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The First Sunday of Lent

Sixth before Easter

We commemorate the testing of God's Son in the wilderness.

At vespers

On Saturday evening, at the incense psalms, these idiomela, in Tone VI:

As we continue on this lenten passage, brothers and sisters, * let us notice the similarities it bears with the desert, * that we may take to heart its admonitions. * The desert is an image of God's dealings with his people throughout salvation history. * It is the place where the Lord leads us to growth and maturity, * the place where God reveals his name to us and makes a covenant with us. * It is also the locale where he provides us with his saving help. * But it can also be an open grave for us, a place of veritable disaster, * if we resist the inspirations of grace or reject them out of hand. * Therefore, let us work and pray to survive this ordeal by the help of Christ, the saviour.

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Then, the troparion, in Tone IV:

Like Moses on Sinai and Elijah on Horeb, O Christ, * so did you obey the Spirit and enter the wilderness for forty days. * For, in life, repentance always leads to the desert, * where we must strive to overcome temptations and trials to prove our fidelity. * Show us how to understand and embrace this, O Son of God, * for it is the path to salvation and eternal life.

At matins

The troparion as given at vespers.

At Psalm 51(50), the usual troparia for the Sundays of lent.

Kondakion, Tone IV:

Your victory in the battle of the heart, O Christ, * reveals you as a true minister of the kingdom of God, * and, for this, God was present with you in all you did, * because of your perfect obedience to him who sent you. * Lord, let us never deny you as did Peter, * nor taunt you as did the unrepentant thief, * but show us how to imitate you at all times, * so that, proving our mettle, * we may win from you the forgiveness of our sins.

Ikos:

The theme of our celebration today, brothers and sisters, * is the testing of the Lord in the wilderness, * just before he began his public ministry. * The forty days are merely a symbol of the temptations and trials faced by the Lord throughout his life. * And it is important for us to ponder because it clearly shows what we, too, must face. * Our life is not easy, for in fact it is very demanding. * And in the face of these demands it is only too easy * to compromise ourselves even for a seemingly noble motive * and thereby betray the Lord and our profession. * We must constantly strive, therefore to be brutally honest with ourselves, * so that, attaining our God-given purpose, * we may win from him the forgiveness of our sins.

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