SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20th

O Heavenly Father, help me, I pray, to prepare myself spiritually to celebrate the Winter Theophanies – the feasts which recall Your true manifestation of Yourself to us in the Person of Jesus, the Christ. By Your incarnation as a human being, You shared with me that I am intimately connected to You through the Person of Jesus in the Holy Spirit. And so I desire to prepare myself for the celebration of the Nativity and the Baptism of Jesus, Your only-begotten Son. Help me to open my mind and heart to the great love You have showered on me and all humankind. I thank You always, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21st

Heavenly Father, today I am aware that the Church celebrates the Entrance of Mary, the Mother of God, into the Temple. I pray with the Church: “Today is the prelude of the benevolence of God and the herald of the salvation of mankind; for the Virgin openly appears in the temple of God and foretells Christ to all. Let us also with full voice exclaim to her: “Hail, Fulfillment of the Creator’s Plan”. I humbly offer this prayer as I think about the mystery of Your incarnation, O God, since it speaks of Your great love for me and humankind. I truly thank You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and always. AMEN.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd

I come again, Heavenly Father, into Your presence and humbly ask that You help me to spiritually prepare myself for the Winter Theophanies. It is difficult, Father, not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle connected with Christmas which has resulted from our society’s commercialization of this holiday. Help me to not forget the true meaning of Your incarnation as Jesus Christ and help me to do everything in my power to make You the center of my celebration. Help me to concentrate on giving the gift of LOVE to those with whom I celebrate this feast instead of the gift of THINGS. I thank You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd

I humbly ask You, Heavenly Father, to make me aware of Your presence as I continue my preparation for the Winter feasts. Help me in my resolve to spiritually celebrate them and gain a deeper understanding of what You have revealed through them. Help me to also prepare myself to truly experience Your Presence With Me by keeping me focused on their real meaning. Help me to truly make You the center of my life and understand that by these feasts You have revealed to me that You are sharing Your own LIFE and SPIRIT with me. I sincerely thank You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for Your love and generous gifts. AMEN.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24th

O Heavenly Fathers, it is truly proper that, on this Thanksgiving Day, I pause and offer You my thanks for all that You have given me. I pause today and think of the many, many blessings You have showered on me. You have not only shared Your life with me but have also shared Your power to love, think, imagine and create. Help me to appreciate these gifts and do all in my power to be worthy of them. Help me to use them to build Your Kingdom and to bear witness to Your love for humankind. Help me to not only thank You now, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but always. AMEN

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25th

Heavenly Father, help me to truly prepare myself to celebrate the winter feasts that focus on Your presence in Your creation. Help me to appreciate the fact that You are with me through the sharing of Your Divine Life and the powers that emanate from it. Help me to come to a true realization of this great mystery – the mystery of Your life within me and all living things. Help me to truly believe this. Give me the courage to respect this presence and, therefore, see myself as well as all living people and things as sacred. Help me to not only thank You now, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but always. AMEN

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26th

Heavenly Father, as I continue my attempts to prepare myself to enter into the mystery that the coming winter feasts celebrate, I beg Your help. Clear my mind of all the thoughts that come with my society’s frenzied and unspiritual preparation for the holiday that has replaced the day recalling Your incarnation as Jesus Christ. Help me not to celebrate this wondrous event in a materialistic way and to do everything in my power to make it a spiritual experience. I desire to make it such an event. I thank You, Who I know to be Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for Your help. AMEN

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27th

Heavenly Father, help me to keep focused on the spiritual meaning of Christmas. It is becoming more difficult as the media focuses on available “deals” for things that are supposed to express my love for others. Help me to realize that the way for me to express my love is not by giving people things but by being a loving and caring person. Help me to remember, if I give a gift, that it’s cost is not equivalent to the amount of love I have for others. As You did, help me to give the gift of myself. Help me, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to love others as You love me. AMEN

