Saint Bonaventure

Saint Bonaventure

Prayer of thanksgiving after Holy Communion

“Transfige” — the Seraphic Doctor's prayer, kept in the Roman Missal

LatinEnglish

Transfige, dulcissime Domine Iesu, medullas et viscera animae meae suavissimo ac saluberrimo amoris tui vulnere, vera serenaque et apostolica sanctissima caritate, ut langueat et liquefiat anima mea solo semper amore et desiderio tui, te concupiscat et deficiat in atria tua, cupiat dissolvi et esse tecum.

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, with true, serene, and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with love and longing for Thee, that it may yearn for Thee and faint for Thy courts, and long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.

Da ut anima mea te esuriat, panem Angelorum, refectionem animarum sanctarum; panem nostrum cotidianum, supersubstantialem, habentem omnem dulcedinem et saporem, et omne delectamentum suavitatis. Te, in quem desiderant Angeli prospicere, semper esuriat et comedat cor meum, et dulcedine saporis tui repleantur viscera animae meae; te semper sitiat fontem vitae, fontem sapientiae et scientiae, fontem aeterni luminis, torrentem voluptatis, ubertatem domus Dei.

Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the bread of angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and supersubstantial bread, having all sweetness and savour and every delight of taste; let my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, upon whom the angels desire to look, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savour; may it ever thirst after Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the richness of the house of God.

Te semper ambiat, te quaerat, te inveniat, ad te tendat, ad te perveniat, te meditetur, te loquatur, et omnia operetur in laudem et gloriam nominis tui, cum humilitate et discretione, cum dilectione et delectatione, cum facilitate et affectu, cum perseverantia usque in finem; ut tu sis solus semper spes mea, tota fiducia mea, divitiae meae, delectatio mea, iucunditas mea, gaudium meum, quies et tranquillitas mea, pax mea, suavitas mea, odor meus, dulcedo mea, cibus meus, refectio mea, refugium meum, auxilium meum, sapientia mea, portio mea, possessio mea, thesaurus meus, in quo fixa et firma et immobiliter semper sit radicata mens mea et cor meum. Amen.

May it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, attain Thee, meditate upon Thee, speak of Thee, and do all things to the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, and with perseverance unto the end; may Thou alone be ever my hope, my entire assurance, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquillity, my peace, my sweetness, my fragrance, my sweet savour, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession and my treasure, in whom may my mind and my heart be fixed and firmly rooted immovably henceforth and for ever. Amen.

SourceSaint Bonaventure · “Transfige” — the Seraphic Doctor's prayer, kept in the Roman Missal

Read the piece it comes from →

The history of this prayer

Among the prayers of thanksgiving after Mass, the Roman Missal carried this prayer under the name of St Bonaventure (1217/21–1274), the Franciscan called the Seraphic Doctor, Minister General of his Order and cardinal. It asks that the love of Christ pierce the soul like a dart, until it hungers and thirsts for him alone.

The text is also found in the Stimulus amoris, a medieval work long attributed to Bonaventure and now generally credited to the Franciscan James of Milan. Whoever's hand it was, the Church prayed it for centuries under the saint's name. St Bonaventure's feast is on 15 July.

Frequently asked questions

Did St Bonaventure really write the Transfige?

Tradition and the Missal attribute it to him. Scholars connect the text to the Stimulus amoris, now attributed to James of Milan, a thirteenth-century Franciscan.

When is it prayed?

After Communion, in thanksgiving. Priests prayed it after Mass, and it suits any of the faithful.

Why is it called “Transfige”?

It is the first word of the Latin text: “Transfige” means “pierce through”.

More prayers: Prayers of the saints

← All the traditional prayers · Prayers and novenas

Schola Gregoriana · CC BY-SA