ᾨδὴ Δʹ
The Call to Wakefulness
The soul is urged to recognize the nearness of the Judge and confess its sins before it is too late.
The prophet heard of your coming, Lord, and was afraid, because you were to be born of a Virgin and revealed to humanity; and he said: “I heard the report of you and was afraid. Glory to your power, Lord.” Don't overlook your own works; don't disregard what you have made, righteous Judge. Though I alone, being human, have sinned more than anyone else, still, Lover of humanity, as Lord of all you have the authority to forgive sins. The end is drawing near, my soul—drawing near—and you aren't paying attention; you aren't preparing. Time is running out; wake up! The Judge is near, right at the door. Our life rushes by like a dream, like a flower. Why do we trouble ourselves for nothing?✦ Come to your senses, my soul. Consider the deeds you’ve done; bring them before your eyes and let your tears fall drop by drop. Speak openly to Christ of your deeds and thoughts, and be justified. There isn't a sin in this life, no deed, no evil that I haven't committed against you, Savior—in thought, word, and intention, by deliberate choice and judgment, and in action—sinning as no one else ever has. For this I was condemned; for this I, wretched as I am, was convicted by my own conscience—and nothing in the world is more relentless than conscience. O Judge, my Redeemer, who knows me: spare me, deliver me, and save me, your servant.
The Ladder of Ascent
Using the imagery of Jacob's ladder and his service, the soul is encouraged to pursue action and contemplation.
The ladder that the great patriarch saw long ago is, my soul, an image of ascending through practice and rising through spiritual knowledge. So if you want to live by practice, knowledge, and contemplation, be made new. The Patriarch endured the scorching heat of the day and the bitter cold of the night in poverty, suffering losses day after day, tending flocks, struggling, and serving, all to win his two wives.✦ Think of the two wives as representing action and knowledge in contemplation: Leah as action, because she bore many children, and Rachel as knowledge, because it requires great labor. For without labor, my soul, neither action nor contemplation will be brought to fulfillment. Stay awake, my soul, and excel like the great patriarch, so that you may combine action with knowledge; so that you may be known as a mind that sees God, reach the inaccessible darkness in contemplation, and become a great merchant.12 The great patriarch fathered the twelve patriarchs and, in a mystery, set up for you, my soul, a ladder of ascent through action, with his children as its rungs and the rungs as stages of ascent—a plan of perfect wisdom. Imitating the hated Esau, my soul, you sold your supplanter the birthright of your original beauty; you forfeited your father's blessing and, wretched soul, were twice supplanted—in action and in knowledge. So repent now.
Lessons from Esau and Job
The soul is warned by the example of Esau's passions and challenged by the endurance of Job.
Esau was called Edom because of his consuming lust for women; for he was always burning with a lack of self-control and stained by his pleasures. So he was named Edom, which means the burning heat of a soul that loves sin. My soul, you heard how Job was vindicated while sitting on the ash heap, yet you didn't imitate his courage. You haven't shown that same firmness of purpose in anything you've learned, anything you know, or any trial you've faced; instead, you've proven unable to endure. Once seated on a throne, he now sat naked on a dunghill; once blessed with many children and held in honor, he suddenly became childless and homeless. For he regarded the dunghill as a palace and his sores as pearls. A royal man, wearing a crown and purple robes, rich in possessions and righteous, and weighed down with wealth and livestock, suddenly lost his riches, his glory, and his royal estate, and was reduced to poverty. If that person was righteous and blameless in everyone’s eyes, yet still didn’t escape the deceiver’s snares and traps, what will you do, wretched soul, you who love sin, if some unexpected calamity should fall upon you? I have defiled my body and stained my spirit; I am wounded through and through. But as physician, Christ, heal them both through my repentance. Wash me, cleanse me, purify me; show me to be whiter than snow, my Savior.
The Healing Power of the Cross
Christ's sacrifice on the Cross is presented as the source of cleansing, salvation, and the restoration of the soul.
