Twenty-eighth Sunday after Pentecost; The Conception of Saint Anna When She Conceived the Most Holy Mother of God – December 09.
Text from “The Divine Liturgy: An Anthology for Worship”; Pg. 337 (Tone 3) & Con. of St. Anna Pg. 737
Troparion (Tone 3): Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice,* for the Lord has done a mighty deed with his arm.* He trampled death by death; He became the first born of the dead;* He saved us from the abyss of Hades* and granted great mercy to the world.
Troparion (Tone 4): Today the chains of barrennes are shattered,* for having heard the prayer of Joachim and Anna,* against all hope God has openly promised* the birth of the Maiden of God,* from whom the very Infinite One will be born as a man,* the One who commanded the angels to cry to her.* Rejoice, O full of grace, the Lord is with you.
+Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Kontakion (Tone 3): You rose from the tomb, O compassionate Lord,* and led us out from the gates of death.* Today Adam exults and Eve rejoices,* and the prophets together with the patriarchs* unceasingly acclaim the divine might of Your power.
Now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Kontakion (Tone 4): Today the whole world celebrates* the conception by Anna,* which was brought about by God himself,* for she has ineffably borne the one who will bear the Word.
Prokimenon (Tone 3): Sing to our God, sing; * sing to our King, sing (Ps 46:7).
verse: Clap your hands, all you nations; shout unto God with the voice of joy (Ps 46:2).
Prokimenon (Tone 4): God is wonderful in His saints,* the God of Israel (Ps 67:36).
Epistle: (Colossians 1:12-18) (Sunday): Brethren, giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
Epistle: (Galatians 4:22-31) (Conception of Saint Anna): Brethren, Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, ‘Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children, burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs; for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the children of the one who is married.’ Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac. But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the scripture say? ‘Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.’ So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman.
Alleluia (Tone 3): Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
verse: In You, O Lord, have I hoped that I may not be put to shame for ever (Ps 30:2).
verse: Be a protector unto me, O God, and a house of refuge to save me (Ps 30:3).
verse: The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their protector in time of trouble (Ps 36:39).
verse: The Lord will help them and rescue them; He will deliver them from sinners and save them, for they hoped in Him (Ps 36:40).
Gospel: (Luke 17:12-19) (Sunday): At that time, as Jesus entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’
Gospel: (Luke 8:16-21) (Conception of Saint Anna): The Lord said: ‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’ Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’ But he said to them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’
Instead of “It is truly…”: O my soul, magnify the most glorious conception of the Mother of God.
Irmos (Tone 1): Let us magnify the Mother of God,* wellspring everflowing and life-receiving,* the light-bearing lamp of grace,* the living temple and tabernacle all pure,* even more spacious than heaven and earth.
Communion Verse: Praise the Lord from the heavens;* praise Him in the highest (Ps 148:1).
Second Communion Verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O you just; praise befits the righteous (Ps 32:1). Alleluia! (3x).
Great Vespers (Royaldoors.net):
Google Doc | Word | PDF
Divine Liturgy:
PDF – 28th Sunday after Pentecost – ENGLISH
PDF – 28th Sunday after Pentecost – UKRAINIAN
PDF – 28th Sunday after Pentecost – ENG-UKR