To follow the Byzantine Daily Office (the Divine Praises, the Liturgy of the Hours), one must understand the Tones of Byzantine Worship and their basic impact on the celebration of a given service. Byzantine Worship, like classical Catholic worship in the West, utilizes a system of chant. In the West, this heritage comes down to us as Gregorian Chant. In the East, Churches of the Byzantine Tradition employ Byzantine Chant.
There are similarities between the two systems. Both employ eight different tonal frameworks which are applied to the liturgical text to be chanted. Typical patterns and melodies lend both variety and coherence to a given "tone." Certain subjects and circumstances are often associated with a given tone, whose tonal and melodic characteristics are said to make the tone in question more suitable.
There is a complete set of hymns for each service of the day for a full weekly cycle in each of the eight tones, beginning with the celebration of Great Vespers on Saturday evening. Thus there is an eight-week cycle that forms the backbone of Byzantine hymnody. The collection of these hymns is called, rightly enough, the Ochtoechos (literally, Eight Tones).
The cycle begins every year on the Sunday after All Saints Day, which is celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost in the Byzantine Tradition. The cycle continues from week to week repeating itself throughout the year.
The Ochtoechos lends tonal continuity to the Divine Services within a given week and a flow of continuity from one week to the next throughout the year. It is essential to know the tone of the week for the celebration of the Liturgy and Divine Office services.
However, knowing the tone of the week is not the only thing needed to accurately celebrate in the Byzantine Tradition. Another factor influences and alters the selections for a given celebration. The Eothinon Gospel reading on Sunday morning during Orthros must be identified.
The word Eothinon (plural, eothina) comes from the Greek word indicating dawn, the traditional moment during Orthros when one of eleven passages from the Gospels recounting the Resurrection is read.
Associated with the Eothinon Gospel are the Exapostilarion and the Doxastikon. The Exapostilarion relates to the theme of being sent out that these hymns feature. The Doxastikon is a hymn praising God for the Resurrection and sung after the Glory to the Father… after the chanting of the Praises. The Eothina Gospels, and their associated hymns, are numbered simply one through eleven.
Knowing the number of the Eothinon for a given week is important for two reasons: firstly, because Sunday Orthros requires that the appropriate Eothinon Gospel be read along with its proper Exapostilarion and Doxastikon; and secondly a tone is assigned to each Eothinon, (and its Exapostilarion and Doxastikon). This tone also determines in which tone the Great Doxology (near the end of Orthros) is to be chanted.
This means that while the particular Sunday Orthros might be in Tone Two, the Eothinon may be in Tone Eight. Thus there will be noticeable tonal shifts in the chanting due to the different tones.
To summarize: In keeping the Divine Praises according to the Byzantine Tradition, the Tone of the Week determines which standard hymns are chosen from the Ochtoechos for that particular celebration on that day. Reference to the Eothinon influences the chosen Eothinon Gospel and its related Exapostilarion and Doxastikon, as well as the determining the tone used for the chanting of the Great Doxology.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Hymns and Readings for
the Sunday of
the Pharisee and the Publican
the Sunday of
the Pharisee and the Publican
TROPARIA AND KONTAKION
(THEME HYMNS OF THE DAY & CONCLUDING SEASONAL HYMN)
TROPARION OF THE RESURRECTION IN TONE ONE
After the stone was sealed by the Jews, and while the soldiers were watching your spotless Body, You rose, O Savior, on the third day, bestowing life on the world. Therefore, the heavenly powers cried out to You, O Giver of Life: Glory to your Resurrection, O Christ; glory to your Kingdom; glory to your Economy, O You Who alone are the Lover of Mankind.
TROPARION OF OUR LADY IN TONE FOUR
Protected by your coming, O Mother of God, we the faithful solemnly celebrate today; and gazing upon your spotless image, we cry out from the depths of our hearts: “Protect us with your precious veil and deliver us from evil, by asking your Son, Christ our God, to save our souls!”
KONTAKION OF THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN IN TONE FOUR
Let us shun the proud attitude of the boastful Pharisee and learn humility from the Publican’s sighs; let us cry out to our Savior: Have mercy on us, O you who alone are Merciful!
LITURGY OF THE WORD
PROKIMENON
(RESPONSORY FROM THE PSALTER)
R. Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them
let all round about bring gifts to the awesome God.
