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Sunday, February 17, 2008

A night prayer by Erasmus

I'm not much for Father-God language, or at least for its dominant or exclusive use. But this is from the 15th/16th century and in that context it's different. I also love the gentleness of the language in the entire prayer. And I'm fond of Erasmus. This is one of the prayers I included at the end of a chapter in When in Doubt, Sing. (Each chapter is thematic and has a few resources at the end --prayers, spiritual exercises, et al.)


Lord Jesus Christ,
you are the gentle moon and joyful stars,
and watch over the darkest night.
You are the source of all peace,
reconciling the whole universe to the Father.
You are the source of all rest,
calming troubled hearts,
and bringing sleep to weary bodies.
You are the sweetness that fills our mind with quiet joy,
and can turn the worst nightmares into dreams of heaven.
May I dream of your sweetness,
rest in your arms,
be at one with your Father,
and be comforted in the knowledge
that you always watch over me.

Desiderius Erasmus (1469-1536)
at

5 comments:

  1. Mike FarleyFebruary 18, 2008 at 2:16 AM

    Oh that is glorious - thank you so much, Jane! I'll keep that one...

    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  2. FranFebruary 18, 2008 at 7:51 AM

    That is very beautiful and as Mike says- one to keep.

    I cannot wait for this book! And I send many prayers as you work on that and so much more.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ann MurrayFebruary 18, 2008 at 12:21 PM

    A very soothing and faith-filled prayer...and timeless too. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  4. PaulFebruary 18, 2008 at 6:25 PM

    Thank you, Jane.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AlgernonFebruary 19, 2008 at 8:33 PM

    Oh, that's lovely.

    ReplyDelete

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