My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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CLEAN WEDNESDAY: GREAT COMPLINE
Kontakion Hymn
My soul, O my soul, rise up! Why art thou sleeping? The end draws near, and soon thou shalt be troubled. Watch, then, that Christ Our God may spare thee, for He is everywhere present and fills all things.
Cantile Nine
Healing sickness, Christ the Logos/Word preached the good tidings to the poor. He cured the crippled, ate with publicans, and conversed with sinners. With the touch of His hand, He brought back the departed soul of Jairus' daughter.
The Publican was saved and the Harlot turned to chastity, but the Pharisee with his boasting was condemned. For the first cried 'Be merciful', and the second, 'Have mercy on me'; but the third said, boasting, 'I thank Thee, O God', and other words of madness.
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ON ALERTNESS (Step 20)
By Saint John Climacus
Some stand weaponless and without armor before the kings of the earth, while others hold insignia of office, shields, and swords. The former are vastly superior to the latter since they are regularly the personal relations of the king and members of the royal household.
Let us see now what happens when we stand in prayer during the evening or throughout the day and night before God our King. Some keep nightlong vigil, their hands raised in prayer like spirits free of every burden. Others sing the psalms or read, while some, out of weakness, bravely fight sleep by working with their hands. Others think constantly of death and try in this way to obtain a contrite heart. Of all these types, the first and the last persevere in nightlong vigil out of love for God, the second do what is appropriate for a monk, and the third travel the lowliest road. Still, God accepts and judges the offerings of each type in accordance with their intentions and their abilities.
Alertness keeps the mind clean. Somnolence binds the soul. The alert monk battle with fornication, but the sleepy one goes to live with it. Alertness is a quenching of lust, deliverance from fantasies in dreams, a tearful eye, a heart made soft and gentle, thoughts restrained, food digested, passions tamed, spirits subdued, tongue controlled, idle imaginings banished.
The vigilant monk is a fisher of thoughts, and in the quiet of the night he can easily observe and catch them. (Source: The Ladder of Divine Ascent)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George