Sunday Morning Scene: March 25, 2022. On the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. An Act of Consecration To the Immaculate Heart of Mary. АКТ ПОСВЯЩЕНИЯ НЕПОРОЧНОМУ СЕРДЦУ МАРИИ. АКТ ПРИСВЯЧЕННЯ НЕПОРОЧНОМУ СЕРЦЮ МАРІЇ.

Churches of the East: March 25, 2022. On the Solemnity of the Annunciat...:  

March 25, 2022. On the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. An Act of Consecration To the Immaculate Heart of Mary. АКТ ПОСВЯЩЕНИЯ НЕПОРОЧНОМУ СЕРДЦУ МАРИИ. АКТ ПРИСВЯЧЕННЯ НЕПОРОЧНОМУ СЕРЦЮ МАРІЇ.

 ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbour’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.

Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.

Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.

Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.

Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.

Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.

Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.

Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.

Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26). In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.

АКТ ПОСВЯЩЕНИЯ НЕПОРОЧНОМУ СЕРДЦУ МАРИИ

О, Мария, Матерь Божия и наша Матерь, в это тревожное время мы прибегаем к тебе. Ты Матерь, и ты любишь и знаешь нас: от тебя не скрыто ничего из того что у нас на сердце. Матерь милосердия, как часто ощущали мы твою материнскую нежность, твое умиротворяющее присутствие, ибо ты всегда ведешь нас к Иисусу, Владыке мира.

Мы сошли с мирного пути. Забыли трагические уроки минувшего века, о миллионах погибших в мировых войнах. Не сумели выполнить обязательства, что взяли на себя как Сообщество Наций и не оправдали мечты народов и чаяния молодежи. Нас ослепила алчность, мы замкнулись в своих национальных интересах, нас сковал холод равнодушия и парализовал эгоизм. Мы отвернулись от Бога и предпочли жить ложью, копить злобу, убивать жизни и наращивать оружие; мы забыли, что должны защищать ближнего и наш общий дом. Войною мы разрушаем Земной сад, грехом ранили сердце нашего Отца, Который хочет, чтобы мы были братьями и сёстрами. Мы стали безразличными ко всем и ко всему, кроме себя самих. Со стыдом взываем: прости нас, Господи!

В этой юдоли греха, скорби и страданий, перед тайной несправедливости зла и войны, Пресвятая Матерь, напомни нам, что Бог не забывает о нас, непрестанно взирает на нас с любовью, желает простить нас и спасти. Он даровал нам тебя и в твоем непорочном Сердце устроил прибежище для Церкви и человечества. Ты с нами по благости Господа и даже в самых тесных изгибах истории помогаешь нам не сойти с пути к Богу.

Посему, твои возлюбленные чада, мы прибегаем к тебе, стучим в дверь твоего Сердца. В любой час ты внимаешь нам и призываешь к обращению. В эти темные времена поддержи и утешь нас. Каждому прошепчи: «Я здесь с тобой, Матерь твоя». Ты знаешь, как развязать путаницу в наших сердцах и сложные узлы истории. Мы полностью уповаем на тебя. Мы твердо верим, что особенно в час испытаний ты не отвергнешь наши молитвы и придешь помочь нам.

Так поступила ты в Кане Галилейской, когда ускорила час явления Христа миру. Как только на пиру стало утихать веселье, ты указала Христу: «вина нет у них» (Ин 2, 3). О, Мария, скажи это еще раз Богу, ибо ныне исчерпалось у нас вино надежды, исчезла радость, растворились братские узы. Утратилась человечность, разладился мир. Отныне мы способны на любое насилие и разрушение. Нам очень нужна твоя материнская помощь.

О, Матерь, прими наше прошение:

Звезда над морем, помоги нам уцелеть в буре войны.

Ковчег нового завета, укажи нам пути к примирению.

«Небесная земля», верни в мир божественную гармонию.

Прекрати вражду, погаси месть, научи нас прощению.

