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Daily Readings
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Sunday, 26th October 2014 --- 16 Babah 1731
Readings for Third Sunday of Babah
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 70 : 4 - 4
Chapter 70
| 4 | Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, "Let God be magnified!"
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Vespers Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 4 : 35 - 41
Chapter 4
| 35 | On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."
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| 36 | Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.
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| 37 | And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
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| 38 | But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
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| 39 | Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
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| 40 | But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"
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| 41 | And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 56 : 11 - 13
Chapter 56
| 11 | In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
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| 12 | Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You,
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| 13 | For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Luke 24 : 1 - 12
Chapter 24
| 1 | Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
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| 2 | But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
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| 3 | Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
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| 4 | And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.
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| 5 | Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?
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| 6 | He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,
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| 7 | saying, "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."'
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| 8 | And they remembered His words.
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| 9 | Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
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| 10 | It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.
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| 11 | And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.
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| 12 | But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Liturgy Gospel
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Corinthians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
1 Corinthians 16 : 12 - 24
Chapter 16
| 12 | Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time.
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| 13 | Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
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| 14 | Let all that you do be done with love.
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| 15 | I urge you, brethren--you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints--
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| 16 | that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us.
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| 17 | I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied.
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| 18 | For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.
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| 19 | The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
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| 20 | All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
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| 21 | The salutation with my own hand--Paul's.
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| 22 | If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!
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| 23 | The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
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| 24 | My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. James .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
James 4 : 7 - 17
Chapter 4
| 7 | Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
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| 8 | Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
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| 9 | Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
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| 10 | Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
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| 11 | Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
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| 12 | There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
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| 13 | Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";
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| 14 | whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
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| 15 | Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
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| 16 | But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
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| 17 | Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
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Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.
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Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 15 : 4 - 12
Chapter 15
| 4 | And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.
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| 5 | But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."
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| 6 | Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
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| 7 | And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
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| 8 | So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,
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| 9 | and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
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| 10 | Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
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| 11 | But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they."
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| 12 | Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
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The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
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Synaxarium
Day 16 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Babah, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Sixteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Babah
Departure of St.Agathon, the Thirty-Ninth
Pope of Alexandria
On this day of the year
673 A.D., the holy father, the Patriarch Abba Agathon, 39th Pope of Alexandria,
departed. He was a disciple to the holy father Abba Benjamin, 38th Pope.
Abba Benjamin disappeared for a period of time from the face of his Chalcedonian
persecutors and left Agathon to preach to the believers and establish them
in the Orthodox faith. Agathon went around the streets and markets in the
daytime wearing a carpenter's apparel, and during the night wearing a priest's
uniform. He went around the houses also preaching and instructing the believers.
He kept doing this till the Arab conquest of Egypt and the return of the
father the Patriarch Abba Benjamin to his chair. When Pope Benjamin departed,
this saint was chosen to the honorable rank of Patriarch. He faced great
tribulations for the sake of keeping the Orthodox faith. For example, a
man whose name was Theodosius, a Malachite, went to the city of Damascus
and came before Yazeed-Eben-Moawia, the Arab Governor of Damascus. He gave
him much money and took from him an order to appoint him the Governor of
Alexandria, Behira and Marriot. When he became in charge of this position,
he afflicted our father the Patriarch and levied great taxes on him. Because
of the excessive evil of the Governor, and what he did to the father the
Patriarch, the people hated and avoided him. He put forth an order that
any man who might find the Patriarch on his way should slay him. The Patriarch
remained in his cell until God destroyed that evil Governor. In the days
of this father, the building of St. Macarius' church in his monastery at
Wadi-El Natroun was completed.
One night the angel of the
Lord appeared to him and told him about a holy monk from the monastery
of St. Macarius whose name was John and who lived in Fayyum. The angel
ordered him to bring him to help in preaching and teaching the people.
The angel told him that he would be Patriarch after him. Abba Agathon sent
and brought him and delivered to him the work of the churches, their organization,
teaching the believers and preaching to them.
Abba Agathon remained in the papacy for 19 years and departed in peace.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Commemoration of the Saints Karbu and
Apollos and Peter
On this day also is the
commemoration of the saints Karbu, Apollos and Peter the disciple of Abba
Isaiah the Anchorite.
May their prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God
forever. Amen.
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Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 70 : 6 - 7
Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matthew 12 : 22 - 28
Chapter 12
| 22 | Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
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| 23 | And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
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| 24 | Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."
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| 25 | But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
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| 26 | If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
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| 27 | And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
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| 28 | But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page