Кафисма 3

I will love You, Lady and Queen of heaven and earth, and I will glorify Your glorious name among the nations; confess to Her with a contrite heart and she will strengthen you against all your enemies; light to us, Lady, is the grace of Your womb, and from You we feed on the milk of Your spiritual sweetness, and again we hunger and thirst for it. Be faithful, seek and glorify the Lady, for She is a quick Helper and your Representative to God; be, be our refuge, Most Blessed Mother of Christ our God, for You are a wondrous affirmation to the faithful; Glory to You, zealous Intercessor of all the faithful. My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, I ask and pray to You earnestly: deliver me from sudden and cruel death, especially at the hour of my death, mercifully stand before me and snatch away the hands of demons, judgment, debate and terrible torture, and bitter ordeals, and the cruel prince, and the eternal condemnation of the omnipotent With your help, set me free. The heavens will tell the glory of God, they will also tell Your glory, O Ever-Virgin Mary; with the ointments of Your blessed incense, all the ends of the earth are fragrant; sigh to Her, overwhelmed by iniquities; sinners, seek Her help and she will lead you to the quiet refuge of God’s mercy; With psalm songs, fill the wombs of Her bounties and the grace of Her mercy will rain down on you; glorify You righteousness before the throne of God; Praise the heavens of heavens and may the whole earth bless Her most holy name. Hear us, O Lady, in sorrow and turn Thy motherly face to our prayers; do not reject us at the terrible hour of death, but present yourself to our soul, never to be separated from the body; If the Angel is peaceful when she meets her, she will be safe from evil spirits, show her the merciful and benevolent Judge of the ages, Who through Your intercession will grant her forgiveness and merit eternal rest with God’s chosen ones. Lady, by Your power our hearts will rejoice and our soul will be comforted by the sweetness of Your name; from the throne of the King of glory, send us wisdom, by which we will be enlightened in all truth; grant us thy grace to abstain from carnal passions, so that the light of Thy grace may shine in our hearts. How sweet are Thy words to those who love them, O Most Holy Virgin, and how fragrant are the drops of Thy grace; We sing glory and honor to You and we glorify Your glorious name forever; Glory to You, speedy Intercessor of the faithful. Rejoice, ever-Virgin Mary, most adorned in paradise, brighter than the sun, more brilliant than the stars, more fragrant than all the aroma, more reddish than any herb, even though God, out of humility, chose Her to be His beloved bride. Oh, Lady! do not turn away from me, an unworthy sinner, but create cleanness from vile filth, righteousness from the lawless, zeal from the lazy, so that You, Lady, can work and praise You forever and ever, amen. God, my God, may the Most Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary look upon me with Her bounties. Through Her heavenly blessing I have gained eternal salvation. For this reason, I appeal to You, my Lady, day and night, so that my prayer may come before You and You, Lady, incline Your ear to my prayer. I have been attacked by my soul everywhere, but by Your strong right hand I am protected and under the canopy of Your mercy I have found sweet peace; glory to Thee, my ever-watchful Guardian. The Lord shepherds me and You, Ever-Virgin Mother of God, beseech Him that He may turn His divine face towards me. Glory to His mercy! Glory to Your maternal intercession! Blessed be Thy eyes, which Thou mercifully turn upon repentant sinners; Blessed be the radiance of Thy face, blessed be the grace of Thy holy image, blessed be the swift mercy of Thy hands; Blessed be He who feeds on Your virgin milk; May the apostles and prophets of God, martyrs, confessors, and virgins bless You. The earth is the Lord's and its fulfillment; You, Lady, reign with Him in heaven and you are our guardian angel on earth. It is better for the sun to go out than for us to lose Your intercession to God for us. You are clothed with glory and beauty, the most precious garment of Your garments, the radiance of the sun on Your head and the brightness of the moon under Your feet; Your throne is decorated with stars and all the righteous souls look insatiably at You. O bright morning star, remember us, O Lady, in Thy favor and make us worthy to glorify Thy holy name; Glory to You, speedy Helper and Intercessor of all the faithful. Rejoice, trustworthy hope for the desperate and quick help for the helpless; If you ask anything from Your beloved Son, you will quickly accept it; Whatever you want from Him, it happens to You: I ask and pray to You, all-merciful Lady, save me, and I will be saved, and I will bless You forever and ever, Amen. According to the 3rd kathisma of the troparia, ch. 3 An indestructible wall, a solid foundation, a calm haven, having acquired Thee, the All-Singing One, in the abyss of passions, overwhelmed by Thy benign intercession, we resort: send us peace and great mercy. The all-golden throne of the King and the prosperous paradise appeared to you, O Most Pure One: for having carried God in your womb, you have fragrantly fragrant us with divine graces, from which we always preach thee, the true Mother of God, who gives us great mercy You are the consolation of those who mourn, the cleansing of those who sin, O Mother of the Virgin Lady; For having given birth to the salvation of men, you have become a pillar of a faithful fortress, so we also call: pray to Christ God to grant us great mercy. I have now resorted to Your intercession and strong help, Most Pure Lady Theotokos! I am completely defiled: I have not kept the commandments of Thy Son and my God, for I dare not look up to heaven, for my body is wounded by malice; not raise your hand to the heights: the natural world is full of covetousness; neither open your mouth to prayer: as if you are blinded by evil. There is no sighing in me from insensibility; the heart is burdened with greatness; the soul darkened by unmercifulness; the body weakened by laziness; I stumbled my nose against the stone of voluptuousness; I opened my ears to hear short-lived praise; my face was drawn into lack of studiousness; the stench of my deeds filled my nostrils, and all was, like a barren tree or like an empty church, to which all are taught to destroy. The thief of my soul, the devil, hides in the nest of my heart, sees me unprotected and strives to seize the little possessions of my faith and, like tying a captive with sinful bonds, forces me to his will. We don’t know what I’m doing: I was created by God to be autocratic, but I enslaved myself to a lustful demon and my sins multiplied more than the sand of the sea. How can I beg my Creator and Lord, or how can I hope to be pardoned? I have given in to the desecration of the flesh by will and am approaching sinful pleasures all the time; For my flesh has become defiled by fornication, my tongue has spread out with obscene language; My inner self was filled with stinking thoughts and by no means allowed my whole mind to go against God’s law. And for this reason I grieve, and grieve, and grieve, all the time I fall before Your bounty, Lady Theotokos! Do not be angry with me, a sinner, so that my life will not be shortened in vain; but look, O Lady, upon me when I am despondent, pray to the One who was born of You, so that I will not be given over to the lot of sinners. For You are the Mother of God and I, Your servant, always hope in You; For me, your servant, pray to Your Son and my God, to Him be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.