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THE PRAYER BEFORE THE GOSPEL

PRIEST:
LLUMINE our hearts, O Master who lovest mankind, with the pure light of thy divine knowledge, and open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of thy Gospel teachings; implant in us also the fear of thy blessed commandments, that trampling down all carnal desires, we may enter upon a spiritual manner of living both thinking and doing such things as are wll pleasing unto thee: for thou art the illumination of our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and unto thee we ascribe glory, together with thy Father who is from everlasting, and thine all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. (Compare to Munda cor meum in the Roman Mass.)

(The People Stand)

G O S P E L

PRIEST: Wisdom! Attend! Let us hear the holy Gospel. Peace be to all.

CHOIR: And to thy spirit

PRIEST: The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint N.

CHOIR: Glory to thee, O Lord, glory to thee.

(The Priest sings the appointed passage from the holy Gospel; when he has finished, the Choir sings:)

CHOIR: Glory to thee, O Lord, glory to thee.

(The people sit)

(The Priest preaches the sermon. Often this is moved to the end of the service.)

(The Priest makes the sign of the Cross over the Antimins with the Gospel Book, and places it before the Altar tabernacle; he unfolds the Antimins, makes the sign of the Cross above it with the sponge, and says the following prayer:)

THE PRAYER OF THE EKTENIA OF FERVENT SUPPLICATION

(The people stand)

PRIEST: (aloud) Help us; save us, have mercy on us; and keep us, O God, by thy grace. Wisdom:

THE SECOND PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

PRIEST:
GAIN and oftentimes we fall down before thee and beseech thee, O Good Lord who lovest mankind, that looking down upon our petition thou wilt cleanse our souls and bodies from all defilement of flesh or spirit; and grant us to stand blameless and without condemnation before thy holy Altar. Grant also, O God, to those who pray with us growth in life and faith and spiritual understanding. Grant them always blamelessly to serve thee with fear and love, and to partake without condemnation of thy Holy Mysteries, and to be accounted worthy of thy heavenly Kingdom:

That guarded always by thy might we may ascribe glory unto thee: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

CHOIR: Amen.

(The Choir now sings the Cherubimic Hymn as far as the words "the King of all"; meanwhile, the Priest reads the Prayer of the Cherubimic Hymn, and prepares to make the Great Entrance.)

C H E R U B I M I C    H Y M N

CHOIR: Let us who mystically represent the Cherubim, and sing to the life-giving Trinity the thrice-holy hymn, now lay aside all earthly care: [Non-Russian: that we may receive the King of all, who comes invisibly upborne by the Angelic Hosts. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.]

THE PRAYER OF THE CHERUBIMIC HYMN

PRIEST: (quietly)
O one who is bound with the desires and pleasures of the flesh is worthy to approach or draw nigh or to serve thee, O King of Glory: for to serve thee is a great and terrible thing even to the Heavenly Powers. Nevertheless, through thine unspeakable and boundless love toward mankind thou didst become man, yet without change or alteration, and as Lord of all didst take the name of our High Priest, and deliver unto us the ministry of this liturgic and unbloody sacrifice. For thou alone, O Lord our God, rulest over those in heaven and on earth; who art borne on the throne of the Cherubim; who art Lord of the Seraphim and King of Israel, who alone art holy and restest in thy Holy Place.

Wherefore I implore thee who alone art good and art ready to listen: Look down upon me, a sinner, and thine unprofitable servant, and cleanse my soul and my heart from an evil conscience; and by the power of thy Holy Spirit enable me, who am endued with the grace of the priesthood, to stand before this thy Holy Table, and perform the sacred Mystery of thy holy and immaculate Body and precious Blood. For I draw near unto thee, and bowing my neck I pray thee: turn not thy face from me, neither cast me out from among thy servants; but vouchsafe that these gifts may be offered unto thee by me, thy sinful and unworthy servant: for thou thyself are he that offers and is offered, that accepts and is distributed, O Christ our God: and unto thee we ascribe glory, together with thy Father who is from everlasting, and thine all-holy, and good, and life-giving Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

(The Priest now says the Cherubimic Hymn, censes the Altar, the ikons and the people, saying Psalm 50 as he goes. He makes three low bows before the Altar, kisses the Antimins and the Altar, turns and bows to the people, and goes to the Prothesis Table; he censes the holy Gifts, bows, and says:)

PRIEST: (quietly) O God, be gracious unto me a sinner, and have mercy upon me. (Then he takes up the Aer and places it upon his shoulders saying:)

PRIEST: (quietly) Lift up your hands to the holy Places, and bless ye the Lord. (The Priest takes up the Diskarion in his left hand, and the holy Chalice in his right hand, and preceded by the Cross and the taper and censer-bearers proceeds 1) in Russian practice in front of the ikon screen or 2) in other recensions around the Temple, saying aloud:)

PRIEST: The Lord God remember us all in his kingdom, always: now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

CHOIR: Amen.

