ST. john the baptist greek orthodox church the messenger
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- You shall not make for yourself a graven image in order to worship it.
- Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not bear false witness.
- The Lenten Covenant will help us in keeping the lifelong Covenant relationship we have with God by giving us a short-term covenant by which to evaluate our standing in the lifelong Covenant.
- So, if you decide to do the Lenten Covenant, do the following
- Not the Journey of Lent but rather the Journey of Life
- The Divine Liturgy: Part XVII: Prayer of Thanksgiving
Saint John Climacus By Dr. Bill Manikas The Orthodox Christian Church commemorates St. John Climacus on March 30th. Little is known about John. He was born in 579, but his birthplace is unknown. At the age of sixteen he entered the monastery at Mount Sinai. His mentor was the spiritual father Martyrius. When John was twenty years old, Martyrius passed away and John retired to a place called Tholas, five miles away from the monastery, and lived as a hermit. He ate in small amounts to avoid the sin of gluttony and slept very little. He spent his time praying unceasingly. He became famous as a spiritual guide and received many visitors. Because of the constant stream of visitors, John was criticized as a chatterbox. Finally, he kept silent for a year, except for occasional visits by his critics. After forty years at his hermitage, John was elected abbot of the monastery at Mount Sinai. He was noted as a great spiritual director, and he placed great emphasis on mourning for one’s sins. When he was not spiritually counseling others, he reached the state of inner stillness through continuous prayer. It was for his monks that John wrote his book, The Ladder of Divine Ascent. He describes the thirty steps one must pass through to reach the summit of human experience which is the life of pure contemplation of the Godhead. He emphasized the fundamentals in the ascetic life: retirement from the world, obedience, self-discipline, chastity and prayer. It requires an unremitting struggle and sacrifice. To achieve the state of contemplation of the Godhead “solitude” or “holy quiet” must be practiced. The “holy quiet” liberates the whole personality from the forces that surround the individual (Page 16). They hinder our concentration on the contemplation of the Godhead. As he wrote: “Truly blessed is he who has acquired perfect insensibility to every body and colour and beauty” (Page 16). He realized, however, that this ideal could be realized only by a few people. As he wrote, “solitary prayer is for the very few.” There are those who do not have the temperament to live in solitude. “It is better to live in poverty and obedience” (Page 22). The ordinary man, John wrote, can seek a spiritual life and pray with a congregation. Source: St. John Climacus: The Ladder of Divine Ascent translated by Archimandrite Lazarus Moore A Daily Calendar of Saints by Lawrence R. Farley
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PREPARATION FOR CONFESSION I am the Lord your God, and you shall have no other gods before me. Has God been the source, center and hope of my life? Have I put myself, others or things before God? Have I failed to trust in God’s existence, love and mercy? Have I failed to pray to God, to worship Him and to thank Him for His blessings? Have I tried to serve God and keep His commandments faithfully? Have I murmured or complained against God in adversity? Have I praised and glorified God through my words and deeds? You shall not make for yourself a graven image in order to worship it. Have I valued anyone or anything above God? Have I given to anyone or anything the love, honor and worship that belongs to God alone? Have I made and idol of any person, idea, occupation, or thing? You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Have I blasphemed God’s holy name in any way? Have I sworn a false oath? Have I broken any solemn vow or promise? Have I entered into an agreement, promise or contract against God’s law? Have I cursed or used foul language? Do I speak of God to other people? Have I spoken negatively about the church or the clergy with others? Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Have I worshiped regularly on Sundays and major feast days and have I helped others to do the same? Do I come regularly late to the holy services? Does my attention wander during church? Have I worked unnecessarily on Sundays or major feast days or caused others to do so? Have I spent the Lord’s Day in a wholesome and edifying ways? Do I use my time wisely or do I waste a lot of it? Have I contributed a sacrificial share of my time, talent and treasure to the church? Have I discouraged others from attending church or participating in the sacraments? Have I kept the prescribed fasts of the church? Honor your father and mother. Have I loved and respected my parents as I should? Have I neglected them or failed to help them? Have I disobeyed them, deceived them or caused them pain by my words or deeds? Have I treated all my family members