← Orationes sive Meditationes — Collection for Princess Adeliza of Normandy/Book 1 · Orationes sive Meditationes

Chapter 77Ansl.1.77

MEDITATIO PRIMA. De humanae conditionis dignitate et miseria.

Awakening to God's Image

The soul is roused from sloth to contemplate the dignity of being made in God's image and the debt of love this demands.

That we are made in the image and likeness of God.^✦ Wake up, my soul, wake up; exercise your spirit, rouse your senses, drive out the sloth of your death-bringing torpor, take hold of concern for your salvation.¹ Let the wandering of useless thoughts be banished, let idleness depart, let diligence be maintained. Persist in sacred meditations, cling to divine goods; direct your attention to eternal things, with temporal things set aside. What then could you think of that is more useful, more wholesome, in so divine an exercise of the mind, than to recall with sweetest reflection the immense benefits of your Creator? Consider therefore, right at the very beginning of creation, what loftiness, what dignity he conferred on you; and weigh with what love, with what reverence he is to be worshipped. Surely, when he was creating and ordering the whole universe of things visible and invisible, and had determined to make human nature, he deliberated with the highest counsel about the dignity of your condition, since he determined to honor it more highly than the other creatures that are in the world. See then the loftiness of your creation, and take up again the debt of love you owe in return.²

Image, Likeness, and God's Inner Life

Anselm distinguishes image from likeness and teaches that remembering, understanding, and loving God constitutes the soul's imaging of God.

"Let us make," God said, "man in our image and likeness."^✦ If you do not wake up at this word of your Creator, if you do not blaze with love for him in the sheer wonder of his unspeakable kindness toward you, if you are not set ablaze with longing for him to the very marrow of your being — what am I to say?³ Am I to think of you as asleep — or rather as dead? Consider carefully, then, what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God. Here you have a rich and welcome invitation to devout meditation, a place to exercise your thoughts.⁴ Recognize, then, that likeness is one thing and image another. For example, a horse, an ox, and other similar creatures can share a certain likeness with a human being; but the image of a human being is shared by no one else — only another human being. A human being eats, and so does a horse — there you see a certain likeness and shared nature between different kinds of creatures. But the image of a human being is shared only by another human being — one of the same nature, whose image it is. The image, then, is more worthy than the likeness. We can have likeness to God in this way: if, considering Him to be good, we strive to be good; if, knowing Him to be just, we press on to be just; if, contemplating Him as merciful, we give ourselves to works of mercy.⁵ But how, then, to His image?⁶ Pay attention. God is always mindful of Himself, understands Himself, and loves Himself. And so if, according to your measure, you are tirelessly mindful of God, understand God, and love God, you will be in His image — because you strive to do what God always does.⁷ To remember, understand, and love the highest Good — that is what a person ought to make the whole aim of their life. To this end, let every thought, every turning of the heart be redirected, sharpened, and reshaped — so that with tireless devotion you may be mindful of God, understand God, and love God, and so give wholesome expression to the dignity of your creation, by which you are made in the image of God.⁸ Why do I say you are created in the image of God, when — as the Apostle testifies — you yourself are the very image of God?^✦⁹¹⁰

Created to Praise

Humanity's purpose is wholehearted praise of God, which alone orders desire toward God as the soul's end and eternal reward.

A man, the Apostle says, should not cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God.^✦ We were made for this: to praise God without end. Are these immense benefits of the Creator not enough for you — to call you to perpetual acts of thanksgiving and the debt of unceasing love — when you consider that from nothing, or rather from clay, you were by his goodness raised to such a height at the very moment of your creation?^✦¹¹¹² So turn the saints' words toward your own life, and pay attention to what is said about the holy one. What, then, is the saint's praise? He praised the Lord with all his heart.^✦ See what you were created for — see the work of your service.¹³ Why else would God have raised you by so splendid a privilege of your created condition, unless he wished you to devote yourself unceasingly to his praise? You were created, then, to praise your Creator — so that, devoting yourself to his praise, you may by the merit of righteousness always grow toward him in this life, and live well in the life to come. For praise of God grants both righteousness here and blessedness hereafter. But if you praise, praise with your whole heart — praise by loving. For this is the rule of praise set before the saints: 'With all his heart he praised the Lord, and he loved God who made him.' Praise, then — praise with your whole heart — and love the One you praise; for you were made for this: to praise and to love. One may praise, yes — but does not praise with the whole heart, when prosperity's comforts charm them away from blessing God, and adversity's hardships hold them back from the duty of blessing. One may praise, but does not love, who in the praises of God seeks something other than God himself through the very act of praising. Praise, then — and praise worthily — so that within you no care, no preoccupation, no anxious thought, no worry of the mind may, insofar as your strength allows, be empty of God's praise. Let no prosperity of this life draw you away from praising God, and let no adversity hold you back. In this way, then, you will praise the Lord with your whole heart. But once you have praised him with your whole heart, and praised him with love, you will seek nothing from him other than himself alone — so that he himself may be the end of your desire, the reward of your labor, the consolation of this shadowy life, the possession of that blessed life.¹⁴ For this you were made, so that you might praise him without end — something you will then understand more fully when, lifted up by the blessed vision of him, you see yourself sustained by his sheer and freely given goodness, raised from nothing to such blessedness, and to such ineffable glory: created, called, justified, and glorified.¹⁵ Such contemplation will give you untiring love, and you will praise him without end — the one from whom, and through whom, and in whom you will rejoice, beatified by so great and so unchanging goods.¹⁶

God's Dwelling Within

God offers himself as the soul's dwelling place; in him we live, move, and exist, and the soul becomes his temple.

Wherever we are, we live in him, we are moved, and we exist — because we hold him within us.^✦ But step back from that future happiness, and from the contemplative vision, and consider even now something of the greatness of the grace by which he has enriched you even in this fleeting life. He who dwells in the heavens, who reigns in the angels, before whom heaven and earth bow down with all that is in them — he has offered himself as your dwelling, he has made his own presence ready and available to you. For the apostle Paul teaches that in him we live, and move, and exist.^✦ Sweet life, lovely movement, a thing to be desired — simply to be. For what is sweeter than to have life in him, who is himself the blessed life? What is more lovely than to direct every movement of our will and action toward him and in him, who may confirm us in lasting stability? What is more desirable than by vow and by our whole way of life to dwell continually in him — in him alone, or rather who alone is true Being — without whom no one can truly live well? "I am who I am," he says.^✦ And beautifully put. For he alone truly is, whose being never changes. That One, therefore — whose being is so excellent, so utterly unique, that he alone truly exists, and in comparison with whom all other being is nothing — since he created you for such heights of glory that you cannot even grasp the dignity of the place where he has established you —¹⁷ And what a dwelling place he has prepared there for you!^✦ Listen to him speaking in his own Gospel: Remain in me, and I in you.^✦ O priceless honor! O blessed dwelling! O glorious exchange! What honor from the Creator, that he should will to dwell in his own creature!¹⁸ What incomprehensible blessedness for the creature, to abide in its Creator! How great is the glory of a rational creature — to be joined to the Creator in so happy an exchange that he himself takes up dwelling in her, and she in him! So excellently, then, he willed that we, once created, should remain in himself — over all things, as governor of all, existing without anxiety; sustaining all things, as the foundation of all, without labor; surpassing all things, as more excellent than all, without pride; embracing all things, as the one who contains all, without diffusion; filling all things, as the fullness of all, without any narrowing of himself. He, then, since he is nowhere absent, chose a kingdom within us that is delightful to himself — the Gospel pointing out where it is said: The kingdom of God is within you. But if the kingdom of God is within us, and God dwells in his kingdom, doesn't he himself remain in us, whose kingdom is within us? Yes, clearly: for if God is wisdom, and the soul of the just person is the seat of wisdom, then whoever is truly just has God remaining within them. For you are the temple of God — holy — as the Apostle says. So press on toward holiness with untiring zeal, so that you do not cease to be the temple of God. He himself says of his own: I will dwell in them, and I will walk among them.^✦ And don't doubt that wherever holy souls may be, he is in them. For if even you, in all the members you give life to, are everywhere entirely present, how much more is God — who is everywhere wholly present, and who created both you and your body?¹⁹ With the greatest care, then, we must consider with what measure of reason and reverence we ought to move our senses and the members of our body — the very members over which God's own presence presides.²⁰ Let us yield, then — as is fitting — every authority of our heart to so great an inhabitant, so that nothing in us resists him; but rather let all our thoughts and movements of will, all our words and every one of our deeds attend to his bidding, serve his will, and be directed to the standard of his uprightness.²¹²² For in this way we will truly be his kingdom, and he himself will remain in us, and we — remaining in him — will live well.²³

Clothed with Christ

Through baptism the soul is clothed with Christ, made his body and bride, joined to him in a fellowship that makes believers one Christ in him.

All of us who have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ. Rouse yourself, my soul, I beg you, and let the fire of heavenly love blaze up within you. Understand with reverence the beauty the Lord your God has bestowed on you; understanding, love; loving, venerate with the devotion of a holy life.²⁴ Has not the very one who gave you a dwelling place in himself, and deigned to dwell in you, clothed you with himself, strengthened you, and adorned you? 'All of you who have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ,' says the Apostle. What praise, then, what thanksgiving can you fittingly offer the one who has clothed you with such great beauty, and honored you with such great honor, so that you may say with the deepest joy of heart: 'The Lord has clothed me with the garment of salvation and surrounded me with the robe of joy'?²⁵ The greatest joy for God's angels is to behold Christ. And yet, look: with immense condescension he bends down toward you, willing to be clothed with you.²⁶ With what garment, unless it is that one the Apostle boasts of when he says: 'Christ has become for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification'?²⁷ By what marks of these garments would he adorn you more than by making you splendid in the robe of wisdom, the ornament of righteousness, and the beauty of satisfaction?²⁸ We are the body of Christ. And what shall I say, since Christ made himself your garment? He clothed himself in flesh so that, in the unity of the Church, he willed you to be of his own flesh. Hear the Apostle setting forth the testimony of Scripture: 'And the two shall be in one flesh.'^✦ But I, he says, mean in Christ and in the Church.^✦ Consider, too, with what a great union he has joined you to himself. The Apostle confirms that you are the body of Christ: 'You are,' he says, 'the body of Christ, and members of his members.'^✦ So guard your body and your members with the dignity that is fitting. If you treat them injuriously through any careless impulse, know this: the greater the reward with which you would have been crowned had you treated them worthily, the greater the punishment to which you will be subjected if you have abused them unworthily. Your eyes are the eyes of Christ. So it's not right for you to turn the eyes of Christ toward gazing at vanities of any kind, because Christ is the truth, and every vanity is opposed to him. Your mouth is the mouth of Christ. You shouldn't open your mouth — and I don't mean for slander, I don't mean for lying, but not even for idle talk — because you ought to keep it open only for the praise of God and the building up of your neighbor. Apply the same care to the other members of Christ that have been entrusted to your keeping. Because we are one in Christ, and with him we are one Christ. But recognize more deeply still how great is the fellowship with which you are joined to him. Hear the Lord himself interceding with the Father on behalf of his own: 'I will,' he says, 'that just as you and I are one, so they also may be one in us.'^✦ I am your Son by nature; let them also be your sons and my brothers through grace. What a height it is for a Christian to advance so far in Christ that he himself can in a certain sense be called Christ! What a truly faithful steward of the household of the Church was the one who said: 'All Christians in Christ are one Christ.' No wonder, since he himself is the head and we are his body; he himself the bridegroom, he himself the bride — the bridegroom in himself, the bride in the holy souls whom he has joined to himself by the bond of eternal love.^✦ As a bridegroom, he says, 'he placed a mitre on me,' and as a bride, 'he adorned me with ornament.'^✦

The Bride's Burning Desire

The soul, as bride, is set ablaze with longing for the Bridegroom and cries out to be drawn after him by the fragrance of his perfumes.

