For an introduction to this thirteen part prayer cycle, scroll back to November 29.
Kontakion 3
It is the Holy Spirit who makes us find joy in each flower, the exquisite scent, the delicate color, the beauty of the Most High in the *tiniest of things. Glory and honor to the Spirit, the Giver of Life, who covers the fields with their carpet of flowers, crowns the harvest with gold, and gives to us the joy of gazing at it with our eyes. O be joyful and sing to Him: Alleluia!
Ikos 3
How glorious are you in the springtime, when every creature awakes to new life and joyfully sings your praises with *a thousand tongues. You are the Source of life, the Destroyer of Death. By the light of the moon, nightingales sing, and the valleys and hills lie like *wedding garments, white as snow. All the earth is your promised bride awaiting her spotless husband. If the grass of the field is like this, how gloriously shall we be transfigured in the Second Coming after the Resurrection! How splendid our bodies, how spotless our souls!
Glory to you, bringing from the depth of the earth an *endless variety of colors, tastes and scents.
Glory to you, for the warmth and tenderness of the world of nature.
Glory to you, for the *numberless creatures around us.
Glory to you, for the depths of your *wisdom, the whole world a living sign of it.
Glory to you, on my needs, I kiss the *traces of your unseen hand.
Glory to you, enlightening us with the clearness of eternal life.
Glory to you, for the hope of the *unutterable, imperishable beauty of immortality.
Glory to you, O God, from *age to age.
* "tiniest of things" — Do I notice?
* "a thousand tongues" — Frogs and birds too!
* "like wedding garments" — God's relationship with us is marital.
* "an endless variety of colors, tastes and scents." Yes, but there are neighborhoods in our country where nothing fresh to eat can be had. They are called food deserts.
* "numberless creatures around us" — Our pets, yes, but also the earth's great creatures. 90% of the world's elephants are gone. Leaving our grandchildren a world without elephants — what a very sad thought.
* God's "wisdom" — What does God know?
* "the traces of your unseen hand" — HOLY is everywhere, not just in church. St. Benedict writes to his monks: "Treat the garden tools as you would treat the chalice on the altar."
* "unutterable" — Before God's promises our words are useless. Our ultimate response to the divine is silence. But religion can be very wordy. St. Kateri prayed with a her eyes. St. Therese of Lisieux prayed with a sigh.
* "from age to age" — from beginning to end - but that includes this day, this hour, this moment.
