Presanctified Liturgy:
Monday in the 2nd Week
The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste
At the Hours:
Troparion of the Martyrs:
Tone 1:
By the pangs of
Thy saints, /
be Thou
entreated, O Lord, /
and heal all our
diseases, //
we beseech Thee, O
Thou Who lovest mankind.
Kontakion of the Martyrs:
Tone 6: Having
left all the army of the world, /
ye cleaved unto the Master in the heavens, /
O forty passion-bearers of the Lord; /
for, having passed through fire and water, O
blessed ones, /
as is meet ye received glory from the heavens //
and a multitude of crowns.
Troparia of the
Prophecy at the 6th Hour:
Reader: The Troparion of the Prophecy, in the 5th Tone:
Tone 6 [sticheron melody]: O Thou who alone hast created our hearts, /
remember that we are dust; /
condemn us not to the lowest
depths of the earth, //
O Sinless Lord.
Glory…. Both Now…
O Thou who alone hast created
our hearts, /
remember that we are dust; /
condemn us not to the lowest
depths of the earth, //
O Sinless Lord.
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 6th Tone: Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him; * all ye that are of
the seed of Jacob, glorify Him
Stichos: O
God my God, attend to me, why hast Thou forsaken me?
Deacon: Wisdom!
Reader: The reading is from the Prophecy of Isaiah (4:2-5:7).
Deacon: Let us attend!
Reader: Thus saith the Lord: “In that day God shall shine
gloriously in counsel on the earth, to exalt and glorify the remnant of
Israel. And it shall be, that the remnant left in Zion, and the remnant
left in Jerusalem, even all that are appointed to life in Jerusalem, shall be
called holy. For the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and
daughters of Zion, and shall purge out the blood from the midst of them, with
the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning. And he shall come, and
it shall be with regard to every place of mount Zion, yea, all the region round
about it shall a cloud overshadow by day, and there shall be as it were the
smoke and light of fire burning by night: and upon all the glory shall be a
defense. And it shall be for a shadow from the heat, and as a shelter and
a hiding place from inclemency of weather and from rain. Now I will sing
to my beloved a song of my beloved concerning my vineyard. My beloved had a
vineyard on a high hill in a fertile place. And I made a hedge round it,
and dug a trench, and planted a choice vine, and built a tower in the midst of
it, and dug a place for the wine-vat in it: and I waited for it to bring forth
grapes, and it brought forth thorns. And now, ye dwellers in Jerusalem,
and every man of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What shall I do
any more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it? Whereas I expected it to
bring forth grapes, but it has brought forth thorns. And now I will tell
you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be
for a spoil; and I will pull down its walls, and it shall be left to be trodden
down. And I will forsake my vineyard; and it shall not be pruned, nor dug,
and thorns shall come up upon it as on barren land; and I will command the
clouds to rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is
the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his beloved plant: I expected it to
bring forth judgment, and it brought forth iniquity; and not righteousness, but
a cry.
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 6th Tone: Thy rod and
Thy staff they have comforted me. * Thou hast prepared a table for me.
Stichos: The
Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want.
At Lord,
I have cried, on 10:
Tone
3:
Let
us keep a spiritual fast: /
let
us loose every bond; /
let
us avoid the stumbling blocks of sin; /
let
us absolve our brothers from their debts, /
that
we too may be forgiven our transgressions. /
Then
we shall be able to cry aloud to God: /
Let
our prayer be set forth in Thy sight as incense, O Lord. Twice
The
prophets, the apostles of Christ and the martyrs /
have
taught mankind to sing the praises of the consubstantial Trinity; /
they
have given light to the nations that were gone astray /
and
they have made the sons of men //
companions
of the angels.
Tone
8: To what
shalt thou be likened, /
wretched
soul, indolent and doing nothing good, /
but
seeking always to continue in evil? /
Judgment
is at the door, repent: /
cleanse
thyself by prayer and fasting, /
and
cry to thy Master: I have sinned against Thee; /
pardon
me in Thy compassion //
and
grant me forgiveness.
Wider
than the sea is Thy lovingkindness: /
dry
up the evil sea of my transgression, /
for
Thou, O Christ my God, art free from sin. /
Confer
upon my heart compunction, /
to
restrain the headlong torrent of my wickedness, /
that
I may sing Thy praises /
and
glorify Thine ineffable compassion, //
O
longsuffering Benefactor of our souls.
Leading
us through the time of the Holy Fast, /
O
God, Thou hast enabled us to enter on its second week. /
Grant,
O Lord, that in the weeks to come /
we
may run the race with all our power. /
Give
to our souls and bodies grace and strength, /
that
with good courage and in joy /
we
may complete the course /
and
come to the royal day of Thy Resurrection; /
and
wearing crowns of victory //
we
shall praise Thee without ceasing.
Tone
1:
The
choir of forty-fold splendor, /
the
whole army assembled by God, /
hath
shone forth upon the Fast /
in
their honorable sufferings, //
illumining
and enlightening our souls. (Twice)
Tone
2:
The
martyrs considered the lake to be a paradise, /
and
winter to be as the heat of day, O Christ God; /
and
thoughts of the tyrants’ threats did not frighten them. /
Valiant,
they feared not the increase of tortures, /
having
acquired the weapon of the Cross; /
and
therewith, as mighty, they vanquished the foe, //
for
which thy have received crowns of grace.
