Scroll back to November 29 for an introduction to this thirteen part prayer.
Kontakion 10
*No one can put together what has crumbled into dust but you can restore a conscience turned to ashes. You can restore to its former beauty a soul lost and without hope. With you, there is nothing that cannot be redeemed. You are love; you are Creator and Redeemer. We praise you, singing: Alleluia!
Ikos 10
Remember, my God, the fall of Lucifer full of pride, keep me safe with the power of your grace; save me from falling away from you. Save me from doubt. Incline my heart to hear your mysterious voice every moment of my life. *Incline my heart to call upon you, present in everything.
Glory to you, for every happening,
every condition your *providence has put me in.
Glory to you, for what you say to me *in my heart.
Glory to you, for what you reveal to me, *asleep or awake.
Glory to you, for scattering our vain imaginations.
Glory to you, for raising us from the *slough of our passions through suffering.
Glory to you, for curing our pride of heart by *humiliation.
Glory to you, O God, from age to age.
*Are there bad people? I'm tempted to say yes, but only God knows for sure. More importantly, if we read this Kontakion 10 and accept it — "You can restore to its former beauty a soul lost and without hope," then how is it that so many Christians ardently believe in capital punishment? Maybe we need to look again. It seems to me that conversion (inner repair and turning) of even great offenders should be our specialty.
* "incline my heart" — Hear the 3rd verse of Robert Herrick's 17th c poem "What Sweeter Music"
We see him come, and know him ours
Who, with his sunshine and his showers,
Turns all the patient ground to flowers.
The darling of the world is come,
And fit it is, we find a room
To welcome him. The nobler part
Of all the house here, is the heart.
* "providence" — God takes care.
* "in my heart" — not the classroom, not the courtroom, not the conference room — but the heart. One can spend an entire lifetime in religion and never explore or cultivate one's heart.
* "asleep or awake." St. Joseph understood God's purposes through a dream.
* "slough of our passions" — the shedding or peeling off of passions.
* "pride of heart through humiliations." God can help us to get a right sense of ourselves; enable us to come back-down-to-earth about ourselves. But God doesn't degrade us. Humiliation as degradation simply isn't Christian.
