Душеспасительные размышления с молитвенными обращениями к Господу Иисусу Христу и Пресвятой Богородице

1. Calling on Almighty God to acquire a virtuous life Lord my God, grant that my heart may desire You, desire to seek You, seeking to find You, having found to love You; loving, she cleansed herself of sins; Having cleared it, it no longer repeated them. Grant, O Lord my God, repentance to my heart, contrition to my spirit, to my eyes a source of tears, to my hands generosity in almsgiving. My King, extinguish carnal lusts in me and ignite the fire of Your love. My Redeemer, drive out the spirit of pride from me and grant me the treasure of your humility. My Savior, remove from me the anger of rage and give me the strong shield of patience. My Creator, destroy the bitterness of my soul and grant me, Most Good One, spiritual sweetness. Give me, O Merciful One, firm faith, undoubted hope, unceasing love. My pilot, turn away from me vanity, fickleness of thought, delusion of the heart, idle talk of the lips, lust of the eyes, gluttony, reproach of neighbors, curiosity, the pursuit of honors, the desire for vain glory, hypocrisy, the poison of flattery, neglect of the poor, oppression of the powerless, the heat of the love of money, envy, blasphemy. Destroy in me, my Creator, insolence, unbridledness, stubbornness, restlessness, idleness, drowsiness, laziness, unsteadiness of thought, blindness of the heart, numbness of feelings, severity of character, disobedience to good, resistance to good desire, unbridled tongue, violence against the weak, slander of the innocent, contempt for subordinates, callousness towards family, betrayal towards friends and rudeness towards neighbors. My most generous God! I pray to You through Your beloved Son, grant me to perform works of mercy and show love for people: to have compassion for the unfortunate, to guide the erring, to support the poor, to help the wretched, to console the sad, to protect the offended, to provide for the poor, to encourage the crying, to forgive debtors, to love those who hate me, to repay evil with good, to not despise anyone; imitate the good, beware of the evil, strive for virtue, reject vices; “Put a guard, O Lord, on my lips, and guard the doors of my mouth” (Ps. 140:3); grant me patience in adversity, abstinence in prosperity; contempt for earthly things, thirst for heavenly things. 2. Accusation of man and praise of God's mercy My Creator, I asked a lot from You, without deserving even a little. I confess, alas! I confess that I not only did not deserve the gifts I asked from You, but I am worthy of many and cruel torments. But I am encouraged by publicans, harlots and robbers, who, instantly escaping from the enemy’s jaws, enter the precincts of the Shepherd. You, the Creator of all, God, although you are wonderful in all Your deeds, are even more wonderful in your deeds of love. Therefore, about Yourself, through a certain servant of Yours, You said: “His bounty is in all His works” (Ps. 144:9). And we believe that You, speaking about one thing, said about all people: “I will not take My mercy from him” (2 Samuel 7:15), - since You do not disdain anyone, do not reject anyone, are not afraid of anyone. When You are angry, You not only do not strike, but even to those who anger You, if they ask, You send Your gifts. My God, the horn of my salvation! I, the unfortunate one, did evil before You, I sinned, and You endured it; I angered You, I got lost, and You still endure. I hesitate, I put off repentance, and You wait. You convert the erring, you call upon the resisting, you wait for the weakening, you embrace the returning. You instruct me who do not understand, you console the sad, you save me from falling, you restore me after a fall, you give to those who ask, you open to those who seek, you open to those who knock. Lord, God of my salvation! What can I say against You? Don't know. How to answer you? I don't understand. There is no refuge from You, no place hidden from You. You showed me the path to a virtuous life and gave me reason so that it would guide me, threaten me with hell and promise me heavenly glory. Now, “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3), pierce my flesh with Your fear, so that I may avoid with this fear what You threaten me with; and give me the joy of Your salvation, so that I may receive what You promised with love. My fortress, O Lord, my strength, my God, my refuge and my deliverer! inspire me to think about You; teach me what words to call upon You; give understanding in what deeds to please You. I know one thing in which to please You, and another thing in which You turn away. There is a sacrifice before You - a broken spirit, and You accept a broken heart. With these, my God, my Helper, enrich me with gifts. Protect me with these veils against the enemy. Give me some relief from the flames of vices. Grant, O Lord, the power of my salvation, so that I will not be one of those who believe for a while, but fall away during temptation. You are my hope in the day of trouble and my salvation in time of sorrow. Lord, my enlightenment! I asked for what I needed; I discovered what I was afraid of. But my conscience torments me, the secrets of my heart expose me, and what love gives, fear destroys. My deeds are terrible, but Your goodness gives me hope. Your mercy calls, but my hardness hinders. Horrible vices come to mind that take away the courage of converting hearts. 3. Complaints of a person whom God does not listen to for disobedience How can an unworthy person ask for Your favor? How dare one worthy of punishment dare to seek glory? The judge is irritated by the one who, having not given satisfaction for the crime, seeks reward. The king is insulted by a criminal who seeks undue honor. Parental love is upset by a crazy son. What have I done before You, My Father? I deserve death, but I ask for life. I have irritated my King, whose protection I seek without shame. I have despised the Judge, whose help I foolishly seek. Woe is me, how late I come! Alas for me, how slowly I hurry! I neglected the arrows that struck me, and now I worry about the approaching death! I added wounds to wounds, because I was not afraid to add sins to sins. My wounds opened again, because I multiplied my sins with new iniquities. The flesh that covered the wounds began to stink from pus: because repeated lawlessness removed the given grace. I know the Scripture: “When a righteous person commits unrighteousness, all his righteous deeds will not be remembered” (Ezek. 33:13). If the truth of a fallen righteous man is counted as nothing, then much less the repentance of a sinner who turns to the same thing. How many times have I returned like a dog to vomit, and like a pig to mud? I confess that I cannot remember everything, how many people who do not understand I taught to sin, persuaded those who were unwilling, persuaded those who were hesitant, advised those who were willing! And in order not to be afraid of such things, I was not afraid to consign everything to oblivion. But You, righteous Judge! didn’t say a word to me, was always silent, patient; alas for me! in the end you will tell me “in your wrath!” (Ps. 2:5) God of gods! I know that You will not always be silent, I know that You will come openly: “before Your face there is a consuming fire, and a strong storm is around You” (Ps. 49:3). You will call “heaven and earth from above to judge Your people” (Ps. 49:4). And now, before so many thousands of people, all my sins will be laid bare, all my iniquities will be revealed to so many hosts of angels, not only those committed in deed, but also my very thoughts and words. I will appear before as many judges as many have preceded me in good deeds. I will be convicted to the extent that they taught me with useful words, and to imitate me they set themselves before me as an example with good deeds. My Lord, I don’t know what to say; I don't understand how to answer. I am not yet in this terrible judgment, but already my conscience torments me, torments me with the secrets of the heart, binds the love of money, accuses pride, devours envy, burns lust, devastates luxury, dishonors gluttony, overthrows drunkenness, tears apart dishonor, denounces theft, wastes dissent, outrages anger, relaxes peace, suppresses weakness, deceives hypocrisy, flattery inclines, prosperity exalts, dishonor stings. My deliverer from an angry generation: this is with whom I lived from the day I was born, in what I practiced and whom I served! My most favorite activities condemn me; what I praised discredits me. So these are my friends whom I admired, whom I believed, with whom I lived, whom I obeyed. Woe is me, my King and my God, “that I dwell with Mosoch” (Ps. 119:5). Woe is me, that I dwelt with them that dwell in Kedar! And if Saint David loved them greatly, how much more can I, the accursed one, say about myself: “Long did my soul live with those who hate the world!” (Ps. 119:6). My statement, my God, “no flesh will be justified in your sight” (Rom. 3:20). I do not place my hope in the sons of men. Whom, if You judge without Your mercy, will You find righteous? And if You do not meet the wicked with mercy, there will be no one who glorifies the righteous. For I, my Savior, believe what I have heard, since Your mercy leads me to repentance. Your sweetest lips told me: “No one can come to Me unless the Father draws him” (John 6:44) My Heavenly One. And since You taught me this, and, as a merciful One, instructed me, then with all my spiritual strength, with all the vision of my mind, I ask You, Almighty Father! with Your most beloved Son, and You, most beloved Son! I most kindly call upon the Comforter: “Draw me, so that I may joyfully follow You into a pleasant aroma” (Lev. 17:6) to You. 5. The Father is called through the Son I call on You, my God! I call upon You; because You are “close to all who call” You “in truth” (Ps. 144:18). Thou, Truth, teach me, I pray, by Thy mercy, teach me, holy Truth, to call upon Thee in truth, because I myself do not know how to do this; but I humbly ask for Your instructions, O blessed Truth. To think without you means to go crazy; and to know You is perfect wisdom. Instruct me, O Divine Wisdom, and teach me Your law; I believe that he will be “blessed is the man whom You admonish, O Lord, and instruct in Your law” (Ps. 93:12). I wish to call upon You, but I pray that it be “in truth.” What does it mean to call upon the Truth “in truth” if not in the Son of the Father? So, Holy Father, Your Word is Truth, and the beginning of Your words is Truth, because that is the Beginning of Your words, which in the beginning was the Word. At that very beginning I worship You, the highest Beginning. I call on You, perfect Truth, in the very word of Truth, which You, the Truth itself, guide and teach me. What could be sweeter than calling a parent in the name of the Only Begotten? To bow the Father to mercy by remembering the Son? To appease the king with the name of the most beloved Son? In this way, the guilty get rid of prisons, in this way those imprisoned are freed from them, in this way those sentenced to death not only receive forgiveness, but receive extraordinary mercy as soon as they remind the angry rulers of the love of their beloved children. So I ask You, Almighty Father, with the love of Your almighty Son, “bring my soul out of prison, so that I may glorify Your name” (Ps. 142:8). Free me from the bonds of sin, I pray, through Your Eternal Only Begotten Son, and lead me to eternal life through intercession at Your right hand, the Son seated. Who else will I send to You as my representative? I do not know if not this One, who is “the cleansing of our sins” (Heb. 1:3). This is my intercessor with You, God the Father! This is the highest High Priest, who does not require cleansing with the blood of others: because He shines, sprinkled with His own blood! This is a holy sacrifice, offered and accepted in the aroma of fragrance! This is the Lamb without blemish, Who was silent before His shearers, Who, spit upon and reproached, did not open His mouth! This is the One who committed no sin, but bore our sins on Himself and healed our illnesses with His wounds! 