“This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him.” And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid.
The Act of Contrition – Oh, my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.
Act of Contrition.
Fr. Jeremiah Williams Cummings (1814-1866)
Songs for Catholic Schools
and Aids to Memory for the Catechism
New York: P. O’Shea. 1860. Pp. 109–110
My holy God! my very soul,
With grief sincere is moved,
Because I have offended Thee,
Whom I should e’er have loved.
Forgive me, Father! I am now,
Resolved to sin no more,
And by Thy holy grace to shun,
What made me sin before.
My God! my Father, I have sinned, Turn not Thy face away
For with repentant tears I’ve filled my feeble heart of clay.
Forgive me Father! by Thy grace; I’ll never more offend;
Oh, help me dearest Lord to be most faithful to the end.
Whenever you feel guilty, even if it is because you have consciously committed a sin, a serious sin, something you have kept doing many, many times, never let the devil deceive you by allowing him to discourage you. Whenever you feel guilty, offer all your guilt to the Immaculate, without analyzing it or examining it, as something that belongs to her
My beloved, may every fall, even if it is serious and habitual sin, always become for us a small step toward a higher degree of perfection. In fact, the only reason why the Immaculate permits us to fall is to cure us from our self-conceit, from our pride, to make us humble and thus make us docile to the divine graces.
The devil, instead, tries to inject in us discouragement and internal depression in those circumstances, which is, in fact, nothing else than our pride surfacing again.
If we knew the depth of our poverty, we would not be at all surprised by our falls, but rather astonished, and we would thank God, after sinning, for not allowing us to fall even deeper and still more frequently.- St. Maximilian Kolbe
Examination of Conscience
Examination of Conscience with the Ten Commandments of God and the Precepts of the Church.
1 First Commandment:
I AM THE LORD THY GOD; THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME.
Sins contrary to the First Commandment are the following:
neglect of prayer; ingratitude toward God; spiritual sloth; hatred of God or of the Catholic Church; tempting God (explicitly or implicitly, e.g. by exposing one’s self to danger of soul, life, or health without grave cause); not behaving reverently when in church (e.g. not genuflecting to the Blessed Sacrament when entering or leaving the church, etc.); excessive attraction to things/creatures (e.g. over-affection to animals, sports fanatic, having movie star /music/TV idols, love for money, pleasure or power); idolatry (worshiping false gods such as giving honor to a creature in place of God, e.g. Satan, science, ancestors, country); superstition (ascribing powers to a created thing which it does not have); hypnotism (without sufficient cause); divination (communication with Satan, demons, the dead or other false practices in order to discover the unknown, consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, fortune telling); attaching undue importance to dreams, omens or lots; all practices of magic or sorcery (e.g. witchcraft, voodoo); wearing charms; playing with Ouija boards or rotating tables; spiritism (talking with the spirits); sacrilege (profaning or treating unworthily the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, and other liturgical actions, as well as religious persons, blessed things such as sacred vessels or statues, or places consecrated to God); sacrilege by receiving a sacrament, especially the Holy Eucharist, in the state of mortal sin; simony (buying or selling of spiritual things); profane or superstitious use of blessed objects (sometimes done in order to remain in sin); practical materialism (one believes he needs and desires only material things); atheistic humanism (falsely considers man to be an end in himself, and the sole maker with supreme control of his own history); atheism in general (rejects, denies or doubts the existence of God, either in theory or practice, i.e. ignoring Him in the daily living of our lives); agnosticism (postulates the existence of a transcendent being which is incapable of revealing itself, and about which nothing can be said or makes no judgment about God’s existence declaring it impossible to prove or even to affirm or deny).
Sins against Faith:
Wilful doubt of any article of faith; deliberate ignorance of the truths of faith which ought to be known; neglect of instructing oneself in the faith according to one’s state in life; rash credulity (e.g. giving credence to private revelation too easily or believing in a private revelations which have been condemned by the lawful Church authorities); apostasy (abandoning the Catholic faith); heresy (choosing to disbelieve specific dogmas necessary for belief to be saved, disrupting the integrity of the one true faith by exaggerating some specific issue); indifferentism (to believe that one religion is as good as another, and that all religions are equally true and pleasing to God, or that one is free to accept or reject any or all religions); reading or circulating books or writings against the Catholic belief or practice in such wise as to jeopardize one’s faith; to remain silent when asked about one’s faith; engaging in schismatic (splitting the unity of the Church) or heretical worship; joining or supporting masonic groups or other forbidden societies.
