I lift my eyes to the heavens
heaven
Kadisha Valley, Lebanon via Wikimedia Commons
Easter Prayer of Gregory the Great
Resurrection, Luca Giordano via Wikimedia Commons
It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind,
to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of Loving-Kindness
toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son.
Dear Jesus You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father
by Your Blood poured forth in Loving-Kindness.
You cleared away the darkness of sin
by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection.
You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror.
You reconciled Heaven and earth.
Our life had no hope of Eternal Happiness before You redeemed us.
Your Resurrection has washed away our sins,
restored our innocence and brought us joy.
How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love!
We pray You, Lord, to preserve Your servants
in the peaceful enjoyment of this Easter happiness.
We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with God The Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever.
Pope Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 604) of Rome, Patron Saint of Teachers
source
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1 Peter 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of Loving-Kindness
toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son.
Dear Jesus You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father
by Your Blood poured forth in Loving-Kindness.
You cleared away the darkness of sin
by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection.
You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror.
You reconciled Heaven and earth.
Our life had no hope of Eternal Happiness before You redeemed us.
Your Resurrection has washed away our sins,
restored our innocence and brought us joy.
How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love!
We pray You, Lord, to preserve Your servants
in the peaceful enjoyment of this Easter happiness.
We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with God The Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever.
Pope Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 604) of Rome, Patron Saint of Teachers
source
_________________________
1 Peter 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you.
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Questions
What significance does the resurrection of Jesus make in your life?
What difference does Jesus’ resurrection make in your relationships?
Questions
What significance does the resurrection of Jesus make in your life?
What difference does Jesus’ resurrection make in your relationships?
Disturb us, O Lord
image via Pinterest
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
The Minister’s Manual, Vol. 37, compiled by M.K.W. Heicher
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Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
The Minister’s Manual, Vol. 37, compiled by M.K.W. Heicher
___________________________
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
_________________________
Question
When have you felt moved or disturbed to undertake a challenge
_________________________
Question
When have you felt moved or disturbed to undertake a challenge
so big that only God could accomplish it?
forgiveness that recreates
“Reconciliation” by Vasconcellos, Coventry Cathedral
Jesus’ prayer was, ‘Father, forgive them,
they know not what they do.’
A prayer born in death, writhing with pain.
A prayer risking faith, facing the sorrow.
A prayer living in hope, seeing the future.
My prayer was, ‘God, how can I forgive them?
They do know what they did.’
A prayer saying, ‘ It still hurts.’
A prayer wanting vengeance.
A prayer seeking direction.
My prayer became, ‘God, help me forgive them;
they know what they did.’
A prayer saying, ‘They were wrong.
A prayer wanting reconciliation.
A prayer seeing courage.
My prayer became, ‘God, forgive them;
they know what they did.’
A prayer that wrestled with injustice.
A prayer that acknowledges weakness.
A prayer that found hope in God’s love.
My prayer remains, ‘God, forgive them;
they know what they did.’
Because forgiveness recreates life from death.
Because forgiveness cleanses the healing wound.
Because forgiveness builds the bridge of freedom.
Jared P. Pingleton, Christian psychologist, author, and speaker
they know not what they do.’
A prayer born in death, writhing with pain.
A prayer risking faith, facing the sorrow.
A prayer living in hope, seeing the future.
My prayer was, ‘God, how can I forgive them?
They do know what they did.’
A prayer saying, ‘ It still hurts.’
A prayer wanting vengeance.
A prayer seeking direction.
My prayer became, ‘God, help me forgive them;
they know what they did.’
A prayer saying, ‘They were wrong.
A prayer wanting reconciliation.
A prayer seeing courage.
My prayer became, ‘God, forgive them;
they know what they did.’
A prayer that wrestled with injustice.
A prayer that acknowledges weakness.
A prayer that found hope in God’s love.
My prayer remains, ‘God, forgive them;
they know what they did.’
Because forgiveness recreates life from death.
Because forgiveness cleanses the healing wound.
Because forgiveness builds the bridge of freedom.
