Fifth Century Prayers

For Your Peace

Make Your tranquility, O Lord, to dwell amongst us, and Your peace to abide in our hearts. May our voices proclaim your truth, and may Your Cross be the guardian of our souls. Account us worthy, O Lord, with boldness which is of You, to offer unto You of Your grace a pure and holy prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

- Liturgy of the Nestorians

Intercession

Almighty God, we beseech You to hear our prayers for all who sin against You, or neglect to serve You, all who forget You, all who leave You out of their lives. O Lord, have mercy upon them; bestow upon us all true repentance and an earnest longing for Yourself. Promise, we ask You, O Lord, to strengthen and confirm all Your faithful people, and to lift up the light of Your Face upon them, giving them continually heavenly desires; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN

- An Ancient Collect

An Evening Thanksgiving

Accept, we beseech You, our evening thanksgiving, O You Fountain of all good, who has led us in safety through the length of the day; Who daily blesses us with so many temporal mercies and has given us the hope of resurrection to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN

- An Ancient Collect

For Blessing

Bless all who worship You, from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same. Of Your goodness, give us; with Your love, inspire us, by Your spirit guide us; by Your power, protect us; in Your mercy receive us now and always. AMEN

- An Ancient Collect

For Communicants

Hear us, O merciful Father, we most humbly beseech You, and grant to all communicants of your Church this day, true repentance and living faith. And we pray that all those who shall from time to time receive Your creatures of bread and wine, according to Your Son our Savior Jesus Christ’s Holy institution, in remembrance of His Death and Passion, may be partakers of His most blessed Body and Blood; to Whom with You and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, world without end. AMEN

- An Ancient Liturgy

For Right Living

Grant to us, Lord, We ask You, the spirit to think and do always such things as be rightful; that we, who cannot do anything that is good without You, may by You be enabled to live according to Your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN

- Leonine Sacramentary

For Heavenly-Mindedness

Grant us, O Lord, not to mind earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away , to cleave to those that shall abide; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

- Leonine Sacramentary

First Century Prayers

For All Kings and Rulers

Grant unto all Kings and Rulers, O Lord, health, peace, concord, and stability, that they may administer the government which You have given them without failure. For You, O heavenly Master, King of the Ages, gives to the sons of men glory and honor, and power over all things that are upon the earth. Do, Lord, direct their counsel according to that which is good and well pleasing in Your sight, that administering in peace and gentleness, with godliness, the power which You have given them, they may obtain Your favor. O You Who alone are able to do these things, and things far more exceeding good than these, for us, we praise You, through the High Priest and Guardian of our souls, Jesus Christ; through Whom be the glory and the majesty, unto You, both now and for all generations, and forever and ever. AMEN.

-- Clement of Rome


A Morning Prayer

O God, Who are the unsearchable abyss of peace, the ineffable sea of love, the fountain of blessings, and the bestower of affection, Who sends peace to those that receive it; open to us this day the sea of Your love, and water us with the plenteous streams from the riches of Your grace. Make us children of quietness, and heirs of peace. Kindle in us the fire of Your love; sow in us Your fear; strengthen our weakness by Your power; bind us closely to You and to each other in one firm bond of unity; for the sakd of Jesus Christ. AMEN.

--Syrian Clementine Liturgy

For Rulers and Governors

To our rulers and governors on the earth - to them You, Lord, gave the power of the kingdom by Your glorious and ineffable might, to the end that we may know the glory and honor given to them by You and be subject to them, in nought resisting Your will; to them, Lord, give health, peace, concord, stability, that they may exercise the authority given to them without offense. For You, O heavenly Lord and King eternal, gives to the sons of men glory and honor and power over the things that are on the earth; may You, Lord, direct their counsel according to that which is good and well-pleasing in Your sight, that, devoutly in peace and meekness exercising the power given them by You, they may find You propitious, O You, who only has power to do these things and more abundant good with us, we paraise You through the High Priest and Guardian of our souls Jesus Christ, through who m be glory and majesty to You both now and from generation to generation and forevermore. AMEN.

- Clement of Rome


For Blessings

May God, who sees all things, and who is the Ruler of all spirits and the Lord of all flesh - who chose our Lord Jesus Christ and us through Him to be a peculiar people - grant to every soul that calls upon His glorious and holy Name, faith, peace, patience, long-suffering, self-control, purity, and sobriety, to the well-pleasing of His Name, through our High Priest and Protector, Jesus Christ, by whom be to Him glory, and majesty, and power, and honor, both now and forevermore. AMEN.