6. Man presents to God the Father the suffering of the Son as an atoning sacrifice for himself Look, Gracious Father, at your beloved Son, who endured so much torment for me. Look, most merciful King, at the suffering one and remember, O Generous One, for whom He suffers. Isn’t this the same, Lord, the innocent One whom You gave up for the redemption of a slave? Isn’t this Himself the Source of life, Who, “led like a sheep to the slaughter” (Is. 53:7; Acts 8:32), was not afraid to raise the cruellest kind of death? Remember, Builder of salvation, that this is the One to whom, although You Yourself gave birth to Him, You deigned to be a sharer of my weakness. Truly this is Your Divinity, which clothed itself in my being and with the assumed flesh endured bitter torment. Lift up, O Lord my God, Your eyes to the work of unspeakable love. Look at your most beloved Son, stretched out on the cross with his whole body! See innocent hands bleeding holy blood, and forgive, O Merciful One, the sins that my hands have committed! See the immaculate rib, painfully pierced by a spear, and renew me with the holy source that flowed from it. You see undefiled feet, which did not stand in the way of sinners, but always walked in Your law, pierced with sharp nails; “establish my steps in Your ways” (Ps. 16:5), and make me, O Merciful One, hate all the ways of iniquity. I pray to You, King of saints, through this Holy of holies, through this my Redeemer: make me walk in the way of your commandments, so that I can unite with Him who did not disdain to be clothed with my flesh. Do You not see, O merciful Father, the priceless head of Your most beloved Servant, with its whitest neck, bowed to death? Look, O all-generous Creator, at the love of mankind of your beloved Son, and have mercy on Your feeble and weak creation! The naked chest turns white, the bloody side turns black, the prostrate womb dries, the eyes fade, the royal lips turn pale, the majestic muscles stiffen, marble shins hang, a stream of holy blood wets the pierced feet. You see the torn limbs of your beloved Son, and remember, O Lover of Mankind, what my being is like. Look at the torment of the God-man, and reduce the misfortune of created man! See the cruel suffering of the Redeemer, and forgive the sin of the redeemed! This is He, Lord, whom You struck for the iniquities of people, although He is Your beloved, “in whom Your soul delights” (Is. 42:1; Matt. 12:18); The One in Whom no flattery was found, and yet He was imputed with the wicked. 7. Man recognizes himself as the cause of the Son's suffering What have you done, sweetest Youth, to be so condemned? What have you done, beloved Youth, that they should treat you so inhumanely? What is Your sin, what is Your transgression, what is the cause of death, what gave rise to Your condemnation? I, I am the cause of Your suffering, the guilt of Your murder, I am the reason for Your death, the lawlessness of Your vengeance; I am the wounds of Your suffering, the severity of Your torment. Oh, amazing viewing and unspoken arrangement of the sacrament! The wicked sin, but the righteous are punished. What the evil one deserves, the good one suffers. To what extent, Son of God, has Your humility descended? To what extent did Your love flare up? How far has Your goodness reached? To what, to what extent has compassion come? For I have committed injustice, and You are punished, I have committed iniquity, and You suffer vengeance. I have sinned, You are being tortured. I became proud, You humble yourself. I was arrogant, You are humiliated. I was disobedient, You obediently pay for the sin of my disobedience. I was a slave to intemperance, You suffer hunger. The tree captivated me with the forbidden fruit, perfect love raised you to the cross. I am amused by fun, You are torn by nails. I tasted the sweetness of the apple, You taste the bitterness of the bile. Eve rejoices with me, laughing, and weeping Mary has compassion for you. King of glory! My misfortune, and Your love; my untruth, but Your truth. What, my King and my God, what will I repay You for everything You have done for me? It is impossible to find anything worthy in a person’s heart to give thanks for such benefits. Can a sharp human mind really do something that would equal the mercy of God? A creature cannot render any service to commensurately reward the care of its Creator. But there is something, Son of God, in Your wonderful dispensation, in which my weakness takes little part, namely: if by Your visit a contrite thought crucifies its flesh with passions and lusts. When You grant this, she seems to already begin to sympathize with You. This is heavenly medicine. This, good Jesus, is the medicine of Your love. I pray to You with Your ancient bounties, pour it on my wounds, so that I, having won an internal and external victory, will not be afraid for Your love to come under the material sword and so that I, having been healed from the poisonous sting of the viper, will return to my former prosperous health; and, having tasted the sweetness of Your love, I would abhor with all my soul the pleasures of this world and for You I would not be afraid of any of its misadventures; and, remembering eternal bliss, would always despise the winds of this passing fear. Without You, nothing will be sweet to me, nothing will be attractive to me without You; May everything become disgusting to me without You! Let Your favor be our continuous desire. May my joy be sad without You and my sorrow for You pleasant. Let Your name be my strength, and Your memory a consolation. May my tears be my bread day and night. I pray to You, my hope, be merciful to my sins. Open my eyes to Your commandments, and do not, through Your holy name, turn my heart into words of wickedness, to be justified in sins. I also ask by Your wondrous love for mankind, “let not the foot of pride tread on me, and let not the hand of a sinner drive me out” (Ps. 35:12). 8. The suffering of the Son of God on the cross is the reason for the reconciliation of man with God Almighty God, Father of my Lord, mercifully arrange to have mercy on me, because I have diligently brought to You everything that is precious; whatever I found loved, I humbly presented to You. I have left nothing for myself that I would not have revealed to You: because I have directed all my hope towards You. I have presented my advocate before You, Your beloved Son. Through this Intercessor I hope for forgiveness. I sent the Word in words and counted before You the sufferings of the Holy Son, suffered for me. I believe that the Divinity You sent received my humanity, and in it was pleased to endure strangulation, chains, spitting and reproach, and also to lift the cross, nails and spear. I believe that Your Divine Word, made flesh, wounded in the flesh with wounds, crushed by suffering, imputed with the dead, endowed with the glory of the resurrection, ascended into heaven and sat down at Your right hand. It is my propitiation and Your sacrifice. Hear here, O Generous One, what kind of Son You gave birth to and what kind of servant You redeemed. Here, embrace the Shepherd with love and look mercifully at the sheep brought to You on His own shoulders. This is the faithful and good Shepherd, who searched for the sheep, long lost, through the clefts of the mountains and along the rapids of the valleys with great diligence; and having finally found her, already dying from a long wandering, he joyfully placed her upon Himself; He pulled her, clinging to Him with the wonderful desire of love, from the abyss of deep reproach and, taking her into a sweet embrace, brought her one dead to the ninety-nine. Lord, my King, Almighty God, the Good Shepherd brings to You what You have entrusted to Him. He, on Your advice to save a person, brings him to You, cleansed from all filth. Behold, the most glorified Son reconciles Your creation with You, which has strayed far from You. Here the meek Shepherd brings a sheep into your flock, which was taken by a daring robber. He presents before Your face a servant, whom his own confession has made a fugitive, so that he who deserves punishment by His satisfaction receives forgiveness, and the one guilty of the crimes of Gehenna under such a Leader already enjoys returning to his fatherland. Holy Father, I angered You, but with myself I could not appease You. Became my helper, my God, Your beloved Son, having accepted my humanity to heal my weakness, so that by the very thing that was the cause of Your offense, I could offer You a sacrifice of praise and thereby reconcile me with Your goodness; by this He, sitting at Your right hand, always declares Himself a participant in my being. He is my hope, He is my hope. Look, O Merciful One, look at me, although out of love for Your beloved Son. Look at this in the Son, by which You are propitious to the servant. See the mystery of the flesh, and leave the condemnation of the flesh. When the wounds of your beloved Son are opened before You, may my sins always disappear, I pray. Every time the precious blood from the holy rib turns red, may the vices of my desecration be destroyed, I pray. Is there such a human sin that the Son of God could not atone for by becoming a man? Can there be such pride that the humility of the Son of God would not trample under foot? Is the power of death really so great that it cannot be destroyed by the torment of the Son of God on the cross? All-good Creator of light, forgive my crimes for the sake of the immeasurable suffering of Your beloved Son. May my wickedness be tamed by His goodness and my cruelty by His meekness. May His humility conquer my pride, His patience my impatience, His generosity my callousness, His obedience my disobedience, His quietness my anxiety, His pleasantness my sorrow. His sweetness is my anger, His love is my heartlessness. 