Saint Patrick, Enlightener of Ireland

Posted on by Fr. Peter

Just so the Westerners out there don’t think they have cornered the market on St. Patrick… Green vestments tomorrow!

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O Holy Hierarch, equal of the Apostles, Saint Patrick, wonderworker and enlightener of Ireland: Intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
The Master revealed thee as a skillful fisher of men; and casting forth nets of Gospel preaching, thou drewest up the heathen to piety. Those who were the children of idolatrous darkness thou didst render sons of day through holy Baptism. O Patrick, intercede for us who honour thy memory.

Reading:
Saint Patrick, the Apostle of the Irish, was seized from his native Britain by Irish marauders when he was sixteen years old. Though the son of a deacon and a grandson of a priest, it was not until his captivity that he sought out the Lord with his whole heart. In his Confession, the testament he wrote towards the end of his life, he says, “After I came to Ireland – every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed – the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was so moved that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many at night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountain; and I would rise for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm.” After six years of slavery in Ireland, he was guided by God to make his escape, and afterwards struggled in the monastic life at Auxerre in Gaul, under the guidance of the holy Bishop Germanus. Many years later he was ordained bishop and sent to Ireland once again, about the year 432, to convert the Irish to Christ. His arduous labours bore so much fruit that within seven years, three bishops were sent from Gaul to help him shepherd his flock, “my brethren and sons whom I have baptized in the Lord – so many thousands of people,” he says in his Confession. His apostolic work was not accomplished without much “weariness and painfulness,” long journeys through difficult country, and many perils; he says his very life was in danger twelve times. When he came to Ireland as its enlightener, it was a pagan country; when he ended his earthly life some thirty years later, about 461, the Faith of Christ was established in every corner.

From www.goarch.org

Snow Storm

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Well it would seem that old man winter is not done with us yet. If you believe the weather man we are due for about a foot of snow between today (Friday) and tomrrow (Saturday) afternoon. Please remember those who will need to be out in that nasty stuff, police, fire, snow plow drivers and the people who need to work the late shift.

Presanctified Liturgy Prayers

Posted on by Fr. Peter
This past Wednesday night I served the Presanctified Liturgy for the first time this Great Lent. The usual practice here is to rotate between my parish and St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church here in town. However, because of some renovations here in our hall we had the first three at St. Nick’s. So Wednesday night as I was serving I read the prayers for what seemed like the first time! I have been a priest now for three years and I guess I never felt comfortable enough with what I was supposed to be doing to actually pray the prayers. So I thought I would print them here and perhaps comment on them. The first three come from the priest’s silent prayers from Vespers. The faithful usually never hear these prayers but in the Presanctified the priest only prays the last four silently.

O compassionate and merciful Lord, abounding in Patience and clemency: Attend to out entreaty and hear the sounds of our prayer! Show us some sign of your favor; teach us your ways that we may walk the path of your truth. Give joy to our hearts that we may always revere your holy name, for you are great and you work wonders; you alone are God and there is no other to compare with you, O Lord. You are powerful in mercy and gracious in strength, able and ready to help and comfort and save all those who place their trust in You.

Do not rebuke us, Lord, when you are displeased with us, nor chastise us in your anger with us! Rather, deal with us according to your loving kindness, O healer and physician of our souls. Lead us to that haven of safety wherein we do all that you wish of us. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we may know the truth and let us pass the rest of this day, and indeed, the rest of our life, in peace and without sin, by the prayers of the Theotokos and all your saints.

Lord our God, be mindful of us, your sinful and unprofitable servants, who call on your holy name, and do not disappoint us in our expectations or mercy. Instead, grant us what we need for salvation and count us worthy of loving you with all the reverence of our hearts, and of doing your will in all things.

These prayers set the stage for what we seek from God, an answer to our prayers and salvation. We recognize that we are sinful and ask God to forgive us for all that we have done or not done. We ask for illumination of our hearts for understanding and ask for understanding of the truth. We now fast forward in the service to the prayers just before the entrance with the presanctified gifts.

O great Lord and God! You have led us from corruption to imperishable life through the life-giving death of your Christ. So, now, deliver our senses from the mortal tyranny of our passions and place them under the safe and able guidance of our inner reason. Let not our eyes wander in search of evil sights, nor our ears indulge in listening to idle talk. Cleanse our tongues of unbefitting speech, O Lord, and purify our lips that they may praise you. Keep our hands from evil deeds and make them ever ready to do only the things that please you. Do this, Lord, by strengthening our
understanding, and, indeed, our entire being, by your grace.

O infinitely good and holy master, rich in mercy! We entreat you to be merciful with us sinners and make us worthy of receiving your only Son, our God, the King of glory. For behold, his most pure body and life-giving blood are about to be ushered in and placed upon this mystic altar, escorted invisibly by a great host of heaven. Let us share in them without fear of punishment, that the eyes of our understanding may be filled with light and we may become children of the light and day.

In these two prayers, called the prayers of the faithful, we plead our case before God and ask that our passions be held in check. This is the goal of Lent is to modify and change our behavior and make us more, dare I say, Christ-like! We acknowledge that we are sinners and we are in need of His mercy and Grace, and ask that we be made worthy by receiving the Body and Blood of His Son in this very Liturgical service.
These prayers are awesome and we often do not get to hear them as we should. Next, the prayers from what is called, the office of communion. But that is for another post.

Blessed are the Pure of Heart

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I recently read a pastoral letter written by the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert W. Finn. What a wonderful pastoral letter and what a wonderful spirit filled letter and some concrete ways that we can aid in the battle against pornography. I only wish our Orthodox Bishops would write things as wonderful and spiritual as this.

