Jesus

St. Patrick’s Creed

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St Patrick catechising, Lawrence OP, Flickr
 
 
There is no other God,
    and there never was another,
    nor will there be any after him
    except God the Father, without beginning.
From him is all beginning.
He upholds all things.
And his Son Jesus Christ
    whom together with the Father
    we testify to have always existed.
Before the beginning of the world
    he was spiritually present with the Father.
Begotten in an indescribable manner before all beginning.
By him all things visible and invisible were made.
He was made man,
    and having overcome death
    was received into heaven to the Father:
And the Father has bestowed on him
    the name that is above every name,
    so that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
    and every tongue confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord and God.
In him we believe,
    and we await his coming
    who before long shall judge the quick and dead.
He will render to everyone according to his deeds,
    and has poured out abundantly on us
    the gift of the Holy Spirit,
    even the pledge of immortality,
  who makes those that believe and obey
    to be the sons of God the Father
    and joint-heirs with Christ.
Him we confess and adore —
    one God in the Trinity of the sacred name.
 
St. Patrick, c.389-461, missionary and bishop in Ireland
 
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But for us,
 There is one God, the Father,
    by whom all things were created,
    and for whom we live.
 And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ,
    through whom all things were created,
    and through whom we live.

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Transfiguration Prayer

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Transfiguration of Christ, Carl Bloch, Wikimedia Commons
 

O God,
We open our eyes and we see Jesus,
the months of ministry transfigured to a beam of light,
the light of the world,
your light.
May your light shine upon us.

We open our eyes and we see Moses and Elijah,
your word restoring us, showing us the way,
telling a story,
your story, his story, our story.
May your word speak to us.

We open our eyes and we see mist,
the cloud of your presence
which assures us of all we do not know
and that we do not need to fear that.
Teach us to trust.

We open our eyes and we see Peter’s constructions,
his best plans, our best plans,
our missing the point,
our missing the way.
Forgive our foolishness and sin

We open our eyes and we see Jesus,
not casting us off,
but leading us down, leading us out –
to ministry, to people.
Your love endures forever.

We open our ears and we hear your voice,
‘This is my beloved Son, listen to him!’
And we give you thanks.

Amen

 
William Loader, New Testament Professor emeritus in Australia
 
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And after six days Jesus took with him 
  Peter and James, and John his brother,   
  and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  
And he was transfigured before them, 
  and his face shone like the sun, 
  and his clothes became white as light.  
And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, 
  talking with him. 
And Peter said to Jesus, 
  “Lord, it is good that we are here. 
  If you wish, I will make three tents here, 
  one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 
He was still speaking when, 
  behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, 
  and a voice from the cloud said, 
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
 
 

teach us the unity of Thy family

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O God, who has made man in thine own likeness,
    And who loves all whom Thou hast made,
  suffer us not because of difference of race, color, or condition
    to separate ourselves from others
    and thereby from Thee;
  but teach us the unity of Thy family
    and universality of Thy Love.
As Thou Savior, as a Son, was born of a Hebrew mother,
    who had the blood of many nations in her veins;
    and ministered first to Thy brethren of the Israelites,
    but rejoiced in the faith of a Syro-Phoenician woman and of a Roman soldier,
    and suffered your cross to be carried by an Ethiopian;
  teach us, also, while loving and serving our own,
    to enter into the communion of the whole family;
  and forbid that from pride of birth, color, achievement and hardness of heart,
    we should despise any for who Christ died,
    or injure or grieve any in whom He lives.
We pray in Jesus’ precious name. AMEN.
 
Robert C. Lawson, 1883-1961, 20th-century African American clergyman
 
_______________________
 
 
I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters,
    by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
    to live in harmony with each other. 
Let there be no divisions in the church. 
Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

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The Presentation

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The Presentation in the Temple, Alvaro Pirez, The Met, public domain
 
 
From all eternity, O Jesus Christ, 
    you have been our Lord and our God; so did the Father will it.  
Yet in this, the last of all periods of time, you also had your birth; 
    you were born of a virgin, 
    of one that had no knowledge of any man.  
To redeem us from the Law, you submitted to the Law.  
Your purpose was to free us from slavery 
    to which our corruption had reduced us 
    and to confer upon us the rank of sons.
 