V. God is renowned in Judah; in Israel, great is his name.
THE READING FROM
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST PAUL TO TIMOTHY
MY SON TIMOTHY: You have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
ALLELUIA
Come let us rejoice in the Lord,
let us sing gladly to God our Savior.
Let us greet his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to Him.
THE READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO ST LUKE
THE LORD SPOKE THIS PARABLE: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up 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 every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
(THEME HYMNS OF THE DAY & CONCLUDING SEASONAL HYMN)
TROPARION OF THE RESURRECTION IN TONE ONE
After the stone was sealed by the Jews, and while the soldiers were watching your spotless Body, You rose, O Savior, on the third day, bestowing life on the world. Therefore, the heavenly powers cried out to You, O Giver of Life: Glory to your Resurrection, O Christ; glory to your Kingdom; glory to your Economy, O You Who alone are the Lover of Mankind.
TROPARION OF OUR LADY IN TONE FOUR
Protected by your coming, O Mother of God, we the faithful solemnly celebrate today; and gazing upon your spotless image, we cry out from the depths of our hearts: “Protect us with your precious veil and deliver us from evil, by asking your Son, Christ our God, to save our souls!”
KONTAKION OF THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN IN TONE FOUR
Let us shun the proud attitude of the boastful Pharisee and learn humility from the Publican’s sighs; let us cry out to our Savior: Have mercy on us, O you who alone are Merciful!
LITURGY OF THE WORD
PROKIMENON
(RESPONSORY FROM THE PSALTER)
R. Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them
let all round about bring gifts to the awesome God.
V. God is renowned in Judah; in Israel, great is his name.
THE READING FROM
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST PAUL TO TIMOTHY
MY SON TIMOTHY: You have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
ALLELUIA
Come let us rejoice in the Lord,
let us sing gladly to God our Savior.
Let us greet his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to Him.
THE READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO ST LUKE
THE LORD SPOKE THIS PARABLE: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up 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 every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The Divine Praises: What They Are and How to Keep Them (part one)
Canon 377 of the Code of Canon Law of the Eastern Churches reads:
All clerics must celebrate the Divine Praises according to the particular law of their own Church sui iuris.1
According to the particular law in force in the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton, USA, this particular canon is established to say:
All clerics must celebrate the liturgical hours. The secular priests must recite, whether individually or in common, Vespers, Little Compline, Matins and one of the Little Hours as they are contained in the horologhion (The Book of Hours). They are exhorted to recite all the other parts of the liturgical cycle to the extent that they are able.2
This canon speaks to a cycle of Divine Services both common to all Catholic Churches and individually distinct in each particular Church.
In the West, many consider the Holy Mass (the Divine Liturgy) to be the main or only regular public worship of the Church. However, in truth, the clergy are also required to celebrate the Divine Praises on a daily basis.
The Divine Praises comprise the recitation of the Psalms of David. Early on, the Christian Church understood the Psalms as a central source of example and instruction in the adoration of God. The Psalms became the first hymn book of the Christian people. (Acts 16.25, Eph 5.19)
After the legalization of Christianity, the Psalter formed the basic fabric on which much of public Christian worship was built. Over time, it became normative that the entire series of Pslams were chanted in the course of a week. This practice divided the Psalter into sections (Kathismata) that were chanted at different times during the day corresponding to specific times for prayer were noted in the Scriptures, often associated with specific "hours" of the day.
(For a detailed discussion of the history of the Divine Praises from the Roman Church's perspective -- much of which also applies to the Byzantine Church -- see the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours at the EWTN website. Suffice it here to say that the the recitation of the Psalms came to be related to fixed times of the day and were termed "hours".)
The Traditional Hours, ultimately common to the entire Christian Church in the first millennium were (and are):
Compline celebrated at bedtime,
and, later, the additional celebration of the Nocturn (the midnight office);
Orthros (literally, "the rising") at or before dawn,
later divided into Matins (from the Latin meaning "morning")
and Lauds (in Latin meaning "the praises");
and what came to be called the Little Hours:
The Third Hour (Terce, around 9:00 am),
The Sixth Hour (Sext, around Noon),
and the Ninth Hour (Nones, around 3:00 pm).
