Christ
our God, Your kingdom is an everlasting one, and Your lordship is over all. You
have made all things with wisdom and have established proper times and seasons
for our lives. We give thanks to You in all circumstances and for all things.
Lord, bless the beginning of our Church year with Your goodness. Grant that
this liturgical year be for all of us a year of grace. Make us worthy with
purity of heart always to praise You. Lord, glory to You!
Each year the Orthodox Christian Church begins the New Church
Year with this prayer. September 1st, as the first day of the Church
Year, is also a day in which the Orthodox Church commemorates and celebrates
God’s creation, which He gave for our salvation. In creating the Universe, God
established the way we could find Him, and live in communion with Him. His
creation – the birds of the air, the fish in the sea, the animals on the earth,
and the vegetation that feeds the world – are all given to us by God for one
purpose, to find Him.
The created world, which the Church also uses during each of
the Mysteries (Sacraments), has been created to bestow God’s grace upon
humanity through His Church. He created us in His Divine Image, so that we
could grow into His Divine Likeness. By celebrating, honoring, and blessing His
creation, we are offering it back to Him in thanksgiving for the many blessings
He has given to us in our daily struggle to grow closer to Him.
When the Church asks God to bless the year with His
Goodness, we are expressing our total dependence upon His loving mercy and
guidance. Without the created world, we would not know God. In each and every
miracle He performed, it was THROUGH His creation that He revealed His power
and love to the world. And it was THROUGH His creation, becoming PART of His
creation, that He ultimately saved, saves, and will save us.
I invite you to take the opportunity this year to make a new
commitment to Christ. I invite you to make the time each week to include time
with God in His Church, surrounded by others in His creation, to grow closer to
Him. I encourage you to invite Him into your life, and to ask Him to crown your
year with goodness and mercy.
If you want to grow closer to God, His has given His
creation and His Church to assist you. May God crown your new year with
goodness, mercy and blessings.
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