- Clement of Rome

For Forgiveness

You did make to appear the enduring fabric of the world by the works of Your hand; You, Lord, did create the earth on which we dwell, - You, who are faithful in all generations, just in judgments, wonderful in strength and majesty, with wisdom creating and with understanding fixing the things which were made, who are good among them that are being saved and faithful among them whose trust is in You; O merciful and Compassionate One, forgive us our iniquities and offenses and transgressions and trespasses. Reckon not every sin of Your servants and handmaids, but You will purify us with the purification of Your truth; and direct our steps that we may walk in holiness of heart and do what is good and well-pleasing in Your sight and in the sight of our rulers. Yes, Lord, make Your face to shine upon us for good in peace, that we may be shielded by Your mighty hand and delivered from every sin by Your uplifted arm. and deliver us from those who hate us wrongfully. Give concord and peace to us and all who dewll upon the earth, even as You gave to our fathers, when they called upon You in faith and truth, submissive as we are to Your almighty and all-excellent Name. AMEN

- Clement of Rome


Prayer Before Partaking of the Holy Sacrament

O God, who are great, great in name and counsel, powerful in Your works, the God and Father of Your Holy Son Jesus, our Savior, look upon us, Your flock, which You have chosen through Him to the glory of Your Name; Sanctify us in body and soul, and grant that we, being purified from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, may partake of the mystic blessings now going before You, and Judge none of us unworthy of the, but be our Supporter, our Helper, and Defender, through Your Christ, with whom glory, honor, laud, praise, thanksgiving be to You and the Holy Spirit forever. AMEN

- The Clementine Liturgy


A Pure Heart

O God Almighty, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son, give me a body unstained, a pure heart, a watchful mind, and an upright understanding, and the presence of Your Holy Spirit, that I may obtain and ever hold fast to an unshaken faith in Your Truth, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord; through whom be glory to You in the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. AMEN.

- The Clementine Liturgy

For Joy and Gladness

Blessed are You, O Lord, who has nourished me from my youth up, who gives food to all flesh. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness. that we, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom to You be glory, honor, might, majesty, and dominion, forever and ever. AMEN.

- The Clementine Liturgy


Please leave a comment if these prayers have been helpful.

Radiant Times

The Engine Behind Change

Mike Huckabee is no longer officially running for President (although if McCain were to have some problem with his health or other issues and needed to drop out, the convention would be brokered and all candidates would be back on the table.)

Despite the withdrawal of Huckabee from the presidential race, the energy behind his supporters has not waned - merely been redirected. HucksArmy is still a viable force on the political scene. This time, though, their energy will be turned toward supporting those candidates who share Huckabee's values. A new group has formed as well - the F3 Coalition - an action site based on Huckabee's slogan FAITH, FAMILY, FREEDOM.

These forums are worth looking at, and , if you want to get involved, please sign up. A change needs to be made in the Republican party as it continues to drift away from its base. Conservatives are about ready to say, like Reagan said of the Democrats - "I didn't leave the party, the party left me."

Fanaticism Trumps Numbers and Wins

I sometimes wonder what the majority of Americans are willing to die for. Particularly when I see so many young people (and I have teenagers as well as very extensive access to the university) sliding through high school and the first few years of college without accepting the challenge of excellence or the rewards of hard work and personal self discipline. Many of these young people act as if they are the center of their own universe, and when things go wrong they blame those around them for their own failings.

Their behavior is only a symptom of what Ralph Peters calls the dream of a happy-face, godless world where nobody quarrels.

Let me put this article, which really is an article about the conflict in "Palestine," in context now.

Peters states in his article that the reason Hamas won was that they are religious fanatics willing to die for what they believe. Here's a quote:

Hamas won because its fighters are religious fanatics ready to die for their cause. Fatah runs an armed employment agency under the banner of Palestinian nationalism. Most of the latter's security men are on the payroll because relatives or ward pols got them jobs. And they want to stay alive to collect their wages.

The result was predictable. Our government pretended otherwise. Now hairs should be standing up on the backs of thousands of necks, from the White House to the Green Zone.

I look at this wide eyed passion to die for allah (lower case on purpose) and compare it to the apathy of Americans, and it does make me worry!

Our children and our current generation has been taught to "Believe in Yourself" since infancy and through television and our school system, rather than to believe in a higher purpose and a more noble calling. One's self esteem and comfort is more important than the unity and defense of the nation that gives us the freedom to live the lifestyles we enjoy. The values of our founding fathers - well - they are old fashioned and we are "more enlightened now". Bah!

As a Choral Director, I see this all the time in new choral music produced for the consumption of music programs from the elementary level through high school students. The texts are so watered down and "feel good" and do not raise the spirit of the young student to higher sights other than their own emotions and very limited experience. (Consider the fourth grade students in Maine who boldly declare that global warming is the worst problem in the whole world - even as we stand on the brink of WWIII) They speak of "putting our differences behind us" as if living in denial is going to make things better. Children sing about "looking inside" as if that will bring "light to the darkness" and solve all our world problems will bring. What are the children of the fanatics singing and chanting? "Kill America! Kill Jews! Kill Infidels!" None of this mamby-pamby "why can't we all get along" crap!

