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Daily Readings
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Thursday, 5th March 2015 --- 26 Amshir 1731
Readings for Thursday of third week of Great Lent
Matins
Genesis 18 : 17 - end Genesis 19 : 1 - 29 Proverbs 2 : 16 - end Proverbs 3 : 1 - 4 Isaiah 11 : 10 - end Isaiah 12 : 1 - 2
Genesis 18 : 17 - end
Chapter 18
| 17 | And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,
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| 18 | since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
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| 19 | For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."
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| 20 | And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
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| 21 | I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know."
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| 22 | Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.
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| 23 | And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
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| 24 | Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
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| 25 | Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
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| 26 | So the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes."
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| 27 | Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
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| 28 | Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?" So He said, "If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it."
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| 29 | And he spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose there should be forty found there?" So He said, "I will not do it for the sake of forty."
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| 30 | Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
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| 31 | And he said, "Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty."
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| 32 | Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten."
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| 33 | So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
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Genesis 19 : 1 - 29
Chapter 19
| 1 | Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.
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| 2 | And he said, "Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square."
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| 3 | But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
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| 4 | Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.
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| 5 | And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally."
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| 6 | So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him,
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| 7 | and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!
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| 8 | See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof."
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| 9 | And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.
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| 10 | But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.
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| 11 | And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.
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| 12 | Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city--take them out of this place!
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| 13 | For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
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| 14 | So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
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| 15 | When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city."
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| 16 | And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
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| 17 | So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."
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| 18 | Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords!
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| 19 | Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.
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| 20 | See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."
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| 21 | And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken.
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| 22 | Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
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| 23 | The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
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| 24 | Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.
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| 25 | So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
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| 26 | But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
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| 27 | And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
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| 28 | Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.
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| 29 | And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
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Proverbs 2 : 16 - end
Chapter 2
| 16 | To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,
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| 17 | Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.
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| 18 | For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;
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| 19 | None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life--
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| 20 | So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.
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| 21 | For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;
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| 22 | But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.
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Proverbs 3 : 1 - 4
Chapter 3
| 1 | My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;
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| 2 | For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.
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| 3 | Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,
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| 4 | And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
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Isaiah 11 : 10 - end
Chapter 11
| 10 | "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."
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| 11 | It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
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| 12 | He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.
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| 13 | Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
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| 14 | But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them.
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| 15 | The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dryshod.
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| 16 | There will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.
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Isaiah 12 : 1 - 2
Chapter 12
| 1 | And in that day you will say: "O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
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| 2 | Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; "For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation."'
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Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 9 : 11 - 12
Chapter 9
| 11 | Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people.
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| 12 | When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble.
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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 20 : 20 - 26
Chapter 20
| 20 | So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.
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| 21 | Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:
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| 22 | Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
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| 23 | But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?
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| 24 | Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They answered and said, "Caesar's."
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| 25 | And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
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| 26 | But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.
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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 Romans .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Romans 4 : 6 - 11
Chapter 4
| 6 | just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
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| 7 | "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;
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| 8 | Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin."
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| 9 | Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.
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| 10 | How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.
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| 11 | And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,
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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 : 1 - 10
Chapter 4
| 1 | Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
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| 2 | You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
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| 3 | You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
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| 4 | Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
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| 5 | Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"?
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| 6 | But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
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| 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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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 28 : 1 - 6
Chapter 28
| 1 | Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.
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| 2 | And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.
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| 3 | But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
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| 4 | So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live."
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| 5 | But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.
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| 6 | However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
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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 26 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir, 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-Sixth Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Departure of St.Hosea the Prophet
On this day, St. Hosea,
the prophet, one of the twelve minor prophets of Israel, departed. This
righteous man prophesied during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah,
kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, King of
Israel. (Hosea 1:1) He mentioned in his prophecy some remarkable and marvelous
things. He rebuked the children of Israel for their sins and their transgressions,
and warned them in advance about the evil things that would befall them
because of their offenses. He promised them the uplifting of these calamities
if they returned to the Lord their God. He also prophesied about the passions
of our Savior, His resurrection and the salvation of the human race. He
said, "He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind
us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise
us up, that we may live in his sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge
of the Lord... " (Hosea 6:1-3) He prophesied also about the abolishment
of the sting of death and the dominion of hell by saying, "I will ransom
them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death, O Death,
I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction." (Hosea 13:14)
"O Death, where is your sting? 0 Hades, where is your victory?" (I Corinthians
15:55) He departed at a blessed old age.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Zadok and the One Hundred
and Twenty-Eight who were with him
On this day also, St. Zadok
and the 128 saints with him were martyred in Persia. Behram, King of Persia,
brought them before him and ordered them to worship the sun. St. Zadok
said to him, "I do not worship except God, the Creator of the sun and all
the universe." The King asked, "Does this Sun have a god?" The saint replied,
"Yes, and He is the Lord Christ, our God." The King ordered him beheaded.
The saint prayed and the executioner cut his head. A great light appeared
and all those who were present saw it and cried, saying, "We are all Christians."
The King ordered that their heads be cut off and they received the crown
of martyrdom.
May Their prayers be with 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 9 : 7 - 8
Chapter 9
| 7 | But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment.
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| 8 | He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.
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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 12 : 44 - 50
Chapter 12
| 44 | Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.
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| 45 | And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
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| 46 | I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
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| 47 | And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
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| 48 | He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
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| 49 | For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
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| 50 | And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page