The Prodigal Son, by John Macallan Swan, 1888, via Wikimedia Commons
I am clad in a garment
that is defiled and shamefully bloodstained
by a life of passion and self-indulgence.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
I have stained the garment of my flesh, O Savior
and defiled that which was made
in Thine image and likeness.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
I have fallen beneath the painful burden
of the passions and the corruptions of material things;
and I am hard pressed by the enemy.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
Instead of freedom from possessions, O Savior,
I have pursued a life in love with material things;
and now I wear a heavy yoke.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
I have adorned the idol of my flesh
with the many-colored coat of shameful thoughts,
and I am condemned.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
I have cared only for the outward adornment,
and neglected that which in within –
the tabernacle fashioned by God.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
With my lustful desires I have formed within myself
the deformity of 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.
Frederica Mathewes–Green, American Orthodox author
__________________
All of us also lived among them at one time,
gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.
Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—
it is by grace you have been saved.
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