Here, then, my soul, here before you, turn over his benefits, burn with love for him, and blaze with desire for the happiness of contemplating him. Cry out, then, with all your strength, with that most burning feeling of deepest love, and completely melted into longing for him, break forth as a faithful bride into the bride's voice: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.^✦²⁹ Let every pleasure that is apart from him withdraw from my mind; let no attachment of this present life charm me, let no comfort flatter me, while his blessed presence is denied me. Let him embrace me with the arms of love, let him kiss me with the mouth of that heavenly sweetness, let me be spoken to by that ineffable speech by which he reveals his secrets to the angels. Let this be the exchange of words between bridegroom and bride: that I spread out my whole heart to him, and that he reveal to me the secrets of his sweetness. Stirred up by these, then, my soul, and by meditations like them, with a full and holy feeling of desire, strive to follow your bridegroom, and say to him: Draw me after you; we will run at the fragrance of your perfumes.^✦³⁰ But say, and say faithfully, not with a passing sound, but with unfailing desire. Speak this way, so that you may be heard; long to be drawn, so that you may be able to follow.

Drawn by the Cross and Ascension

The soul prays to be drawn by the crucified and ascended Christ, whose lifting-up on the cross and exaltation now draw all hearts to himself.

Say, then, to your Redeemer and Savior: Draw me after you.^✦ Don't let the sweetness of the world draw me, but let the gentleness of your most blessed love draw me.³¹ My vanity once drew me; but now let your truth draw me so powerfully after itself.³² Draw me, because you have already drawn me; hold me, because you have already laid hold of me.³³ You drew me by redeeming me; draw me now by saving me. You drew me by showing me mercy; draw me now by making me blessed.³⁴ You laid hold of me when you appeared among us as a man, born for our sake; now hold me as you preside in heaven, exalted above the angels.^✦³⁵ It is your word, your promise.³⁶ You promised, saying: "And if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself."^✦³⁷ Draw me, then — you who are now lifted up in power — you who drew me in mercy when I was brought low.³⁸ You have ascended — let me perceive it. You reign over all things — let me acknowledge it. How could I not acknowledge that you reign?³⁹ I do acknowledge it, and I give you thanks. But let me acknowledge you perfectly, by loving what I acknowledge devoutly about you, by feeling it.⁴⁰ Let me acknowledge by seeing what I now acknowledge only by believing. Bind my heart's desires to you with the unbreakable chains of love, where the firstfruits of my spirit are already with you.^✦⁴¹

Cleaving to God in Love

Resolved to cling to God inseparably, the soul vows perpetual worship, service, and possession of God, and is set aflame with holy desire.

May the unity of love join us together, whom the love of redemption has already bound to you. You loved me — for you gave yourself up for me.^✦ So let my attention be with you in heaven without ceasing, and let your protection be with me on earth without interruption. Help me as I burn with desire for your love — you who loved me even as I pushed you away. Grant what I seek — you who gave yourself to me when I didn't even know you. Welcome me as I return — you who called me back when I was running away. Let me love so that I may be loved; or rather, because I am loved, let me love more and more, so that I may be loved more and more. Let my thought be united with you — one and singular, let my attention be with you, where our blessed nature, received by you in mercy, now reigns with you. May I cling to you inseparably, may I worship you without weariness, may I serve you with perseverance, may I seek you faithfully, may I find you in joy, may I possess you for eternity. By these words, O my soul, strive — entreating God — to be kindled, to be set ablaze, to burn with desire, and to be made wholly aflame in longing for him.

Review of Sin and Lost Blessings

The soul reviews how ingratitude and wickedness have repaid God's immense gifts with countless wrongs and lost blessings beyond measure.

A review of our sins — the ones our conscience gnaws at most — through which we've lost all these blessings. And when you consider what great blessings you've gained through His grace, then also review what great blessings you've lost through your own fault, and what evils you've fallen into, weighed down by your sins. Ponder with a sigh the evils you've wickedly done; and reflect with a groan on the blessings you've miserably lost because of those same evils. For what good thing has your most excellent Creator not bestowed on you with His own goodness? And what evil have you not repaid Him, quickened as you are by a cursed iniquity? By losing the good, you earned evil; or rather, by casting the good aside, you chose evil. And having lost — or more accurately, having thrown away — the grace of your Creator, you've miserably brought down His wrath upon yourself. There's no way you can prove yourself innocent, since a host of your evils surrounds you like an immense army — on one side hurling the reproaches of your wicked deeds, on the other bringing forth a vast heap of useless and, what is more damnable, pernicious words, and from yet another quarter displaying an infinite mass of evil thoughts. These are the things on account of which you've lost blessings beyond measure; because of these you've been deprived of the grace of your Creator.

The Struggle Against Vanity

The soul is urged to unceasing spiritual combat, rigorous self-examination, and the mortification of every vice within the city of God.

Reflect on these things with groaning; groan over them as you renounce them, renounce them as you condemn them; condemn them, and by so doing change your life for the better. Struggle with yourself in your own soul, so that from this moment on you never give your consent — not even for an instant — to any vanity, whether in your heart, in your speech, or — what carries the weight of the gravest damnation — in your actions. Let there be a daily — no, an unceasing — struggle in your soul, so that you hold no alliance whatsoever with your vices. Rigorously examine yourself at all times; probe your hidden depths, and whatever you find blameworthy in yourself, strike it down with severe correction — crush it, grind it to pieces, root it out, cast it away, and reduce it to nothing. Don't spare yourself, don't flatter yourself; but in the morning light — that is, in contemplation of the final judgment, which follows the night of this present life as the morning light follows darkness — put to death all the sinners of the earth, that is, the offenses and sins of your earthly way of life, so that you destroy from the city of the Lord — which you ought to be building in yourself for Him — all who work iniquity: diabolical suggestions, pleasures hateful to God, deadly acts of consent, and perverse deeds.^✦ From all these things you must be cleansed, as a city of God, so that the Creator may find in you a pleasing dwelling for Himself — one He may claim, possess, and hold. Don't be among those whose stubbornness God Himself seems to lament, saying: 'There is no one who reflects in his own heart and says, "What have I done?"'^✦ .

The Cry of the Accused Heart

With groans and tears the soul cries 'What have I done?' and is urged to return from sin to the heart and escape deserved evils.

If those people are rejected because they refused to blush for the wrongs they've done and to reproach themselves for them, then are you — who neglect to confront, judge, and correct yourself with strict discipline — going to run and count yourself among the elect? Therefore, carefully turn over in your mind the immense gifts of the Creator, by which he raised you up without any merits of your own, and call back to mind the countless wrongs with which your wickedness has answered those same gifts, and crying out in deep grief, say: What have I done? I have provoked God; I have provoked my Creator to anger; I have repaid his immense gifts with countless wrongs. What have I done? But as you say these things, crush your heart bitterly, send forth groans, pour out tears. For if you don't weep here, when will you weep? If the turning away of God's face from you — which your own sins have caused — doesn't stir you to compunction, then let the hardness of your heart be shattered, or else the sheer weight of the hellish punishments that those same sins have provoked against you. Return, then, return, transgressor, to your heart, and pull your feet out from the world below, so that you may escape the evils you deserve and recover the good things you've lost — the good things of which you are justly being stripped.

Turning Toward Mercy

By turning from sin with resolve of amendment, the soul prompts God to turn his merciful gaze away from our sins.

For if you look only at your own sins, you lose sight of every good thing that was given to you by him — and you've squandered them all.⁴²⁴³ You must therefore always turn your gaze toward those things — and especially toward whatever your conscience accuses you of most severely — so that he may turn his eyes away from them.⁴⁴⁴⁵⁴⁶ For if you turn away from your sins with a resolve worthy of satisfaction, he turns away from them the gaze of vengeance.⁴⁷⁴⁸⁴⁹ If you forget, he remembers.⁵⁰

The Healing Incarnation

The Redeemer's incarnation heals blinded eyes, calls back the soul from darkness, and lifts human nature to share in divine unchangeableness.

When you reconsider the Lord's incarnation, through which we recovered all these things— so that you may be set free from there, consider the compassion your Redeemer has for you. Surely, you deserved to be blinded by original sin, unable to see the majesty of your Creator. Surrounded by the clouds of sinners, you were stretching toward dark places, and driven by the swift waves of vice, you were rushing toward eternal darkness. But look, your Redeemer has applied the ointment of his own incarnation to blinded eyes, so that what you could not see—God shining in the hiddenness of majesty—you might behold God appearing in a human being, and by beholding might recognize him, and by recognizing might love him, and by loving might strive with all zeal to reach his glory. He became incarnate so that he might call you back to spiritual things. He became a partner in your mutability so that he might make you a partner in his unchangeableness. He bent down to your lowly condition so that he might raise you to his heights.

Christ's Saving Mysteries

From the Nativity through baptism, temptation, teaching, transfiguration, raising of Lazarus, Last Supper, and Passion, each mystery instructs and heals.

He was born of the integrity of virginity, so that he might heal what was corrupted in the nature of her who had transgressed. He was circumcised, so that he might teach us that a person ought to cut away from themselves all the excess of sins and vices. He was presented in the temple and received by the holy widow, so that he might admonish his faithful both to frequent the house of God and, so that they might deserve to receive him, to devote themselves with zeal for holiness.^✦ He was received and praised by Simeon, the aged man, so that he might make it clear that he values the gravity of life and the maturity of character.^✦ He was baptized, so that he might sanctify the sacraments of our baptism. In the Jordan, under the hand of John, he bent himself toward baptism and heard the Father's voice, and he received the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, so that he might teach us that we ought to stand firm in humility of mind — which is signified by the Jordan (for 'Jordan' means 'the descent of those who ought to stand firm') — and there to be honored by the heavenly Father's discourse, of which it is said, 'His conversation is with the simple,' and to be raised up by the presence of the Holy Spirit, who rests upon the humble.^✦^✦ And this took place under the hand of John, who is called 'the grace of God,' so that whatever we receive from God, we might ascribe to that same grace and not to our own merits. When the forty-day fast was complete, he overcame the devil with his temptations and was glorified by angelic ministry, teaching us that throughout the whole time of this present life, by turning away from the pleasures of temporal things, we are to trample the world and its prince under our feet, and so to be strengthened by angelic protection.^✦ By preaching the kingdom of God he dwells among the people during the day, building up the crowds that flock to him with miracles and words; at night he goes to the mountain, giving himself to prayer — urging us that, as the time requires, we should now show our life to those among whom we live through words and example, each according to our own measure; and now, entering into the solitude of the mind and climbing the mountain of virtues, we should long for the sweetness of heavenly contemplation and direct our intention toward heavenly things with tireless devotion.^✦^✦ On the mountain, in the presence of Peter, James, and John, he is transfigured, hinting to us that if — like Peter (whose name means 'one who recognizes') — we humbly acknowledge our weakness, and if — like James (whose name means 'supplanter') — we strive to become those who overcome the vices, and if — like John (whose name points to the grace of God) — we faithfully submit ourselves to God's grace, then we will happily ascend that heavenly mountain to behold the glory of Jesus, with that same King as our guide.^✦ In Bethany (which means 'house of obedience') he raised Lazarus, showing that all who die to this world through the effort of a good will, and rest in the embrace of obedience, are to be raised by him to eternal life. At the mystical supper, handing over his body and blood to his disciples, he humbly washed their feet, teaching that the most sacred ministries are to be celebrated with pure works and the humble devotion of a pious heart.^✦^✦ To be exalted in the glory of the holy Resurrection, he endured the mockery of the faithless, the harshness of their words, the shame of the cross, the bitterness of gall, and finally death itself — urging his followers that those who strive to reach glory after death should not only bear with equanimity the hardships and labors of this present life and the oppression of the wicked, but should love and eagerly embrace all the harshness of this world for the sake of eternal rewards.^✦^✦ If, then, you strive to ponder worthily, to embrace devoutly, and to imitate with burning love these so splendid, so immense benefits of your Creator toward you, you will not only recover the good things lost through the first parent, but through the ineffable grace of your Savior you will possess things far greater for all eternity.^✦ For your very God, through the mystery of the Incarnation, having become your brother — what indescribable joy has he caused you, when you see human nature exalted above every creature in him!^✦^✦

Delivered from the Pit of Misery

The soul prays to be snatched from the pit of worldly desire and the mire of carnal pleasure, the two fetters hindering heavenly contemplation.

