The Lessons Appointed for Use on |
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Ignatius of Antioch |
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Bishop and Martyr, c. 115 |
Preface of a Saint (3)
Almighty God, we praise your Name for your bishop and martyr Ignatius of Antioch, who offered himself as grain to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts that he might present to you the pure bread of sacrifice. Accept, we pray, the willing tribute of our lives and give us a share in the pure and spotless offering of your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
O that my head were a spring of water,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night
for the slain of my poor people!
O that I had in the desert
a traveller’s lodging-place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all adulterers,
a band of traitors.
They bend their tongues like bows;
they have grown strong in the land for falsehood, and not for truth;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they do not know me, says the Lord.
Beware of your neighbours,
and put no trust in any of your kin;
for all your kin are supplanters,
and every neighbour goes around like a slanderer.
They all deceive their neighbours,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongues to speak lies;
they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent.
Oppression upon oppression, deceit upon deceit!
They refuse to know me, says the Lord.
Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts:
I will now refine and test them,
for what else can I do with my sinful people?
Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceit through the mouth.
They all speak friendly words to their neighbours,
but inwardly are planning to lay an ambush.
Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord;
and shall I not bring retribution
on a nation such as this?
Ad te, Domine
1 O Lord, I call to you;
my Rock, do not be deaf to my cry; *
lest, if you do not hear me,
I become like those who go down to the Pit.
2 Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you, *
when I lift up my hands to your holy of holies.
3 Do not snatch me away with the wicked or with the evildoers, *
who speak peaceably with their neighbors,
while strife is in their hearts.
4 Repay them according to their deeds, *
and according to the wickedness of their actions.
5 According to the work of their hands repay them, *
and give them their just deserts.
6 They have no understanding of the Lord's doings,
nor of the works of his hands; *
therefore he will break them down and not build them up.
7 Blessed is the Lord! *
for he has heard the voice of my prayer.
8 The Lord is my strength and my shield; *
my heart trusts in him, and I have been helped;
9 Therefore my heart dances for joy, *
and in my song will I praise him.
10 The Lord is the strength of his people, *
a safe refuge for his anointed.
11 Save your people and bless your inheritance; *
shepherd them and carry them for ever.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Jesus said to his disciples, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.”
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