The most important celebrations were those of Vespers and Orthros. At these times, the Faithful would gather to offer to the Holy Trinity their prayers for the day, which began at sunset (Gen 1.6), and again before the day's labors began before dawn. Clerics (deacons, priests and bishops) led these celebrations as well as the other hours.
In time, it became normative that all these offices were understood as required for the clergy. They formed a cycle of daily offerings that the clergy celebrated to sanctify the day on their own behalf and on that of the people.
In the Byzantine Tradition, the reforms of the eighth century greatly expanded these services to include hymns that were chanted between verses of the Psalms or after sections of the Psalms. The hymns helped relate the Psalter selections to the particular day of the emerging Liturgical calendar.
The rise of the monastic Typicon, which came to supplant the cathedral Typicon, led to the need for freedom to have literally hours available to devote to their celebration. Consequently, in contemporary Byzantine communities, both Catholic and Orthodox, the average parish celebrates an abbreviated version of the hours, particularly in the case of Orthros (which in its full form can require up to four hours)and Vespers. However, the recitation of the hours remains a source of inspiration and spiritual obligation for the clergy of the Church.
In the West, due to the prevalence of clergy in locations that did not allow for "in choir" celebrations, the obligation evolved into local clergy individually reciting the hours, either at the appropriate times or, until the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, often recited in sequence whenever time allowed. Until recently, in the Byzantine Tradition, the celebration of the hours was more or less still offered in a communal, if abbreviated, form.3
Nonetheless, it was a rare situation that the average parish priest and/or deacon could celebrate even the increasingly-common abbreviated form for all of the Hours. With the diaspora of the late 19th and 20th centuries, the recitation of Hours typically became supplanted by the common Byzantine personal prayers that populate most prayer books used by the clergy and the laity.
In the next few posts (or weeks, depending on my other time commitments), I hope to discuss the Hours, and how one can learn to celebrate the Hours using the various volumes now available to the English-speaking Byzantine Catholic Christian. In particular, it will be my goal to assist those Byzantine Catholic laity and clergy who would desire to celebrate the Hours and need an introduction to the basics.
In this, I do not pretend to be an expert (I'm just inordinately pompous and boorish in my prose). Any comments that elaborate, elucidate, or correct my reflections will be welcome. I will be open to correct my posts (including this one) for the purpose of assisting others to become acquainted with this most beautiful and spiritually uplifting discipline.
In the course of all this palaver, I will continue to post current Sunday hymns and readings for the Divine Liturgy. (This will prove useful for anyone seeking to learn the Byzantine Horologion.)
More to follow....
1The Particular law of the Eparchy of Newton and the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Revised Approved Text compiled by Gerasimos Murphy, BSO,JCD, Eparchy of Newton, 2006, page 28.
2 Ibid., page 28.
3A very good resource for study of the history of the Divine Praises is The Liturgy of the Hours in the East and West by Robert F. Taft.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Sensible Analysis of the Christianity/Islam Issue
To The Source has released an interview with Dinesh D'Souza on his new book, Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11. I first came across D'Souza around the time of his book Illiberal Education, which is a study of gender and race issues in American Universities. His arguments usually are solidly constructed and researched, even if one might take issue with his conclusions. Dinesh is an old-school conservative who sees the trends of modern western society as not merely at odds with Christianity and traditional American Values (which he generally equates) but as pointedly antagonistic to them.
In the interview at 'Source and, I would presume, his new book, he argues that the main unindicted conspirator in the 'cause' of the 9/11 attacks is the radical secular culture that has become synonymous with American society in the minds of many around the world. He correctly identifies (IMO) the decadence of the current cultural mindset and social trajectory of what passes as American culture as the real source of radical Muslim rage against "the Great Satan".
In the interview, he states, "The cultural left has fostered a decadent American culture that angers and repulses traditional societies, especially those in the Islamic world. It is waging a global campaign to undermine the traditional family and to promote secular values in non-Western cultures. This has provoked a violent reaction from Muslims who believe their most cherished values are under assault. The cultural left has emboldened the Bin Ladens of the world to attack us in the firm conviction that "America deserves it" and that they can do so with relative impunity."
While reviews for his books show that for many D'Souza is a polarizing author, his logic is cogent and his argumentation is written with enough detachment to be persuasive without resorting to hysteria. I would recommend checking out the interview. After that, reading the reviews at Amazon would likely help you decide if you wanted to read the book itself.
In the interview at 'Source and, I would presume, his new book, he argues that the main unindicted conspirator in the 'cause' of the 9/11 attacks is the radical secular culture that has become synonymous with American society in the minds of many around the world. He correctly identifies (IMO) the decadence of the current cultural mindset and social trajectory of what passes as American culture as the real source of radical Muslim rage against "the Great Satan".
In the interview, he states, "The cultural left has fostered a decadent American culture that angers and repulses traditional societies, especially those in the Islamic world. It is waging a global campaign to undermine the traditional family and to promote secular values in non-Western cultures. This has provoked a violent reaction from Muslims who believe their most cherished values are under assault. The cultural left has emboldened the Bin Ladens of the world to attack us in the firm conviction that "America deserves it" and that they can do so with relative impunity."
While reviews for his books show that for many D'Souza is a polarizing author, his logic is cogent and his argumentation is written with enough detachment to be persuasive without resorting to hysteria. I would recommend checking out the interview. After that, reading the reviews at Amazon would likely help you decide if you wanted to read the book itself.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
HOW TO FAST DURING LENT
HOW TO FAST DURING LENT
By the Reverend Father Athanasios Demos
(Father "Al" was my spiritual director while at seminary. He gave out this information to his seminarians every year. With a slight re-wording, I have recommended this to my parishioners every year since I was ordained.)
If one truly desires to fast, s/he must not sin! The spiritual fast is the truest form of fasting, from evil thoughts, words and deeds. Being weak and vulnerable beings, we find ourselves “prone” to sin. The church recognises our need to experience a physical fast to assist us in training ourselves to fast spiritually. Even the terminology we use is a misnomer. We do not fast, we abstain! To fast physically one does not eat. For example, we truly fast from midnight until we receive Holy Communion during Divine Liturgy by partaking of nothing! So when we speak of fasting in preparation of a feast day, such as Pascha (Easter), we are actually abstaining from certain foods. I would like to offer these following suggestions for your Lenten fasting:
Try to do the best you can without condemning yourself or others.
Read the suggested “degrees of fasting” list below and select one that you believe you can accomplish.
During each “fasting” period try to “upgrade” your previous “degree of fasting” until you reach a level which inspires you to seek an even higher degree of fasting and higher spiritual goals.
Note: Persons who are ill, on prescribed medications or specialised diets or who have other valid reasons are exempted from fasts which could harm their health. In most cases, the fast may more than often aid one’s health, especially in light of recent physiological findings. Strict abstinence is not allowed on Saturday (the seventh day of God’s creation and day of rest) nor on Sunday (The day of Christ’s Holy Resurrection). The strictest monks touch oil to their lips on these days in order to break their fast. In al cases, please consult with your parish priest for guidance and assistance.
Please examine the “degrees’ below and begin where you feel you can accomplish that particular degree of fasting:
1. THE MINIMAL DEGREE:
a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
2. THE LIGHT DEGREE:
a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
3. THE MODERATE DEGREE
a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
c. Mid Lent week: abstain from meat all week.
d. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
4. THE CONSERVATIVE DEGREE
a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. All during Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
5. THE STRICT DEGREE
a. All during Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs.)
b. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
6. THE CANONICAL DEGREE
a. All during Lent and Holy Week: a glass of water and a morsel of bread each day.
Note: Even the strictest fast should be broken on The Annunciation (March 25) and Palm Sunday, when fish is allowed.
Please do your best without condemning yourself and others. In all cases, you should spend more time in Worship, by attending Lenten services and giving more time to Prayer. Meditate on God’s love for you and how you can return that love to God through your love for others. Partake often of the Holy Sacraments. Read your Bible each day as well as the spiritually inspiring writings of the Church Fathers. Give to those in need. Offer more of your time, talent and treasure to the church. Turn off the TV and spend more time with family and friends. Use moderation in food, drink, and social engagements. Judge not, rather humbly seek your own true repentance, to change and return to the path of righteousness as your soul continually seeks union with God each day of your life and forever more
MAY YOU BE BLESSED WITH A SPIRITUALLY EDIFYING AND INSPIRING LENT.
By the Reverend Father Athanasios Demos
(Father "Al" was my spiritual director while at seminary. He gave out this information to his seminarians every year. With a slight re-wording, I have recommended this to my parishioners every year since I was ordained.)
