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NB: Just one resolution for Great Lent. Fasting and prayer

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Many people make some sort of resolution when they enter Great Lent. Usually it is something we have not done before, or perhaps done poorly. The one who has fasted poorly in the past may decide to keep the fast better – to not eat any meat or animal products, and some may even be zealous to keep the fast from oil and wine and fish. The one who keeps the fasts may be zealous to not eat anything at all for the first three days of Great Lent, or eat only one meal a day, which, according to the strict typikon, is “after the ninth hour” (about 3 in the afternoon).

In my pastoral experience, most people make some sort of fasting related resolution. I applaud their intentions, but sometimes their emphasis on fasting obscures for them the real purpose of the fast (it is not fasting!), and trying something that is beyond their spiritual and physical capabilities sets them up for failure, and sometimes, despair. Even if they succeed in their fasting goal, they miss out on improving themselves in more important ways.  Remember: Nobody is saved because of fasting (but those who are being saved fast).

 

There is only ONE important resolution to make for the Great Fast. It is mentioned (in so many words and images) constantly in our services. We will mention that one in a little bit.

 

It is very important to fast, especially for the one who has rarely fasted, but there are more pressing things. It would be better if a person prayed the Prayer of St Ephrem [1] with attention in the morning and the evening. How many think about fasting, and even buy cool new vegan food from the local yuppie grocery, and do not increase their prayer? This is more important. We need to become more regular at prayer, and pray with more attention. The prayer of St Ephrem is a great place to start.

 

Also, there are extra services in any serious parish during the fast [2], especially in Clean week and Holy week. If you are not in the habit of going to church except on Sunday, or sometimes on Saturday too, it would be better for your soul if you made the effort to change your habits and attend at least one of the extra services each week regularly. This is much more meaningful (and difficult!) for those who are not in the habit of so much “church prayer” than “not eating till 3”, or “trying to not use oil” during the week.

 

Great Lent is a time when we are trying to change the way we think, and act. We are trying to get less selfish.

 

Many people rarely or inconsistently pray for others. This is the perfect time to decide to give our supplications to God for our loved ones (and especially our not loved ones!), our family, friends, and our pastor. Praying for others is demanded in the scriptures. We must do it; we need to get very good at it. Our prayer will not be fruitless, even though it may be distracted and not seem to us to be very effectual. We are in training to not think of ourselves, and to love, truly love, others. Prayer with attention is the greatest expression of love.

 

How do we go about this is we are undisciplined in prayer? We must have two things – real honest desire (which will be shown by our effort) and a little planning and organization.

 

Get a notecard and write a few important names on it. You can also use the prayer list we publish and change frequently- it is here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dzgvjb6_16f2pcdrhn.  

 

Do not try to be eloquent or lengthy. All you need do is pray “Lord have mercy” for (N)”; do this for each person. You may also pray the Jesus prayer for each person. This blog has written at length about intercessory prayer for others: here: “ Christian Life Skills: Praying for others. Praying for enemies. The Jesus Prayer. [3]

 

Of course, we should plan to fast from various foods, but in comparison to our prayer, it certainly must take second place. In fact, the scripture teaches that fasting is in order to increase our prayer [4], so merely fasting without making other changes is nonsensical from a spiritual point of view.

 

The Most important Resolution.

 

Above, it was said that “Great Lent is a time when we are trying to change the way we think, and act.” This should be our “resolution” during the Great Fast. If we need to have an actual resolution, let us have the one St Herman of Alaska [5] has taught us:

 

"For our good, for our happiness," … "at least let us give a vow to ourselves, that from this day, from this hour, from this minute, we shall strive above all else to love God and to do His Holy Will!"

 

 

 

“NB” is shorthand for “nota bene” ,which is Latin for “Note well”. These shorter posts are meant to be “noted well” more often because they are briefer than the usual blog posts. I have “noted well”  that many of my flock does do not read the longer posts. I have a lot of stuff to tell you, so there will still be longer posts, but I also plan to post shorter “snippets” which will have “NB:” in the title.

Priest Seraphim Holland 2010.     St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, McKinney, Texas

 

This article is at: http://www.orthodox.net/journal/2010-02-18-just-one-resolution-for-great-lent-fasting-and-prayer.doc

And on our BLOG

 

New Journal entries, homilies, etc. are on our BLOG: http://www.orthodox.net/redeemingthetime

 

Journal Archive: http://www.orthodox.net/journal

 

Blog posts & local parish news are posted to our email list. Go to here: http://groups.google.com/group/saint-nicholas-orthodox-church to join.

 

Redeeming the Time BLOG: http://www.orthodox.net/redeemingthetime

Use this for any edifying reason, but please give credit, and include the URL of the article. This content belongs to the author. We would love to hear from you with comments! (seraphim@orthodox.net)

 


[2] There are RARE exceptions, when a pastor is unable to support himself without a very inflexible job, and cannot serve services during the week, but for the most part, when you see a church with just weekend services, and even only Sunday services, you would be better off finding another one.

 

[4]  “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.” 1 Corinthians 7:5

 

“But I, when they troubled me, put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting: and my prayer shall return to my own bosom.” (Psalm 34 , Brenton Septuagint)

 

“And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek him diligently by prayer and supplications, with fastings and sackcloth. “(Daniel 9:3  , Brenton Septuagint)

 

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Posted in Fasting, Great Lent, prayer | No Comments »

O Lord and Master of my life. The Prayer of St Ephrem explained

Friday, February 12th, 2010

The “Prayer of St Ephrem” is ubiquitous during Great Lent, and is used in all weekday services, and in prayers at home.

