The Palm Tree Garden Gnostic Prayers

A Gnostic's Vow (O)

The boundless forms cannot be awakened:
I vow to help awaken them .

The infinite chain of attainment cannot be escaped:
I vow to escape it.

The limitless questions cannot be asked:
I vow to ask all of them.

The knowledge of self and God cannot be attained:
I vow to attain it.

The Sign of the Cross (EG, O)

In the name of the Father, + and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(Alternative): (touch forehead) Nous, (touch heart) Christos, (touch left shoulder) Pistis, (touch right shoulder) Sophia. (touch heart) Amen.

The Gnostic's Prayer (EG)

Almighty God, whose footstool is the highest firmament: Great Ruler of Heaven and all the powers therein: Hear the prayers of Thy servants who put their trust in Thee. We pray Thee, supply our needs from day to day: Command Thy heavenly host to comfort and succor us: That it may be to Thy glory and unto the good of man. Forgive us our transgressions as we forgive our brothers and sisters: Be present with us: strengthen and sustain us: For we are but instruments in Thy hands. Let us not fall into temptation: Defend us from all danger and evil: Let Thy mighty power ever guard and protect us, Thou great Fount of knowledge and wisdom: Instruct Thy servants by Thy holy presence: Guide and support us, now and forever. Amen.

The Pater Noster (C)

Pater noster qui es in celis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum;
adveniat regnum tuum.
Fiat voluntas tua sicut in celo et in terra.
Panem nostrum supersubstancialem da nobis hodie.
Et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in temptationem sed libera nos a malo.
Quoniam tuum est regnum et virtus et gloria in secula. Amen.

Our father, which art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our supplementary bread,
and remit our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And keep us from temptation and free us from evil.
Thine is the kingdom, the power and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The Hail Sophia (EG)

Hail Sophia, filled with light, the Christ is with Thee, blessed art Thou among the Aeons, and blessed is the Liberator of Thy light, Jesus. Holy Sophia, Mother of all gods, pray to the light for us Thy children, now and in the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory Be to the Father (EG)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. (or "throughout the Aeons of Aeons") Amen.

An Act of Gnosis (EG)

We know Thee
Thou eternal thought
immovable, unchangeable, unlimited and unconditioned
remaining unchanged in essential essence
while forever thinking the mystery of the universe
manifesting three extensions of cosmic power
creation, preservation and destruction -
Thou, Lord of all.

We know Thee
Father
Thou secret, supreme and ineffable Maker
unchanging in essence
yet ever-changing in appearance and manifestation
visualizing as an act of consciousness the mystery of creation
and by an act of will absorbed into life -
Creator.

We know Thee
Son
Thou Word, Thou Logos
divine manifestation of the Lord
alone-begotten of the great stillness
begotten by an act of consciousness alone
coming to the flesh to destroy incarnate error-
Sustainer.

We know Thee
Holy Spirit
Thou giver of life and goodness
principle of love, beauty and compassion
remaining here on earth to guide and care for us
Thou, with the Father and the Son
art the wholeness upon which the manifested universe is erected -
and Destroyed.

We know you
Messengers
custodians of the essential wisdom of the race
Preachers of the great Law
containing within yourselves spiritual insight and courage
living and laboring unselfishly
mediating between the supreme source and its creation
dedicated to the advancement of all.

We look to the union of the self
with the Fullness
and thus liberation
from the infinite chain of attainment.

Amen.

A Brief Credo (EG)

We acknowledge one great invisible God, the Unknown Father, the Aeon of Aeons, who brought forth with His providence: the Father, the Mother and the Son.

We acknowledge the Christos, the self-begotten Son, born from the virginal and ineffable Mother in the high Aeons: who in the Logos of God came down from above to annul the emptiness of this age and restore the fullness of the Aeon.

We acknowledge the Holy Spirit, our celestial Mother and consoler, who proceeded from Herself, a gift of Herself out of the silence of the unknown God.

We seek the gathering of the sparks of light from the sea of forgetfulness and we look to the glories of eternal life in the Fullness. Amen.

