Praise the Lord! Aινείτε τον Kύριον!
12/09/2018
Praise the Lord! Aινείτε τον Kύριον!
Fr. Al Demos, December 9, 2018
You can really make the Liturgy spring alive in your life! It just takes a little bit of effort to experience the wonder of the Liturgy and before you know it time will fly by and you will feel fulfilled and blessed!
When you faithfully follow the prayers of the Divine Liturgy you will discover them to be so awe-inspiring and uplifting. But I’d like to invite you to join me in my experience of symbolically reliving the Life of our Lord in the Liturgy itself!. Think about these symbolic gestures that help us not only to worship God in Trinity but also allow us to contemplate on the great sacrifice our Lord offered for all our souls, in taking on our human nature, living our human life, and then dying for all our sins of all time.
The Preparation of the Bread and Wine = The Birth of Christ.
The Proclamation of God's Kingdom = Beginning of the Divine Liturgy.
The Entrance with the Gospels = The entrance of Christ into His ministry. The Gospel is closed because “He came into the world but the world knew Him not”!
The Reading of the Holy Gospel = The revelation of Christ’s Ministry in the word of God!
The Entrance with the dedicated bread and wine = The entrance of Palm Sunday, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Christ carrying His Cross to Golgotha, “Crucify Him!”
The carrying of Christ’s Holy Body to the Tomb.
The Consecration of the dedicated bread and wine changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, = The Crucifixion.
The closing of the Royal Gates = The sealing of the Tomb
Opening the Royal Gates = The rolling away of the stone from the Sepulcher.
The Call to receive Holy Communion = The Resurrection
The Chalice is carried from the Altar to the Proskomidi = The Ascension
The Final Prayer = The Descent of the Holy Spirit.
Please follow the words and prayers of the Liturgy while also reflecting on all the above. You will discover such joy in being able to worship God profoundly, while also reflecting on the life of our Saviour. And Sing! Sing with all your heart joining the chanters in praising Almighty God!
To me, this is a double blessing that should inspire each one of us to love God more and more as time goes on...most especially, on into eternity!