(the mystery)

… that is the Gentiles have become
co-heirs with
one body with
and sharing-with
in the promise
in Christ Jesus
by means of the gospel,

of which
I did became
a servant
according to the gift
which is the grace from God
that was given to me
according to the working of his power

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 this reason…
I, Paul,
the prisoner of Christ,
on behalf of you
Gentiles,
surely
you have heard of the stewardship
of the grace from God
given to me
for you
that
by means of revelation
the mystery has been made known to me
as I have written before in brief,
in accordance with which
-reading this –
you are able to know
my understanding
of the mystery of Christ
which was not made known in other generations
to (humans)
-as now it has been revealed
to his holy saints and prophets
by the Spirit.

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 then
you are no longer
strangers and foreigners
but you are
fellow-citizens
with the saints
and members of God’s household,
having been built on the foundation
(consisting of) the ‘apostles and prophets’
Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone
in whom the whole building
is growing together
into a holy temple
in the Lord
in whom you also
are being built together
into God’s dwelling place
in the Spirit.

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

Therefore
  remember
     you ‘gentiles in the flesh’
   called the uncircumcised
      by those called circumcised in the flesh
                  by human hands
  that you were at that time
    apart from Christ
    excluded from the commonwealth of Israel
    and strangers from the covenants of promise
    having no hope
    and without God
     in the world.
 But now in Christ Jesus,
  you
    who were formerly far away
    have been brought near
      by the blood of Christ.

God be in head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at my end and at my departing.

For,
on the basis of grace
  you are saved,
    through faith.
  And this is not from you,
    (God’s is the gift),
  not from (dependent upon) works,
    so that no-one may boast,
  for we are his handiwork
    because we were created
      in Christ Jesus,
    for the purpose of good works
      which God prepared beforehand
      so that we might walk in them.

Lord God,
your feed us with the living bread from heaven.
You renew our faith
increase our hope
and strengthen our love.
Teach us to hunger for Christ
who is the true and living bread
and live by every word that comes from your mouth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

but God
  being rich in mercy,
    because of his great love
    with which he loves us
      and
    although we were dead
    because of our transgressions
made us alive together with Christ
    - by grace you are saved-
and (that is)
    raised together
    and made to sit together in the heavenly places
        in Christ
        so that
            he might show in the coming ages
                the surpassing riches of his grace
                    in kindness
                    towards us
                    in Christ Jesus.

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.

And you,
 although you were dead
   in transgressions and your sins,
      in which you formerly walked
         according to the age of this world
         according to the ruler of the domain of the sky  
            the spirit
               who is at work in the children of disobedience
among whom we all also formerly lived
   in the passions of our flesh
   doing the will of the flesh and (its) thoughts,
   and were by nature children of wrath
and the others…

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art –
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

and what is the surpassing great power
          toward us who believe
        according to the working of his mighty strength…

…which (God) accomplished
   in regard to Christ
  by raising him from the dead people
and
  by seating him at his right
    in the heavenly places
      far above
        every ruler
        and authority
        and power
        and dominion
        and every name
          that is named
          not only in this age
          but also in the one to come
and h e subjected every thing
  under his feet
and he gave him as head
  over all things
to the church
  which is his body,
       the fullness
        from the one who fills all things
       in all ways.

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