Day 23 of the Great Fast. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS ON MONDAY EVENING
At Psalm 140
Tone 8
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Having reached the middle of the season of abstinence today,* by the power of the Cross,* let us now praise Him who has been raised upon it in the midst of the earth;* and crying aloud let us glorify Him as our Saviour and God:* Grant us to behold, O Master, Your Passion and Your holy Resurrection,* and bestow upon us forgiveness and great mercy.
I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Let us humble the passions of the body,* by abstinence from food and turning away from pleasures,* and let us adore with faith the Wood of the Cross;* for it lays before us to be worshiped,* sanctifying with divine grace all of mankind,* therefore let us cry aloud to the Lord:* We thank You, O compassionately loving One,* who through the Cross have saved our souls.
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Falling down and worshiping the Cross, let us all cry aloud:* Rejoice, Wood of life; Rejoice, holy sceptre of Christ;* Rejoice, heavenly glory of mankind; Rejoice, might of the faith;* Rejoice, unconquerable weapon; Rejoice, vanquisher of enemies;* Rejoice, radiant light that saves the world;* Rejoice, great glory of the martyrs; Rejoice, power of the righteous;* Rejoice, splendour of the angels;* Rejoice, all-honoured Cross!
Tone 1
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Let us in faith raise a magnificent song as is fitting* to the all-praised Codratus and the great Cyprian,* with the two named Dionysius and Anectus,* together with Crescens and the glorious Paul!* They are divinely crowned athletes of the Lord* and our most fervent intercessors!
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Today another choir of holy martyrs appears: victorious and triumphant!* A brilliant assembly of divine passion-bearers,* a steadfast regiment, a chosen army!* Codratus is its captain.* He is revealed as an all-glorious conqueror!
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
All-praised Codratus, with your cutting words* you slashed through the twisted webs of the philosophers’ wisdom like fog!* You taught in faith and suffered in patience for Christ.* Well-adorned in both teaching and suffering,* you have been crowned with the passion bearers!
Tone 1
Glory… Now…
Held fast by hopeless transgressions, O pure Virgin,* we cry out in thanksgiving,* having acquired you as our sole intercessor:* Cleanse us, O all-holy Bride of God,* for you are the refuge of the world* and the help of our race.
Prokeimenon I, Tone 8
Hearken, O God, to my prayer,* when I make supplication to You.
verse: Rescue my soul from fear of the enemy.
Reading I
Genesis 8:21-9:7
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. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring shall not cease by day or by night.” Thus God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and have dominion over it. For the dread and fear of you shall be upon all the wild animals of the earth, all the birds of heaven, all that move upon the earth, and all the fish of the sea. I have put them under your authority. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as I did the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its lifeblood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of all the wild animals I will require it; and I will require the life of man at the hand of his fellow man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; because I made man in God’s image. So then, increase and multiply; and fill the earth and have dominion over it.”
Prokeimenon II, Tone 6
Hearken to us, O God our Saviour,* hope of all the ends of the earth* and of them that be far off at sea.
verse: To You is due praise, O God, in Sion; and to You shall a vow be rendered in Jerusalem.
Reading II
Proverbs 11:19-12:6
Perverse ways are an abomination to the Lord,
But all who are blameless in their ways are acceptable to Him.
He who joins hands with the unrighteous will not go unpunished,
But he who sows righteousness will receive a faithful reward.
Like a ring in the nose of a wild swine,
So is beauty to an evil-minded woman.
Every desire of the righteous is good,
But the hope of the ungodly is destruction.
There are those who sow their own things and produce more things,
And there are those who gather but have less.
Every sincere soul is blessed,
But an angry man is not graceful.
May the one who hoards grain leave it to the nations,
But may blessing be upon the head of the one who shares it.
He who plans good things seeks good grace,
But he who seeks evil, it will capture him.
He who trusts in riches, this man will fall,
But he who helps the righteous, this man will rise.
He who does not deal graciously with his own house will inherit the wind,
And a man without discernment will be servant to one with discernment.
A tree of life springs up from the fruit of righteousness,
But the souls of the lawless will be taken away before their time.
If the righteous man is scarcely saved,
Then where shall an ungodly man and a sinner appear?
He who loves instruction loves perception,
But he who hates correction is without discernment.
He who finds grace from the Lord becomes better,
But a lawless man will be passed over in silence.
A man will not prosper by lawlessness,
But the roots of righteous men will not be pulled out.
A courageous wife is a crown to her husband,
But as a worm in a tree, so an evildoing wife destroys her husband.
The thoughts of the righteous are judgments,
But the ungodly devise deceits.
The words of the ungodly are deceitful,
But the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
Epistle
Hebrews 12:1-10
Gospel
Matthew 20:1-16
MATINS ON TUESDAY MORNING
Sessional Hymn I, Tone 6
Give me, O Lord, the watchfulness of the wise virgins,* and cause the lamp of my soul to burn brightly with the oil of Your compassion*, that I may sing to You the hymn of the angels: Alleluia.
O Lord, rebuke me not in Your anger, neither chasten me in Your wrath.
