Wishing Happy Thanksgiving all those celebrating this weekend in America. Truly a joy to see how the Church always gives thanks (ie. think Eucharist and Liturgy) and how so many prayers of the Church are infused throughout the ethos of Orthodox prayer life.
For example in the Coptic Rite:
And this beautiful Orthodox hymn/prayer service of Thanksgiving prayed by in a few of the other Rites....
For example in the Coptic Rite:
Thanksgiving Prayer and Psalm 50 (Coptic Orthodox Rite)
And this beautiful Orthodox hymn/prayer service of Thanksgiving prayed by in a few of the other Rites....
THE AKATHIST OF
THANKSGIVING
“Glory to God for all
things!”
KONTAKION 1
Incorruptible King of
all ages, holding in your hand every path of human life through the power of
Your saving Providence
Ikos
Into the world I was born as a weak,
helpless child, but Your Angel spread wings of light over me, guarding my
crib. Ever since then Your love lights
all my paths, wonderfully guiding me towards the light of eternity. Gloriously, the generous gifts of Your
Providence have been manifest from the very first day. I am thankful to You and with all who have
come to know You, call out:
Glory to You, Who called me to life,
Glory to You, Who have shown me the
beauty of the universe,
Glory to You, Who have opened before me
the sky and the earth as an
eternal book of wisdom,
Glory to the eternity of You, in the
midst of the world of time,
Glory to You, for Your hidden and
evident goodness,
Glory to You, for every sigh of my
sadness,
Glory to You, for every step of my
life, for every moment of joy,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 2
Lord, how good it is
to be Your guest; the delicately scented wind, the mountains stretching to the
sky, the waters reflecting like infinite mirrors, the golden rays of sun, the airiness
of clouds. All nature secretly whispers,
full of tenderness, and even the birds and beasts bear the mark of Your
Love. Blessed is mother earth with her
transient beauty, longing for the homeland which is eternal and where an
imperishable beauty rings out: Alleluia.
Ikos
You brought me into this life as
into an enchanting paradise. The sky is
a deep blue vessel of azure out of which rings the sound of birds; there is the rustling sound of the forest and
the sweet sounding music of the waters; the fragrant and sweet fruit and honey
which we eat. It is good to be with You
on earth, joyous to be Your guest:
Glory to You, for the festival of life,
Glory to You, for the fragrant lilies
of the valley and the roses,
Glory to You, for the delectable
variety of berries and fruits,
Glory to You, for the morning dew,
shining like diamonds,
Glory to You, for the smile of
awakening enlightenment,
Glory to You, for all that is heavenly,
foreshadowing eternal life,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 3
Every flower is
fragrant through the power of the Holy Spirit, in a delicate flow of aroma and
tenderness of color; the beauty of the Great contained in what is small. Praise and honor to God Who gives life, Who
spreads forth the meadows like a flowering carpet, Who crowns the fields with
golden ears of wheat and azure basilisks, and the soul with the joy of
contemplation. Let us rejoice and sing
to Him: Alleluia.
Ikos
How beautiful You are in the
triumphant festival of spring, when all creatures come to life again and in a
thousand ways joyfully call out to You:
You are the source of life; You are the victor over death.
To the song of the nightingale, the
valleys and forests stand in snow white bridal array by the light of the
season. All the earth is Your bride,
waiting for the immortal bridegroom. If
You clothe even the grass in such a splendid way, how will You transfigure us
in the future age of resurrection, how will our bodies be made light and our
souls be made luminous:
Glory to You, Who
brought out of the earth's darkness diversity of color,
taste, and fragrance,
Glory to You, for the warmth and caress
of all nature,
Glory to You, for surrounding us with
thousands of Your creatures,
Glory to You, for the depth of Your wisdom
reflected in the whole world,
Glory to You, I kiss reverently the
footprint of Your invisible tread,
Glory to You, Who kindled before us the
bright light of eternal life,
Glory to You, for the hope of immortal,
ideal, incorruptible beauty,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 4
How you bring
sweetness to those who think of You, how life-giving is Your Word, it is softer
than oil, it is sweeter than honey to talk with You. Praying to You brings Life into us and gives
us wings. What trembling then fills the
heart. What dignity and greatness and
wisdom there are in nature and all of life.
Where You are not there is emptiness.
Where You are there is richness of soul, a torrent of life: Alleluia!
Ikos
When sunset descends over the earth
and the peace of eternal sleep and the stillness of the fading day come to
reign, I see Your abode in the guise of glistening palaces and clouds hovering
in the evening light. Fiery red, gold
and azure speak prophetically of the unutterable beauty of Your world and cry
out triumphantly: "Let us go to the Father!"
