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1. THE HOLY PRIESTLY-MARTYR IGNATIUS THE GOD-BEARER, [THEOPHORUS]

The principal feast of St. Ignatius is celebrated in winter on December 20. On this date is commemorated the translation of his relics from Rome, where he suffered martyrdom, to Antioch where earlier he was a bishop. When St. Ignatius was summoned to Rome before Emperor Trajan to account for his faith, he was accompanied on this long journey by several citizens from Antioch who were motivated in this by a great love toward their wonderful Arch-shepherd. Since he would never deny his faith in Christ, this saint of God who abhorred all adulation and promises of Emperor Trajan, was condemned to death and was thrown into the Circus Maximus before wild beasts. The wild beasts tore him apart, and he gave up his soul to God. His companions then gathered his exposed bones and took them to Antioch and honorably buried them. But when the Persians captured Antioch in the sixth century, the relics of St. Ignatius were again translated from Antioch to Rome.

2. THE HOLY MARTYRS ROMANUS, JAMES, PHILOTHEUS, HYPERECHIUS, ABIBUS, JULIAN AND PARAGORIUS

They all suffered martyrdom for the Lord Jesus Christ in Samosata during the reign of Emperor Maximilian in the year 297 A.D. Philotheus and Hyperechius were aristocrats and the others were young men of noble birth. The pagans inflicted a terrible death upon them, hammering nails into the heads of each of them,. They suffered martyrdom honorably and entered into eternal joy.

3. VENERABLE LAWRENCE OF THE CAVES IN KIEV

Lawrence voluntarily chose the life of a recluse following the examples of earlier recluses Isaac and Nicetas. However, he guarded against diabolical temptations which, in the beginning, befell the other two. With great restraint, prayer and godly-thoughts, Lawrence attained a high state of perfection. He learned from a terrified demon that of one-hundred eighteen monks in the Monastery of the Caves, thirty of them were given by God the authority over evil spirits. Lawrence presented himself to the Lord in the year 1194 A.D.

The more a man advances in spiritual knowledge and in purification of the heart, the more it appears to him that the depth in which he finds himself is even lower and that the height to which he strives is even higher. When one spiritual giant on his death bed heard that his companions were praising him because of his great asceticism, he began to weep and said, "My children, I have not even begun my spiritual life." When St. Ignatius, that God-bearer, lay chained in the dungeon, he wrote to the Ephesians: "I do not command you as though I stand for something. Even though I am in chains for the Name of Jesus Christ; nevertheless, I still have not perfected myself in Him. Now I am beginning to be His disciple, and I speak to you as a collegium of my teachers."

To contemplate the Lord Jesus on the simplicity of His behavior:

1. How He behaved simply with fishermen as well as with the scribes and princes;

2. How He responds to everyone and enters into the home of everyone who invites Him;

3. How His royal dignity clearly radiates through all the simplicity of His behavior.

About perfection through the fulfilling of the will of God

"Jesus said to them, `My food is to do the will of the One Who sent Me and to finish His work' " (St. John 4:34).

Here is a saving example given to us by our Savior! He Who had such power, authority and wisdom says that He came into the world, not to do His will but the will of the Father and not to do His work but the work of His Father; but we, even though we are as weak as a cobweb, continuously emphasize our will and some, our work! Although the Son is equal to the Father as He says in another place: "The Father and I are one" (St. John 10:30); nevertheless, the Lord Jesus says that He came into the world to do His Father's will and to accomplish His Father's will. He is saying this not in order show the smallness of His being before the Father's being, for their being is one, but rather to show the greatness of His love toward the Father, and in order to motivate us, out of love toward God, to totally adopt His will.

All of our misery in this life comes from the fact that we do not implement the will of Him Who sent us into this world. And we do not implement His will because we do not have love toward Him. For, whoever loves someone, he does so according to his will. The Lord Himself said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments"

(St. John 14:15). By what could the Lord be able to proclaim His love toward the Father, if not by fulfilling the will of the Father? And, by what means can we proclaim our love toward the Lord Jesus crucified for us on the Cross, if not by fulfilling His will?

Our will, O my brethren, is as deceitful as a shadow. Let us not follow it so that we do not perish. But let us follow the will of the Lover of Mankind, the Lord, Who alone knows what is best for us.

