2/27/2022 - Divine Liturgy
Special Hymns for Today
Troparion - Tone 3 (Resurrection)
Let the heavens rejoice! / Let the earth be glad! / For the Lord has shown strength with His arm. / He has trampled down death by death. /He has become the first born of the dead. / He has delivered us from the depths of hell, / and has granted to the world//great mercy.
Troparion for St. Nikolai — Tone 8
O golden-tongued preacher proclaiming the risen Christ, / everlasting guide of the cross-bearing Serbian people, / resounding harp of the Holy Spirit, and dear to monastics who rejoice in you, / pride and boast of the priesthood, teacher of repentance, master for all nations, / guide of those in the army of Christ as they pray to God, / Holy Nikolai teacher in America and pride of the Serbian people, / with all the saints, implore the only Lover of mankind//to grant us peace and joy in his heavenly kingdom!
Troparion - Tone 1 (St. Raphael)
Your proclamation has gone out through North America, / calling the scattered sheep into the unity of the Church. / Hearing your voice, they respond to your teaching, / and through your writings you instructed them in piety. / Now guided by your example, O Father Raphael, / we sing hymns of praise to Christ our God: / “Glory to Him Who gave you strength! / Glory to Him Who granted you a ^crown!//Glory to Him Who, through you, grants healing to all!”
Kontakion for St. Nikolai — Tone 3
Born at Lelich in Serbia, / you served as archpastor at the church of Saint Nahum in Ochrid./ You presided on the throne of Saint Sava at Zhicha,/ teaching the people of God and enlightening them with the Gospel, / bringing them to repentance and love for Christ. / And for His sake you endured suffering at Dachau. / Therefore, Nikolai, we glorify you as one newly well pleasing to God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit . . .
Kontakion – Tone 8 (St. Raphael)
You were a guardian and a defender of the Church’s teaching, / you protected your flock from false doctrines and confirmed them in the true faith! / O holy Father Raphael, son of Syria and glory of North America,//always intercede before the Lord that our souls may be saved!
. . . both now and ever and unto ages of ages, Amen.
Kontakion – Tone 1 (from the Lenten Triodion)
When You, O God, shall come to earth with glory, / all things shall tremble, / and the river of fire shall flow before Your judgment seat; / the books shall be opened, and the hidden things disclosed; / then deliver me from the unquenchable fire,//and make me worthy to stand at Your right hand, O Righteous Judge!
Reader: The Prokeimenon in the 3rd Tone: Great is our Lord, and abundant in power, His understanding is beyond measure.
Congregation: Great is our Lord, and abundant in power, His understanding is beyond measure. (Ps. 146:5
Reader: v: Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God! (Ps. 146:1)
Congregation: Great is our Lord, and abundant in power, His understanding is beyond measure.
Reader: Great is our Lord, and abundant in power . . .
Congregation: . . . His understanding is beyond measure.
The Reading is from the First Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Corinthians (8:8-9:2)
But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse. But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
Priest: Peace be to thee that reads.
Reader: And to thy spirit. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Congregation: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Come, let us rejoice in the Lord! Let us make a joyful noise to God our Savior!
Congregation: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Reader: Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
Congregation: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew (25:31-46)
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Sunday Communion Hymn
Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest! (Ps. 148:1)
The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance! He shall not fear evil tidings! (Ps. 111:6)
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!