Read it here.

Sermon

Posted on by Fr. Peter
For the past few weeks I have been leading my congregation on a journey through the Ten Commandments. What a learning experience this has been for me also as it has given me a different way to look at the Commandments. I do not like to dwell on sin but this all began because so many people feel they either do not sin or do not need to come to confession.
Several months ago I began to preach just from my head, which can be very difficult and use very few notes. The bad part is that I cannot reproduce the entire sermon here. I have begun to think about podcasting but that will take some time to get going. I will try to hot the high points of yesterdays sermon on Honor your father and mother and you shall not kill.
In this Commandment we are told to love, honor and respect our parents who brought us into the world. This continues the original act of creation and expanding the universal family of love. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians “Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” If we are unable to love our parents we will be unable to love our neighbor.
To take this point a step further, we are to respect anyone who is in a position of authority over us. (Ephesians 6:5-8), whether they are secular authorities of church authorities. All authority comes from God… Pay all of them their due… respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:1,7). Obey your (Church) leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account (Hebrews 13:17). Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of a double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17). The important phrase there is rule well. We need to rule well and just in order to be worthy of the honor. This is directed at not only those who are ruled but those who rule.

Ask yourself these questions:
Have I respected my parents and been obedient to them?
Have I deceived my parents or caused them pain by my words or actions?
Have I respected the elderly?
Have I neglected my family?
Have I been wanting in love or kindness toward my husband (or wife), or harmed him (or her) in any way?
Have I set my children a good example and tried to bring them up properly?
Have I overindulged or spoiled them?
Have I neglected my godchildren and failed in my obligations toward them?

We often think of the Commandment against killing as being only in the physical sense of the word kill. To take ones physical life. We can kill someone not only by taking his life but by our words by the actions of the tongue, the ruining of one’s reputation, character. or standing. St James reminds us that the tongue is a fire… a restless evil, full of deadly poison, with it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God (James 3:6, 8-9). Idle gossip will also fall under this category even what would seem harmless can kill. St Paul refers to this when he says, Let no evil talk come our of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29). The most poignant passage comes from Jesus Himself, Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6). Just causing one to sin is a terrible crime! Even bearing hatred in ones heart towards another is the same as killing that person. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15).

Ask yourself these questions:

Have I caused injury or death to anyone, or wished someone were dead?
Have I fantasized about harming anyone?
Have I thought about committing suicide?
Have I been cruel to anyone?
Have I mistreated animals?
Have i failed to forgive anyone for anything?
Have I failed to stand up for those unjustly treated?

Ponder these things before your next confession.

3rd Sunday of Great Lent

Posted on by Fr. Peter

3rd Sunday of Great Lent ~ Adoration of the Cross

Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:1-6
Mark 8:34-38; 9:1

This Sunday commemorates the venerable Cross and the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The Cross as such takes on meaning and adoration because of the Crucifixion of Christ upon it. Therefore, whether it be in hymns or prayers, it is understood that the Cross without Christ has no meaning or place in Christianity. The adoration of the Cross in the middle of Great Lent is to remind the faithful in advance of the Crucifixion of Christ. Therefore, the passages from the Bible and the hymnology refer to the Passions, the sufferings, of Jesus Christ: The passages read this day repeat the calling of the Christian by Christ to dedicate his life, for “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Christ)” (Mark 8:34-35). This verse clearly indicates the kind of dedication which is needed by the Christian in three steps:

1. to renounce his arrogance and disobedience to God’s plan.

2. to lift up his personal cross (the difficulties of life) with patience, faith and the full acceptance of the Will of God without complaint that the burden is too heavy; having denied himself and lifted up his cross leads him to the,

3. decision to follow Christ.

These three voluntary steps are three links which cannot be separated from each other, because the main power to accomplish them is the Grace of God, which man always invokes. The Adoration of the Cross is expressed by the faithful through prayer, fasting, alms giving and the forgiveness of the trespasses of others. On this Sunday the Adoration of the Cross is commemorated with a special service following the Divine Liturgy in which the significance of the Cross is that ti leads to the Resurrection of Christ.

From THE GREAT LENT – A Week by Week Meaning Rev. George Mastrantonis

Apostica Prayers

Posted on by Fr. Peter

The Aposticha Prayers for the Vespers on Thursday Evening of the 3rd Week of Great Lent:

O Christ our God, the life of all, You were hung upon the Cross: restore life to my soul, slain by my sins. Do not allow Your sheep to perish completely, O Good Shepherd. I have rebelled against Your commandments, and through my willful live of sin, I have wasted the wealth of innocence that You gave me. Living like the Prodigal, I have grown corrupt and loathsome. But bring me to repentance and renew me, for You alone are full of mercy.

Your martyrs, O Lord, did not deny You, nor did they fall away from Your commandments. At their intercession, have mercy on us.

Apostica Prayers

Posted on by Fr. Peter
The Aposticha Prayers for the Vespers on Wednesday Evening of the 3rd Week of Great Lent:

Like the prodigal, I squandered the riches which the Father gave me. Now I am destitute and dwell in the land of the wicked. In my folly, I have become like the senseless beasts, stripped of all the grace of God. But turning back, I cry aloud to you, the compassionate and merciful Father: “I have sinned, O God! Receives me as a penitent and have mercy on me.”

O Holy martyrs, you were living sacrifices, spiritual holocausts, victims pleasing to the Lord, sheep who know their divine Master and are known by Him whose fold is inaccessible to the ravaging wolves. Intercede with the Good Shepherd that we, too, may be nourished with you beside the sill waters.

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