A Christian's Task

Holy Prophet Micah

"He has showed you, O man, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?"--Mic 6:8

A Christian's task is simple: to love God with his entirety, and to love his neighbor as himself.  All other duties and tasks in the Christian life derive from these two.  As the Lord Himself said, "On these two commandments all the law and the prophets are suspended."  We must always return to these two commandments as we navigate our way through the stormy seas of earthly life.

The Innumerable Facets of Scripture

The Holy Prophet Jeremiah

 "'Is not My Word like...a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?' (Jer 23:29).  As the hammer splits the rock into many splinters, so will a scriptural verse yield many meanings."--Sanhedrin 34A

These words of the Jewish Midrash reveal an essential truth: the Light within the Scriptures is unfathomable.  Yet how much more incomprehensible is the fullness of the Lord!

The Believing Thomas

 The Incredulity of St. Thomas (1601) by Caravaggio (1571-1610)

"Because you have seen Me, Thomas, you have believed."--Jn 20:29

Yesterday we heard the episode related by John the Theologian of that octave of Pascha, the week after Christ's Resurrection.  When He rose, He appeared to many: to Mary Magdalane, to the other myrrhbearing women, to His apostles in the closed room, to His disciples on the Road to Emmaus.  Yet to one in particular He did not appear in that first week: Thomas, called Twin (Didymos).  Why Thomas was not with the rest of the Eleven in the upper room is unknown.  All we know is the fact that he was not there.  Because he was not there, He did not see the Lord's theophany that morning, and it was such a glorious happening that Thomas could not believe the news of it.  Maybe he was a pessimist who was reluctant to believe such news; perhaps he was, as he is often presented now, a man who needed evidence.  Regardless of his underlying thought, we know his declaration: "If not I see in His hands the place of the nail, and place my finger into the place of the nail, and place my hand into His side, not will I believe."  It is such a direct statement that he even wished to touch the rib of Christ, if one translates it such, for it is the same word for that of which Eve was made.  Thomas wanted to touch the rib of Him through Whom all things came to be, the rib revealed by Longinus' lance.

Death During Bright Week

Icon found in Benaki Museum in Athens

"The last enemy to be rendered powerless is death."--1 Cor 15:26

On Great and Good Friday, the mother of our parish's founder fell asleep in the Lord, and her funeral was today.  Yet a funeral during Bright Week is less a time of mourning than a triumphal celebration.  It is a common saying that a Christian who falls asleep or else his funeral during Bright Week is taken immediately to Heaven, for it is during that week that all of creation is aglow, radiating the triumphal light of the Resurrection.  Thus the typical hymns of sorrow are replaced with those of victory: "Christ is risen from the dead! Shine in splendor, O New Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord is risen upon you!"  Indeed, the entire Paschal Canon prayed on the Paschal morn is again prayed at a funeral.  Death is barely acknowledged, for all know that Christ has made him powerless.  He has been crushed and trampled and conquered, with his own gates pressing into his back while his captives enter into Heaven in his very sight.  All this occurred at what he thought was the time of his final triumph, when God Himself had entered his grasp: yet the Christ was not subject to corruption, and the bait Death swallowed was his own undoing, as so many of the Fathers painted the image.  "He sought the bait of the flesh, but was hooked by the divinity" (St. Gregory the Dialogist).  Truly did St. Ephraim speak: "Death knelt before Him in Sheol, / and Life worshipped Him at His Resurrection."

Pascha: The Blessed Renewal

 

"From on high He came down as Lord,

from within the womb He came forth as a servant;

Death knelt before Him in Sheol,

and Life worshipped Him at His resurrection.

Blessed is His victory!"

--St. Ephraim the Syrian

Christ is risen!  Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!  Christos voskrese!  Today the whole earth rings out its joy, echoing the Paschal hymn, for death is vanquished and our Light has returned from the three-day night.  So all shall praise the all-glorious and life-giving Resurrection of Christ!  One voice, St. Proclus of Constantinople, here echoes from Heaven to proclaim the meaning of this Feast of Feasts.  Christ is risen!

The Prelude of the Incarnation

 Coptic Icon of the Annunciation (1995) by Bedour Latif and Yousef Nassief

"Today is the prelude of joy for the whole world.  Let us then anticipate the feast and celebrate with glee: for behold, Gabriel is on his way with glad tidings for the Virgin."

