Suggested Morning Prayers on Holy Monday

As we will not be offering the Presanctified Liturgy this morning, you are invited to add the following to your morning prayers:

Three-Ode Canon

Ode 1. Tone 8.

Irmos. To Him who crushed the enemy with His arm and led Israel through the Red Sea, to our Deliverer and our God let us sing, for He has been glorified.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Ye faithful, let us follow Joseph in his chastity: through the practice of the virtues let us live with all vigilance, and so let us come to know Him who has honoured men by creating them in His own image.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Those who are barren of good actions are like the fig tree. Let us avoid its fruitlessness, lest we be dried up as it once was, pre figuring the synagogue that was covered with leaves but bore no fruit.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Joseph is an image of the Master: he was thrown into a pit and sold by his brethren, but he suffered all these things with patience, as a true figure of Christ.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

O brethren, let us flee from the fruitlessness of the fig tree and understand the meaning of this example. May we not be withered as it once was, when He who loves mankind came to it in hunger.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

In haste to suffer for the world, Jesus goes up of His own will with His disciples to the city of Jerusalem, where He will undergo His voluntary Passion.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Cleaving to the Lord as He makes haste to suffer all things, let us prepare ourselves for spitting, mockery and disgrace, that, remaining faithful to Him in His holy Passion, we may be glorified with Him.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

He who suffers for us heals our passions by His Passion; for willingly He undergoes in our human nature His life-giving sufferings, that we may be saved.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

I glorify Three without beginning; I sing the praises of Three Holies; I proclaim Three co-eternal in One Essence. For the one God is glorified in Father, Son and Spirit.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The rod of Moses and the rod of Aaron underwent by God's providence a strange transformation that surpasses human understanding; and thy womb, O Mother of God, has given birth in a manner altogether new.

Kathisma. Tone 4.

May the reproach of the fig tree not overtake thee; but make haste, my soul, and from the soil of thy heart bear good fruit for Christ thy Creator, and offer it to Him in repentance.

Ode 8. Tone 8.

Irmos. Glorified in the holy mountain, the Lord revealed the mystery of the Ever-Virgin to Moses in the burning bush: praise and exalt Him above all for ever.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Let us adorn our life with chastity and guard the faith with wisdom; let us seek the ways of righteousness, that we may follow Christ with courage and be crucified with Him.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Joseph the Patriarch found another Eve in the Egyptian woman, yet he was not deceived or led into any act of wickedness: but he stood firm as adamant and was not caught by the passions of sin.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

O my Saviour, journeying along the paths of life, Thou hast hungered by Thine own free choice, desiring the salvation of all: for Thou wast hungry for the conversion of those who had turned away from Thee.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

O Adam our first father, after tasting from the Tree, thou knewest that thou wast naked, and in shame thou hast clothed thyself in fig leaves; and so thou hast prefigured the Synagogue that was stripped naked of Christ's grace.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Make ready before thy departure, O my soul; prepare thyself for the life that is to come, Christ hastens to suffer for thy sake, that He may glorify thee: make haste to suffer with Him, to be crucified and to die with Him.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

How should death not tremble, O my Saviour I How should hell not crouch with fear, when it meets Thee hastening of Thine own good pleasure to the Passion, and sees Thee, who art righteous, coming to suffer for the unrighteous?

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

The Jewish priests and Levites, when they saw the raising of Lazarus, conspired together out of envy, and by guile they betrayed Christ to Pilate, that He might be put to death.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Thy handmaiden, the Ewe-Lamb and Virgin, saw Thee the Good Shepherd hastening to Thy Passion and laying down Thy life for us; and her mother's heart was filled with anguish for Thee.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As Unity in Essence I sing Thy praises; as Trinity in Persons I venerate Thee, Father, Son and All-Holy Spirit. The power of Thy Kingdom that has no beginning I glorify unto all ages.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Theotokos entreats Thee, O Christ; the company of the apostles beseeches Thee: give Thy peace to Thy world and grant us Thine abundant mercy unto all ages.

Ode 9. Tone 8.