9. Calling the Holy Spirit Now You, O divine love of the Almighty Father and the all-blessed Son, holy communion, all-powerful Comforter Spirit, all-merciful Comforter of the sad! Now You, by Your almighty power, enter inside my heart and, from my negligence, illuminate all the dark places in it with the light of Your radiance, and with the abundance of Your dew make them fruitful, dried up from long-term uncleanness. Vulture my inner man with the arrow of Your love; and, as you passed, ignited with a saving flame the strength of my weakening heart, and, sanctifying with fire, I captured everything sinful in my thoughts and body. Fill me with the flow of Your sweetness, so that I no longer taste any poisonous sweetness of worldly things. “Judge me, O God, and enter into my dispute with an unkind people” (Ps. 42:1), and teach me to do Your will, because You are my God. In whom You dwell, in Him You make a house for the Father and the Son. Blessed is the one who is worthy to receive You, because in You the Father and the Son will make an abode for themselves. Come, come, Comforter of a grieving soul, Helper in sorrow. Come, Purifier of defilements, Physician of ulcers; come, strength of the weak, revelation of secrets. Come, Teacher of the humble, Destroyer of the proud. Come, merciful Father of orphans, sweet Judge of widows. Come, Hope of the poor, Restorer of the weak. Come, floating guiding Star, refuge from the shipwreck. Come, Beauty of all the living, one Salvation of the dying. Come, Most Holy Spirit, come and have mercy on me: make me worthy of You and descend mercifully on me, so that my smallness may appear acceptable before Your power, according to the multitude of Your mercies, in Christ Jesus my Savior, who lives and reigns with the Father in one Divinity forever and ever. Amen. 10. Prayerful appeal of a humble servant of God I know, Lord, I know and confess that I am not worthy of You loving me, but truly You are worthy of me loving You. Although I am not worthy to serve You, You are worthy of the service of Your creation. For this reason, grant me, O Lord, some of Your worthiness: and I will be worthy out of my unworthiness. Make it Your will that I forsake my sins and serve You as I should. Grant me to lead and end my life in such a way that I may fall asleep in peace and rest in You. Grant that at my death sleep will come to me with peace, peace with security, security with eternity. Amen. 11. Prayer to the Holy Trinity You, the unborn God the Father, You, the Only Begotten Son, You, the Holy Spirit the Comforter, the Holy and indivisible Trinity, we confess, praise and bless with all our hearts and lips: Glory to You forever and ever. Amen. 12. Confession of Almighty God Oh, Most High Trinity, one power and indivisible greatness, our God, Almighty God! I confess to You, the last of Your servants and a small member of Your Church, I confess to You and honor You as a worthy sacrifice of praise, that You deigned to give me knowledge and strength to such a humiliated person. If I do not have external gifts to offer You, then willingly and joyfully, with unfeigned faith and a good conscience, I offer You vows of praise. I believe in You with all my heart, King of heaven and earth, Lord, and I pray to You, I confess the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the threefold Persons, in the being of the one, true God, omnipotent, the only simple, incorporeal, invisible and not described, having nothing higher and greater than Himself, but in every way without the lack of perfect, without great quantity, without good quality, without death life, without strong weakness, without the lie of the true, without the position of being omnipresent, without the place of the whole everywhere, without extension filling everything, without resistance occurring everywhere, without stopping in all creatures, abiding in all creatures, without need creating everything, without labor managing everything, without His beginning giving the beginning to everything, without His change in everything that exists making changes; the greatness of the infinite, the power of the omnipotent, the goodness of the greatest, the wisdom of the incomprehensible, the advice of the terrible, the judgment of the righteous, the thoughts of the innermost thoughts, in the words of the just, in the deeds of the holy, in the bountiful bounty, very patient towards those who sin, towards those who repent, merciful, always together eternal and infinite, immortal and unchangeable, Whom neither space increases, nor cramped places detracts from, and no container encloses, no desire changes, no friendship bends, no sadness confuses, no joy captivates; From whom neither oblivion takes anything away, nor memory returns anything, nor the past passes away, nor the future comes; To whom neither the beginning of the beginning, nor the times of increment, nor the case of the end gives, but You live forever before the ages, in the ages and forever, and with You is eternal praise, eternal glory, the highest power and special honor, an uninterrupted kingdom, and a power without end, in unlimited, endless and immortal ages of ages. 13. About how God the Father was pleased to help the human race, and about the incarnation of the Word Until now, Almighty God, the Spectator and Guardian of my heart, I have confessed the omnipotence of Thy greatness and the greatness of Thy omnipotence; and now, just as You deigned to help the human race on earth at the end of centuries, just as I believe in the truth with my heart, so I confess with my lips before You for salvation. The apostle writes about Your Son: “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent His Son” (Gal. 4:4). He was sent into this world, and, born of the blessed Ever-Virgin Mary, he appeared in the flesh as a true and perfect man. But what does the evangelist say about Him: “he was in the world, and the world began to be through Him” (John 1:10). And there He was sent according to humanity, where He always dwells according to Divinity. I acknowledge with all my heart and with my lips I confess this message as the work of the entire Holy Trinity. How did You love us, that You did not spare Your Son, but gave Him up for us sinners? He was obedient to You until death on the cross; took the handwriting of our sins and nailed it to the cross, crucified sin and put to death death. He alone was free among the dead, had the power to lay down His life for us and take it up again. He is the Accomplisher and the Sacrifice. He is the Priest and the sacrifice. I have great confidence in Him, because You will heal all my illnesses by Him who sits at Your right hand and intercedes for us. Deliver me from the prince of this world, who sits at your right hand as our Redeemer, in whom he could find no evil. Thus justify me, Who committed no sin. Deliver me, I pray, from my sins, vices, crimes and negligence. Fill me with Your holy virtues and make me accustomed to goodness. May I remain in holy exercises in Thy holy name until my death, according to Thy good pleasure! 14. About the hope that the soul should have in the Lord Jesus I would have fallen into despair from my immeasurable sins and my countless crimes, if Thy Word, O God, had not become flesh and dwelt in us. But I no longer dare to despair, because we, while we were still enemies, were reconciled by the death of Your Son, all the more so after reconciliation we are saved by Him. All my hope and the inviolability of all my hope is placed on His priceless blood, shed for us and for our salvation. For this we thank You, merciful and generous Lover of Mankind, God, that You miraculously delivered us through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and brought back those who perished through our own fault. I give You praise with all my heart for the fact that You, out of Your unspeakable love, with which You deigned to love us poor and unworthy in your wondrous goodness, sent from the bosom of Your Only Begotten Son to save us sinners, who were then the sons of perdition. I thank You for His holy incarnation and His birth, and for His glorious Mother, from Whom He deigned to take flesh for our sake, so that He, as true God from God, might be true Man from man. I thank You for His suffering and His cross, for His death and resurrection, for His ascension into heaven, for His presence at Your right hand and for His sending of the Holy Spirit. I thank You for that most holy outpouring of His priceless blood, by which we have been redeemed, and for the most holy and life-giving mystery of His Body and Blood, with which we are daily saturated, and we become participants in the One Highest Divinity. I thank You for Your wonderful and ineffable love, with which You so loved us unworthy and saved us through Your only begotten and beloved Son, “so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is eternal life, that we may know You, the true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent, by right faith and works of faith. 15. About the immeasurable love of the Eternal God the Father for the human race O immeasurable goodness! Oh, incredible love! You sent the Son to deliver the servant. God became Man so that lost man would be delivered from the power of the demon. How merciful, O Lover of Mankind, is Your Son, to Whom it seemed displeased that He had humbled Himself by becoming a Man, and Who still endured the torment of the cross, shedding His blood to save us! God came, came out of His love to seek and save the lost. Oh love! Oh goodness! Who has ever heard something like this? Who would not be amazed at such compassionate mercy? Who wouldn't be surprised? Who will not rejoice in Your abundant love with which You have loved us? But what shall we render to Thee, our God, for such Thy good deeds? What praises shall we bring to You for Your mercy? Even if we had the angelic mind and strength, we could not render anything worthy of such Your love. If all our members turned into tongues, then we would still be powerless and insignificant to bring You worthy praises. For Your incredible love, which You have shown us, surpasses all understanding, since Your Son became like us in everything except sin. Having assumed not an angelic, but a human nature and having glorified him with resurrection and immortality, You in Your person raised him above all the heavens, above the hosts of angels, above the cherubim and seraphim. The angels praise You, the dominions worship You, and all the powers of heaven tremble before the God-man. This is all my hope and all my hope, because in Jesus Himself, our Lord, there is a part of each of us, flesh and blood. Where my part reigns, I believe that there I also reign; where my flesh is glorified, there I recognize myself as glorified. Where my blood has dominion, I think that I also have dominion, although my sins hold me back; although my iniquities exclude me, the union of nature does not exclude me from salvation. The Lord our God is generous and very merciful; and loves His flesh, His members, His womb. In God Himself and our Lord Jesus Christ, the sweetest and most merciful, in whom we were resurrected, and have already ascended into heaven, and are already sitting together with the inhabitants of heaven, our flesh loves us; and we have the benefit of our blood in Him. We are His members and His flesh, He is our head, from Whom is the whole body, as it is written: “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen. 2:23) and “the two will become one flesh” (Matt. 19:5). And: “no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and warms it” (Eph. 5:29). “This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church” (Eph. 5:32), says the apostle. 