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giving themselves over for your sake until death to the true working of your wise commandments. This, therefore, is the salvation of all who are being saved, and there is no other way, as you have said, O my God. Give mercy, give mercy to those who beseech you, O Savior, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

56.

A prayer to God on the things that have happened to him, both suppliant and eucharistic. (406)

Lord, give me understanding, Lord, give me knowledge, Lord, teach even me to do your commandments. And though I have sinned as a man more than a man, you know, yet you, by your own tender mercy, my God, had mercy on me the poor one, the orphan in the world, and you did, O Master, what you alone know; from father and brothers, and relatives and friends, from the land of my birth, from my ancestral home as from a dark Egypt, as from the depths of Hades—for thus you have granted to me, your humble servant, to think and speak of those things with understanding—having separated me, O compassionate one, and having received me and grasped me with your dread hand, you led me to the one whom you were pleased to become my father on earth, and you cast me at his feet and into his arms. And he brought me to your Father, my Christ, and to you through the Spirit, O Trinity, my God, weeping like the prodigal and falling down, O Word, as you yourself know, because you taught me, and you did not deem it unworthy to call me your son. O unworthy mouth and defiled lips, (407) O word of a poor tongue that is at a loss to hymn you, and to give thanks and to speak of your good deeds, which you have done for me the orphan and stranger, being a stranger on earth. For your own are strangers to the world, but what is yours and of your own, eyes do not see, a tongue cannot speak, nor can the world contain. For this reason therefore, O Master, the world hates us,

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μέχρι θανάτου ἑαυτούς διά σέ ἐκδιδόντες εἰς ἐργασίαν ἀληθῆ τῶν σοφῶν ἐντολῶν σου. Τοῦτο οὖν τό σωτήριον πάντων τῶν σῳζομένων, ὁδός οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλη δέ, ὡς εἶπας, ὦ Θεέ μου. ∆ός ἔλεος, δός ἔλεος δεομένοις σου, Σῶτερ, νῦν καί ἀεί καί εἰς τούς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΝΣΤ'.

Εὐχή πρός Θεόν ἐπί τοῖς γεγονόσιν εἰς αὐτόν, ἱκετήριός τε ὁμοῦ καί εὐχαριστήριος. (406)

Κύριε, δός μοι σύνεσιν, Κύριε, δός μοι γνῶσιν, Κύριε, δίδαξον κἀμέ ποιεῖν τάς ἐντολάς σου. Κἄν ἥμαρτον ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὑπέρ ἄνθρωπον, οἶδας, ἀλλά σύ τῇ οἰκείᾳ σου, Θεέ μου, εὐσπλαγχνίᾳ ἠλέησάς με τόν πτωχόν, τόν ὀρφανόν ἐν κόσμῳ, καί ἐποίησας, ∆έσποτα, ὅ μόνος σύ γινώσκεις˙ ἀπό πατρός καί ἀδελφῶν, συγγενῶν τε καί φίλων, ἀπό γῆς τῆς γενέσεως, ἐξ οἴκου γονικοῦ μου ὡς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου σκοτεινῆς, ὡς ἐξ ᾅδου μυχῶν με οὕτω γάρ ἐμοί δέδωκας, τῷ εὐτελεῖ σου δούλῳ, περί ἐκείνων ἐννοεῖν καί λέγειν ἐν συνέσει - ἀποχωρίσας, εὔσπλαγχνε, καί προσλαβόμενός με καί τῇ χειρί σου τῇ φρικτῇ κρατήσας ἤγαγές με, εἰς ὅν ηὐδόκησας ἐν γῇ γενέσθαι μου πατέρα, καί τοῖς ποσί προσέρριψας αὐτοῦ καί ταῖς ἀγκάλαις. Κἀκεῖνός με προσήγαγε τῷ σῷ Πατρί, Χριστέ μου, καί σοί διά τοῦ Πνεύματος, ὦ Τριάς, ὁ Θεός μου, κλαίοντα ὡς τόν ἄσωτον καί προσπίπτοντα, Λόγε, καθώς αὐτός ἐπίστασαι, ὅτι ἐδίδαξάς με, καί σύ οὐκ ἀπηξίωσας υἰόν σου με καλέσαι. Ὤ ἀναξίου στόματος καί ῥυπαρῶν χειλέων, (407) ὤ λόγου γλώσσης πενιχρᾶς ὑμνεῖν σε ἀπορούσης, εὐχαριστεῖν τε καί λαλεῖν τάς σάς εὐεργεσίας, ἅς εἰς ἐμέ τόν ὀρφανόν ἐποίησας καί ξένον, ξένον ὑπάρχοντα ἐν γῇ. Οἰ γάρ σοί κόσμου ξένοι, τά δέ γε σά καί τά τῶν σῶν ὀφθαλμοί οὐχ ὁρῶσιν, γλῶσσα λαλεῖν οὐ δύναται, οὐδέ κόσμος χωρῆσαι. ∆ιά τοῦτο οὖν, ∆έσποτα, μισεῖ ἡμᾶς ὁ κόσμος,