Kirkepiscatoid

More simplicity!

O Christ, hear us.
O Christ, hear us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Or:
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.

So, what are the origins of the Kyrie?

The Kyrie is incredibly ancient, being used (minus the Christe part) in pre-Christian times to invoke the presence of God. The Christe part has been around since the 2nd century. St. Gregory was one of its more famous shameless promoters.

But in active Greek, although it translates as “Lord have mercy” and “Christ have mercy”, the active voice is more like “The Lord is being merciful,” and “Christ is being merciful.”

It is one of the simplest prayers, mostly used during Advent but also used during Lent, in many liturgical denominations. The various eastern orthodox churches make frequent use of it, often responding three times, and in some settings, doing the Kyrie forty times.

Sometimes in my life, when things are the hardest, simplest is best. I find that when I am truly distressed, the Kyrie, the eastern orthodox Jesus prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”), and other single line, easily repeated prayers can take me where my heart needs to go and my brain can’t take me. It is probably my OCD-ish tendencies at work in a good way.

A friend and I were chatting one evening and we got to talking about how, although everyone makes a big deal at how a lot of hard times seem to come in people’s lives in the Advent/Christmas season, it also seems that Lent has its own share of dark spiritual mazes. Maybe it is just the natural cycle of the hard winters in our lives coming to an end and spring not seeming to come fast enough. Lent, a lot of times to me, seems to be a time of “letting the hard parts go.” The things I stew about and let fester in the dark of winter, at the beginnings of spring, the itch to be renewed hits, and I have to open the windows and let in the air, even if the air is cold and biting, with only a hint and a promise of warmth.

I have had to let a lot of illusions in my life go this winter. I have had to realize that there are some parts of what I envisioned for myself nine years ago when I first returned home, are not to be. But the tradeoff is to become more grounded, more centered in what is here for me. Some of it has been surprises I could not imagine. Some of it is “not the way I ordered it” but has proven to be rewarding in ways I could not fathom. Some of it is painful and stabbing. But it is all so very real.

The real of the Resurrection is coming. But we have to live through the deep gloom of the tomb to get there.