Come, Lord, Come

St. Symeon the New Theologian's Prayer

Mystical prayer of our father among the saints Symeon, through which he invokes the Holy Spirit whom he saw before him.

“Come, true light (Jn 1.9). Come, eternal life (1 Jn 5.20). Come, hidden mystery (Eph 3.9). Come, nameless treasure.

Come, ineffable reality. Come, incomprehensible face. Come, everlasting exultation. Come, unfading light. Come, trusty expectation of all who are going to be saved. Come, awakening of those who sleep. Come, resurrection of the dead (Jn 11.25).

Come, Mighty One who always creates, who re-creates and who transforms all things by his will alone. Come, invisible, and untouchable, and in every way intangible. Come, You Who always remain immutable, and Who at every hour are wholly altered, and are coming to us who lie in hell, You Who are above all the heavens (Eph 4.10).

Come, most beloved name repeated again and again, ‹a name› entirely forbidden for us to speak or to know the very person You are, the kind or quality. Come, eternal joy. Come, imperishable crown (1 Pet 5.4).

Come, purple of our great God and King. Come, crystalline cincture set with gems. Come, unapproachable sandal. Come, royal, purple robe and truly autocratic right hand! Come, You Whom my miserable soul has desired and desires. Come, the Alone to the alone, because I am alone, as you see! Come, You Who separated me from everyone and made me alone on the Earth. Come, You Who have become desire itself in me and Who made me desire You, the utterly unapproachable one. Come, my breath and my life (Acts 17.25).

Come consolation of my dejected soul. Come, my joy, and glory, and endless luxury.

I thank You because You have become one spirit with me (1 Cor 6.17), unmixing, unmoved, immutable God over all things, and because You yourself have become the all in all for me, utterly inexpressible food, and utterly without expense, ‹food that› is endlessly overflowing the lips of my soul, and gushing out in the fountain of my heart (Prov 5.16), garment flashing forth and burning up the demons, purification through incorruptible and holy tears that wash me out, tears that You give freely to those whom You visit.

I thank You because You have become an unfading light and an unsetting sun to me, You Who have nowhere to hide, Who fill the universe with your glory. For You have never been hidden from anyone, but we always hide ourselves from You, not wishing to come to You.

For where would You hide, You Who nowhere have a place of rest? Why ‹would You hide›? You Who never turn away anyone at all, and You do not turn from anyone of them. And so now Master, dwell in me and inhabit me, and remain continually, and inseparably in me your servant, until my death, Good One, so that I also may be found both in my departure and after my departure in You (Phil 3.9),

Good One, and I shall reign with You (2 Tim 2.12), God over all things (Rom 9.5)! Remain, Master, and let me not be alone, so that when my enemies come, always seeking to devour my soul (1 Pet 5.8), when they find You remaining in me, they shall flee entirely, and shall have no strength against me, when they see You Who are more powerful than everything, seated within the home of my humbled soul (Mk 3.27).

Verily Master, When You remembered me, when I was in the world of my ignorance, and You yourself picked me out, and separated me from the world, and set me before the face of your glory (Jude 24).

So now also keep me within, always standing upright and immovable in your dwelling within me. So that watching You continually, I the corpse, may live; and holding You, I, a poor hired man, will always be rich, even richer than all kings; and eating and drinking You (Jn 6.54), and every hour being vested with You, I will be reveling in unspeakable holy things.

For You are every good, and every glory, and every enjoyment, and to You glory is fitting, You the Holy, Consubstantial, and life-giving Trinity.

The Trinity in Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit venerated, and proclaimed, and worshipped, and served by all the faithful now, and always forever and ever. Amen.” (Text from Daniel Griggs, trans., St. Symeon the New Theologian: Divine Eros [PPS 40; SVS Press. 2011].)