16. About the two natures in Jesus Christ, who has mercy on us and intercedes for us I give thanks with my lips and heart and with all my possible strength for Your infinite mercy, O Lord our God, and for all Your mercies with which You miraculously deigned to send help to us, the lost, through the same Son, our Savior and Restorer, Who died for our iniquities, and rose again for our justification, and now sits alive at Your right hand, and intercedes for us, and with You has mercy: because He is God from You the Father, is equal and co-essential with You in everything and can always save us. But because He is a man, all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him: “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess” (Phil. 2:10) that our Lord Jesus Christ is in Thy glory, O God the Father Almighty. He has been appointed by You as a Judge of the living and the dead. You do not judge anyone, but you have given all your judgment to your Son, in whose heart “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden” (Col. 2:3). He is the Witness and Judge, Whom no sinful conscience can escape, because before His eyes everything is naked and open. He, unjustly condemned, will judge the universe in righteousness and His people in truth. Therefore, I will bless Your holy name forever and glorify with all my heart, Almighty, Gracious Lord, for this ineffable and wonderful union of Divinity and humanity in one person. But, although by wonderful grace the Word became flesh, yet neither of the two natures was changed into the other. A fourth person was not added to the sacrament of the Trinity: because the being of God the Word and man was united, and not merged. There was not another God, but another man, but one and the same God and man, man and God, that is, the God-man. Oh, amazing mystery! Oh, unspeakable connection! Oh, wonderful goodness! We are not even worthy to be slaves, and now we have become sons of God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ! Where do we get this from and who brought us to this? But, I beg You, merciful Father, my God, with this invaluable mercy, goodness and love of Yours, make us worthy of the many and great promises of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Command Your power and confirm what You have done in us; complete what You have begun, so that we may reach the full grace of Your love. Make us understand by the Holy Spirit, deserve and always honor with worthy reverence this great sacrament of Your love, which was revealed in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, shown to the angels, preached to the pagans and accepted by faith in the world. 17. About the gratitude that a person owes for redemption Oh, how much we owe Thee, O Lord our God, redeemed, saved by grace, and showered with so many benefits! Oh, how we, the indecent, should love You, fear, bless, praise, honor and glorify You! You loved us so much, saved us, sanctified us, exalted us! We owe you everything we have, the fact that we live and are gifted with reason. Grant us, O Lord, from Your blessings, so that we may serve and please You with these blessings and bring daily praise to You for so many benefits of Your mercy. For we can serve and please You in no other way than by Your gift, since “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change” (James 1:17). Lord our God, generous God, good God, almighty God, God of the ineffable and indescribable being, God the Creator of all things and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, You, Who sent Your beloved Son, our sweetest Lord, sent Him from Your bosom, that He might take our life, that He might give us His life, and that He might be perfect God from You the Father and perfect man from Your Virgin Mother, all God and all man is one and the same Christ, eternal and temporal, immortal and mortal, Creator and created, strong and weak, conqueror and conquered, nourisher and nurtured, shepherd and sheep, temporarily dead and living with You forever. He, promising His beloved disciples reinforcement in life, said: “If you ask the Father anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13). Through this true High Priest and good Shepherd, Who sacrificed Himself to You, laying down His soul for His flock, I ask You, I humbly implore Your love and goodness, O all-merciful and all-loving Lover of mankind, grant me that I may bless and glorify You with Your Son and the Holy Spirit for everything with heartfelt contrition and a tearful source, because Who have one being, They have one gift. But since the corruptible body burdens the soul, restore my weakness with Your strength and make me remain firmly in Your commandments and in glorifying You. Grant to me that my heart may be warmed within me and that a fire will flare up in my meditation. And as Your Only Begotten Son Himself said: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (Jn. 6:44), - then I ask and pray, always draw me to Him, so that, finally, He Himself will lead me to You to where He sits at Your right hand; where there is eternal and eternally blissful life, where there is no fear, but perfect love, where there is eternal day, where there is true and greatest security, and calm consolation, and pleasant well-being, and blissful eternity, and blissful, endless contemplation of You; where You are with Him and He is with You in the union of the Holy Spirit, you live and reign forever, O God, in all ages. Amen. 18. Prayer appeal to Jesus Christ My hope, Christ God, Lover of mankind, light, path, life, salvation, glory and all adornment! For our salvation, You deigned to endure everything: shackles, the cross, ulcers, death and burial, then on the third day, having defeated death, you rose up and, having confirmed the doubting hearts of the disciples, on the fortieth day you ascended into the heights of heaven, and now you live forever and reign forever. You are my living and true God, my holy Father, my generous Lord, my great King, my good shepherd, my only teacher, my good helper, my beautiful beloved, my living bread, my priest forever, my leader in the fatherland, my true light, my holy sweetness, my straight path, my glorious wisdom, my pure simplicity, my peaceful consent, my safe fence, part my good, my eternal salvation, my great mercy, my steadfast patience, my immaculate sacrifice, my holy atonement, my strong hope, my perfect love, my true resurrection, my eternal life, my immortal joy, my blessed and endless vision! I earnestly ask You, I pray and humbly entreat You, that I may walk by You, come to You and rest in You, because You are the way, the truth and the life, and without You no one comes to the Father: I desire You, the sweetest and most beautiful Lord. O radiance of the Father’s glory, You sit on the cherubim and see the abysses of the world’s spaces, the true light, the enlightening light, the unfading light into which the angels wish to penetrate! Here is my heart before You, disperse its darkness, so that it may be illuminated by the light of Your love. Give me, my God, Yourself, give Yourself to me: behold, I love You, and if it is not enough, I will love you more. I cannot find out how much I lack Your love for perfection, so that my life would strive into Your arms and not shy away until it is hidden in the secrets of Your face. You alone are good, which cannot change for better or worse. You alone abide, living with You and living happily is not something else, because Your bliss is You Yourself, but Your creation, for which something else means living, and another means living well, everything with which it lives and how it lives must be attributed only to Your grace. By your giving we are kindled and rush to heights, we are kindled, we go, we ascend, ignited by your good fire. Where? We go to the heights, to the peace of Jerusalem. But we, being in the body, wander from You, Lord, “we have no permanent city here, but we are looking for the future” (Heb. 13:14). “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). Therefore, with Your grace I enter into the bed of my heart and sing a song to You, my King, my God, I sigh with unutterable sighs at the place of my wandering, where “Your statutes were my songs” (Ps. 119:54). And, remembering Jerusalem, I raise the feeling of my heart to it, to Jerusalem, my fatherland, and to You, its Owner, Enlightener, Father, Patron, Ruler, Shepherd, to immaculate and firm joy, to constant joy and to all together ineffable blessings. I will not return until You gather me all from scattering into the peace of that beloved fatherland, where the first beginning of my spirit is located, my God, my mercy! 19. The difference between the wisdom of the house of God and the wisdom of God This is Your house, O God, not earthly and not built according to any heavenly structure, not physical, but spiritual and partaker of eternity, because it remains without blemish forever. You established it forever, “you gave a statute that will not pass away” (Ps. 149:6). But You did not create it without a beginning, because wisdom was created first of all. But just as there is a difference between the Light that enlightens and the light that is enlightened, there is as much difference between You, who created the highest Wisdom, and this created one, as between the justifying righteousness, which is You, our God, and the righteousness made from the justification of this, because we too are called the righteousness of God the Father in You, His Son our Lord, according to the testimony of the Apostle. So, created wisdom is rational thought and endowed with the concept of God our Father, free and eternal, abiding in heaven, in those heavens that praise You, because this “heaven is the heaven of the Lord” (Ps. 113:24). Before this created wisdom - You, the eternal God, the Creator of all, on Whom its works depend, from Whom it took its beginning, although without time, because it did not yet exist. She always sees Your face and does not shy away from it. That is why it does not change with any change. However, she too would have faded and grown cold if she had not clung to You with great love and was not warmed by You. With such pure love she cleaves to You, the eternal God, and in the contemplation of You alone she calms down. Your house is the heaven of heavens. Pure thought, the affirmation of blessed spirits, always cleaves to Your bliss and is overflowingly happy with You. So the soul that strives for You asks for one thing, that it may live in Your house all the days of its life. And what are her days, if not Your eternity, which will not fail? So, here let the soul understand that how much more eternal You are than all times, when Your house, although not eternal like You, is constantly united with You and is not subject to any temporary change, has no expectation of the future, no recollection of the past, is not changed by changes and is not limited by any times. 20. About heavenly Jerusalem Oh, house of God, bright and beautiful! I have loved your splendor and the dwelling place of the glory of the Lord my God, your Owner and Creator. Let my wanderings sigh for You day and night, let my heart strive for You, let my thought open to You, let my soul desire to enter into the community of Your bliss. I cry to Him who created you, that He may possess me in you, because He created me and you. I seek Your wondrous beauty not because of my merits, but for the sake of the blood of Him by whom I was redeemed. I am lost like a lost sheep; My wandering continued, and far away I am cast away from the face of the Lord my God into this dark imprisonment, where, expelled from the joy of heaven, I daily mourn my captivity with a sad song, when I remember you, my native Jerusalem, when my feet stand in your porch, holy and beautiful Zion, not yet being able to see your insides. Christ is our peace, He promised to give Himself to us, saying: they will be equal to the angels in heaven. O Jerusalem, house of God, may the sweet remembrance of your blessed name be a consolation in my sorrow. 