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Thank you, Pyro, for posting that beautiful image of the Holy Family!

At the suggestion of my bishop (who is indeed a mind reader :-), I have just begun praying the Maronite Divine Office, referred to as the Prayer of the Faithful. It follows the Maronite liturgical calendar and consists of 3 hefty sized books. As a Christmas present to myself, I ordered the first two which arrived yesterday.

The Foreword begins by saying ....

"Prayer is the primary obligation of every Christian, indeed of every person. It is our duty to acknowledge our loving God, to praise him, thank him, ask for his forgiveness, and to seek his protection.

The whole history of salvation is a history of prayer. We know that Jesus would often go off by himself or with his disciples, in order to spend some time in prayer. He knew that he could not live alone, isolated from the Father. His life was spent in giving of himself to others."

It then goes into the lengthy history of the Divine Office prayers that encompassed 7 hours each day! These have now been whittled down to 2 - Ramsho and Safro - evening and morning prayers. It was natural for the early Christian community to follow the Jewish practice of prayer. The practice of reciting prayers at various hours throughout the day has its origin in Jewish tradition. It is known that the Jewish people used to gather in the synagogue to chant psalms, recite prayers, read from the scriptures and listen to commentaries and exhortations by the elders. The psalmist, David, paused seven times a day in order to pray to God: "Seven times a day I praise you for your just ordinances" (Psalm 119:164).

The Maronite Catholic Church keeps the ancient semetic tradition of beginning the liturgical day at sunset. Ramsho or evening prayer is celebrated at the end of the working day, with the setting of the sun, and is he first hour of the Church's cycle of daily prayer. It is directed to Christ, the Light of the world, who conquers the darkness of sin. As the sun rises and a new day begins, the Church sings praise, in the office of Safro or morning prayer, to the Father, glorifies Christ, the True Light, and gives thanks to the Holy Spirit.

This week, in the liturgical calendar, we commemorate The Revelation to Joseph. In the Sedro (the prayer of petition), it reads:

O God,
you are the beginning and end of all feasts and give meaning to them.
When you saw that those you created for your praise had strayed and gone away from you,
you became incarnate in order to save them.
and allow them to celebrate a perpetual feast with you.
Today we celebrate the memory of your divine
revelation which dispelled Joseph's turmoil
and enabled him to believe that the child had been conceived by the Holy Spirit
We thank you for having confused those who would mock Mary and for giving joy to those who sincerely believe.
We also thank you for having protected the Virgin, the pure one among all who are pure,
from any suspicion or accusation.

Lord,
we beseech you, through the intercession of Mary, your
Mother and Joseph your chosen one,
to mercifully accept our prayer.
May this feast be for our salvation,
may every sinner be sanctified,
all trials pass and all doubts cease.
May the one who is far away return and the one who is near be protected.
May peace and joy be poured out in this world
and love and unity win hearts.
May the souls of the departed find rest in the dwelling places of joy.
We shall give you glory,
Now and for ever.
Amen.

In the Qolo ( prayer amplifying that offered by the faithful), it reads:

Blessed is Christ, who sent Gabriel to Joseph that he might honor the one who was to become the Mother of God.

Blessed is the One who chose righteous Joseph as a guardian and a foster father.

Blessed is the One who loves us and became flesh to save us.