 

This prayer is much like the “Our Father”, in the following way. When the disciples asked the Lord to teach them to pray, He told them to “pray in this way”, and then recited the “Our Father”, thus giving us a model for how to pray and a prayer which perfectly fulfilled these principles. So should we treat the prayer of St Ephrem. Its content is truly sublime, and teaches us the right way to approach God in prayer, how to think of ourselves, and what to ask for. It also is a perfect prayer fulfilling these principles.

 

Everyone should say this prayer daily during the week in Great Lent. Because of the  physical way in which we say this prayer (it is done with bows and prostrations), it has the remarkable ability to put the soul in the right frame of mind.  One might even go so far to say that if the Prayer of St Ephrem has been prayed with attention at least once during the day,  and nothing else has been done, the Christian has prayed well.

 

The reality of our scattered, busy, distracted and often lazy lives is that we do not pray often enough, or with enough attention, or in the proper frame of mind. If a person is consistent in praying the prayer of St Ephrem, no matter how well he does in other prayer and spiritual reading, he has a “life line” and is grounded in the most important aspects of the way a Christian should conduct himself during Lent.

 

Of course, to just pray the prayer of St Ephrem is NOT enough for a Christian, but a pastor must prescribe “baby steps for baby feet” We all are in some measure “babies”, and all of us should pray this prayer, attentively, and carefully, without fail. The person who takes this advice to “come and see” will soon find the fruit of this practice.

 

The prayer of St Ephrem is found in any complete Orthodox prayer book. For instance, the “Jordanville prayer book” has this prayer in its Triodion section (page 166 in the latest printing). Our website has it in English and Slavonic with 4 sections per page so it can be printed, cut in quarters and inserted in a prayer book, in RTF and PDF formats.  It is part of  a dedicated page containing information about our Theology, Homilies, Services, and other Resources about Great Lent.

 

Other resources for this prayer include a catechetical talk about the prayer of St Ephrem.

 

Like anything worth doing, the prayer of St Ephrem takes some practice before we can receive the full benefit. There are bows AND prostrations during the prayer, and a certain number of repetitions. To someone who is accustomed to this prayer, the physical actions and specific repetitions free the mind and penetrate the soul. This can only be understood if it is done, else, a person will consider the prayer to be too complicated, or worse, an example of “vain repetition”, which the scripture forbids.

 

He who has ears to hear, and mouth to speak, arms to make the sign of the cross, and knees to bend, let him understand!

 

The prayer of St Ephrem is said two different ways in church. The best way to say it at home is the “longer” way, twice a day, in morning and evening prayers. If a person is not organized or motivated enough to say formal morning of evening prayers, at least this prayer can be said. As my father used to say, Once or twice, but never “nunce”!

 

This is the “long way”.

 

 

The prayer is said two times, one time in parts, and the last time in full. After each part, or the entire prayer, a prostration is made. In between the two “O God cleanse me a sinner” is said twelve times, with a bow each time. This is easy to remember after doing it a few times.  Two prayers, four prostrations, twelve bows (and 100 calories burned).

 

“O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle talking give me not.“

 

Prostration [i].

 

“But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience, and love bestow upon me Thy servant.“

 

Prostration.

 

“Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.“

 

Prostration.

 

Then, twelve repetitions of:

 

“O God, cleanse me a sinner.”  

Bow.

 

And then repeat the entire prayer all at once:

 

“O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle talking give me not. But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience, and love bestow upon me Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

 

 Prostration. 

 

 

A Prostration is a full bow to the ground with the knees touching the ground, and the head touching or near the ground, then immediately standing back up. As the bow to the ground is begun, the sign of the cross is made. Some people touch their knees to the ground first and then bend their upper body down, and the more athletic or coordinated essentially “fall” forward to the ground  with their knees and hands touching at essentially the same time. This is very similar to the familiar gym class “burpee”.

 

A Bow, also known as a “reverence” or “Poklon” is when the sign of the cross is made, while simultaneously bowing the head by bending at the waist. Some bow deeply and touch the ground with their right hand, and other make very shallow bows. It really does not matter as long as the movement is done with attention.

 

Something NOT TO DO: No “waving at the air”. Some do prostrations and bows quickly or carelessly, and the sign of the cross they make looks like they are shooing away a fly. “Let all things be done in good order”.

 

 

The author has many fond memories of saying this prayer way back when, when a layman, especially in church, or with his children. The church would be dark, and lit only by candles, the priest standing in front of the royal doors. It would be very quiet, and only his voice and “swishing” sounds from the prostrations or bows would be heard. Everybody would be doing the same thing at once; this was always a profoundly holy moment and I remember thinking sometimes that I wish I would always be in this state of mind.  There was a feeling that something profoundly good and important was happening. A mixture of sorrow for my personal condition and great hope in God that I really would get better sometime, would flood my soul. Many times I would even feel warmth. With the sublime, was always mixed “real life” – sounds of grunts, heavy breathing, the sights of children making very creative prostrations.  When I had to say the Trisagion prayers immediately after, I would sometimes struggle to say them without betraying that I was out of breath!

 

Parents: say this prayer with your children! I know, it is sometimes a “circus”, but where are they going to learn piety is not from you. Prayer is not always neat and pretty with children, but you will be glad you went to the trouble.

