Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart

A

And now, since I am approaching the end of this
modest testament of lamentations,
Lord, with these prayers, put an end
to those demeaning blameworthy acts
that have become a bad habit with me.
You established the good news of hope for condemned
people like me, saying, "It is not the will of the Father,
that the least of these little ones should perish."¹
And further, "This is the will of my Father,
that I shall not lose those he has given to me."²

B

Behold, you are blessed for compassion,
ever praised for your sweetness,
proclaimed for your patience,
recognized for your help,
preached as the Lord for salvation,
celebrated for your bounty,
honored for your protection,
glorified for your deliverance,
worshiped for your infinite highness,
adored for your greatness beyond understanding,
alone acclaimed for your triumph,
exalted for your great strength,
revered for your mercy,
embraced for your mildness,
partaken in humility.
With your heavenly father,
God of all comfort,³
together with your Holy Spirit, filled with goodness
who established the Law
not to abandon the fallen beast of one's enemy⁴
nor the man who stumbles by his own stupidity.

Your gifts, Almighty, within me,
and your virtue, great Lord, on high
are celebrated endlessly by the eternal choir of angels,⁵
thus hear my prayerful voice
through the intercession of the angels
and along with the supplications of the martyrs,
in sweet and pleasing aroma.

Through the redeeming value of these prayers
of reconciliation, almighty Lord,
let my original sin be pardoned and
my unseen wounds be cured,
along with those committed in
the course of my life and at my death,
wounds that bring death to my body and my soul.
Heal my inner and outer wounds,
their traces, lines, and welts,
with the exalted and pure salve of your mercy.
The multitude of bites
show you the essence of my character,
both the base and that which is pleasing to you.

C

And if I reach old age,
having been guided by you to my worthy death,
do not abandon me in my frailty.⁶
Do not despise my gray hair.
Do not destroy what is already broken.
Do not bring down the bent.
Do not knock down the humbled.
Do not extinguish the flickering flame with your wind.
Do not shove the unsteady.
Do not leave the shivering without a coat.
Do not permit the afflicted to go without a cure.
Do not leave the dilapidated untended.
Do not let the old image be dishonored.
Do not take the taste away from the sumptuous.
Do not tarnish the splendor of grace.
Do not insult the old.
Do not send waves upon the ship of my soul.
Do not cut the thread of hope.
Do not sever the life line.
Do not take away presence of mind or memory.
Do not destroy what you have shaped.
Do not clip the wings of ascension.
Do not deform the cheerfulness of beauty.
Do not retract the rays of light.
Do not close the windows of the eyes.
Do not block their light.
Do not cut down my speaking image.

D

I pray you, compassionate Lord, I beseech you with
all of the saints,
listen to my prayers now, so that they will not
later be forgotten.
You led me, as the Psalmist wrote, and
"restored my soul." ⁷
Relieve me, Lord, as with the Psalmist,
of the doubts and perplexities that cause me fear.⁸

But I am not worthy of this,
no, not even of the common sustenance of a
hired servant.⁹
But you are able, according to your ways,
to show kindness even to people who whine as I do.
Yours are the amazing gifts beyond telling, you,
who alone work miracles, continuously blessed
with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever.
Amen.