Posts Tagged ‘Great Lent’
Lamplighting Prayer Two
We continue our review of the lamplighting prayers of Vespers with understanding, and maybe more importantly, admitting our sin in front of God. Today our Daily Lenten Journey of Prayer will focus on our urgent appeal to God’s reason, and not His wrath. O Lord, do not rebuke us in Your indignation nor chasten us…
Read MoreLamplighting Prayer One
Today we turn our attention to the silent prayers of Vespers. In the Greek tradition, these prayers are offered by the clergy during the reading of Psalm 103. Vespers is the “Twelfth Hour” and therefore celebrated at or near sundown. Living in a technological world, we often forget there were no ‘lights’ in the Church.…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer at the Bowing of our Heads
Today’s Daily Lenten Journey will wrap up our series on the silent prayers of Orthros. Toward the end of Orthros, the priest makes a bold request from God. Over the past twelve days, we have prayed for mercy, peace and even praised God. Today we ask for His hand to come to us. O holy…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer Twelve
We have been reviewing the silent Orthros prayers. Some prayers ‘just say it all’ when it comes to our faith in God. Other prayers are more direct and specific. Today’s prayer is an all-encompassing prayer that finalizes the twelve prayers offered during the Six Psalms of Orthros. We praise You, we sing to You, we…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer Eleven
Human beings are the crown of creation. We are the only creatures on the face of the earth created in the image of God. That does not mean the other creatures don’t also praise Him. Today’s Daily Lenten Journey will look at how our prayers join us to creation. O God, our God, Who by…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer Ten
It is too easy to think all Saints were always saints. Some of the greatest saints were among the ‘worst’ sinners. Today our Daily Lenten Journey will consider how we can pray for repentance and forgiveness of sins. During Great Lent the Church, because she loves us, elevates saints of great repentance. Since before Great…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer Nine
Reading the Holy Scriptures is a part of every Orthodox Christian’s day. Either in the morning or sometime during the day, we are encouraged by the Church daily to read the Bible. Today’s Daily Lenten Journey on Prayer looks at the prayer that reinforces our need for the Bible. Shine within our hearts, O Master…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer Eight
Social media is overflowing with memes about sleepy mornings. We lie awake all night only to ‘finally’ fall asleep comfortably just moments before our alarm rings. We press the snooze button to ‘snatch’ a few extra minutes before the day begins. We would rather stay under the covers. Especially after a time change, we all…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer Seven
Something we struggle to embrace is that we don’t inherently know how to pray. The disciples asked Christ, Who taught us the Lord’s Prayer. Still, we stand daily at our home altar struggling how to pray. Lucky for us, the Holy Spirit is on our side. O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer Six
No matter what we may think, God is never the source of bad things in our lives. Questions like, “Why is God punishing me?” only reveal our temptation instead of God’s actions. Everything God does for us and to us is for our benefit. If we think otherwise, we need to change our minds. We…
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