Preces Quotidianae
A Prayer for a Christian Death
The believer acknowledges the approach of night and death, and prays for a peaceful, sinless end, guided by God's mercy.
Night has come, and death has come too—death that never ends.✦ It is near: as the end of the day, so also the end of life.1 So we too, mindful of this, ask You that our life's end be Christian and acceptable to You—free from sin, from shame, and, if it seems good to You, from pain.23 Guide us in peace, Lord, Lord, gathering us beneath the feet of your elect, wherever and however you will—only without shame,4 and without sin.5
Remember the Days of Darkness
Meditating on Ecclesiastes and Matthew, the believer asks to be spared outer darkness and resolves to do good to forestall the night.
Remember the days of darkness, for they are many—Ecclesiastes✦ 11. 8.✦ so that we are not thrown into the outer darkness. —Matthew6 22.✦7 13. Also remember, and forestall the night, by doing some good.
A Plea for the Judgment Seat
Recognizing the nearness of judgment, the believer prays for a good defense before Christ's tribunal.
Judgment is near: a good and acceptable defense before the fearful and terrible judgment seat of Jesus Christ,✦8 Grant this to us, Lord.
Night and Day Blessing
In the night, the believer lifts hands in blessing; by day, the Lord commands mercy.
In the night I lift up my hands in the holy place, and I bless the Lord. By day the Lord has commanded his mercy,
Read the original Latin
Venit nox, venit et mors, Mors immortalis. Prope, ut finis diei, sic et finis vitz. Memores igitur ipsius et nos Te rogamus, Ut nobis exitus vitz Christianos, et tibi acceptos, Peccati, pudoris, et, si tibi videbitur, doloris expertes. In pace dirigas, Domine, Domine, nos colligens sub pedes electorum tuorum, ubi voles, et quomodo voles, duntaxat absque pudore,
et peccato.
Meminisse dies tenebrarum quia multi, Eccl. xi. 8. ne in tenebras exteriores ejiciamur. —Maíft. xxn. 13. Meminisse et antevertere noctem,
aliquid boni operando.
Instat Judicium, Bonam et aeceptam defensionem, ad tremendum et terribile Jesu Christi tribunal,
Concede nobis, Domine.
In noctibus attollo manus, in sancta, et benedico Domino.
In die mandavit Dominus misericordiam ejus,
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.9.4 — We must work the works of the One who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
- ↩Eccl.11.8 — For if a person lives many years, let them rejoice in all of them; and let them remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that comes is fleeting.
- ↩Eccl.11.8 — For if a person lives many years, let them rejoice in all of them; and let them remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that comes is fleeting.
- ↩Matt.22.13 — Then the king said to his servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
- ↩2Cor.5.10 — For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what has been done through the body, whether good or evil.
Notes
- 1 ↩Source reads 'vitz'; translated as intended 'vitae' (life).
- 2 ↩Source reads 'vitz'; translated as intended 'vitae' (life).
- 3 ↩'ipsius' taken as referring to that approaching end/death just named; Christianos/acceptos/expertes read as predicates of the desired exitus vitae (with us as beneficiaries).
- 4 ↩Sentence is incomplete in this section (trailing comma); next section continues 'et peccato.' 'duntaxat absque pudore' rendered as restrictive proviso: only without shame.
- 5 ↩Continues the ablative of separation from the previous section’s absque pudore: ‘only without shame, and without sin.’
- 6 ↩Source surface '—Maíft.' is almost certainly OCR corruption of '—Matt.' (Matthew).
- 7 ↩Source surface 'xxn.' is most plausibly OCR for 'xxii.' (22), matching Matthew 22:13 on outer darkness; less likely 'xxv.' (25).
- 8 ↩Latin surface aeceptam is treated as acceptam (acceptable/accepted).
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