How to pray correctly
On the great feast of the Presentation of the Lord, clergy strongly recommend attending a church service, where you can purchase a special Gromnitsa candle, which, according to legend, has special powers and protects a person from evil. Also in the temple you should offer a prayer in front of the icon “The Presentation of the Lord” and repent of your sins.
If you can’t get to the service on this bright day, you can read the prayer at home, preferably several times a day. It is important not only to pray for happiness and prosperity, but also to ask for forgiveness for all sins, and also to thank the Lord for all the good things in your life. The most important thing is that prayers should be read with all your heart, then all your requests will definitely be heard.
The Presentation of the Lord is an important celebration in the life of every Christian. Celebrate this bright holiday according to all church laws, offer prayers, and then your life will definitely change for the better, because the Lord is watching over each of us.
The Presentation of the Lord is an important celebration in the life of every Christian. Celebrate this bright holiday according to all church laws, offer prayers, and then your life will definitely change for the better, because the Lord is watching over each of us.
The history and significance of the church holiday
In Church Slavonic, “sretenie” means “meeting.” This is an immutable twelfth holiday, which falls on the same date every year. On this day, the baby Jesus, whom the Virgin Mary brought to the temple, and the elder Simeon met.
The history of the holiday begins during the reign of the Egyptian king Ptolemy II Philadelphus. According to legend, righteous Simeon was one of the scribes who translated the Holy Scriptures for King Ptolemy from Hebrew into Greek.
In the book of the prophet Isaiah, the translator encountered the phrase “Behold, the Virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son.” Simeon was surprised and decided that the scribe who composed the sentence had misunderstood the meaning of the word in the original source. I decided to correct “virgin” to “wife” so that the sentence would become logical from a physiological point of view. But an angel appeared before the young man. The Divine Messenger not only forbade making changes, but also stated that Simeon would live until he was convinced of the correctness of the prophecy.
On the day that later became Candlemas, the Virgin Mary went with the baby to the temple. According to Jewish traditions, a woman after childbirth had to perform 2 rituals. Bring a cleansing sacrifice: a lamb and a dove. Poor families brought two pigeons. And if a boy is born, then on the 40th day after birth, bring him to the temple to be dedicated to God.
At the time of the meeting, legend describes Simeon as a 300-year-old righteous elder. The day before, an angel appeared to him again and directed him to the temple. After the end of the service, the Virgin Mary left the temple and met Simeon. The righteous elder took the Divine Infant in his arms and exclaimed: “Now you are releasing your servant, Master.” The prophecy has come true. The vow made by the angel is the same. Now Simeon could finally die.
The Church also puts another, deeper meaning into the event. Before the meeting, the rules of the Old Testament were in effect. With the advent of the Messiah, the old rules ceased to apply and, like Simeon, became a thing of the past, giving way to a new era and Christianity. The meeting in the temple is interpreted as a meeting of the Old and New Testaments.
In Hebrew, the name of the righteous elder šim'on means “hearing.” Before the coming of the Messiah, people heard prophecies, but could not be convinced of the truth. The Church Meeting marks the beginning of the era of “vision.”
Prayer for the Presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ
Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son and Word of God,
of old in the prophets, seen like a mirror in fortune-telling,
in the last days of the flesh from the Most Holy Virgin Mary, born incorruptible
and on this fortieth day in the Sanctuary at the Meeting of the whole world from Toy,
like a Baby holding hands, revealed in the arms of the righteous Simeon
carried from Adam for the salvation of all beings!
How glorious and bright is Thy offering on the hand of the Mother of God to the Temple of the Lord
and from the holy elder Thy Divine meeting!
Today the heavens rejoice and the earth rejoices, for Thy procession has been seen, O God,
processions of God our King, Who is in the Holy One.
Of old Moses ascended to see Your glory, but it was not possible to see Your Face,
Thou hast shown him exactly Thy rear.