Sins against Hope:
despair of God’s mercy (to give up all hope of salvation, and the means necessary to be saved) or want of confidence in the power of His Grace to support us in trouble or temptation; no desire to possess eternal happiness in heaven or after this earthly life; presumption (to hope for salvation without help from God or to assume God’s forgiveness without conversion, or to hope to obtain heavenly glory without merit); presuming on God’s mercy or on the supposed efficacy of certain pious practices, in order to continue in sin; refusing any dependence on God.
Sins against Charity:
not making an act of charity at regular intervals during life especially during times of necessity; egoism (one cares only about himself, praises himself, selfish, enjoys receiving praise) wilfully rebellious thoughts against God; boasting of sin; violating God’s law, or omitting good works through human respect.
2 Second Commandment:
THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN
Sins contrary to the Second Commandment:
dishonoring of God by profane or disrespectful use of the Name of God, or of the Holy Name of Jesus Christ, the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints; blasphemy (speech or gestures that have contempt for or insult to God, Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary or the saints); perjury (to promise something under oath with no intention of keeping it, or breaking a promise made under oath); taking false or unnecessary oaths (to call on God to be witness to a lie); breaking vows or promises to God; talking during Mass and in a Church without sufficient reason or to the distraction of others.
3 Third Commandment:
REMEMBER THAT THOU SHALT KEEP HOLY THE LORD’S DAY
Sins contrary to the Third Commandment:
omission of prayer and divine worship, all unnecessary servile work, and whatever hinders the keeping of the Lord’s Day holy; engaging in unnecessary commerce, i.e. buying and selling on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
4 Fourth Commandment
HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER
Sins contrary to the Fourth Commandment:
Parents’ Duties: Hating their children; cursing them; giving scandal to them by cursing, drinking, etc.; allowing them to grow up in ignorance, idleness or sin; showing habitual partiality (favoring one above others) without cause; deferring a child’s baptism; neglecting to watch over their bodily health, their religious instruction, the company they keep, the books they read, etc.; failing to correct them when needful; being harsh or cruel in correction; sending children to Protestant and other dangerous schools; neglect of directing them to attend Holy Mass on Sundays and Holy Days and to frequent reception of the Sacraments.
Children’s Duties: All manner of anger or hatred against parents and other lawful superiors; provoking them to anger; grieving them; insulting them; neglecting them in their necessity; contempt or disobedience to their lawful commands.
Husbands’ and Wives’ Duties: Ill-usage (i.e. using the married partner without consideration for their own welfare, making the fulfillment of their own duties more difficult, or without regard to charity); putting obstacles to the fulfilment of religious duties; want of gentleness and consideration in regard to each other’s faults; unreasonable jealousy; neglect of household duties; sulkiness; injurious words; neglect of attempting to secure means of supporting the family due to laziness or timidity.
Employers’ Duties to Employees: not allowing one’s employees reasonable time for religious duties and instruction; giving bad example to them or allowing others to do so; withholding their lawful wages; not caring for them in sickness; dismissing them arbitrarily and without cause; imposing unreasonable policies.
Employees’ Duties to Employers: disrespect to employers; want of obedience in matters wherein one has bound oneself to obey (e.g. by fulfilling a contract); waste of time; neglect of work; waste of employer’s property by dishonesty, carelessness or neglect; violating company policies without sufficient reason.
For Professionals and Civil Servants: culpable lack of the knowledge relating to duties of office or profession; neglect in discharging those duties; injustice or partiality; exorbitant fees (this sin may also be included under the Seventh Commandment).
