Alive in Christ
A Weekly Reflection on Faith, Prayer, and Life from Christ Our Pascha
Week 3
Our Lives in the Prayer of the Church
The Church brings our joys, burdens, and neighbors before God in prayer.
Bring your whole life
We sometimes arrive at Divine Liturgy with a mind full of unfinished things. There may be a doctor’s visit ahead, a strained friendship, or bills waiting at home.
It can feel hard to pray while these concerns keep returning. Yet the Church’s prayer makes room for the real needs of our lives.
In the Anaphora of Saint Basil, we hear this simple plea:
From Christ Our Pascha
“And remember all your people, O Lord our God.”
From the Anaphora of Saint Basil in Christ Our Pascha, paragraph 8, printed page 8.
We ask God to remember us in love, trusting his care for each person. The prayer goes on to recall people whose names we may have forgotten.
Someone who feels overlooked is still held within the Church’s prayer. Someone too weary to find words can receive the help of those praying beside them.
At the heart of our worship
Anaphora is the name for the great Eucharistic prayer of the Divine Liturgy. The catechism explains that this prayer stands at the heart of the book.
It recalls God’s work of creation and salvation, centered on Christ’s death and Resurrection. We give thanks to the Father and ask for the Holy Spirit’s coming.
The prayer brings us into Christ’s saving work through the Holy Eucharist. This is the Holy Mystery of his true Body and Blood.
Our worship joins thanksgiving, faith, and the gift of new life in Christ. The Church teaches us to receive that gift with reverence and trust.
We may need time to understand these prayers more deeply as we worship. We can begin by listening with care and joining the responses we know.
Gifts we receive and offer
The prayer contains words that help us see our whole life more clearly:
From Christ Our Pascha
“We offer to you, yours of your own, in behalf of all and for all.”
From the Anaphora of Saint Basil in Christ Our Pascha, paragraph 8, printed page 6.
The bread and wine offered at the altar come from God’s gifts. So do our lives, the people we love, and our ability to serve.
We can bring our gratitude to worship without pretending that everything is easy. We can thank God for a kindness received while asking help with an ongoing trial.
The Church’s prayer holds these needs together before the Father who loves us. Its words teach us to care beyond our own circle of concerns.
The people we carry in prayer
The Anaphora remembers children, older people, travelers, prisoners, and those who are sick. Its concern reaches into homes, public life, and places marked by suffering.
Imagine entering church after hearing that someone at work has received difficult news. During prayer for the sick, you quietly remember that person’s name.
Afterward, you ask whether there is a small way you can help. The prayer has given you a reason to pay closer attention.
Our care for others can grow from the prayer we share at church. We ask God for mercy, then seek to serve those whose needs we have remembered.
Hold on to this
The Eucharistic prayer gives thanks for God’s saving work in Christ.
The Church brings the needs of real people before our loving Father.
We can join her prayer and let it deepen our care for others.
Take a quiet moment
Think of one person whose needs you have been carrying in your heart. Bring that person before God, using their name in a quiet prayer.
Then remember someone beyond your own family, parish, or circle of friends. Ask God to teach you the wider care expressed in the Church’s worship.
A small beginning this week
At your next Divine Liturgy, listen closely to one prayer for others. Let its words help you remember a person who needs care.
Later, offer one small act of help if the chance is welcome. Give without seeking praise, and keep that person in your prayer.
Let Us Pray
Father of mercy, receive the people and concerns we bring before you. Help us give thanks for your gifts and join your Church in prayer. Through your Son, unite us in the Holy Spirit and deepen our love. Teach us to serve the neighbors we remember before you each day. Amen.
An original prayer written for this reflection.
Read and look ahead
From the book: Christ Our Pascha, English edition, 2016. Paragraphs 6-11, printed pages 3-9, including the Anaphora of Saint Basil.
Next week: We will reflect on the God who makes himself known to us.
