465th Meditation
Having meditated in detail on each part of the praise of God the Father in the Hymn to the Blessed Trinity, we now wish to conclude this series by praying this praise in its entirety:
All praise to you Eternal Father, Holy God, living and all-powerful.
You have no equal, and nothing compares with the works You have created.
All peoples 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, for him 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 corrupt city. In Abraham You blessed all peoples.
You then created for Yourself the people Israel, who bear Your name within them, and whom You called Your first-born. In Egypt You made them grow, making them into a great people, until they cried out to You in their oppression by Pharaoh. You then brought them out of Egypt with a strong hand and led them 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. And so they were made to wander through the desert for forty years – until You brought them into the Promised Land, by the hands of Your servant Joshua. There You would have had them led by judges, but they, wanting to be like other peoples, preferred to have kings. So You gave them kings, but they often did what displeased You.
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 those whom You sent!
But at the end of time You sent Your Son – our Lord Jesus Christ – and You required of Yourself the sacrifice that Abraham was not made 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 to You.
Because You are holy, You are holy, You are holy.