---

The Pope's prayer for families

Lord God, from you every family in Heaven and on earth takes its name

Father, you are love and life.

Through your Son, Jesus Christ, born of woman, and through the Holy Spirit, fountain of Divine Charity, grant that each family on earth may become for each successive generation a true shrine of life and love.

Grant that your grace may guide the thoughts and actions of husbands and wives for the good of their families and of all the families in the world.

Grant that the young may find in the family solid support for their human dignity and for their growth in truth and love.

Grant that love, strengthened by the grace of the sacrament of marriage, may prove mightier than all the weaknesses and trials through which our families sometimes pass.

Through the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that the Church may fruitfully carry out her worldwide mission in the family and through the family.

Through Christ our Lord who is the Way, the Truth and the Life for ever and ever. Amen

 

Top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

The Athanasian Creed

WHOEVER wishes to he saved must before all else adhere to the Catholic faith.

He must preserve this faith whole and untarnished; otherwise he shall most certainly perish forever.

Now this is the Catholic faith: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity; Neither confusing the persons nor distinguishing the nature.

The person of the Father is distinct; the person of the Son is distinct; the person of the Holy Spirit is distinct.

Yet the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit possess one Godhead, equal glory; and coeternal majesty.

As the Father is, so is the Son, so also is the Holy Spirit.

The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

The Father is infinte, the Son is infinite, the Holy Spirit is infinite.

The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal.

Nevertheless, they are not three eternals but one Eternal

Even as they are not three uncreateds, or three infinites, but one Uncreated and one Infinite. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty.

And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.

So also the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God,

And yet they are not three Gods, but only one God, so too the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord.

And still there are not three Lords, but only one Lord.

For just as we arc compelled by Christian truth to profess that each Person is individually God and Lord, so also are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to hold that there are three Gods or three Lords.

The Father was made by no one, being neither created nor begotten.

The Son is from the Father alone, though not created or made, but begotten.

The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son, though neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding,

Consequently there is one Father, not three Fathers; there is one Son, not three Sons; there is one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

Furthermore, in this Trinity there is no "before" or "after", no "greater" or "less": for all three Persons are co-eternal and coequal.

In every respect, therefore, as has already been stated, unity must be worshipped in Trinity, and Trinity in unity.

This is what everyone who wishes to be saved must hold regarding the Blessed Trinity. But, for his eternal salvation, he must also believe according to the true faith in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now the true faith requires us to believe and acknowledge that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and Man.

He is God, begotten of the substance of the Father before the world began; He is Man, born in the world of the substance of His Mother.

Perfect God, perfect Man, a substance composed of a rational soul and a human body.
Equal to the Father in divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity.

And, although He is God and Man, still He is only one Christ, not two.

One, not by any turning of the divinity into flesh, but by the taking up of humanity into God.

One only, not by any confusion of substance, but by the unity of His person.

For, just as the rational soul and the body form one man, so God and Man form one Christ. He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose from the dead on the third day. Ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father all-powerful, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

At His coming, all men must rise with their bodies and must give an account of their own deeds.

And those who have done good shall go into eternal life, while those who have done evil shall go into eternal fire.

This is the Catholic faith, and anyone who does not believe it fully and firmly cannot be saved. Amen

Top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Prayers during the day

 

MORNING PRAYER

 

 

 

AT  PRIME,  SEXT & NONE  

 

Memento, rerum Conditor,
Nostri quod olim corporis
Sacrato ab alvo Virginis
Nascendo formam sumperis.

Maria Mater gratiae,
Dulcis parens clementiae,
Tu nos ab hoste protégé,
Et mortius hora suscipe.

IESU, tibi sit Gloria,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre et almo Spiritu
In sepiterna saecula. Amen

-oOo-

Remember, Maker of us all,
Into our world Thou once didst come
Made manifest in human flesh,
The child of Mary's stainless womb.

O Mary, Mother of God's grace,
Protect us from the foe's alarms;
Dear Mother, kind and pitiful,
Hold us when dying, in thine arms.

