SR
← Orationes sive Meditationes — Collection for Princess Adeliza of Normandy/Book 1 · Orationes sive Meditationes
Chapter 95Ansl.1.95

MEDITATIO XIX. De dulcedine divinae majestatis, et de aliis multis.

The Wonder of God and the Misery of Man

The soul marvels at the ineffable goodness of the Creator and the great misery of man, who forgets the very God who gave him all things.

Wonder at the ineffable goodness of the Creator, and at the great misery of created man. As I consider what God is — how sweet his nature, how lovely, how good, how ineffable, how admirable, how worthy of veneration and adoration by every creature — and then again see and understand what man is, whom God himself made in his own image and likeness, and whom he furthermore created such that, just as man would always bear within himself the image of his Creator, so he would always hold in memory the will and love of the one who created him this way — I wonder greatly and am stunned, both at the inestimable goodness of God the Creator and at the great misery of created man.✦12 I marvel at the ineffable goodness of God: that He Himself, almighty and most just, allows man — whom He willed to create so honorable that this very man would be more honorable than all other creatures and would live more honorably than all other creatures, always according to the will of his Creator — to live even for an hour; and yet this same man, most wretched and most unhappy, acts in the opposite way, for while all other creatures always conform to the will of their Creator, man always, or nearly always, resists His will. I marvel at the immense misery of man, that he has so lost his senses that he lives like a brute beast with no sense at all, to the point that he ever forgets his Creator — who cannot forget him.✦ I think that unless a man is insane, he is never unmindful of himself — he does not fail to understand that he exists, that he lives, and that he has the power of understanding. And yet, though man understands that he possesses all these things, it is astonishing and utterly staggering that he could ever forget the One who was pleased to give him all these gifts.

The Measure of Love Owed to God

Human love for a temporal benefactor is compared to the far greater love owed to God, whose gifts lead to eternal life.

How deeply a person is loved by another person — and why God ought to be loved more than any human being. So when someone receives some good in this life from another person, they often love that benefactor so fervently and are so constantly at their service that, if the cause of that benefactor demands it, they would not hesitate to face death many times on their behalf. And yet there is nothing a person can ever have in this life, or that one person can give to another, that anyone with even the slightest understanding would fail to recognize they cannot keep forever — but will have to let go of it, either before the end comes, or if not before, then at least when the end arrives.3 What God gives a person in this world, however, is either something they can never lose and no one can ever take from them — or something that even if they do lose it, they can still, once this present life has ended, merit being with their Creator forever in blessed life.4 But what God more often gives a person in this world is to live according to reason, and — as he himself commands and as is right — to love their Creator, to obey his commands without any contradiction in all things; and no human being can take this good away from them unless they themselves, by their own will alone, let it go.56 Whether a person wants to or not, they'll have to let go of their temporary wealth. But while they have it, if they give generously as God their Creator has commanded, they will, by doing so, merit reaching eternal life.7

The Fount of Mercy and the Call to Return

The soul exults in God's mercy, who created man from sheer goodness and now calls sinners back to cleansing and eternal joy.

O the immense goodness of our Creator! O inestimable mercy! He himself, never needing man in any way, nevertheless created man by his own sheer goodness, and in creating him adorned him with rational nature, so that he could be a partaker of his happiness and his eternity, and thus possess joy and gladness with him forever. Even still, although man stands against him in many ways, and knowingly and willingly does many things that displease him, God nevertheless admonishes him to return and seek the mercy of his Creator, and not to presume to despair on account of any offense, however grave it may be. For he is the fount of piety and of mercy, and he desires to cleanse all who are defiled by whatever stain of sin, and to restore to the cleansed the joy of everlasting life.

God Alone Is Good in His Essence

God is good not by participation but by His very essence, and the soul longs to adore Him and turn from iniquity.

That God made all good things, and that he alone is good in his very essence. Sweetest and most tender Jesus Christ, devoted lover of humanity and most kind Redeemer of sinners: let my soul adore you, let all my life serve you, let all my deepest longings desire you.8 My wretched soul wants to — and how it wants to, most devout Lord — think on you, look upon your wondrous works, and understand how good and merciful you are toward sinners: lest, because of my sins, I despair of your goodness — ah, wretched me!9 I want to detach myself, so that thinking in this way and believing you, who are truth itself, I may at last be able to stop my iniquities, and reform my mind — bent as it is by evil deeds and sins — for doing what is right.10

The Unchanging God and the Changeful Creature

God is eternally and immutably good and almighty, while creatures receive their goodness and power from Him; only the rational creature understands and praises God.

