Кафисма 18

To You, Lady, when I was in sorrow, I cried out and heard me; I pray to You: deliver my soul from all evil all the days of my life; the tempter's sophisticated arrows fall on my head and in danger of sin, alas for me, my soul is, but You, Lady, with Your power crush the head of the infernal serpent, my fierce enemy, so that he will not rejoice over my fall, but I will rejoice and rejoice in God, my only Savior, I will magnify You, my Helper, in the eternal praise. I raised my mental eyes to grief, where You, Queen of Heaven, abided and came to my heart with great consolation, for You did not sleep, you fell asleep, preserving me from all the enemy’s slander, always mercifully watching over my entry and departure: glory to You, most merciful Mother, who cares and seeks the eternal salvation for my sinful soul. We rejoice in the spirit of faith and hope in You, most glorious Queen of heaven and earth; Under Your intercession, if I live piously, I will go to an eternal home in the house of the Lord, to heavenly Jerusalem, the great city, whose glory of God enlightens and its lamp is the Lamb. Oh, Lady! I pray to You with tears, strengthen my faith in the promises of heaven, revive my hope in the mercies of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ignite love so that I may do His most holy will in a pleasing manner; glory to You, offering my mentor, on the path of truth and salvation. I lift up my eyes to You, O all-generous Mother, Who reigns in heaven with Your beloved Son; Behold, as the eyes of a slave are in the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes to You, Lady, until we receive timely help from You; Blessed be Thy intercession, blessed art Thou in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all abysses, blessed be Thy virginity and purity, blessed be Thy holy soul and Thy glorified body. If our Lady Ever-Virgin Mary does not intercede for us with God, sin will befall us for our sake; many troubles will befall us; The hellish enemies would never rise up against us, and they would have devoured us alive, but You, being merciful to the Intercessor, are with us and we will be delivered from them; Our help is in the name of the Lord and Your merciful name, O Lady. Rejoice, ever-Virgin Mary, joyful of God! from the invocation of Your holy name, demons tremble, from the desecration of Your glory, the dark powers disappear, with Your Nativity, the gates of heaven are opened and the election of God, with them all sinners, tax collectors and harlots, who have repented to God, enter them without restraint; I pray to You with all diligence: visit my poor soul, so that all the days of my life I will faithfully serve You and deliver me from the power of darkness. Those who trust in Thee, Mother of God, will not fear the face of the enemy; rejoice and rejoice, all you who love the Mother of God, for she will help you in the day of your sorrow; remember Thy bounty, O Lady, and protect our journey on earth, turn Thy bright face upon us and overthrow our enemies who seek our destruction, so that we may live in peace and silence, and in all piety and purity, glorifying Thee, our Lady and Helper. Always turn Your bright, motherly face towards us, leading You and praying to You, our hearts and souls rejoice in God’s grace and Your mercies; Blessed are You from the divine power of Jesus Christ above all the women on earth; Your praise will not fail from our lips; below is faith and love for You, the Lady, from our hearts: those who reverently worship You will be blessed by God and will not be deprived of all good. If it were not for our Lady, the Queen of Heaven, who had interceded for us sinners to the just God, our sins would have moved His righteous anger to vengeance, and if She, like the mental sun, had not illuminated the ends of the earth with wondrous signs and glorious miracles, the darkness of unbelief and the darkness of ignorance would have enveloped people. Oh, most merciful Lady, we undoubtedly believe, we humbly pray and worship You reliably, confessing before heaven and earth that You are the heavenly unflickering light, shining in the darkness of earthly vanities, as You are the Helper of salvation to all repentant sinners, as You are the beloved Mother of God, most blessed to all generations; The Lord is with You and You with us! Blessed are all who tenderly pray to Thee, O Lady, blessed are those who lead Thy holy will and wish to do what is pleasing to Thee: they will consume the labors of their sweet fruits and see the eternal goodness of the heavenly Jerusalem; Blessed are those who gave birth to Thee, the Lady, their memory with praise will endure forever; Blessed is Thy womb, which bore Jesus Christ in the flesh, and the breast, even the same as Thy piss. O most blessed and most blessed among women! turn Your motherly face towards us and pray for all who call upon You. From my youth, you attacked me with multitudes of hells, but You, Lady, delivered me from them; I fought in abundance, but You, my Helper, did not betray my soul into their eternally disastrous power, You preserved all my inner and outer. Oh, helper of my salvation, help me to create fruits worthy of repentance, so that I may safely come to my Christian death and be honored to see the most holy fruit of Your