11 March 2019

T.S. Eliot: "Forgive us, O Lord, we acknowledge..."

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Forgive us, O Lord, we acknowledge ourselves as type of the
                 common man,
Of the men and women who shut the door and sit by the fire;
Who fear the blessing of God, the loneliness of the night of God,
the surrender required, the deprivation inflicted;
Who fear the injustice of men less than the justice of God;
Who fear the hand at the window, the fire in the thatch, 
        the fist in
        the tavern, the push into the canal,
Less than we fear the love of God.
We acknowledge our trespass, our weakness, our fault; we
        acknowledge
That the sin of the world is upon our heads; that the blood of the
        martyrs and the agony of the saints
Is upon our heads.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Blessed Thomas, pray for us.


Conclusion: Murder in the Cathedral
T. S. Eliot