Ancient

Glory to Christ

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment

Church of Saint Jacob in Nisibis where Ephrem the Syrian ministered

I give you glory, O Christ, because you,
   the Only-begotten, the Lord of all,
   underwent the death of the Cross
   to free my sinful soul from the bonds of sin.
   What shall I give to you, O Lord,
   in return for all this kindness?
Glory to you, O Lord,
   for your love,
   for your mercy,
   for your patience.
Glory to you,
   for forgiving us all our sins,
   for coming to save our souls,
   for your incarnation in the Virgin’s womb.
Glory to you,
   for your bonds,
   for receiving the cut of the lash,
   for accepting mockery.
Glory to you,
   for your crucifixion,
   for your burial,
   for your resurrection.
Glory to you,
   for your resurrection,
   for being preached to men,
   for being taken up to heaven.
Glory to you
   who sit at the Father’s right hand
   and will return in glory.
Glory to you
   for willing that the sinner be saved
   through your great mercy and compassion.

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without you I am nothing

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment
I call upon you, O God – you who created me,
   and who did not forget me when I forgot you.
Let me know you – you who are the only one
   who truly knows me.
Come into my soul,
   because you are the power that makes my soul live.
Make me fit to belong to you,
   because that is my only hope.
Enter my heart,
   because by inspiring me to long for you,
   you make me ready to be your bride.
When I was far from you,
   you persuaded me to listen to your voice
   and turn back to you.
I called to you for help,
   but all the time you were calling me to yourself.
You blotted out all my sins,
   instead of punishing me as I deserved.
I was nothing.
You had no need of me.
Even now my service had not even the value
  of a labourer tilling his master’s land,
because even if I did not work,
  you would bring forth the same harvest.
I can only serve you and worship you
  with the good that comes from you.
It is from you alone that I receive my strength,
  and without you I am nothing.

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commissioning

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Eternal God,
   to whom the hidden is as clearly known as the visible:
before you your people bow their heads,
   to you they submit their hard hearts and unruly bodies.
Send down blessing from your glorious dwelling
   on these men and women,
   lend them a ready ear and answer their prayers.
Set them up firmly with your strong hand
   and protect them against all evil passions.
Preserve their bodies and souls,
   increase their faith and fear and increase ours,
   through your only Son.

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On the Father and the Son

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
As long as I live and breathe the breath you have given me,
  holy Father, all-powerful God,
I will acknowledge that from all eternity
  you have been not only God but Father.
I will never have the folly and impiety
  to set up as judge of your omnipotence and your mysteries,
  to prefer my own poor thought
  to what religion holds
  about your infinity
  or faith teaches about your eternity.
I will never assert that there was a time
  when your Wisdom, your Virtue, your Word, the unbegotten God,
  my Lord Jesus Christ was not with you.
May I worship you, our Father, and worship your Son with you;
  may I be as your Holy Spirit would have me to be,
  who proceeds from you through your only Son.
The proper witness of my faith is he who said:
  ‘Father, all I have is yours, and all you have is mine’
  – my Lord, Jesus Christ, who is always in you,
  always coming from you, always with you,
  and always God.
Praise is his throughout eternity. Amen.

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