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28th

O Heavenly Father, Your martyr Stephen the New, in his courageous contest for You, received from You, as the prize, the crown of incorruption. Help me, like him, to courageously pursue a path to holiness. I believe that by preparing myself spiritually for the celebration of the coming winter feasts that I will put myself on the path to holiness. I realize, however, that I cannot accomplish this task without Your gracious and loving help. I beg this from You and renew my commitment to make every effort to become more like Jesus. I thank You, Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in advance for Your loving and kind help. AMEN

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29th

Your holy martyrs Paramonus and Philumenus, Heavenly Father, cast down the tyrants they were confronted with by the strength they received from You. I need Your strength, Heavenly Father, to spiritually prepare myself to celebrate the feasts of Christmas and Theophany in a manner that strengthens my faith and hope in You. Help me to fight the distractions of my world that can rob these feasts of their spiritual meaning and benefit. Help me to focus on the great love You have expressed to me through these feasts and give me the strength to return Your love by truly also loving others. AMEN.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30th

O Heavenly Father, the first called by Your Son, Andrew, bore witness to Your great love for humankind throughout his life. He accomplished this by his genuine relationship with Jesus. Help me, O Father, to grow, as Andrew did, in my relationship with Jesus by truly celebrating Christmas and Theophany in a spiritual manner. Give me the strength and the courage to make these spiritual events, holy day, and not just another holiday. I know that to do this I have to spiritually prepare myself. Help me to maintain my commitment to making this St. Philip’s Fast a time of spiritual growth. I humbly ask Your help, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1st

As we celebrate the memory of Your Prophet Nahum, O Master, I recall that You prepared humankind for Your incarnation in the Person of Jesus, by announcing through Your Prophets. I recognize that by Your actions You have shown me that spiritual preparation is necessary in order to truly comprehend such a great mystery as Your incarnation as a human person. I desire to grow in my understanding of Your incarnation since I truly believe that within this mystery I will discover the true meaning and purpose of my life. Help me, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to understand what You have revealed to me so that my celebration will be genuine. AMEN

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2nd

O Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the memory of Your Prophet Habakkuk, whose name means “loving embrace,” I beg from You the courage and strength to firmly “embrace” the revelation You made to humankind through Your birth and baptism as the Person Jesus. Help me to understand the true import of Your actions since they were undertaken by You to help me understand the meaning and purpose of my life. Because I believe that this is true, I ask Your help to prepare myself to spiritually celebrate these two events in the life of Jesus so that I might enter more deeply into my relationship with You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3rd

Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the memory of Your Prophet Sophonias, I ask Your help to open my mind to the great mystery Your have shared with me and all humankind, namely that You come into the world in the Person of Jesus, Your only-begotten Son, in order to share with me the meaning and purpose of my life. You created me, I truly believe, out of love and out of a desire to have me grow in my likeness of You, as expressed in the Person of Jesus. You became man in order that I might become like You. I would thank You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for this gift. AMEN.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4th

As we remember the lives of the Great Martyr Barbara and the Righteous Father John of Damascus, O Heavenly Father, I ask You to help me develop the strength of Barbara and the insight of John so that I might truly prepare myself spiritually to celebrate the coming winter feasts. Give me the strength of Barbara so that I will not be seduced by the commercialism of my society. Give me the insight of John to understand what You have revealed to me and the world through these winter feasts. I make my request of You, Who I believe to be Father, Son and Holy Spirit, my one and only true God. AMEN

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5th

Today, as our Church remembers the righteous and God-bearing Father Sabbas the Sanctified, I implore You, Heavenly Father, to help me truly prepare myself to spiritually celebrate the coming Winter Feasts. Father Sabbas, through his works and prayers, made Your presence real in his world. Help me to make Your presence real in my world and to all those with whom I celebrate the great feasts of Christmas and Theophany. Help me to bear witness to Your Presence With Us and to promote the true meaning of these feasts! I ask this of You, Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and I rejoice in Your loving kindness now and always. AMEN

