Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Advent

Posted on 12 December 2007 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Here is the Collect for Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Advent.

COLLECT:
Omnipotens Deus, qui nos praecipis
iter Christo Domino praeparare,
concede propitius, ut nullis infirmitatibus fatigemur,
qui caelestis medici consolantem praesentiam sustinemus.

This prayer is ancient, from Rotulus 6 published together with the Veronese Sacramentary.

Notice the image of Christ as medicus, physician.  

English translation?

I think maybe some of you might take a crack at it today.

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7 Responses to Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Advent

  1. HistProf says:
    12 December 2007 at 8:21 AM

    Almighty God, who commands us to prepare the way for Christ the Lord,
    be Thou disposed to grant that we who endure the present life
    by the consolation of the divine physician,
    might be wearied by no weaknesses.

    (sorry, “by the consolation” is a stretch for an accusative) best on short notice.

  2. Berolinensis says:
    12 December 2007 at 8:42 AM

    Almighty God, who commands us to prepare the way for Christ the Lord, propitiously grant us that we may be wearied by no weaknesses, who preserve the consoling presence of the heavenly Physician.

    I am not quite happy with sustinere=preserve. I think sustinere here conveys several nuances, which it is all but impossible to translate, especially for one who is not a native English speaker.

  3. HistProf says:
    12 December 2007 at 9:07 AM

    “we who preserve the consoling presence” I like that better. I was thinking for something too complex.

  4. London Calling says:
    12 December 2007 at 3:24 PM

    Almighty God, who commands us to prepare the way for Christ the Lord: graciously grant that we, who rely on the present solace of the heavenly physician, may be wearied by no weakness.

    Sustinemus could also mean “we await” (Acts 20.5), but that seems to clash with praesentiam. I think the sense is of “running the race”, “enduring to the end” (cf. I Cor 4.12, maledicti benedicimus, persecutionem passi sustinemus, “when reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure”).

  5. Jeff Pinyan says:
    12 December 2007 at 5:27 PM

    I came up with a crufty version first, and then looked at the previous entries to adjust mine:

    Almighty God, who commands us
    to prepare the way for Christ the Lord,
    graciously grant that no weakness may tire us,
    who are sustained by the present consolation of the Heavenly Physician.

    That’s my “literal” translation.

  6. Berolinensis says:
    12 December 2007 at 6:23 PM

    I don’t mean to criticize, but is there a special reason why everyone is making an adjective of “præsentiam” and a noun of “consolantem”?

  7. Andrew says:
    12 December 2007 at 6:49 PM

    Almighty God, who teaches us
    to make ready a way for Christ our Lord
    grant we beseech, that we may not tire from any weakness,
    as we uphold the consoling presence of the heavenly physician.

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