--Troparion of the Forefeast of the Annunciation

Lectio Divina

"Oh, how I love Thy Law! It is my meditation all the day." So sung King David, and so should we sing at all times in our fervor for the Lord's Word. Many ways are there for us to be soaked in Scripture in order to "swim in the Law of the Lord" (in the beauteous phrase of St. Seraphim), and one of these is the way known as lectio divina, the divine reading. A great guide of this practice is Guigo II, a Carthusian prior. Let us learn from him how the Law of the Lord can always be our delight.

Guigo shows us for degrees for entering into the inner chamber of the Word: reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation. We can even see these in the Psalms: "Make me understand the way of Thy precepts, and I will meditate on Thy wondrous works...I long for Thy salvation, O Lord, and Thy Law is my delight." Guigo's words show us how these verses are a lamp for our path into the Scriptures: "Reading is the careful study of the Scriptures, concentrating all one's powers on it. Meditation is the busy application of the mind to seek with the help of one's own reason for knowledge of hidden truth. Prayer is the heart's devoted turning to God to drive away evil and obtain what is good. Contemplation is when the mind is in some sort lifted up to God and held above itself, so that it tastes the joys of everlasting sweetness….Reading seeks for the sweetness of a blessed life, meditation perceives it, prayer asks for it, contemplation tastes it."

A Companion Blog: ܫܰܦܝܽܬ ܠܶܒܒܰ (Luminous Heart)

In addition to this blog, I have recently started another blog: ܫܰܦܝܽܬ ܠܶܒܒܰ (Luminous Heart).  My introductory post explains it well: while this blog is more strictly a theological and informational blog, ܫܰܦܝܽܬ ܠܶܒܒܰ will be much more personal and opinion-oriented.  I encouraged you to read both blogs.  God Bless, and thank you for reading.

St. Ephraim the Syrian, pray for us!

Byzantine Psalmody: The Ten Basic Neumes (Part 1)

In Western musical notation, the length and relative timing of notes are shown on a staff, where the vertical position of a note (in notation) on the staff represents which note (on the scale) is to be sung or played.  The mentality of Byzantine psalmody notation is vastly different.  In Byzantine psalmody notation, there is no staff, only a single row of markings.  Each note (in notation) shows which note (on the scale) is to be sung relative to the note that was just sung.  Byzantine psalmody notation thus shows the intervals between notes, rather than which note (on the scale) each note (in notation) represents.  In addition, there are markings in Byzantine psalmody notation for representing the length of notes and other characteristics (such as tying notes together, changing the force of a sung note, increasing volume, etc.)

In Byzantine psalmody, the notes in notation which represent these intervals are called neumes.  There are ten basic neumes for the most common intervals which are then combined to create larger intervals.  These neumes form the basis of the Byzantine psalmody notation.  Below are neutral neueme and the four always ascending neumes.

1. Ison

The ison is a unique neume.  While all the other basic neumes indicate either ascent or descent in notes, the ison indicates a repetition of the same note.  For instance, if the note before an ison was Πα, the note sung on the ison is also Πα.
 

2. Oligon

The oligon is the basic neume of ascent.  It indicates an ascent of one note from the note previously sung.  For instance, if the note before an oligon was Πα, the note sung on the oligon is Βου.


3. Kentimata

The kentimata is another neume of ascent.  Like the oligon, it indicates an ascent of one note from the note previously sung: the kentimata is used, though, when the same syllable is repeated as the previous note.  For instance, if "O" is sung on Πα and the next note is the same "O" being sung on Βου, then a kentimata is used; if the next note is a "Lo" sung on Βου, though, an oligon would be used.


4. Petaste

The petaste is another neume of ascent, and it also represents an ascent of one note.  The uniqueness of the petaste is not when it is used, as the kentimata is separated from the oligon, but in how it is sung: the pesaste involves a quiver of the voice, "a rise of the sound, a little higher from the natural pitch of the tone at hand" (GMT I.II.IV.139).  In other words, there is a quick rising of the voice to the next note higher and then back down.  The following example depicts this, first in Byzantine psalmody notation, then in Western notation (only matching intervals, not the notes themselves).

5. Hypsile

The hypsile is an interesting neume of ascent.  While it is counted among the basic neumes, it never appears on its own: it only appears in combination neumes, where it indicates an ascent of either four or five notes.  It will be explained in greater detail when discussing combined neumes, where it is actually used.

To finish this post, here is an example of ascending the scale using these neumes (without the hypsile, of course), in both Byzantine psalmody notation and Western notation.

 

St. Ephraim the Syrian, pray for us!

 

Text ©2012 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the author.