Look, Lord: I know that everything that exists, you made from nothing — that is, they did not exist, and you made them — but you yourself, who made them, always were, and there was never a time when you were not; you have always been, and always will be, good and almighty, and so everything you have made, you made good. You, then — who always have been, and are, and will be — did not come from not-being into being, as creatures did. Rather, just as existence has always been yours, so goodness and omnipotence have always been yours. And for this reason, there is no other essence in you besides goodness and omnipotence; but what your essence is — that same thing is your goodness and omnipotence. And so you cannot be anything except good and almighty — and all those things that are similarly said of you and believed about you. You truly are, and there is no one but you, and there is nothing to you except the one thing that is — because it's not that you are now and then are not, but that what you are now, you always are. Creatures, however — for whom it was not always the case that they existed, but who came from non-being into being through you and from you, for whom it was always the case that they existed — do not share the same essence that goodness and power do; but when a creature is good, and when it can do good, it is good from you, and it can do good from you, who are essentially good and almighty. You made every creature good, yet you did not give to every creature — even though it was made good by you — the capacity to understand you. And although every creature praises you and proclaims you to be its Creator and governor, still not every creature understands you — only the rational creature, the one you made in your image and likeness.✦

All Creation Praises the Creator

Every creature praises God, but the rational creature praises Him with understanding, discerning the goodness and order of creation.

Every creature praises its Creator. That creature praises you too, to whom you did not give the gift of understanding, when a rational creature beholds it—created by you, good and beautifully ordered—and this is what it means to be praised by that creature, and by a rational creature: namely, that it understands you to have made it good and beautifully ordered. Human nature, which you made rational, and that other nature to which you did not give the gift of understanding—you distinguished them in this way: so that human nature, on account of which you made the other creature, would arrange it according to your will, and from it, with your permission, would receive the nourishment by which it would sustain itself.

Two Nourishments, Two Deaths

Man lives by two natures—soul and flesh—and dies spiritually when he disobeys God, becoming like a beast and forfeiting the divine image.

But because a human being consists of two natures — soul and flesh — the nourishment by which one lives according to the flesh comes from created things, while the nourishment by which one lives according to the soul comes from the Creator; yet both ultimately come from the Creator. Here and now, a person lives according to the flesh as long as they are sustained by human food; but they live according to the soul as long as they keep the will and commands of their Creator. And just as one dies according to the flesh if not sustained by human food, so one dies according to the soul when they do not obey the divine commands. Therefore the person who consists of soul and flesh, by doing what God commands, lives in flesh and in soul, because in this very acting they merit living blessedly with their Creator in eternal life. But if someone truly tries to turn away from doing what their Creator commands, and instead desires more to live according to the desires of the flesh — which is not truly to live, but to take life away from themselves miserably — if anyone were to look carefully, they would see in that person not the likeness of the human being who was made in the image of God, but the likeness of a beast, whose ways they also busy themselves imitating. And then it can truly be said that they are dead, about to undergo eternal death without doubt, if they persist in this and so come to their end.✦

The Image of God in the Human Will

Man bears God's image through rational will, and by conforming his will to God's, he is restored to that image and made eternally blessed.

In this, man is like his Creator. God the Creator made man in his own image and likeness because he made him rational.✦ And just as God is good by his will, so man, made in his likeness, is good by his will. In this he is like the Creator: the Creator is good by will, and man is good by will. But in this they differ: the Creator is good eternally and essentially from himself, whereas man is good only because he imitates the one who is eternally and essentially good from himself. As I've said, the Creator is good by will, and man, made in the Creator's likeness, is good by will — but with this difference: the Creator neither wills nor can be or will anything other than to be good, for his will and his power are his very essence. But for man, will and power are something other than his essence. Yet if he aligns himself with God's will and wills the same thing God wills, he bears within himself the image of God. And if he perseveres in this to the end, he deserves — by the working of divine mercy — to cling to the will of his Creator for eternity, and never again to be torn away from it. And just as afterward he will always be what he is, so whatever he wills will always be.

