Trinity

Easter Prayer of Pope Gregory the Great

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source by Luca Giordano via Wikipedia
 
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
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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

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Who are you, that you love us so much?

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Francesco Londonio ~1750, photo by Dall’Orto, via Wikimedia Commons
 
How meek you are, Jesus, yet how mighty!
Your judgment is mighty, but your love is sweet.
Who can stand against you?
 
If we seek who you really are, your true nature is hidden in heaven,
    in the essence of the mighty Triune God.
But if a person were to seek your face,
    they could have found you in the lap of Mary.
 
Who can realize your depth, 
    you who are a great sea that made itself so small?
We come to see you as God, and see?
    You are a man!
Or if we came to see you as a man,
    the light of your Godhead shone brightly.
 
Who would believe that you are the heir of David’s throne?
From all his beds, you inherited an animal’s feeding trough.
From his palaces you received a cave.
And instead of his chariots, a young donkey.
 
How fearless you are, 
    allowing everyone to carry you in their arms.
You met all with a smile, 
    making no distinctions between family and stranger,
    between your mother and others.
 
Was it your love – you, who love all?
What moved you to let everyone have you,
    the rich and the poor alike?
How could you not return anger for anger, 
    fear for threat?
You are above returning injury for injury.
 
Who are you, Jesus, that you love us so much?
Amen.
 
Ephrem the Syrian, c.306-373, Syrian hymn writer and theologian
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And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 
She gave birth to her firstborn son. 
She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, 
    because there was no lodging available for them.

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Living puzzles and the Kingdom of God

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All praise to you, Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
    who Spirits your church into being,
    making us members one of another.
It is a great mystery that we are your body.
But we praise you for it,
    for otherwise we would be alone – 
    condemned to live alone, to die alone.
But you have given us one another in all shapes and sizes.
 
We do not fit together all that well,
    but we pray that the puzzles of our lives 
    may please you and entertain you,
  so that in the end we add up to be your kingdom.
Help us to live with the confidence of that kingdom,
    in light of your Son’s resurrection,
  so that when all is said and done, this may be said:
“They were a strange lot, but look how they loved one another.”
Amen
 
Stanley Hauerwas, 1940- , American ethicist and theologian
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Together, we are his house, 
    built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. 
And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 
We are carefully joined together in him, 
    becoming a holy temple for the Lord.  
Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling
    where God lives by his Spirit.

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transfigure your people and your creation

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“Transfiguration” by Cornelis Monsma
 
 
O Lord Jesus Christ, glorified by the Father,
transfigured in holy light on Mount Tabor,
you have opened the gate of glory to the kingdom of the Father.
With Peter, James and John, we offer our adoration.
 
In this day also, O Lord Christ,
were the gates of hell opened
in the skies of Hiroshima
and the unholy light of death unleashed.
 
O Saviour of the world,
forgive us our blasphemy.
Inflame us by the vision of your divinity
and inspire us by the Holy Spirit
to seek the peace of your kingdom on earth.
By your saving cross and life-giving resurrection,
transfigure your people and your creation,
changing all from glory to glory.
 
For to you, O Christ, belongs all honour and praise,
with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and ever,
unto ages of ages. Amen.
 
United Kingdom
 
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 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, 
    and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 
And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, 
    intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 
And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 
And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. 
    Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 
For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 
And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, 
    “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

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to share in your reconciling mission

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Veni, Dator Munerum by Lawrence OP 
 
 
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, 
    the privilege is ours to be called to share 
    in the loving, healing and reconciling mission
    of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord 
    in this age and wherever we are.
Since without you we can do no good thing,
    may your Spirit make us wise;
    may your Spirit guide us;
    may your Spirit renew us;
    may your Spirit strengthen us
    so that we will be
        strong in faith;
        discerning in proclamation;
        courageous in witness;
        persistent in good deeds.
This we ask through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
Anglican Church of the West Indies
 
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For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 
    from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 
    that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you 
    to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being

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You are . . .

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photo by Mario La Pergola on Unsplash
 
 
You alone are holy, Lord God, Worker of Wonders.
You are mighty.  You are great.  You are the Most High.
You are omnipotent, our holy Father, King of heaven and earth.
You, Lord God, three in one, are our every good.
You, Lord God, all good, our highest good – Lord God living and true.
You are charity and love.
You are wisdom. You are humility.
You are patience.
You are security.  You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and temperance.
You are riches altogether sufficient.
You are beauty.  You are meekness.
You are our refreshment.
You are our hope.  You are our faith.
You are our most profound sweetness.
You are our eternal life, great and admirable Lord,
    omnipotent God, merciful Savior!
 
Carlo Carretto, 1910 – 1988, Italian writer and minister
 
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Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
    “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
        or who has been his counselor?”
    “Or who has given a gift to him
        that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.

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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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Let me sustain true faith

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Almighty and eternal God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from my heart I ask that you through your Holy Spirit   
    would create and maintain in me a longing and love
    for your holy Word – 
        to pray and cry out to you always.
For I am certain of this:
    aside from your Word there is no comfort, faith, life or salvation,
    instead everything is only the way of sinners, the seat of scoffers,
    and it must, like chaff, be blown away by the wind!
 
Sanctify me in your truth; your Word is the truth.
Let me have and sustain true faith and a good, peaceful conscience,
    so that I would remain eternally green and fruitful 
        like a palm tree by water
  and that my leaves – either in this life or in eternal life –
    would not wither.
Lord God, hear me and let me be and remain yours.
Amen.
 
Nikolaus Selnecker, 1530 – 1592, German Protestant Reformer
 
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Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.
But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
 

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Prayer to close out a minister’s conference

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W. L. Ransome
 
Almighty God, we thank thee for the hours we have spent on this campus.
Every now and then when the way seems dark,
    you give us a little sample of what is better further along.
We have been encouraged this week by the fact that 
    what we have received is a sample of that which is waiting for those 
    who hold out and prove faithful to the end.
We are like the ox who is pulling the load up the hill,   
    and about to give out;
    when the driver gets out of the ox cart and carries a little food up the hill –
    and the oxen know the food is up there,
    by faith they pull harder.
We are gonna pull harder now.
We are gonna cut more deeply.
We are gonna believe more firmly.
We are gonna hold more assuredly,
    because one thing you told Peter,
    “that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.”
Help us to go back now.
When Samson wanted to burn down the wheat fields of the Philistines,
    he got a hundred or so foxes and tied their tails together.
He struck one match and lighted all those fiery tails and
    turned them loose among the wheat fields of the Philistines.
When the foxes got through,
    the enemies of God didn’t have nothing to feed on.
We’ve been tied together here this week.
The Servant of God has lighted our hearts with the candle of Thy Word.
He’s turning us loose now! 
We’re going out into the world, 
    and we’re gonna burn down hell and the kingdom of Satan in this age!
May the grace of God 
  and the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit
  and the peace that passeth all understanding,
    abide with us until that same Jesus,
        who went into the first airship, manned by two pilots,
        ascended out of sight,
    and the angel said,” In like manner, He’s coming again.”
And when He comes, when He comes,
    all those looking for Him by faith will be with Him
    and shall never separate from that Holy Church.
Where the shadows never fall, calendars never bedeck the walls,
    funerals are never had, and parting is no more.
On the sea of glass, we will retire.
Palms of victory in our hands,
    we will waive to Him who shall reign forevermore.
 
prayer given by W. L. Ransome at the Hampton Ministers’ Conference 1973
 
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Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, 
    for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, 
    but encourage one another, 
    especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

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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
 
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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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