Le blog de la Bergerie

A Trinitarian Prayer Before Going To Sleep

To pray just before going to sleep is a good practice. To try to finish your own "thinking and cogitating mode" by a sweet prayer (or a silent hymn) makes sense to me and to address one final prayer to the Most Blessed Trinity is to go directly to the top! I used to say the following short exclamation before going to sleep "Blessed be God, blessed be his Holy Name!" and I don't remember when I started directing it to the Most Holy Trinity and incorporating into it a simple breathing exercise. But it certainly seemed to mesh harmoniously. And over the course of a winter, I built it up into a dozen verses, all specifically directed towards the Trinity. It took me a while because I kept refining it. I wanted to keep it straightforward and simple, but theologically sound, and I even wanted it to be beautiful, to glorify God from whom comes all truth and beauty and goodness.

The breathing part is just a rhythm, which is soothing in itself, and it is made of inhaling slowly (for the beginning "Blessed be...)", then holding your breath a few seconds to visualize it and then exhaling for the end of the verse. It should be done in your heart, as silently and quietly as possible, and with complete reverence and trust. I hope my way of describing this prayer is not too confusing, because it really is a simple one, a very logical one and it goes in groups of three (of course!). I had sent it to a very good friend of mine, years ago, and she said she loved the words but could not understand the breathing part. So it is entirely possible I am not explaing it well enough. But nevertheless, I am posting it and you are welcome to comment on it. Here is the text of the 12 verses:

1     "Blessed be God, Creator of heaven and earth, blessed be his Holy Name!"
2     "Blessed be God, who holds me in the palm of his hand, who knows every hair on my head, blessed be his Holy Name!"
3     "Blessed be God, the Holy One, the Almighty One, the Eternal One!"

4     "Blessed be Jesus, the Savior of the World, blessed be his Holy Name!"
5     "Blessed be Jesus, who redeemed "me", who redeemed every one of us, blessed be his Holy Name!
6     "Blessed be Jesus, the Lamb of God, the King of the Universe, the Goal and the Way!"

7     "Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the One who reveals to us the realities of the faith, blessed be his Holy Name!"
8     "Blessed be the Holy Spirit, who leads us to evangelize, causing heartstrings to vibrate, blessed be his most Holy Name!"
9     "Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, the Giver of Life, the Spirit of Truth, blessed be his Holy Name!"

10     "Blessed You Be, Ô Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit!"
11     "Blessed You Be, Ô Most Holy Trinity, the most perfect model of Love and Relationship!"
12     "Blessed You Be, Ô Most Holy Trinity, I (say your name),greatly thank YOU and I place all my trust and hope in You ."


Since I am a visual type of person, since I love graphics and photography and illustrations, I've come up with a picture for each step of this Trinitarian prayer. I wondered about it for a while, I was not sure how to illustrate the attributes of God - and I do think it's almost impossible to do since He is above and beyond our own mind and imagination - but I also know that He sent us His Son and the Holy Spirit to help us. Along with Pascal, I think the infinitely big is as hard to grasp as the infinitely small, so we use images and sketches, analogies and stories. It's the same in science by the way, how can you illustrate the ADN or the mapping of our genetic codes? We do try and the result gives us an idea. Therefore, I thought to illustrate the love of God, I could turn to the beauty and purity of a drop of rain on the petals of a flower; to illustrate eternity, I use mountain peaks in the sunrise light; and for his omnipotence, I turn to what has been used before: thunder and lightning.

When I tried to illustrate the steps about Jesus, I had no problem at all. It's so much easier to illustrate Jesus (his life, his teachings) than God or the Holy Spirit. Thank God for the Incarnation! There is already a vast field of stained glass windows and icons, statues or even prayer gardens designed and built around Jesus Christ, for him and because of him, and this has been going on for 2000 years. Well, if you count the archetypical designs of the OT, such as the angels in the ark of the Covenant, the tabernacle, then we can say that there is an even much older art legacy of Christ. Actually to be completely accurate, everything about God, about the Most Holy Trinity, is "within time and out of time, it is eternal" so I should include the foreshadowing of Revelation, with all its revelations about what has happened, what is happening and what will happen...