 

Here is the most important “take home” point: SAY THIS PRAYER EVERY WEEKDAY IN GREAT LENT!


Posted in Prayers of the church:Lenten Prayers, prayer | 3 Comments »

NB: Prayer for the Dead. Why do we do it?

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

 

A short explanation of “Saturday of the Dead”

 

Around the time of Great Lent, we have some Saturdays which are set aside for the commemoration of the dead. We call these days “Saturday of the dead”, or “All Souls Saturday”, and we just celebrated the first one appointed during this time of year, on the Saturday before the Sunday of the Last Judgment (the penultimate Sunday before Great Lent begins).

 

The full list of “Saturdays of the dead” for the year is::

·  The second Saturday before Great Lent (before the Sunday of the Last Judgment)

·  The third Saturday of Great Lent

·  The fourth Saturday of Great Lent

·  The Saturday before Pentecost

·  Demetrius Saturday (Saturday before Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki - 26 October)

 

The proper way to celebrate these days is to serve Vespers the evening before and on Saturday morning, celebrate “requiem matins”, which is a special form of matins in which the dead are commemorated by name two times (if memory serves) and all of Psalm 118 is chanted in two parts. Some people call this a long “panakhida” (parastas in Greek) which is the typical prayer service for the dead which Orthodox Christians are familiar with.

 

Of course, following matins, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, and the dead are again all commemorated by name. It is important that an Orthodox Christian submit the names of Orthodox loved ones who have reposed. We have the custom of accepting names by email or other means, and are not prejudiced against the dead because their loved ones are not at the service to pray for them as well, but it is much better to pray in person for one’s loved ones. The priest prays for the people and with the people, but (as much as possible), not instead of the people!

 

It is a shame that the requiem matins is almost unknown among modern Orthodox. Just check the online calendars for most churches. This service is almost never mentioned. With God helping us, we have preserved this tradition. Like Philip, I must say “Come and see” to those who do not know of this service. It is good to make an effort to pray for the dead, and to hear compunctionate hymns, and think of our own death. Somehow a quickie “Trisagion Service” just does not cut it on these days.

 

Why do we pray for the dead?  

 

Many people who call themselves Christians are offended when they hear that we pray for the dead. This begs the question: Why do we pray for the dead?

 

The answer is really easy. We pray for the dead for three reasons that I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Most importantly, we believe in the resurrection. God is the God of the Living, and not of the dead, our Lord told us, and we believe this truth. If this is true, then the dead have not ceased to exist, because “all are alive to God.” Praying for the dead, as much as asking the dead (those whom we believe to be righteous) to intercede for us shows that we really do believe in the resurrection.

 

We also know that “all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”, and there is “not one man who liveth and sinneth not”, and we (at least as a church, if not individually) are profoundly humble. How can we know the judgments of God? They are a vast abyss. We do not presume to declare that one is blessed and another is damned. God knows, and only rarely reveals to us this with certainty.

 

We also pray because we love. Love remembers. We continue to remember our loved ones even though they are no longer with us who have living flesh.

 

Why do we pray for the dead? Because, knowing the weakness of flesh and mans predilection to sin, we hope in the resurrection, leaving all judgment to God, and because we love, we remember.

 

Here is another reason: We pray because we love, and also prayer teaches us to love. It takes effort and time to pray for those from whom we hear no answer. Let’s face it – we rarely think of death, and mostly think of ourselves. By making an effort to pray, We not only remember our loved ones; God also remembers us and softens our hearts and teaches us to love. Remember an important principle in the Christian life: What we do affects who we are and vice-versa!  

 

The next Saturday for the dead that we will remember (we cannot do all of them yet) is March 6 (ns), the third Saturday of Lent. Will you remember your loved ones on that day?

 

More about the Commemoration of the Dead

 

 

“NB” is shorthand for “nota bene” ,which is Latin for “Note well”. These shorter posts are meant to be “noted well” more often because they are briefer than the usual blog posts. I have “noted well”  that many of my flock does do not read the longer posts. I have a lot of stuff to tell you, so there will still be longer posts, but I also plan to post shorter “snippets” which will have “NB:” in the title.

Priest Seraphim Holland 2010.     St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, McKinney, Texas

 

This article is at: http://www.orthodox.net/journal/2010-02-11-saturday-of-the-dead+all-souls-saturday+why-do-we-pray-for-the-dead.doc

 

New Journal entries, homilies, etc. are on our BLOG: http://www.orthodox.net/redeemingthetime

 

Journal Archive: http://www.orthodox.net/journal

 

Blog posts & local parish news are posted to our email list. Go to here: http://groups.google.com/group/saint-nicholas-orthodox-church to join.

 

Redeeming the Time BLOG: http://www.orthodox.net/redeemingthetime

Use this for any edifying reason, but please give credit, and include the URL of the article. This content belongs to the author. We would love to hear from you with comments! (seraphim@orthodox.net)


 

Posted in prayer, prayers of the church | 10 Comments »

NB: Angelic children. A story told by Archimandrite Zacharias

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

May God place in the hearts of our children the things they should know.

 

Archiamandrite Zacharias of St John the Baptist Monastery in Essex England lecturing in Dallas, Texas Feb 2010 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/saint-nicholas/4345787767/in/set-72157623400813646/) Archimandrite Zacharias of St John the Baptist Monastery in Essex England has told this story. I have benefited from many things Fr Zacharias has said, but nothing as much as this:

 

He tells of a Greek priest he knows who has three sons who are like angels. One is a priest, and the others serve in the altar with their father. This is, lamentably a rare thing: for the children to grow up with the piety of their parents.

