Last Night

On Wednesdays during Lent we attend a pre-sanctified Liturgy. It's such a beautiful and somber service. My favorite part is the prayer of St. Ephraim:

O Lord and Master of my life,Take from me the spirit of sloth, despair,lust of power and idle talk;

But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages.

Amen.

My hubby usually works on Wed. nights but he was off last night. It was so nice to have the whole family in church together. As I sat on the pew with Mr. P I was filled with such peace and joy watching my family participate in the service. Mr. P snuggled up to me, kissed my belly and said, "This is so awesome...I can't wait to hold the baby". After the liturgy we have a soup/bread dinner at the church. In the Orthodox church we fast before communion (for an evening service we don't eat after lunch...except little ones of course). After visiting with friends and having a bite to eat we left for home. On the way home we stopped by to see an elderly woman from our parish. We had been told that she was in the last stages of death. I was so proud of my boys. They were not afraid and so compassionate. They each went to her, rubbed her and sat with her. She reposed about 30 minutes after we left. Memory Eternal Grandma Dot.