Glory to You, in the stillness of the
evening,
Glory to You, Who have bestowed great
peace to the world,
Glory to You, for the last rays of
sunlight,
Glory to You, for rest and the gift of
sleep,
Glory to You, for Your presence in
darkness, when the world is so remote,
Glory to You, for prayer from the depth
of a heart touched by You,
Glory to You, for the promise of
awakening to the joy of the eternal,
unending day,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 5
The storms of life are
not frightening to one in whose heart shines the light of Your Fire. All around the weather is bad; there is
darkness, horror, and the howling wind.
But in the soul of such a one there is peace and light. Christ is there! And the heart sings: Alleluia!
Ikos
I see Your heavens glittering with
stars. O how rich You are, how much
light You have! Eternity looks at me
through the rays of distant worlds; I am
so small and inconsequential, but the Lord is with me, His loving hand is
everywhere protecting me:
Glory to You, for Your constant care of
me,
Glory to You, for providential
encounters with people,
Glory to You, for the love of
relatives, the devotion of friends,
Glory to You, for the gentleness of
animals who serve me,
Glory to You, for the luminous moments
of my life,
Glory to You, for the bright joys of my
heart,
Glory to You, for the happiness of
living, of moving and contemplating,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 6
How great and near You
are in the power of thunderstorms, how visible is Your mighty hand in the
blinding curves of lightning, amazing in Your greatness. The voice of the Lord is over the fields and
in the sound of the forests; the voice of the Lord is in the birth of the
thunder and rain; the voice of the Lord is over many waters. Praise be to You in the thundering of
volcanoes spitting fire. You shake the
earth about like a garment. You lift up
the waves of the sea into the sky.
Praise be to You Who humble human pride, drawing out the repentant cry:
Alleluia!
Ikos
When
the palaces of earth are suddenly lit up by lightning bursting forth, how
paltry seem our ordinary lights afterward.
In just such a way You suddenly light up my soul during the times of
deepest joy in my life. And after the
brilliance of Your light, like lightning, how colorless, dark and unreal these
moments seem. And my soul rushes in
pursuit of You:
Glory to You, beyond the limit of the
highest human dream!
Glory to You, for our tireless thirst
for You,
Glory to You, Who have inspired in us
dissatisfaction with earthly things,
Glory to You, Who have enveloped us in
the delicate rays of Your light,
Glory
to You, Who have broken the power of the spirits of darkness, and
Who
have doomed to annihilation every kind of evil,
Glory to You, for Your revelations, and
for the happiness of feeling Your
presence and living with You,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 7
One hears Your call in
a wonderful composition of sounds. You
open for us the environment of our future paradise in melodious singing and
harmonious tones, in the height of musical color, in the brilliance of artistic
creativity. All that is truly beautiful
carries the soul to You in a mighty call, and forces it to sing rapturously:
Alleluia!
Ikos
Through the descent of the Holy Spirit
You enlighten the thought of artists, poets and scientific geniuses. Through the power of the inmost mind, they
are prophetically able to perceive Your laws, opening for us the abyss of Your
creative wisdom. Their works
involuntarily speak of You; of how great You are in Your creations, of how
great You are in man:
Glory
to You, Who have manifested the unfathomable force of the laws of
the universe,
Glory to You, all of nature is full of the laws of Your
being,
Glory
to You, for all that has been revealed to us through Your goodness,
Glory to You, for all You have kept hidden in Your wisdom,
Glory to You, for the genius of the human mind,
Glory to You, for the life-giving strength of work,
Glory
to You, for the fiery tongues of inspiration,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 8
How near You are in
the days of illness; You Yourself visit the sick. You Yourself bend down to the bed of the
sufferer and the heart speaks to You. In
times of hardship and suffering, You illumine the soul with peace; You send
unexpected help. You are consoling,
searching and saving love, and to You we sing the song: Alleluia!
Ikos
When as a child I consciously called to
You for the first time, You answered my prayer and my soul knew a wonderful
peace. Then I understood that You are
goodness; blessed are those who seek
You. I began to call to You again and
again, and call to You even now:
Glory to You, Who grant my wishes when
they are good,
Glory to You, Who watch over me day and
night,
Glory to You, curing hardships and
losses with the healing course of time,
Glory to You, for Whom there is no such
thing as a hopeless loss; You give
eternal life to all,
Glory to You, Who have made immortal
all that is good and lofty, Who
have promised our desired
reunion with those who have died,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 9
Why does all nature
smile mysteriously on feast days? Why is
the heart filled at these times with a wonderful lightness that is incomparable
to anything on earth; how is it that the very air at the altar and in the
Church become light bearing? This is the
breath of Your grace, the glow of the light of Tabor; the sky and the earth are
singing at these times in praise: Alleluia!
