I recently came across “The Great Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian.” I can think of no more suitable day to share it with you.
O Lord and Master of my life!
Take from me the spirit of sloth,
faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of chastity,
humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.
Yea, Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors
and not to judge my brother,
for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.
[Image by Mike_tn under the Creative Commons License]
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This prayer expresses the spirit of Lent so beautifully and succinctly. Thank you for sharing this today. I shall use it frequently during my Lenten devotions.
Lynda,
I just can hardly believe that I never came across it before.
Paul
…Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother…
Amen
Tim, that line really spoke to me as well.
Tim,
I’m with you. I think I’m pretty good about seeing my errors but, sadly, I seem to have hyper-vision when it comes to noticing and commenting upon those of others. Sadness.
Paul
Amen!
Fran,
Amen! Right back at you, kiddo.
Paul
Thank-you so much.
Jo,
Thank you for your thanks – which I don’t deserve.
Paul
It is all very powerful stuff but the “take from me the spirit of sloth, faint heartedness” hit the nail on the head for me. I’m feeling ground down and whenever that happens I tend to give up
Simon,
We’ve mentioned it before… Churchill’s Graduation Ceremony Address at Cambridge: “Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.” It worked for him…
Paul
Amen. I think I’ll print this one out and tuck it on my desk. I love the spareness of it — and the reminder to be attentive to my own faults, not those of others.
May you all find an abundance of grace in Lent….
Michelle,
Thank you for naming what it was about his prayer that appealed to me – “the spareness of it.”
I need and want simplicity this Lent.
Paul
This prayer is always recited in the eastern Catholic and eastern Orthodox churches during lent. A full prostration is made after each recitation. It’s very humbling.
Joel,
Thank you. I like the idea of prostrating myself after reciting the prayer.
Paul