Variable Portions of the Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts

5^th Friday in Great Lent

 

“Lord I Call” Stichera

Begin “Lord, I Call” in Tone 6

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. 

                   Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

                   If Thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?  But with Thee, there is forgiveness.  

                   ecause of Thy name, I have waited for Thee, O Lord;  my soul has waited for Thy word;  my soul has hoped on the Lord. 

 

Tone 6                    I now lie wounded and lifeless.

                        As if I had left Jerusalem, the way of Thy divine

commandments,

and had reached the passions of Jericho,

reveling in the impious glory of earthly pursuits: 

as if my reasonings had become thieves

and robbed me of my garments of sonship by grace. 

The priest came by and, seeing my corpse, passed me by: 

the Levite too saw and departed. 

But do Thou, O Lord unspeakably incarnate of the Virgin,

bind up my wounds as if with healing ointment, O Christ God,

by the flood of blood and water which streamed salvation

from Thy side. 

Join me to the heavenly choir,

since Thou art tender-hearted.

 

Reader:                   From the morning watch until night, from the morning watch,

let Israel hope on the Lord.

 

Tone 6               Thy martyrs, O Lord,

did not forsake Thee,

nor did they turn from Thy commandments. 

By their prayers have mercy on us.

 

Reader:                  For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is plentious redemption, and He will deliver Israel from all his iniquities.

 

Tone 6               Revealing the pre-eternal council to you, O Handmaid,

Gabriel came and, in greeting, announced:

Rejoice, O Virgin earth.

Rejoice, O inconsumable Bush.

Rejoice, O unseeable Depth.

Rejoice, O Bridge to Heaven.

Rejoice, O lofty Ladder which Jacob beheld.

Rejoice, O divine Manna.

Rejoice, O Lifter of the curse.

Rejoice, O Recall of Adam.

The Lord is with you!

 

Reader:               Praise the Lord, all nations.  Praise Him, all peoples.

 

Tone 6               You appear as a man,

replied the undefiled handmaid to the commander of hosts,

and so how can you utter words higher than man? 

You have said:  God will be with me,

and will dwell in my womb. 

And how, tell me, shall I be the abode of sanctification

for the One upborne by the cherubim? 

Do not deceive me,

for I have not known sweetness, remaining unwedded. 

How then can I bear a child?

 

Reader:                 For His mercy is confirmed on us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever.

 

Tone 6               Where God so wills the order of nature is overruled,

answered the bodiless leader,

and that which is above man is accomplished. 

Believe my words of truth, O All-holy and Most-undefiled. 

She cried-out:  Let it be to me according to your word,

and I will give birth to the bodiless God,

who shall assume flesh from me,

and by His sufferings will exalt man to his first nobility,

for He alone is mighty.

 

Reader:              Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Now and ever, and unto ages of ages.  Amen.

 

Theotokion in the tone of the week

 

The Readings from Holy Scripture

5^th Friday in Great Lent

 

Priest:           Let us attend!  Peace be unto all!

 

Reader:         And to your spirit!

 

Priest:           Wisdom!

 

Reader:         The Prokeimenon in the 4^th Tone:  The Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and of great goodness.

 

People:            The Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and of great goodness.

 

Reader:            Blessed the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.

 

People:            The Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and of great goodness.

 

Reader:            The Lord is compassionate and merciful.

 

People:            Long-suffering and of great goodness.

 

Priest:           Wisdom!

 

Reader:         The Reading is from Genesis.

 

Priest:           Let us attend!

 

Genesis 22:1-18

 

Reader:                 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.  And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The Lord it shall be provided."

Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son-- blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

 

Priest:           Wisdom!

 

Reader:         The Prokeimenon in the 4^th Tone:  O Lord, how manifold are Thy works!  In wisdom hast Thou made them all!

 

People:         O Lord, how manifold are Thy works!  In wisdom hast Thou made them all!

 

Reader:            Bless the Lord, O my soul, O Lord my God, Thou art very great.

 

People:         O Lord, how manifold are Thy works!  In wisdom hast Thou made them all!

 

Reader:            O Lord, how manifold are Thy works.

 

People:         In wisdom hast Thou made them all!

 

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 21:23-22:4

Reader:              A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge, and becomes surety for his friend.

He who loves transgression loves strife, and he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.

He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, and he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.

He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy.

A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.

A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back to pervert the ways of justice.

Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.

Also, to punish the righteous is not good, nor to strike princes for their uprightness.

He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.

A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.

A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.

When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; and with dishonor comes reproach.

The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; the wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

Priest:           Peace be unto you.  Wisdom!

 

Let My Prayer Arise follows

 

_{This content has been provided by Fr. Jerome Cwiklinski, CAPT, CHC, USN}