Homily Two on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily Two on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

"Bestow on Your Servant Instead a Spirit of Chastity, Humility, Patience and Love"

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1962)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

In our previous conversation, dear brothers and sisters, we paused to reflect on the prayer of the Venerable Ephraim the Syrian and noted that this profoundly meaningful prayer is filled with a spirit of repentance and humility, and that each of its words resonates within our souls and helps us to recognize our passions, vices, and to desire virtue, without which no one can draw near to God. Last time, we discussed the first four petitions in which the Venerable Ephraim the Syrian asks the Lord not to grant him the spirit of idleness, despondency, lust for power and idle talking. And now we will continue our conversation.

April: Day 2: Venerable Titus the Wonderworker

April: Day 2:
Venerable Titus the Wonderworker
 
(Do Miracles Still Happen Today?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Our blessed and holy father Titus, whose memory is celebrated today, loved Christ from an early age, and for His sake, leaving the world, he entered the Monastery of Stoudios in Constantinople as a monk. He spent his entire life in labor and prayer, distinguished by his strong faith, meekness, love for his neighbors and mercy. The Lord, in reward for his special faith and piety, granted His faithful servant the "gift of miracles." During the iconoclastic heresy, he showed himself to be a firm and unwavering defender of the truth, and departed to the Lord in peace (in the 9th century).

Homily One on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily One on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

"Give Me Not a Spirit of Idleness, Despondency, Lust for Power and Idle Talking"

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1962)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Dear brothers and sisters, during Great Lent we hear how at each Divine Lenten service the priest reads a short but touching prayer:

Lord and Master of my life,
give me not a spirit of idleness,
despondency, lust for power, and idle talking.
 
Bestow on Your servant instead
a spirit of chastity,
humility, patience, and love.
 
Yes, Lord King, grant me to see my own offenses,
and not to condemn my brethren,
for You are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen.

April: Day 1: Venerable Mary of Egypt

 

April: Day 1:
Venerable Mary of Egypt
 
(Lessons From Her Life)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In her youth, Venerable Mary of Egypt, whose memory is celebrated today, was exceptionally beautiful; however, alas! this heavenly beauty led her to the brink of destruction in our sinful world. Tempted by a young man, at the age of fifteen she lost the precious treasure of a woman – her chastity – and fell into the sin of unchastity. The further she went, the deeper she sank into carnal impurity. She did not miss a single opportunity to sin, and she could think of nothing else but her beloved passion. She transformed completely into fire, slowly melting and being destroyed in that fire. Thus, she lived for 17 years!

One day, while by the sea, she saw a ship sailing to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Seeing many young people on the ship, she immediately desired to lure them into her nets. She implored to be accepted on the ship. And, oh horror! Despite the fact that the ship was sailing to such a holy place as Jerusalem with Golgotha and the Lord's tomb, and to such an honorable feast as the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Mary committed such shameful acts on the ship with the young men that it is surprising how the sea did not part and swallow the ship... But what sin can surpass the patience and love of God! From what sin is God unable to rescue a man, if, despite all his abominations, there still glimmers in the depths of his heart a spark of tenderness, kindness, love! And God rescued Mary from her sinful filth.

Synaxis of Saint George Karslides on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent

Saint George Karslides lived most of his life in the village of Sipsa (now identified as Taxiarches) in Drama of Northern Greece. He established a small monastery there dedicated to the Ascension of the Savior and reposed in the Lord on November 4th 1959. Though his feast day is universally celebrated by Orthodox Christians on November 4th, in his native city of Drama it has been established that his Synaxis be celebrated on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent. This is done to sanctify and strengthen the faithful in their spiritual struggle during Great Lent.

What is notable for this celebration is the transfer of his relics which takes place through a procession from the Monastery of the Ascension of the Savior in Sipsa, where his relics are kept, to the Church of Saint Nicholas in Drama, and this procession takes place on the Friday before the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent. When the relics arrive at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Drama, the Fourth Salutations to the Theotokos is chanted. Then on Saturday evening, a Great Festal Vespers is celebrated. On Sunday, before the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, the Lamentations to the Saint are chanted, and a procession takes place to the center of the city of Drama. The relics then return to the Church of Saint Nicholas and the Supplicatory Canon to the Saint is chanted, before the return of the relics of the Saint to their resting place in Sipsa.