21. About what sorrows life is filled with I am very sad, Lord, this life and this journey is painful. This life is an unhappy life, a perishable life, an unknown life, a difficult life, an unclean life, the mistress of evil, the royal daughter of the proud, which should be called not life, but death, in which we die every minute from disasters and adversity. So can it really be that only the fact that we live in this world can be called life? Diseases exhaust this life, heats dry out, the air contaminates, food burdens, fasts dry out, gaiety relaxes, sadness kills, care oppresses, carelessness dulls, wealth puffs up and shakes, poverty overthrows, youth exalts, old age bends, infirmity crushes, sadness depresses - and after all these disasters comes furious death and all joys so suddenly stops, so that, after the end of life, it seems as if it never happened. This life's death and mortal life, although filled with sorrows, ensnares many with its charms and deceives many with its false promises. She will give many a golden cup to drink, and few are the happy ones who despise her fickle joys, so that with them disappearing they themselves will not be destroyed by the deceiver. 22. About the blessed life that God has prepared for those who love Him The life that God has prepared for those who love Him is a vital life, a blessed life, a safe life, a calm life, a beautiful life, a pure life, an immaculate life, a holy life, a life that knows no death, a life that knows no boredom, a life without vice, without illness, without care, without corruption, without confusion, without change, a life overflowing with beauty and dignity, where there is no enemy attacker, where there is no sinful delights, where love is perfect and there is no fear, where God is seen face to face and the thought is satiated without shortage with this life food! The more I am exhausted from love for You, I delight in the sweet desire of You and the memory of You. It is inexpressibly pleasant to lift the eyes of the heart to You, to speak sweetly about You, to hear about You, to write about You, to read about Your bliss and think about what you have read. How I long to come to You and lay my weary head in Your bosom! To do this, I go out into the cool meadows of the sacred scriptures and pick the flowers of sayings and, collecting them, keep them in my memory so as not to feel the sorrows of this life. Oh, life is prosperous! Oh, the blessed kingdom, which has no death and no end, in which time does not pass, where there is continuous day without night! Oh, that I, having received remission of sins, would enter your city and receive the crown from the hand of the Lord, to stand with the most blessed spirits before the glory of the Creator, to see the face of Christ, to behold that ineffable, indescribable light and not be amazed by any fear of death, but endlessly rejoice in the grace of eternal incorruptibility. 23. About the bliss of the holy soul migrating from this world Happy is the soul that, having been released from the earthly body, freely ascends to heaven, safe and calm, not afraid of either the enemy or death - because it has always been present and sees the most beautiful Lord, Whom it served, Whom it loved, and to Whom it has finally come. And no day can diminish such blissful glory and no wicked person can take it away. The daughters of Zion saw her, pleased her and said: Who is this who rises from the desert, abounding in sweets, leaning on her beloved? Who is this coming, beautiful as the moon, adorned like the sun? How joyfully she hurries, hearing her beloved saying to her: hurry, my beautiful, and come; the winter has passed, the rain has passed and gone; flowers have appeared in our land, the time for pruning the grapes has come, the voice of the turtledove is heard, the fig tree is blooming, the ripening grapes are emitting a fragrance. Hurry, my neighbor, my beautiful, my dove, show me your face, because it is beautiful. Come after many troubles and labors: enter into the joy of your Lord, which no one will take from you! 24. Prayerful appeal to the saints for help in misfortunes Blessed are you all, carefree and joyful, saints of God who have already crossed this dead sea and have been honored to enter the haven of eternal peace, security and silence! I beg you with your love to take care of us. With this very same I ask you, whose beauty you already enjoy, from whose immortality you have become immortal, whose most blessed sight you always rejoice; remember us always, help us, the unfortunate ones, who are still shaken by the storms surrounding us on all sides on the sea of ​​this life. You, beautiful gates, ascended to great heights! Help us, who are very much defeated; Raise your hands and raise up those who are lying down, so that, having been healed of weakness, we may become strong in the fight. Intercede and pray unceasingly for us, poor and careless sinners. We rush through the great and vast sea of ​​life, where there are reptiles that are countless, where there are animals small and great, where the fiercest dragon is always ready to devour us, where there are dangerous places, abysses and abysses in which those who waver in faith perish. Pray to the Lord, pray, all the multitude of saints and countless hosts of the blessed, that with the help of your prayers, with an intact ship and whole goods, we will be honored to enter the harbor of eternal salvation, peace and continuous peace. 25. The soul's longing for heavenly Jerusalem Jerusalem, holy city of God, beloved bride of Christ! My heart loves you, my thought desires your beauty. Oh, how beautiful and noble you are! You are all beautiful, and there is no blemish in you. Rejoice and be glad, beautiful daughter of the King, because the King desired your beauty and loved your beauty, the most beautiful of the sons of men. But what is your Beloved, fair one? My beloved is white and beautiful, chosen from among men. Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my Beloved among people. “On my bed I sought him whom my soul loves” (Song. 3:1), I sought and found. I have sought and found Him, I hold Him and will not let go until He brings me into His house. Happy is the soul that is worthy to see your glory, Jerusalem, your blessedness, your beauty, your gates and walls, your streets and many abodes, your blessed citizens and your mighty King in all His beauty! Your walls are built of costly stones, your gates are of the finest pearls, your streets are of the purest gold, your mansions are of sapphire; no one enters them except the pure, and no one who is defiled dwells in them. You are beautiful and sweet in joy, Jerusalem; there is nothing in you that we see in this life: there is no darkness or noise in you, and no difference in time; The light of the sun or the brilliance of the stars does not shine in you, but God is from God, Light is from Light, the Sun of truth always illuminates you. The lamb, blameless and beautiful, is your light; your sun and all your goodness are the unceasing contemplation of this beautiful King. There are choirs of angels, there is a society of heavenly citizens, there is a sweet triumph of all those returning to you from a sorrowful journey. There are apostles, prophets, martyrs, confessors, there are monks, there are wives, there are sheep and lambs who have escaped from the snares of lust, all rejoicing in your abodes. The glory of each is different, but the joy is common to all. Perfect love reigns there, because there is God, Whom they see endlessly and, seeing Him, they burn with love, love and glorify, glorify and love. Their activity is the praise of God without end, without interruption, without labor. I will be forever happy if, with permission from the body, I am worthy to hear heavenly singing. I will be immensely blessed if I myself am worthy to see my God in His glory, as He Himself promised, saying: “Father! whom You have given Me, I want them to be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). And again: “Whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and appear to him Myself” (John 14:21). 26. Continuous praise to God “Bless the Lord, my soul, and my whole being, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His benefits” (Ps. 102:1, 2). “Bless the Lord, all His works, in all the places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, my soul!” (Ps. 102:22). Let us praise the Lord, Whom angels praise and authorities tremble, Whom dominions worship, Whom cherubim and seraphim cry incessantly: holy, holy, holy. Let us unite our voices with the voices of the holy angels, and let us praise the common Lord of all according to our measure. They praise the Lord incessantly and contemplate Him face to face. But no one can imagine what a countless multitude of blessed spirits there are before the face of the Lord, what endless triumph they have about the vision of God, what complete joy, what heat of love, not tormenting, but delighting, what a desire in them to contemplate God with saturation and saturation with desire, in which neither desire gives rise to sin, nor saturation produces disgust, how they, clinging to the highest bliss, themselves become blessed, - how, having united with the true light, they themselves became light, - how, always seeing the unchanging Trinity, they themselves turned into immobility. But how can we comprehend the height of angelic dignity if we cannot examine our nature and soul? How can she revive the flesh, but cannot restrain herself in holy thoughts? How is it that she is so strong and weak, small and great; experiences the mysteries of God and contemplates the heavenly and has invented many arts with her sharp mind for the benefit of man? She is some kind of intelligent spirit, created by the power of the Creator, immortal, living to the extent of her life, and reviving the dead body that she wears. We read, speak and write lofty and wonderful things about the incomprehensible God; but about angels and spirits, whatever we say, we cannot clearly establish. But let the soul depart from this and leave everything created, hasten and ascend, and direct the eyes of faith to the Creator. So I will create degrees of ascension in my heart, and through them I will enter into my soul, and through it and my thought I will enter to my Lord who dwells above my head. Blessed is that thought that leaves the lower and rises to heights and from the highest mountains contemplates the Sun of truth with eagle vision! There is nothing sweeter than contemplating Jesus God and looking at another light, and not at this light, which in comparison with that greatest Light can be called not light, but darkness. 27. What does it mean to see the invisible God in some way? Although the highest and unchangeable Being, the True Light, the unceasing Light, the Light of the angels, cannot be visible to anyone in this life, but to believe in Him, to understand Him, to think about Him, to desire Him with ardor means in some way to see Him and to have Him in oneself. The Creator created us for His glorification, although He does not need our praise. He is an incomprehensible force, needing nothing. “Great is the Lord and highly praised” (1 Chronicles 16:25). Let the faithful soul, strengthened by heavenly food, cry out with a great cry, cry out with all his heart, cry out with fiery desire and joy: “Great is our God” (2 Chronicles 2:5)! 