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6th

Today, Heavenly Father, the Church celebrates the life of our Father Among the Saints Nicholas the Wonderworker, I ask You to bless my efforts to prepare myself to celebrate the Winter Feasts by which You manifested Yourself to humankind. By Your Birth You showed me that You have, from all eternity, joined Yourself to me and all humankind. By Your baptism, You also revealed that You are the life-force that brings all things into existence and sustains all things in existence. Help me, like St. Nicholas, to embrace my faith with the same zeal that he did. I ask this of You, O God, Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7th

Heavenly Father, today the Church celebrates the life of our Father Among the Saints, Ambrose. The Church knew him to be a temperate and meek man, an icon of Jesus, Your Son. During this holiday season I beg Your help, Father, to be a temperate and meek person, someone who, like Ambrose, is a reflection of Jesus. St. Ambrose looked to Your Son Jesus as a model for his life. Help me to do the same. Help me to accomplish this by the spiritual way I celebrate Christmas, witnessing to the spiritual meaning of this feast. I ask this of You, Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and always. AMEN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8th

Today, Heavenly Father, the Church celebrates the life of the Righteous Father Patapius. He modeled his life after Jesus, the Christ, and achieved personal transformation. Help me, especially during this holiday time, to not be distracted by the way that my society observes Christmas, but to spiritually celebrate it by extending my love to others and bearing witness to the fact that God Is With Us! Help me to give the gift of unconditional love and acceptance to all I encounter, making God’s Kingdom more real through my humble efforts. I ask this of You, Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and I render glory and praise to You always. AMEN

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9th

Today, Heavenly Father, the Church celebrates the feast of the Conception of St. Anna, the Mother of the Theotokos. This feast celebrates God’s loving response to Joachim and Anna, who persevered in their trust and hope in Him through the challenge of childlessness. As I reflect upon their faith in You, my loving God, I am encouraged to also place my hope and trust in You. Help me to do all in my power to celebrate these Winter Feasts in a manner that affirms and confirms my belief that You, O God, are With Me. Help me to grow spiritually through these feasts and renew my spirit, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10th

Heavenly Father, today the Church celebrates the lives of the Holy Martyrs, Menas, Hermogenes and Eugraphus. The Church prays: “Since they had slain through their abstinence and struggles their passions, the staunch Martyrs of Christ God laid hold on the graces” to become icons of Christ. By my abstinence and struggles during this St. Philip’s Fast, help me, O Father, to truly become the person You intended when You created me. Help me to do all in my power to imitate Your Son Jesus. Help to grow in my imitation of Jesus by spiritually celebrating the coming feasts. I make this prayer to You, Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11th

Today, Heavenly Father, the Church celebrates the Holy Forefathers of Your Son in the flesh, Jesus. Is I reflect upon this remembrance, I realize in a real way that You have kept Your Promise to be with humankind if we open our hearts and minds to Your presence. I beg You, help me to open my mind and heart to Your presence in my life. Help me to never doubt Your loving kindness or fail to see Your Life-giving Spirit at work in my life. Help me to grow in Your Likeness as seen in the Person of Jesus, the Christ. I make this prayer to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11th

Today, Heavenly Father, the Church celebrates the Holy Forefathers of Your Son in the flesh, Jesus. As I reflect upon this remembrance, I realize in a real way that You have kept Your Promise to be with humankind if we open our hearts and minds to Your presence. I beg You, help me to open my mind and heart to Your presence in my life. Help me to never doubt Your loving kindness or fail to see Your Life-giving Spirit at work in my life. Help me to grow in Your Likeness as seen in the Person of Jesus, the Christ. I make this prayer to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12th

