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Daily Readings
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Saturday, 3rd December 2016 --- 24 Hatour 1733
Readings for Saturday, 3rd December 2016 --- 24 Hatour 1733
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 97 : 7 - 8
Chapter 97
| 7 | Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.
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| 8 | Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments, O LORD.
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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 Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 11 : 25 - 30
Chapter 11
| 25 | At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
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| 26 | Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
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| 27 | All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
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| 28 | Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
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| 29 | Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
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| 30 | For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
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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 138 : 1 - 2
Chapter 138
| 1 | I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
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| 2 | I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
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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 Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 12 : 1 - 8
Chapter 12
| 1 | At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
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| 2 | And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"
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| 3 | But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
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| 4 | how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
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| 5 | Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?
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| 6 | Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.
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| 7 | But if you had known what this means, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.
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| 8 | For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
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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 Timothy .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
1 Timothy 5 : 17 - 8 : 2
Chapter 5
| 17 | Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
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| 18 | For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages."
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| 19 | Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.
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| 20 | Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.
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| 21 | I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.
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| 22 | Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure.
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| 23 | No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities.
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| 24 | Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.
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| 25 | Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.
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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 1 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 Peter 5 : 1 - 14
Chapter 5
| 1 | The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
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| 2 | Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
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| 3 | nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
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| 4 | and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
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| 5 | Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
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| 6 | Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
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| 7 | casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
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| 8 | Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
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| 9 | Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
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| 10 | But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
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| 11 | To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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| 12 | By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
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| 13 | She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.
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| 14 | Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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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 : 6 - 12
Chapter 15
| 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 24 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Hatour, 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 Twenty-Fourth Day of the Blessed Month of Hatour
Commemoration of the Twenty-Four Priests
On this day, we commemorate the
twenty-four incorporeal priests of the Most High, who are sitting around
His throne. They are exalted above all the saints and the spiritual hosts.
Because of their closeness to God, they intercede on behalf of the human
race and offer the prayers of the saints as incense, in the golden censers
in their hands, before the Glorious and Blessed Lord. St. John the Evangelist
said in Revelation, "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing
open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking
with me, saying, 'Come up here and I will show you things which must take
place after this.' Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne
set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like
a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around
the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four
thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in
white robes, and they had crowns of gold on their heads. (Revelation 4:1-4)
... each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints" (Revelation 5:8) who are on earth raising it to
the Almighty. St. John continued saying, "I heard the Four living creatures
praising God and saying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was
and is and is to come.' Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor
and thanks to Him Who sits on the throne, Who lives forever and ever. The
twenty-four elders fall down before Him Who sits on the throne and worship
Him Who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne,
saying, 'You are worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honor and power,
for You created all things, and by Your Will they exist and were created.'
(Revelation 4:8-11) And when a command went forth from God they fell down,
and worshipped saying, 'Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways, 0 King of the saints, who shall not fear You,
0 Lord, and glorify Your Name? For You alone are Holy. For all nations
shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested.'"
(Revelation 15:3-4) The fathers of the church arranged this feast to commemorate
them.
May Their intercession be for us and Glory be to our 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 132 : 9,10,17,18
Chapter 132
| 9 | Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy.
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| 10 | For Your servant David's sake, Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.
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| 17 | There I will make the horn of David grow; I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
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| 18 | His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon Himself His crown shall flourish."
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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.
John 1 : 1 - 17
Chapter 1
| 1 | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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| 2 | He was in the beginning with God.
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| 3 | All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
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| 4 | In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
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| 5 | And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
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| 6 | There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
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| 7 | This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
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| 8 | He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
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| 9 | That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
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| 10 | He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
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| 11 | He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
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| 12 | But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
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| 13 | who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
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| 14 | And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
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| 15 | John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, "He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me."'
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| 16 | And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
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| 17 | For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page