Избавь нас от войны, сохрани мир от ядерной угрозы.

Царица Розария, пробуди в нас желание молиться и любить.

Царица человеческой семьи, укажи народам путь к братству.

Царица мира, стяжай мир для мира.

О, Матерь, своим плачем разбуди наши ожесточенные сердца. Пусть слёзы, которые ты пролила за нас, оросят эту долину, иссушенную нашей злобой чтобы она снова зацвела. И пока не смолкает лязг оружия, твоя молитва да направляет нас к миру. Пусть те, кто страдает и пытается спастись от бомб ощутят прикосновение твоих материнских рук. Пусть те, кто вынужден оставить свой дом и родину найдут утешение в твоих объятиях. Своим скорбящим Сердцем пробуди в нас сострадание, чтобы мы отворили двери, впустили и окружили заботой всех страждущих и изгнанных.

Святая Матерь Божия, когда ты стояла под крестом, Иисус, видя рядом с тобой ученика, сказал тебе: «Же́но! се, сын Твой» (Ин 19, 26), таким образом каждого из нас он вверил тебе. Затем Он сказал ученику, а в нем и каждому из нас: «се, Матерь твоя!» (Ин 19, 27). О, Матерь, ныне желаем принять тебя в своей жизни и в нашей истории. Сейчас бессильное и обескураженное человечество вместе с тобой стоит у креста. Ему нужно довериться тебе, через тебя посвятить себя Христу. Народ Украины и народ России, с любовью чтящие тебя, обращаются к тебе с мольбою, твое же сердце бьётся за них и за все народы, страдающие от войны, голода, несправедливости и нищеты.

Твоему непорочному Сердцу, Матерь Божия и наша, мы торжественно вверяем и посвящаем себя, Церковь и все человечество, особенно Россию и Украину. Призри на сие деяние, что совершаем с упованием и любовью, останови войну, обеспечь мир во всем мире. Словами согласия, исшедшими из твоего Сердца, растворились врата истории для Владыки мира, и сегодня мы верим, что через твое Сердце в мир войдет мир. Посвящаем тебе будущее всей человеческой семьи, нужды и чаяния народов, тревоги и надежды мира.

Через тебя да изольется на Землю божественное Милосердие и пусть вновь наши дни наполнятся нежным ритмом мира. Же́но, ты ответила Богу да, и на тебя сошел Святой Дух, сделай так, чтобы между нами воцарилось божественное согласие. «Живой источник надежды», смягчи наши сердца. Ты соткала человечество Христа - соделай из нас творцов единства. Как и мы ты ходила по земле - веди нас по пути мира. Аминь.

АКТ ПРИСВЯЧЕННЯ НЕПОРОЧНОМУ СЕРЦЮ МАРІЇ

О Маріє, Мати Божа і Мати наша, ми в цю скорботну годину прибігаємо до Тебе. Ти є Матір’ю, любиш і знаєш нас: від Тебе нічого не приховано з того, що лежить у наших серцях. Мати милосердя, ми багато разів досвідчили Твоєї турботливої ніжності, Твоєї присутності, яка повертає мир, тому що Ти завжди ведеш нас до Ісуса, Князя миру.

Однак ми втратили шлях миру. Ми забули урок трагедій минулого століття, про жертву мільйонів полеглих у світових війнах. Ми знехтували зобов’язаннями, взятими як Спільнота Націй, і ми зраджуємо мрії народів про мир і надії молоді. Ми захворіли на жадібність, ми замкнулися в націоналістичних інтересах, ми дозволили собі бути скованими байдужістю і паралізованими егоїзмом. Ми воліли ігнорувати Бога, співіснувати з нашою облудою, підживлювати агресію, придушувати життя та накопичувати зброю, забуваючи, що ми є хранителями нашого ближнього та нашої спільної домівки. Ми роздерли війною сад Землі, поранили гріхом серце нашого Отця, Який хоче, щоб ми були братами і сестрами. Ми стали байдужими до всіх і до всього, окрім до самих себе. І з соромом кажемо: прости нам, Господи!

