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Hi all,

I'm a Latin-rite Catholic trying to learn more about the Eastern churches. I'll be attending my first Divine Liturgy this coming Sunday.

I was curious to ask you all about the daily (private) prayer life of a typical Eastern Catholic. As you know, we Latins have a few practices that are prominent: the Rosary, other chaplets, Adoration of the Blessed Sacramanet, mental prayer, etc.

Aside from the Divine Liturgy, what are some typical components of an Eastern-rite Catholic's prayer life?

Dan

Believe it or not , but the personal prayer life of most Eastern Catholics will be identical to that practised by
Orthodox Christians

I think that you will find that many of us have one or more or all of the following and use them

Jordanville Prayer Book
Old Orthodox Prayer book [ often referred to as the Old Believers Prayer Book]
Byzantine Daily Worship

We all have our personal favourites - but these will give you a good 'starter '

Oh - and by the way - we are NOT Eastern -rite Catholics

We are Eastern Catholics as there is no one Eastern Rite.
many call us Byzantine Catholics

Welcome to Byzcath

Hi Dan ! Welcome.

Personal prayer life varies according to individuals, of course.

However, there are some prayers which are common to most Eastern Christians. You can read many of them read online here [transchurch.org] .

The wording of these prayers varies somewhat because they all are translated from another language (Greek, Russian, etc.) into English by various translators. But the gist of the translations is pretty much the same.

Also, Eastern Christians often try to pray with the whole self: body, mind and soul. In order to do that, Eastern Christians often pray while they are standing, because we are in the presence of the King (God), and the Eastern sign of respect in the presence of God is (usually) to stand. Also, to help us concentrate our whole body, mind and soul on God, we often stand in front of an icon. We use an icon as a window to the soul for the realities of Heaven and God's Kingdom.

To begin, Eastern Christians often make the sign of the Cross:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We make the sign of the Cross starting from our foreheads, to our middle, to our right shoulder, and then to our left shoulder. We often hold our fingers in a certain position to remind us of certain things, but the position can vary from Church to Church. In my Church, we hold the thumb and first two fingers together at the tips to remind us of the Trinity, whose life we are invited to share; and we hold the other two fingers next to each other to remind us of the two natures in the one Person of Jesus Christ: fully human and fully God.


Thank You.
Sadly, this prayer doesn't show up much in the prayer books, but saying thank you should be a basic part of our prayers to God: thank you for the gift of life, thank you for this opportunity for salvation, thank you for all the blessings He has given us, the painful as well as the pleasurable, etc.


Oh Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Everywhere Present and Filling All Things, Treasury of Blessings, Giver of Life: Come, and abide in us; cleanse us of all sin; and save our souls, Oh Gracious Lord.
This prayer (with slight variation in the different translations) is the Eastern Christian prayer to the Holy Spirit. It is often said at the beginning of prayers.


Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us [and on the whole world].
This prayer is called the Trisagion. It is said three times, often while making the sign o the Cross and bowing each time. It is a very old prayer, going back to the early Church. Interestingly, in the Roman Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy, Jesus instructed people to conclude the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with the Trisagion prayer.


Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
This is the Doxology, or "the Glory Be." Often, people make the sign of the Cross and bow slightly when they say this prayer.


Oh Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Oh Lord, forgive us our sins. Oh Master, pardon our iniquities. Oh Holy, visit and heal our infirmities for Your Name's sake.
This is the Eastern prayer to the Trinity. Again, people often make the sign of the cross and a slight bow at each part of this prayer.


Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.
Again, people often make the sign of the Cross and bow slightly when they say this prayer (at each "Lord have mercy").


Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
This is the Glory Be, again. Eastern Christians like praying to the Trinity.


Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done; on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses; as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.
This is the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray.


For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto ages of ages, Amen.
This is another version of giving glory to the Trinity. Eastern Christians like to emphasize that where one Person of the Trinity is present, so are all Three Persons of the Trinity present. Eastern Christians often emphasize this by making the sign of the Cross and bowing slightly whenever they hear or say "The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" or "The Trinity."


I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father, through whom all things were made. For us men and for our salvation, He came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin and became man. He was also crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and He suffered and was buried. On the third day He rose according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets. In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I expect the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the age to come. Amen.

