THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT (MARCH 30TH)
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| Icon of the Annunciation of the Incarnation of Our Lord to the Most Holy Theotokos and Mother of God |
THE LITURGICAL PROPERS FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
ACCORDING TO THE LITURGY OF ST JAMES OF JERUSALEM IN THE
INTROIT
REJOICE ye with Jerusalem: and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breast of her consolations.
(Psalm 122) I was glad when they said unto me: we will go into the house of the Lord.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shalt be, world without end. Amen.
COLLECTS
GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who livest and reignest with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
O God, who didst raise up Thy servant Artemon to be a bishop in Thy Church, and gavest him grace to govern with wisdom and to bring many unto the knowledge of Thy truth: Grant that we, being defended by his prayers, may likewise be made fruitful in good works, and finally attain to the joys of Thine everlasting Kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
O God, who by Thy servant Gregory didst illumine the nation of Armenia with the light of the Gospel, grant that, as he turned the hearts of kings and peoples unto Thee, so we, being steadfast in the faith, may bring forth the fruits of righteousness and glorify Thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Almighty God, pour forth your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING: GENESIS 26:1-33
(ACCORDING TO THE FIVE YEAR ST JAMES CYCLE)
AND there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: and the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: for he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord. And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.
Reader: The Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God!
THE FIRST EPISTLE: ACTS 12:1-24
(ACCORDING TO THE TWO YEAR ST JAMES CYCLE)
NOW about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
But they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. And Herod, when he had sought for him, and found him not, examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death.
But the word of God grew and multiplied.
Reader: The Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God!
THE SECOND EPISTLE: GALATIANS 4:21-31 -
(ACCORDING TO THE TRADITIONAL WESTERN ONE YEAR CYCLE)
BRETHREN: Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
Reader: The Word of the Lord
All: Thanks be to God!
GRADUAL
I was glad when they said unto me: we will go into the house of the Lord.
V. Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces.
TRACT
They that put their trust in the Lord shall be even as the mount Sion: which may not be removed but standeth fast for ever.
V. The hills stand about Jerusalem: even so standeth the Lord round about his people, from this time forth for evermore.
THE HOLY GOSPEL: SAINT JOHN 6:1-14 -
(ACCORDING TO THE TRADITIONAL ONE YEAR CYCLE)
Deacon/Priest: The Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, according to the sixth chapter of St. John, beginning in the first verse…
AT that time: Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Deacon/Priest: The Gospel of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
All: Glory be to Thee, Lord Christ!
OFFERTORY
O praise the Lord, for the Lord is gracious: O sing praises unto his Name, for it is lovely: whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven and in earth.
SECRET
WE beseech thee, O Lord, mercifully to have respect unto these our oblations: that the same may be profitable unto us for our increase in all godliness, and for the attainment of everlasting salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
COMMUNION
Jerusalem is built as a city that is at unity with itself: for thither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord.
POSTCOMMUNION
O LORD, who sufferest us to be partakers of thy wondrous mysteries, grant, we beseech thee, that by thy mercy we may be absolved from all our iniquities, and defended against all adversities. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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