A Prayer to the Supernal Parents (EG)

All-powerful Lord, Our Father;
All-wise Lady, Our Mother;
Supernal parents of all that was, and is, and is to come;
Sustain us, your children this day.

Give us the wisdom to see your path,
And the strength to prevail in the darkest hour.

We thank you for the joys we have,
And for your grace bestowed on us
This day and every day.

May we thrive and grow in knowledge, wisdom and
understanding. Now and forevermore. Amen.

An Act of Contrition (EG)

(Especially important when in danger of death)

Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my faults which I have committed, not because of punishment which I may receive but chiefly because with my faults I have turned away from Thee, my God, who art all-good, and who art wholly deserving of my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to sin no more, and I ask to be forgiven even as I forgive those who have offended against me. Amen.

A Morning Prayer (EG)

On waking, Heavenly Father, I sing Thy praises and I dare say to Thee again with confidence the prayer that the divine Master taught us:

Our Father who art in the depths of the Aeons, may Thy Holy Logos and Christ be understood and adored in the Universe; may the kingdom of Thy Holy Spirit come to us, may Thy will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us this day our spiritual nourishment, the strength and courage to earn the bread for our body. Forgive us for our digressions from Thy laws, as our assembly forgives those who repent of their sins. Support us in our state of weakness so that we may not be carried away by our passions and deliver us from the deceptive mirages of the Archons. For we have no other ruler than Thy beloved Son, Christ our Savior whose is the kingdom, the triumph and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Lord, our divine Propator, hear my prayer, listen to my supplication; let me hear the voice of Thy mercy from the morning, for it is in Thy hands that I place myself. I adore Thee, I praise Thee, I give Thee thanks from the morning.

I thank Thee for having protected me during the night from all the dangers and all the evils which could have harmed me and from which Thou hast covered me with Thy protection. During this day, remain my support, my strength, my refuge, my salvation and my consolation.

Oh my Father, I thank Thee for all the good things that I have received from Thee so far. It is also by an effect of Thy goodness that I have come to see this day; I want to use it to serve Thee. I devote to Thee all my thoughts, words, deeds and sorrows. Bless them, oh my God, so that there will be none which are not activated by Thy love and which do not tend to glorify Thee. (From the usage of the French Gnostic Church)

An Evening Prayer (EG)

(With examination of conscience)

Night has spread its veils over us, everything invites us to meditate. I raise my thoughts to Thee, oh divine Propator, and I come into Thy presence to examine my conduct this day.

Did I not hide my religious thoughts when, on the contrary, I should have expressed them clearly? Have I not mixed the name of God with words of impatience, anger, untruth or thoughtlessness? Have I at all times had a firm will, and have I always subjected it to the light of Gnosis? Have I always preserved my spiritual dignity? Have I always been moderate in prosperity and patient in adversity? Have I been angry? Have I been proud, vain and ambitious? Have I always treated my neighbor like a brother or sister and with love? Have I acted out of hatred or vengeance? Have I abstained from gossip, from slander and from rash judgments? Have I put right the wrong caused to my fellowman? Have I always told the truth? Have I always kept my word when it has been given? Finally, have I spent my day well?

These, oh my Father, are my faults; I admit them before Thee, and even though Thou hast no need of my confession, and Thou seest into the depths of my heart, I confess them to Thee nevertheless and I admit them to heaven and to earth because I have sinned in words, in thoughts, in deeds and omissions, and this is my fault, my grievous fault. Oh my God and my Father, I have missed the mark Thou has set for me; break the hardness of my heart and by Thy infinite strength and goodness, bring forth from it tears of penitence. Forgive me, oh my God, for all the wrong that I have done and caused to be done; forgive me for all the good I have not done, and which I should have done, or that I have done badly; forgive me for all the transgressions which I know and also for those which I do not know; I feel sincere repentance for them and I wish to make an effort to put them right.

