Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center Preparation

We prepare by praying. Praying is an ancient form of spiritual discipline practised in many religions to intensify our awareness of God. The idea of praying is to bring us closer to Holy God, and teach us self-control and dedication to Him.

The purpose of praying is transformation. As such praying should always be focused towards making life simpler not more complicated.

It is important to pray for the right reasons--because praying helps us to break free of our dependence on material things; because praying helps us to focus on the true Bread of Life, Holy God the Son within the Holy Trinity / Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ; because when we deprive ourselves a little we have more resources to help others.

All of us have our own "demons" of one kind or another--anger, greed, gossip, neglect of our families, abuse of our bodies through drugs or alcohol or overeating or overwork, laziness, spiritual indifference, pride, vanity, disobedience, and so on. These things can be cast out by prayer and fasting, which bring us closer to Holy God and strengthen our faith so that we can overcome our sinful habits. Of course, we cannot expect to be perfect immediately, so we must not try a regime of prayer and fasting that is too strenuous. That will lead to failure, which will just reinforce the power of our "demons."
We should all set aside a time every day--for some it will be first thing in the morning, for some it might be just before going to bed--when we lift up our hearts to the Holy God the Son within the Holy Trinity / Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. We should acknowledge Holy God's glory and power, Holy God's great love and mercy. We should thank Holy God for our blessings of life, health, family, friends, prosperity, etc. And we should ask Holy God to take care of us in our needs and to take care of others who are sick or suffering or in need. But beyond that, we should pray at any time and at all times during the day. The Jesus Prayer is common. This prayer is recited over and over again until in the back of our consciousness it begins "to pray itself". The Jesus Prayer is simple: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center
Martha Liles
Web URL address: Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center or https://www.mliles.com/melkite/
E-mail: mliles@mliles.com or mliles@mliles.com

Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is an unofficial Melkite Greek Catholic Web site and has not been reviewed or approved by any Melkite clergy person.
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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is dedicated to my cousins: Bucky (Richard C. Liles), Shirley (Shirley Jean Liles Buck), and Donna (Donna Bertha Liles Campbell). Bucky fell asleep in the Lord on Dec. 12, 2000, Shirley fell asleep in the Lord on Nov. 8, 2001, and Donna fell asleep in the Lord on March 9, 2020.
O God of all spirits and of all flesh, who have destroyed death, overcome the devil, and given life to the world: grant, O Lord, to the souls of your servants Bucky and Shirley, who has departed from this life, that it may rest in a place of light, in a place of happiness, in a place of peace, where there is no pain, no grief, no sighing. And since You are a gracious God and the Lover of Mankind, forgive him/her every sin he/she has committed by thought, or word, or deed, for there is not a man who lives and does not sin : You alone are without sin, your righteousness is everlasting, and your word is true. You are the Resurrection and the Life, and the repose of your departed servants Bucky and Shirley. O Christ our God, and we send up glory to You, together with your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ages upon ages. Amen.

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Last Updated: Wednesday, June 03, 2020, 19:38:40, CDT
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