I am the man who fell among thieves,

   even my own thoughts;

they have covered all my body with wounds,

   and I lie beaten and bruised,

But come to me, O Christ my Savior, and heal me.

   Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

The priest saw me first,

   but passed by on the other side;

the Levite looked on me in my distress,

   but despised my nakedness.

O Jesus, sprung from Mary, do Thou come to me and take pity on me.

   Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of all,

   take from me the heavy yoke of sin,

   and in Thy compassion grant me remission of sins.

   Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

It is time for repentance: to Thee I come, my Creator.

Take from me the heavy yoke of sin,

   and in Thy compassion grant me remission of sins.

   Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Frederica Mathewes-Green, American Orthodox author and speaker

_____________________

We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus

image by Aimé Nicolas Morot [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons