Monday, March 27, 2017

Full Latin Text of St. Francis Borgia's Litany of the Summa Theologiae

I was pleasantly surprised by the great interest aroused by St. Francis Borgia's Litany of the Summa Theologiae, a segment of which I posted on the eve of the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. So many readers contacted me to ask (a) if an English translation had been done or could be done, and (b) if the original Latin text could be made available in full. In answer to (a), to my knowledge no one has ever translated this text. However, as to (b), I am glad to offer the text to NLM readers at the link below, and I strongly encourage any enterprising Latinist out there to render it into English. If you do so, please let me know; I'd be happy to discuss ways to make it available to a wider readership.

The title of the book is

Studi Tomistici 22
S. Francisci Borgiae, S.I.
Praecipuae Divi Thomae Aquinatis materiae in litaniarum rationem redactae
denuo editae a B. de Margerie, S.I.
Pontificia Accamedia di S. Tommaso
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
1983
The book is comprised of several litanies that follow certain thematic areas in the text of St. Thomas. Their intellectual and devotional value is considerable. I have been told by a Benedictine monk that Borgia used the Summa for lectio divina, which, I must say (as a Thomist and as a Benedictine oblate) is an impressive feat.
The Litany of the Divine Attributes
The Litany of the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity in general, and of each of the Three Divine Person in particular
The Litany of the Holy Angels
The Litany of the Mystery of the Incarnation, and the union of the Divine Nature with the Human
The Litany of the Virtues and Graces which adorned the Incarnate Word
The Litany of the Annunciation and Conception of the Eternal Word
The Litany of the Mysteries of the Life of Christ, beginning with His Baptism
The Litany of the Lord’s Passion
The Litany of Our Lord’s Resurrection
The Litany of the Glorious Ascension of Our Lord
The Litany of the Most Adorable Mystery of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar
The Litany of Thanksgiving for the endowments of the created Soul
The Litany of the Benefits conferred on the Soul by the infusion of the moral, cardinal, and theological virtues
The Litany of the Soul in its glorified and beatified state.

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