Lord, oh divine Propator, who art the Father of the Lights and the Protector of all those who trust in Thee, deign to take me in Thy holy protection during this night and keep me from all earthly dangers and spiritual perils. During the sleep of my body make my soul watch in Thee. Subdue in me all wrong desires; make my conscience enjoy a holy tranquillity; take far from me all evil thoughts and all the dangerous illusions of the Archons. Grant Thy powerful protection to all whom I love; my parents, my friends and to all those who make up the household of the Gnosis and to all human spirits still wandering in this place of exile whether they be in the body or out of the body.

Father of the Lights, as I fall asleep, I place my trust in Thee and in the double and shining star of the Pleroma. Amen. (From the usage of the French Gnostic Church, slightly modified)

The Gnostic Rosary (EG)

1. The sign of the Cross and the Gnostic`s Creed
2. The Gnostic`s prayer
3. Hail Sophia three times.
4. Gloria Patri
5. Announce the First Mystery: then say The Gnostic`s Prayer.

The First Gnostic Mystery:
The Assumption of Sophia.

Hail to the Great Savior, for He has lifted the Soul and the Heart of the Heavens
out of the prisonhouse of matter and raised Her up into the Pleroma.

6. Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
7. Gloria Patri.
8. Announce the Second Mystery : then say the Gnostic`s Prayer.

The Second Gnostic Mystery:
The Coronation of Sophia.

And the Lord gave unto Sophia a crown with twelve stars
which are the lights of redemption and the Throne of
Manifestation for Her seat, and He also gave unto Her
the Cross of Mystery as a scepter by which she shall rule the Aeons.

9. Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
10. Gloria Patri.
11. Announce the third Mystery: then say the Gnostic`s Prayer.

The Third Gnostic Mystery:
The Renunciation.

And the Lord laid the Kingdom at Her feet, and renounced all
sovereignty and rule unto Her Throne. The sword that he brought
he received at her hands, to redeem and to conquer for the reception of the Light.

12. Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
13. Gloria Patri.
14. Announce the fourth Mystery: then say the Gnostic`s Prayer.

The Fourth Gnostic Mystery:
The BrideChamber

"My Soul doth magnify the Lord, for a lowly handmaid hath been found
perfected in Sophia and the King is come. Be it done according to thy Word".

The King answered and said ,
"Arise, O Daughter of the Light, and
enter into thy rest."

15. Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
16. Gloria Patri.
17. Announce the fifth Mystery: then say the Gnostic`s Prayer.

The Fifth Gnostic Mystery:
The Descent of the New Jerusalem.

Behold, a small star from the Heavens descends to the Earth,
With Light more brilliant than the Sun.
It comes to dwell in the Hearts of the children of men,
and these hearts are the foundation upon which is built
the Eternal City, New Jerusalem.

18. Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
19. Closing prayer.

Closing Prayer

O Gentle, O Kind, O Blessed Sophia,
Thy children on earth call unto Thee.
We pray Thee, Beloved Mother, to cast forth
thy net of woven starlight.
Fling it wide across the ocean of the universe
to gather us home to the realms of Light.
Amen.

Prayer to St. Valentinus (O)

O glorious teacher and protector, Holy Valentinus,
we who are but babes rushing forth from the womb
ask thee to hear our requests,
attend to our prayers,
make clear the path of righteousness,
reveal by your intercession the Truth we seek,
and obtain for us the blessing of the Unknown Father,
that we may be found worthy to join you in the Limitless Light,
: through the merits of the Christos and of our Holy Mother Sophia. Amen.

My God and My Father (NH)

My God and my father,
who saved me from this dead hope,
who made me alive through a mystery of what he wills,

Do not let these days of this world be prolonged for me,
but manifest the day of your light which alone delivers me
into the Aeons of salvation.

Deliver me from this place of sojourn!
Do not let your grace be left behind in me,
but may your grace become pure!

Save me from an evil death!
Bring me from a tomb alive, because your grace -
love - is alive in me to accomplish a work of fullness!

Save me from sinful flesh,
because l trusted in you with all my strength,
because you are the life of the life!

Save me from a humiliating enemy!
Do not give me into the hand of a judge who is severe with sin!
Forgive me all my debts of the days of my life!

