Day 20 : Thursday 16 March
Hear our voice, O Lord, according to your faithful love.
| Jeremiah 7.23-28 | Psalm 95.6-11 | Luke 11.14-23 |
Anastasia Mitikova "Sunflowers", 2021
J.S Bach. Chorale: Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist. BWV 430. Netherlands Bach Society.
. . .
from: Carmen Bernos de Gasztold. Prayers from the Ark. Translated from French by Rumer Godden. Illustrated by Jean Primrose. London: Macmillan, 1963.
The Prayer of the Old Horse
See, Lord,
my coat hangs in tatters,
like homespun, old, threadbare.
All that I had of zest,
all my strength,
I have given in hard work
and kept nothing back for myself.
Now
my poor head swings
to offer up all the loneliness of my heart.
Dear God,
stiff on my thickened legs
I stand here before You:
Your unprofitable servant.
Oh! of Your goodness,
give me a gentle death.
Amen.
The Prayer of the Lark
I am here! O my God.
I am here, I am here!
You draw me away from earth,
and I climb to You
in a passion of shrilling,
to the dot in heaven
where, for an instant, You crucify me.
When will You keep me for ever?
Must You always let me fall
back to the furrow's dip,
a poor bird of clay?
Oh, at least
let my exultant nothingness
soar to the glory of Your mercy,
in the same hope,
until death.
Amen.
May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love. Amen.