Archive for March 2025
Prayer of the First Hour
Our Daily Lenten Journey this year is focused on prayer. Yesterday we finished our series on morning prayers. Did you know the Church has ‘services’ dedicated to the different hours of the day? Now we will turn our attention to communal prayers offered during the day. For centuries the People of God have gathered throughout…
Read MoreMorning Prayers Part Three
When we pray, we often wonder if God is listening to us. I know we wonder, because many confess this to me. It isn’t a sin, but we feel as if we don’t ‘have God’s ear’ when we are praying. Maybe it is because of the way we pray. Maybe it is the words we…
Read MoreMorning Prayers Part Two
Yesterday’s Daily Lenten Journey touched on the traditional morning prayer you find in every Orthodox Christian prayer book. These prayers are the foundation of a solid prayer life, sometimes called a prayer rule. Today, we will discuss an ‘extension’ to these prayers. Rising from sleep, I thank You, Holy Trinity, for in the multitude of…
Read MoreMorning Prayers Part One
As Orthodox Christians we begin every day with prayer. Before anything else takes place, before we wash ourselves, before we feed our bodies, we feed our souls with prayer. Immediately upon waking, we approach our icons and pray. As I mentioned yesterday, the Trisagion Prayer begins every prayer session. The following prayers come immediately after…
Read MoreThe Trisagion Prayer
At the beginning of every day, we pray. At the end of every day, we pray. Throughout the day, the Church gathers, and we pray. At every prayer ‘service’ we begin the same way. We pray the Trisagion Prayers. Today’s Daily Lenten Journey will look at these important prayers. In the name of the Father…
Read MoreLenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim
This year’s Daily Lenten Journey will be about prayer. I have written extensively on fasting over the years. Other years the Daily Lenten Journey has been about the daily scripture readings. All the fasting and all the bible reading is useless without prayer. So, we will spend the next 40 days discussing various prayers. Today…
Read MoreEpisode 445 – Forgiveness is about Reconciliation
On Forgiveness Sunday, the Gospel teaches us that God will only forgive once we have forgiven others. This is difficult when we fight about who was right and who was wrong. Since all since is against God, then forgiveness comes much easier. If we can forgive for reconciliation rather than right or wrong, then we…
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