What you must pray for is this: that you may be snatched from the pit of misery and from the mire of dregs.^✦⁵¹ What remains now, then, but that — having worthily considered all these things — you set your mind ablaze in every way toward the inheritance of so great a good, and with continual supplication entreat him who created you to possess all other things, that he may snatch you from the pit of misery and from the mire of dregs, and make you the possessor of so great a blessedness?⁵² And what is the pit of misery, if not the depth of worldly desire? And what is the mire of dregs, if not the stench of carnal pleasure? For these are the two fetters by which the human race is — to its shame — hindered from stretching toward the blessed freedom of heavenly contemplation: namely, desire and pleasure.⁵³ Truly, the pit of misery is worldly desire, which subjugates to its dominion whatever mind it seizes, and through countless longings drags it down, as if by certain chains, into the depth of vices — and does not permit it to have any rest at all. For the mind of a person, crushed under the yoke of desire, is scattered outside itself by love of visible things, and is carried away through the soul's various passions. They devastate it — toil in acquiring, anxiety in multiplying, joy in possessing, the fear of losing, grief when it has lost — and they do not allow it to see at all in how many dangers it truly stands.

Set Upon the Rock

Having escaped the mire through repentance and confession, the soul prays to be set upon the rock of Christ and directed toward the heavenly homeland.

This is the lake of misery, which worldly greed never stops filling with so many evils. Blessed David rejoiced that he had been snatched from this lake, giving thanks and saying: He led me out of the lake of misery and from the mire of dregs.^✦ What is the mire of dregs? The delight of impure pleasure. Cry out boldly, then, with blessed David, and say to your Creator: Rescue me from the mire, so that I may not be stuck fast.^✦ Wipe your heart clean of every stain of carnal pleasure; shut out impure thoughts from your soul, if you want to escape the filth of this mire. But once you have escaped by repenting, confessing, weeping, and carefully heaping holy thoughts upon your heart, do not fall back from there; rather, with your whole being sigh before God, imploring his mercy, that he may set your feet upon a rock — that is, that he may make firm the affections of your heart by the virtues of Christ, so that your soul may place itself above the firmament of justice, cleaving steadfastly to Christ, of whom it is said that he was made for us wisdom from God, and justice, and sanctification.^✦^✦⁵⁴ Pray also that he may direct your steps, so that they are not turned back toward vices; but that they may advance with unwavering resolve in the heavenly commands, and hasten with your whole heart's purpose toward the blessed homeland of the angels.

A New Song of Praise

Raised from the mire, the soul is taught to sing a new song of praise, walking in newness of life and crushing the pursuits of the old self.

But having been raised up by such guidance, don't be slow to praise the Creator. Instead, ask for his mercy to put a new song in your mouth, so that with true devotion you may sing praise to our God with your whole being.^✦ For it is fitting that, united to God through the newness of life, you resound with a new song in his praises — having set aside temporal things, desiring only eternal things — and that you now comply with the divine law not out of fear of punishment but out of love of justice.^✦ This, you see, is the new song to God: to crush the pursuits of the old self, and to walk — with the whole effort of the heart, with the sole desire for the life that endures — in the ways of the new self, which the Son of God showed to the world.^✦ A song is also sung by the one who holds fast in the memory of a pure mind to the joys of the heavenly homeland, and — supported by the conscience of a holy life and leaning on the gift of heavenly grace — strives to arrive at those same things.

The Perilous Bridge of This Life

Life is a narrow, dangerous bridge over hell, where the soul, blinded and bound, must cross amid demons and the vanishing days of its life.

A consideration of the miseries of this life. Among these miseries of present life, weigh carefully, and consider with how great caution you must live in it — with how watchful a heart. Consider yourself part of the company of that one about whom Scripture says: A man whose way is hidden, and whom the Lord has surrounded with darkness.^✦ Truly, you are surrounded by a profound blindness of ignorance: you don't know how God weighs your works, and you don't know what kind of end you're going to have. A person does not know, says Solomon, whether they are worthy of hatred or of love; but all things remain uncertain until the end.^✦ Picture in your mind a deep, dark valley, with every kind of torment at the bottom. Imagine from above a single bridge, stretched out over a long distance, in width measuring only one foot across. If anyone were forced to cross this bridge — so narrow, so high, so dangerous — with their eyes bound so they couldn't see their steps, and their hands tied behind them so they couldn't even guide their way by feeling with a staff — how much fear and distress do you think they'd carry in their heart? Could there be any place for that person of joy, of pleasure, or of wantonness? I don't think so. Let all pride be stripped away, let empty glory be put to flight — let only the darkness of death brood in the mind, a black gloom churning within. Now picture the monsters of cruel birds circling the bridge, eager to drag the one crossing down into the depths — won't fear only grow greater? What if, as that person crosses, the boards keep being pulled out from underfoot? Won't the one crossing be struck with even greater anxiety? But recognize what such an example is meant to show you, and with a holy fear of God, rouse your mind to attention. Understand that hell is a deep and dark valley—fathomless in its depth, and dreadfully shrouded in gloomy darkness. There every kind of torment converges. There everything that soothes is absent, and everything that terrifies, that tortures, and that can inflict distress is close at hand. The dangerous bridge over which the wicked passer stumbles and falls headlong is this present life—and whoever lives wickedly, falling from it, descends to the depths below. The planks that are pulled away after the passers have crossed are the individual days of our life. They pass in such a way that they never return, and by their steady shrinking they always press us toward the end, compelling us to hasten toward our limit. The birds circling the bridge and lying in wait for those who cross are evil spirits, whose sole purpose is to hurl people from the right path and cast them headlong into the depths of hell. We ourselves are the ones crossing over—blinded by the darkness of ignorance, and bound by the difficulty of doing what is right as though by a heavy chain—so that we cannot direct our steps freely toward God on the path of a holy life.

Cry for God's Protection

Against the blindness and difficulty inflicted by sin, the soul meditates and cries out for God's illumination and salvation.

Pay attention, then: whether it isn't with the greatest eagerness, in so great a crisis, that you must cry out to your Creator — so that, fortified by his protection, you may sing confidently amid the ranks of your adversaries: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?^✦ Illumination, that is, against blindness; salvation against difficulty. For these are the two evils by which the first parent cast us down — ignorance and difficulty — so that we can neither see where we are heading nor what must be done; and even when we have seen it in part, we are so hampered by difficulty that we cannot carry out even what we have rightly learned. Meditate on these things, my soul; think on them. Let your mind exercise itself daily in these things. Intent on these things, let it draw itself away from the cares of useless things and from anxious thoughts, and let it set itself wholly ablaze — to flee these evils and to pursue eternal goods — with the fire of holy fear and blessed love.

The Body After Death

The soul contemplates the foulness and decay of the body after death, where all beauty, pleasure, and pride vanish like a dream.

The body, after the soul's departure. I come back to you now, sweetest Creator and kindest Redeemer, my shaper and my restorer, begging your mercy with even more humble prayers: that you would teach my heart, with life-giving fear and wholesome trembling, to consider how foul and wretched a condition my flesh will be in after death — bereft of the spirit that presently gives it life, handed over to rot and to worms to be consumed.⁵⁵⁵⁶ Where will its beauty then be — if it has any now, of which it is proud; its exquisite pleasures, in which it now pours itself out; its pampered limbs?⁵⁷ Won't that prophetic word truly be fulfilled in it: All flesh is grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass?^✦⁵⁸ The eyes will be closed, turned inward toward the recesses of the head — eyes with which I so often took delight in empty and destructive wanderings. They will lie covered in dreadful darkness — they who now rejoice to drink in vanities in place of light. The ears will lie open, soon to be filled with worms — ears that now welcome words of slander and worldly rumors with damnable delight.⁵⁹ The teeth will be clenched, miserably locked shut — teeth that gluttony sets loose. The nostrils will rot — the same nostrils that now delight in all sorts of perfume. The lips will bristle with foul, filthy decay — lips that once took wicked pleasure in dissolving into foolish laughter. The tongue will be bound up in decay and rot — the tongue that so often brought forth empty tales. The throat will be constricted, and the belly will be filled with worms — the same belly that was frequently stuffed with all kinds of rich food. Why go through each detail one by one? That whole structure of the body — the body whose health, whose comfort, whose pleasure nearly all our care is devoted to — will dissolve into rot, into worms, and finally into the most wretched dust. Where is the proud, upright neck now? Where is the boasting of fine words, the adornment of clothing, the variety of pleasures? They have passed away like a vanishing dream — all of them, never to return — and they have left behind only the one who loved them most wretchedly.⁶⁰

The Soul After Death

The soul faces the terror of judgment, surrounded by accusing demons, standing alone before the strict Judge with only a good conscience as defense.

On the soul separated from the body. Good God, what is this I see? Look — fear upon fear, grief upon grief. After its separation from the body, won't the soul be surrounded by a host of demons rushing in — demons who will amplify its accusations — and be questioned about everything, down to the smallest act of negligence? The prince of this world will come with his attendants — raging in fury, cunning in deception, ready to lie, bent on malice, set to accuse — bringing forth against her whatever truths he can from the evils she has committed, and fabricating many falsehoods besides. O dreadful hour, O terrible reckoning! On one side, a strict judge ready to pass sentence; on the other, insolent accusers ready to bring charges. The soul will stand alone, with no one to comfort it, drawing consolation from that quarter only if a conscience aware of good works defends it. But in so great a reckoning, where all things will stand bare, who will dare to boast that they have a pure heart? If the righteous will scarcely be saved, where will the sinner and the impious stand?^✦ Then the lips of those who praised will fall silent, the flatterer's tongue will be of no use, and empty glory will be shown to have been a seductress. Foolish joy will flee, the pomp of dignities will be put to flight, and the pursuit of honor will be seen to have been full of deception. Blessed is that soul whom, in such a crisis, the conscience of innocence protects and the memory of holiness defends; whom, still placed in the flesh, the wave of loving compunction has washed clean again and again, the diligence of confession has adorned, the meditation of sacred law has illuminated; whom humility has made meek, patience tranquil, obedience empty of self-will, and love has made fervent toward the exercise of every virtue.⁶¹ Such a soul will not fear that dreadful hour, nor be confounded when it speaks with its own enemies at the gate.^✦ For that soul will be joined to those of whom Scripture says: When he gives his beloved sleep, behold, the inheritance of the Lord.^✦

The Day of Judgment

The final judgment brings wrath to the cursed, with eternal fire, undying worm, and unending smoke of torment for the proud.

A review of the day of judgment, when the goats will be placed on the left.^✦ But who can say anything about the terror of that final judgment, when the sheep will stand on the right and the goats on the left?^✦ What trembling there will be when the powers of heaven are shaken!^✦ What confusion of things, what groaning, what cries from those howling in anguish, when that terrible voice confronts the negligent: 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire!'^✦ Truly that is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of cloud and whirlwind, a day of trumpet and blast.^✦ Truly then the voice of that day will be bitter; even the brave will be crushed there. Because those who with a proud mind despise the divine will and now boast of pursuing their own desires — then an eternal fire will engulf them, a fire that will never be extinguished, and a worm will feed on them that will not die, and the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever.^✦

The Joy of the Blessed

The blessed at Christ's right hand hear 'Come, blessed of my Father,' and receive eternal joy, comfort, crowns, and the beatific vision.

A reconsideration of joy, when the sheep will be placed at the right hand.^✦ But for those grieving and sending forth dreadful groans of the heart because of the anguish of their spirit, what do you suppose the joy and exultation will be for those blessed ones who, placed at the right hand of God, are about to hear that most blessed voice saying to them: Come, blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?^✦ Then truly the voice of exultation and salvation will dwell in the tent of the righteous.^✦ Then the Lord will raise the heads of the humble, who now do not disdain to be worthless and cast down for his sake.^✦ He will heal the brokenhearted, and with everlasting joys he will comfort those who mourn in this pilgrimage out of longing for him.^✦^✦ The ineffable reward of those who, for the love of their Creator, will rejoice to have cast off their own desires will appear. On that day a heavenly crown will surround the heads of the obedient, and the glory of the patient will shine with unspeakable splendor.^✦^✦ There love will enrich its soldiers with the company of angels, and purity of heart will beatify its lovers with the most blessed vision of the Creator.^✦^✦

Eternal Praise and Doxology

God reveals himself to all who love him, and the chosen sing forever: 'Blessed are those who dwell in your house, Lord.'