 

Fr Zacharias asked this priest why his children were so angelic. The priest replied that he has never taught his children anything about the faith, but since they were little, has had the custom of kneeling beside their bed while they were sleeping for a half hour and praying that the Lord would put in their hearts what they should know.

 

I wish I had prayed more for my children. I have taught them many things – many good things. I have taught them the truth, but I have not prayed at their beds for a half hour every night. The life of this simple priest and his angelic sons is a sobering wakeup.

 

Really, it is all about prayer. We need it as much as we need oxygen, and yet, we do not do it enough, even for the ones we love. Isn’t this a terrible, inexplicable conundrum?

 

We are approaching the Sunday commemorating the casting out of Adam from Paradise (aka “Forgiveness Sunday”). The only path back to paradise for ourselves and our loved ones is prayer. Let us join with Adam and lament:

 

In my wretchedness, O Lord, I have disobeyed Thy commandment. / Woe is me! I have been stripped of glory, / filled with shame, and cast out from the joy of Paradise. / I have been justly deprived of Thy blessings: // but in Thy mercy and compassion take pity on me. (Expostilarion, Forgiveness Sunday. The Casting out of Adam from Paradise)

 

If we learn to pray a little better during the fast, it will not be without purpose.

 

May God place in our hearts the zeal and ability to pray.

 

May God place in the hearts of our children the things they should know.  

 

 

 

“NB” is shorthand for “nota bene” ,which is Latin for “Note well”. These shorter posts are meant to be “noted well” more often because they are briefer than the usual blog posts. I have “noted well”  that many of my flock does do not read the longer posts. I have a lot of stuff to tell you, so there will still be longer posts, but I also plan to post shorter “snippets” which will have “NB:” in the title.

Priest Seraphim Holland 2010.     St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, McKinney, Texas

 

This article is at: http://www.orthodox.net/journal/2010-02-10-angelic-children-fathers-who-pray-for-their-children.doc and on the blog.

 

New Journal entries, homilies, etc. are on our BLOG: http://www.orthodox.net/redeemingthetime

 

Journal Archive: http://www.orthodox.net/journal

 

Blog posts & local parish news are posted to our email list. Go to here: http://groups.google.com/group/saint-nicholas-orthodox-church to join.

 

Redeeming the Time BLOG: http://www.orthodox.net/redeemingthetime

Use this for any edifying reason, but please give credit, and include the URL of the article. This content belongs to the author. We would love to hear from you with comments! (seraphim@orthodox.net)

 

Posted in Pastoral Journal, prayer | 4 Comments »

Christian Life Skills: Praying for others. Praying for enemies. The Jesus Prayer.

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

 

Abstract: A critical “Christian Life Skill” is to pray for others. This is an expression of love. We must also especially pray for our enemies or those who have wronged us, to root out any vestiges of bitterness. Here are simple, practical ideas to add prayer for others to your way of life, cutting through excuses, lack of time, confusion, fatigue, and distraction.

 

Christian Life Skills: Praying for others

Praying for enemies

The Jesus Prayer

To pray for someone more diligently

 

 

 

 

A difficult to learn Christian life skill is to pray consistently for others. As in all spiritual and even temporal things, we cannot succeed without God’s grace helping us, but this knowledge should not stop us from, as my dad has said: “using our noodle!” A little practical organization in this area goes a long way, if combined with zeal and resolute purpose.

 

We all have people we care about, but when we start to pray, the memory of all their names may be elusive. Prayer with attention is hard. If we are struggling to remember names, our attention may be divided, and we may get fatigued.

 

Keep a list.

 

The solution is simple! Have a moderate list of people you want to pray for. Note cards are good – they can fit in your prayer book or pocket. Some (like me) prefer to keep a list on the computer and print it out periodically. I have even created a template of “note cards [1]”, four to a side, which is useful for this purpose. After printing, fold the paper in half, and cut or rip the halves. Then do it again, and you have four equal sized note cards.

 

Keep a small list.

 

When I was younger, I had huge lists of people – just about everybody I knew, subdivided into all kinds of categories. It was too big for me, and I fell into the trap of not praying for anybody at all on some days when the idea of reading that huge list fatigued me before I started. Remember: “It is better to do a little thing than fail to do a large thing”.

 

Either keep a small list, with family, friends, your pastor, and your enemies or those who have offended you or disturb your soul in some way. It should not be book size. Some will make a list for Monday and another for Tuesday, etc. If you are that organized, I salute and admire you. The important thing is to have a manageable list of people for each day.

 

I like lists, because even though I know all my parishioner’s names by heart, it gets very fatiguing to call to mind all their names. I use my diptychs [2] for this purpose.

 

Have a set time.

 

If you have a set time to pray for others, you will pray for others. Some suggested times: after morning (better) or evening prayers and during your commute in the car, bus or train (but don’t forget the off days!)  When I was in an office I would go outside and walk on some railroad tracks and pray for people. It was a great break from work

 

Pray for your enemies.

 

This seems obvious, since our Lord commanded us:

 

“… Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you’ (Matthew 5:44)

 

In my experience as a pastor, this idea does not always occur to us, or we are resistant to it.  

