5th Sunday of Great Lent

Posted on by Fr. Peter

Hebrews 2:11-18
Luke 1:24-38

This Sunday commemorates the life of St. Mary of Egypt, who is a shining example of repentance from sin through prayer and fasting. She lived a sinful life for many years, but was converted to a Christian life. She went into the wilderness to live an ascetic life for many years, praying and fasting in repentance of her previous sinful life, and dying there. St. Mary’s life exemplifies her conviction about Christ, which motivated the changing of her life from sin to holiness through repentance. Her understanding of repentance involved not a mere change from small things in her life, but an extreme change of her entire attitude and thoughts. The Church commemorates St. Mary for her recognition of her own sins as an example of how one can free oneself from the slavery and burden of wrongdoings. This recognition of sin is imperative during Lent for the faithful as a means of self-examination and preparation for a more virtuous life in anticipation of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ.
From: The Great Lent – A Week by Week Meaning, Rev. George Mastrantonis

Crisis in Indonesia

Posted on by Fr. Peter
The Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (Ecumenical Patriarchate) wishes to issue the following statement, concerning situations in Indonesia.

The Orthodox Christians in Indonesia have joined the list of those attacked by Muslim extremists. Father Methodios Sri Gunarjo, his family and other Orthodox were terrorized and threatened this past weekend. Although there are no reports of physical harm at this point, the verbal, psychological and other forms of abuse continue. At one point, a knife was put to the throat of Father Methodios, as his attackers demanded that he close the Churches in the Boyolali area of Central Java. It should be noted that there is a thriving ministry in this area.

A large group of Muslim protestors has gathered in the Church area and continues making demands upon Father Methodios and the Church community. The attackers are not from Boyolali, as local Christians and Muslims have joined in showing their support for Father Methodios, who is noted for the love and compassion he has shown all people in the area. Father Methodios and his family have been forced to leave their home, as their lives have now been threatened. The attackers have also promised to purge the area of Christians.

Metropolitan Nikitas has not been able to contact Father Methodios directly, although he is in constant communication with other clergy in Indonesia. He has requested that people pray for peace and an end to the violence and attacks upon the Church community.

Presanctified Liturgy Prayers II

Posted on by Fr. Peter

This prayer comes after the Great Entrance and before the our Father.

In you are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, O God of mysteries beyond our sight and speech! You revealed the ministry of this liturgy to us, and then in your immense love for humanity, you called us, though we are sinners, to offer you gifts and sacrifices for our own sins and for the transgressions of the people. Your works are without number, O invisible King! They are great and remarkable, escaping all our understanding! Look on us, your unworthy servants, as we stand here before this altar of sacrifice as if before your very cherub-throne! Here rests your only Son, beneath the awesome mysteries that lie here before us. Rescue us and all your faithful people from every impurity and, with a blessing that can never be lost, make us holy both in body and soul. With a clear conscience and enlightened heart, let us share in these divine mysteries. Let them fill us with life, so that we may become one with your Christ, our true God. For it was he who said: Whoever eats my body and drinks my blood shares my life and I share his. Thus, with your living word within us and present in our midst, we shall become the temples of your all-holy and adorable Spirit, safe from all the wiles of the evil one, whether in word or deed or thought. Then we shall receives all the good things you promised us, together with all your saints who have pleased you form the very beginning.

A very moving prayer that sets the stage for us to receive Him in communion that is to come. I think it is a shame that most people never hear these prayers because the priest reads them silently. Perhaps we have become lazy and do not want to read them because it makes the service longer but we should.

Snow Storm Recap

Posted on by Fr. Peter
It would seem that the weather man got it right this time. We got just about 12 inches of the white stuff. 2 hours of snow blowing and shoveling this morning. Man am I tired. A little nap and then Vespers tonight.

Saint Patrick, Enlightener of Ireland

Posted on by Fr. Peter

Just so the Westerners out there don’t think they have cornered the market on St. Patrick… Green vestments tomorrow!

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O Holy Hierarch, equal of the Apostles, Saint Patrick, wonderworker and enlightener of Ireland: Intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
The Master revealed thee as a skillful fisher of men; and casting forth nets of Gospel preaching, thou drewest up the heathen to piety. Those who were the children of idolatrous darkness thou didst render sons of day through holy Baptism. O Patrick, intercede for us who honour thy memory.