Then God will reveal himself to all who love him and will raise them up in eternal security forever. Then that song will truly be sung by all the chosen: 'Blessed are those who dwell in your house, Lord; they will praise you forever and ever.'^✦⁶² May he deign to make us partakers of that praise — he who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God through all ages of ages.⁶³ Amen.

Read the original Latin

Quod ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei facti sumus. --Evigila, anima mea, evigila; exerce spiritum tuum, excita sensum, expelle socordiam lethiferi torporis tui, apprehende sollicitudinem tuae salutis. Inutilium cogitationum effugetur vagatio, recedat ignavia, diligentia teneatur. Meditationibus sacris insiste, adhaere divinis bonis; intende sempiternis, temporalibus derelictis. Quid igitur utilius, quid salubrius in tam divino mentis exercitio poteris cogitare, quam immensa beneficia Conditoris dulcissima cogitatione recolere? Considera igitur in ipso creationis exordio quid sublimitatis, quid dignitatis tibi contulerit; et perpende quo amore, qua veneratione colendus sit. Certe, cum universitatem rerum visibilium et invisibilium creans et ordinans, humanam naturam facere disposuisset, summo consilio de tuae conditionis dignitate tractavit, utpote quam caeteris creaturis quae in mundo sunt, altius honorare disposuit. Vide igitur sublimitatem tuae creationis, et retracta debitum reddendi amoris.

Faciamus (ait Deus) hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram. Si ad hoc dictum tui Conditoris non expergisceris, si in tam ineffabili benignitate erga te dignationis ejus in amorem illius tota non exardescis, si ad ejus desiderium totis medullis non inflammaris, quid dicam? Dormientem te, an potius mortuam reputem? Attende igitur diligenter quid sit ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei te esse creatam. Habes dulce pignus piae meditationis, ubi cogitationes tuas exerceas. Agnosce ergo aliud esse similitudinem, aliud imaginem: verbi gratia, potest habere similitudinem, quamdam cum homine equus, bos et caeterae similes creaturae; imaginem vero hominis non habet nisi alter homo. Manducat homo, manducat et equus: ecce quaedam similitudo ac communitas inter naturas diversas. Imaginem vero hominis non imitatur nisi alter homo ejusdem naturae, cujus imago est.

Dignior igitur est imago quam similitudo. Similitudinem itaque ad Deum hoc modo habere poterimus, si eum bonum esse considerantes, nos boni esse studuerimus; si eum justum esse cognoscentes, nos justi esse contendamus; si misericordem contemplantes, nos misericordiae operam demus. Quomodo autem ad imaginem suam? Attende. Deus semper meminit sui, intelligit se, amat se. Et tu ergo, si pro modulo tuo infatigabiliter memor fueris Dei, intellexeris Deum, amaveris Deum, eris ad imaginem ejus; quia hoc facere niteris, quod semper facit Deus. Ad memorandum, et intelligendum atque amandum summum bonum totum debet homo referre quod vivit: ad hoc omnis cogitatio, omnis volutatio cordis retorqueatur, acuatur, conformetur, ut infatigabili affectu memor sis Dei, intelligas Deum, ames Deum, et tuae creationis dignitatem, qua ad imaginem Dei creata es, salubriter exprimas. Quid dico ad imaginem Dei te esse creatam, cum, teste Apostolo, ipsa Dei imago sis?

Vir, inquit Apostolus, non debet velare caput suum, cum sit imago et gloria Dei.

Quod ad hoc facti sumus, ut Deum sine fine laudemus. --Sufficiunt ne tibi haec tam immensa beneficia Conditoris ad juges gratiarum actiones reddendas, et debitum continui amoris, cum de nihilo vel potius de luto te consideras ejus bonitate ad tantam celsitudinem in ipso conditionis exordio sublimatam? Sanctorum igitur sententiam in tuam converte vitam, et de sancto quid dicatur attende. Quae est igitur laus sancti? De omni corde suo laudavit Dominum. Ecce ad quod creata es; ecce opus famulatus tui. Ut quid enim te Deus tam praeclaro conditionis privilegio sublimaret, nisi te suis laudibus indesinenter intendere vellet? Ad laudandum igitur Conditorem tuum creata es, ut ejus laudibus vacans, et hic justitiae merito in illum semper proficias, et in futuro bene vivas.

Laus enim ejus et hic justitiam, et ibi beatitudinem tribuit. Sed si laudas, ex toto corde lauda, diligendo lauda. Haec est enim sanctis laudandi proposita regula: De omni corde suo laudavit Dominum; et dilexit Deum qui fecit illum. Lauda ergo, et ex toto corde lauda, et quem laudas dilige; quia ad hoc facta es ut laudes et diligas. Laudat namque, sed ex toto corde non laudat, quem ad benedicendum Deum prospera demulcent; sed a benedicendi munere adversa restringunt. Laudat quoque, sed non diligit, qui in Dei laudibus aliud quam ipsum laudando requirit. Lauda igitur, et digne lauda, ut nulla in te cura, nulla intentio, nulla cogitatio, nulla sollicitudo mentis, in quantum tibi virtus suppetit, a laude Dei sit vacua. Ab ejus laude nulla te vitae hujus prosperitas revocet, nulla compescat adversitas.

Sic enim ex toto corde laudabis Dominum. Sed, cum ex toto corde eum laudaveris, et diligens laudaveris, nihil ab eo aliud quam ipsum expetes, ut ipse sit finis desiderii tui, ipse praemium laboris, ipse solatium hujus umbratilis vitae, ipse possessio illius beatae vitae. Ad hoc itaque facta es, ut eum sine fine collaudes: quod tunc utique intelliges plenius, cum ejus beata visione sublimata videbis te sola et gratuita bonitate illius, cum non esses, de nihilo tam beatam, et ad tam ineffabilem beatitudinem creatam, vocatam, justificatam, glorificatam. Talis namque contemplatio infatigabilem tibi amorem dabit eum sine fine laudandi, ex quo, et per quem, et in quo tantis et tam immutabilibus bonis to beatificatam gaudebis.

Quod ubicunque sumus, in illo vivimus, movemur, et sumus, dum ipsum intra nos habemus. --Sed ab illa felicitate futura, contemplationis intuitu paululum etiam magnitudinem gratiae, qua te in hac etiam vita fugaci ditavit, considera. Ipse qui in coelis habitat, qui in angelis regnat, cui coelum et terra cum omnibus quae in eis sunt se inclinant, se tibi habitaculum praebuit, suam tibi praesentiam paratam fecit: docente enim apostolo Paulo, in illo vivimus, movemur et sumus. Dulcis vita, motus amabilis, optabile esse. Quid enim dulcius quam in illo vitam habere, qui est ipsa vita beata? Quid amabilius quam omnem voluntatis vel actionis nostrae motum ad illum et in illo dirigere, qui nos perpetua confirmet stabilitate? Quid optabilius quam voto et conversatione jugiter in illo esse, in quo solo, vel potius qui solus est verum esse, sine quo nulli potest bene esse? Ego, ait, sum qui sum.

Et pulchre. Ipse enim vere solus est, cujus immutabile est esse. Ille itaque, cujus esse tam excellens, tam singulariter est, ut solum vere sit; in cujus comparatione omne esse nihil est, cum te ad celsitudinem creaverit ut tuae gloriam dignitatis nec intelligere possis, ubi te esse constituit? quem tibi mansionis locum praeparavit? Attende ipsum suis in Evangelio dicentem: Manete in me, et ego in vobis. O inaestimabilis dignatio, o beata mansio, o gloriosa vicissitudo? Quanta dignatio Creatoris, ut in se suam velit habitare creaturam? Quam incomprehensibilis beatitudo creaturae, in suo manere Creatore?

Quanta rationalis creaturae est gloria, tam felici vicissitudine Creatori sociari, ut ipse in ea, et ipsa in eo teneat mansionem? Tam excellenter ergo creatos, in se nos manere misericorditer voluit; super omnia, sicut omnium gubernator, sine sollicitudine existens; omnia, velut omnium fundamentum, sine labore sustinens; omnia sicut omnibus rebus excellentior, sine superbia excedens; omnia, velut qui universa continet, sine diffusione complectens; omnia, sicut omnium plenitudo, sine sui angustia complens. Hic ergo, cum nusquam desit, delectabile intra nos sibi regnum elegit, Evangelio demonstrante, ubi dicitur: Regnum Dei intra vos est. Sed si regnum Dei intra nos est et Deus in suo regno habitat, nonne ipse in nobis manet, cujus intra nos regnum est? Ita plane: si enim Deus sapientia est, et anima justi sedes est sapientiae; qui vere justus est, Deum in se manentem habet. Templum enim Dei sanctum est, quod estis vos, ait Apostolus. Et tu igitur sanctitatis studio infatigabiliter insiste, ne templum Dei desinas esse. Ipse de suis dicit: Inhabitabo in illis, et inambulabo.

Nec dubites, ubicunque animae sanctae fuerint, eum in illis esse. Si enim et tu in omnibus membris, quae vivificas, ubique tota es; quanto magis Deus ubique totus est, qui teipsam et corpus creavit? Summa igitur diligentia considerandum est cum quanta ratione et reverentia sensus nostros et membra corporis nostri movere debemus, quibus Divinitas ipsa praesidet. Demus igitur, ut dignum est, tanto inhabitatori omne imperium cordis nostri, ut nihil ei repugnet in nobis; sed omnes cogitationes, et voluntatis motus, omnia verba, et universa opera nostra illius nutum attendant, ejus voluntati deserviant, ad rectitudinis ejus regulam dirigantur. Sic enim vere regnum ejus erimus, et ipse in nobis manebit, et nos in illo manentes, bene vivemus.

Quod omnes, qui in Christo baptizati sumus, Christum induimus. --Excita, quaeso te, anima mea, et exardescat ignis superni amoris in intimis tuis, et decorem a Domino Deo tuo tibi collatum prudenter intelligere, intelligens dilige, diligens sanctae conversationis obsequiis venerare. Nonne ipse qui tibi in seipso tribuit mansionem, et in te dignatus est habitare, seipso vestit te, munit et ornat? Quotquot, ait Apostolus, in Christo baptizati estis, Christum induistis. Quid igitur laudis, quid gratiarum actionis, ei condigne tribues, qui te tanto vestivit decore, tanto sublimavit honore, ut jucundissimo cordis jubilo dicere possis: Induit me Dominus vestimento salutis, indumento laetitiae circumdedit me? Angelis Dei summum gaudium est, Christum contemplari: et ecce immensa dignatione sua se tibi tantum inclinat, ut seipso te velit vestiri. Quali vestimento, nisi eo de quo gloriatur Apostolus dicens: Christus factus est nobis a Deo sapientia, et justitia et sanctificatio? Quibus vestimentorum insigniis te magis ornaret, quam ut te splendidam redderet amictu sapientiae, ornamento justitiae, satisfactionis decore?

Quod corpus Christi sumus. --Et quid dicam quia se tibi Christus vestimentum fecit, cum se tantum univerit, ut in unitate Ecclesiae de carne sua te esse voluerit? Audi Apostolum Scripturae testimonium exponentem: Et erunt duo in carne una. Ego autem, inquit, dico in Christo et in Ecclesia. Super hoc quoque, quanta te unione copulaverit, contemplare. Corpus Christi te Apostolus esse confirmat; Vos estis, ait, corpus Christi, et membra de membris. Serva igitur corpus et membra, ea dignitate qua decet, ne si ea quolibet levitatis studio injuriose tractaveris, quanto potiori praemio coronareris, si ea digne tractasses; tanto majori supplicio subjiciaris, si eis indigne abusus fueris. Oculi tui, oculi Christi sunt.

Non igitur licet tibi oculos Christi ad aliquas vanitates conspiciendas dirigere, quia Christus est veritas, cui omnis vanitas contraria est. Os tuum, os Christi est. Non debes, non dico ad detractiones, non dico ad mendacia, sed nec ad otiosos sermones os aperire, quod ad solas laudes Dei et aedificationem proximi debes patulum habere. Sic de caeteris Christi membris tuae custodiae commissis intellige.

