(after the 2nd reading of the Psalter): Sessional hymn Tone 2
The grace of the holy fast is most blessed:
For through fasting Moses was glorified,
Receiving the law written upon tablets.
Through fasting the three children were made stronger than the fire!
Let us, then, quench the burning passions of the flesh.
Let us cry out to Christ the Savior:
Grant us all conversion and deliver us from Gehenna!
Glory...
The season of repentance is at hand:
Show the fruits of abstinence, O my soul!
Consider those who repented in the past
And cry aloud to Christ:
I have sinned, O loving master; save me,
As you saved the publican who sighed with sorrow from his heart,
For you alone are rich in mercy!
Now and ever...
Theotokion Theotokos, the fervent advocate of Christians,
Ever entreat your son,
That he may deliver us from all the malice and cunning of the enemy,
And in his tender mercy, grant us the forgiveness of our sins,
At your intercessions, mother and virgin!
(after the 3rd reading of the Psalter):
Sessional hymn Tone 5
As we begin the second day of saving abstinence,
We cry to you, O Lord:
Pierce our hearts with compunction
For we are your servants
And accept the prayers we offer you in fear.
Allow us to complete the course of the fast without stumbling,
Granting us cleansing and great mercy!
Glory...
As we begin the second day...
Now and ever...
Theotokion Root that has put forth the divine flower,
Tabernacle and candlestick,
Golden vessel of Manna,
Holy table bearing the bread of life:
With John the Forerunner, intercede before him
Since he is your Son and God,
That he may grant mercy and salvation to us all
Who acknowledge you to be the Theotokos!
The Canon
Canticle two: First Canon
Tone 2 (by Joseph the hymnographer)
Irmos: Behold; behold! I am he
Who saved the people of Israel in the sea
And nourished them in the wilderness.
I drew water from a rock for mortal men
So that I might raise up the one who had fallen into corruption,
And draw him to me by my mercy.
Soul, be temperant;
Be vigilant, sigh and weep.
Reject all the burden of sin by fasting.
Flee from the fire of passions by true and fervent repentance,
And rending the garments of mourning with tears, be clothed anew.
Woe is me! Who will I become?
And what shall I do?
I have committed sins without conscience,
And have not feared the Master.
Therefore, even before the judgment, I stand condemned.
Save me and bring me back, O righteous and gracious judge,
Though I have angered you more than all other men.
Theotokion
Unsown earth, which brought forth the nourisher of all:
He who opened his hands, and of his own good will
Satisfies every living thing by his power:
Strengthen with the living bread
The hearts weakened by satisfaction with wicked transgression.
Second Canon
Tone 2 (by Theodore)
Irmos: Behold, behold that I am God...
Come, let us gather in the chamber of our soul,
Rendering prayers to the Lord and crying:
Our Father, in heaven,
Forgive and remit our transgressions,
Since you alone are compassionate!
Showing our souls joyful in the fast,
Let us not grieve the loss of our days of pleasure,
For this loss brings instruction in virtue.
Glory...
The unity of three persons,
Unoriginate, uncreated Lord,
King of all the ages,
A multitude of angels and all mortal nature glorify you:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Now and ever...
Theotokion Let us hymn the most virtuous glory of mankind,
For in her we have been deified:
You have borne, for our sake, the God and Savior,
The Christ who has released us from the curse
Glory to you, our God, Glory to you!
Who quenched the flames?
Who closed the mouths of beasts?
The fast, which delivered the youths from the furnace,
And Daniel the prophet from the teeth of the lion.
So let us even now welcome it, brethren.
Katavasia: Behold, behold that I am God!
By my own will I was clothed in the flesh so that I might save Adam,
Who had fallen into sin by the deceit of the enemy!
Canticle eight: First Canon
Irmos: Of old, the Lord foreshadowed...
Soul, put aside the wicked sleep of laziness,
And persevere with sincere vigilance in the Lord's commands.
The torch-bearing bridegroom is drawing near;
Let us hasten to greet him!
Wounded by wicked pleasures,
Heal me with the bountiful cure of your merciful divine will, O Word,
And I will glorify you with thanksgiving forever.
Restrain yourself, soul, from harmful passions,
From hate and envy and from every evil.
Be nourished in the fast with the spiritual meat from heaven,
Which is the Word of God.
Theotokion
Pure bearer of God,
Heal the inclinations of my soul,
The passions of my heart; the instability of my mind.
You are the only helper of us sinners; the invincible wall.
Second Canon
Irmos: The maker of all creation...
Having raised our souls toward heaven through abstinence,
Let us offer acceptable prayers to the Lord.
Receiving the spirit of compunction,
Let us weep for the salvation of our souls,
Glorifying Christ throughout all ages.
Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit: the Lord.
Trinity consubstantial,
Unity uncreated, God of all:
We exalt you throughout all ages.
Now and ever...
Theotokion Pray for all those who magnify you in song, pure one.
Deliver them from all temptations and dangers.
Glory to you, our God, Glory to you!
Spitting out the food of the rich,
Come, let us fast with Lazarus,
That we also may be comforted in the bosom of Abraham.
We praise, bless and worship the Lord,
Singing and exalting him throughout all ages!
Katavasia: The maker of all creation
Whom the angels all fear:
Sing and exalt him, people, throughout all ages!
Canticle nine:
First Canon
Irmos: Who, born on earth, has ever seen...
Who among men has sinned against the Lord as much as I?
Who has remained in sin for as long as I, a wretched man?