womb, my most merciful Savior and Redeemer. Rejoice, most blessed Ever-Virgin Mary, desert-loving turtledove, purest dove; Reveal Your image and make Your voice heard, for Your voice is sweet and Your image is beautiful. Oh, Queen of Heaven! Thy lips shall dig up honeycombs, honey and milk under Thy tongue, and the fragrance of Thy garments, like the fragrance of Lebanon. Oh, Bride Unbrided! Oh, most holy Ever-Virgin Mary! Thou hast drawn our heart into Thy grace, we flow after Thee, so, O Lady, may it be filled with inexpressible heavenly sighs for Christ Jesus. From the depths of my heart I cried out to You, O Lady, hear the voice of my prayer, for with the Lord God is mercy and much deliverance is with You; free me, Lady, from the hand of my enemies, disgrace and squander their slander and advice on me, have mercy on me on the day of cruelty and at the hour of death do not leave my wretched soul, appear to it with the consolation of eternal salvation. Madam, my heart is not lifted up for the great and wondrous of this world, for this world and its image pass away; but You, Lady, have exalted yourself in holiness, glory and honor above all, for You alone have my soul loved; Your myrrh poured out and the aroma of Your mercies is more than all aroma; You are the only one who pierces the darkness of sin before me, like the morning; good as the moon; chosen like the sun: I place You, the Queen of Heaven, as a seal on my heart and worship Your most holy majesty. Remember, O Lady, the reigning prophet and Your great forefather David, to whom the Lord swears in truth and has not rejected it: for from him, as from a blessed root, hast thou blossomed for us the branch of paradise; You are the full flower and the abundant flower, who has brought heavenly fragrance and joy to us. Oh, life-giving spiritual paradise! We are comforted by You on the earth of our wanderings, we rejoice in the riches of Your glory in our poverty, create and help, Lady, so that in this life, lovingly feeding on the tearful bread of true repentance for sins, we will one day be satisfied with animal bread, the blessed and holiest fruit of Your womb forever and ever. Behold, if it is good and if it is pleasing to God, the faithful should piously honor and please Thee, the heavenly Queen, as if the Lord Himself overshadows us for this with His blessing and will reward us with future eternal bliss. Oh, gracious Triune God! since You pour out so much of Your mercy on us, sinners, through the intercession of the most blessed Ever-Virgin Mary to You for us. May honor and glory be to You, amen. Behold, now bless the beloved Mother of God, all who trust in Her holy name; in the days and in the night, lift up your hands in the heavenly saint, where She stands before the most holy face of God in ineffable glory, for by Her grace your exceedingly sorrowful hearts and souls will be comforted; bless You with all the blessings of Her servant, bless You with all the Angels and Archangels; and all the saints of God, praise You, the heavens of heavens and the waters that are above the heavens, praise Her miracles forever and ever. Rejoice, most loving Christian Mother Mary, abyss of mercies and generosity! Cleanse, I pray to You, my heart from sinful passions, and if there is anything that is not pleasing to You, turn me away from me through fate, ignite my spirit to the heavenly promises, and help me to philosophize and act in the Lord. According to the 18th kathisma troparia, ch. 4 We sing to Thee, Bride of God, glorifying Thy incomprehensible Nativity, through which we have been delivered from the charms of the devil and all kinds of troubles, and truly cry out: have mercy on Thy flock, O All-Singing Virgin. Overcome, O All-Tsaritsa, our fighting enemies, as the wolves are hungry to destroy Your inheritance and the property of Your Son. To the Unman, with Your prayers, destroy the tongue of insolence, so that the evil warrior-lovers may know Your power, overthrow them with Your divine mania. Transcending the ranks of the Angel, the All-Pure, with the Angels pray to the Lord of the Angels to free us from destructive passions and be heirs of being an incorruptible life. To You, the Most Pure Mother of God, I, the accursed one, fall down and pray: consider, O Queen, that I am constantly sinning and angering Your Son and my God, and many times when I repent, I find myself lying before God, and I repent, trembling: will the Lord strike me, and hour by hour I do the same again. This leader, my Lady, Lady Theotokos, I pray: have mercy, strengthen and do good things, and give to me: weigh, my Lady Theotokos, for I am by no means in hatred of my evil deeds and with all my thoughts I love the law of my God; But we don’t know, O Most Pure Lady, where I come from, even if I hate it, I love it, but I transgress what is good. Do not, O Most Pure One, allow my will to be fulfilled: it is not pleasing; but may the will of Thy Son and my God be done, may He save me, and enlighten me, and give me the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that I may cease from here from filthiness and so on, may I live in the commandment of Thy Son, to Him befits all glory, honor and power, with His Beginning Father, and the Most Holy, and His Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.