prays to God for them that Slender you. A Prayer of St. Nikolai Bless my foes, O Lord, even as I bless them and curse them not. More than my friends, it is my foes who have driven me into Thine embrace. My friends have held me to the earth, but my detractors have freed me from the earth and have brought to naught all of my worldly aspirations. My foes have made me a stranger and an outsider to the worldly domain. Just as an animal that is being hunted finds safer shelter than one that is not, so I, persecuted by detractors, have found the safest of sanctuary, having placed myself under Thy tabernacle, wherein neither friends nor foes can slay my soul. Bless my foes, O Lord, even as I bless them and curse them not. They, instead of me, have confessed my sins to the world. When I have been reluctant to chastise my soul, they have punished me. When I have tried to flee from torment, they have tormented me. When I have flattered myself, it is they who have reproached me. When I filled myself with arrogance, they spat on me. Bless my foes, O Lord, even as I bless them and curse them not. When I have set myself forth as wise, they have called me foolish. When I have shown myself forth as mighty, they have ridiculed me as a midget. When I have sought to lead others, my detractors have marginalized me. When I have tried to prosper, they have thwarted me with an iron fist. When I thought that I could sleep in peace, they have awakened me from my sleep. When I have tried to establish a dwelling in which to live long and serenely, they have razed it and evicted me. Indeed, my detractors have liberated me from the world, prompting me to stretch out my hand to the hem of Thy Garment. Bless my foes, O Lord, even as I bless them and curse them not. Bless them and multiply them—multiply them and make them to beset me even more sorely, so that my fleeing unto Thee will be enduring; so that my hope in men will be scattered like cobwebs; so that sure serenity might reign in my soul; so that my heart might prove a grave of my twin evils, arrogance and anger; so that I might store up all of my treasure in Heaven; alas, that I might at last be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the awful web of an illusory life. My detractors have taught me to understand what few know: that one has no foe in the world except himself. One despises his detractors only when he fails to realize that they are not foes, but cruel friends. In truth, it is difficult for me to say who has done me the greater good and who the greater evil in the world: my friends or my detractors. Hence, O Lord, bless both my friends and my foes. The slave [of sin] curses his foes, for he lacks understanding; but the son [of the heavenly Father] blesses them, for he has understanding. For the son knows that his foes cannot affect his life. Therefore he freely walks among them and prays to God for them.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 16:03:28 +0000
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