Author: pastorstratman

Kyrie

Father,
do not look on my many sins,
but in your mercy
provide for all my needs,
food, clothing, shelter,
for I cannot survive without these,
or without you.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus,
you gave yourself for us all
as the Lamb of God
to bear our sins.
Remember me, whom you bought
with your own blood.
Christ, have mercy.

Spirit,
keep breathing into my heart
the Word of your Gospel.
Light that flame of faith in my heart,
and keep it burning.
Strengthen, counsel and comfort me.
I need your power to live connected to God.
I need your power to make my light shine.
Lord, have mercy.

Gloria in Excelsis

Glory to you, O Lord,
heavenly king, almighty Father.
You dwell above all things
yet you looked down on me in love
and gave me peace and goodwill
in your Son, Jesus Christ my Lord.
My praise is so weak.
I am so distracted.
But still, I lift my voice to praise and thank you
for your grace, mercy, patience and love.

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
Lamb of God, Son of the Father.
You came as promised to bear my griefs,
carry my sorrows,
and bear the sin of the whole world
like a sacrificial lamb.
You became what you were not,
human, weak, poor, despised,
to make me what I was not,
a child of God, holy and blameless in your sight.
You know human weakness first hand.
Hear my prayers, and bring my needs
to your Father in heaven.

Glory to you, Holy Spirit.
You are living and active
and so is the Word you inspired
the Apostles and Prophets to write.
Write your Word in my heart.
Be the lamp to my feet and the light for my path.
Live in me. Move me. Govern and guide me
so I live to your glory,
and not to my own,
so in your time
I may enjoy your glory forever.

You alone, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
are holy, exalted, and worthy of all praise,
now and forever.
Amen.

Credo

I believe, Lord.
Help me overcome my unbelief.
Your Word
is set before my eyes
and falls upon my ears.
I know it.
Still, help me overcome my doubts.
The world around me
is setting its own truth
before my eyes
and into my ears,
and its false truths are everywhere.
Yours is only in your book.
Turn my attention
back to your book.
Strengthen my faith.
Move me to accept your truth as fact
and to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye
to the lies from without
and the lies from within.
Finally,
send your Holy Spirit
to do his work
to govern and guide
and strengthen me
day by day
so that I always trust
every Word,
every promise,
every fact
your Spirit moved
the holy men to write,
and that my trust
may show
in all I say
and do.

Sanctus

Dirty, broken, hurting
is all humanity.
All the earth is full of sin and pain.
But you are holy.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah couldn’t bear to look at your glory,
but you lifted him up
and purified his lips.
You, Christ, have come to us
once in human flesh and blood,
now in ink and paper,
water and Word,
bread and wine,
your body and blood,
to purify us
so that we may stand
in your presence.
Hosanna!

Agnus Dei

O Jesus,
the pain you suffered on the cross
was all mine.
It was my sin you carried,
along with that of the whole world.
What mercy!

O Jesus,
the pains I suffer now,
all griefs, all sorrows,
is all my fault,
and it weighs heavy on me.
You alone can carry it,
in fact, you have already taken it away.
And you tell me to come,
in all my weariness
with all my burdens,
and you promise
to give me rest and refreshment.
What mercy!

O Jesus,
on that cross,
you said one word.
One sweet word.
A word just as momentous
as “Let there be light.”
That one word was
tetelesthai.
“It is finished.”
You paid for my sin.
You brought me to your Father.
You made me your own.
I need to do nothing
but trust you.
What peace!

Source: Paul C. Stratman © 2017

For a prayer reflecting on the “Nunc Dimittis,” see https://acollectionofprayers.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/prayer-reflecting-on-the-nunc-dimittis