March 27 – Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts for Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Great Lent
LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS
At Psalm 140
In Tone 4
- Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.
The Fast that brings integrity has now run half its course.
These past days have proved acceptable,
and now we see the need of the days to come.
Our perception of their value will make them yield more abundant fruit.
Therefore, let us beseech Christ our Benefactor
who fasted and endured the Cross for us:
Grant that we might share in Your divine Pascha without condemnation
and pass our lives in peace,
worthily glorifying You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In Tone 5
- The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.
Those who do good deeds in secret
and receive a spiritual reward,
do not boast in public about their deeds,
but they carry them in their hearts;
and He who sees the secret deeds of all
grants us the reward of self-control.
Let us then complete this Great Fast without putting on a gloomy face;
but while praying in the secrecy of our souls,
let us cry out unceasingly:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
lead us not into temptation, we pray,
but deliver us from evil.
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
With your souls filled with unquenchable love, O holy martyrs,
you endured the most terrible sufferings without ever denying Christ;
and you laid low the impudence of the torturers.
You kept the faith unwavering and unharmed
and have gone to dwell in heaven.
Therefore, having the boldness to approach the Lord,
beg Him to grant us His great mercy.
In Tone 1
- Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
Let us all wash our souls in the water of the Fast
and approach the precious and all-praiseworthy Cross of the Lord.
Let us faithfully bow to it,
drawing divine illumination from it
and reaping the fruit of eternal salvation,
which is peace and great mercy.
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
O precious Cross, the boldness of the apostles,
You are revered by the Archangels, Powers and Principalities.
Save from all evil those who bow before You,
and make us worthy to pass through the course of the Fast in a holy way,
that we may see Your salvation and holy Resurrection.
In Tone 7
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Bowing before the Cross of the Lord on this day, let us sing:
Rejoice, O Tree of Life;
You are the joy of the world who destroy Hades and Death;
Your strength puts the demons to flight.
You are the invincible weapon and support of believers;
preserve and sanctify those who bow before You.
In Tone 4
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Father, you lived as an angel on earth in the flesh.
You acquired a life of chastity,
with patience, meekness and impartial love;
great abstinence, watchfulness, divine compunction;
faith, true hope, and compassion,
blessed Hilarion, intercessor for our souls!
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Father, you lived as an angel on earth in the flesh.
You acquired a life of chastity,
with patience, meekness and impartial love;
great abstinence, watchfulness, divine compunction;
faith, true hope, and compassion,
blessed Hilarion, intercessor for our souls!
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Venerable one, you were an earthly angel and heavenly man,
a fountain of compunction, a stream of compassion, a deep well of miracles!
You are surety for sinners:
an olive tree of God with the fruit of your labours
fitting to anoint the head!
We praise you in faith, wondrous Hilarion!
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Your mind was illumined with the knowledge of God,
overcoming the passions of the flesh.
You did not participate in the things of this earth;
you bore the true imprint of divine goodness;
you were known to all to be like God
through cooperation with the Holy Spirit,
our Father Hilarion, the adornment of the monastic life!
In Tone 8, Glory… Now…
Today the inaccessible Lord draws me close to Him.
He endures His Passion to free me from my passions.
He who gives light to the blind, receives spitting from impure lips
and permits Himself to be scourged to save the captives.
When His Mother, the Virgin, saw Him on the Cross, she sighed and said:
Alas, O my beloved Child!
You surpass every mortal in beauty; yet You are now without charm or attraction,
having neither grace, nor form, nor life.
Alas! O Light of my eyes,
a sword pierces my hear, and I suffer inwardly to see You so.
I sing and praise Your Passion,
I venerate Your infinite mercy,
O long-suffering Lord, glory to You.
Prokeimenon I, Tone 4
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,* who alone does wondrous things.
verse: O God, give Your judgment to the king, and to the king’s son Your justice.
Reading I
Genesis 9:18-10:1
Prokeimenon II, Tone 4
To be near God is my happiness.* I have made the Lord God my refuge.
verse: How good God is to Israel, to those who are pure of heart.
Reading II
Proverbs 12:23-13:9
March 29, 2019 – Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts for Friday of the Fourth Week of Great Lent
LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS
At Psalm 140
In Tone 7
- Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.
I have enslaved the dignity of my soul to the passions,
and have become like the beasts;
I can no longer raise my eyes to You, O God most high.
But, like the Publican I bow to the earth,
and I cry to You in supplication:
Forgive me, O Lord, and save me.
- The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.
I have enslaved the dignity of my soul to the passions,
and have become like the beasts;
I can no longer raise my eyes to You, O God most high.
But, like the Publican I bow to the earth,
and I cry to You in supplication:
Forgive me, O Lord, and save me.
In Tone 3
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
Great is the power of Your martyrs, O Christ.
For, lying in their tombs, they drive out evil spirits
and fight in defence of godliness;
they subdued the power of the enemy by faith in the Trinity.
- Let Yours ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
The prophets, apostles, and the martyrs of Christ
taught us to sing the praises of the consubstantial Trinity.
They enlighten the nations that had gone astray,
and made us companions of the angels.
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Your martyrs, O Lord, have been confirmed by faith
and strengthened by hope.
By the love of Your Cross they have been spiritually fortified,
and so have overcome the anguish of suffering.
They have obtained the crowns,
and, together with the angels, they pray for our souls.
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Great is the power of Your Cross, O Lord,
for though it was set in one place, it acts throughout the world.
It made apostles of fishermen,
and martyrs of Gentiles.
We beg them to intercede for our souls.
In Tone 8
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Venerable Father John,
you ever bore the high praises of God in your mouth.
You pondered, most wise one,
upon active, divinely inspired words,
and were enriched by the grace that flows forth from them.
Blessed one, thus you overthrew the intents of the wicked.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Venerable Father John,
you ever bore the high praises of God in your mouth.
You pondered, most wise one,
upon active, divinely inspired words,
and were enriched by the grace that flows forth from them.
Blessed one, thus you overthrew the intents of the wicked.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
All-glorious Father John,
you cleansed your soul with fountains of tears,
moving God to mercy as you stood in all-night vigils.
You took wings and flew to His love and beauty, blessed one,
where you now rightly delight,
ever rejoicing with your companions in struggle,
divinely wise and venerable one!
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Venerable Father John,
by faith you gave your mind wings to fly to God!
You abhorred the instability and confusion of the world;
taking up the Cross, you followed after Him Who beholds all things.
Through labours of fasting you bound your intractable body to your mind
by the power of the divine Spirit!
In Tone 3, Glory…
All human things are vain.
They do not remain after death.
Neither riches endure nor does glory survive;
for with the coming of death all these are destroyed.
Let us exclaim to Christ, the Immortal:
Grant rest to the departed servants
in the abode of those who rejoice in You.
Now…
O Lady most honourable,
how could we but be rapt in wonder at your giving birth
to the incarnate God who without a mother was born of a Father before all ages.
You gave Him birth in the flesh without a father,
without a man’s instrumentality.
He is God and man whose two natures are intact, neither one losing any of its properties.
Therefore, O Virgin Mother, intercede with Him to save the souls
of those who believe and profess in true faith that you are the Mother of God.
Prokeimenon I, Tone 6
O Shepherd of Israel, hear us,* You who lead Joseph’s flock.
verse: Shine forth from Your Cherubim throne.
Reading I
Genesis 12:1-7
Prokeimenon II, Tone 4
Ring out your joy to God, our strength,* shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.
verse: Raise a song and sound the timbrel, the sweet-sounding harp and lute.
Reading II
Proverbs 14:15-26