Jared P. Pingleton, Christian psychologist, author, and speaker
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Matthew 18:18-19
Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask,
it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
___________________
Questions:
What is one relationship that would benefit from forgiveness and renewal?
How can you “loose on earth” the hurts you’ve experienced
so that heaven might be brought to earth?
Let God be my portion
Parable of the hidden treasure, Rembrandt or Gerard Dou, via Wikimedia Commons
Let the eternal God be the portion of my soul;
let heaven be my inheritance and hope;
let Christ be my Head and my promise of security;
let faith be my wisdom,
and love my very heart and will.
and patient persevering obedience be my life;
and then I can spare the wisdom of the world,
because I can spare the trifles that it seeks.
Richard Baxter, 1615-1691, English Puritan
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Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal,
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Let us grow with him
The Nativity, Federico Barocci 1597, wikimedia commons
O food and bread of angels,
the angels are filled by you, are satisfied by you,
but not to the point of satiety.
They live by you; they have wisdom by you.
By you they are blessed.
Where are you for my sake? In a mean lodging, in a manger.
For whom? He who rules the stars sucks at the breast.
He who speaks in the bosom of the Father is silent in the Mother’s lap.
But he will speak when he reaches a suitable age,
and will fulfill for us the Gospel.
For our sakes he will suffer, for us he will die.
As an example of our reward, he will rise again.
He will ascend into Heaven before the eyes of his disciples,
and will come from Heaven to judge the world.
Behold him lying in the manger; he is reduced to tininess,
yet he has not lost anything of himself.
He has accepted what was not his,
but he remains what he was.
Look, we have the infant Christ; let us grow with him.
Augustine of Hippo 354-430
Praying to Our Lord Jesus Christ
the angels are filled by you, are satisfied by you,
but not to the point of satiety.
They live by you; they have wisdom by you.
By you they are blessed.
Where are you for my sake? In a mean lodging, in a manger.
For whom? He who rules the stars sucks at the breast.
He who speaks in the bosom of the Father is silent in the Mother’s lap.
But he will speak when he reaches a suitable age,
and will fulfill for us the Gospel.
For our sakes he will suffer, for us he will die.
As an example of our reward, he will rise again.
He will ascend into Heaven before the eyes of his disciples,
and will come from Heaven to judge the world.
Behold him lying in the manger; he is reduced to tininess,
yet he has not lost anything of himself.
He has accepted what was not his,
but he remains what he was.
Look, we have the infant Christ; let us grow with him.
Augustine of Hippo 354-430
Praying to Our Lord Jesus Christ
_____________________________
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
____________________________
How is it that Jesus could be fully God even as he was a tiny baby?
How is Jesus’ birth the beginning of the Gospel fulfillment?
How is it that Jesus could be fully God even as he was a tiny baby?
How is Jesus’ birth the beginning of the Gospel fulfillment?
Prayer for Holy Saturday
Lamentation of Christ, Andrea Mantegna, via Wikimedia Commons
Today a tomb holds him who holds the creation in the hollow of his hand;
a stone covers him who covered the heavens with glory.
Life sleeps and hell trembles, and Adam is set free from his bonds.
Glory to your dispensation, whereby you have accomplished all things,
granting us an eternal Sabbath, your most holy Resurrection from the dead.
What is this sight that we behold? What is this present rest?
What is this sight that we behold? What is this present rest?
The King of the ages, having through his passion fulfilled the plan of salvation,
keeps Sabbath in the tomb, granting us a new Sabbath.
Unto him let us cry aloud: Arise, O Lord, judge the earth,
for measureless is your great mercy and you reign forever.
Come, let us see our Life lying in the tomb,
for measureless is your great mercy and you reign forever.
Come, let us see our Life lying in the tomb,
that he may give life to those that in their tombs lie dead.
Come, let us look today on the Son of Judah as he sleeps,
and with the prophet let us cry aloud to him:
You have lain down, you have slept as a lion;
who shall awaken you, O King?
But of your own free will you rise up,
who willingly gives yourself for us.
O Lord, glory to thee
Mattins, Holy Saturday, Orthodox
The Oxford Book of Prayer slightly modernized
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The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph
and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes.
