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Event Information:
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Wed08Mar2023
Wednesday of the Third Week of the Great Fast - Presanctified
LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS
At Psalm 140
In Tone 4
- Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.
Like the prodigal I squandered my paternal inheritance,* and now I am in desolation.* I dwell in the land of the wicked.* In my folly, I became like the unreasoning beasts,* stripped of all divine grace.* So I return and cry out to You:* O merciful and compassionate Father,* I have sinned, O God.* Receive me as a penitent and have mercy on me.
- The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.
Like the prodigal I squandered my paternal inheritance,* and now I am in desolation.* I dwell in the land of the wicked.* In my folly, I became like the unreasoning beasts,* stripped of all divine grace.* So I return and cry out to You:* O merciful and compassionate Father,* I have sinned, O God.* Receive me as a penitent and have mercy on me.
- Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!
O martyrs of the Lord,* you are living sacrifices and spiritual offerings* and perfect incense burnt to God.* You are sheep that know God and are known to Him,* and wolves cannot break into His fold.* Pray that we may be led with you* to pasture beside the still waters.
In Tone 6
- Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.
O apostles who have seen God,* and who reflect the light of the spiritual Sun for us,* pray for the illumination of our souls* and deliver us from the gloomy darkness of suffering.* Intercede that we may behold the day of salvation.* Through your prayers and intercessions* cleanse our heart which the Evil One has wounded,* so that, saved by faith, we may ever honour you* who brought the world salvation through your all-wise preaching.
- If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.
Into an evil land I have wandered,* prodigal that I am;* the wealth You gave to me, O compassionate Father,* I have squandered in a life filled with vice.* And now in hunger I long for the good I lost;* I am clothed with the shame of my transgression.* I have been stripped of righteous deeds and of divine grace.* Now I cry out that I have sinned.* But I know Your righteousness, O Christ;* in Your kindness receive me as Your hired servant,* through the prayers of Your apostles who love You.
- I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.
Apostles of the Lord and bright lights of the universe,* you made us the recipients of salvation,* and like the heavens you proclaim the glory of God;* you are adorned with wonders and bright miracles.* Intercede for us unceasingly before the Lord,* that He may receive our prayers as a pleasing aroma,* and grant that with love we may contemplate and kiss His life-giving Cross.* In Your love for humankind,* grant mercy to us who bow low before Your Cross, O Saviour.
In Tone 2
- From the morning watch until night* let Israel trust in the Lord.
Bravely enduring the present happenings and rejoicing in things hoped for,* the holy martyrs said to each other:* We have not stripped ourselves of a garment,* but we have put off the old person.* The winter is bitter but Paradise is sweet.* Although the chill is painful, it becomes sweet enjoyment.* Let us not bow down, O captains.* We suffer a little at present* that we may receive the crowns of victory from Christ,* since He is God and the Saviour of our souls.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Bravely enduring the present happenings and rejoicing in things hoped for,* the holy martyrs said to each other:* We have not stripped ourselves of a garment,* but we have put off the old person.* The winter is bitter but Paradise is sweet.* Although the chill is painful, it becomes sweet enjoyment.* Let us not bow down, O captains.* We suffer a little at present* that we may receive the crowns of victory from Christ,* since He is God and the Saviour of our souls.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
Throwing off their garments and going into the lake without trembling,* the holy martyrs said to each other:* Since we have lost Paradise,* let us not care for a corruptible garment today.* Having once been clothed in corruption through the serpent,* let us now beseech resurrection for all.* Let us despise the icy destroying cold and scorn the flesh,* that we may receive the crowns of victory from Christ * for He is God and the Saviour of our souls.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Looking upon the tortures as pleasures* and hastening towards the icy lake as towards the heat,* the holy martyrs said to each other:* Let us stand fearless in the winter season* that we may escape the dreadful fire of Hades.* Let a foot be burnt that it may rejoice forever;* let a hand be lost that it may be lifted towards the Lord;* let us not spare the dying nature.* Let us now accept death* that we may receive crowns of victory from Christ,* for He is God and the Saviour of our souls.