Crucified for everyone, O Word, you offered your Body and Blood—your Body to remake me, your Blood to wash me clean. You gave up your spirit so that you might bring me, O Christ, to your Father. You accomplished salvation in the midst of the earth, O Creator, so that we might be saved. You willingly allowed yourself to be crucified on the wood of the cross; Eden, once closed, was opened. All things above and below, the whole creation, and all nations, now saved, worship you. Let the blood from your side become a cleansing pool for me, and let the water that flowed out for forgiveness be my drink, so that I may be cleansed in both ways—anointed and drinking your life-giving words as anointing oil and drink, O Word. I’m shut out of the bridal chamber; I have no share in the wedding or the banquet. My lamp has gone out for lack of oil; the bridal chamber was closed to me while I slept; the banquet has been eaten. And I have been bound hand and foot and thrown outside. The Church received your life-giving side as a mixing bowl, from which a twofold fountain of forgiveness and knowledge gushed out for us, prefiguring both Covenants together, the Old and the New, our Savior.✦ My life is short, full of suffering and wickedness; yet receive me in repentance and call me back to true knowledge. Don't let me become the possession or the prey of the stranger. Savior, have mercy on me yourself.✦
The Path of Humility and Return
The soul pleads for the humility of the tax collector and seeks to return to the Lawgiver.
I stand now as a sinner, bold yet foolish in my heart; do not let me be condemned along with the Pharisee, but grant me the humility of the tax collector, O Merciful One, just Judge, and count me among him. I have sinned by abusing this vessel of my flesh, I know, O Merciful One; but in repentance, take me in and call me back in understanding; let me not become a possession, nor food for another. I have become a self-idol, harming my soul with passions, O Merciful One; but in repentance, receive me and call me back in understanding; let me not become a possession, nor food for another; Savior, have mercy on me. I didn't hear your voice, I ignored your words, O Lawgiver; but in repentance, take me up, and in understanding, recall me; let me not become a possession, let me not be food for another; Savior, have mercy on me.
The Mystery of the Trinity and Incarnation
The chapter concludes with a doxology to the Triune God and a reflection on the miracle of the Virgin Birth.
I proclaim to you the one God in three persons, undivided in essence, yet distinct in persons, as co-ruling and sharing the same throne; I sing to you the great hymn that is praised thrice in the highest. You give birth and remain a virgin, and you stay a Virgin by nature through both; the one born changes the laws of nature, while the womb conceives without giving birth. God overcomes the order of nature wherever He wills, for He does whatever He wants.
Read the original Latin
Ἀκήκοεν ὁ Προφήτης τὴν ἔλευσίν σου, Κύριε, καὶ ἐφοβήθη, ὅτι μέλλεις ἐκ Παρθένου τίκτεσθαι καὶ ἀνθρώποις δείκνυσθαι, καὶ ἔλεγεν· Ἀκήκοα τὴν ἀκοήν σου καὶ ἐφοβήθην· δόξα τῇ δυνάμει σου, Κύριε.
Τὰ ἔργα σου μὴ παρίδῃς· τὸ πλάσμα σου μὴ παρόψῃ, Δικαιοκρίτα· εἰ καὶ μόνος ἥμαρτον ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὑπὲρ πάντα ἄνθρωπον, Φιλάνθρωπε· ἀλλ᾿ ἔχεις, ὡς Κύριος πάντων, τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτήματα.
Ἐγγίζει, ψυχή, τὸ τέλος, ἐγγίζει καὶ οὐ φροντίζεις, οὐχ ἑτοιμάζῃ· ὁ καιρὸς συντέμνει, διανάστηθι· ἐγγὺς ἐπὶ θύραις ὁ Κριτής ἐστιν· ὡς ὄναρ, ὡς ἄνθος ὁ χρόνος τοῦ βίου τρέχει· τί μάτην ταραττόμεθα;
Ἀνάνηψον ὦ ψυχή μου· τὰς πράξεις σου, ἃς εἰργάσω, ἀναλογίζου καὶ ταύτας ἐπ᾿ ὄψεσι προσάγαγε καὶ σταγόνας στάλαξον δακρύων σου· εἰπὲ παρρησίᾳ τὰς πράξεις, τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις Χριστῷ καὶ δικαιώθητι.
Οὐ γέγονεν ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἁμάρτημα, οὐδὲ πρᾶξις, οὐδὲ κακία, ἣν ἐγώ, Σωτήρ, οὐκ ἐπλημμέλησα κατὰ νοῦν καὶ λόγον καὶ προαίρεσιν, καὶ θέσει καὶ γνώμῃ καὶ πράξει ἐξαμαρτήσας, ὡς ἄλλος οὐδεὶς πώποτε.
Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ κατεκρίθην, ἐντεῦθεν κατεδικάσθην ἐγὼ ὁ τάλας ὑπὸ τῆς οἰκείας συνειδήσεως, ἧς οὐδὲν ἐν κόσμῳ βιαιότερον. Κριτά, λυτρωτά μου καὶ γνῶστα, φεῖσαι καὶ ῥῦσαι καὶ σῶσόν με τὸν δοῦλόν σου.
Ἡ κλῖμαξ, ἣν εἶδε πάλαι ὁ μέγας ἐν Πατριάρχαις, δεῖγμα, ψυχή μου, πρακτικῆς ὑπάρχει ἐπιβάσεως, γνωστικῆς τυγχάνει ἀναβάσεως· εἰ θέλεις οὖν πράξει, καὶ γνώσει καὶ θεωρίᾳ βιοῦν, ἀνακαινίσθητι.
Τὸν καύσωνα τῆς ἡμέρας ὑπέμεινε δι᾿ ἔνδειαν ὁ Πατριάρχης, καὶ τὸν παγετὸν τῆς νυκτὸς ἤνεγκε, καθ᾿ ἡμέραν κλέμματα ποιούμενος, ποιμαίνων, πυκτεύων, δουλεύων, ἵνα τὰς δύω γυναῖκας εἰσαγάγηται.
Γυναῖκάς μοι δύω νόει, τὴν πρᾶξίν τε καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν ἐν θεωρίᾳ· τὴν μὲν Λείαν πρᾶξιν ὡς πολύτεκνον· τὴν Ραχὴλ δὲ γνῶσιν ὡς πολύπονον· καὶ γὰρ ἄνευ πόνων οὐ πρᾶξις, οὐ θεωρία, ψυχή, κατορθωθήσεται.
Γρηγόρησον, ὦ ψυχή μου, ἀρίστευσον ὡς ὁ μέγας ἐν Πατριάρχαις, ἵνα κτήσῃ πρᾶξιν μετὰ γνώσεως, ἵνα χρηματίσῃς νοῦς ὁρῶν τὸν Θεόν, καὶ φθάσῃς τὸν ἄδυτον γνόφον ἐν θεωρίᾳ, καὶ γένῃ μεγαλέμπορος.
Τοὺς δώδεκα Πατριάρχας ὁ μέγας ἐν Πατριάρχαις παιδοποιήσας, μυστικῶς ἐστήριξέ σοι κλίμακα πρακτικῆς, ψυχή μου, ἀναβάσεως, τοὺς παῖδας ὡς βάθρα, τὰς βάσεις ὡς ἀναβάσεις πανσόφως ὑποθέμενος.
Ἠσαῦ τὸν μεμισημένον ζηλοῦσα, ψυχή, ἀπέδου τῷ πτερνιστῇ σου τὰ τοῦ πρώτου κάλλους πρωτοτόκια, καὶ τῆς πατρικῆς εὐχῆς ἐξέπεσας, καὶ δὶς ἐπτερνίσθης, ἀθλία, πράξει καὶ γνώσει· διὸ νῦν μετανόησον.
Ἐδὼμ ὁ Ἠσαῦ ἐκλήθη δι᾿ ἄκραν θηλυμανίας ἐπιμιξίαν· ἀκρασίᾳ γὰρ ἀεὶ πυρούμενος καὶ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς κατασπιλούμενος, Ἐδὼμ ὠνομάσθη, ὃ λέγεται θερμασία ψυχῆς φιλαμαρτήμονος.
Ἰὼβ τὸν ἐπὶ κοπρίας ἀκούσασα, ὦ ψυχή μου, δικαιωθέντα, τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀνδρείαν οὐκ ἐζήλωσας, τὸ στερρὸν οὐκ ἔσχες τῆς προθέσεως ἐν πᾶσιν, οἷς ἔγνως, οἷς οἶδας, οἷς ἐπειράσθης, ἀλλ᾿ ὤφθης ἀκαρτέρητος.