Freedom Perfected in Beatitude

In eternal blessedness, the human will becomes as unchangeable as the divine essence, and free choice is fully liberated from all evil.

And just as, for the Creator, essence is nothing other than will, and will nothing other than essence, so too for a person who is already in that blessedness, according to its own measure, the will will be as unchangeable through the gift of its Creator as the essence — an essence that, without any doubt, will be able to will whatever it wishes, just as, without any doubt, it will be a blessed essence existing in happiness. And then a person will have free choice truly freed from all evil entirely, inasmuch as here and now, while living — with the grace of God at work — it wills to do what God has commanded, and to let go of what God forbids.

The Will Between Soul and Flesh

The human will stands between the upward-tending soul and the downward-tending flesh, and its choice determines eternal glory or destruction.

That man exists in two natures: one is raised to the highest things, the other pressed down to the lowest. It is well established that man consists of two natures: the nature of the soul and the nature of the flesh. The nature of the soul, because the soul is spiritual, naturally tends toward higher things; but the nature of the flesh, because it is driven by desire into carnal appetites, tends as though by nature toward the lowest things. Between these two natures, then, from which man is constituted, there is the will, holding free choice as it were in the middle. If free choice joins itself to the soul, which naturally tends toward higher things, then the soul and the will — with divine grace, nevertheless, coming to their aid — raise the flesh upward to lofty things along with themselves and place it in eternal happiness, destined to live without end, so that there is no longer any opposition between flesh and soul, but always the same love and the same will. And then there will be one will of the Creator and of the creature, of the man whom he created in his own image and likeness, when God will be all in all.✦ But if by that same free choice it joins itself to the desires of the flesh, which tend as though by nature toward the lowest things, then the will, using free choice badly, and the flesh drag the soul — destitute of heavenly help — downward to lower things, and the sins of man plunge the whole man himself, that is, the soul and the flesh, into destruction, so that he no longer has anything except evil or suffers anything except torment.

A Prayer for the Guarding of Free Will

The soul prays that God would guide and protect its free will, preferring any suffering within God's house to separation from Him.

. Here a person prays to God, asking not to be allowed to misuse free will. O sweetest Lord, O most devoted God of mine, my Creator, my salvation, my life, my hope and my consolation, my refuge — guide and sustain my free will by your grace and by your most devoted mercy, so that I cannot offend you, sweetest Creator of mine, by misusing it; and whenever evil is pleasing to me, before I can accomplish it in deed, destroy and confound every evil desire of mine.1112 I would rather, by you, sweetest Father, be dragged unwillingly, or even bound with chains and thrown into some corner of your house, than be separated from you — where, even if I cannot look upon your most devoted face because of my sins, I may at least be able to hear the joy and gladness of those who serve you.1314

The Kenosis of the Creator

The soul marvels that the eternal Creator emptied Himself to become creature for love of man, and laments the hardness of heart that forgets such love.

Who, sweetest Creator of humankind, can measure your ineffable goodness, by which you loved human nature so deeply that you not only created it when it did not exist, but you yourself, the Creator, became a creature for the love of that very creature? Whose heart is so hard, so iron — knowing and understanding the great love you have for the human being you created — that it cannot be softened, and wholly melted into grace and reverence for your sweetness?15 Truly, my soul, truly my heart and all my inmost parts — it would be a wonder if you could ever forget so great a love and so great a mercy from your Creator.1617 Look, wretched human — what has your Creator done, what has your Lord done? He who is eternal — who always is and always was, immutable and invisible, inestimable and incomprehensible — in a wondrous and ineffable way, without relinquishing his own being, emptied himself for you, since he willed to become a creature for your sake, so that he might reconcile you — who came from nothing into being — to himself, who did not come from nothing into being but who always was; and having reconciled you, reformed you wholly back to your former dignity, and restored you to his own being, so that you might rejoice with him, happy and joyful, in his eternal glory forever.✦181920 Here, my God and my Creator — you see where my thinking has led me; and yet, even in this thinking, how many vanities and follies my unhappy soul is still subject to.21 If at times, by your grace looking upon me, I begin to think about what might be of some benefit to my soul, my unstable mind — empty of almost every good — quickly slips away toward what is vain and harmful, just like chaff that the lightest breath of wind blows off the threshing floor.✦2223

Holding Fast to Christ Despite Sin

The soul confesses its sinfulness but refuses to let go of Christ, begging for correction that leads to the glory of divine contemplation.

