Look at what is in front of you:
If anyone has confidence
in themselves
to be (especially) Christ’s
Let them reckon again
– For themselves, that
as they themselves are Christ’s
So also are we.

For even if I boast too much
About our authority
which the Lord gave
-For building up
-And not for your tearing down
I will not be ashamed.

I don’t want appear to frighten you
Through my letters
For on the one hand
(my) letters
– someone will say
Are weighty and strong
But on the other hand
– (my) bodily presence is weak
And (my) speech amounts to nothing.

Let such a person reckon this:
What we are in word in letters in absence
Such a person (we will be) in works, present.

Take from us,
O God, all pride and vanity,
all boasting and self-assertion,
and give us the true courage that shows itself in gentleness,
the true wisdom that shows itself in simplicity,
and the true power that shows itself in modesty.

Charles Kingsley

So I, Paul, myself, appeal to you
By the meekness and gentleness
Shown by Christ –
who ‘to your face’ is timid toward you
but when am away haughty toward you.

But I beg you

– me being present-
I may not have to act with bold confidence
By which
I may reckon
I may dare to act
upon certain people who reckon us
To be walking according to the flesh
For
In the flesh
(while) we are walking,
Not according to the flesh
are we waging war.

For the weapons of our warfare
are not of the flesh
but are powerful for God(‘s cause)
for the destruction of strongholds:
demolishing arguments
and every proud thing raised up against the knowledge of God
and taking every scheme captive
to obey Christ
and we stand ready to punish every disobedience
whenever your obedience is complete

O thou, who art the light of the minds that know thee,
the life of the souls that love thee,
and the strength of the wills that serve thee;
help us so to know thee that we may truly love thee;
so to love thee that we may fully serve thee,
whom to serve is perfect freedom.
Amen

Because the carrying out (ministry)
of this service
is not only supplying the needs
of the saints,
but also overflows
with many thanksgivings
to God.
Because of the evidence of this ministry
(people will ) glorify God
because of your obedient confession
of the gospel of Christ
and (your) generosity of the sharing
with them and with
all.
And as they pray for you
they will long for you
because of the surpassing grace of God on you.
Thanks (Grace) to God, for his indescribable gift.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

A nd this –
the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly
and the one who sows generously will also reap generously.
Each person – as they have decided in their heart,
not from reluctance or from compulsion
for God loves a cheerful giver.¹
God can make all grace abound to you
so that always in every way
having everything necessary
you may abound in every good work.
As it is written:
He scattered, he gave to the needy
his righteousness remains for ever²

Now the one who supplies
the seed to the sower
and bread for food³
will also supply and increase your (store of) seed
and enlarge the harvest from your righteousness⁴
-in every way being enriched for all generosity
which produces
through us
thanksgiving to God.

1. Proverbs 28:8a ↩︎
2. Psalm 112:9 ↩︎
3. Isaiah 55:10 ↩︎
4. Hosea 10:12 ↩︎

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.

For about the ministry
to the saints
it is unnecessary for me to write to you all.
For I know your eagerness
(such that) I boast about you to the Macedonians
that Archaia has been ready
since last year
and your zeal has stirred up most of them
I have sent the brothers,
so that our boasting about you
might not prove to be empty
in this matter
so that just as I said
you would be ready
Lest somehow
– (any) Macedonians might come with me
and find you unprepared –
we would be put to shame
not to mention you
in that situation.
So I considered it necessary to urge the brothers
to go before (me) to you
and to prepare in advance your promised generous-gift
so that this (generous-gift) will be ready
as a gift
and not as a grudging obligation.

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 thanks be (grace) to God
who gave the same earnestness
for you (as I have)
into Titus’s heart:
for he received our appeal
more earnestly
and he is coming
by his own choice
to you.
I have sent along with him the brother
whose praise
in respect of the gospel
(is) in all the churches
And not only (this)
but also (he has been) appointed
throughout all the churches
as our travelling companion
with this grace (gift)
which is administered by us
– for the glory of the Lord
– and (to show) our eagerness (to help)
We have put in this precaution
lest anyone find fault
in this generous amount
administered by us.
For we have in mind (what is) good (i.e. honest),
not only before the Lord
but also before people.
We have sent along with them
our brother
who we have tested
often in many situations
to be earnest
and now even more earnest
because of his great confidence in you.
As for Titus,
(he is) my partner and fellow worker with you,
as for
our brothers
(they are ) messengers of the churches,
(to the?) glory of Christ.
Therefore show them proof
of your love
and of our boasting about you
before the churches.

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
I am giving this opinion:
for it is better for you –
who began earlier
not only to do this
but also to want to do it
since last year
but now also
complete the work
so that just as the eager desire
so also the completion
according to what you have.
For if the eagerness is present
according to what one has
is acceptable
Not as what one does not have.
Not that there should be relief for others
but hardship for you
but as a matter for equality
For at this time
your abundance goes towards their lack
so that some day their abundance will go towards your lack
As it is written:
The one who had much did not have too much
and the one who had little did not have too little.

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

But
as in all things you excel:
in faith and
in speech and
in knowledge and
in all eagerness and
in the love from us in you
so excel also in this grace
 
Not as a command
I am saying (this),
 but as testing
by means of the earnestness of others
the genuineness of your love.
 
For you know
the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
that because of you
he became poor
being rich
so that
by his poverty
you might become rich

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

So we want you to know
brothers/sisters
about the grace of God,
which has been given
to the churches of Macedonia
how in a great ordeal of affliction
their abundance of joy
and their extreme poverty
overflowed
in the riches of generosity.
For according to their power
I bear witness
and beyond their power
of their own choice
with much encouragement
they begged us for the grace
of sharing the ministry for the saints
and not (giving) just as we hoped
but they gave themselves
first to the Lord
and to us,
by the will of God,
So we urged Titus
that just as he had begun
so also he should complete
among you
this grace.

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)

Above our comfort /consolation
more than ever
we rejoiced still more
at the joy of Titus,
because his spirit had been refreshed
by all of you.
Because if I had boasted (about) something
to him
about you
I have not been disappointed.
But as
in truth
I have spoken everything
So also our boasting
to Titus
became true
and his affection
for you all
is greater
as he remembers
the obedience of you all
how you received him
with fear and trembling
I rejoice
because I have complete confidence
in you all.

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