If one truly desires to fast, s/he must not sin! The spiritual fast is the truest form of fasting, from evil thoughts, words and deeds. Being weak and vulnerable beings, we find ourselves “prone” to sin. The church recognises our need to experience a physical fast to assist us in training ourselves to fast spiritually. Even the terminology we use is a misnomer. We do not fast, we abstain! To fast physically one does not eat. For example, we truly fast from midnight until we receive Holy Communion during Divine Liturgy by partaking of nothing! So when we speak of fasting in preparation of a feast day, such as Pascha (Easter), we are actually abstaining from certain foods. I would like to offer these following suggestions for your Lenten fasting:
Try to do the best you can without condemning yourself or others.
Read the suggested “degrees of fasting” list below and select one that you believe you can accomplish.
During each “fasting” period try to “upgrade” your previous “degree of fasting” until you reach a level which inspires you to seek an even higher degree of fasting and higher spiritual goals.
Note: Persons who are ill, on prescribed medications or specialised diets or who have other valid reasons are exempted from fasts which could harm their health. In most cases, the fast may more than often aid one’s health, especially in light of recent physiological findings. Strict abstinence is not allowed on Saturday (the seventh day of God’s creation and day of rest) nor on Sunday (The day of Christ’s Holy Resurrection). The strictest monks touch oil to their lips on these days in order to break their fast. In al cases, please consult with your parish priest for guidance and assistance.
Please examine the “degrees’ below and begin where you feel you can accomplish that particular degree of fasting:
1. THE MINIMAL DEGREE:
a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
2. THE LIGHT DEGREE:
a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
3. THE MODERATE DEGREE
a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. On all Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
c. Mid Lent week: abstain from meat all week.
d. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
4. THE CONSERVATIVE DEGREE
a. The first week of Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil.
b. All during Lent abstain from meat.
c. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
5. THE STRICT DEGREE
a. All during Lent abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs.)
b. Holy Week: abstain from meat, fish, dairy products (including milk, butter, eggs, etc.) and oil. This includes all day Holy Saturday, the strictest fast day of the year. The fast must be continued even after you have received Communion on Holy Saturday morning.
6. THE CANONICAL DEGREE
a. All during Lent and Holy Week: a glass of water and a morsel of bread each day.
Note: Even the strictest fast should be broken on The Annunciation (March 25) and Palm Sunday, when fish is allowed.
Please do your best without condemning yourself and others. In all cases, you should spend more time in Worship, by attending Lenten services and giving more time to Prayer. Meditate on God’s love for you and how you can return that love to God through your love for others. Partake often of the Holy Sacraments. Read your Bible each day as well as the spiritually inspiring writings of the Church Fathers. Give to those in need. Offer more of your time, talent and treasure to the church. Turn off the TV and spend more time with family and friends. Use moderation in food, drink, and social engagements. Judge not, rather humbly seek your own true repentance, to change and return to the path of righteousness as your soul continually seeks union with God each day of your life and forever more
MAY YOU BE BLESSED WITH A SPIRITUALLY EDIFYING AND INSPIRING LENT.
RULE FOR FASTING AND ABSTINENCE
(From the Melkite Eparchal Website)
Fasting for the Eastern Catholic means there is no consumption of solid food from midnight until noon. Abstinence is refraining from eating meat, dairy products, eggs, alcohol, fish and olive oil. Three approaches to fasting and abstinence have developed. These might be called 1) the Law - that is required of us, 2) the Tradition - that which devout followers adhere to, and 3) the Compromise - that which is most widely accepted.
The Law - that which is required
The first day of Great Lent is a day of fast and abstinence
All Fridays of Great Lent are days of abstinence from meat
Good Friday is a day of fast and abstinence.
The Tradition - that which the devout follow
Every day of Great Lent is a day of fast and abstinence
On Saturday and Sunday fish, wine and olive oil are permitted.
Saturday and Sunday are not Fast days - food may be taken at any time.
Certain feast days are treated like Saturday and Sunday
Customary Compromises
The First, Middle and Last weeks of Great Lent are kept strictly. The other weeks are relaxed.
Abstinence from meat on all days of Lent.
Abstinence from meat on all Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent.
