Category Image Prayer and Fasting


I had mentioned earlier that prayer and fasting go together. It is understood that in Orthodoxy, when we enter the great fast of Lent, we similarly increase the amount of prayer. Some of this increase in prayer is to take place within our personal devotions, but a significant amount of the additional prayer is within the common life of the Church. For instance, we switch from the Divine LIturgy of St. John Chrysostom, to that of St. Basil . Granted, clever priests can keep the Liturgy of St. Basil at the same time as that of St. John, but it is a longer liturgy (the difference in length is due to the additional length of prayers by the priest - if there is a second priest available, the extra prayers can be added with little impact on overall time). We also add at least one Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified, although in the Russian traditions, this tends to be a daily service. We also add the Akathist and Small Compline on Friday nights.

This past week I was able to experience my first Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified. As the name suggests, this is a Liturgy without the normal consecration. I was used to such a service on Good Friday in the Episcopal Church, and was expecting much the same. In fact, in some ways it was similar, but where I expected a simple Liturgy without the consecration, I received a much more extensive service - with plenty of psalms and other prayers. I figured I'd be done in about 45 minutes, and instead the service took 90 minutes. Some of the reason for the length is that the service is really structured to be a Vespers and Liturgy.

Since we've become Orthodox, I still struggle to re-establish the prayer rule I had as an Anglican. Shortly before we decided to become Orthodox I finally became consistent with doing the daily cycle of Prayers. Personally, I suspect that keeping this prayer rule had something to do with the intensity of the call to become Orthodox. Part of the struggle is that the Matins prayer service takes at least an hour to complete during the regular year, and longer during Lent. The Anglican Breviary service, while lengthy, wasn't nearly as long. At any rate, I do miss reading all of the psalms, and the Pre-sanctified Liturgy provides an opportunity to hear a great number of Psalms.

Of particular interest at this first Pre-sanctified Liturgy was the homily given by our Priest. The main focus he had was on the beginning of the Fast. A few days after the formal beginning of Lent, but since he was out of town the previous Sunday, it was his first chance to provide some instruction and encouragement regarding the fast. His main focus was on the necessity of keeping the spiritual fast as being more important than the physical fast. He was quick to point out that the physical fast is very important - having been prescribed by the Church. However, he noted that if we accidentally eat a piece of meat, it is okay, as God has created all things. On the other hand, if we utter evil against another, that can be soul-killing.

As challenging as the fast, and the extra services may be, it is fantastic to have the opportunity to take a deep dive into the healing process that is Orthodoxy. I'm already a couple of posts behind, as I would like to post some brief comments on the Akathist we had on Friday, and on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, so forgive me if I don't start the dive into this healing process now. I believe I've mentioned it before, so this will be no great loss. If you would like some suggested reading on the topic. please let me know.

Posted: Sunday - February 25, 2007 at 06:32 PM          

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