McKees Rocks, PA. - The Youth Group of Holy Ghost Church has published a second edition of its special prayer book, entitled Prayer Journey through Great Lent and Holy Week.

The prayer resembles the liturgical prayer used by Byzantine Catholic monastics and clergy. The texts were taken from the Lenten Triodion translated by the Sisters of St. Basil the Great in Uniontown. As in the Triodion, there is a different set of prayers for each day: beginning prayers, a psalm, a hymn for the week taken from Matins, the prayer of St. Ephrem and a prayer from one of the Lenten Hours.

It is intended to provide approximately 10 minutes of prayer each day. The book itself was designed for easy handling (4"x7") and easy reading (moderately large print). The cover features a full-color icon of Christ the Bridegroom.

The project was inspired by Pope John Paul II's Jubilee Year call to repentance and on his teaching in Orientale Lumen that our spirituality is based on monasticism. Over 10,000 books have already been ordered.

Each prayer book costs $3.50, with quantity discounts available. They may be ordered from Holy Ghost Youth Group, P.O. Box 1036, Moon Township, PA 15108.

Different prayers day to day and week to week

• Texts from the Lenten Triodion
• Approximately 10 minutes of prayer each day
• Combination of the themes:
  ---"Open Wide the Doors to Christ" (Jubilee Year 2000)
  ---"Open to us the gates of repentance" (from the Triodion)
• Over 8,000 favorably received
• Published and distributed especially for
• Holy Ghost Youth Group, McKees Rocks, PA. by Pilgrim's Way Publications

Cost:

• 1-9 copies -- $3.50 each
• 10 - 24 copies -- $2.75 each (Shipping & handling will be billed)
• 25 - 49 copies -- $2.50 each (Shipping & handling will be billed)
• 50 or more copies -- $2.25 each (Shipping & handling will be billed)

For more information call Fr. Ron Larko at Holy Ghost Parish at 412-771-3324.

Hi, i'm in Australia. Can I still order one?
Would the full address be Holy Ghost Youth Group, P.O. Box 1036, Moon Township, PA 15108, USA ? (i'm guessing it's in the USA )

Also, how would i best pay for it? Would it be OK if i just stick $10aus in the envelope?

many thanks!

Alt-X,

You are correct. Please let us know what you think of the book.

Administrator

Will do! I the order off first calss last week, so i should be getting it soon. Joy!

Alt-X

I got the Book today. Yippy. Its great, i'm going to read it every day like it says. Could you tell me about the icon on the front? what does ICXC and ONCMIOC stand for? and why his Jesus's hands bound?

When does the Great Lent normaly start? and whats the Holy Week? Is there anything ells i should know/do.

It is a wonderful Icon and book. Thank you so much for passing the info about it here.

Thanks to God for guiding me here to find it!

Alt-X,

My copy is at home, and I'm not, so I can't help you with the icon, except that Jesus' hands are bound because this icon shows Him while He was suffering the humiliations and abuse which began when he was arrested. The abuse culminated with His crucifixion and death. If you have a Bible, you'll find accounts of it toward the end of the 4 Gospels.

This year, Lent began for the Western Church (like the Roman Catholics) yesterday, 28 Feb. It began for the Eastern Church (Byz. Catholics & Orthodox) after Vespers this past Sunday, 25 Feb. (Vespers is evening prayer, and it's the "opening salvo" for the next day. That made Monday, 26 Feb. the first day of Lent.) Dates for the beginning of Lent are based on the date for Easter, which changes year by year. Some Eastern and Western churches use different methods for calculating the date of Easter, so many years, most Catholics celebrate Easter on one date, and most Orthodox on another. This year, everybody will celebrate Easter on the same date, 15 April.

