PRAYERS OF THE VITALISTS (See footnote 1)
© (2008) Clay Moldenhauer


 Song of Creation
St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) (See foonote 2)

Most high, all powerful, God of Goodness;
To Thee be praise and glory, Honor and all thankfulness
To Thee alone, Most High, are these things due,
And no person* is worthy to speak of Thee.

Be thou praised, O Lord, for all Thy creation,
More especially for our Brother the Sun,
Who bringeth forth the day and givest light thereby,
For he is glorious and splendid in his radiance,
And to Thee, Most High, he bears similitude.

Be Thou praised, O Lord, for our Sister the Moon, and for the Stars:
In the heavens,
Thou hast set them bright and sparkling and beautiful.

Be thou praised, O Lord, for our Brother the Wind,
For the air and for the clouds, For serene and for tempestuous days,
For through these dost Thou sustain all living things.

Be thou praised, O Lord, for our Sister the Water,
For she giveth boundless service, and is lowly, precious and pure.

Be thou praised, O Lord, for our Brother the Fire,
Through whom Thou givest light in the night hours,
For he is beautiful and joyous, vigorous and strong.

Be thou praised, O Lord, for our Sister Mother Earth,
Who doth nourish us and ruleth over us,
And bringeth forth divers fruit, and bright flowers and herbs.

Be thou praised, O Lord, for those who show forgiveness through Thy love,
And that do endure sickness and sorrow,
Blessed are they that do suffer in lowliness of spirit,
For by Thee, Most High, shall they be exalted.

Be thou praised, O Lord, for our Sister Bodily Death, From whom no person* may escape.
Blessed are they who shall be found doing Thy most Holy Will,
For the second dying shall work them no evil.
Be Thou praised and blessed, O Lord, in endless thanksgiving, and served in all humility.


The Traditional Jesus Prayer (Lord's Prayer) ( See footnote 3)
Adapted from The New Testament: Matthew 6 : 9-15, Luke 11: 2-4

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hollowed be Thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
And forgive us our tresspasses,
As we forgive those who tresspass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kindom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.


The Edited Jesus Prayer (Lord's Prayer) (See footnote 4)
Adapted from The New Testament: Matthew 6 : 9-15, Luke 11: 2-4

Our Father, who art in heaven, hollowed be Thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And let us not be lead into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kindom, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.


Toward The One
Sufi Order In the West : Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, New York

Toward The One
The Perfection Of Love
Harmony And Beauty
The Only Being
United With All The Illuminated Souls
Who Form The Embodiment Of The Master
The Spirit Of Guidance



 Morning Affirmation (Crossroads Waldorf School: Grades 5-12)
Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925)

I do behold the world
The sun, the stars, the stone,
The plants that live and grow,
The beasts that feel and live.
And humanity to spirit gives
A dwelling in his soul.

I do behold the soul
That living dwells in me.
God's spirit lives and moves
In light of sun and soul,
In heights of world without,
In depths of soul within.

Spirit of God, to thee,
I, seeking, turn myself
That strength and grace and skill
For learning and for work
In me may live and grow.


Gayatri
Ancient Vedic Prayer (Under Construction)


America The Beautiful
Katherine Lee Bates (1859-1929) ( See footnote 5)

Oh, Beautiful for spacious skys
For amber waves of grain.
For purple mountains majesty
Above the fruited plain.
America, America,
God shed his/her* grace on thee.
And crown thy good with Brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

[* In the interest of inclusive language, the term "man," or 'him" has been edited with modern equivalents.]


FOOTNOTES to "Prayers of the Vitalists"

1. "Prayers of the Vitalists" were collected and edited by Clay Moldenhauer for inclusion in the manuscript "Schwasterra's Song: Lessons of the Vital Wheel in Nature and History." More prayers will be added later. All prayers are to be case studies in the phenomena of the 5 Element Teaching and the Octave in the prayers of both religious and sectarian worship.

2. SOURCE: This version of the prayer can be found in the THE HYMN OF THE SUN by St. Francis of Assisi, published and illustrated by Toni Wright, Broken Glass Inc./Lancaster Productions, 1990. Contact Broken Glass at P.O. Box 490, Rhinebeck, NY. 12572. The illustrations of each section of the prayer by Toni Wright make this book a rare treasure. One illustration is planned for Song - of St. Francis in prayer with all of nature in repose. This illustration, like the Prayer itself, presents in one image the Law of the Seven, the 5 Kingdoms of Nature, the Law of the Three, and the 5 Elements. It is an (oasical) image very similiar to the image given in "Talking With Angels" (English Version:1988), but in "Talking With Angels," the image is called the "Tree of Life."

