On Holy and Great Monday, at Matins we hear the Gospel which recounts the lack of faith of the leaders, and the faith of the sinners. The lesson ends with the warning: “the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” We must not be complacent, but always alert to witness to God’s Kingdom.
At the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, we hear the Gospel lesson in which Jesus announces the end of the world. We Christians should live in this awareness, that this world is passing, that our true homeland, our true citizenship, is not here but in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Bishop Basil Losten)
LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFED GIFTS
At Psalm 140
In Tone 1
10. Going freely to His Passion,
the Lord said to His disciples along the way:
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of man shall be delivered up, as it is written.
Come, let us purify our thoughts that we may go with Him;
let us be crucified with Him;
in Him we shall die to the pleasures of this life,
that we may live with Him and hear Him say to us:
I am no longer going to the earthly Jerusalem to suffer,
but I am going to My Father and your Father,
to My God and your God;
you shall go with Me to the heavenly Jerusalem
in the Kingdom of Heaven.
9. Going freely to His Passion,
the Lord said to His disciples along the way:
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of man shall be delivered up, as it is written.
Come, let us purify our thoughts that we may go with Him;
let us be crucified with Him;
in Him we shall die to the pleasures of this life,
that we may live with Him and hear Him say to us:
I am no longer going to the earthly Jerusalem to suffer,
but I am going to My Father and your Father,
to My God and your God;
you shall go with Me to the heavenly Jerusalem
in the Kingdom of Heaven.
In Tone 5
8. O faithful, let us hasten to the saving Passion of Christ our God;
let us glorify His long-suffering which is beyond expression,
that He may save us from sin and death,
and that He may also raise us in His goodness and love for humankind.
7. O faithful, let us hasten to the saving Passion of Christ our God;
let us glorify His long-suffering which is beyond expression,
that He may save us from sin and death,
and that He may also raise us in His goodness and love for humankind.
6. When You were going to Your Passion, O Lord,
You reassured Your disciples by taking them aside and saying:
How can You forget the words I have spoken to you?
The Scriptures say that all the prophets die only in Jerusalem!
Now the time of which I have spoken to you has arrived:
Behold, I shall be delivered into the hands of sinners;
they shall mock Me and nail Me to the Cross;
and after burying Me, they shall number Me among the dead.
Take courage, however, for I shall rise on the third day,
to bring joy and eternal life to all the faithful.
5. When You were going to Your Passion, O Lord,
You reassured Your disciples by taking them aside and saying:
How can You forget the words I have spoken to you?
The Scriptures say that all the prophets die only in Jerusalem!
Now the time of which I have spoken to you has arrived:
Behold, I shall be delivered into the hands of sinners;
they shall mock Me and nail Me to the Cross;
and after burying Me, they shall number Me among the dead.
Take courage, however, for I shall rise on the third day,
to bring joy and eternal life to all the faithful.
4. Not understanding the depth of the ineffable mystery of Your plan of salvation,
the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to You, O Lord;
she asked You to grant them the places of honour in a temporal kingdom.
But in place of these honours,
You proclaimed to Your friends that they would drink from the cup of death,
the same cup from which You shall first drink
to cleanse us of our sins.
Therefore, we cry out to You:
O Saviour of our souls, glory to You!
3. Not understanding the depth of the ineffable mystery of Your plan of salvation,
the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to You, O Lord;
she asked You to grant them the places of honour in a temporal kingdom.
But in place of these honours,
You proclaimed to Your friends that they would drink from the cup of death,
the same cup from which You shall first drink
to cleanse us of our sins.
Therefore, we cry out to You:
O Saviour of our souls, glory to You!
2. When You taught Your disciples to seek that which is higher,
You said to them, O Lord:
Do not imitate the pagans by lording over those who are weak;
it shall not be that way with you.
For I have chosen to be poor;
so the first among you shall become the servant of the rest;
the one who commands shall be as the one who obeys;
the most noble shall be as the lowest.
For I Myself have come to serve the poverty of Adam
and to give My life as a ransom for the many
who now sing: O Lord, glory to You!
1. When You taught Your disciples to seek that which is higher,
You said to them, O Lord:
Do not imitate the pagans by lording over those who are weak;
it shall not be that way with you.
For I have chosen to be poor;
so the first among you shall become the servant of the rest;
the one who commands shall be as the one who obeys;
the most noble shall be as the lowest.
For I Myself have come to serve the poverty of Adam
and to give My life as a ransom for the many
who now sing: O Lord, glory to You!
In Tone 8, Glory…
O faithful, let us fear the punishment of the fig tree
which was dried up for not having borne any fruit;
let us offer worthy fruits of repentance to Christ,
who grants us His great mercy.
Now…
The Serpent thought he found a second Eve in the Egyptian woman,
who tried to make Joseph succumb to her words of flattery.
But he avoided sinning;
he left his garment behind, but was not ashamed of his nudity,
as were our first parents after their disobedience.
Through his prayers, O Christ, have mercy on us.
Prokeimenon I, Tone 6
May the Lord bless you from Sion,* and may you see prosperity of Jerusalem.
verse: Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.
Reading 1
Exodus 1:1-20
Prokeimenon II, Tone 8
We bless you* in the name of the Lord.
verse: “They have oppressed me from my youth,” this is the song of Israel.
Reading II
Job 1:1-12
Gospel
Matthew 24:3-35