For Teachers: neglecting the progress of those confided to their care; unjust, indiscreet or excessive punishment; partiality; bad example; loose or false maxims (i.e. teaching them things which are untrue as being true)
Students: disrespect; disobedience; stubbornness; idleness; waste of time; giving in to idle distractions (e.g. partying and undue recreating)
For All: contempt for the laws of State and country as well as of the Church; disobedience to lawful authority; breaking of civil laws.
5 Fifth Commandment
THOU SHALT NOT KILL
Sins against the Fifth commandment include:
murder; performing an abortion; having an abortion, aiding in someone procuring an abortion (the penitent should know that having, causing or aiding in an abortion causing one to be excommunicated); euthanasia; withholding ordinary means to a dying or terminally ill patient; suicide; attempts of suicide, serious thoughts about committing suicide; fighting; quarreling anger; hatred; desires of revenge; human torture; gluttony (excessive eating or drinking); drunkenness; abuse of alcohol, medicine or drugs; endangering other people’s lives (e.g. by drinking and driving, by driving too fast, etc.), providing a bad example which provokes others to unsafe or uncivil behavior; risking one’s own life or limb without a sufficient reason (e.g. daredevil stunts, Russian roulette, etc.); carelessness in leaving about poisons, dangerous drugs, weapons, etc.; mutilation of the body, such as castration, vasectomy, tubal ligation, hysterectomy (without sufficient medical cause); immoral scientific research and its applications; bad example or scandal; disrespect for the dying or the dead; not trying to avoid war; showing aversion or contempt for others; refusing to speak to them when addressed; ignoring offers of reconciliation especially between relatives; cherishing an unforgiving spirit; raillery and ridicule; insults; irritating words and actions; sadness at another’s prosperity; rejoicing over another’s misfortune; envy at attention shown to others; tyrannical behavior; inducing others to sin by word or example; injury to health by over-indulgence; giving drink to others knowing they will abuse it; taking contraceptive pills which may or may not be an abortifacient; use of prophylactic or barrier methods to avoid pregnancy; using licit means of avoiding conception while fostering a contraceptive mentality; direct sterilization; causing unnecessary suffering or death to animals.
6 Sixth Commandment
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
Sins against the Sixth Commandment are the following:
impurity and immodesty in words, looks, and actions, whether alone or with others, telling and listening to dirty jokes; wearing immodest clothing; buying, renting or watching indecent movies, television or books (pornography as well as books which contain impurity); masturbation; fornication (sometimes called premarital sex); prostitution; sodomy (homosexual practices); adultery; divorce; polygamy; incest; sexual abuse; rape; prolonged and sensual kissing; petting or foreplay outside the context of marriage and within the context of marriage not ordering foreplay to the consummation of the natural conjugal act; immodest dancing; dating without taking the necessary precautions to safeguard purity or one’s faith.
7 Seventh Commandment
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
Sins against the Seventh Commandment are:
stealing; petty thefts (e.g. taking things from one’s place of employment to which one is not entitled or taking money from a family member without his permission); cheating; plagiarizing; breaking copyright regulations, (e.g. photocopying without permission); keeping borrowed or lost objects without making a reasonable attempt to restore the other’s property; possession of ill-gotten goods; counseling or commanding someone to do injury to another person or to his goods; careless or malicious injury to the property of others; concealment of fraud, theft or damage when in duty bound to give the information; tax evasion by not paying just taxes; business fraud; dishonesty in politics, business, etc.; not paying just debts at scheduled time and neglecting to make reasonable efforts and sacrifices in this matter, e.g. by gradually laying up the amount required; not making reparation or compensation to someone suffering from unjust damages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another; usury (lending money at high interest rates to someone in financial difficulty); speculation in which one contrives to manipulate the price of goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the detriment of others; corruption in which one influences the judgment of those who must decide in legal matters; accepting bribes; appropriation and use for private purposes of the common goods of an enterprise; work poorly done; paying unjust wages or defrauding an employee of due benefits; forgery of checks and invoices; bouncing checks knowing that there is not enough funds to cover them; excessive expenses and waste; not keeping promises or contract agreements (if the commitments were morally just); gambling and betting (if they deprive someone of basic living needs for himself or others); excessive unnecessary waste of goods, resources, money or funds.