 

Byzantine Psalmody: A Quick History and the Notes

Χριστος ανεστι!  Byzantine psalmody has its oldest roots in ancient Greek music, the music of modes such as Dorian, Ionian, Lydian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, etc.  (Not being versed in ancient Greek music, I cannot say any more than that.)  The main Christian roots are traditionally linked with St. Ephraim the Syrian (306-373), Doctor of the Church: some claim that he originally created Christian chant and that even Gregorian chant had its roots in his work.  No real method of Byzantine psalmody begins to be expounded in writing until St. John of Damascus (676-749), the great defender of icons.  Byzantine notation, the unique style of writing music used by Byzantine psalmody (very different from Western styles, both modern "European" notation and Gregorian chant notation), began to be written (from what we know) with the work of this great saint.  Though his system was complex, it was usable.  Over time, though, Byzantine notation became so convoluted that it was illegible: even music teachers learned and taught by ear, without even being able to understand the written music.  To counteract this mess, the "Revolution of 1814" occurred: three teachers of music, led by Chrysanthos of Madytos, overhauled and simplified Byzantine notation and psalmody to create what is called "the New Method."  By simplifying the ludicrously complex system they received, and by incorporating certain aspects of Western music, the Three Teachers (as they are called) created a system that can be fairly easily learned and taught and a notation that can even be printed on a printing press (an unfathomable notion with the previously obfuscated notation).  Since the Revolution of 1814, there have been some changes and alterations (as in almost everything), but the substance of Byzantine notation and the method of Byzantine psalmody has remained the same.

After that short history lesson (which I do not blame you if you skipped), let us begin with the notes of Byzantine psalmody.  (While there is differing terminology for these, as in most things in Byzantine psalmody, due to its original creation using the Greek language, I will utilize the term notes in this series.) 

For anyone with even minimal musical training in the Western tradition (or for anyone who's seen The Sound of Music), the solfège system should be familiar:

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do'

(This is the version I have often heard, the one used in the aforementioned musical.  Other versions use "sol" for "so" and "si" for "ti."  Also, the apostrophe just represents a repeated note one octave above the first note.)

These syllables correspond to the notes used in the scale of C major:

C D E F G A B C'

Chrysanthos of Madytos, the leader of the Three Teachers, was an admirer of this aspect of the Western musical tradition.  In the Byzantine tradition, there were long, polysyllabic names for each note.  As part of the process of simplification, the following series of syllables, each incorporation successive letters of the Greek alphabet, was created:

Πα Βου Γα Δι Κε Ζω Νη Πα'

Transliterated into English, the syllables are:

Pa Bou Ga Di Ke Zō Nē Pa'

The only hiccup in the system is that the Greek system starts on the equivalent of the Western Re/D, not Do/C.  The following table compares the three systems:

 (Click on the above table for a larger image.)

Understanding the basic seven-note system of Byzantine psalmody and the syllables used to refer to them is key to further study of Byzantine psalmody.

I hope this post has been useful to you.  If you have any questions or comments, please, don't hesitate to contact me.  Thank you for reading, and God Bless.

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.

St. John of Damascus, pray for us!

Nota Bene: This is part of my Byzantine Psalmody series.

 

Text ©2012 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the author.

 

Byzantine Psalmody Index

This is the base page for my series/project on Byzantine psalmody.  Below are links to posts in the series, other posts on sacred music, a list of abbreviations for works I use throughout the series, and links to other Church documents on sacred music.

Posts:

1. Why Should I Care About Byzantine Psalmody? (4/12/12)
2. A Quick History and the Notes (4/12/12) 
3. The Ten Basic Neumes (Part 1) (4/22/12)

Abbreviations:

BM = Byzantine Music in Theory and in Practice by Prof. Savas I. Savas, trans. Nicholas Dufault, Boston: Hercules Press, 1965.
BP = Byzantine Prosomia: The Chanter's Companion by Holy Transfiguration Monastery (2005).
DMS = De musica sacra et sacra liturgia, Instruction by the Sacred Congregation for Rites (9/3/1958)
GMEOC = A Guide to the Music of the Eastern Orthodox Church by N. Lungu, G. Costea, and I. Croitoru, trans. Nicholas K. Apostola, Brookline: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1984.
GTM = Great Theory of Music by Chrysanthos of Madytos, trans. Katy G. Romanou (1973).
MSe = Musicae Sacrae, Encyclical by Ven. Pope Pius XII (12/25/1955)
MSm = Musicam Sacram, Instruction by the Sacred Congregation for Rites (3/5/1967)
SC = Sacrosanctum Concilium, Constitution by the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) (12/4/1963)
TlS = Tra le Sollecitudini, Motu Proprio by Pope St. Pius X (11/22/1903)

Other related documents:

Divini Cultus, Apostolic Constitution by Pope Pius XI (12/20/1929)
Jubilate Deo by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (4/14/1974)
Mediator Dei, Encyclical by Ven. Pope Pius XII (11/20/1947)
Voluntatis Obsequens, Letter by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (4/14/1974)

For more documents on the liturgy, see my links to Church documents on the sacraments.

