Post-feast of the Nativity of Christ.
VESPERS
Kathisma Reading
There are no appointed psalms for tonight.
At Psalm 140
Tone 4
If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
The iniquitous one, seeking the hidden Treasure,* slew the innocent babes on this day;* and Rachel was inconsolable,* beholding their unjust slaughter and untimely death,* and wept for them, her womb wracked with pain.* But she is gladdened now, seeing them in the bosom of Abraham.
I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
The all-iniquitous king searched for the timeless King* who had come under time,* and, unable to find and slay Him, he cut down a multitude of innocent babes.* Thereby he made them martyrs and citizens of heaven on high,* though he knew it not;* and they reprove his madness forever.
From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
When You were born of the Virgin, O pre-eternal Lord,* and became a babe in Your goodness,* a choir of babes were admitted by virtue of the blood of their martyrdom,* their calm souls illumined, O You who are most just;* and You have made them to dwell in the mansions of everlasting life,* where they denounce the malice of Herod and His most cruel insanity.
Tone 4
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
A model of abstinence have shown shown yourself to be for monastics,* O all-wise and God-bearing Marcellus,* a pillar of fire extending spiritually from earth to the heavens* through abstinence, O all-wise one,* a converser of purity, a truly genuine preserver of silence,* an animate tower of courage,* and a most excellent rule of virtue.
Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
The uprisings of the passions caused you to wither away, O venerable one,* through mighty vigils and instruction in the Scriptures,* by earnest supplications and the outpouring of tears.* You have truly shown yourself to be a habitation worthy of the Master,* and grant healings to those who approach you with faith,* having been vouchsafed the delight of immortality.
Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Delighting most directly in the beauty of your Master,* without the mediation of the mirror of the flesh* and present manifestation, O most blessed one,* pray for those who in purity praise your most sacred memory* and honour it with psalms and hymns,* that we may obtain mercy on the Day of Judgment.
Tone 8, Glory…
The all-iniquitous Herod, seeing the star which is the brightest of all creation,* was troubled, and seized the suckling infants from their mothers’ arms;* but Elizabeth, taking up John, entreated the stone, saying:* “Receive a mother and her child!”* O Lord, treasure which the manger held, whom the star announced and to whom the magi paid homage,* glory be to You!
Now…
An all-glorious mystery is wrought today:* nature is restored and God becomes man!* He has remained what He has been,* and what He has not been, that has He taken upon Himself,* without undergoing either confusion or division.
Prokeimenon, Tone 8
And now bless the Lord,* all you servants of the Lord.
verse: Who stand in the temple of the Lord, in the courtyards of the house of our God.
Aposticha
Tone 4
An awesome mystery do I behold!* For God who holds all creation in the palm of His hand* is surrounded in the flesh in a manger of dumb beasts,* and He is wrapped in rags* He who clothes the sea in darkness.
From the womb before the morning star have I begotten You. The Lord has sworn and will not repent.
Our incorporeal God becomes incarnate!* He who is without beginning takes on a beginning!* He who is full now empties Himself through the Virgin in a little cave!* And He who nurtures every creature is nurtured on milk as a babe.
The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand.
Shepherds dance at Your nativity and offer up glory with the angels;* the star offers a gift, and magi pay homage;* and men, saved, magnify the Theotokos.
Tone 8, Glory…
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,* the dominion of the Jews was abolished.* Let the infants slaughtered for Christ leap up, and let Judea lament;* for a voice was heard in Rama:* Rachel, weeping, bewail her children, as it is written,* for the all-iniquitous Herod in slaying the babes fulfilled the Scriptures,* filling Judea with innocent blood and staining the earth red with their blood,* but the Church of the nations is mystically purified thereby and is arrayed in beauty.* The Truth is come!* God who has been born of the Virgin has appeared to those who sit in shadow,* that He may save us all.
Now…
O Lord, having arrived in Bethlehem, made Your abode in the cave;* You who have heaven for Your throne were laid in a manger;* You whom the armies of the angels surround descended to shepherds,* that You may save our race, in that You are compassionate.* Glory be to You!
Troparia
Tone 1
We beseech you, O Lord and Lover of mankind,* and implore You through all the sufferings Your saints endured for You;* heal all our pain and suffering.
Tone 8, Glory…
In you, O holy father Marcellus, the faithful image of God shone forth,* for you carried your cross and followed Christ.* You taught by your deeds how to spurn the body, for it passes away;* and how to value the soul, for it is immortal.* Therefore, your soul is forever in happiness with the angels.
Tone 4, Now…
Your Nativity, O Christ our God,* made the light of knowledge dawn on the world:* through it, those who worshipped the stars were taught by a star* to worship You, the Sun of Righteousness,* and to know You, the Dawn from on the high.* Glory to You, O Lord.
DIVINE LITURGY ON MONDAY MORNING
Antiphon 1
I will confess You, Lord, with all my heart,* I will declare all Your wondrous deeds.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God,* O Saviour, save us.
In the council of the just and the congregation,* great are the works of the Lord, conforming to His will in every way.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God,* O Saviour, save us.
His work is filled with praise and majesty,* and His righteousness endures forever.
Through the prayers of the Mother of God,* O Saviour, save us.
Glory… Now… Only-Begotten Son…
Antiphon 3
Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord, let us acclaim God, our Saviour.
Son of God, born of a Virgin, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
Let us come before His face with praise, and acclaim Him in psalms.
Son of God, born of a Virgin, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
For God is the great Lord, and the great king over all the earth.
Son of God, born of a Virgin, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
Entrance
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ.
Son of God, born of a Virgin, save us who sing to You: Alleluia.
Troparia and Kontakia
Troparion, Tone 4: Your Nativity, O Christ our God,* made the light of knowledge dawn on the world:* through it, those who worshipped the stars were taught by a star* to worship You, the Sun of Righteousness,* and to know You, the Dawn from on the high.* Glory to You, O Lord.
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 3: The Virgin today gives birth to Him who is above all being;* the earth offers the cave to Him whom no one can approach;* Angel with shepherds give Him glory,* while Magi make their way with a star,* for to us is born a little Child – the pre-eternal God.
Prokeimenon, Tone 8
Let all the earth worship You and sing to You; let it sing to Your Name, O Most High.
verse: Shout to the Lord, all the earth, sing now to His name, give glory to His praise. (Psalm 65:4,2)
Epistle
Hebrews 8:7-13
Alleluia, Tone 1
verse: The heavens tell the glory of God, and the firmament declares the work of His hands.
verse: Day announces its message unto day and night proclaims its knowledge unto night. (Psalm 18:2,3)
Gospel
Mark 8:11-21
Hymn to the Mother of God
O my soul, magnify Christ the King born in a manger.
and the Irmos: A strange and glorious mystery do I behold:* the cave is heaven;* the Virgin, the throne of the cherubim;* the manger, a dwelling place* in which is laid Christ, the God Whom nothing can contain.* Singing His praises, we magnify Him.
Communion Hymn
The Lord has sent deliverance* to His people.* Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. (Psalm 110:9)
Instead of “Blessed is He who comes…” we sing:
All creation is filled with rejoicing today, for Christ is born of a Virgin.
Instead of “We have seen the true light…” we sing:
All creation is filled with rejoicing today, for Christ is born of a Virgin.
Instead of “May our mouths…” and “Blessed be the Name…” we sing:
All creation is filled with rejoicing today, for Christ is born of a Virgin. (3)