Psalter Group Assignments {Nativity 2014}

Can you believe it's almost Christmas?  I so love this time of year.  The days are shorter and you can feel all of nature slowing down for the winter.  It's the perfect time for hot cocoa, fireplaces and snuggles on the couch.While Pascha is a more sober fasting period, the Nativity is full of excitement and anticipation as we anxiously await the coming of Christ into the world.  What a beautiful thing!  During this time we should take extra care to abstain from things unholy or that distract us from God and the upcoming feast.  Stretch out your hand to those in need and comfort those around you who need comforting.  Embrace all that God meant this season to be. During fasting periods I try to spend my spare time on things beneficial to my soul, which includes less time on my phone and the internet in general.  If you follow me on facebook and instagram, you’ll notice that I won’t be posting as I normally do and will be trying to only share the things I find that I find inspiring and that might be of help to others along their lenten journey as well.  I will be sporadically posting photos of where and how I’m reading my Psalter with the hashtag #psaltergroups.  Feel free to join in!  It’s fun to see the different places it’s being read.I can hardly believe we’ve been doing this for seven years!  It warms my heart to know so many of you love this tradition and find comfort and encouragement in it as I do.  Thank you all so much for joining me each time.  I so look forward to your company.   <3Here are the assigned readings for the Psalter Groups for Nativity 2014.Names are numbered in order of what kathisma you begin on.*Be sure to look through all the lists for your name. It will be as you signed up. There are a lot of Mary’s, Maria’s, Katherine’s, etc. Even less common names are duplicated sometimes!  Make sure you’re looking at the right one! I included usernames or emails wherever I could to make it a bit easier, too.  So PLEASE read through the whole list until you’re sure you found your name.  If you’re not positive, leave a comment and I will clarify.Before beginning to read your assigned kathisma, please recite the Trisagion prayers (and the prayer at the bottom of this post if you choose):

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.O heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who art in all places and fillest all things; Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O gracious Lord.Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us. (Thrice)Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy God, visit and heal our infirmities for thy Name’s sake.Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

At the end of each kathisma please recite the following:

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Glory to you, O God. (twice)Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Glory to you, O God our hope, O Lord, glory to You. Lord have mercy on (name of each person in your group).

******People in group 5, please check back periodically since more people will most likely be added to your group, so you can add their names to your prayer list. And as always, if you have any questions at all, let me know!Don’t become discouraged if you miss some, it takes time to build a habit and anything you read is more than you would have read if you hadn’t signed up! Kali Dynami!Readings  (The Psalm numbers before each Kathisma are for people following along from the book of Psalms in their Bible)

1. Day 1– Psalms 1-8 (Kathisma 1)
2. Day 2– Psalms 9-17 (Kathisma 2)
3. Day 3– Psalms 18-24 (Kathisma 3)
4. Day 4–Psalms 25-32 (Kathisma 4)
5. Day 5– Psalms 33-37 (Kathisma 5)
6. Day 6– Psalms 38-46 (Kathisma 6)
7. Day 7– Psalms 47-55 (Kathisma 7)
8. Day 8– Psalms 56-64 (Kathisma 8)
9. Day 9– Psalms 65-70 (Kathisma 9)
10. Day 10– Psalms 71-77 (Kathisma 10)
11. Day 11– Psalms 78-85 (Kathisma 11)
12. Day 12– Psalms 86-91 (Kathisma 12)
13. Day 13– Psalms 92-101 (Kathisma 13)
14. Day 14– Psalms 102-105 (Kathisma 14)
15. Day 15– Psalms 106-109 (Kathisma 15)
16. Day 16– Psalms 110-118 (Kathisma 16)
17. Day 17– Psalms 119 (Kathisma 17)
18. Day 18– Psalms 120-134 (Kathisma 18)
19. Day 19– Psalms 135-143 (Kathisma 19)
20. Day 20– Psalms 144-150 (Kathisma 20)
21. Day 21–start over

Group One1.  Aikaterini2. Anna (Jodie)3. Kristina4. Hermione5. Cara Maria6. Anne P.7. Lukia8.  Anastasia D.9. Agape (Vanessa)10. Elizaveta11. Tracey12. Marina (Kelly)13. Eleni E.14. Ekaterini15. April P.16. Kimberly17. Maria M.18. Halina19. Maria T.20. Katherine Group Two1. Deanna2. Elizabeth (Erica)3. Katya4. Andreas5. Olena6. Lydia7. Ioannis8. Tatiana (Carrie)9. Fotini T.10. Elizabeth11. Sophia12. Photini13. Melissa14. Nicole15. Catherine16. Kimberly H.17. Panayiota18. Eleni19. Maria (Erin)20. Maria (Linda) Group Three1. Mary (Sarah)2. Rebecca3. Diakonesa4. Strategoula5. Sophia (Lena)6. Emily7. Tatiana8. Ruth9. Jennifer10. Aikaterini (Lori)11. Anna (Rebecca)12. Veronica13. Sophia (Skonstantarakis)14. Christina (dmtheta)15. Marie (Kelly)16. Catherine (Caitlyn)17. Panayiota (Patti)18. Maria (earthmg)19. Constantina20. Victoria (viktarheel) Group Four1. Sevasti2. Kalliope3. Irene4. Georgia5. Chrisovaladou6. Maria L.7. Paraskevi8. Marie R.9. Anna Maria10. Elizabeth Jane11. Asemeni & Savina12. Maria S.13. Aggeliki14. Christina (kdemetra)15. Fotini, Olympiada & Marina16. Ludmila17. Anna (Chelsea)18. Alexia19. Monica20. Panagiota (PattiGiu@)  Group Five1. Athena2.  Laura Ophelia3. Hermoine (Joy)4. Heather5. Julia6. Mixan'la7. Magdalene8.  Elizabeth (Tina)9. Anna C.10. Jocelyn11. Danielle12. Zana13. Gretchen Joanna14. Maria (Melanie)15. Ioana16. Juliana17.  Patricia M.18.  Stavroula19. Silvia-Veronica20.  Carol**Remember Group Five to check back daily because your group will be updated frequently until you are at 20 members! :)  As always, feel free to check out past groups and posts on the benefits of reading the Psalter here.  Kali Dynami and a blessed Nativity fast to you all!  xoxo