Prayer and Fasting and Giving

05/14/2026

Father Theodosius tells the story of the young boy who attempted to carry water in a basket and how this story tells us why we read the Holy Bible and what i...

05/14/2026

The story of Zacharias speaks to those in recovery who have doubts of God power to help them over come their additions. Father Theodosius talks with the chur...

03/21/2025

03/14/2025

This page is not just about prayer. It is also a place where prayer can be asked for.

03/14/2025

Katharine Hepburn, in her own words:
“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.
Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me.
There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.
The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement, you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives.
The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.
The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.
The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price.
The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?
Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder, and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."
The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking, and embarrassing situation.
He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.
Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.
That day I learned the value to give.
The giver is bigger than the receiver. If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.
The importance of giving, blessing others can never be over-emphasized because there's always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by acts of giving.”
~ Katharine Hepburn
(from Everything Good in the World)

03/14/2025

What do we monks do? We pray long and we pray hard! We pray for our salvation and your salvation.
Do you have requests or folks you would like remembered during the services here at the monastery during services let me know.
And please remember all those served by the monastery, The Monastery of the Holy Martyrs and Orthodox Workers serve the homeless and the near homeless, the disenfranchised and marginalized, the poorest of the poor, the unseen, the unheard, and the unwanted. We serve all who Christ brings to our doors or takes us to on the streets.
Your mighty unceasing prayers and continued support make this possible. You make this ministry possible and are in truth an equal partner with us.
Traditional Orthodox Christianity. Serving God by Serving the Poor and the Poorest of the Poor in America's Inner Cities and Missions. Bringing the truth of Orthodox Christianity to the disenfranchised and marginalized, the poorest of the poor and forgotten...the Message of the Stable. “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John9:4-6.
Your mission is to put smiles on their faces and bring hope to their hearts that have not known hope before.
The monastery's page: https://www.facebook.com/dayrodholymartyrs
And our webpage: www.syriacmonastery.org
We are also Orthodox Worker: www.orthodoxworker.org— with Theodosius Thomas Walker.

03/14/2025

Something else we do more frequently in Lent is make prostrations. That's a process that begins by making the sign of the Cross, then bowing down, resting your knees on the floor and then touching your forehead to the floor. I've collected some photos of people making prostrations from around the internet.
It's a prayer posture that we often see in the Old Testament, when we read that people "fell on their faces." (I don't know if prostrations are ever used in Judaism any more--anyone know?) Below you'll see a detail of the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser, (827 BC, now in the British Museum), which depicts the Jewish King Jehu (2 Kings 9-10) making a prostration before the conqueror Shalmaneser III of Assyria.
What it most looks like to Western people is Muslim worship; Muslims carried it over from their earlier history as Orthodox Christians, just as Christians continued the practice from their Jewish roots. When Orthodox make prostrations, we don't do them as neatly as Muslims do, all in a row, and men and women worship together.
(A point of confusion can be that the term "prostrate" or "prostration" in English literaly means lying flat on the floor. In Western liturgical practice, if a prostration is called for, that's what is meant. In the East the term got applied instead to this act of "falling on your faces.")
People might do prostrations all together during a service, or privately, apart from liturgical worship. If you visited a holy site, you might feel like expressing your awe and gratitude with a prostration. Some people make prostrations when they say the Jesus Prayer, during their private prayer time. When you ask someone to forgive you, it is beautiful (though not required) to accompany the request with a prostration. It represents your recognizing the presence of Christ in the person you have offended.
There is a prayer we say frequently in Lent, and accompany with prostrations. It is the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian (AD 306-373):

We make a prostration at the end of each line, so three in all. It's not a uniform process, and some do it more quickly, others more slowly. Some can't make a prostration very well (or maybe they can get down easily enough, but have trouble getting back up!), and instead make a "metania," making the sign of the Cross and then bowing and reaching to the floor with the right hand. It's not like everyone is *required* to make a prostration; it's meant instead to help you express your sorrow for sin with your whole body, not just your words, and your gratitude for forgiveness.
How-to: Begin by making the sign of the Cross. Begin bending forward, and begin to lower the palms of your hands to rest on the floor. It's more efficient to focus on what you do with your hands that what you do with your knees, because if you focus on knees, it tends to become an awkward 2-stage camel-like process. But if you instead follow the sign of the cross with a gentle controlled-fall forward, aiming to rest your palms to the floor, and allowing your knees to fall into place--then you can push off lightly from your palms and return to a standing position.
It's a way the Judeo-Christian tradition has expressed awe, documented back to 827 BC (and remember all those who "fell on their faces" from Genesis to Revelation). Why not give it a try?

03/14/2025

It is not from your own property that you give to the poor. Rather, you make return from what is theirs. For what has been given as common for the use of all, you have appropriated to yourself alone. The earth belongs to all, not to the rich. Therefore you are paying a debt, not bestowing a gift.

+St Ambrose of Milan