A song to help you prepare for the Great Fast

In the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC), a group of 300 Spartan soldiers were guarding a pass in the mountains against thousands of invading Persians. They were sent a message from the Persians informing them that the Persian army was so numerous that their arrows would block out the light of the sun. One of the Spartan generals sent back the reply, “Good, then we get to fight in the shade.”

When Mother Cecilia heard this story, she immediately saw it as an analogy of the spiritual life. The enemy (the devil and his demons) fill the sky (the mind) with intrusive thoughts and temptations, but we are empowered by the grace of God to continue praying and loving "in the shade." A fruit of Mother Cecilia's prayer, this song is woven with Scripture passages.

The Great Fast (Lent) is a time of greater temptation and spiritual struggle, as we, like Jesus, are led by the Spirit into the "desert" for forty days. We are called during this time of the liturgical year to engage in the struggle of setting aside some of our own desires at the Lord's invitation, to train ourselves to be unattached to them and to give God more space to come and love us and transform us. As we do this, the spiritual struggle intensifies. This is because the devil wants to impede this work, and God allows the devil's arrows in order to strengthen us (by means of our struggle) and prompt us to turn to Him for shelter and help, thereby helping us to grow in communion with Him. Our ascetical efforts are not ends in themselves; they are means to greater communion with God. In addition to fasting, we are called to an increase in prayer and almsgiving, which allow us to encounter the love of God for us and to love Him and our neighbor with the fountain of living water which is His presence within us. We become springs of water in the desert—the desert of the world that thirsts for God, and the desert that is our own struggle.

When we feel discouraged by our failures in our Lenten practices and resolves, let's turn to our loving God and recall that even a failure in the "means" doesn't necessarily mean a failure to reach the "end," which is love. Even if we are standing in the shade of the arrows of the enemy's accusation, we are still with the Lord, who Himself hung on the Cross "in the shade." 

Lyrics by Mother Cecilia

Music by Mother Cecilia and Gina DeFilippo

Produced by Gina DeFilippo

Courses/Retreat on Monasticism

Happy feast of the Father of Monks, St. Anthony the Great! 

Check out these upcoming free courses (and an online retreat) on or inspired by monasticism offered through the Institute of Catholic Culture!

Rules for Life 

Lent with the Monks

Desert Voices

Praying Through Suffering

Updated Theophany Schedule & Reflection

Our Theophany Eve schedule has changed significantly. Please take note of the new times:

Accepting My Humanity With Jesus

A reflection by Mother Cecilia, hegumena

A couple days ago, I was angry with myself for a mistake I had made. With a lot of effort, I turned to Jesus in prayer. Lately, when I’m struggling with something, I’ve gotten in the habit of asking Jesus, “When did You experience something like this?” Each time I’ve asked, He’s come through with an example from Scripture, encouraging me and helping me to be conformed to Him. Usually, I know the answer before I even finish asking my question; in the act of articulating what I’m experiencing, I become aware of the way Jesus had this same experience. 

Well, the day I was angry with myself for making a mistake, I thought, “I can’t ask Jesus about this one. He didn’t make mistakes.” But I knew I had to talk to Him; there was no other way to regain my peace. So, with great hesitation, I started to articulate my struggle: “Jesus, did You ever make a mistake or struggle to accept the weakness of Your humanity?” And it hit me before I finished the sentence: what I’m actually upset about is not simply making a mistake; I’m upset about the imperfections and limitations of my humanity, and Jesus took these on WILLINGLY! As God, He didn’t need to do that. God is infinitely powerful, all-knowing, uncontainable... And He chose to join Himself to the limitations of our humanity. It’s mind-blowing to consider God taking on even the simplest human limitations and needs: He experienced hunger…He had to stop working and sleep… 

I understood immediately that if the all-powerful God chose to take on the limitations of humanity, I, who am a created human person, can willingly accept my human limitations rather than being angry about them. With Jesus, I can even lovingly embrace them, because that is what He did, and with Him in me and I in Him, I can do that too. 

At this time of the liturgical year, we celebrate several landmark moments of the Incarnation—of God’s taking on of human limitation: the Nativity (Dec. 25), Theophany (Jan. 6) and Presentation in the Temple (Feb. 2). These are special times of deepening our awareness of God’s love for us through His humble condescension; they are also times of rejoicing and thanking Him. Listen carefully to the liturgical texts (at Divine Liturgy, Vespers, Matins, Royal Hours, etc.), sit quietly with the readings from Scripture, and maybe even speak to Jesus about your struggles with your humanity. Notice the unique ways that He personally speaks to you about His love for you.

Here is a beautiful text that makes me cry every year! It’s from Vespers for the first pre-festive day of Theophany (Jan. 2). I love that the Jordan River is personified and cries out to John the Baptist:

O come all you faithful ones. * Leaving the regions of Judea, we shall cross the wilderness of the Jordan; * and today we shall see Him who revealed Himself in the flesh for our sake. * In the streams of the Jordan, * He is asking the Forerunner for baptism. * John refuses and cries out in fear: * I do not dare to touch the divine Fire with my hand of clay. * The Jordan and the sea fled, O Savior, and then returned. * And I, how shall I place a hand on Your head which even the Seraphim fear? * The Jordan fled when Elisha received the mantle of Elijah; * how will it not go into the Abyss * and into the depths when it sees You unclothed in the stream? * How will the Jordan not burn me when I touch the fire? * The Jordan then cries out to John: * Why do you hesitate to baptize my Lord? * Why do you delay the purification of so many people? * He has already sanctified all creation. * Let me also be sanctified together with the nature of the water. * For this reason, He has come into the world.

May these beautiful feasts fill you to overflowing with joy and grace. We are praying for you!

An idea for incorporating some of the daily liturgical prayer of the Byzantine Church into your daily life: try the ECPubs app. This free app is especially helpful for praying Vespers (evening prayer); the entire text of the service for each day is compiled in order. In the app, click on “Vespers,” then the date (of the following day, since Vespers is the first service of the new liturgical day), then “Reader service” (this option gives instructions for praying Vespers without a priest). We nuns use this app when traveling.