ORATIO XLIV [ol. XLIII]. AD CRUCEM DOMINI. Laus sanctae crucis.
Hail, Holy Cross
The prayer opens with a series of joyful salutations to the holy cross as the source of strength, consolation, victory, and life, culminating in personal trust and resurrection hope.
Hail, holy cross, our strength. Hail, cross worthy of adoration, our praise and glory. Hail, cross, our help and refuge. Hail, cross, consolation of all who grieve; hail, cross, our victory and hope; hail, cross, our defense and life. Hail, cross, our redemption and deliverance. Hail, cross, sign of salvation, and an unbreakable wall against every power of the enemy.1 Let the cross always be the hope of my Christian faith.2 Let the cross be the resurrection of my death.3
The Cross in Every Need
The prayer continues by invoking the cross as a constant companion and support through all stages and trials of the Christian life.
Let the cross be my triumph over demons. Let the cross be the mother of my consolation. Let the cross be the rest found in my tribulation. Let the cross be the staff of my old age. Let the cross be the medicine for my sickness. Let the cross be the protection for my nakedness. Let the cross be the consolation of my life. Let the cross be my comfort in all my distress.
Cross as Remedy and Shield
The prayer closes by asking the cross to be remedy, medicine, and protection, ending with a final 'Amen.'
Let the cross be my remedy in my troubles. Let the cross be medicine in my weaknesses and a shield against every adversity. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Ave, crux sancta, virtus nostra. Ave, crux adoranda, laus et gloria nostra. Ave, crux, auxilium et refugium nostrum. Ave, crux, consolatio omnium moerentium; salve, crux, victoria et spes nostra; salve crux, defensio et vita nostra. Salve, crux, redemptio et liberatio nostra. Salve, crux, signum salutis, atque inexpugnabilis murus contra omnem virtutem inimici. Sit mihi crux semper spes Christianitatis meae. Sit mihi crux resurrectio, mortis meae.
Sit mihi crux triumphus adversus daemones. Sit mihi crux mater consolationis meae. Sit mihi crux requies tribulationis meae. Sit mihi crux baculus senectutis meae. Sit mihi crux medicina aegrotationis meae. Sit mihi crux protectio nuditatis meae. Sit mihi crux consolatio vitae meae. Sit mihi crux in omnibus angustiis meis solatium.
Sit mihi crux remedium in tribulationibus meis. Sit mihi crux in infirmitatibus meis medicamentum, atque contra omnia adversa tutamentum. Amen.
Notes
- 1 ↩inexpugnabilis rendered as 'unbreakable' to convey the sense of an impregnable, unassailable fortification in contemporary English.
- 2 ↩Christianitatis rendered as 'my Christian faith' to convey the medieval sense of one's Christian identity and commitment in natural contemporary English.
- 3 ↩resurrectio mortis meae — the cross as 'the resurrection of my death' is a compressed paradox: the cross transforms the believer's death into resurrection. Kept as literally as English allows.
Orationes sive Meditationes — Collection for Princess Adeliza of Normandy companion
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