Ikos
When You have inspired me to serve
those around me and illumined my heart with humility, one of Your innumerable
rays falls on my heart making it light bearing, as iron in fire; and I saw Your mysterious, imperceptible
Face:
Glory to You, Who have transfigured our
life with the good things that we
do,
Glory to You,
Who have imprinted an unutterable sweetness on every
precept of Yours,
Glory to You,
Who clearly abide where there is kindness and generosity of
heart,
Glory to You,
Who send failures and sorrows to us so that we might be
sensitive to the sufferings of
others,
Glory to You,
Who have placed a great reward on the value of goodness in
itself,
Glory
to You, Who accept our moments of soaring,
Glory to You,
Who have raised love higher than anything on earth or in
heaven,
Glory to You, O
God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 10
That which is broken
cannot be restored, but You can set aright those whose conscience has become
decayed; You restore the soul to its former beauty in those who have lost it
beyond all hope. With You there is
nothing that cannot be put aright. You
are all love. You are the Creator and
the Restorer. To You we sing praise:
Alleluia!
Ikos
My God, You Who know the fall of the
proud angel, save me through the power of Your grace, do not let me fall away
from You, do not allow me to doubt You.
Sharpen my hearing so that every minute of my life I can hear Your
mysterious voice, and call to You Who are everywhere present:
Glory to You, for providential
coincidences,
Glory to You, for the gift of
premonitions,
Glory to You, for the guidance of a
secret inner voice,
Glory to You, for revelations in dreams
and when awake,
Glory to You, Who destroy our useless plans,
Glory to You, Who sober us from the
heat of passions with suffering,
Glory to You, Who humble pride of heart
to save us,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 11
Through the icy link of the ages, I feel the
warmth of Your Divine breath; I hear the flow of blood. You are already near; time has partly
vanished. I see Your Cross; it is for my
sake. My spirit is in ashes before the
Cross, where there is a triumph of love and salvation, and unceasing praise
unto all ages: Alleluia!
Ikos
Blessed is he who will have supper in
Your Kingdom, but You have already admitted me to this bliss. How many times have You extended to me with
Your Divine Hand, Your body and blood;
and I, such a sinner, have taken this sacred gift and felt Your love -
unutterable and beyond all being:
Glory to You, for the unfathomable,
life-giving power of grace,
Glory to You, Who have raised up Your
Church as a refuge of peace for an
exhausted world,
Glory
to You, Who breathe new life into us with the life-giving water of
Baptism,
Glory
to You, Who restore the purity of immaculate lilies to those who
repent,
Glory to You, inexhaustible abyss of
forgiveness,
Glory
to You, for the cup of life, for the bread of eternal joy,
Glory
to You, Who led us to heaven,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 12
Many times I have seen
the reflection of Your glory on the faces of the dead. What unearthly beauty and joy shone from
them; how ethereal and immaterial were their features. This is the triumph of happiness and peace
received gracefully, as they silently call upon You. At the hour of my death also illumine my soul
as I call: Alleluia!
Ikos
How can I give praise to You? I have not heard the songs of the
cherubim. That is the gift of the
highest of souls. But I know how nature
gives praise to You: in winter I have
beheld the moonlight stillness when the whole earth quietly prays to You,
clothed in white and sparkling with diamonds of snow; I have seen how the rising sun rejoices in
You and the choirs of birds resound in praise;
I have heard the forest speak mysteriously of You, the waters murmur and the
choirs of stars preach of You with their harmonious movement in infinite space. But what is my praise? Nature responds to Your laws, but I do
not! Yet while I am alive I see Your
love; I want to thank You, to pray to
You, and call out:
Glory to You, Who have shown us light,
Glory to You, Who have loved us with
love immeasurable, deep, Divine,
Glory to You, Who have surrounded us
with light, and with hosts of angels
and saints,
Glory to You, all Holy Father, Who have
willed us Your Kingdom,
Glory to You, all Holy Son, the Way,
the Truth, and the Life,
Glory to You, all Holy Spirit and
life-giving sun of the future age,
Glory to You for everything, O Divine
Trinity, all bountiful,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.
KONTAKION 13
O all
bountiful and life-giving Trinity, accept this gratitude for all of Your
mercies and make us worthy of your Divine gifts so that having multiplied the
talents given us, we may enter into the eternal joy of our Lord with victorious
praise: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