У нещасті гріха, у наших зусиллях та слабкостях, у таємниці несправедливості зла і війни Ти, Пресвята Мати, нагадуєш нам, що Бог не покидає нас, але продовжує дивитися на нас з любов’ю, прагнучи пробачити і знову піднести нас. Це Він дарував нам Тебе і розмістив у Твоєму Непорочному Серці пристановище для Церкви і для людства. Завдяки Божественній доброті Ти є з нами і ведеш нас з ніжністю, навіть через найтісніші вигини історії.

Тож прибігаємо до Тебе, стукаємо у двері Твого Серця, ми, Твої дорогі діти, яких Ти не втомлюєшся відвідувати і запрошувати до навернення. У цю темну годину прийди, щоб допомогти нам і втішити нас. Повторюй кожному з нас: «Хіба Я не тут, Я, котра удостоїлася бути твоєю Матір’ю?» Ти знаєш як розв’язувати плутанину у наших серцях та вузли нашого часу. Ми покладаємо нашу довіру в Тобі. Ми впевнені, що Ти, особливо в хвилині випробування, не знехтуєш нашими благаннями і прийдеш нам на допомогу.

Саме так Ти вчинила в Кані Галілейській, коли прискорила годину втручання Ісуса і впровадила його перший знак у світі. Коли свято перетворилося на смуток, Ти сказала йому: «Не мають вина» (Йн 2, 3). Повтори це ще раз Богу, о Мати, бо сьогодні у нас вичерпалося вино надії, зникла радість, розчинилося братерство. Ми втратили людяність, ми зруйнували мир. Ми стали здатними на будь-яке насильство і знищення. Нам терміново потрібне Твоє материнське втручання.

Тому прийми, о Мати, це наше благання.

Ти, зірко моря, не допусти, щоб ми потонули в бурі війни.

Ти, Ковчегу Нового Завіту, надихай плани та шляхи примирення.

Ти, «небесна земле», поверни у світ Божу злагоду.

Погаси ненависть, вгамуй помсту, навчи нас прощати.

Визволи нас від війни, вбережи світ від ядерної загрози.

Царице Розарію, пробуди в нас потребу молитися і любити.

Царице людського роду, вкажи народам шлях братерства.

Царице миру, виклопотай мир для усього світу.

Твій плач, о Мати, нехай зворушить наші зачерствілі серця. Нехай сльози, які Ти пролила за нас, зроблять квітучою долину, яку висушила наша ненависть. І поки не стихає гуркіт зброї, нехай Твоя молитва налаштує нас до миру. Нехай Твої материнські руки голублять тих, хто страждає і втікає під гнітом бомб. Твої материнські обійми нехай втішають тих, хто змушений покинути власні домівки та свою країну. Нехай Твоє Скорботне Серце мотивує нас до співчуття і спонукає нас відчинити двері та подбати про поранене й відкинуте людство.

Пресвята Богородице, коли Ти стояла під хрестом, Ісус, побачивши учня поруч із Тобою, сказав Тобі: «Ось Син Твій» (Йн 19, 26), таким чином довіривши Тобі кожного з нас. Потім до учня, до кожного з нас, Він сказав: «Ось мати твоя» (Йн 19, 27). Мамо, ми прагнемо зараз прийняти Тебе у нашому житті та нашій історії. У цю годину з Тобою під хрестом перебуває виснажене і збентежене людство. І йому потрібно довіритися Тобі, щоб через Тебе присвятити себе Христу. Український народ та російський народ, які вшановують Тебе з любов’ю, прибігають до Тебе, а серце Твоє б’ється за них і за всі народи, підкошені війною, голодом, несправедливістю і нещастям.

