The Catalog of Good Deeds

To avoid turning Lent into hard and senseless weeks of diet, one should keep several simple rules. The aim of a fast is to bend our body to our soul (to restore the right hierarchy of soul and body), to multiply love, to sharpen attention to our spiritual life, to train our will and gain our powers for spiritual fight.

1. “Always be happy, pray all the time, be thankful for everything”

The temptation to fall into despair is strong. “How can I live without tasty food? No more entertainments! How long the services are!” In fact, there is no reason for despair. Long services are at the same time the examples of middle-aged spiritual poetry, philosophical reflections on the human’s place in eternity, feeling of unity with other people praying in the church as well as communion with God. Often we can face the other side of the Lenten despair: “I cannot fast according to the statue. I miss services. I get distracted by secular vanity.” Remember that God needs our heart, not our legs or stomach. He sees in a soul the desire to serve Him, and He sees the weaknesses, too. This constant recollection about God will become our constant joy about Him.

2. Keep praying!

Of course, there is no need for us to get on the way of hesychasm. Still, we can try to get half a foot closer to perfection. We need to devote more time to prayer than we do usually. We should be more attentive during services – sometimes it might be useful to take a book with the texts of services. We should perform the prayer rule more thoroughly – leave your computer half an hour earlier and read the evening prayers. Add the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian. While on the way, read or listen to Psalter. It is rather useful to fight against numerous temptations during Great Lent with prayer: when you feel angry or get despaired you can cope with this condition with the help of short Jesus’ prayer.

3. Church prayer

If we did not manage to organize our life in a way that we can only eat permitted foods, read the entire prayer rule or just pray during the day because of the everyday routine, the church comes to our rescue. During Great Lent, Divine services are performed every day in monasteries and many parish churches in big cities. We can go to church before or after work and stay at least for a part of the service. This will help to tune on a completely different from the secular environment mood. If we speak of Great lent, we should point out that there are certain services for which we could even take a day off. These are the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete during the first four days of Great Lent, the reading of the entire Canon of St. Andrew of Crete on the Wednesday evening during the fifth week, akathist to the Mother of God on Friday, and the services of the Holy Week. It is advisable to attend the Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts at least once during Great Lent.

4. “Open to me the doors of repentance, O Life-giver!”

It is known that it is not God who needs fast, but we. For example, Great Lent consists of two parts: the Lent itself and the Holy Week. The Church offers us to read the Great Canon twice during Lent for good reason. Every Saturday after the all-night vigil, we can hear the chant “Open to me the doors of repentance, O Life-giver!” for good reason. Three weeks before Great Lent the Church appeals for repentance with the parable about the Publican and Pharisee, and the recalling of the Last judgement and Adam’s expulsion. We need these 40 days of Lent exactly for repentance. If you are not going to repent, then there is no need to fast. It will be just a waste of your health.

5. Watch your health

If you feel that your health is getting worse during Lent, you should discuss the degree of your abstinence with your spiritual father. If you have any diseases of the stomach or metabolic dysfunction, you cannot fast in full or partial accordance with the Church statue just because you want to. Today even some monasteries do not fast with only dry food; so, the Lord will not judge a working person who has health problems, too. Gastric ulcer will not bring you closer to the Lord. In fact, it can even distance you from God. The border between pure desire to follow the Church canons and the pride for your personal efforts is rather thin.

6. Eyes on your own plate

“I boast when I fast, and I still boast when I do not fast”, - writes St. John Climacus in his “Ladder”. “Boasting while fasting” is dangerous and goes hand in hand with judging others. Your brother eats fish while you are on bread and water? Not your business. He drinks milk while you do not even put sugar in tea? You have no idea about the condition of his organism. He has eaten a sausage and is going to partake of Holy Communion next morning while you have begun the Eucharistic fast even before the all-night vigil? This concerns only him and the priest who lets him to take part in the sacrament. “Boasting while not-fasting” is more delicate passion. In the present-day world, there is such a character as a publican who is boasting because he is not a Pharisee. In this case, we can observe another tendency: he does not eat oil – but I make hundred prostrations at home before going to bed! He does not take any alcohol – but I repent every weekend! Here we can say only what children in kindergarten are said: “Eyes on your own plate”.

