Prayer Practice: ‘Lord Have Mercy’

At Malling Abbey we use the phrase ‘Lord Have Mercy’ frequently in our liturgy, both in English and in the original Greek: ‘Kyrie Eleison’. It is a very early Christian prayer and has been carried forward in the original Greek even when the rest of the liturgy has been translated into other languages.

These days it is often seen as penitential and is used in many Eucharistic rites in place of a prayer of confession. I used to get hung up on a sense of grovelling before God and so felt uncomfortable using this phrase. But it’s central to Christian prayer and worth understanding more of its background so that it can take its rightful place in our prayer.

In the desert tradition we find:

Abba Macarius was asked, "How should one pray?" The old man said, "There is no need at all to make long discourses; it is enough to stretch out one's hands and say, 'Lord, as you will, and as you know, have mercy.' And if the conflict grows fiercer, say, 'Lord, help!' He knows very well what we need, and he shows us his mercy."

It is a plea for God’s help in all things, not specifically focussed on our sinfulness. We see this in its liturgical use, especially in the Eastern Churches, as a response in a litany of intercession. We do this in our own Eucharist. The Kyrie Eleison without any petitions in our offices is the residue of what was once a longer litany of intercession.

The writer Helen Luke in her book ‘Old Age’ points out that the literal meaning of the word ‘mercy’ has to do with exchange. I’ll quote Cynthia Bourgeault who also picks up on this in her discussion of Abba Macarius’s prayer:

At those innermost depths of our being, the human and the divine are always commingling in a dynamic and life-giving exchange.

And in fact, that's the literal meaning of the word "mercy." It comes from the Old Etruscan root merc – as in "commerce" or "mercantile" – meaning "exchange." Mercy has fundamentally nothing to do with "pity" or "clemency," with which it is often confused. It is rather the direct experience of the unity restored: my own aliveness and God's aliveness flowing as a single united will. And from this sacred commerce, renewed continuously at the center of our being, all else will flow.’

This sense of exchange, of flow between me and God is at the heart of prayer. God’s mercy is the expression of God’s longing for relationship with us. We can sense ourselves immersed in God’s mercy, at one with it, whilst also knowing God’s otherness and the need for God’s mercy to reach across the gulf between us. It’s one of the paradoxes of prayer.

We can touch into ‘Lord have mercy’ in a physical way by standing with hands outstretched as we pray, as does Abba Macarius. The verbal prayer and the gesture are as one.

Start with a simple body awareness exercise (such as that given in the handout 'Body Awareness into Prayer') to awaken a whole-body awareness. Then as you remain standing let your arms float up, keeping them relaxed, until your hands are stretched out with a sense of reaching out to God from your heart. Silently, inwardly, repeat the words ‘Lord have mercy’. Let the words flow with your breathing, finding their own rhythm. Let your gesture and the words together carry your intention to be present to God and to rest in God’s mercy. When your mind wanders off, come back gently to the words ‘Lord have Mercy’.

If you feel the need to sit, carry with you that sense of physically reaching out in the way that you sit, placing your hands upturned on your thighs. Let your whole being reach out to God.

Pray in this way for 20 to 30 minutes.

Mother Anne Clarke, Abbess OSB, Malling Abbey © The Benedictine Community at Malling Abbey 2025