You who are rich, O Christ, have made Yourself poor and You have enriched us mortals with immortality and light. I have grown poor through the pleasures of this life; make me rich with virtues, granting me a place with the poor Lazarus, and deliver me from the punishment of the rich man and the torment of Gehenna which awaits me.
Sinfully, I have grown rich in evil. I have loved luxury and have indulged in sensual pleasures, and I deserve to be condemned, O Lord, to the fires of Hell. My mind is famished like Lazarus, and I have neglected it. It lies as an outcast before the gates of virtuous deeds. Take pity on me, O Master!
From O Lord, to You I Call, Vespers, Monday, Sixth Week of Lent
Marvelous is the Savior's providence toward us; for possessing knowledge of future things as though they were already present. He has set before us the story of the rich man and Lazarus. As we contemplate the final end of them both, let us flee the cruelty of the former and his lack of love for mankind. Let us imitate the patience and the long-suffering of the latter, that with him we may rest in the bosom of Abraham, crying aloud: O Lord and righteous Judge; glory to You!
O God of compassion, at the prayers of all the saints and of the Theotokos, grant us peace and have mercy on us!
From the Aposticha, Vespers, Monday, Sixth Week of Lent
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