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SPIRITUAL HELPS

The Commandments of God | The Seven Grievous Sins | The Seven Capital Virtues | Nine Ways of Participating in Another's Sins | The Chief Aids to Penitence | The Chief Spiritual Works of Mercy | The Chief Corporal Works of Mercy | The Gifts of the Holy Spirit | The Fruits of the Holy Spirit | The Theological Virtues | Great Feasts Prescribed by the Church | Fasts Prescribed by the Church

THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

  1. I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other Gods before me.
  2. Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image.
  3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
  4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
  5. Honor thy father and mother.
  6. Thou shalt not kill.
  7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
  8. Thou shalt not steal.
  9. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
  10. Thou shalt not covet.



THE SEVEN GRIEVOUS SINS

  1. PRIDE: the lack of humility befitting a creature of God.
  2. GREED: too great a desire for money or wordly goods.
  3. LUST: impure and unworthy desire for something evil.
  4. ANGER: unworthy irritation and lack of self control.
  5. GLUTONY: the habit of eating or drinking too much.
  6. ENVY: jealousy of some other person's happiness.
  7. SLOTH: laziness that keeps us from doing our duty to God and man.



THE SEVEN CAPITAL VIRTUES

  The seven capital virtues are the opposite of the seven grievous sins.

  1. HUMILITY.
  2. LIBERALITY.
  3. CHASTITY.
  4. MILDNESS.
  5. TEMPERANCE.
  6. HAPPINESS.
  7. DILIGENCE.



NINE WAYS OF PARTICIPATING IN ANOTHER'S SINS

  1. By counsel.
  2. By command.
  3. By consent.
  4. By provocation.
  5. By praise or flattery.
  6. By concealment.
  7. By partaking.
  8. By silence.
  9. By defense of the sin committed.



THE CHIEF AIDS TO PENITENCE

  1. Prayer.
  2. Fasting.
  3. Performance of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.



THE CHIEF SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY

  1. To admonish sinners.
  2. To instruct the ignorant.
  3. To counsel the doubtful.
  4. To comfort the sorrowful.
  5. To suffer wrongs patiently.
  6. To forgive injuries.
  7. To pray for the living and the dead.



THE CHIEF CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY

  1. To feed the hungry.
  2. To give drink to the thirsty.
  3. To clothe the naked.
  4. To ransom captives.
  5. To shelter the homeless.
  6. To visit the sick.
  7. To bury the dead.



THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

  1. Wisdom.
  2. Understanding.
  3. Counsel.
  4. Fortitude.
  5. Knowledge.
  6. Piety.
  7. Fear of God.



THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

  1. Love.
  2. Joy.
  3. Peace.
  4. Patience.
  5. Kindness.
  6. Goodness.
  7. Long-suffering.
  8. Mildness.
  9. Fidelity.
  10. Modesty.
  11. Continence.
  12. Chastity.



THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES

  1. Faith.
  2. Hope.
  3. Charity.



GREAT FEASTS PRESCRIBED BY THE CHURCH

     1. Pascha
  The Feast of Christ's Resurrection, Holy Pascha, is the greatest Feast of the Church.

     2. The Twelve Great Feasts
  The eight great Feasts in honor of our Lord and the four great Feasts in honor of His Mother taken together are called "The Twelve Great Feasts."

  • September 8. The Nativity of the Theotokos.
  • September 14. The Elevation of the Holy Cross.
  • November 21. The Presentation of the Theotokos.
  • December 25. The Nativity of Christ (Christmas).
  • January 6. Theophany (The Baptism of Christ).
  • February 2. The Presentation of the Lord.
  • March 25. The Annunciation.
  • The Sunday before Pascha, Palm Sunday.
  • Forty Days after Pascha, The Ascension of the Lord.
  • Fifty Days after Easter, Pentecost.
  • August 6. The Transfiguration.
  • August 15. The Falling-asleep of the Theotokos.



FASTS PRESCRIBED BY THE CHURCH

     1. Wednesday and Friday
  Every Wednesday and Friday is to be observed with fasting unless some important Feast takes precedence over the fast.

     (See exceptions noted below.)
  The Fast on Wednesday is in memory of the betrayal of the Lord, and the Fast on Friday in remembrance of His Passion and Death upon the Cross.

     2. Special Fast Days.
  • August 29. The Beheading of St. John the Baptist.
  • September 14. The Elevation of the Holy Cross.
  • January 5. The Eve of Theophany.


     3. Lent, the Great Fast.
  Lent begins forty days before Palm Sunday, on the Monday after Cheese-Fare Sunday, and lasts until the evening preceeding Palm Sunday.

  Holy Week is a special Fast in honor of our Lord's Passion, and lasts from the evening of Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday.

     4. The Fast of the Holy Apostles.

  The Fast of the Holy Apostles begins on the Monday after All Saints' Sunday (the Sunday next after Pentecost) and lasts until June 29, the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. This Fast varies in length according to the date of Pascha.

     5. The Fast of the Theotokos.

  The Fast which precedes the Feast of the Falling-asleep of the All-holy Theotokos begins on August 1 and lasts until the day of the Feast, August 15.

  6. The Fast before Nativity (Christmas).

  The Fast before Nativity begins on November 15 and lasts until the day of the Feast of the Nativity, December 25.

     7. Periods when fasting is forbidden.

  The Church forbids fasting during the following periods:

  • From December 25 to January 5.
  • The week following the Sunday of the Pharisee and Publican.

  • The week following Meat-fare Sunday (abstinence from flesh-meat is required during this week, but no fasting).
  • The week following Pascha.
  • The week following Pentecost.
  • All Saturdays, excepting Holy Saturday.


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