Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center Great Feast of Pentecost - Monday after - Vespers

These prayers are called "Kneeling Prayers" because they mark the first time we kneel after the 50-day celebration of the Feast of Feasts Holy and Glorious Pascha. Kneeling is forbidden during this 50-day celebration.

There are several prayers before "Kneeling Prayers". The priest, cantor, and people do not kneel until the beginning of the first "Kneeling Prayer". The priest says "Again and again on bent knees let us pray to the Lord." Everyone kneels. After the kneeling prayer, everyone stands for the short prayers between each "Kneeling Prayer". This process is done three times. There are several prayers after the "Kneeling Prayers".

Some parishes do the "Kneeling Prayers" at the end of the Divine Liturgy on the the Great Feast of Pentecost or after a lucheon after the the Divine Liturgy on the the Great Feast of Pentecost.

Kneeling Prayers

The First Prayer

Again and again on bent knees let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

O LORD MOST PURE and free from corruption, You exist from all eternity, invisible and beyond understanding beyond the probing of our minds, unchanging, unsurpassable, immeasurable and long-suffering, the only Immortal One. Your dwelling, O Lord, is a throne of light : You are the Creator of heaven and earth and of the seas and all that creeps in them; You fill our needs even before we ask : to You we pray. We beseech You now, Master and Lover of Mankind, Father of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and, through the Holy Spirit, were incarnate of the Virgin Mary, the glorious Mother of God; who first taught us in words, and then confirmed your teaching through marvelous deeds; who by accepting the Passion that procured salvation, gave us, unworthy sinners and lowly servants, a perfect example of prayer, showing us how to pray, on bended knees and with heads bowed, because of our sins and the people's unawareness: most merciful Lord and Lover of Mankind, hear our supplication whenever we utter it, and especially on this present day of Pentecost on which our Lord Jesus Christ went up to heaven and was enthroned at your right, O God the Father, and on which He sent down his Holy Spirit upon each of the apostles, so that they would be filled with divine grace and be made to sing your Majesty in different tongues, and to prophesy.
Wherefore, O God, we beseech You : hear our prayers, remember us, lowly and guilty as we are; recall our souls from the captivity of sin and accept us who kneel down before You : for in You we have a kind and loving Father.
Since the very day we were formed in the womb, You are our God. Because we have spent our days in vain endeavors, we have lost all valid defense, and yet we still trust in your bountiful love and cry out to You : " Remember not the sins of our youth, cleanse us of our secret misdeeds, forsake us not in our old age, remain with us while our strength is failing, make us worthy of returning to You before we return to the earth. Set up your compassion against our iniquities and your great love and kindness against our transgressions; from the heights of your holiness, look down upon your people who await from You generous mercy. Visit us with your goodness, deliver us from the devil, guard our lives within your laws and commandments, commit us to the care of an angel, a faithful guide of our souls and bodies, and gather us all into your kingdom. For mercy and salvation are from You, Christ our God, and we send up glory to You and to your Eternal Father, and to your All-Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and always and for ever and ever.

Amen.

The Second Prayer

Again and again on bent knees let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

O Lord Jesus Christ Our God who bestowed your peace upon the world, and while we were still on earth, procured for us the gift of the Holy Spirit as an inheritance that shall never be taken from us today You send in a visible manner upon your disciples and apostles this same grace by which you place tongues of fire in their mouths and upon their lips, And all of us. and all mankind, receive the seed of the knowledge of God on our own tongue and in our own mind. We have become enlightened with the radiance of the Spirit who delivered us from error as from total darkness Through the distribution of visible tongues of fire, and through their mysterious action, we have learned the Faith, and how to glorify You : for together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, you are our God, our Light and our Majesty.
O Splendor of the Father, Image of his essence, of his immutable and unchangeable nature, Fountain of Wisdom and Grace : enlighten the intelligence of a poor sinner. 'Teach me how and for whom to pray, oh, teach me, for You know how great a sinner I am your love will overcome the enormity of my sins. I stand in awe before You, surrendering my soul to your great merely. Guide my life along your ways, for You are Infinite Wisdom and the Ordainer of the whole creation. Show me the road that I must walk; grant wisdom to my soul and understanding to my ignorance; cover my deeds with the spirit of fear; renew the propel- dispositions in my soul, let your Spirit support my stumbling mind, that I may be made worthy to do as You will, and accomplish whatever is good for my salvation. Let me be constantly aware of your presence and of your future coming in glory, protect me against the corrupting pleasures of the world and strengthen me in the hope of the treasures to come, O Master, for You said: " Whatever you ask in my name, you shall receive from God the Father" who is from all eternity. Wherefore on this day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, L a poor sinner-, cast myself down before your goodness grant me whatever is good for salvation, for You are all compassion and kindness.
For our sake, You took flesh, remaining without sin, becoming indeed a propitiation for Our sins. Wherefore, O Lord, grant us your bounty, hear us from your holy heaven, sanctify us, shelter us beneath the shadow of your wings, and do not turn away from us. O Lord, we may have sinned against You, but we serve You alone : we adore no other God, nor do we stretch out our hands before any other than You. Pardon our iniquities and accept our prayer which we utter before You on bent knees. Receive the petitions of all men as if it were incense rising to your throne and acceptable to You. Through the loving kindness of your only-begotten Son, with whom You are blessed, together with your All-Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and always and for ever and ever.

Amen.

The Third Prayer

Again and again on bent knees let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

O CHRIST OUR GOD, ever-flowing Fountain, Giver of Life, Light of us all, mighty Creator coeternal with the Father : You fulfilled the plan of our redemption in the most magnificent fashion; You broke the indestructible chains of death and trampled the evil spirits; You offered Yourself as a blameless sacrifice for our sins and procured eternal life for us; You went down into Hades to raise the souls that had been wrapped in its darkness. O Wisdom of the Father, powerful Helper of the Distressed, Light of those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death: You are the Lord of everlasting glory, the beloved Son of the Most High, Eternal Light of Eternal Light. Hear our supplications and grant repose to the souls of your servants, our fathers and brothers, our relations by blood, and all those who professed the Faith whose commemoration we celebrate today.

O Master Almighty, God of our Fathers, Lord of all mercy and Creator of all things living and non-living and of all the nations of the world: You have power over all, You are the Lord of life and death, You have counted the years of life and appointed the hour of death. You order the things of life according to their needs and fittingly dispose what is to come; You raise the dead, returning them to life : You are indeed the Master of all men, our God and Savior, the hope of the world, the safety of those at sea. On this last day of the feast of Pentecost, You have revealed to us the mystery of the Holy Trinity, one in essence, coeternal, undivided and yet distinct. Through the descent of your Holy and Life-Giving Spirit in the form of tongues of fire, You poured out faith upon your apostles and made them witnesses and teachers of the Word of God. On this perfect and salutary Feast, make us worthy to utter supplications in favor of those imprisoned in Hades, O Lord, for You promised to grant relief to the dead from the afflictions besetting them, and to send down consolation and repose upon them. Accept then our prayers, give rest to the souls of your departed servants, in a place of delight and refreshment, where there is no pain, sorrow or sighing; establish them in peace and joy in the mansions of the just. O Lord, the dead send up no praise to You, nor do those who dwell in Hades dare to offer glory to You: but we the living will bless You, and send up our supplications and sacrifices for their souls and our own : for You are the Peace of our souls and bodies, and we send up glory to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and always and for ever and ever.

Amen.

Text to be downloaded

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More Information

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Liturgical Cycle

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