17 April 2018

A Coptic Prayer at the Offertory

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Receive, O Lord, the gifts of thy servants; 
the rich and the poor, 
the hidden and the manifest, 
those who offer much or little,
and of those who desired
and had not wherewithal to give; 
Grant unto them things incorruptible
in place of things corruptible, 
things heavenly for things earthly, 
things eternal for things temporal, 
and fulfill in them all manner of good
through Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

16 April 2018

A Prayer for the Mission of the Church

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Swiebodzin, Poland


LORD JESUS CHRIST  
who didst stretch out thine arms of love
upon the hard wood of the Cross,
that all men everywhere might come
within the reach of thy saving embrace:
So clothe us with thy Spirit
that we, reaching forth our hands in love,
may bring those who do not know thee
to the knowledge and love of thee;
for the honour of thy Name. Amen.


a prayer by Dr. Charles Henry Brent
The Episcopal Church  USA

John Donne: RESURRECTION (an unfinished poem)

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The Resurrection by Louis C. Tiffany

Sleep sleep old sun, thou canst not have repast
As yet, the wound thou took’st on Friday last;
Sleep then, and rest; the world may bear thy stay,
A better Sun rose before thee today,
Who, not content to enlighten all that dwell
On the earth’s face, as thou, enlightened hell,
And made the dark fires languish in that vale,
As, at thy presence here, our fires grow pale.
Whose body having walked on earth, and now
Hasting to heaven, would, that he might allow
Himself unto all stations, and fill all,
For these three days become a mineral;
He was all gold when he lay down but rose
All tincture, and doth not alone dispose
Leaden and iron wills to good, but is
Of power to make even sinful flesh like his.
Had one of those, whose credulous piety
Thought, that a soul one might discern and see
Go from a body, at this sepulcher been,
And, issuing from the sheet, this body seen,
He would have justly thought this body a soul,
If not of any man, yet of the whole.


an unfinished poem by John Donne

Prayer to the Holy Ghost. (Saint Isidore of Sevilla)



Here we are before thee, O Holy Ghost.
We feel the burden of our infirmities,
but we are united all together in Thy name:
come to us, help us, enter into our hearts:
teach us what we should do,
the path to follow,
do for us what Thou askest us to do.
Be the only one to propose and guide our decisions,
because only Thou, with the Father and the Son,
hast a name that is glorious and holy.
Do not allow us to offend justice,
Thou, who lovest order and peace,
Let not ignorance lead us astray,
Let not human sympathy bias us,
Do not let people or office influence us.
Keep us intimately close to Thee
with the gift of Thy Grace,
so that we may be only one thing with Thee,
and nothing may separate us from the Truth.
Gathered in Thy Holy Name,
may we be good and firm,
so that all we do may be in one accord with Thee,
awaiting that the faithful fulfillment of our duty
may lead us to the eternal good. Amen.


San Isidoro de Sevilla

11 April 2018

Caryl Houselander: Excerpt from 'The Reed of God'

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La fuga in Egitto - Giotto



Caryl Houselander wrote this during the Second World War:

Looking about us now we can see all these things which were started and lived so intensely by those unknown peasants Joseph and Mary.  We can see them happening all over the world, to everyone in the world.  We can see that the human race, with its great vocation to be the Mother of God, is experiencing the very things that Mary and Joseph experienced when Christ was still a child in the womb.

A little while ago I went to register for National Service, Compulsory Registration. A group of women were waiting outside the doors for our turn ; several carried babies in their arms ; one was pregnant (we gave her the only chair) ; one of them grumbled: "No use for us to register," she said, "for in any case those with kiddies will have to stay at home."

I looked at the pregnant woman, and I thought of that great Registration at Bethlehem, when a poor peasant woman came in obedience ; she need not have done so ; she could have claimed exemption. But Mary never claimed exemption from the common lot, from the circumstances that would be the common lot of all women for all time.

She knew it was "useful"—that those who are patient, obedient, humble, will be the mothers of Christ, will give Life back to the world.

"Be it done unto me . . ."

She spoke for all those poor women who stood with me waiting to register in the Second World War.

Everywhere the Flight into Egypt goes on : the little slain ; everywhere the refugees—Jesus, Mary and Joseph— come to us: strangers, foreigners in a strange land from Greece, Holland, France, Norway, Denmark, Malta, Gibraltar, Austria, Bavaria, Germany. For them all Our Lady has answered, long ago: "Be it done unto me."

