… It is
practical, however, to pause for a minute at these times to say a short prayer
such as the Jesus Prayer or the Prayer of the Hours …
The daily prayer cycle begins at sundown with Vespers.
This tradition comes to us via the Jewish tradition, the way the disciples and
Christ would have prayed.
Vespers
"Let the lifting up of my hands be an evening
sacrifice." (Psalm 141)
The tradition of praying a sundown coincides with the
time of lighting the lamps, before the time of electricity. This was a definite
transition time in ancient times, something we have lost in our electrical
power world where there is no need to change what we are doing because of the
setting of the sun. But, this transition required a definite change of activity
in the days before electricity.
In the Church at this time of day, as the sun sets, we
traditionally gather in the Church to give thanks for all the blessings our
Lord has granted us this day. This prayer service begins with the psalm of
creation (Psalm 103(104)).
Compline
"In Peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You
alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety." (Psalm 4)
The after our evening meal and before we go to sleep
we say personal prayers which is how the service of compline is usually done.
Here we reflect on the difficulties of the day and examine how we handled them
and ask for forgiveness our shortcomings as well as our negligence of things we
did not do we should of done.
Great Compline is a church service used to commemorate
occasions such as the Eve of the Nativity and is also used during weekdays in
Lent.
Midnight
prayer
"At midnight I will rise and praise you." (Psalm 119)
In the monasteries the monks will rise at midnight for
prayer. We know this tradition goes back at least as far as the time of David.
Matins
or Orthros
"O God, You are my God, early will I seek
You!" (Psalm 63)
At dawn we rise at sunrise and experiencing the
goodness of God praise Him, give thanks, make petitions, and seek His blessing
for the activities of the coming day.
First
Hour
"To You I pray, O Lord; in the morning You hear
my voice!" (Psalm 5)
Before the use of clocks the hours of the day were
determined from sunrise. So the first hour is probably at 7:00am At this hour
we ask God to guard us from everything that could harm us in either body or
soul. As our senses are being awakened we ask for spiritual awakening through
Jesus Christ who is the "true light who comes into the world.'' This is
usually joined with the Matins prayers. This is the time at which Christ was
led into the Praetorium before Pilate.
Psalm 5:
Order my
steps in Your word and so shall no wickedness have dominion over me. Deliver me
from all wrongful dealings of men, and so I shall keep Your commandments. Show
the light of your countenance upon Your servant and teach me Your statutes. Let
my mouth be filled with Your praise, O Lord, that I may sing of Your glory and
honor all the day long.
Prayer:
O Christ the
true light, enlightening and sanctifying every man who comes into the world. Let the light of Your countenance shine on
us, that in it we may behold the ineffable light. Guide our footsteps aright in keeping Your
commandments. Through the
intercessions of Your all-pure Mother and of all the saints. Amen.
Third
Hour
"Take not Your Holy Spirit from me." (Psalm
51)
This is about 9:00am and is the hour when the Holy
Spirit came down upon the apostles on Pentecost. We give thanks to God for this
gift and ask that He never deprive us of the fruits and graces of the Spirit.
We also commemorate the condemnation of Christ by Pilate.
O Lord, You
sent down Your Most Holy Sprit upon Your Apostles at the Third Hour. Take Him
not from us, O Good One, but renew Him in us who pray to You.
Prayer of Saint Basil the Great:
O Lord our
God, You have given Your peace to men and sent down the gift of Your All-Holy
Spirit to Your disciples and Apostles, opening their lips with fiery tongues by
Your power. Open also my lips and teach me, sinner that I am, how and for what I
ought to pray. Guide my life, O calm Haven of the storm-tossed, and reveal the
way in which I should walk. Renew in me a right spirit and make my mind steady
with a governing spirit, so that guided and guarded each day by Your good
Spirit, I may be enabled to practice Your commandments, always remembering Your
glorious presence which looks upon the deeds men do. Do not let me be deceived
by corrupting delights of this world, but rather strengthen in me the desire to
attain the treasures of the world to come. For You are blessed and praised in
all Your saints, unto ages of ages. Amen.
