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3rd in Luke Lit. #8 10/8/06 Page 1 Last Sunday we had mentioned the preparation for the Great Entrance, the focal point of which, was the lengthy prayer, when the Priest commences praying "no one, who is bound with the desires and pleasures of the flesh, is worthy to approach, or draw near, or to serve You, O King of Glory etc." I would hope that all of you, as I repeat most Sundays, that you would read the Bulletin every week and meditate on it, and truly make it part of your spiritual self. We stopped last Sunday at the point, when the Priest picks up the covered Holy Gifts from the Prothesis, the preparation Table, and proceeds around the Holy Altar to stand in the center of the Soleas, while he chants: "May the Lord our God, remember us all in His Kingdom, now and ever, and to the Ages of Ages." The Congregation completes this by chanting: "Amen." (So be it.) These are the very words of the thief upon the Cross, who at the last hour of his life was assured of his place in Heaven, when he begged the Lord: "Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom." (Luke 23:42) To enrich our spiritual life, all would do well to memorize this confession of the thief, and repeat it during the Great Entrance, also, when we are waiting our turn to receive Holy Communion and at other times. The Priest then enters the Sanctuary through the Royal Doors and places the covered Gifts upon the Holy Altar, while the Congregation completes the Cherubic Hymn by singing: "Having received the King of all, Who comes invisibly, attended by the Angelic Hosts, Alleluia." The Great Entrance symbolizes the Crucifixion of our Lord, as well as His Burial, when his secret followers Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, wrapped His Holy Body in the linen shroud, anointed it with myrrh, and placed it in a grave never before occupied. The Priest removes the "Aera" (the large veil) from his shoulders, and covers the Holy Gifts, to signify the large stone, that was rolled over to seal the Lord's Tomb. While doing this, he recites the descriptive hymn: "The noble Joseph, taking down from the Cross Your Spotless Body, enshrouded It with a new linen sheet, anointing it with aromatic myrrh, and placed It for burial in a new Tomb." He then censes the Holy Gifts, to signify the aromatic myrrh, with which our Lord was anointed. The Great Entrance is now complete. The Holy Gifts, that is, the Bread and Wine, which were prepared at the Prothesis, will soon be transubstantiated into the very Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus. But, before this, we offer to Him our Petitions, which we pray will be granted to us, providing our soul is prepared to receive those Blessings. The Priest chants the first petition, as follows: "Let us complete our supplication to the Lord," to which the Congregation responds with "Kyrie eleeison." (Lord have mercy). In other words, the Priest tells the faithful, that even though we have expressed our prayers, it is time now, to make our prayers even more complete, because the great and awesome moment is approaching, when the Holy Gifts will be consecrated. Yes, we must surely remember to pray "For the precious Gifts here presented, let us pray to the Lord." The Congregation responds with: "Kyrie Eleeison." Through this petition, we entreat and beseech the Lord to receive and accept the Gifts we now present, which we believe will grant us a renewed spirit. The Congregation once again asks for the Lord's mercy. Then we hear the petition, which is a repeat of the last of the nine Petitions, at the beginning of the Liturgy. "For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger and necessity, let us pray to the Lord." The Congregation responds with: "Lord have mercy." Six more Petitions follow, to which the Congregation responds with, "Grant this O Lord." 1. For this whole day, that it may be perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, let us ask of the Lord." All Christians should strive to live perfect days. We must always be ever conscious of our acts, and of our life. So many though, are spiritually weak, and so easily stray from the prescribed course. That's why, through this petition, we pray for strength to do the proper thing, and also for help, to avoid any possible sin. 2. For an Angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask of the Lord." Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we see that our Lord appoints guardian Angels to protect, and to guide those, who are truly His. For instance, in Psalm 91:11-12, the Psalmist says: "For God shall give His Angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They will lift you up on their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Thus, we should entreat our Lord, to grant us one of His Angels, to be the guardian of our body, but more importantly of our soul, to avoid sinning. 3. "For the forgiveness and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask of the Lord." With this petition, we pray to our Lord to forgive us our sins, but also of every transgression, which we so often commit. By the remission of our sins, we are re-instated in God's Grace, and thus become candidates for His Kingdom in Heaven. 4. "For things that are good and profitable unto our souls, and for peace in the world, let us ask of the Lord." How well St. Paul's words have relevance to this petition. He says, that "everything is permitted to us, but all things are not to our advantage." Therefore, we must distinguish, what is good and what is objectionable for our life. Through this petition we pray, that God grants us those things, which are of benefit to our soul, and most assuredly be also profitable to our body. Also, we pray for world peace. 