Variable Portions of the Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts
1st Friday in Great Lent
“Lord I Call” Stichera
Begin “Lord, I Call” in Tone 5
The following are chanted at the end of Psalm 142:
Reader: Bring my soul out of prison, that I may confess Thy name.
The righteous shall await me for Thou wilt recompense me.
Out of the depths have I cried to Thee, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice.
People: Come, O faithful,
Tone 5 let us perform the works of God in the light.
Let us walk honestly as in the day.
Let us rid ourselves of unjust accusations
against our neighbors,
so that we place no stumbling blocks in their way.
Let us put aside the pleasures of the flesh,
so that we may increase the gifts to our souls.
Let us give bread to those in need.
Let us draw near to Christ in repentance and say:
O our God, have mercy on us.
Reader: Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
People: Come, all lovers of the martyrs.
Tone 2 Let us be glad in spirit and celebrate.
Today the martyr Theodore offers a mystical banquet,
Making us glad in the feast that we might sing to him:
Rejoice, unconquerable bearer of suffering,
victor over torturers.
Rejoice, for you gave your body over to torture for Christ God.
Rejoice, for by trials you were revealed a true soldier
of the heavenly army.
O
beauty of martyrs, pray for our souls.
Reader: If Thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But with Thee, there is forgiveness.
People: You extend the divinely-granted grace of your miracles
Tone 2 to all who run to you in faith, O martyr Theodore.
Therefore, we praise you in song:
You release the captives,
heal the sick, reward the poor,
and save those who are drowning.
You intercede for all who honor your sacred memory.
Entreat Christ to grant great mercy even to us,
who
praise your suffering, O sacred martyr.
Reader: Because of Thy name, I have waited for Thee, O Lord; my soul has waited for Thy word; my soul has hoped on the Lord.
People: You were revealed as the highest gift of God,
Tone 2 O martyr Theodore.
Even after your end you grant help to those who run to you.
When the widow came to your temple in tears,
you appeared in mercy and returned her son,
who had been taken into captivity by alien soldiers.
You did not cease doing wonders,
entreat Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Reader: From the morning watch until night, from the morning watch,
let Israel hope on the Lord.
People: I honor you as the true gift of God, O thrice-blessed Theodore.
Tone 2 You were revealed as an unfailing candle of the divine light.
Your sufferings illumined the creation.
More powerful than fire, you quenched the flames,
and crushed the head of the evil serpant.
When you went to your suffering Christ placed the crown
on your divine head.
Since you have boldness before God,
O great martyr, fervently
pray for our souls.
Reader: For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is plentious redemption, and He will deliver Israel from all his iniquities.
People: The devil used the apostate as a vessel of evil
Tone 6 filling him with foul thoughts of polluting the food
of the people who were fasting.
But you overcame his craftiness with wiser reasoning;
you appeared to the archbishop in a dream,
and revealed the wicked plot to him.
For this we give thanks to you, O martyr Theodore,
and honor you as a helper and deliverer,
remembering this miracle every year in this season.
By your intercessions to God
may we be delivered from the reasonings of the evil one.
Reader: Praise the Lord, all nations. Praise Him, all peoples.
People: O martyrs of the Lord,
Tone 4 inspired sacrifices, rational offerings, perfect victims for God,
sheep who know God and are known by Him,
whose pasture cannot be trespassed by wolves,
pray that we too may gaze with you near peaceful waters.
Reader: For His mercy is confirmed on us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever.
People: Since you have boldness before the Savior, O saints,
Tone 4 pray unceasingly for us sinners,
entreating remission of our sins
and great mercy for our souls.
Reader: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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Theotokion in the tone of the week
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The Readings from Holy Scripture
1st Friday in Great Lent
Priest: Let us attend! Peace be unto all!
Reader: And to your spirit!
Priest: Wisdom!
Reader: The Prokeimenon in the 5th Tone: The Lord answer you in the day of trouble.
People: The Lord answer you in the day of trouble.
Reader: The name of the God of Jacob protect you.
People: The Lord answer you in the day of trouble.
Reader: Thou, O Lord, shall protect us.
People: In the day of trouble.
Priest: Wisdom!
Reader: The Reading is from Genesis.
Priest: Let us attend!
Genesis 2:20-3:20
So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
So the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."
Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."
And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Priest: Wisdom!
Reader: The Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone: Be exalted in Thy strength, O Lord and we will praise and sing Thy power.
People: Be exalted in Thy strength, O Lord and we will praise and sing Thy power.
Reader: In Thy strength the king rejoices, O Lord.
People: Be exalted in Thy strength, O Lord and we will praise and sing Thy power.
Reader: Be exalted in Thy strength, O Lord.
People: And we will praise and sing Thy power.
The priest comes forth with the candle and censer.
All make a prostration or kneel.
Priest: Wisdom! Let us attend!
The Light of Christ illumines all!
Reader: The Reading is from Proverbs.
Priest: Let us attend!
Proverbs 3:19-34
The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens; By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew.
My son, let them not depart from your eyes-- Keep sound wisdom and discretion; So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it," When you have it with you. Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety's sake. Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. Do not envy the oppressor, And choose none of his ways; For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord, But His secret counsel is with the upright. The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just. Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.
Priest: Peace be unto you. Wisdom!
Let My Prayer Arise follows
This content has been generously provided by Fr. Jerome Cwiklinski, CAPT, CHC, USN