aeternus

I beseech thee O Holy Lady Mary,

Mother of God most full of pity,

the daughter of the highest king,

mother most glorious, mother of orphans,

the consolation of the desolate,

the way of them that go astray,

the safety of all that trust in thee,

a virgin before childbearing,

a virgin in childbearing,

and a virgin after childbearing:

the fountain of mercy,

the fountain of health and grace,

the fountain of consolation and pardon,

the fountain of piety and gladness,

the fountain of life and forgiveness.

By that holy unspeakable gladness,

by the which thy spirit did rejoice that hour,

wherein the Son of God was unto thee

by the Angel Gabriel declared and conceived.

And by that holy unspeakable humility,

in which thou didst answer the

Archangel Gabriel:

Behold the handmaid of our Lord,

be it unto me according unto thy word:

and by that divine mystery,

which the Holy Ghost as then did work in thee:

and by the unspeakable grace,

pity, mercy, love, and humility

by the which thy son our Lord Jesus Christ

came down to take human flesh

in thy most venerable womb:

and by the most glorious joys,

which thou hadst of thy son

our Lord Jesus Christ:

and by that holy and most great compassion,

and most bitter grief of thy heart,

which thou hadst when as thou didst behold

thy son our Lord Jesus Christ,

made naked before the cross,

and lifted up upon the same,

hanging, crucified, wounded, thirsting,

and the most bitter drink of gall

and vinegar put unto his mouth.

Thou heardst him cry Eli,

and didst see him die.

And by those five wounds of the same

thy son and by the sore shrinking together

of thy inward parts,

through the extreme grief of this wounds,

and by the sorrow which thou hadst

when thou didst behold him wounded.

And by the fountains of his blood:

and by all his passion,

and sorrow of thy heart,

and by the fountains of thy tears,

that thou wouldst come with all the Saints

and elect of God and hasten unto my help,

and my counsel in all my prayers, and petitions,

in all my distresses and necessities.

As also in all those things,

wherein I am to do anything, speak,

or think,

all the days and nights, hours, and moments of my life.

And obtain for me thy servant of thy beloved son

Our Lord Jesus Christ

the accomplishment of all virtues,

with all mercy, and consolation, all counsel and aid,

all benediction and sanctification,

all salvation, peace and prosperity,

all joy and gladness:

also abundance of all spiritual good things,

and sufficiency of corporal,

and grace of the Holy Ghost,

which may well dispose me in all things,

and may guard my soul,

govern and protect my body,

stir up my mind, order my manners,

approve my acts, suggest holy cogitations,

pardon my evils past,

amend things present, and moderate things to come:

bestow on me an honest, and chaste life,

grant me faith, hope, and charity:

make me firmly to believe the articles of the faith,

and to observe the precepts of the law:

rule and protect the senses of my body,

and evermore deliver me from mortal sins,

and defend me to my life’s end:

that he may graciously and meekly hear,

and receive this prayer,

and give me life everlasting.

Hear and make intercession for me

most sweet virgin Mary Mother of God,and Mercy.

Amen.

O Untouchable, and forever blessed,

singular and incomparable virgin Mary Mother of God,

most grateful temple of God,

the sacristy of the Holy Ghost,

the gate of the kingdom of heaven,

by whom next unto God the whole world liveth,

incline O Mother of Mercy the ears of thy pity unto my unworthy supplications,

and be pitiful to me a most wretched sinner, and be unto me a merciful helper in all things.

O most blessed John, the familiar and friend of Christ,

which of the same Lord Jesus Christ was chosen a virgin,

and among the rest more beloved,

above all instructed in the heavenly mysteries,

for thou wast made a most worthy Apostle and Evangelist:

thee also I call upon with Mary mother of the same Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour,

that thou wouldst vouchsafe to afford me thy aid with hers.

O ye two celestial jewels, Mary, and John.

O ye two lights divinely shining before God.

Chase away by your bright beams the clouds of my offences.

For you are those two in whom the only begotten Son of God,

for the merit of most sincere virginity,

hanging upon the cross confirmed the privilege of his love,

saying thus to the one of you: woman,

behold thy son: and then unto the other:

behold thy mother.

In the sweetness therefore of his most sacred love,

through which by our Lord’s own mouth,

as mother and son you were joined in one,

I a most wretched sinner recommend this day to you both my body and soul that at all hours and moments,

inwardly and outwardly,

you would vouchsafe to be unto me firm guardians,

and before God devout intercessors:

ask earnestly for me I beseech you, health of body and soul.

Procure I beseech you, procure by your glorious prayers,

that the pure spirit,

the best giver of graces,

may vouchsafe to visit my heart and dwell therein,

which may thoroughly purge me from all filth of vice,

lighten and adorn me with sacred virtues:

cause me perfectly to stand,

and persevere in the love of God and my neighbour,

and after the course of this life the most benign comforter may bring me to the joys of his elect,

who with God the Father,

and the Son

liveth and reigneth world without end.

Amen.
This prayer was a favorite of the faithful during the Middle Ages and comes before the The Hours of the Virgin as receited in the Book of Hours. It is from the Latin/English Primer of 1599. The Book of Hours is a prayer book intended for the laity and were based upon the much longer Liturgy of the Hours recited by clergy and religious. Often these books would contain three sets of Hours; the Hours of the Blessed Virgin, the Hours of the Cross, and the Hours of the Holy Spirit. In addition to the Hours, a number of other prayers and popular devotions were often included.

Thank you to the work of Glenn Gunhouse for making it available on his website!

Image above is from Horae Beatae Mariae ad usum Romanum and shows the Nativity of our Lord.