JESUS, to Thee be glory paid
Whom once the Maiden-Mother bore:
And to the Father praise be given
And Holy Ghost for ever more. Amen

 

-oOo-

T E R C E

Nunc Sancte nobis Spiritus
Unum Patri cum Filio,
Dignare promptus ingeri
Nostro refusus pectori.

Os, lingua, mens, sensus, vigor
Confessionem personent,
Flammescat igne caritas,
Accendat ardour proximos.

Praesta, Pater Piissime,
Patrique compare Unice,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito
Regnans per omne saeculum. Amen

-oOo-

Come, Holy Spirit, ever One
with the Father and with the Son.
It is the hour, our souls possess
with your full flood of holiness.

Let hands and heart and lips and mind
sound forth our witness to mankind;
and love light up our mortal frame
till others catch the living flame.

Grant this, O Father, ever One
with Christ, your sole-begotten Son;
whom, with the Spirit, we adore,
one God, both now and evermore. Amen.

 

-oOo-

 

V E S P E R S

 

O God of all the universe,
creative power and ruling mind,
the day with splendid light you clothe,
the night you bless with sweet repose.

Rest thus given to our limbs
for tomorrow's work prepares;
with strength renewed and minds alert,
freed from all distracting cares.

For this day's grace we give you thanks;
our evening prayer we beg you hear.
We owe you this our hymn of praise:
inspire our minds to be sincere.

To you we sing from depth of heart.
to you we raise our melody;
for you our pure love chastely sighs,
in you we rest adoringly.

So when the dark shades of the night
to its close this day shall bring,
make our faith steadfastly shine
to pierce the darkness with its flame.

Our restless passions put to sleep
but let our souls keep watchful guard;
while dreamless sleep renews the mind
may chaste faith cool our ardent hearts.

Of sensuality stripped clean
before you may we e'er abide,
lest, by our wicked foe deceived,
alarm invade our slumbertide.

To you we pray, O Jesus Christ,
to Father and to Spirit blest:
Three Persons with one equal power,
Blest Trinity, hear our request. Amen

 

-oOo-

 

C O M P L I N E

 

Memento, rerum Conditor,
Nostri quod olim corporis
Sacrato ab alvo Virginis
Nascendo formam sumperis.

Maria Mater gratiae,
Dulcis parens clementiae,
Tu nos ab hoste protégé,
Et mortius hora suscipe.

IESU, tibi sit Gloria,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre et almo Spiritu
In sepiterna saecula. Amen

-oOo-

Remember, Maker of us all,
Into our world Thou once didst come
Made manifest in human flesh,
The child of Mary's stainless womb.

O Mary, Mother of God's grace,
Protect us from the foe's alarms;
Dear Mother, kind and pitiful,
Hold us when dying, in thine arms.

JESUS, to Thee be glory paid
Whom once the Maiden-Mother bore:
And to the Father praise be given
And Holy Ghost for ever more. Amen

 

-oOo-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Prayers for Our Lady

 

Ave maris stella,
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix caeli porta.

Sumens illud Ave
Gabrielis ore,
Funda nos in pace,
Mutans Hevae nomen.

Solve vincla reis,
Profer lumen caecis,
Mala nostra pelle,
Bona cuncta posce.

Monstra te esse Matrem,
Sumat per te preces
Qui pro nobis natus
Tulit esse tuus.

Virgo singularis,
Inter omnes mitis,
Nos culpis solutos
Mites fac et castos,

Vitam praesta puram,
Iter para tutum,
Ut videntes Jesum
Semper collaetemur.

Sit laus Deo Patri,
Summo Christo decus,
Spiritui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus. Amen.

 

~oOo~

 

Bright Mother of our Maker, hail,
Thou Virgin ever blest,
The ocean's star by which we sail
And gain the port of rest.

Whilst we this Ave thus to. Thee
From Gabriel's mouth rehearse,
Prevail that peace our lot may be,
And Eva's name reverse.

Release our long-entangled mind
From all the snares of ill ;
With heavenly light instruct the blind
And all our vows fulfil.