Because I am alive in you, your grace is alive in me.
I have renounced everyone, but you I have confessed.
Save me from evil affliction!

But now is the time and the hour.
O Holy Spirit, send me salvation through the light of gnosis,
the light which dwells in a power beyond thought. Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving (NH)

We give thanks to You! Every soul and heart is lifted up to You, undisturbed name, honored with the name 'God' and praised with the name 'Father', for to everyone and everything (comes) the fatherly kindness and affection and love, and any teaching there may be that is sweet and plain, giving us mind, speech, (and) knowledge: mind, so that we may understand You, speech, so that we may expound You, knowledge, so that we may know You. We rejoice, having been illuminated by Your knowledge. We rejoice because You have shown us Yourself. We rejoice because while we were in (the) body, You have made us divine through Your knowledge.

The thanksgiving of the one who attains to You is one thing: that we know You. We have known You, intellectual light. Life of life, we have known You. Womb of every creature, we have known You. Womb pregnant with the nature of the Father, we have known You. Eternal permanence of the begetting Father, thus have we worshiped Your goodness. There is one petition that we ask: we would be preserved in knowledge. And there is one protection that we desire: that we not stumble in this kind of life.

Prayer of the Apostle Paul (NH)

Oh most Glorious Logos, grant me your light, give me your mercy! My Redeemer, redeem me, for I am yours; the one who has come forth from you. You are my mind; bring me forth! You are my treasure house; open for me! You are my fullness; take me to you! You are (my) repose; give me the perfect thing that cannot be grasped!

I invoke you, the one who is and who pre-existed in the name which is exalted above every name, through Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords, the King of the ages; give me your gifts, of which you do not repent, through the Son of Man, the Spirit, the Paraclete of truth. Give me authority when I ask you; give healing for my body when I ask you through the Evangelist, and redeem my eternal light soul and my spirit. And the First-born of the Pleroma of grace -- reveal him to my mind!

Grant what no angel eye has seen and no archon ear (has) heard, and what has not entered into the human heart which came to be angelic and (modelled) after the image of the psychic God when it was formed in the beginning, since I have faith and hope. And place upon me your beloved, elect, and blessed greatness, the First-born, the First-begotten, and the wonderful mystery of your house; for yours is the power and the glory and the praise and the greatness for ever and ever. Amen.

Come to me my Kinsman (M)

Come to me, my kinsman, the light, my Guide.
Since I went forth into the darkness I was given a water to drink.
I bear up beneath a burden which is not my own.
I am in the midst of my enemies, the beasts surrounding me ;
the burden which I bear is of the powers and principalities.
They burned in their wrath, they rose up against me.
Matter and her sons divided me up amongst them,
they burnt me in their fire, they gave me a bitter likeness.
The strangers with whom I mixed, me they know not;
they tasted my sweetness, they desired to keep me with them.
I was life to them, but they were death to me ; I bore up beneath them,
they wore me as a garment upon them.
I am in everything, I bear the skies, I am the foundation, I support the earths;
I am the Light that shines forth, that gives joy to the souls.
I am the life of the world; I am the milk that is in all trees; I am the sweet water
that is beneath the sons of matter.
I bore these things until I had fulfilled the will of my Father; the First Man is
my father whose will I have carried out.
Lo, the darkness I have subdued ; lo, the fire of the fountains I have extinguished,
as the sphere turns hurrying round, as the sun receives the refined part of life.
O soul, raise your eyes to the height and contemplate your bond, lo, your fathers
are calling you.
Now go aboard the Ship of Light and receive your garland of glory and return to
your kingdom and rejoice with all the Aeons.

The Apparelhamentum, Confession of Sins (C)

We have come before God and before you and before the ordinances of the Holy Church that we may receive pardon and penance for all our sins in thought, word and deed from our birth until now and we ask of God mercy and of you that you pray for us to the Holy Father of Mercy that He forgive us.