with patience and love? Have I neglected my children? Have I disrespected any member of the clergy? Thou shall not kill. Have I caused the harm, injury or death of anyone? Have I wished my own or anyone’s harm or death? Have I been cruel to animals or destroyed any life unnecessarily? Have I spoke badly about other people or harmed the self-esteem of others? Have I done things that are harmful to my own body such as excessive eating, drinking, smoking, drug abuse? Have I tried to prematurely end my life? Have I had an abortion? You shall not commit adultery. Have I committed any immoral acts alone or with others? Have I caused others to commit immoral acts? Have I committed immoral acts in my heart? Have I honored my spouse? Have I been faithful to my spouse? Have I read or viewed inappropriate materials? You shall not steal. Have I taken anything that was not mine from anyone or from anywhere? Have I cheated anyone? Have I caused others to steal or cheat? Have I tried to find the owners of lost things I have found? Have I damaged or destroyed anything that belonged to another? Have I defrauded anyone of rightful wages? Have I paid my debts? Have I given to the poor and to philanthropic causes in proportion to my means? You shall not bear false witness. Have I given false testimony against anyone? Have I spoken evil, told lies or spread rumors about anyone? Have I disclosed to anyone the sins and faults of another? Have I made careless statements or done anything else to harm the name and reputation of another? Have I engaged in idle gossip? You shall not covet. Have I looked with envy jealousy or hatred toward the possession talents or achievements of others? Have I desired the downfall or loss of others out of evil intent that I might benefit? Have I grieved that God has bestowed greater blessings on others than on me? **Please highlight the ones you have done and make a list of the issues that need discussion. The Lenten Covenant This year will be the 6th year we offer the program of the Lenten Covenant at St. John. Each year, those who participate say that they get a lot of out of this program. A “covenant” is a promise. God has made covenants with us. In the Old Testament, He makes the first Covenant with Abraham, to be the God of Abraham’s descendants. The sign of this Covenant is circumcision. In the New Testament, God replaces the Old Covenant with a New Covenant, which is baptism and Holy Communion. If you are baptized and have received Holy Communion, then you have a Covenant relationship with God—you are part of the Covenant between God and His people. The Lenten Covenant is a promise between us and God—it is a promise to do certain things during Lent so that one can grow spiritually during Lent, with a promise to change one thing after Lent has ended so that spiritual growth continues during the year. The Lenten Covenant will help us in keeping the lifelong Covenant relationship we have with God by giving us a short-term covenant by which to evaluate our standing in the lifelong Covenant. How does the Lenten Covenant Work? As you will see in this issue of The Messenger, there is a two page form that lists a menu of plans to help in a Lenten Goal of growing closer to God this year. The menu includes fasting, prayer, worship, reading the Bible, reading a theology book, going to confession, changing one bad habit, and the one that is most important, a goal for once Pascha is over. The menu offer several levels of commitment for each area. Each area is important—it is important that you fast, pray, worship, read scriptures, go to confession, and change a bad habit if you are going to get something out of this Lent. But if you’ve never fasted before, the covenant offers different levels of difficulty. So if you’ve never fasted, perhaps you should check the easiest level. If you’ve mastered the first level, perhaps this year you challenge yourself with the second level. If you’ve never read the Bible, don’t commit to reading the whole Bible during Lent—that is a huge commitment. Commit rather to something smaller like reading a chapter a day, or perhaps reading the Gospels, something that is challenging but attainable. If you’ve never worshipped in church on a day that isn’t Sunday, don’t commit to every service during Lent, but commit to one service per week, or even commit to one of each of the Lenten services, which would be three extra services over the six weeks of Lent. Regarding confession, how many hours of your life have you spent alone with an Orthodox priest to talk about your salvation? If you are over age 20 and the answer is zero, perhaps you need to think about changing that this Lent. If you are over age 60 and the answer is zero, you’ve got even more incentive. Think about how many hours a year you spend watching television, or listening to music, going to movies, doing yardwork, gossiping on the phone—it adds up to hundreds of hours each year, thousands of hours over a lifetime. And then think about how many hours you’ve spent in your whole life talking about your salvation, about repentance, with an Orthodox priest. Sadly, for many people, the answer is zero. This could be the year you change that. So, if you decide to do the Lenten Covenant, do the following:
