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Last Sunday we mentioned that after the Consecration of the Holy Gifts, the Priest offers the prayer inaudibly, for all the righteous Saints made perfect in Faith. Then he finishes this prayer aloud, lauding our Holy Mother the Ever-Virgin Mary, by saying: "Especially we commemorate our all-holy, Immaculate, most Blessed and Glorious Lady Theotokos, and Ever-Virgin Mary," whereupon the Congregation sings the "Axion esti." Simultaneously, the Priest continues the prayer inaudibly. We commemorated the Saints down through the ages and especially our Holy Mother. The Priest continues to pray inaudibly as follows: "We also commemorate the Holy Prophet, Fore-runner and Baptist John; the Holy Glorious and all-laudable Apostles; the Saint or Saints of the Day, whose memory we celebrate; and all Your Saints, by whose supplication look down upon us, O God. And be mindful of all those, who have fallen asleep before us, in the hope of Resurrection unto Life Eternal; and grant them rest, O our God, where the light of Your countenance shines upon them. (At this point the Priest commemorates names submitted to him). The prayer continues: "Again we beseech You; be mindful O Lord, of every Bishop of the Orthodox, who rightly impart the word of Your truth; of all the Priesthood, the Diaconate in Christ, and of every Holy and Monastic order. And again we offer to You this reasonable Worship for the whole world, for the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, for those who live in chastity, and holiness of life; for all Civil Authorities, and our Armed Forces everywhere. "Grant them, O Lord, peaceful times, that we, in their tranquility, may lead a calm and peaceful life, in all holiness and sanctity." At this point the Priest is handed the bowl with the "Antidoron," that is, the cubes cut from the oblation loaf, and from which the central cube bearing the initials IC XC NI KA, was extracted during the preparation of the Gifts at the "Prothesis" or preparation table. The Greek word "Antidoron" means "in place of the Gift." It is simply a blessed cube of bread given to all. The Faithful receive it kissing the hand of the Priest, being that moments ago, he held in his hands the Body and Blood of our Lord. There is however, another symbolism which we might tie in at the present time. Being that we all partake of the same Loaf, it is reminiscent of the ancient "Agape tables" where all the Christians, rich and poor alike sat to enjoy the Sunday meal after the Liturgy. (Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 6) I am happy to state that here in America during the last 2 generations, most, if not all, offer the "Agape Coffee Hour" as we share each other's company after the Liturgy. This practice in our Churches had its beginning in 1942 during the World War II years, when our Cathedral Sunday School welcomed all our Servicemen, preparing meals for them, and subsequently enjoyed various athletic activities at nearby New York's Central Park. After all, the main purpose of our Liturgy, is to cultivate true Fellowship and to care for one another. Now, after the silent commemorations extolling the Saints and especially the Holy Mother, the Priest says aloud: "Among the first, be mindful O Lord, of our Archbishop Alexios, to whom grant to the Holy Churches in peace, safety, honor, health and length of days, and to rightly impart the word of Your truth." And be mindful O Lord, for all those, whom each of us has in mind, and for all. The Congregation responds: "And be mindful of all humankind." The Priest continues to silently pray: "Be mindful, O Lord, of this City, in which we dwell, and of every City and Countryside, and of those, who in faith dwell therein. Be mindful, O Lord, of those, who travel by sea, by land and by air; be mindful of the sick, the suffering, the captives, and for their salvation. Be mindful, O Lord, of those, who bear fruit, and do good works in Your Holy Churches, and those, who remember the poor; and send forth upon us Your mercies." Then the Priest completes this prayer saying aloud: "And grant us with one mouth and one heart, to glorify and praise Your all-honorable and majestic Name; of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and to the ages of ages." The Congregation responds with, "Amen." So be it. The Priest then blesses the Congregation saying: "And may the mercies of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, be with you all." As always, when the Priest blesses the Faithful, they should bow their heads at all times, in acknowledgement of receiving the blessing. The Congregation having received the blessing responds by chanting: "And with your spirit." The Priest acknowledges the wish of his Congregation and bows, to show his appreciation. With this blessing, all the prayers for the Consecration are completed. We now are approaching a different phase of the Liturgy. The Consecrated Gifts will be received by the Clergy and the Faithful. But, prior to this, there is an added spiritual preparation. We offer pertinent petitions ending with the Lord's prayer. The first petition offered is as follows: "Having commemorated all the Saints, again and again, in peace let us pray to the Lord. For what shall we pray? The second petition tells us: "For the precious