Test yourselves,
(to see)
if you are in the faith,
Examine yourselves.
Or do you, yourselves,
not recognise
that Christ is in you?
-unless you are failing the test.
For I hope that you will recognise
that we are not failing the test.
I pray to God,
that you do nothing bad
– not that we might appear to pass the test
but that you might do good
even thought we might be failures.
For we are not able to do anything
against the truth,
but for the truth
For we rejoice whenever
we are weak
and you are strong.
And we pray that
you may be made mature
Because of this
I am writing while absent
that when I am present
I may not have to act harshly,
in keeping with the authority,
which the Lord gave me
for building up,
and not for tearing down.

Finally
brothers/sisters
rejoice!
Be mature
be encouraged
Be of the same mind,
Be at peace,
and the God of love and peace
will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the saints greet you.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
(be) with you all.

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

I am coming a third time
to you all.
Upon the testimony of two witnesses, or three,
every matter will be established. ¹
I warned
while I was present the second time,
and being away now,
I am warning,
those who sinned previously
and all the others,
that if I come again
I will not be sparing,
-since you seek proof
that Christ is speaking through me.
Who with you
is not weak
but powerful
among you.
For indeed he was crucified in weakness
but lives by the power of God.
For indeed we are weak in him
but we live with him,
by the power of God
among you.

1. Deuteronomy 19:15 ↩︎

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy,
For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

Have you been thinking all along that
we are defending ourselves to you?
In the sight of God,
we are speaking
in Christ
and everything,
beloved,
is for building you up.
For I fear
lest having come
I might not find you
as I want
and as you want
you might not find me-
perhaps (there will be)
quarrelling
jealousy
anger
selfishness
slander
gossip
conceit
disorder.
Again
(I fear) that having come
my God will humiliate me
before you all,
I might grieve over many
who have persisted in sinning before
and not repented
over impurity,
sexual immorality
and indecency
which they have committed.

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

Look!
I am ready to come a third time to you,
and I will not be a burden.
And I am not seeking what is yours, but you!
For children should not be obliged to save up for their parents,
but the parents for the children.
Most gladly I will spend
and be spent
for your souls.
If I love you more
am I to be loved less?
Let’s take it that
I did not burden you.
But being cunning
I took you in by deceit!
Did I take advantage of you
through him that I sent you?
I urged Titus (to go)
and I sent the brother with him
Titus did not take advantage of you, did he?
Don’t we walk in the same spirit?
and in the same footsteps?

Eternal God and Fatther,
you create us by your power,
and redeem us by your love,
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I have become foolish,
– you forced me.
for I ought to have been commended by you.
For I am not inferior
compared to those ‘super-apostles’
even if I am nothing.

The signs of an apostle
have been produced
among you
with all endurance
signs
and wonders
and powerful deeds.

For how were you treated worse
than the other churches
except that I alone did not burden you?
Forgive me this injustice!

O Lord, in whom is our hope,
remove far from us, we pray thee,
empty hopes and presumptuous confidence.
Make our hearts so right with thy most holy and loving heart,
that hoping in thee we may do good;
until that day when faith and hope
shall be abolished by sight and possession,
and love shall be all in all.

Christina Rossetti (1830-94)

Therefore lest I be puffed-up-with-pride,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me,
…. a messenger sent by (of) Satan
…. so that I might be tormented,
so that I would not be puffed-up-with-pride.
Concerning this
three times I pleaded with the Lord,
that it might withdraw from me.
Yet he said to me:
‘Sufficient for you (is) my grace,
for (my) power, in weakness, is made perfect.
Therefore
I will most gladly boast
all the more
about (in) my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ
might rest upon me.
Therefore
I am content
in weakness
in insults
in hardships
in persecutions
and in difficulties
for the sake of Christ.
For when I am weak,
then I am strong.

Keep us, O Lord, while we tarry on this earth,
in a serious seeking after thee,
and in an affectionate walking with thee,
every day of our lives;
that when thou comest,
we may be found not hiding our talent,
nor yet asleep with our lamp unfurnished,
but waiting and longing for our Lord,
our glorious King, for ever and ever.

Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

It is necessary to boast,
it is not better…
but I will move onto visions and revelations of the Lord.

I know a man- in-Christ
fourteen years ago
-whether in the body I do not know –
– whether out of the body I do not know-
God knows…
this man was taken up to the third heaven
and this man
– whether in the body
or out of the body
I do not know
God knows
was taken up into paradise
and he heard unutterable utterances
which it is not permitted for a person to say.
About such a person I will boast
but I will not boast
except of my weaknesses
For if I might want to boast
I will not be a fool
– for I would be telling the truth
But I will refrain
lest some one credits me
with something
beyond what they see in me
or hear from me,
(on account) of the extraordinary revelations.

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me
Be thou a smooth path below me
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
Today – tonight -forever
Amen.

St Columba

If it is necessary to boast,
I will boast about my weaknesses.

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus knows
who is blessed forever
that I am not lying.

In Damascus,
a governor,
for the King Aretas
was guarding the city, Damascus
to arrest me.
and though a window
in a basket
I was let down
through the wall
and I escaped from his hands.

O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me.
O Love, who redeemed me,
fill up in me whatever part of your love
has fallen into neglect within me.
O Love, O God, who first loved me,
grant that with my whole heart,
and with my whole soul,
and with my whole strength,
I may love you.

Gertrude the Great

But in whatever anyone dares (to boast about)…
I am speaking in foolishness
… I too dare:
Are they Hebrews?
So am I too.
Are they Israelites?
So am I too.
Are they descendants of Abraham?
So am I too

Are they servants of Christ?
– I am speaking as a madman –
I am more:
with more works,
more imprisonments
more beatings
many times facing death.
(That is …) from the Jews
Five times I received the forty lashes less one.
Three times I was beaten with a rod.
Once I was stoned
Three times I was shipwrecked
I have spent a night and day on the open sea.

On journeys many times
in danger from rivers
in dangers from bandits
in dangers from my own people
in dangers from gentiles
in dangers in the city
in dangers in the desert
in dangers on the sea
in dangers from false brothers
in toil and hardships
with many sleepless nights
in hunger and thirst
often without food
cold and naked
not to mention other things…
the burden on me
every day
my concern for all the churches.
Who is weak – am I not weak?
Who is made to stumble – and I do not burn with anger?
If it is necessary to boast, I will boast about my weaknesses…

Teach us, good Lord,
to serve thee as thou deservest;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

St Ignatius

Again I say
let no one consider me to be a foolish person,
but if not
at least
accept me as a fool,
so that I also may boast a little.
What I will say,
I say –
– not according to the Lord
– but as if foolishly
with this boastful confidence.
Since many boast according to the flesh
I too will boast.
For you gladly put up with fools,
– being wise.
For you,
gladly put up (with it)
if someone enslaves you,
if someone exploits you
if someone ensnares you
If someone puts on airs
if someone strikes you on the face.
To our shame, I say
that we were too weak for that!

Grant, Lord,
that we may hold to you without parting,
worship you without wearying,
serve you without failing;
faithfully seek you,
happily find you,
and forever possess you,
the only God,blessed now and for ever.
Amen

St Anselm