Who
will not hymn the choir of the martyrs forty in number? /
For
they entered the waters of the lake boldly, /
and,
huddling together in the cold, /
they
chanted a hymn unto the Lord: /
Nay,
in the rivers art Thou wroth against us, O Lover of mankind? /
Lighten
Thou the oppression and bitterness of the wind, /
for
our feet are empurpled with our own blood, /
and
Thou has led us into thine everlasting habitations, O God! //
May
the bosom of Abraham warm us!
Glory...
in the same tone:
Prophetically
David cried aloud in the Psalms: /
We
went through fire and water, /
and
Thou didst bring us out into refreshment!
/
And
ye, O martyrs of Christ, /
Fulfilling
the word in very deed, /
passed
through fire and water /
and
entered into the Kingdom of Heaven. /
Wherefore,
pray, O ye forty athletes, //
that
we be given great mercy.
Both
now… Same Tone:
All
my hope do I set on thee, /
O
Mother of God. //
Shelter
me beneath thy protection.
1st
Prokimenon:
Tone 1: The
Lord strong and might, * the Lord, mighty in war.
Stichos:
The
earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.
Deacon: Wisdom!
Reader: The reading is from Genesis
(3:21-4:7).
Deacon: Let us attend!
Reader: The Lord God made for Adam and his wife
garments of skin, and clothed them. And God said, Behold, Adam is become
as one of us, to know good and evil, and now lest at any time he stretch forth
his hand, and take of the tree of life and eat, and so he shall live forever –
So the Lord God sent him forth out of the garden of Delight to cultivate the
ground out of which he was taken. And he cast out Adam and caused him to
dwell over against the garden of Delight, and stationed the cherubs and the
fiery sword that turns about to keep the way of the tree of life. And Adam
knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and brought forth Cain and said, I have
gained a man through God. And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel
was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And it was so
after some time that Cain brought of the fruits of the earth a sacrifice to the
Lord. And Abel also brought of the first born of his sheep and of his
fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts, but Cain and his
sacrifices he regarded not, and Cain was exceedingly sorrowful and his
countenance fell. And the Lord God said to Cain, Why art thou become very
sorrowful and why is thy countenance fallen? Hast thou not sinned if thou
hast brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? be still, to thee shall be
his submission, and thou shalt rule over him.
2nd
Prokimenon:
Tone 6: Look
upon me, and have mercy on me; * for I am one only-begotten and poor.
Deacon: Wisdom!
Reader: The reading is from
Proverbs (3:34-4:26).
Deacon: Let us attend!
Reader: The Lord resists the proud; but he gives
grace to the humble. The wise shall inherit glory; but the ungodly have exalted
their own dishonour. Hear, ye children, the
instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you
a good gift; forsake ye not my law. For I also was a son obedient to my
father, and loved in the sight of my mother: who spoke and instructed me,
saying, Let our speech be fixed in thine heart, keep our commandments, forget
them not: and do not neglect the speech of my mouth. And forsake it
not, and it shall cleave to thee: love it, and it shall keep thee. Secure
it, and it shall exalt thee: honour it, that it may
embrace thee; that it may give unto thy head a crown of graces, and may
cover thee with a crown of delight. Hear, my son, and receive my words;
and the years of thy life shall be increased, that the resources of thy life
may be many. For I teach thee the ways of wisdom; and I cause thee to go
in right paths. For when thou goest, thy steps
shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not be distressed. Take hold of my
instruction; let it not go, —but keep it for thyself for thy life. Go not
in the ways of the ungodly, neither covet the ways of transgressors. In
whatever place they shall pitch their camp, go not thither; but turn from them,
and pass away. For they cannot sleep, unless they have done evil: their
sleep is taken away, and they rest not. For these live upon the bread of
ungodliness, and are drunken with wine of transgression. But the ways of
the righteous shine like light; they go on and shine, until the day be fully
come. But the ways of the ungodly are dark; they know not how they
stumble. My son, attend to my speech; and apply thine ear to my
words: that thy fountains may not fail thee; keep them in thine
heart. For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their
flesh. Keep thine heart with the utmost care; for out of these are the
issues of life. Remove from thee a froward mouth, and put far away from
thee unjust lips. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids
assent to just things. Make straight paths for thy feet, and order thy
ways aright. Turn not aside to the right hand nor to the left, but turn
away thy foot from an evil way: for God knows the ways on the right hand, but
those on the left are crooked: and he will make thy ways straight, and will
guide thy steps in peace.
Then, Let my prayer arise,
followed by the prayer of St. Ephrem with 3 prostrations.
The Epistle
Reader: The Prokimenon in the 5th Tone: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us and
shalt preserve
us from this generation, and forevermore.
Choir: Thou, O Lord,
shalt keep us and shalt preserve us from this
generation, and forevermore.
Reader: Save me, O Lord, for a righteous man there
is no more; for truths
have diminished from the sons of men.
Choir: Thou,
O Lord, shalt keep us and shalt preserve us from this
generation, and forevermore.
Reader: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us.
Choir: And shalt preserve us from this generation, and forevermore.
Reader: The Reading is
from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the
Hebrews: [Hebrews 12:1-10]
Reader: Alleluia in the 4th Tone.
Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia!
Reader: Shout with jubilation unto the Lord all the earth; chant ye unto His
name, give glory in praise of Him.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: For Thou hast proved us, O God, and by
fire hast Thou tried us
even as silver is tried by fire.
Choir: Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Gospel [Matthew
20:1-16]
Communion
Verse: O taste and see that the Lord is good. Rejoice in the
Lord, O ye righteous; praise is meet for the
upright. Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia!