Hymn of St. Ambrose

Yearn

We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.

All the earth doth magnify Thee: the Father everlasting.

To Thee all the angels, the heavens, and all the hosts,

the Cherubim and Seraphim, with unceasing voices cry:

Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Sabaoth;

Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory.

The glorious choir of the Apostles,

the laudable company of the prophets,

The radiant army of martyrs praise Thee.

The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee;

the Father of an incomprehensible majesty;

Thy worshipful, true and Only-begotten Son,

and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.

Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.

Thou art the Everlasting Son of the Father.

In taking upon Thee the redemption of man, Thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.

When thou hadst overcome the sting of death, Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven them that believe.

Thou sittest at the right hand of God: in the glory of the Father.

We believe that Thou shalt come: to be our Judge.

We therefore pray Thee, help thy servants: whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.

Vouchsafe them to be reign with Thy Saints: in glory everlasting.

O Lord, save Thy people: and bless Thine inheritance.

Guide them aright, and raise them up forever.

Every day we bless Thee, and we praise Thy name forever, and unto the ages of ages.

Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.

have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy upon us.

Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us: according as we have hoped in Thee.

In Thee, O Lord have we hoped, let us not be put to shame in the age to come. Amen.

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We Are Saying Thank You … Dark Though It Is

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by W.S. Merwin

with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridge to bow from the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water looking out
in different directions

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging
after funerals we are saying thank you
after the news of the dead
whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you
in a culture up to its chin in shame
living in the stench it has chosen we are saying thank you

over telephones we are saying thank you
in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators
remembering wars and the police at the back door
and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you
in the banks that use us we are saying thank you
with the crooks in office with the rich and fashionable
unchanged we go on saying thank you thank you

with the animals dying around us
our lost feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us like the earth
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
we are saying thank you and waving
dark though it is