O Humble and Man-loving Lord, teach us to do Your will.

To You be glory and thanks always, Amen.

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Ailing Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos passed away on Monday at 5:15 a.m. (3:15 GMT) after battling cancer for the past seven months. Earlier, his attending physicians, close associates and numerous clerics hastily assembled at the Archbishop's official residence in the upscale Athens district of Paleo Psyhico, as Christodoulos had declined to leave his home for a hospital in his last days.

His body will lie in state for a period of three days at the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral, while a funeral with head of state honors will follow after three days of national mourning.

The first session of the Greek Church's Holy Synod was set for 2 p.m. local time on Monday.

In a statement issued shortly after news of Christodoulos' death was announced, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said the Orthodox Church leader's "candour, simplicity, tenacity and love for Greece offer valuable lessons for our Church's faithful".

Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos was born in the northeastern city of Xanthi in 1939 and baptised as Christos Paraskevaidis. He studied law and theology, obtaining a doctorate in theology, in fact, along with degrees in French and English. A young Christodoulos was ordained as a deacon in 1961 and as a presbyter (senior priest) in 1965.

He served as a homilist (preacher) at an influential parish in southern Athens (Paleo Faliro) for nine years, before holding the important position of Holy Synod secretary for seven years.

At the age of 35 in 1974 Christodoulos was elected as the Metropolitan of Dimitriada, the bishopric based in the central Greece port city of Volos, where he served until his election, in 1998, as the head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. He was also the youngest ever primate of the Greek Orthodox Church at the time of his election.

Christodoulos was a prolific writer and columnist, penning numerous scholarly articles in both church publications and periodicals around Greece and abroad. His best-known works include "Hellenism Proselytised: The Passage from Antiquity to Christianity", "The Soul of Europe", and his opus "Historical and Canonical Consideration of the Old Calendarist Issue During its Emergence and Development in Greece", which was his doctoral dissertation. He also participated in missionary work overseas.

Christodoulos' presence in the predominately Greek Orthodox nation of 11 million was immediate, as his rhetorical skills and amiable personality were employed as potent communication tools to reinvigorate the Greek Church's venerated but often uninspiring role in the country, and especially its emphasis to reach out to younger generations.

The influential Christodoulos' call towards teenagers to "come as you are, even with your earring" and his frequent visits to schools caused his popularity to soar in his first years on the Archbishop's throne. Along with an emphasis on reaching out to younger people, Christodoulos was also credited with establishing and further strengthening Church-affiliated charities, including ones aiding people on society's fringes, such as drug addicts, unwed mothers and battered women. The culmination of heightened philanthropic efforts under Christodoulos' tenure came with the establishment of the Greek Church NGO "Allileggii" (Solidarity), which quickly engaged in humanitarian relief efforts on a global scale.

As the "cyber era" exploded throughout most of the world in the late 1990s, Christodoulos cast aside the Church's usual cautiousness vis-à-vis modernity to eagerly embrace new communication technologies, promoting the establishment of the Church's first-ever website, a digital library available in nine languages that includes art and music archives, as well as a portal for cultural news in Greek and English.

Heading towards the dawn of the new millennium, Christodoulos became even more outspoken in his views - whether from the pulpit or in statements at well-attended events -- regarding the Church and its relations with the state and society, with reactions ranging from jubilant enthusiasm, by the Orthodox faithful, to cries of obscurantism by his secular critics in the country.

Two major clashes punctuated Christodoulos' tenure as head of the Greek Church: his quarrel, often taking on a personal tone, with the Simitis government, shortly after the general election in 2000, over the issue of a religious affiliation listing on police-issued ID cards; and, in 2004, a "chill" in relations between the Autocephalous Church of Greece and its spiritual elder, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul, the world's most ancient Orthodox Church. The latter dispute was ostensibly over canonical jurisdiction in a number of northern Greece bishoprics.

The socialist government more-or-less ignored heated Church protests and proceeded with the removal of the religious affiliation from ID cards and essentially ended the controversy, whereas a full rapprochement between the "sister Churches" of Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate was achieved in late 2004, following mediation by the education and religious affairs minister at the time, Marietta Yiannakou.

