Forty Martyrs of Sebaste March 8

MEMORIAL OF A MARTYR

Ramsho

INTRODUCTION

DOXOLOGY

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as we begin and until we conclude.

May mercy and compassion be poured forth upon us

in this world and the next.

O Lord, our God, to you be glory for ever. Amen.

OPENING PRAYER

Lord,

may we praise you today with your martyrs who sacrificed their lives for you.

they shed their blood in confessing you,

so that at the end of our race we might reach you,

enter into your kingdom and be worthy of seeing you.

With your martyrs and saints we will praise you,

now and for ever. Amen.

GREETING

Peace be with the Church and her children.

PRAISE OF THE ANGELS

Glory to God in the highest,

and peace on earth and good will to all.

Praise the Lord all you nations,

glorify him all you peoples!

For steadfast is his mercy towards us,

and the truth of the Lord endures for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

and peace on earth and good will to all.

PSALMODY

FIRST PRAYER

Lord, have mercy on us and save us.

O God,

we rejoice on the feasts of your saints,

above all on that of your martyr, Saint N.,

whom we remember today.

Help us by his prayer and allow us to

come to his glory.

With him we will praise you,

now and for ever. Amen.

PSALM OF THE DAY

Antiphon:

Blessed be God who refused me not

my prayer or his kindness.

Psalm 66

Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth,

sing praise to the glory of his name;

proclaim his glorious praise.

Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!

for your great strength your enemies fawn upon you.

Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,

sing praise to your name!”

Come and see the works of God,

his tremendous deeds among men.

He has changed the sea into dry land;

through the river they passed on foot;

therefore let us rejoice in him.

He rules by his might forever;

his eyes watch the nations;

rebels may not exalt themselves.

Bless our God, you peoples,

loudly sound his praise;

He has given life to our souls,

and has not let our feet slip.

For you have tested us, O God!

You have tried us as silver is tried by fire;

You have brought us into a snare;

you laid a heavy burden on our backs.

You let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but you have led us out to refreshment.

I will bring holocausts to your house;

to you I will fulfill the vows

Which my lips uttered

and my words promised in my distress.

Holocausts of fatlings I will offer you,

with burnt offerings of rams;

I will sacrifice oxen and goats.

Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare

what he has done for me.

When I appealed to him in words,

praise was on the tip of my tongue.

Where I to cherish wickedness in my heart,

the LORD would not hear;

But God has heard;

he has hearkened to the sound of my prayer.

Blessed be God who refused me not

my prayer of his kindness!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

now and for ever. Amen.

Antiphon:

Blessed be God who refused me not

my prayer or his kindness.

SECOND PRAYER

Lord, have mercy on us and save us.

Lord,

may we be like your martyrs and saints in virtue,

that with them we may obtain your heavenly glory.

May we struggle to be like you,

who have given your life for us.

To you be glory, for ever. Amen.

EVENING PSALMS

Psalm 141: 1-4

O LORD, to you I call; hasten to me;

hearken to my voice when I call upon you;

Let my prayer come like incense before you;

the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice.

O LORD, set a watch before my mouth,

a guard at the door of my lips.

Let not my heart incline to the evil

of engaging in deeds of wickedness

With men who are evildoers;

and let me not partake of their dainties.

Psalm 142

With a loud voice I cry out to the LORD;

with a loud voice I beseech the LORD.

My complaint I pour out before him;

before him I lay bare my distress.

When my spirit is faint within me,

you know my path.

In the way along which I walk

they have hid a trap for me.

I look to the right to see,

but there is no one who pays me heed.

I have lost all means of escape;

there is no one who cares for my life.

I cry out to you, O LORD:

I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

Attend to my cry,

for I am brought low indeed.

Rescue me from my persecutors,

for they are too strong for me.

Lead me forth from prison,

that I may give thanks to your name.

The just shall gather around me

when you have been good to me.

Psalm 119: 105-112

A lamp to my feet is your word,

a light to my path.

I resolve and swear

to keep your just ordinances.

I am very much afflicted;

O LORD, give me life according to your word.

Accept, O LORD, the free homage of my mouth,

and teach me your decrees.

Though constantly I take my life in my hands,

yet I forget not your law.

The wicked have laid a snare for me,

but from your precepts I have not strayed.

