The Element of Understanding in the Prayers of the Liturgy
The Element of Understanding in the Prayers of the Liturgy
If we understand the prayers of the Liturgy and all the surrounding rites, we can pray in a spiritual manner and find ourselves in a spiritual atmosphere.
Let us try to follow all of this with understanding.
A Threefold Preparation:
The prayers of the Liturgy require preparation that includes everything:
Preparation of the altar – preparation of the people – preparation of the priest.
- The altar is prepared by offering incense upon it:
Evening incense offering, and Morning incense offering, with the “fasting” of the altar, meaning that no offering has been placed upon it on the same day.
The altar is also prepared by being covered with the cloths:
All of this is done with secret prayers that the priest says while covering the altar and placing the holy vessels upon it with great care. - The people are prepared through many things, including:
A – The priest prays four absolutions over them:
One absolution after the Evening incense offering, a second after Midnight Prayer, which is a very long absolution written in the Agpeya titled “The Absolution of the Priests,” then a third after the Morning incense offering, and a fourth which is the absolution of the ministers after the Offering of the Lamb and the Prayer of Thanksgiving…
A fifth secret absolution is added after the Prayer of the Fraction at the end of the Liturgy, in which he says:
“They may be loosed from my mouth by Your Holy Spirit.”
B – The people are prepared by attending the meetings that precede the Liturgy:
Concerning the rite of the Evening incense offering, the Vespers prayer and its hymns, the Midnight Praise, and the Agpeya prayers during the Morning incense offering and at the beginning of the Liturgy. Then after that, the many readings in the Liturgy of the Catechumens. These readings are meant to be the subject of spiritual contemplation for those praying in the church.
The fault of many is that they do not attend all these meetings and preparatory prayers, but come late to the Liturgy without spiritual preparation, losing much benefit…
But I would like to place before you a very important rule:
To the extent that you prepare yourselves spiritually for the Divine Liturgy, to that extent you will benefit from it, and likewise from Communion.
As for the person who comes to church having missed all these prior spiritual ecclesiastical preparations—or having taken them without depth—he comes with a heart not spiritually prepared, and does not gain the expected benefit from the Divine Liturgy nor the deep spiritual benefit of Communion.
C – The people are prepared also by confession and repentance:
Thus, after the priest returns from the Pauline incense, he says while circling the altar:
“O God who accepted the confession of the right-hand thief on the cross, accept the confession of Your people…”
The repentant person benefits from the Liturgy, from the absolutions, and from Communion.
D – The people are also prepared through reconciliation:
Therefore the priest prays the Prayer of Reconciliation before the beginning of the Liturgy of the Faithful, before lifting the Prospharine. And the deacon calls out: “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” The phrase holy means a kiss of genuine love without pretense or hypocrisy.
The importance of reconciliation lies in the Lord’s saying:
“If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, go first be reconciled to your brother…” (Mt 5:23–24).
E – The Church also prepares the people through the readings:
To move their minds from the worldly material atmosphere to a spiritual atmosphere, so that they may live the commandment of God in all its depth and spirituality. These readings include the Gospel and the Psalms, and during the Liturgy include a reading from the Epistles of St. Paul (the Pauline), from the Catholic Epistles (the Catholic Epistle), and from the Acts of the Apostles (the Praxis), along with a reading from the Synaxarium which contains the life of the saint or saints of that day.
Let us now address one part of these readings—the Gospel—and see how the Church cares for it and its spirituality…
The Gospel
There is no church that cares for the Gospel, its readings, and its use in the Divine Liturgy like our Coptic Church. Here are some examples:
- The Gospel is read three times in each Liturgy, accompanied by the Psalm:
We read a Gospel passage with its Psalm during the Evening incense, likewise during the Morning incense, and also during the Liturgy of the Catechumens…
These three readings may affirm one meaning in the mind and heart of the believer listening to them. - The Gospel reading is preceded by a litany and the offering of incense:
The priest says in this litany (the supplication):
“Let us be worthy to hear and act according to Your holy Gospels, through the prayers of Your saints…”
Even hearing requires worthiness, for it is a grace from God that He grants us to hear His Gospel. Thus He says:
“Blessed are your ears for they hear” (Mt 13:16).
Do you feel this blessing and grace during the reading of the Gospel? And do you make it part of your life as the priest says in the litany: “To hear and act according to Your holy Gospels”?
This is in fulfillment of the Lord’s words:
“Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Mt 7:24). - After the incense litany comes a procession with the Gospel and incense around the altar:
This symbolizes the spread of the Gospel’s message around the whole world, leaving man without excuse. And the incense symbolizes that our prayers concerning the Gospel rise to heaven with the incense as a sweet aroma before God. - The Gospel is read while surrounded by lit candles:
Carried by the deacons standing around the Gospel. This symbolizes the Psalmist’s words:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105),
and also:
“The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Ps 19:8).
This means the Gospel illuminates our minds and thoughts to know the commandment of the Lord and the features of the spiritual path. - The priest places the Gospel on his head:
A sign that his mind and intellect are subject to the teaching of the Gospel. This also happens during the ordination of a patriarch or bishop: the Gospel is placed upon his head to inspire his mind and that he may be submissive to it. - The priests and deacons kiss the Gospel book:
A sign that we do not submit to the Gospel by compulsion, but obey its commandments out of love. This is confirmed by the Psalms:
“I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure,”
“I have loved Your commandments,”
“Your testimonies are my meditation,”
“They are my delight” (Ps 119:162, 125, 24).
“Your words were found, and I ate them” (Jer 15:16). - The deacon proclaims: “Stand with fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.”
This shows the awe with which we listen to the life-giving Word of God. At the same time, the chief priest lifts his crown from his head during the Gospel reading in reverence. The whole church stands in silence and attentive listening to the voice of the Lord speaking to them…
In Russia, I saw the entire congregation kneeling during the Gospel reading. - The Gospel is read on two lecterns: one facing east and the other facing the people:
This is because we consider the reading of the Gospel a form of prayer, for it is a connection with God—and prayer is a connection with God. Thus every prayer of the Agpeya contains a passage from the Gospel because it is part of prayer. Therefore, we face the east and read the Gospel.
As for reading it again facing the people, this is because the mission of the Gospel is also teaching: it is prayer, and it is instruction. - The Gospel is read accompanied by an explanation:
This is in accordance with Scripture:
“Then He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” and “He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Lk 24:45, 27).
Thus the sermon, according to the rite, comes immediately after the reading of the Gospel, with its words still present in the minds of the people…
This is the Church’s rite concerning the Gospel.
In all this we remember Samuel the prophet’s words to Jesse the Bethlehemite:
“Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice” (1 Sam 16:5).
Scripture then says: “He sanctified Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice” (1 Sam 16:5).
Thus we should come to church in holiness, sanctified in body and spirit, and chant the words of the Psalm:
“Holiness adorns Your house, O Lord” (Ps 93:5).
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