All to All
Hope of the homeless,
The Strength of those tossed with tempests,
The Haven of those who sail:
Be all to all.
Be within us, to strengthen us;
without us, to keep us;
above us, to inspire us;
beneath us, to uphold us;
before us, to direct us;
behind us , to propel us;
around us, to sustain us.
Be all to all in present need.
(a prayer of Lancelot Andrewes, from Lancelot Andrewes and His Private Devotions; photo via pixabay.com)
Saturday Psalm #63
I seek you hungrily;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body craves you,
in a dry and weary land
parched and cracked for lack of water.
I have beheld you in worship;
I have tasted your power and your glory.
I know how satisfying your love is--
better than life, in fact,
and for that I will speak up and praise you.
I will praise you for the rest of my life,
and I will worship you unreservedly.
You surfeit my soul;
how can I not praise you with the songs of my heart?
How can I not call out to you from my bed?
How can I not turn to you as I close my eyes in sleep?
You are my help,
therefore I sing like a baby bird
in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
I feel your strong right hand holding onto me.
I know that those who seek to harm me will be frustrated;
they will fail utterly.
Destroy every evil effort against me.
By your grace, I will rejoice in you;
let all who follow you truly praise your great name,
and let the mouths of liars be silenced.
Amen.
(photo via pixabay.com)
I Have Disfigured the Beauty of My Mind
With my lustful desires I have formed within myself the deformity of the passions and disfigured the beauty of my mind.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
I have discolored with the passions the first beauty of the image, O Savior. But seek me, as once Thou hast sought the lost coin, and find me.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
Like the Harlot I cry to Thee: I have sinned, I alone have sinned against Thee. Accept my tears also as sweet ointment, O Savior.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
Like David, I have fallen into lust and I am covered with filth; but wash me clean, O Savior, by my tears.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
Like the Publican I cry to Thee: Be merciful, O Savior, be merciful to me. For no child of Adam has ever sinned against Thee as I have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
I have no tears, no repentance, no compunction; but as God do Thou Thyself, O Savior, bestow them on me.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
Lord, Lord, at the Last Day shut not Thy door against me; but open it to me, for I repent before Thee.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
O Lover of mankind, who desirest that all men shall be saved, in Thy goodness call me back and accept me in repentance.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
Give ear to the groaning of my soul, and accept the tears that fall from mine eyes; O Lord, save me.
(excerpt from The Great Canon of Repentance, Ode Two, by St. Andrew, Bishop of Crete; image via pixabay.com)
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