... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities
for Your Name’s sake. Lord have mercy (three times).
June
20, 2014 Friday Foil, The Jesus Prayer
The
Jesus Prayer
“Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.”[1]
The
Source of the Jesus Prayer
The earliest form of this prayer
that I could find, and its unquestionable origin is Psalm 123:3:
Have mercy on us,
Lord. Have mercy on us: for we are
exceedingly filled with contempt.
When [blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus] heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he
began to cry out, and say, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” Many demanded that that he be silent: but he
cried all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Again it is found in Luke 18:13:
The publican,
standing far away, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but beat on
his breast, saying, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Lord, have
mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
In the Trisagion[5] (434-446), which is thought by some to be a
combination of Isaiah 6:3[6] with meditations from the
Psalms.[7]
Holy God, Holy
Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take
away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take
away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take
away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
Or:
Oh Christ, Lamb of
God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Oh Christ, Lamb of
God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Oh Christ, Lamb of
God, Who takes away the sins of the world, grant us your peace.
In the Prayers of the People and
numerous other litanies as the response of the laity:
Lord, have mercy.
And on many other occasions and
places as simply:
Mercy!
Our
Sermon Prayer
Exodus 20:2
I am the Lord your
God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Psalm 119:12, 18
Blessed are You, O
Lord: teach me Your Statutes.
Open my eyes, so that
I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law.
The
Homily
Isn’t it clear that all who pray
this prayer in sincerity and truth, claiming by it their absolute allegiance
and unquestioned obedience to the Lord
Jesus Christ, that all are joined together inseparably in Christ? Isn’t it clear that the Holy Ghost Himself
exercises all His unlimited power to protect this Unity of the Church, in spite
of what men may do or say? This prayer does not tolerate any such thing as a separated brother or sister.
This means that you are my brother
or sister in Christ if this is the prayer of your heart. If I meet you on the street, I just might be
compelled to give you a hug, and greet you with the kiss of peace, no matter
what church name you bear.
This means that you will cast aside as
refuse all those modern popular discussions that tamper with what God so
clearly condemns. If I have committed
wicked deeds, and I have, I will be ashamed of them, and calling upon God’s rich
and abundant mercy, trust in His strength to abandon them.
This means that you will come to God
on His terms, not yours. God does not
negotiate with sinners, but He forgives those who cry out for His mercy, and
learn from Him to hate their sin, and forsake it.
This means that such unity proclaims
The Church, which is visible, not merely spiritual: for the events of Pentecost
were done in public; for we are joined by public baptism, communion, and
worship; for we are joined especially by this prayer.
Therefore, let us strive to
eliminate those walls of partition that divide us: for Christ has “broken down
the middle wall of separation.”[9] God forgive us that we have dared to put back
up again, that which God has torn down. Moreover, we have erected such
barriers in the very name of this prayer, and in defiance of the meaning of the
word, catholic.
[1] http://jonathanscorner.com/jesus-prayer/
[2]
See also Matthew 9:27-31; 20:29-34; Luke 18:35-43; and John 9.
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrie
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egeria_(pilgrim)
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trisagion
[6]
The Sanctus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctus; see also Revelation 4:8.
[7]
Wybrew, Hugh, The Orthodox Liturgy (St Vladimir’s Seminary Press,
Crestwood, NY, 1996) makes such a claim on page 77, but the references are in
error. There is no good reason to doubt
the traditional explanation of origin found in the menologium. It is not unthinkable that a child would
blend the Sanctus with other thoughts about God, gleaned from adults.
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnus_Dei_(liturgy)
[9] Ephesians
2:14
[10] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations,
please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.
These meditations are not controlled by
Creative Commons or other licenses, such as: copyright, CC, BY, SA, NC, or
ND. They are designed and intended for
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freely received, and are freely given.
No other permission is required for their use.
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