How to pray during the Liturgy by Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdinsky)

Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdinsky) "How to Pray during the Liturgy"

From the letters of Saint Seraphim of Dmitrov to spiritual children:

At the 3rd and 6th hour

In order to stand during the Divine Liturgy more easily and undistractedly, try to pray in this way: while reading the hours, remember the dead and the living. This commemoration will ascend to heaven with the commemoration of the priest and will give great joy to the souls of those remembered. It does not matter here, if commemorated near the altar, at the door to the altar or in the church - the Lord will hear everywhere.

At the beginning of the Liturgy

When the Liturgy begins with the words: “Blessed is the Kingdom ...," pray that the Lord will grant you the Kingdom of Heaven. During the first litany of peace pray that the Lord will give you His peace for today. Nothing has such a beneficial effect on the soul as a peaceful state, and it is especially annoying to the enemy of salvation. He wants to violate it in every possible way, to take a person out of a peaceful arrangement, to bring quarrels, irritation, anger, vexation, and murmur. That is why, praying for the sending of peace to your soul, feel yourself as if on a board among the raging waves, feel your helplessness and ask for help from the Lord.

When antiphons are sung, the priest reads prayers for the preservation of the Church, and you pray for the same, and also that the Lord would deliver the city in which you live, it from unbelief, heresy, division.

Reading the Apostle and the Gospel

“During the reading of the Apostolic Epistle and the Gospel, an infinite number of candles are kindled invisibly by the Angels. The priest reads the prayer: "Shine within our hearts, loving Master, the pure light of Your divine knowledge and open the eyes of our minds that we may comprehend the message of Your Gospel.." At this time, pray that the Lord would send His Divine light to you, and it would shine in your heart. "

On the Litanies.

"The next litany is the Sublime Litany, when for each petition the countenance sings "Lord have mercy..." three times. This litany represents the entire earthly life of the Lord as the crowds followed Him with cries of, "Have mercy on us!" Pass before the eyes of all: the Canaanite, the blind man, and the leper. With all your soul clinging to the Lord, feel the leper, the demon-possessed, and the blind. Cling mentally to the edges of the Lord's robe and beg for mercy, and it is good to prostrate yourself before the icon. The chant after the Litany gives you hope that the Lord will hear your cry according to His great mercy: O God, how merciful and humane you are, and to you we praise the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit...

During the Litany of the Catechumens, pray for the unbelievers. Maybe you have family or friends who are unbelievers. Pray that the Lord will have mercy on them and enlighten their souls with the light of faith. Then thank the Lord that it is only by His providence that you yourself are among the faithful.

And the Cherubim" and the Great Entrance

"The Cherubic Song is the Lord's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here hold before you the whole of the Lord's Gethsemane feat, His prayer to the sweat of blood, His suffering for the sins of men. Remember that you too have passed before the eyes of the Lord with all your failures and sins. Feel that the Lord suffered for you too that night. Be especially aware of your total unworthiness, what you pay the Lord for what He has done to you, and ask Him for mercy. As the Lord was obedient to his Father's will, so surrender yourself to the Lord's will and resolve to bear patiently the cross sent to you.

During the Great Entrance, representing the crucifixion of the Lord, ask Him to remember you also in the kingdom of heaven. At the cry of "Peace be with all," representing the Lord's entry into hell for the salvation of the departed and those who were there before He came, pray: Enter, O Lord, into the hell of my soul and save me. When you hear the cry, "Let us love one another, that we may be of one mind", pray that the Lord would give you a bright love and let you love all, especially those whom you do not love or offend, and those who offend or do not love you. At the exclamation “Let us become good, let us stand with fear - pray that the Lord will put His fear in you, so that you will always remember the presence of the Lord.

At the exclamation "We give thanks to the Lord..." - give special thanks. At this time, the priest reads a prayer that recalls all of the Lord's good deeds to the people, giving thanks for them and for the Liturgy being performed. And everyone is obligated to give thanks for it, and in particular for what the Lord has given him personally, what graces he has showered on him.

During the "I Sing to Thee," we should remember especially our grave sins and ask the Lord's forgiveness for them.

If you attend the Liturgy that way with all your attention and diligence, you will certainly benefit.

Prepared by Sergey Geruk