The Lenten Covenant Check as many as apply under each topic. You should (but need not) answer every topic. This is a matter of your own conscience and areas where you want to grow spiritually. 1. Concerning my prayer life, I will commit to: _____One five minute period a day of un-interrupted prayer _____One five minute period every morning of un-interrupted prayer _____One five minute period every evening of un-interrupted prayer _____One five minute period each morning AND evening of un-interrupted prayer Other: Write in here 2. Concerning Worship _____I’ll commit to attending Divine Liturgy each Sunday _____I’ll commit to attending ONE additional service each week during each week of Lent _____I’ll commit to attending AT LEAST ONE Compline, One Pre-Sanctified Liturgy and One Salutations Service _____I’ll commit to attending AT LEAST ONE Saturday of the Souls _____I’ll commit to attending the Forgiveness Vespers February 26 _____I’ll commit to preparing and receiving Holy Communion at least once a week during Lent. Concerning Holy Week, I’ll commit to: _____Every Service _____Every Evening Service _____One service each Day _____Specifically Holy Thursday—the Passion of Christ _____Other (write in here) 3. Concerning Fasting, I’ll commit to: ____Level One Fast from meat on Wednesday and Fridays and during Holy Week ____Level Two Fast from meat and fish on Wednesdays and Friday and during Holy Week
____Level Three Fast from meat the entirety of Lent and Holy Week ____Level Four Fast from meat and fish the entirety of Lent and Holy Week ____Level Five Level Four and eliminate dairy products during Holy Week. ____Level Six Level Four and eliminate dairy products on Wednesdays and Fridays and during Holy Week ____Level Seven Level Four plus eliminate dairy products during all of Lent and Holy Week ____Level Eight Level Seven plus eliminate oil and wine during Holy Week ____Level Nine The Strict Fast-no meat, fish, dairy products, wine or oil during the entirety of Lent ___I can’t fast from food for health reasons. I will give up the following: (Write answer here)
**Note-alcohol should be consumed at a very minimum during Lent, and abstained from totally if possible. Also, activities should be curtailed, socializing a little more sedate, no dancing and loud music. During Holy Week, all unnecessary activities aside from work and children should be curtailed, so that we can focus on the Holy Days of the Passion of Christ. 4. Concerning reading the Bible, I’ll commit to: _____Reading one chapter a day from some book _____Reading the four Gospels _____Reading the Psalms _____Other (Write in)
5. Concerning reading a theology book, I’ll commit to reading _____One Orthodox theology book _____The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen(available at church book store) _____I’ll commit to the book review on Monday, March 26, which will review The book The Return of the Prodigal Son 6. Concerning confession, ____I’ll commit to going once during this Lenten period either to Fr. Stavros or another Priest ____I’ve been recently to confession and don’t feel the need to go at this time. ____I don’t believe in going to confession ____I’ll get more information on this sacrament and then make a decision.
____Every Sunday ____Every Sunday and at Wednesday Pre-Sanctified ____At least every other Sunday 8. Concerning bad habits, here are one or two or a few bad habits I’ll watch and change this Lent ____Gossip ____Self-aggrandizement ____impatience ____Greed ____Lust
____Disobedience ____Wasting time ____Self-pitying _____Not giving good effort at work/school/marriage/children Others: Write in here 9. One spiritual goal I want to commit to once Pascha has passed is: Prayer: Lord help me to be successful in this task I am about to undertake. May it be for the growth of my soul and the improvement of my spiritual life. Help me to keep all the commitments I have made. Amen. __________________________________Sign your name Make a copy for yourself, place your covenant in a sealed envelope, write your name and address on front of envelope. Bring covenant to church and place it in locked box on the solea. Not the Journey of Lent but rather the Journey of Life By Charlie Hambos Even though I have been an Orthodox Christian my entire life, this year will only be my seventh Lenten journey. During those years before, I wasn’t so connected with the Orthodox Faith but now it is a different story entirely. I am looking forward to the journey. I’m not looking forward to the journey because I will be able to start the Lenten Diet. However, I must admit that I do feel cleaner and better while fasting. I am looking forward to the opportunity to grow closer to God during this time and hopefully get to a higher point where I can remain even after Pascha. When anticipating my first Lenten Journey at Holy Cross last year, I mistakenly thought that because I am a seminarian and because I am “surrounded” by the faith, the journey would be