Ὁ πρότερον ἐπὶ θρόνου γυμνὸς νῦν ἐπὶ κοπρίας καθηλκωμένος· ὁ πολὺς ἐν τέκνοις καὶ περίβλεπτος, ἄπαις καὶ φερέοικος αἰφνίδιον· παλάτιον γὰρ τὴν κοπρίαν, καὶ μαργαρίτας τὰ ἕλκη ἐλογίζετο.
Βασίλειον τὴν ἀξίαν, διάδημα καὶ πορφύραν ἠμφιεσμένος, πολυκτήμων ἄνθρωπος καὶ δίκαιος, πλούτῳ ἐπιβρίθων καὶ βοσκήμασιν ἐξαίφνης τὸν πλοῦτον, τὴν δόξαν, τὴν βασιλείαν πτωχεύσας ἀπεκείρατο.
Εἰ δίκαιος ἦν ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἄμεμπτος παρὰ πάντας, καὶ οὐκ ἀπέδρα τὰ τοῦ πλάνου ἔνεδρα καὶ σκάμματα· σὺ φιλαμαρτήμων οὖσα, τάλαινα ψυχή, τί ποιήσεις, ἐάν τι τῶν ἀδοκήτων συμβῇ ἐπενεχθῆναί σοι;
Τὸ σῶμα κατερρυπώθην, τὸ πνεῦμα κατεσπιλώθην, ὅλος ἡλκώθην· ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἰατρός, Χριστέ, ἀμφότερα διὰ μετανοίας μοι θεράπευσον, ἀπόλουσον, κάθαρον, πλῦνον· δεῖξον χιόνος, Σωτήρ μου, καθαρώτερον.
Τὸ Σῶμά σου καὶ τὸ Αἷμα σταυρούμενος ὑπὲρ πάντων ἔθηκας, Λόγε· τὸ μὲν Σῶμα, ἵνα ἀναπλάσῃς με, τὸ δὲ Αἷμα, ἵνα ἀποπλύνῃς με· τὸ πνεῦμα παρέδωκας, ἵνα ἐμὲ προσάξῃς, Χριστέ, τῷ σῷ Γεννήτορι.
Εἰργάσω τὴν σωτηρίαν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς, ὁ Κτίστης, ἵνα σωθῶμεν· ἑκουσίως ξύλῳ ἀνεσταύρωσαι· ἡ Ἐδὲμ κλεισθεῖσα ἀνεῴγνυτο· τὰ ἄνω, τὰ κάτω, ἡ κτίσις, τὰ ἔθνη πάντα σωθέντα προσκυνοῦσί σε.
Γενέσθω μοι κολυμβήθρα τὸ Αἷμα τὸ ἐκ πλευρᾶς σου, ἅμα καὶ πόμα, τὸ πηγάσαν ὕδωρ τῆς ἀφέσεως, ἵνα ἑκατέρωθεν καθαίρωμαι, χριόμενος, πίνων, ὡς χρῖσμα καὶ πόμα, Λόγε, τὰ ζωηρά σου λόγια.
Γυμνός εἰμι τοῦ Νυμφῶνος, γυμνός εἰμι καὶ τοῦ γάμου, ἅμα καὶ δείπνου· ἡ λαμπὰς ἐσβέσθη ὡς ἀνέλαιος· ἡ παστὰς ἐκλείσθη μοι καθεύδοντι· τὸ δεῖπνον ἐβρώθη· ἐγὼ δὲ χεῖρας καὶ πόδας δεθεὶς ἔξω ἀπέρριμμαι.
Κρατῆρα ἡ Ἐκκλησία ἐκτήσατο τὴν Πλευράν σου τὴν ζωηφόρον, ἐξ ἧς ὁ διπλοῦς ἡμῖν ἐξέβλυσε κρουνὸς τῆς ἀφέσεως καὶ γνώσεως, εἰς τύπον τῆς πάλαι, τῆς νέας, τῶν δύω ἅμα Διαθηκῶν, Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν.
Ὁ χρόνος ὁ τῆς ζωῆς μου ὀλίγος καὶ πλήρης πόνων καὶ πονηρίας· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν μετανοίᾳ με παράλαβε καὶ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ἀνακάλεσαι· μὴ γένωμαι κτῆμα, μὴ βρῶμα τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου· Σωτήρ, αὐτός με οἴκτειρον.
