AT VESPERS ON MONDAY EVENING

At Psalm 140

Tone 1, Podoben, “Joy of the ranks of heaven…”

If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.

O father, we have come to know you as a divinely radiant beacon,* illumining the world with noetic beams* and dispelling the darkness of the wicked tumult of the demons.* Therefore, with faith we celebrate your splendid memory, O blessed one.

I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.

Having been resplendent in riches and power in thy former life, O father Thomas,* you arrayed yourself in the monastic habit, O venerable one,* emulating the poverty of Him who became incarnate for our sake.* Therefore, He has made you rich with many spiritual gifts.

From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.

With a pillar of fire, O father, God manifestly guided you to salvation,* to the calm harbour, to the mountain of dispassion;* and by your prayer you made water gush forth,* caused the blind to see and the lame to walk aright.

Tone 4, Podoben “As one valiant among the martyrs…”

For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

Through abstinence you mortified carnal knowledge* and enlivened your soul with fasting and the exercise of the virtues.* Wherefore, you have been shown to be truly alive even after your repose;* for death has been as a dream to you who have passed over to God* and placed your soul in His hands, O glorious Acacius.

Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.

O Acacius, you lulled to sleep the desires of the passions,* having acquired all-night vigilance, obedience, and humility,* the knowledge of the divine Scriptures,* a pure heart, and an intellect untroubled.* Wherefore, you became a receptacle of the Holy Spirit,* shining rays of miracles upon all the ends of the earth.

Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.

Having utterly disdained worldly attachments,* you became a vessel of dispassion;* and in love of wisdom, O glorious one,* you were exalted to the ultimate Desire by active ascent,* and with mystic vision you beheld the inconceivable and divine beauties of things unseen,* O Acacius most wise and blessed.

Tone 4, Glory… Now…

O most pure one, who contained within your womb the uncontainable God* who, in His love for mankind, became man,* received from you our substance and manifestly deified it,* disdain me not who am now sorrowful,* but quickly have pity and free me from the diverse malice and hostility of the evil one.

Aposticha

Tone 5

O Lord, I cease not to sin,* nor do I perceive Your love for mankind which You have granted me.* Vanquish my lack of discernment, O You who alone are good,* and have mercy upon me.

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.

O Lord, from reverent fear of You I tremble,* yet I cease not from committing sins.* Who, when called to trial, does not fear the judge?* Or who, desiring to be healed, angers the physician, as I do?* O longsuffering Lord, have compassion upon my weakness,* and have mercy upon me.

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.

Having put on the breastplate of faith and armed themselves with the image of the Cross,* Your saints, О Lord, manfully gave themselves over to torments* and cast down the pride and deception of the devil.* As God almighty, send down peace upon the world through their entreaties,* and great mercy upon our souls.

Glory… Now…

Assuage the sufferings of my much-sighing soul,* O you that wipe every tear from the face of the earth;* for you banish the sufferings of mankind,* and dispel the sorrows of the sinful.* For in you do we all have our hope and confirmation,* O most holy Virgin Mother.

Troparia

Tone 4

God of our fathers, You always treat us fairly.* Deprive us not of Your mercy* but by their prayers direct our lives in peace.

Glory… Now…

Let us poor sinners hasten with fervour to the Mother of God;* let us humbly kneel before her and say from the depth of our hearts:* O Lady, be kind to us and help us.* Hasten, for we are perishing under a multitude of sins.* Do not turn away your servants empty-handed,* for you are their only hope and protection.

AT THE DIVINE LITURGY ON TUESDAY MORNING

Troparia and Kontakia

Troparion, Tone 4: God of our fathers, You always treat us fairly.* Deprive us not of Your mercy* but by their prayers direct our lives in peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 2: Passing through the swell of the waves without being wet*, you mightily engulfed the incorporeal enemies* in the streams of your tears, O godly venerable martyrs.* Having received the gift of miracles,* pray without ceasing for all of us.

Prokeimenon, Tone 7

The venerable ones will exult in glory* and they shall by joyful in their beds.

verse: Sing to the Lord a new song; let His praise be in the assembly of the venerable ones. (Psalm 149:5,1)

Epistle

1 Corinthians 6:20-7:12

Alleluia, Tone 6

verse: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; he shall delight exceedingly in His commandments.

verse: His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth. (Psalm 111:1,2)

Gospel

Matthew 14:1-13

Communion Hymn

Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 32:1)