A milestone in Christodoulos' tenure came with the unprecedented official visit of late Pope John Paul II to Athens in 2001, a visit that had appeared unthinkable decades before.

The Archbishop brushed aside heated protests from within the Church's more zealous quarters and lent his support for the pontifical visit, personally taking the podium at a Holy Synod session to win over the Greek Church's sceptical bishops.

With a gracious Christodoulos at his side, John Paul II expressed the Roman Catholic Church's historic apology for past wrongs, a defining moment in recent ecclesiastical history, and one that essentially allowed for a genuine thaw in 21st century relations between the Churches of East and West. Christodoulos reciprocated in 2006 with an official visit to the Vatican and an audience with new Pope Benedict XVI.

The Archbishop's life was forever changed on a sunny Saturday, the 9th of June, 2006. Christodoulos fell ill while preparing for a visit to the Patriarchate of Alexandria. Immediate medical tests revealed that he suffered from advanced cancer in the large intestine and an unrelated malignant growth in the liver.

A first operation to remove the intestinal cancer was deemed successful, while consultations amongst his attending physicians finally led to a decision to seek treatment in the United States, and specifically at an internationally acclaimed clinic in Miami, Florida.

Initial despair with the news of the cancer turned into guarded optimism after the first operation and quickly manifested into a strong conviction amongst the public opinion and Christodoulos' close associates that the Archbishop was on the road to a full recovery with a pending a liver transplant in America.

Christodoulos departed Greece on Aug. 18 aboard a state executive jet, headed for Miami and Jackson Memorial Hospital, where Greek-American transplant specialist Andreas Jackis waited.

Fifty days later Christodoulos is quickly prepared for surgery when a donor match is found, only to be whisked from the operating theatre without the hoped-for procedure taking place - a dejected Jackis merely announces to waiting cameras that the liver cancer has spread, making the transplant impossible.

The inevitable occurs on the last Monday of January 2008, a chilly morning in the Greek capital and several months after the initial diagnosis.

http://www.ana-mpa.gr/anawe...

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1. VENERABLE EPHREM THE SYRIAN

Ephrem was born in Syria of poor parents during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great. He spent his young life rather tempestuously; but all at once a change took place in his soul and he began to burn with love for the Lord Jesus. Ephrem was a disciple of St. James Nisibis (January 13). From the enormous Grace of God, wisdom flowed from his tongue as a brook of honey and ceaseless tears flowed from his eyes. Industrious as a bee, Ephrem continually either wrote books or orally taught the monks in the monastery and the people in the town of Edessa or he dedicated himself to prayer and contemplation. Numerous are his books and beautiful are his prayers. The most famous is his prayer recited during the Honorable Fast Season which reads:

When they wanted to appoint him a bishop by force, he pretended to be insane and began to race through the city of Edessa dragging his garment behind him. Seeing this, the people left him in peace. Ephrem was a contemporary and friend of St. Basil the Great. Saint Ephrem is considered mainly to be the Apostle of Repentance. Even today his works soften many hearts hardened by sin and return them to Christ. He died in extreme old age in the year 378 A.D.

2. VENERABLE ISAAC THE SYRIAN

Isaac was born in Nineveh and in his youth lived an ascetical life in the Monastery of Mar [Saint] Matthew in the proximity of Nineveh. When Isaac became known because of the sanctity of his life and of his many miracles, he was elected bishop of Nineveh and was forced to accept that rank. But, after only five months, he left the bishopric and secretly withdrew into the wilderness to the Monastery of Rabban Shabur. He complied many works of which about a hundred homilies on the spiritual life and asceticism, written primarily from his personal experience, have come down to us today. He was unequaled as a psychologist and as a director in the spiritual life. Even such saints as was St. Simeon [the New Stylite] of the Wonderful Mountain near Antioch sought counsel from him. Isaac died in extreme old age toward the end of the seventh century.

3. VENERABLE PALLADIUS, SYRIAN HERMIT

Palladius was a great ascetic and miracle-worker. In front of his cell there appeared a corpse of a certain wealthy man whom robbers had killed and looted. When Palladius was brought to court and, in order to be spared from misery, he prayed to God and through prayer resurrected the dead man. He died in the fourth century.

