As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, so are our eyes on the Lord, our God, till He have pity on us. Have pity on us, O Lord, have pity on us.

To You I lift up my eyes, Who are enthroned in heaven.

As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, so are our eyes on the Lord, our God, till He have pity on us. Have pity on us, O Lord, have pity on us.

O God, our Saviour, direct our minds by Your heavenly teaching, so that the Lenten fast may profit us.

Lesson from the Prophecy of Ezechiel

Thus says the Lord God: I Myself will look after and tend My sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend My sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel in the land’s ravines and all its inhabited places. In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will pasture My sheep; I Myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and the strong I will preserve, shepherding them rightly, says the Lord almighty.

Behold, O God, our Protector, and look upon Your servants.

O Lord God of Hosts, hear the prayers of Your servants.

O Lord, deal with us not according to our sins, nor requite us according to our crimes.

O Lord, remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may Your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. (kneel)

Help us, O God, our Saviour, because of the glory of Your Name, O Lord; deliver us and pardon our sins for Your Name’s sake.

Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: When the Son of Man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory; and before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the king will say to those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; naked and you covered Me; sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the just will answer Him, saying; ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You; or thirsty, and give you to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and take You in; or naked, and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And, answering, the king will say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it for one of these, the least of My brethren, you did it for Me.’ Then He will say to those on His left hand, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give Me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did not do it for one of these least ones, you did not do it for Me.’ And these will go into everlasting punishment, but the just into everlasting life.

I will lift up my eyes, that I may consider Your wonders, O Lord; teach me Your statutes; give me discernment that I may learn Your commands.

Sanctify the gifts offered unto You, O Lord, and cleanse us from the stains of our sins.

Amen I say to you: What you did for one of these, the least of My brethren, you did for Me: come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Refreshed by the sacramental gift of Your salvation, we humbly beseech You, O Lord, that, enjoying its savor, we may be made new by its action.

Let us pray.

Bow your heads to God.

Loose the bonds of our sins, we beseech You, O Lord, and mercifully turn aside whatever punishment we deserve for them.