Let us worship God and declare all our sins and numerous offences in the sight of the Father, the Son and the honoured Holy Spirit, of the honoured Holy Gospels and the honoured Holy Apostles, by prayer and faith and by the salvation of all the upright and glorious Christians and blessed ancestors asleep and here present, for their sake we ask you, holy lord, to pardon all our sins.
Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.
- Amen.

For numerous are the sins by which we daily offend God, night and day, in thought, in word and deed, wittingly and unwittingly, and especially by the desires the evil spirits bring to us in the flesh which clothes us.
Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.
- Amen.

Whereas we are thaught by God`s Holy Word as well as by the Holy Apostles and the preaching of our spiritual brothers to reject all fleshly desire and all uncleanness and to do the will of God by doing good we, unworthy servants that we are, not only do not do the will of God as we should, but more often give way to desires of the flesh and the cares of the world, to such an extent that we wound our spirits.
Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.
-Amen.

We go with those who are of the world, mixing with them, talking and eating with them, and sinning in many things so that we wound our brothers and our sisters.
Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.
- Amen.

By our tongues we fall into idle words, vain talk, mockery and malice, detraction of our brothers and sisters whom we are not worthy to judge nor to condemn their faults. Among Christians we are sinners.
Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.
- Amen.

The penance which we received we have not observed as we ought to have done, neither the fasting nor the prayer. We have wasted our days and hours. While we are saying the Holy Prayer our senses are diverted to carnal desires and worldly cares, so that at this moment we hardly know what we can offer to the Father of the Just.
Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.
- Amen.

The Shepherd's Prayer (CH)

Holy art Thou, O God, the Father of the Universe.

Holy art Thou, O God, whose Will perfects itself by means of its own Powers.

Holy art Thou, O God, who willeth to be known and art known by Thine own.

Holy art Thou,who didst by Logos make to consist the things that are.

Holy art Thou, of whom all Nature hath been made an image.

Holy art Thou, whose Form Nature hath never made.

Holy art Thou, more powerful than all power.

Holy art Thou, transcending all pre-eminence.

Holy Thou art, Thou better than all praise.

Accept my reason's offerings pure, from soul and heart for aye stretched up to Thee, O Thou unutterable, unspeakable, Whose Name naught but the Silence can express.

Give ear to me who pray that I may ne'er of Gnosis fail, which is our common being's nature; and fill me with Thy Power, and with this Grace, that I may give the Light to those in ignorance.

For this cause I believe, and I bear witness; I go to Life and Light. Blessed art Thou, O Father. Thy offspring would holy be as Thou art holy, even as Thou gave Thy full authority. Amen.

The Gnostic Lord's Prayer (AGCA)

Our Father and Mother God,
you are within us all,
and you make all things holy and united,
as you are holy and united, one God living and true.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
which is love to all that lives in the heavens and on the earth.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and let us give our daily bread to those who have none;
and heal our broken spirits,
as we heal and forgive others.
And lead us, through the darkness of your mystical love,
to the light of the pleroma,
Amen.

The Hail Sophia (2) (AGCA)

Hail Sophia, Lady of Light,
Mystical Lover of my spirit.
Blessed are you, Woman of Wisdom,
and blessed are the gifts you bestow on us your children.

Holy Sophia, goddess who leads to the One God,
fill me with your emptiness,
and darken my spirit with your light,
Amen.

Sophia's Light (A nighttime prayer) (AGCA)

In darkest night, when lights are dim,
and all in sight seems sad and grim,
I find you there, your arms surround me,
your spirit fills me and it grounds me.
I look to you, Lady of Truth,
most ancient One, yet eternal youth,
to keep me safe, protect my heart,
and with the wisdom you impart
fill up my empty mind and soul
so that, my Lover, you can make whole,
all that was broken in this day –
and that is what I ask and pray.

Salve Regina Sophia (AGCA)

Hail, Queen of Heaven,
Mother most merciful,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
You lead us on this pilgrim journey,
and to you we cry when we seem mired,
in the pain of exile from our true home.
And, gentle Mother Sophia, you soothe our tears.
Turn then, most gracious Advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us,
and bring us into the unity of the Pleroma,
with your heavenly consort, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Gnostic Prayerbook