So look, my Creator—see how unstable my mind is, how sluggish and lazy I am when it comes to thinking about what's good for me, yet how eager and zealous I am about things that are harmful. Don't look at the fact that I'm a sinner.2425 I confess—I confess—I am a sinner, I am unworthy, I am unclean; and yet I won't turn away from you, sweetest Jesus Christ. Whether you want it or not, I won't let go of you. Even with a weak hand I'll hold on to you, and you won't depart from me until you free me from every thought of sin.262728 Strike me, correct me, rebuke me, and chastise your servant until, through your ineffable goodness, you lead me to the glory of your contemplation.2930

Read the original Latin

Admiratio de ineffabili bonitate Creatoris, et de magna miseria creati hominis. --Dum considero quid sit Deus, quam dulcis natura, quam amabilis, quam bona, quam ineffabilis, quam admirabilis, quantum ab omni creatura veneranda et adoranda, et iterum video et intelligo quid sit homo, quem ipse Deus fecit ad imaginem et similitudinem suam, quemque praeterea talem creavit, ut sicut semper in se exprimeret imaginem Creatoris sui; sic semper in memoria haberet voluntatem ejus et dilectionem, qui eum talem creavit, miror multum et obstupesco et de inaestimabili bonitate Dei creatoris, et de magna miseria creati hominis.

De ineffabili bonitate Dei miror quod, cum sit ipse omnipotentissimus et justissimus, patitur hominem vel ad horamvivere, quem propterea voluit tam honorabilem creare ut sicut ipse homo honorabilior esset caeteris creaturis, honorabilius caeteris creaturis viveret semper secundum voluntatem sui Creatoris: et ipse miserrimus et infelicissimus per contrarium agit, quod, cum omnes aliae creaturae semper concordent cum voluntate Creatoris sui, ipse semper aut fere semper resistit illius voluntati. De immensa vero miseria hominis miror quomodo sensum sic perditum habeat, sic quasi pecus, quod sensum non habet, vivat, ut unquam obliviscatur Creatoris sui qui sui ipsius non potest oblivisci. Puto, nisi insanus sit, nunquam sui ipsius est immemor; ut non intelligat se esse, vivere et intelligere. Haec autem omnia homo se intelligens habere, mirandum est et multum obstupescendum quomodo unquam ipsius obliviscatur cui complacuit sibi omnia ista dare.

Quantum homo ab homine diligatur; et quare Deus plus debeat diligi, quam aliquis homo. -- Homo itaque, cui ab alio homine aliquod bonum in hoc saeculo datur, saepius tam ferventer illum solet diligere, qui sibi hoc bonum fecit, sicque jugiter se praesentare in ejus obsequium, ut si causa illius benefactoris suis exigat, mortem etiam saepius incurrere pro illo non metuat; et tamen nullum, quod unquam homo in hoc saeculo possit habere, vel quod alius alii possit dare, nullus est tam parvi sensus qui non intelligat se non in perpetuum retinere, sed, vel antequam finis ei eveniat, vel si non ante, saltem tunc cum finis ei advenerit, dimittere.

Quod vero Deus homini in hoc saeculo dat, aut tale est quod nunquam amittat, et nunquam ei aliquis auferat aut tale est, ut etiamsi homo illud perdat, per illud tamen promereri possit, finita praesenti vita, ut in aeternum sit cum Creatore suo in beata vita. Dat autem Deus homini saepius in hoc saeculo secundum rationem vivere et Creatorem suum, sicutipse praecipit et justum est, diligere, praeceptis ejus sine ulla contradictione per omnia obtemperare, et hoc bonum nullus hominum, nisi ipse sola sua voluntate dimittat, potest auferre. Pecuniam temporalem, velit nolit homo, necesse ei erit dimittere; sed, dum eam habet, si largitur eam sicut Deus suus praecepit, merebitur sic faciendo ad perpetuam vitam pervenire.

