"Let us take refuge in the Lord,
And ascend a little to the place
Where thoughts dry up
And stirrings vanish,
Where memories fade away
And the passions die,
Where human nature becomes serene
And is transformed
As it stands in the other world."
Isaac of NinevehThe Second Part, Ch.10 #28
The prayers included in this prayer book come from Chapter V
pp. 5 to 19 of the book Isaac of Nineveh (Isaac the Syrian),
'The Second Part', Translated by Sebastian Brock, 1995
by Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium.
Available from Barnes & Noble
In the preface to the prayers, St Isaac assures us that the one
who prays these prayers, "will receive sanctification by them,
and will be filled with the grace of the Spirit". p.5
The prayers cut to the heart and are very moving and uplifting;
"I beseech you, O God, send me help from your highest heavens
so that I may keep far from my heart every evil intention and every
carnal wish. Do not cast me, Lord, from your protection lest my
adversary find me and trample upon me just as he desires,
destroying me utterly. It is you who grant repentance and a
sorrowful heart to the sinner who repents; in this way you ease
his heart from the weight of sin that is laid upon it, thanks to the
comfort which comes from mourning and from the gift of tears."
#3 p.8
"O name of Jesus, key to all gifts, open up for me the great door
to your treasure-house so that I may enter and offer you heartfelt
praise in return for your mercies which I have experienced in
latter days; for you came and renewed me with an awareness
of the new world." #5 p.9
"O Christ, upon whom the many-eyed cherubim are unable to
look because of the glory of your countenance yet, out of your
love, you received spit upon your face: remove the shame
from my face, and grant an open face before you at the time of
prayer." #22 p.22
By the prayers of St Isaac the Syrian, O Lord Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and save us!
For more on St Isaac please read the post here.
No comments:
Post a Comment