First Wednesday of Lent

First Canon, TONE 2

CANTICLE THREE:

Let us crucify our members through abstinence;
and as it is written, let us be vigilant in prayer,
living after the example of Him who suffered;
by His Passion, putting to death the passions.

Rejecting the bitter food of sin,
let us seek to please Christ,
Who of His own will tasted gall
and by the Cross cast down the author of evil.

Sin has become a habit for me,
and it drags me down to complete perdition.
But by Your Cross deliver me from my sinfulness,
compassionate Lord of many mercies!

                (Theotokion)

Lady who bore the Master,
Queen of all creation,
set me free from bondage to the deceitful enemy!

CANTICLE EIGHT:

The furnace of the passions consumes my soul;
but quench its flames with the dew of Your mercy.
For in Your loving self-abasement, Benefactor,
at Your Crucifixion,
You made a fountain of dispassion to flow from Your pure side.

Lifted upon Your Cross, O Christ,
You have raised up us who were fallen into evil.
I have slipped into the pit of sin:
bring me out and set me firmly on the rock of salvation,
that I may glorify Your power!

Through the lance that pierced Your side, O Christ,
You have cleansed my heart from the corruption of the passions.
I have been wounded by the poisonous bite of the serpent.
Heal me in every part,
and make me walk unwavering upon the paths of God.

                (Theotokion)

We all honor you, undefiled Virgin,
as the shining lamp and candlestick
in which the fire of the Godhead came to dwell,
bringing light to those held fast in the dark night of corruption,
and we bless your childbearing, blessed among women!

CANTICLE NINE:

The Fast shines upon us all more brightly than the sun,
bringing us the light of grace,
proclaiming the good news of the Cross,
of the precious Passion, and the saving day of Resurrection.

Let us love chastity and flee from fornication!
Let us gird our loins with temperance
that we may appear in purity before the Savior of our souls,
Who alone is pure and desires the purification of us all.

Nail my flesh with the fear of You, O Christ,
Who nailed the sin of Adam to the Cross.
Loose me from the bonds of wickedness,
shatter the arrows of the evil one with Your lance, Master,
and deliver me from all his mischief.

                (Theotokion)

Virgin Maiden who bore Christ the Lord,
the just Judge who alone is ever ready to forgive,
deliver me from the condemnation,
from the fire and torment that I deserve to suffer
because of my delight in sin.