Exert for us a mother's care
And us thy children own ;
Prevail with him to hear our prayer
Who chose to be thy Son.

O spotless Maid, whose virtues shine
With brightest purity,
Each action of our lives refine
And make us pure like thee.

Preserve our lives unstained with ill
In this infectious way,
That heaven alone our souls may fill
With joys that ne'er decay.

To God the Father endless praise,
To God the Son the same,
And Holy. Ghost, whose equal rays
One equal glory claim. Amen.

 

~oOo~

 

Litany of Our Lady of Walsingham

Our Lady of Walsingham, pray to the for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray to the Lord for us.
Mary the Virgin, pray to the Lord for us.
Mary, the Mother of God. pray to the Lord for us.
Mary taken up into Heaven, pray to the lord for us.
Mary at Bethlehem, pray for all mothers.
Mary at Nazareth, pray for all families.
Mary at Cana, pray for all married couples.
Mary who stood by the Cross. pray for all who suffer.
Mary in the Upper Room, pray for all who wait.
Mary, model of Womanhood, pray for all women.

Woman of Faith. keep us in mind.
Woman of Hope, keep us in mind.
Woman of Charity, keep us in mind.
Woman of Suffering. keep us in mind.
Woman of Anxiety, keep us in mind.
Woman of Humility. keep us in mind.
Woman of Poverty, keep us in mind.
Woman of Purity, keep us in mind.
Woman of Obedience. keep us in mind.
Woman who wondered, remember us to God.
Woman who listened, remember us to God.
Woman who followed Him, remember us to God.
Woman who longed for Him, remember us to God,
Woman who loves Him, remember us to God.

Mother of God. be our Mother always.
Mother of the Church, be our Mother always.
Mother of the World, be our Mother always.
Mother we need, be our Mother always.
Mother who went on believing, we thank God for you.
Mother who never lost hope, we thank God for you.
Mother who loved to the end, we thank God for you.

 

All holy and ever living God. in giving us Jesus Christ to he our Saviour and brother, you gave us Mary, His Mother, to be our Mother also; grant, we pray you, that we may be worthy of so great a Brother and so dear a Mother. May we come at last to you the Father of us all through Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

 

~oOo~

Top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rosary

 

THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES

1. The Annunciation. Fruit of the Mystery: Humility
2. The Visitation. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of Neighbor
3. The Nativity. Fruit of the Mystery: Poverty
4. The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: Obedience
5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: Joy in Finding Jesus, also known as Zeal

 

THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES

1. The Baptism of Jesus. Fruit of the Mystery: Openness to the Holy Spirit
2. The Wedding at Cana. Fruit of the Mystery: To Jesus through Mary
3. Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Fruit of the Mystery: Repentance and Trust in God
4. The Transfiguration. Fruit of the Mystery: Desire for Holiness
5. The Institution of the Eucharist. Fruit of the Mystery: Adoration

 

THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES

1. The Agony in the Garden. Fruit of the Mystery: Sorrow for Sin
2. The Scourging at the Pillar. Fruit of the Mystery: Purity
3. The Crowning with Thorns. Fruit of the Mystery: Courage
4. The Carrying of the Cross. Fruit of the Mystery: Patience
5. The Crucifixion. Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance

 

THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES

1. The Resurrection. Fruit of the Mystery: Faith
2. The Ascension. Fruit of the Mystery: Hope
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of God
4. The Assumption of Mary. Fruit of the Mystery: Grace of a Happy Death
5. The Coronation of Blessed Virgin Mary. Fruit of the Mystery: Trust in Mary's Intercession

 

DAYS OF RECITATION

* The Joyful Mysteries are recited on Mondays and Saturdays.
* The Luminous Mysteries are recited on Thursdays.
* The Sorrowful Mysteries, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
* The Glorious Mysteries, on Wednesdays and Sundays.

