Scroll back to November 29 for an introduction to this 13 part prayer.
Kontakion 4
How filled with sweetness are those whose thoughts dwell on you; how life-giving your holy Word. To speak with you is more soothing than anointing with oil; sweeter than the honeycomb. To pray to you lifts the spirit, refreshes the soul. Where you are not, there is only emptiness; hearts are smitten with sadness; nature, and life itself, become sorrowful; where you are, the soul is filled with abundance, and its song resounds like a torrent of life. Alleluia!
Ikos 4
*When the sun is setting, when quietness falls like the peace of eternal sleep, and the silence of the spent day reigns, then in the splendor of its declining rays, filtering through the clouds, I see your dwelling-place: fiery and purple, gold and blue, they speak prophet-like of the ineffable beauty of your presence, and call to us in their majesty. We turn to the Father.
*Glory to you, at the hushed hour of nightfall;
glory to you, covering the earth with peace.
Glory to you, for the last ray of the sun as it sets;
glory to you, for sleep's repose that restores us.
Glory to you, for your goodness even in the darkness
when all the world is hidden from our eyes.
Glory to you, for the prayers offered by a trembling soul.
Glory to you, for the pledge of our reawakening.
on that glorious last day, that day which has no evening.
Glory to you, O God, from age to age.
* When I was a young priest I had dinner in a waterfront restaurant with a large outdoor deck filled with a happy but somewhat boozy crowd. As the sun sank down into the western waters and the sky was filled with brilliant colors, everyone stopped talking, watched and applauded. I imagine if we were stone sober, attentive and awake, we could spend the whole day applauding. Unless of course, we had to spend the day going round and round in a treeless parking lot, or up and down in a dark, cement garage.
* We may recall that Bishop Tryphon who composed this prayer, lived in the Soviet Union and the priest-martyr, Gregory Petroff, prayed this prayer imprisoned in a concentration camp.
