Turn away thy face from my sins; and blot out all my iniquities.
A single glance from thy merciful eyes, O my Saviour, is so powerful, that it would suffice to raise us after the most grievous fall; look upon me then, blot out my iniquities, and at the same time turn away thy face from my sins. And dost thou not ever act thus, O my God, seeming to forget the claims of thy justice, to follow the dictates of thy mercy; but the more thou dost mercifully seem to forget my offences, the more deeply does regret imprint them on my heart.
Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Alas ! my God, to thee must I fly; since thou alone canst afford a remedy to my evils. In vain hast thou pardoned and purified me, if thou dost still leave me this corrupt, hard heart, this heart inclined to every evil, this heart by which I have offended thee. Give me, then, another heart, create in me a pure heart, give me thy own heart, with which to love thee; renew in me the spirit of justice that I may avoid evil and do good; and may the Holy Ghost, who is the bond between the Father and the Son, ever unite my soul with its God.
Cast me not away from thy face, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
O Lord, cast me not away from thy face, which, while it constitutes the felicity of the blessed in Heaven, is also my joy here upon earth, though as yet I see thee only in a dark manner, through the veils of faith. If thou reject me, where shall I go, poor wanderer, far from thee? Where can I find repose here below? Allow me then to rest in thy presence, and to be as intimately united to thy divine
