The Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian

I love the the Prayer of St. Ephrem no matter what time of year it is. But it is at this time of Lent during the Byzantine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts that we hear in our services.

We pray the Prayer of St. Ephrem in the Byzantine Church during the Liturgy of the Presanctified (Liturgy of Pope St. Gregory the Great, taken by both Catholic and Orthodox alike during this period), during all services of the Divine Office during Lent and at various other times during the day recommended at morning, noon, evening - upon arising and before retiring for th

e night.

The Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian

Making a prostration
O LORD, Master of my life, grant that I may not be infected with the
spirit of slothfulness and inquisitiveness, with the spirit of ambition and vain talking. Making a prostration
Grant instead to me, your servant, the spirit of purity and of
humility, the spirit of patience and neighborly love.

Making a third prostration
O Lord and King, grant me the grace of being aware of my sins and of not thinking evil of those of my brethren.
For you are blessed, now and ever, and forever.
Amen.


Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings, You have power over life and death. You know what is secret and hidden, and neither our thoughts nor our feelings are concealed from You. Cure me of duplicity; I have done evil before You. Now my life declines from day to day and my sins increase. O Lord, God of souls and bodies, You know the extreme frailty of my soul and my flesh. Grant me strength in my weakness, O Lord, and sustain me in my misery. Give me a grateful soul that I may never cease to recall Your benefits, O Lord most bountiful. Be not mindful of my many sins, but forgive me all my misdeeds. O Lord, disdain not my prayer - the prayer of a wretched sinner; sustain me with Your grace until the end, that it may protect me as in the past. It is Your grace which has taught me wisdom; blessed are they who follow her ways, for they shall receive the crown of glory. In spite of my unworthiness, I praise You and I glorify You, O Lord, for Your mercy to me is without limit. You have been my help and my protection. May the name of Your majesty be praised forever. To you, our God, be glory.

Amen.

Our Family Friday Tradition - Homemade Fish Fry

Although we would love to be able to attend church fish fry on a weekly basis, it does not fit in our family budget to make it a commonplace event in our lives. Living on one budget, the $40.00 a week bill is hard thing to make happen.

We use to live next to a wonderful Catholic family who had six grown children. Along with all of the grandchildren, a weekly visit to a fish fry would cost them hundreds of dollars each week. So, their family would get together before lent and make hundreds of perogies for the freezer and host their own family fish fries, moving it house to house each week. Then, they would go to Church for the Stations of the Cross. I always admired them, they are a close family, one that I hope ours would be like in years to come as my children grow.

A few years ago I decided to start my own family fish fry tradition. I get out the deep fryer, first I cut tortia's in triangles and deep fried them, then dusted them with cinnamon and sugar for dessert. I have a french fry cutter and make homemade deep fried french fries that the kids just love. After I get those out of the fryer, I deep fry a couple pieces of fish. I get the fish from Gordon Food Services, a box that lasts us all of lent only cost me $18.99. We did this last night, and afterwords, went to church. Yes, it is a lot of work for mom, but I think well worth it! I hope in years to come, as the children get older, I will have other hands pitching in to help.

I am a little behind this year, I did not get a chance to make the homemade pergoies, so yesterday I just used store bought ones. Next week I will post a picture of our Friday homemade fish fry, as well as recipe's for the perogies, lazy-mans lasagna, and noodles and cabbage. You can change your menu around every week, I promise this is a tradition that your entire family will soon look forward to!

Lenten Sermon

This was forwarded by a Byzantine Catholic Priest, Fr. Michael Hayduk:

This sermon was written by Fr. John Parker, Rector of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Mount Pleasant, SC. It is modeled on the well-known and beloved Paschal homily of St. John Chrysostom. My thanks to Archpriest Martin Canavan for sharing it with us. May this holy season bring all of us closer to Christ and each other; renewal by the power and action of the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins so that we may rise in newness of life with Him on the third day. (MH)

If anyone be devout and love God,
Let him commence this radiant fast with joy!
If anyone be a wise servant,
Let him, rejoicing, enter into the school of repentance.

We who have wallowed long in sin,
Let us now begin our return.
If anyone has strayed from the first hour,
Let him today repent with zeal.
If anyone has sinned from the third hour,
Let him with gratitude embrace the fast.
If anyone has fled God from the sixth hour,
Let him have no misgivings about his prompt return;
Because he shall in nowise be turned away therefore.
If anyone has indulged the flesh since the ninth hour,
Let him draw near, fearing God alone and trusting in His mercy.
And if anyone has turned away only at the eleventh hour,
Let him also not hesitate to turn back with haste.

