Forgive me
Have mercy on me, God, according to Your great mercy (Psalms 50:1). On my knees before You, CrucifiedLord, I beg for mercy, for this grace.
I’ve sinned. Yet again I’ve fallen.
I’ve done exactly the opposite of what Your holy will asked of me. I tasted sin. Its bitter, oppressive taste lingers on my lips.
I am lost. I measure the height of Your holiness against the abyss of my corrupt existence, and I am crushed.
How much filth has piled up within me! My sinfulness chokes me. The fumes from my evil deeds make me almost ready to faint.
Show yourself merciful, my Savior.
You are my Redeemer. You will not let me be destroyed by my remorse. You will be merciful to me.
From the depths I cry out to You, ‘Lord, Lord’ (Psalms 129:1). Forgive me.
Grant me the delight of the remission of sins. Cleanse me of my iniquity and my sins.
Give me the audacity to gaze at You as I did when I was a child. Clean the filth of my soul.
I implore You kneeling on my knees. Let my tears tell You so.
Lord, I’ll wait.
I will not get up, even if my knees bruise and bleed. I won’t get up until Your hand touches my bowed head. I will wait until the moment I hear You say: Your sins are forgiven you (Luke 5:20). Sin no more (John 5:14).
I’ll wait until the hour You wash me in the water of Your Grace. And You will clothe me in the tunics that those who are Your children wear, in the incorruptible raiment of the sons of Your Kingdom.
Have mercy on me, Crucified God.
More virtue, more kindness today
Lord, we are thankful for Your love that gave us the gift of a new day. A day that You offered us so that we live, create, struggle, and be glad.
Will something happen perhaps in its duration? Will everyone become richer in good will, like Your divine heart desires? Will the wind bearing healthiness blow upon more people?
I am afraid. God, I am afraid that today crimes will occur, too.
Blood will stain sidewalks.
Injustices will occur today.
The hot tears of those who were wronged, slandered, and despised will water the ground, the stairs of apartment buildings, caverns, and fields. Evil will race madly around the world, break hearts, spread hunger and misfortune, and disrupt households.
And all this – right under Your very sight!
Oh! My soul can’t stand it.
God, this evening will the earth weigh more heavily with evil? Will that new day that began increase the amount of sins?
Will You not intervene, O Holy and Righteous Lord?
O Lord of love, let a little less evil happen today.
You have to get in its way.
You have to hinder it.
You have to stop its spread, to make Satan’s plans all in vain.
Help us not to be so bad today, so horrible.
Give us strength to create good things, to mold images of goodwill and truth. As it depends on us, extend the area of Your dominion within us and around us. Let there be an abundance of good.
Lord, tonight Satan with his fiery hands will etch on his doomed calendar the account of sins committed here in the world. Couldn’t You then mark with Your divine hands in the book of Your Kingdom a rich account of sainthood and good works?
Oh, make me worthy to perform a contribution to this work today.
Lord, please, more virtue, more kindness today.
~Taken from Speaking to God, by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America. Speaking to God was originally published in Greek in 1960 by the Christian Student Union, Athens, Greece, and is now available in English.