Ὑψήγορος νῦν ὑπάρχω, θρασὺς δὲ καὶ τὴν καρδίαν εἰκῇ καὶ μάτην· μὴ τῷ Φαρισαίῳ συγκαταδικάσῃς με, μᾶλλον τοῦ Τελώνου τὴν ταπείνωσιν παράσχου μοι, μόνε Οἰκτίρμον, δικαιοκρίτα, καὶ τούτῳ συναρίθμησον.
Ἐξήμαρτον ἐνυβρίσας τὸ σκεῦος τὸ τῆς σαρκός μου, οἶδα, Οἰκτίρμον· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν μετανοίᾳ με παράλαβε καὶ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ἀνακάλεσαι· μὴ γένωμαι κτῆμα, μὴ βρῶμα τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου· Σωτήρ, αὐτός με οἴκτειρον.
Αὐτείδωλον ἐγενόμην, τοῖς πάθεσι τὴν ψυχήν μου βλάπτων, Οἰκτίρμον· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν μετανοίᾳ με παράλαβε, καὶ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ἀνακάλεσαι· μὴ γένωμαι κτῆμα, μὴ βρῶμα τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου· Σωτήρ, αὐτός με οἴκτειρον.
Οὐκ ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς σου, παρήκουσα τῆς γραφῆς σου, τοῦ Νομοθέτου· ἀλλ᾿ ἐν μετανοίᾳ με παράλαβε, καὶ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ἀνακάλεσαι· μὴ γένωμαι κτῆμα, μὴ βρῶμα τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου· Σωτήρ, αὐτός με οἴκτειρον.
Ἀμέριστον τῇ οὐσίᾳ, ἀσύγχυτον τοῖς προσώποις θεολογῶ σε τὴν Τριαδικὴν μίαν Θεότητα, ὡς ὁμοβασίλειον καὶ σύνθρονον· βοῶ σοι τὸ ᾎσμα τὸ μέγα, τὸ ἐν ὑψίστοις τρισσῶς ὑμνολογούμενον.
Καὶ τίκτεις, καὶ παρθενεύεις, καὶ μένεις δι᾿ ἀμφοτέρων φύσει Παρθένος· ὁ τεχθεὶς καινίζει νόμους φύσεως, ἡ νηδὺς δὲ κύει μὴ λοχεύουσα. Θεὸς ὅπου θέλει, νικᾶται φύσεως τάξις· ποιεῖ γὰρ ὅσα βούλεται.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Jas.5.9 — Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing at the doors.
- ↩Gen.29.15-Gen.29.30 — Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my kinsman, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?" Gen.29.16 — Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Gen.29.17 — Leah's eyes were tender, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. Gen.29.18 — And Jacob loved Rachel, and he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter." Gen.29.19 — And Laban said, 'It is better that I give her to you than that I give her to another man. Stay with me.' Gen.29.20 — And Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they were in his eyes like a few days, because of his love for her. Gen.29.21 — Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, so let me go in to her." Gen.29.22 — Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. Gen.29.23 — And it was evening, and he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him, and he went in to her. Gen.29.24 — And Laban gave Zilpah his servant to his daughter Leah as a servant. Gen.29.25 — And it came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?" Gen.29.26 — And Laban said, "This is not done in our place — giving the younger before the firstborn." Gen.29.27 — Complete the week of this one, and we will give you this one also, for the service that you will serve with me—seven more years. Gen.29.28 — And Jacob did so and completed the week of this one, and he gave Rachel his daughter to him as a wife. Gen.29.29 — And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his maidservant, to her as a maidservant. Gen.29.30 — And he went in also to Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and he served with him yet seven other years.
- ↩John.19.34 — But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
- ↩Job.14.1 — Man, born of woman, is short of days and full of turmoil.
Notes
The Great Canon companion
Never lose the rhythm again
Chosen Portion delivers your morning, midday and night office to your phone — the Hours, without the bells.
Chosen Portion is a modern Book of Hours: it turns the fixed-hour structure this collection preserves into scheduled, tappable daily prayer on your phone.
- Three daily prayer moments scheduled around your real calendar, not a monastery's
- Psalms and historic prayers sequenced for you — no page-flipping or decision fatigue
- A visible streak of completed offices, so the rhythm compounds instead of collapsing