Prayers of Faith

Basil of Caesarea (Basil the Great) (329 - 379)

"The bread which you use is the bread of the hungry;
the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked;
the shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot;
the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit."

Prayer for a Deeper Sense of Fellowship with All Living Things

O God and Lord of the Powers, and Maker of all creation,

Who, because of Your clemency and incomparable mercy,

sent Your only son and our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind,

and with His venerable Cross you cleared the record of our sins,

In so doing, You conquered the rulers and powers of darkness.

O God and Lord of the Powers and Maker of all creation,

Receive from us, O merciful Master, this prayer of gratitude and supplication.

Deliver us from every destructive and gloomy transgression,

and from all visible and invisible enemies who seek to injure us.

Bathe our bodies with reverence and adoration for You,

and let not our hearts be inclined to words or thoughts of evil,

but pierce our souls with Your love, the unapproachable and everlasting Light.

Enlighten our thoughts that we always contemplate You,

and truthfully discern Your activities in the world,

that we may unceasingly render confession and gratitude to You.

O God, grant us a deeper sense of fellowship with all living things,

our little brothers and sisters to whom, in common with us,

You have given this earth as home.

We recall with regret that in the past we have acted high-handedly and

cruelly in exercising our domain over them.

Thus, the voice of the earth which should have risen to you in song

has turned into a groan of travail.

May we realize that all these creatures also live for themselves and for You

- not for us alone.

They too love the goodness of life, as we do, and

serve you better in their way than we do in ours.