This is the day when you were carried to the temple 
    and the aged Simeon took you in his arms 
    and asked leave to go in peace.  
‘My own eyes have seen’, he said, ‘your grace and your saving power.’
 
Deliver us, now, Lord, from all that is vain;
    fulfill your promise and free us from sin and shame;
    fill our hearts with your holy Spirit and enable us to say:
‘Abba, Father.’
 
Early Christian Prayers edited by A. Hamman, #218
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Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

 

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

 

You became human, really human.

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Te tamari no atua, Paul Gauguin, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
You became human, really human.
While we endeavor to grow out of our humanity,
    to leave our human nature behind us,
    You became human,
    and we must recognize that You want us also to be human – 
    really human.
Whereas we distinguish between the godly and the godless,
    the good and the evil, the noble and the common,
    You love real human beings without distinction. . . .
    You take the side of real human beings and the real world
        against all their accusers. . . .
 
But it’s not enough to say that You take care of human beings.
This sentence rests on something
    infinitely deeper and more impenetrable, 
    namely, that in the conception and birth of Jesus Christ, 
    You took on humanity in bodily fashion.
You raised your love for human beings 
    above every reproach of falsehood and doubt and uncertainty
    by yourself entering into the life of human beings as a human being,
    by bodily taking upon yourself 
    and bearing the nature, essence, guilt, and suffering of human beings.
 
Out of love for human beings, You became a human being.
You do not seek out the most perfect human being
    in order to unite with that person.
Rather, You take on human nature as it is.
 
after Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906 – 1945, German  theologian and martyr
 
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Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’

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Glory be to God on high

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image / Lawrence OP / Flickr
 
 
Glory be to God on high,
and on earth peace,
peace among those of good will.
We praise you, we bless you,
we give thanks for your great glory,
holy God, tender God, God our beloved creator.
 
Christ our desire 
only embodiment of God,
bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh,
foolishness of God, greater than human wisdom,
emptiness of God, full of redemption,
bearing away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us.
Holy one, bearing away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us.
Beloved one, bearing away the sin of the world,
receive our prayer.
 
For you alone are holy,
you alone our desire.
You alone, O Christ,
with the comforter of fire,
are radiant with the grace and glory of God most high.
 
Janet Morely, British poet and theologian
 
_________________________________
 
 
For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
 

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Ignatian Litany of the Names of Jesus

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Christ Pantocrator 

 
Jesus, Son of the Virgin, . . . . . . . . Have mercy on us.
Jesus, our Creator and Lord, . . .
Jesus, eternal Lord of all things, . . . 
Jesus, who created and redeemed us, . . .
Jesus, who is to be our eternal judge, . . . 
Jesus, divine majesty, . . . 
Jesus, complete and perfect goodness, . . .
Jesus, infinite love, . . . 
Jesus, our kindly Lord, . . . 
Jesus, infinite wisdom, . . . 
Jesus, author and source of every blessing, . . .
Jesus, the giver of every gift, . . . 
Jesus, our perfect and eternal good, . . 
Jesus, our salvation, . . .
Jesus, our help and support, . . .
Jesus, our Mediator, . . .
Jesus, the power of God, . . .
Jesus, our supreme leader and Lord, . . .
Jesus, our food and companion in pilgrimage, . . .
Jesus, beautiful and lovable, . . .
Jesus, poor and humble, . . .
Jesus, made obedient for our sake, . . .
Jesus, plunged in sorrow, . . .
Jesus, overwhelmed by anguish and grief, . . .
Jesus, naked upon the cross, . . .
Jesus, who wished to be sold to redeem us, . . .
Jesus, who chose a painful death to give us eternal life, . . .
Jesus, now in glory, . . .
Jesus, full of happiness and joy, . . .
Jesus, our consoler, . . . 
Jesus, our peace, . . . 
Jesus, our joy, . . . 
Jesus, our hope, . . .
Jesus, our life, . . . 
Jesus, our reward exceedingly great, . . . 
Jesus, true life of the world, . . . 
Jesus, our model and guide, . . . 
Jesus, the head of your body the church, . . .
Jesus, the bridegroom of the church your spouse, . . .
Jesus, your Father has placed us with you, . . . 
Jesus, we have cast the anchor of our hope in you, . . . 
Jesus, move our hearts to follow you in complete poverty, . . . 
Jesus, help us conform to the will of the most Holy Trinity, . . . 
Jesus, be the means of our union with the most Holy Trinity, . . . 
Blessed be the name of Jesus, now and forever. 
Amen.
 
