Holy Week Preparation - Week 7: Saturday

Hymn of the Cross (Ⲫⲁⲓ ⲉⲧⲁϥⲉⲛϥ), 6th & 9th Hours of Good Friday

This is He Who offered Himself, as an acceptable sacrifice, on the Cross, for the salvation of our race. His good father, smelled Him, in the evening, on Golgotha.

St. John Chrysostom

This Blood was ever typified of old in the altars and sacrifices of righteous men. This is the price of the world, by This Christ purchased to Himself the Church, by This He has adorned Her all. For as a man buying servants gives gold for them, and again when he desires to deck them out does this also with gold; so Christ has purchased us with His Blood, and adorned us with His Blood.

Holy Week Preparation - Week 7: Friday

1 Timothy 4:6

If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

St. Athanasius the Apostolic

Virtues and vices are the food of the soul, which can feed on either one, turning to whichever one it wants to. If it is bent toward moral excellence, it will be fed by virtue—by righteousness, temperance, meekness, endurance. In other words, it’s just as St. Paul says, “being nourished by the word of truth.” That’s the way it was with our Lord, who said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me.”

Holy Week Preparation - Week 7: Thursday

Psalm 54:22, 2

His words were smoother than oil, and yet they are arrows. Listen to my prayer, O God, and do not despise my supplication.

St. Augustine of Hippo

For certain things in the Scriptures were seeming hard, while they were obscure; when explained, they have been softened. For even the first heresy in the disciples of Christ, as it were from the hardness of His discourse arose. For when He said, "Except a man shall have eaten My flesh and shall have drunk My blood, he shall not have life in himself:" they, not understanding, said to one another, "Hard is this discourse, who can hear it?" Saying that, "Hard is this discourse," they separated from Him: He remained with the others, the twelve. Then Peter: "Thou hast the Word of life eternal: to whom shall we go?" Attend, we beseech you, and ye little ones learn godliness. Did Peter by any means at that time understand the secret of that discourse of the Lord? Not yet he understood: but that good were the words which he understood not, godly he believed. Therefore if hard is a discourse, and not yet is understood, be it hard to an ungodly man, but to thee be it by godliness softened: for whenever it is solved, it both will become for thee oil, and even unto the bones it will penetrate.

Holy Week Preparation - Week 7: Wednesday

Mark 14:35-36

He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

St. Augustine of Hippo

To show sufferers that they need not despair, the true Savior became the good teacher by himself epitomizing the truth in his own person. He participated in our suffering in an empathic way, knowing that through human frailty sorrow might steal in upon our hearts amid afflictions, and knowing that we would overcome it if we yield to God’s will above our own, mindful that God knows best those whose wellbeing he superintends.

Holy Week Preparation - Week 7: Tuesday

Psalm 44:7

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; Your royal scepter is a scepter of uprightness.

St. Augustine of Hippo

Now the throne of the Jewish Kingdom was a temporal one; belonging to those who were under the Law, not to those who were under "grace:" He came to "redeem those who were under the Law," and to place them under "Grace." His "Throne is for ever and ever." Why? for that first throne of the Kingdom was but a temporal one: whence then have we a "throne for ever and ever"? Because it is God's throne. O divine Attribute of Eternity! for God could not have a temporal throne.

Holy Week Preparation - Week 7: Monday

Isaiah 58:3-6

‘Why have we fasted, but You did not see it? Why have we humbled our souls, but You did not know it?’ Because in the days of your fasts, you seek your own wills, and mistreat those under your authority. If you fast for condemnations and quarrels, and strike a humble man with your fists, why do you fast to Me as you do today, so your voice may be heard in crying? I did not choose this fast, and such a day for a man to humble his soul; nor if you should bow your neck like a ring and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself, could you thus call such a fast acceptable. I did not choose such a fast,” says the Lord; “rather, loose every bond of wrongdoing; untie the knots of violent dealings; cancel the debts of the oppressed; and tear apart every unjust contract.”

Petitionary Prayer & God’s Will - Week 6: Saturday

Luke 22:41-44

And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly, then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

St. John Chrysostom

And He prays with earnestness, in order that the thing might not seem to be acting. And sweats flow over him for the same cause again, even that the heretics might not say this, that He acts the agony. Therefore there is a sweat like drops of blood, and an angel appeared strengthening Him, and a thousand sure signs of fear, lest anyone should affirm the words to be feigned. For this cause also was this prayer. By saying then, “If it be possible, let it pass from me, He showed His humanity; but by saying, Nevertheless not as I will, but as You will,” He showed His virtue and self-command, teaching us even when nature pulls us back, to follow God.

Petitionary Prayer & God’s Will - Week 6: Friday

Mark 10:46-52

Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

Petitionary Prayer & God’s Will - Week 6: Thursday

Mark 11:22-24

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Pope Kyrillos VI

Prayer can do all things, for it moves the hand that manages the whole universe.

Petitionary Prayer & God’s Will - Week 6: Wednesday

James 4:3-4

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

St. Moses the Strong

If a man’s deeds are not in harmony with his prayer, he labors in vain.

