06/17/2026
O blessed and holy women, who followed Christ in faith and love, and dwell now in the mansions of the heavenly Father! I, a sinner, now come, humbly imploring you: Teach me, and help me to walk before God in your steps without stumbling, and with you to inherit eternal life. O righteous Martha, who didst please Christ by your firm confession of faith: strengthen my weak faith. O thou who didst serve God and thy neighbor with zeal and sincerity, help me to labor with all my soul and without complaint. When thy sister was sorrowful, thou didst call her to Christ, saying secretly: “The Master is here, and calleth thee.” Help me now in this difficult when my faith and love are tested, and tell me in the depths of my heart that the Lord Jesus is coming invisibly to draw me to Himself by means of tribulationsO holy Mother, beg our Lord to impart strength and vitality unto me, that I may quickly rise up and bow down before Him, and in His humble love find peace and salvation of soul. And thou, O God-loving Mary, who didst find the one thing needful at the feet of Jesus: Entreat Him that I, a sinner, may obtain the better portion with the saved. O thou who didst bring fragrant ointment as a thank-offering to Christ, the Bestower of Life, beseech Him to grant to my soul the myrrh of prayer and tears of repentance, and the sweet savor of pure and holy works, that by these the Lord may enter into my purified heart and there make His abode. I cast myself at your feet, O holy and righteous Martha and Mary, and humbly pray: Forsake me not in days of difficult trials, lest I be tempted by the corrupt and beautiful things of this world. Stand by me, especially at the bitter hour of the separation of my soul and body, and beseech our common Master to look upon me with a merciful eye, for my strength faileth, and to forgive me all my sins, and to raise me up unto life everlasting in the blessed mansions of the heavenly Father. Amen.
(From "Akathist Hymn to Saints Martha & Mary, The Sisters of Righteous Lazarus," Damascene Press, 2026)
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