Received these in a newsletter, thought some might find them edifying. The Lenten Triodion is the liturgical service book used by the Orthodox Church beginning ten weeks before Pascha and through Pascha. Here are some excerpts from the services.

Monday of the First Week of Great Lent:

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"Come, O ye people, and today let us accept the grace of the Fast as a gift from God and as a time for repentance, in which we may find mercy with the Savior. The time for combat is at hand and has begun already; let all of us set forth eagerly upon the course of the Fast, offering our virtues as gifts to the Lord."

"Armed with fasting, Elijah the wonderful was taken up in a chariot of fire; through fasting Moses received a vision of secret mysteries; and if we also fast like them, we shall see Christ."

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Tuesday of the First Week of Great Lent:

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"Through fasting let us all ascend the mountain of virtuous action, forsaking the sensual temptations that creep upon the ground. Let us enter into the darkness of holy visions; by the divine and mystical ascent let us become godlike, and let us look only upon Christ our beloved in His beauty."

"Showing joyfulness of soul in the Fast, let us not be of a sad countenance; for the change in our way of life during these blessed days will help us to gain holiness."

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Wednesday of the First Week of Great Lent:

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"From the tree of the Cross there grows for all the world the flower of abstinence. Let us then accept the Fast with love and take pleasure in the fruit of Christ's divine commandments."

"While fasting in the body, brethren, let us also fast in spirit. Let us loose every bond of iniquity; let us undo the knots of every contract made by violence; let us tear up all unjust agreements; let us give bread to the hungry and welcome the poor who have no roof to cover them, that we may receive great mercy from Christ our God."

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Thursday of the First Week of Great Lent:

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"Let us abstain from every pleasure; through fasting let us enrich our powers of perception, and gladly let us drink the cup of compunction, as we sing: O ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord.

"Great is the power of Thy Cross! It has made the flower of abstinence to grow within the Church; it has stripped bare and uprooted the sinful greed that Adam showed in Eden. Adam's greed brought death to men, but the Cross brings immortality and incorruption to the world. As though from some new river of Paradise, there flows from it the quickening stream of Thy Blood mingled with water, restoring all to life. Through this Thy Cross make sweet the Fast for us, O God of Israel, great in mercy."

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Friday of the First Week of Great Lent:

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"O merciful Lord, who art the source and fountain of purity, preserve us in the Fast. Look upon us as we fall before Thee: be attentive to the lifting up of our hands, O Thou who hast stretched out Thine hands upon the Tree and wast crucified for the sake of all those born on the earth, the only Lord of the angelic powers."

"Come, ye faithful, and in the light let us perform the works of God; let us walk honestly as in the day. Let us cast away every unjust accusation against our neighbor, not placing any cause of stumbling in his path. Let us lay aside the pleasures of the flesh, and increase the spiritual gifts of our soul. Let us give bread to those in need, and let us draw near unto Christ, crying in penitence: O our God, have mercy on us."

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Thanks for sharing these.

For the Third Sunday of Lent, The Veneration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

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With grateful souls let us accept the Fast: for by the power of the Spirit it makes the stubborn passions wither, and gives us strength to do the works of God; it makes our mind ascend to heaven, and gains for us the forgiveness of our sins from the God of all mercy.

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Come, let us all greet the time of holy abstinence with cymbals and with songs of praise; for through the Fast spiritually we trample underfoot the serpent, from whom all evil takes its origin. Therefore let us cry with boldness unto Christ: Grant us, Savior, without condemnation to look upon Thy precious Cross and to venerate it, keeping joyful feast with psalms and hymns.

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Gladdened by the fast and greatly rejoicing in song, gaining mastery over all the passions through our prayers, let us trample underfoot the snares of the devil, and cry aloud with one accord to Christ: Count us worthy to look upon Thy Cross, in Thy compassion granting us great mercy.

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Moses, having found in fasting a means of purification, spoke with God who alone is pure. O my soul, be purified by fasting, and so draw near to the God of love.

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As we continue the joyful celebration of the Fast, we cry aloud: Keep us in all peace, O Lord, deliver us from every snare of the enemy, and in Thy surpassing love count us worthy to venerate with fear Thy precious Cross, through which Thou grantest to the inhabited earth Thy mercy, of Thou who alone art merciful.

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O Cross of Christ, thou art our light, our holy token and ensign of victory. Make abstinence sweet for us and count us worthy to venerate thee.

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Thy lifegiving Cross, O Lord, is my seal unto salvation: for by its virtue I overthrow the adversary and praise Thee as God mighty in power.

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