Тому ми, о Мати Божа і наша, урочисто ввіряємо і присвячуємо Твоєму Непорочному Серцю себе, Церкву і все людство, а особливо Росію та Україну. Прийми цей наш акт, який ми здійснюємо з довірою і любов’ю, вчини так, щоб закінчилася війна, наповни світ миром. Твоє «так», що вийшло з Твого Серця, відкрило двері історії для Князя миру; ми віримо, що знову через Твоє серце прийде мир. Тому ми присвячуємо Тобі майбутнє всієї людської родини, потреби та очікування народів, тривоги та надії світу.

Нехай через Тебе проливається на Землю Боже Милосердя і повертається лагідний ритм миру, щоб відмірювати наші дні. Жінко, що сказала «так», на яку зійшов Святий Дух, поверни нам Божу гармонію. Втамуй спрагу наших засохлих сердець, Ти, яка є «живим джерелом надії». Ти сплела людську натуру Ісусу, вчини нас ремісниками єдності. Ти ходила нашими шляхами, веди нас стежками миру. Амінь.

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the East: Near Reims

Churches of the East: Near Reims:

Near Reims

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the East: The ruins of of Saint Albain Nazaire, France.

Churches of the East: The ruins of of Saint Albain Nazaire, France.: 

The ruins of of Saint Albain Nazaire, France.

The 16th Century "Old Church" at St. Albain Naizaire in France stands as a silent reminder of the violence of World War One.  The church was destroyed by the French Army to keep it from being used by the Germans as an observation post in 1914.

Following the war, locals elected not to rebuilt the church and leave it as a monument to the tragedy of the war.

All photographs by MKTH.

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the East: Notre Dame de Paris, Paris France

Churches of the East: Notre Dame de Paris, Paris France

Notre Dame de Paris, Paris France

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the East: Notre Dame de Paris, Paris France

Churches of the East: Notre Dame de Paris, Paris France

Notre Dame de Paris, Paris France

 

How deserted she sits, the city once thronged with people! Once the greatest of nations, she is now like a widow. Once the princess of states, she is now put to forced labour.

All night long she is weeping, tears running down her cheeks. Not one of all her lovers remains to comfort her. Her friends have all betrayed her and become her enemies.

Judah has gone into exile after much pain and toil. Living among the nations she finds no respite; her persecutors all overtake her where there is no way out.

The roads to Zion are in mourning; no one comes to her festivals now. Her gateways are all deserted; her priests groan; her young girls are grief-stricken; she suffers bitterly.

Her foes now have the upper hand, her enemies prosper, for Yahweh has made her suffer for her many, many crimes; her children have gone away into captivity driven in front of the oppressor.

And from the daughter of Zion all her splendour has departed. Her princes were like stags which could find no pasture, exhausted, as they flee before the hunter.

Jerusalem remembers her days of misery and distress; when her people fell into the enemy's clutches there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked on and laughed at her downfall.

Jerusalem has sinned so gravely that she has become a thing unclean. All who used to honour her despise her, having seen her nakedness; she herself groans aloud and turns her face away.

Her filth befouls her skirts -- she never thought to end like this, and hence her astonishing fall with no one to comfort her. Yahweh, look at my misery, for the enemy is triumphant!

The enemy stretched out his hand for everything she treasured; she saw the heathen enter her sanctuary, whom you had forbidden to enter your Assembly.

All her people are groaning, looking for something to eat; they have bartered their treasures for food, to keep themselves alive. Look, Yahweh, and consider how despised I am!

All you who pass this way, look and see: is any sorrow like the sorrow inflicted on me, with which Yahweh struck me on the day of his burning anger?

He sent fire from on high deep into my bones; he stretched a net for my feet, he pulled me back; he left me shattered, sick all day long.

He has watched out for my offences, with his hand he enmeshes me, his yoke is on my neck, he has deprived me of strength. The Lord has put me into clutches which I am helpless to resist.

The Lord has rejected all my warriors within my walls, he has summoned a host against me to crush my young men; in the winepress the Lord trampled the young daughter of Judah.