8 Eighth Commandment
THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR
Sins contrary to the Eighth Commandment are:
lying; boasting; bragging; flattery; hypocrisy; exaggerating; irony (lying by falsely belittling oneself or falsely accusing oneself of faults – false humility); sarcasm; unjust injury to another’s good name either by revealing true and hidden faults (detraction); telling false defects (slander or calumny), talebearing, or spreading rumors; to criticize others, to listen with pleasure to others being criticized; gossiping; unjustly dishonoring another person in his presence (contumely); rash judgment (firmly believing, without sufficient reason, that someone has some moral defect); revealing secrets; publishing discreditable secrets about others, even if true; refusing or delaying to restore the good name one has blackened; baseless accusations; groundless suspicions; rash judgments of others in our own mind.
9 Ninth Commandment
THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR’S WIFE
The Ninth Commandment forbids all those impure thoughts and desires which we take deliberate pleasure in so thinking, or we willingly consent to it whenever these unchaste thoughts or passions come into our mind. The penitent should keep in mind that any sin listed under the sixth commandment in which one willing or deliberately entertains may have the same degree of gravity, i.e. either mortal or venial sin.
10 Tenth Commandment
THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR’S GOODS
The Tenth Commandment forbids the following:
envy (desire of another’s goods); jealousy (a zealous vigilance in keeping a good enjoyed by oneself from others); greed and the desire to have material goods without limit (avarice); the desire to become rich at all costs; businesses or professions who hope for unfavorable circumstances for others so that they may personally profit from it; envious of someone else’s success, talents, temporal or spiritual goods; the desire to commit injustice by harming someone in order to get his temporal goods.
THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH
Besides the Ten Commandments of God, the faithful are also bound to follow the Precepts of the Church. The power for making these laws comes from Jesus Christ, and includes everything necessary for the government of the Church and for the direction of the faithful in order that they may attain their eternal salvation.
1 First Precept
TO ASSIST AT HOLY MASS ON ALL SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAYS OF OBLIGATION
There are Six Holy days of obligation:
1) Christmas Day (December 25)
2) The Circumcision (January 1)
3) Ascension Thursday (40 days after Easter)
4) The Assumption (August 15)
5)All Saints Day (November 1)
6)The Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8)
The Church obliges us to abstain from servile work on Holy Days of Obligation, just as on Sundays, as far as we are able. Catholics who must work on Holy Days are obliged to attend Holy Mass unless excused by a reasonable grave cause. One may violate this precept by not attending Mass on the prescribed days or by arriving late to Mass without sufficient reason.
2 Second Precept
TO FAST, ABSTAIN AND DO PENANCE ON PRESCRIBED DAYS
The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their 14th year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their age of majority (18), until the beginning of their 60th year. Fasting means to eat less food than one normally eats.
On days of fasting, we are allowed only one full meal and two smaller meals together are less than one full meal; days of fasting are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
On days of abstinence, we are forbidden to eat flesh-meat; days of abstinence are: all of the Fridays of the year. In the United States, some form of penance or prayers may be done in place of the abstinence for those Fridays of the year outside of Lent. The permitted substitute penance could be: saying a Rosary, Stations of the Cross, visiting the sick or imprisoned, etc.
3 Third Precept
TO CONFESS OUR MORTAL SINS AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR
The Church urges us to go to the great Sacrament of Confession frequently, but only actually commands us to go at least once a year in order to warn those people who may have presumption on the mercy of God, which is a sin against the Holy Ghost. Parents must prepare their children for Confession when the children learn to distinguish right from wrong. (i.e.) at about 7 years of age). The obligation to confess once a year is only binding on those who have committed a mortal sin and have not confessed for at least one year.
4 Fourth Precept
TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION DURING EASTER SEASON.
The Easter Season begins on the First Sunday of Lent and ends on Trinity Sunday. However, after receiving our First Holy Communion, it is strongly recommended to receive this great Sacrament frequently during our lifetime (everyday if possible as recommended by Pope St. Pius X).
