In the beginning, to speak of the prayer of Jesus, I invoke the aid of the All-Good and Almighty Jesus that He may assist my dullness. At the beginning to speak of the prayer of Jesus, I recall the righteous Symeon's utterance concerning the Lord: "Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against" (St. Luke 2:34).

O Lord, hear my prayer, lend Your ear to my supplication in Your truth, and in Your justice hear me. And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight, no living person can be justified. For the enemy has persecuted my soul, and has brought my life down to the ground. He has forced me to live in the darkness like those dead for centuries, and my spirit is in anguish, my heart within me is troubled. I reminisced the days of old, I meditated on all Your works, on all the creations of Your hands did I contemplate.

He Who dwells under the shadow of the Most High, shall abide under the shelter of the God of Heaven. He will say to the Lord: "You are my support and my refuge, O my God: in Him, I shall put my trust." For He will deliver you from the hunter's snare, and from every troublesome slander. With His broad shoulders, He shall overshadow you, and under His wings, you shall rest secure; His truth shall cover you like a shield. You shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day; nor the thing that lurks about in the darkness, nor any calamity or the evil spirit at noon.

Today marks the 199th Anniversary of Greek Independence Day. This is when Hellenes remember their long struggle against the Ottoman Empire, an effort that eventually leads to Greece's Independence.

The Ottoman Empire enslaved the Greek people for 400 years. Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since 1453. The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry "Freedom or Death" became the motto of the revolution.

When the Most Holy Virgin had lived and served in the Temple at Jerusalem for eleven years and was by then fourteen (14) years old -- when that is, she was entering on her fifteenth (15) year -- the priests informed her that, according to the Law, she could no longer remain in the Temple but must be betrothed and marry.

The Eternal Logos/Word--the beginning, and the end--came into time and redeemed all things. He turned our weeping into joy, our mourning into dancing, our hatred into love, and our time into eternity.