Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Enemies
have driven me into your embrace more than friends have.
Friends
have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished
all my aspirations in the world.
Enemies
have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the
world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal
does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having
ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can
slay my soul.
Bless
my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
They,
rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.
They
have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.
They
have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.
They
have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself.
They
have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.
Bless
my enemies, O Lord, Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Whenever
I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.
Whenever
I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.
Whenever
I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.
Whenever
I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.
Whenever
I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.
Whenever
I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished
it and driven me out.
Truly,
enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the
hem of your garment.
Bless
my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Bless
them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against
me:
so
that my fleeing to You may have no return;
so
that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;
so
that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;
so
that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins, arrogance and anger;
so
that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;
ah,
so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in
the dreadful web of illusory life.
Enemies
have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies
in the world except himself.
One
hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but
cruel friends.
It
is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me
more evil in the world: friends or enemies.
Therefore
bless, O Lord, both my friends and enemies.
A
slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for
he understands.
For
a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life.
Therefore
he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.
Reference:
Prayers by the
Lake by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, published by the Serbian Orthodox
Metropolitanate of New Gracanica, 1999.