O immensa Creatoris nostri bonitas! o inaestimabilis misericordia! Ipse in nullo unquam egens homine, hominem tamen prosola bonitate sua creavit, creando rationalitate exornavit; ut felicitatis ejus et aeternitatis posset esse particeps, et sic cum eo gaudium et laetitiam in perpetuum possidere. Adhuc etiam cum homo in multis contrarius ei existat, multa, quanquam ei displiceant, sciens volensque faciat; monet tamen eum ut redeat, et misericordiam Creatoris sui requirat, nec pro ullo commisso, tametsi gravi desperare praesumat. Est enim fons pietatis et misericordiae, et omnes, quacunque macula peccati sint foedati, desiderat mundare, mundatis perennis vitae laetitiam reddere.

Quod omnia bona Deus fecit, et quod solus ipse essentialiter bonus sit. -- Suavissime et dulcissime Jesu Christe, qui es pius amator hominum, ac benignissimus Redemptor peccatorum, te adoret anima mea, tibi serviat omnis vita mea, te desiderent omnia interiora mea. Vult, piissime Domine, vult mea misera anima cogitare de te, tua mirabilia inspicere, et quam bonus et misericors sis erga peccatores intelligere, ne propter mea peccata desperans, a bonitate tua (heu, miser!) me velim alienare, ut sic cogitans, et tibi, qui veritas es, credens, jam aliquando ab iniquitatibus possim cessare, et ad recta facienda animum meum malis operibus et peccatis incurvatum reformare.

Ecce scio, Domine, quia omnia quae sunt, de nihilo fecisti; id est, non erant, et ea fecisti; sed tu ipse qui ea fecisti, semper fuisti, et nunquam fuit quando fueris; fuisti vero semper bonus, et semper omnipotens, et propterea omnia quaecunque fecisti, bona fecisti. Tu ergo qui semper fuisti, et es et eris, et non qui de non esse ad esse venisti, sicut tibi semper esse fuit, ita tibi semper bonitas et omnipotentia fuit. Et propter hoc non tibi est aliud essentia quam bonitas et omnipotentia; sed quae est tibi essentia, eadem est bonitas et omnipotentia. Et ideo non potes esse, nisi bonus et omnipotens, et omnia illa quae similiter de te dicuntur et creduntur.

Tu vero vere es, et non est aliud nisi tu, et non est tibi nisi unum est, quia non quod modo es, modo non es, sed quod modo es, semper es. Creaturae autem, cui non semper esse fuit, sed quae de non esse ad esse venit per te et a te cui semper esse fuit, non est eadem essentia quae bonitas et quae potentia; sed quando bona est, et quando bona facere potest, a te bona est, et a te bona facere potest, qui essentialiter es bonus et omnipotens. Fecisti autem omnem creaturam bonam, sed tamen non omni creaturae, licet sit bona facta a te, dedisti rationem intelligendi te. Et quamvis omnis creatura te laudet, te Creatorem suum et gubernatorem esse reclamet; tamen non omnis creatura te intelligit, nisi tantummodo rationalis, et quam fecisti ad imaginem et similitudinem tuam.

Quod omnis creatura suum laudet Creatorem. -- Laudat te etiam illa creatura, cui donum intelligentiae non dedisti, quando rationalis creatura eam a te creatam bonam pulchreque ordinatam conspicit; et hoc est ab illa te laudari, a rationali creatura, scilicet intelligi te eam bonam fecisse pulchreque ordinasse. Humanam vero naturam quam rationalem fecisti, et illam naturam cui intelligentiae donum non dedisti, sic distinxisti ut humana natura, propter quam aliam creaturam fecisti, illam secundum tuam voluntatem disponeret, et ex ipsa, te concedente, alimentum unde se sustentaret, acciperet.

