Lenten antiphon, from Joel 2:17

Parce Domine — Spare, O Lord

The Lenten plea: spare thy people

LatinEnglish

℟. Parce, Domine, parce populo tuo:
ne in aeternum irascaris nobis.

℟. Spare, O Lord, spare thy people:
be not angry with us for ever.

Flectamus iram vindicem,
ploremus ante Iudicem,
clamemus ore supplici,
dicamus omnes cernui: ℟.

Let us turn aside the avenging wrath,
let us weep before the Judge,
let us cry with suppliant voice,
let us all say, bowed low: ℟.

Nostris malis offendimus
tuam, Deus, clementiam:
effunde nobis desuper,
remissor, indulgentiam. ℟.

By our sins we have offended
thy clemency, O God:
pour out on us from above,
thou who forgivest, thy pardon. ℟.

Dans tempus acceptabile,
da lacrimarum rivulis
lavare cordis victimam,
quam laeta adurat caritas. ℟.

Thou who givest the acceptable time,
grant us with streams of tears
to wash the offering of our heart,
which joyful charity may set aflame. ℟.

Audi, benigne Conditor,
nostras preces cum fletibus
in hoc sacro ieiunio
fusas quadragenario. ℟.

Hear, O kind Creator,
our prayers poured out with weeping
in this holy fast
of forty days. ℟.

SourceLenten antiphon, from Joel 2:17 · The Lenten plea: spare thy people

The history of this prayer

The refrain of the Parce Domine comes from the prophet Joel (2:17): “Between the porch and the altar the priests shall weep, and shall say: Spare, O Lord, spare thy people”. Its first half comes from a responsory sung during the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday, and the Liber Usualis gives it as an antiphon for times of penance.

It is usually sung alternating with verses; the ones most often used, given here, come from old Lenten hymns — the last is the first stanza of “Audi, benigne Conditor”. It is also sung with verses of Psalm 50 (51), the Miserere. In 1950 it was one of the chants of the Holy Year proclaimed by Pius XII.

In Church Latin, “Parce” is said “PAR-chay”.

In Lent it can be said as an ejaculatory prayer at the start of an examination of conscience: the refrain fits in a single breath and says in a few words what the Church asks for in these forty days.

Frequently asked questions

What does Parce Domine mean?

“Spare, O Lord”: the full refrain says “Spare, O Lord, spare thy people: be not angry with us for ever”.

Where does the Parce Domine come from?

From the prophet Joel (2:17). It was used in the Ash Wednesday liturgy and is sung throughout Lent.

More prayers: Hymns

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