The Morning Offering

Giving Thanks

Remembering to Give Thanks Frequently

"We thank thee, O Christ our God, that thou hast satisfied us with thy earthly gifts, deprive us not of thy Heavenly Kingdom; but as thou entered into the midst of thy disciples, O Saviour, and gave them peace, enter also among us and save us. Amen." 

This prayer is one of my personal favorites, for it recognizes in concise words my need to remember to give thanks to God for all He has given me. It connects me to the ancient Church, for it allows me to recount the Lord's coming in the midst of His disciples, and granting them the peace I so desire. It keeps me focused on the goal, and remembering, throughout my day, that the Lord is to be my focus.

This is the prayer many Orthodox Christians pray at the end of meals, yet also a prayer that can be offered whenever we are feeling a certain gratefulness of heart, or desiring God's loving mercy.

Prayers like this are easily memorized, allowing us to express our gratitude to God without being wordy. The Lord knows our needs, and there is no need to "spell it out" for God. What is necessary is that we remember to give thanks to God, and let the Lord hear from us throughout the day. These short little prayers are perfect for keeping ourselves spiritually focused, as they express our desire to make communion with God the central part of our day. 

This is a wonderful prayer to say with children, just before tucking them in for the night, ending their waking hours by calling down God's peace into their hearts. It is a wonderful prayer to offer, as we've arrived safely to our destination, following the morning commute. 

Our prayers need not be long, but they should be frequent. Just as an old couple who've shared a long life together don't need to say a lot of words in order to demonstrate their love for one another, so too, our prayers don't need to be long and formal, in order to let God know we love Him, but they do need to be frequent.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Monday December 3, 2012 / November 20, 2012
27^th Week after Pentecost. Tone one.
Nativity (St. Philip's Fast). By Monastic Charter: Food without Oil
Forefeast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.
Venerable Gregory Decapolites (816).
St. Proclus, archbishop of Constantinople (447).
New Hieromartyrs Macarius bishop of Ecaterinoslav, Alexis, Alexander, Vladimir, John, Alexis, Basil, Nicholas, John, Emilian, Nocolos priests and Hieromartyrs Arsenius, Eutihius and Hillarion, Woman Hieromartyr Ioanicus hegumen (1937).
New Woman Hieromartyr Tatiana (after 1937).
Venerable Diodorus of George Hill (Solovki) (1633).
Martyr Dasius of Dorostolum (Romania) (303).
Martyrs Eustace, Thespesius, and Anatolius of Nicaea (312).
Hieromartyrs Nerses and Joseph; and John, Saverius, Isaac, and Hypatius, bishops of Persia; Martyrs Azades, Sasonius, Thecla, and Anna (343).
Martyrs Bautha and Denachis, who suffered with Hieromartyr Nerses of Persia (343). St. Isaac, bishop of Armenia (440). Venerable Theoctistus the Confessor (855). St. Edmund, king of England and martyr (869) (Celtic & British).
St. Sozomen of Cyprus (12th c.).

You can read the life of the saint in green, by click on the name.

THANK YOU, to all of you who have been able to contribute towards the support of the monastery. These difficult times of economic hardship have impacted the monastery, and those of you who have been able to donate, have been our lifeline. May God bless you for your generosity, and kindness.

With love in Christ,  
Abbot Tryphon

Donations can be made directly to the monastery through PayPal, or you may send donations to:

All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
PO Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA

1 Timothy 5:1-10

Treatment of Church Members

5 Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.

Honor True Widows

³ Honor widows who are really widows. ⁴ But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. ⁵ Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. ⁶ But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. ⁷ And these things command, that they may be blameless. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
⁹ Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man, ¹⁰ well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.

Luke 17:20-25

The Coming of the Kingdom

²⁰ Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; ²¹ nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
²² Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ²³ And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. ²⁴ For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. ²⁵ But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

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