 

APPROVED FORM OF RECITAL

* A sign of the cross on the Crucifix and then the "Apostles' Creed";
* An "Our Father" on the first large bead;
* A "Hail Mary" on each of the three small beads with the following intentions (the theological virtues):

1. For the increase of faith
2. For the increase of hope
3. For the increase of love

* A "Glory Be to the Father" on the next large bead;
* Announce the mystery
* An "Our Father" on the large bead;
* A "Hail Mary" on each of the adjacent ten small beads;
* A "Glory Be to the Father" on the next large bead;
* Again an Our Father, ten Hail Marys, the Glory Be to the Father, and
Fatima Prayer (below) for each of the following decades;
* A "Hail Holy Queen" and a sign of the cross.

 

The Fatima Prayer

"Oh me Iesu, dimitte nobis debita nostra, libera nos ab igne inferni, conduc in caelum omnes animas, praesertim illas quae maxime indigent misericordia tua. Amen."

"O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen."

Here is the original Portuguese version:

"Ó meu bom Jesus perdoai e livrai - nos do fogo do inferno, levai as almas todas para o céu e socorrei as que mais precisarem de vossa infinita misericordia."

 

-oOo-

 

The Rosary as Family Prayer

Reflections on the Holy Father's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae
Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo President of the Pontifical Council for the Family

In the recent Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, the Holy Father John Paul II once more urged Christian families to pray in their home by reciting the Rosary: "We need to return to the practice of family prayer and prayer for families, continuing to use the Rosary" (n. 41). Already at the end of the Great Jubilee he had said: "it is especially necessary that listening to the word of God should become a life-giving encounter, in the ancient and ever valid tradition of lectio divina, which draws from the biblical text the living word which questions, directs and shapes our lives ... we must rekindle in ourselves the impetus of the beginnings and allow ourselves to be filled with the ardour of the apostolic preaching which followed Pentecost" [Novo Millennio ineunte, nn. 39 and 40).
Domestic Church

It is first of all a question of re-applying, if not in its form, certainly in its spirit, the living, fervent spiritual atmosphere that marked the meetings at home of the first Christian communities. Indeed, the first disciples, "went to the temple area together every day, while in their homes they broke bread ... praising God" (Acts 2, 46). Through this witness, "day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved" (Acts 2, 47).

This family dimension of prayer and Christian worship is rooted in the faith experience of the people of the Old Covenant, which has been inherited by the Christian community. Indeed, it is well known that the paschal supper was celebrated in the home, and was a family celebration.

The wave of secularization that has swept through the life of our communities in recent decades has brought a deep crisis, even in the context of the family, and hence in family prayer as an expression of communion and an indispensable source for the mission the family is called to carry out in the Church and in society.

 

Family prayer, use the Rosary

Confronted by this disturbing situation, pastors in recent centuries have not ceased to recommend the devout practice of the Rosary, which Pope Pius XII described as "the compendium of the entire Gospel", to implore the Lord, giver of all good things, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, Queen of the Rosary, for the gifts of faith and peace in families and among nations.

We know well how deeply rooted Marian devotion is in the heart of Peter's Successor. He placed his ministry under her protection, "Totus tuus", and we know that the Rosary has a special place in his devotions. We are used to seeing him with the Rosary beads between his fingers. His desire is for the Rosary to become popular again, especially in families.

The Rosary takes us to the heart of the faith

The Rosary, in its simplicity and depth, goes to the heart of Christian experience in the dialogue of faith expressed in prayer. It has a strong evangelizing impact. The members of the family can contemplate the central events at the heart of the faith through the mysteries. Now, we have the mysteries of light, in which we are invited to reflect on the wedding of Cana and on the beginning of a new family. We could say that in the Our Father and Hail Mary, we find a synthesis in which a dynamic, effective transmission of the faith passes through it that fortifies the experience of the family community in a special union that is a powerful aid because it is also stable and solid before the Lord of the Covenant.

With this Letter on the Rosary the Holy Father has touched the hearts of the faithful. Indeed, the recitation of the Rosary does not only "go to the very heart of Christian life, offering a familiar yet fruitful spiritual and educational opportunity for personal contemplation" (cf. n. 3), but also enables people to recover "the ability to look one another in the eye, to communicate, to show solidarity, to forgive one another and to see their covenant of love renewed in the spirit of God" (cf. n. 41).

