Our Venerable Mother Melania the Roman.

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.

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

James 4:7-5:9

Brothers and Sisters, submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!

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 11:27-33

At that time, Jesus came again to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” They argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”—they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Hymn to the Theotokos

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)