Every religion has had some sort of prayer, whether it be something as simple as 'Thank you, God, for putting me on this earth' or some twenty-seven and a half line behemoth of a request for food, rain, wine, and women. Here are some examples of real world prayers, starting with the one posted by CaptainPenguin here, and some created by the greatest minds *cough* of the Citadel.
Hail to Thee, Moon-Djehuty, who made different
the tongue of one country from another!
-Egyptian prayer to Thoth (Tehuti, or Djehuty)
Some monotheistic ones too.
Pygmy Hymn
In the beginning was God,
Today is God
Tomorrow will be God.
Who can make an image of God?
He has no body.
He is as a word
which comes out of your mouth.
That word! It is no more,
It is past, and still it lives!
So is God.
Nunc dimittis
Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace:
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum
Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:
Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.
-- -- -- -- --
At last, all-powerful Master,
You give leave to your servant
to go in peace, according to your promise.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
Which you have prepared for all nations,
The light to enlighten the Gentiles,
And give glory to Israel, your people.
Ave Maria/Hail Mary
Ave Maria, gratia plena Dominus tecum;
Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
-- -- -- --
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Blessing for Dwelling in the Sukkah (Jewish)
Barukh atah Adonai, Elohaynu, melekh ha-olam
asher keedishanu b'meetzvotav v'tzeevanu
leisheiv ba-sukkah (Amein)
-- -- -- --
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, king of the universe
who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us
to dwell in the sukkah (Amen)
Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem,
Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem,
Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem, sempiternam.
-- -- -- --
Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them rest,
Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them rest,
Blessed Lord Jesus, grant them eternal rest.
Invocation for Storing Corn (From 17th century Mexico)
I myself
Spirit in Flesh:
come forth
elder sister
Lady of Our Flesh
soon I shall place you
inside my jade jar
hold up the four directions
don't shame yourself
you shall be my breath
you shall be my cure
for me, Poor Orphan
for me, Centeotl
you, my elder sister
you, Tonacacihuatl
A Midwife's Invocation (Nahuatl prayer)
After a woman has given birth, the ritual with the newborn then begins. To wash it, they cast a spell on the vessel and on the water, thus:
Please come forth,
My jade calabash-cup
And my mother Jade-skirted One;
Soon you will bathe here,
Soon you will cleanse here
What was born in your hands,
What came to life in your hands.
Two prayers to the god Mihnamo Tiger-Eyes, to be said by his faithful before or during combat.
The Supplication
Mihnamo Tiger-Eyes give me strength and I will gorge you on the blood of my enemies.
Warrior's Prayer
Ready me now for the dawn
Crimson with the blood of those yet to be slain
Your path I have walked
Your prey I have stalked
My enemies blood like rain
And all but your eyes has gone.
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in praelio. Contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur. Tuque princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen.
Saint Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and all other evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Prayer for the dead
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.
Eternal rest grant onto them, O Lord, and perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
From Arth
FirstLand
HHHHHHOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMM The chants continue for hours. They are not words, they are vibrations harmonic to the keys of the world. It is a magic thing.
In Antioch and most places in SecondLand
In front of a cretch (found in just about every building in Arth)
O' Master of X (insert element or archetype)
mumble, mumble, mumble.
Nobody except the deity is supposed to hear your prayer. This also covers the form over function of appearing pious.
In Amar everyday and other places on holy days:
Sung
O' Hear my song, your heart of spirit
Hear my song and be pleased
We lift up our voices to you
To the choir of all we join
O' Hear my song, heart of spirit
Join with us to the world
We lift up our voices to call you
To us and this world be joined.
Avon and a few places in SecondLand
From the Beginning
To the End
We walk with your guidence GE-EM
We follow your ways
MaskLand
Dannu Grant Me Vision and Wisdom
More comming.
Part of a rhyme/prayer, cited by a priest and a farmer while blessing grain with the Pildun Bowl: (many variations exist)
Through winter meek,
the spring you seek,
then sleep you bind,
till earth you find.
Start to grow,
as you greet the plow,
From our strain,
shall grow the grain.
From earthy bed,
will come the bread,
then we come near,
to the next year.
- Dawn Prayer to Zevarith, God of Fire
Shadow-Banisher, we greet you.
Life-Spark, we rejoice in your coming.
Pure-Flame, we beg of you.
Banish the Shadow of Death.
Show us the way to Rebirth.
Cleanse us with your Eternal Fire.
I have faith in you Oh Emptiness.
I have faith in the Eternal Fast.
I have faith in the Infinite Thirst.
Ayyosha's suffering be praised! Overcome any bitterness that may have come
because you were not up to the magnitude
of the pain and suffering that was entrusted to you.
Like Ayyosha, the Mother of Hunger
who carries the pain of the world
in her heart, each one of us is
part of her heart and therefore
each is endowed with a certain measure
of cosmic hunger.
You are sharing in the totality
of that suffering and are called upon
to meet it in joy instead of
self-pity.
Only when you purge yourself of all sustenance
can you begin to tread the path of enlightenment.
Oh Emptiness that I come from,
out of which all things come,
I love you more than all the fires
that fence the world,
for the fire makes a circle of light for everyone,
and then no one outside learns of you.
But the Emptiness pulls in everything,
shapes and fires, plants and animals and my humble self.
How easily it gathers them,
powers and people.
It is possible a great energy is moving near us.
I have faith in you Oh Emptiness.
I have faith in the Eternal Fast.
I have faith in the Infinite Thirst.
Ayyosha's suffering be praised!
-Excerpts from The Gospel of Ayyosha
Found in an old tome of the Crimson Order of the Triguian faith:
From Holy Light comes Matchless Right,
No Evil shall escape His Sight,
Let thee which came from Evil's Blight,
Know His Power, Lord Trigu's Might!
Sir Francis Drake's Prayer (1577)
I find this personally moving, and something applicable to any explorer.
Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
with the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ.
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? Responses (13)
An excellent resource that will add detail and realism to any campaign with faith.
Voted not so much for what is here, but for what will be.
Unique Pariah! Great idea!
I sense Trigu's, Axtrami's and Andur's Glorious Orisons shall soon be gracing this fine vellum scroll!
What MoonHunter said... I do like this idea.
Also am amused by the Monty Python line. Nice reminder! :)
Not only that, but I found the original prayer AND translation.
Amusingly enough, I never knew the exact words for that Monty Python chant. Guess I'm not enough of a fanatic about it...Though I have done the coconut thing,in addition to climbing a tree and picking one too! No African Swallows for me!
Voting for the potential here. A very useful scroll.
A friend of mine, who's a period music buff, was offended that Monty Python didn't get the tune right.
Missed voting on this one. Nice one!