I found the challenge to illustrate the Holy Spirit the hardest. I understand (and love) the symbols so often used of the bird in flight, the flames, the wind… but I turned to something else, I turned to the smile of a child - in this case, my beautiful and gracious grand-daughters ! - to epitomize the joy and energy that we feel when we see a lovely and loved face. I heard a terrific Lent sermon once on the soothing unction of the Holy Spirit, moisturizing our soul just like a suntan lotion can soften and nourish our parched skin, just like a smile can uplift us on a "blah" sort of day, just as a piece of beautiful music can be a soothing and peaceful unction to our itching ears…Therefore, I see/hear a power in hearing the voice of a loved one, in listening to a favorite piece of music of ours, I recognize in this power the ability to transport us out of ourselves, it will put wings under us and take us one step closer to the truth, the good and the beautiful. It is especially fitting to hear beautiful singing within a church, within the liturgy, it is the very best setting and will bear much fruits.

When trying to illustrate the Trinity, I had to use the very beautiful (and profound) icon of Rubliev. It is a wonderful starting point to understand the importance of "trinitarian relationships": how we relate to ourselves (how we take care of our own body and of the gifts that God gave us), how we relate to our neighbor (how we take care of our brothers and sisters, the ones next door or the ones across the planet and first and foremost how we relate to God (how we love Him and trust Him and thank Him). When we die, the only thing we take with us is our own capacity to love (and create and nurture relationships) and how we have used it, how much we exercised it and respected it during our own life on this earth. So this is why for this step I used a prayerful illustration of love, many loves, maternal love, brotherly love, friendship, caring for our neighbor, caring for the ones who cannot car for themselves, appreciating the reletionships we have been given (via family and friends or co-workers or co-churchgoers...). I am talking about love and compassion and caring, repentance, patience and forgiveness, helping out, assisting others, obeying, anticipating others need, all of them being crucial facets of relationships. When we die, we certainly cannot take our bodies with us, neither do we take our material properties, nor wealth, but neither do we take our titles or diplomas, numbers of Likes on facebook nor numbers of followers or subscribers on Instagram or YouTube etc. Naked souls! But our souls thrive on love and relationships and we do have the promise of the resurrection, which is a huge deal. Think of it. It changes everything. Eternal life, life beyond death, being with our loved ones again and being with God.

Thank God for the Most Blessed Trinity! I am not saying that it is an easy concept to understand, at least not for myself. It certainly took me a while. I certainly wandered off for the longest time. But God was there all along. And now, after having been back within the fold of the Church for 25 years, thanks to His grace and His Church, I feel I can "grasp" the wonderful mystery of the Holy Trinity a little better. But although I can comprehend and appreciate it very often - it is also easily fleeting, it is not constant. This is where the will comes into place. Our will to pray and to love and to trust. The will is the motor of the conscience. And we have to exercise it regularly to have a healthy and strong soul. So we learn and pray, we read and listen to the Church and to our spiritual leaders and then we witness and share. This Trinitarian prayer being my attempt at sharing what I have learned because of my own gratitude for the faith…

Photos and collages, all mine (clockwise):

  - The blessing of the Church on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul at “St Peter Eastern Catholic Mission", Ukiah, California;
  - Details of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, l’Eglise de Notre Dame de l’Assomption, Samoëns, France;
  - Young flower girl with rose petals, Corpus Christi Procession, Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, organized yearly
      by the Monastery of Perpetual Adoration Sisters and always with the participation of the Sisters of Mother Teresa;
  - One oratory in Vercland, whose owner made the promise to Mary, while he was in Dachau, to build her a small oratory if and when he will get out.
  - Lamb of God Tabernacle, in Haute-Combe Abbaye (12th century), France;
  - Chapelle de Vercland in winter, built in 1620, dedicated to St Symphorian;
  - Notre Dame des Victoires, the Marist French Church in downtown San Francisco, California;
  - Concert Baroque Vivaldi, Haendel, with a French-Swiss symphony in l’Eglise de Notre Dame de l’Assomption, Samoëns,
  - The source and the goal of our faith and devotion, the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus Christ, in the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance for adoration and petition, our own spiritual growth and constant offers of praise and gratitude all through the world, in churches and chapels and monasteries, whether we are aware of Masses or Adoration going on, they are happening and they sustain us all in this little planet of ours!

MicheleSzekely@2014-2022