Here’s a beautiful prayer of confession for Lent. It comes from the Patmos Abbey website.
Litany of Repentance
God, all-loving and all-caring,
We come before you with hesitant steps and uncertain motives
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
We want to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated
And uncover the places where we have strayed from your truth
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
We ask for courage to open our eyes and unstop our ears
That we may be aware of all that distracts us
We come before you with hesitant steps and uncertain motives
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
We want to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated
And uncover the places where we have strayed from your truth
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
We ask for courage to open our eyes and unstop our ears
That we may be aware of all that distracts us
from a whole-hearted commitment to Christ
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
We want to see ourselves as you do and live our lives as you intended
Expose in us the empty and barren places
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
We want to see ourselves as you do and live our lives as you intended
Expose in us the empty and barren places
where we have not allowed you to enter
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
Reveal to us our half-hearted struggles,
Where we have been indifferent to the pain and suffering of others
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a right Spirit within us
Nurture the faint stirrings of new life
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
Reveal to us our half-hearted struggles,
Where we have been indifferent to the pain and suffering of others
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a right Spirit within us
Nurture the faint stirrings of new life
where your spirit has taken root and begun to grow
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
We long for your healing light to transform us into the image of your Son,
For you alone can bring new life and make us whole
In your mercy, shine upon us, O God, and make our path clear before us.
— from the website of Patmos Abbey—The Order of Saint Columba. http://www.patmosabbey.org/ but inspired, I believe, by a prayer from Christine Sine's Godspace website.
Our hearts are parched from wandering in a desert of sin.
We long for your healing light to transform us into the image of your Son,
For you alone can bring new life and make us whole
In your mercy, shine upon us, O God, and make our path clear before us.
— from the website of Patmos Abbey—The Order of Saint Columba. http://www.patmosabbey.org/ but inspired, I believe, by a prayer from Christine Sine's Godspace website.