But, O God, the fountain of mercy, have compassion on me.
Angelic powers who look on God,
Entreat the one who is quick to forgive,
To save the soul, lost and adrift on the sea of this life's pleasures,
In a tempest of passions,
Suffering from attacks of hostile spirits.
Come, soul, take wing.
By the efforts of the fast arise from indolence.
Be filled with the vision of joy,
And behold God in faith!
Theotokion Who can worthily proclaim your praise,
Pure Virgin who gave birth ineffably to the exalted master and Lord,
To whom the angelic hosts sing praise.
Pray to him for all of us who have sinned exceedingly,
Unwedded bride.
Second Canon
Irmos: Rejoice, Isaiah...
This is the acceptable time.
This is the time for repentance.
Let us offer our virtues to God as gifts,
And set aside the works of darkness,
By putting on the armor of light
As the apostle Paul proclaims
As the Lord killed the enemy by fasting,
So let us also come to destroy his arrows and spears,
Saying: get behind me, Satan!
When he comes to tempt us.
Glory...
I hymn the Trinity in unity:
Eternal, honorable, life-giving;
Indivisible, consubstantial.
Unbegotten Father, begotten Word and Son, and Holy Spirit,
Save us who hymn you!
Now and ever...
Theotokion
Your fruit is above all understanding, Mother of God,
For in you, conception took place without man,
And your childbearing was virginal.
God was born of you,
And we magnify and bless you, Virgin.
Glory to you, our God, Glory to you!
Through fasting, let us look on God,
As we approach the mount of prayer with a pure heart,
And receive the tablet of his commandments as Moses did,
Shining spiritually with them in the presence of God's love.
Katavasia: Rejoice, Isaiah,
A Virgin is with child,
And shall bear a Son Emmanuel: both God and man.
And Orient is his name.
Him we magnify, O Virgin, and we call thee blessed.
It is truly right to bless you, Theotokos,
Ever blessed and most pure and the mother of our God!
More honorable than the Cherubim,
And more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim!
Without corruption you gave birth to God the Word:
True Theotokos, we magnify you!
Apostikha Tone 3
Let us begin the pure fast, O people,
Which is the salvation of our souls.
Let us serve the Lord with fear;
Let us anoint our heads with the oil of good deeds.
Let us wash our faces with waters of purity.
Let us not use empty phrases in prayer,
But as we have been taught, let us cry out:
Our Father in heaven, forgive us our trespasses,
For you are the lover of mankind.
Let us begin...
The warriors of Christ
Have rejected fear of kings and tormentors,
And with boldness and courage they confessed him:
Our king, the Lord and God of all,
And now they pray for our souls.
Glory to the Father... Now and ever...
O Theotokos, protection of all who pray to you,
We have boldness and exult in you.
We put all our hope in you.
Pray for your corrupt servants, to the one whom you bore.
Triodion First week of Lent Tuesday Sixth Hour
Troparion of the prophecy
Tone 1
We are strangers upon earth, as all our Fathers were;
The span of our life is brief.
But O our Savior, keep us free from sin,
And have mercy on us in your love for mankind!
Prokeimenon of the prophecy Tone 4
Hearken to the sound of my cry * my king, and my God. Verse: give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my groaning!
Prokeimenon Tone 4
Lord, rebuke me not * in your anger. Verse: have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak!
Triodion
First week of Lent Tuesday Vespers
"Lord I call..."
Tone 2
As we were cast out of old from paradise through eating bitter food,
Let us make haste to enter there again,
Abstaining from the passions, and crying to our God:
You stretched out your hands upon the cross,
You drank vinegar and tasted of gall,
Patiently enduring the pain of the nails:
Uproot all bitter pleasures from our souls,
And save your servants in your tender mercy.
Once we were cast out of paradise through eating from the tree,
But through your cross we are restored again.
We offer you your cross in supplication,
Lord of many mercies,
Praying to you in faith:
Send down upon us fountains of tears in this time of abstinence
To cleanse the filth of our passions and offenses,
That we may cry fervently to you:
Glory to you, O Lord!
As once you gave paradise to Adam,
Now grant me, Word, the joy of abstinence,
That I may taste of all your commandments, O God,
Yet never eat of the forbidden fruit of sin;
And so with gladness
I shall come to your life-giving passion on the cross!
Prokeimenon Tone 5
In you, Lord my God, * have I put my trust, save me! Verse: Save me from all those that persecute me, and deliver me!
Let us keep the fast not only by refraining from food,
But by becoming strangers to all the bodily passions;
That we who are enslaved to the tyranny of the flesh
May become worthy to partake of the Lamb, the Son of God,
Slain of his own will for the sake of the world,
And may spiritually celebrate
The feast of the Savior's resurrection from the dead!
So shall we be raised on high in the glory of the virtues,
Through our righteous actions giving joy to the Lord and lover of mankind!
Let us keep the fast...
Your martyrs, Lord,
Forgetting the things of this life,
And enduring tortures for the sake of the life to come,
Were shown to be its inheritors,
And now they rejoice with the angels!
By their prayers grant your people great mercy!
Glory to the Father... Now and ever...
Stavrotheotokion
Marvelous wonder!
Strange mystery and fearful deed!
Cried the Virgin as she beheld you,
And saw you hanging between two evil-doers on the cross,
The child whom she had borne without travail, yet in fear and trembling.
She said weeping: Woe is me, my beloved child!
How has this wicked and ungrateful people nailed you to the cross!