Adapted directly from Fr. Ted’s blog, frted.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/prayers-for-the-increase-of-love-the-uprooting-of-animosity/,
which, in turn is from The Great Book of Needs, Volume III, St. Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, 1999, pp. 34-39.
Blessed is our God, always, now and ever and forever. Amen.
Psalm 135
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his love endures forever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his love endures forever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his love endures forever;
who alone has wrought marvelous works,
for his love endures forever;
whose wisdom it was that made the skies,
for his love endures forever;
who fixed the earth firmly on the seas,
for his love endures forever.
It was he who made the great lights,
for his love endures forever;
the sun to rule in the day,
for his love endures forever;
the moon and the stars in the night,
for his love endures forever.
The first-born of the Egyptians he smote,
for his love endures forever.
He brought Israel out from the midst,
for his love endures forever;
arm outstretched, with power in his hand,
for his love endures forever.
He divided the Red Sea in two,
for his love endures forever;
he made Israel pass through the midst,
for his love endures forever;
he flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea,
for his love endures forever.
Through the desert his people he led,
for his love endures forever.
Nations in their greatness he struck,
for his love endures forever.
Kings in their splendor he slew,
for his love endures forever.
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his love endures forever;
and Og, the king of Bashan,
for his love endures forever.
He let Israel inherit their land,
for his love endures forever.
On his servant their land he bestowed,
for his love endures forever.
He remembered us in our distress,
for his love endures forever.
And he snatched us away from our foes,
for his love endures forever.
He gives food to all living things,
for his love endures forever.
To the God of heaven, give thanks,
for his love endures forever.
Litany of Peace
In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
For peace from on high and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
For peace in the whole world, for the stability of the holy Churches of God, and for the union of all, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
For this holy church and for all who enter it with faith, reverence, and fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
For our holy father (Name), Pope of Rome, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
For our most reverend Metropolitan (Name), for our God-loving Bishop (Name), for the venerable presbyterate, the diaconate in Christ, and all the clergy and people, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
For our government and for all in the service of our country, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
For this city [or For this holy monastery], for every city, community, and for the faithful living in them, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
For favorable weather, for an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
For those who travel by sea, air, and land, for the sick, the suffering, the captive and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That we may be cleansed of our sins and transgressions which have dried up in us love for him and for our neighbor, and that it may be established by the power, action and grace of his all-holy Spirit, and rooted in all our hearts, let us pray fervently to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That there may be planted and rooted in us by the grace of his all-holy Spirit the new commandment of his New Testament: that we love one another, and not merely satisfy ourselves, but rather always strive for his glory and the building-up or our neighbor, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That there may be uprooted in us hatred, envy and jealousy and all other passions which destroy brotherly love, and that there may be planted unfeigned love, fervently let us pray fervently to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That there may be kindled in us the fervent love of God and our neighbor by the grace of his Most-holy Spirit, and thus burn out to the very roots the passions of all our souls and bodies, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That there may be uprooted in us the passions of self-love, and rooted instead the virtue of brotherly love by the power of his all-holy Spirit, with broken and contrite hearts let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That we may not love the world and that which is in the world, but rather have true love for God and his glory, and that we may love that which is profitable and for the salvation of our neighbor, so that we may ever gaze on the good things prepared in heaven, and that we may seek these with all our souls, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That truly we may love, not just our friends and brothers, but also our enemies, and do that which is good to those who hate us, with the power, action and grace of his all-holy Spirit moving us, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That we may examine ourselves, condemn ourselves, and ever looking upon our own transgressions, humble ourselves before God and before everyone, never judging our brothers or sisters, but loving them as our very self, by the power, action and grace of his all-holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That we may imitate the burning love of the Christians in ancient times for God and neighbor, and that we may be their heirs and successors, not only in word, but in true action, by the power, action and grace of the all-holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That he may keep us immovable in the true faith, in peace and the unity of burning love, increasing in all virtues, and preserve us unharmed from all soul-corrupting passions, by the power, action and grace of the all-holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
That we be delivered from all affliction, wrath, and need, let us pray to the Lord.
R: Lord, have mercy.
Protect us, save us, have mercy on us, and preserve us, O God, by your grace.
R: Lord, have mercy.
Commemorating our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.
R: To you, O Lord.