7. Man does not live by bread alone

Think less about food. Fast is not about changing your food regime. Vegetarians do not eat animal food at all but it neither brings them closer to God nor keeps them from Him, just like the Apostle said. The continuation of this well-known phrase is, “but with any word of God” – it suits perfectly to the period of Great Lent, when we pay special attention to reading Bible, which is the word of God. There is a tradition to read full Gospel as well as it will be useful to read the teachings of Holy Fathers: “Ladder”, Philokalia, explanations of Gospel and so on.

8. Hurry to do good

Concentration on our personal spiritual condition must not turn into negligence towards other people. Fast is supposed to develop in us both love towards God and love towards our neighbor. St. John Chrysostom offered to donate the money saved during Lent to people in need. What is more, during Great Lent there is no need to stop communication with those people who can need it – a pregnant friend, a sick neighbor, a lonely relative. A short talk with these people over a cup of tea is not just entertainment but helping others.

9. Loving people without pleasing people

Good attitude towards our neighbors can sometimes lead to such an unpleasant thing as people pleasing. In fact, there is no good attitude in it at all, while there is personal flabbiness and dependence on the opinion of other people. During Great Lent, this passion becomes especially sharp. “Let’s meet on Friday after work and go to a café!” your friend says, and here you are ordering a cake with her: I don’t want to offend her! “Come to us on Saturday evening!” your neighbors say, and you are going to miss the evening service… “Have one more piece of chicken if you don’t want to hurt my feelings!” your relative says capriciously, and here one can even hide behind respectful attitude towards older people. However, it will be a wickedness. Unwillingness to come into conflict is not always connected with love towards others. To get rid of the sin of people pleasing we can recall the advice by St. Paisios the Hagiorite: we should conceal our personal fasts in order not to fast for show, while the fast for the whole Church is being strong in our faith. We should not only strive to respect other people, but make others respect our faith, too. Quite often, a polite explanation is enough for people to understand your position. What is more, most often it comes out that all our explanations are fanciful: a friend in a café will not be confused by your empty espresso cup, your neighbors will be glad to meet with you after the service, and your relative will be pleased to treat you to potatoes with mushrooms.

10. Follow Christ

Finally, the most important rule of Great Lent is to remember about the aim of this period. Fast is a period of concentrated anticipation of the feast to which it leads, such as Resurrection of Christ, Dormition of the Mother of God and so on. If we speak of Great Lent, it should be an anticipation of a hardworking person. We try to go through Lent together with the Lord; together we will reach the grave of Lazarus; together we will enter Jerusalem; we will listen to Him in the Temple and partake of Holy Communion with His Apostles at His Last Supper; we will follow Him on His way of the Cross; we will mourn on Golgotha with the Mother of God and His favorite disciple John… Finally, together with the myrrh-bearing women we will come to the opened Grave and will feel joy for He is not here. Together with them, we will exclaim, “Christ is risen!”

Source: http://dishupravoslaviem.ru/post-10-pravil-pravoslavnogo-posta/

1. Attend Divine Liturgy and Learn the Troparion

As always, the best way to enter fully into the joy of the feast is to attend Divine Liturgy or Vespers. The services are filled with beautiful imagery and symbolism about Christ as the Light of the World, which lead to excellent discussions with children.

Ask them, “What is light? What does it do? How is Christ like a light? How are we lights?” I am often amazed at the insight and depth of thought that even the littlest ones have on this subject.

The Troparion for the feast is:

“Hail Virgin Theotokos, full of Grace,

For Christ our God, the Sun of Righteousness, has dawned from you,

Granting light to those in darkness.

And you, O Righteous Elder, rejoice,

Taking in your arms the Deliverance of our souls,

Who grants us Resurrection.”

