Saturday, December 17, 2022

My prayer life

I'm not screwball or extreme in religion, certainly not ostentatious for its own sake. 99% of my prayer life is directed to the Trinity including the Persons in it, little about Mary ("Through the Mother of God, have mercy upon us," "More honorable than the cherubim," etc.) because of her role in the Incarnation, as in the gospel and the creed, and very little about the other saints though many of their icons, including a few post-schism Orthodox, share my wall space with God; I accept the belief behind asking for their intercession. I use troparia (like collects but written very differently) that address them, such as the angels on Monday, St. John the Baptist on Tuesday, etc. The psalms, the little Bible, from the old Book of Common Prayer, surrounded by many standard Orthodox forms ("O heavenly King, the Comforter," the trisagion, etc.) as I've described them. Icons, a three-bar Russian crucifix, a lamp, many signs of the cross and bows, a few prostrations, and Jesus Prayer beads. Sometimes I use Slavonic to stay in practice. But the words are mostly things a Missouri Synod Lutheran or an ACNA Anglican would have no problem with. Christ-centered! Still, when I was in a relationship with an ELCA Lutheran, my religion was a big culture shock at first, which I didn't expect.

My answer to prayer requests is one Our Father slowly with feeling.

I don't fast much because I can't handle it. Meatless Fridays, that Catholic classic also an Orthodox one as much a team identity marker, the Christian community, as a penance for Latin Catholics paying back temporal guilt and ascesis/training in self-control for Orthodox. That and the midnight Communion fast. Sacramentally? Cathodox classic, confession and Communion over and over. Sunday church attendance.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Leave comment