Friday of the Fifth Week of the Great Fast: LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS
At Psalm 140
In Tone 6
10. Departing from Your divine precepts as from Jerusalem,
and going down to the passions of Jericho,
travelling by way of the cares of this life
on the pathways of dishonour,
I fell prey to the thievery of thoughts;
they stripped me of my noble garment,
which You gave me by the grace of adoption.
I was left half-dead and covered with wounds;
a priest passed by and saw my misfortune, but he paid no attention;
a Levite felt nothing but disgust, and so he turned away from me;
but You, O Lord, who were born ineffably from the Virgin,
You poured as oil and wine,
the blood and water which flowed freely from Your life-giving side,
to dress and bind up my wounds.
In Your compassionate love, O Christ our God,
grant me a place in Your Kingdom.
9. Departing from Your divine precepts as from Jerusalem,
and going down to the passions of Jericho,
travelling by way of the cares of this life
on the pathways of dishonour,
I fell prey to the thievery of thoughts;
they stripped me of my noble garment,
which You gave me by the grace of adoption.
I was left half-dead and covered with wounds;
a priest passed by and saw my misfortune, but he paid no attention;
a Levite felt nothing but disgust, and so he turned away from me;
but You, O Lord, who were born ineffably from the Virgin,
You poured as oil and wine,
the blood and water which flowed freely from Your life-giving side,
to dress and bind up my wounds.
In Your compassionate love, O Christ our God,
grant me a place in Your Kingdom.
8. Your martyrs did not reject You,
nor did they renounce Your commandments.
Through their prayers, have mercy on us.
7. Gabriel stood in your presence, O holy Virgin,
and revealed the pre-eternal plan to you.
He greeted you and announced:
Rejoice, O earth that had not been sown!
Rejoice, O burning bush that was not consumed!
Rejoice, O unsearchable depth!
Rejoice, O bridge which leads to heaven;
O high ladder which Jacob saw!
Rejoice, O vessel of divine manna!
Rejoice, O invocation of Adam!
The Lord is with you.
6. Gabriel stood in your presence, O holy Virgin,
and revealed the pre-eternal plan to you.
He greeted you and announced:
Rejoice, O earth that had not been sown!
Rejoice, O burning bush that was not consumed!
Rejoice, O unsearchable depth!
Rejoice, O bridge which leads to heaven;
O high ladder which Jacob saw!
Rejoice, O vessel of divine manna!
Rejoice, O invocation of Adam!
The Lord is with you.
5. Gabriel stood in your presence, O holy Virgin,
and revealed the pre-eternal plan to you.
He greeted you and announced:
Rejoice, O earth that had not been sown!
Rejoice, O burning bush that was not consumed!
Rejoice, O unsearchable depth!
Rejoice, O bridge which leads to heaven;
O high ladder which Jacob saw!
Rejoice, O vessel of divine manna!
Rejoice, O invocation of Adam!
The Lord is with you.
4. The blameless Maiden said to the captain of the heavenly hosts:
You appear to me as a mortal,
and your words go beyond human thought.
You have said that God is with me,
and that He shall take up abode in my womb.
Tell me then, how am I to become a holy temple for the infinite One,
the Lord who rides on the Cherubim?
Do not mislead me with deceit,
for I have known no pleasure and have not approached wedlock.
Therefore, how shall I give birth to a child?
3. The blameless Maiden said to the captain of the heavenly hosts:
You appear to me as a mortal,
and your words go beyond human thought.
You have said that God is with me,
and that He shall take up abode in my womb.
Tell me then, how am I to become a holy temple for the infinite One,
the Lord who rides on the Cherubim?
Do not mislead me with deceit,
for I have known no pleasure and have not approached wedlock.
Therefore, how shall I give birth to a child?
2. The Archangel then said to her:
Whenever God wills, the order of nature is overcome,
and that which is beyond human power is accomplished.
Therefore, O most pure and ever-holy One, believe my true words.
She then cried out, saying:
Let it now be done to me according to you word,
and I will give birth to the One who is without flesh.
He will take flesh from me,
so that by the union He may raise the human race to the original dignity,
for He alone is all-powerful.
1. The Archangel then said to her:
Whenever God wills, the order of nature is overcome,
and that which is beyond human power is accomplished.
Therefore, O most pure and ever-holy One, believe my true words.
She then cried out, saying:
Let it now be done to me according to you word,
and I will give birth to the One who is without flesh.
He will take flesh from me,
so that by the union He may raise the human race to the original dignity,
for He alone is all-powerful.
In Tone 2, Glory… Now…
That mystery which is from all eternity
is being revealed today.
The Son of God becomes the Son of Man.
He accepted the lowliest in order to give us the highest.
In times of old, Adam was deceived;
he desired to become like God and did not.
Now God becomes human that He may make Adam God.
Let all creation be happy:
let nature dance with joy
because the Archangel stands in awe before the Virgin and greets her.
He brings the greeting which changes our grief into joy.
Through the mercy of Your compassion, You became incarnate;
O our God, glory to You!
Prokeimenon I, Tone 4
The Lord is compassion and love,* slow to anger and rich in mercy.
verse: My soul, give thanks to the Lord; all my being, bless His holy name.
Reading I (Genesis 22:1-18)
It came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Prokeimenon II, Tone 4
How great are Your works, O Lord;* You have made all things in wisdom.
verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are exceedingly great.
Reading II (Proverbs 17:17-18:5)
A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.
A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge,
And becomes surety for his friend.
He who loves transgression loves strife,
And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.
He who has a deceitful heart finds no good,
And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.
He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow,
And the father of a fool has no joy.
A merry heart does good, like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones.
A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back
To pervert the ways of justice.
Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,
But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
A foolish son is a grief to his father,
And bitterness to her who bore him.
Also, to punish the righteous is not good,
Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.
He who has knowledge spares his words,
And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.
Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace;
When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.
A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire;
He rages against all wise judgment.
A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.
When the wicked comes, contempt comes also;
And with dishonour comes reproach.
The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.
It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,
Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
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