Lord and Master of my life,
take far from me the spirit of laziness, discouragement, domination, and idle talk;
grant to me, thy servant, a spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love;
yea, my Lord and King, grant me to see my sins, and not judge my neighbor,
for thou art blessed forever and ever.
Amen.
- Ephraim of Syria, Prayer for the season of Lent in the Byzantine Rite, as quoted in The Roots of Christian Mysticism, Oliver Clement
Good choice,TB. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou all be safe and God bless.
You are welcome Linda. I have to confess I am very much enjoying this book. This is a whole new side of Christian thought I have only been vaguely exposed to (and most of Western Christianity, not at all exposed to).
DeleteAgreed, but let's keep that chastity in moderation. (looks up chastity) Okay, never mind.
ReplyDeleteJohn, somewhat sadly the major works of the early Christian Church were largely written by monastics and celibate priests. I say sadly as there is a pretty much one sided view on that sort of thing. One wonders what it could have been with a bit more Martin Luther thrown in.
DeleteWell, the definition of chastity I found merely indicated not engaging in immoral relations. That's a good definition. Never thought anyone would refer to me as chaste.
DeleteEducation. Just another service we offer here at The FortyFive.
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