06-15-2008, 11:39 AM
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Again, on bended knees, let us pray to the Lord.
O Lord, pure and undefiled, existing before all eternity, invisible, incomprehensible, unsearchable, unchanging, surpassed by none, not to be calculated, long-suffering, the only immortal One, Thou abidest in the unapproachable light. Thou didst create heaven and earth, and all the creatures that inhabit them, supplying all their needs even before they ask. To Thee we pray and Thee we entreat, loving Master, the Father of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven to be incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, the glorious Theotokos. At first Thou didst teach in words, but then showed us by deeds, when in enduring the saving Passion Thou gavest to us Thy humble, sinful and unworthy servants an example of how to offer our prayers in the bending of our heads and knees for our own transgressions and for the failings of the people.
All-merciful and loving Lord, hear us whenever we call upon Thee, but especially on this day of Pentecost, on which, after our Lord Jesus Christ had ascended into the heavens, to be seated at Thy right hand, God and Father, He sent the Holy Spirit on His holy disciples and Apostles. As He came to rest upon each of them, and all were filled with His overflowing grace, they spoke in strange tongues of Thy mighty works and prophesied.
As we now pray unto Thee, hearken unto us, and be mindful that we are lowly and deserving of judgment; recall our souls from the bondage of sin. Thine own compassion interceding for us. Accept us as we kneel before Thee crying the familiar, "I have sinned!" We have been dependent on Thee from our mother's womb; Thou art our God. But because our days have been vainly squandered, we are stripped of Thy help, without any defense. Even so, encouraged by Thy mercies, we cry: Remember not our sins committed in youth and ignorance, and purge our secret thoughts. Do not spurn us in old age; when our strength fails us, do not forsake us; before we are returned to the earth, make us worthy to return unto Thee, and treat us with Thy favor and grace. Measure out Thy mercies against our transgressions; contrast the depths of Thy pity to the multitude of our offenses.
From Thy holy dwelling place look down upon the people present here in expectation of Thy rich mercy; visit us in Thy goodness; free us from the oppression of the Evil One; make our lives secure within Thy holy and sacred laws. Entrust Thy people to a faithful guardian angel; gather us all into Thy kingdom; grant forgiveness to those who hope in Thee; remit them and us our sins; cleanse us through the work of Thine all Holy Spirit; put an end to the wiles of the enemy.
Lord Jesus Christ our God, Thou hast bestowed Thy peace upon mankind, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, to be with us even in this life as a perpetual inheritance to believers never to be taken away. On this day Thou hast sent this grace upon Thy disciples and Apostles in a way more manifest, giving utterance to their lips by means of fiery tongues, so that every human race, hearing in our own language received the knowledge of God, and, illumined by the light of the Spirit, emerged from error as from darkness, and in the distribution of visible tongues of fire, and by extraordinary power, were taught faith in Thee, and were enlightened to speak of Thee, as of the Father and the Holy Spirit, as one Godhead, one power, one sovereignty.
As the reflection of the Father, the perfect and immutable likeness of His essence and nature, the source of salvation and grace, open the lips of this sinner and teach me how and for what I should pray. For Thou knowest the great number of my sins, yet Thy compassion wilt overcome their enormity. For in fear I stand before Thee, casting my soul's despair into the sea of Thy mercy. Govern my life, as Thou governest all creation by the unspoken word and the power of wisdom, O calm haven of the storm-tossed, and make known to me the way in which I should walk.
Grant me the Spirit of wisdom in my thoughts, the Spirit of prudence in my ignorance. Let the Spirit of the awe of Thee, overshadow my deeds. Renew a steadfast Spirit in my breast, and let Thy guiding Spirit make firm my errant mind, so that each day, led by Thy good Spirit towards that which is profitable, I may be made worthy to keep Thy commandments, ever mindful of Thy glorious presence. Do not allow me to be beguiled by the world's corrupting delights, but rather to desire the enjoyment of future treasures. For Thou, O Master, hast said, that whatever we ask in Thy name, we shall without fail receive from Thy co-eternal God and Father. Thus I, too, the sinner, at the descent of Thy Holy Spirit, beseech Thy goodness. All that I have asked, grant me for salvation. Yea, O Lord, Thou art the lavish giver of every good thing, giving far in excess of what we ask. Thou art the compassionate and merciful One Who, though sinless, became sharer in our flesh, and bending in love towards those who bend the knee to Thee, Thou didst become the propitiation for our sins.