It can also be a good time to review or learn the canticle of St. Simeon, “Lord now let your servant depart in peace.” This song makes a lovely bedtime hymn to sing as a family or with each child separately while tucking them into bed at night.

2. Bring Home Blessed Candles

Many churches bless candles at Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, because of St. Simeon’s reference to Christ as a Light of revelation to the Gentiles.

If your church practices this tradition, be sure to bring home blessed candles to put in your icon corner. Then, have children hold them during family prayer time or even when you read the Gospel at home.

3. Light Up the House

Another way to integrate the theme of light into your celebration is to “light up your house.”

Fill your house with candles. Perhaps you can eat meals by candlelight or pray your Evening Prayers solely by the light of a candle.

When your children ask you about this change in routine, you have a built-in opportunity to speak about Christ as the Light of the World and our charge as Christians to be lights.

4. Talk about Churchings

The Orthodox tradition of churching–bringing a mother and child into the church 40 days after the birth of a baby–comes from the Jewish rite seen in this feast. This makes the feast an excellent time to tell the children about their own churching, to look at pictures, and talk about the practice in general.

5. Call Elderly Relatives

Finally, two pious elderly saints play a major role in the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord. This can serve as a good reminder to children of the importance of our elders and their wisdom.

Perhaps children can call grandparents, great-grandparents, or other relatives on this day to maintain a vibrant relationship with the elders in their own life.

6. Learn More about St. Simeon

Finally, the children can learn more about the life of St. Simeon as taught by the church tradition. His story is a fascinating one of doubt and faith, of patience and perseverance that is an example to all.

These small, simple activities can help make the feasts of the Church more real in the home.

Source: http://www.orthodoxmotherhood.com/6-ways-celebrate-feast-meeting-lord-temple/

Fr. Eugene Pavelchuk: There is no Christianity without carrying one's cross, i.e., without accepting God's will and cutting off one's own: Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Mark 8:34). One must accept God's will wholeheartedly and without doubts. Of course, there is no Christianity without love. Love is the core.

First Memories of God

— My grandmother was a believer, — Father Eugene recalls. — She inspired my first memories of God. I was born in 1966. I grew under the Soviet regime with all that it meant. Still, I remember very well that my grandmother would pray all the time. She would even get up in the night to talk to God. She would mention all her relatives by names in prayer. I remember how I lay on my bed pretending that I was sleeping but instead, I was listening intently to her words. We slept in the same room.

I recall her stories about Jesus Christ, “There was Jesus Christ who was the Son of God. He healed many people and performed many miracles but then He was killed. They crucified him and buried him in a tomb. She would tell me this story, and it was almost as if a documentary chronicle unfolded in front of my eyes. “They lay him in the Tomb and blocked the entrance with a stone. When they returned the following morning to check the tomb, the stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty.” My soul was terrified. Is it real? The tomb was empty, the stone was rolled away!

That was my first impression of God and Jesus Christ. My grandmother led a genuinely Christian life. She was very kind. Whenever any of my friends came to me, she would invariably give them something to eat, saying, for instance, “This boy doesn’t have a father.” She never held grudge against anyone. She would leave us every spring. I was curious, “Where does she go?” It turned out that, due to the fact that there was not a single church in our town, my grandmother would travel to her native village every Lent to go to church, confess, and take communion.

Never a Young Pioneer. Never a Little Octobrist. Never a Komsomolist

I went to a regular Soviet school. By the way, my life was so special that I did not enroll neither in the Little Octobrists’ Organisation nor in the Young Pioneers and not even in the Komsomol, like everyone else. I went to school when I was too young. I was younger than everyone else in my class. When everyone was accepted into these Soviet children’s organisations, my age didn’t match the requirements. It was as if they forgot about me. Later, they asked me: “Where’s your red necktie?” I replied, “I don’t have one.” “Impossible! Quick, go home and bring your necktie.” I left and spent some time walking around. “So, where’s your necktie?” “I don’t have a necktie.” The Pioneer leader took her necktie off her neck, “Here you are, wear it.” Well, I put the necktie on. I did not study the official charters and did not swear the official oath. That was how God rescued me!