Pope St. Gregory the Great, pray for us!

St. Ephraim, Harp of the Holy Spirit, pray for us!

The Atonement of Our True High Priest

Χριστος ανεστι!  Christ is risen!  Indeed, Christ our High Priest has died so we may die to sin and risen that we may rise to eternal life.  He has redeemed us: He has atoned for our sins.  Under the Old Covenant, the Jewish High Priest prayed his hardest and tried all that he could to atone for the sins of himself, his house, and his people, Israel, yet he still had to try to make atonement year after year on Yom Kippur.  The true High Priest, Jesus Christ, had only to suffer once for our atonement, and He has attained all.

In reading the accounts of the Jewish High Priest's preparations for atonement, one can possibly see a type of our true atonement through the Son of God.  As it says in the Mishnah,

"He sanctified his hands and his feet and stripped off his clothes...He went down and immersed himself, came up and dried himself.  They brought him white garments; he put them on and sanctified his hands and his feet" (Yoma 3:6).

Do we not see a resemblance to the actions of Christ?  Though the old High Priest had to immerse himself five times and sanctify his limbs ten times, our Lord had only to do so once (vid. Yoma 3:3).  Let us see how our Lord fulfilled the High Priestly atonement:

"When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments" (Jn 19:23).  Thus the Scriptures proclaim His Crucifixion, when the nails for driven into His blessed hands and feet, prior to the mention of His stripped garments.  The Mishnah also recalls that Rabbi Meir says the stripping of garments comes prior to the Crucifixion, as is remembered in the Stations of the Cross (vid. Yoma 3:6).  Jesus Christ then immersed Himself in death, descending "into the lower parts of the earth,"
 that is, Hades, or Sheol (Eph 4:9).  Yet He did not stay immersed, but instead rose again, just as we do in Baptism, for "we were buried therefore with Him in baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we so might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:4).  Upon His most glorious Resurrection, Christ's glorified body was full of splendor as it was at the Transfiguration, when "His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light" (Mt 17:2).  When He came to His disciples, it was His sanctified hands and feet that proclaimed to them His bodily nature: "See my hands and feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have" (Lk 24:39).  Not only that, but He sanctifies the Church, who is His one body, that is, His hands and feet (cf. 1 Cor 12:12; Eph 4:15-16).

We can see, then, that Christ is our true High Priest, for He fulfilled our need for atonement.  What the High Priest of the Old Covenant could not achieve through his five-fold actions every year, the true High Priest achieved in one moment on the Cross: He atoned us, once and for all.

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession...For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.  Nor was it to offer Himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place yearly with blood not his own; for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.  But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself....We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb 4:14; 9:24-26; 10:10).

Let us therefore follow the command of St. Ephraim:

"Ye mortals, exalt and praise Him Who by His death emptied the dominion of death and promised all the mortal race life and resurrection."

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.

Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, have mercy on us!

Novgorod School; dated 15th century; Church of the Dormition at Volotovo Pole, Russia

Nota Bene: This interpretation is my own: if it is in any way incorrect, I am the one to blame.  All Scripture quotations are from the NRSV-CE.  The quote from the Mishnah is from the translation by Herbert Danby, D.D., published by Oxford University Press.  The quote by St. Ephraim is from Psalm 150 of A Spiritual Psalter, or Reflections on God, excerpted by Bishop Theophan the Recluse, translated by Antonina Janda.

Text ©2012 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the author.

"Accept My Bitter Tears": A Lenten Prayer by John Saba

John Saba (690-780), also known as John of Dalyatha or John the Venerable, was a Syrian monk from the region of Dalyatha, where modern-day Turkey, Iran, and Iraq meet.  His writings were well-read throughout the Christian East, and they are still popular today, at least in the Oriental Orthodox churches (where he is a saint), despite his being condemned as a Nestorian, a Messalian, and a Sabellian at different times.  Among his writings is the following prayer which fits perfectly for this holy season of Lent:

You who wept and shed tears of sorrow over Lazarus, accept my bitter tears. 