Now, Lord, grant Thy people Thy mercies; hear us from Thy heavenly dwelling place; sanctify them by the power of Thy saving right hand; shelter them in the shadow of Thy wings; O despise not the work of Thy hands. It is against Thee alone that we sin, but it is Thee alone we worship; we know no alien god to adore, nor to stretch out our hands to any other deity, O Master. Remit our offenses, and as Thou receivest our petitions on bended knee, extend to us all a helping hand. Accept our common prayer as a pleasing incense before Thee, rising up to Thy blessed kingdom.
The never-failing spring, bursting with life and light, creative power co-eternal with the Father, Thou didst fulfill the plan for the salvation of humankind, shattering the unbreakable bonds of death and the bolts of Hades and trampling the throngs of evil spirits. Thou didst present Thyself as a blameless victim for us, offering Thine all-pure body, chaste and untouched by sin, in sacrifice, and by that terrible and indescribable oblation granted us everlasting life. Thou didst descend into Hades and didst break down its gates, and sojourning among those below, Thou showest them the way of ascent. As for the Prince of Evil, that dragon of the deep, Thou didst snare him in an inspired lure, binding him in circles of darkness, in Thine infinite power made him fast in the nether world, in the eternal fire and the outer darkness.
The glorious wisdom of the Father, Thou art the great help of those in peril, giving light to those in darkness and the shadow of death. Lord of everlasting glory, beloved Son of the Most High, eternal light of eternal light, Sun of righteousness, hear our supplications and give rest to the souls of Thy servants, our fathers and brothers and other kin by blood, and all of the people of faith who have since fallen asleep and whose memorial we keep this day. For in Thee is the strength of all and in Thy hand Thou holdest the far reaches of the earth. Almighty Master, God of our Fathers and Lord, merciful Lord of the living and the dead, Creator of all mortal nature, composed and again dissolved, of life and of death, of earthly existence and of the departure hence, Thou dost measure out the years for the living and set times of death, bringing down to Hades and raising up, fettering in weakness and liberating in power; Thou provideth aptly for the present and fittingly dispense what is to come, restoring those who are wounded by the sting of death with the hope of resurrection.
Master, Lord of all, our God and Redeemer, the hope of all at the ends of the earth and of those far upon at sea, on this latter great and saving day of Pentecost Thou disclosed to us the mystery of the holy, consubstantial, co-eternal and life-giving Trinity, indivisible yet distinct, and in the descent and presence of Thy holy and life-giving Spirit didst pour out its grace upon Thy holy Apostles in the form of fiery tongues, making them proclaimers and confessors of our holy Faith, of true knowledge of God. On this universal and salutary feast, deign to accept petitions for those imprisoned in Hades, thus giving us great hope, and relief to the departed from their grievous distress and Thy comfort.
Hear us, humble and pitiable, as we pray Thee, and give rest to the souls of Thy Servants who have departed this life, in a place of verdure, a place of repose, whence all sickness, sorrow, and sighing have fled away. And place their spirits where the Righteous dwell, counting them worthy of peace and repose; for the dead do not praise Thee, O Lord, nor do those in Hades dare to offer Thee glory, but it is we the living who bless and entreat Thee and offer unto Thee propitiatory prayers and sacrifices for their souls.
O God, great and eternal, holy and loving, having deemed us worthy to stand at this hour in the presence of Thine unapproachable glory, to sing in praise of Thy wondrous acts, be gracious to Thine unworthy servants and grant us grace to offer unto Thee in contrition of heart the thrice-holy doxology and thanksgiving for the great gifts Thou hast bestowed on us and continue always. Lord, be mindful of our weakness, and do not let us be lost in our wrongdoing, but show mercy as we humble ourselves, so that, escaping the darkness of sin, we may walk in the day of justice, and girded with the armor of light, we may live free of the assaults of the Evil One, and so with courage glorify Thee, the only true and loving God in all things.
