Such is the confidence
we have
through Christ
before God.
Not that we are qualified in ourselves
to reckon anything as ( coming) from ourselves
but our qualification is from God
who also has qualified us
to be servants of a new covenant
not of the letter
but of the Spirit –
for the letter kills
but the Spirit gives life.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?
(or)
we don’t need
(as some people do)
letters of recommendation
to you or
from you, do we?
(or)
you are our letter,
written on our hearts
recognised and read by everyone
showing that you are a letter (written by) Christ ,
delivered by us,
written not with ink
but the Spirit of the Living God,
not on stone tablets
but on tablets of human hearts.

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts,
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil,
Eternal Power, be our support,
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance,
Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us;
that with all our heart and mind
and soul and strength we may seek thy face
and be brought by thine infinite mercy
to thy holy presence;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Alcuin (735-804)

But to God
–thanks be
who always leads us in a victory procession
in Christ
and
who spreads the aroma, the knowledge of him
through us
in every place.
Because we are
(ascending) to God
the fragrance of Christ
among those being saved
and among those perishing.
To some we are the aroma
from death to death
but to others
an aroma
from life to life,
– and who is adequate for these things?
For we are not
as many are
peddling / adulterate the word of God
but people of sincerity
indeed as from God,
– before God
in Christ

Lord, you have given me so much,
I ask for one more thing –
a grateful heart.

George Herbert

I have put together (as someone requested!) a map and chronology of how the back and forth between Paul and the Corinthians most probably happened. Enjoy. Paul is talking about slides 14 and 15 below.

So having come to Troas
to proclaim the Gospel of Christ,
even though a door stood open to me,
in the Lord.
I did not have peace in my spirit,
by not finding Titus my brother,
but I bade farewell to them,
and left for Macedonia.

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

But if someone has caused pain
he has not caused pain to me
but in a certain respect
– not to say too much-
(he has pained) all of you,
Enough it is
for such a one
this punishment
by the many;
so that you should rather
forgive and comfort him
lest somehow such a person
be swallowed up by too great a grief

Therefore I encourage you
to reaffirm love to him.

For this reason also I wrote to you:
that I might come to know your character-
if you are obedient in everything.

Then, anyone whom you forgive
– me too.
For what I have forgiven
– if I have forgiven something-
is because of you
‘in the presence of’ Christ.
so that we might not be bettered by Satan.
For we are not ignorant of his schemes.

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

Now I call upon God as witness
upon my life,
that sparing you
I did not come to Corinth.
I do not lord it over your faith
but are co-workers
of your joy.
For we stand – by faith.
For I considered this
by myself
not to come to you again
with grief.
For if I cause you grief
who would cheer me up
except for the one
who was grieved
by me?
And I wrote this very thing to you
that I might not be received with sorrow
by those who ought to (make me) rejoice
having confidence in all of you
that all my joy is yours.
For out of many afflictions and distresses of the heart
I wrote to you
with many tears
so that you might not be grieved
but that you might know the love
which I have all the more for you all.

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

And in this confidence I planned to come to you first,
so that you might have a second gift /grace.
to ‘visit you on our way’ to Macedonia
and to come again from Macedonia
and be sent on our way to Judea by you.

Therefore planning to do this,
was I indecisive then?
Or the things which I plan
do I plan them according to the flesh
so that with me there is
‘Yes, yes’ and ‘no, no’?
Be as God is faithful
our word to you is not
‘Yes and no’
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was proclaimed
among you,
by us
by me, Silvanus and Timothy
was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’
but has been ‘Yes’ in him.
For all God’s promises
are Yes in him.
therefore also
through him is the Amen
to God,
for the glory
((that comes) through us.
But he who establishes us
with you in Christ
and anointed us
is God
and he is the one who seals
and gave us the guarantee of the Sprit
in our hearts

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

For our boast is this
— our conscience is witness-
that in simplicity and purity of God
–not in earthly wisdom
–but in the grace of God
we conducted ourselves in the world
-and all the more towards you.

For we do not write to you
anything that you cannot read
or recognise.
So I hope that you will recognise (us) completely
as you have recognised us partly
that we are your boast
-just so you also are ours
on the day of the Lord Jesus.

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

For we do not want you to be ignorant,
brothers/sisters,
about our affliction
which happened in Asia;
that we were burdened
excessively, beyond (our) strength
so that we despaired
even of life.
But we in ourselves,
have received the sentence of death
so that we might not rely on ourselves
but upon God
who raises the dead
who rescued us
from so great a death
and he will deliver (us)
in whom we have hoped
that he will yet deliver (us)
– you also helping us in prayer-
so that thanksgiving might be made for us
by many (faces)
for the gift
given to us through many.

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)

Blessed be the God and Father our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of consolation and
God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our afflictions,
so that we might be able to comfort
those in all afflictions
through the comfort
which we ourselves received
from God.

For as the sufferings of the Christ
overflow towards us
so through Christ
our comfort overflows (to you).
So either we are being afflicted,
for your comforting and salvation
or if we are comforted,
(it is) for your comforting
which produces endurance
of the same suffering
which we also suffer.

And our hope is steadfast
for you,
knowing that as you are partners in suffering
so also comfort.

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