May my passions be allayed by Your Passion; may my wounds be healed by Your wounds, my blood be blended with Your blood, and the lifegiving fragrance of Your holy body be mingled with my body. 

May the bitter drink that was given to You by Your enemies soothe my soul, which has been made to drink wormwood by the evil one. 

May Your body, which was stretched out on the tree, stretch my mind out to you, for it has been shrunken by demons. 

May Your head which was bowed down upon the cross lift up my head, which has been buffeted by impure men. 

May Your pure hands, which were transfixed with nails by unbelievers, draw me up to you from the abyss of evil, as Your mouth has promised. 

May Your face, which has received spit of derision from accursed men, cleanse my face, which has become odious through its sins. 

May Your soul, which on the cross you committed to Your Father bring me up to You by Your grace.

As this first full week of Lent draws to a close, let us recommit ourselves to repentance and asceticism, and let us continue to especially remember the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Since I am not certain of John Sabas' veneration in the Eastern Catholic churches, let us ask for the prayers of another famous spiritual writer from Syria:

St. Ephrem the Syrian, pray for us!

Nota Bene: This prayer is from John's "Discourse on Flight From the World," and it is Excerpt LXVI in Brian E. Colless' The Wisdom of the Pearlers: An Anthology of Syriac Christian Mysticism.  Information on John was taken from Lucas Cleophas and OrthodoxChristianity.net.

 

Text ©2012 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the author.

 

Make A Little Tabernacle in Your Soul

In the very start of those strange, exotic, "eXtreme" days known as the '90s, a quirky little band called They Might Be Giants released a nigh-nonsenical song entitled "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (paired with an incomprehensible video).

 

The song is sung from the point of view of a nightlight in the shape of a blue canary belonging to what seems to be a very lonely child.  The aforementioned nightlight asks the child, in the chorus, to "make a little birdhouse in your soul," so that the child will carry the memory of the luminous bird wherever he goes.

While having a birdhouse in our souls would not be conducive to the spiritual life (unless you think of it as a birdhouse for housing the Holy Spirit in the form a dove), what would be conducive is a tabernacle.  The concept of keeping a perpetual space for the Lord within our hearts is one I wrote about before, in my post on the teachings of Ven. Clara Fey.  She wrote,

"Our Lord does not wish to dwell in us in a transient way through Holy Communion. No, His spiritual dwelling in us should be continual. He remains in us."

In another place, she wrote that our hearts should remain "like sanctuary lamps before the tabernacle."  St. Faustina agrees with this idea, commenting how she set up a "little cell" in her heart to keep continual company with Christ.  Yet these two are not the only spiritual writers to discuss this idea: in the Eastern tradition, this is a common theme.

For instance, St. Ephrem the Syrian (a Doctor of the Church who should be read much more than he is) compares to a "heavenly angel" he who "stands at prayer in service to God and...at all times has pure thoughts" and "who always retains in himself remembrance of God" (Ps 1).  He also exhorts,

"Let us stand vigilant at the Bridegroom's door, that we might enter with the Bridegroom into His bridal chamber and inherit eternal life" (Ps 91).

While St. Ephrem's quotes may refer a bit more to just diligent vigilance in prayer rather than the concept of an oratory in our souls, St. John Climacus refers to the concept more specifically:

"The cell of a hesychast is the body that surrounds him, and within him is the dwelling place of knowledge" (Step 27).

St. Symeon the New Theologian, likewise, prays (referring to Jn 15:4), "Abide even in me, as You have said, so that I, too, may become worthy of abiding in You, and may then consciously enter into You and consciously possess You within myself" (Ethical Discourses V).  This concept of the continual abiding of the Lord within us is often linked with monasticism, as when the same saint writes, "The monk is one who is not mixed with the world and always converses with God alone" (Hymns on Divine Eros 3:1-2).

Indeed, monks are called to continual prayer: "The true monk should have prayer and psalmody continually in his heart" (Abba Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyrus, Saying 3).  They are called to stillness and complete focus on God by remaining in their cells: "Remain sitting in your cell and your thoughts will come to rest" (Anonymous Saying 66);"Watching means to sit in the cell and be always mindful of God" (Abba John the Dwarf, Saying 27).  In all, these teachings of watchfulness and silence (the translation of the Greek word ἡσυχια, hesychia, from which "hesychasm" comes) are summed up in the famous exhortation of St. Paul (1 Thess 5:17):

Αδιαλειπτως προσευχεσθε.