Captures spiritual atmosphere

The recitation of the Rosary in the family captures something of the spiritual atmosphere of the household at Nazareth, "because its members place Jesus at the centre, they share his joys and sorrows, they place their needs and their plans in his hands, they draw from him the hope and the strength to go on" (n. 41). There, in fact, as Paul VI said on his pilgrimage to Nazareth, one learns "to be resolute in good thoughts, focused on the interior life and ready to understand clearly the secret inspirations of God and the exhortations of the true teachers" (Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, II, 1964, p. 24). Serves to neutralize widespread harmful trends

This prayer also serves to neutralize the most varied and disorienting messages and unpredictable experiences that are rapidly making their way into children's' lives. These experiences are a source of anxiety to parents because young people are exposed to dangers while they are growing up. Praying the Rosary is certainly a spiritual aid in finding the solution to many problems, and is a protection against many temptations and difficulties. As this Pontifical Council for the Family said in the Final Statement of the 15th Plenary Assembly, today we are living in a situation marked by "the fear of commitment, the practice of cohabitation, the trivialisation of sex", as John Paul II has described it. "Life styles, women's fashions, films, TV sitcoms make people question the value of marriage and go so far as to spread the idea that the reciprocal gift of spouses until death would be unrealistic. They weaken the family institution and even manage to discredit it, to the advantage of other pseudo-family 'models'" (ORE, 20 November 2002, p. 9, II). Indeed, the same document deplores the "invasion of many areas of human activity by a radical individualism: economic life, excessive competition, competition in all fields of human activity, disregard of the marginalized, etc." (ibid.). In the face of these problems, prayer is a fundamental, indispensable response, the living witness of parents. As the Holy Father says in Familiaris consortio: "only by praying together with their children can a father and mother - exercising their royal priesthood - penetrate the innermost depths of their children's hearts and leave an impression that the future events in their lives will not be able to efface" (n. 60).

Family education

As everyone knows, an important purpose of the prayer of the domestic church is to serve as the natural introduction for children to the liturgical prayer of the whole Church, both in the sense of preparing for it and of extending it into family and social life (cf. Familiaris consortio, n. 61). Thus family prayer is not an escape from social commitment, but a strong incentive to the Christian family to assume fully all its responsibilities as the primary and basic cell of human society.

Reinforces stability, solidity of family

In this way prayer reinforces the spiritual soundness and solidity of the family, helping to ensure that it shares in the strength of God. Indeed all the power of the Rosary lies in its Gospel character and in its distinctly Christological orientation, for it makes us think specifically and in our own way of the most important events of salvation that were brought about in Christ, seen through the heart of Mary, who was closest to the Lord Jesus. Indeed, the main feature of the Rosary is contemplation, without which it would be like a body without a soul; the typical features are constituted by the petition of the Our Father, the praise in the litany-like succession of Hail Mary's, the adoration of the doxology, Glory [be] to the Father. It is also characterized by the simplicity that favours the tranquil rhythm and a lingering in thought which fosters meditation. As John Paul II has said, "fruitful nourishment of personal piety, the Rosary is in a certain sense the typical prayer of the Christian family.... In reciting the Rosary, the domestic church savours its own unity, enjoys the sharing of affections, is elevated to the contemplation of the divine, places its own needs, concerns and the conquests of daily living in this higher dimension" (Address to youth, Reggio Calabria, 7 October 1984, n. 7; ORE, 5 November 1984, p. 11).

From this fervent Gospel spirit, from the contemplation of the mysteries of our redemption in this Year of the Rosary (October 2002 - October 2003), a renewed commitment is expected, so that the preparation of engaged couples for marriage will include a witness of greater fidelity to the definitive commitments that they are about to make before God and men. May educators, spiritual directors and Christian couples help young people to discover in themselves an authentic love, with all that it involves, feeling, attachment and passion itself and also the use of reason. May the Church's message on responsible parenthood be understood and better received, and may the special attention that must be paid to children who come from broken homes be given to them with loving tenderness.

