Día 30 · The Nativity Fast
The Messenger Before Him (en inglés)
Por ahora, los textos de estas oraciones están en inglés. Solo publicamos en español las oraciones cuya traducción podemos verificar en una fuente ortodoxa publicada o en la Reina-Valera 1909.
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me! The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. Behold, the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming!” says the LORD of Armies.Malachi 3:1
Reflexión (en inglés)
Malachi, whose book closes the Twelve Prophets, promised a messenger who would prepare the way, and then the Lord himself coming suddenly to his temple. Christ said that this messenger was John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10). Orthodox Christians call John the Forerunner, and the icon of the Deesis shows him with the Mother of God on either side of Christ, both turned toward him in prayer: the two who prepared most closely for his coming. Preparation is holy work, and the Fast is our share in it.
Una oración (en inglés)
Lord, through the prayers of your Forerunner John, prepare the way in me. Bring low the mountains of my pride, fill the valleys of my discouragement, and make my crooked paths straight, so that I may be ready when you come. Amen.
Llévalo contigo (en inglés)
What needs to be cleared out of the way in your life before the feast?