21 April 2011

de reconciliatione poenitentium

It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, almighty everlasting God, through Christ our Lord. Whom, almighty Father, thou didst will ineffably to be born, that he might loose the debt of Adam to thee the eternal Father, and destroy our death by his own, and carry our wounds in his own body, and wash away our stains with his own blood; that we who have fallen by the envy of the ancient enemy might rise again by his mercy. Through him, Lord, we humbly beg and beseech thee that thou vouchsafe to hear us on behalf of the excesses of others, though we are not sufficient to pray thee for our own. Do thou therefore, most merciful Lord, call back to thyself, with thy wonted love, these thy servants, whose sins have separated them from thee. For thou didst not despise the humbling of Ahab the most wicked, but put away the punishment which he deserved. Peter also thou didst hear when he wept, and didst later commit to him the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and to the confessing thief didst promise the rewards of that same kingdom. Therefore, most merciful Father, mercifully gather back those for whom we pour our prayers before thee, and restore them to the bosom of thy church, that the Enemy may in no wise have the power to triumph over them, but that thy Son may reconcile them to thee, and cleanse them from all sin, and deign to admit them to the banquet of thy most holy supper. And may he so refresh ["reficiat" ... remake?] them with his flesh and blood, that after the course of this life he may bring them to the kingdoms of heaven; even he, Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Thus the Maundy Thursday Solemn Reconciliation of Penitents in the old Pontificale Romanum.

5 comments:

Juventutem London said...

Is it today? Good luck :)

Jesse said...

Does anyone know the history of this prayer? I can't find it in the editions of early medieval texts on my shelf. It's very interesting for that final reference to the Eucharist as the means of "remaking" penitents as part of the body of Christ. I haven't noticed that theme in other (early) prayers for the reception of penitents, and it would be nice to know how old the notion is.

William Tighe said...

Yesterday

St said...

Very beautiful, Father. May I wish you every blessing at this time.

davidforster said...

Oremus.
Majestatem tuam supplices deprecamur, omnipotens aeterne Deus, ut his famulis tuis, longo squalore poenitentiae maceratis, miserationis tuae veniam largiri digneris; ut nuptiali veste recepta, ad regalem mensam, unde ejecti fuerant, mereantur introire. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.