Your decrees are my inheritance forever;

the joy of my heart they are.

I intend in my heart to fulfill your statutes

always to the letter.

Psalm 117

Praise the LORD, all you nations;

glorify him, all you peoples!

For steadfast is his mercy towards us,

and the truth of the LORD endures for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

now and for ever. Amen.

[SOOGHITO/HYMN]

If desired, a Sooghito or either the Hymn, “The Christian Combat (page 289) or the Hymn, “The Expectation of the Virgins” (page 290) may be sung following the Evening Psalms.

In expectation and trials, our souls praise you.
Like the five virgins, behold our lamps.

Our faith, our hope and our love are wounded;
the wind lashes at our burning lamps.

O desire of my soul, it is to you that I cry:
When will the bridal party come?
Already my spirit is weakening.

HOOSOYO

PROEMION

Praise, glory and honor to the heavenly Spouse:

he called the martyrs to his wedding feast.

They received his baptism, became

intoxicated with his wine and have confessed his name.

To the Good One is due glory and honor this evening,

and all the days of our lives,

now and for ever. Amen.

SEDRO

Lord,

on this blessed evening we recall your holy martyrs,

above all, your martyrs, the forty martyrs of Sebaste

They are the heroes of the faith who watered the

earth with their blood,

that it might produce a holy seed.

They are the conquering soldiers who have neither drawn the sword nor shed blood,

but have made known your gospel and have shed their blood in witnessing to you.

Lord,

we who celebrate the memory of the martyr, forty martyrs of Sebaste,

ask through his intercession

that his martyrdom, brought before our eyes, may recall your words:

The one who confesses me before men, I will confess

before my Father in heaven.

Grant to your Church and to the entire world your calm and peace.

Bring her children, dispersed by persecution, back into her bosom.

Have mercy on those who have died in the faith,

let them enter into your joy and sit at your table.

We will give you glory,

now and for ever. Amen.

QOLO

The saints were intoxicated with the blood flowing from your side on the cross, they were filled with courage and strength; in the arena of holy combat they delivered up their bodies to torment and without fear they gave their necks to the sword.

Today the Church is proud to recall their names, pearls on her forehead. With the spiritual songs she celebrates their glorious feasts an praises the Lamb who has accepted the mingling of their blood with his.

ETRO

Lord,

may the death of your martyrs be a sacrifice of

forgiveness and a holocaust of expiation,

that we may obtain your g race to spend our lives in justice and holiness.

When we reach your kingdom,

we will praise you with your martyrs and your saints, for ever. Amen.

READINGS

MAZMOORO

Glory to him who magnified the memory of his saints on earth and gave them the joy of his eternal heavenly paradise.

Praise the Lord who strengthened those who fought for him; glorify the Lord who gave them the most beautiful of

rewards in paradise.

O God, you accepted the prayers of the just before us, in your mercy, accept our worship and grant our requests.

SYNAXARION

FORTY MARTYRS OF SEBASTE

The governor of Sebaste in Armenia wished to force forty soldiers to renounce Christ.

First he imprisoned them and then he threw them into a frozen pond. They prayed with one heart: “We forty have entered the arena, O Lord, grant that we may be able to receive the crown.” One of them escaped an renounced Christ, but their guard, a pagan, took his place. In the morning the guards broke their legs an burned their bodied. They received the crown of martyrdom around the year 322. May their prayers be with us. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

A Reading from the Book of Revelation

Revelation 2: 8-17

“To the presiding spirit of the church in Smyrna, write this: “The First and the Last who once died but now lives has this to say: I know of your tribulation and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander you endure from self-styled Jews who are nothing other than members of Satan’s assembly. Have no fear of the sufferings to come.

The devil will indeed cast some of you into prison to put you to the test; you will be tried over a period of ten days. Remain faithful until death an I will give you the crown of life.

“‘Let him who has ears heed the Spirit’s word to the churches! The victor shall never be harmed by the second death.’ “To the presiding spirit of the church in Pergamum, write this: “‘The One with the sharp, two-edged sword has this to say: I know you live in the very place where Satan’s throne is erected; and I know you hold fast to my name na have not denied the faith you have in me, not even at the time when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred in your city where Satan has his home. Nevertheless I hold a few matters against you: there are some among you who follow the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to throw a stumbling block in the way of the israelites by tempting them to eat food sacrificed to idols and to practice fornication. Yes, you too have those among you who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent! If you do not, I will come to you soon and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. “‘Let him who has ears heed the Spirit’s word to the churches! To the victor I will give the hidden manna; I will also give him a white stone upon which is inscribed a new name, to be known only by him who receives it.

