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The people answer: O Lord, pardon the sins of your servants, and. . .

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The people answer: O Lord, pardon the sins of your servants, and purify our conscience from doubts and from Strifes. O Lord, pardon the offences of them that are praising You, and make clear our soul from hatred and slander. O Lord, pardon the sins of Your servants who have confessed Your name, and make us worthy to receive this Sacrament with faith. O Lord, pardon Your servants who call upon Your name daily; and grant us, Lord, to be Yours, even as You desire; and may these divine Mysteries, Lord, be to us for the confidence and courage before Your Majesty.

-St. Narsai Harp of the Spirit

Our Lord Jesus, King to be adored of all creatures, do away from us all harms by. . .

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Our Lord Jesus, King to be adored of all creatures, do away from us all harms by the power of Your Mysteries; and when You shine forth at end of the times for the redemption of all, may we go forth to meet You with confidence with Hosannas.

-St. Narsai Harp of the Spirit

 

 

In His awful character and office, an object of awe even to. . .

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In His awful character and office, an object of awe even to the seraphim, the son of dust stands in great fear as mediator. The awful King, mystically slain and buried, and the awful watchers, standing in fear in honour of their Lord! The ranks of the watchers surround the alter in that hour, as Chrysostom has borne witness who saw them.

-St. Narsai Harp of the Spirit.

 

We must take care not to. . .

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“We must take care not to refer all the merits of the saints to the Lord in such a way as to ascribe nothing but what is evil and perverse to human nature, in doing which we are confuted by the evidence of the most wise Solomon, or rather of the Lord himself, whose words these are; for when the building of the temple was finished and he was praying, he spoke as follows: ‘and David my father would have built a house to the name of the Lord God of Israel: and the Lord said to David my father: Whereas thou hast thought in thine heart to build a house to my name, thou hast done well in having this same thing in thy mind.’ This thought and purpose of King David, are we to call it good and from God or bad and from man? For if the thought was good and from God, why did He by whom it was inspired refuse that it should be carried into effect? But if it is bad and from man, why is it praised by the Lord?”

+ St. John Cassian, Third Conference of the Abbot Chaeremon.

 

All of us who desire the. . .

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All of us who desire the kingdom of God are, by the Lord’s decree, under an equal and rigorous necessity of seeking after the grace of Baptism.”

 

St.Basil The Great

One who knows oneself, knows. . .

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“One who knows oneself, knows God: and one who knows God is worthy to worship Him as is right. Therefore, my beloveds in the Lord, know yourselves.”

— St. Anthony the Great

Forget not, O Lord, that I am. . .

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Forget not, O Lord, that I am one of those whom Thou hast created, and with Thine own blood hast redeemed. I repent me of my sins: I will strive to amend my ways.

-Saint Ambrose of Milan

 

Let us take refuge from. . .

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Let us take refuge from this world. You can do this in spirit, even if you are kept here in the body. You can at the same time be here and present to the Lord. Your soul must hold fast to him, you must follow after him in your thoughts, you must tread his ways by faith, not in outward show.

-Saint Ambrose of Milan

By the death of martyrs religion has. . .

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“By the death of martyrs religion has been defended, faith increased, the Church strengthened; the dead have conquered, the persecutors have been overcome. And so we celebrate the death of those of whose lives we are ignorant. So, too, David rejoiced in prophecy at the departure of his own soul, saying: ‘Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.’ He esteemed death better than life. The death itself of the martyrs is the prize of their life. And again, by the death of those at variance hatred is put an end to.”

+ St. Ambrose of Milan, On Belief in the Resurrection