“I will praise you with my whole heart; Before the Gods (angels) I will sing praises to You.” (Psalms 138:1)
The Lord Jesus Christ said: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matthew 25:13). Following this commandment from the Lord our beloved Church arranged the Midnight praises. In the litanies of the First Watch of the Midnight Prayers we say: “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming at midnight, blessed is the man whom He finds watching” Praise teaches us how to prepare ourselves from inside to receive Christ the King when we partake of the Holy Communion. Our Orthodox Church has arranged rites and prayers to allow us to offer praise, such as:
The Church fathers described our weekends like a race; we begin the race at Church on Saturday night by attending Vespers, then Midnight praises, then we go home to sleep, then return to Church very early on Sunday morning to attend the Divine Liturgy. In every race, there is always a winner. When we partake of the Holy Communion, we are the winners! Receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is our prize. The Praises in our Orthodox Church come from: o The Holy Bible o The Book of Psalms o The teachings of the fathers of the church (accurate and deep theological understandings) The Midnight Praises The Midnight praises include these hymns: 1. First Canticle (Hoos): It is the praise of the Israelites lead by Miriam, Moses’ sister after crossing the Red Sea, they thanked God for saving them from the Pharaoh and his army. 2. Second Canticle (Hoos): We sing Psalm 135 which says, “O Give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever” 3. Third Canticle (Hoos): Which is the praise of the three saintly children in the fiery pit. 4. Fourth Canticle (Hoos): We invite the whole creation to join us in praising the Lord. 5. Lobsh: It means explanation, it is a hymn that we sing at the end of every Canticle. 6. Psali: A song or glorification to our Lord Jesus Christ 7. Theotokias: Glorifications for St. Mary (The Theotokos) 8. Doxologies: Glorifications to one of the saints or feasts 9. Commemoration of the saints: We remember all the saints and ask God to forgive our sins through their intercessions. The beauty of praises is that its tunes change based on the season:
The Midnight praises is a symphony of beautiful tunes that we offer to our God carrying our praise, prayers and supplications. The month of Kiahk: The Midnight Praises during the month of Kiahk are very special. during the Nativity Fast. The Church takes this opportunity to glorify St. Mary and commemorate the incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ We call the month of Kiahk the Mary month as we celebrate St. Mary’s role in our salvation. We pray Tasbeha (Midnight Praises) in a very special tune, called the Kiahk Tune.
When we attend the Midnight praises, we should: 1. Come to Church on time to attend the praises from the beginning 2. There should be no talking or unnecessary movements. Those who are chanting are doing the same job as the angels 3. Sing the hymns with a clear and loud voice 4. Focus on the words of the hymns and contemplate on them 5. Encourage others to attend the Midnight Praises Praising will be our only work in Heaven. Our church gives us the opportunity to start praising here on Earth. May the blessings of the month of Kiahk and the Nativity Fast be with us all Amen!
0 Comments
|
AuthorMonthly articles for Sunday School students. Archives
December 2017
Categories |