The same story happened with the Komsomol. I had spent four years in college when the military commissar asked me during an attestation:

— Where is your Komsomol membership card?

— What do you mean?

— I mean, your membership card. Are you making a fool of me?

— I don’t have a membership card.

— Aren’t you a Komsomolist? How dare you?!

He called to the college: “There is a guy who is not a Komsomolist. Do you know that? What’s wrong with you? I’m sending him back to you. He must come here with a Komsomol membership card tomorrow!” When I got back to my college, I found out that they had issued a Komsomol card for me already. When I was in the army, I was hailed as “The Best Komsomolist”. It’s funny because I hadn’t actually become a member of the Komsomol. That was how it all happened.

What Do I Live For?

It was in the army that I started thinking about God for the first time. It wasn’t because I had to endure hardships there. I was stationed near Moscow in a missile defence unit and spent two years never leaving the forest. It was a secret unit. However, during my second year in the army, I was appointed a clerk of the Secret Department. It was a high-responsibility job but at the same time I had enough free time. I read a lot of books and spent even more time thinking. When I was re-reading Dostoyevsky, whom I really rediscovered as I grew older, I started thinking, “Life can’t be pointless… What do I live for? What is my life’s purpose? Just living? Eating, sleeping, drinking… What for? Having a family is great but what’s next? Where’s the meaning in all that?” It was during my service in the military that the thought about the existence of God took roots in my heart.

Seeking For The Truth And The First Easter

I returned home from the army in 1987 and was admitted to the Institute of Culture in Minsk. There were many books around, except the Bible and the Gospel. Bhagavad Gita (an ancient Indian sacred text written in Sanskrit, the foundational document of the Hindu philosophy) was everywhere, in all shops, on all corners.

Blavatskaya’s books were everywhere, too… I almost got into trouble: I started reading Bhagavad Gita but, praise the Lord, I didn’t go deep into that doctrine. I was confounded and learned that some doctrines can be dicey.

There is a story when Arjuna goes to battle with his uncles. Krishna tells Arjuna, “You must kill your uncles.” “Why?” “You must.” “Why? What for? I will simply defeat them. They are my uncles, why should I kill them?” “I, Krishna, tell you so.” That is, he does not provide any explanation. It’s just because he “wants it.”

I was bewildered: of course, war is war but why kill the uncles? I felt tense after reading the Gita: its spirituality sounded weird… Blavatskaya was even worse, absolute darkness. I couldn’t read her books for more than 5-10 minutes. After that, I was repulsed. Finally, I reached the simple conclusion: all that glitters is not gold. Spirituality can be positive or negative.

Accidentally, I got an old Gospel book in the late 1980s. I read it overnight. Sure enough, I didn’t understand much of it at first but the Good News were a gust of fresh air for me. When my room-mate got up the next morning, I set out talking emphatically, “Here is the Truth! Here is the Truth!” He had been used to my reading various crazy books. He challenged me, “Why do you think that you’re right this time? You have already told me about other books that they were clever or intriguing…” I fell silent. Instantly, my heart sent me the answer — it wasn’t a thought, it was just a spiritual feeling — “It is true because it is full of love.”

Christianity became the long-anticipated lighthouse for me. At first, I couldn’t tell the difference between various brands of Christianity. The Church was not allowed to preach openly yet, and I wasn’t ready to go to church. I saw an advertisement on the street: wow, that’s what I have been waiting for — I’m going to a Christian worship service. I came to a large hall. There were guitars, a Yamaha keyboard, and the people were singing about God. A preacher stepped forward. “Finally, there’s going to be a sermon.” I was surprised to see a theatrical performance instead. The preacher started speaking quietly, in a low voice, gradually raising it and eventually burst out screaming, “Get up everybody!” All people took to their feet, raised their hands and started mumbling something loudly… Now I know that they were Pentecostals but at that time, I didn’t know who they were, I was simply terrified: Where am I? I stood up and made my way to the exit… When I got out of that hall, it made me realise that the saying “All that glitters is not gold” is true for Christianity, too…