I could get off on a rant about the extreme political correctness of our government schools, but that will have to wait for another blog entry. I will say I am grateful that choral directors may still use sacred music as an educational tool as it is part of the culture of our Western Civilization.

What if a fanatical Hamas like group were to attack here - perhaps on one of our college campuses. I'm afraid we would see our young men and women cowering and screaming like children. Forgive me for this allusion, but they would be as cowardly as many students at Virginia Tech when "Hammer Boy" Cho went postal on them. (I know I'll get some flak for that statement)

We are not encouraged to be strong and brave and to face our adversaries head on, no matter what the cost. Why? Our faith is weak. Many have no faith except in themselves. I'm not trying to be an evangelical preacher, just a humble blogger. So many of us here in America, while we give lip service to words like Liberty, Freedom, Honor, Courage, Country, God, and Family, don't have enough gumption to be willing to lay it all on the line to defend what we do have.

Here's more from Ralph Peters:

Our problem is that, of those who rise in government, few have witnessed the power of revelation or caught a life-changing glimpse of the divine. They simply can't imagine that others might be willing to die for all that mumbo-jumbo. Our convenience-store approach to faith leaves us numb to the passion of our enemies.

The true believer always beats the feckless attendee. The best you can hope for is that the extremist will eventually defeat himself.

And that does leave us some hope: Fanatics inevitably over-reach, as al Qaeda's Islamo-fascists have done in Iraq, alienating those who once saw them as allies. But the road to self-destruction can be a long one: The people of Iran want change, but the fanatics have the guns. And sorry, folks: Fanatics with guns beat liberals with ideas.

Faith is the nuclear weapon of the fanatic. And there's not going to be a religious "nuclear freeze." It doesn't matter how many hearts and minds you win, if you don't defeat the zealots with the muscles.

The quoted article comes from Ralph Peters' new book, "Wars of Blood and Faith," which comes out on July 25. Yes I'm advertising for him, but he speaks truth to life. Read it and take it in. Our whole nation needs to.

Radiant

UPDATE:

Found a great quote:

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
John F. Kennedy 1.20.61

Blog for Hurting Women

My dear friend in Dallas has started a blog for hurting women in the process of restoration. She says she writes for "The woman sitting all alone without hope thinking life has played a cruel trick with her.... I have been her and, praise the Lord, without people to pray for me would still be her."

Here is the site: Trading My Sorrows

She is a very good writer with great insights. I hope you will benefit from her words.

Relationship Advice

I received an e-mail from a friend of mine today. She is a mature lady like I am - a very gracious and attractive lady who has had some bad experiences in relationships. Knowing that she still needs to deal with issues in herself, she writes:

As I am relearning how to live ... I am trying to change old habits. Sometimes I may have higher expectations than I should or sometimes I have no requirements at all. SO I am taking a poll (of my friends..ed.) . How do you expect to be treated in a relationship that is exclusive. For example boyfriend/ girlfriend. What are deal breakers? What expectation is too high or too low?

Here is my reply to her. She found it helpful, and maybe some of my readers will find it useful as well:

Deal breakers.....hmmmm..........

The usual - drugs, alcoholism, unfaithfulness, laziness (no work), inability to support self much less a family no matter how nice they are, lukewarm in their faith.

Other VERY important ones.....uncontrolled anger issues, violence, unrestrained tongue, too clingy (!), Unable to get along with people, lack of the fruit of the spirit in their lives, too quick to get involved sexually, lack of respect for people and especially you, lack of respect for leadership, unsubmissive and unkind.

At our age, the men we get to know will have a trail of fruit - good and bad. My husband had a history of educational and job success and advancement, hard work, purity and innocence (amazing for a sailor). As I got to know him ( and you need time to get to know someone) I could see that he tried hard to be a good husband to his first wife.....I know this because of the way he treats me now.

My husband and I are good friends. We trust each other and respect each other as well as love each other. We recognize that we need each other but because the Lord is first in our lives, we could live without each other if need be.

A "boyfriend/girlfriend" relationship needs to grow out of friendship and mutual respect. Unfortunately, this takes time and face to face contact. I know we long for a relationship where we are special to someone....God put that in us.....but rushing and nurturing the sexual attraction and infatuation is not a good foundation for a lasting relationship. Sexual attraction is a fire that can very quickly get out of control given the right circumstances - and then you have to deal with guilt and regret. Hardly a good start for a couple that is not quite considering a marriage yet!

Think about how friends treat each other - how they talk to each other - how they work together and how they admire each other. Friends know each other's limits. Friends know what is important to the other and they seek to bless each other. Friends regard themselves, too, and keep their boundaries up so they don't lose who they are in a relationship. Friends are free to be who they are without having to change just for the other person to make them happy. Isn't that what you want in a lasting relationship?

I hope this helps.

God bless you!

Radiant Times