Memento Mori: Penitential Prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian

16 February 2010

Penitential Prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian

To be prayed daily on weekdays during the Holy Season of Lent:

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. (prostration)*

But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to thy servant. (prostration)

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own errors, and not to judge my brother, for thou art blessed from all ages to all ages. Amen. (prostration)

Lord have mercy (12 times)

Repeat the prayer with only one prostration at the end.

*In Christianity, to make a prostration, make the Sign of the Cross, kneel down, touching your forehead to the ground and rise immediately. This is not the same prostration position that is used during Holy Orders.

Even if the Pope were Satan incarnate, we ought not to raise our heads against him, but calmly lie down to rest on his bosom. He who rebels against our Father is condemned to death, for that which we do to him we do to Christ: we honour Christ if we honour the Pope; we dishonour Christ if we dishonour the Pope. I know very well that many defend themselves by boasting: "They are so corrupt, and work all manner of evil!" But God has commanded that, even if the priests, the pastors, and Christ-on-earth were incarnate devils, we be obedient and subject to them, not for their sakes, but for the sake of God, and out of obedience to Him. ~ Saint Catherine of Sienna

By these words the apostle exhorts the faithful that, being encouraged by the hope of eternal happiness, they should be as little affected by earthly things as if they did not belong to them; that they should love their wives with only moderated love, as if they had them not; that if they wept for the loss of children or goods, they should weep but little, as if they were not sorrowful; that if they rejoiced at their worldly honours or success, they should rejoice as if they had no occassion to rejoice that is, as if joy did not belong to them; that if they bought a house or field, they should be as little affected by it as if they did not possess it. In fine, the apostle orders us so to live in the world, as if we were strangers and pilgrims, not citizens. ~ Saint Robert Bellarmine