In the Eastern tradition, regular hourly prayers are suspended through bright week (from Pascha until the following Saturday). During that time the following Paschal Hours are read for all the “minor” hours – The midnight office, Prime, Terce, Sext and None and Compline – during the day (Matins, Vespers are also in special format). Another interesting tradition is that no psalms are read: because they are viewed as all prophecy that is now fulfilled.

If you wish, I think these prayers would make a wonderful addition for Easter Week, as well as throughout the 50 days. Most of the prayers are repeated – traditionally when prayers are repeated thrice (Such as the prayer “Holy God, Holy Mighty”) the sign of the cross is made at the beginning of each prayer. I’ve also marked the sign of the cross (+) at places where it is traditionally made in the Eastern Rite. Note the tones – if you are familiar with Orthodox Chant, these can be chanted, if not, just read ‘em!

(Yes, I’ve modernised the language for Episcopalians, et al. The traditional and very awkward Russian attempt at Elizabethan English is here. It helps if you read it in the voice of that Yakov Smirnoff guy from the 80s… “Vat a Saviour!”)

+Through the prayers of our fathers and mothers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

+Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life.(3x)

+Having beheld the resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only Sinless One. We worship Thy cross, O Christ, and Thy holy Resurrection we hymn and glorify; for you are our God, and we know no other besides you, and we call upon your name. O come, all you faithful, let us worship Christ’s holy Resurrection, for behold, through the Cross joy has come to all the world. Ever blessing the Lord, we hymn His Resurrection; for, having endured crucifixion, He has destroyed death by death. (3x)

The Hypakoe, eighth tone:
Before the dawn, the women came with Mary, and found the stone rolled away from the tomb, and heard from the angel: why do you seek He who lives in everlasting light here among the dead, as though He were a mortal? Behold the grave-clothes. Go quickly and proclaim to the world that the Lord is risen and has slain death. For He is the Son of God Who saves all.

The Kontakion, eighth tone:
Though you descended into the grave, O Immortal One, you destroyed the power of Hell. And you rose as victor, O Christ God, calling to the myrrh-bearing women: Rejoice! And giving peace unto your apostles: you grant resurrection to the fallen.

And these Troparia, eighth tone:
You were in the grave bodily, but in Hell with your soul as God: in Paradise with the thief, and on the throne with the Father and the Spirit. You fill all things, O Christ the Inexpressible.

+Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Your tomb is shown to be life-giving and more beautiful than Paradise, and truly more resplendent than any royal palace, O Christ, the source of our resurrection!

Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O sanctified and divine tabernacle of the Most High, rejoice! For through you, O Theotokos, joy is given to those who cry: Blessed are you among women, O all-pure Lady.

Lord, have mercy (40x).

+Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

+More honourable than the Cherubim, more glorious than the Seraphim, who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, True Theotokos, we magnify you.

O Lord Jesus Christ our God, for the sake of the prayers of your most pure Mother, of our holy and God-bearing fathers and mothers, and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.

[For Compline add this prayer:

Blessed are you, Master almighty, who have given light to the day by the light of the sun and made the night bright with rays of fire, who have granted us to pass through the length of the day and draw near to the beginnings of the night. Hearken to our entreaty and that of all your people, and forgive all of us our sins voluntary and involuntary and send down the multitude of your mercy and acts of compassion upon your inheritance. Wall us about with your holy Angels. Arm us with the weapons of your justice. Surround us with the rampart of your truth. Guard us with your power. Deliver us from every calamity and every assault of the adversary. Grant us that the present evening with the coming night may be perfect, holy, peaceful, sinless, without stumbling, and dreamless and likewise all the days of our life; at the prayers of the holy Mother of God and of all the Saints who have been well pleasing to you since time began. Amen. ]

+Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life.(3x)

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

+May Christ our true God, Who rose from the dead, trampling down death by death bestowing life on those in the tombs, through the intercessions of His most Pure Mother, and of all the saints have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and the Lover of All.

These two feasts seem to me analogues. And so this seems to me a perfect time for a week of prayer. Yes, I mean – it’s time to cross the streams.

NB: One might just as well remember Our Lady’s cry – and St Seraphim of Sarov – to “pray the Rosary Daily”!

(If you’re saying these prayers as a “stand alone” office – start here)

Glory to you, our God, glory to you.

O heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things; Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and abide in us and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O good one.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us. (3x)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O, Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for your Name’s sake.