 

It is IMPERATIVE that you pray for your enemies, or those of whom you have any bitterness, towards, remember wrongs, etc. You know the people of whom your soul feels darker and colder and angry when you think of them or encounter them. Listen to your soul! Sometimes this coldness is disguised from us, but if you are attentive to yourself, you will feel when your peace is disturbed by the thought of or interaction with someone. This is always your fault! There is no keeping score here – it does not matter if “he/she/they” were at fault too. You should not dare to disobey a direct commandment of the Lord.

 

We cannot love as God loves without learning to forgive our enemies. Don’t think of an enemy as only someone that you might come to blows with or are in some kind of open conflict with. Learn to feel the chilling darkness from that dark shadow that blocks out the warmth of the sun from your soul.

 

It is more important to pray for your enemies, those who curse you, and hate you than yourself or your loved ones. God hears our prayer when it is pure. Bad feelings about others make us impure. It is as simple as that, and besides, the Lord commanded us.

 

Just do it; make a list of people you have problems with. Don’t write a novel – there is no need to include biographical information!

 

Pray for these people everyday, simply, resolutely, and even if your prayer is accompanied with anger and clenched teeth.

 

It is MUCH better to pray and fight against anger than to be angry and not pray. You need to fight off the anger, and the only way is to forgive, and the best way to forgive is to pray.

 

Do not let yourself be fooled – the snake in the grass that we see is less dangerous than the one we do not see. Just because we do not feel anger when we do not think of someone does not prove anything! Just try thinking of those certain people in your life, and see if you feel any darkness. And then try praying for them – any anger or any kind of darkening of the soul during this time is a sure sign that you must pray for them – for your sake as well as theirs.

 

How to pray for others.

 

 

God knows the needs of all of us. In general, it is best to pray simply.  You could say “Lord have mercy on (name) ” for each person, or use the Jesus prayer:

 

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on (name) .”

 

Some may want to mention particular needs, but it is best to keep it simple. The intercessory prayers of the church are a good guide. The more specific you get, the more you think, and the less you pray, and there is always a danger that you will sin by judging others.

 

If you want to pray more intensely for someone, you can use a prayer rope to count prayers, and say, for example, 10 prayers per person. Anything that is easy to count with the rope is a good number. Some ropes are divided into tens; others have a large bead every 25 small beads.

 

Another way to pray more intensely for someone is to use the prayer used on the “Old Believer” prayer book (online here):

 

 

To pray for someone more diligently: [3]

 

Save, O Lord, and have mercy on Thy servant(s) ________, [bow] [4]

 

Deliver him (her, them) from every tribulation, wrath and need [bow],

 

From every sickness of soul and body, [bow]

 

Forgive him (her, them) every transgression, voluntary and involuntary, [bow]

 

And do whatever is profitable for our souls. [bow].

 

 

 

Priest Seraphim Holland 2009.     St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, McKinney, Texas

 

This article is at: http://www.orthodox.net/journal/2009-12-09-christian-life-skills-praying-for-others+the-jesus-prayer+to-pray-for-someone-more-diligently+praying-for-enemies.html

& http://www.orthodox.net/journal/2009-12-09-christian-life-skills-praying-for-others+the-jesus-prayer+to-pray-for-someone-more-diligently+praying-for-enemies.doc

 

New Journal entries, homilies, etc. are on our BLOG: http://www.orthodox.net/redeemingthetime

 

Journal Archive: http://www.orthodox.net/journal

 

Blog posts & local parish news are posted to our email list. Go to here: http://groups.google.com/group/saint-nicholas-orthodox-church to join.

 

Redeeming the Time BLOG: http://www.orthodox.net/redeemingthetime

Use this for any edifying reason, but please give credit, and include the URL of the article. This content belongs to the author. We would love to hear from you with comments! (seraphim@orthodox.net)

 


[2] “Diptych” means list. All priests have one, and they use it to commemorate the living and the dead in the “Proskimidie” or “Preparation service” before the Divine Liturgy, by taking out a small piece and putting it on the diskos (the round plate on a small stand that is used with the chalice) for each name. This bread is latter added to the chalice after the faithful are communed, with the prayer “By thy precious Blood, O Lord, wash away the sins of those here commemorated, through the intercessions of Thy saints” Only the Orthodox are commemorated in this way (since only the Orthodox may have Holy Communion), but most priests are like me and have many non Orthodox in their diptychs that they pray for without taking out particles of bread.

 

[4] A "Bow", also known as a "poklon" is performed by making the sign of the cross, and simultaneously bowing the head and bending from the waist.

Posted in Christian Life Skills, prayer | 1 Comment »

Christian Life Skills. The Jesus prayer Pray without ceasing. New Testament Challenge and the Jesus Prayer Challenge

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Christian Life Skills: The Jesus prayer

Pray without ceasing

New Testament Challenge and theJesus Prayer Challenge

Nov 11/24 25th Tuesday after Pentecost[U1] 

 

Recently, on various blogs I fail miserably in keeping up with, the “ New Testament Challenge” has been proposed. This is a suggestion to read the entire NT during the Nativity Fast. This is a good idea, and it works for some – as a pastor, I am in favor of almost anything that will get the dust off the bible in the home.