In this way the pastoral care towards the family will be able to offer couples during their married life possibilities and opportunities to reflect on their celebration of the sacrament, especially in moments of recollection, such as in the recitation of the Rosary. Besides, it will ensure that the feast of the Holy Family and other celebrations when couples gather wishing to renew their matrimonial commitments in the Church, may have a significance that has an impact on their spiritual journey. In this light, in possible moments of crisis, all the aids that the Holy Father has recalled in this Apostolic Letter can contribute to solving the tensions and will enable spouses to return to the sources of their first love. From the sacrament of Marriage they will be able to draw the energy to reawaken the great ideals that must direct their relations and overcome their difficulties.

 

Revival of Rosary in family will evangelize society

In this regard, Bl. Bartolo Longo said that "whoever spreads the Rosary is saved" (n. 8). John Paul II echoes him when he says: "the revival of the Rosary in Christian families, within the context of a broader pastoral care of the family, will be an effective aid to countering the devastating effects of this crisis typical of our age" (n. 6).
One writer said that in the evangelized nations in every family, at nightfall, the recitation of the Rosary rose like a symphony. Why should we not strive to restore this witness, imbuing the domestic church with the Word that all may savour, sharing it with children like bread, in an attitude that will evangelize a society that is in danger of growing cold and falling away from God?

"As a mother who teaches her children to speak and so to understand and communicate, the Church our Mother teaches us the language of faith in order to introduce us to the understanding and life of faith" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 171). This is also what praying the Rosary does.

Top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

Psalms for the Family

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

Dies Irae

 

Dies iræ! dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla
Teste David cum Sibylla!

Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!

Tuba mirum spargens sonum
per sepulchra regionum,
coget omnes ante thronum.

Mors stupebit et natura,
cum resurget creatura,
judicanti responsura.

Liber scriptus proferetur,
in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.

Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet apparebit:
nil inultum remanebit.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

Rex tremendæ majestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis,
salva me, fons pietatis.

Recordare, Jesu pie,
quod sum causa tuæ viæ:
ne me perdas illa die.

Quærens me, sedisti lassus:
redemisti Crucem passus:
tantus labor non sit cassus.

Juste judex ultionis,
donum fac remissionis
ante diem rationis.

Ingemisco, tamquam reus:
culpa rubet vultus meus:
supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti,
et latronem exaudisti,
mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meæ non sunt dignæ:
sed tu bonus fac benigne,
ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum præsta,
et ab hædis me sequestra,
statuens in parte dextra.

Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis:
voca me cum benedictis.

Oro supplex et acclinis,
cor contritum quasi cinis:
gere curam mei finis.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
Qua resurget ex favila
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus
Pie Iesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen

-oOo-

 

Day of wrath and terror looming!
Heaven and earth to ash consuming,
David's word and Sibyl's truth foredooming!

What horror must invade the mind,
when the approaching judge shall find,
and sift the deeds of all mankind.

The trumpet casts a wondrous sound,
through the tombs of all around,
making them the throne surround.

Death is struck and nature quaking,
all creation is awaking,
to its judge an answer making.

The written book shall be outspread,
And all that it contains be read,
To try the living and the dead.

Then shall the judge his throne attain,
And every secret sin arraign,
Till nothing unavenged remain.

What shall my guilty conscience plead,
And who for me will intercede,
When even saints forgiveness need ?

King of tremendous majesty!
Who savest, whom thou sayest, free, -
Thou fount of pity, save thou me.

Remember, Jesus Lord, I pray,
For me thou walked'st on life's way,
Confound me not on that last day.

'Twas me thy weary footsteps sought,
My ransom on thy cross was bought,
Let not such labour come to naught.

Just judge of recompense, I pray
Cancel my debt, too great to pay,
Before the last accounting day.

My groans a culprit's heart declare,
My cheeks shame's burning livery wear,
Spare me, O God, thy suppliant spare!

As thou didst Mary's sin efface,
And take the thief to thine embrace,
So dlost thou give me hope of grace.
Though all unworthy be my cry,
Give grace,