Akathist by Mykhayl

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(STAND)

BI-RITUAL CYCLE OF DAYS… 121-140 (1850)

MEDITATION 13

(CHANTER:)
We choose to greet you in our ancestral (or: Ukrainian / Rusyn / Slavic) ways, so the good Lord will bless your household this day. May you have good health through the upcoming year, * crowned with happiness and wealth for a life without fear. Drink of Jordan’s waters and through the winter’s cold, to the glow of Easter may your fortunes unfold. * From the Pascal singing to the Ascension Day, through the Spirit’s coming on holy Green Sunday. May you live in our ways of love and happiness, through the cycle of days until another Christmas. * We know in God’s wisdom He will call you one day, so in His heavenly Kingdom may you be, we so pray. Accept these well-wishes and all these customs, condensed in this greeting for centuries intoned… * Vi-ty-emo za Riz-dom Khrys-tov-ym e baz-aye-mo shch sly-vo-ho No-vo-ho Ro-koo! (Glad tidings at Christ’s birth with goodly wishes through the upcoming New Year!)

CHANT 13

(CLERGY:)

Attention! A reading from Saint Luck:

(ALL:)
Glory be to you O Lord glory be to You
Alleluia, alleluia!

(CLERGY:)
“… A woman from the the crowed shouted “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts that suckled you!”. Jesus replied “Truly, yet blessed are those who hear the word of God, and more so those who keep it!”.
(Luck 11:27-8)

(ALL:)
Glory be to you Our God glory be to You
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
(MAY SIT IF FATIGUED)
(ALL:),
221 Rejoice as life spins in intersecting directional circles * as did Saint Elijah’s fiery chariot on his journey to heaven.

Glory be repetition as the mother of learning * and life experiences are the nanny of knowledge.

222 Rejoice for in the Liturgy of God we are the players; cast and crew for only He is in the audience, * and as with most audiences familiarity breeds comfort even amongst the Three.

Alas exploration of comfort involves the mundane enhanced with mysticism * leading us into the spirituality of not the unexplored but the often overlooked.

223 Rejoice as the liturgical day begins at twilight as the sun goes to sleep, * the vespers begins with our loss of paradise as the heavenly gates closes upon our evening song.

Matins awakes our prayer day in morning song * sidelined by the order of the mystical body of Christ as bread and wine and water are incarnate as if at Bethlehem.

224 Rejoice in the blessings of the Kingdom while petitioning the Lord in peace, * chanting psalms as in Jerusalem’s temple worship with Triadic dogmatic doxologies.

Processing with the Gospel-book lead by candle-bearers like foreruning profits, * all the lamps are now light as we are all illuminated with the proclamation of the Gospel.

225 Rejoice as cherubic hosts gather to escort the King of all from His heavenly abode, * while we bow before His inscribed symbols of bread and wine as done as Christ as king entered Jerusalem.

While vales flutter faith is confirmed leading into the hallowed of the holy. * Calling upon the Spirit to change not only the bread and wine but most importantly us into Christ.

226 Rejoice In the prayer He taught us how to talk to our Father personally and as we gather. * Partaking of that which is ever eaten yet never consumed since the glorious resurrection of Christ.

As the body, blood, and soul in His divinity nourishes our mystical humanity * we transcend communing with the Lord to interact with our neighbors.

227 Rejoice as the liturgical (church) year starts in the same month as Christ’s Mission started, * the original parochial school year from along the shore of the Jordan.

Commend the first ecumenical council called to codify the date of Pascha, * since then we have a Julian version and a Gregorian version and even a compromise version with addendums.

228 Rejoice commencing September with the all Blessed’s birthday and honoring her holy parents Joachim and Anna, * then a church dedications and a council gathering, and finding the cross in a garbage dump by an Queen are recalled.

We also remember the common people with a mother Wisdom (Sophia) and her three graces Faith, Hope and Love (Nadya, Vera, Lubov). * The Autumn Equinox brings two Johns and two profits with Jonah who spent three days in a whale, then our princess Euphrosyna and good king Wenceslas.

229 Rejoice as October opens with the high-priestess Pokrova heralded by Romanus’ crooning. * Francis from Assisi is followed by the doubter Thomas, and Sergis, and Bacchus and Pelaghia.

Ending with apostles and defenders of icons, * Demetrius who brings his own chrism, and Andrew of Crete who loves prostrations.

230 Rejoice in November as the west celebrates all saints as we await adding our Father Andryj (Sheptytsky) * to be universally ranked among them. Then follows Michael and his army of bodiless powers.

Followed by monks Theodore the Studite, Josaphut (Josaphat) the martyr and Philip the apostle * ushering in our advent fast, in which we recall an evangelist, Alexandrian princess Catherine, our Pope Clement with our first called apostle Andrew we do honor.

231 Bishop Saint Nicholas visits the earth providing wonderment as we honor Ambrose of Milan * and all the ancestors from Adam and Eve through Joachim to the conception of Saint Anne grandmother of Jesus.

The early morning light brings Lucia and Boniface-Bruno the patron of the Ruthenians who in North American St Nicholas miraculously saves (Darr Mine 1907). * The tranquil eve of Christmas beginning with starlight leads to the spilling of Stephen’s first blood, and that of Thomas Becket who’s Canterbury shrine drew Chaucer’s nun from far off Ruce.