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us;* for we sinners, lacking all defence, offer You this prayer, O Master:* have mercy on us.
God is wonderful in His saints, the God of Israel.
With patient endurance the saints suffered and contended* and received the prize of victory from You.* They brought to nothing the schemes of the transgressors* and were granted crowns of incorruption.* Through their prayers, O God,* bestow upon us Your great mercy.
Glory… Now…
Open to us the gate of your loving-kindness, most blessed Theotokos.* In you we set our hope:* suffer us not to go astray,* but through you may we be delivered from adversities.* For you are the salvation of the Christian people.
Sessional Hymn II, Tone 8
With our souls illumined through abstinence,* let us bow down and worship the salvific Cross upon which Christ has been nailed,* and let us exclaim before it:* Rejoice, delight and sure help of fasters;* Rejoice, destroyer of the passions, and adversary of devils;* Rejoice, O blessed Wood!
Glory… Now…
O faithful, with hymns let us magnify the Theotokos,* the unshakable confirmation of the Faith* and the precious gift of our souls:* Rejoice, O you who held within your womb the Stone of life!* Rejoice, hope of the ends of the earth and aid of the sorrowful!* Rejoice, Bride unwedded!
Sessional Hymn III, Tone 8
The whole of the inhabited world falls down in adoration before Your Cross, O Lord,* and worshiping it as the life of creation, it cries to You:* By the power of Your Cross and through abstinence,* keep in profound peace those who praise and hymn You,* O abundantly merciful One.
Glory… Now…
Rejoice, you who through the Angel received the joy of the world!* Rejoice, you that have given birth to your Creator and Lord!* Rejoice, you that were deemed worthy to be the Mother of God!
Canon
Ode 2
Irmos: Behold now, and see that I am God,* who led the people of Israel in times of old through the Red Sea,* and saved them and fed them,* setting them free from the bitter bondage of Pharaoh.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Today, in the middle of the Fast, we worship with faith the Cross that You have endured in the midst of the earth, O Messiah and Word of God, asking that we also may behold Your Resurrection.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
With the rod of power prefigured by Moses, let us rend in two the sea of the passions and so reach the promised land; and let us take our fill of the noetic Manna.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Who will not weep for you? Who will not mourn for you, O soul, lover of wickedness? You have not eagerly sought that which is good, but have despised the righteous Judge, who is ever long-suffering towards you.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
Assuming flesh without undergoing change O Virgin, you conceived Christ. Diligently pray to Him, that He may deliver from the passions of the flesh those who fall down and worship before the Cross which He endured in the flesh.
Irmos: Behold now, and see that I am your God,* begotten of the Father before all ages,* conceived without a man in these latter times from the Virgin,* abolishing the sin of the forefather Adam, as the Lover of mankind.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Behold now, see that I am your God, who has given the inhabited world My Cross as a weapon of salvation, before which we now fall down and worship; grant that those who adore it may overcome the scheming of the enemy.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Great and abundantly merciful are You, O Lord, for You have granted us to worship before Your life-giving Cross, upon which Your hands and feet were nailed; and over which Blood flowed from Your most pure side, like a fount of life for us.
Glory…
A supremely perfect Unity in three Hypostasis and Godhead, the Father unbegotten, the Son only-begotten, the Spirit proceeding from the Father and manifest through the Son, single in Essence and in Nature, one Lordship and one Kingdom, save us all.
Now…
The wonder of your conception transcends speech, O Mother and Virgin: for how have you given birth and yet remained undefiled? How did you bear a child without knowing a man? “All this is understood by the Word of God, who has been born from me in a supra-natural manner, transcending nature.”
Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You.
The great Moses stretched out his hands and overthrew Amalek, prefiguring you for us, O Cross. And making the sign of the Cross in darkness and in the air, we turn to flight and defeat our enemy, the author of evil, singing the praises of Christ.
Katavasia: Behold now, and see that I am your God,* begotten of the Father before all ages,* conceived without a man in these latter times from the Virgin,* abolishing the sin of the forefather Adam, as the Lover of mankind.
Ode 8
Irmos: O You who cover Your chambers on high with the waters,* You who have set the sands to bound the sea and who uphold all things:* the sun sings Your praises, the moon gives You glory,* every creature offers a hymn to You, as their Creator, throughout the ages.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Having created the foundations of all the earth as God, You have given to the faithful as an unshakable foundation and weapon of salvation: Your Cross, before which we fall down and worship, exalting You above all throughout all ages.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Beholding the Wood of the Cross shining brighter than the rays of the Sun, let us now draw near, radiant with the Fast, and adore it, drawing from it light-bearing grace which drives away darkness, supremely exalting Christ throughout all ages.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
O Word, You are the never-changing vivifying water which springs up into eternal life; and pouring forth blood and water from Your side upon the Cross, O Master, You have staunched the rivers of sin, therefore I entreat You: shrivel up the wicked streams of my passions.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
O pure and holy Mother of God, you are our noetic sanctification, for you have borne God who reposes among His holy ones. This day He has hallowed all the ends of the earth by the divine veneration of the most holy Cross, upon which He has been affixed in the flesh.