Glory…
Bravely enduring the present happenings* and rejoicing in things hoped for,* the holy martyrs said to each other:* We have not stripped ourselves of a garment,* but we have put off the old person.* The winter is bitter but Paradise is sweet.* Although the chill is painful, it becomes sweet enjoyment.* Let us not bow down, O captains.* We suffer a little at present* that we may receive the crowns of victory from Christ,* since He is God and the Saviour of our souls.
Now…
O Virgin, the shadow of the Law passed away* with the realization of grace.* For as the bush had burned without being consumed,* so you gave birth while a virgin* and you remained a virgin.* Instead of the pillar of fire there rose the Sun of Justice.* Instead of Moses, Christ God came forth,* the Saviour of our souls.
Prokeimenon I, Tone 4
I trust in the goodness of God* forever and ever.
verse: I will thank You forevermore; for this is Your doing.
Reading I
Genesis 7:6-9
Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth. Then Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, entered the ark because of the flood waters. Also the clean and unclean birds, the clean and unclean cattle, and everything that creeps on the earth, entered with Noah into the ark, two by two, male and female, as God commanded him.
Prokeimenon II, Tone 4
When God delivers His people from bondage,* then Jacob will be glad and Israel rejoice.
verse: Fools have said in their hearts: There is no God above.
Reading II
Proverbs 9:12-18
My son, if you become wise in yourself,
you shall also be wise toward your neighbor;
But if you prove to be evil, you alone will go through troubles.
He who supports himself with lies will shepherd winds
And chase flying birds;
For he abandoned the ways of his own vineyard
And strayed from paths of his own farming;
And he will pass through a waterless desert,
A land assigned to drought,
And he gathers barrenness with his hands.
A woman in need of a morsel is without discernment and overbold;
She has no sense of shame.
She sits upon the doors of her own house,
Upon a seat openly in the streets,
Calling to those who pass by
And who go straight along their paths.Reading III
Isaiah 43:9-14
All the nations are gathered together, and the rulers shall be assembled from among them. Who will declare these things or tell us things from the beginning? Let them bring forth their witnesses, and be proven right; and let them speak the truth. “You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,” says the Lord God, “and My Servant whom I chose, that you may know and believe, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no other God, nor shall there be after Me. I am God, and besides Me there is no one who saves. I proclaimed, and I saved. I denounced foreign gods so there were none among you. You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,” says the Lord God. “Even from the beginning, there is no one who can deliver out of My hands; I will work, and who will reverse it?”
Thus says the Lord God who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon and arouse all who flee, and the Chaldeans shall be bound in ships.”
Reading IV
Wisdom 3:1-9
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
And no torture will ever touch them.
In the eyes of the undiscerning they seemed to have died,
And their departure was considered to be misfortune,
And their passage from us to be their destruction;
But they are at peace.
For though in man’s view they were punished,
Their hope is full of immortality.
Though chastened in a few things,
Great kindness will be shown them,
For God tested them and found them worthy of Himself.
He tested them like gold in a furnace
And accepted them as a whole burnt offering.
In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
And they will run about like sparks through straw.
They will judge nations and rule over peoples,
And the Lord shall reign over them unto the ages.
Those who trust in Him will understand truth,
And the faithful shall continue with Him in love,
Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.Reading V
Wisdom 5:15-6:3
The righteous live forever,
And their reward is with the Lord;
And their care is by the Most High.
Therefore they shall receive a kingly dwelling of dignity
And a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord,
Because He will shelter them with His right hand
And protect them with His arm.
He will take His zeal as His full armor
And will turn His creation into weapons against His enemies.
He will wear righteousness as a breastplate
And put on impartial judgment as a helmet.
He will take holiness as an unconquerable shield
And sharpen His relentless wrath for a sword;
And creation will fight with Him against the senseless.
Well-aimed flashes of lightning will strike
And leap to their object as from a well-drawn bow of clouds;
And hailstones full of anger will be hurled
As from an engine of war.
The water of the sea will be vexed with them,
And the rivers will wash over them severely.
A powerful wind will oppose them,
And like a storm it will winnow them away.
Lawlessness will lay waste all the earth,
And wrongdoing will overturn the thrones of rulers.Listen therefore, O kings, and understand;
Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.
Give ear, you that rule over multitudes,
And take pride in yourself over a multitude of nations.
For power was given to you from the Lord,
And your lordship from the Most High,
Who will make a careful search of your works
And examine closely your plans.