In these difficult times we are not seldom asked for spiritual help, which we are glad to give. That is why today I would like to introduce to you a prayer which we pray in our community every morning at the beginning of the day. It can be sung, recited, simply spoken or even just moved in the heart.
The story of this prayer is quickly told. It was one of our sisters who asked me what one can pray at the beginning of the day before we begin silent Eucharistic adoration, because this is what we do every day in our community.
I then wrote down this prayer, which from then on we always prayed, sometimes together, usually each one separately. We call the prayer The Hymn to the Holy Trinity.
The prayer has three parts.
Today I present the prayer to God the Father and I highly recommend to pray it if it speaks to the heart!
Praise be to you, Eternal Father, Holy God, strong and alive. There is no one like You and nothing compares to the works You have created. All people come to worship You and give glory to Your name, because You are the Holy God, living, true and good.
You created angels and men according to Your image. To man You gave paradise to live in Your presence in holiness and justice. But man did not remain in his splendor. Tempted by the Evil One, he disobeyed Your command and was banished from Paradise. But in Your constant goodness You have always sought out man.
In Paradise You exclaimed, “Adam, where are you?” You saved Noah from the flood and Lot from the destruction of the depraved city. In Abraham You blessed all peoples.
Then You created for Yourself the people Israel, who bear Your name inscribed, and whom You called Your first-born. In Egypt You made them grow, transforming them into a great people, until they cried out to You in their oppression by Pharaoh. Then You brought it out with a strong hand and led it into the wilderness with signs and wonders. On the mountain You revealed to Your servant Moses the commandments that had been obscured in the hearts of the people.
But again and again Your people rebelled against You. As a result, they had to go through the desert for forty years – until You brought them to the Promised Land, by the hands of Your servant Joshua. There You wanted to lead them through judges, but they wanted to have kings, like the other peoples. So You gave them kings, but they often did what You disliked.
In Your goodness, You sent the prophets to bring them back to the right path, but how often did Your people not listen to their words, but persecuted and killed Your envoys!
But at the end of time You sent Your Son – our Lord Jesus Christ – and You demanded of Yourself the sacrifice that Abraham did not have to offer. You gave Your only begotten Son for the life of the whole world, so that Your people and all the peoples of the earth might find their salvation in Him.
How can we ever thank You, O beloved Father, for Your love and Your infinite mercy? Therefore, we adore You with all the angels and saints, and we glorify Your exalted name with all those who seek You, honor You and listen to You.
We pray for our deceased brothers and sisters who are in need of purification; for those who do not know You, who live in confusion and misdirection; and especially for those who keep their hearts closed before You.
Because You are holy, You are holy, You are holy.
So much for the first part of the Hymn to the Holy Trinity, which does not need to be commented on, because it speaks for itself. It is also very edifying to meditate on the words in silence, interiorizing with gratitude what God, in His goodness and mercy, did for us.
Harpa Dei accompanies the daily scriptural interpretation or spiritual teaching of Br. Elija, their spiritual father. These meditations can be heard on the following website www.en.elijamission.net