On this bright day of Your Presentation, You revealed Yourself as a man in the sanctuary,
shining with the ineffable Light of the Divine, and together with Simeon they see You face to face and with their hands
may they touch You and take You into their arms, may they recognize You as God who has come in the flesh.
For this reason, we glorify Your ineffable condescension and great love for mankind,
for by Your coming You have now granted heavenly joy to the anciently fallen race of man:
You, by Your righteous judgment, expelled our ancestors from the paradise of sweetness into this world,
Now you have had mercy on us and again opened up the heavenly abodes for us and turned our crying into joy,
let the fallen Adam no longer be ashamed of You for disobedience and let Your Face not be hidden,
Called by You, for You have come today, so that You may take away his sin,
May you wash him with Your Blood and may you clothe him, naked as he is, in the robe of salvation and the robe of gladness.
and adorn him like a bride with beauty.
We all remember Your Divine Meeting,
vouchsafe to go with the wise virgins to Thy Meeting, our Heavenly Bridegroom,
with burning lamps of faith, love and purity,
let us see Thy Divine Face with the eyes of faith,
May we accept You into our spiritual embrace,
and may we carry You in our hearts all the days of our Life,
May you become our God and we your people.
On the last and terrible day of Your Coming,
when all the saints come out for the last and great Meeting of Thy in the air,
Grant us also the gift of sleeping with You, so that we may always be with the Lord.
Glory to Thy Mercy, Glory to Thy Kingdom, Glory to Thy watchfulness,
O One Lover of Mankind, for Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory
with Your Beginning Father and Your Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit
now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Ritual on Candlemas to make your wish come true
At noon on February 15, go to the temple gates, turn your face to them and whisper your desire, then bow. Turn your back to them and say the following words: “What was planned at the gates of God’s house has been said, not retold by anyone, spoken by me, secured with a bow. Today the Mother of God brought a baby and heard my wish. So let it come true. I ask three times. I’m leaving with my back.” You should leave without looking back and without talking to anyone until you get home. Having crossed the threshold, cross yourself three times.
Prayer for the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Oh, Most Holy, Heavenly Purity Shining Virgin, Gentle Dove, Undefiled Lamb,
Good Helper to the world, Mother of Christ our God!
You are the beginning, middle and end of our present joy,
for from You rose the Sun of Truth, Christ our God, and He You brought
in His holy arms on this fortieth day in the Sanctuary for our meeting
and for the joy and salvation of the whole world.
For this reason, we please and glorify Thee, for Thou art the Tabernacle of God with man, Foreseen by the Theologian,
Is it by this that God dwells with us, so that we may be His people?
You are the Door of Heaven Foretold by Ezekiel, Who Has Opened Against Us
entrances to the heavenly abode. You are the High Ladder, Foreseen by Jacob,
It was with her that God descended to the earth and the Bridge, leading those who exist from earth to heaven.
We also pray to Thee, looking as if Thou hast gone to the Sanctuary,
bearing the Heavenly Fire in the hand of His God, the Gracious One.
The fire of Your prayer hit the fire of our passions, so that we may be delivered from the eternal fire of Gehenna.
You came to the Sanctuary for the sake of the lawful purification, not requiring purification,
as the Pure Virgin and hereby teach us how we should keep ourselves in chastity and purity
and with what humility it befits us to carry out the feat of virginity, remembering how You,
above the Cherubim that exist, you have become in the place of unclean women.
You, O Most Holy Mother, the very essence of God’s inclusive temple, you brought to the lawful church
Your most beloved son, Christ our God,
grant us, above all things on earth, to love the temples of Your Son, to visit all the days of our life,
behold the beauty of the Lord there, for it is better to wander about in the courts of the Lord one day,
It’s worse than living in the villages of sinners. Most of all, grant us, Most Pure One, like Simeon,
carry Your Son and our God without condemnation in Your heart's embrace,
when we will be partakers of His Most Pure Body and Blood,
and help us then to strictly keep ourselves in holiness and the fear of God,
Let us not corrupt the temple of our flesh.