5. "That we may complete our lives in peace and penitence, let us ask of the Lord." In the first petition, we asked the Lord to safeguard us from sin for the whole day. Now, through this petition, we beseech the Lord to grant us for the remainder of our life, peace of mind and heart, and also to aid us recognize our sins, for which we must truly repent, to ultimately save our souls. 6. "That the end of our lives may be Christian, without pain, blameless and peaceful, and for a good account at the fearful judgment-seat of Christ, let us ask of the Lord." A true Christian strives to live his or her life according to the Christian principles, until the day he or she is summoned by the Lord. Through this petition we ask the Lord to help us to our very last day; to live without the torment of various ailments and sicknesses; to live without being ashamed of any of our acts; to live in peace with all, but more so, to enable us, so that we may give a good account at the Last Judgment; that is a good defense, when we shall come face to face with our Lord Jesus on that day. After these 6 petitions, we again commemorate our blessed and ever-Virgin St. Mary with all the Saints, which we explained previously. During these petitions the Priest prays inaudibly as follows: "O Lord, God Almighty, Who alone are Holy; Who accepts the sacrifice of praise from those, who with all their heart call upon You; accept also the prayer of us sinners, which bring to Your Holy Altar, and enable us to offer unto You gifts, and spiritual sacrifices for our sins, and for the ignorance of the people; and make us worthy to find Grace before You, that our Sacrifice may be acceptable unto You, and that the Spirit of Your good Grace may dwell upon us, as well as upon these Gifts before us, and upon all Your people." After this inaudible prayer, the Priest completes this prayer by saying aloud: "Through the compassion 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." Offering this prayer, the Priest entreats the Lord to accept the Gifts, which are being offered in God's praise. Through these Gifts, the Priest and the Faithful will receive the Divine and Saving Grace of our Lord. We pray that these Gifts will be accepted, because we have learned of God's benevolence, -- His goodness -- and His compassion for the human race. This love and compassion, was the reason that God the Father, sent His only Begotten Son, in order that humankind could be spiritually cleansed and saved. Now, the moment of the Great Sacrifice is rapidly approaching. The Sanctuary becomes the Upper Room, where our Lord held the Last Supper. The Faithful represent the Disciples of Jesus, who sat and partook at the Table. The Priest, from the very beginning of the Liturgy, has offered prayers and petitions for himself, and for the Faithful. All prayers, as always, are offered with peace of soul and mind. Only then, our prayers are acceptable to God. At this point, the Priest turns to face the Congregation and blesses, as did our Lord His Apostles: "Peace be unto all!" The Congregation bows in acceptance of this blessing and replies: "And (may peace) be with your spirit." Without peace of mind and heart, there can be no love. Therefore, the Priest implores his people to love one another, as our Lord commanded us. With this love, we can rightfully stand before God and confess our faith to Him. The Priest admonishes: "Let us love one another, that with one mind we may confess." St. John tells us that, "God is love." (1st john 4:16). St. Paul in his 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 1 states: "If I speak the tongues of men, and of Angels, and do not have love, I have become as sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal." To confess our faith, and have it acceptable to God, it is necessary that we extricate all animosity from our hear, and fill it with love. What then are we about to confess? The Congregation voices our confession by singing: "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one in essence, and undivided." While the Congregation is singing this confession, the Priest prays: "I shall love you O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my support and my refuge, and my Saviour." At this point in the Ancient Church, when the Priest announced to "love one another," there was mutual embracing and the kiss of peace. But in recent centuries, this tradition is confined to the Clergy in the Sanctuary when more than one is celebrating. They embrace each other, kissing from right to left of each shoulder, and subsequently each other's hands, to show their love and humility. During this embrace they repeat to each other: "Christ is with us. He is, and will be, in all ages. We then hear the Priest saying: "The doors. The doors; in wisdom let us be attentive." As we have learned, the Catechumens, that is, the candidate Christians were dismissed after the Gospel reading followed by the sermon. Being that the awesome moment was at hand, the Priest would remind the guards to keep the doors closed, because only the Baptized Faithful could be present. However, this does not have the same meaning today, but it serves as a reminder, for all to watch the doors of our mind and heart, so that no impure thoughts can enter. By guarding the doors of our heart and mind, filled with true love, the Faithful are in a better position to partake of the Lord's Supper. Guarding our doors, let us confess our Faith by reciting the Creed. *'We shall continue next Sunday.
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