 

This got me to thinking, and I thought of another challenge – the “Jesus Prayer Challenge”. I am not trying to be gimmicky, because I hate that stuff, but as they say, I am “serious as a heart attack”. This is a longstanding COMMAND (read, not an optional “challenge”), and the church knows it is possible:

 

“Rejoice evermore.  (17)   Pray without ceasing.  (18)   In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1Th 5:16-18)

 

How do we attain this? It is very simple: become holy (simple does not mean easy). We are called to holiness, so this MUST be our goal:

 

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Mat 5:48)

 

The holy are always praying, or even something above this, which our Savior does not call prayer, because they have no passions which send their mind away from God, and are always with Him.

 

We will not be able to do this by next week, so we must become practical, and do what we are able to do now, so that we will become able to do what we are cannot  do.

 

Perhaps a slight rewording of the Apostle’s command will help us to make a practical application to his words:

 

“Pray whenever you are able to pray; search for opportunities to pray.”

 

 

The church has always understood the “Jesus prayer” to be uniquely suited to this endeavor. Anybody can pray this pray, as often as they want, if they put their mind to it, and plan to do it.

 

When we are waiting for a bus, or early to an appointment, or driving our car, or folding laundry, we CAN say: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” We can also teach ourselves to pray this prayer when we are getting ready to speak to someone about a difficult thing, or feeling anger rise up within us because of this or that thing.

 

We may not be able to pray each prayer with attention, but we can try; how can we learn to be attentive without long periods of struggling against inattention?

 

What is stopping us? There are external things – the TV being on (a brick will fix that), listening to the radio in the car, the busyness of life, lack of planning. There are internal things – our passions and the noise in our head, laziness, desire for entertainment, mindlessness. We cannot fix the latter without doing something about the former.

 

We need to plan in order to pray. Focus on one time during the day when you are not so occupied that you cannot pray – for instance, when you are driving, or doing the dishes, or folding laundry. It must be some task that does not take a lot of mental effort; you will have difficulty saying the prayer when you are doing your math homework or balancing the checkbook!

 

Say the prayer, silently, or aloud, slowly, and with as much attention as you can muster. You may pray for yourself, or others. If you pray for yourself, say

 

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

 

When we pray for someone else, we should leave the last part and say:

 

 “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on (name).”

 

 

It is really useful to have a prayer rope (chotki, komouskini) to count prayers. It does not matter how many we say, but it is very helpful to hold the rope and advance one bead with each prayer, to have a set amount per person, or even just to keep a sense of rhythm.

 

I have a prayer rope and use it in the car (it should be small, and held in such a way that you can drop it immediately if you need to steer out of a road hazard). This is a perfect time to pray for my family and parish. I find the simplicity of the prayer comforting and it is easier to pray with attention. I never have been one to try to remember what everybody needs and mention everything. God knows, and asking for mercy, that is His help in all things, really covers everything!

 

Some people need to mention things – sickness, or protection during travel, etc. That’s ok, but a little bit dangerous, because we are simultaneously attempting to pray and judge at the same time. Perhaps we feel a person needs something, and our judgment is wrong? Or perhaps we are so busy thinking of the next thing to say instead of just praying with attention? I remember those long lapses in the “In Jesus Name” prayers that are so common in the Protestant tradition so many years ago. They were very jarring. Do everything you can to pray without making a huge mental effort in thinking (prayer is not done with the brain, it is an expression of the soul), or you will tire. Everyone’s limitations in this regard are different. My simple mind needs quiet, and simplicity, otherwise, there is too much distraction in my head. You need to find what suits you.

 

Praying in the car is a wonderful way to “redeem the time” [1], and also to train ourselves in the discipline of prayer. What else do we really need to do when we drive? We certainly do not need the radio on – most of the information is useless, vapid and stupid, and it steals from us the opportunity to pray.

 

I have not always been equal to the task. After a long day at work, my passions want time to “veg” out on my drive home. We are tired, and maybe a little cranky after a long day, and starting to pray instead of giving into laziness actually sucks more energy out of us, but after prayer, this energy returns with a bonus.

 

Try praying in the car instead of listening to the radio, or “vegging out”. If you have a long drive, try a set period of time that includes part of the drive, if the whole time seems too daunting to you. It is better to accomplish a little thing, rather than not do a big thing! You cannot get better at something without starting to do it.

 

You might want to have a list of family and others (including your pastor) whom you care about, and in whose lives you may have some influence. You could have a list of the sick, those in prison, or undergoing some trial. God knows all the particulars. You could pray some set number of prayers for each person, say 10 (many prayer ropes are divided by a large bead into tens) or 25 or some other number that is easy to count on your prayer rope.

 

Unlike the “New Testament Challenge” there is no end point in the command to pray without ceasing, accept, of course, our death. After that, if we have not cultivated the virtues and the desire AND action of prayer, where will we learn it?  

 

This command is possible, but only if we apply effort, planning, and prayer to it. May God help us.

 

One more thing. This is important. The “Jesus prayer” is the most simple and complex prayer. Christians have reached exalted states practicing this prayer, and also fallen headlong into hell by attempting to find mystical experiences in it before they changed enough morally. The “prayer of the heart” has been accomplished by those practicing the “Jesus prayer”, but except for exceptions as rare as hen’s teeth, these people were under strict obedience to an elder. There are very few “checks and balances” for a lay person who tries to copy what he sees in the Philokalia or other places, and achieve the “prayer of the heart”.

 

Don’t look for mystical experiences. Worry about praying in the way described above in every possible moment; this will take you a long time. The fruits of prayer, if accomplished with the following of the commandments and true humility, will lead to holiness, and your prayer will lead you towards the prayer of the heart. But first things first! Pray a lot, don’t waste time, and see where that takes you.