Quod unum in Christo sumus, et cum ipso unus Christus sumus. --Sed adhuc altius agnosce quanta illi societate jungaris. Ipsum Dominum audi pro suis Patrem exorantem: Volo, ait, ut sicut ego et tu unum sumus, sic et isti in nobis unum sint. Sum ego Filius tuus per naturam; sint et illi filii tui et fratres mei per gratiam. Quanta celsitudo est Christianum hominem sic in Christo proficere, ut et ipse quodammodo Christus dicatur? Quod ille vere fidelis dispensator ecclesiasticae familiae sensit, qui dixit: Omnes Christiani in Christo unus Christus sumus. Nec mirum, cum ipse sit caput, et nos corpus ejus; ipse sponsus, ipse sponsa; sponsus in se, sponsa in animabus sanctis, quas sibi aeterni amoris vinculo sociavit. Sicut sponso, inquit, imposuit mihi mitram, et sicut sponsam ornavit me ornamento.

Hic igitur, anima mea, hic erga te revolve beneficia ejus, accende in dilectione ejus, exardesce in desideria beatae contemplationis ejus. Exclama ergo fortiter ardentissimo illo intimi amoris affectu et tota in ejus desiderium liquefacta, in vocem sponsae fidelis erumpe: Osculetur me osculo oris sui. Recedat ab animo meo omnis delectatio, quae extra illum est; nullus praesentis vitae affectus, nullum mihi solatium blandiatur, dum mihi ejus praesentia beata denegatur. Ipse me charitatis brachiis amplectatur, ipse me ore supernae illius suavitatis osculetur, ipse me eloquio illo ineffabili, quo angelis sua secreta manifestat, alloquatur. Haec sit sponsi ad sponsam vicaria sermonum vicissitudo, ut ego illi totum cor meum expandam, et ipse mihi suae dulcedinis secreta revelet. His itaque anima et hujusmodi meditationibus vegetata, pleno sancti desiderii affectu, sponsum tuum sequi contende, et dic ei: Trahe me post te, curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum. Sed dic, et fideliter dic, non transitorio sono, sed infatigabili desiderio. Sic dic, ut audiaris; sic attrahi concupisce, ut sequi possis.

Dic ergo Redemptori et Salvatori tuo: Trahe me post te. Non trahat dulcedo saeculi, sed trahat me suavitas beatissimi amoris tui. Traxit me aliquando vanitas mea; sed jam trahat me tam post se veritas tua. Trahe, quia traxisti; retine, quia apprehendisti. Traxisti redimendo, trahe salvando. Traxisti miserando, trahe beatificando. Apprehendisti inter homines apparens pro nobis homo factus, retine coelo praesidens super angelos exaltatus. Tuus sermo, tua promissio est.

Promisisti dicens: Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum. Trahe igitur jam potenter exaltatus, quem attraxisti misericorditer humiliatus. Ascendisti, sentiam; super omnia regnas, agnoscam. Nunquid te regnare non agnosco? agnosco certe, et gratias ago. Sed agnoscam perfecte amando quod agnosco pie de te sentiendo. Agnoscam videndo quod agnosco credendo. Liga tecum indissolubilibus amoris vinculis desideria cordis mei, ubi tecum sunt primitiae spiritus mei.

Societ nos unitas charitatis, quos copulavit charitas redemptionis. Dilexisti enim me, tradidisti temetipsum pro me. Sit itaque tecum in coelo jugiter intentio mea, sit mecum in terra continue protectio tua. Adjuva tui amoris desiderio aestuantem, qui dilexisti contemnentem. Da quaerenti, qui te dedisti nescienti. Suscipe redeuntem, qui revocasti fugientem. Diligam ut diligar; imo quia diligor, magis ac magis diligam, ut magis diligar. Uniatur tecum cogitatio mea, una et singularis sit tecum intentio mea, ubi tecum a te misericorditer suscepta beata jam regnat substantia nostra.

Adhaeream tibi inseparabiliter, adorem te infatigabiliter, serviam tibi perseveranter, quaeram te fideliter, inveniam te feliciter, possideam te aeternaliter. His sermonibus, o anima mea, Deum interpellando accendere, inflammare, exardesce, et tota in ejus desiderio ignea effici contende.

Retractatio peccatorum nostrorum, de quibus nos conscientia nostra plus remordet, per quae perdidimus haec omnia. --Cum autem consideras ad quae et quanta bona per ejus gratiam profecisti, retracta etiam quae et quanta bona per tuam culpam perdidisti, et in quae mala culpis gravata corruisti. Revolve suspirando mala quae nequiter fecisti; et recogita gemendo bona quae propter eadem mala miserabiliter amisisti. Quid enim boni praestantissimus tuus Creator sua tibi non contulit bonitate? Et quid mali tu ei non rependisti, exsecrabili vegetata iniquitate? Bona perdens, mala meruisti; imo bona projiciens, mala elegisti; et amissa vel potius abjecta gratia Conditoris, iram ejus miserabiliter incurristi. Non est unde te probes innocentem, cum malorum tuorum caterva te velut exercitus immensus circumdet, hinc pravorum operum probra objiciens; illinc inutilium et, quod damnabilius est, perniciosorum verborum immensam congeriem proferens; inde malarum cogitationum molem infinitam ostentans. Haec sunt, propter quae bona inaestimabilia perdidisti; propter haec Conditoris gratia caruisti.

Haec recogita gemendo, geme eis abrenuntiando, abrenuntia damnando; damna ea, vitam in melius commutando. Luctare tecum in animo tuo, ne amodo vel ad momentum alicui vanitati seu corde, seu lingua, sive, quod summae damnationis est, opere assensum praebeas. Sit quotidiana, imo continua in animo tuo rixa, ne quodlibet cum vitiis foedus retineas. Districte temetipsam semper examina, secreta discute, et quidquid in te reprobum inveneris, rigida animadversione percute, prosterne, contere, exstirpa, projice, et ad nihilum redige. Non tibi parcas, non tibi blandiaris, sed in matutino, id est in contemplatione extremi judicii, quod nocti praesentis vitae tanquam lux matutina succedit, interfice omnes peccatores terrae, id est delicta atque peccata conversationis terrenae, ut disperdas de civitate Domini, quam in temetipsa illi aedificare debes, omnes operantes iniquitatem, id est diabolicas suggestiones, odibiles Deo delectationes, mortiferos consensus et opera perversa. Ab omnibus iis tanquam civitas Dei debes emundari, ut placitam in te mansionem sibi Creator inveniat, obtineat, possideat. Noli esse de illis, quorum pertinaciam Deus ipse videtur plangere, dicens: Non est qui recogitet in corde suo, et dicat: Quid feci? .

Si reprobantur illi, quia pro transactis malis erubescere et se reprehendere noluerunt, tune ut in electorum numerum curras, temetipsam convenire, dijudicare, ac severa disciplina corrigere negliges? Revolve igitur sedulo cogitatu immensa beneficia Conditoris, quibus te nullis intercurrentibus meritis sublimavit, et ad memoriam revoca mala innumera, quibus ejusdem beneficiis tua iniquitas indigne respondit, et magnum dolorem parturiens, clama: Quid feci? Deum exacerbavi, Creatorem meum ad iracundiam provocavi, beneficiis ejus immensis innumera mala rependi. Quid feci? Sed haec dicens, cor tuum acerbe contere, gemitus emitte, lacrymas funde. Si enim hic non ploras, quando plorabis? Si te ad compunctionem non excitat aversio vultus Dei a te, quam tua peccata fecerunt, confringat duritiam tuam vel enormitas infernalium suppliciorum, quam super te eadem peccata provocaverunt. Redi ergo, redi, praevaricatrix, ad cor, et pedem ab inferis extrahe, ut debita mala evadere et amissa bona, quibus juste privaris, possis recuperare.

Si enim ad mala tua respicias, omnia bona quae tibi sunt ab eo collata perdidisti. Oportet te igitur ad ea, et maxime de quibus te conscientia gravius accusat, semper oculos retorquere, ut ille oculos suos avertat. Nam si tu peccata tua digna satisfactionis intentione avertis, ille ab eis intuitum ultionis avertit. Si tu oblivisceris, ille recordatur.

Retractatio Dominicae incarnationis, per quam recuperavimus haec omnia. --Ut igitur inde libereris, miserationes erga te tui Redemptoris attende. Certe originalis peccati merito caecata eras, sublimitatem tui Conditoris videre non poteras. Peccatorum nubibus circumsepta in obscura tendebas, et ad aeternas tenebras rapidis fluctibus vitiorum agitata festinabas. Et ecce Redemptor tuus caecatis luminibus collyrium suae incarnationis apposuit, ut quae Deum in secreto majestatis fulgentem videre non poteras, Deum in homine apparentem aspiceres, aspiciendo agnosceres, agnoscendo diligeres, diligens summo studio ad ejus gloriam pervenire satageres. Incarnatus est ut te ad spiritualia revocaret. Mutabilitatis tuae particeps factus est, ut te suae incommutabilitatis participem faceret. Inclinavit se ad humilia tua, ut te sublimaret ad excelsa sua.

De virginitatis integritate natus est, ut praevaricatricis naturae corrupta sanaret. Circumcisus est, ut omnia peccatorum vitiorumque superflua hominem abscindere a se debere doceret. Oblatus est in templo, et a sancta vidua susceptus, ut fideles suos domum Dei frequentare, et ut eum mereantur suscipere, studio sanctitatis intendere moneret. A Simeone sene susceptus atque laudatus est, ut vitae gravitatem et morum maturitatem se diligere patefaceret. Baptizatus est, ut nostri baptismatis sacramenta sanctificaret. In Jordane sub manu Joannis se ad baptismum inclinans paternam vocem audivit, et Spiritus sancti in columba adventum suscepit, ut nos doceret in humilitate mentis (quae per Jordanem notatur: Jordanis enim descensio eorum interpretatur,) debere consistere, ibique superni Patris honorari colloquio, de quo dicitur quia cum simplicibus sermocinatio ejus; et Spiritus sancti praesentia sublimari, qui super humiles requiescit. Et hoc sub manu Joannis, qui Dei gratia dicitur; ut eidem gratiae quidquid a Deo percipimus, non nostris meritis ascribamus. Quadraginta dierum completo jejunio diabolum cum suis tentamentis superans, angelico est ministerio glorificatus, edocens nos toto vitae praesentis tempore delectationes rerum temporalium declinando mundum cum suo principe pedibus nostris substernere, et sic angelicis praesidiis communiri.

Regnum Dei praedicando diebus cum populo commoratur, et confluentes turbas miraculis et verbis aedificat; noctibus montem frequentans orationibus vacat, admonens nos pro congruentia temporis nunc proximis, inter quos vivimus, verbis et exemplis pro modulo nostro vitae vitam demonstrare; nunc solitudinem mentis adeuntes et virtutum montem ascendentes dulcedini supernae contemplationis inhiare, et intentionem nostram infatigabili affectu in superna dirigere. In monte coram Petro, et Jacob, et Joanne transfiguratur, insinuans nobis quod si tanquam Petrus (qui agnoscens interpretatur) nostram infirmitatem humiliter agnoscere, si vitiorum supplantatores (quod Jacobus sonat) fieri, si Dei gratiae (quae per Joannis nomen innuitur) fideliter nos submittere studuerimus, ad Jesu gloriam contemplandam illum coelestem montem, eodem rege nostro duce, feliciter conscendemus. In Bethania (quod domus obedientiae interpretatur) Lazarum suscitavit, ostendens omnes, qui bonae voluntatis studio huic mundo morientes in sinu obedientiae requiescunt, in vitam aeternam ab eo resuscitandos. Corpus et sanguinem suum discipulis suis in coena mystica tradens eorum pedes humiliter lavit, docens sacrosancta ministeria mundis operibus et pia mentis humilitate celebranda. Resurrectionis sacrae gloria sublimandus ludibria perfidorum, asperitatem verborum, crucis opprobrium, fellis amaritudinem, et ad ultimum mortem sustinuit, admonens suos ut qui post mortem ad gloriam pervenire contendunt, vitae praesentis angustias et labores, pravorumque oppressiones non solum aequo animo tolerent, sed omnia hujus mundi aspera pro praemiis aeternis ament, appetant et gratanter suscipiant. Haec itaque tam praeclara, tam immensa tui Conditoris erga te beneficia si digne cogitare, si devote amplecti, si fervida charitate imitari studueris; non modo bona per primum parentem amissa recuperabis, sed multo potiora per ineffabilem Salvatoris tui gratiam aeternaliter possidebis. Ipse namque Deus tuus per Incarnationis mysterium factus frater tuus, quid tibi inenarrabilis gaudii causaverit, dum naturam super omnem creaturam videris in eo exaltatam!

