Daily Reading:

Wednesday

SIXTH HOUR

Isaih 10:12-20

Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

VESPERS

Genesis 7:6-9

And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

Proverbs 9:12-18

If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, To call passengers who go right on their ways: Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS

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HOLY MARTYR CONON

ST MARK THE ASCETIC

ST KIERAN

Troparion of St Conon Tone 5

Armed with the grace of the Spirit,/ thou didst mightily destroy the power of ungodliness/ and didst shine forth with miracles./ Dyed in the streams of thy blood,/ O Martyr Conon,/ thou dost glorify God/ Who through thee grants us grace and great mercy.

Troparion of St Mark Tone 3

Thy soul was divinely illumined, O Mark;/ thou didst shine as a bright light in the world and put to flight its darkness./ Thou didst persuade all to seek their lost treasure/ even the grace of the Holy Spirit./ Entreat Him to grant us His great mercy.

Troparion of St Kieran Tone 4

Leaving the darkness of paganism,/ thou wast drawn by the radiance of our pure and saving Faith, O Father Kieran,/ and shunning the costly raiment of the episcopate,/ thou didst spend thy life in severest asceticism,/ thereby seeking the salvation of men's souls.

Kontakion of St Conon Tone 4

Thou wast counted worthy of an angelic vision/ and initiated into the Faith of Christ;/ thou didst receive the power to work miracles,/ and didst humble the haughty demons,/ and quench error when tried by fire./ Righteous Martyr and Athlete Conon,/ pray the Lover of mankind to grant us His great mercy.

Kontakion of St Kieran Tone 8

Bread was thy meat and water thy wine, O blessed ascetic and great Father Kieran./ Rejecting clothing and comfort, thou didst enfold thyself in prayer, becoming a model of piety./ Wherefore we pray that, being stripped of all worldly affection,/ our lives may be transformed into a visible prayer to our Triune God.