Domini nostri Jesu Christi pietate, de ineffabili ejus misericordia et charitate, qui cum ipse sine initio sit, et mortale initium et mortalitatem sumpsit pro paupere, et ultra modum paupere et inope, ut illum extraheret de sordidissimo coeno peccati, in quo seipsum immerserat miser et infelix? Praeter hoc, miser homo tantam infelicitatem patiebatur, sicque infeliciter in ipsis voraginibus aeternae perditionis erat immersus, magnis angustiis magnisque doloribus famis et sitis erat oppressus. Ex una igitur parte intolerabilem fetorem coeni, in quo erat immersus, patiens, ex parte altera, qui ejus miseriae et dolori compateretur nullum inveniens, tam ex fetenti coeno in quo jacebat quam ex desperatione consolationis quam a nullo separabat, intolerabili dolore afficiebatur. Et, si diutius differretur quod ab aliquo misericorde aliquando misericordia ei non impenderetur, jam ab ipsis miseriis aeternae perditionis irreparabiliter moreretur. Venit misericors Creator ineffabilem pietatem habens ad hunc peccatorem in luto peccatorum jacentem; non exspolians se indumento gloriae suae, induit pannos miseriae nostrae. Venitque velut mundissimus Sol per ipsos fetores, nullam tamen contaminationem fetoris patiens, usque ad ipsum miserum peccatorem, eumque ab ipsis fetoribus extergens, tenuit per brachium, extraxit in planum. Extractum vero de lacu miseriae et de luto faecis, cibavit pane sapientiae salutaris, et post haec, ipsa sua carne quam pro ejus redemptione susceperat, et suo sanguine qui pro remissione peccatorum fusus est, cibavit et potavit; et sic refocillatum ab ipsis doloribus, quibus tam graviter vexabatur, mitigavit.

Haec autem caro quam ei ad manducandum dedit de natura ejusdem limi fuit unde primum hominem plasmavit, quem ad imaginem et similitudinem suam creavit; quam similitudinem, quam ipse primus homo per suam culpam defiguravit, per carnis suae comestionem, rectamque fidem ad integrum reformavit; hanc vero carnem, vel hujus limi naturam postquam Christus passus est in cruce, postquam resurrexit tertia die, ad coelos portans, ad dexteram Patris collocavit, eique dominationem super angelos et archangelos donavit. Ecce limus, qui per naturam suam in terra semper adhaeret, a Redemptore nostro in coelo portatus, ipsum coelum et omnia quae in eo sunt sub dominio suo habet. Ad quem limum nemo fidelis potest vel poterit ascendere, nisi eum prius curet in terra salubriter comedere ejusque sanguinem bibere. Hujus carnis et sanguinis ego qualiscunque minister et sacerdos, dum tantam pietatem tantaeque pietatis dulcedinem Redemptoris nostri erga creaturam suam conspicio, de ejus immensa bonitate non diffido. Succurre ergo, Domine Jesu Christe, succurre tuo sacerdoti, indulge ejus peccatis atque delictis, ut digne valeam tui corporis et sanguinis mysterium celebrare, et digne celebrans corporis tui et sanguinis veritatem digne comedere et bibere, et sic usque in finem jugiter perseverans, ad te post mortem carnis valeam pervenire, ubi, non per intervalla, sicut modo, sed sine intermissione cum sanctis omnibus te ipsum qui veritas et vita es possim comedere et bibere Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. John.1.1-John.1.14;Phil.2.6-Phil.2.8In 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. Phil.2.6 — 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.
  2. Ps.41.3The 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.
  3. Phil.2.6-Phil.2.7who, 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.
  4. John.6.35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will not hunger, and the one who believes in me will never thirst."
  5. 1Cor.11.23-1Cor.11.25;John.6.53-John.6.56For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 1Cor.11.24 — and having given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' 1Cor.11.25 — In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." John.6.53 — So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves." John.6.54 — The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. John.6.55 — For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. John.6.56 — The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
  6. Gen.1.26-Gen.1.27Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Gen.1.27 — So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
  7. John.6.51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
  8. Acts.2.33;Eph.1.20Therefore, 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. Eph.1.20 — which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places
  9. Phil.2.9-Phil.2.11Therefore God also exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name, Phil.2.10 — so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, Phil.2.11 — and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
  10. John.6.53-John.6.54So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves." John.6.54 — The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
  11. John.14.6Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'
  12. 1Cor.11.26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Notes

  1. 1Ducissime is a rare or hapax vocative; rendered here as 'most guiding Lord' to capture the sense of dux as leader/guide.
  2. 2The passage moves fluidly between the Incarnation (taking up clay/flesh) and the Eucharist (offering flesh to eat and blood to drink). The 'clay' is both the raw material of human nature assumed in the Incarnation and the substance of the Eucharistic offering 'refined' through the cross.
  3. 3The 'mixing' language evokes both Eucharistic reception and the medicinal metaphor of the soul's healing. The poultice image (quasi emplastrum) is striking and concrete — the Body and Blood applied directly to the soul's infirmities.
  4. 4The source reads 'Domini nostri J.' with 'J.' as an abbreviation, likely for 'Jesu'. The prayer breaks off mid-invocation.
  5. 5The source reads 'C.' as an abbreviation for 'Christus'. The prayer continues to break off mid-invocation.
  6. 6The parable compares God's rescue of the sinner from the 'mud' of sin to a powerful man pulling a poor person from the mire. The 'mud' (coenum) echoes the traditional imagery of sin as filth or mire. The concluding clause uses the subjunctive (praedicaretur, extolleretur) to express a hypothetical but confident assertion.
  7. 7The Latin moves between 'this flesh' (carnem) and 'this mud/clay' (limus) as interchangeable terms for the human nature Christ assumed. The translation preserves that theological identification.
  8. 8defiguravit ('disfigured/deformed') is a rare compound; rendered as 'disfigured' to convey the marring of the divine image in humanity through sin.
  9. 9The 'mud' (limus) is a synecdoche for human nature/flesh. The sentence marvels that what is lowest on earth now reigns in heaven — a meditation on the exaltation of Christ's humanity.
  10. 10curet (subjunctive of curo) is rendered 'take care to' — the sense is that one must spiritually consume Christ's flesh and blood in this life to ascend to him in the next.
  11. 11salubriter ('healthily/wholesomely') modifies the act of eating — rendered as 'wholesome care to' to convey the salvific, health-giving nature of worthy Communion.
  12. 12qualiscunque ('of whatever sort') is a self-deprecating qualifier — the priest speaks of himself as unworthy, 'whoever I may be.' Rendered as 'but some' to capture the humility.
  13. 13pietas is rendered 'mercy' here (rather than 'piety') because the context is the Redeemer's compassion toward his creature.
  14. 14The shift from 'mysterium' (mystery/Sacrament) to 'veritatem' (truth/reality) reflects the medieval theological distinction between the sacramental sign and the reality it contains. Both are rendered in full to preserve the theological weight.
  15. 15The final image — eating and drinking Christ himself 'without interruption' in heaven — is an eschatological vision of eternal communion, contrasting with the intermittent reception of the Eucharist in this life.
  16. 16mysterium is rendered 'mystery' here in its sacramental sense (the Eucharist), consistent with Book 4 sacramental register policy.

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