Irmos: Seated upon the throne of glory, and unceasingly glorified as God,* O angels and heavens bless, hymn and supremely exalt Him throughout all ages!.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Come, O people, and behold the lifegiving Wood now set before us, and upon which Christ God was crucified, and with reverent fear let us chant in praise of the Cross throughout all ages.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
We hymn the Cross made from three bars of wood as a token of the Trinity; and, falling down before it, we worship it with fear, raising our cry, as we bless, praise and supremely exalt Christ throughout all ages.
We bless the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Lord.
God is one in the Trinity: the Father is not begotten like the Son, nor does the Son proceed like the Spirit, but each keeps its own distinctive characteristics; therefore I glorify the Three as Light and God throughout the ages.
Now…
You alone have conceived without corruption; you alone have given suck to Your child, yet not known the pangs of birth-giving; and you alone have borne your Maker and Master, and are both His Handmaiden and Mother, therefore we sing your praises, O Virgin Mother, throughout the ages.
Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You.
O Christ, by a word You gave sight to the man blind from birth; open once more the blinded eyes of my heart, that I may behold the light of Your commandments throughout the ages.
We praise, we bless, and we worship the Lord, hymning and supremely exalting Him throughout all ages!
Katavasia: Seated upon the throne of glory, and unceasingly glorified as God,* O angels and heavens bless, hymn and supremely exalt Him throughout all ages!.
Magnificat
Ode 9
Irmos: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,* who has exalted the horn of salvation on our behalf in the house of His child David,* wherein the Dayspring from on high hath visited us,* and guided us on the path of peace.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has destroyed the ancient curse by His Cross, which He has given to us as our refuge and firm foundation; and by its power we overthrow our enemies.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
I am held fast in the bonds of my countless transgressions, O Christ, and obstinately I refuse to comprehend Your will, which leads me to salvation. In Your ineffable mercy and loving-kindness, turn me back by Your Cross and free me from my blindness.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Sinfully I have followed the Pharisee in his arrogance; bitter and terrible has been my fall, and I lie trampled by the enemy. But have compassion upon me, O Christ, and save me, for out of the abundance of Your pity You have humbled Yourself, O most high King of Glory.
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
All generations call you blessed, O pure One: for Jesus has been born from your womb alone, O Virgin Maiden. Pray to Him that your flock and people may be saved.
Irmos: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,* who has exalted the horn of salvation on our behalf in the house of His child David,* wherein the Dayspring from on high has visited us,* and guided us on the path of peace.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has destroyed the ancient curse by His Cross, which He has set before us for our veneration. Let us adore the Cross in faith and hymn its praises, ever glorifying His great mercy.
Glory to Your precious Cross, O Lord.
O precious Cross, you are the glory of the Church, the weapon of kings, fashioned by God to give peace to all the world. O Cross, joy of the Orthodox, and the guardian of the inhabited land: keep and sanctify those who fall down and worship You.
Glory…
Glory to You, O Holy Trinity, Unity equal in honour, divine Nature, one revered Dominion, the Father, Son, and Spirit, unapproachable Light, beginningless Godhead: save those who worship You, O Creator of all.
Now…
Standing by Your Cross, O Jesus, Your Mother gazed upon You, her Lamb, Shepherd, and Master; and lamenting she wept bitterly, wounded in the depths of her soul, and cried out to You, O Christ, “What is this strange sight? How do You, the Life, die?”
Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You.
As You saved the repentant Manasseh, O God, also save me Your servant, and reject me not, for I repent bitterly with tears, for I have turned aside as did Israel of old, having lived all my days prodigally.
Katavasia: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,* who has exalted the horn of salvation on our behalf in the house of His child David,* wherein the Dayspring from on high has visited us,* and guided us on the path of peace.
Aposticha
Tone 8
Consider, my soul, how the vainglorious Pharisee was condemned because of pride,* and how the humble-minded Publican was justified for acknowledging his transgressions.* For the one was cast away for priding himself in virtue,* while the other having sinned, confessed and was accepted.* Through control of the passions rouse yourself to attain to the exaltation of humility which cannot be abased,* given you by Christ in His great mercy.
In the morning, fill us with Your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days. Give us joy to balance our affliction for the years when we knew misfortune. Show forth Your work to Your servants; let Your glory shine on their children.
Consider, my soul, how the vainglorious Pharisee was condemned because of pride,* and how the humble-minded Publican was justified for acknowledging his transgressions.* For the one was cast away for priding himself in virtue,* while the other having sinned, confessed and was accepted.* Through control of the passions rouse yourself to attain to the exaltation of humility which cannot be abased,* given you by Christ in His great mercy.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us: give success to the work of our hands, give success to the work of our hands.
Great were your struggles O holy martyrs;* for steadfastly you bravely endured the tortures of lawless men, confessing Christ before kings.* And, departing from this life, you now work miracles throughout all the world,* healing from their passions those in sickness, O holy ones.* Pray that our souls be saved.
Glory… Now…
Your shelter, O Virgin Theotokos, is spiritual healing;* for, having recourse to it,* we are delivered from spiritual infirmities.