 

Priest Seraphim Holland 2009.     St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, McKinney, Texas

 

This article is at: http://www.orthodox.net/journal/2009-11-24-christian-life-skills-jesus-prayer+pray-without-ceasing+new-testament-challenge+jesus-prayer-challenge.doc

It is also on our BLOG

 

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Use this for any edifying reason, but please give credit, and include the URL of the article. This content belongs to the author. We would love to hear from you with comments! (seraphim@orthodox.net)

 


[1] “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,  (16)  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5:15-16 KJV)

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O Lord and Master of my life… a few words about the Prayer of St Ephrem.

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

 

 

 

The “Prayer of St Ephrem” is ubiquitous during Great Lent, and is used in all weekday services, and in prayers at home.

 

 

 

This prayer is much like the “Our Father”, in the following way. When the disciples asked the Lord to teach them to pray, He told them to “pray in this way”, and then recited the “Our Father”, thus giving us a model for how to pray and a prayer which perfectly fulfilled these principles. So should we treat the prayer of St Ephrem. Its content is truly sublime, and teaches us the right way to approach God in prayer, how to think of ourselves, and what to ask for. It also is a perfect prayer fulfilling these principles.

 

 

 

Everyone should say this prayer daily during the week in Great Lent. Because of the  physical way in which we say this prayer (it is done with bows and prostrations), it has the remarkable ability to put the soul in the right frame of mind.  One might even go so far to say that if the Prayer of St Ephrem has been prayed with attention at least once during the day,  and nothing else has been done, the Christian has prayed well.

 

 

 

The reality of our scattered, busy, distracted and often lazy lives is that we do not pray often enough, or with enough attention, or in the proper frame of mind. If a person is consistent in praying the prayer of St Ephrem, no matter how well he does in other prayer and spiritual reading, he has a “life line” and is grounded in the most important aspects of the way a Christian should conduct himself during Lent.

 

 

 

Of course, to just pray the prayer of St Ephrem is NOT enough for a Christian, but a pastor must prescribe “baby steps for baby feet” We all are in some measure “babies”, and all of us should pray this prayer, attentively, and carefully, without fail. The person who takes this advice to “come and see” will soon find the fruit of this practice.

 

 

 

The prayer of St Ephrem is found in any complete Orthodox prayer book. For instance, the “Jordanville prayer book” has this prayer in its Triodion section (page 166 in the latest printing). Our website has it in English and Slavonic with 4 sections per page so it can be printed, cut in quarters and inserted in a prayer book, in RTF and PDF formats.  It is part of  a dedicated page containing information about our Theology, Homilies, Services, and other Resources about Great Lent.

 

 

 

Other resources for this prayer include a catechetical talk about the prayer of St Ephrem.

 

 

 

Like anything worth doing, the prayer of St Ephrem takes some practice before we can receive the full benefit. There are bows AND prostrations during the prayer, and a certain number of repetitions. To someone who is accustomed to this prayer, the physical actions and specific repetitions free the mind and penetrate the soul. This can only be understood if it is done, else, a person will consider the prayer to be too complicated, or worse, an example of “vain repetition”, which the scripture forbids. He who has ears to hear, and mouth to speak, arms to make the sign of the cross, and knees to bend, let him understand!

 

 

 

The prayer of St Ephrem is said two different ways in church. The best way to say it at home is the “longer” way, twice a day, in morning and evening prayers. If a person only prayers in the morning, than once. If both times, then twice. If a person is not organized or motivated enough to say formal morning of evening prayers, at least this prayer can be said. As my father used to say, Once or twice, but never “nunce”!

 

 

 

 

This is the “long way”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The prayer is said two times, one time in parts, and the last time in full. After each part, or the entire prayer, a prostration is made. In between the two “O God cleanse me a sinner” is said twelve times, with a bow each time. This is easy to remember after doing it a few times.  Two prayers, four prostrations, twelve bows (and 100 calories burned).

 

 

 

“O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle talking give me not.“

 

 

 

Prostration

 

 

 

“But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience, and love bestow upon me Thy servant.“

 

 

 

Prostration.

 

 

 

“Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.“

 

 

 

Prostration.

 

 

 

Then, twelve repetitions of:

 

 

 

“O God, cleanse me a sinner.”  

 

Bow.

 

 

 

And then repeat the entire prayer all at once:

 

 

 

“O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle talking give me not. But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience, and love bestow upon me Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

 

 

 

 Prostration. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Prostration is a full bow to the ground with the knees touching the ground, and the head touching or near the ground, then immediately standing back up. As the bow to the ground is begun, the sign of the cross is made. Some people touch their knees to the ground first and then bend their upper body down, and the more athletic or coordinated essentially “fall” forward to the ground  with their knees and hands touching at essentially the same time. This is very similar to the familiar gym class “burpee”.

 

 

 

A Bow, also known as a “reverence” or “Poklon” is when the sign of the cross is made, while simultaneously bowing the head by bending at the waist. Some bow deeply and touch the ground with their right hand, and other make very shallow bows. It really does not matter as long as the movement is done with attention.

