Apostle’s Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain these ingredients.
VESPERS ON TUESDAY EVENING
Kathisma Reading
The appointed psalms are chanted.
At Psalm 140
Tone 8
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
When You were nailed to the Cross, Your hands and feet run through,* Your holy side was pierced, pouring forth drops of blood and water,* divine salvation, supremely good One,* that You might wash away my defilement and pollution.* Glory to Your goodness, О all-Compassionate One!
I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
You endured suffering, О Master,* that You might bestow dispassion upon all who worship Your sufferings and voluntary sacrifice:* the spear, nails and reed, which You willingly endured with long-suffering:* that for the sake of Your sufferings, О Lord, You might win dispassion for me.
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
The unblemished heifer, beholding her Bullock willingly lifted up upon the Tree,* cried out with compunction, lamenting:* “Woe is me, О my most beloved Child!* How have the ungrateful assembly of the Jews rewarded You,* desiring to leave me bereft of You, О all-Beloved!”
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.
The cruel children of those who put the Lord to death,* consumed with envy, betrayed you, O glorious one;* but, invincibly brave, you have received the delight of paradise, O Lucillianus.* Therefore, pray that Christ grant to our souls* peace and great mercy.
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
The most sacred children and the glorious and holy Paula,* the right wondrous martyr,* who submitted to you as to their father,* suffered steadfastly with you;* and with them you now dwell in the heavens.* Entreat Christ that He grant to our souls* peace and great mercy.
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Your shrine ever pours forth the waters of healing* upon those who have recourse thereto, O much-suffering martyr,* and washes away sufferings and drowns hordes of the demons* through the activity of the Holy Spirit.* Therefore, pray that He grant to our souls* peace and great mercy.
Tone 8, Glory… Now…
When the most pure one beheld You led to the slaughter,* following You with tears she cried aloud:* Where have You gone, O my Son?* I can no longer bear not beholding You* O my abundantly merciful Jesus.’
Prokeimenon
Tone 1
Your mercy, O Lord, shall follow me* all the days of my life.
verse: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In green pastures He gives me repose.
Aposticha
Tone 8
О Christ God who was lifted up upon the Cross,* You saved the race of mankind.* We glorify Your sufferings!
I have lifted up my eyes to You enthroned in heaven. Behold, as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a maid are on the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes on the Lord our God until He has mercy on us.
You were nailed to the Cross, О Christ God,* opening the gates of paradise.* We glorify Your divinity!
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us; for we have been filled with shame; our soul is all too full of the mockery of the rich, of the contempt of the proud.
Your martyrs, О Lord, were no longer mindful of the things of life,* but ignored their tortures for the sake of the life which is to come,* and were shown to be inheritors thereof;* therefore, they rejoice with the angels.* By their supplications grant great mercy to Your people.
Glory… Now…
O Lord, when the sun beheld You the Sun of righteousness, hanging upon the Tree,* it hid its rays, and the light of the moon was changed to darkness;* and Your all-immaculate Mother was pierced in the depths of her soul.
Troparion, Tone 1
Be swayed by the pains that the saints have suffered for You, O Lord,* and heal all our pains,* O Lover of mankind, for this we pray.
Glory… Now…
O pure One, we have obtained your protection.* Through your intercession, we have been kept from harm* and surrounded at all times with the grace of your Son’s cross.* Therefore, we exalt you with great devotion.
AT DIVINE LITURGY ON WEDNESDAY MORNING
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 1: Be swayed by the pains that the saints have suffered for You, O Lord,* and heal all our pains,* O Lover of mankind, for this we pray.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 2: Appearing as radiant lights, O godly martyrs,* you illumine all creation with the brilliance of your miracles,* healing infirmities, always dispelling deep darkness* and praying unceasingly to Christ our God for all of us.
Prokeimenon, Tone 4
To the saints who are in His land, the Lord has made wonderful all His desires in them.
verse: I foresaw the Lord in my sight, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. (Psalm 15:3,8)
Epistle
Romans 4:13-25
Alleluia, Tone 4
verse: The just cried out and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of their afflictions.
verse: The afflictions of the just are many, and out of them all will the Lord deliver them. (Psalm 33:18,20)
Gospel
Matthew 7:21-23
Communion Hymn
Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 32:1)