Translation of the Memorare
>Memorare, O piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum. Ego tali animatus confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro, ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.
A couple days ago, I was playing around with the Latin of St. Bernard's prayer to Mary—as someone on another sub was worried about some of the language used. I knew that the end of the prayer actually has a pun in the Latin which is not reflected in most English translations (Do not, O Mother of the Word, despise/neglect my words). So, I figured that there were more things hidden in the original prayer. And when I started, a question came up.
>Remember, O merciful Virgin Mary, that it has not been heard in this age, that anyone running to your protection, begged for your help, and asked for your prayers, was left abandoned.
The question is this: when the prayer says tua praesidia and tua auxilia¹, I know the general reading (the protection you are providing, the help you are providing)—but could "your protection" and "your help" be understood to mean "the one who protected you" or "the one who helped you"? Like, it is definitely "your help" and "your protection"—but what the connotation of the phrase is. Is it Mary directly helping and protecting? Or, could the text be understood to mean, Mary sending us to her protector/her helper?
Just an out of the box/speculative understanding of the text. Any potential merit there?
¹I would assume you couldn't do that alternate understanding with tua suffragia. I mean, *maybe* the Holy Spirit interceding for her, but that is even more of a stretch.
Edit: maybe if it was your helper it would need to be tuo auxiliuo—now I don't know what to think. Latinists, what say you?