The week just before Easter is called Holy Week, or Great Week (or Great and Holy Week ) . For Eastern Christians, Holy Week helps us to relive the last week of Jesus' life, as the Gospels describe it. The Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday (or Flowery Sunday). It brings us to Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. The crowds met him enthusiastically as he rode into the city on a young donkey. They waved palm branches (as a sign of victory) and treated him like a celebrity. (Mobs are fickle. By Friday, the crowd would be shouting at the authorities to execute Jesus.) Through the rest of Holy Week, we read the Gospels leading to His Passion. On Wednesday, tradition has it that Judas made his deal to betray Jesus. On Thursday, we are at the Last Supper, where Jesus institutes the Eucharist - and Judas slips out to do his dirty work. Jesus and the Disciples go out to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus (Who knows what is about to happen) goes to pray, while his disciples nap. After He prays, He is arrested, tried in what we'd call a kangaroo court, and condemned. On Friday, we follow Him to Calvary, and we see Him crucified. In a few hours, He dies. He is buried in a borrowed tomb, in so much of a hurry that there is no time to prepare His body according to custom. They wrapped the body quickly in a linen cloth, laid it in the tomb, and rolled a stone across the opening to close it. They'd have to finish the job after the Sabbath, because burial or even touching dead bodies was not permitted on the Sabbath. On Friday in Church, we use a special "burial shroud" which is a cloth that has an image of the dead Christ being laid in the grave. We take it in procession, then lay it in a "grave" in the Church. After the service, people venerate she shroud, and then it is customary to keep vigil with it through the night and into Saturday. This follows an ancient Jewish practice of keeping watch with a body until it is properly buried. Saturday is "the day which lasts forever." The Disciples were scttered and afraid. Their wonderful leader Jesus had been executed as a common criminal. Had everything been in vain? Jesus is in the tomb. Of course, we've read the final chapter, and we KNOW what's going to happen... but Holy Saturday has a sort of rich, gray emptiness to it....tinged with great hope. Early on Sunday morning, after the Jewish Sabbath was over, some of the women who had followed Jesus went to his tomb to finish the job of burying him properly. They brought spices and oils to annoint His body as was customary. They wondered among themselves if they would be strong enough to move the stone which blocked the entrance to the tomb, or if they could find someone to help. Of course, when they got there, the stone was rolled away from the tomb, and the body was gone. Jesus had risen from the dead. Then Mary Magdalene met Jesus in the garden. She didn't recognize Him at first, but after He showed her who He was, she went wild with joy. She ran back to tell the disciples. At first they didn't believe her, but then THEY ran to the tomb, found that He had indeed risen, and THEY went wild with joy. So do we. Everything that Jesus said really WAS true. It still is. That's why Easter is the most joyous, wonderful, light-filled day of the whole year.

Best,


Sharon

Sharon Mech, SFO
Cantor & sinner
sharon@cmhc.com

>My copy is at home, and I'm not, so I can't >help you with the icon, except that Jesus' >hands are bound because this icon shows Him >while He was suffering the humiliations and >abuse which began when he was arrested.

Ah yep, no worrys, just wondering if it had some Byzantine meaning (i'm new to icons). I should of guessed it was to do with that, doh!

>This year, Lent began for the Western >Church (like the Roman Catholics) >yesterday, 28 Feb. It began for the Eastern >Church (Byz. Catholics & Orthodox) after >Vespers this past Sunday, 25 Feb. (Vespers >is evening prayer, and it's the "opening >salvo" for the next day. That made Monday, >26 Feb. the first day of Lent.) Dates for >the beginning of Lent are based on the date >for Easter, which changes year by year. >Some Eastern and Western churches use >different methods for calculating the date >of Easter, so many years, most Catholics >celebrate Easter on one date, and most >Orthodox on another. This year, everybody >will celebrate Easter on the same date, 15 >April.

Must be a special Easter this year if all of Christ's Churchs are celebrating on the same day!

Thank you for answering my questions,

God bless.

Do they still have these books?

They sound like what all of my kids need.

In Christ,
Rose