By: Bernadette Parrott
Welcome to our Faith Renewal Series that is exploring The ABCs of Being Catholic. We are invited on a journey through the alphabet to explore Catholic terms, beliefs, and traditions. In this post we focus on the letter “K”. There is only one term for this letter and then we will move on to a special post about Holy Week. After that, we will resume our regular posts with the letter “L”.
If you missed our Introduction to this series <click here>. To go back to the letter “J” <click here>. To go to the “Holy Week” post <click here>.
Kyrie Eleison
March 22, 2021
The power of the prayer of the penitent child of God.
The Kyrie Eleison is prayed with the Christe Eleison and is one of the few Greek prayers we use in our Latin Mass. This powerful prayer which translates to Lord Have Mercy, Christ Have Mercy can, for me, easily be the basis and the beginning of all our prayer as through it we ask for God’s gracious mercy even though we are not worthy of it.
It’s an ancient prayer of the Church and we find references throughout Holy Scripture to its formula, and it can be voiced either through song or spoken word. We know that it had entered the Mass by the early 6th century but prayed outside the Liturgy of the Mass even earlier than that. Part of our Penitential Rite during Mass, it is also said in the Divine Office and the Litany of the Saints along with other prayers as well (including the Passion Reading).
It invites us to approach God in humility. We bring our Kyrie Eleison, our “Lord have mercy” before Him through all our prayer, and we remind ourselves that we are a child of God, loved deeply by Him.
Ever wonder why we say three intercessions during Mass: “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy? I believe God hears our first petition, but this three-fold prayer, allows us time to center our penitent heart. Maybe it looks something like this for you – it did (and sometimes still does for me) – first time – “Oh – it’s the Lord Have Mercy” – second time – I’ve now managed to at least close my eyes and enter into the prayer – third time – the prayer is now coming from the depths of my heart. Kyrie Eleison – Lord, have mercy. But it goes much deeper than that. Through this prayer we humbly bring to the altar our very being – our weaknesses, sins, concerns, and suffering. We leave it there and offer it to God and cry aloud “Kyrie eleison”, perhaps one to the Father, one to the Son and one to the Holy Spirit.
Two simple words that call to our God and He hears with a loving heart:
Kyrie Eleison
If you missed our Introduction to this series <click here>. To go back to the letter “J” <click here>. To go to the “Holy Week” post <click here>.