Quod orandum sit, ut de lacu miseriae eripiaris, et de luto faecis. --Quid ergo jam restat, nisi ut, iis omnibus digne consideratis, modis omnibus ad haereditatem tantorum bonorum mentem succendas, ipsumque qui te alia possidenda creavit, continua supplicatione deposcas, ut te de lacu miseriae, et de luto faecis eripiat, et tantae beatitudinis possessorem efficiat? Quid est autem lacus miseriae, nisi profunditas cupiditatis mundanae? Et quid est lutum faecis, nisi fetor carnalis voluptatis? Haec enim sunt duo retinacula, quibus humanum genus ne ad beatum supernae contemplationis tendat libertatem, flenda contritione praepeditur, cupiditas scilicet et voluptas. Vere enim lacus miseriae est cupiditas mundana, quae mentem quam suo dominio subjicit, per innumera desideria, velut quibusdam vinculis, in profundum vitiorum trahit, nec eam requiem ullam habere permittit. Mens namque hominis cupiditatis oppressa jugo, amore rerum visibilium extra se spargitur, et per diversas animi passiones raptatur. Devastant illam labor in acquirendo, anxietas in multiplicando, gaudium in possidendo, timor amittendi, dolor cum amiserit, nec in quantis periculis sit omnino eam videre permittunt.

Hic est lacus miseriae, quem tantis malis mundana cupiditas non desinit implere. De hoc lacu beatus David se gratulabatur ereptum, cum gratias agens loqueretur, et diceret: Eduxit me de lacu miseriae et de luto faecis. Quid est lutum faecis? Delectatio immundae voluptatis. Exclama ergo fortiter cum beato David, et dic Creatori tuo: Eripe me de luto, ut non infigar. Terge cor tuum ab omni inquinamento carnalis delectationis, cogitationes immundas ab animo tuo exclude, si hujus luti sordes cupis evadere. Sed cum poenitendo, confitendo, flendo, et sanctas cogitationes cordi tuo sedule ingerendo evaseris, inde ne recidas; sed totis praecordiis ante Deum suspira, ejus clementiam deprecans ut statuat supra petram pedes tuos, id est, affectiones cordis tui Christi virtutibus solidet, ut collocet se mens tua supra firmamentum justitiae, constanter Christo adhaerens, de quo dicitur quod factus est nobis sapientia a Deo, et justitia, et sanctificatio. Ora etiam ut dirigat gressus tuos, ne reflectantur in vitia; sed in praeceptis coelestibus inflexibili statu proficiant, et ad beatam angelorum patriam tota intentione festinent.

Sed tali directione sublimatus, noli esse piger in laude Creatoris; sed ejus clementiam supplica, ut immittat in os tuum canticum novum, ut digna devotione carnem Deo nostro decantes. Dignum est enim ut per vitae novitatem Deo sociata canticum in ejus laudibus resones novum, contemptis temporalibus, sola aeterna desiderans; nec jam timore poenae, sed amore justitiae, divinae legi obtemperans. Hoc est enim canticum novum Deo cant re, veteris hominis studia conterere, et novi hominis vias quas Filius Dei mundo demonstravit, toto conatu cordis, solo desiderio vitae permanentis incedere. Carmen quoque decantat, qui gaudia illa patriae coelestis in memoria purae mentis retentat, et ad eadem, conscientia sanctae vitae suffultus et supernae gratiae dono subnixus, satagit pervenire.

Consideratio miseriarum hujus vitae. --Inter haec autem miserias vitae praesentis perpende, et cum quanta cautela in ea tibi vivendum sit pervigili corde revolve. Considera te de illius esse consortio, de quo Scriptura dicit: Viro cujus abscondita est via, et circumdedit eum Dominus tenebris. Vere enim profunda ignorantiae caecitate circumdaris, qui nescis quomodo Deus penset opera tua, et qualem finem sis habiturus ignoras. Nescit homo, ait Salomon, utrum odio, an amore dignus sit, sed omnia servantur usque in finem incerta. Pone in animo tuo te videre aliquam vallem profundam, tenebrosam, omne genus tormentorum in fundo habentem. Cogita desuper pontem unum, longo spatio extentum, in latitudine tantum unius pedis mensuram tenentem. Hunc igitur tam strictum, tam altum, tam periculosum pontem si quilibet transire cogeretur, cujus oculi ligarentur, ne gressus videret; cujus manus retro constringerentur, ne vel baculo iter suum palpando regere posset; quid timoris, quidve angustiae putas in animo gereret?

Essetne illi aliquis locus laetitiae, jucunditatis, sive lasciviae? Non puto. Auferretur omnis superbia, vana gloria fugaretur, solius mortis in mente tenebrosa caligo versaretur. Adhuc cogita crudelium avium monstra circa pontem volitantia, et in profundum transeuntem pertrahere cupientia, nonne timor augebitur? Quid si, eo transeunte, semper a talo tabulae subtrahantur? Nunquid non transeunti major sollicitudo incutietur?

Sed exemplum tale quid sibi velit agnosce, et mentem tuam divino timore sollicitus astringe. Vallem profundam et tenebrosam, infernum intellige, sine mensura profundum, et tenebrosa caligine horribiliter obscurum. Ibi omne genus tormentorum confluit. Ibi omne quod demulcet, abest; et omne quod terret et cruciat, et quod angustias inferre potest, praesto est. Pons periculosus, de quo qui male transit inferius praecipitatur, vita praesens est; in qua qui male vivit, ab illa cadens ad inferna descendit. Tabulae quae post transeuntes subtrahuntur, singuli sunt dies vitae nostrae; qui sic praetereunt, ut nunquam revertantur, sed diminutione sui nos semper urgent ad finem, et ad terminum festinare compellunt. Aves circa pontem volitantes, et transeuntibus insidiantes, maligni spiritus sunt, quorum omne studium est homines a rectae viae statu dejicere, et ad profunda inferni praecipitare. Nos ipsi transeuntes sumus, ignorantiae caligine caeci, et difficultate bene operandi velut gravi catena ligati, ne liberos ad Deum sanctae vitae gressus dirigere possimus.

Attende igitur si non summo studio in tanto discrimine tibi ad Creatorem tuum clamandum sit, quo ejus munita praesidio inter adversariorum turmas fiducialiter cantes: Dominus illuminatio mea, et salus mea, quem timebo? Illuminatio videlicet contra caecitatem; salus contra difficultatem. Haec enim duo mala sunt, in quibus primus parens nos dejecit, ignorantia et difficultas, ut nec quo tendimus, nec quid agendum sit videamus; et cum ex aliqua parte viderimus, difficultate praepediti nec ipsum quod recte novimus, implere possimus. Haec meditare, anima mea, haec cogita; in iis quotidie se mens tua exerceat. Iis intenta a rerum, nutilium curis et cogitationibus se avocet, et totam se ad haec mala fugienda, et ad aeterna bona capessenda, sancti timoris et beati amoris igne succendat.

De corpore, post animae discessum. --Ad te jam redeo, dulcissime Creator, et benignissime Redemptor, formator et reformator meus, votis supplicius tuam implorans pietatem, ut doceas cor meum vitali timore et salutari tremore considerare quam fetida et quam lugubri conditione caro mea post obitum, spiritu quod ad praesens vegetatur viduata, putredini et vermibus tradatur consumenda. Ubi tunc erit, si qua modo est, de qua superbit, pulchritudo ejus; exquisitae, quibus nunc defluit, deliciae illius; delicati artus? Nonne tunc vere implebitur in ea illud propheticum: Omnis caro fenum, et omnis gloria ejus tanquam flos feni? Claudentur oculi ad interiora capitis reflexi, quorum saepe vanis et perniciosis vagationibus delectabar. Jacebunt horrendis tenebris obducti, qui modo pro luce vanitates gaudent haurire. Patebunt aures vermibus mox replendae, quae nunc detractionis voces et saeculares rumores damnabili jucunditate suscipiunt. Stringentur dentes miserabiliter obserati, quos solvit edacitas.

Putrescent nares, quae nunc variis odoribus delectantur. Squalore fetido labia horrebunt, quae stulto cachinno frequenter dissolvi gaudebant. Ligabitur lingua tabida sanie, quae saepe inanes fabulas proferebat. Arctabitur guttur, et venter saturabitur vermibus, qui variis escis crebro distenti sunt. Quid commemorem singula? Tota illa compositio corporis, cujus sanitati, cujus commoditati, cujus voluptati omnis pene cura invigilat, in putredinem, in vermem, postremo in abjectissimum pulverem dissolvetur. Ubi cervix erecta? Ubi jactantia verborum, ornatus vestium, varietas deliciarum?

Velut somnium evanuerunt, omnia ulterius non reditura transierunt, et amatorem sui miserrimum reliquerunt.

De anima a corpore separata. --Deus bone, quid est quod intueor? Ecce occurrit timor timori, dolor dolori. Post separationem sui a corpore, nonne anima a multitudine occursantium daemonum, qui ejus accusationes exaggerent, circumfundetur, et usque ad minimam negligentiam de omnibus exquiretur? Veniet princeps mundi hujus cum satellitibus suis furore rabidus, callidus ad circumveniendum, ad mentiendum pronus, malevolus ad accusandum, quaecunque potest contra eam vera ex perpetratis malis proferens, multa falsa confingens. O tremenda hora, o examen horridum! Hinc judex districtus ad judicandum; inde adversarii procaces ad accusandum. Stabit anima sola sine consolatore, inde solatium solum capiens, si eam bonorum operum conscientia defendit.

Sed in tanta districtione ubi omnia nuda apparebunt, quis gloriabitur castum se habere cor? Si justus vix salvabitur, peccator et impius ubi parebunt? Tunc laudantium labia cessabunt, adulatorum lingua non proderit, vana gloria seductrix probabitur fuisse. Fugiet inepta laetitia, dignitatum pompa fugabitur, honoris ambitio plena deceptionis fuisse videbitur. Beata illa anima, quam in tali discrimine innocentiae conscientia protegit, sanctitatis memoria defendit; quam adhuc in carne positam piae compunctionis unda saepius abluit, confessionis diligentia decoravit, sacrae legis meditatio illuminavit; quam humilitas mitem, tranquillam patientia, obedientia a propria voluntate vacuam reddidit, et charitatis ad omnis virtutis exercitium fervidam fecit. Talis anima tremendam illam horam non formidabit, nec confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta. Sociabitur enim illis, de quibus Scriptura dicit: Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum, ecce haereditas Domini.

Retractatio diei judicii, ubi haedi ad sinistram constituentur. --Jam vero de terrore illo extremi judicii quis dicere aliquid valeat, ubi oves ad dexteram, haedi ad sinistram statuentur? Quis tremor erit, ubi virtutes coelorum movebuntur? Quae rerum confusio, qui gemitus, qui clamores ululantium, cum vox illa terribilis negligentibus opponetur: Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem aeternum! Vere dies irae dies illa, dies tribulationis et angustiae, dies nebulae et turbinis, dies tubae et clangoris. Vere tunc vox diei amara, tribulabitur ibi fortis. Quia qui mente superba divinam voluntatem contemnentes modo de prosecutione propriae voluntatis gloriantur, tunc perpetuus ignis involvet, qui nunquam exstinguetur, et vermis depascet qui non morietur, et ascendet fumus tormenti eorum in saecula saeculorum.

Retractatio gaudii, ubi oves ad dexteram statuentur. --His autem lugentibus, et prae angustia spiritus diros cordis rugitus emittentibus, quid putas gaudii et exsultationis erit beatis illis, qui ad dexteram Dei constituti vocem illam felicissimam audituri sunt, qua dicetur illis: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, possidete regnum quod vobis paratum est ab origine mundi? Tunc vere vox exsultationis et salutis morabitur in tabernaculo justorum. Tunc Dominus humilium eriget caput, qui modo pro eo viles et abjecti esse non dedignantur. Medebitur contritis corde, et perpetuis gaudiis consolabitur pro sui desiderio in hac peregrinatione lugentes. Apparebit ineffabile praemium eorum, qui pro sui Conditoris amore proprias se laetabuntur abjecisse voluntates. In illa die obedientium capita corona coelestis circumdabit, et patientium gloria inenarrabili splendore fulgebit. Ibi charitas milites suos angelorum societate ditabit, et cordis puritas amatores suos Conditoris felicissima visione beatificabit.

