Prayer to St. John Damascene

  Posted on December 11, 2018  by admin  No comments

Prayer Of Saint John Damascene

I SALUTE thee, oh Mary! thou art the hope of Christians; receive the petition of a servant who tenderly loves thee, especially honors thee, and places in thee all the hope of his salvation. From thee I have life, thou dost restore me to the favor of thy Son; thou art the certain pledge of iny salvation. I implore thee, then, to deliver me from the burden of my sins; dispel the darknes of my mind; banish earthly affections from my heart; repel the temptations of my enemies, and so order my life, that I may reach, by thy means and by thy guidance, the eternal felicity of paradise. Amen

The Marian Prayer of St. John Damascene

Today, the root of Jesse has produced its shoot: she will bring forth a Divine flower for the world.Today, the Creator of all things, God the Word, composes a new book: a book issuing from the heart of his Father and written by the Holy Spirit, who is the tongue to God.O daughter of King David and Mother of God, the universal King; O Divine and living object whose beauty has charmed God the Creator; your whole soul is completely open to God’s action and attentive to God alone. All your desires are centered only on what merits to be sought and is worthy of love.

You harbour anger only for sin and its author. You will have a life superior to nature,but not for your own sake. For it has not been created for you but has been entirely consecrated to God, who has introduced you into the world to help bring about our salvation in fulfillment of his plan,the Incarnation of his Son and the Divinization of the human race. Your heart will find nourishment in the words of God, like the tree planted near the living waters of the Spirit, like the tree of life that has yielded its fruit in due time,the incarnate God who is the life of all things. Your ears will be ever attentive to the Divine words and the sounds of the harp of the Spirit, through whom the Word has come to take on our flesh.

Your nostrils will inhale the fragrance of the Bridegroom, the Divine fragrance with which He scented His humanity. Your lips will savour the words of God and will rejoice in their Divine sweetness. Your most pure heart, free from all stain, will ever see the God of all purity and will experience ardent desire for Him. Your womb will be the abode of the one whom no place can contain. Your milk will provide nourishment for God, in the little Infant Jesus. Your hands will carry God,and your knees will serve as a throne for Him that is more noble than the throne of the Cherubim.

Your feet, led by the light of the Divine Law, will follow Him along an undeviating course and guide you to the possession of the Beloved. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the city of the living God, made joyous by abundant flowers, the sacred flowers of Divine grace. You are all-beautiful and very close to God, above the Cherubim and higher than the Seraphim, right near God Himself!

Prayer of St. John of Damascus. (To be said pointing at the bed.)

O Lord, Lover of men, is this bed to be my coffin, or wilt Thou enlighten my
wretched soul with another day? Here the coffin lies before me, and here death confronts me. I fear, O Lord, Thy Judgment and the endless torments, yet I cease not to do evil. My Lord God, I continually anger Thee, and Thy immaculate Mother, and all the Heavenly Powers, and my holy Guardian Angel. I know, O Lord, that I am unworthy of Thy love, but deserve condemnation and every torment. But, whether I want it or not, save me, O Lord. For to save a good man is no great thing, and to have mercy on the pure is nothing wonderful, for they are worthy of Thy mercy. But
show the wonder of Thy mercy on me, a sinner. In this reveal Thy love for men, lest my wickedness prevail over Thy unutterable goodness and mercy. And order my life as Thou wilt.
(As sleep is the image of death, at night we pray for the departed.)
With the Saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Thy servants where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but life everlasting.
(When about to lie down in bed, say:)
Lighten my eyes, O Christ God, lest I sleep in death, and lest my enemy say: I have prevailed over him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Be my soul’s Defender, O God, for I step over many snares. Deliver me from them and save me, O Good One, in Thy love for men. Now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Let us not silently hymn the most glorious Mother of God, holiest of holy Angels, but confess her with heart and mouth to be the Mother of God, for she truly bore God incarnate for us, and prays without ceasing for our souls. Amen

Kiss your cross, and make the sign of the Cross from head to foot of the bed and from two sides, and then say:

Prayer to the Venerable Cross

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered; and let those who hate Him flee from His presence. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish; and as wax melts from the presence of fire, so let the demons perish from the presence of those who love God and who sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross and say in gladness: Hail, most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, for Thou drivest away the demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified on thee, Who went down to hell and trampled on the power of the devil, and gave us thee, His venerable Cross, for driving away all enemies. O most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, help me with our holy Lady, the Virgin Mother of God, and with all the Saints throughout the
ages. Amen.

(Just before getting into bed, say:)
Guard me, O Lord, by the power of Thy holy and life-giving Cross, and keep me from all evil.

(Just before yielding yourself up to sleep, say:)
Into Thy hands, O Lord Jesus Christ, my God, I surrender my spirit and body; bless me, save me, and grant me eternal life. Amen.
Before retiring (or if one prefers, before beginning prayers) go through all the points suggested below in your mind and memory.

1. Give thanks to Almighty God for granting you during the past day, by His grace, His gifts of life and health.

2. Examine your conscience by going through each hour of the day, beginning from the time you rose from your bed, and recall to memory: where you went, how you acted and reacted towards all persons and other creatures, and what you talked about. Recall and consider with all care your thoughts, words and deeds from morning till evening.

3. If you have done any good, do not ascribe it to yourself but to God Who gives us all the good things and thank Him. Pray that He may confirm you in this good and enable you to do other good things.

4. But if you have done anything evil, admit that this comes from yourself and your own weakness, from bad habits or weak will. Repent and pray to the Lover of men that He may forgive you, and promise Him firmly never to do this evil again.

5. Implore your Creator with tears to grant you a quiet, undisturbed, pure and sinless night, and to enable you on the coming day to devote yourself wholly to the glory of His holy Name.

6. If you find a soft pillow, leave it, and put a stone in its place for Christ’s sake. If you sleep in winter, bear it, saying: Some did not sleep at all.