Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus,
through the will of God
to the saints who are in Ephesus
and those who believe in Christ Jesus.
Grace to you all,
and peace from God our Father,
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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)
Therefore having enough boldness
in Christ
to command you to do the right thing,
because of love,
I would rather beseech you,
– such as I am, Paul, an old man
and now a prisoner for Christ Jesus-
I beseech you concerning my child,
whom I have begotten during (my) imprisonment:
Onesimus, (Useful)
who formerly was useless to you,
but now is useful to you and me,
whom I have sent back to you,
and he is my very heart.
whom I wanted to keep with me,
so that he might serve me,
in my imprisonment for the Gospel,
in your place.
For
I wanted to do nothing,
without your consent
so that your good (deed) might not be from compulsion
but from free will.
For perhaps he was separated from you, for this reason, for a while –
that you might have him back – for good!
No longer as a slave,
but more than a slave –
a beloved brother,
-especially to me,
– and how much more to you
both ‘humanly’ and in the Lord.
So if consider me as a partner
welcome him as me.
And if he has wronged you in any way
or owes you anything,
charge it to me.
I, Paul, write (this),
with my own hand:
I will repay it.
– not to mention to you,
that you owe more – yourself – to me.
Yes, brother,
let me have some benefit from you,
in the Lord.
Refresh my heart in Christ!
Having been convinced of your ‘compliance’,
I have written to you,
knowing that you will do more than I ask.
One thing more, prepare the guest-room for me.
For I hope
that through your prayers,
I will be restored to you all.
Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner, greets you.
in Christ.
and Mark, Aristarchus. Demas, Luke,
my fellow-workers.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
be with with your spirit.
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.
Paul,
a prisoner for Christ Jesus
and Timothy,
the brother
to Philemon
the beloved
and our fellow worker
and Ap’phia
the sister,
and Archippus,
our fellow-soldier
and to the church in your home
Grace to you,
and peace from God,
our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God,
always when I mention you
in my prayers,
hearing of your love…
—and the faith which you have
—in the Lord Jesus,-
…for all the saints,
that the generosity of your faith
might come to be effective
in the knowledge of all the good
in us
for Christ
For I have had great joy
and encouragement from your love,
because the hearts of the saints
have been refreshed because of you,
(my) brother.
Lord, you have given me so much,
I ask for one more thing –
a grateful heart.
George Herbert
Aristarchus, my fellow-prisoner (of war) greets you all
– and Mark,
the cousin of Barnabas
(about whom you have received instructions,
when he comes to you,
welcome him),
– and Jesus,
who is called Justus,
these are from the circumcision,
(they are they only ones
amongst my fellow-workers for the Kingdom of God,)
they have been a comfort to me.
Epaphras, who is one you,
greets you
– a slave of Christ Jesus,
– he is always struggling in prayer for you all,
so that you might stand
mature
and fully assured in all the will of God.
For I bear him witness
that he works hard for you
and those in Laodicea
and Hierapolis.
Luke, the beloved, the doctor greets you,
and Demas.
The brothers/sisters in Laodicea
and Nympha
and the church of her house,
greet you.
And when (this) letter is read among you,
make (sure) it is also read in (the church) of the Laodiceans
and that you read the letter from Laodicea* too.
And say to Archippus:
‘Mark the ministry which you have received from the Lord
-that you complete it.’
This greeting
by my hand
of Paul.
Remember my chains.
Grace be with you all.
*(i.e. the letter Paul wrote to them)
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
Tychicus, will make known to you my circumstances:
-He is, the beloved brother
and faithful servant and fellow-slave in the Lord
-whom I am sending to you,
for this very thing:
that you may know about our situation
and that he might encourage your hearts,
– together with Onesimus,
the faithful and beloved brother,
who is one of you.
They will make known to you all the things (going on) here.
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
Persevere in prayer,
be wide awake
in it (prayer)
with thanksgiving.
At the same time,
pray for us too
that God might open for us
a door for the word
to speak of the mystery, (that is) Christ,
because of which I am, in fact, bound,
(and pray) that I will openly speak it,
as I must.
With wisdom, walk (live) with outsiders
snapping up every opportunity.
Let your speech be always with grace,
seasoned with salt
so that you might know
how you should
reply to each one.
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
Slaves, obey
in all things
your earthly masters,
not only when being watched
like people-pleasers
but (obey) with sincere hearts
out of reverence for the Lord.
Whatever you are doing,
work from the soul
as for the Lord
and not for people,
knowing that you will receive from the Lord
‘the inheritance’ as a reward.
Serve the Lord Christ.
For the one who does wrong
will be repaid for the wrong they did
and there is no favouritism.
Masters give your slaves
justice and fairness
knowing you too have a master in heaven.
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
Wives, be subject to your husbands,
as has been proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives
and do not be harsh on them.
Children, obey your parents
in all things,
for it is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not embitter your children,
that they might not become discouraged.
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)
So put on
as chosen people of God,
holy and beloved,
‘hearts’ of compassion
kindness
humility
gentleness
patience
be tolerant with one another,
forgive each other
if someone has a complaint
against someone else.
Just as the Lord has forgiven you,
so you also (should forgive).
In addition to all these things
(put on) love,
which is the bond,
that (produces) perfection.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
into which indeed you have been called
in one body;
And be thankful.
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you all richly,
with all wisdom
as you teach
and instruct each other,
as you sing psalms, hymns, Spiritual songs
with grace
in your hearts
to God.
And whatever you are doing,
-whether a word or a work
(do) all things in the name of the Lord Jesus,
as you give thanks to God the Father,
through him.
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;
and where there is sadness, joy.
For your mercy and your truth’s sake
Amen.
—St. Francis of Assisi
So put to death
your limbs
‘used for earthly things’:
sexual immorality
impurity
lustful passion
evil desire
and especially greed
which is idolatry,
because of these things
comes the wrath of God,
in which you also formerly walked.
when you lived in these (sins).
But now you also put off all these things:
wrath,
rage,
spite,
slander
dirty talk from your mouth.
Do not lie to one another,
having put off the old humanity
with its deeds
and having put on the new (humanity)
– being made new again
(until s/he reaches full) knowledge
according to the likeness of the Creator
where there is not
Greek or Judean
Circumcised or uncircumcised
barbarian,
Scythian,
slave, free person,
but Christ is all
and is in all (of you?)
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)