Sunday, February 18, 2007

Syriac Prayer

Create eyes in me, and so may I see with Thy eyes,
for I cannot see with my own eyes.

May my mind travel inwards
towards the hiddenness of Thy sacrifice,
just as Thou hast travelled out into the open
and been cojoined to Thy Mysteries.

At this moment
may I be totally forgetful of myself,
and remain utterly unmindful
of my own person.

May every bodily image
be wiped away from my mind's Eye,
and may Thou alone
be depicted before the Eye of my mind.

And now, when Thy Spirit descends from heaven
upon your Mysteries,
may I ascend in spirit from earth to heaven.

-- Prayers of Joseph the Visionary in "The Syriac Fathers On Prayer And The Spiritual Life," translated from the original Syriac-Aramaic by Sebastian Brock, Cistercian Publications. Adapted to Thee-Thou.

No comments: