Seeking Relief

All ye who seek for sure relief
in trouble and distress,
whatever sorrow vex the mind,
or guilt the soul oppress,

Jesus, who gave himself for you
upon the cross to die,
opens to you his sacred heart:
O to that heart draw nigh.

Ye hear how kindly he invites;
ye hear his words so blest:
‘All ye that labour come to me,
and I will give you rest.’

O Jesus, joy of saints on high,
thou hope of sinners here,
attracted by those loving words
to thee we lift our prayer.

Wash thou our wounds in that dear blood
which from thy heart doth flow;
a new and contrite heart on all
who cry to thee bestow.

Latin, 18th Century
Trans. E Coswall (1814 – 78)

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In day-to-day personal news, I’m meeting my vicar tomorrow to discuss whether I have a vocation to the priesthood. I would appreciate your prayers, as I am nervous and also suffering from a nasty cold. I was also supposed to do the prayers at church this Sunday, but suddenly realised that the intercessions in the Church of England are more complicated – and require more creativity – than I realised. Had a bit of a freak out and realised that my lack of confidence in doing them (lack of preparation, relative newness to the Anglican church, not knowing what on earth to do and also worrying that the vicar would see me doing the prayers just after meeting him as presumptuous) could risk my health, as anxiety related to presenting on things which I am unsure of has been known to destabilise me in the past.

All of which is a bit long winded. So, on I go with the half looking-forward-to and half-dreading tomorrow!