A sagitta volante in die, a negotio perambulante in tenebris: ab incursu, et dæmonio meridiano. Cadent a latere tuo mille, et decem millia a dextris tuis: ad te autem non appropinquabit. Verumtamen oculis tuis considerabis : * et retributionem peccatorum videbis. Quoniam tu es, Domine, spes mea Altissimum posuisti refugium tuum. Non accedet ad te malum: * et flagellum non appropinquabit tabernaculo tuo. Quoniam Angelis suis mandavit de te: ut custodiant te in omnibus viis tuis. In manibus portabunt te: * ne forte offendas ad lapidem pedem tuum. Super aspidem et basiliscum ambulabis: * et conculcabis leonem et draconem. Quoniam in me speravit, liberabo eum : * protegam eum, quoniam cognovit no men meum. Clamabit ad me, et ego exaudiam eum : * cum ipso sum in tribulatione, eripiam eum, et glorificabo eum. Longitudine dierum replebo eum : * et ostendam illi Salutare meum. : Of the arrow that flieth in the day of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand but it shall not come nigh thee. But thou shalt consider with thy eyes and shalt see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast said: Thou, O Lord, art my hope: thou hast made the Most High thy refuge. There shall no evil come to thee, nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling. For he hath given his Angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon. God will say of thee: Because he hoped in me, I will deliver him: I will protect him, because he hath known my Name. He will cry to me, and I will hear him : am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him. I will fill him with length of days: and I will show him my Salvation. The fourth Psalm invites the Servants of God to persevere, with fervour, in the prayers they offer during the Night. The Faithful should say this Psalm in a spirit of gratitude to God, for his raising up, in the Church, adorers of his holy name, whose grand vocation is to lift up their hands, day and night, for the safety of Israel. On such prayers depend the happiness and destinies of the world. * According to the Monastic Rite, as follows: Te lucis ante terminum, Hostemque nostrum comprime Præsta Pater omnipotens, Cum Spiritu Paraclito co-equal with him! reigning for ever with the Holy Paraclete! grant this our prayer. Amen. CAPITULUM. But thou art in us, O Lord, and thy holy name has been invoked upon us: forsake us not, O Lord our God. R. Into thy hands, O Lord: * I commend my spirit. Into thy hands. V. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord God of truth. * I commend. Glory. Into thy hands. V. Preserve us, O Lord, as the apple of thine eye. R. Protect us under the shadow of thy wings. ANT. Save us. The Canticle of the venerable Simeon-who, whilst holding the divine Infant in his arms, proclaimed him to be the Light of the Gentiles, and then slept the sleep of the just,-admirably expresses the repose of heart which the soul, that is in the Grace of God, will experience in her Jesus; for, as the Apostle says, we may live together with Jesus, whether we are awake or asleep.1 CANTICLE OF SIMEON. (St. Luke, ii.) Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine: * secundum verbum tuum in pace. Now dost thou dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word, in peace. 1 1 Thess. v. 10. V. Dignare, Domine, noc te ista. R. Sine peccato nos custodire. . Miserere nostri, Do mine. R. Miserere nostri. V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam. R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat. V. Vouchsafe, O Lord, this night. R. To keep us without sin. . Have mercy on us, O Lord. R. Have mercy on us. . Let thy mercy be upon us, O Lord. R. As we have hoped in thee. V. O Lord, hear my prayer. B. And let my cry come unto thee. After these Prayers, (which are omitted if the Office be of a double rite,) . Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. the Priest says: V. The Lord be with you. OREMUS. Visita, quæsumus Domine, habitationem istam, et omnes insidias inimici ab ea longe repelle: Angeli tui sancti habitent in ea, qui nos in pace custodiant: et benedictio tua sit super nos semper. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. Amen. V. Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. V. Benedicamus Domino. R. Deo gratias. Benedicat et custodiat nos omnipotens et misericors Dominus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus. R. Amen. LET US PRAY. Visit, we beseech thee, O Lord, this house and family, and drive from it all snares of the enemy: let thy holy Angels dwell herein, who may keep us in peace, and may thy blessing be always upon us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen. V. The Lord be with you. May the Almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, bless and pre serve us. R. Amen. |