Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

We shall be using this prayer at various times during Lent - mainly during the Intercessions on Sundays.

It is a prayer from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, where it occurs during the Divine Liturgy, the main Eucharistic Service of the Church. It is known as the ‘Trisagion’, the ‘Thrice-Holy’.

Lent is a time for self-examination, for a re-consideration of our ‘walk with God’, our lives of prayer and service, of worship and study, and a time to think about the balance of our lives - work and rest, social and personal time, time with others and time alone, etc.

And yet, as we do this, the Trisagion reminds us that the focus is always on God - the Holy, Strong and Immortal God who created us, redeemed us and sustains us.

The Trisagion also reminds us, in its last phrase, that the Holy, Strong and Immortal God has a concern for us. This is at the heart of the Christian message, and why the keeping of Lent, and the celebration of Holy Week and Easter, are so important.

Not long ago, at Christmas, we celebrated Christ coming into the world. Now, in the season ahead, we are remembering his death on the Cross for our sakes, and his rising again on Easter Day - a victory of life over death, of love over hate, of good over evil.

So, the Trisagion focuses us on the holiness and otherness of God - his distance - and also on the personal nature of God’s concern for each of us - his nearness.

It is a very valuable prayer to use, during Lent or at any other time, and I hope you will value its inclusion during the services during this period.

Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.