Tunc ostendet se Deus omnibus dilectoribus suis, et aeterna securitate in perpetuum sublimabit. Tunc vere ab electis omnibus cantabitur: Beati qui habitant in domo tua, Domine, in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te. Cujus laudis participes nos facere dignetur, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Scripture echoes

↩Gen.1.26 — Then 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.1.26 — Then 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."
↩1Cor.11.7 — For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
↩1Cor.11.7 — For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
↩Gen.2.7 — Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
↩Ps.118.1;Deut.6.5 — Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever. Deut.6.5 — And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
↩Acts.17.28 — For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'
↩Acts.17.28 — For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'
↩Exod.3.14 — And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.'
↩John.14.2 — In my Father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you? I go to prepare a place for you.
↩John.15.4 — Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you, unless you remain in me.
↩Lev.26.12;2Cor.6.16 — And I will walk among you, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. 2Cor.6.16 — What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.'
↩Gen.2.24 — Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
↩1Cor.7.39;Eph.5.32 — A wife is bound for as long as her husband lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. Eph.5.32 — This mystery is profound—and I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
↩1Cor.12.27 — Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.
↩John.17.21 — that they all may be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you; that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.
↩Eph.5.25-Eph.5.32 — Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. Eph.5.26 — in order that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, Eph.5.27 — so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, so that she might be holy and blameless. Eph.5.28 — In the same way, husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his own wife loves himself. Eph.5.29 — For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church. Eph.5.30 — because we are members of his body. Eph.5.31 — For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Eph.5.32 — This mystery is profound—and I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
↩Song.3.11 — Go out and look, daughters of Zion, at King Solomon, wearing the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, and on the day of the joy of his heart.
↩Song.1.2 — Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.
↩Song.1.3-Song.1.4 — The fragrance of your oils is good; your name is poured oil; therefore young women love you. Song.1.4 — Draw me after you—let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers. We will rejoice and be glad in you; we will remember your love more than wine. The upright love you.
↩Song.1.3 — The fragrance of your oils is good; your name is poured oil; therefore young women love you.
↩Phil.2.6-Phil.2.8;Heb.1.3-Heb.1.4 — 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. Heb.1.3 — He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's own being, and he upholds all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Heb.1.4 — So he became as much greater than the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
↩John.12.32 — And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
↩Rom.8.23 — Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
↩Gal.2.20 — I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
↩Ps.10.18 — to judge the orphan and the crushed, so that mortal man from the earth will no longer strike terror
↩Jer.8.6 — I listened and heard—but they do not speak rightly. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?' Each one turns back to his course, like a horse rushing into battle.
↩Luke.2.22-Luke.2.38 — And when the days of their purification were fulfilled according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. Luke.2.23 — As it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord." Luke.2.24 — and to offer a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Luke.2.25 — And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Luke.2.26 — And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Luke.2.27 — And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, Luke.2.28 — and he received him into his arms and blessed God and said, Luke.2.29 — Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace. Luke.2.30 — that my eyes have seen your salvation Luke.2.31 — which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples Luke.2.32 — a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. Luke.2.33 — And his father and his mother were marveling at the things being spoken concerning him. Luke.2.34 — And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.' Luke.2.35 — and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Luke.2.36 — And there was Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her virginity. Luke.2.37 — and she was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and prayers night and day Luke.2.38 — And she, coming up at that very hour, began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
↩Luke.2.25-Luke.2.35 — And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Luke.2.26 — And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Luke.2.27 — And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, Luke.2.28 — and he received him into his arms and blessed God and said, Luke.2.29 — Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace. Luke.2.30 — that my eyes have seen your salvation Luke.2.31 — which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples Luke.2.32 — a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. Luke.2.33 — And his father and his mother were marveling at the things being spoken concerning him. Luke.2.34 — And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.' Luke.2.35 — and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
↩Prov.3.34;Jas.4.6;1Pet.5.5 — If it is the scoffer, he mocks them, but to the humble he gives grace. Jas.4.6 — But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' 1Pet.5.5 — Likewise, younger people, submit to the elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
↩Matt.3.13-Matt.3.17;Mark.1.9-Mark.1.11;Luke.3.21-Luke.3.22 — Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him. Matt.3.14 — But John tried to prevent him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' Matt.3.15 — But Jesus answered him, "Permit it now, for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted him. Matt.3.16 — And when Jesus had been baptized, he immediately went up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. Matt.3.17 — And behold, a voice from the heavens said, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' Mark.1.9 — And it came about in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. Mark.1.10 — And immediately, as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending to him. Mark.1.11 — And a voice came from the heavens: "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." Luke.3.21 — Now when all the people had been baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, Luke.3.22 — and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, the Beloved; in you I am well pleased."
↩Matt.4.1-Matt.4.11;Luke.4.1-Luke.4.13 — Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil. Matt.4.2 — And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Matt.4.3 — And the tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.' Matt.4.4 — But he answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Matt.4.5 — Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple. Matt.4.6 — And he said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Matt.4.7 — Jesus said to him again, 'It is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.' Matt.4.8 — Again, the devil takes him to a very high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Matt.4.9 — And he said to him, 'All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.' Matt.4.10 — Then Jesus said to him, 'Go away, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him alone shall you serve."' Matt.4.11 — Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. Luke.4.1 — Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness. Luke.4.2 — for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days. And when they were completed, he was hungry. Luke.4.3 — And the devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Luke.4.4 — And Jesus answered him, 'It is written: "Man shall not live by bread alone."' Luke.4.5 — And he led him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited world in a moment of time. Luke.4.6 — And the devil said to him, 'I will give you all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.' Luke.4.7 — If you will worship before me, it will all be yours. Luke.4.8 — And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.'" Luke.4.9 — And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. Luke.4.10 — For it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you.' Luke.4.11 — that they will lift you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Luke.4.12 — And Jesus answered him, 'It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.' Luke.4.13 — And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
↩Matt.4.17;Mark.1.14-Mark.1.15 — From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Mark.1.14 — Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God. Mark.1.15 — The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent and believe the good news.
↩Luke.6.12;Matt.14.23 — In those days he went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. Matt.14.23 — After he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.
↩Matt.17.1-Matt.17.8;Mark.9.2-Mark.9.8;Luke.9.28-Luke.9.36 — And after six days Jesus takes Peter and James and John his brother and leads them up into a high mountain by themselves. Matt.17.2 — And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as the light. Matt.17.3 — And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. Matt.17.4 — But Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will make three shelters here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Matt.17.5 — While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.' Matt.17.6 — And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. Matt.17.7 — And Jesus came and touched them and said, "Rise, and do not be afraid." Matt.17.8 — But when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone. Mark.9.2 — And after six days Jesus takes Peter and James and John, and leads them up onto a high mountain, privately, alone, and he was transfigured before them. Mark.9.3 — And his garments became glistening, intensely white—such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Mark.9.4 — And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Mark.9.5 — And Peter answered Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Mark.9.6 — For he did not know what to answer, for they had become terrified. Mark.9.7 — And a cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him. Mark.9.8 — And suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus alone. Luke.9.28 — Now about eight days after these sayings, taking Peter and John and James, he went up on the mountain to pray. Luke.9.29 — And it came to pass, while he was praying, the appearance of his face became different, and his clothing was white, flashing like lightning. Luke.9.30 — And behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah. Luke.9.31 — who appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. Luke.9.32 — Now Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep; but having stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Luke.9.33 — And as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah' — not knowing what he was saying. Luke.9.34 — While he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. Luke.9.35 — And a voice came from the cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.' Luke.9.36 — And when the voice had come, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
↩Matt.26.26-Matt.26.28;Mark.14.22-Mark.14.24;Luke.22.19-Luke.22.20;1Cor.11.23-1Cor.11.26 — While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and having blessed it, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." Matt.26.27 — And taking a cup, and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you. Matt.26.28 — For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Mark.14.22 — And while they were eating, he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, 'Take; this is my body.' Mark.14.23 — And he took a cup, and having given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. Mark.14.24 — And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many." Luke.22.19 — And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' Luke.22.20 — In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." 1Cor.11.23 — For 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." 1Cor.11.26 — For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
↩John.13.1-John.13.17 — Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. John.13.2 — And during supper, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. John.13.3 — Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God. John.13.4 — So he rose from supper, laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around himself. John.13.5 — Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, wiping them with the towel tied around him. John.13.6 — So he comes to Simon Peter. He says to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' John.13.7 — Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." John.13.8 — Peter said to him, 'You will never wash my feet!' Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.' John.13.9 — Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!' John.13.10 — Jesus said to him, 'The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you.' John.13.11 — For he knew the one who was betraying him; therefore he said, 'Not all of you are clean.' John.13.12 — So when he had washed their feet, taken up his garments, and reclined again, he said to them, 'Do you understand what I have done for you?' John.13.13 — You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you are right, for that is what I am. John.13.14 — If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. John.13.15 — For I have given you an example, that just as I have done to you, you also should do. John.13.16 — Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. John.13.17 — If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
↩Matt.27.34;Ps.69.21 — They gave him wine to drink mixed with gall; and when he tasted it, he was not willing to drink. Ps.69.21 — Reproach has broken my heart, and I am sick with grief; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found no one.
↩Rom.8.18;2Cor.4.17;Phil.3.10-Phil.3.11 — For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is about to be revealed to us. 2Cor.4.17 — For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, Phil.3.10 — to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death Phil.3.11 — if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from among the dead
↩Rom.5.12-Rom.5.21 — Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and through sin death, and so death spread to all people, because all sinned— Rom.5.13 — For sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Rom.5.14 — Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a type of the one who was to come. Rom.5.15 — But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the trespass of the one man, how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many. Rom.5.16 — And the gift is not like what came through the one who sinned. For the judgment following one trespass led to condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses led to justification. Rom.5.17 — For if by the trespass of the one man death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Rom.5.18 — So then, just as through one trespass there was condemnation for all people, so also through one act of righteousness there was justification leading to life for all people. Rom.5.19 — For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Rom.5.20 — The law came in alongside so that the trespass might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. Rom.5.21 — so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
↩John.1.14;Heb.2.11-Heb.2.14 — 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. Heb.2.11 — For both the one who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all from one; for this reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers. Heb.2.12 — saying, 'I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the assembly I will sing your praise.' Heb.2.13 — And again, 'I will put my trust in him.' And again, 'Behold, I and the children God has given me.' 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,
↩Phil.2.9-Phil.2.11;Heb.2.9 — Therefore 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. Heb.2.9 — But we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
↩Ps.40.2 — I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined to me and heard my cry.
↩Ps.40.2 — I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined to me and heard my cry.
↩Ps.69.14 — But my prayer is to you, O LORD, at a time of favor; O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in the truth of your salvation.
↩1Cor.1.30 — But from him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom for us from God—both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
↩Ps.40.2 — I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined to me and heard my cry.
↩Ps.96.1;Ps.149.1 — Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Ps.149.1 — Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song; sing his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
↩Rom.6.4 — Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.
↩Eph.4.22-Eph.4.24;Col.3.9-Col.3.10 — you were taught to put off your former way of life, the old self, which is being corrupted according to the desires of deceit; Eph.4.23 — and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, Eph.4.24 — and put on the new self, created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Col.3.9 — Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices, Col.3.10 — and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator
↩Job.3.23 — To a man whose way is hidden, and God has hedged him in.
↩Eccl.6.12 — For who knows what is good for a person in life—the few days of his fleeting life—which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell a person what will come after him under the sun?
↩Ps.27.1 — Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; whom shall I dread?
↩Isa.40.6 — A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its faithfulness is like the flower of the field.
↩1Pet.4.18 — And if the righteous one is scarcely saved, the ungodly and sinner—where will they appear?
↩Ps.127.2 — It is futile for you—rising early, staying late, eating the bread of anxious toil—for so He gives sleep to His beloved.
↩Ps.127.2 — It is futile for you—rising early, staying late, eating the bread of anxious toil—for so He gives sleep to His beloved.
↩Matt.25.33 — And he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at his left.
↩Matt.25.32-Matt.25.33 — And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matt.25.33 — And he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at his left.
↩Matt.24.29;Luke.21.26 — But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Luke.21.26 — People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
↩Matt.25.41 — Then he will also say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'
↩Zeph.1.15;Joel.2.1-Joel.2.2 — That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness. Joel.2.1 — Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound the alarm on my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the earth tremble, for the day of the LORD has come, for it is near. Joel.2.2 — A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. Like dawn spread over the mountains, a people great and mighty — there has never been the like since forever, and after it there will not again be, even to the age of generation and generation.
↩Mark.9.48;Isa.66.24 — where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. Isa.66.24 — And they shall go out and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against me, for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.
↩Matt.25.33 — And he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at his left.
↩Matt.25.34 — Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'
↩Ps.118.15 — The sound of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the LORD acts valiantly.
↩Ps.147.6 — The LORD upholds the humble; he casts the wicked down to the ground.
↩Ps.147.3 — He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
↩Isa.61.2 — And To proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.
↩2Tim.4.8 — From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing.
↩Jas.1.12 — Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.
↩Matt.5.8 — Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
↩Heb.12.22-Heb.12.23 — But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, Heb.12.23 — to the assembly and festival gathering of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
↩Ps.83.5;Ps.85.4-Ps.85.5 — They said, 'Come, let us wipe them out as a nation, so that the name of Israel will be remembered no more.' Ps.85.4 — Turn away all your wrath; turn back from the fury of your anger. Ps.85.5 — Restore us, O God of our salvation, and break off your anger against us.