Truly great is Thy mystery, Master and Maker of all, of the temporary separation of Thy creatures, to be united again in everlasting rest. We confess Thy grace in all things, for our entrances into this world and our departures, of which our hope of resurrection and a life of bliss, according to Thy certain promise, are the guarantee. May we enjoy it in Thy future second coming. For Thou art both the cause of our resurrection and the just but compassionate judge of our lives and Master and Lord of our reward. In ultimate condescension Thou sharest in our flesh and blood and in our passions, willingly assuming them in the depth of Thy compassion so that having Thyself been tempted, Thou offerest Thyself freely as helper to us who are tempted. Thus Thou didst unite us all to Thee in Thy freedom from passion.
Wilt Thou, then, O Master, accept our prayers and entreaties, and give rest to everyone's fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters and children, or of the same family or people, and all the souls that have gone before to their rest in the hope of the resurrection to everlasting life. And place their souls and their names in the book of life, the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the land of the living, in the kingdom of the heavens, in the bliss of Paradise, Thy angels of light leading all into Thine holy mansions. And on the day Thou hast ordained, raise up our bodies as well according to Thine unfailing promises. In departing our bodies to dwell in Thee our God, there is no death for Thy servants Lord, but rather a change from the more sorrowful to the better and more pleasing, to rest, to joy.
And if we have in any way sinned against Thee, be merciful to them and to us; for no man is free of the stain of sin in Thy sight though he live but a day. Only Thee, Who didst come sinless to earth, our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we all hope to find mercy and remission of sins.
Thus as good and loving God, remit and forgive them and us our failings, whether witting or unwitting, committed in knowledge or ignorance, intentionally or unaware, in deed or in thought, in word, in all goings about. Both to those who have gone before and to us who await, give release and repose, granting us and all Thy people a good and peaceful end, opening up to us Thy heart of love and mercy at Thy terrible and awesome Coming and judging us worthy of Thy kingdom.
Help us, save us, have mercy on us, raise us up and keep us, O God, by Thy grace. Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and each other, and all our life to Christ our God.
For Thou art the King of peace and Savior of our souls, and unto Thee we offer up glory, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Again, on bended knees, let us pray to the Lord.
O Lord, pure and undefiled, existing before all eternity, invisible, incomprehensible, unsearchable, unchanging, surpassed by none, not to be calculated, long-suffering, the only immortal One, Thou abidest in the unapproachable light. Thou didst create heaven and earth, and all the creatures that inhabit them, supplying all their needs even before they ask. To Thee we pray and Thee we entreat, loving Master, the Father of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven to be incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, the glorious Theotokos. At first Thou didst teach in words, but then showed us by deeds, when in enduring the saving Passion Thou gavest to us Thy humble, sinful and unworthy servants an example of how to offer our prayers in the bending of our heads and knees for our own transgressions and for the failings of the people.
All-merciful and loving Lord, hear us whenever we call upon Thee, but especially on this day of Pentecost, on which, after our Lord Jesus Christ had ascended into the heavens, to be seated at Thy right hand, God and Father, He sent the Holy Spirit on His holy disciples and Apostles. As He came to rest upon each of them, and all were filled with His overflowing grace, they spoke in strange tongues of Thy mighty works and prophesied.
As we now pray unto Thee, hearken unto us, and be mindful that we are lowly and deserving of judgment; recall our souls from the bondage of sin. Thine own compassion interceding for us. Accept us as we kneel before Thee crying the familiar, "I have sinned!" We have been dependent on Thee from our mother's womb; Thou art our God. But because our days have been vainly squandered, we are stripped of Thy help, without any defense. Even so, encouraged by Thy mercies, we cry: Remember not our sins committed in youth and ignorance, and purge our secret thoughts. Do not spurn us in old age; when our strength fails us, do not forsake us; before we are returned to the earth, make us worthy to return unto Thee, and treat us with Thy favor and grace. Measure out Thy mercies against our transgressions; contrast the depths of Thy pity to the multitude of our offenses.
From Thy holy dwelling place look down upon the people present here in expectation of Thy rich mercy; visit us in Thy goodness; free us from the oppression of the Evil One; make our lives secure within Thy holy and sacred laws. Entrust Thy people to a faithful guardian angel; gather us all into Thy kingdom; grant forgiveness to those who hope in Thee; remit them and us our sins; cleanse us through the work of Thine all Holy Spirit; put an end to the wiles of the enemy.
Lord Jesus Christ our God, Thou hast bestowed Thy peace upon mankind, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, to be with us even in this life as a perpetual inheritance to believers never to be taken away. On this day Thou hast sent this grace upon Thy disciples and Apostles in a way more manifest, giving utterance to their lips by means of fiery tongues, so that every human race, hearing in our own language received the knowledge of God, and, illumined by the light of the Spirit, emerged from error as from darkness, and in the distribution of visible tongues of fire, and by extraordinary power, were taught faith in Thee, and were enlightened to speak of Thee, as of the Father and the Holy Spirit, as one Godhead, one power, one sovereignty.
As the reflection of the Father, the perfect and immutable likeness of His essence and nature, the source of salvation and grace, open the lips of this sinner and teach me how and for what I should pray. For Thou knowest the great number of my sins, yet Thy compassion wilt overcome their enormity. For in fear I stand before Thee, casting my soul's despair into the sea of Thy mercy. Govern my life, as Thou governest all creation by the unspoken word and the power of wisdom, O calm haven of the storm-tossed, and make known to me the way in which I should walk.
Grant me the Spirit of wisdom in my thoughts, the Spirit of prudence in my ignorance. Let the Spirit of the awe of Thee, overshadow my deeds. Renew a steadfast Spirit in my breast, and let Thy guiding Spirit make firm my errant mind, so that each day, led by Thy good Spirit towards that which is profitable, I may be made worthy to keep Thy commandments, ever mindful of Thy glorious presence. Do not allow me to be beguiled by the world's corrupting delights, but rather to desire the enjoyment of future treasures. For Thou, O Master, hast said, that whatever we ask in Thy name, we shall without fail receive from Thy co-eternal God and Father. Thus I, too, the sinner, at the descent of Thy Holy Spirit, beseech Thy goodness. All that I have asked, grant me for salvation. Yea, O Lord, Thou art the lavish giver of every good thing, giving far in excess of what we ask. Thou art the compassionate and merciful One Who, though sinless, became sharer in our flesh, and bending in love towards those who bend the knee to Thee, Thou didst become the propitiation for our sins.
Now, Lord, grant Thy people Thy mercies; hear us from Thy heavenly dwelling place; sanctify them by the power of Thy saving right hand; shelter them in the shadow of Thy wings; O despise not the work of Thy hands. It is against Thee alone that we sin, but it is Thee alone we worship; we know no alien god to adore, nor to stretch out our hands to any other deity, O Master. Remit our offenses, and as Thou receivest our petitions on bended knee, extend to us all a helping hand. Accept our common prayer as a pleasing incense before Thee, rising up to Thy blessed kingdom.
The never-failing spring, bursting with life and light, creative power co-eternal with the Father, Thou didst fulfill the plan for the salvation of humankind, shattering the unbreakable bonds of death and the bolts of Hades and trampling the throngs of evil spirits. Thou didst present Thyself as a blameless victim for us, offering Thine all-pure body, chaste and untouched by sin, in sacrifice, and by that terrible and indescribable oblation granted us everlasting life. Thou didst descend into Hades and didst break down its gates, and sojourning among those below, Thou showest them the way of ascent. As for the Prince of Evil, that dragon of the deep, Thou didst snare him in an inspired lure, binding him in circles of darkness, in Thine infinite power made him fast in the nether world, in the eternal fire and the outer darkness.
The glorious wisdom of the Father, Thou art the great help of those in peril, giving light to those in darkness and the shadow of death. Lord of everlasting glory, beloved Son of the Most High, eternal light of eternal light, Sun of righteousness, hear our supplications and give rest to the souls of Thy servants, our fathers and brothers and other kin by blood, and all of the people of faith who have since fallen asleep and whose memorial we keep this day. For in Thee is the strength of all and in Thy hand Thou holdest the far reaches of the earth. Almighty Master, God of our Fathers and Lord, merciful Lord of the living and the dead, Creator of all mortal nature, composed and again dissolved, of life and of death, of earthly existence and of the departure hence, Thou dost measure out the years for the living and set times of death, bringing down to Hades and raising up, fettering in weakness and liberating in power; Thou provideth aptly for the present and fittingly dispense what is to come, restoring those who are wounded by the sting of death with the hope of resurrection.
