Lent is almost upon us. We have started kneeling during Saturday Vespers; we have heard the Gospel readings of Zacchaeus, the Publican and the Pharisee, the Prodigal, and the Dread Judgment. This time of the year calls of contemplation and quiet reflection. Here is a version of “Let My Prayer Arise” sung by the Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir. The Sretensky Monastery is located in the center of Moscow. Patriarch Tikhon the Confessor lived there under house arrest. Some of you might remember the monastery from the book Everyday Saints, which was written by the monastery’s abbot Tikhon Shevkunov. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG5gEzymh5c
Let my prayer arise
In your sight as incense,
And let the lifting up of my hands
Be an evening sacrifice.
I am also posting a link to their song “Call on Me.” It is not a song sung in church, but it is permeated with longing for God. It is wonderfully melancholy, and they sing it beautifully! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOlE0TUeK0A