And that is why I weep; my eyes stream with water, since a comforter who could revive me is far away. My children are shattered, for the enemy has proved too strong.

Zion stretches out her hands, with no one to comfort her. Yahweh has commanded Jacob's enemies to surround him; they treat Jerusalem as though she were unclean.

Yahweh is in the right, for I rebelled against his command. Listen, all you peoples, and see my sorrow. My young girls and my young men have gone into captivity.

I called to my lovers; they failed me. My priests and my elders expired in the city, as they searched for food to keep themselves alive.

Look, Yahweh. I am in distress! My inmost being is in ferment; my heart turns over inside me -- how rebellious I have been! Outside, the sword bereaves; inside it is like death.

Listen, for I am groaning, with no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my disaster, they are glad about what you have done. Bring the Day you once foretold, so that they may be like me!

Let all their wickedness come before you, and treat them as you have treated me for all my crimes; numberless are my groans, and I am sick at heart.

In his anger, with what darkness has the Lord enveloped the daughter of Zion! He has flung the beauty of Israel from heaven to the ground, without regard for his footstool on the day of his anger.

The Lord pitilessly engulfed all the homes of Jacob; in his fury he tore down the fortresses of the daughter of Judah; he threw to the ground, he desecrated the kingdom and its princes.

In his burning anger he broke all the might of Israel, withdrew his protecting right hand at the coming of the enemy, and blazed against Jacob like a fire that burns up everything near it.

Like an enemy he bent his bow, and his right hand held firm; like a foe he slaughtered all those who were a delight to see; on the tent of the daughter of Zion he poured out his fury like fire.

The Lord behaved like an enemy; he engulfed Israel, he engulfed all its citadels, he destroyed its fortresses and for the daughter of Judah multiplied weeping on wailing.

He wrecked his domain like a garden, destroyed his assembly-points, Yahweh erased the memory of festivals and Sabbaths in Zion; in the heat of his anger he treated king and priest with contempt.

The Lord has rejected his altar, he has come to loathe his sanctuary and has given her palace walls into the clutches of the enemy; from the uproar they made in Yahweh's temple it might have been a festival day!

Yahweh has resolved to destroy the walls of the daughter of Zion, stretching out the line, not staying his hand until he has engulfed everything, thus bringing mourning on wall and rampart; alike they crumbled.

Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has broken and shattered their bars. Her king and her princes are among the gentiles, there is no instruction, furthermore her prophets cannot find any vision from Yahweh.

Mute, they sit on the ground, the elders of the daughter of Zion; they have put dust on their heads and wrapped themselves in sackcloth. The young girls of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground.

My eyes are worn out with weeping, my inmost being is in ferment, my heart plummets at the destruction of my young people, as the children and babies grow faint in the streets of the city.

They keep saying to their mothers, 'Where is some food?' as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as they breathe their last on their mothers' breasts.

To what can I compare or liken you, daughter of Jerusalem? Who can rescue and comfort you, young daughter of Zion? For huge as the sea is your ruin: who can heal you?

The visions your prophets had for you were deceptive whitewash; they did not lay bare your guilt so as to change your fortunes: the visions they told you were deceptive.

All who pass your way clap their hands at the sight; they whistle and shake their heads over the daughter of Jerusalem, 'Is this the city they call Perfection of Beauty, the joy of the whole world?'

Your enemies open their mouths in chorus against you; they whistle and grind their teeth; they say, 'We have swallowed her up. This is the day we were waiting for; at last we have seen it!'

Yahweh has done what he planned, has carried out his threat, as he ordained long ago: he has destroyed without pity, increasing the might of your foes -- and letting your foes get the credit.

Cry then to the Lord, rampart of the daughter of Zion; let your tears flow like a torrent, day and night; allow yourself no respite, give your eyes no rest!

Up, cry out in the night-time as each watch begins! Pour your heart out like water in Yahweh's presence! Raise your hands to him for the lives of your children (who faint with hunger at the end of every street)!