28. About the properties of the being of God O God, the greatest, all-good, all-powerful, all-merciful, all-righteous, all-hidden, all-present, beautiful and strong, unshakable and incomprehensible, invisible, all-seeing, unchanging, all-changing, immortal, incontainable, unlimited, indescribable, limitless, priceless, ineffable, unknown, immovable, everything moving, unsearchable, unspeakable, terrible and terrible, worthy of reverence, awe and reverence of the deepest, never ancient, renewing everything; always doing and always calm, collecting and not demanding, bearing everything without burden, filling everything without inclusion, creating everything, covering, educating and achieving, seeking, having everything with Himself, loving and not jealous, jealous and safe! You repent, but you do not sympathize; you are angry, but calm; You do not change Your advice; you accept what you gain and never lose anything; You never lack, and you rejoice in profits. You alone give life to everything, you created everything, you can be felt, but you cannot be seen; You touch everything, but not just in one way; because You touch some so that they only exist, but so that they do not live, feel or discern; and some you touch so that they exist and live, and not feel and discern; Some you touch so that they exist, live and feel, but do not distinguish; and some You touch so that they exist, live, feel and discern. We follow You, who is at peace, but we cannot reach You; You contain everything, fill everything, embrace everything, exceed everything; by surrounding you fill and by filling you surround; by containing you exceed and by surpassing you contain; you teach the hearts of the faithful without uttering words; You are not present anywhere, but you are far removed from the thoughts of the wicked; and you are present where you are far away; you are always present everywhere, but you can barely find yourself; you do not extend to places and do not change over time, and have neither increase nor decrease, but live in an unapproachable light. You surround everything everywhere and are completely complete everywhere, because You cannot be divided or fragmented; You are alone and do not split into parts. Neither human thought can understand this mystery of immeasurable depth, nor can the language tell it, nor can all the books in the book depositories be interpreted. Even if the whole world were filled with books, Your ineffable mind cannot be expressed - because You cannot be described in any way, You are great without quantity, and therefore immeasurable; good without quality, and therefore truly good. You, Whose will is the deed and Whose desire is the possibility, created everything out of nothing, producing everything by Your sole will; You control all creation without any effort, you rule without boredom, and nothing can shake the order of Your dominion; You are not the author of evil and cannot cause it. You never lie, because You are the eternal Truth; By your goodness we were created, by justice we are punished, by your mercy we are saved. You never change and remain what you remain, and the Greek name is very fitting for You? ΩΝ [ΨΗ, Sy or Existing]. The Holy Church, of which by Thy grace I was worthy to be a member, taught me this and many other things. And the angels themselves cannot truly see You in Your true being, and from none of the mortals can You be visible in Your own being, and, finally, no one else, only You alone knows the entire omnipotent Trinity. 29. About the trinity of divine Persons and about the unity of the Divinity You are the Unit of the Divinity, the plural of different persons, the unthinkable weight. Your Divine being did not have and does not have substance, although it has a form, that is, an uncreated form, a form of species, a most beautiful form. Oh, one Trinity and threefold Unity, God, whose omnipotence possesses everything and fills everything that has created. Everything is contained by You. No one can hide from Your dominion. For whoever does not have You as merciful to him will in no way escape from being angry, since it is written: “Where will I go from Your Spirit, and where will I flee from Your presence?” (Ps. 139:7). This is the immeasurability of Your divine greatness, so that they may know that You are in all creation, but are not included; outside of everyone, but not excluded. You are the Creator and therefore you are inside everything that you contain everything; You are the Ruler and exist outside of everything, because You embrace everything with the immeasurability of Your greatness. So, the indivisible Unit of Your being, although it has different Persons, is inseparable: Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity without division. We call You, the Father, by nature God, but by nature the Son is God, and by nature the Holy Spirit is God; however, there are not three Gods, but one by nature God: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The essence of the Persons cannot be divided in the Holy Trinity, which is the one true God, because the name of each Person always refers to another Person. This is true faith, which comes from sound doctrine; This is truly the Catholic Orthodox faith, which God taught me in the bosom of the Mother Church by His grace. 30. Prayer to the Holy Trinity My faith, which You have given me by Your grace, calls to You, for my salvation. But the faithful soul lives by faith; contains the hope that he sees in You. My immaculate conscience and the sweet love of my faith, which You led to the knowledge of the truth and made sweet from the sweetness of Your love, calls on You, my God. The sincere love of my faith calls on You, Holy Trinity. I call on you, blessed, one Holy Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, God the Lord, Comforter, love, grace. Living life, life from the Living One, the life-giver of the living, - One from Himself, one from the One. Truth the Father, Truth the Son, Truth the Holy Spirit. One being, one power, one goodness, one Divinity, from Whom, through Whom and in Whom everything is blessed! 31. God is the true and highest life God, the true and highest life, from Whom, by Whom and in Whom all that truly and blissfully lives lives! God, goodness and beauty, from Him, by Him and in Him all goodness and beauty, whatever is good and beautiful! God, Whom faith excites us, raises us up, and unites us with love! God, Who commands us to ask You, and You Himself open to him who knocks (Matthew 7:8)! God, from whom to turn means to fall, to whom to turn means to rise, in whom to abide means to stand firm! God, Whom to know means to live, Whom to serve means to reign, Whom to praise means salvation and joy of the soul! I praise You with my lips, my heart and with all my strength, I bless and worship You, and I offer thanks to Your mercy, and I sing a song to Your glory: holy, holy, holy! I call on you, O blessed Trinity! come into me and make me a church worthy of Your glory, I pray to the Father through the Son, I pray to the Son through the Father, I pray to the Holy Spirit through the Father and the Son, that all vices may be removed from me and all holy virtues may be implanted in me. Immeasurable God, in Whom everything visible and invisible was created, protect me, the work of Your hands, who trusts in You and trusts only in Your only mercy. I pray to You, keep me here and everywhere, now and always, inside and outside, before me and behind me, above and below, keep me all around so that there is no place left in me for the slander and machinations of the enemy. You, Almighty God, are the guardian and patron of all who trust in You. You are God, and there is no other God besides You, neither “in heaven above”, nor “on earth below” (Ex. 20:4), Who does great, wondrous and incomprehensible things, which have no number. Praise is due to You, to You all the angels, to You the heavens and all powers sing praises unceasingly, as the Creator of creation, the servants of the Lord, the warriors of the King; You, the holy and indivisible Trinity, every creature magnifies, every breath praises. 32. Praise of angels and people to God To You are the holy and humble in heart, To You are the spirits and souls of the righteous, To You are the inhabitants of heaven and all blessed spirits, worshiping, endlessly singing honor and glory. The inhabitants of heaven praise You, O Lord, magnificently and gloriously. Man praises You, and I, a sinner, desire with great desire to praise You, I desire to love You with special love. My God, my life, my blessedness and my praise! make me worthy to praise You; grant me light in my heart, a word in my mouth, so that my heart may think about Your glory, and my tongue will sing Your praises all day long. But since “praise is unpleasant in the mouth of a sinner” (Sir. 15:9) and I am a man with unclean lips, then, I pray, cleanse my heart from all filthiness, sanctify me, O Almighty Sanctifier, from within and without, and make me worthy of Thy praise. Accept graciously from your heart and mental love, accept the sacrifice of my lips, and let it come to You “in a pleasant aroma” (Lev. 17:6). May the holy memory of You possess my entire soul and delight it. May she pass from the earthly to the heavenly and see a wonderful vision. Oh, eternal Truth, and true Love, and sweet Eternity, You, my God! I sigh for You day and night, I strive for You, I desire to come to You. He who knew You, knew the truth, knew eternity. You truly rule over everything, and we will see You as You are when this blind and mortal life passes, in which they say to us: “Where is your God” (Ps. 41:4) And I say: My God, where are You? I calm down somewhat in You when I pour out my soul to You “with the voice of joy and praise of the celebrating crowd” (Ps. 42:5). But my soul is still sorrowful, because it falls away and becomes an abyss. My faith says to her: “Why are you discouraged, my soul, and why are you embarrassed?” ( Ps.41:6 ) Trust in God: His word is a lamp to my feet. Trust until the night, mother of the wicked, passes away, until the day breaks and the darkness turns away. Tomorrow I will appear and see the salvation of my face, my God, who will give life to our dead bodies for the sake of His Spirit who dwells in us; let us be sons of light and sons of day, and not of night and not of darkness. The immortal multitudes of Your angels praise You, O Lord, and the heavenly powers glorify Your name; they see Your face and read in it without days of time, what Your eternal will requires; they read, they choose and they love, and they always read, and what they read never passes away. Choosing and loving, they read the very steadfastness of Your counsel, and their book will not be closed and their scroll will not be folded, because it is You Yourself for them forever. Oh, immeasurably blessed are the heavenly spirits! They praise you because they see you, and from here they can rejoice and praise you. But we are far from Your face and cannot praise You worthily; However, we praise by faith, and not by face; angels