5 Fifth Precept
CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUPPORT OF YOUR PASTOR
This precept requires each to provide for the material needs of the Church according to his means.
6 Sixth Precept
TO OBSERVE THE LAWS OF THE CHURCH CONCERNING MARRIAGE.
Have I entered into marriage or aided any one else to do so without permission from the Church to marry or before a State official or a Protestant minister; or without dispensation within the forbidden degrees of kindred; or with any other known impediment?
Hymn of Love for Jesus, Who Innocently Died to Save Us from Our Sins–hope of every contrite heart, joy of all the meek, kind to those who fall.
(Aspiring to Perfect Contrition–total sorrow that we have offended God, rather than imperfect detachment from sinfulness.)
1. Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.
2. I was not ever thus, nor pray’d that thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path; but now,
Lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.
3. So long thy pow’r hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone.
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
Pride Ruled My Will
The Seven Penitential Psalms
Psalm 6
width=187 Schutz:Ach Herr, straf mich nicht
Ach Herr, straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn
Und züchtige mich nicht in deinem Grimme.
Herr, sei mir gnädig; denn ich bein schwach;
Heile mich, Herr, denn meine Gebeine sind erschrokken, und meine Seele ist sehr erschrokken.
Ach du Herr, wie lang!
Wende dich, Herr, und errette meine Seele,
Hilf mir um deiner Güte willen.
Denn im Tode gedenket man dein nicht;
Wer will dir in der Hölle danken?
Ich bin so müde von Seufzen;
Ich schwemme mien Bett die ganze Nacht
Und netze mit meinen Tränen mein Lager.
Meine Gestalt ist verfallen von Trauern
Und ist alt worden,
Denn ich allenthalben geängstet werde.
Weichet von mir, alle Übeltäter;
Denn der Herr hört mein Weinen,
der Herr hört mein Flehen,
Mein Gebet nimmt der Herr an.
Es müssen alle meine Feinde zu Schanden werden
Und sehr erschrekken, sich zurükkekehren
Und zu Schanden werden plötzlich.
Ehre sei dem Vater und dem Sohn
Und auch dem heilgen Geiste,
Wie es war im Anfang, jetzt und immerdar,
Und von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit, Amen.
Ah, Lord, do not punish me in Your anger
And do not chastise me in your wrate.
Lord, be gracious to me, for I am weak;
Heal me, Lord, for my limbs are shaking,
And my soul is very frightened.
Ah Lord, how long!
Turn, Lord, and save my soul,
Help me for the sake of Your goodness.
For in death You are not remembered;
Who will give You thanks in hell?
I am so weary from sobbing;
I drench my bed all night long
And moisten my couch with tears.
My face has drooped from grieving
And has become old,
For I am anxious over everything.
Hence from me, you evil-doers;
For the Lord hears my weeping,
The Lord hears my pleading;
My prayers are taken up by the Lord.
All my enemies must be put to shame
And be frightened, turned back,
And humiliated in a moment.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
And to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, now and always,
And for ever and ever, Amen.
6 Psalm 6 – Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me. (Pro octava). (O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation. (For the octave.))
1 Domine, ne in furore. A prayer of a penitent sinner, under the scourge of God. The first penitential psalm.
[1] Unto the end, in verses, a psalm for David, for the octave.
(“For the octave”: That is, to be sung on an instrument of eight strings. St.
Augustine understands it mystically, of the last resurrection, and the world to come; which is, as it were, the octave, or eighth day, after the seven days of this mortal life: and for this octave, sinners must dispose themselves, like David, by bewailing their sins, whilst they are here upon earth.)
[2] O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath.
[3] Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak: heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
[4] And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long?
[5] Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercy’s sake.
[6] For there is no one in death, that is mindful of thee: and who shall confess to thee in hell?
[7] I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears.
[8] My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old amongst all my enemies.
[9] Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity: for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.
[10] The Lord hath heard my supplication: the Lord hath received my prayer.
[11] Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled: let them be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily.
Psalm 31
width=187 A.Gabrieli:Psalm 31
31 Psalm 31 (32) – Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates. (Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven.)
