The Trisagion to the Holy Trinity IV

Ok, it is March now, we are well into Lent and we are continuing with the Holy Trisagion today. Last time I presented part 3, which in my opinion is the most beautiful of them all. Now we will check the part where we call down God's protection over us and ours. That is what the Beseeching praises are. The whole is composed of 4 responsories, each consisting of a number of praises/implorations that goes from 9 to 17 which share the same verse.

I have taken some time to reflect on what each of this parts mean. There is much, much material for meditation here, but this is what I have gotten out of it so far:

First responsory: This is the longer one. Extols to God, first in each of the Three Persons, then as the Holy Trinity, further then as many titles. The one that catches my attention the most is "Creator, Preserver and Governor of everything created". My engineer's brain keeps going back to technical terms such as the Laws of Thermodynamics, and have concluded that this World is indeed not a closed system. Instead Creation is not an act that took place in the remote past, but an ongoing work where the Life-Breath of the Most Holy keeps, if you forgive the cheesy figure of speech, "surrounding us, penetrating us, and binding the Universe together".

Second responsory: This is a sort of deconstruction of the verse in the Lord's Prayer "deliver us from evil". When most people thinks of that phrase, their mind immediately goes to the influences of evil spirits, or the deeds of evil humans. And while those are also present this is not how the responsory was prioritized. Instead, the 3 first places go to: 1) "ills of soul and body" which may or may not be the direct result of evil, 2) "sin and occasion of sin" which when evil we are talking about the evil within, which harms others (not the other way around), and then 3) to "your wraith and anger" a gentle reminder that the Boss is boss, this is not a relationship between equals, and we wont like the consequences of consciously breaking the Covenant.

Third responsory: This is a continuation of the 2nd responsory; while back then we enumerated the mercies we expect to receive, we now enumerate in whose merits and/or authority we base our claims. It is like pulling the cord of the bow after putting the arrow in place. Instead of a reflection I will offer a practical observation: this works an it's so packed with power. Going to (Novus Ordo) Mass does not feel like it. The Holy Rosary does feel a bit like it, but it is like comparing a baseball bat with a sledge hammer; sure, you can swing it faster and easier, but if you want to bring down a wall you want the heaviest tool in your hands.

Fourth responsory: I am having a hard time to decide if these are a series of beseeches or extols. On the one hand, the common response is "we plead to you, listen to us". On the other hand, each petition sees to praise this or that aspect of the Holy Trinity. It is as if we are, in the same sentence, begging for help and, at the same time, empowering the helper (not that He needs our empowering... but, in a sense... consenting for Him to get into our business). The one that has caught my fancy since many years ago is "That you emblaze every day your image that is in our souls".

But enough with the analysis. Let's get going with the translation:

LET'S PRAY

Omnipotent and sempiternal God, who has granted to your servant the grace of knowing in the confession of the True Faith the glory of the Eternal Trinity in your Persons, and to worship in the power of your Majesty the Unity of your incomprehensible nature. We implore that for the firmness of that same faith we may be free of every kind of adversities. For Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for the centuries of the centuries. Amen.

BESEECHING PRAISES TO THE HOLY TRINITY

(I)
Eternal Father, omnipotent God.
- May every creature love you and glorify you.
Divine Verb, immense God.
- May every creature ...
Holy Spirit, infinite God.
- May every creature ...
Holy Trinity, one sole True God.
- May every creature ...
Creator, preserver and governor of everything created.
- May every creature ...
Our Life in whom, from whom, for whom we live.
- May every creature ...
Divine Life, one in three persons.
- May every creature ...
Divine Heaven of majestic preeminence.
- May every creature ...
Supreme Heaven of the heavens occult to men.
- May every creature ...
Divine and not-created sun.
- May every creature ...
Divine delicacy of the angels
- May every creature ...
Beautiful rainbow of clemency
- May every creature ...
First light who illuminates the world.
- May every creature ...
Sovereign and divine brightness
- May every creature ...
Eternal fire of incomprehensible splendor.
- May every creature ...
Supreme good, useful, honest and joyful.
- May every creature ...
Bountiful tree of the most beautiful fruit
- May every creature ...

(II)
From every ill of body and soul.
- Deliver us, Trine Lord.
From every sin and occasion of sin.
- Deliver us...
From your wraith and anger.
- Deliver us...
From sudden and unexpected death.
- Deliver us...
From the stalkings of the Devil.
- Deliver us...
From the spirit of dishonesty.
- Deliver us...
From the concupiscence of flesh.
- Deliver us...
From every ire, hate and ill will.
- Deliver us...
From plagues, pests, hunger and war.
- Deliver us...
From the storms at sea or at land.
- Deliver us...
From the enemies of the Catholic Faith.
- Deliver us...
From our enemies and their plotting.
- Deliver us...
From the Eternal Death.
- Deliver us...

(III)
For your unity in trinity, and trinity in unity.
- Deliver us, Trine Lord.
For the essential equality of your persons.
- Deliver us...
For the highness of the Mystery of your Trinity
- Deliver us...
For the creative virtue, common to the whole Trinity, with which you bring about Being, and conserve everything that has the quality of Being.
- Deliver us...
For the admirable work of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the womb of his mother always virgin.
- Deliver us...
For the dignation you granted of creating us in your image and likeness.
- Deliver us...
For the grace with which you renew such image in Baptism.
- Deliver us...
For the revelation of the Trinity to Abraham, by visiting his home.
- Deliver us...
For the much pleasantness you find in the souls that are devote to your Most Holy Trinity.
- Deliver us...
For the great love with which you deliver from evil those communities where dwell the devotes of the kind Trinity.
- Deliver us...
For the divine virtue that in the devotes of the Most Holy Trinity the demons recognize against them.
- Deliver us...

(IV)
We, sinners.
- We plead to you, listen to us.
That we manage to resist the devil with the weapons of the devotion to the Sacrosanct Trinity.
- We plead to you, ...
That you emblaze every day your image that is in our souls.
- We plead to you, ...
That all the faithful strive to be devotes of the Most Holy Trinity.
- We plead to you, ...
That we all achieve the many joys that you will donate to the devotes of the Ineffable Trinity.
- We plead to you, ...
That as we confess the mystery of the Trinity, may all mistakes be undone.
- We plead to you, ...
That for your incomprehensible Trinity may the souls in Purgatory find refreshment.
- We plead to you, ...
That you deign to listen to us with mercy.
- We plead to you, ...


Most Holy Trinity, listen to our prayers.
- May our clamor reach to you.

PRAYER

Lord God, Trine and One, give us continuously your grace, your charity and the communication of yourself; so that in the time and in eternity we may love you and glorify you, - God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, - as One Deity.
Oh, Divine Trinity! Oh, unity in trinity! Oh, three distinct persons in one sole deity!
May thy be glorified for all eternity!
Amen.