The idea of "fasting and abstinence" is to gain self-control, a simplification of life-style, a solidarity with the poor and hungry, and to return to Paradise. As such fasting and abstinence should always be focused towards making life simpler not more complicated. Additionally there is a liturgical fasting with no Divine Liturgy on weekdays.
Fast & Abstinence, Reasons why
In the Melkite Church there are four major periods of fast & abstinence: The Great Fast (or Lent) which precedes the Pascha of the Lord, the Fast of the Holy Apostles after the feast of the Ascension, the Fast of the Theotokos during the first 2 weeks of August, and the Pre-Christmas Fast.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God clearly reveals to His people the need for fasting. Jesus Our Lord, in the Gospel, taught that after He would ascend into heaven, His disciples must fast. The Holy Apostles clearly kept every Wednesday and Friday as days of fast and abstinence, as mentioned in the book of Acts.
Fasting is not extraordinary - for the Christian it is a regular aspect of the spiritual life. Fasting is depriving the body of food from midnight till noon. For the Christian the hunger that results is a real call to be mindful of our thirst for God. It is a call to identify with the poor, whom God loves especially. It is a way for us, as mature men and women to take charge of our body and of our needs, rather than to allow the body, its needs and passions to rule over our life.
Fasting is also a beautiful opportunity to express our solidarity and communion with Christians all over the world. There are many deeply moving stories of our brothers and sisters who observed the periods of fasting during harsh famines and wars. Imagine the power and the grace that is filling the world during this time of darkness and cold, as men, women and children, rich and poor, virtuous and sinful alike, together offer up penance for the sins of the world and in anticipation of the Coming of Christ!
Abstinence refers to the practice of foregoing all foods that come from animals (meats, poultry, dairy products, eggs).
From the creation of our Parents in Paradise to the time after the great flood, people ate only fruits, grains and vegetables. This is the food of paradise! The practice of abstinence reminds us of our high calling to manage all creation in the Name of the Lord. Our hunger for meat and other rich food serves as a reminder of the enmity that exists in creation as a result of sin. Especially during this holy season when the liturgy reminds us of the role that the stars, the angels, the earth itself, the beasts of the field, the ox and the ass all played in receiving the Savior of the world, abstinence calls us to set aside our enmity even with the animals in order to restore peace on earth.
Thus, we fast to experience hunger and, realizing our emptiness and dependence, to seek the One who alone satisfies our needs.
We abstain in order to strive for peace, to cleanse ourselves body and soul to worthily receive Our Lord.
Remember: the Church does not impose. Rather, as a loving Mother, She proposes.
Fasting for the Eastern Catholic means there is no consumption of solid food from midnight until noon. Abstinence is refraining from eating meat, dairy products, eggs, alcohol, fish and olive oil. Three approaches to fasting and abstinence have developed. These might be called 1) the Law - that is required of us, 2) the Tradition - that which devout followers adhere to, and 3) the Compromise - that which is most widely accepted.
The Law - that which is required
The first day of Great Lent is a day of fast and abstinence
All Fridays of Great Lent are days of abstinence from meat
Good Friday is a day of fast and abstinence.
The Tradition - that which the devout follow
Every day of Great Lent is a day of fast and abstinence
On Saturday and Sunday fish, wine and olive oil are permitted.
Saturday and Sunday are not Fast days - food may be taken at any time.
Certain feast days are treated like Saturday and Sunday
Customary Compromises
The First, Middle and Last weeks of Great Lent are kept strictly. The other weeks are relaxed.
Abstinence from meat on all days of Lent.
Abstinence from meat on all Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent.
The idea of "fasting and abstinence" is to gain self-control, a simplification of life-style, a solidarity with the poor and hungry, and to return to Paradise. As such fasting and abstinence should always be focused towards making life simpler not more complicated. Additionally there is a liturgical fasting with no Divine Liturgy on weekdays.
Fast & Abstinence, Reasons why
In the Melkite Church there are four major periods of fast & abstinence: The Great Fast (or Lent) which precedes the Pascha of the Lord, the Fast of the Holy Apostles after the feast of the Ascension, the Fast of the Theotokos during the first 2 weeks of August, and the Pre-Christmas Fast.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God clearly reveals to His people the need for fasting. Jesus Our Lord, in the Gospel, taught that after He would ascend into heaven, His disciples must fast. The Holy Apostles clearly kept every Wednesday and Friday as days of fast and abstinence, as mentioned in the book of Acts.