2 Beati quorum. The second penitential psalm.
[1] To David himself, understanding. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered
[2] Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile
[3] Because I was silent my bones grew old; whilst I cried out all the day long
(“Because I was silent”: That is, whilst I kept silence, by concealing, or refusing to confess my sins, thy hand was heavy upon me, etc.)
[4] For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I am turned in my anguish, whilst the thorn is fastened
(“I am turned”: That is, I turn and roll about in my bed to seek for ease in my pain whilst the thorn of thy justice pierces my flesh, and sticks fast in me.
Or, I am turned: that is, I am converted to thee, my God, by being brought to a better understanding by thy chastisements. In the Hebrew it is, my moisture is turned into the droughts of the summer.)
[5] I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and my injustice I have not concealed. I said I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin
[6] For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee in a seasonable time
(And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come nigh unto him.)
[7] Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath encompassed me: my joy, deliver me from them that surround me
[8] I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee in this way, in which thou shalt go: I will fix my eyes upon thee
[9] Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding. With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto thee
[10] Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy shall encompass him that hopeth in the Lord
[11] Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just, and glory, all ye right of heart
Psalm 37 (38)
width=187 Monteverdi: Domine ne in furore
37 Psalm 37 (38) – Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me. (in rememorationem de sabbato). (O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation. (For a remembrance of the Sabbath.))
3 Domine, ne in furore. A prayer of a penitent for the remission of his sins. The third penitential psalm.
[1] A psalm for David, for a remembrance of the sabbath.
(“For a remembrance”: Viz., of our miseries and sins: and to be sung on the sabbath day.)
[2] Rebuke me not, O Lord, in thy indignation; nor chastise me in thy wrath.
[3] For thy arrows are fastened in me: and thy hand hath been strong upon me.
[4] There is no health in my flesh, because of thy wrath: there is no peace for my bones, because of my sins.
[5] For my iniquities are gone over my head: and as a heavy burden are become heavy upon me.
[6] My sores are putrified and corrupted, because of my foolishness.
[7] I am become miserable, and am bowed down even to the end: I walked sorrowful all the day long.
[8] For my loins are filled with illusions; and there is no health in my flesh.
[9] I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly: I roared with the groaning of my heart.
[10] Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not hidden from thee.
[11] My heart is troubled, my strength hath left me, and the light of my eyes itself is not with me.
[12] My friends and my neighbours have drawn near, and stood against me. And they that were near me stood afar off:
[13] And they that sought my soul used violence. And they that sought evils to me spoke vain things, and studied deceits all the day long.
[14] But I, as a deaf man, heard not: and as a dumb man not opening his mouth.
[15] And I became as a man that heareth not: and that hath no reproofs in his mouth.
[16] For in thee, O Lord, have I hoped: thou wilt hear me, O Lord my God.
[17] For I said: Lest at any time my enemies rejoice over me: and whilst my feet are moved, they speak great things against me.
[18] For I am ready for scourges: and my sorrow is continually before me.
[19] For I will declare my iniquity: and I will think for my sin.
[20] But my enemies live, and are stronger than I: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
[21] They that render evil for good, have detracted me, because I followed goodness.
[22] Forsake me not, O Lord my God: do not thou depart from me.
[23] Attend unto my help, O Lord, the God of my salvation.
Psalm 51 (50)
Thou art the man.…Why therefore hast thou despised the word of the Lord, to do evil in my sight?
width=187 Allegri:Miserere
51 Psalm 50 (51) – Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. (Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.)
4 Miserere. The repentance and confession of David after his sin. The fourth penitential psalm.
[1] Unto the end, a psalm of David,
[2] When Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bethsabee.
[3] Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
[4] Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
[5] For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.
[6] To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words and mayst overcome when thou art judged.
[7] For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me.
[8] For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.
[9] Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
[10] To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
[11] Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
[12] Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
[13] Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
[14] Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
[15] I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.
[16] Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice.
[17] O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise.
[18] For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.
[19] A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
[20] Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
[21] Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.
Psalm 101
width=187 Purcell:Hear My Prayer, O Lord
101 Psalm 101 (102) – Domine, exaudi orationem meam, et clamor meus ad te veniat. (O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come unto thee.)
