Latin versions of prayers

[louisak]

I have been working at memorizing the Latin versions of some common prayers, beginning with the acts of faith, hope and charity. I just noticed a slight variation in the text of the act of charity, among the versions of this prayer that can be found online. Some have the word “et” where it is given below underlined, some versions don’t:

Domine Deus, amo te super omnia et proximum meum propter te

My Latin isn’t good enough to judge whether the word “et” makes sense in that context or not. Are there any Latinists here who can say which version is correct? Or anyone who has a printed prayer book with the prayers in Latin for that matter.

Related question, does anyone know a version of the morning offering prayer in Latin? I haven’t been able to find one online. I imagine there are different versions of this prayer but the one I am familiar with goes something like this: Oh my God, I offer you today all my prayers, works, and sufferings, in reparation for my sins and the sins of the world, in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and all the Masses said today, for the holy souls in Purgatory, for the conversion of sinners etc etc…

Thanks!

 

[tee_eff_em]

I have been working at memorizing the Latin versions of some common prayers, beginning with the acts of faith, hope and charity. I just noticed a slight variation in the text of the act of charity, among the versions of this prayer that can be found online. Some have the word “et” where it is given below underlined, some versions don’t:

Domine Deus, amo te super omnia et proximum meum propter te

My Latin isn’t good enough to judge whether the word “et” makes sense in that context or not. Are there any Latinists here who can say which version is correct? Or anyone who has a printed prayer book with the prayers in Latin for that matter.

Do you know the English you intend this to pray? That should tell you if the *et *makes sense twocents: yes, it does). If you do not know the English, why would you want to make a prayer you do not understand?

Related question, does anyone know a version of the morning offering prayer in Latin? I haven’t been able to find one online. I imagine there are different versions of this prayer but the one I am familiar with goes something like this: Oh my God, I offer you today all my prayers, works, and sufferings, in reparation for my sins and the sins of the world, in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and all the Masses said today, for the holy souls in Purgatory, for the conversion of sinners etc etc…

Thanks!

Not the one you suggest, but a very traditional such prayer is Actiones Nostras:
Actiones nostras, quaesumus Domine, aspirando praeveni et adiuvando prosequere: ut cuncta nostra oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

(which, I can tell you what it means, if you do not know)

tee

 

[oliver927]

I know just about zero Latin so I used Google translate to see what you posted meant. I then removed “et” and it seemed to alter the meaning more than a little bit.

 

[louisak]

Do you know the English you intend this to pray? That should tell you if the *et *makes sense twocents: yes, it does). If you do not know the English, why would you want to make a prayer you do not understand?

Some time ago I made a practice of reciting the acts of faith, hope and charity in English. So that gives me the general sense of the prayer, however there are some big differences between the English and Latin versions. So a word-to-word comparison isn’t necessarily helpful. I do know some Latin, partly from taking a year of Latin in high school and partly from years of exposure to liturgical Latin, but not enough to help me out in this case.

Not the one you suggest, but a very traditional such prayer is Actiones Nostras:
Actiones nostras, quaesumus Domine, aspirando praeveni et adiuvando prosequere: ut cuncta nostra oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Thank you, I believe I am familiar with that prayer (I can get enough of the sense of it) and I had not seen the Latin version before. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[tee_eff_em]

BTW:

Actus Caritatis

and

Actiones Nostras

inter alia


tee

 

[ProVobis]

Do you know the English you intend this to pray? That should tell you if the *et *makes sense twocents: yes, it does). If you do not know the English, why would you want to make a prayer you do not understand?

Not the one you suggest, but a very traditional such prayer is Actiones Nostras:
Actiones nostras, quaesumus Domine, aspirando praeveni et adiuvando prosequere: ut cuncta nostra oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

(which, I can tell you what it means, if you do not know)

tee

I wonder if a Latinist might have done better by using the -que after operatio to join the two nominatives. Otherwise one might read the et…et as both…and. Just an observation.

 

[graciew]

I wonder if a Latinist might have done better by using the -que after operatio to join the two nominatives. Otherwise one might read the et…et as both…and. Just an observation.

And wouldn t that _que clash with “ut cuncto”?

 

[ProVobis]

Re: ut cuncta nostra oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur.

Without even knowing the English and by just looking at the structure, I was thinking more along the lines of

ut cuncta nostra oratio operatioque a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur.

Latin has different ways of expressing the connector “and.” Also treating it as singular, not plural.

 

[graciew]

Re: ut cuncta nostra oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur.

Without even knowing the English and by just looking at the structure, I was thinking more along the lines of

ut cuncta nostra oratio operatioque a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur.

Latin has different ways of expressing the connector “and.” Also treating it as singular, not plural.

Thank you. I didn t know that. And as a suffix.I had used it wrong.

And one more questión and I.do not disrupt any more.
.The verb in the clause comes out as indicative,not subjunctive. If that is ok,is it possible that it is Medieval Latin,the prayer I mean ( talking advantage on the teacher,sorry…)

 

[tee_eff_em]

The verb in the clause comes out as indicative,not subjunctive.

What makes you say so?

tee

 

[ProVobis]

Thank you. I didn t know that. And as a suffix.I had used it wrong.

And one more questión and I.do not disrupt any more.
.The verb in the clause comes out as indicative,not subjunctive. If that is ok,is it possible that it is Medieval Latin,the prayer I mean ( talking advantage on the teacher,sorry…)

“UT” usually expects a subjunctive in the Latin and it is there. The subjunctive is a very important part of prayer. When translated it may come out as indicative but that’s a problem with English speakers which confuse subjunctives and factuals.

 

[tee_eff_em]

The verb in the clause comes out as indicative,not subjunctive.

“UT” usually expects a subjunctive in the Latin and it is there. The subjunctive is a very important part of prayer. When translated it may come out as indicative but that’s a problem with English speakers which confuse subjunctives and factuals.

What part of *“may … begin” *seems indicative to you??


tee

 

[graciew]

“UT” usually expects a subjunctive in the Latin and it is there. The subjunctive is a very important part of prayer. When translated it may come out as indicative but that’s a problem with English speakers which confuse subjunctives and factuals.

Thank you! Thanks as usual for your lessons.

Tee, I read that in Medieval Latín,the verb following the ut cuncta clause was not always consistent.
And I wondered which prayers were very old. I mean very very old.Just that.
I pray Anima Christi,but in Spanish…
Thanks a lot!!!

 

[ProVobis]

What part of *“may … begin” *seems indicative to you??


tee

It doesn’t.

Not in this case maybe (because you translated it as may instead of will ) but I was referring to statements English speakers make such as “I wish it was true” as opposed to “I wish it were true.” There’s a difference though most don’t see it. But we digress.

 

[louisak]

BTW:

Actus Caritatis

Thank you for that link! That page is helpful to me because it gives side-by-side translations of both the newer and more traditional forms of the acts of faith, hope and charity. It clears up the confusion I have felt about the differences between the Latin and English texts that I have seen in the past.

Also, I now understand the meaning of “proximum meum propter te” which was unclear to me before. And now I see that the word “et” does in fact belong there.

Thanks again!