Lord, have mercy. (3x)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be your Name; your kingdom come; your will be done on earth, as in heaven. Give us this day the bread of Life; and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us; save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, are yours: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

(If you are saying the novena with other prayers, start here)

O good Mother of the Good King, most pure and blessed Theotokos Mary, pour out the mercy of your Son and our God upon my passionate soul, by your intercessions guide me into all good works, that I may pass the remaining time of my life without blemish, and attain paradise by your help, O Virgin Theotokos, only pure and blessed one.

Troparion (Tone 4)
Today the faithful celebrate the feast with joy
illumined by your coming, O Mother of God.
Beholding your pure image we fervently cry to you:
“Encompass us beneath the precious veil of your protection;
deliver us from every form of evil by entreating Christ,
your Son and our God that He may save our souls.”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Kontakion (Tone 3)
Today the Virgin stands in the midst of the Church
and with choirs of saints she invisibly prays to God for us.
Angels and bishops worship,
apostles and prophets rejoice together,
since for our sake she prays to the pre-eternal God.

Litany of Our Lady of Victory

God, the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

The response for the following greetings is Pray for us.

Our Lady of Victory,
Victorious Daughter of the Father,
Victorious Mother of the Son,
Victorious Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
Victorious Servant of the Holy Trinity
Victorious in crushing the serpent’s head,
Victorious over all the children of Adam,
Victorious over all enemies,
Victorious in your presentation in the Temple,
Victorious in your response to the Angel Gabriel,
Victorious in your wedding to St. Joseph,
Victorious in the birth of Christ,
Victorious in the flight to Egypt,
Victorious in your exile,
Victorious in your home at Nazareth,
Victorious in finding Christ in the temple,
Victorious in the mission of your Son,
Victorious in His passion and death,
Victorious in His Resurrection and Ascension,
Victorious in the Coming of the Holy Spirit,
Victorious in your sorrows and joys,
Victorious in your falling asleep in the Lord,,
Victorious in the angels who remained faithful,
Victorious in the happiness of the saints,
Victorious in the message of the prophets,
Victorious in the testimony of the patriarchs,
Victorious in the zeal of the apostles,
Victorious in the witness of the evangelists,
Victorious in the wisdom of the doctors,
Victorious in the deeds of the confessors,
Victorious in the triumph of all holy women,
Victorious in the faithfulness of the martyrs,
Victorious in your powerful intercession,
Victorious under your many titles,
Victorious at the moment of death,

Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy,

Christ, hear us,
Christ, graciously hear us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Hear us, Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy, Lord.

Pray for us, blessed Lady of Victory.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Our Lady of Victory, we have unshaken confidence in your intercession before your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Humbly we ask your prayers for all Christians in help or need. We implore you to obtain for us grace needed in our lives to make us worthy of sharing Christ’s victory. May we join with you in praise of the the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen)
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To Thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To Thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine evyes of mercy toward us.
And after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God:
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to Thy protection, implored Thy help, and sought Thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto Thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To Thee I come; before Thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate! despise not my petitions, but in Thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

O Victorious Leader of Triumphant Hosts!
We, your servants, delivered from evil,
sing our grateful thanks to you, O Theotokos!
As you possess invincible might,
set us free from every calamity
So that we may sing: Rejoice, O unwedded Bride!

(If you are saying this novena by itself, continue:)

Glory to you, O Jesus Christ, Our God and Our Hope, Glory to you.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Most Holy Theotokos Save us!

More honourable than the Cherumbim and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim, in virginity you gave birth to God the Word. True Theotokos, we magnify you.

Lord, have mercy. (3x)

Lord, bless!

O Jesus Christ, Our God, through the prayers of our holy fathers and mothers have mercy upon us. Amen.

CTUALLY, Yer Host is very sucky at maintaining a rule of prayer for any period of time (9-12 months is about average). For the last year I was using the Church of England’s Common Worship: Daily Prayer which I love. But it’s rather light… and the lectionary is choppy.

Right now I’m liking 1st & 3rd hours in the AM, with the 6th hour at lunch time if I remember it. 9th Hour and Typika as a sort of evening prayer and compline at night.

Vespers and Matins you ask? Well in the ER they are way harder to pull off alone. So – at least until my books from New Skete get here – I’m using a copy of Byzantine Daily Prayer and a Typica service.

AD Had another pulmonary issue today – a blood-level reaction to the medication he was on. Mom called at 2:19 and I tweeted it and facebooked it.

You know, when people talk about “feeling supported” by prayer, I’ve never actually had an understanding of what they were talking about until now. Even my otherwise non-religious friends were throwing good-thoughts in Dad’s direction (and mine). Buoyed up is the way I’d describe it.

