Daily Reading:
Friday
SIXTH HOUR
Isaih 3:1-14
For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water. The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
VESPERS
Genesis 2:20-3:20
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto 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 shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Proverbs 3:19-34
The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS
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ST TIMOTHY OF SYMBOLA
ST EUSTATHIUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH
Troparion of St Timothy Tone 5
O wise Timothy, from thy childhood thou didst honour God by a virtuous life,/ and wast honoured by Him most worthily./ For thou wast a sacred vessel of godly gifts,/ granting many blessings unto all for the salvation of our souls.
Troparion of St Eustathius Tone 3
Thou didst shine like a brilliant sun in the First Council, O righteous Eustathius,/ for thou didst proclaim the Son to be of one Essence with the Father and with the Spirit./ Pray, O Hierarch of God,/ that unwavering steadfastness in the Faith be granted to all who honour thee.
Kontakion of St Timothy Tone 4
Thou didst rise in the east like a bright star/ and shed the light of thy miracles into the hearts of the faithful,/ holy wonderworker Timothy.
Kontakion of St Eustathius Tone 8
Thou didst purify thyself with godly works/ and become a pillar of the priesthood in divine vision and a blameless life./ Thou didst withstand the onslaughts of temptations as a foundation and bulwark of the Church./ And so we cry: Rejoice, O Father Eustathius.
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(After the 2nd reading of the Psalter):
SESSIONAL HYMN (by Joseph)
TONE 2
BY YOUR DIVINE CROSS YOU HAVE PUT TO DEATH THE PASSIONS OF MY FLESH;
BY YOUR PASSION YOU HAVE GIVEN ALL MEN FREEDOM FROM PASSIONS!
COUNT ME WORTHY ALSO, LORD, TO SEE YOUR HOLY RESURRECTION,//
THAT I MAY RECEIVE YOUR GREAT AND ABUNDANT MERCY!
GLORY...
BY YOUR DIVINE CROSS YOU HAVE PUT TO DEATH...
NOW AND EVER...
GUARDED BY THE PRECIOUS CROSS OF YOUR SON,
PURE LADY AND THEOTOKOS,
WE EASILY TURN AWAY ALL THE ASSAULTS OF THE ENEMY!
THEREFORE WE RIGHTLY CALL YOU BLESSED,//
FOR YOU ARE THE MOTHER OF LIGHT AND THE ONLY HOPE OF OUR SOULS!
(After the 3rd reading of the Psalter):
SESSIONAL HYMN (by Theodore)
TONE 2
YOU ARE THE SOURCE AND FOUNTAIN OF PURITY,
MERCIFUL LORD;
PRESERVE US IN THE FAST.
BEHOLD US AS WE FALL BEFORE YOU:
LOOK UPON THE LIFTING UP OF OUR HANDS,
FOR YOU STRETCHED OUT YOUR HANDS UPON THE TREE
AND WERE CRUCIFIED FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THE EARTH-BORN//
ONLY LORD OF THE ANGELIC POWERS!
GLORY...
YOU ARE THE SOURCE AND FOUNTAIN...
NOW AND EVER...
BEHOLDING YOU, CHRIST, STRETCHED DEAD UPON THE TREE,
YOUR VIRGIN MOTHER CRIED OUT WITH BITTER TEARS:
MY SON, WHAT IS THIS FEARFUL MYSTERY?
HOW DO YOU SUFFER WILLINGLY A SHAMEFUL DEATH UPON THE CROSS//
WHEN YOU GIVE ETERNAL LIFE TO ALL?
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THE CANON
CANTICLE FIVE:
FIRST CANON
TONE 2
IRMOS: CHRIST MY SAVIOR, THE ENLIGHTENMENT...
Seeing the sinfulness that is in me,
the deceitful enemy urges me on to sin and works with me:
for he truly rejoices over my perdition.
But I entreat You, Savior,
grant me amendment of life that I may destroy him!
By Your Cross You have triumphed over the powers of darkness.
Deliver me from their wickedness,
for I am fallen into a depth of sin and a pit of iniquity;
but by Your mercy, I hope to be saved.
You hung dead upon the Cross:
restore life to my soul, deadened through sin, O Christ,
count me worthy to attain Your holy Resurrection tn peace,
obediently fulfilling Your commandments.
Pure Maiden, you are a light to me in my infirmity
and the salvation of my darkened soul;
save me, O save me, for I perish!
Clothe me, corrupted by my grievous sins,
in a garment of incorruption!
(Click for the rest of the canon) http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/prayers/triodion/lent1fri
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