Presanctified Liturgy: Wednesday in the 2nd Week
St. Leo of Catania
Tone 1: Keeping a spiritual fast, O brethren, /
let us speak no lies with our tongue, /
not giving our brother cause for scandal; /
but through repentance /
let us make the lamp of our soul burn brightly, /
and let us cry with tears to Christ: //
Forgive us our trespasses in Thy love for mankind. (Twice)
O Martyrs worthy of all praise, /
your bodies were not buried in the earth, /
yet heaven has received you; /
the gates of Paradise were opened to you, /
and entering within ye have eaten from the Tree of Life. //
Pray to Christ that He may grant peace and mercy to our souls.
Tone 3:
At the prayers of Thy divine apostles, /
grant in Thy love, O merciful Lord, /
that we may spend the time of the Fast with truly contrite minds; //
so may we all be saved and glorify Thee.
Mighty and terrible shall be Thy coming, O Lord, /
when Thou shalt sit in righteous judgment. /
Though I deserve punishment, condemn me not, //
But accept the prayers of Thine apostles and spare me, O God.
Tone 6: O apostles of Christ, /
shining lights to mortal men, /
treasuries of the wise knowledge of our God, /
filling the world with riches: /
through your holy prayers /
deliver us from temptation as we sing your praises, /
and guide us through the season of the Fast, /
watchfully guarding our lives in peace. /
So shall our prayers be acceptable to Christ /
as we celebrate His Passion, //
and with boldness we shall offer glory to our God.
Tone 8 [spec. mel.: "O Lord, even though at the tribunal"]:
O Lord, Thou didst show forth the holy hierarch in the world /
as a successor to the apostles in word and deed, /
and a preacher of correct doctrine; /
wherefore, thou hast made him an instructor of hierarchs //
and a partaker of Thine incorrupt glory.
Holding thee as a living pillar /
and a proclaimer of the right teachings of the Word, /
O Leo, the Church of Christ ever remaineth unshaken, /
beholding the truth thereof, /
and glorifying the Lord, the Master of all, //
Who hath glorified thee.
O Lord, Thou, the Word, didst show forth the holy hierarch /
as a sharp sword against the impious, /
and for Thine Orthodox Faith; /
and cutting down false teachings therewith, //
Thou didst increase pious teaching in the world, O Master.
Glory… Both now… Same Tone and Melody:
Behold the groanings of my contrite heart, O Bride of God, /
and accept, and reject not, the lifting up of my hands, /
O pure and most immaculate Virgin Mary, /
as thou art full of love; //
that I may hymn and magnify thee who hast exalted our race.
Prokimena and Old Testament Readings
Tone 6: Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye righteous.
Stichos: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven.
Reading: Genesis 4:16-26
Tone 1: Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.
Stichos: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: praise is meet for the upright.
Reading: Proverbs 5:15 - 6:3