Divine Liturgy and Us

Wow, two posts in one year! Lets just say that its been a hard year all over.

This morning I happened to find a notebook on my desk. My wife was not up at the time and the notebook had my handwriting in it. I investigated the notebook and the first few pages were just throw-away notes. Then I got to a section that I had written more than 10 years ago.

These were notes I took when I went to the first clergy seminar that Bishop JOSEPH holds each year in his diocese. The first one was held 10 or 11 years ago, and although I am not major order clergy, I was allowed to attend (as are several other people who are not priests or deacons). The first pages of these notes were very sparse, and I was disappointed that I did not write more details. But then I got to pages that had more filled in. The notes were still sketchy, but at least they had some information that I could apply directly to my life. I thought I'd share a few of them here (if only in case I lose this notebook again).

1) We must transform ourselves from reading service books to praying the prayer.


2) Unless we become the subject of the prayer, it becomes a ritual. I f we pray ritualistically we have no salvation.

3) Because the service is holdy, we must perform the service in good spiritual mind and in seriousness.

4) Faith without knowledge may lead us into superstition. Knowledge without faith will lead us into secularism.

5) Our salvation is most important to His Grace (Bishop JOSEPH).

These points were made by a well-respected priest of the Antiochian Archdiocese to priests and deacons of the Los Angeles Diocese (well this talk actually pre-dates the formation of the diocese).

As a current choir director, though a very poor choir director, I have realized how hard it is to be the "responsible party" for some aspect of the service. I try hard to have the choir's parts of the service go well, well enough that people could forget about the choir. This doesn't happen often enough for me, but I try. The problem with all of this effort, is that I am concentrating on the rubrics or the ordo, but I am not concentrating the service itself. Certainly there is grace in being part of the workings of the liturgy, but at the end I am exhausted and left feeling I have missed the liturgy. I feel I am not fulfilling point 1 above.

Another interesting statement is point 5. Remembering that these statements were directed to priests, I think that statement that surounded this point was that priests need to work towards salvation so that they can lead others to find salvation.