On Monday, March 10 (ns) we will
begin the Great Forty Day Fast (Sarakosti, Great
Lent) which precedes the Holy Week of Our Lord's
Passion. It is customary at this time, of course,
for preachers to exhort Christians to make greater
efforts to live the life of the Church in prayer,
fasting, and acts of mercy. In a short message like
this one, however, often it is useful simply to focus
on one thing.
In Orthodox societies historically, the full cycle
of services was performed every day in Church
during Great Lent, and many, if not most, lay
people could
attend, since the spring plowing had not yet begun and work could be postponed
till later in the day, and children were not forced to spend their entire day
in government schools. Our situation, of course, is different; living in a
godless society devoted to mammon, we are, from
morning to night, compelled to serve
the world, unless we decide to live entirely apart from it.
Even in our circumstances, however,
if we make a little effort, we can set apart time
for God and for our souls.
It
would be a very great thing if everyone who read
this bulletin would resolve, starting
today, never to omit his morning prayers, that is,
to get up a little
early every day and begin the day with God, and then fulfill his resolve.
This "little
thing," if done with the desire to please God because He is worthy of
all love, will become a great thing, because every one of our meager efforts
for
Christ's sake is made powerful by the all-conquering grace of God.
We can undertake a very simple rule
of prayer for the morning, saying the introductory
prayers in the Prayer Book (O Heavenly King, Holy God, etc.), and then as many
of the morning prayers as would fill up, say ten minutes. Then we should say
the Prayer of St. Ephraim, which is especially appointed for the weekdays of
Great Lent, with the prostrations and bows indicated. This prayer is also found
in almost all of our prayer books.
There are those among us, of course,
who already do more, and perhaps much more, than
this. It is likely, however, that many of us do not
do even this much, and
Great Lent is the perfect time to begin.
After compelling ourselves to fulfill this little
rule for several weeks, we will naturally begin
to feel some compunction and greater thirst for
God's presence.
Our souls will feel cleaner and lighter, and instead of facing each day with
fear and uncertainty, we will, despite our burdens and problems, face each
day with peace in our hearts. This, by itself,
would be a significant spiritual advance
made during our Lenten springtime.
Kali
Sarakosti - a blessed Great
Lent to all!
Starting
Each Day With God
FORCE
YOURSELF to get up early and on a set schedule.
As soon as you wake up, turn your mind to God:
make the Sign of the Cross, and thank Him for
the night
that has passed and for all His mercies towards you. Ask Him to guide all
your thoughts, feelings and desires, so that
everything you say or do will be pleasing
to Him.
As
you dress, recollect the presence of the Lord
and of your Guardian Angel. Ask the Lord Jesus
Christ to put on you the robe of salvation.
After
washing yourself, get down to morning prayers.
Pray kneeling, with
concentration, and with reverence and meekness, as is proper before the
eyes of the Almighty.
Ask Him to give you faith, hope, and charity, as well as calm strength
to accept all that the coming day may bring to you - its hardships and
troubles. Ask Him
to bless your labors. Ask for help: to accomplish some particular task
that you face; to steer clear of some particular sin.
Start
every morning as if you had just decided to
become a Christian and to live according to
God's commandments.
-
from Rules for a Pious Life by Archbishop Platon