Saint Michael's Orthodox Church
465 Morris Street  Clymer, PA 15728

PRAYER OF SAINT EPHRAIM

O LORD AND MASTER OF MY LIFE!

TAKE FROM ME THE SPIRIT OF

LAZINESS, DESPAIR, LUST FOR

POWER AND VAIN TALKING

BUT. GIVE TO ME, YOU SERVANT, THE

SPIRIT OF PURITY, HUMILITY, PATIENCE AND LOVE.

YES, LORD AND KING, GRANT ME TO SEE MY OWN SINS

AND NOT JUDGE MY BROTHER.  FOR BLESSED ARE YOU,

FOREVER AND EVER,  AMEN.

I believe that God is in our everyday no matter whether we see him, feel him or hear him.  Many moments  occur in our lives which reveal his face, his touch, his voice.  Look for him today.  He will be found.  You will be sweetly surprised at the many ways he surrounds you with his love.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:   Matthew 6:14

Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him drink................    Romans 12:20

                                              Prayer for the Conquest of Cancer
Our Lord, in whose hands are the issues of life and death, we thank You that You are a God of Love. 

From the gift of our lives to the moment we return to You, we are in Your loving care.  We turn to You in times of joy and pain. 

We are concerned for those in pain, those who suffer from cancer, and those who care for them.

Bless, we pray, those who minister to the victims of this dread disease. Give them skill and knowledge that cures may be wrought. 

Heal. we pray, those who suffer that their pain may be replaced by joy.  Give, we pray, a discovery of the cure for cancer and knowledge of how to prevent it. 

Increase, we pray, Your ministry of healing through all who labor in research and the health professions..That one day we may rejoice in a world free from the scourge of cancer in which all may live out their span of life in useful service to Thee and Thy children. 

To You we shall give the praise! Amen. 

 (December 4 on the civil calendar)

How many of us know the names of the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary?

Their names are Joacheim and Anna.  They were very devout people who loved God very much.  Because they were not blessed with children, they were most unhappy.  Anna prayed very sincerely to Almighty God that she would one day have the high honor of becoming the mother of a young child whom she would pledge to His Holy Temple.  Many years passed, and Anna still retained her faith and hope.  At last God did grant her request.  Anna became the mother of a little girl whom she named Mary.  In accordance with the tradition of that era, Mary was presented to the Temple of God as soon as she reached the age of three. Joacheim and Anna brought he to the priests of the Temple, where she remained for twelve years until the age of 15. She was presented to God's Holy Temple on November 21st.

During the time of the Blessed Virgin May, all the children who were dedicated to the Temple were taken by the holy men of the Temple and given the finest education possible.  The education was conducted for a period of twelve years and then the children were returned to their homes.  In accordance with the writings of the Fathers of the Church. Mary was received into the Temple by Zacharias, the High Priest who was later to become the father of St. John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus Christ.

Mary was returned to her parents at the age of 15. Shortly thereafter she was visited by the Archangel Gabriel who told her that she would soon become the Mother of the Son of God.

Joacheim and Anna, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are also saints at the Church, and we observe their their feast day on September 9th Joacheim and Anna are known as the " Patron Saints of Pious  Education" because of the education that Mary received from competent educators of the day.

If you should be fortunate to visit the Holy Land one day, be certain to visit the beautify shrine dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and her parents, Joacheim and Anna.  At the base of the Garden of Gethsemane you will see this magnificent shrine.  You will enter the shrine and then proceed to descend a long flight of cement stairs. As you go down about 50 feet you will observe to the left, the tomb of Joacheim and to the right, the tomb of Anna - the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You will then proceed another 50 feet down to the shrine dedicated to Mary. It was here that she was laid to rest at the time of her death on August 15th.  According to tradition, she was assumed into heaven at this time; therefore, you find an empty tomb.

The presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary which we observed on November 21st is indeed a most important day of our Church.  It is one of the four important feast days of the Church concerning the Theotokos.           

Lord, make me increasingly aware that to be chosen by You also includes Your choices of those who nurture me in ways to many and magnificent for me to imagine.  The feast at which I am sitting is more luxourious that I can comprehend.  My simple table blessing is inadequate, but--- thank you!

One of the things I find fascinating about God's creation is the way he seems to temper the negative environmental elements with corresponding positive ones.  for instance, without the nearly ceaseless rains of the Northwest, no incomparable green scenery would greet the eye from all directions.  God's creative style ensures that something wonderful will offset something less that wonderful. 

In everything God, seems so balanced.  I love that about him.

   When a sudden ray of sun or a moonbeam falls on a dreary street, it makes no difference what it illumines---- a broken bottle on the ground, a fading flower in a field or the flaxen blonde hair of a child's head.  The object is transformed and the viewer is transfixed.  Celebrate that moment of beauty and take it with you in your memory.  

It is God's gift to you.