Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart

A

And now, since our waking vigilance¹
appears like some kind of stupor to you
and our profound silence, owing to our orthodox
faith in you,
seems to you sleeping with open eyes,²
direct me with your Holy Spirit's wisdom
to finish this the work of my hands,
the prayers of my sighing voice.

Strengthen me, Lord, in my courageous labors
to fight the good fight.³
Be my aid against human frailty.
Lighten the task of my repentance, for it has
only just begun.
Quicken, always capable Lord, the work I have
set before me.
Ease the course to its conclusion.
Help me achieve the bliss of accomplishment.
Help me reach the destination I hope for.
Be my companion through the end of my journey.⁴

In my ascending flight, speed me on the course
toward the good.
Be at my right side when I am in danger.⁵
Make your voice heard in my time of need.
Grant me life with your hand in the hour of my death.⁶
Intervene with your finger in my time of alarm.
Level the most harmful obstacles of alienation.
Send an angel, as you did to Habbakuk, to help me.⁷
Inspire my speech before the tribunal of judgment.⁸
Plant wisdom in me when I am being scrutinized.
With the cloud of your will miraculously protect me.⁹
Calm my stormy seas with your tree of life, the cross.
By your command, bridle my earthly impulses.
For if your mercy wills it, Lord,
the fluid waves of the sea will become harder
than stone.¹⁰
But if you abandon me on dry land, Lord,
the earth upon which I stand will move
and crumble beneath me.¹¹

B

Jesus, accept with favor
the supplications I make to you,
and turn my gnawing apprehensions into solid faith.
In the time of the great flood that destroyed everything,¹²
those who lived carelessly without fear
upon the steady plains of earth
were destroyed, bereft of your mercy,
while those who trusted in your name, savior,¹³
stood on the rocking deck
of the covered ark made of logs
and were saved.
Even so, rescue me with your love of humankind,
though I forever sway this way and that, and
deliver me to the harbor of your peace, I pray you.

Bearing the fruits of your grace with me
and leaving behind the heavy burden of sin that
weighs me down,
I fall before you, Lord, in the words of your parable,¹⁴
uniting with you completely, inseparably,
O Lord, blessed in all things.
Now chanting these prayers in antiphon
with the most pure angels
and with the earthly martyrs
who were tested by water and fire¹⁵
and who upon their departure from this life, pray for us,
leaving their memory as encouragement,
let us say with them, in unison:
So be it.
Amen.