All Saints
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
Christ is in our midst! He was and is and ever shall be. Ο Χριστός έν τώ μέσω ημών. Και ήν και έστι και έσται.
THE LITTLE COMPLINE
[ Begin with the Trisagion Prayer]
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth: You are everywhere filling all things; Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One!
Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal! Have mercy on us. (3)
Glory to the Father and to the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever unto ages of ages. Amen.
O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us! O Lord, cleanse us from our sins! O Master, pardon our transgressions! O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Your Name's sake.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy Name...
Psalm 51
Psalm 70
Psalm 143
The Doxology
The Creed
Axion Esti: [St. Luke 1:46-55]
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! My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth, all generations will call be blessed.
For He Who is Mighty has done great things for me, and Holy is His Name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
THE PRAYER TO JESUS
And grant rest, O Master, to our souls and bodies as we sleep; preserve us from the gloomy slumber of sin and from the dark passions of the night. Calm the impulses of carnal desires, quench the fiery darts of the evil one which are craftily directed against us. Still the rebellions of the flesh, and put far from us all anxiety and worldly cares.
Grant us, O God, a watchful mind, pure thoughts, a sober heart and a quiet rest free from every vision of the devil. Raise us up again at the hour of prayer, strengthened in Your precepts and holding within us steadfastly the thought of Your Commandments. Grant that we may sing praises to You through the night and that we may hymn, bless and glorify Your All-Honorable and Majestic Name, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
THE PRAYER TO THE THEOTOKOS
O all pure and incorruptible Virgin Bride of God, and our Sovereign Lady, who made the Word of God one with mankind by gloriously giving birth to Your Son and joining our fallen nature to His Divine Nature; Who are the hope of the despairing and the support of those in distress, the swift defender of those who turn to you and the refuge of all Christians: Do not turn from me, an unclean sinner, who have destroyed myself with unworthy thoughts, words and deeds, and have been enslaved by forgetfulness to the carnal passions of life; but have compassion on me, O Theotokos, and accept the prayer of a sinner and prodigal, offered from unclean lips. Exercise your boldness as a Mother, and pray to your Son, our Lord and Master, that He will make known to me also His compassionate goodness, and overlooking my countless sins, will turn me to repentance and make me fervent in doing His Commandments. Be with me always in your grace and loving mercy, for you are the fervent helper who turns away the assaults of enemies (demons) and guides all toward salvation, caring for my unworthy soul at the hour of death and driving from it the darkness of evil spirits. In the Day of Judgment, free me from eternal torment and show me to be an heir of the Divine Glory of Your Son, and Our God. Grant this, O Lady Theotokos, by your prayers and intercessions, through the mercy and loving kindness of Your Only-begotten Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to Whom are due all Glory, Honor, and Worship, with the Father Who is Eternal, and His All-Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers and Mothers, O Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Please note: Holy and Great Lent has arrived and for forty days we are to concentrate on our prayer life and by the grace of God to strengthen it. "Prayer among beginners is experienced as a joyous warmth or fire rising up out of the heart, but for those who have progressed toward perfection it is more like a sweet-scented light that is active within the heart. Prayer may also be said to be a gospel message of the Apostles, and an activity of faith, or rather a direct expression of faith and a substance of things hoped for. Prayer is also activated love, an Angelic activity, a work, a power and a delight of the bodiless Angels. Moreover, we can say that prayer is a gospel of God, an enlightenment of the heart, a hope of salvation, a sign of purification, a symbol of sanctity, a knowledge of God, a manifestation of Baptism, an ablution of cleansing, and engagement of the Holy Spirit, the joy of Jesus, a delight of the soul, God's mercy, a sign of reconciliation, a seal of Christ, a ray of the intelligible sun, a bright dawn of hearts, an affirmation of Christianity, a declaration of God's reconciliation, a grace of God, a wisdom of God, or rather the beginning of self-wisdom, a manifestation of God, an activity of monastics, a way of life for those who live in sacred quietude, the cause of silence, evidence of an Angelic way of life. But why say anything more? Prayer is God activating all things in all men, for there is one single energy in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit that activates all things through Jesus Christ" (Saint Gregory of Sinai).
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George