LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS
At Psalm 140
In Tone 7
- Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.
Like the prodigal, I have turned away from Your grace;
I have wasted the riches of Your goodness, O Lord.
I now run to You and cry out:
I have sinned , O Lord, have mercy on me.
- The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.
Like the prodigal, I have turned away from Your grace;
I have wasted the riches of Your goodness, O Lord.
I now run to You and cry out:
I have sinned , O Lord, have mercy on me.
In Tone 5
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
You were not concerned about all these earthly matters,
and you courageously braved the tortures.
You did not sin against hope,
having confidence in God’s love for humankind;
thus you were made heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven,
O most praise-worthy martyrs.
Ask for peace for the world and great mercy for our souls.
- Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
Putting on the shield of faith
and fortifying themselves with the symbol of the Cross,
Your saints, O Lord, bravely went of their own accord to torture.
They defeated the craft and insolence of the devil.
By their supplications, O all-powerful God,
send peace to the world and great mercy to our souls
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Intercede for us, O holy martyrs,
that we may be delivered from our iniquities;
for the grace to pray for us is given to you.
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
With your souls filled with unquenchable love,
you endured the most terrible sufferings without ever denying Christ;
and you laid low the impudence of the torturers.
You kept the faith unwavering and unharmed,
and have gone to dwell in heaven.
Therefore, having the boldness to approach the Lord,
beg Him to grant us His great mercy.
In Tone 8
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
O praiseworthy Martyrs of Christ,
you considered attacks by persecutors and violent death to be as nothing.
Boldly you armed yourselves with courage for battle,
and robed yourselves in glorious victory.
You were numbered with all the just
with whom we bless you in constant praise.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
O praiseworthy Martyrs of Christ,
you considered attacks by persecutors and violent death to be as nothing.
Boldly you armed yourselves with courage for battle,
and robed yourselves in glorious victory.
You were numbered with all the just
with whom we bless you in constant praise.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
O most blessed Martyrs of Christ,
you gave yourselves up freely to be sacrificed.
With your blood you sanctified the earth,
you brightened the air by your departure from this life.
Now you live in heaven, in a never-setting light.
O Martyrs, who see God, always pray for us.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
O invincible Martyrs of Christ,
with the dew of divine grace you pass through the pain of fire without harm.
You are considered worthy to live by the waters of peace, since you received a crown of victory.
With joy we celebrate your holy feast,
and we give glory to Christ.
In Tone 5, Glory…
I recall the prophet crying out:
I am ashes and dust.
And again, I looked into the graves and saw bones laid bare and I said:
Which is king or soldier, rich or poor, righteous or sinner?
But, with the just, give rest, O Lord, to Your departed servants,
since You are the Lover of humankind.
Now…
A symbol of the undefiled Virgin and bride was revealed in the Red Sea.
There, Moses divided the waters;
here, Gabriel is the messenger of the miracle.
There, the Israelites crossed the deep and their feet were not even wet;
here, the Virgin gives birth to Christ without human seed.
There, the sea remained uncrossed after the passing of Israel;
here the immaculate remained incorrupt after giving birth to Emmanuel.
Therefore, O Immortal God, who appeared in the flesh as true Man, have mercy on us!
Prokeimenon I, Tone 4
Give us Your help against the foe,* for human help is vain.
verse: O God, You have rejected us and broken us. You have been angry; come back to us.
Reading I
Genesis 8:4-21
The ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen. So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark he had made. Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters dried up from the earth. He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and brought her to himself in the ark. Then he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark. The dove returned to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew the waters had receded from the earth. So he waited yet another seven days and again sent out the dove; however, she did not return to him any more. And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed, the surface of the ground was dry. Now in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried. Then the Lord God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and their wives with you. Also, bring out with you every living thing of all flesh: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that moves upon the earth, so they may abound on the earth, and increase and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, along with his wife and his sons and their wives. Every animal, every bird, and every creeping thing that moves upon the earth, according to their kind, went out of the ark. Then Noah built an altar to God, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered whole burnt offerings on the altar. So the Lord God smelled a sweet aroma. Then the Lord God thought it over and said, “I will never again curse the earth because of man’s works, although the mind of man is diligently involved with evil things from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
Prokeimenon II, Tone 6
O God, hear my cry!* Listen to my prayer!
verse: So I will always praise Your name; day after day I will fulfil my vows.
Reading II
Proverbs 10:31-11:12
A righteous man will never fail,
But the ungodly shall not inhabit the earth.
The mouth of a righteous man distills wisdom,
But the tongue of an unrighteous man utterly destroys.
The lips of righteous men distill grace,
But the mouth of the ungodly is perverse.
Deceitful scales are an abomination before the Lord,
But a righteous weight is acceptable to Him.
Wherever arrogance enters, there also is dishonor,
But the mouth of the humble meditates on wisdom.
When a righteous man dies, he leaves regret,
But the destruction of the ungodly is immediate and brings joy.
Righteousness cuts straight and blameless paths,
But ungodliness embraces wrongdoing.
The righteousness of upright men delivers them,
But lawless men are taken to their destruction.
When a righteous man dies, his hope does not perish,
But the boast of the ungodly perishes.
A righteous man escapes from a snare,
But the ungodly man is handed over in his place.
There is a snare for citizens in the mouth of the ungodly,
But the perception of the righteous is prosperous.
A city stays upright in the good things of the righteous,
But it is razed to the ground by the mouths of the ungodly.
A man in need of discernment treats citizens with contempt,
But a man of discernment keeps quiet.
A double-tongued man reveals deliberations heard in council,
But a man faithful in spirit conceals matters.
Those for whom there is no leadership fall like leaves,
But there is salvation in much counsel.