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For Services of the Holy Sophia
in the Month of September
THE COLLECT
Blessed Sophia, we dedicate our selves to thee, the thoughts we think, the words we speak, the deeds we perform. We implore thee to take it all to thyself and make it thine.
Sophia be in our head and in our understanding; Sophia be in our eyes and in our perception; Sophia be in our mouth and in our speaking; Sophia be in our heart and in our gnosis; Sophia be with us in all our beginnings and our ending. Be with us through our earthly lives; and though we may, in our ignorance forget thee, do not, our blessed Queen, be ever far from us.
Amen.
THE LESSON
The Lesson is taken from the Exegesis of the Soul:
Wise men of old gave the soul a feminine name. Indeed, she is female in her nature as well; she even has a womb. As long as she was alone with the Father, she was virgin and, in form, androgynous. But when she fell down into a body and came to this life, she fell into the hands of many robbers. The evil creatures passed her from one to another; some took her by force, others seduced her with a gift. They defiled her and she lost her innocence. Such was the plight and great grief of the soul.
THE GOSPEL
The Gospel is taken from the Book of Ecclesiasticus:
Sophia, that is Wisdom, is from the true God, and hath been always with him, and is before all time. Who hath numbered the sand and the sea, and the drops of rain, and the days of the world? Who hath measured the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss? Who hath searched out the wisdom of God that goeth before all things? Wisdom hath been created before all things, and her understanding of prudence from everlasting. The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom; and her ways are everlasting commandments. To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed: and who hath known her wise counsels? To whom hath the discipline of wisdom been revealed and made manifest; and who hath understood the multiplicity of her steps? God created her in the Holy Spirit, and saw her, and numbered her and measured her. And he poured her out upon all his works, and upon all flesh according to his gift: and hath given her to them that love him.