[Prayer 61] Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart:
To what end should I recite the Psalms,
to what purpose sing them daily
with the harp of my voice when
in unison they condemn and curse me?
How can I adopt the persona of
the happy Psalmist, to say with him,
when I am doomed, “let perverseness
be far removed from my heart”? 1
How disconcerting are the many virtues
ascribed to kings, militant prophets
and commanders of the Old Law,
described in terms befitting the angels?
How can I recite them without
despondence at my life,
I the preacher of the good news,
I disciple of the New Covenant,
when I am devoid of those virtues?
How can I, in the manner of the righteous,
“Be armed to destroy the wicked at dawn,” 2
and always be ready and vigilant 3 as told in the parable,
when I have not tamed and disciplined my own body?
How can I emulate the great valor of David
and cleanse the Lord’s city of the unrighteous,
when I have not uprooted the shortcomings from
my own soul?
How can I lie to one who writes what has not yet been
revealed, saying “I have eaten ashes like bread”? 4
How can I who have not mixed one tainted drop
of my remorse with the pure springs of the
Psalmist’s eyes, say with him, “I have mingled my drink
with tears” 5 and “I have drenched my bed with tears”? 6
How can I confess my mortal sins,
when he who loved God with all his heart,
assumed the sins of his forefathers as his own,
saying, “We have sinned with our fathers
and have done wickedly,” 7
while all that follows is more rightly written
for me than for Israel.
How can I be counted among the good,
when I have not used those remedies
considered effective by human lights-
fasting to the point of death,
and frequent mortification of the flesh until the
body is spent-as practiced even by the Jews and the
pagans according to their religions?
Why then should “my righteousness endure forever,” 8
when I have done nothing to attain it?
Prayer – “Book of Lamentations” St. Gregory of Narek 61
Readings – Ընթերցումներ
Job 38:2-40:5 – Յոբ. 38.2-39.35:
DAILY SPIRITUAL TASK
Make a prayer out of performing a loving
action for others. For example, when you
take out the garbage, do it mindfully.