Oh Lord and Master of my life do not give me a spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk.
But give rather a spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to your servant.
Yes, Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother.
For blessed are You unto ages of ages, amen.
As the prophets beheld, as the apostles have taught, as the Church has received as the teachers have declared, as the world has agreed, as grace has shown forth, as truth has been revealed, as falsehood has been dispelled, as wisdom has become manifest, as Christ awarded; thus we declare; thus we affirm; thus we proclaim Christ our true God, and honor His saints in words, writings, thoughts, sacrifices, churches, and holy icons - on the one hand, worshipping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord, and on the other, honoring the saints as true servants of the same Lord of all, and offering them proper veneration. This is the faith of the fathers. This is the faith of the Orthodox. This is the faith on which the world is established. Therefore, with fraternal and filial love we praise the heralds of the faith, those who with glory and honor have struggled for the faith, and we say: to the champions of Orthodoxy, faithful emperors, most-holy patriarchs, hierarchs, teachers, martyrs, and confessors: May your memory be eternal.
You that have bestowed on us these communal prayers lifted in one voice, that promised to grant the requests of two or three agreeing in your name, now fulfill the requests of your servants. Give us in this present age the knowledge of your truth and bestow on us in the future age, everlasting life.
Now we get to the heart of the matter. We are now turning to God and asking that all of the prayers we make in the Liturgy are granted. We ask to be enlightened in this present age so that we may comprehend all that we are about to hear, and we ask for life everlasting. This sums up the first part of the Liturgy and sets the stage for what comes after. Next is the little entrance and the readings from Scripture.
There is a tradition of changing these prayers based on the season. The Monks at New Skete in New York have come out with a book entitled Sighs of the Spirit. In this book the Monks have researched ancient manuscripts and have found that the prayers did change based on the season. Every now and again I like to shake things up and throw in one or two new prayers. I always get comments after the liturgy about the prayer so I know people are listening.
O Lord our God, save your people and bless your heritage. Guard the fullness of your Church. Sanctify those who love the beauty of your house. Glorify them by your divine power. And do not abandon us who hope in you.
In this prayer we focus now on the Church and her people. I have seen some translation that say bless your inheritance, I prefer this translation as printed above. We are the heritage of Gods people that began this journey. The fullness of the church. For me this is essence of orthodoxy. We say that orthodoxy is straight or true teaching, and we see it here in this prayer. We ask for Gos to preserve this fullness against it being watered down as so many have gone before us. Blessings on those that love the beauty of the church and glorification of the same. And the final petition not be be abandoned in our time of need. Nice prayer and sums things up nice for me.
O Lord Our God, whose might is incomparable and glory is incomprehensible, whose mercy is immeasurable and love toward mankind inexpressible, O master, in your compassion look on us and on this holy church and grant the riches of your mercies and compassion to us and to those that pray with us.
"There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, `Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.' And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, `How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants."' And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, `Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to make merry. "Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, `Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, `Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!' And he said to him, `Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"
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