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Prayer 43 by Saint Gregory of Narek πŸ‡¦πŸ‡² (c. 951 – c. 1011)
Translated from the Armenian by Thomas J. Samuelian
Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart:
I.
With every possible facet of the art of healing,
Lord Jesus,
cause of all healthy life,
mighty heavenly king,
God of all things apprehended by the mind and
by the eye,
join me in the words of the prophet,
β€œAnd behold, through this union with you
through these words,
your light shall break forth in me to heal
my breath and body,”
you who are mighty and invincible.
II.
To heal our spiritual wounds, you do not
need ointments,
nor time, nor intermediaries,
nor the passing of days,
nor the changing of prescriptions,
nor amputation, nor cauterization, nor surgery
as practiced by earthly medicine,
in which there is always trial and error,
often grave error.
But for you, the creator of the soul and body,
all is illumined, all is clear,
all is written,
all is easy,
all is possible,
wisdom leads,
promises are kept,
wishes are fulfilled.
Your testament is the gospel.
Your judgment is freedom.
Your lawbook is grace.
You are not limited by laws.
You are not bound by canons.
You are not hampered by imperfections.
You are not humbled by obedience.
You are not restricted by smallness.
You are not measured by boundaries.
You do not err out of anger.
You do not alter out of wrath.
You do not misjudge out of severity.
You do not simmer out of agitation.
You do not falter out of ignorance.
You do not waver out of soft-heartedness.
You do not diminish out of exaltation.
You do not abandon your duty of care.
You do not weaken your salvation.
You are the beginning and the end of all.
Everything is from you alone.
Therefore glory to you and worship forever.
Amen.