Look, Yahweh, and consider: whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their little ones, the children they have nursed? Should priest and prophet be slaughtered in the Lord's sanctuary?

Children and old people are lying on the ground in the streets; my young men and young girls have fallen by the sword; you have killed them, on the day of your anger, you have slaughtered them pitilessly.

As though to a festival you called together terrors from all sides, so that, on the day of Yahweh's anger, none escaped and none survived. Those whom I had nursed and reared, my enemy has annihilated them all.

I am the man familiar with misery under the rod of his fury.

He has led and guided me into darkness, not light.

Against none but me does he turn his hand, again and again, all day.

He has wasted my flesh and skin away, has broken my bones.

He has besieged me and made hardship a circlet round my head.

He has forced me to dwell where all is dark, like those long-dead in their everlasting home.

He has walled me in so that I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains;

even when I shout for help, he shuts out my prayer.

He has closed my way with blocks of stone, he has obstructed my paths.

For me he is a lurking bear, a lion in hiding.

Heading me off, he has torn me apart, leaving me shattered.

He has bent his bow and used me as a target for his arrows.

He has shot deep into me with shafts from his quiver.

I have become a joke to all my own people, their refrain all day long.

He has given me my fill of bitterness, he has made me drunk with wormwood.

He has broken my teeth with gravel, he has fed me on ashes.

I have been deprived of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is

and thought, 'My lasting hope in Yahweh is lost.'

Bring to mind my misery and anguish; it is wormwood and gall!

My heart dwells on this continually and sinks within me.

This is what I shall keep in mind and so regain some hope:

Surely Yahweh's mercies are not over, his deeds of faithful love not exhausted;

every morning they are renewed; great is his faithfulness!

'Yahweh is all I have,' I say to myself, 'and so I shall put my hope in him.'

Yahweh is good to those who trust him, to all who search for him.

It is good to wait in silence for Yahweh to save.

It is good for someone to bear the yoke from a young age,

to sit in solitude and silence when it weighs heavy,

to lay one's head in the dust -- maybe there is hope-

to offer one's cheek to the striker, to have one's fill of disgrace!

For the Lord will not reject anyone for ever.

If he brings grief, he will have pity out of the fullness of his faithful love,

for it is not for his own pleasure that he torments and grieves the human race.

When all the prisoners in a country are crushed underfoot,

when human rights are overridden in defiance of the Most High,

when someone is cheated of justice, does not the Lord see it?

Who has only to speak and it is so done? Who commands, if not the Lord?

From where, if not from the mouth of the Most High, do evil and good come?

Why then should anyone complain? Better to be bold against one's sins.

Let us examine our path, let us ponder it and return to Yahweh.

Let us raise our hearts and hands to God in heaven.

We are the ones who have sinned, who have rebelled, and you have not forgiven.

You have enveloped us in anger, pursuing us, slaughtering without pity.

You have wrapped yourself in a cloud too thick for prayer to pierce.

You have reduced us to rubbish and refuse among the nations.

Our enemies open their mouths in chorus against us.

Terror and pitfall have been our lot, ravage and ruin.

My eyes dissolve in torrents of tears at the ruin of my beloved people.

My eyes will weep ceaselessly, without relief,

until Yahweh looks down and sees from heaven.

My eyes have grown sore over all the daughters of my city.

Unprovoked, my enemies hunted me down like a bird.

They shut me finally in a pit, they closed me in with a stone.

The waters rose over my head; I thought, 'I am lost!'

Yahweh, I called on your name from the deep pit.

You heard my voice, do not close your ear to my prayer, to my cry.

You are near when I call to you. You said, 'Do not be afraid!'

Lord, you defended my cause, you have redeemed my life.

Yahweh, you have seen the wrong done to me, grant me redress.

You have seen their vindictiveness, all their plots against me.

You have heard their insults, Yahweh, all their plots against me,

the whispering and murmuring of my enemies against me all day long.

