
Prayer of St. John Damascene
God, my God, unextinguishable and invisible fire, You make Your angels flaming fire.
Out
of Your inexpressible love You have given me
Your divine Flesh as food, and through this communion of Your
immaculate Body and precious Blood You receive me as a partaker of Your
divinity.
Permeate all my body and soul, all my bones and sinews.
Consume my sins in fire.
Enlighten my soul and illumine my mind.
Sanctify my body and make Your abode in me together with Your blessed
Father and all-holy Spirit, that I may always abide in You, through the
intercession of Your immaculate Mother and all Your saints.
Amen
Mary opened to us the unspeakable abyss of God's love for us. Through
her the old enmity against the Creator is destroyed. Through her our
reconciliation with him is strengthened, peace and grace are given to
us, men and women are the companions of angels, and we, who were in
dishonor, are made the children of God. From her we have plucked the
fruit of life. From her we have received the seed of immortality. She
is the channel of all our goods. In her God was man and man was God.
What more marvelous or blessed? I approach the subject in fear and
trembling.
With
Mary, the prophetess, O youthful souls, let us sound our musical
instruments, mortifying our members on earth, for this spiritual music.
Let our souls rejoice in the Ark of God; the walls of Jericho will
yield, I mean the fortresses of the enemy. Let us dance in spirit with
David; the Ark of God is at rest. With Gabriel, the great archangel,
let us exclaim, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." Hail,
inexhaustible ocean of grace. Hail, sole refuge in grief. Hail, cure of
hearts. Hail, you through whom death is expelled and life is installed.