Page 72 - AlNashra Year 2024 Issue 04

may be —at home, at work, or in any other
setting. Communal prayer, on the other hand,
is performed in the church, in participation
with the community of believers. Communal
prayers are divided into two main categories.
The first is what we call church services, or
prayers of praise. The second is the mysteries are sanctified, and we are transformed from
(sacraments). Prayers of praise (which are
distinct from the mysteries) involve thanking
the Lord, offering Him supplication, and
prostrating before Him, acknowledging
His greatness, and asking Him for what we
desire. The sacraments are prayers that are
set apart from other prayers of praise by the
presence of the Holy Spirit in each one of
us. The Holy Spirit works in a person’s life
for their sanctification and growth in Christ
Jesus. For instance, in baptism, the Holy
Spirit comes upon the water and the oil to
sanctify them. The Holy Spirit also descends
upon the baptized child to sanctify him/her
and give him/her a new birth in Christ Jesus,
to make him/her a member of the Church
of Christ. Likewise, in the Divine Liturgy
(Mystery of Thanksgiving - the Eucharist),
the Holy Spirit comes upon the offerings, the
bread and wine, transforming them into the
precious Body and Blood of the Lord. We
partake of these for the sanctification of the in the past that had ended, but rather an act
soul and body, and for the forgiveness of sins of praise and sanctification that happened in
71 Issue 4 - 2024
and unto eternal life... and so forth with the
mysteries. The liturgical prayers, whether in
various liturgical or temporal cycles, coupled
with personal prayers, bring us into the
presence of the Lord, making Him in the
midst of our lives. Through Him, our lives
ordinary people into beings of praise. This
transformation occurs in the Divine Liturgy
as the priest prepares for the Great Entrance
(the Great Procession). During this moment,
the choir chants the Cherubic Hymn, “We,
who mystically represent the Cherubim…”
Who is being addressed in this hymn? It is
us —the community of faithful —gathered
in the Holy Church to celebrate the Mystery
of Thanksgiving. This signifies that, in the
Divine Liturgy, we are no longer ordinary
people; we become like angels. The reason
is what we perform is not a merely human
act, that is, “That we may receive the King of
all.” Liturgy is specifically this act of praise,
in which we become angels.
In this context, I recall the hymn “Today He
Was Hunged upon the Tree.” How can we
say “today...” when the Lord was hung upon
the tree on this day two thousand years ago?
The answer is simple: Liturgy is not an action