| Contents | Oratio Sancti Bernardi ad Deiparam Virginem Prayer of St. Bernard to the Virgin Mother of God |
BVM |
Unlike the Memorare, which was not written by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), Confessor, Abbot, and Doctor of the Church, this prayer apparently was written by him.
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| PER TE, O Maria1, accessum habeamus ad Filium, o benedicta inventrix gratiae, genetrix vitae, mater salutis, ut per te nos suscipiat, qui per te datus est nobis. Excuset apud ipsum integritas tua culpam nostrae corruptionis, et humilitas Deo2 grata nostrae veniam impetret vanitati3. Copiosa caritas tua nostrorum cooperiat multitudinem peccatorum, et fecunditas tua gloriosa fecunditatem nobis conferat meritorum. Domina nostra, Mediatrix nostra, Advocata nostra: tuo Filio nos reconcilia, tuo Filio nos commenda4, tuo Filio nos repraesenta. Fac, o benedicta, per gratiam quam invenisti, per praerogativam quam5 meruisti, per misericordiam quam peperisti, ut, qui te mediante fieri dignatus est particeps infirmitatis et miseriae nostrae, te quoque intercedente participes nos faciat gloriae suae et beatitudinis6, Iesus Christus, Filius tuus Dominus noster, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen. | O MARY, blessed lady who found grace, mother of our life and our salvation, may we have access to thy Son through thee, so that He who was given to us through thee, may receive us through thee. May thy purity excuse the fault of our corruption. May thy humility, which is pleasing to God, implore pardon for our vanity. May thy abundant charity cover the multitude of our sins, and may thy glorious fruitfulness confer upon us an abundance of merits. Our Lady, our Mediatrix, our Advocate, reconcile us to thy Son, commend us to thy Son, and present us to thy Son. O blessed Lady, through the grace thou hast found, through the prerogatives thou hast merited, through the mercy thou didst give birth to, grant us that by thy intercession, He, who deigned to share in our infirmities and misery, will makes us sharers of His glory and blessedness, Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord, who is above all blessed God forever. Amen. |
| From the Coeleste Palmetum (1741) and Orate Fratres (1900). Tr. MWM. The C.P. has the curious differences listed below: 1 [O Maria] is omitted from the C.P. 2 The C.P. has: tua Deo tam. 3 The C.P. adds: ac superbiae. 4 The C.P. reverses these: tuo Filio nos commenda, tuo Filio nos reconcilia. 5 The C.P. omits: invenisti, per praerogativam, quam. 6 The C.P. has: faciat nos beatitudinis et gloriae suae. |
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