This is the Symbol of Faith, otherwise known as the Nicene Creed. One important difference between the Eastern version from the Western version is the absence of the filioque. In other words, when we pray the lines about the Holy Spirit, we say "who proceeds from the Father" and not �who proceeds from the Father and the Son." The words �and the Son" (filioque, in Latin) were added in the Western Church after the Nicene Creed was written, and that change was not accepted by the Eastern Churches.


Those are the standard prayers which Eastern Christians pray at the beginning of their morning or evening prayers. Some people pray all of them and in order; others pray some of them. Some people add more prayers to these. (There are plenty of prayers which can be added to these prayers.) Others just stick to these. It depends upon the needs of the individual person and the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Most importantly, prayer should be a loving conversation with God. In other words, prayer should come from the heart. One of the best ways to cultivate prayer of the heart is The Jesus Prayer. There are some variations, but generally it is prayed like this:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

It can be prayed for oneself or for others. It is prayed over and over again, often on a thin rope (made of wool, silk, etc.) with little knots tied into it to help us keep track and pace our prayers. This is the Eastern Christian devotion that is most similar to the Roman Catholic Rosary: praying a short prayer over and over again with the help of a prayer rope. However, instead of reflecting on the mysteries of Jesus Christ's life (as in the Rosary), Eastern Christians try to still the mind and empty it while praying the Jesus Prayer: so that God will more freely be able to enter us and fill us with His grace.

You also asked about devotions. The Eastern Church does not emphasize private devotions in the same way as the Western Church, because little distinction is made between private prayer and communal prayer. Private prayer is seen as part of the worship of the entire Church. So, the Divine Liturgy (the equivalent of the Catholic Mass) is very much emphasized. So too are vespers and matins, which people often pray part of at home. So too is devotion to the Theotokos (the Mother of God, Mary) by the Akathist (the hymn) the her, the Magnificat, and other prayers in honor of her. Many Eastern Catholics also pray the Rosary (even though it is a Western form of prayer) in order to honor her, and to ask her for her prayers, and to reflect upon the Gospel. Eucharistic Adoration is enormously important in the Eastern Church, but it is done differently than in the Western Church. We don't take the Mysteries (the Host) and place Him in a monstrance and worship Him. Instead, Eastern Christians reserve the Mysteries for the sick in a tabernacle in the church building, and we reverence Him there. Otherwise, we reserve the physical Eucharist for the Divine Liturgy (the Mass). Thus, Eastern Christian Eucharistic Adoration is --simply-- prayer. We adore the Eucharist as Jesus Christ and all who are united to Him --starting now and foretasting forever-- through the Divine Liturgy and through vespers, matins, the Jesus Prayer, other prayers, silence, stillness, practicing the virtues, the reverent use of icons, and so on. It's the same Jesus --the same Eucharist-- whom we adore, but the form of our Eucharistic adoration is different than in the West. To oversimplify things a bit, Roman Catholic adoration of the Eucharist tends to focus on the physical Mysteries (the reserved Host), while Eastern Christian adoration of the Eucharist tends to be a prayerful attitude of being continuously in the presence of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, and unto the Father.

And so on. I hope this post is enough to give you a taste of Eastern Christian prayer and spirituality. May God bless you and keep you and guide you, especially as you explore the Eastern side of the Church.

-- John

Slava Isusu Khrestu
Praise Jesus Christ

Hello Dan

May I add one more thought.

I am Orthodox (with roots a very must older tradition of Orthodoxy and also) in what normally is considered typical Orthodoxy. But much of what we have in outward expression of our faith we share in common with Eastern Christians.

When you say the Jesus Prayer,

"Lord Jesus Christ Son Of God have mercy on me a sinner",

this prayer may be said on a prayer rope as decribed already but it can be said in a whisper.

When I was very young my baba took me to church and I thought that all of the old people there had breathing problems for all I heard was wheezing (sp error?)but very quietly. My Baba told me that those people were praying constantly! If you try this it will work. It more than likely will explain how they pray constantly.

