Preces Quotidianae
A Prayer for Truth and Mercy
The author prays for divine inspiration, correction, and guidance in truth, concluding with a doxology through Christ.
...of His inspiration; may He deign to teach me a more inward and sweeter teaching, which I may so propose and so affirm that in my propositions and assertions I always cling to the truth. From this very Truth itself I ask to be taught far more that I do not know, from the One from whom I received the little that I know.1 I ask that same Truth, with mercy going before me and following after, to teach me whatever I do not know that is healthful for me to learn; to keep me in the true things I have come to know; to correct me where, as a human being, I go wrong; to strengthen me where I waver in what is true; to snatch me from what is false and harmful; and to make come from my mouth what is chiefly pleasing before Truth herself—so may it be acceptable to all the faithful,✦23 through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Scriptural Exhortations to Love and Humility
A series of citations from Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) urging love for God, calling on Him for salvation, deep humility, and warning of punishment for the wicked.
Ecclesiasticus. 12. 14. Throughout your whole life, love God, and call on Him for your salvation.4 Ecclesiasticus. 7.5 17. Humble yourself deeply.6 For the punishment of the wicked's flesh is fire and the worm.
Patristic Wisdom on Prayer
Quotes from Cyprian and Augustine emphasize that sinners must pray and that God hears the heart, not the voice, valuing sighs over words.
Cyprian. If the one who was without sin prayed, how much more must a sinner pray. The same.7 But God does not hear the voice; He hears the heart. Augustine. More is done by sighs than by words.
Read the original Latin
tionis suze; internam suavioremque doctrinam docere dignetur; quie sic proponam, sic asseram, ut in propositionibus et assertionibus meis, veritati semper inhzeream: ab hac ipsissima veritate postulo, doceri multo plura quie nescio, a quo aecepi pauca qu:e scio. Ipsam rogo ut (przveniente ac subsequente misericordia) quaecunque salubriter scienda nescio, doceat me; in his, quie vera novi, custodiat me; in quibus, ut homo fallor, corrigat me; in quibus veris titubo, confirmet me, et a falsis et noxiis eripiat me, et ea faciat de ore meo procedere, quz sunt coram ipsa veritate principaliter grata, sic fiant fidelibus cunctis accepta,
per Jesum Christum, Dominum ac Servatorem nostrum.
Ecclus. xii. 14. Per omnem vitam tuam dihge Deum, et invoca Eum pro salute tua.
Ecclus. vià. 17. Humila valde spiritum. tuum: quoniam vindicta carnis impii, ignis et vermis.
Cyprian. Si Ille orabat qui sine peccato erat, quanto magis peccatorem orare oportet.
Jdem. Deus autem non vocis, sed cordis, auditor est.
August. Plus gemitibus, quam sermonibus agitur.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.19.14;Ps.19.15 — Also keep your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Ps.19.15 — May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before you, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Notes
- 1 ↩Section opens mid-word after previous 'inspira-'. Restored as inspirationis suae. Also corrected OCR: suze→suae; quie→quae; inhzeream→inhaeream; aecepi→accepi; qu:e→quae.
- 2 ↩Corrected OCR: przveniente→praeveniente; quie→quae; quz→quae. Ipsam continues veritas from the prior sentence.
- 3 ↩praeveniente ac subsequente misericordia is liturgical prevenient/following-mercy language; rendered 'mercy going before me and following after,' not as technical scholastic jargon.
- 4 ↩Source reading 'dihge' treated as corrupt for 'dilige' (love, imperative).
- 5 ↩Source reading 'vià.' is almost certainly a corrupt form of Roman chapter 'vii.' (Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 7), matching the following verse text.
- 6 ↩Source 'Humila' is taken as 'Humilia' (imperative of humiliare). Possessive 'tuum' falls in the next sentence unit but belongs with 'spiritum'.
- 7 ↩Source prints Jdem.; read as Idem (I/J interchange), the standard attribution continuing the previous Cyprian citation.
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