EDITORS NOTE: Historical notes following the illustrated text of THE HYMN OF THE SUN inform the reader that St. Francis's first version of the prayer was titled "Canticle of Creatures" and has since become known as the "Hymn to the Sun." The book title "Hymn of the Sun" has an obvious change in preposition [underlines mine] for which the publishers offer no explanation. The title given here "Song of Creation" is this editor's attempt to honor the original title "Canticle of Creatures." The term "Creatures" suggests that there is a living force in all the named things of creation within the prayer, while the term "Canticle" communicates that there is an on-going collaboration,"song," of these named creatures. These ideas are borne out by the substance of the prayer.

It is ironic that St. Francis started his mission of material simplicity and devotional recognition of God's creation as a rejected rebel of the Catholic Church of his time. He is now recognized as the Patron Saint of Ecology by the Church.

3. The New Testament ( Matthew 6:9-14 ,and Luke 11:2-4)

EDITORS NOTE : The Lord's Prayer given here is the traditional version learned by most Christians. It called here The Jesus Prayer as there is no quote in the New Testament of Jesus calling this prayer the Lord's prayer. This traditional version follows the wording and punctuation found in "The Common Book of Prayer" of the Episcopal Church. The traditional version is actually an editing of two similiar versions in the NT (given below) into one, plus additions from the Old Testament. From "bread' to "evil", some historians sense something a first century Palestinian would pray for. Before and after these words, some historians sense what Church leaders might have added many years after Jesus's death. See C.P.Michael's essay.

 THE JESUS PRAYER - Matthew Version
Matthew 6: 9-13
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done as if it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

THE JESUS PRAYER - Luke Version
Luke 11: 2-4
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.

4. One criticism of the Jesus Prayer by Michael is that line 6 ( "And lead us not into temptation" ) ascribes deceit to the Creator. For that reason, the line could be justifiably altered (or adultered) to "And let us not be lead into temptation" which would ascribe help and protection to the Creator, leaving the sourse of the temptation undefined. I encourage readers to look at this sensitive treatment of this line (6) given by Rev. Msgr. Chester P. Michael and Marie Norrisey in "A Meditation on the Lord's Prayer, "The Open Door,” Vol.March-June 1988, c/o The Open Door, Inc. P.O.Box 855, Charlottesville,Va. 22902. See also the essay "The Lord's Prayer" by Rudolf Steiner (c/o The Anthroposophic Press,1977.) for its connections to the subtle bodies of humankind. The New Testament originals are found at Matthew 6: 9-15, and Luke 11: 2-4. The traditional version as well as the edited version offered here captures all the points made by both New Testament versions, follows the same order, and uses the same key words. The quoted material below may provide a helpful starting point for group discussion or personal reflection on the subject of prayer. Any discussion, however, should include the Jesus Seminar comments as to the authenticity (ie. Jesus’s words) of the below quote as well as the quotes that render the Jesus Prayer. (See “The Five Gospels,” Funk and Hoover, Polebridge Press, 1993)

"And When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are : for they love to pray standing in the churches and the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like into them: for your Father knowth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."
From Matthew 6 : 5-8.

"Prayer is turning up in the most inexpected places. At New England Deacones Hospital in Boston, Harvard Medical School cardiologist Herbert Benson prescribes the healing "relaxation effects" that come from regular prayer and meditation. ...... In an experiment at San Francisco General Hospital, reported in the Southern Medical Journal, a researcher asked outsiders to pray for group of cardiac patients. Even though the patients weren't told that prayers were being said for them, the study found that they recovered faster than those in an otherwise identical control group."
From "Talking To God," Newsweek Magazine, January 6,1992, p.40.

5. This prayer, now the unofficial national anthem of the United States, appeared as a poem by Katherine Lee Bates in the Congregationalist Magazine, July 4, 1895, and was later set to music by Samuel Ward. (From Academic American Encyclopedia, 1980.) A rousing gospel rendition of this song is done by Whitney Houston on the Arista label (CAS 2207) along with the "Star Spangled Banner" as performed at Super Bowl XXV. All sales of this label go to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund.

END OF FOOTNOTES to "Prayers of the Vitalists"