232 Rejoice as Christ’s first blood is drawn we recall Basil and Genevieve of Notra Dame (Daum). The staff of the Arimathean still blooms at Glastonbury on the old old Christmas Day (5) * Simeon the pillar preacher gets up but not down. The major Manifestation of His Baptism leads to blessing of our homes*

Leading into carnival is Joan d’ Arc, Ben Franklyn, the star gazer Galileo who told the Inquisition “Truth supersedes truth” and Mozart’s birthday if not suspended by fasting. * The translation for the King James Bible is followed by the episcopal trinity interpreters and the Anglican saint Charles. Ending with Charlemagne the Creed tamperer and Cyril the heretic fighter.

233 Rejoice in this shortest of months with the western maid of Eire brings down the Yule as winter darkness is dispelled by blessed candles which Blaze uses to sanctify throats. * Mary Queen of Scots lived in unsaintly passions yet at the end died cloaked with a martyr’s passion. Valentine’s motto should be those who expect not will be disappointed not.

Our apostles Cyril and Methosius who brought us the light is followed by great pope Leo of Attila fame than Martin Luther all with Roman conections. * George Washington’s birthday heralds the Muscovite going to London to see the queen, and we may honor John Cassian but only a quarter of the time.

234 Rejoice as March roars in like a lion to leave us like a lamb starting on Welch Saint David Day. Then onto Eudocia, Casmir of Polish-Lithuania, and Michael Angelo Buonarotti. * Great pope Gregory and Cyril of Jerusalem leads us to the basics witnessed by the holy centurion.

Saint Joseph and the Annunciation and the Archangel for in 9 (nine) month we celebrate Christmas. Nature’s time sees it in the Vernal Equinox. * The Abbot Benedict pondering John Climacus’ Ladder of Divine Ascent’ ends with a Beethoven crescendo.

235 Rejoice amidst the freezing sleet and snow, the timid birds come. In pity drive them not away, but scatter out your crumbs. * One day when winter falls upon your life, the day of recording comes. Against your sins by high decree, are weighed against scattered crumbs.

Mary the Egyptian whorelet converts in Jerusalem. Methodius preaches along the Crimea shore where Pope Martin preceded. Through God’s grace Leo IX (nineth’s) death nullifies the 1054 excommunication. * Shakespeare knew of George who fought a dragon as did Adalbert of Prague of a kind, ending with an evangelist, an apostles and our icon of Vladimir.

236 Rejoice on Mayday with an Apostle following the Prophet, witnessing the papal crowning of our Pochayiv Icon. Leonardo de Vinci was laid to rest as too Anthony of Kyiv. * The Queen finds the liberating cross that her son is victorious with. The dark Prince Machiavelli is condemned by Trent for the end does not justify the means.

Monica and Pelaghia and Iriene again then the long suffering Jobe who lost all his family but his nagging wife. A theologian leads the way for pirates who transfer to Bari the relics of Nicholas. * Apostles and their equals Cyril and Methodius, Constantine and Helena and on the midsummer solstice gather Saint John wart before ending with Peter, Paul and the other ten.

237 Rejoice in June with doctors and the all Blessed’s robe and icons. Then the salon mystic Nostradamus predicting the Parisian liberalities. * Now an ecumenical council, Scottish apostle, Kyivan monk, Regent Oyl’ha and grandson, Volodymyr the great.

Marina, Macrina an the Prophet Elijah in his fiery chariot. Scottish bard, Myrrh-bearer Mary with the blood red eggs. Pochayiv’s apparition of the woman written in the Koran, followed by the passion bearing brothers. * The apostle, brother and Jerusalem bishop followed by his foster grandmother, a house call doctor, a wise king Solomon, a performing Empress Theodosius, the serving Martha Martha, William Penn’s Quaker religious tolerance ending within a Bach crescendo.

238 Rejoice with blessing poppy seeds and the Dnepro waters. From the Christ bearer to first fruits illuminated in a trinity of lights. After 40 (forty) days comes the cross and the third Savior’s day. * Theodosius of Kyiv, Stephen of Hungary. Formation of the all Blessed’s icons then the dark plague and the animal’s saints Florus and Laurus.

Father Bernard said of experience “you will find more in the forest then in the library” and Augustine says “singing is twice praying”, as the a capella voice is the only God made instrument. * After the black robes laud the Madonna of Kieff we will use neither knife nor platter nor head remembering the snuffing of the morning star which preceded the Son, as Cleopatra’s vamity fades.

239 Rejoice this day for there is never too little for us to celebrate. * Be careful not to turn an icon into a logo like Kazan for the Slavophile’s Third Rome, far beyond Fatima for the first and Oranz for the second.

Remember to keep the important stoic, the unimportant liberal and love above it all. * Let us pray to know the difference so that rubrics and the how to is not more important then the who or why.

240 Rejoice so we can testify to what we believe in the doing rather than in the talking. * For God so loved the world He gave us His only begotten Son (John 3:16).

Deductions are built on acquired knowledge so we must bequeath our premier teachers developing liberties. * In the ancient Classics Virgil prophesied Christ’s virgin birth; and Plato predicts “the passion of Christ”.