But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
Jesus Christ the King
The Christ Pantocrator of St. Catherine’s Monastery at Sinai, 6th Century via Wikimedia Commons
You are Jesus Christ,
Word of God, Begotten before the light,
creator together with the Father.
You are the fashioner of man, all in all.
Among the patriarchs you are Patriarch;
in the law, the Law.
Among the priests, Chief Priest;
among kings, the Ruler;
among prophets, the Prophet;
among the angels, Archangel.
In the voice of the preacher, you are the Word;
among the spirits, the Spirit;
in the Father, the Son;
in God, God.
You are King forever and ever.
For you were the pilot to Noah,
the guide to Abraham, bound to Isaac,
in exile with Jacob, sold with Joseph.
You were there with Moses.
In David and the prophets
you announced your own sufferings.
You put on bodily form in the Virgin,
were born in Bethlehem,
wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger,
seen by the shepherds, glorified by the angels,
worshipped by the magi.
You were pointed out by John,
gathered together the apostles,
and you preached the kingdom.
You cured the lame,
gave light to the blind,
and raised the dead.
You appeared in the temple,
were not believed on by the people,
betrayed by Judas,
captured by the priests,
and condemned by Pilate.
You were pierced in the flesh, hung on the tree,
and buried in the earth.
You rose from the place of the dead,
appeared to the apostles,
were carried up to heaven,
and are seated at the right hand of the Father.
You are the rest for those that are departed,
the one who recovers the lost,
the light of those who are in darkness,
the deliverer of those who are captive,
the guide of those who go astray,
and the asylum of the afflicted.
You are the bridegroom of the church,
the charioteer of the cherubim,
and captain of the angels.
You are God who is from God,
Son from the Father,
Jesus Christ the King forevermore.
Amen.
Melito of Sardis, d.180, Bishop of Sardis
Fount of Heaven Prayers of the Early Church
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The Son is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
For in him all things were created:
things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
all things have been created through him and for him.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead,
so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
O Lord, in prayer . . .
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, via Wikimedia Commons
_(14595312068).jpg){kind=link}
O Lord, in prayer I launch far out into the eternal world,
and on that broad ocean my soul triumphs
over all evils on the shores of mortality.
Time, with its gay amusements and cruel disappointments
never appears so inconsiderate as then.
In prayer I see myself as nothing;
In prayer I see myself as nothing;
I find my heart going after You with intensity,
and long with vehement thirst to live to You.
Blessed be the strong gales of the Spirit
that speed me on my way to the New Jerusalem.
In prayer all things here below vanish,
In prayer all things here below vanish,
and nothing seems important
but holiness of heart and the salvation of others.
In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, anxieties disappear,
In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, anxieties disappear,
and are of as little significance as a puff of wind.
In prayer my soul inwardly exults with lively thoughts
In prayer my soul inwardly exults with lively thoughts
at what You are doing for Your church,
and I long that You should get Yourself a great name
from sinners returning to Zion.
In prayer I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life,
In prayer I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life,
and taste heavenly joys;
entering into the eternal world I can give myself to You with all my heart,
to be Yours for ever.
In prayer I can place all my concerns in Your hands,
In prayer I can place all my concerns in Your hands,
to be entirely at Your disposal,
having no will or interest of my own.
In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers, sinners, the church,
In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers, sinners, the church,
Your kingdom to come, with greatest freedom, ardent hopes,
as a son to his father, as a lover to the beloved.
Help me to be all prayer and never to cease praying..
Help me to be all prayer and never to cease praying..
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-1892, English Baptist Preacher
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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing
the enjoyment of God
Jonathan Edwards engraving, via Wikimedia Commons
God, You are the highest good of the reasonable creature,
and the enjoyment of You is the only happiness
with which our souls can be satisfied.
To go to heaven fully to enjoy You,
is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.
Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, children,
or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows.
But the enjoyment of You is the substance.
These are but scattered beams, but You are the sun.
These are but streams, but You are the fountain.
These are but drops, but You are the ocean.
Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758, American theologian and pastor
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I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!
For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation
and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding
or a bride with her jewels.
For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation
and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding
or a bride with her jewels.