Master, Lord of all, our God and Redeemer, the hope of all at the ends of the earth and of those far upon at sea, on this latter great and saving day of Pentecost Thou disclosed to us the mystery of the holy, consubstantial, co-eternal and life-giving Trinity, indivisible yet distinct, and in the descent and presence of Thy holy and life-giving Spirit didst pour out its grace upon Thy holy Apostles in the form of fiery tongues, making them proclaimers and confessors of our holy Faith, of true knowledge of God. On this universal and salutary feast, deign to accept petitions for those imprisoned in Hades, thus giving us great hope, and relief to the departed from their grievous distress and Thy comfort.
Hear us, humble and pitiable, as we pray Thee, and give rest to the souls of Thy Servants who have departed this life, in a place of verdure, a place of repose, whence all sickness, sorrow, and sighing have fled away. And place their spirits where the Righteous dwell, counting them worthy of peace and repose; for the dead do not praise Thee, O Lord, nor do those in Hades dare to offer Thee glory, but it is we the living who bless and entreat Thee and offer unto Thee propitiatory prayers and sacrifices for their souls.
O God, great and eternal, holy and loving, having deemed us worthy to stand at this hour in the presence of Thine unapproachable glory, to sing in praise of Thy wondrous acts, be gracious to Thine unworthy servants and grant us grace to offer unto Thee in contrition of heart the thrice-holy doxology and thanksgiving for the great gifts Thou hast bestowed on us and continue always. Lord, be mindful of our weakness, and do not let us be lost in our wrongdoing, but show mercy as we humble ourselves, so that, escaping the darkness of sin, we may walk in the day of justice, and girded with the armor of light, we may live free of the assaults of the Evil One, and so with courage glorify Thee, the only true and loving God in all things.
Truly great is Thy mystery, Master and Maker of all, of the temporary separation of Thy creatures, to be united again in everlasting rest. We confess Thy grace in all things, for our entrances into this world and our departures, of which our hope of resurrection and a life of bliss, according to Thy certain promise, are the guarantee. May we enjoy it in Thy future second coming. For Thou art both the cause of our resurrection and the just but compassionate judge of our lives and Master and Lord of our reward. In ultimate condescension Thou sharest in our flesh and blood and in our passions, willingly assuming them in the depth of Thy compassion so that having Thyself been tempted, Thou offerest Thyself freely as helper to us who are tempted. Thus Thou didst unite us all to Thee in Thy freedom from passion.
Wilt Thou, then, O Master, accept our prayers and entreaties, and give rest to everyone's fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters and children, or of the same family or people, and all the souls that have gone before to their rest in the hope of the resurrection to everlasting life. And place their souls and their names in the book of life, the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the land of the living, in the kingdom of the heavens, in the bliss of Paradise, Thy angels of light leading all into Thine holy mansions. And on the day Thou hast ordained, raise up our bodies as well according to Thine unfailing promises. In departing our bodies to dwell in Thee our God, there is no death for Thy servants Lord, but rather a change from the more sorrowful to the better and more pleasing, to rest, to joy.
And if we have in any way sinned against Thee, be merciful to them and to us; for no man is free of the stain of sin in Thy sight though he live but a day. Only Thee, Who didst come sinless to earth, our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we all hope to find mercy and remission of sins.
Thus as good and loving God, remit and forgive them and us our failings, whether witting or unwitting, committed in knowledge or ignorance, intentionally or unaware, in deed or in thought, in word, in all goings about. Both to those who have gone before and to us who await, give release and repose, granting us and all Thy people a good and peaceful end, opening up to us Thy heart of love and mercy at Thy terrible and awesome Coming and judging us worthy of Thy kingdom.
Help us, save us, have mercy on us, raise us up and keep us, O God, by Thy grace. Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and each other, and all our life to Christ our God.
For Thou art the King of peace and Savior of our souls, and unto Thee we offer up glory, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.