Gifts, which have been offered and sanctified, let us pray to the Lord." You may remember that after the Great Entrance, we offer a somewhat similar petition, which states: "For the precious Gifts here presented, let us pray to the Lord." But, with the present petition, which sounds so much the same, there is a difference of one word. The first petition after the Great Entrance mentioned "the Gifts here presented." But now, these Gifts have been Consecrated, and so, we hear the Priest saying: "For the precious Gifts, which have been offered and sanctified." "Sanctified" is the key word, because the Gifts are now the Body and Blood of our Lord. The next petition states: "That our God, who loves humankind, having received them upon His Holy, Celestial and Invisible Altar, unto a scent of spiritual fragrance, may send down upon us in return, His Divine Grace and the Gift of the Holy Spirit, let us pray." To these petitions of course, the Congregation responds with Kyrie eleison." ("Lord, have mercy.") The Priest then requests a commitment by his Congregation saying: "Entreating for the unity of the Faith, and the Communion of the Holy Spirit, let us commend ourselves, and one another, and all our life to Christ, our God." And the Congregation respond with: "To You, O Lord." There is here another meaningful prayer, silently offered by the Priest, as he approaches closer to the moment of receiving Holy Communion. The prayer is as follows: "To You we commend our whole life and our hope, O Master, Who loves humankind. We beseech you, and pray to You, and supplicate You; make us worthy to partake of the Heavenly and awesome Mysteries of this Sacred and Spiritual Table, with a pure conscience; unto remission of sins, unto forgiveness of transgressions, unto Communion of the Holy Spirit, unto inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven, unto boldness before You, and not unto judgment, nor unto condemnation." After this silent prayer the Priest completes the prayer aloud: "And make us worthy, O Master, that with boldness, and without condemnation, we may dare to call upon You, the Heavenly God, as Father, and to say: The Congregation aloud prays the Lord's Prayer, and the Priest concludes with: "For Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," to which, the Congregation seals this declaration with "Amen." Very briefly, in our Lord's prayer, as it is written in Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 9, and in Luke 11:2, a prayer, which we have repeated all our life, we must consciously pray to our Father, Who is in Heaven, that His Name be blessed by the faith of His believers, -- that His Kingdom may come and reign in the hearts of the believers - that, just as God's will is executed in Heaven, may it be adhered and executed by all of us as well, here upon the earth, -- that He grants us our daily necessities, and grant us above all the Bread of Life, Holy Communion, -- that He forgive us our debts, as we forgive the debts of all others, -- that He may not lead us into temptation, and to give us the power to overcome temptation, -- and to save us from the evil one. All this of course, because our God, in Holy Trinity reigns, and has all the Power and the Glory. We are now on the threshold of receiving the Holy Sacrament, and the Priest, desirous of keeping our minds and hearts directly focused on this Great Moment, he blesses the Congregation saying: "Peace be unto you," to which the Congregation responds: "And to your spirit." Having blessed the Congregation once again, he says: "Let us bow our heads unto the Lord." The Congregation bow their heads while it responds: "to You, O Lord," we commend our lives! With heads bowed, the Priest prays inaudibly: "We give thanks to You, O King invisible, Who by Your measureless Power have created all things, and in the multitude of Your mercies have bought all things from nothing into being; do You Yourself, O Master, look down from Heaven upon those, who have bowed their heads unto You. For they have not bowed down unto flesh and blood, but to You, the Almighty God. Therefore, O Master, do You Yourself distribute these Gifts here spread forth, unto all of us for good, according to the individual need of each. Accompany those, who sail the seas, or travel by air; journey with those who travel by land; heal the sick, You Who are the Physician of our souls and bodies." Then the Priest completes the silent prayer by saying aloud: "Through the Grace and compassion, and love toward humankind, of Your only Begotten Son, with Whom You are blessed, together with Your all-Holy, and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. And the Congregation seals this Prayer with the "Amen." So be it. The Priest continues praying inaudibly: "Look down, O Lord, Jesus Christ our God, from Your Holy dwelling Place, and from Your Throne of the Glory of Your Kingdom, and come to sanctify us; You Who sits on High with the Father, and are here invisibly present with us; and grant, that from Your mighty Hand, to impart unto us Your Immaculate Body and precious Blood, and through us, to all the people." We stop here, to continue next Sunday, when the Priest is about to receive Holy Communion, with the Faithful to follow. Amen. +Fr. George Papadeas
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