There was a book called “Space Time and Beyond” that had in it a lot of cool cartoony illustrations around the topic of particle physics (as it was then understood) and the mystical implications of same. I remember one of a young woman held aloft by white holes in an explanation of a possible anti-gravity device.

That was the image that came to my mind today as, for the second time, I tweeted and facebooked asking for prayers – and got them. From a Monastery in France, and wiccans in Canada and California, from Anglicans around the western world, and persons of various and no traditions came little bubbles that were palpable, tangible, sustaining. It was rather like being lifted up. And I don’t think they were praying for me at all. But I felt as if my own cry of “Kyrie Eleison!” was suddenly joined in a choir. And it was a comforting joy to be in the choir!

Thank you.

Much love.

“For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems” the guidelines continue, saying that employing a technique that has no scientific support or plausibility is “generally not prudent.”

What is ironic about that is that A) there’s no scientific evidence for exorcisms, baptisms, eucharists, ordinations, rosaries, or God – or that the foetus is a human being, for that matter; and B) the Catholic church will continue to employ those techniques and doctrines without plausibility AND further, to insist that she has the right to enforce her teachings on the rest of us, politically. Science, psychology and democracy can all be damned if they disagree.

The hypocrisy kinda makes the self-righteous feel all warm and fuzzy, no?

Just to be clear: I’ve go no problem w/ the Bishops saying that a different religion’s doctrines or philosophy is incompatible with their own. It’s the science part that makes me think they are taking themselves just a little too seriously.

And, last I checked, anecdotal evidence (and some science) backs up all the prayer stuff at least a little bit – doesn’t matter what deity (or not) is involved. Prayer works… even the wrong kind.

And I love that line “insoluble problems”… I almost want to imagine it means “can’t be fixed with baptism”.

I feel like I don’t pray enough. Most of the stuff that I do (MP, EP, Compline, devotions, chanting, Jesus prayer, Mass, sundry church services, whatever…) are all simply preparation for that moment of Zen silence when I’m finally open to God and, for a brief moment, can shut up and let the communication be two ways.

I don’t make it at Church because there is no silence – and while it’s easy to paint this as a “traditional” vrs “Modern” thing: it’s not.

There are different styles of prayer and ideally we should see them all in liturgy: silence, action, singing, listening and speaking. The last should be least. In fact, it’s been deemed so unnecessary that for hundreds of years, east and west, the vast majority of people never spoke, rather they stood (and later they kneeled) in silence; in silence while the priest spoke and the deacon replied and the choir sang. Some times the people sang this is also prayer. The new fascination with simply speaking is, exactly a fascination. It’s a limiting of my prayer – and of the Church’s prayer.

But, again: this isn’t a traditional vrs modern thing. The liturgy at St Gregory’s Church has much silence woven in. Most places do liturgy as if it’s some sort of old style melodrama – with music swelling underneath and off to the sides. Silence is when prayer happens. And, although this is a problem with my current parish – it is a problem with nearly every place I’ve worshipped in the western Tradition. Even the most – chatty and verbose and musical parishes of the East have silence built in to the tradition.

And it’s in silence that prayer happens.

And prayer is never about us: but always about God. The true theologian is the one who prayers. It’s about God. It’s not about me, us or we. Yes, we interceed, but it is before God that we do that. Yes, we raise our own concerns – but God knows them. Again: this isn’t an issue of Modern vers Traditional, this isn’t an East vrs West thing. It just is. Modern and Traditional both have these problems.

I’ve heard many a priest blame the congregation for the lack of silence. That’s the priest’s fault: the people are poorly trained in the ways of prayer – and that is his or her fault. Some clergy say their people want to get out of liturgy on time, home to their families: again – that’s the priest’s fault. If we raise several generations of spiritually immature people, we’ve no right to complain when they do exactly what we’ve raised them up to do.

And then comes the chapter on the Universe.

And if the universe is not sitting in silence contemplating God, I don’t know what is.

And we keep talking.

“Words, words words,” sings Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. “I’m so sick of words! I get words all day through, first from him now from you! Is that all you blighters can do?”

Silence.

The Holy Mysteries of Gods love call out for silence.

Would you go to your Lover that way? Yacking a mile a minute, playing loud music over which you can barely think and juggling scripts and and books and whatall?

No.

You smile.
You kiss.
You enter each other.
You whisper.
You caress.

Why is the worship of God any less?

Prayer is lovemaking in the highest order.

And we’re sloppy lovers.