Pray unceasingly.

What do all these teachings do for those in the world?  These are teachings for monks, not for laymen: we do not have the luxury of living constantly in a cell.  That is why we use the above quote from St. John Climacus to help us: "The cell of a hesychast is the body that surrounds him."  Though we cannot stay in a cell all the day long, we never leave our bodies (unless you can astrally project, but that's a whole other issue).  Thus inside our hearts we can set up a cell (as St. Faustina said), a sanctuary, a tabernacle, where can constantly be with the Lord.  When the Lord abides in our hearts, then we will be abiding in His.

In conclusion, let us not make a birdhouse in our souls, as They Might Be Giants suggests, but instead let us make a little tabernacle in our souls.  After all, as Ven. Clara Fey said, "The Lord is in the tabernacle only that He may enter our hearts": let us then have a place prepared for Him, so that He may abide in us, and so that we may always be like "heavenly angels," "vigilant at the Bridegroom's door."

St. Ephrem the Syrian, Harp of the Holy Spirit, pray for us!

Nota Bene: Sources for the quotes from Ven. Clara Fey and St. Faustina can be found on my post on Mother Fey.  Quotes from St. Ephrem are from A Spiritual Psalter, or Reflections on God excerpted by Bishop Theophan the Recluse, translated by Antonina Janda, published by St. John of Kronstadt Press.  The quote from St. John Climacus is from Paulist Press' edition of his The Ladder of Divine Ascent, translated by Colm Luibheid and Norman Russell.  The quotes from St. Symeon the New Theologian are from editions of his works published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press: Ethical Discourses V is in On the Mystical Life, Vol. II, translated by Fr. Alexander Golitzin, and the Hymns on Divine Eros are translated by Daniel Griggs.  The quotes from Abba Epiphanius and Abba John the Dwarf are from Sr. Benedicta Ward's translation of The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, published by Cistercian Publications, Inc..  The anonymous saying is from Sr. Benedicta Ward's translation of The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers, published by SLG Press.

 

Text ©2012 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the author.

 

Preparation for Communion Through the Prayers of the Blessed Mother (St. Ephrem)

Happy New Year, and Holy Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God!  To celebrate today's Solemnity, I decided to post a short writing by St. Ephrem (Ephraim) the Syrian, a Doctor of the Church: a prayer to the Theotokos asking for her prayers in preparing to receive the Sacred Mysteries.  If you have yet to attend Mass today, perhaps you can use this prayer during your preparation for Communion.  If you have attended, perhaps this prayer could help you in the future.  Whatever the case, I hope you find this prayer helpful.  God Bless!

To the Theotokos -- 

A Confession of Her Pepetual Virginity 

and a Prayer to Partake Worthily of the Holy Mysteries

O Mother of God, who surpassest every mind and word!  O Virgin who exceedest all earthly virginity, for even before the Divine birth wast thou a Virgin beyond all virgins -- and such didst thou remain both during and after the birth!

Thee, O Lady do I beg, thee do I entreat, O merciful and man-befriending Mother of the merciful and man-befriending God: defend me at this hour if ever thou wilt do so, for now am I most in need of thy protection and thy help.

I am all a mire of filth and sin, a dwelling place of soul-corrupting passions.  Yet I intend to approach the all-pure and terrifying Mysteries of thy Son and God, and therefore do I suffer fear, and trembling embraces me because of the unbearable multitude of my sins.

But if ever I am to remain without communion on the pretext of my unworthiness, then shall I fall into a great abyss of evil and bring upon myself great chastisement.  I anguish over both the first alternative and the second.

To thee do I run; be kind to me, my all-pure Lady.  Take advantage of thy motherly boldness before thy Son and God, and gain for me forgiveness of my former sins.  Vouchsafe me to be made pure and enlightened by communion of the Mysteries, and show me how to spend the remainder of my life in repentance, purity and humility.  Remain always with me in my thoughts, words and deeds, in all the movements of my soul and body, instructing me, leading and guiding me, deflecting from me all hostile powers, and preserving me and providing thy servant, however worthless, with thy grace in every way.

O Theotokos, Mary, Mother of God, save us!

Nota Bene: This prayer is Psalm 111 of A Spiritual Psalter, or Reflections on God, a collection of writings of St. Ephrem excerpted and arranged in the manner of the Psalms of David by St. Theophan the Recluse, an Orthodox saint from the 19th century.  This translation is by Antonina Janda, published by St. John Kronstadt Press.