For the Lord, who is longsuffering and full of compassion and mercy, will accept the last even as the first.
He restores him who repents at the first hour,
As He does him who turns back at the eleventh.
And He shows mercy upon the last,
And cares for the first;
And to the one He gives,
And upon the other He bestows gifts.
And He both accepts the confession,
And welcomes the intention,
And honors the contrite heart and rejoices in the return.

Wherefore, enter all of you into the holiness of your Lord;
Offer your repentance,
Both the last, and likewise the first.
You rich and poor together, repent, for today we stand outside the closed gates of paradise.
You sober and you heedless, prostrate yourselves before your King!
Return to the Lord today, both you who have sinned with knowledge and those who have done so in ignorance.

Your pantries are full; empty them to the hungry.
The belly enslaves us, let no one be dominated thereby.
Enter all of you into the Great Fast;
Stripped of heavenly wealth by sin, all draw near to God’s rich loving-kindness!
Let no one despair in his sinfulness,
For the Bridegroom comes at midnight.
Weep all of you for your iniquities,
And draw near to the life-giving Cross of our Lord.
Let no one put confidence in the flesh,
For the Devil has deceived us all thereby, and therewith enslaves us to sin.

By turning from God, we are made captives.
We have called good evil and evil good, and put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.
And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry:
Woe to those who put darkness for light, and light for darkness!

We are embittered, for we are banned from Eden.
We are embittered, but it is we who have mocked God.
We are embittered, for now we shall surely die.
We are embittered, for we have succumbed to the serpent.
We are embittered, for we are fettered in chains.
We partook of a fruit, and met the deceiver.
We were entrusted with paradise, but we chose Hell.
Our eyes were opened to see the nakedness of sin.

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver us!
O Lord, make haste to help us!

This is the acceptable time, let us repent!
This is the day of salvation, let us crucify the passions!
The end is at hand and destruction hangs over us!
The end draws nigh, let us come again to our senses!
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, what first-fruit shall we offer?
Let us delay not, lest we remain dead in the grave, sold under sin!
For God desires not the death of the sinner, but that he should turn from his wickedness and live!
So, let us choose life, and live, for the mercy of God endures forever!
To Him be glory and dominion
Unto ages of ages. Amen.

Lent Begins this Week for Roman & Byzantine Catholics

Lent is coming to both lungs of the church this week, Byzantine Catholics (Byzantine Catholics are in full communion with the Pope) will begin on Monday (Pure Monday), while Roman Catholics will begin their Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday. Pure Monday for the Byzantines is a day of strict fast, all meat and dairy is forbidden, including eggs and all egg and dairy product derivatives.

St. John Chrysostom taught that the real value of fasting actually lies in the interior, that by fasting and penance the faithful withdraw from sin and progress towards greater holiness.

The period of Lent is marked by both interior and exterior fasting and is a time of spiritual renewal. Although The Great Fast actually takes place during the darkest and coldest parts of winter, it should be the the goal of each pentitent that his or her interior light will actually get brighter as a result of his or her lenten practices.



“Turning away from all wickedness means keeping our tongue in check, restraining our anger, suppressing evil desires and avoiding all gossip, lying and swearing,” said St. Basil the Great of Lent .”To abstain from these things – herein lies the true value of the fast.”

Joel 2:12-14 - “Yet even now," declares the LORD your God, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God? (ESV - Reading for the Sixth Hour on Wednesday)

Getting Ready for Lent - Part 1

Has anyone out there started to prepare for Lent? It soon coming upon us, wouldn't it be great to make this the best Lenten Season of our lives? I am praying that God will send forth many Graces this year. I want to be transformed, and for my family to have a deeper desire to be close to God, as well as the desire to love and serve others.

Lent is a forty day period which is marked by fasting, both from foods as well as festivities, and by doing other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up during the season of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Usually, people break the fast on Sundays (the day of the resurrection).

Every year, I try to get a new book on the life of a Saint for each member of my family to read during the season of reflection. There also some wonder books written specially to read during the Season of Lent.

I encourage you to begin thinking about the Season of Lent. Things that bear consideration, what will you be eating (or not eating)?, what will your prayer life be like, what will you be reading, what about almsgiving, or your service to others? Let's make this Lenten Season indeed a very special one, one in which we will be blessed by many graces. Let's rise above just giving up candy for 40 days, and make is truly a season of repentance. I have a great quote regarding detachment to the world and love and service to others:

Faith and love which are gifts of the Holy Spirit are such great and powerful means that a person who has them can easily, and with joy and consolation, go the way Jesus Christ went. Besides this, the Holy Spirit gives man the power to resist the delusions of the world so that although he makes use of earthly good, yet he uses them as a temporary visitor, without attaching his heart to them. But a man who has not got the Holy Spirit, despite all his learning and prudence, is always more or less a slave and worshipper of the world.

St. Innocent of Irkutsk, Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven.