Prayer

Brites Henriques

1674

These are the “prayers” that Brites Henriques recited and the notary transcribed.

Every Morning [Prayers]

Praised be the Lord
Who is so enlightened,
May you, My Lord, be served
By making me steadfast
So that I merit your goodness.
May day’s light be blessed,
The Lord who sends it,
May it give us grace and happiness
And knowledge to do your bidding
So that when we die
We may appear in the kingdom of clarity
(at any hour of the day)
I now begin to pray to the Lord of the heavens above,
That he hear my voice, my prayer and petition,
And all the goodness on earth that I beseech,
May it be granted and secured in heaven,
May the angels of heaven say: Amen,
May glory be accorded to the Lord.
My Lord, make me like Moses
So that thy grace descend
And everything I beseech thee,
Thy volition bring to pass. (Do so)
Teach me, my Lord, to praise thee
That I may merit thy glory and salvation,
Israel’s sin pardoned, the coming of absolution.
Open, my Lord, thy sacred ears,
Listen to thy sinful sheep,
Who wander dejected and dispersed
Shepherdless,
Calling out to thee, O Lord,
To grant us some favor. [ . . . ]
Though I do not kneel or cry
Nor do my eyes have sight,
I humble myself before thee and beseech forgiveness
And ask and implore thee to extract us from the Inquisition
With this thy holy pardon
And with thy sacred hand.
Do not punish me, O Lord, with Thine ire,
But rather lift me up, Lord,
Let Thy blessing reach me;
Well I know, Lord, that I deserve
Punishment for my deeds,
But Thou art a pious God,
Give respite to my soul, God,
To me and all that is mine;
Punish me not harshly, Lord,
Accompany me, Lord, at the hour of my death.
A person finding herself confessing
The great evils that I have done
I beg forgiveness to the Lord of the heavens above,
May this be my prayer,
May it be accepted by Thy mercy,
In which I never did serve You
And always offended You,
Being less mindful:
Remember me, O Lord,
And pardon me my sins,
Give me the Faith of Abraham,
The toils of Jacob,
The patience of Job,
For I beg your forgiveness,
Do not let me sin further,
But help me to a better world,
As You did for my ancestors,
Forgive my faults and my sins.
O my God and great Lord,
Creator of the Universe,
I confess only to Thee,
For I am a very great sinner,
I ask Thee forgiveness for having sinned,
Do not mete out what I deserve,
Bestow upon me the help and favor
Thou didst promise to Daniel,
May the coming of the Messiah
Take place in our lifetime, Lord,
Send us a messenger, the Prophet Moses,
To take us out of captivity. Amen.
God Almighty,
Lord of the entire Universe,
Do not give me what I deserve,
Rather look at my suffering,
See me as I am,
See my affliction,
For You created me from nothing,
Give me a pure and steadfast heart.
You, O Lord, who forgave
David and the sin of Beelzebub,
Forgive us, O Lord,
By the power that is within You,
By the great covenant
That Abraham had with You,
Your son humbled himself before You
And was never dissuaded [from his path],
But rather remained firm
And obedient for three days.
This I place before You
So that You make me steadfast:
May You speedily call upon me
May You speedily succor me
Along whatever path I take,
So that I may serve You,
Almighty God,
Called the God of Abraham,
For Your piety’s sake,
Take me by the hand.

Translated by
Marvin
Meital
.

Credits

Brites Henriques, “Orações (Prayers)” (prayer, Lisbon, 1671). Published as: “O processo no. 4427 da Inquisição de Lisboa contra Brites Henriques em 1674,” in Arnold Diesendruck, Os marranos em Portugal, 1920–1950 (São Paulo: Editora & Livraria Sêfer, 2002), pp. 149–170.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Creator Bio

Brites Henriques

b. ca. 1652

Born into a Portuguese New Christian family, Brites Henriques was arrested, with the rest of her family, in January 1674. The records of her trial reveal that she was a brave woman who stubbornly clung to the faith of her ancestors. The records also include thirty-two prayers that she recited at the trial. These prayers provide insights into the liturgy of crypto-Jews, which developed after their forced conversion to Christianity and through which they sought to maintain connection with the traditional Jewish prayers while concealing their real intentions from the Inquisition. Parallels to one of Henriques’s prayers have been found in records of the Coimbra Inquisition from 1583, 1584, and 1701. Henriques’s family was decimated by the Inquisition. Her father, António Rodrigues Mogadouro, and two sisters died in prison. One brother was burned at the stake and another sent to life imprisonment. Henriques and her younger brother were tortured for eight years, after which she was sent to a convent and he to a monastery.

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