Кафисма 9

A song befits You, O God, in the highest Zion, and You, O Lady, praise and exclamation in the heavenly Jerusalem: the Lord will give You praise and glory before all people, Your glory is higher than the glory of the ranks of Angels and Archangels, God has put grace and sweetness in Your mouth, He has clothed Your most pure body with the robe of glory, Place an unfading crown of flowers on your head Decorate You with Yours and all your virtues in Your mercy, O Most Blessed Mother of God. Shout to our Lady, Ever-Virgin Mary, shout to all the earth; sing a sweet song to Her glorious name, give glory to Her praise; Let us enter the house dedicated to Her name with a heartfelt burnt offering and offer our warm prayers before the holy icon of Her: She will look upon our poverty and will sweeten all sorrow; blessed is God, who has blessed us with the blessed Matter according to the flesh of the Sweetest Jesus Christ. God, be generous to us and bless us and You, most merciful Lady, pray to Him for us, turn our vain sorrow into holy joy, enlighten, O morning star, sinful darkness, quench the thirst of a peace-loving heart, may Your right hand raise up the fallen me and may Your intercession sanctify my Christian death; glory to You, my shameless hope; You reign in heaven: remember me, O Lady, in the Kingdom of Your beloved Son, my Most Holy Savior. Rejoice, heavenly Queen, well-decorated house of the incomprehensible King; Rejoice, eternal and radiant luminary of the Church; Rejoice, heavenly light of the pious; Rejoice, quiet refuge for the overwhelmed; Rejoice, heavenly consolation for those who cry and all who mourn. Have mercy on me, a damned sinner, and ask our All-Merciful Lord Jesus Christ, so that by His grace all the old things in my soul will pass by and I will walk in the renewal of life before the face of God. May the grace of the Most Holy Theotokos rise in our souls, immersed in deep sinful sleep, and may our enemies be scattered, and all their intrigues will disappear. Oh, all-merciful Lady! cast down all their hellish malice, turn my will away from their flattery, cry out to the most holy will of Your beloved Son and our God, enlighten my sleepy conscience, may Your praise not fail from my lips, lower my love for You within me; peace to many who love Thee, Lady, their souls will not see eternal death forever. Mother of God, I earnestly pray to You, do not leave me without Your all-powerful help, especially in times of temptation, when I, restless in the vanity, forget about God and my salvation. Queen of Heaven, do not leave me with Your merciful protection both in this life and at my death. Save me, O Lady, as the waters of my sinful passions have descended into my soul, drowning in the darkness of their depths, weeping sobs day and night, for I have been angered by the Lord my God and am not worthy to look up to the heights of heaven. To whom shall I resort, the damned one, if not to You, All-Merciful Intercessor? Save my soul, for by You you have granted true salvation to the whole world, when, as I proclaim to the Archangel, the power of the Most High has come to You and the Father’s favor has visited You. Madam, come to my aid, enlighten my darkened mind with Your mercy, so that I understand Your goodness and Your wonderful miracles shown to repentant sinners, I will imprint in my heart; have mercy on all believers, in them is revealed the most holy name of your beloved Son, the Savior Christ, and your glorious name. Have mercy and do not allow us to be oppressed by the enemy’s temptations, lest they say about us: “Good, good, but You are one, O Lady, so that You may be sanctified in us, for You are Your own being.” Rejoice, Mother Mary, source of mercy, refuge of the world, heavenly beauty, joy of the Queen of Angels and joy of all saints; appear to me in all my adversities, in sorrows, in cramped conditions and in my weaknesses, and ask God for forgiveness for all my sins, so that I may not lose the Kingdom of Heaven. According to the 9th kathisma troparia, ch. 1 The well-known hope of Christians, the giver of mercy, the source of compassion, the key that opens God’s goodness, open the doors of mercy for us, O all-merciful Lady. The mystical morning has appeared, O Virgin, for from You the Sun has risen Christ in the darkness of despair to those who sit. Thus, having been enlightened, we please Thee out of duty, as the guilt of human renewal. The Lord, the first planter of paradise, has planted a verbal paradise on earth in You, Bride of God, like a flourishing tree of life. Pray for him to make us worthy of the food of heaven. My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, who heard the beating of the hammer when I nailed Thy Son and our God to the cross, save me from hearing the gnashing of teeth in hell. By Your sobbing at the Cross of my Savior, eternal weeping, consume me. Create a weapon for your very soul at the Cross, so that future remorse will pass me by. Burning Bush, even Moses, who foresaw, delivered me from the flames of Gehenna. According to God, I have no other help and no other intercession except You, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth. I believe in Your all-powerful, gracious power and confess Your mercy towards sinners. For who, flowing to You, comes without help from You? For this reason, even though I am a sinner, I resort to You all day long in all my needs and sorrows. But at any time I have no more need than this, except my eternal lot, when I am in my right or left hand, I inherit paradise or I am cast down into the underworld. Hear, O Lady, this prayer of mine, so that eternal condemnation will not befall me, and I will not go from the judgment seat to a country that is contrary to You, O Lady, but I will follow You along with others worthy of eternal joy in heaven. Oh, Most Merciful Mother of God, I fall to You, as I see, with contrite tears and soul: saving, save my soul. Pray to the Lord for me, so that I may accept at least the grains that fall from the table of the saints in the Kingdom of Heaven and thus get rid of the fire of Gehenna and find paradise through You, Blessed One. Amen.