Petitionary Prayer & God’s Will - Week 6: Tuesday

Luke 18:9-14

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

C.S Lewis

“It is no use to ask God with factitious earnestness for ‘A’ when our whole mind is in reality filled with the desire for ‘B’. We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.”

Petitionary Prayer & God’s Will - Week 6: Monday

Matthew 7:7-8

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

C.S. Lewis

And, perhaps, as those who do not turn to God in petty trials will have no habit or such resort to help them when the great trials come, so those who have not learned to ask Him for childish things will have less readiness to ask Him for great ones. We must not be too high-minded. I fancy we may sometimes be deterred from small prayers by a sense of our own dignity rather than of God’s.

Liturgy - Week 5: Saturday

Matthew 5:23-24

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that yours brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.

St. John Chrysostom

What increasing love is this towards man! God is not concerned about personal honor to Him if it means we lack love towards our brothers and sisters! This is His will, to give great amounts of love, considering it the greatest sacrifice, for without it our sacrifice is not accepted! If you are making a mental prayer (and are angry with your brother), it is better for you to leave your prayer, and reconcile with (apologize to) your brother, and at this point you offer your prayer.”

Liturgy - Week 5: Friday

1 Timothy 2:1-4

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Fr. Tadros Malaty

The Church applies all these forms of prayer in her worship and liturgies. This is especially true during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The believer prays to receive forgiveness for sins he has committed, for spiritual growth, and for the satisfaction of his spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. These prayers become integrated and lead the worshiper into a mysterious conversation with God through His Only-Begotten Son and through the Holy Spirit. The Church does not stop her intercessions for all men. Moreover, the essence of the Eucharist is the enjoyment of a new and thankful life that reveals itself by our steadfast adherence to the Lord Jesus Christ, that is why we celebrate the Holy ‘Eucharist’ or Thanksgiving.

Liturgy - Week 5: Thursday

1 Corinthians 11:28

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

Fr. Tadros Malaty

Man should examine himself by himself, as no one knows the depths of man but man himself; being aware of his thoughts, intentions, and feelings; as well as his words, and his apparent and hidden behavior. Approaching the Lord’s table (the altar) is serious, being an approach to the Lord Himself, accepting unity with Him, and enjoying His body and blood. Today, man approaches the holy sacrament, for it is the season (feast like Easter or Christmas), rather than for zeal of reason. We do not care to prepare ourselves by uprooting the evil inside ourselves, and by presenting a complete repentance; but just because it is the feast, and everybody is doing it, except for St. Paul who knows only one “season” to approach the Sacrament and communion; namely, the purity of conscience.

Liturgy - Week 5: Wednesday

St. John Climacus

Let your prayer be completely simple. For both the publican and the prodigal son were reconciled to God by a single phrase. And what does this phrase say? 'Lord, have mercy on me.' Do you see how short this prayer is? Do you see how easy it is to remember? Yet it has a wealth of meaning and an abundance of depth. A single phrase brought about the justification of the publican, the acceptance of the thief, the forgiveness of the sinful woman, the conversion of the Apostle, the salvation of the martyr, the patience of the patriarchs, the goodness of the prophets, and the faith of the apostles.

Liturgy - Week 5: Tuesday

Thanksgiving Prayer

Let us give thanks to the beneficent and merciful God, the Father of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, for He has covered us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us to Him, had compassion on us, supported us, and has brought us to this hour. 

St. Basil the Great

Gratitude is due from man to God; not alone for the things which we see, but for those which we see not, which are felt rather than perceived. For we are surrounded by the unseen workings of God's providence, which are no less than those which are manifest; yet our thanksgiving for them is the stronger, because they are not open to the senses. Let us then praise Him for all things, which may be known and which may not, for the seen and the unseen, for what we understand and for what surpasses our understanding.

Liturgy - Week 5: Monday

Acts 2:42

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Father Dorothius

The more men get closer to God, the more they get closer to one another, and the more they get closer to one another, the more they get closer to God. And the more they depart from God, and preoccupy themselves with materialistic matters, every one of them departs from the other, and accordingly would depart more from God. The same applies to acquiring love: the more we are afar off the love of God, each one of us would depart from the other. But if we love God, the closer we get to Him, we unite with love with our brethren, and the more we do that, we unite with God.

Silence - Week 4: Saturday

St. Clement of Alexandria

Prayer is, then, to speak more boldly, a conversation with God. Though whispering, consequently, and not opening the lips, we speak in silence, yet we cry inwardly. For God hears continually the whole inward conversation.

Cassiodorus of Calabria

The heart reveals its silent longing, to which the Godhead listens more than to the most thundering voices of nations.

Mother Theresa

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.

Silence - Week 4: Friday

Exodus 14:14

The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

Origen

But if the mental voice of those who pray should not be extremely loud, though it is not weak, and should they not raise a cry and shout, God still hears those who pray thus. For it is he who says to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me?” when he had not cried out audibly (for this is not recorded in Exodus), but through prayer he had cried out loudly in that voice which is heard by God alone.