After the Prayers for the Catechumens and the Faithful comes the Great Entrance. The bread and wine are carried in procession through the church and brought to the holy altar. In this procession, the Church tangibly offers her gifts to God. Through our baptism and chrismation, we share in the priesthood of Christ. As the gifts are offered, we are offering ourselves as well. We place our whole lives into Christ's hands so that He may receive them, bless them, and give them back to us filled with his healing and saving grace. As the choir sings the Cherubic Hymn, we hear the call to "lay aside all earthly cares." For a few moments, we are invited to set aside the distractions and burdens of daily life and turn our full attention to God. Together with the angels, we prepare to stand before His heavenly throne as the Divine Liturgy moves toward the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. With love in Christ, Father Andrew

After the Litany of Fervent Supplication, our prayers turn to the people gathered in church today. These begin with the Litany of the Catechumens. Catechumens are those preparing to be received into the Church through a period of teaching and spiritual formation. It's important to pray this litany even when no catechumens are present. It reminds us of the Church's fundamental mandate: making disciples of all nations. We are always called to pray for those who are coming to Christ and preparing for life in His Church, whether they are with us in church or not. When a deacon serves, this litany begins with the proclamation, "Let all catechumens depart!" In the early Church, catechumens did not remain for the celebration of the Eucharist. They were dismissed for further instruction while the faithful continued with the Divine Liturgy. Today, this proclamation remains as a reminder of that earlier practice, but we no longer dismiss non-Orthodox Christians at this point in the service. Although Holy Communion is reserved for baptized and chrismated Orthodox Christians who are in good standing with the Church, everyone is welcome to remain for the entire Divine Liturgy. With love in Christ, Father Andrew

After the Scripture readings and the sermon, we come to a series of litanies, beginning with the Litany of Fervent Supplication. It's called “fervent” because our response, “Lord, have mercy,” is repeated three times after each petition. The litanies are like the connective tissue of the Divine Liturgy. The shorter litanies, with only three responses, are segues, leading us from one set of hymns or prayers to the next. The longer litanies draw us into a more focused prayer of intercession. While the Great Litany prayed for “the peace of the whole world,” the Litany of Fervent Supplication brings before God those more directly connected to our daily lives: Church and civil leaders, our family and friends who are in need of prayer, the departed, and all those gathered for the Divine Liturgy. When a group of friends lowered a paralyzed man through the roof into the house where Jesus was preaching, the Gospel tells us that, “seeing their faith,” the Lord healed him. Notice that it was the faith of the man’s friends that moved Jesus to act. God honors the fervent prayers of His people offered on behalf of others. With love in Christ, Father Andrew

During the singing of the Third Antiphon, which usually consists of the Beatitudes, we have the "Small Entrance" with the Holy Gospel book. On the surface, this looks like a short procession with clergy and servers, but spiritually it is the Church welcoming Christ as the living Word of God. As the procession moves toward the Royal Doors of the iconostasis, it calls for a shift in our internal disposition. The visual beauty of the entrance invites us to prepare our hearts to receive spiritual nourishment. It is a sensory reminder that we are crossing a threshold, moving away from the mundane and stepping directly into the presence of Christ the King. At the entrance, the priest asks God to make us “worthy to stand and minister” before the heavenly altar. Then comes the proclamation of the Epistle and the Gospel. The entire congregation stands because this is not a text Study but an encounter: Christ speaks to His Body, the Church. The homily that follows is meant to apply that Word concretely, calling people to repentance, faith, and deeper participation in the life of God. With love in Christ, Father Andrew

After the opening proclamation of, "Blessed is the Kingdom...," the first major prayer of the Divine Liturgy is the Great Litany—those repeated petitions that begin, “In peace, let us pray to the Lord.” The petitions move from the most basic gift—peace with God and neighbor—to the needs of the Church, the world, civil authorities, travelers, the sick, and the departed. Nothing is too great or too small to bring into the Liturgy. The repeated response, “Lord, have mercy,” is not meant to be mechanical. Mercy is God’s active, healing love—not just pity, but power to save and transform. When the people answer “Lord, have mercy,” they are asking God to step into every circumstance named in the petitions, to heal, strengthen, and guide. The Great Litany trains the heart to see the world itself as something offered up to God in prayer. The Great Litany also reminds us that peace is not merely the absence of conflict. In the Scriptures, peace is a gift that comes from communion with God and the right ordering of the soul. The Church begins here because peace is the soil in which every other spiritual virtue grows. "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) With love in Christ, Father Andrew