O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, you gave a new commandment to your disciples, that they should love one another. Accept these prayers for the remission of all the sins of your right-believing servants. And by your Holy Spirit renew in us love for your goodness and for neighbor, which has waxed cold in us. Establish this with strength in our hearts, that, fulfilling your commandments, we seek not on earth our own ends, but that which is to your glory, the building up of our neighbor, and for salvation.
For to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is due all glory, honor, and worship, now and ever and forever.
R: Amen.
Troparion, Tone 4:
You bound your Apostles in the bonds of love, O Christ, and have firmly bound us, your faithful servants, to yourself, that we may fulfill your commandments and have unfeigned love for one another, through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Only Lover of us all.
- Glory … Now and ever … Kontakion, Tone 5:
Kindle our hearts with flames of love for you, O Christ God, that being inflamed by this, in heart, mind and soul, we may love you with all our strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, and that keeping your commandments, we may glorify you the Giver of all good.
Prokeimenon, Tone 7:
I will love you, O Lord, my strength, my rock, my fortress, my savior.
- My God is my helper, and I will hope in him.
Epistle: 1 John 3:10-24
Beloved: no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother. For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous. Do not be amazed, then, brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.
Alleluia, Tone 4:
- O God, send your truth and your love.
- For the Lord loves mercy and truth; he will give us his favor and glory.
Gospel: John 13:31-35
Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Litany of Fervent Supplication
Let us all say with our whole soul and with our whole mind, let us say:
- Lord, have mercy.
O Lord almighty, God of our fathers, we pray you, hear and have mercy.
- Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, O God, according to your great mercy, we pray you, hear and have mercy.
- Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
Again we pray for our holy father (Name), pope of Rome, and for our most reverend metropolitan (Name), for our God-loving bishop (Name), for those who serve and have served in this holy church, for our spiritual fathers, and for all our brothers and sisters in Christ.
- Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
Again we pray for our government and for all in the service of our country.
- Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
O Lord our God, in your mercy, as you are good, look down upon the ground of our heart in which love has dried up, cruelly overgrown with the thorns of hatred, self-love, and innumerable transgressions. And as you are the Source of all good, fervently we entreat you: having released a drop of the grace of your all-holy Spirit, richly bedew it that it may bear fruit, and make it increase, out of burning love for you, the root of all virtues – the fear of you – as also vigilant solicitude for the salvation of our neighbor, and the uprooting of all passions, evils of various forms, and hypocrisy, and as the Lover of humanity quickly hear us and have mercy.
- Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
O Master who gave a new commandment to your disciples that they should love one another, renew this by the grace of your All-holy Spirit acting in our souls and hearts, that we will never become selfish, but always endeavor to please you and strive for the salvation of our neighbor and pay close attention to that which is beneficial, we pray you, the merciful Giver of all that is good, hear us and graciously have mercy.
- Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
You gave the first and greatest commandment, that we should love you, our God and Creator, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, and a second, like it, that we should love our neighbor as ourselves, and that on both of these hangs the Law and the Prophets. Having taught us to fulfill these commandments in deed, convince all of us by the grace of your all-holy Spirit, that pleasing you, our Savior, through the salvation of our neighbor, we may receive your promised blessings, for, fervently falling down before you, our Master and Savior, we beseech you, quickly hear us and graciously have mercy.
- Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
That we may be perfected in your love, O our God, constrain us, by the grace of your Spirit, O Master, to have sincere love for our neighbor. For, to suppose that we have love for you, but hate our brother or sister, is a lie and to walk in darkness. Therefore, O Merciful One, that there be kindled in our souls and hearts love for you and for our brother or sister, we pray you, as you are merciful, quickly hear us, and as you are compassionate, have mercy.
- Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
O all-compassionate Lord, by the grace of your all-holy Spirit, establish in us your love, that we may truly love, not only our brothers, sisters and friends, but, according to your divine command, our enemies, as well, and do good to those who hate us, striving sincerely for their salvation, we pray you, O wellspring of good and depth of love for us all, quickly hear us, and, as you are tenderhearted, have mercy.
- Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
Again we pray for the people here present who await your great and abundant mercy, for those who show us mercy, and for all Christians of the true faith.
- Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
Lord our God, accept this fervent supplication from your servants and have mercy on us according to your abundant mercies. Be compassionate to us and to all your people who expect rich mercies from you. For you are a merciful and loving God, and we give glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever.
- Amen.