4. THE VENERABLE EPHREM OF THE MONASTERY OF THE CAVES IN KIEV

Ephrem died in 1096 A.D. He instituted the Feast of the Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas to Bari, Italy. This feast is celebrated on May 9.

The absence of envy among the saints is a startling and wonderful phenomenon. Not only did the saints not allow envy to seize their hearts but, with all their might, labored to uplift their companions and to diminish themselves. On one occasion when St. Hilarion of Palestine visited St. Anthony in Egypt, St. Anthony exclaimed: "Welcome Venus, the morning star!" To that St. Hilarion replied: "Greetings and health be to you, the shining pillar who sustains the universe!" When they praised St. Macarius as a monk, the saint replied: "Brethren, forgive me, I am not a monk but, I have seen monks!" When some people told St. Sisoes that he attained the same level of perfection as St. Anthony, Sisoes replied: "If only I had but a single thought as does Anthony, I would be all aflame."

To contemplate the Lord Jesus as a Servant:

1. How He voluntarily descended among men to be a servant to all;

2. How He never refused anyone a good service which was requested of Him;

3. How, even today, as always, He invisibly and silently serves the whole world.

About the Man Whom no one knows

" `Who are you?' Jesus said to them: `The beginning' "(St. John 8:25).

The Lord Jesus is the beginning of creation, the beginning of restoration, the beginning of salvation, the beginning of resurrection, and the beginning of immortal glory.

Wherever there is any evil in the world that needs to be uprooted, He is the beginning. Without Him, it is impossible. Wherever there is any good that is desired to be done in the world, He is the beginning. Without Him, it is impossible. If anyone desires to uproot dissent and malice in the family, in the village, in the town, in the entire world, without Him, it is impossible. One must begin with Him. If anyone desires to instill good-will, peace, love and unity in the family, in the village, in the town, among the peoples in the entire world, without Him it is impossible. He is the beginning.

Why is it that without Christ, one cannot uproot evil nor sow good? Because all evil is from sin and only He can forgive sins. When He and only He forgives sin, then sin is plucked out by the root. No type of good is possible to be sown without Him because in Him is the treasury of all good; all the seeds of good. He is the only Sower of Good in the field of the world.

The Apostle Paul, who understood all of this better than we, says: " I can do all things through [Jesus] Christ Who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Without Jesus Christ, who can begin to heal oneself of evil, to heal others from evil and to sow good in oneself and to sow good in others? No one, truly no one.

Therefore, brethren, if we are determined to uproot evil in ourselves and in others and in place of evil to sow good in ourselves and in others, let us begin with the Beginning [Christ]; i.e., let us begin with the Conqueror over evil and the Sower of good; with the Lord Jesus Christ.

O Lord Jesus Christ, You be to us the beginning in every struggle against sin and in every good work.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

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1. SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, THE GOLDEN TRUMPET OF ORTHODOXY

The memory of this illuminary of the Church is celebrated on November 13 and January 30 but, on this date, the Church celebrates the translation of his honorable relics from the Armenian village of Comana, where he died in exile, to Constantinople, where earlier he had governed the Church. Thirty years after his death, Patriarch Proculus delivered a homily in memory of his spiritual father and teacher. He so enflamed the love of the people and Emperor Theodosius the Younger toward this great saint that all of them desired that Chrysostom's relics be translated to Constantinople. It was said that the sarcophagus, containing the relics of St. John Chrysostom, did not allow itself to be moved from its resting place until the emperor wrote a letter to Chrysostom begging him for forgiveness (for Theodosius' mother, Eudoxia, was the culprit responsible for the banishment of this saint) and appealing to him to come to Constantinople, his former residence. When this letter of repentance was placed on the sarcophagus, its weight became extremely light. At the time of the translation of his relics, many who were ill and who touched the sarcophagus were healed. When the relics arrived in the capital, then the emperor in the name of his mother as though she herself was speaking over the relics, again, prayed to the saint for forgiveness. "While I lived in this transient life, I did you malice and, now, when you live the immortal life, be beneficial to my soul. My glory passed away and it helped nothing. Help me, father; in your glory, help me before I am condemned at the Judgment of Christ!" When the saint was brought into the Church of the Twelve Apostles and placed on the patriarchal throne, the masses of people heard the words from St. Chrysostom's mouth saying: "Peace be to you all." The translation of the relics of St. John Chrysostom was accomplished in the year 438 A.D.

2. VENERABLE TITUS OF THE MONASTERY OF THE CAVES IN KIEV

At first, Titus was a soldier. When in battle he sustained a head injury, Titus withdrew from the world to the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev where he was healed and then was tonsured a monk. Titus spent his time in unceasing mourning for his earlier sins. Before his death Titus was informed through a heavenly apparition that all of his sins were forgiven. His relics repose in the Caves of Theodosius.

Fasting is a great thing but love is even greater. If by fasting demons are cast out, passions tamed, the body pacified, the spirit composed then, by love, God takes up abode in man. The Lord Himself emphasized fasting as necessary but stressed love as the main commandment. In the first half of the last century, Jeladin Bey ruled in Ohrid, a renegade from the Sultan and an independent ruler. At that time, the Church was governed by Metropolitan Kalinikos. Even though of different faiths, Jeladin Bey and Kalinikos were very good friends and often visited one another. It happened that Jeladin Bey condemned twenty-five Christians to be hanged. They were scheduled to be hanged on Great and Holy Friday [Good Friday]. The Metropolitan, totally disturbed because of this incident, went to Jeladin Bey and began to implore him to be more lenient with the punishment. While they were conversing, the time for lunch arrived and the Bey invited the Metropolitan to dine. Lamb was prepared for lunch. The Metropolitan excused himself, saying that because of fasting he could not remain for lunch, and he prepared to leave. The Bey was sorry and said to the Metropolitan: "Choose; either you will dine with me and free twenty-five men from the gallows, or you will not dine and allow them to be hanged." The Metropolitan crossed himself and sat down to eat and Jeladin freed the condemned from the punishment of death.

To contemplate the Lord Jesus as High Priest:

1. Who offers to God as a sacrifice the entire time of His life on earth;

2. Who offers to God as a sacrifice His every word, His every feeling, His every thought, His every labor and His every tear;

3. Who finally offers Himself completely as a man to God for man.

About the confusion of those of little faith

"What sort of man is this Whom even the winds andthe sea obey?" (St. Matthew 8:27).

In these words the apostles, not yet knowing the Lord Jesus and seeing how He calmed the turbulent sea and winds questioned: "What sort of man is this Whom even the winds and the sea obey?" This is He Who created the winds and the sea. Therefore, what kind of miracle is it that His own created things obey Him? Is not the axe an obedient tool in the hands of him who made it? The Lord created everything by His word, that is why all things submit to His word.

Brethren, "What sort of man is this?" Who is He? This is the same One Who, before that, raised the winds and quieted them and Who agitated the sea and subdued it. This is the same One Who also does that today . As a man, He stood before men and rebuked the animated wind and unbridled sea in order to dispel the confusion of men as though the winds and the sea are moved and calmed either by blind chance or by some evil power; to reveal the truth for ever that the wise and beneficial power of the Creator directs and commands all the elements according to His Providence.

The apostles questioned: "Who is He?" O, Holy Apostles, He is the sinless Son of God Whose Name you will spread throughout the whole world and for Whose Name you will be tortured and slain as lambs by wolves. Who are the wolves? The wolves are those who think that the wind moves on its own and that the sea agitates and calms itself on its own, either only of itself or of the devil. O, Holy Apostles, you who asked and who received a true reply and the whole truth you proclaimed to the whole world, pray for us so that we too may be enlightened by that truth.

O Lord, All-Wise and All-Powerful, calm the winds of sin and subdue the storm of our filthy and unworthy passions.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

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1. THE VENERABLE XENOPHONT AND MARIA AND THEIR SONS JOHN AND ARCADIUS

They were prominent and wealthy citizens of Constantinople. Xenophont and his wife Maria lived a God-pleasing life and dedicated all their attention to the Christian upbringing of their sons. When their sons reached majority, they were sent to study in Beirut; but it so happened that a storm capsized their boat. By the Providence of God, John and Arcadius were somehow saved. They were tossed ashore by the waves but in two different places so that each thought the other was drowned. Out of grief for each other, they both became monks in two different monasteries. After two years, their grieving parents came to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to pay homage before the holy shrines. There, with the help of the "discernment" of a spiritual father, first the brothers met and, after that, the parents with their children. Out of gratitude to God, Xenophont and Maria distributed their entire estate to the poor and both of them were tonsured. The history of these four souls is touching and it shows how the Lord wonderfully guides the fate of those who believe in Him; how He permits pain and sorrow upon them that they may, later on, be strengthened in faith, in order to lead them into still greater joy. They lived and died in the Lord in the fifth century.

