As we celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great during the Great Fast, it should become obvious to all that the main difference between this Liturgy and that of John Chrysostom are mainly the prayers that the celebrant offers on behalf of the community. There is one prayer that changes for the faithful, namely the prayer to the Mother of God which occurs in the Anaphora.

Here are the different prayers: the two Prayers of the Faithful before the Great Entrance; the priestly prayers of the Anaphora itself; the bowing prayer said after the Our Father; and the prayer at the end of the Litany of Thanksgiving.

Although I had started sharing the prayers of the Anaphora, I would take time to back-track, at this point, and just share some thoughts about the prayers we offer before the Anaphora. It is my sincere hope that as we pray this Liturgy together our faith may be strengthened.

First, we typically use two different antiphons. The first is actually an adaptation of Psalm 103 (Septuagint version). This is a thanksgiving Psalm of deep, religious sensitivity. It is a simple and beautiful reaction to God’s goodness. Yahweh is a saving God Who forgives man’s sin and blesses him with good things. Perhaps one of the most poignant lines is: As a father cares for his children, so the Lord cares for those who revere Him. I would beg you to listen to the words.

As we pray Basil’s Liturgy, we also use a different second antiphon. For this antiphon we use St. Matthew’s version of the BEATITUDES. We use a very beautiful, haunting refrain between each verse, that is a version of the prayer of the Good Thief: Remember us, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom.

We pray, blessed are the: poor in spirit; the sorrowing; the lowly; those who hunger and thirst for holiness; those who show mercy; the single-hearted; the peace-makers; and those who are persecuted. In effect the Beatitudes tell us that we will be blessed – we will find understanding – when we meet the challenges of life the way that Jesus did, that is meet the challenges with a desire to understand how they can help us to spiritually grow. Jesus met all of the challenges of His life with a peaceful determination to use them to help Him truly become His Father’s son.

Again, I would encourage all to truly think about what it is that we pray and to reflect upon the refrain: Remember us, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom.

More to follow!