5 Domine, exaudi. A prayer for one in affliction: the fifth penitential psalm.
[1] The prayer of the poor man, when he was anxious, and poured out his supplication before the Lord.
[2] Hear, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come to thee.
[3] Turn not away thy face from me: in the day when I am in trouble, incline thy ear to me. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily.
[4] For my days are vanished like smoke: and my bones are grown dry like fuel for the fire.
[5] I am smitten as grass, and my heart is withered: because I forgot to eat my bread.
[6] Through the voice of my groaning, my bone hath cleaved to my flesh.
[7] I am become like to a pelican of the wilderness: I am like a night raven in the house.
“A pelican”: I am become through grief, like birds that affect solitude and darkness.
[8] I have watched, and am become as a sparrow all alone on the housetop.
[9] All the day long my enemies reproached me: and they that praised me did swear against me.
[10] For I did eat ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.
[11] Because of thy anger and indignation: for having lifted me up thou hast thrown me down.
[12] My days have declined like a shadow, and I am withered like grass.
[13] But thou, O Lord, endurest for ever: and thy memorial to all generations.
[14] Thou shalt arise and have mercy on Sion: for it is time to have mercy on it, for the time is come.
[15] For the stones thereof have pleased thy servants: and they shall have pity on the earth thereof.
[16] And the Gentiles shall fear thy name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
[17] For the Lord hath built up Sion: and he shall be seen in his glory.
[18] He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble: and he hath not despised their petition.
[19] Let these things be written unto another generation: and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord:
[20] Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary: from heaven the Lord hath looked upon the earth.
[21] That he might hear the groans of them that are in fetters: that he might release the children of the slain:
[22] That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion: and his praise in Jerusalem;
[23] When the people assemble together, and kings, to serve the Lord.
[24] He answered him in the way of his strength: Declare unto me the fewness of my days.
“He answered him in the way of his strength”: That is, the people, mentioned in the foregoing verse, or the penitent, in whose person this psalm is delivered, answered the Lord in the way of his strength: that is, according to the best of his power and strength: or when he was in the flower of his age and strength: inquiring after the fewness of his days: to know if he should live long enough to see the happy restoration of Sion, etc.
[25] Call me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are unto generation and generation.
[26] In the beginning, O Lord, thou foundedst the earth: and the heavens are the works of thy hands.
[27] They shall perish but thou remainest: and all of them shall grow old like a garment: And as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed.
[28] But thou art always the selfsame, and thy years shall not fail.
[29] The children of thy servants shall continue: and their seed shall be directed for ever.
Psalm 129 (130)
width=187 Josquin:De profundis clamavi
129 Psalm 129 (130) – De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine. (Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord.)
6 De profundis. A prayer of a sinner, trusting in the mercies of God. The sixth penitential psalm.
[1] Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord:
[2] Lord, hear my voice. Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
[3] If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
[4] For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word:
[5] My soul hath hoped in the Lord.
[6] From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
[7] Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
[8] And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Psalm 143 (142)
width=187 Lassus:Psalm 143
142 Psalm 142 (143) – Domine, exaudi orationem meam: auribus percipe obsecrationem meam in veritate tua. (Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in thy truth.)
7 Domine, exaudi. The psalmist in tribulation calleth upon God for his delivery. The seventh penitential psalm.
[1] Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in thy truth: hear me in thy justice.
[2] And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight no man living shall be justified.
[3] For the enemy hath persecuted my soul: he hath brought down my life to the earth. He hath made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old:
[4] And my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled.
[5] I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all thy works: I meditated upon the works of thy hands.
[6] I stretched forth my hands to thee: my soul is as earth without water unto thee.
[7] Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit hath fainted away. Turn not away thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
[8] Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning; for in thee have I hoped. Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to thee.
[9] Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to thee have I fled:
[10] Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land:
[11] For thy name’s sake, O Lord, thou wilt quicken me in thy justice. Thou wilt bring my soul out of trouble:
[12] And in thy mercy thou wilt destroy my enemies. And thou wilt cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