In this great fiat of the little girl Mary, the strength and foundation of our life of contemplation is grounded, for it means absolute trust in God, trust which will not set us free from suffering but will set us free from anxiety, hesitation, and above all from the fear of suffering. Trust which makes us willing to be what God wants us to be, however great or however little that may prove.  Trust which accepts God as illimitable Love.


Caryll Houselander
The Reed of God
Pages 26-27
Copyright © 1944 by Caryll Houselander
Sheed and Ward, London

10 April 2018

The Canticle of the Lamb

Repost from 2015

For whoever believes in the power of the Blood of Jesus,
nothing is impossible.


After a rather vigorous discussion today concerning the late Mother Basilea Schlink and the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary , I was put in mind of her most important spiritual canticle — 'most important' in my humble opinion of course — a spiritual canticle to the Wounds of Jesus and the Blood of the Lamb entitled The Canticle of the Lamb.

Today I understand that the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary uses a new English translation of the Canticle, but liturgically I prefer the diction of the first translation — which one may find in Celtic Daily Prayer and printed below. 


     I praise the Wounds 
          and the Blood of the Lamb

 

     I praise the Wounds and the Blood of the Lamb
              that heals the weakness of my body,

     I praise the Wounds and the Blood of the Lamb
              that heals the weakness of my soul,
 

     I praise the Wounds and the Blood of the Lamb
               that heals the weakness of my spirit!


     Praise be to the Blood of the Lamb in His forgiving power.

     Praise be to the Blood of the Lamb in His cleansing power.


     Praise be to the Blood of the Lamb in His saving power.


     Praise be to the Blood of the Lamb in His releasing power.


     Praise be to the Blood of the Lamb in His victorious power.


     Praise be to the Blood of the Lamb in His renewing power.


     Praise be to the Blood of the Lamb in His protecting power.


     For whoever believes in the power of the Blood of Jesus,      

             nothing is impossible.

     I praise the Blood of the Lamb that covers all my sins
          so that they can no longer be seen,
 

     I praise the Blood of the Lamb that cleanses me from all my sins
         and makes me white as snow,
 

     I praise the Blood of the Lamb that has power to free me
          from all my bondages and chains of sin.

     I praise the Blood of the Lamb that is stronger
          than my own sin-infested blood
              and remoulds me into the image of God,

     I praise the Blood of the Lamb that is victorious
         over all powers that seek to oppress me,
              over every power of the enemy.
 

     I praise the Blood of the Lamb
          that protects me from all the devious attacks of the enemy.

     I praise the Blood of the Lamb
          that prepares for me the bridal garment.

     I praise the Blood of the Lamb
          that makes all things new.
              Hallelujah! Amen.
M. Basilea Schlink
as translated in Celtic Daily Prayer


For whoever believes 
in the power of the Blood of Jesus,
nothing is impossible.




09 April 2018

Lady Day: Solemnity of the Annunciation A.D. 2018

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Ave gratia plena!


The Annunciation by John William Waterhouse
Click on the image to see it in larger format.


O GOD, who willed that your Word
should take on the reality of human flesh
in the womb of the Virgin Mary, grant, we pray,
that we, who confess our Redeemer to be God and man,
may merit to become partakers even in his divine nature.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Roman Missal, 3rd edition of Pope St. John Paul II


WE beseech thee, O Lord, 
pour thy grace into our hearts;
that, as we have known
the Incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ
by the message of an angel, 
so by his Cross and Passion
we may be brought unto the glory of his Resurrection;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer

08 April 2018

Paschal Sermon of Saint John Chrysostom

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My heartfelt prayers for all who are celebrating the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ today.  God grant you all a most blèssed Pascha!


The Catechetical Sermon 
of St. John Chrysostom
To be read during Matins of Pascha

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in nowise be deprived thereof. If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing. If any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness; for the Lord, who is jealous of his honor, will accept the last even as the first; he gives rest unto him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as unto him who has wrought from the first hour.

And he shows mercy upon the last, and cares for the first; and to the one he gives, and upon the other he bestows gifts. And he both accepts the deeds, and welcomes the intention, and honors the acts and praises the offering. Wherefore, enter you all into the joy of your Lord; and receive your reward, both the first, and likewise the second. You rich and poor together, hold high festival. You sober and you heedless, honor the day. Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: 

Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness. let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. 

And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell, said he, was embittered, when it encountered Thee in the lower regions. It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. 

It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? 

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. 

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. 

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. 

Christ is risen, and life reigns. 

Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. 

For Christ, being risen from the dead, 
is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. 
Amen.