I was still very eager to discover the truth. I was visited by the following thought one day: “I’m Orthodox, baptised when I was a child. Sure, it’s been a while since I last visited an Orthodox church but it may be time to go to church again.” There were only two functioning churches in Minsk at that time: St Alexander Nevsky Church and Holy Spirit Cathedral. I came to Holy Spirit Cathedral, stood at the door, and that was when I felt that I was at home: it was so warm and good. “What have you been looking for so long? Here it is!”

First, I dropped in for a couple of minutes. Then I started coming more often and staying longer. I turned to God when I was about 22. I remember my first Easter. It was in 1988, the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’. The church was encircled by the police. They did not let young people in. Old ladies could go through the police lines freely but we young people were kept off. I was furious, “Why they can go to church and I can’t?” “They are believers.” “I’m a believer, too.” “Are you really?” “Yes, I am. I’m a believer.” “Okay, come in.” They let me go into the church. That was how I went to church on Easter. I was jubilant and happy. Easter is a very special day, indeed.

Little by little, I started going to church. I couldn’t live without it. I would get up at 5 AM on my only day-off, when I could have made up for lack of sleep, and go to church.

Ministry

Gradually, I became a practising Christian. I read many books and found out many new facts. However, the decisive moment for me was my mother's death. She died in 1990 just a couple of days before the New Year. She was 50. Praise the Lord, I had already had faith at that time. Otherwise, I don't know how I would survive her death. It was thanks to my faith that I did not protest against my mother's death. Instead, I started going to church more often to pray for my mum. My faith went through a qualitative transformation. Until then, I was trying to approach the faith from a rational standpoint but at that point my heart turned on to embrace the faith. Holy Fathers call it, "the mind that dwells in the heart."

My father died three years later. I had to pull through somehow and determine my subsequent steps. I followed my would-be wife to Hrodna. She was assigned to Hrodna as a young specialist, and I followed her. I worked as the director of a House of Culture. We settled down and made this place our new home. Needless to say, our life in the 1990s was very difficult. Anyway, I attended church regularly. We celebrated our wedding ceremony in the Hrodna Cathedral.

I attended services in the Cathedral on a regular basis. I was driving across a bridge over the river one day and saw a small church on the shore under the bridge. I decided to go and confess there. This ostensibly insignificant step determined my future life in many ways. I grew fond of this parish as soon as I walked into the church.

First, I got actively involved with the Fraternity of St Vladimir Church. Although Sundays were business days for the House of Culture, I would come up with more and more new reasons to go to church on Sunday morning. I felt very uncomfortable, especially during disco parties.

Meanwhile, I began to sing in the choir, and then reading aloud. There were few priests at that time. Even fewer priests had theological education. My parish priest suggested that I become a deacon. I replied, "Are you serious, Father? I used to lead a bad life in the past. No-no-no. I go to church, sure, but serving God..." — "Take your time and think about it. Your past doesn't matter." Later, he suggested the same thing again, and the thought took roots in my heart.

Two priests came to visit us at home in the residence hall. They wanted to talk about it with my wife Irina. They started talking her into allowing me to become a deacon. "You see, there are few priests right now. Your husband is very lively. Would you mind if..." "Yes! Yes, I would mind it!"

She was adamant. Six months later, Irina looked at me and said, "I see that you are already there. Make up your mind at last!" She was acutely aware of the fact that priesthood is not an easy road for the entire family.

I became a deacon in 1995 and spent nine years as a deacon. I don't think I would ever become a priest but then they transferred me to a district centre — a town named Ščučyn 37 miles from Hrodna, and commissioned me to build a new church there. It was there that I was made a priest. I served in a rural parish, in a district centre, and in Hrodna. God's Providence has led me to Minsk. St Vladimir Church was the basis of my ministry. I served in Holy Protection Cathedral in Hrodna for nine years before I finally came to Minsk.