Heavenly Father, today the Church remembers our Father Among the Saints, Spyridon the Wonderworker who was a champion of the First Council of the Church, the Council which began the process of our coming to a clearer understanding of Jesus as being truly God and truly Man. It is important for me to believe what the Church has declared about Jesus, especially as I prepare to celebrate these feasts. Help me to believe that, because He is truly human, my life’s task is to imitate Him. Help me, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to desire to be like Him and believe that, with Your help, I can achieve being more like Him. AMEN

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13th

Today, Heavenly Father, the Church remembers a host of martyrs: Eustratius, Auxentius, Eugene, Mardarius and Orestes of Greater Armenia as well as the Holy Virgin Martyr Lucia of Sicily. Your martyrs, O God, shone as most brilliant lights in our world and modeled for all a deep commitment to the faith. I beg You to help me to bring light to my world as I commit myself to celebrating these great Winter Feasts in a spiritual manner. Help me not to become absorbed in the materialism of my world but, rather, focus on making Christmas, especially, a time a deep faith. I make this prayer to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14th

Today, O Heavenly Father, the Church again remembers another host of martyrs: Thyrsus, Leucius and Callinicus of Asia Minor and Philemon, Apollonius and Arian of Alexandria. As I join myself with the Church in remembering these martyrs, I beg You, Father, to give me the courage to live like they did, with belief in You. Help me to spiritually celebrate Christmas, which commemorates Your incarnation, in a manner that makes me aware that You became a human being in order to show me how to live. Help me to grow in my likeness of Jesus and to do Your will. I ask this of You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15th

Today the Church remembers the Holy Bishop-martyr Eleutherius. By reason of his surpassing virtue, he bore witness to You, Almighty God, by bringing many to the faith and also by enduring many torments. He is a true model of a life dedicated to witnessing to Your Goodness, O Heavenly Father. As I remember him, I ask You, Father, to give me the strength and courage to witness to You by the way that I celebrate these winter feasts, especially the Feast of Your Nativity as a Human Person. Help me to prepare myself to celebrate this great mystery with genuine faith. I humbly ask this of You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16th

The Church remembers today, Heavenly Father, the Prophet Aggaeus and the Wonderworker, the Holy Empress Theophano. They were people who truly were focused on making You, our Loving God, a part of their lives. I ask you to help me, like them, to make You the focus of my life, desirous of growing in the likeness of Jesus, Who is You incarnate. I especially ask Your help at this time of the year when the Church celebrates Your birth and also Your revelation to the world as our Triune God. I make this prayer to You, Who I know to be Father, son and Holy Spirit and truly God. I offer You my praise. AMEN

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17th

Today, Heavenly Father, The Church remembers a host of saints: the Holy Prophet Daniel; the Holy Three Children Ananias, Azarias and Misael; and Our Father Among the Saints Dionysius. It was the Holy Daniel who prophesized Your incarnation in the Person of Jesus, seedlessly born of a Holy Virgin. The Church celebrates the Three Children and Daniel in conjunction with the Church’s celebration of the Holy Forefathers. They remind me that I must prepare to celebrate Your incarnation as man with faith. I ask you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to help me celebrate Your incarnation in a spiritual way and render glory, praise and honor to You both now and forever. AMEN

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18th

Today, Holy Father, the Church celebrates the Holy Ancestors of Jesus Christ in the flesh – She celebrates all those who, from ages past, have been well-pleasing to God, Adam even unto Joseph the Betrothed of the Virgin Mary. Great were their achievements in the faith. I join now with the Church and declare: O Bethlehem, rejoice! Ephratha, make ready! For in her womb the Ewe-lamb, Mary, bears the Great Shepherd Jesus and urgently makes haste to give birth to Him. On beholding Him, the righteous God-bearing Fathers all rejoice and the shepherds sing hymns of praise to the Virgin and I join with them, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in offering You praise. AMEN

