{"product_id":"lord-have-mercy-mini-art-print-1","title":"Lord Have Mercy | Mini Art Print","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis mini art print is printed on high-quality paper with a subtle sheen, measuring 5.5” x 8.5”.  Wonderful for hanging up directly on the wall using gentle wall putty, or framing if you so choose. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eListing is for one print, shipped in a flat padded mailer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e_______________\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe phrase \"Lord have mercy\" is used frequently during prayer and worship in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. What does \"mercy\" mean, though? Here's the context: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eOur worship services in the Orthodox Church are full of petitions to our Lord, asking for various things.  But do you know what is probably the most used and repeated petition in our services?   It is something that we say over and over and over…”Lord, Have Mercy.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe true meaning behind this short prayer often gets lost in English, because the word “mercy” takes on a connotation of “justice or acquittal.”  This is not the tenor of the prayer that we say in the Divine Liturgy.  We aren’t saying:  “Lord…don’t convict me and send me to the outer darkness!” \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e The Greek word that is used for “mercy” comes from is “eleos”, which is the same root word as the word for “oil” which is used to sooth or to heal.  The Hebrew word for “mercy” comes from is “hesed” which means “steadfast love.”  In the Church, when we say “Lord have mercy”, we are literally saying over and over and over:  “Lord…soothe me…and show me your steadfast love!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eEvery Divine Liturgy, the deacon comes out after the Gospel and exhorts all of us, “with all of our soul and with all of our mind” to ask God to continue to send down His Love to us….our country….our clergy… and to those who have gone before us.  We then repeat those words over and over and over:  “Lord have mercy…Lord have mercy…Lord have mercy…”.  “Show us your healing love O Lord”!  \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhat we ask for and receive more than any other petition in our worship is for the one gift that we truly can return to Him:  Love.  St. Paul in his epistle to the Colossians really puts it best when he said:  Above all things…all of the virtues that I just mentioned like kindness, humility, meekness…above all of them, put on love…which is the bond of perfection.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou want to become perfect in this life?  Learn to love God more than anything else in this world.  Returning the gift of Love to God (and to one another) is the reason we were created.  It is truly the most important thing that we can do with our life.  This is why St. Macarius in his morning prayer reminds us to get out of bed, and literally RUN to the Master who Loves Mankind, so that we can accomplish His Holy Work here in the paradise that we have been given. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.st-marymagdalene.org\/parish-blog\/2021\/2\/2\/lord-have-mercy\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eSource\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Lord have mercy\" is also a shortened form of what is known as the \"Jesus prayer.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn order to enter more deeply into the life of prayer and to come to grips with St. Paul's challenge to pray unceasingly, the Orthodox Tradition offers the Jesus Prayer, which is sometimes called the prayer of the heart. The Jesus Prayer is offered as a means of concentration, as a focal point for our inner life. Though there are both longer and shorter versions, the most frequently used form of the Jesus Prayer is: \"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.\" This prayer, in its simplicity and clarity, is rooted in the Scriptures and the new life granted by the Holy Spirit. It is first and foremost a prayer of the Spirit because of the fact that the prayer addresses Jesus as Lord, Christ and Son of God; and as St. Paul tells us, \"no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit\" (1 Cor. 12:3). \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.goarch.org\/-\/the-jesus-prayer\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eSource\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"SISTER NETTLE","offers":[{"title":"5.5” x 8.5”","offer_id":43999344754822,"sku":null,"price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0244\/6291\/7696\/files\/999D7FF5-AE2F-4917-AD37-B0F1757F359F_4B83A8C3-B77E-438B-931C-0B6DB72A9835-VSCO_1.jpg?v=1779294618","url":"https:\/\/sisternettle.com\/products\/lord-have-mercy-mini-art-print-1","provider":"SISTER NETTLE","version":"1.0","type":"link"}