Hominis miseriaet fragilitas.
The Inner Light of the Patriarchs
The soul recalls how Tobias, Isaac, and Jacob each perceived an inner divine light that enabled them to see beyond outward blindness and speak of God's purposes.
O light that Tobias saw, when with eyes closed he taught his son the way of life (Tob. IV, 2–20); the light that Isaac saw within, when his eyes were growing dim on the outside he told his son of things to come (Gen. XXVII, 28); the light, I say, invisible, to which every depth of the human heart is laid bare; the light that Jacob saw when, just as you taught within, he foretold things to come to his sons on the outside (Id.✦
Darkness Over the Depths of the Mind
The soul confesses the darkness and confusion that shroud its inner depths, acknowledging God alone as the light and truth that can dispel them.
XLIX, 1–28); behold, darkness lies over the face of the deep of my mind — you are the light: behold, a dark mist hangs over the waters of my heart — you are truth.✦
The Word That Creates and Illumines
The soul addresses the eternal Word through whom all things were made, invoking the primordial command 'Let there be light' as the source of all being, order, and truth.
O Word through which all things were made, without which nothing was made; Word who are before all things, before which nothing is; Word creating all things, without which all things are nothing (John✦ I, 3); Word ruling all things, without which all things are not; Word who spoke in the beginning, Let there be light, and there was light (Gen.✦✦
A Prayer for Illumination
The soul begs the Word to speak again as at creation, asking to receive true light and to discern what is not light, since without God even light becomes darkness.
I, 3), speak even now, Let there be light, and let light be made: and let me see the light, and let me know whatever is not light; because without you, light is darkness to me, and darkness is counted as light.✦
The Miseries of Life Without God's Light
The soul enumerates the cascade of spiritual ruin—error, vanity, confusion, ignorance, blindness, and death—that follows when God's light is absent.
And so without your light there is no truth — error is present; vanity is present — there is no truth; there is no discernment — confusion is present; ignorance is present — there is no knowledge; blindness is present — there is no sight; the pathless void is present — there is no way; death is present — there is no life.
Read the original Latin
O lux quam videbat Tobias, quando oculis clausis docebat filium viam vitae (Tob. IV, 2-20); lux quam videbat Isaac interius, quando caligantibus oculis exterius filio futura narrabat (Gen. XXVII, 28); lux, inquam, invisibilis, cui omnis abyssus humani cordis est visibilis; lux quam Jacob videbat, quando, sicut tu intus docebas, filiis exterius ventura praedicebat (Id. XLIX, 1-28); ecce tenebrae sunt super faciem abyssi mentis meae, tu es lumen: ecce caligo tenebrosa super aquas cordis mei, tu es veritas. O Verbum per quod facta sunt omnia, sine quo factum est nihil; Verbum quod es ante omnia, ante quod nihil; Verbum creans omnia, sine quo nihil omnia (Joan. I, 3); Verbum regens omnia, sine quo non sunt omnia; Verbum quod dixisti in principio, Fiat lux, et facta est lux (Gen. I, 3), dic etiam nunc, Fiat lux, et facta sit lux: et videam lumen, et cognoscam quidquid non est lumen; quia sine te mihi tenebrae lumen, et lumen tenebrae ponuntur. Et sic sine tua luce non est veritas, adest error; adest vanitas, non est veritas; non est discretio, adest confusio; adest ignorantia, non est scientia; adest caecitas, non est visio; adest invium, non est via; adest mors, non est vita.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Gen.27.28 — May God give you of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, and abundance of grain and new wine.
- ↩Gen.1.2 — And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
- ↩John.1.1-John.1.3 — In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John.1.2 — He was in the beginning with God. John.1.3 — All things came into being through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
- ↩Gen.1.3 — And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
- ↩John.1.3 — All things came into being through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
- ↩Gen.1.3 — And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
Pseudo-Augustine Soliloquia animae ad Deum (Meditations of the Soul to God) companion
A meditation like this, every morning
Chosen Portion serves the full 37-chapter work — and dozens like it — as free daily devotionals.
These soliloquies were written for daily private devotion, and the Chosen Portion app restores exactly that rhythm with one portion each morning.
- 30 ready-to-pray meditations, each readable in about 5 minutes
- A one-line response prompt per day so you pray it, not just read it
- The full 37 chapters unlocked in the app when the month ends