 
_______________________
 
 
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,
    vindicated by the Spirit,
        seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
    believed on in the world,
        taken up in glory.
 

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for those involved with the law

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Jesus Before Pilate, James Tissot, Wikipedia Commons
 
Lord Jesus,
    You were in prison, found guilty when you were innocent,
    You were executed as traitor when in fact you were Savior.
To you who died to set all free we pray for:
    All makers of the laws of the land,
         that they do so with reason and compassion.
    All interpreters of the law – judges, lawyers –
        that they be fair, honest and impartial.
    All administrators of the law – prison guards and superintendents – 
        that they be merciful in their firmness.
    All prisoners – that they may know that you are in prison with them,
        in their homes with their loved ones,
        and that in you is their hope.
    Though bound, may they be perfectly free in you and in your service.
 
John B. Coburn, 1914- 2009, Bishop of Massachusetts
 
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Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
   the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.

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Make me always busy in your service

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Les femmes saintes, James Tissot, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord, I make you a present of myself.
    I do not know what to do with myself.
So let me make this exchange:
    I will place myself entirely in your hands,
    if you will cover my ugliness with your beauty,
    and tame my unruliness with your love.
Put out the flames of false passion in my heart,
    since these flames destroy all that is true within me.
Make me always busy in your service.
Lord, I want no special signs from you,
    nor am I looking for intense emotions in response to your love.
I would rather be free of all emotion,
    than to run the danger of falling victim once again to false passion.
Let my love for you be naked, without any emotional clothing.

St Catherine of Genoa, 1447-1510, Italian Catholic mystic
 
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Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, 
preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. 
He took his twelve disciples with him, 
along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. 
Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; 
Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others 
who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

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ever looking for Christ’s return

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image, Donatas Dabravolskas, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
 
O SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN,
You were incarnate, suffered, rose, and ascended for my sake;
Your departure was not a token separation
     but a pledge of return.
Your Word, promises, and sacraments proclaim your death
    until you come again.
That day is no horror for me,
    for your death has redeemed me,
        your Spirit fills me,
        your love animates me,
        your Word governs me.
I have trusted you and you have not betrayed my trust;
     I have waited for you, and have not waited in vain.
You will come to raise my body from the dust,
    and re-unite it to my soul,
    by a wonderful work of infinite power and love,
    greater than that which bounds the ocean’s waters,
        ebbs and flows of the tides,
        keeps the stars in their courses,
        and gives life to all creatures.
This corruptible shall put on incorruption,
    this mortal, immortality,
    this natural body, a spiritual body,
    this dishonored body, a glorious body,
    this weak body, a body of power.
I triumph now in your promises,
    as I shall when they are performed,
    for the head cannot live if the members are dead;
Beyond the grave is resurrection, judgment, acquittal, dominion.
Every event and circumstance of my life will be dealt with – 
    the sins of my youth, my secret sins,
    the sins of abusing you, of disobeying your Word,
    the sins of neglecting minister’s admonitions,
    the sins of violating my conscience – 
        all will be judged;
And after judgment, peace and rest, life and service,
    employment and enjoyment, for your elect.
O God, keep me in this faith, and ever looking for Christ’s return.
 
 
_______________________________
 
 
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 
    so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, 
    will appear a second time, not to deal with sin 
    but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

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