A corporal work of mercy.

A corporal work of mercy.
Click on photo for this corporal work of mercy!

Wednesday 10 February 2016

Have mercy upon me O God, in your kindness blot out my offense


Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. 
Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam. 
Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me. 
Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et peccatum meum contra me est semper.
Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris. 
Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et in peccatis concepit me mater mea. 
Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi. 
Asperges me hysopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. 
Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: et exsultabunt ossa humiliata. 
Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: et omnes iniquitates meas dele.
Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis. 
Ne proiicias me a facie tua: et spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me. 
Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me. 
Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii ad te convertentur. 
Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam. 
Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam. 
Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique: holocaustis non delectaberis. 
Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies. Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion: ut aedificentur muri Ierusalem. 
Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae, oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I see these performances, by, I assume, secular artists, I wonder is God is merciful enough to accept the prayer even if only in part and provide grace to save these souls.

Eirene said...

Vox - that was the most beautiful rendition of Miserere Mei Deus
I have ever heard in all my 68 years. It brought tears to my eyes.
Secular or non-secular artists - who cares????? I remember Our Blessed Lord said if anyone gives you a cup of water in His Name they will not lose their reward (paraphrase). He accepted the prayer of the tax collector, didn't He?! Because the Pharisee thought the tax collector was too "secular" to be heard by Almighty God! Whoa! Food for thought!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Eirene, I had hoped that was the case.

Anonymous said...

And, I wasnt trying to be negative, I wasa trying to be hopeful. The meaning of that prayer is great. But singing something with out actually meaning it?

I dont know, the tax collector meant what he said and was repentant.

But it is beautiful.

Eirene said...

Dear Anonymous (sorry to call you by that nameless name, but alas there is no other!) - I was really struck by the humility in your answer about this beautiful Choral Work - in response to my comment to your original one. As you rightly say, we KNOW the tax-collector meant it because the Word of God says quite clearly in St. Luke Chapter 18-V 13 - that ". . . this man went down to his house justified rather than the other . . .".

Whether the choir in this instance "meant it" can probably never be rightly gauged by human discernment! Other than a crawler underneath the sub-titles saying," We don't know whether this choir actually MEANS what they are singing so angelically and beautifully!"

I reckon if they didn't mean it at the beginning, they certainly would have done by the end!

God bless and keep you during this Holy Lenten Watch. Eirene.

Anonymous said...

Eirine,

On St Corbinian's bear blog, a day or two later, I read a story, parable? about the bear feeling dry when praying, or that is how i interpreted it. The issue was, do your prayers count if you don't "mean" it?

So the opposite was brought up, would you say a prayer to "Old Scratch", even if you never meant it.

So I considered it, this prayer counts and has meaning, we dont know how much, but it matters.

Just as a prayer said by a "satanist" to the devil, who is saying it for religious "freedom" counts too.

Antonin