As I adapted the earlier chapters to the
wordy creations offered up in my lamenting voice,
wailing and sobbing, shrieking cries,
weeping sighs of anguish,
again I begin my prayers
with confession and contrition,
revealing my dark secrets.
And I shall place here, at
the beginning and end of each sentence
the same words, echoing each other
to form a single supplication of similar litanies
for soul-saving humility.I have sinned against your beneficence,
disrespectful sinner that I am.
I have sinned against the rays of your dawn,
dark sinner that I am.
I have sinned against the boundless benefits of your grace, verily I have sinned.
I have sinned against the exalted mercy of love,
brazenly I have sinned.
I have sinned against the creator ex nihilo,
truly I have sinned.
I have sinned against the tenderness of your
almighty embrace,
unworthy sinner that I am.
I have sinned against the enlightenment of your
undiminishing light,
deceitful sinner that I am.
I have sinned against the eating of your ineffable life, many times I have sinned.
I have sinned against the talents of your
incomprehensible gifts,
at all times I have sinned.
I have sinned against the praiseworthy body of God, mortally I have sinned.
I have sinned against your worshipful blood, our creator, truly I have sinned.Indeed this “I have sinned” is a blessed phrase in this prayer for the heart set on hope,
It has an honorable lineage, an unforgettable image,
paternal tribute, law of our forefathers,
our common inheritance,
irrefutable argument, forceful response,
bridge of life, pleasing to Heaven,
beloved of the saints, unseverable tie,
magical words, inescapable logic, earnest request,
inviting altar, heart-rending cry,
hope for the hopeless, shield against hardship,
charter for the faithful, letter to the pagans,
rule of the ancients, birthright of Christians,
victorious creative force, mighty abyss,
terrifying separation, transcending art,
incomprehensible depth, dazzling vision,
sealed mystery that cannot be unlocked,
beyond the grasp of the quickest mind.
A fitting, miraculous sound,
which was not uttered by the outcast sinners,¹
for if it had been, perhaps at that very moment,
the just death sentence and culling of the flock²
no longer being applicable,
the eternal barrier would have been torn down.
This word is an ornament of crowning glory,
by which the Godhead himself spreads his
magnanimity among us.

For who, having sought refuge by holding the
horn of the holy altar,
did not instantly escape punishment, being found pure?³
Or as Achan, son of Carmi,⁴ King Saul,⁵ and Judas,⁶
were not absolved, merely by saying “I sinned”?
This, I affirm, with God as my witness, was just and fair,
for forced confession is not performed with loving
contrition and therefore cannot bring salvation.

But I again embrace this happy word,
repeating it willingly
like a kind of baptism:
I have sinned by forgetting your favor,
again I have sinned.
I have sinned by slaying my soul with my hands of flesh, senselessly I have sinned.⁷
I have sinned by betraying the life you gave,
verily I have sinned.
I have sinned by ignoring your word,
basely I have sinned.
I have sinned by hastening the day of my death myself, destructively I have sinned.
I have sinned by mortgaging myself to lifeless death, mockingly I have sinned.
I have sinned by my impudence before your greatness, annoyingly I have sinned.

Prayer – “Book of Lamentations” St. Gregory of Narek 27

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Readings – Ընթերցումներ
Exodus 1:1-2:10; Joel 1:14-20 – Ելք. 1.1-2.10: Յովէլ 1.14-20:

DAILY SPIRITUAL TASK:
Make a list of bad habits you want to work on during Lent.
Join the Lenten Service at 7p.m ONLINE or IN PERSON