Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart

A

And now, after all this despair
and terrible heartbreak,
angry reprimands and divine wrath,
with a soul completely tormented by grief,
I pray to you, Holy Mother of God,
angel from humankind, a cherub in bodily form,
heavenly queen,
pure as air, clean as light,
clear as the image of the Morning Star at its height,
higher than the forbidden dwelling place of the
holy of holies,¹
place of the blessed covenant, a breathing Eden,²
tree of immortality, guarded by a fiery sword,³
strengthened and protected by the exalted Father,
prepared and purified by the Holy Spirit that
rested upon you,⁴ adorned by the Son who dwelt
in you as his tabernacle,⁵
only Son of the Father, and for you the first born,⁶
your Son by birth, and your Lord by creation,
together with your unsoiled purity, spotless goodness,
together with your immaculate holiness,
guardian intercessor.
Receive these prayers from me, who believe in you.
Together with my ode to you⁷
offer and present them to God as your own.

Weave and mix into your prayers of happiness
and adoration the bitter sighs that I, a sinner, utter,
you, who are the tree of life bearing the blessed fruit,⁸
so that always receiving help from you and through your
good deeds, and taking refuge in the light of your
holy motherhood,
I may live for Christ, your Son and Lord.

B

Assist me on your wings of prayer,
you, proclaimed Mother of all the living,⁹
so that my departure from this earthly valley
may be without torment, leading to life in the lodgings
you have prepared,¹⁰ that my death might be light,
though I am weighed down by iniquity.

Make the day of my anguish a festive holiday,
you, healer of the sorrow of Eve.¹¹
Speak on my behalf, beg and beseech for my sake,
for as I believe your purity is beyond words,
I also believe in the power of your words.¹²

Blessed among women, I am in trouble.
Help me with your tears.
Ask on bended knee for my reconciliation,
Mother of God.¹³
Care for me who am miserable, altar of the exalted.
Lend me a hand, for I have fallen, heavenly temple.
Glorify your Son,
by performing upon me the divine miracle of
mercy and pardon, handmaid and Mother of God.¹⁴

C

Magnify your honor through me,
and my salvation will be manifested through you
if you find me, Mother of the Lord,
if you pity me, pure one,
if you rescue me in my waywardness,
       immaculate one,
if you care for me in my fear, happy one,
if you lift my head bowed in shame, good grace,
if you intercede for me in my despair,
       ever Holy Virgin,
if you include me in my rejection, exalted of God,
if you show me kindness, undoer of malice,
if you steady me in my doubt, repose,
if you calm my anxiety, pacifier,
if you show me the way from which
       I have strayed, praised one,
if you appear before the tribunal for me,
       vanquisher of death,
if you mellow my bitterness, sweetness,
if you eliminate my separation from God,
       reconciliation,
if you lift away my uncleanness, you who
       stamp out corruption,
if you save me in my condemnation, living light,
if you cut off the sound of my wailing, bliss,
if you restore me, for I am broken, salve of life,
if you look upon me in my ruin, you filled
       with the Spirit,
if you visit me with compassion, bequeathed legacy.¹⁵
You alone are blessed on the pure lips of happy tongues.
Indeed if but a drop of your virgin milk
were to rain on me, it would give me life,
Mother of our exalted Lord Jesus,
creator of heaven and earth,
whom you bore complete in humanity and
total in divinity,
who is glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
uniting his essence and our nature in a manner beyond human understanding.
He is all and in all, one of the Holy Trinity.¹⁶
To him glory, forever and ever.
Amen.