easier. But I was wrong. The first week was great and maybe the second but after that, it consisted of complaining about the menu in the cafeteria and getting caught up in school work. I was so disappointed and a few of my classmates felt the same way. Sure we kept the fast but we didn’t keep the fast of our mouth or of our eyes or of ears. This year is going to be different. It’s going to be harder but at least I know what I need to improve on from last year and attempt to dodge those habits I created last year. Of course, the devil doesn’t really care how you will prepare to fight the battle that you faced last year but instead will introduce new tactics to get to the core and ruin the journey from the inside out. In a recent class discussion that I was moderating for one of the undergraduate classes, we were discussing the different Gospel accounts of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ. In each Gospel, they all refer to the same prophecy from Isaiah. In Matthew 3:3 it reads, “A voice of one that cries in the desert, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’” This proves that there would be someone to come before Christ to pave the way for Him to bring Salvation. I find it very interesting that he comes to prepare the way. I can’t help but comparing this way to the journey that we travel during each Lent which culminates in the resurrection of Christ on Pascha. Another interesting note about John the Baptist was that he was baptizing people before Christ came to be baptized. Now, in Judaism they had a form of baptism which was a purification. Now, the baptism of John was neither the same ritual purification of the Jews nor the baptism in the Holy Spirit as we know today. Only Christ could baptize with the Holy Spirit. According to the notes in the New Jerusalem Bible, the baptism of John was different for three reasons. The first is that it is a moral purification and not a ritual one. The second is that it happens only once. And the third is that it allows the people to join the group who were preparing for the arrival of the Messiah. Again, there is this notion of preparing the way for the Messiah. Keep this in mind as we prepare our journey to Pascha. Another interesting note is that John says that he baptizes in water for repentance. Repentance, as I know it, is the turning away from the former evils of life and heading into the right direction. This is an essential theme of Lent. Many of the services throughout Lent and into Holy Week scream of repentence. John not only himself paved the way for Christ but he brought a community together to prepare and to look forward to the coming Messiah. As a church community around the world, we have come to this time of Lent to prepare for the journey to Pascha. It is a time to clean, a time to repent and a time to enroll ourselves in that community which is walking the path of salvation that has already been paved. I pray that I will stick to my word for this Lent and prepare well and travel even better on my journey. Most of all, I pray that you will make the effort to prepare and to take the journey with me. Just a quick update on my life here at Holy Cross. Currently, I am studying Orthodox Canon Law, the Book of Psalms, Modern Greek, the Sacrament of Marriage and Byzantine Music. I am also the Teacher’s Assistant for the Biblical Heritage class in Hellenic College where I get to work closely with the professor and the students in an effort to understand the scriptures. As a second year student, I have to have a parish assignment. I travel every Sunday to Taxiarchai Greek Orthodox Church in Laconia, New Hampshire. The church has approximately 30 families who are stewards of the church. Since starting in the fall, I have introduced a Sunday School program as well as started to offer the Orthros service before Divine Liturgy. Currently the parish priest and I are on a mission to expand the parish by visiting current members and members who have fallen away. It has been and continues to be a great experience for me. If you would like to reach me, please send me an e-mail at Charlie.hambos@gmail.com. My postal address is Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, 50 Goddard Avenue, Box 101, Brookline, Massachusetts. I would also like to thank all of you who have sent me packages and e-mails. Each word and gesture of support means so much to me. The Divine Liturgy: Part XVII: Prayer of Thanksgiving by Fr. Christos Mars F  ollowing the receiving of Holy Communion the Priest makes the exclamation, “O God, save Your people and bless Your inheritance.” This exclamation is the conclusion of the distribution of the sacrament. Since we have been called to receive Holy Communion and we have prepared to do so (See Part XVI) we are now in a position for God to “save us.” (As you know salvation is a continuous process by which an Orthodox Christian is always working towards salvation. We are not saved once and then always saved as many Protestants believe, but rather we are always working towards salvation. I was saved yesterday, I am being saved today, I will be saved tomorrow.)
