With God and With Men: Prayers
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Adrienne von Speyr, whom Hans Urs von Balthasar called "one of the great mystics of the Church", shares her own prayers with us on a variety of spiritual themes. These prayers from a modern mystic who lived very much in the world as a devoted medical doctor and wife are profound, unique and intriguing. They cover a variety of themes and needs that will be both an inspiration and help to spiritual seekers. Her prayers include such themes as "Before the Tabernacle", "Prayer for Times of Weariness", "For Renewal of the Spirit", "For Detachment", "For the Right Use of Suffering", "For Constancy", and a whole section of Marian Prayers with such themes as "Thru Mary to Christ", "Prayer of Mary in the Family" and "Mary's Prayer at the Cross".
Adrienne von Speyr
Adrienne von Speyr (1902–1967) was a Swiss medical doctor, a convert to Catholicism, a mystic, and an author of more than sixty books on spirituality and theology. She collaborated closely with theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, her confessor for twenty-seven years, and together they founded the Community of Saint John. Among her most important works are Handmaid of the Lord, Man before God, Confession, and her commentaries on the Gospel of Saint John.
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With God and With Men - Adrienne von Speyr
WITH GOD AND WITH MEN
ADRIENNE VON SPEYR
WITH GOD
AND WITH MEN
Prayers
Translated by Adrian Walker
IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO
Title of German original:
Bei Gott und bei den Menschen: Gebete
© 1992 Johannes Verlag, Einsiedeln, Freiburg
Cover design by Roxanne Mei Lum
© 1995 Ignatius Press, San Francisco
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-0-89870-563-8
Library of Congress catalogue number 95-79356
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
I. PRAYERS OF THE EARTH
In the Morning
At the Beginning of Mass
Before the Sermon
After Communion
Evening Prayer
Before the Tabernacle
Prayer to the Risen Lord
Prayer for Renewal of the Spirit
Prayer for Indifference
Thanksgiving after Confessing at the End of the Year
Prayer in Passing Time
Through Mary to Christ
Prayer for the Right Use of Illness
Prayer for Times of Weariness
Prayer of an Old Nun
Prayer at the Approach of Death
The Suscipe
of Saint Ignatius
Prayer That Saint Ignatius Taught Adrienne
Prayer for Constancy
Prayer for Those Who Have Turned Away
Prayer for Liberation from Oneself
Prayer for Usability
In the Passion
To Surrender What We Do Not Possess
II. PRAYERS OF HEAVEN
God’s Glory Illuminated Her and Her Lamp Was the Lamb
The Walls of the City Had Twelve Foundation Stones, on Which Were Written the Twelve Names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb
The Book of Life of the Lamb
Thanksgiving for the Apocalypse
Prayer of Adoration of the Servants before the Throne of God and of the Lamb
God the Lord Is Their Light
Our Father
I Am the First and the Last
He Who Hears, Let Him Say: ‘Come!’
III. MARIAN PRAYERS
Prayer of Mary Expecting the Child
Mary’s Prayer in the Family
Mary’s Prayer in the Adult Years of the Lord
Mary on the Way of the Cross. Prayer to the Son
Mary on the Way of the Cross. Prayer to the Father
Mary of Cleophas at the Cross
Mary Magdalen at the Cross
IV. THOUGHTS ON PRAYER
On This Edition
Notes
I
PRAYERS
OF THE EARTH
In the Morning
FATHER IN HEAVEN, you divided day from night
so that both might become
a reminder and a joy for us:
a reminder to think of you,
a joy that we can serve you in any way.
So let this day that is just breaking
also belong to you.
Let it be a day of your Church,
a day of your children.
It is still entirely fresh, and it is as if
anything might yet be formed from it.
And we know that it is your property,
for you have created it,
and that in obedience to you we
should make of it a day of election,
a space wherein you could be at home
at any and every instant,
a space that is filled by you,
but in which you also demand of us
the service of the task that you assign us.
Let us be pure, give us the gift of a good disposition,
let us do cheerfully whatever our service requires.
You divided day from night,
but do not let us constantly divide
what we do with willing ease
from what appears toilsome to us.
Let us rather accept with joyful thanks
everything the day brings as coming from your hand,
let us enter into the spirit of it,
let us make of it what you intended.
Let us be clear of hearing as the day is clear,
transparent to you.
And if the day has turbid and unclear moments,
we shall know that
these are the unclarities of our unsure nature,
of our ignorance, which finds decision hard.
You not only divided, from the very beginning
you decided:
let us also enter with decision into our task
and decide just as you expect us to.
You divided day from night for love,
let us live on your love,
let it take root in us,
let us bring together with your Son
every day’s work before you
so that it may be performed out of your Spirit. Amen.
At the Beginning of Mass
LORD, WE HAVE COME TOGETHER in your house.
Let us recognize by more than outward signs
that we are in your dwelling place.
Let us, I pray, feel your Spirit,
so intensely that we kneel before you already transformed,
ready to receive everything you want to show us,
ready to leave behind everything
that is incompatible with you.
And just as we shut the door behind us
when we entered your sanctuary,
let us forget what belongs only to this world,
what tends to distract our thoughts from you,
everything that does not pertain to your love
and that is incapable of serving it.
For you see how weak and imperfect we are,
what an effort it was finally to make up our minds
to come to you today,
how much we make of every hindrance,
how eager we are to take other paths than yours.
So take away, Lord, our hard heart. Let us
nourish pure thoughts,
let us know deep in our spirit that we are in your house,
that we are awaiting you, that you have promised and given
not only your presence before us
but also your indwelling in us.
Bless this hour.
Yet bless it not only for us but for all
who spend it here with us.
For the priest who is celebrating,
for all priests who are celebrating Mass around the world today,
and for all those who are prevented from celebrating.
Bless it for all believers,
for the whole communion of saints.
Bless it, too, for all who are on their way to you,
who have not yet received the gift of faith,
for those who perhaps burn in expectation of
the moment when they may at last appear before you.
Bless it in our lands,
bless it in the missions,
bless it wherever men are,
and bless it so that they may bear fruit,
that, standing before you free from ourselves,
we may look upon no one but you.
That we may at last follow the path
that leads away from us toward you.
That during this hour we may not turn our minds
to all sorts of things that have nothing to do with you,
but may pray for what you point out to us;
with an open spirit, because you open your Spirit to us,
with a humble heart, because you wish to dwell in such hearts,
with a loving soul, because you are love itself.
Bless, open, grant us love. Amen.
Before the Sermon
WHEN YOU PREACHED on earth, Lord,
you found the divine words
that were able to reach the hearts of your hearers.
Your truth moved them deeply
and prompted them to follow you and