Sed quia homo ex duabus naturis constat, ex anima scilicet et carne, alimentum, unde secundum carnem vivit, accipit a creatura; unde vero secundum animam vivit, accipit a Creatore, sed tamen utrumque a Creatore. Vivit autem homo hic interim secundum carnem, dum alitur cibis humanis; vivit vero secundum animam, dum voluntatem et praecepta Creatoris sui custodit. Et sicut moritur secundum carnem, si non sustentatur cibis humanis, sic moritur secundum animam, quando non obtemperat praeceptis divinis. Homo itaque qui constat ex anima et carne, faciendo quae jubet Deus, vivit in carne et in anima, quia in hoc agendo promeretur ut feliciter vivat cum Creatore suo in vita aeterna. Si vero ab agendo quae jubet Creator suus, deviare conatur, et magis appetit secundum carnis desideria vivere, quod vere non est vivere, sed sibi infeliciter vitam auferre; si quis diligenter intueretur, videret in illo non figuram illius hominis qui factus est ad imaginem Dei, sed figuram pecudis, cujus et mores satagit imitari, et tunc vere potest asseri quia est mortuus, mortem aeternam sine dubio subiturus, si in hoc perseverans finiatur.

In quo similis est homo Creatori suo. -- Fecit autem Deus Creator hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem suam, quia fecit eum rationalem. Et sicut Deus voluntate bonus est, sic homo, ad ejus similitudinem factus, voluntate bonus est; in hoc similis Creatori, quia Creator voluntate bonus, homo voluntate bonus; sed in hoc differens, quia Creator aeternaliter a seipso est bonus et essentialiter homo: vero ideo bonus, quia imitatur eum qui aeternaliter et essentialiter a se ipso est bonus. Est autem, sicut dixi, Creator voluntate bonus, homo ad similitudinem Creatoris factus voluntate bonus, sed in hoc differens, quod Creator non vult nec potest esse vel velle aliud quam esse bonus; voluntas enim, et potentia est illi essentia. Homini vero est aliud voluntas et potentia quam essentia. Si tamen concordat cum voluntate Dei, et idem vult quod Deus, exprimit in se imaginem Dei. Et si in hoc usque in finem perseverat, meretur operante miseratione divina ut post in aeternum voluntati Creatoris sui adhaereat, nec jam amplius ab ea divelli queat. Et sicut postea semper erit quod erit, sic semper quodcunque voluerit erit.

Et sicut Creatori non est aliud essentia quam voluntas, nec aliud voluntas quam essentia, sic homini in ipsa felicitate jam existenti, secundum suum modum, tam immutabilis erit dono Creatoris sui voluntas quam essentia, quae tam sine dubio poterit quidquid voluerit quam sine dubio feliciter existens felix essentia erit. Et tunc homo habebit liberum arbitrium vere ab omni malo ex toto liberatum, secundum quod hic interim, dum vivit, operante Dei gratia, vult quae Deus praecepit facere, quae vero prohibet dimittere.

Quod homo existat in duabus naturis, quarum una erigitur ad summa, altera deprimitur ad ima. --Constat autem homo ex duabus naturis: ex natura animae et ex natura carnis. Natura autem animae, quia anima spiritalis est, naturaliter tendit ad superiora; natura autem carnis, quia caro ex desiderio in carnales appetitus exit, quasi naturaliter ad infima tendit. Est vero inter has duas naturas, ex quibus homo constat, voluntas, quasi media habens liberum arbitrium. Quo libero arbitrio si se junxerit cum anima quae naturaliter tendit ad superiora, tunc anima et voluntas (opitulante tamen divina gratia) carnem sursum ad excelsa secum elevant, et in aeterna felicitate sine fine victuram locant, ut jam amplius non sit inter carnem et animam ulla repugantia, sed semper idem amor, eademque voluntas. Et tunc erit una voluntas Creatoris, et creati hominis, quem creavit ad imaginem et similitudinem suam, cum Deus omnia in omnibus erit. Si vero eodem libero arbitrio se junxerit desideriis carnis, quae quasi naturaliter ad infima tendit, tunc voluntas, male utens libero arbitrio, et caro animam superno auxilio destitutam ad inferiora trahunt, et peccata hominis totum ipsum hominem, scilicet animam et carnem, in perditionem mergunt, ut jam amplius non habeat nisi malum, vel quod patiatur nisi tormentum.

. Hic orat homo Deum, ut non permittat eum male uti libero arbitrio. --O dulcissime Domine, o piissime Deus meus, Creator meus, salus mea, vita mea, spes et consolatio mea, refugium meum, per gratiam tuam et per piissimam misericordiam tuam guberna et sustine liberum arbitrium meum, ne illo male utendo possim offendere te dulcissimum Creatorem meum, et quotiescunque malum mihi placet, antequam illud opere perficiam, destrue et confunde omne malum desiderium meum. Malo a te, dulcissime Pater, vel invitus trahi, vel etiam catenis ligatus in aliquo angulo domus tuae projici, quam a te separari, ubi etsi non piissimum vultum tuum possim propter peccata mea respicere, saltem laetitiam et gaudium illorum qui tibi famulantur valeam audire.