SUPPLICATION

Lord of the night and Master of all time, hear our supplications and have mercy on us.

You reconciled heaven and earth, grant peace to your Church and keep her children in the light of the cross.

The sufferings and death of the martyrs are the supreme witness for Christ and the most striking light to guide us to him.

When the crucified Spouse invites us to his wedding feast, they will offer their pure blood as a gift.

At the tribunal, the martyrs will rise up fearlessly, joyous in the sentence which unites them for ever to their Savior. Happy are you, victors of the fight: Prison, torture and death have been nothing to you, who have won Christ.

They were baptized with the baptism of Christ, drank his cup, put on garments of the wedding feast and were crowned with glory.

Glory to the Father, who has chosen men and women to witness to the truth; adoration to the Son, the witnesses have testified to his resurrection, thanksgiving to the Spirit, in his joy, the martyrs have accepted death.

The Virgin Mary, your Mother and the apostles, prophets and martyrs intercede for us; O God, through their prayers strengthen the weak, comfort the sick, grant pardon to our deceased and forgive the faults of us poor sinners.

Exalt, O Lord, the memory of your Mother and your saints: through their prayers grant pardon to us and our deceased.

Through the prayers of your Mother, the prophets, apostles and martyrs, watch over the living, and in your mercy forgive those who have died.

HOOTOMO

Let us confess, adore, and praise the holy and glorious Trinity: Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit.

TRISAGION

Lord, have mercy.

Holy are you, O God;

Holy are you, O Strong One;

Holy are you, O Immortal One;

have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Lord, forgive us and have mercy on us.

Lord, hear us and have mercy on us.

Lord, accept our worship and our prayers.

Lord, come to our assistance and have mercy on us.

LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who are in heaven,

hallowed be your name;

your kingdom come;

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,

now and for ever. Amen.

O Lord

the night and the day are yours;

you uphold the light and the sun.

Through your power you direct the sequence of the seasons.

O Lord,

you have brought the day to its close and called forth the night.

Be for us that great Day that never ends.

In the evening let your light shine in our hearts,

and in the darkness of the night,

enlighten us with the knowledge of your truth.

And so, through all the days of our lives,

we shall praise you, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Amen.

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

Let us thank God for all the graces he has bestowed on us this day which has passed in calm and peace.

Let us recall our failings against the commandments of God an the Church in thought, word, deed, or omission.

We ask for God’s pardon as we pray.

“Forgive us, Jesus!”

Lord, have mercy.

Glory be to you, O Lord.

God,

Father in heaven,

by your living and holy name,

keep us from evil and lead us not into temptation:

for we c all upon you, O Lord, our God, our constant hope, glory to you for ever.

O Lord, our Lord,

may our humble worship be pleasing to you;

may our prayers come before you and our actions give

you honor.

Let your mercy, kindness, help, grace and divine love be poured abundantly upon us poor sinners,

both in heaven and on the earth

which you have created in your goodness.

O Lord, our God, to you be glory for ever.

Amen.

DISMISSAL

Peace be with you.

And also with you.

O God,

through the prayers of your Mother and the saints who have believed in you;

through the prayers of the prophets, apostles, martyrs and confessors;

through the prayers of the just, the priests, the holy fathers, the pastors and doctors of true faith;

through the prayers of N., Pope of Rome, N., our Patriarch, and N., our Bishop,

forgive your people and have mercy on your flock.

May God bless, forgive, sanctify, purify, an keep each of the faithful united with us in this spiritual office.

May mercy and compassion be upon us and all the faithful who dwell here.

May peaceful rest be granted to those who have died in the faith.

May the faithful who live here experience the protection of his victorious cross.

May we and all his servants who adore him with bowed head, receive the mercy of the holy and glorious Trinity:

Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit,

to whom be glory now and for ever.

Amen.

May God forgive your sins,

pardon your failings,

and deliver you from the power of the enemy.

May he grant you the remission of your offenses.

Go in peace, and pray to Christ for me.