The most frequently heard exhortation of the Church which the faithful who attend daily Services hear is, “Let us commend ourselves and one another, and our whole life to Christ our God.”  The Celebrant says this multiple times (as many as ten during Matins and the Divine Liturgy), and some may wonder:  Why is this repeated so much?

The answer to this question is simple, in that its repetition shows how important it is for a person to entrust their whole life to our Lord and God Jesus Christ.   This desire to do so is also expressed elsewhere in the Divine Liturgy, in the Prayer just before the Lord’s Prayer:  “We entrust to You, loving Master, our whole life and hope…”  By expressing this commitment to the Lord with these words and more, we acknowledge that we have nothing of our own.   As St. Paul the Apostle writes, all that we are (body, spirit and soul) belong to God (see 1 Corinthians 5:15-20).

–  Article in Pemptousia

 

**We are pleased to include writings from modern   Monasteries from time to time as well as our traditional Elders**