ORATIO XLVII [ol. XLVI]. AD SANCTAM VIRGINEM MARIAM.
A Sinner's Plea to the Mother of Mercy
Anselm confesses his unworthiness yet dares to seek Mary's intercession, trusting in her mercy and motherhood.
Most blessed Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, sanctuary of all virtues: in giving birth to Christ, the Lord of virtues and king of glory — through that same God and our Lord Jesus Christ whom you were found worthy to bring forth, to your eternal glory and our eternal salvation — I beg you, through your mercy, to intercede for me, one who deserves no mercy, before the divine majesty. Make yourself, Lady, approachable through the prayers of so great a sinner, and do not delay, since from you both the joy of blessedness and our redemption come. Truly, bearer [REDACTED] God, most holy Mary, I am unworthy to approach you in prayer. But the memory of many who denied Christ and you gives confidence to my hope, since they at last turned back and through your intercession were restored to the integrity of their former mind. Yet I am a greater sinner than my tongue can confess — oh, the grief! My sins are more than can scarcely be counted. And yet, although I have lived out the profession of Christianity less faithfully after baptism, still I have never fallen into the pit of denial in heart or mouth. Thanks be to almighty God, who has upheld me through your holy prayers. For this God made you, as we hope, his mother: that you should become the mother of all who believe in him, through whom he commanded us to call him Father.
The Mother of Mercy and the Refuge of Sinners
Anselm exalts Mary as mother of mercy and virtue, and begs her not to withhold her help from one who has nowhere else to turn.
What could ever be more worthily valued than that you are the mother whose children Christ deigns to be father and brother to? For he himself, on account of his own extraordinary goodness, will offer fatherly benefits to all, if you, my lady, he perceives, do not refuse your motherly affections.1 How could you not have mercy on me, mother of mercy? Where is my hope except in God and in you? Therefore without you there is nothing of devotion, nothing of goodness, because you are the mother of virtue and of all the virtues.2 For this reason help me, my lady, I beg you; because I am nothing, and I know I am heading toward nothingness, unless you deign to help me. Help me, then, and do not deny to one the kindness you bestow on all, even when you have not been asked. I have nowhere to go seeking comfort in life except to you, to whom all the guilty flee for refuge.3
Fleeing to Christ through Mary's Prayer
Anselm flees to Mary so that through her intercession he may be reformed, delivered from demons, and brought to eternal life.
I flee to you, because your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, has provided us a refuge behind him. Receive me, and pray that he would make me such as he commands me to be, and no longer let me be deceived by the suggestions of demons, but by his own goodness and your intercession bring it about that I so use this present life as to attain the life that is eternal — with the help of him who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit through all the ages of ages.4 Amen.
Read the original Latin
Beatissima Dei genitrix et virgo perpetua Maria, sacrarium omnium virtutum, gignendo Dominum virtutum et regem gloriae Christum, per eumdem Deum et Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum quem meruisti generare, tibi ad aeternam gloriam, et nobis ad aeternam salutem, precor per tuam clementiam suffragare mihi omni misericordia indigno apud divinam majestatem, exorabilemque te precibus tanti peccatoris praebere, domina, ne differas, ex qua et beatitudinis felicitas et redemptio nobis venit. Siquidem omnino, Deifera sanctissima Maria, indignus sum te adire precatum; sed fiduciam spei meae attribuit recordatio multorum Christum teque negantium, qui tandem conversi pristinam meruerunt per tua suffragia suae mentis integritatem, licet sim amplius peccator, quam possit lingua mea confiteri; proh dolor! plura sunt peccata mea, quam vix numero possint comprehendi. Et quamvis professionem Christianitatis minus recte observaverim post baptismum, tamen nunquam in negationis foveam corde vel ore incidi. Omnipotenti Deo gratias, qui me tenuit tuis sanctis orationibus. Ad hoc te Deus fecit, ut speramus, sui matrem; ut mater fieri deberes omnium in eum credentium, quo se patrem nos jussit vocitare.
Quid unquam potest dignius aestimari, quam ut sis mater quorum Christus dignatur esse pater et frater. Ipse namque, propter suam insolitam bonitatem, omnibus paternos praebebit profectus, si te, domina, senserit maternos non denegare affectus. Quo namque modo mihi non miserearis, mater misericordiae? Ubi est nisi in Deo, et in te, spes mea? Ergo sine te nihil pietatis est, nihilque bonitatis, quia mater virtutis et virtutum es omnium. Quapropter adjuva me, domina, quaeso; quia nihil sum et ad nihilum me venturum scio, nisi digneris me adjuvare. Adjuva me ergo, nec uni deneges beneficium, quod omnibus confers etiam non rogata. Non habeo quo pergam solatium vitae quaerens, nisi ad quam omnes rei confugiunt.
Ad te confugio, quia te filius tuus Dominus noster Jesus Christus providit nobis refugium post se. Suscipe me, oraque eum quatenus me talem efficiat qualem me jubet fieri; nec diutius sinat decipi suggestionibus daemonum, sed faciat sua pietate, tuaque intercessione me sic frui temporali vita, quo possim aeternam consequi, ipso auxiliante, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Notes
- 1 ↩profectus rendered as 'benefits' (spiritual progress/advancement); could also be 'growth' or 'improvement'
- 2 ↩pietas rendered as 'devotion' in the sense of godly piety/reverence, not mere religious sentiment
- 3 ↩rei rendered as 'the guilty' (persons accused/guilty); could also be read as genitive of res ('of the matter'), but context strongly favors persons
- 4 ↩The closing doxology ('who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit through all the ages of ages') is a liturgical formula; rendered with full weight rather than contracted, per the solemn-moment policy.
Orationes sive Meditationes — Collection for Princess Adeliza of Normandy companion
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