Whisper this prayer and say it on the " out breath" and also on the "in breath" It will work.
She said that every second is important and interestingly, it is a good example of one of the aspects of Eastern Sirituality that show not only how we require the whole body to pray.

There is term that I love and do not use it too often for people ask " Old man what do you mean with your old fashioned ideas" this phrase is " epiphanic function of the body in life ,prayer and Divine LIturgy"

I ask for forgivness for gramatical and spelling errors. I, in deed wish for spell check!!!!!!!!

Z Bohom
Unworthy sinner

Nycholaij

Thanks guys! Appreciate the info.

I'm actually going to start using these prayers in preparation for this Sunday.

Thank you all very much again. God bless,
Dan

You might also be interested in prayers before and after communion. You can see some examples here:
http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/prayerbook/main.htm

Also, this coming week (Monday night) begins the Dormition Fast, which lasts 2 weeks. The Paraclisis: The Office of Consolation to the Most Holy Theotokos is often recited during these two weeks. You can see that here:
http://hometown.aol.com/dtbrown/paraclisis1.html

And this webpage has a lot of the prayers Harmon offered in audio format as well:
http://www.catholic-forum.com/members/popestleo/dailyprayer.html

Please make sure to update us after tomorrow!

Dan:

Something else to ponder:

When we are IN Christ-- IN His Church; part of His Body--we don't have "private" prayers. When we pray, every prayer that we utter is part of the prayer of the whole Church that began at Pentecost and stretches to the end of time. When we pray we are never alone. When we pray and use the prayers that are used by other Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, Latin Catholic, or Oriental Orthodox, we are united to all those who have ever used those prayers and to all those who will ever use them after us. We become part of a chorus of praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that is itself part of the constant prayer of Jesus offered to the Father from the Cross and that continues to be offered for us until He comes for us. That's why I like to use translations of prayers from other Apostolic Churches--to see how the Holy Spirit has moved others in other languages and cultures to praise God. Amazingly, I have discovered many common forms of expression by comparing prayers from different Churches.

All Christian prayer starts with the Liturgy and continues both corporately and individually, but is always part of the same seamless whole--something like the seamless garment that Christ wore. That's what we mean when we refer to the Communion of Saints--when we pray, we become part of the "coming into union" that is the relationship each of us obtains by Baptism and that connects us with each other and with those who have gone before us "marked with the sign of Faith."

When you are in your room with the door shut as the Lord instructs us, you've still got the Trinity and the whole host of Heaven squeezed in there with you. So, private? I've always felt that when I throw out a prayer, whether in the privacy of my room or in a public place, I have a crowd there with me.

(This isn't meant as a criticism, but just a way of understanding what we are doing when we pray given to me by a spiritual father some years ago.)

In Christ,

BOB

First thing, upon waking:

MORNING PRAYER OF THE FATHERS OF THE OPTINA MONASTERY.

Grant unto me, O Lord, that with peace of mind I may face all that this new day is to bring.

Grant unto me to dedicate myself completely to Thy
Holy Will.

For every hour of this day, instruct and support me in all things.

Whatsoever tidings I may receive during the day, do Thou teach me to accept tranquilly, in the firm
conviction that all eventualities fulfill Thy Holy
Will.

Govern Thou my thoughts and feelings in all I do and say.

When things unforeseen occur , let me not forget that all cometh down from Thee.

Teach me to behave sincerely and rationally toward
every member of my family, that I may bring confusion and sorrow to none.

Bestow upon me, my Lord, strength to endure the
fatigue of the day, and to bear my part in all its
passing events.

Guide Thou my will and teach me to pray, to believe,to hope, to suffer, to forgive, and to love [and I add, "and to give thanks"]. Amen

durak:

This is similar to the prayer attributed to Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow. Is this older than that attributed to His Eminence or is this another version of his?

In Christ,

BOB
___________________________________________
O Lord, grant me to greet this coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely upon Thy Holy Will. In every hour of this day, reveal Thy Will to me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout this day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Thy Will governs all. In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by Thee. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring. Direct my will, teach me to pray, pray Thou Thyself in me. AMEN.

I'd love to tell you about it but it's private. Ha Ha. I just keep a chotki close and cycle the Jesus prayer over and over and over and ...