The Irish Catholic Hermit

  O sinner, at long last, take heed to your salvation. I solate yourself, and gather your thoughts and tell yourself, "How much time have you wasted nourishing the passions of your flesh and imagination, and what gain has it afforded you? W hat have you achieved by this? W oe to me, my soul, what a state we have attained, what chaos. S ee everyone near me is ornamented with virtues and sincerely fears God, but I only walk in the dark. I n the early morning I repent of my actions, yet shortly thereafter I do even worse misdeeds. T he Lord has granted me strength and good health and woe I take this for granted and bring upon me the wrath of my Maker. O my soul, why are you so apathetic? W hy are you so reckless? F or you cannot remain here forever. W hen the end comes, the Lord will dispatch His angels to retrieve you and you will have to leave this world whether you want to or not. S o then, O man, in the end confess your great distress, and cease contradictin...

A prayer of our holy father St. Isaac the Syrian L ord Jesus Christ, my God: Thou didst weep for Lazarus and shed tears of sorrow and compassion for him. Accept my bitter tears also. H eal my passions through the suffering of Thine holy Passion. Heal the wounds of my soul through the wounds which Thou didst suffer. C leanse my blood with Thine holy blood and unite my body with the fragrance of Thy life-giving body. May the gall which Thou wast given to drink by Thine enemies sweeten my soul from the bitterness that the devil has given me to taste. M ay Thy most-holy body that was stretched upon the Cross elevate my mind, which has been lowered unto the earth by the demons. M ay Thy most-holy head, which Thou didst bow upon the Cross raise my head, which has been humiliated by the opposing demonic powers. M ay Thy most-holy hands which were nailed to the Cross by the transgressors raise me to Thee from the depth of destruction, just as Thy most-holy mouth hast promised. M ay Thy face w...

O how uncaring I am.  H ow rude, how worldly my soul has become.  O corrupt heart, O lips full of gall, O throat which is an open sepulcher.  O soul, why do you forget that your end inescapably draws near?  W hy do you not ready yourself for this voyage?  W hy do you, with no pity for yourself, go after destruction?  W hy do you bring everlasting torment on yourself?  O soul, what are you doing, that you live as a senseless creature?  W oe to me, who have chosen darkness rather than light.  H ow I would rather have that pleasure today, but which tomorrow vanishes, rather than everlasting and unspeakable bliss.  W oe to me who consents to be robed in a dark and dismal cloak instead of a garment radiant as the sun.  H ow I would rather the wretched abodes of Hell instead of the kingdom of heaven.  W oe to me, a sinner. I willingly and knowingly throw myself into complete destruction.  O my soul, at last come to a sound m...

  Before and After Reading Spiritual Texts Before reading: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen. Illumine my heart, O Master who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge. Open Thou the eyes of my mind to the understanding of Thy Gospel teachings. Implant also in me a love for Thy blessed commandments. Grant me the grace to overcome all my carnal desires, so that I may enter more completely into a spiritual manner of living, both thinking and doing such things as are well pleasing to Thee; For Thou art the illumination of our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, together with Thine all-holy, good and life-creating Spirit; now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. O Lord Jesus Christ, open Thou the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Thy word and understand and do Thy will, for I am a sojourner upon the earth. Hide not Thy commandments from me, but open mine eyes, that I may perceive the wo...

  The Meaning of the Prayer “O Lord and Master of my life.” This short phrase confesses that we depend utterly on Jesus Christ our God. We acknowledge again what we acknowledged at baptism, that our first allegiance is to God, that God has given us life, that we must live in accordance with God’s will, and that it is for God to call us from this earthly life. In these few words we turn away from all idolatry, we reject everything, which might take the place of God. “Give me not the spirit of slothfulness” or in plain English, laziness! Life, especially the Christian life, is an effort. That does not mean at all that we should never “enjoy life”; Christ promised to give us joy. But real joy has nothing in common with laziness. Laziness steals our time and gives us no joy at all; one only discovers that one has done nothing, neither what one should have done nor what one might have done. Exercise is a good cure for laziness; Lent is a spiritual exercise, to cure us of spiritual lazi...

  The Audacity of Mercy Let yourself be persecuted, but do not persecute others. Be crucified, but do not crucify others. Be slandered, but do not slander others. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep: such is the sign of purity. Suffer with the sick. Be afflicted with sinners. Exult with those who repent. Be the friend of all, but in your spirit remain alone. Be a partaker of the sufferings of all, but keep your body distant from all. Rebuke no one, revile no one, not even those who live very wickedly. Spread your cloak over those who fall into sin, each and every one, and shield them. And if you cannot take the fault on yourself and accept punishment in their place, do not destroy their character. What is a merciful heart? It is a heart on fire for the whole of creation, for humanity, for the birds, for the animals, for demons, and for all that exists. By the recollection of them the eyes of a merciful person pour forth tears in abundance. By the strong and...