1886 prayer. Still perfect for today!

I have a beautiful Christmas gift for you. A simple gift. The words from a tiny, but meaningful prayer. The thing is, it’s very old!

It’s my first Christmas alone. It’s midnight, and I’m listening to an Ave Maria that I haven’t heard before. It’s from Verdi’s opera Otello. Since the vocal solo was being presented on television, the producer chose to show the English translation, and I was moved. This was a beautiful prayer! This is perfect for the holiday season. This is appropriate as we near the end of 2022. 

In the opera, the Ave Maria aria is sung by Desdemona (Otello’s wife) in Act 4, as she kneels in prayer with a troubled mind before going to bed. 

Here is the English translation. Pay particular attention to the phrases I have highlighted in bold print: 

Ave Maria, overflowing with grace,

Blessed be the fruit of thy womb.

 

Blessed are you above all women

for delivering to us Christ Jesus.

 

Pray for the one

who kneels in prayer before you,

 

Pray for the wrongdoer

…and for the innocent,

 

Pray for the weak and oppressed,

…and for those in power,

 

For the wretched, likewise,

show your mercy.

 

Pray for the one suffering

cruel misfortune,

 

Pray for the one who bows his head

under injustice and cruel fate.

 

And for us… pray for us,

pray always…

 

Amen and Amen!

 

 

Comments

MaryMargaret said…
It is a beautiful prayer. Many Catholic prayers pray for those living on the margins. The disenfranchised and poor. We pray to the Mother of God who kneels at the foot of the cross they hung her son on. We know the very first public miracle Jesus performed was at the request of his Mother and although he said it was not yet his time he honored her request and turned water into wine. When we pray to her we take our prayers to the foot of the cross and offer them up to the Son who saved us. This wonderful prayer is familiar and new at the same time. I have lived my life with great mentors who taught me all these lessons. I hold them in my heart. It is why I do the work I do. It is pleasing to Our Lord. It is how he lived his life in his 3 year ministry here on Earth. I do my best to live up to the legacy he gave us and the mentors who taught me these lessons. When I fail miserably I know he welcomes me back when I repent and seek reconciliation. God is good always. He has a perfect plan for each of us. Sometimes we stumble on the way. He forgives and draws us back to Him. Shalom
December 21, 2022 at 10:04 PM
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