The Prayers and Meditations of St. Anselm with the ProslogionMostly written between 1070 and 1080, before he became Archbishop of Canterbury, the prayers and meditations of Anselm of Aosta created a tradition of intimate, intensely personal devotional works written in subtle and theologically daring prose. While the Prayer to God is based on the Lord's Prayer, the Prayer to Christ is inspired by ardent private emotion and other prayers invest saints with individual attributes, with John the Baptist as the friend, Peter as the shepherd and Mary Magdalene as the forgiving lover, among many others. The meditations include a searching exploration of the state of the soul and a lament on the loss of purity, and the Proslogion discusses the mysteries of faith. With their bright imagery, beautiful language and highly original thought, the works of Anselm have secured a lasting place in both religious and secular literature. |
Contents
| 2 | |
| 8 | |
The Anselmian Pattern of Prayer | |
Prayer to St John the Evangelist | |
Meditations 1 and 2 | |
Prayer to Christ | |
Prayer before Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ | |
A Letter to Gundolf | |
A Letter to Prior Baldric | |
Prayer to St Benedict | |
Prayer by a Bishop or Abbot to the Patron Saint of his Church | |
Prayer for Enemies | |
Meditation 1 | |
Proslogion | |
Notes | |
APPENDIX THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRAYERS | |
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Common terms and phrases
abbot abyss accused Anselm Anselm's prayer apostles blessed Book of Cerne Carolingian prayer chapter Christian compunction confess Cross dead death deserve desire devotion Eadmer eternal evil faith Father fear flesh forgiveness glory grace Gundolf hear heart heaven hell Holy hope Human Redemption intercession John of Fécamp John the Baptist John the Evangelist judgement Julian of Norwich justice kind Lady Lanfranc lectio divina Libelli liturgy Mathilda Mathilda of Tuscany Meditation on Human mercy mind misery monk mother praise pray Prayer to Christ Prayer to St Prayers and Meditations Proslogion Psalm Ralph reading redeemed rejoice rhymed prose Rule of St saints salvation Saviour scriptures seek sinner sins sorrow soul spirit St Anselm St Benedict St Gregory St John St Mary Magdalene St Nicholas St Paul St Peter St Stephen tears theology things thought torments tradition truth understanding virginity whole Wilmart words wretched wrote