The Fourth Sunday after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross








♰الْمَجْدُ للهِ! ♰Praise be to God always!♰ܬܶܫܒܽܘܚܬܳܐ ܠܰܐܠܳܗܳܐ! ♰



Entrance Hymn

Lord, Your Cross Was Taken from the Tree

Syriac: fsheeto

Alleluia!
Lord, your cross was taken from the tree in Eden,
and your death upon the cross
has granted new life to all the world.
In its shadow refuge can be found
for the rich and poor.
All the prophets and the martyrs sang its praises.
On this day we join with them in giving glory.
Alleluia! The cross is our light!
Alleluia!
When they crucified the Lord, our great Redeemer,
and he died upon the cross for our salvation,
all was fulfilled.
Joseph, his disciple, with great love
came to bury him.
He beheld and touched the body of the Savior.
On this day we join with him in giving glory.
Alleluia! The cross is our light!
Alleluia!
With the cross we bless ourselves for Christ’s protection.
When the Tempter comes to us with his deception
and sees the cross;
far from it he flees and hides himself in the darkest depths,
for the holy cross is mighty and defends us.
On this day we raise it up in exaltation.
Alleluia! The cross is our light!

Opening Prayers

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

Lord Jesus,
make us worthy to celebrate
the exaltation of your glorious cross
with sacred hymns and psalms.
When you appear on the last day
and the sign of your cross will shine brighter than the sun,
gather us before you,
and surround us with your eternal light,
that we may raise glory and thanks to you,
to your Father, and to your Holy Spirit,
for ever. Amen.

Prayer of Forgiveness (Husoyo)

Proemion

Let us raise glory, honor, and praise to the Savior, who made the wood of his cross a strong fortress for his flock and established it as a sign of the covenant for the salvation of his inheritance.
By his cross, he exalted his Church and gave joy to all people who believed in it.
To the Good One be glory and honor, on this feast, and all the days of our lives, and for ever. Amen.

Sedro

O Christ our God, by your precious cross you have given us perfect salvation and made us worthy to celebrate this feast with hymns of praise, proclaiming:
Blessed are you, O Wood of the Holy Cross, for you erased Adam’s curse and restored his banished children to their inheritance.
Blessed are you, O Holy Cross, for you united heavenly and earthly beings.
Blessed are you, O Holy Cross, for you fulfilled the words of the prophets, enlightened the apostles in their preaching, crowned the martyrs for their faith, and honored the confessors for their loyalty.
Now, O Christ our Savior, we ask you, with the fragrance of this incense, to make the celebration of the feast of the exaltation of your holy cross a sign of security and peace.
By your cross, exalt your holy Church, guide her shepherds, adorn her priests with virtue, purify her deacons, help the elderly, educate children, direct the young, protect orphans, care for widows, and grant rest in your dwellings of light to our brothers and sisters who have died hoping in you.
May we find refuge in the shadow of your cross on the great day of your second coming,
that we may raise glory and thanks to you, to your Father, and to your Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.

Hymn (Qolo)

Your Cross, O Lord

Syriac: toobaik ‘eedto

Your cross, O Lord,
had been lost but then was found
through Saint Helen’s love and zeal.
When the cross had been revealed,
all the world was bathed in light
and the darkness disappeared.
Now the Church in every place
honors and adores your cross,
for she has been saved from sin
to inherit life on high.
Your cross, O Lord,
is the key to paradise
and unlocks its gates for us
that were closed by Adam’s sin.
It protects us from the fire
and the place of punishment,
for through it we have been saved.
By your holy cross, O Lord,
may we enter with the saints
into heaven's lasting joy.
Lord, may your cross
guard your holy, faithful Church
everywhere throughout the world.
Keep all scandal far from her;
keep her free from harm and strife,
that your lasting peace may reign
for all ages yet to come.
May the children of the Church
find their shelter and their strength
in the shadow of your cross.

Etro

Jesus Christ our Lord, accept these prayers and the fragrance of the incense that we have offered on the feast of the exaltation of your holy cross.
May its sign always be visible before our eyes to strengthen us, that we may walk with you toward death and then stand at your right hand to celebrate the feast of your eternal victory.
We glorify you, your Father, and your Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.

Qadishat Aloho (Trisagion)

ܩܰܕܺܝܫܰܬ ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ. ܩܰܕܺܝܫܰܬ ܚܰܝܶܠܬܳܢܳܐ. ܩܰܕܺܝܫܰܬ ܠܳܐ ܡܳܝܽܘܬܳܐ. ܐܶܬܪܰܚܰܡ ܥܠܰܝܢ.
Qadishat Aloho. Qadishat Hayeltono. Qadishat lo moyuto. EtraHam 3alayn.
You are holy, O God. You are holy, O Strong One. You are holy, O Imortal One. Have mercy on us.
قُدُوسٌ أَنْتَ يا الله، قُدُوسٌ أَنْتَ يا قَوِي، قُدُوسٌ أَنْتَ يا مَنْ لا يَموتْ، إِرْحَمْنا

Holy and immortal Lord, sanctify our minds and purify our consciences, that we may praise you with purity and listen to your Holy Scriptures. To you be glory forever. Amen.

Psalm of the Readings

Syriac: ramremain

Guard the Church and her children
with your cross of light and life.
By your cross, O Redeemer,
prophecies have been fulfilled.
With the sign of your cross, Lord,
you ordain your holy priests,
and they give us the Mysteries
through the power of your cross.
Lord, your cross is a ladder
leading us to heaven’s heights.
May your Church and her children
join the angel hosts on high.

Epistle

A reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians. Your blessing, Father.

Glory to the Lord of Paul and the apostles! May the mercy of God descend upon the reader and the listeners and upon this parish and her children forever. Amen.

Brothers and Sisters:
Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. When people are saying, "Peace and security," then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief. For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober. Those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation. For God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do.
(1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

Praise be to God always!

Gospel

Alleluia! Alleluia!
The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(1 Corinthians 1:18)
Alleluia!

Before the proclamation of the Gospel of our Savior, announcing life for our souls, we offer this incense and ask for your mercy, O Lord.

Peace be with you.

And with your spirit.

From the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew, who proclaimed life to the world.
Let us listen to the proclalation of life and salvation for our souls.

Remain silent, O listeners, for the Holy Gospel is about to be proclaimed to you.
Listen and give glory and thanks to the Word of the living God.

Jesus said:
"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
(Matthew 24:45-51)

This is the truth! Peace be with you!

Praise and blessings to Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, for giving us his words of life.