Sunday

John 19:28   After this, Jesus, knowing* that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29   Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30   So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. 31   Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32   Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33   But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34   But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35   And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36   For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”* 37   And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”*

 

Prayer:

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!

 

Monday
Mathew 27:45   Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46   And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”* 47   Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48   Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. 49   The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” 50   And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51   Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52   and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53   and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54   So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

 

Prayer:  O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us, and cleanse us of all impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Tuesday
Mark 15:42   Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43   Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44   Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. 45   So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

[And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. ]

46   Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47   And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

 

Prayer:  Holy angel of the Lord by guardian, pray to God for me.

Wednesday
Matthew 27:62   On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63   saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64   Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night* and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65   Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66   So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.  [Chp 28] 1   Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2   And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,* and sat on it. 3   His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4   And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  5   But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6   He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7   And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

 

 

Prayer:  Our Father, Who art in  Heaven, hallowed by Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy 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 the evil one.

Thursday
John 20:Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2   Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” 3   Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4   So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5   And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6   Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7   and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8   Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9   For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10   Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 11   But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12   And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13   Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14   Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not

know that it was Jesus. 15   Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16   Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him,* “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). 17   Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’  ” 18   Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,* and that He had spoken these things to her.

 

Prayer:  O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name’s sake.

Friday
Matthew 28:11   Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12   When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13   saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14   And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15   So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

 

Prayer:  Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3X)

Saturday
From St. John of Kronstadt…

“Worship God in spirit and in truth.” In truth, for instance, when you say, “Hallowed be Thy Name.” Do you really desire that God’s name should be hallowed by the good works of others and by your own? When you say, “Thy Kingdom come,” do you indeed desire the coming of God’s Kingdom? Do you wish to be the abode of the Spirit of God, and not the abode of sin? Would you not more willingly live in sin? When you say, “Thy will be done,” do you not rather seek your own will than that of God? Ay, it is so! When you say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” do you not say otherwise in your heart, “I do not need to ask this of Thee–I have enough without asking; let the poor ask for this”? Or else, do we not greedily seek for more, and are not satisfied with the little, or with that which God has given us? We do not thank God for what we have as we ought to. In the prayer: “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us,” do you not think in yourself: “God knows that I am not such a great sinner. It seems to me that I do not live any worse than others, and there is no need for me to ask that my trespasses or sins should be forgiven”? Or else when you thus pray is there not any displeasure or anger in your heart against anyone?–for if so, you lie shamelessly to God in your prayer. You say, “And lead us not into temptation,” but do you not yourself rush impetuously into every sin, without even being tempted? You say, “Deliver us from evil,” but do you not live in friendship with the Devil or with evil of every kind, of which the Devil is chief? Beware, then, that your tongue is not in discordance with your heart; see that you do not lie to God in your prayer. Always keep this in view when you say the Lord’s Prayer, as well as when you say other prayers. Watch whether your heart agrees with, everything that your tongue pronounces.

 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.