 

 

 

Something NOT TO DO: No “waving at the air”. Some do prostrations and bows quickly or carelessly, and the sign of the cross they make looks like they are shooing away a fly. “Let all things be done in good order”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The author has many fond memories of saying this prayer way back when, when a layman, especially in church, or with his children. The church would be dark, and lit only by candles, the priest standing in front of the royal doors. It would be very quiet, and only his voice and “swishing” sounds from the prostrations or bows would be heard. Everybody would be doing the same thing at once; this was always a profoundly holy moment and I remember thinking sometimes that I wish I would always be in this state of mind.  There was a feeling that something profoundly good and important was happening. A mixture of sorrow for my personal condition and great hope in God that I really would get better sometime, would flood my soul. Many times I would even feel warmth. With the sublime, was always mixed “real life” – sounds of grunts, heavy breathing, the sights of children making very creative prostrations.  When I had to say the Trisagion prayers immediately after, I would sometimes struggle to say them without betraying that I was out of breath!

 

 

 

Parents: say this prayer with your children! I know, it is sometimes a “circus”, but where are they going to learn piety is not from you. Prayer is not always neat and pretty with children, but you will be glad you went to the trouble.

 

 

 

 

 

In another post, we will look at some of the profound theology in this prayer.

 

 

 

Here is the most important “take home” point: SAY THIS PRAYER EVERY WEEKDAY IN GREAT LENT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This document is available at http://www.orthodox.net/greatlent/o-lord-and-master-of-my-life-prayer-of-st-ephrem-01.html. It is also in DOC or PDF format.

Posted in lord's prayer, prayer, prayers of the church | No Comments »

17th Sunday of Pentecost 2008 - The Canaanite Woman - Lessons in how to pray.

Monday, October 13th, 2008

LISTEN NOW

Many more homilies for this day:

http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pentecost-sunday-17_1997.html
17th Sunday of Pentecost (HTML format)
1997

http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pentecost-sunday-17_1999+sun-after-exaltation-the-caananite-woman.doc
17th Sunday of Pentecost (Word DOC format)
Sun After Exaltation The Caananite Woman
1999

http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pentecost-sunday-17_2001.rtf
17th Sunday of Pentecost (RTF format)
2001

http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pentecost-sunday-17_2002+the-cannanite-woman.mp3
17th Sunday of Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Cannanite Woman
Matthew 15:21-28
2002

http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pentecost-sunday-17_2003.mp3
17th Sunday of Pentecost (mp3 format)
2003

http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pentecost-sunday-36_2008-02-03+the-canaanite-woman+a-perfect-example-of-how-to-pray_matthew15;21-28.mp3
17th Sunday of Pentecost
The Canaanite Woman
A Perfect Example Of How To Pray
Matthew 15:21-28
2008

http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pentecost-sunday-17_2008-10-12.mp3
17th Sunday of Pentecost (mp3 format)
The Canaanite Woman
Lessons in how to pray.
Matthew 15:21-28
2008
 

Matthew 15:21-28 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.


If the "LISTEN NOW" link does not work, copy this URL into your browser: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pentecost-sunday-17_2008-10-12.m3u

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“Just do it”, from a church father

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

I have a bit of a hobby that I have indulged in all of my Orthodox life. I love to find things in secular culture that are actually true and sensible. I have lists of these things squirreled away in some GoogleDocs document, for later publishing on this BLOG. There are song lyrics, advertising slogans, and more than a few of my own sayings. Those who know me would expect to see a Neil Young lyric or two, and they would not be disappointed.

Here is one of those things - a secular saying that has an Orthodox application.

“JUST DO IT” is a slogan for Nike shoes. It is good advice, if one reads it in the right way.

I have modified it somewhat in my own life, when I am confused and/or lazy and/or overwhelmed and/or suffering from a day which is not very spiritual, and I cannot quite figure out how to get it that way. Has anybody had this sort of day?

My modification is: “Do something!” This idea has served me well, and I advise my flock to also “Do something!” because it is sound spiritual advice. We may not pray as well as we should, but at we should at least pray! We may not had a productive fast day, but we can at least fast! The key is to do something, and not do nothing. Something, in the spiritual life, is always better than nothing.

Here is this same idea, expressed by a church father:

…”A thought comes to me which troubles me and does not leave me free, but not being able to lead me to act, it simply stops me progressing in virtue; but a vigilant man would cut it off and get up to pray.” Abba Theodore of Scetis

Perhaps the perfection of the phrases “Just do it!” Or “Do something!” would be: “GET UP AND PRAY!” Good related advice would be “Even if you have already been up for a long time and have not prayed, GET U P AND PRAY!

I read the quote from an excellent resource: “A Word from the desert” I receive it in email, but prefer it in my RSS Reader (I use Google) I highly recommend that you get into the habit of reading these daily quotes. Subscribe to the RSS feed from this page: http://wordfromthedesert.squarespace.com/meditations/

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???? ? ???? / The Path to God

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

The way to God is prayer. A soul that is healed from sin years for prayer, strives for union with God through prayer — And yet we pray so little! We attend church infrequently, and we have become so unaccostomed to our personal prayer rule that is is a burden to us. We can find time for anything except prayer!

-a loose translation of the original text (below) by Archimandrite John (Krestyankin)

???? ? ???? — ???????. ???? ???? ?????????????? ?? ?????, ??? ??????? ? ???????, ????????? ? ???????? ? ??? ? ?????. ? ?? ?????? ???? ???????! ????? ????? ? ????, ???????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??? ? ?????????????? ???????. ?? ??? ??????? ???????, ?????? ?? ?? ???????!

-??????????? ????? (?????????????).

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/080517100043

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