Each parish is different. The atmosphere in a rural parish is very special. Singing is very simple but at the same time a rural parish is marked with incredible love because people know each other and live close to each other. It is very cosy.

I believe that my life journey is an ordinary one. Anyway, the amazing God's Providence can be seen even in this triviality.

Saint Elisabeth Convent

You know, I am very glad that I serve in St Elisabeth Convent now. When Father Andrew told me, "Father Eugene, you know, our Convent is special: we have many ministries and demand absolute obedience." I replied, "I have always lived like that. Not to the same extent, perhaps, but the principle has been the same." Two months later, Father Andrew asked me in the sanctuary, "Well, Father Eugene, how are you going? Is it difficult or exhausting to serve in the Convent?" I responded, “Father, I feel like I’m in the paradise!”

I did not try to flatter him or to make a false impression. Sure, there are many duties that you have to carry out, and you often feel tired. In spite of that, the spiritual environment makes you stronger. This is especially true of relationships among priests. Father Andrew, of course, sets an example for all of us. He is so full of love that he is even afraid to offend someone with his words. Even if I deserve to be punished, he talks with me in a soft voice, with love and patience... You've got to appreciate it, don't you?

I see what people feel when they come to the Convent and how they enjoy services, in spite of the fact that not everyone is able to stand during the four-hour long All-Night Vigil. People who have serious health issues come to the Convent, and God’s strength is made perfect in weakness (Cf. 2 Cor. 12: 9). It's a unique place. It is hard but at the same time very graceful to be here. Praise the Lord. I am grateful to God for being here.

Quick Poll

– What does it mean to be a Christian in the 21st century?

Carrying one's cross, just like in the 1st century. There is no Christianity without carrying one's cross, i.e., without accepting God's will and cutting off one's own: Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Mark 8:34). One must accept God's will wholeheartedly and without doubts. Of course, there is no Christianity without love. Love is the core.

– Name three virtues that you value most of all.

Faith, hope, and love: these are the three main virtues. Faith means being faithful, hope means relying on God and trusting him, and love means sacrifice. Love always means sacrifice.

– Name three things that can easily make you angry.

I’m triggered very easily. It's my personal flaw. I know it and keep trying to do something about it. I am very emotional, indeed. I struggle with bad thoughts like “How could he do it?” I always recall Prince Myshkin from Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot, who was always trying to find excuses for everyone, “Yes, sure, he is such-and-such, but he did it because of his hard life.” I drive such angry thoughts away so as not to condemn anyone. I know that the Lord will instruct everyone including me first of all, since I'm even worse.

– What vices are you most inclined to forgive?

A vice is a term of ethics defined as being rooted in sin and unworthy behaviour. A vice is a defect of the soul. There is an eponymous medical term that is used to refer to heart diseases or malfunctions. All sins are defects of the soul. This is how the Holy Fathers understood it, and this is how I see it. If a doctor does not pity his patient, if he starts criticising the patient for being sick – can he be called a doctor? You shouldn't criticise people. You should treat them.

– What do you think about happiness? What can make a person happy?

It's "who", not "what." God is the source of all happiness. There can be no happiness without God. Yes, fake happiness is possible without God. An individual can create an idol in his own soul – a passion for the sake of which he lives. Happiness can come only from God. It is God who is the true happiness.

– What do you consider to be the worst nightmare?

It is when one loses God. If someone loses God, he is captured by total non-being and disappointment. Losing God means losing the meaning of one's life completely.

Interview by Maria Kotova

January 26, 2018

St. Elisabeth Convent

The Feast of the Meeting of Christ in the Temple (February 2) is a feast of the elderly. When the Holy Family entered the Temple courts to offer the required sacrifice for the purification of Mary after her giving birth to Jesus, her Son was recognized as the Messiah by only two people, picked out by the power and illumination of the Spirit from all the multitudes of people swarming through the holy courts, and these two were very elderly. Christ was practically a newborn (little over forty days old) and His Mother was young herself, probably about fourteen years old. But the two people who identified them as the Messiah and His Mother were themselves “well stricken with age” (as the phrase has it), so that fresh-faced youth collided with the wrinkled faces of the elderly.

