Quotation

He who learns must suffer, and, even in our sleep, pain that we cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus

Monday, April 18, 2016

Praying with the Gospels: Thy Glorious Wounds

Lord, at your death my heart overflowed with the pain of grief
and my mind was convinced that it was truly finished for You
when Your last breath left the lungs of my dear teacher, a thief
still breathing on the cross nearby, the one who turned to You
in his hour of death, yet suffering before seeing Your Kingdom.

Though my brothers and sisters told me that You were risen up
from the tomb, I did not believe them, for it is easier to accept
death than new and glorious life after drinking from Your cup
of suffering, that cup of blood poured out for all who have kept
Your commandments because of their love for God's Holy One.

Please help me by Your grace to have faith in You, to firmly
declare, "My Lord and my God!" even when I cannot see the
marks of nails in Your blessed hands or place my hand gently
in the hole in Your side which was pierced for our sake, the
Precious Blood poured out for us from Thy glorious wounds.


By Unknown - This image is available from the National Library of Wales You can view this image in its original context on the NLW Catalogue, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44920993


Note: This is called the Incredulity of Thomas, and it shows Thomas placing his hand in Christ's side, as do many of the works of art based on the events described in the New Testament.  The portion of the Gospel of John in which this event is related is the source of the phrase "doubting Thomas" in common parlance.

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