Post Edited (PotOnWheel) : 10/20/2007 11:06:41 AM (GMT-5)

HERE is a very readable explanitory text written for us common people!

http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=99

(by Fr. Thomas Hopko)

It is now time for the sacrificial offering to God. There is only one true and acceptable offering with which God is pleased. It is the offering of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God Who offers himself eternally to the Father for the sins of the world.

In Christ men can offer themselves and each other and all men and the entire world to God. Christ has united all things in himself, and has taken all things upon himself. Thus, in and through him, men can offer all that they are, and all that they have, to God the Father. They can do this because they are in Christ, and have received the Holy Spirit from him.

At this moment in the Divine Liturgy the celebrant prays for himself, confessing his personal unworthiness and affirming that the only Priest of the Church is Jesus:

For Thou art the One who offers and the One who is offered, the One who receives and the One who is given, 0 Christ our God...

The altar table, the icons and all of the people are incensed once again as the Cherubic Hymn is sung:

Let us who mystically represent the cherubim and sing the Thrice-holy Hymn to the life - creating Trinity, now lay aside all earthly cares.

The Gifts of bread and wine which stand for Christ, and in him, for all men and the entire world of God's creation - for Life Itself - are now offered to God. They are carried in solemn procession from the table of oblation, into the middle of the church, and through the royal doors of the iconostasis to the altar table. This procession is called the Great Entrance as distinct from the Small Entrance that was made earlier with the Book of the Gospels. In some Orthodox Churches the offertory procession of the Great Entrance is made around the entire nave of the church building, and so it is actually of greater length and solemnity than the small procession with the Gospel Book.

During the offertory procession of the Great Entrance, the celebrant once again prays to God on behalf of all with the prayer of the Crucified Thief: Remember, 0 Lord in Thy Kingdom... The bread and wine are placed on the altar table and the people conclude the Cherubic Hymn:

That we may receive the King of all who comes invisibly upborne by the angelic hosts. Alleluia.

At this time the celebrant quietly recites verses which call to remembrance the absolute perfection and total sufficiency of Christ and his self-offering. For the Lord who "fills all things" with himself makes even his tomb "the fountain of our resurrection."

The Cherubic Hymn and the meditative verses of the celebrant just mentioned are a late addition to the Divine Liturgy. They were added in the imperial era of Byzantium in order to enhance the essential liturgical act of the offertory which is the movement of the Church offering itself to God the Father through its, Head, High Priest and King Jesus Christ who is also the Suffering Servant, the Lamb of God and the New Passover; the sole sufficient sacrifice which is perfect, total and fully acceptable to the Father.

In the liturgical offertory, the faithful give themselves in sacrifice to God together with Christ. They do so through the Holy Spirit as those who have died and risen with Christ in baptism. In order for the liturgical act of offering to be genuine and true, it must be the living expression of the Church's constant and total self-offering to God. If each member of the Church is not in perpetual sacrifice with Christ to the Father and is not "bearing his cross" by the power of the Spirit, the offertory entrance of the Divine Liturgy be comes a sterile symbol devoid of reality. As such it is done not as a movement towards God, but unto condemnation and judgment.

Thus, once again a litany is chanted and a prayer is made that God would be merciful, because of the sacrifice of Christ, and would accept his people and their offering in spite of their sins; and would allow them worthily to offer the Gifts and to receive Holy Communion with God.

0 Lord God Almighty, who alone art holy, who acceptest the sacrifice of praise from those who call upon Thee with their whole heart. Accept also the prayer of us sinners, and bear it to Thy holy altar, enabling us to offer unto Thee gifts and spiritual sacrifices for our sins and for the errors of the people. Make us worthy to find grace in Thy sight that our sacrifice may be acceptable unto Thee, and that the Good Spirit of Grace may dwell upon us, and upon these Gifts here offered, and upon all Thy People...

At this time in the Divine Liturgy the gifts of money for the work of the Church, the propagation of the Gospel and the assistance of the poor and the needy are collected and offered to God.

Post Edited (PotOnWheel) : 10/20/2007 11:11:27 AM (GMT-5)

Post Edited (Epiklesis) : 10/20/2007 2:59:13 PM (GMT-5)

Ok, cool. Thanks! Now it's back to more reading for me!

(Plus I'll only be able to come on here rather sporadically from now on. Most likely, I'm gonna be a mommy and Alan's gonna be a daddy in December!   Gotta get the room and house in order!)

Post Edited (Epiklesis) : 10/23/2007 8:21:50 PM (GMT-5)

Post Edited (Epiklesis) : 10/24/2007 7:59:28 AM (GMT-5)

Post Edited (Epiklesis) : 10/24/2007 5:06:58 PM (GMT-5)

The Passions: How we get into this mess and how we get out

Posted Saturday, October 20, 2007

Mother Melania, stavrophor (little schema) nun at St. Barbara Monastery, Santa Paula, California and author of the series, "The Twelve Great Feasts for Children", and the series, "The 3-Day Pascha" (for Great and Holy Friday, Great and Holy Saturday, and Pascha) discusses purity (and impurity) of heart and overcoming the passions.

http://audio.ancientfaith.com/illuminedheart/IH-motherm_passions.mp3