are by face, not by faith. But, although we praise You in different ways, we will also enter into the company of angels, with whom we will endlessly praise You. Grant me, Lord, even in this corruptible body to praise You with heart and tongue, and let all my bones say: Lord! Who is like You? You are Almighty God, Whom - the threefold Persons, the one being of God - we honor and worship the unbegotten Father, the Son begotten of the Father, the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father, the holy and indivisible Trinity, the one Almighty God, Who, when we were not yet, created us by His power; and when we died through our fault, He miraculously brought us back with His love. Make us by Thy grace unshakable in faith, and through the works of faith, by Thy mercy, we may enter into eternal life and there, worshiping Thy greatness, we will exclaim to Thee: glory to the Father who created us; glory to the Son who redeemed us; glory to the Holy Spirit, who sanctified us; glory to the indivisible Trinity, whose works are indivisible and whose dominion is endless. Singing is due to You, all honor and glory is due to You, thanksgiving is due to You, strength and strength is due to You, our God forever and ever. Amen. 33. A person’s complaint that contemplation of God does not bring him into contrition Forgive, Lord, forgive, merciful, let go and have mercy, have mercy on both my ignorance and my unworthiness! Do not reject me as indecent because I dare to praise and bless You, the great God, without tears and contrition of heart, without fear and trembling! The angels, worshiping You and glorifying You, tremble, filled with wonderful joy. And when I praise You, why don’t my heart tremble, my face turn pale, my lips tremble, my body tremble, and I don’t cry before You? I want to, but I can’t; because I can’t do what I want. I myself am amazed at this when I contemplate You with the eyes of faith. But what is all this without Your grace? For all our salvation is Your great mercy. Oh, how insensitive has my soul become that it does not tremble when it stands before God and sings His praises? How hardened is my heart that my eyes do not shed tears when the creature talks with the Creator, made of clay - with the One who created everything out of nothing? Nail, I pray, my flesh with Thy fear, “establish my heart in the fear of Thy name” (Ps. 85:11). Oh, if only my sinful conscience feared You as much as that holy man who said: “Lord, I heard Your hearing and was afraid” (Hab. 3:2). Giver of good things, O God, grant me in Your praise a source of tears, so that, loving You completely and worthy of praise, I will feel and taste with my very heart how good and sweet You are, Lord! “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will continually praise You” (Ps. 83:5). 34. A request for the granting of ardent love for God Jesus, our redemption, love and desire, God from God, be with me, your servant. I call on You, I call on You with a great cry from my whole heart, I call on You into my soul: enter it and possess it. A pure abode is appropriate for You, so sanctify me and fill me with Your grace. Sweetest, most loving, most desirable, most invaluable, most beautiful! You are sweeter than honey, whiter than milk and snow, more pleasant than nectar, more precious than priceless stones and sweeter and more pleasant than all earthly riches and honors. I do not find words with which I can sufficiently express the omnipotent and omniscient word. I will say what I can until You command me to come to You, where I can say what is fitting for You and due to me. And now I humbly pray, look not at what I say, but at what I want to say. You know, O omniscient God, that You are dearer and dearer to me than heaven and earth, and everything that is on them. I love You more than heaven and earth and everything that is in them. I love You, my God, with great love and I desire to love You more. Grant that I may love You as much as I want and as much as I must love, so that You alone may be my only thought. I pray to You, make me have a contrite and humble heart with many tears; make me, with all my desire and zeal, completely die to this world and completely forget temporary things out of great love for You, so that I do not cry or rejoice over the temporary, do not love or fear anything, do not become proud of my well-being and are not shaken by misfortune. Love for You is strong as death. Let the fiery and honeyed power of Your love drown my thoughts from all those who exist under the sun, so that I may cleave to You alone and be saturated with the sweetness of the memory of You. May it come, Lord, may it come, I pray, may Your sweetest fragrance descend into my heart, may Your honeyed love enter, may Your wonderful and indescribable sweetness enter into me, which will arouse eternal desires in me, and from my heart may it bring forth rivers of water flowing into eternal life. You are immeasurable, Lord, and therefore must be praised and loved without measure. If a person loves a person so much that he cannot tolerate the absence of his beloved, if a bride and groom are united with such inner fervor that they cannot have peace in the absence of their beloved, then with what fervor should the soul love You, the true God, the wonderful Bridegroom, Who loved and saved us so much, Who did so much for us? Earthly love and earthly pleasures do not delight as much as You, our God, because Your love is sweet and calm. You fill the hearts you possess with sweetness and peace. Sweetest Christ, good Jesus! Always fill my heart with Your unquenchable love, with the continuous memory of You, so much so that I, like a burning coal, will all glow in the sweetness of Your love. Love for You and Yours, love that does not torment, but delights, love that sincerely and purely abides throughout the ages of ages, always burns and does not fade away. Sweetest Christ, good Jesus, God of my love! Inflame me entirely with Your fire, Your joy and desire, which is holy and good, immaculate and pure, calm and safe, so that, completely filled with the sweetness of Your love, I love You, my God, with all my heart and with all my strength. Hear, my God, hear, light of my eyes, hear my petition! Give me the fruit of my prayer and desire through the intercession of the glorious Virgin, Thy Mother Mary, my Lady, with all Thy saints. Amen. Christ the Lord, the Word of the Father, who came into this world to save sinners! I pray to You with Your mercy, correct my life, make things better, establish inclinations, take away from me everything that is unpleasant to You and harmful to me, and grant me what You Yourself know is pleasing to You and useful to me. Who can make someone conceived from an unclean seed clean? You alone, Almighty God, God of infinite goodness, Who justifies the wicked and gives life to those who have died for iniquities; Who changes sinners so that they disappear [cease to be them]. Take away from me what is unpleasant to You. Before You, Lord, are my health and weakness; then, I pray, save this one, heal it. Heal me, Lord, and I will be saved; save me and I will be saved. You, Who with one wave of Yours restore the ruined and fallen, are the sweetest, most desirable, most priceless, most beautiful! Pour, I pray, a lot of sweetness into my heart, so that I desire nothing earthly, nothing bodily, and think about nothing temporary, but love You alone, have You alone in my heart, in my mind and on my lips. Destroy with the right hand of Your love the thorns of my vices. Write with Your finger on my heart the sweet memory of Your honeyed name, which cannot be destroyed by any oblivion. Sweet Christ, good Jesus! Grant me Your love, which would govern me and possess me in everything. Give me a clear sign of Your love - a heart-watering, ever-flowing source of tears. Let the tears express and say that my soul loves You so much when my eyes cannot hold back the tears. How should a soul cry that wants to love nothing but Christ? It’s amazing if tears did not become her daily bread throughout the day and night. So, look down and have mercy on me. Grant me Your heavenly consolation, and do not disdain my soul, for which You died. Grant me, I pray, tears that could resolve the chains of my sins and always fill my soul with heavenly sweetness. What comes to my mind is the wonderful zeal of the wife who was looking for You in the tomb out of love, who did not leave the tomb with the departing disciples; because she sat with him, grieved, grieved, and cried for a long time and a lot, and, getting up with tears, again and again looked with her waking eyes at the cave of the coffin she had left, to see if she could see You somewhere, Whom she was looking for with fiery desire. So, she loved more than others, she wept lovingly, she sought weeping and remained steadfast in her search, and therefore she was worthy of seeing You and speaking to You before anyone else. And she became a forerunner for the disciples of Your resurrection. So, how should a soul sigh and cry that loves You with all its heart and desires to see You with all its aspiration, the only refuge and the only hope of the poor, Whom you are never without hope of pardon? Grant me this grace for Your sake, so that when I think about You, talk about You, write about You, read about You, tell stories about You, remember about You, stand before You, offer praises, prayers and sacrifices to You, always, shedding tears before Your face, weep abundantly and sweetly so that “my tears” become “bread day and night” for me (Ps. 41:4). You, King of glory and Teacher of all spirits, taught us to cry by word and example, saying: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). I pray to You, good Jesus, grant me the grace of tears that my soul desires. May tears be my food day and night, and may I become before Your face, O my God, a fat and pleasant burnt offering; that I may all be slain on the altar of my heart, and, like the fattest burnt offering, may I be received by You as a “pleasant aroma” (Lev. 17:6) to You. Grant me the grace of tears, O worthy God of endless love! Hear, my God! Hear, O light of my eyes, hear what I ask and grant it to me! Good and merciful, Lord, do not be implacable for the sake of my sins, but for the sake of Your goodness, accept the prayer of Your servant, and grant me the fruit of my petition and desire, through the prayers of the glorious Virgin Mary, my Lady, and all the saints. Amen. 36. Prayer that causes contrition of heart Lord Jesus, beloved Jesus, good Jesus, who was pleased to die for our iniquities and rose again for our justification! I pray to You by Your resurrection, raise me from the grave of my vices and sins. Most beloved, beautiful, You have ascended into heaven with the triumph of Your glory and are sitting at the right hand of the Father. Almighty King, draw us upward to You, so that I hasten after You “for a pleasant aroma” (Lev. 17:6) to You. Draw me to Yourself, the living Source, so that I may drink from Him as much as possible, and thereby I will always live, my God, my life! You said with Your holy lips: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink” (John 4:10–14). Source of life, create that my thirsty soul will always drink from You, so that according to Your holy and unfalse promise, living waters will flow from my womb. Source of life, fill my life with the flow of Your sweetness, intoxicate my heart with the chaste drink of Your love, so that I forget everything vain and earthly. Grant me Your Holy Spirit, which was signified by those waters that You promised to give to the thirsty. Grant that my heart may be there where You are, my longed-for, incomparable and beloved treasure. May my spirit, O Lord, receive, I pray, receive wings like an eagle’s, may it soar and reach the splendor of Your house and the dwelling place of Your glory, and there, at the table of repose of the heavenly citizens, may it be satisfied from Your secret ones in the place of Your pasture, by the abundant springs. May my heart rest in You, O God, my heart, heaving with waves. May my thought, O Lord, go under the shadow of Your wings from the burning thoughts of this age, and, hidden in the sweet air of Your coolness, may it joyfully exclaim to You: “I lie down calmly and sleep” (Ps. 4:9). Sweetest, most desirable, most beloved, most beautiful Jesus! When will I see You, when will I appear before Your face, when will I be satisfied with Your beauty? When will I come to that wonderful and beautiful Thy house, where the voice of joy is heard? Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, O Lord! Your saints, O Lord, bloom before You like lilies. They are satisfied from the abundance of Your house, and You give them a stream of Your sweetness to drink, and in Your light they see the light and themselves, enlightened by You, as the sun shines before Your face. When will I come and appear before Your face, O my God? When will I see You, Whom my soul longs for? When will I see You in the land of the living? Rule my heart with Your right hand; because without You it cannot rise to heights. I hasten there, to the land of plenty, where You feed the chosen ones with the grain of truth. Blessed is he who lives in solitude and contemplates You alone: ​​he seeks nothing but You, thinks of nothing, desires nothing. May my soul direct the eyes of faith to You and think only about You. Vulture my soul with the fiery arrow of Your love. You are an omnipotent arrow and a sharpest sword, pierce with Your power the solid shield of the human heart! Pierce my heart with the arrow of Your love, so that it may say to You: I am wounded by Your love. Let tears flow abundantly from the very wound of love day and night. Smite, O Lord, smite this firmest thought of mine with the holy and strong edge of Thy love and pierce deeper into the interior with Thy omnipotent power. Oh, may I cry day and night from the desire to see Your beauty and will not receive any consolation in this life until I am worthy to see You in the bridal chamber, my beloved and beautiful Bridegroom, my God and Lord. There, seeing Your wonderful face and worshiping You with Your chosen ones, filled with inexpressible joy, let me exclaim with those who love You: behold, I see what I longed for; what I hoped for, I found; what I wanted, I got. For I was united with Him in heaven, Whom, while on earth, I loved with all my strength, embraced with all my love, to Whom I clung with all my heart; I glorify Him, I worship Him, Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. 37. Appeal to God in sorrow Have mercy, Lord, have mercy, Holy One, have mercy on me, an unfortunate sinner, who does shameful things and accepts what is worthy, who constantly sins. The evil I have done is not commensurate with what I suffer: it is worse than what I have done; what I bear is easier. You are righteous, O Lord, and Your judgment is righteous and true. You are righteous, O Lord, and there is no unrighteousness in You. Our life is not governed by reckless movements; but by You, our God, it is located and controlled. You care for those who have placed all their hope in Your mercy alone. I pray to You, do not deal with me according to my sins, but according to Your great mercy, which surpasses the sins of the whole world. Lord, who punishes outwardly, always grant inwardly unflagging patience, so that Your praise does not depart from my lips. Have mercy on me, Lord, have mercy and help me, as You know what I need in body and soul. You know everything, you can do everything, Alive forever. 38. Prayer to Jesus Christ, the Son of God Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Who on the cross, having stretched out His hands for the redemption of all mortals, drank the cup of suffering, deign to grant me help. Here I am, a beggar, coming to You who is rich, and a poor person to You, who is merciful. I come running, hungry, so that I may not leave You, despised; I come thirsty, let me not retreat hungry. Lord, iniquities have overcome my head. But You listen to me and save me for the sake of Your mercy. I am mired in sins, and what have I achieved? I am dying, and Jesus is not with me, and truly it is better for me not to live than to be without Jesus. It is better not to live than to live without Life. And You, Lord Jesus, have mercy, I pray, and do not turn Your face away from me. Woe to me when the day of judgment comes and the books of conscience are opened; when it will be said to me, “Here is the man and his deeds.” What will I do when the heavens reveal my iniquity and the earth rebels against me? What will I say? Alas for poor me! I won't be able to answer anything. Weep, my soul, like a widow for the husband of her youth! Weep and weep that Christ has forsaken you! Have mercy on me, Almighty, may I not fall into despair, but may I get rid of it. You, Lord, do not want the death of a sinner and do not rejoice over the destruction of the dying. You died, and Your death put to death the death of sin, and through Your death they came to life. I pray to You, Lord, that even with You, my Life, I will not die. Good Jesus, overshadowed by the cover of Thy mercy, I come to the throne of Thy glory, I go, asking, exclaiming and striking: Lord, have mercy on me! Do not, O sweet Jesus, kindle Thy righteousness against the sinner, but remember Thy mercy toward Thy creation. Jesus, arise through You Yourself to help me and say to my soul: I am your salvation. And You, Lord, who command to ask, make it possible for me to receive. I owe You everything, but I have no more, and what I have to give to You, I cannot do without You; but accept me You Yourself and draw me to Yourself, so that I may be Yours, in imitation and love, as Yours in state and in creation, Lord, Who lives and reigns forever. Amen. 39. Prayerful appeal to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos, angels and saints Lord Almighty God, Who is threefold and one, Who exists always and in all, Who was before all things and will always be in all things, God, blessed forever, I entrust to You now and at all times my soul, my body, sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, all my thoughts, inclinations, words, deeds, outer and inner, feeling and mind, memory, my faith and lack of faith, keep them day and night at every hour and minute. Hear me, Holy Trinity, and save me from all evil, from all temptation, from all mortal sin, from all attacks of demons and enemies visible and invisible, through the prayers of the patriarchs, the prayer of the prophets, the petition of the apostles, the firmness of the martyrs, the faith of the confessors, the purity of virgins and the intercession of all the saints who have pleased You since the beginning of the century. Tear out from me the exaltation of thought and increase the contrition of my heart. Reduce my pride and bring me true humility. Arouse crying in me, soften my cruel and stony heart. Teach me, Lord, to do Your will, because You are my God. Hear, my Lord and my God, hear, O light of my eyes, hear what I ask, and grant that You may hear my request. Take away everything harmful from me and give me what is useful. Grant me, Lord, medicine that can heal my wounds. Grant me, Lord, contrition of heart, humility of thought, and a clear conscience. Spare my soul, forgive my evil, forgive my sins and crimes, visit me when I am weak, heal the sick, heal the paralytic and raise the dead. Holy and immaculate Virgin, Mother of God Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ! Deign to intercede for me before Him whose church You are worthy to be. Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, the holy hosts of angels, archangels, patriarchs and prophets, apostles, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, priests, Levites, monks, virgins and all the righteous, I dare to ask you: pray to God for me, a sinner, so that I can get rid of the jaws of the devil and from eternal death. Deign, Lord, to grant me eternal life according to Your mercy. O sweet and merciful Lord Jesus Christ! Do not let me be removed from Your mercy. I beg You, blessed one: when my last day and my death comes, be Thou my merciful Judge against the evil accuser of the devil, and be my eternal Defender against the slander of the ancient enemy, and in the company of the angels and all the saints, dwell me in Thy holy paradise, You, blessed forever and ever. Amen. 40. Remembering the sufferings of Christ Lord Jesus Christ, my redemption, my mercy, my salvation! I praise You, I offer You thanks, although not commensurate with Your good deeds, although devoid of ardor, although not having the fullness of love, but all possible thanksgiving, not what I should, but what my soul can bring to You. The hope of my heart, the strength of my soul! My life, the limit of my desire! My enlightenment! You see my conscience, because all my desire is before You. Turn, O All-Merciful One, my weakness into the most ardent love for You. My soul awaits Your grace for inspiration for repentance and a virtuous life. My God, my Creator and my Nourisher! I desire You, I sigh and long for You and long for the sight of You. I remember Your sufferings, Your strangulations, Your beatings and Your wounds; I remember Your cross, how You were killed for me, how You were buried, I also remember Your wonderful resurrection and Ascension. Sweetest, most illustrious Jesus! Wonderful, invaluable, incomparable! Who will tell my beloved that I am exhausted from love? “Who is in heaven for me? and with You I want nothing on earth” (Ps. 72:25). I wish you, I expect you, I seek you; “My heart says from You: “Seek My face”; and I will seek Your face, O Lord” (Ps. 27:8). Most compassionate lover of humanity! A beggar has been left for you; “You are a helper to the fatherless” (Ps. 9:35). My most reliable intercessor! Have mercy on me, abandoned orphan: I have become an orphan without a Father; my soul is like a widow. Look at the tears of my orphanhood and widowhood, which I bring to You until you return. Appear to me, Lord, and I will be comforted; Show your face, and I will receive my desire. “My soul thirsts” for You, my God, the living source: “When I come and appear before the face of God” (Ps. 42:3). When will you come, my Comforter? Who will I expect? Oh, when I see my joy, which I desire! If only You would give me the flow of Your sweetness that I thirst for! Meanwhile, let my tears be bread for me day and night, until they say to me: Here is your God, until my soul hears: Here is your Bridegroom! Nourish me meanwhile with my sighs, excite me with my illnesses. At last my Redeemer will come: “for He is good, and He will not delay, because He is just. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: