St. Steven Martyr Evening 12/26/13

St. Steven 12-27
MEMORIAL OF A MARTYR
Ramsho
INTRODUCTION
DOXOLOGY

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as we begin and until we conclude.
May mercy and compassion be poured forth upon us
in this world and the next.
O Lord, our God, to you be glory for ever.
Amen.
OPENING PRAYER
Lord,
may we praise you today with your martyrs who sacrificed
their lives for you.
They shed their blood in confessing you,
so that at the end of our race we might reach you.
enter into your kingdom and be worthy of seeing you.
With your martyrs and saints we will praise you,
now and for ever. Amen.
GREETING
Peace be with the Church and her children.
PRAISE OF THE ANGELS
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace on earth and good will to all.
Praise the Lord all you nations,
glorify him all you peoples,
for steadfast is his mercy toward us,
and the truth of the Lord endures for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.
and peace on earth and good will to all.

PSALMODY
FIRST PRAYER
Lord, have mercy on us and save us.
O God,
we rejoice on the feasts of your saints,
above all on that of your martyr Saint Stephen,
whom we remember today.
Help us by his prayer and allow us to
come to his glory.
With him we will praise you,
now and for ever. Amen.
PSALM OF THE DAY
Antiphon: Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer nor his kindness.

Psalm 66
Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.

Say to God, “How tremendous are your deed!
for your great strength your enemies fawn upon you.

Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!”

Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among men.

He has changed the sea into dry land:
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.

He rules by his might forever;
his eyes watch the nations;
rebels may not exalt themselves.

Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;

He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.

For you have tested us, O God!
You have tried us as silver is tried by fire;

You have brought us into a snare;
you laid a heavy burden on our backs.

You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you have led us out to refreshment.

I will bring holocausts to your house;
to you I will fulfill the vows.

Which my lips uttered
and my words promised in my distress.
Holocausts of fatlings I will offer you,
with burnt offerings of rams;
I will sacrifice oxen and goats.

Hear now, all you who fear God, which I declare
what he has done for me.

When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.

Were I to cherish wickedness in my heart,
the Lord would not hear;

But God has heard;
he has hearkened to the sound of my prayer.

Blessed be God who refuse me not
my prayer or his kindness!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever. Amen.

Antiphon: Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer nor his kindness.

SECOND PRAYER
Lord, have mercy on us and save us.
Lord,
may we be like your martyrs and saints in virtue,
that with them we may obtain your heavenly glory.
May we struggle to be like you,
who have given your life for us.
To you be glory, for ever. Amen.
EVENING PSALMS
Psalm 141:1-4
O Lord, to you I call; hasten to me;
harken to my voice when I call upon you.
Let my prayer come like incense before you;
the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice.
O Lord, set a watch before my mouth,
a guard at the door of my lips.
Let not my heart incline to the evil
of engaging in deeds of wickedness
With men who are evildoers;
and let me not partake of their dainties.
Psalm 142
With a loud voice I cry out to the Lord;
with a loud voice I beseech the Lord.
My complaint I pour out before him;
before him I lay bare my distress.
When my spirit is faint within me,
you know my path.
In the way along which I walk
they have hid a trap for me.

I look to the right to see,
but there is no one who pays me heed.
I have lost all means of escape;
there is no one who cares for my life.
I cry out to you, O Lord:
I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land
of the living.”
Attend to my cry,
for I am brought low indeed.
Rescue me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
Lead me forth from prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
The just shall gather around me
when you have been good to me.
Psalm 119: 105-112
A lamp to my feet is your word,
a light to my path.
I resolve and swear
to keep your just ordinances.
I am very much afflicted;
O Lord, give me life according to your word.
Accept, O Lord, the free homage of my mouth,
and teach me your decrees.
Though constantly I take my life in my hands,
yet I forget not your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but from your precepts I have not strayed.
Your decrees are my inheritance forever;
the joy of my heart they are.
I intend in my heart to fulfill you statutes
always to the letter.

Psalm 117
Praise the Lord, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
For steadfast is his mercy toward us,
and the truth of the Lord endures for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.
[HYMN]
The Hymn, “The Christian Combat” (page 165)or the
Hymn, “The Expectation of the Virgins” (page 166) may be sung following the Evening Psalms.
HOOSOYO
PROEMION
Praise, glory and honor to the heavenly Spouse;
he called the martyrs to his wedding feast.
They received his baptism, became intoxicated
with his wine and have confessed his name.
To the Good One is due glory and honor this evening,
and all of the days of our lives,
now and for ever. Amen.
SEDRO
Lord,
on this blessed evening we recall your holy martyrs,
above all, your martyr Saint Stephen.
They are the heroes of the faith who watered the
earth with their blood,
that it might produce a holy seed.
They are the conquering soldiers who have neither
drawn the sword nor shed blood,
but have made known your gospel and have shed
their blood in witnessing to you.

Lord,
we who celebrate the memory of the Martyr, Saint Stephen,
ask through his intercession
that his martyrdom, brought before our eyes, may
recall your words:
The one who confesses me before men, I will confess
before my Father in heaven.
Grant to your Church and to the entire world your
calm and peace.
Bring her children, dispersed by persecution, back
into her bosom.
Have mercy on those who have died in the faith,
let them enter into your joy and sit at your table.
We will give you glory,
now and for ever. Amen.
QOLO
The saints were intoxicated with the blood flowing from your
side on the cross, they were filled with courage and strength; in the arena of holy combat they delivered up their bodies to
torment and without fear they gave their necks to the sword.
Today the Church is proud to recall their names, pearls on her forehead. With the spiritual songs she celebrates their glorious feasts and praises the Lamb who has accepted the mingling of
their blood with his.
ETRO
Lord,
may the death of your martyrs be a sacrifice of
forgiveness and a holocaust of expiation,
that we may obtain your grace to spend our lives in
justice and holiness.
When we reach your kingdom,
we will praise you with your martyrs and your saints,
for ever. Amen.

MAZMOORO
Glory to him who magnified the memory of his saints on earth
and gave them the joy of his eternal heavenly paradise.
Praise the Lord who strengthened those who fought for him;
glorify the Lord who gave them the most beautiful of
rewards in paradise.
O God, you accepted the prayers of the just before us, in your mercy, accept our worship and grant our requests.
SYNAXARION
St. Stephen is the first Christian martyr and was one of the seven original deacons.
SCRIPTURE READING
A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 48: 12-21
Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I named! I, it is I who am the first, and also the last am I. Yes, my hand laid the foundations of the earth; my right hand spread out the heavens. When I call them, they stand forth at once. All of you assemble and listen: Who among you foretold these things? The LORD’s friend shall do his will against Babylon and the progeny of Chaldea. I myself have spoken, I have called him, I have brought him, and his way succeeds! Come near to me and hear this! Not from the beginning did I speak it in secret; At the time it comes to pass, I am present: “Now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his spirit.” Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea; Your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, Their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence. Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea! With shouts of joy proclaim this, make it known; Publish it to the ends of the earth, and say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob. They did not thirst when he led them through dry lands; Water from the rock he set flowing for them; he cleft the rock, and waters welled forth.”
SUPPLICATION
Lord of the night and Master of all time, hear our supplications and have mercy on us.
You reconciled heaven and earth, grant peace to your Church and keep her children by the light of the cross.
The sufferings and death of the martyrs are the supreme witness for Christ and the most striking light to guide us to him.
When the crucified Spouse invites us to his wedding feast,
they will offer their pure blood as a gift.
At the tribunal, the martyrs will rise up fearlessly, joyous in the sentence which unites them for ever to their Savior. Happy
are you, victors of the fight: prison, torture and death have
been nothing to you, who have won Christ.
They were baptized with the baptism of Christ, drank his cup,
put on garment of the wedding feast and were crowned
with glory.
Glory to the Father who has chosen men and women to witness
to the truth; adoration to the Son, the witnesses have
testified to his resurrection, thanksgiving to the Spirit, in
his joy, the martyrs have accepted death.
The Virgin Mary, your Mother and the apostles, prophets and
martyrs intercede for us; O God, through their prayers
strengthen the weak, comfort the sick, grant pardon to
our deceased and forgive the faults of us poor sinners.
Exalt, O Lord, the memory of your Mother and your saints:
through their prayers grant pardon to us and our deceased.
Through the prayers of your Mother, the prophets, apostles
and martyrs, watch over the living, and in your mercy
forgive those who have died.

HOOTOMO
Let us thank, adore, and praise the holy and glorious Trinity: Father, Son, ✛Holy Spirit. Amen.
TRISAGION
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Holy are you, O God;
Holy are you, O Strong One;
Holy are you, O Immortal One;
have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, forgive us and have mercy on us.
Lord, hear us and have mercy on us.
Lord, accept our worship and our prayers.
Lord, come to our assistance and have mercy on us.
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who are in heaven;
hallowed be your name;
your kingdom come;
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.
Amen.
O Lord, the night and the day are yours;
you uphold the light and the sun.
Through your power you direct the sequence of the seasons.
O Lord,
you have brought the day to its close and called forth the night; be for us that great Day that never ends.
In the evening let your light shine in our hearts,
and in the darkness of the night enlighten us with the knowledge of your truth.
And so, through all the days of our lives,
we shall praise you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
To you be glory and may your mercy rest upon us,
now and for ever.
Amen.
EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
Let us thank God for all the graces he has bestowed on us
this day which has passed in calm and peace.
Let us recall our failings against the commandments of God
and the Church in thought, word, deed and omission
We ask for God’s pardon as we pray:
“Forgive us, Jesus!”
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to you, O Lord.
Glory be to you, O Lord.
Glory be to you, O Lord.
God,
Father in heaven,
by your living and holy name,
keep us from evil an lead us not into temptation;
for we call upon you, O Lord, our God, our constant hope,
glory to you for ever.
O Lord, our Lord,
may our humble worship be pleasing to you;
may our prayers come before you and our actions give
you honor.
Let you mercy, kindness, help, graces and divine love
be poured abundantly upon us poor sinners,
both in heaven and on the earth
which you have created in your goodness.
O Lord, our God, to you be glory for ever.
Amen.

DISMISSAL
Peace be with you.
And also with you.
O God,
through the prayers of your Mother and the saints who have
believed in you;
through the prayers of the prophets, apostles, martyrs and
confessors;
through the prayers of the just, the priests, the holy fathers, pastors and teachers of the truth faith;
and through the prayers of N., Pope of Rome, N., our Patriarch, and N., our Bishop,
forgive your people and have mercy on your flock.
May God bless, forgive, sanctify, purify, and keep each of the faithful united with us in this spiritual office.
May mercy and compassion be upon us and all the faithful who
dwell here.
May peaceful rest be granted to those who have died in the faith.
May the faithful who live here experience the protection of
Christ’s victorious cross.
May we and all his servants, who adore him with bowed heads,
receive the mercy of the holy and glorious Trinity
Father, Son, ✛ Holy Spirit, to whom be glory now and for ever.
Amen.
May God forgive your sins,
pardon your failings,
and deliver you from the power of the enemy.
May he grant you the remission of your offenses.
Go in peace, and pray to Christ for me.