Irmos. Virginity is alien to motherhood, and childbearing is a thing strange to virgins: yet in thee, O Theotokos, both are to be found. Therefore we and all the nations of the earth without ceasing call thee blessed.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Chastity is alien to the impious, and transgression is a thing strange to the righteous. Great Joseph turned away from sin, becoming an image of chastity and a true figure of Christ.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Justice is alien to the lawless, and the knowledge of God is a thing strange to unbelievers. The Jews in their lawlessness rejected both these things; and so, like the fig tree, they have inherited the curse.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Christ my God, who is the Bread of Life, hungered for man's salvation. He came to the Synagogue, as to the fig tree, and found it adorned with the leaves of the Law yet lacking fruit; and so He pronounced it cursed.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Thou has cursed the unfruitfulness of the Law, for it produced as leaves an understanding of the shadow of the letter, but because of disobedience it bore no works as fruit. But do Thou bless all of us, O Saviour, and make us sons by grace.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Of old the rod of Moses was changed into a serpent; and the rod of Aaron, though dried up and withered, was changed into a green branch that put forth leaves. But the lawless Synagogue was changed into an unfruitful fig tree.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Prepare thy priests, O Judaea, make ready thy hands to kill God: for see, He has come to His Passion, meek and silent, our Lamb and Shepherd, Christ the King of Israel.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

O Judaea, receive thy King; for behold, He comes willingly to His Passion, that He may suffer and save those who cry without ceasing: Blessed is He that comes to save all things by the Cross.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

O Judaea, the Master has turned thy feasts into mourning, according to the prophecy; for thou hast murdered God, who—as David tells—once changed the stony rock into pools of water.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

It is alien to evildoers to glorify Thee, the Essence that has no beginning, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the sovereign and uncreated Might, that has established the whole world by an act of divine power.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

We bring the Theotokos as our intercessor: at her prayers and those of Thine apostles, make us share, O Master, in Thy blessings and, O Saviour, count us worthy of the glory of Thy Resurrection.

Readings

Exodus 1:1-20

These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob their father, each with all his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Juda, Issachar, Zabulon, Benjamin, Dan and Nephtalim, Gad and Aser. Joseph was already in Egypt. The total number of people born to Jacob was seventy-five. Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and that whole generation. But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more stronger than we are. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’

Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pitho, Rameses and On, which is Helioupolis, for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and grew stronger, so that the Egyptians came to abominate the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Sephora and the other Phua, ‘When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and they are about to give birth, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, spare her.’ But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?’

The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they give birth before the midwives comes to them.’

So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong.

Job 1:1-12

There was once a man in the land of Ausis whose name was Job. That man was blameless, just and true, one who feared God and turned away from every evil deed. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she asses in pasture and very many servants, and great works of husbandry on the earth; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.

His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn each day; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and purify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer sacrifices according to the number of them all; and a calf for a sin-offering for their souls. For Job said, ‘It may be that my children have thought evil against God in their hearts.’ This is what Job always did.

One day the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the devil also came among them. The Lord said to the devil, ‘Where have you come from?’

The devil answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down under heaven.’

The Lord said to the devil, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a man blameless, just and true who fears God and turns away from every evil deed.’

Then the devil answered the Lord, ‘Does Job reverence God for nothing? Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his cattle have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will indeed bless you to your face.’

The Lord said to the devil, ‘Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not touch!’

So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord.

Matthew 24:3-35

At that time, as Jesus was sitting on the mount of Olives, his disciples approached him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’

Jesus answered them, ‘See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ!’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for all this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of woes.

‘Then they will hand you over to affliction and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the inhabited world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.

‘So when you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), then let those in Judea flee to the mountains; the one on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house; the one in the field not turn back to get his clothes. Woe to those who are with child and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on Sabbath. For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

‘And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘See! Here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ — do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.

‘So, if they say to you, ‘See! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. See! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and appears as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will gather.

‘Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

‘From the fig tree learn the parable: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very doors. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.’

Troparion and Kontakion

Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night, and blessed is that servant whom he finds watching; but unworthy is the one whom he finds slothful. Take care then, my soul, not to be overcome with sleep, lest you be given up to death, and be shut out of the kingdom; but rouse yourself and cry: Holy, holy, holy are you, O God; through the Mother of God, have mercy on us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Jacob lamented the loss of Joseph, but his righteous son was seated in a chariot and honoured as a king. For he was not enslaved to the pleasures of Egypt, but he was glorified by God who sees the hearts of men and bestows on them an incorruptible crown.