Forgiveness Vespers

This evening was Forgiveness Vespers. Part of the service is where we go to every member do a prostration (get on our knees and bow our head to the floor, then get up again) and say, “I have sinned against God and against you. Would you please forgive me?” The response is “God forgives you and I forgive you.” Then we give the kiss of peace and sometimes also a hug. We do this before Lent to prepare for the upcoming time of penance to make sure there isn’t anything between us and others in the parish that would hinder our relationship with God. Not that we don’t go up to people individually when we realize we need to ask for forgiveness, but it is very cleansing and a new beginning.

Day 4 So, even though I didn’t do any walking today, my legs are quite sore from all the prostrations. I don’t know for sure how many people there were, but I’d guess at least 30 or 40. I ate one of the last pieces of cheesecake, but I managed to skip past the ice cream for dessert after lunch at church. Now, I LOVE ice cream. I always say that it doesn’t matter how full you are, ice cream just melts and fills in the cracks. Now I won’t get any until after Pascha (April 27).

Once again we’ve come to the evening and I am hungry. I think my eating schedule is just all messed up because I don’t really eat much during the day. But I must have eaten more in the evenings because since I’ve started not eating after 7 pm, I’ve noticed the last couple days that I’m hungry by the time I go to bed. Well, being a little hungry is good for me.

For Lent I hope to do some more reading and spend less time on the computer. I didn’t say goodbye at the Neopet guild this time. I feel like I say goodbye and then keep showing up. I’m pretty sure they think I’ll never actually leave. *lol* But that’s sort of typical. I would often say good night on the message board and still be posting comments an hour later. Goodbye just means see you later, really.