cleanse

have mercy and cleanse me

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
photo by Zeynep Yilmaz via pexels
 
 
Have mercy on me, O life-giver, through your goodness.
In your great tenderness soothe away my faults.
Cleanse me of my guilt,
    do not hold my failures against me.
For I have come to see that I fail you,
    when I have not acknowledged with my whole being
    that I am made truly in your image;
    in not walking in your ways I have sinned against you.
You are love and truth itself
    and seek sincerity of heart;
  teach me the secrets of wisdom.
Cleanse me from all that prevents me
    from listening to your word.
 
Ianthe Pratt, organizer of Catholic women’s activities in London
____________________________
 
 
Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

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expel the devil from this man

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image by Lawrence OP via Flickr
 
O Lord, holy Father,
almighty and eternal God,
expel the devil
and the paganism from this man,
    from his head, from his hair,
    from his brain, from his back,
    from his front, from his eyes,
    from his ears, from his nostrils,
    from his lips, from his mouth,
    from his tongue, from under his tongue,
    from his jaws, from his throat,
    from his neck, from his heart,
    from his whole body, from all of his members,
    from inside and the outside of him,
    from his bones, from his veins,
    from his nerves, from his blood,
    from his senses, from his thoughts,
    from his words, from all his works,
    from his strength,
    from all manner of conversation,
    for this, and in the life to come,.
But may the power of Christ, our mediator,
work in you, that we may attain life eternal,
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, Amen.
 
Antiphonary of Bangor, Prayer over a Person who has a Devil, #96
 
___________________________
 
 
And he called to him his twelve disciples 
    and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, 
    and to heal every disease and every affliction.

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We seem to give back the dead to you . . .

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image / jplenio / pixabay
 
We seem to give back the dead to you, Lord, 
    who gave them to us.
But as you did not lose them in giving, 
    so do we not lose them by their return.
Not as the world gives do you give, O lover of souls.
What you give you do not take away,
    for what is yours is ours if we are yours.
And life is eternal and love is immortal,
    and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing,
    save the limit of our sight.
Lift us up, strong Son of God,
    that we may see further;
    cleanse our eyes that we may see more clearly;
    draw us closer to yourself, that we may know ourselves
    to be nearer to our loved ones who are with you.
And while you prepare a place for us,
    prepare us also for that happy place,
    that where you are we may be also,
    for ever, and ever. Amen.
 
Rossiter W. Raymond, 1840-1918, American mining engineer, scholar and writer
 
_______________________
 
 
Do not let your hearts be troubled. 
You believe in God; believe also in me. 
My Father’s house has many rooms; 
    if that were not so, 
    would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 
 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 
    I will come back and take you to be with me 
    that you also may be where I am. 

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But I confess that you are God

/ Eric Mathews / 3 Comments
image / Lawrence OP / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
 
With all my heart I worship you, O hidden God.
You who hide yourself behind the things of your creation.
My heart submits to you, and so does my mind.
Compared with contemplating you, all else is nothing.
I cannot touch you, taste you, see you.
All senses are cheated of you – except the ear.
Your Son has spoken, and I believe.
Nothing has truth beyond the word I hear.
On the cross your divinity was hidden,
And now on earth you humanity is hidden,
But I acknowledge you and cry to you.
I do not gaze, like Thomas, on your wounds,
But I confess that you are God.
Give me a stronger faith, a surer hope,
And a deeper love for you, my Lord.
You gave us a memorial of your dying
In the living Bread that gives life to men.
As I eat your bread, may you live in me.
And may I always turn to you for strength.
O Christ, who gave your heart for all men,
Cleanse my sin in your blood which was spilt.
A single drop of it would save the world,
Cleansing every man from his foul guilt.
A veil is over your face, I cannot see you.
I cry to you to show me yourself,
To let me see you face to face.
With that vision my soul will be at peace.
 
Thomas Aquinas, 1225 – 1274, Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian
 
___________________
 
 
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

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remove anything that separates us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash
 
I beg of you, my Lord,
  to remove anything which separates
  me from you, and you from me.
Remove anything that makes me unworthy
  of your sight, your control, your discipline;
  of your speech and conversation,
  of your benevolence and love.
Cast from me every evil
  that stands in the way of my seeing you,
  hearing, tasting, savoring, and touching you;
  fearing and being mindful of you;
  knowing, trusting, loving, and possessing you;
  being conscious of your presence
  and, as far as may be, enjoying you.
This is what I ask for myself
  and earnestly desire from you. Amen.

Peter Faber, 1506-1546, Jesuit Priest and co-founder of the Society of Jesus
Hearts in Fire Praying with Jesuits

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Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

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repentance and forgiveness

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash
 
Almighty God of Mercy,
 
I come before You in humble submission,
    repenting for my sins.
Though I sincerely believe in Your forgiveness,
    I seek to right my wrongs 
    through a form of restitution acceptable to You.
I feel that my repentance is simply not enough.
I pray to be able to pay back my great debt to You in some way.
 
Lord, I know that the debt is too great to repay in action alone,
    and it is only through the blood of Jesus 
    that we are washed clean and made pure as gold.
I know forgiveness flows freely to those who sincerely repent.
Please accept my humble repentance
    as I lay prostrate before Your throne of grace.
Lord, please receive my efforts with my heartfelt prayer of gratitude
    for your everlasting love and kindness shown to us 
    through Your gift to the world,
    Your only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ.
In Christ’s name. Amen.
 
Chestina Mitchell Archibald, Pastor serving in Nashville, TN
 
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In him we have redemption through his blood, 
    the forgiveness of sins, 
    in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

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