Prayer

The Prayer for Divine Wisdom

The Prayer for Divine Wisdom

The following prayer was written by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptysky. O Great and Almighty God, send down upon me from Your high and holy heavens and from the throne of Your holy glory, Your holy wisdom, that sits at Your side. Grant me the wisdom of Your good pleasure so that in my life I may know how to desire fervently, seek wisely, acknowledge in truth and fulfil perfectly that which is pleasing to You, to the glory and honour of You holy Name, “to the praise of the glory of Your grace.” Grant me, O God, the wisdom of my…
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Meditation on the Prayer of St. Ephrem | Jim Forest

Meditation on the Prayer of St. Ephrem | Jim Forest

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust for power and idle talk. But give to me, your servant, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love. O Lord and King, grant to me to see my own faults and not to condemn my brother and sister. For you are blessed unto the ages of ages. Reflect on the prayer phrase by phrase and let it question you. “O Lord and Master of my life...” Who is Lord and master of my life? Me? God? The ideas, slogans, and choices of people…
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Nativity Fast Traditions for Byzantine Catholics

Nativity Fast Traditions for Byzantine Catholics

Source: Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix The Byzantine Catholic Church invites all to participate more fully in the central mysteries of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through her calendar of feasts and fasts. The feast of the Nativity of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ (Christmas, December 25) is one of the great feasts of the Church year, celebrating the coming or advent of the Messiah (which in Hebrew means “He who is anointed by the Spirit” or in Greek, Christos), Jesus Christ. Christ was born into the world through the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary to…
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Lenten Prayer

Lenten Prayer

The Prayer of St. Ephrem O Lord and Master of my life, keep from me the spirit of indifference and despair, lust of power, and idle chatter. (Prostration) Instead, bestow on me, your servant, the spirit of wholeness of being, humility, patience, and love. (Prostration) Yes, O Lord and King, grant me the grace to be aware of my sins and not  judge my brothers and sisters; for You are blessed, for ever and ever and. Amen. (Prostration) The Lenten Prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian, by Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann Of all lenten hymns and prayers, one short prayer can…
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Examination of Conscience for Adults

Examination of Conscience for Adults

Begin your examination with the time of your last confession. Try to recall whether you omitted anything from fear of embarrassment that needs to be confessed. With the help or the self-examination provided, call to mind all the sin you have committed since your last confession. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 1. Putting God First: I am the Lord your God; you shall not have other gods before me. Has God been the source, centre and hope of my life? Have I put myself, anyone or anything before God? Have I given to anyone or anything the love, honour and worship that…
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Prayer for our Patriarch

Prayer for our Patriarch

O Lord, we pray You: defend and save His Beatitude, Patriarch Sviatoslav. He is the Primate and Father of the great fellowship of our Church, and wherever he may be in fulfilment of his duties, he is praying for us, and is offering to You with holy fervour his prayers at the Altar. Wherefore, O Lord, turn Yourself toward us, unite our prayers with his and receive them into the bosom of Your infinite mercy. Whether he weeps or rejoices, at home or abroad, we desire to united with him. Hear his holy prayers on behalf of our long-suffering land…
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Mission Days 2014

Mission Days 2014

Appeal of His Beatitude Sviatoslav to the Faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on the Occasion of the Missionary Days Dearly Beloved in Christ ! Today I address all of you faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, led by your priests and bishops, and invite each one of you to embark together with me on an extraordinary pilgrimage that will last for ten days—from the Ascension to the Descent of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost. We are calling this pilgrimage the Missionary Days in which we turn the attention of our entire Church towards our common vocation as "missionaries,"…
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The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer

by Brent Kostyniuk When Peter Pan wants to teach Wendy and the other children how to fly, one of the prerequisites is the need to think a happy thought. A happy thought, it is said, will give you wings. For me, there is a happy thought which gives wings to my spirit - it is the Jesus Prayer. One of the hallmarks of Eastern spirituality is meditation, a discipline brought to near-perfection by the Desert Fathers and Mothers. The Jesus Prayer is a short repetitive prayer, which is profound and deeply mystical. Indeed, in a few short words, it expresses…
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Preparation for Confession by St. John Kronstadt

Preparation for Confession by St. John Kronstadt

I, a sinful soul, confess to our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, all of my evil acts which I have done, said or thought from baptism even unto this present day. I have not kept the vows of my baptism, but have made myself unwanted before the face of God. I have sinned before the Lord by lack of faith and by doubts concerning the Orthodox Faith and the Holy Church; by ungratefulness for all of God's great and unceasing gifts; His long-suffering and His providence for me, a sinner; by lack of love for the Lord, as well…
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Weeding the Christian Garden

Weeding the Christian Garden

Sometimes it does not seem to matter how hard we try to weed a garden, the things keep coming back. There are times, even after doing what I thought was a thorough job at pulling up weeds I would come back even a few days later, still with an aching back and hands, to discover the garden once again full of weeds! Sometimes it just makes you wonder "do I really need to worry about these weeds? Why don't I just let them grow in with my flowers or veggies?" That thought withers almost as quickly as your flowers if you…
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