Sunday of the Prodigal Son / Afterfeast of the Meeting of the Lord /`Tone 1

Beatitudes Verses: 4 from the Octoechos, 4 from Ode VI Triodion; 4 from Ode VI of the Feast

 

1. Through food did the enemy lead Adam forth from paradise; but by the Cross hath Christ led back to it the thief who cried: Remember me when Thou comest in Thy kingdom!

 

2. With Adam and the thief I worship Thy sufferings and glorify Thy resurrection; and I cry out with a splendid voice: Remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest in Thy kingdom!

 

3. O Sinless One, of Thine own will Thou wast crucified and placed in the Tomb, yet Thou didst arise as God, raising up with Thyself Adam who crieth out: Remember me when Thou comest in Thy kingdom!

 

4. Raising up the temple of Thy body by Thy resurrection on the third day, O Christ God, Thou didst raise up Adam and his descendants who cry: Remember me when Thou comest in Thy kingdom!

 

5. The depth of sin ever holds me fast, and the tempest of transgressions overwhelms me. Pilot me, O Christ my God, to the haven of life and save me, King of glory.

 

6. I have wasted in evil living the riches which the Father gave me, and now am brought to poverty. I am filled with shame and enslaved to fruitless thoughts. Therefore I cry to Thee who lovest mankind: Take pity on me and save me.

 

7. I am wasted with hunger, deprived of every blessing, and an exile from Thy presence, O Christ supreme in loving-kindness. Take pity on me as I now return, and save me as I sing the praises of Thy love for mankind.

 

8. O Maiden who hast conceived Christ the Savior and Master, though in my poverty I lack all good, count me worthy of salvation, O pure Virgin, that I may sing the praises of thy majesty.

 

9. The Sun once shone with its rays upon dry land in the midst of the deep. For the water on both sides became firm as a wall while the people crossed the sea on foot, offering this song acceptable to God: Let us sing to the Lord; for gloriously is he glorified.

 

10. Let the clouds pour forth rain, for Christ the Sun Who is borne aloft upon a light cloud is brought to the temple as a babe on the arm of the unblemished one. Wherefore, O ye faithful, let us cry aloud: Let us sing unto the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified!

 

11. Be strong, ye hands of Symeon feeble with age; and ye weary legs of the elder, move quickly and straight to meet Christ, joining chorus with the incorporeal ones, chanting: Let us sing unto the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified!

 

12. O ye heavens stretched out in wisdom, be glad; and rejoice, O thou earth! For Christ the Artificer, having come forth from the most blessed womb of His Mother, is borne by the Virgin Mother to God the Father as a babe, He Who was before all the ages, for gloriously hath He been glorified!

 

Troparia

 

Tone 1: When the stone had been sealed by the Jews, /

And the soldiers were guarding Thine immaculate Body, /

Thou didst arise on the third day, O Savior, /

granting life unto the world. /

Wherefore, the Hosts of the Heavens cried out to Thee, O Life-giver: /

Glory to Thy Resurrection, O Christ. /

Glory to Thy kingdom. //

Glory to Thy dispensation, O only Lover of mankind.

 

Glory... [Troparion of the Temple]

 

Both now... Tone 1:

Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, O Virgin Theotokos, /

for from thee hath risen the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, /

enlightening those in darkness. /

Rejoice, thou also, O righteous Elder, /

as thou receivest in thine arms the Redeemer of our souls, //

Who also granteth unto us the Resurrection.

 

The Epistle

 

Reader: The Prokimenon in the 1st Tone: Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.

Choir: Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.

Reader: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; praise is meet for the upright.

Choir: Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in Thee.

Reader: In the 3rd Tone: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

Choir: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

 

Reader: The Reading is from the First Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: [1st Corinthians 6:12-20]

 

Reader: Alleluia in the 1st Tone: O God who givest avengement unto me and hast subdued people under me.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader: It is He that magnifieth the salvation of His king and worketh mercy for His anointed, for David and for His seed unto eternity.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Reader: In the 8th Tone: Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word.

Choir: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

 

Gospel [Luke 15:11-32]

 

Kontakia

 

Tone 3: Having foolishly abandoned Thy paternal glory, /

I squandered on vices the wealth which Thou gavest me. /

Wherefore, I cry unto Thee with the voice of the Prodigal: /

I have sinned before Thee, O compassionate Father. /

Receive me as one repentant, //

and make me as one of Thy hired servants.

 

Glory... [Kontakion of the Temple]

 

Both now... Tone 1: Thou Who didst sanctify the Virgin’s womb by Thy birth, /

and didst bless Symeon’s hands as was meet, /

by anticipation didst even now save us, O Christ God. /

But grant peace in the midst of wars unto Thy commonwealth, /

and strengthen Orthodox Christians //

whom Thou hast loved, O only Lover of mankind.

 

Instead of “It is truly meet…” we chant the Irmos of the 9th Ode of the Canon of the feast, Third Tone:

            Refrain: O Virgin Theotokos, thou hope of Christians: Do thou protect, preserve, and save those that hope in thee.

            Irmos: In the shadow and the letter of the Law, let us, the faithful, discern a figure: every male child that opens the womb shall be sanctified to God. Therefore do we magnify the firstborn Word and Son of the Father without beginning, the firstborn Child of a Mother who hath not known a man.

 

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