Reading:
Saint Patrick, the Apostle of the Irish, was seized from his native Britain by Irish marauders when he was sixteen years old. Though the son of a deacon and a grandson of a priest, it was not until his captivity that he sought out the Lord with his whole heart. In his Confession, the testament he wrote towards the end of his life, he says, “After I came to Ireland – every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed – the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was so moved that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many at night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountain; and I would rise for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm.” After six years of slavery in Ireland, he was guided by God to make his escape, and afterwards struggled in the monastic life at Auxerre in Gaul, under the guidance of the holy Bishop Germanus. Many years later he was ordained bishop and sent to Ireland once again, about the year 432, to convert the Irish to Christ. His arduous labours bore so much fruit that within seven years, three bishops were sent from Gaul to help him shepherd his flock, “my brethren and sons whom I have baptized in the Lord – so many thousands of people,” he says in his Confession. His apostolic work was not accomplished without much “weariness and painfulness,” long journeys through difficult country, and many perils; he says his very life was in danger twelve times. When he came to Ireland as its enlightener, it was a pagan country; when he ended his earthly life some thirty years later, about 461, the Faith of Christ was established in every corner.

From www.goarch.org

Snow Storm

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Well it would seem that old man winter is not done with us yet. If you believe the weather man we are due for about a foot of snow between today (Friday) and tomrrow (Saturday) afternoon. Please remember those who will need to be out in that nasty stuff, police, fire, snow plow drivers and the people who need to work the late shift.

Presanctified Liturgy Prayers

Posted on by Fr. Peter
This past Wednesday night I served the Presanctified Liturgy for the first time this Great Lent. The usual practice here is to rotate between my parish and St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church here in town. However, because of some renovations here in our hall we had the first three at St. Nick’s. So Wednesday night as I was serving I read the prayers for what seemed like the first time! I have been a priest now for three years and I guess I never felt comfortable enough with what I was supposed to be doing to actually pray the prayers. So I thought I would print them here and perhaps comment on them. The first three come from the priest’s silent prayers from Vespers. The faithful usually never hear these prayers but in the Presanctified the priest only prays the last four silently.

O compassionate and merciful Lord, abounding in Patience and clemency: Attend to out entreaty and hear the sounds of our prayer! Show us some sign of your favor; teach us your ways that we may walk the path of your truth. Give joy to our hearts that we may always revere your holy name, for you are great and you work wonders; you alone are God and there is no other to compare with you, O Lord. You are powerful in mercy and gracious in strength, able and ready to help and comfort and save all those who place their trust in You.

Do not rebuke us, Lord, when you are displeased with us, nor chastise us in your anger with us! Rather, deal with us according to your loving kindness, O healer and physician of our souls. Lead us to that haven of safety wherein we do all that you wish of us. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we may know the truth and let us pass the rest of this day, and indeed, the rest of our life, in peace and without sin, by the prayers of the Theotokos and all your saints.

Lord our God, be mindful of us, your sinful and unprofitable servants, who call on your holy name, and do not disappoint us in our expectations or mercy. Instead, grant us what we need for salvation and count us worthy of loving you with all the reverence of our hearts, and of doing your will in all things.

These prayers set the stage for what we seek from God, an answer to our prayers and salvation. We recognize that we are sinful and ask God to forgive us for all that we have done or not done. We ask for illumination of our hearts for understanding and ask for understanding of the truth. We now fast forward in the service to the prayers just before the entrance with the presanctified gifts.

O great Lord and God! You have led us from corruption to imperishable life through the life-giving death of your Christ. So, now, deliver our senses from the mortal tyranny of our passions and place them under the safe and able guidance of our inner reason. Let not our eyes wander in search of evil sights, nor our ears indulge in listening to idle talk. Cleanse our tongues of unbefitting speech, O Lord, and purify our lips that they may praise you. Keep our hands from evil deeds and make them ever ready to do only the things that please you. Do this, Lord, by strengthening our
understanding, and, indeed, our entire being, by your grace.

O infinitely good and holy master, rich in mercy! We entreat you to be merciful with us sinners and make us worthy of receiving your only Son, our God, the King of glory. For behold, his most pure body and life-giving blood are about to be ushered in and placed upon this mystic altar, escorted invisibly by a great host of heaven. Let us share in them without fear of punishment, that the eyes of our understanding may be filled with light and we may become children of the light and day.

In these two prayers, called the prayers of the faithful, we plead our case before God and ask that our passions be held in check. This is the goal of Lent is to modify and change our behavior and make us more, dare I say, Christ-like! We acknowledge that we are sinners and we are in need of His mercy and Grace, and ask that we be made worthy by receiving the Body and Blood of His Son in this very Liturgical service.
These prayers are awesome and we often do not get to hear them as we should. Next, the prayers from what is called, the office of communion. But that is for another post.

Blessed are the Pure of Heart

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I recently read a pastoral letter written by the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert W. Finn. What a wonderful pastoral letter and what a wonderful spirit filled letter and some concrete ways that we can aid in the battle against pornography. I only wish our Orthodox Bishops would write things as wonderful and spiritual as this.

Read it here.

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