And thus I will bring forth, O Mother of God, Thy Son in our hearts and souls,
may we be worthy through Your prayers to achieve the blessed Meeting of the Lord in the air,
when together with all the saints we will glorify and sing His Most Holy Name
with the Father and the Holy Spirit and Your merciful intercession now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Amen.
Ritual at Candlemas for problems in life
Every person dreams of being spared problems. A special ritual performed at the dawn of the Candlemas holiday can help with this. You need to take a white sheet of paper on which to write your problem, for example, hard work, illness, little money or loneliness. Then roll it into a tube, which is cut into three parts to make three circles. Place a church candle on the table, place the first circle around it, then pour in blessed salt, and lay out the second circle, drop a little holy water, and then the third - the final one. Now read these words three times: “The Mother of God brought her son to the temple and took away all my troubles. Our meeting with the Lord took place, my trouble went away - lack of money, loneliness, painful and all other.” Upon completion, say “Our Father” three times. Go to church, taking with you a candle standing in the center of the circle. Then burn the paper circles on its flame and scatter the ashes to the wind.
Reading the Gospel:
Gospel of Luke, chapter 17, verses 12 - 19
And when He entered a certain village, ten lepers met Him, who stopped at a distance and said in a loud voice: Jesus the Mentor! have mercy on us. When He saw them, He said to them: Go, show yourself to the priests. And as they walked, they purified themselves. One of them, seeing that he was healed, returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell prostrate at His feet, thanking Him; and it was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed?” where is nine? how did they not return to give glory to God, except this foreigner? And he said to him: get up, go; your faith has saved you.
priest Anthony (Borisov)
Gospel of Luke, chapter 6, verses 17 - 23
And He went down with them and stood on level ground, and many of His disciples, and many people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal regions of Tire and Sidon, who came to listen to Him and to be healed of their illnesses, also those suffering from unclean spirits; and were healed. And all the people sought to touch Him, because power came from Him and healed everyone. And He, lifting His eyes upon His disciples, said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for yours is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are those who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they excommunicate you and revile you and call your name dishonorable because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. This is what their fathers did to the prophets.
priest Pavel (Velikanov)
Features of Orthodox worship
Last time we talked about the litany of the catechumens, in which we pray that the Lord would have mercy on the catechumens, instruct them in the truths of the holy faith and honor them with Holy Baptism. With this petition the Liturgy of the Catechumens ends and the Liturgy of the Faithful begins. During the crossed great litany, the priest reads a secret prayer. In it, he thanks that the Lord has honored him to appear at the Holy Altar, and asks for His help to perform the service with dignity, with a clear conscience.
Then the small litany begins, at which we ask, following the deacon, for peace and salvation of the soul, for the preservation of the entire Church and a specific temple, for deliverance from sorrow, anger and need. At this time, the priest secretly pronounces the second prayer of the faithful, repeating in it the requests of the first, and asks the Lord to grant the faithful success in a good life, spiritual understanding and to grant everyone the opportunity to partake of the Holy Mysteries without condemnation in order to acquire eternal life.
After this, the Royal Doors open. During censing, the deacon reads the 50th Psalm to himself. The Cherubic Song begins.
Greatness
We magnify You, Life-Giving Christ, and honor Your Most Pure Mother, Who, according to the law, has now been brought to the temple of the Lord.
At Candlemas, the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called “Quench My Sorrows,” is venerated. The story of its appearance is connected with the warning of Simeon the Receiver of God that Jesus would be betrayed and his mother would suffer greatly. Before it you should read:
Mother of God, soften our evil hearts, extinguish the flame of those who are angry with us and cleanse our souls from pride. We pray to You, Mother of Our God, with prayerful words softening Your pain from the terrible wounds that torment You. Bless us and protect us from ourselves, do not let us perish in our anger and close our souls to the words of salvation. You are the only hope for our softening. By Your grace we live and rejoice in every day given.