Notes

1 ↩Socordia lethiferi torporis tui: the phrase layers 'sloth' (socordia) with 'death-bringing torpor' (lethiferi torporis), intensifying spiritual drowsiness into something mortal. The translation preserves the compound force rather than smoothing it.
2 ↩Debitum reddendi amoris: 'the debt of rendering love' — the phrase frames love as something owed, not merely felt. The gerundive reddendi carries an obligatory force: love as a debt to be paid back.
3 ↩dignatio rendered as 'kindness' here to capture the sense of God's gracious condescension; could also be 'favor' or 'gracious will.'
4 ↩pignus rendered as 'invitation' rather than the more literal 'pledge' or 'token' to preserve the devotional warmth of the passage; the sense is that the image-of-God theme is a precious prompt to meditation.
5 ↩studuerimus is ambiguous between future perfect indicative ('we will have endeavored') and perfect subjunctive ('we may have endeavored / let us have endeavored'); the parallel conditional structure favors a hortatory sense ('we strive / let us strive'), rendered here as 'we strive' to match the natural English cadence of the three si-clauses.
6 ↩autem here is continuative/transitional, rendered as 'then' to mark the shift from likeness to the deeper question of image.
7 ↩fueris, intellexeris, amaveris are ambiguous between future perfect indicative and perfect subjunctive. The conditional structure (si ... eris) favors a future-perfect reading ('if you will have been ... you will be'), but the sense is naturally rendered in English as present-tense conditionals ('if you are ... you will be').
8 ↩volutatio cordis rendered as 'turning of the heart' to capture the sense of the heart's restless rumination; retorqueatur, acuatur, conformetur rendered with imperatives ('be redirected, sharpened, reshaped') to preserve the hortatory subjunctive force.
9 ↩The Apostle's testimony likely alludes to 1 Corinthians 11:7 (vir imago et gloria Dei est), referenced in the following section (Ansl.1.77.4.s1). Candidate allusion preserved pending Moses resolution.
10 ↩cum here is concessive ('when/since'), rendered as 'when' with the force of 'given that' to convey the rhetorical surprise.
11 ↩juges: rare form, rendered as 'perpetual' following the gloss 'perpetual, continual' modifying gratiarum actiones.
12 ↩vel potius: corrective 'or rather,' sharpening the contrast between nihilo and luto.
13 ↩famulatus: rare/medieval noun, rendered as 'service' to capture the sense of devoted duty.
14 ↩laudaveris is ambiguous between future perfect indicative and perfect subjunctive; the temporal reading 'once you have praised' is chosen to fit the consequential clause that follows.
15 ↩The source reads 'videbis te sola et gratuita bonitate illius' — 'you see yourself by his alone and free goodness.' The translation interprets this as the soul seeing itself sustained and transformed by God's gratuitous goodness in the beatific vision, consistent with the participatory language that follows (creatam, vocatam, justificatam, glorificatam).
16 ↩The source reads 'to' where standard Latin expects 'te' (likely a scribal variant). Translated as 'you' following the intended sense.
17 ↩cum rendered as 'since' (causal); ut before 'nec intelligere possis' treated as resultative ('that you cannot'); ut before 'tuae gloriam dignitatis' read as appositive/explanatory introducing the content of celsitudinem.
18 ↩ut rendered as exclamatory 'that' introducing the content of the wonder; could also be read as final ('in order that').
19 ↩teipsam (accusative feminine) refers back to the soul/you; rendered as 'you' to preserve the direct address while keeping the sense of God creating both soul and body.
20 ↩Divinitas ipsa rendered as 'God's own presence' to convey the divine indwelling without flattening the theological weight.
21 ↩imperium cordis rendered as 'authority of our heart' — imperium carries connotation of sovereign command; 'authority' chosen to convey the heart's governance yielded to God without over-translating as 'empire' or under-translating as 'rule'.
22 ↩illius nutum — 'his bidding' captures the sense of nutus as divine nod/will without the archaic 'nod' alone.
23 ↩regnum ejus erimus — literally 'we will be his kingdom.' The unusual construction is preserved to maintain the theological boldness of the claim.
24 ↩The chain 'intelligere, dilige, venerare' links understanding to love to reverent practice; rendered as a progressive sequence to preserve the devotional logic.
25 ↩The embedded quotation 'Induit me Dominus vestimento salutis, indumento laetitiae circumdedit me' echoes Isaiah 61:10; final resolution deferred to scripture review.
26 ↩The paradox of Christ clothing himself with the baptized believer is rendered to preserve the mutual-indwelling force of the Latin.
27 ↩Embedded quotation 'Christus factus est nobis a Deo sapientia, et justitia et sanctificatio' echoes 1 Corinthians 1:30; final resolution deferred to scripture review.
28 ↩Satisfactionis is rendered 'satisfaction' in the sense of atoning satisfaction; the triad of wisdom, righteousness, and satisfaction is presented as the soul's adornment.
29 ↩The concluding clause quotes Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) 1:2; the Song of Songs is deuterocanonical/absent from the Hebrew Bible, so final quotation treatment is deferred to Moses resolution.
30 ↩The quoted words adapt Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) 1:3–4; final quotation treatment deferred to Moses resolution.
31 ↩suavitas beatissimi amoris tui — 'gentleness' renders suavitas (sweetness, gentleness, tenderness); 'most blessed' renders beatissimi as a superlative modifying love, preserving the devotional intensity.
32 ↩tam post se veritas tua — 'tam' (so/so much) intensifies the contrast; rendered as 'so powerfully' to capture the force. 'After itself' renders post se, with 'truth' as the antecedent.
33 ↩The perfect tenses (traxisti, apprehendisti) express completed divine action as the ground for present petition. The parallel structure is preserved.
34 ↩beatificando — 'by making me blessed' renders the gerund of beatifico; the sense is eschatological beatification, not mere happiness.
35 ↩The sentence moves from the Incarnation (inter homines apparens…homo factus) to the Ascension and heavenly session (coelo praesidens…exaltatus). The participial phrases are rendered as temporal clauses to clarify the sequence for a modern reader.
36 ↩Tuus sermo, tua promissio est — The subject is ambiguous; 'it' refers back to the preceding petitions or to the divine commitment implied in the meditation. The elliptical Latin is preserved in English with 'it' as a placeholder.
37 ↩Direct quotation of Christ's words; candidate allusion to John 12:32 (Vulgate: 'Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum').
38 ↩Igitur rendered as 'then' to capture the inferential force: because Christ has been exalted, the plea to draw follows logically.
39 ↩Nunquid…non is a rhetorical question expecting an affirmative answer; rendered as a natural English rhetorical question.
40 ↩Sed marks a shift from bare acknowledgment to the deeper acknowledgment that comes through love and felt devotion.
41 ↩Primitiae spiritus rendered as 'firstfruits of my spirit' — a Pauline echo (cf. Romans 8:23) suggesting the soul's foretaste of glory already united to Christ.
42 ↩enim rendered as 'For' to carry its explanatory force, grounding the sentence in the preceding meditation on sin and compunction.
43 ↩perdidisti rendered as 'you've squandered' to capture the sense of loss through one's own fault, not mere misplacement.
44 ↩igitur rendered as 'therefore' to preserve the inferential force drawn from the preceding argument.
45 ↩ut rendered as 'so that' to mark the purpose clause: the human act of turning toward sin is aimed at prompting God's turning away from it.
46 ↩retorquere oculos rendered as 'turn your gaze' — literally 'turn back the eyes' — to capture the physical metaphor of redirecting attention.
47 ↩Nam rendered as 'For' to carry its explanatory force, giving the reason behind the preceding exhortation.
48 ↩digna satisfactionis intentione rendered as 'with a resolve worthy of satisfaction' — the phrase conveys a sincere, deliberate intention to make amends, not merely a passing feeling.
49 ↩intuitum ultionis rendered as 'the gaze of vengeance' — a vivid anthropomorphism for God's punitive regard.
50 ↩The stark brevity of the Latin is preserved. The contrast between human forgetfulness and divine remembrance is the rhetorical point.
51 ↩The opening quod is rendered as introducing the content of prayer ('what you must pray for is this'), treating it as a substantive clause rather than a causal conjunction.
52 ↩The phrase 'alia possidenda creavit' is rendered 'created you to possess all other things,' taking the Creator's purpose as ordering creation toward human possession of goods, with the soul as the primary addressee.
53 ↩Flenda contritione is rendered parenthetically as 'to its shame,' capturing the gerundive force ('to be lamented') as an aside on the tragedy of the hindrance.
54 ↩The closing clause 'factus est nobis sapientia a Deo, et justitia, et sanctificatio' is a direct quotation of 1 Corinthians 1:30.
55 ↩The string of vocatives (dulcissime Creator, benignissime Redemptor, formator et reformator meus) is a direct prayer to Christ; the register is kept slightly more weighted here to honor that address, though contractions are still used where they read naturally.
56 ↩vitali timore et salutari tremore: the paired ablatives frame the fear not as terror but as spiritually animating — hence 'life-giving fear and wholesome trembling.'
57 ↩si qua modo est: the conditional is deliberately hedged — the author grants the body may have some beauty, but only to underscore its transience.
58 ↩Scriptural quotation: Isaiah 40:6 (Vulg: Omnis caro fenum, et omnis gloria eius quasi flos feni). Preserved in its familiar cadence per policy.
59 ↩damnabili jucunditate: the pleasure in gossip and slander is called 'damnable' — a strong moral judgment preserved in the translation.
60 ↩The participial form reditura is grammatically ambiguous (feminine singular or neuter plural); taken here as neuter plural agreeing with omnia: 'things that will not return.' The self-lover (amatorem sui miserrimum) is left behind, abandoned by everything that passed away — a stark image of the soul stripped of all transitory attachments.
61 ↩charitatis rendered as 'love' per default lexeme policy; the context is the theological virtue of charity.
62 ↩The quoted line closely echoes Psalm 83:5 (Vulgate) / Psalm 84:4–5 (Hebrew): 'Beati qui habitant in domo tua, Domine; in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te.' Final resolution deferred to Moses stage.
63 ↩cum with ablative (Patre, Spiritu sancto) rendered as 'with' (accompaniment), not temporal 'when' or causal 'since.'

Orationes sive Meditationes — Collection for Princess Adeliza of Normandy companion

There are 90 more prayers where these came from

Chosen Portion delivers the full Anselm collection — and the wider royal devotional archive — one daily prayer at a time, free.

Anselm told Adeliza to take these prayers a little at a time, and Chosen Portion does exactly that — serving the collection as paced daily portions rather than a book to skim.

Pray through all 97 of Anselm's prayers and meditations, one portion each day
Each prayer is broken into short sections so a 100-sentence meditation fits a 10-minute sitting
Morning reminder at your chosen time, so the day starts with a written prayer instead of a blank

Chosen Portion — Daily Prayer (free iOS app) →