2. VENERABLE SIMEON THE OLD ONE [VETNI]

Simeon was a companion and friend of St. Paladius. From his early youth until his death, Simeon lived a life of asceticism in a cave. He established two monasteries and died in the Lord in the year 390 A.D. He is called the Old One or Vetni to distinguish him from Simeon the Stylite who, lived an ascetical life much later.

3. SAINT DAVID, EMPEROR OF THE GEORGIANS (1089-1130 A.D.)

David renewed and strengthened the State of Georgia. As a great zealot for the Christian Faith, he built many new churches and restored the old ones throughout Georgia. David is considered as the regenerator of the Orthodox Faith in Georgia.

The greatest treasure of any realm is the saintly and good men who live in it. Compared to this wealth, all other wealth is as nothing. Devout Christian emperors considered holy men in their realms as the greatest of God's blessing. The holy Emperor Constantine the Great spoke: "I give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ that in my days there exist three divine lights: Blessed Abba Anthony, Abba Elenius and Abba Euchius." Before the battle of Kulikovo, crucial for the Russians, the devout Prince Dimitri of Don, with his chief assistants and dukes, went to the forest of Radonez to seek out the Venerable Sergius and implored his intercession before God. Even though the prince prepared his army for a liberating war against the Tartars, somehow, he placed greater hope in the prayers of one holy man than in a vast army and many weapons.

To contemplate the Lord Jesus as Prophet:

1. As a Prophet Who clearly prophesied to individuals (as to: Peter, John and Judas and the other apostles) that which will happen to them in the future;

2. As a Prophet Who clearly prophesied the future of Jerusalem and other cities, the Jewish people and the Church of God;

3. As a Prophet Who clearly prophesied the end of the world and His Second Coming.

About the confusion of those darkened by sin

"Who is this Who even forgives sins" (St. Luke 7:49).

Thus asked the unrepentant sinners: "Who is this [Jesus Christ]?" This is He Who mostly feels the sting of human sin; upon Whom all the sins of mankind fall as blows. This is He Who, at one time in Paradise, looked upon man as sinless. This is He Who created man without sin, and This is He Who Himself is without sin from always and forever.

Only He can forgive who can also seek revenge. The strong man seeks revenge by reprisal. The weak man seeks revenge by hatred. If you are able to return the delivered blow and you do not do it, does not mean that you forgave until you uproot the root of anger from your heart. Great is the One Lord Who can also seek revenge and forgive. Great is He in His justice for He will seek revenge on the unrepentant sinner. Great is He in His mercy for He will forgive the penitent sinner.

Oh, if only men would know the power of the forgiveness of sins! Behold, when the sins of the blind man were forgiven, he saw. When the sins of the deaf man were forgiven, he heard. When the sins of the hunchbacked woman were forgiven, she stood erect. When the sins of the woman with the issue of blood were forgiven, she also was healed. When the sins of the man afflicted by insanity were forgiven, he became sane. When the sins of the man possessed with demons were forgiven, he was freed. When the sins of the prostitute were forgiven, she too was cleansed. When the sins of the dead man were forgiven, he also became alive!

Oh, how terrible is the chain of sins! How heavy are the chains of many sins! These chains are not loosened by sinful hands. But when the hands of the All-Pure Lord touches them, they, of their own accord, become loosened and fall apart. When the voice of the Pure One reaches them, they fall apart. And, from the glance of the Pure One, they fall apart. Yes, even from the thoughts of the Pure One, they fall apart - these terrible chains of sins.

"Who is this Who even forgives sins?" O sinners, this is the All-Pure Lord and because of purity, Almighty.

O, Lord, All-Pure and Almighty free us from the chains of sins.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.