Prayers: February 2005 Archives

Here is a Byzantine prayer of thanksgiving after communion.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, for you have not rejected me a sinner, but have made me worthy to share in your sanctifying mysteries. I thank you for having granted that I, unworthy as I am, be a partaker of these pure and heavenly gifts. O Lord and lover of mankind who died and are risen for us, who gave us these dread and life-giving mysteries for the good of our bodies and the sanctification of our souls: make them serve for the healing of my soul and body, that they may set to flight every foe. Enlighten the eyes of my heart; give peace to the powers of my mind; inspire me with a faith in which there is no shame, a sincere love, a deep wisdom and obedience to your Commandments. May they increase in me your divine grace, and make me dwell in your kingdom. Being preserved by them in your holiness, I will remember your love at all times. From now on, I will not live for myself, but for you, my Lord and benefactor. And thus having spent my earthly life in the hope of life without end, I will one day reach eternal rest where the sound of rejoicing never ceases, where the delight of those who look upon the beauty of your face has no bounds. For you are truly the object of our desire and the inexpressible joy of those who love you, Christ our God, and all creatures glorify you forever and ever. Amen.

I want to share some communion prayers from the Byzantine tradition that I really like. The following is a prayer before communion by St. Basil the Great:

O Lord and Master Jesus Christ, my God, Source of life and immortality, Maker of all things visible and invisible, co-eternal Son of the immortal Father, accept the repentance of me, a sinner. Incline Your ear and hear my prayer: I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned before Your face, and I am not worthy to lift up my eyes to Your glory. I have provoked Your goodness; I have transgressed Your commandments and disobeyed Your statues. O Lord, be long-suffering with me and show me Your mercy. O You who said through the prophet: "I desire not the death of a sinner, but that he may repent and live", show me Your love and forgive me. Wherefore, even unworthy of heaven and of earth as I am, I despair not of Your salvation. In this life I have wholly yielded myself to sin and have become the slave of the pleasures of this world. I have defiled Your image in me and turned my back on Your loving kindness. When I consider Your infinite compassion, I dare to come back to You, my God and my Maker. Receive me, O Christ, as You received the adulteress; accept me as You accepted the prodigal son, the publican, and the thief on the cross; take away the heavy burden of my sins, O You who take away the sins of the world, You who heal the infirmities of men and give rest to those who are weary and heavy-laden.

Cleanse me, O Lord, from every stain of flesh and spirit; teach me to fulfill Your will in fear and holiness that, having the witness of a pure conscience, I may receive my share of Your holy things and may be united to Your holy body and blood. May I have You to abide in me with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Grant me, until my last breath, to receive the bread and the wine which are Your body and blood, and thereby to receive communion with the Holy Spirit as a provision for the journey to eternal life, and as an acceptable answer at Your dread judgment seat. May I, together with all Your saints, be a partaker of these good things You have prepared for those who love You, O Lord my God. Amen.