14 July 2006
Matins in the Dark
I have these silly nights. I just am not tired and can't sleep. Tonight was one of them. What I have taken to doing when they occur is praying some of the Church's prayer offices during these hours. Tonight it was Compline, Matins, and then the Litany. Matins in the dark - there is something about it that fills a heart with peace. Knowing that you are joining the Church in looking for the coming of the Lord, praying for it, and welcoming it. Truly "the night is ending and the day is at hand!" "A light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death" indeed!
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3 comments:
"Prayer during the night is much more beneficial than prayer during the day, just as nighttime rain is more favorable to plants than rain during the day."
and
"Prayer, combined with a curtailment of sleep, nourishes the soul--in addition to granting it spiritual alertness--and safeguards it, like a child in its mother's embrace. . . ."
Elder Paisios of the New Mt. Athos
Whoops - that was me
Deb
Pr. Weedon,
There are several times that I am afflicted in the night with anxieties and fears. I believe this is when the old evil foe loves to do his work and has the most success at piercing our hearts with his flaming darts. I keep prayer beads by the bed for times such as this. I great comfort to physically and mentally divert the attacks.
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