Prayer

Prayer in Our Parishes and in Our Families

Prayer in Our Parishes and in Our Families

To Our Clergy, Hieromonks and Brothers, Religious Sisters, Seminarians and Beloved Faithful In the last few years in our Church we often mention the “Vibrant Parish” strategy. In my opinion, one sign of a vibrant parish lies in its ability to give life and give birth to new, living, vibrant parishioners. A dead or dying parish is unable to give birth to new parishioners, or it will give birth to parishioners who are spiritually dead. In my view, a living parish exists when there are two dimensions present in it - vertical and horizontal. The vertical dimension is reflected in…
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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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Mark 11:23-25- Forgiveness: A Prerequisite to Prayer

Mark 11:23-25- Forgiveness: A Prerequisite to Prayer

Glory be to Jesus Christ! Nothing causes more disturbance in a household than when children fight with one another. A silly squabble often spreads ill will and hostility to other members of the family. The blame game begins and quickly spreads to other unrelated areas and the next thing you know you are sleeping on the couch because one of your daughters stole the other's doll! In the early Church confessions were done publicly in front of the whole community. Everyone heard the sins, but everyone witnessed the forgiveness as well. Don't get me wrong, I understand and agree with…
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Mark 11:11-23- The Reason for the Season

Mark 11:11-23- The Reason for the Season

Glory be to Jesus Christ! Imagine if you were a Gentile living in the time of our Lord and didn't know much about the God of the Jewish people, and so wanting to know more, you went to the Temple to check it out. You were allowed into the "Court of the Gentiles," a section just for you, to discover that the whole court was filled with animals to be bought and sold, money changers and yelling voices haggling for the lowest prices. What would you think is worshiped in this Temple by these people? Although this Temple was destroyed…
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Instructions for Lent From Our Lord Jesus: Pray, Fast and Give Alms

Instructions for Lent From Our Lord Jesus: Pray, Fast and Give Alms

Matthew 6: 1-21, NKJV 1* "Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 "Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4* so that your alms may be in secret;…
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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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