Caput 37. Oratio ad sanctam Trinitatem.
Invocation to the Holy Trinity
The soul addresses the triune God, praises His holiness, and begs that the gates of righteousness be opened, citing Christ's promise to the one who knocks.
O three coequal and coeternal Persons, one true God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, who alone dwell in eternity and in inaccessible light; who founded the earth by your power, and govern the world with wisdom: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts, fearsome and mighty, just and merciful, wonderful, worthy of praise, worthy of love; one God, three Persons in one essence; power, wisdom, goodness, one and undivided Trinity: open to me as I cry out the gates of righteousness, and when I have entered them I will give thanks to the Lord. See: at your door, most high Master of the house, I knock as a beggar. Command that it be opened to the one who knocks, you who said, "Knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matt. 7:7).
The Cry of the Heart
The soul expresses its deep longing and groaning before God, quoting Psalm 37:10.
At your door, most merciful Father, the longings of my roaring heart knock, and the cries of my weeping eyes.1 Before you is all my desire, and my groan is not hidden from you (Ps. 37:10).
Plea for Mercy and Deliverance
The soul begs the Lord not to turn away, and appeals to the Father of mercies to rescue it from the depths of misery, quoting Psalm 26:9 and 39:3.
And you, Lord, do not turn your face away from me any longer, and do not turn aside in anger from your servant (Ps. 26:9). Father of mercies, hear the cry of your orphan, and stretch out your best helping hand, that it may draw me out of the deep waters, and out of the pit of misery, and out of the mire of the dregs—lest I perish while the mercy of your eyes looks on, and the compassion of your heart gazes (Ps.2 39:3); but let me escape to you, my Lord and God, that I may see the riches of your kingdom, and gaze always on your face, and speak praise to your holy name, Lord, who do wonders, who make my heart glad by the remembrance of you, who light my youth and do not despise my old age, but make all my bones rejoice, and make my gray hairs young again like an eagle's.
Doxology to the Holy Trinity
The soul concludes with a solemn doxology ascribing all glory and praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and ends with Amen.
May all glory, all praise, all might, all power, all majesty, all blessedness, and all clemency be to God the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.3 Amen.
Read the original Latin
O tres coaequales et coaeternae personae, Deus unus et verus, Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus, qui solus habitas aeternitatem et lucem inaccessibilem; qui fundasti terram in potentia tua, et regis orbem prudentia; sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus sabaoth, terribilis et fortis, justus et misericors, admirabilis, laudabilis, amabilis; unus Deus, tres personae in una essentia; potentia, sapientia, bonitas, una et indivisa Trinitas: aperite mihi clamanti portas justitiae, et ingressus in eas confitebor Domino. En ad ostium tuum, summe Pater familias, mendicus pulso. Jube aperiri pulsanti, qui dixisti, Pulsate et aperietur vobis (Matth. VII, 7). Pulsant ad ostium tuum, pater misericordissime, desideria rugientium praecordiorum meorum, et clamores lacrymarum oculorum meorum. Ante te est omne desiderium meum, et gemitus meus a te non est absconditus (Psal. XXXVII, 10). Et tu, Domine, non avertas faciem tuam amplius a me, nec declines in ira a servo tuo (Psal.
XXVI, 9). Pater misericordiarum, audi ejulatum pupilli tui, et porrige manum tuam optimam adjutricem, ut trahat me de profundis aquarum, et de lacu miseriae, et de luto faecis: ne peream vidente misericordia oculorum tuorum, aspiciente clementia viscerum tuorum (Psal. XXXIX, 3); sed evadam ad te Dominum Deum meum, ut videam divitias regni tui, et intuear faciem tuam semper, et laudem dicam nomini tuo sancto, Domine, qui facis mirabilia, qui cor meum laetum facis memoria tua, qui illuminas juventutem meam, et non despicis senectutem meam, sed jubilare facis omnia ossa mea, et rejuvenescere facis ut aquilae canos meos. Omnis gloria, omnis laus, omnis virtus, omnis potentia, omnis magnificentia, omnis beatitudo, omnis clementia sit Deo Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto. Amen
Notes
- 1 ↩rugientium praecordiorum: rendered as 'roaring heart' to keep the animal-cry force of rugire with praecordia as the inmost breast/heart.
- 2 ↩clementia viscerum tuorum: viscera as the seat of deep compassion; rendered as 'the compassion of your heart' rather than literal 'bowels'.
- 3 ↩virtus paired with potentia in a doxology; rendered as 'might' rather than moral 'virtue'.
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