Preces Quotidianae
Bitter Remembrance of Transgressions
The soul recalls its sins in bitter sorrow, citing the psalmist's own confession and groaning.
They are always before me.✦ ϑαί.1 11. 3. I call them to mind in the bitterness of my soul.✦2 Job. 7. 11.3 I will be tormented for these things. Psalm✦ 38. 18.
Self-Rebuke and Cry for Mercy
The soul turns back, groans, rebukes itself, and implores God for mercy, cleansing, and pardon.
Having turned back, I groan. Isaiah✦4 30. 15.✦ I am angry; I take vengeance; I myself rebuke myself; I despise and chastise myself.5 That I am not more, that I am not more fully—Lord, it grieves me; I repent, Lord. Help my impenitence, and still more and more: pierce, tear, and crush my heart.67 And forgive, pardon, and remit to me whatever is in a sob or a scruple of the heart.8 Cleanse me from my hidden sins, and spare your servant from the sins of others.9 Show your mercy wondrously toward a great sinner, and in your own time, Lord, grant it to me.1011
Divine Assurance of Forgiveness
God's own absolution is spoken: 'Your sins are forgiven you.'
Your sins are forgiven you. Conf, (12
Consolation for the Distressed Soul
Soul receives God's grace as sufficient and is invited to return to its rest.
My grace is enough for you, 2 Cor. 12. 9. Say to my soul, I am your salvation.13 Why are you sad, my soul? And why do you trouble me? Return, my soul, to your rest; Because the Lord will do good to you.
A Plea for Gentle Correction
The soul asks the Lord not to rebuke in anger but to administer mercy.
Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury,
Read the original Latin
Coram me sunt semper. ϑαί. 11. 3. Recogito ea in amaritudine animw mex. Job. vii. ll.
Disceruciabor pro iis, Psal. xxxviii. 18. Reversus ingemisco, s. xxx. 15. Indignor, Uleiscor, Ipse me reprehendo, Vilipendo et castigo meipsum. Quod non magis, quod non amplus, Domine, Ponitet, Penitet, Domine, Adjuva impoenitentiam meam, Et magis adhuc magisque, Compunge, scinde, contere Cor meum.
Et dimitte, indulge, condona Qu:e mihi in singultum vel scrupulum cordis. Ab occultis meis munda me, Et ab alienis parce servo tuo. Mirifiea misericordiam tuam Erga peccatorem admodum, Et in tempore die mihi, Domine,
Remittuntur tibi peccata tua. Conf, (
Sufficit tibi gratia mea, 2 Cor. xii. 9. Die animz mez, Salus tua ego sum. Quare tristis es anima mea? Et quare conturbas me? Convertere, anima mea, in requiem tuam;
Quia Dominus benefaciet tibi.
Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me,
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.51.3;Ps.51.5 — Be gracious to me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. Ps.51.5 — For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
- ↩Job.7.11;Isa.38.15 — Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Isa.38.15 — What shall I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it. I will walk softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
- ↩Ps.38.18 — For I am ready to fall, and my pain is before me always.
- ↩Isa.30.15 — For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength.' But you were unwilling,
- ↩Isa.30.15 — For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength.' But you were unwilling,
Notes
- 1 ↩Citation label is corrupt in the source (ϑαί.). Neighboring citation pattern and sense of s1 suggest a Psalm reference, but the form cannot be restored with certainty.
- 2 ↩Normalized reading takes 'animw mex' as OCR corruption of 'animae meae' ('of my soul').
- 3 ↩Source 'll.' is treated as OCR for '11.' (Job 7:11), matching the citation pattern of the following section.
- 4 ↩Source ends with 's.'; read as truncated 'Is.' (Isaiah) in light of the following 'xxx. 15' markers.
- 5 ↩Source 'Uleiscor' read as 'ulciscor' (I take vengeance / avenge myself).
- 6 ↩Source 'amplus' read as 'amplius' (more fully); 'Ponitet, Penitet' read as doubled 'poenitet/paenitet' (it grieves me / I repent).
- 7 ↩'Quod non magis, quod non amplius' is elliptical; rendered as regret that the penitent sorrow is not greater or fuller, which fits the following cry for deeper compunction.
- 8 ↩Source reads 'Qu:e'; most plausible intended form is 'quae' (whatever/the things which). Translated accordingly.
- 9 ↩'ab alienis' may mean sins of others (aliena) or, by traditional psalm reception, willful/presumptuous sins; rendering follows the Latin surface 'of others'.
- 10 ↩'Mirifiea' is almost certainly a typographical corruption of 'Mirifica' (make wonderful / show wondrously), as in the psalm petition Mirifica misericordias tuas.
- 11 ↩'die mihi' is uncertain: taken as a likely corruption of 'da mihi' (give/grant to me). Alternatives include ablative 'die' (by day) or a truncated 'diei'.
- 12 ↩Source text is a truncated fragment ('Conf, ('), not a complete Latin sentence. Left unexpanded rather than invent a reading; likely a broken abbreviation or citation label cut off in the witness.
- 13 ↩Source 'Die animz mez' is almost certainly a corrupt OCR/print form of 'Dic animae meae' (say to my soul); translation follows that reading.
Preces Privatae (Private Devotions) companion
A prayer for every moment, already on your phone
Chosen Portion puts a curated historic prayer in front of you each day — so the words are there before the moment arrives.
Chosen Portion is the digital descendant of the carried prayer book: the short daily prayers this collection preserves, delivered one a day to your pocket.
- One short, memorable prayer delivered daily — build your repertoire a card at a time
- Prayers matched to real situations: fear, gratitude, decisions, grief, sleep
- Save favourites into your personal pocket collection you can open anywhere