The breath of life, O Lord, seems spent.

My body is tense, my mind filled with anxiety,

Yet I have no zest, no energy.

I am helpless to allay my fears

I am incapable of relaxing my limbs.

Dark thoughts constantly invade my head,

And I have no power to resist them.

 

Was ever an oak tree buffeted by wind,

As the gales of melancholy now buffet my soul?

Was ever a ship tossed by the waves,

As my soul is now tossed by misery?

Did ever the foundation of a house crumble,

As my own life now crumbles to dust?

 

Friends no longer want to visit me.

You have driven away my spiritual brethren.

I am now an outcast from your church.

No longer the flowers want to bloom for me.

No longer the trees come into leaf for me.

No longer the birds sing at my window.

 

My fellow Christians condemn me as an idle sinner.

Lord, raise up my soul, revive my body.

 

Gregory of Nazianzus, 329-389, Archbishop of Constantinople

____________________

 

 

Hear my prayer, Lord;
    let my cry for help come to you.
Do not hide your face from me
    when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

For my days vanish like smoke;
    my bones burn like glowing embers.
My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
    I forget to eat my food.
In my distress I groan aloud
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
I am like a desert owl,
    like an owl among the ruins.
I lie awake; I have become
    like a bird alone on a roof.
All day long my enemies taunt me;
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
For I eat ashes as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears
 because of your great wrath,
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
My days are like the evening shadow;
    I wither away like grass.

But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;
    your renown endures through all generations.
You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
    for it is time to show favor to her;
    the appointed time has come.