Quis, dulcissime Creator hominum, potest aestimare ineffabilem bonitatem tuam, qua in tantum humanam naturam dilexisti; ut non solum eam creares, cum non esset, sed tu ipsa, Creator, ejus, pro amore ejus creatura fieres? Cujus cor tam durum, tam ferreum, sciens et intelligens tantam dilectionem tuam erga hominem quem creasti, non potest emolliri, et totum liquefieri in gratiam et venerationem tuae dulcedinis? Vere, anima mea, vere cor meum, et omnia intima mea, mirum est si unquam tantae charitatis tantaeque pietatis Creatoris vestri potestis oblivisci. Ecce, miser homo, quid fecit Creator tuus, quid fecit Dominus tuus. Ipse, cui semper esse est, et semper esse fuit, immutabilis et invisibilis, inaestimabilis et incomprehensibilis, miro et ineffabili modo suum esse non dimittens, pro te se exinanivit, cum pro te creatura fieri voluit, ut te, qui de non esse ad esse venisti, ad se qui non de non esse ad esse venit, sed cui semper esse fuit, familiarius reconciliaret, reconciliatum et ex toto in pristinam dignitatem reformatum ad suum esse reduceret, uti felix semper et laetus in aeterna sua gloria secum in aeternum gauderes. Ecce, Deus meus, et Creator meus, ecce vides quo cogitando perveni; et tamen, hoc cogitando, quantis adhuc vanitatibus et stultitiis infelix anima mea subjecta sit. Si aliquando gratia tua respectus incipio cogitare quomodo pertineat ad aliquam utilitatem animae meae, instabilis mens mea, et fere ab omni bono vacua cito labitur ad inania et noxia, veluti palea quam levissimus flatus venti exsufflat de area.

