|
certainly incite
and
strengthen
your
heart
in
its
ascension
to
God,
which
means
you
would
enter
the
prayerful
spirit.
In
the
prayers
of
holy
fathers
(printed
in
prayer
books
and
other
church
books),
a
great
prayer
power
is
in
motion.
Who
is
diligently
attending
them
will
through
the
force
of
interaction
enjoy
that
power,
as
the
state
of
mind
of
a
praying
person
comes
closer
to
the
essence
of
those
prayers.
In
order
to
turn
your
intercessions
into
an
effective
way
of
nourishing
a
prayer,
one
must
do
it
so
that
both
your
mind
and
heart
would
perceive
the
content
of
the
prayers
being
read.
Here
are
the
three
simplest
ways
to
achieve
it:
 |
Do
not
start
a
prayer
without
preparing
yourself
to
it
properly. |
|
Say
prayers
with
feeling
and
attention,
but
not
casually. |
|
After
completing
your
prayer
do
not
hasten
to
go
back
to
your
everyday
cares. |
Preparation to
praying:
Before
you
start
a
prayer,
no
matter
where
it
is
taking
place,
stand
or
sit
for
a
short
time
and
try
to
sober
your
mind
relieving
it
of
all
irrelevant
work
and
cares.
Then
give
thought
to
Who
is
the
One
you
are
turning
to
in
prayer,
and
who
you
are
in
praying
to
Him;
invoke
the
appropriate
attitude
of
humility
and
reverential
awe
to
God.
That
is
the
beginning
of
a
prayer,
and
a
good
beginning
is
half
the
success.
The praying
itself:
Having
prepared
yourself,
stand
in
front
of
the
icons,
make
a
sign
of
cross,
bow
and
begin
the
usual
praying.
Say
the
prayer
without
haste
discerning
every
word
and
taking
it
close
to
your
heart.
In
other
word
you
should
understand
what
you
are
|
reading and
feel
what
you
understood.
Make
signs
of
cross
and
bows
while
praying.
This
is
the
essence
of
reading
prayers
that
are
fruitful
and
God
pleasing.
For
example,
reading
"Cleanse
me
from
every
impurity"
you
should
feel
how
impure
you
are,
desire
the
cleansing
and
hopefully
ask
the
Lord
for
it.
Saying
"Thy
will
be
done"
commend
your
destiny
to
the
Lord
completely
and
wholeheartedly,
with
readiness
to
accept
gladly
whatever
He
sends
you.
While
reading
"And
forgive
us
our
debts
as
we
forgive
our
debtors,"
your
soul
should
forgive
everyone
who
offended
you.
Doing that
with
every
phrase
of
the
prayer
makes
it
the
right
prayer
indeed.
Also
take
care
of
the
following
|
First,
set
a
certain
praying
rule
for
yourself,
it
should
not
be
too
lengthy,
so
you
could
fulfill
it
without
haste
amongst
all
your
daily
routine. |
|
Second,
in
your
spare
time
read
through
the
prayers
of
your
set
of
prayers
(prayer
rule)
attentively,
understanding
and
perceiving
every
word
so
that
you
can
prepare
yourself
beforehand
and
learn
what
feeling
and
thoughts
you
need
to
evoke
in
your
soul
to
understand
and
perceive
everything
easily
during
your
prayers. |
|
Third,
if
your
volatile
thought
would
get
distracted
by
other
things
during
your
prayer,
exert
yourself
to
focus
your
attention
keeping
you
mind
concentrated
on
the
subject
of
your
prayer.
Bring
your
mind
back
to
it
every
time
it
wanders
away.
Read
the
prayer
again
and
again
until
every
word
of
the
prayer
is
said
with
awareness
and
feeling.
That
will
rule
out
your
absent-mindedness
during
prayers. |
|
Fourth,
if
some
word
in
the
prayer
touches
your
soul
in
a
special
way,
do
not
proceed
with
the
prayer,
but
focus
on
that
word
or
phrase,
nourishing
your
soul
with
the
attention,
feeling
and
thoughts
evoked
by
the
word,
stick
to
that
state
of
mind
until
it
fades |
|
|
away.
This is a sign of the prayerful spirit beginning to enter you.
That state of mind and soul is the most reliable way to cherish
and strengthen the prayerful spirit in a person. |
What to
do
after
the
prayer.
After
finishing
your
prayer
do
not
hasten
to
take
up
your
usual
chores,
but
slow
down
and
think
at
least
for
a
little
while
about
what
you
felt
and
to
what
it
obliges
you.
Try
to
keep
in
your
mind
what
impressed
you
most
of
all.
The
nature
of
the
prayer
itself
is
such
that
after
a
really
good
prayer
one
would
not
want
to
switch
over
to
one’s
usual
things,
as
those
who
relished
in
something
sweet
do
not
want
anything
bitter.
Enjoying
the
sweetness
of
the
praying
is
in
fact
the
goal
of
saying
prayers,
which
brings
up
the
prayerful
spirit.
Following
those
simple
rules
will
soon
bring
results.
Any
prayerful
invocation
makes
a
good
impact
on
the
soul,
if
you
stick
to
those
rules,
and
it
deepens
the
impact,
and
patience
in
praying
will
generate
the
prayerful
mood.
Those are
the
first
steps
in
bringing
up
a
prayerful
spirit
in
oneself!
It
is
for
this
purpose
that
the
praying
practice
is
set.
Yet,
it
is
not
the
aim
in
itself,
but
just
the
beginning
of
gaining
mastery
in
prayer.
We
have
to
go
on.
Not So Fast – Cookbook News
We give thanks to God for the parish cookbook project which Judy
Tickel has been developing. Entitled, “Not So Fast,” the initial
set of recipes and suggestions have been made available in the
parish fellowship hall. If all have been taken and you would like a
copy, leave word for Judy. Recipes are still needed as well as
feedback on what has been offered so far.
Local Mission News, Reminders and Thanks
- The first Sunday of the month
|
The
Mission