Wednesday of the Fourth Week of the Fast

I'd like to start this post with an apology. I know it has been too long since I last posted, and I'm sorry for that. Midterm season is upon us here at the University of Illinois and I fear I have fallen victim to it. If I wasn't studying for an exam or writing a paper, I was relaxing because I had just finished up an exam or paper. Sometimes, in the mix of everything going on, it can be difficult for people to find a peaceful moment in which to pray.

I don't mean to say that I'm just too busy to pray, that is not the case at all. At times, however it can be difficult to get into the routine of praying regularly. I have been listening to Frederica Mathewes-Green and I feel like she has some really great insights to offer us (you can find her podcast on iTunes for free!). When she talks about the Jesus Prayer- one of the most ancient prayers in the church- she advises her listeners to work it in to something you already do. Pray when we are going to sleep, try to concentrate and pray when you are doing mundane tasks. Sometimes when I am walking to class I put my headphones and play a version of the Jesus Prayer that my local choir recorded a few years back over and over again.

Creating a set prayer time is also a good way to get into the habit of praying. Lately, as I think I mentioned a few posts back, I have been praying my little daily Lenten prayer book each night before I go to bed.

What happens when the unexpected happens? What if you fall asleep while reading and miss prayer time. What if you have guests staying over and you miss prayer time. To me, the important thing is to not get discouraged if we miss our prayer time. Many people allow this gap to form between themselves and God. It goes something like this: I forgot to pray/go to church, God is angry with me and so I can't pray/go to church right now, etc. We need to try our best to get right back into our routine. If we accidentally miss our morning prayer time but think about it in the afternoon, then we should say a short prayer the moment we think about it. God will never be angry with us for praying to him with earnest hearts.

I also think it can be helpful to have a prayer buddy. Many times, we won't miss or skip out on something if we know that someone else is counting on us. Prayer buddies can help each other stay on schedule.

Now that we are in the middle of the Fourth Week of the Great Fast, we are about halfway through. This is the point of the race when we really start to feel the burn. It seems like those things we gave up are lurking around every corner. If I see one more commercial for Red Robin Restaurants featuring a juicy burger, I might just flip out. This is the time when it is easy for us to get relaxed, but we must not let down our guard! There is a line in Mathewes-Green's book Facing East where she quotes the Lenten Triodion and says 'At all times it is essential to remember that "you are not under the law but under grace" (Rom. 6:14).'

I am a firm believer in the wisdom of the Church and I see it working even now. The church knows that this is the time of the Fast that really starts to get at people and so next week it places before us one of the most beautiful penitential services: The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. This is a service filled with hundreds of prostrations, recounting almost the entire Old Testament. Also during this service we read the life of St. Mary of Egypt. I've learned over the past few years that there is nothing like an awesome case of floorburn to reinvigorate my Lenten Season!

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Here is their story (according to Wikipedia): According to St. Basil, forty soldiers who had openly confessed themselves Christians were condemned by the prefect to be exposed naked upon a frozen pond near Sebaste on a bitterly cold night, that they might freeze to death. Among the confessors, one yielded and, leaving his companions, sought the warm baths near the lake which had been prepared for any who might prove inconstant. One of the guards set to keep watch over the martyrs beheld at this moment a supernatural brilliancy overshadowing them and at once proclaimed himself a Christian, threw off his garments, and placed himself beside the thirty-nine soldiers of Christ. Thus the number of forty remained complete. At daybreak, the stiffened bodies of the confessors, which still showed signs of life, were burned and the ashes cast into a river. The Christians, however, collected the precious remains, and the relics were distributed throughout many cities; in this way the veneration paid to the Forty Martyrs became widespread, and numerous churches were erected in their honour.