Cernens ergo, Creator meus, tantam inconstantiam mentis meae, tam torpentem et desidiosam ad cogitandum ea quae sunt utilia, tam ferventem et studiosam ad ea quae sunt noxia, non respicias ad hoc quod peccator sum. Fateor, fateor, peccator sum, indignus sum, immundus sum, et tamen non recedo a te, dulcissime Jesu Christe, velis nolis, non dimitto te, etsi infirma manu tenebo te, nec recedes a me, donec ab omni cogitatione peccati absolvas me. Verbera me, emenda me, et corripe me, et tandiu castiga servum tuum, donec per ineffabilem bonitatem tuam perducas me ad gloriam tuae contemplationis.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩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."
  2. ↩Isa.1.3 — An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master's manger; but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.
  3. ↩Gen.1.26-Gen.1.27 — 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.1.27 — So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
  4. ↩Gen.1.27 — So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
  5. ↩Gen.1.26-Gen.1.27 — 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.1.27 — So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
  6. ↩1Cor.15.28 — When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all.
  7. ↩Phil.2.7 — but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and appearing as a human being.
  8. ↩Ps.1.4;Isa.29.5 — Not so the wicked; but they are like chaff that the wind drives away. Isa.29.5 — But the multitude of your strangers shall be like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones like chaff that passes away; and it shall happen in an instant, suddenly.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The phrase 'ad imaginem et similitudinem suam' echoes Genesis 1:26 (ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram). Candidate scripture allusion pending Moses resolution.
  2. 2 ↩dilectio rendered as 'love' per lexeme policy; the theological weight of the term is preserved in context.
  3. 3 ↩The ut-clause (ut…non metuat) is rendered as result ('that they would not fear') rather than purpose, following the difficulty_notes guidance that context favors result. The benefactor-beneficiary framework here is natural-human (friendship/patronage) and sets up the contrast with divine love in the surrounding sections.
  4. 4 ↩The two 'aut...aut' pairs frame alternatives about the nature of God's gifts: the first pair contrasts security (never lost, never taken) with the second pair's claim that even loss doesn't prevent merit. 'Promereri' (to merit/earn) rendered as 'merit being' to preserve the deponent sense of gaining something through effort.
  5. 5 ↩'Secundum rationem vivere' (to live according to reason) carries both the natural sense of rational living and the devotional sense of living in accord with God's ordering. The translation preserves both registers.
  6. 6 ↩'sicutipse' in the source is treated as a scribal fusion of 'sicut ipse' (just as he himself), following the candidate gloss annotation.
  7. 7 ↩'Largitur' (gives generously/gives freely) rendered as 'give generously' to capture both the literal sense of distribution and the devotional sense of open-handed charity.
  8. 8 ↩suavissime et dulcissime rendered 'sweetest and most tender' to capture the double superlative warmth without archaism; pius rendered 'devoted' to convey devout disposition rather than mere piety.
  9. 9 ↩The repeated vult is rendered with emphasis ('how it wants to') to capture the soul's intensified yearning; ne + desperans rendered as 'lest I despair' preserving the negative purpose force.
  10. 10 ↩alienare rendered 'detach' rather than 'estrange' to convey the spiritual sense of self-detachment from sin without archaism; incurvatum rendered 'bent' to capture the moral curvature image.
  11. 11 ↩piissime/piissimum rendered 'most devoted' rather than 'most merciful' or 'most holy' to capture the pius/devout sense in address to God; misericordia rendered 'mercy' per lexeme policy.
  12. 12 ↩Multiple et connectives coordinating vocatives and imperatives rendered with commas and 'and' for natural English cadence.
  13. 13 ↩dulcissime Pater rendered 'sweetest Father' — the Father address is striking in a Christological context but follows the Latin exactly.
  14. 14 ↩vel...vel correlative pair rendered 'be dragged...or even bound' to capture the escalating alternatives; etsi concessive rendered 'even if'.
  15. 15 ↩dilectionem rendered as 'love' (dilectio = love); emolliri/liquefieri metaphor of the heart softened and melted is kept concrete.
  16. 16 ↩pietatis rendered as 'mercy' here in the sense of tender divine compassion (pietas = mercy/devotion); charitatis kept as 'love' per lexeme policy.
  17. 17 ↩Creatoris vestri uses 2nd person plural (vestri), addressing the soul and heart jointly; rendered as singular 'your' for natural English.
  18. 18 ↩exinanivit ('emptied himself') echoes Philippians 2:7 (semetipsum exinanivit); the clause is rendered to preserve that resonance without direct quotation.
  19. 19 ↩familiarius reconciliaret — 'reconcile more intimately' — the comparative is rendered as 'reconcile' with the intimacy implied by context.
  20. 20 ↩cum pro te creatura fieri voluit — cum treated as causal ('since') rather than purely temporal, given the theological weight of the incarnation reference.
  21. 21 ↩respectus rendered as 'regard' in the sense of gracious looking; gratia tua respectus = 'by your grace looking upon me.'
  22. 22 ↩gratia tua respectus — 'by your grace looking upon me' — respectus as a noun from respicere, rendered to convey God's gracious regard.
  23. 23 ↩palea / exsufflat de area echoes the chaff-and-wind image found in Psalm 1:4 (Vulgate), Isaiah 29:5, and elsewhere; candidate allusion flagged for tx-08 resolution.
  24. 24 ↩'ergo' rendered as 'therefore' to preserve the inferential force of the participial clause leading into the petition.
  25. 25 ↩The scope of 'non' in the final clause is ambiguous: it may mean 'do not look upon this fact' or 'do not look upon me because I am a sinner.' The translation follows the more natural reading of a plea to overlook the speaker's sinfulness.
  26. 26 ↩'et tamen' rendered as 'and yet' to capture the concessive force after the triple confession of sinfulness.
  27. 27 ↩'nec' rendered as 'and…not' to preserve the negative-additive coordination of the final clause.
  28. 28 ↩'velis nolis' is a fixed expression meaning 'whether you will it or not' / 'willy-nilly,' expressing the speaker's determination to cling to Christ regardless of Christ's apparent response.
  29. 29 ↩The triple 'et' coordinating imperatives is rendered with natural English comma and 'and' patterns to preserve the cumulative force without stiffness.
  30. 30 ↩'donec' with subjunctive rendered as 'until' with a result clause, preserving the temporal-causal sense.

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) →