Stand in silence, and center your focus on the Lord. Lift your heart, and let it soften. Begin with a whisper, and allow the tears to well up in your chest. Ask for God’s grace—to grant you repentance. Make the sign of the Cross when you beg for mercy, and pray with your whole being, as if kneeling before the Lord on the day of your Judgment.
Have mercy on us, O Master, for all the ill will we have wished upon one another.
Have mercy on us, O Savior, for our blindness.
Have mercy on us, O Holy One, for we have chosen hatred over love.
Have mercy on me, Lord, for my eyes fixate on blemishes before brightness, and my mind seeks condemnation before blessing.
Have mercy on me, my God, for I choose Hell before Your Heaven.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for my soul still serves the devil before Christ.
There is lust in my bones and hatred in my heart. I see not the goodness in others before I see their flaws.
I do not see for Your glory, but for my own consumption. I do not act for Your glory, but for mine.
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am quick to judge.
Have mercy on me, God, for the remnants of lust are engraved deep within my bones, fossilized in my soul.
How is it that my spirit longs for freedom like a captain sailing toward a new land, yet my flesh is anchored in desire?
I try to sail, but the anchor is stuck.
Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy.
Have mercy on us all, for we take Your gifts for granted.
Have mercy on me, O God—I do not want to be imprisoned by the lust of my eyes as I look upon Your creation.
I do not want to find comfort in forsaking others, nor reassurance in judging those who suffer.
Have mercy on me, O God. Accept these tears that pour from my eyes and this page.
Let them suffice for repentance, O Lord, for my heart has run dry.
Grant that I may serve You before I serve myself. Save me by Your grace.
Save us, Lord—save us who suffer—so I might look to someone for guidance, for I am lost.
I do not trust my own ears or soul in my care. I have taken Your gifts and turned them into Hell.
I have taken Your light and made it fire.
I need all the Saints. I need the Prophets. I need the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother.
Have mercy on me and on my friends and family—for I need their saintliness revealed, because I do not trust my own path, O Lord.
I do not know whether I do right or wrong. I do not know if I create for Your glory or labor in vain.
Save us, O Lord, that we may look upon Your creation with such awe and wonder,
that we no longer seek the comforts and pleasures of this world just to feel alive.
Grant that I may stand apart from the consequences of my past evil.
And if I must bear them—grant me the strength to endure.
Have mercy on me, a sinner.
I know You love us, Lord—but I fail to receive it. I turn away.
I know You weep for us with the purest sorrow. I hear You, Lord—I do. But I struggle to listen.
My mind is clouded by worldly things.
Cleanse my soul, O Lord, that I may hear You as the prophets heard You.
Teach me to serve You, Lord. I give You my mind, my body, my soul.
I no longer trust them in my own hands. Take them from me and do in them Thy will.
Through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, who knew You better than we know ourselves,
who cradled the Nourisher of all in her arms—
save us.
Grant that I may know Thy will as Mary knew Yours.
Grant me discernment, Lord—that I may serve You in righteousness,
with the conviction of the Saints,
with the boldness of Saint Luke,
with the fire of Saint Paul.
I ask for even an ember—
that my heart may offer every beat to Your glory.
Pray for us sinners, O Glorious Theotokos,
that the Lord’s will may be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.