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 Yours 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.
Richly illumined with spiritual light,
you scorned the world for love of the only Kingdom.
By encountering immeasurable suffering,
you defeated the enemy.
O glorious Martyr Eudocia,
you wove a wreath of victory for yourself.
- For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Richly illumined with spiritual light,
you scorned the world for love of the only Kingdom.
By encountering immeasurable suffering,
you defeated the enemy.
O glorious Martyr Eudocia,
you wove a wreath of victory for yourself.
- Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.
You suppressed the lusts of the flesh and extinguished the fire of sin
with the dew of the divine Spirit as your help, O noble Martyr.
Then you tamed the wild beast in the arena,
and with courage you submitted your body to beatings.
By this, blessed Eudocia, you brought down the enemy
and you wove a wreath of victory for yourself.
- Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.
Neither sword, nor fire, nor scourging,
anguish, hunger, or any kind of torture
could break your desire for the Lord, O Martyr Eudocia,
in seeking Him with a fervent heart, you renounced all visible things,
and entered into the divine chamber
to become the bride of the King of all.
In Tone 5, Glory… Now…
Come, all faithful, and rejoice in the Holy Scriptures!
Rejoice in the preaching of the apostles!
Rejoice in the Virgin who gave birth to God!
She is the Queen of Heaven.
In her we exult with hymns and songs,
for she is our fervent intercessor before God.
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.