Look, whether they sit or stand, I am their refrain.

Yahweh, repay them as their deeds deserve.

Lay hardness of heart as your curse on them.

Angrily pursue them, root them out from under your heavens!

How the gold has tarnished, how the fine gold has changed! The sacred stones lie scattered at the corner of every street.

The children of Zion, as precious as finest gold -- to think that they should now be reckoned like crockery made by a potter!

The very jackals give the breast, and suckle their young: but the daughter of my people is as cruel as the ostriches of the desert.

The tongue of the baby at the breast sticks to its palate for thirst; little children ask for bread, no one gives them any.

Those who used to eat only the best, now lie dying in the streets; those who were reared in the purple claw at the rubbish heaps,

for the wickedness of the daughter of my people exceeded the sins of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand being laid on it.

Once her young people were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; rosier than coral their bodies, their hue like sapphire.

Now their faces are blacker than soot, they are not recognised in the streets, the skin has shrunk over their bones, as dry as a stick.

Happier those killed by the sword than those killed by famine: they waste away, sunken for lack of the fruits of the earth.

With their own hands, kindly women cooked their children; this was their food when the daughter of my people was ruined.

Yahweh indulged his fury, he vented his fierce anger, he lit a fire in Zion which devoured her foundations.

The kings of the earth never believed, nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, that foe or enemy would ever penetrate the gates of Jerusalem.

Owing to the sins of her prophets and the crimes of her priests, who had shed the blood of the upright, in the heart of the city,

they wandered blindly through the streets, polluted with blood, so that no one dared to touch their clothes.

'Keep away! Unclean!' people shouted, 'Keep away! Keep away! Don't touch!' If they left and fled to the nations, they were not allowed to stay there either.

The face of Yahweh destroyed them, he will look on them no more. There was no respect for the priests, no deference for the elders.

Continually we were wearing out our eyes, watching for help -- in vain. From our towers we watched for a nation which could not save us anyway.

Men dogged our steps, to keep us out of our streets. Our end was near, our days were done, our end had come.

Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they hounded our steps through the mountains, they lay in ambush for us in the wilds.

The breath of our nostrils, Yahweh's anointed, was caught in their traps, he of whom we said, 'In his shadow we shall live among the nations.'

Rejoice, exult, daughter of Edom, you who reside in Uz! To you in turn the cup will pass; you will get drunk and strip yourself naked!

Your wickedness is atoned for, daughter of Zion, he will never banish you again. But your wickedness, daughter of Edom, will he punish, your sins he will lay bare!

Yahweh, remember what has happened to us; consider, and see our degradation.

Our heritage has passed to strangers, our homes to foreigners.

We are orphans, we are fatherless; our mothers are like widows.

We have to buy our own water to drink, our own wood we can get only at a price.

The yoke is on our necks; we are persecuted; exhausted we are, allowed no rest.

We made a pact with Egypt, with Assyria, to have plenty of food.

Our ancestors sinned; they are no more, and we bear the weight of their guilt.

Slaves rule us; there is no one to rescue us from their clutches.

At peril of our lives we earn our bread, by risking the sword of the desert.

Our skin is as hot as an oven, from the scorch of famine.

The women in Zion have been raped, the young girls in the towns of Judah.

Princes have been hanged by their hands; the face of the old has won no respect.

Youths have been put to the mill, boys stagger under loads of wood.

The elders have deserted the gateway; the young have given up their music.

Joy has vanished from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.

The crown has fallen from our heads. Alas that ever we sinned!

This is why our hearts are sick; this is why our eyes are dim:

because Mount Zion is desolate; jackals roam to and fro on it.

Yet you, Yahweh, rule from eternity; your throne endures from age to age.

Why do you never remember us? Why do you abandon us so long?

Make us come back to you, Yahweh, and we will come back. Restore us as we were before!

Unless you have utterly rejected us, in an anger which knows no limit.

The Book of Lamentations.