Last week we began exploring the Divine Liturgy by discussing how we prepare for Liturgy through fasting, prayer and leading a Christian life. We also talked about some parts of the Liturgy; the Synaxis (gathering) , the Blessing and the Great Litany.
The Litany brings us together in prayer as a group. From the Book of Revelation we get the idea that this takes place in Heaven is a place of constant, group prayer and praise of God.
Rev 4:8 “… they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"
James 5:16
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may
be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
One of the most important things about the great Litany is to notice that we are not just praying for ourselves, but for others. We are asking God’s mercy upon all people.
Once the Great Litany is finished, several things will happen, leading us to the small entrance and the Gospel reading. There will be three “Antiphons” and three prayers. Antiphons are psalms or hymns sung by the people and/or the choir. They are broken into parts that different sections may take turns singing back and forth.
In the early Church people actually sung these on their way to Church or while waiting for Liturgy to start [Williams, 132]
The first antiphon will be from Psalm 103 (this can change for special celebrations) with an appeal to the Theotokos for her intercession in-between refrains.
Now the Priest will say the prayer of the First Antiphon. This prayer basically expresses our awe of God and asks for His mercy upon the faithful who are present.
“O Lord our God, whose might is beyond compare, whose glory is incomprehensible, whose mercy is infinite and whose love toward mankind is ineffable: do thou thyself, O Master, in thy tender compassion look down upon us and this holy house, and grant us and those who pray with us thy rich mercies and compassions.” – Prayer of the First Antiphon
Along with the first two antiphons from the Psalms, the third one is often from Jesus’ sermon we call the “Beatitudes” in Matthew 5:3-12a. This section of Scripture tells us exactly how Christ expects us to be as Christians. [Have the class find Matthew 5:3-12 in their Bibles]
1. Blessed is the man who is poor in spirit, that is, one who feels so-the humble one, because humbleness is the gate which leads to the kingdom of heaven. This is to recognize clearly that one has nothing which he has not received from God, that one is nothing except by the grace of God.
2. Blessed are the mourners, who long to enter the kingdom of God, but who face many difficulties, such as sin and other impediments which block the way to the kingdom of God. Our merciful God will comfort them. Blessed mourning for sin is essential to the spiritual life. But in the victory of Christ, it is not morbid or joyless. On the contrary, it is filled with hope, with gladness and with light.
3. Blessed are the meek, the people who are not disturbed by their own desires, but trust in the Lord. Their attitude will be rewarded with the inheritance of the earth, which means through their convictions and trust in God they will inherit the age to come.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. They feel the impulse and desire to fulfill the Will of God by their worship of and obedience to God.
5. Blessed are the merciful not only for giving alms, but especially for giving of themselves in helping others, who in turn obtain mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, the upright, the sincere, the honest in every thought and activity (Ps. 24:4). They will feel the abiding companionship of God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, between neighbors and between nations, who have a peaceful mind to resolve human discrepancies. They should be the treasurers of divine peace from above in order to provide this peace for others who shall be sons of God.
8. Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness' sake. People who are armed with virtues of the previous beatitudes are well shielded to face persecutions for the establishment of divine principles of life. The kingdom of God is expanded to their hearts.
9. Blessed are ye (my Disciples) who resist evil and undergo persecutions by words and acts for My sake.
10. The blessedness of God is the source of men's rejoicing and gladness not only in themselves but also for the reward in heaven, as it happened to the persecuted prophets (cf 23:20; Lk 11:33-38).
[Numbered points taken from “The Sermon on the Mount” by Rev. George Mastrantonis]
The antiphons may vary in how they are said, but always mark the end of the beginning rite of the “Liturgy of the Word”, and now we will get ready for the Word of God Itself.