A conversation with St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia on the Divine Liturgy and on frequent Holy Communion.
He was very upset, because the faithful have rights, as is proper, that the priest be praying in the Holy Altar. But they many times are not in the state to help him.
"I," St. Porphyrios said, "cense them and they do not bow in reverence. I say 'Let us stand aright', but they sit down. I bless them, and they are having a conversation. And the most tragic, I say: 'Drink of this, all of you', and only few people approach for Holy Communion. This is a great pain for the priest."
I asked him: "Elder, does that mean that everyone should be receiving?"
"Hey, I am not saying this myself. The Lord is saying this 'all of you'!
"Perhaps this word has some other meaning that I don't know? And later on, the prayer says: 'through us and to all your people.' Naturally, this applies to those who do not have impediments [i.e. mortal sins for which they are under penance to not receive for a period of time, determined by one's spiritual father.] The rest should have beforehand received the permission of their spiritual father. Otherwise, without Holy Communion, without Christ, how will they go out into their everyday lives? You come to church and you lost the most important thing, the Gift, Which is everything, you remain only with antidoron. Hey George, do you know what "The Holy Altar" is? It is the most precious thing upon the earth. Royal thrones, presidential halls, academic institutions have little worth. The Holy Altar is the Burning Bush. Here Christ descends, the Holy Spirit is present, and the Angels encircle. It is an awesome thing. I, many times, am afraid to touch the Holy Altar with my hands. And before this wonder, you hear the faithful whispering and discussing various topics, not experiencing this unique event. How can one liturgize like this?
"Is the priest alone, or are we all together, clergy and laity? Why do we call it 'liturgy'? Is it or is it not 'the work of the people'? Eh!
"As the priest stands, so should the people stand. Concentrated. Totally dedicated to God. At that hour, we are not upon the earth. 'We who mystically represent the Cherubim', we are in heaven, before the Holy Trinity. Without the 'cares of life'. We are all liturgists...My, my, my! What God has made us worthy to experience! If we believe that before us is completed the Great Sacrifice, we would all be standing 'with fear of God'.
"We should be weeping out of joy that God Himself condescends to be sacrificed out of love for us. If we don't believe this, why are we coming to Church? Who are we mocking? Those who don't come to church therefore are more consistent [i.e. compared to those who come in a disrespectful or faithless manner]. In church we are silent, we are concentrated, and we speak to God.
"Do you understand what I'm saying? If so, you have a responsibility to share this among the rest of our brethren who are ignorant of the terrible mysteries that are being accomplished. If it is as I say.
"May God give us strength to accept this "wonder". Canonically, both the priest and the faithful should repose having lived so closely to the Mystery [of Holy Communion], as close as to the Sun.
But the greatly compassionate God allows, (hear an awesome thing!) for us to experience rest already [in this life], in our worthlessness."
And the Saint, a true liturgist, began to cry, and finished:
