Mother of God,
Here I stand now praying
Before this ikon of your radiant brightness,
Not praying to be saved from a battlefield;
Not giving thanks nor seeking forgiveness for the sins of my soul,
Nor for all the souls.
Numb, joyless and desolate on earth;
But for her alone, whom I wholly give you.
*
Hymn on the morning of our Lady’s Nativity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqsMBX9Kxm4
“Keep your Mind in Hell and Despair Not” St. Silouan the Athonite
II.
Who put me in this bed of worms? Who buried me in the dust, to become a neighbor of snakes and a banquet for worms?
Who pushed me off the high mountain, to become a companion of bloodthirsty and godless men?
My sin and Your justice, O Lord. My sin stretches from the creation of the world, and it is swifter than Your justice.
I count my sins throughout my entire life, throughout the life of my father and all the way back to the beginning of the world, and I say: Truly, the name of the Lord’s justice is mercy.
I bear the wounds of my fathers on myself-wounds that I myself was preparing while I was still in my fathers—and now they have all appeared on my soul, like a spotted hide on a giraffe, like a cloak of vicious scorpions that sting me.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, open the floodgate of the heavenly river of Your grace, and cleanse me of leprous evil, so that without this leprosy I may dare to proclaim Your name before the other lepers without them ridiculing me.
At least raise me up by a head above the rotten stench of this bed of worms, to inhale the incense of heaven and return to life.
At least raise me up as high as a palm tree so I can laugh at the serpents chasing my heels.
O Lord, if there has been even one good deed in the course of my earthly journey, for the sake of that one deed deliver me from the companionship of bloodthirsty and godless men.
O Lord, my hope in despair.
O Lord, my strength in weakness.
O Lord, my light in darkness.
Place just one finger on my forehead and I shall be raised. Or, if I am too unclean for Your finger, let a single ray of light from Your kingdom shine upon me and raise me-raise me, from this bed of worms, O my beloved Lord.
O Lord, Almighty, aid me! Grains of sand
Their way inside me ceaselessly find
Afflictions provoke my widow heart
Harass me, vex me, pester and grind.
*
May your beautiful veil over
My soul drape, Thy Love wrap.
Forgive, hapless soul,
Pardon, evade the trap.
*
O, may resentment and anguish desert,
O, may my wounds be moulded to pearls.
Thy Grace, Redeemer, my soul of thorn
Heal, pray, aid me, suffer Thy nails.
*
Like Your Glory Resplendent on Cross,
Assist me, Redeemer, to die with Thee.
O, bless, sweet Jesus, restrain, impede
Prevent me an oyster barren to be!
*
THE PEARL: SEVEN HYMNS ON THE FAITH
By St. Ephraim of Syria — Translated by J.B. Morris
http://www.voskrese.info/spl/pearl.html
” …Shadowed forth in thy beauty is the beauty of the Son,
Who clothed Himself with suffering when the nails passed through Him.
The awl passed in thee since they handled thee roughly,
As they did His hands;
And because He suffered He reigned,
As by they sufferings thy beauty increased … “
This week, my Lord, mud I became,
Broken and fractured, cracked mud.
All my bones, Out of joint,
Mud I became, cracked mud.
*
Too fierce the heat,
Too scorching inferno.
The sun beat down
Beat down on me.
*
Oh, through fire I went
And I dried
Withered away
And I cracked.
Oh, would Your Grace softly wrap me,
When I walk through fire and tears
Oh, would my heart not crack but soften
Melt at Your fire like wax.
Might Your blaze thaw me and melt me,
Mould me like wax under the seal
Engrave me, Heavenly Jeweller, Engrave Your signet
Seal Thy Icon upon my heart.
Bless me, my Master, Your struggling servant,
Render me Holy, Bridegroom Divine.
‘Holy to LORD’, Redeemer Celestial
My Prince of Peace, UnBounded Love.
Prayers by the Lake (I)
By St. Nikolai Velimirovic
Who is that staring at me through all the stars in heaven and all the creatures on earth?
Cover your eyes, stars and creatures; do not look upon my nakedness. Shame torments me enough through my own eyes.
What is there for you to see? A tree of life that has been reduced to a thorn on the road, that pricks both itself and others.
….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSH7UolJsuU
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (Luke 4:16-21)
A Prayer at the Dawn of the Liturgical Year (2)
Today
*
Today, my Lord, You stood in my soul,
Stood in my soul, so much amiss.
A fresh opportunity to offer,
A hand to raise me from the abyss.
*
Who can be poorer than me, my Master?
Broken? Captive? More wounded, or blind?
O, whose footsteps stray faster?
In egoism and in sin?
*
Many a time have I heard Thy promise,
Many a time Your grace missed.
And, all the time, You stood there,
My offence in the midst.
*
Today, my Lord, You stood in my soul,
You stood there, in front of me,
Ransom to offer to your Bride,
Too Costly a price to pay Thee.
*
May I acquiesce long-suffering Jesus,
In Consecration my pledge renew.
Might my ears mystically hear,
“This scripture today to you came true”
*
Insp. from The Year of Grace of the Lord, by A Monk of the Eastern Church (Lev Gillet)
Upon Entering the Year of Grace
“And they shall build the old wastes,
they shall raise up the former desolations,
and they shall repair the waste cities,
the desolations of many generations.” (Isaiah 61:4)
*
A Prayer at the Dawn of the Liturgical Year (I)
Lord, Help me my Life Declutter
Relentlessly Focus, Subtract, Become poor
Unburden, Curtail, Reduce and Empty,
Until my rebellious bones sore.
*
May My Waste be Salvaged this Year
Never again pride and sin bind me,
Redeemer, Almighty, my Lord and my Master
Teach me this year to kneel before Thee!
*
Amen, Amen, Amen!
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the gentle night to you
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you
Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen.
Deep peace of Christ, The light of the world to you
Deep Peace of Christ to you
Deep peace of Christ, The light of the world to you
Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen.
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAITH AND LIFE 