by the Very Reverend Michel Najim & T.L. Frazier"UNDERSTANDING THE DIVINE LITURGY"(A Guide For Participating In The Divine Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom)
The priest (or deacon) asks the congregation to pray for the gifts which are about to be offered. Then he adds other intentions for which we must pray. He asks, for example, that the whole day may be holy, perfect, peaceful, and sinless, and that we may have as our defender a faithful angel of peace.
Everyone has a guardian angel from birth,151 but we now request that he may be active and may fulfil his task, that he may protect us and lead us in the right path.
The priest also calls upon us to beg for the forgiveness of our sins, and for the bestowal of all that is good and useful to our souls.
The priest prays for the peace of the whole world; and that we may pass the rest of our lives in peace and repentance, so that our end may be such as befits a Christian. He concludes by asking us to commend ourselves and each other and our whole lives to Christ our God.
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151 Cf. Matthew 18:10.
Page created: 24-12-2012.
Last update: 24-12-2012.