Fasting is not extraordinary - for the Christian it is a regular aspect of the spiritual life. Fasting is depriving the body of food from midnight till noon. For the Christian the hunger that results is a real call to be mindful of our thirst for God. It is a call to identify with the poor, whom God loves especially. It is a way for us, as mature men and women to take charge of our body and of our needs, rather than to allow the body, its needs and passions to rule over our life.
Fasting is also a beautiful opportunity to express our solidarity and communion with Christians all over the world. There are many deeply moving stories of our brothers and sisters who observed the periods of fasting during harsh famines and wars. Imagine the power and the grace that is filling the world during this time of darkness and cold, as men, women and children, rich and poor, virtuous and sinful alike, together offer up penance for the sins of the world and in anticipation of the Coming of Christ!
Abstinence refers to the practice of foregoing all foods that come from animals (meats, poultry, dairy products, eggs).
From the creation of our Parents in Paradise to the time after the great flood, people ate only fruits, grains and vegetables. This is the food of paradise! The practice of abstinence reminds us of our high calling to manage all creation in the Name of the Lord. Our hunger for meat and other rich food serves as a reminder of the enmity that exists in creation as a result of sin. Especially during this holy season when the liturgy reminds us of the role that the stars, the angels, the earth itself, the beasts of the field, the ox and the ass all played in receiving the Savior of the world, abstinence calls us to set aside our enmity even with the animals in order to restore peace on earth.
Thus, we fast to experience hunger and, realizing our emptiness and dependence, to seek the One who alone satisfies our needs.
We abstain in order to strive for peace, to cleanse ourselves body and soul to worthily receive Our Lord.
Remember: the Church does not impose. Rather, as a loving Mother, She proposes.
Triodion — The pre-Lenten Season
In the Byzantine Tradition, Lent is preceded by a season sometimes called “Triodion” (literally, “three odes”, due to the use of certain tones in chant and particular hymns sung during the period). Triodion is a time to prepare for the Lenten fast; a time to contemplate the great mysteries of the human condition; a time to consider the reality of who we are before God and the Great Mercy of our Lord in claiming us as his own.
The season begins next week with the Sunday of the Pharisee and the Publican (this year falling on 28 February). In the following week, there is no fasting of any kind. Instead, we meditate on the fact that even spiritually good things, like fasting, can too easily become causes for pride and sin.
The following week is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. During that week, we only keep a fast on Wednesday and Friday.
Then comes the Sunday of the Last Judgment, also called Meatfare Sunday. Those who plan to keep a strict fast will refrain from eating meat from the Monday after Meatfare until Pascha (Easter).
The final week of Triodion begins with Forgiveness Sunday, also known as Cheesefare. This Sunday is the last time the dairy and poultry products are consumed until Pascha.
[N.B., the "fare" suffix in Meatfare and Cheesefare indicates that these are days in which we "say farewell" to meats and/or cheese products. Fasting from these foodstuffs begins on the day following the particular Sunday in question.]
Unlike the Roman Rite, in the Byzantine Tradition Lent begins on the day following Forgiveness Sunday: a day known as Clean Monday.
More information will be presented about the Triodion season and Great Lent itself in the days and weeks to come.
The season begins next week with the Sunday of the Pharisee and the Publican (this year falling on 28 February). In the following week, there is no fasting of any kind. Instead, we meditate on the fact that even spiritually good things, like fasting, can too easily become causes for pride and sin.
The following week is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. During that week, we only keep a fast on Wednesday and Friday.
Then comes the Sunday of the Last Judgment, also called Meatfare Sunday. Those who plan to keep a strict fast will refrain from eating meat from the Monday after Meatfare until Pascha (Easter).
The final week of Triodion begins with Forgiveness Sunday, also known as Cheesefare. This Sunday is the last time the dairy and poultry products are consumed until Pascha.
[N.B., the "fare" suffix in Meatfare and Cheesefare indicates that these are days in which we "say farewell" to meats and/or cheese products. Fasting from these foodstuffs begins on the day following the particular Sunday in question.]
Unlike the Roman Rite, in the Byzantine Tradition Lent begins on the day following Forgiveness Sunday: a day known as Clean Monday.
More information will be presented about the Triodion season and Great Lent itself in the days and weeks to come.
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