LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS
At Psalm 140
In Tone 8
10. O faithful, while fasting bodily,
let us also fast in spirit.
Let us loosen every bond of injustice;
let us tear apart the strong chains of violence;
let us rip up all unjust assertions;
let us give bread to the hungry
and welcome the poor and homeless to our houses,
that we may receive from Christ our God, His great mercy.
9. O faithful, while fasting bodily,
let us also fast in spirit.
Let us loosen every bond of injustice;
let us tear apart the strong chains of violence;
let us rip up all unjust assertions;
let us give bread to the hungry
and welcome the poor and homeless to our houses,
that we may receive from Christ our God, His great mercy.
8. What honour and praise can fittingly be ascribed to the saints?
They bowed their necks under the sword for You,
the One who left the heavens and came down.
They shed their blood for You,
the One who took the form of a servant.
By emulating Your poverty
they humbled themselves unto death.
By their prayers, have mercy on us, O Lord,
according to Your compassion.
In Tone 2
7. Jesus, the true spiritual Sun,
sent you as lightning through all the world,
to overcome the darkness of error
by the brightness of your divine teachings;
O holy apostles, who have seen the Lord,
beseech Him to send His light and His mercy on us.
6. Elijah ascended in the divine chariot of his virtues,
and by his fasting he was carried to the heights of heaven in glory.
Strive, O my humble soul, as he did,
fast and shed all evil, malice, envy, and corrupting luxury
so that you may be delivered from all eternal pain of death
and cry out to Christ:
O Lord, glory be to You!
In Tone 5
5. O divine apostles,
fervent intercessors for the world and defenders of the faithful.
You received from Christ our God the boldness to intercede for us.
We beseech you that we may pass this solemn time of the Fast untroubled
and receive the grace of the consubstantial Trinity.
O great and glorious preachers, pray for our souls.
In Tone 4
4. Noble and victorious martyrs,
you were revealed in the final times
as unwaning stars in the Church’s honoured firmament.
You illumined all beneath the sun, all-praised ones,
with the splendour of your sufferings,
destroying the darkness of deception!
Therefore we celebrate your radiant and sacred suffering in faith,
enriched by your intercession.
3. Noble and victorious martyrs,
you were revealed in the final times
as unwaning stars in the Church’s honoured firmament.
You illumined all beneath the sun, all-praised ones,
with the splendour of your sufferings,
destroying the darkness of deception!
Therefore we celebrate your radiant and sacred suffering in faith,
enriched by your intercession.
2. Martyrs of Christ,
you were bound after a summary arrest
and shut up in prison for a lengthy time.
You were divine preservers of the faith,
who refused to submit to his evil commands.
Therefore the infamous beast was enraged and slew you with the sword.
Now you have joyfully inherited higher things,
joining yourselves to the Kingdom,
all-glorious two and forty!
1. Let us shout the praise of Constantine,
Basoes and Callistus,
Theodore and Theophilus,
and the rest of the divine company of athletes,
for they sacrificed themselves with joy,
electing to die for the Life of all.
Now they rest in the city of the living God,
entreating that on the day of judgment,
we may find remission of sins and complete deliverance.
Glory… Now…
Attend to the groaning of my broken heart, O bride of God.
Accept the lifting up of my hands.
Do not reject me, O Mary, spotless Virgin, full of love,
so that I may praise and magnify
Him, who in you magnified the human race.
Prokeimenon I, Tone 5
You, O Lord, will guard us, and will keep us,* from this generation, and forever!
verse: Save me, O Lord, for there is no longer left a just man.
Reading I
Genesis 1:24-2:3
Prokeimenon II, Tone 6
Look at me and answer me* O Lord my God!
verse: How long, O Lord, will You forget me? How long will You hide Your face from me?
Reading II
Proverbs 2:1-22