The first wrinkled face belonged to Simeon. God had promised him that he would not die before he saw the Messiah, and he lived in that luminous hope. Every day he rose up from his bed wondering if today would be the day, and every night he retired a disappointed man. Year succeeded year and still he went to his bed with the promise unfulfilled. Then one day, led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple and God pointed out among the hundreds thronging those sacred courts a young woman accompanied by a much older man, and in her arms, a young baby: that child was the Messiah. Boldly he approached them and took the child into his aged arms, praying, “Lord, now You are dismissing Your servant”—a declaration, not a prayer; the Greek verb is in the present tense—and he knew that this child was the sign that he God was dismissing him and he could now die in peace. His eyes had beheld the Messiah, He who was to enlighten all the nations of the world and glorify the people of Israel. Simeon’s age is not given, but he was clearly elderly, for he was now ready to die a happy man. (Traditions which make him one of the translators of the Greek Septuagint offer poetic symbolism and not sober history, for that would make Simeon about 250 years old.)

The other person to recognize the babe in arms as the Messiah was also elderly. Anna was a prophetess—not someone who stood and publically proclaimed oracles like Isaiah did, but a woman to whom God confided things and who stood deep in His secret counsels. St. Luke reported that after her marriage she lived with her husband for seven years, making her about twenty-one or so when she suddenly became a widow. Instead of remarrying she remained in that state, taking her grief into the presence of God and remaining in the Temple day and night—not literally day and night, for there is no reason to think that the Jewish Temple offered dormitories for women—but virtually day and night. She was the first one to enter the Temple when its gates opened and the last one to leave, and she spent all her time fasting, praying, worshipping, and pouring out her heart to the Lord. The Greek text of Luke 2:37 says she was “a widow of eighty-four years”, which could mean that she was eighty-four when she met the Holy Family or that she remained a widow for eighty-four years, which would make her about 105 when she met the Holy Family. Either way, she was a very, very old woman.

God thus chose as the vehicles for His revelation two people who had walked with Him for many years, and who had served Him for decades. He could have chosen anyone, including younger people, people with strength, vigour, and the ability to cross land and sea with the important news. He didn’t. Instead He chose two people who were wrinkled, white-haired (or balding), stiff and bent with age, people who had grown old in His service, people who were soon to die. What does this mean? It means that faithful service is important, and that God honours age. It means that our own goal should be to grow similarly old in the service of God, so that God can confide in us as He did to Simeon and Anna.

Our own culture does not value age. Age is shameful, and the elderly are often shunted off, disappearing into nursing homes, their presence an unwanted burden, their witness and voice of no account. Our culture instead values youth, and we are often treated to the sight of young celebrity twenty-somethings being interviewed on television and consulted about their views on everything from politics to spirituality. When I see such young wrinkle-free celebrities sitting on talk shows and pontificating I often want to shout at the television, “Why are you asking them? They are scarcely old enough to legally vote, drink, or drive, and you think they have some secret wisdom to impart? Their grandparents have forgotten more than they themselves know! Why aren’t you asking their grandparents?” Alas, the experience of the elderly, accumulated often through suffering, too often counts for nothing. They have committed the ultimate offense: they are old, wrinkled, and not pretty. Not even Botox could disguise their shame.

Saner societies than ours take a different view. The Scriptures counsel us to “rise up before the hoary head and honour the face of an old man” (Leviticus 19:32)—i.e. to stand up when a person old enough to have white hair enters the room. Significantly the commandment is rooted in basic respect not just for the elderly, but for God, for the verse ends with the words, “and you shall fear your God; I am the Lord”. Indeed, many if not most societies demand respect for the elderly. Even our own canonical tradition insists upon a certain maturity for its office-holders: deacons may not be ordained until they reach twenty-five years; presbyters until they reach thirty years, and bishops until they reach thirty-five. And in those days, thirty years of age was older than it is now, for a man thirty years old had been married for a while and you could tell how his children were turning out. It is otherwise now; thirty is the new twenty. The point is the Church valued maturity, and made it an essential requirement for those in its service.

Simeon and Anna thus counsel us to flee from the inanity of our culture which despises age and idolizes youth, and return again to a place which respects the wisdom which only the passing of years can bestow. There are exceptions, of course. Some old people remain foolish and stupid, and some young people are replete with a wisdom beyond their years. But these exceptions prove the rule. The Feast of the Meeting brings to our attention God’s choice of the elderly as His vehicles for divine insight. Let us aspire to follow in their footsteps, and grow old in the service and wisdom of God.

Source: http://frlawrencefarley.blogspot.com.by/2017/02/the-feast-of-meeting-celebration-of.html

During Lent we make more prostrations. That’s a process that begins by making the sign of the Cross, then bowing down, resting your knees on the floor and then touching your forehead to the floor. I’ve collected, below, some photos of people making prostrations from around the internet.

It’s a prayer posture that we often see in the Old Testament, when we read that people “fell on their faces.” (I don’t know if prostrations are ever used in Judaism any more.) Here’s a detail of the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser, (827 BC, now in the British Museum), which depicts the Jewish King Jehu (2 Kings 9-10) making a prostration before the conqueror Shalmaneser III of Assyria.

What prostrating most looks like to Western people is Muslim worship; Muslims carried it over from their earlier history as Orthodox Christians, just as Christians continued the practice from their Jewish roots. When Orthodox make prostrations, we don’t do them as neatly as Muslims do, all in a row, and men and women worship together.

(A point of confusion can be that the term “prostrate” or “prostration” in English literaly means lying flat on the floor. In Western liturgical practice, if a prostration is called for, that’s what is meant. In the East the term got applied instead to this act of “falling on your faces.”)

People might do prostrations all together during a service, or privately, apart from liturgical worship. If you visited a holy site, you might feel like expressing your awe and gratitude with a prostration. Some people make prostrations when they say the Jesus Prayer, during their private prayer time. When you ask someone to forgive you, it is beautiful (though not required) to accompany the request with a prostration. It represents your recognizing the presence of Christ in the person you have offended.

There is a prayer we say frequently in Lent, and accompany with prostrations. It is the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian (AD 306-373):

We make a prostration at the end of each line, so three in all. It’s not a uniform process, and some do it more quickly, others more slowly. Some can’t make a prostration very well (or maybe they can get down easily enough, but have trouble getting back up!), and instead make a “metania,” making the sign of the Cross and then bowing and reaching to the floor with the right hand. It’s not like everyone is *required* to make a prostration; it’s meant instead to help you express your sorrow for sin with your whole body, not just your words, and your gratitude for forgiveness.

How-to: Begin by making the sign of the Cross. Begin bending forward, and begin to lower the palms of your hands to rest on the floor. It’s more efficient to focus on what you do with your hands that what you do with your knees, because if you focus on knees, it tends to become an awkward 2-stage camel-like process. But if you instead follow the sign of the cross with a gentle controlled-fall forward, aiming to rest your palms to the floor, and allowing your knees to fall into place—then you can push off lightly from your palms and return to a standing position.

It’s a way the Judeo-Christian tradition has expressed awe, documented back to 827 BC (and remember all those who “fell on their faces” from Genesis to Revelation). Why not give it a try?

By Frederica Mathewes-Green

Source: http://frederica.com/writings/about-prostrations.html

Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )

Search This Blog

featured Slider

A List of Last Minute Rules and Suggestions in Preparation for Great Lent

An Orthodox Christian "Living Saint" Passed Away at the Age of 103 in Bulgaria

6 Ways on How to Celebrate the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord

Personal Stories of the Clergy of St. Elisabeth Convent: Father Eugene Pavelchuk

The Meeting of the Lord as a feast of the elderly

Your Guide to Prostrations during Great Lent

Partners