At the conclusion of the exclamation the chanters or choir chant the following hymn, “We have seen the true light; we have received the heavenly Spirit; we have found the true faith, worshiping the undivided Trinity, for the Trinity has saved us.” This hymn speaks directly about the action of what has taken place, and the importance of the sacrament of Holy Communion. It is important to note here that on major feast days, i.e. Christmas, Epiphany, Transfiguration, etc. the Apolytikion or Dismissal hymn of the feast is chanted in place of the above hymn. This is again to remind the faithful person of the reason that they are celebrating the Divine Liturgy. During the chanting of the hymn, the Priest places all the remaining items that were used to bring the elements to the Holy Altar i.e. Asterisk, Kalimata (Covers) Aer, spoon, etc. on top of the Diskos. (See Part I) If there is a Deacon present the Priest or Hierarch will give the Diskos with all the items on it to the Deacon so that he may return them to the Prothesis table. The Chalice is kept and returned by the Priest, as he is responsible for it. It is important to note that when a Hierarch is present he still gives the Priest the chalice to return it to the Prothesis table. Once all of the items are ready, the Priest or Hierarch faces the Altar, makes the sign of the cross over the Antimension (see Part IX) and says, “Blessed is our God.” The Priest turns towards the people showing the chalice (and if there is no Deacon present the Priest will hold the Paten as well) and says, “Always now and forever and unto the ages of ages.” And the people respond with “Amen.” This petition is very important as it is the promise that Christ leaves His disciples as He ascended into heaven, and that is that He will once again return. The promise of salvation will come again. As He tells us at the end of the Gospel of St. Matthew, we might have the opportunity to once again come and receive the promise of Christ to be one with Him, in the form of Holy Communion. The petition is also linked with St. Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” F The petitions that follow are our opportunity to thank Christ for having received the divine, holy, pure, immortal, heavenly, life giving, and awesome mysteries of Christ, and the prayer that the priest reads confirms this even more. The petitions read as follows: “Let us be attentive. Having partaken of the divine, holy, pure, immortal, heavenly, life giving, and awesome Mysteries of Christ, let us worthily give thanks to the Lord.” The correct response here, despite what the book say is “Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You.” After this comes the next petition, “Help us, save us, have mercy upon us, and protect us, O God, by Your grace.” The people respond with “Lord, have mercy.” The next petition, “Having prayed for a perfect, holy, peaceful, and sinless, day, let us commit ourselves, and one another, and our whole life to Christ our God.” To which the people respond with “To You, O Lord.” Then comes the Prayer of Thanksgiving itself. This prayer, along with the petitions that come before it, summarizes for us our feelings about having received Holy Communion. The prayer and petitions also presume that all the worshippers have received Holy Communion, as in the Ancient Church there would be no one who would be attending the Divine Liturgy and not r  eceive Holy Communion. The prayer reads: “We thank You, loving Master, benefactor of our souls, that on this day You have made us worthy once again of Your heavenly and immortal Mysteries. Direct our ways in the right path, establish us firmly in Your fear, guard our lives, and make our endeavors safe, through the prayers and supplications of the glorious Theotokos and ever virgin Mary and of all Your saints.” Following the prayer is the exclamation of the Priest, “For You are our sanctification and to You we give glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.” To which the people respond with the “Amen.”
During these petitions and prayer the priest very carefully folds the Antimension (see Part IX) so that it can once again be used for the next Divine Liturgy. At the recitation of the exclamation the Priest makes the sign of the cross over the folded Antimension as a seal that the service has been completed. With this, we conclude the section on The Prayer of Thanksgiving. In Part XVIII we will look at the Dismissal prayers and the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, shedding light on the most important Sacrament of our Orthodox Church. Fr. Christos Mars is the Assistant Priest at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Atlanta, GA. In his theological studies, he specialized in the study of liturgics, the history and theology behind our services. His series on the Divine Liturgy will be part of our monthly Messenger for the next several months as he walks us through the Divine Liturgy, both from the standpoint of what goes on, as well as its theological meaning and historical development. Directory: church files -> messenger messenger -> ST. john the baptist greek orthodox church the messenger Download 302.26 Kb. Share with your friends:
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ollowing the “Amen” by the people there is a hymn that is chanted, that in most Orthodox Churches is skipped. This is a very beautiful hymn that speaks to us and introduces us to the section of the Divine Liturgy known as the Prayer of Thanksgiving. The hymn says, “Let our mouths be filled with Your praise, Lord, that we may sing of Your glory. You have made us worthy to partake of Your holy mysteries.