Upon awakening, this beautiful writing of St. Nerses IV the Gracious, 12th century Armenian patriarch, fills me with the hope in God of Christ's finding me here on my bed of so much suffering, staying ever with me despite all else, lifting me up and carrying me far from myself.
I briefly read briefly about this man's life, all the good he did with attempts at bringing peace between the differing factions of the Armenian and Orthodox Churches, of which negotiations eventually failed. Given the honor, the name of "Chnorhali or Shnorhali," meaning "filled with Grace," St. Nerses is also known for his many beautiful writings of theology, poems, and hymns such as the following, which touches my soul striving to co-exist with earthly pain.
I have wandered in the desert,
Gone astray in the wilderness,
One among a hundred
As in the parable of the sheep.
The wicked enemy tore it to pieces:
He covered it with incurable wounds;
Hence there is no other cure for the wound
But you, to heal it.
In floods of tears I implore you,
I lift up my cries to my Lord:
O Good Shepherd, come down from heaven,
Go in search of the little flock.
Lord, seek out the fallen coin,
Your image that was lost (Gn 1:26),
That I trampled in the vice of sin
And the stinking mud.
Wash me, Lord, from my filth;
Make my soul pure as the whiteness of snow (Is 1:18).
Make up the number of the ten coins
As you did for the forty saints [of Sebaste].
Carry me on your shoulders, O you who bore the cross;
Be pleased to raise up my fallen soul.
Give joy to the heavenly host of angels
at the return of a single sinner.
~ "Jesus, the Father's Only Son"
Thank you, St. Nerses the Gracious, for inspiring in Christ.
God bless His Real Presence in us!
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