Through the
prayers of the holy Fathers, may the Lord have mercy on us. Amen.
Sixth
Hour
"There they crucified Him... It was now about the
sixth hour" (Luke 23: 33, 44)
This is about 12 noon, the time when the divine drama
of Christ began. It is when Pilate released Him to the Jews and they condemned
Him and He was nailed to the Cross. We rejoice in the infinite life of God and
show our gratitude, for through this event He wrought our salvation.
O Christ
God, on the sixth day and hour, You nailed to the cross the sin which
rebellious Adam committed in paradise. Tear asunder also the bond of our
iniquities, and save us!
You have
wrought salvation in the midst of the earth, O Christ God. You
stretched out Your all-pure hands upon the Cross, You gathered together all the
nations that cry aloud to You: Glory to You, O Lord!
Prayer of
Saint Basil the Great:
O God, Lord
of hosts and Maker of all created things, who in Your great compassion and
mercy sent down Your Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, for the
redemption of mankind, and by His precious cross destroyed the writing of our
sins, thereby triumphing over the source and power of darkness. O Lord and
Lover of man, accept also the thanksgiving and fervent prayers of us sinners. Deliver
us from every dark and harmful transgression and from all the visible and
invisible enemies which seek to destroy us. Nail our flesh to the fear of You,
and do not incline our hearts to words or thoughts of guile, But wound our
souls with Your love, that ever looking to You, and guided by You in the light,
and beholding You, the Light ineffable and ever lasting, we may offer ceaseless
praise and thanksgiving to You: To the Father who has no beginning, together
with Your only-begotten Son and Your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now
and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Ninth
Hour
"And at the ninth hour...Jesus uttered a loud cry
and breathed his last." (Mark 15: 34, 37)
This occurs about 3:00pm, the time that Jesus died on
the Cross. It is when he promised His kingdom to the repentant thief. We give
thanks singing hymns of these saving events.
O Christ
God, at the ninth hour You tasted death in the flesh for our sake: mortify the
rebellion of our flesh and save us!
In the midst
of two thieves, Your Cross was revealed as the balance-beam of righteousness. For
while the one was led down to hell by the burden of his blaspheming, the other
was lightened of his sins to the knowledge of things divine. O Christ our God,
glory to You!
Prayer of
Saint Basil the Great:
O Master,
Lord Jesus Christ our God, You have led us to the present hour, in which, as
You hung upon the life-giving tree, You made a way into Paradise for the
penitent thief, and by death destroyed death: Cleans us, Your unworthy
servants, for we fall into sin continuously and are not worthy to lift up our
eyes and look upon the heights of heaven. Forgive us for departing from the
path of righteousness and following the desires of our own hearts. We implore
Your unending goodness: Spare us, O Lord, according to the multitude of Your
mercies, and save us for Your holy name's sake, for our days are passing away
in vanity. Take us from the hand of the adversary and forgive our sins, and
mortify in us all impure thoughts. Help us to lay aside our old ways so that
we may be clothed with new resolve and may dedicate our lives to You, our
Master and Benefactor, so that by following Your commandments, we may come to
the eternal rest which is the abode of all those who rejoice. For You are the
true joy and exultation of those who love You, O Christ our God, and to You we
ascribe glory, together with the Father who is without beginning and Your
all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Through the
prayers of our holy fathers, may the Lord have mercy on us Amen.
For most people who do not live a monastic life,
following this routine is not very practical. It is practical, however, to
pause for a minute at these times to say a short prayer such as the Jesus
Prayer or the Prayer of the Hours. If you listen to Ancient Faith radio on the
internet they offer short prayers on the hours.
For a pocket sized book that contains the above and
more see A Manual of the Hours of the Orthodox Church compiled by Archimandrite
Cherubim, Monastery of the Paraclete, Attica, Greece, translated and published
by Community of the Holy Myrrhbearers, 1993.
A good book with the complete services adapted for use
without a priest is The Hours of Prayer Published by the Orthodox Brotherhood
of the Virgin Mary in Elkhorn VA. See the page on prayer books.
Sources: http://www.orthodoxprayer.org/Hours.html
CONVERSATION