Hi All,
I'm reading a wonderful book of memoirs, on Elder Isidore, by St. Fr. Paul Forensky (1882-1943), martyr. Fr. Paul was sent to one of the Gulags. There are details of his life, in the introduction. Elder Isidore fell asleep in Christ on Feb. 3, 1908. He was a simple man (priest-monk), but everyone witnessed the Grace of God with him. They even felt it in his humble cell. He lived at the Gethsemane Hermitage.
I'm not suggesting to buy the book at this website. I just wanted to show the cover.
http://www.sainthermanpress.com/Catalog ... t_book.htm
Elder Isidore would give everyone this prayer to say. It helped them in their spiritual struggles with whatever they were fight.
Where does it hurt?
Placing the hand on the forehead, say:
Lord, Thou Who art crowned with thorns upon Thy head, to blood and marrow, for the sake of my sins;
Lowering the hand to the right foot, say:
Jesus, Whose right foot was pierced with an iron nail for the sake of my sins;
Placing the hand on the left foot, say:
Christ, Whose left foot was pierced with an iron nail for the sake of my sins;
Raising the hand to the right shoulder, say:
Son, Whose right hand was pierced with an iron nail for the sake of my sins;
Transferring the hand to the left shoulder, say:
Of God, Whose left hand pierced for the sake of my sins; and Whose side was punctured by a spear; from Whose side flowed blood and water for the redemption and salvation of our souls;
Through the Mother of God, grant me understanding.
Turning one’s face towards the icon of the Mother of God, say:
And through Thee Thyself, through Thy soul the weapon pierced, so that from many hearts will be revealed a spring of the repentant, thankful and heartfelt tears of all mankind.
*The initial words from each line of this prayer comprise the first phrase of the ancient Jesus Prayer
He also loved the poem (which is a prayer) by N.V. Gogol about the Theotokos. He loved this prayer. I think this is an amazing prayer. I'm especially amazed because of the English translation and the rhymes that work so well. Obviously, Gogol's works were in Russian.
O Holy Mother, pure and blessed,
To Thee I dare my voice to raise.
My face with tears is washed, caressed:
Attend the words my heart conveys,
Accept this passionate petition,
Save me from misfortune, wrath,
Fill my heart with sweet contrition
And set me on salvation’s path.
May I be free, with Thy direction,
And be prepared to give up all.
Through bitter times, be my protection-
My death from utter grief forestall.
Thou refuge for all those in need,
Our intercessor with the Lord!-
O, shelter me when all pay heed
And judgment strikes all like a sword,
When agelessness breaks into time,
The final trumpet wakes the dead,
And burdens of my every crime
From books of conscience shall be read.
Truth’s wall Thou art, its vindication!
With all my soul I pray to Thee:
Save me, O my consolation,
And with Thy love encompass me!
N.V. Gogol (1809-1852) was a well-known Russian author and his form of writing was considered the quintessential expression of Russian literature. I found two of his works which I downloaded to my e-book: The Cloak and Dead Souls. I haven't read them yet. If anyone has or is interested in reading his works, we can start a new thread. Dostoyevsky expressed that Gogol was a definite influence of his own works.