IX
FINAL PRAY

You, oh Christ, who keep silent to hear us,
listen to the cries arising from our hearts;
hear our supplications, the sad laments
from this veil of tears. We cry out
to You, Christ Jesus, from the abysmal           Psalm 129:1.
depths of our human misery,
and You, white pinnacle of Humanity,
give us the water from your snows. White
Eagle who spans the heavens as you fly,
we ask for your blood; from You, the vineyard,
wine that consoles us as it intoxicates;
from You, Moon of God, sweet light
that tells us that at night the Sun is shining
and is waiting for us; from you, stout pillar,
a place where we can rest; Sacred Host,
we ask of You the bread for our journey
to God, as an act of charity; we ask You,
Lamb of God who washes away all
the sins of the world, for the golden
fleece of your blood; we ask You
for the rose from the wild briar patch,
for the light that never dims and reveals
to us how God Is Who He Is; from You,
the vessel of divine liquor that pours
the nectar of eternity into our hearts.
We ask you, Lord, to weave our lives
into the celestial tunic of God,
using the loom of eternal life. Let us
keep the meager faith that provides a fragile
nest for our winged hopes that warble
songs of eternal life, and in your arms,
wings of the Spirit which floats over
the face of the dark waters, let us take
shelter in the shade of your brow.

Come, Lord, see how my bosom reeks;           John 11: 39, 2, 25.
see how I, the one you love, am suffering;
You are the resurrection and the life:
call me to Yourself, as you called Lazarus!
Be a mirror for us so that we may see           1 Corinthians 13:2.
your Sun face to face and may know Him
in the same way that He knows us;
so that with our own eyes we see His light,
and so He speaks to us, face to face           Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:8.
and mouth to mouth, as He spoke to Moses.
Bring us your Father’s kingdom, Christ,
since the Kingdom of God is also that of Man!
Give us, Jesus, life which is a fire
that warms and enlightens, and that keeps
its wick protected within an enclosed vessel;
life that is a flame which burns eternally
and flows in ripples like those in a river.

We men deserve to die; but You,           Luke 23:40.
immaculate Lamb, have died without
deserving it, from pure love;
and now that you are in your kingdom,
do not forget us. May we not be lost
like wood smoke that is blown away
without a trace by the wind; but take us
in your hands and carry our souls
to your Father’s granary, where we await
the day when the bread of Universe
is kneaded from your body, and may
we eat of it throughout the centuries!
Lord, we are needy souls who grow
in ragged tatters, like stalks of grain
on a threshing field—a swirl of husks
that are blown over it by the wind—
gathered in heaps under showers
of intense blackness; may the glow
of your whiteness stretch across
the infinite vault of your Father’s house
—the abode of eternity—and may it cast
the bright light of hope over the path
of our journey, for as long as there is God!
Standing there with your arms wide open           Ezekiel 1:2; Luke 6:10.
and with your right hand extended,
help us traverse our rocky life
—the steep slope of Calvary—held fast
to our duty by the nails; and may we die
like You, standing with our arms wide open,
and like You, may we rise up to Glory
standing, so that God may speak to us
standing and with open arms. Lord,
when the time comes that my tired
heart stops beating and I must abandon
the dream of this dark night, grant that
may I enter the bright day which never ends
with my eyes fixed on your white body,
Son of Man, Humanity completed,
under the increate light which never dies:
with my eyes fixed on your eyes, Christ,
with my vision drowned in You, Lord!