Οἶκος Υ'
The Inadequacy of Praise
The poet acknowledges that no amount of human song can ever fully express the depth of God's mercy.
Every hymn falls short when it tries to match the multitude of your many mercies. Even if we offered you as many songs as there are grains of sand, Holy King, we would still accomplish nothing worthy of what you have given us who cry out to you: Alleluia.✦✦
Read the original Latin
Ὕμνος ἅπας ἡττᾶται, συνεκτείνεσθαι σπεύδων, τῷ πλήθει τῶν πολλῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου· ἰσαρίθμους γὰρ τῇ ψάμμῳ ὠδάς, ἂν προσφέρωμέν σοι, Βασιλεῦ ἅγιε, οὐδὲν τελοῦμεν ἄξιον, ὧν δέδωκας ἡμῖν τοῖς σοὶ βοῶσιν· Ἀλληλούια.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Gen.22.17;Ps.139.18 — because I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore, and your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies; Ps.139.18 — If I could count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
- ↩Ps.50.3;Dan.9.18 — Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a great tempest rages. Dan.9.18 — Incline your ear, O my God, and hear; open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For it is not because of our righteous deeds that we pour out our pleas before you, but because of your great mercies.
Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos companion
Never lose the rhythm again
Chosen Portion delivers your morning, midday and night office to your phone — the Hours, without the bells.
Chosen Portion is a modern Book of Hours: it turns the fixed-hour structure this collection preserves into scheduled, tappable daily prayer on your phone.
- Three daily prayer moments scheduled around your real calendar, not a monastery's
- Psalms and historic prayers sequenced for you — no page-flipping or decision fatigue
- A visible streak of completed offices, so the rhythm compounds instead of collapsing