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18th

Today, Holy Father, the Church celebrates the Holy Forefathers of Jesus Christ in the flesh – She celebrates all those who from ages past have been well-pleasing to God, Adam even unto Joseph the Betrothed of the Virgin Mary. Great were their achievements in the faith. I join now with the Church and declare: O Bethlehem, rejoice! Ephratha, make ready! For in her womb the Ewe-lamb, Mary, bears the Great Shepherd Jesus and urgently makes haste to give birth to Him. On beholding Him, the righteous God-bearing Fathers all rejoice and the shepherds sing hymns of praise to the Virgin and I join with the, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in offering praise. AMEN

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19th

Today, Heavenly Father, the Church remembers the Holy Martyr Boniface. He confessed Christ with boldness and suffered death as a martyr. He is invoked to help with moderation in drink. As the holy days quickly approach, I ask Your help, O God, to observe these days with moderation in all things. Help me to witness to the true meaning of these Feasts. Help be to be bold in professing my understanding that Christmas is a time especially dedicated to remembering that You, Almighty God, became a human being in order to reveal to mankind how to live. To You, who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I offer this humble prayer. AMEN

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20th

Today the Church remembers the Holy Bishop-Martyr Ignatius, the God Bearer. He is called God-bearer because he carried God within himself and was aflame in heart with love for Him. As I prepare myself to celebrate the mystery of God’s Incarnation in the Person of Jesus, I invoke Ignatius to help me carry God into my world. I ask his help to become a God-bearer, unafraid to witness to the true meaning of the feast of Christmas to others. Help me to witness to the spiritual meaning of Christmas by the way that I celebrate it. I also ask the help of the One Who I call, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21st

Today again, Heavenly Father, the Church remembers another Martyr, Holy Juliana. These remembrances before Christmas remind me that there have been many before me who have even given their lives instead of denying their belief in You, my Loving God. As I am reminded of these holy martyrs I am encouraged in my own faith and belief in You. I beg Your help, O Father, to have the courage to be like them in my commitment to my faith and hope in You. Help me to develop the courage to love You as they loved You. I humbly ask this of You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and offer You my praise. AMEN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22nd

The Church today honors, Heavenly Father, the Great Martyr Anastasia. She truly lived her life in accord with the Gospel message by secretly going to the dwellings of the poor and those the prison, bringing them whatever was needed for their daily subsistence. She washed their wounds and consoled them in their anguish. She truly loved her neighbors as herself. As I think about her life, which was dedicated to making You, O God, present in her world, I am inspired to ask You, O God, to help me become a God-bearer in my world. I humbly ask this of You, Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. AMEN

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23rd

The Church remembers today, Heavenly Father, the Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete. Shining like the morning star, the Martyrs’ commitment to belief in You, O God, has shown beforehand unto us Him Whom the virgin conceived without seed of man. Help me, as I prepare to celebrate Christmas, to recall the love You have shown to humankind by Your Incarnation. Help me, Father, to have the courage to witness to You in my world. Help me to make Christmas truly a spiritual remembrance and do all in my power to bring Your love into my world through me. I make this prayer to You my Loving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24th

On this day, O Loving Father, I would join my voice with the Church and offer this prayer: “On this day the Virgin comes to the cave to give birth to god the ineffable Word, Who was before all ages. Dance for joy, O earth, on hearing the gladsome tidings; with the Angels and the shepherds now glorify Him who is willing to be gazed on as a young Child Who before the ages is God”. As I offer this prayer, I would offer to You, my Loving God, my sincerest thanks for the great mercy You have shown to me and all humankind by coming into the world. By Your incarnation in the Person of Jesus You have revealed to me how I can live if I want to benefit from the gift of this earthly life. I offer You praise, Almighty God, and render glory to You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

***************

As we celebrate the incarnation of Our God in the Person of Jesus, let us ask God to help us truly understanding its meaning for us. It is truly a great revelation about human life. Let us stand in awe at this great mystery and believe that GOD IS WITH US and, therefore, He is ready to help us, if we so desire, to grow in the likeness of Jesus. It is our choice how we respond to this mystery.