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Daily Readings
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Thursday, 1st May 2014 --- 23 Baramoudah 1730
Readings for Saturday of sixth week of fifty Joyous Days
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 51 : 10
Chapter 51
| 10 | Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
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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 Luke the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Luke 22 : 53 - 71
Chapter 22
| 53 | When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."
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| 54 | Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed at a distance.
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| 55 | Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.
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| 56 | And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."
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| 57 | But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."
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| 58 | And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"
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| 59 | Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."
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| 60 | But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
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| 61 | And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."
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| 62 | So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
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| 63 | Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.
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| 64 | And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?"
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| 65 | And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.
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| 66 | As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying,
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| 67 | "If You are the Christ, tell us." But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.
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| 68 | And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.
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| 69 | Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."
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| 70 | Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?" So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."
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| 71 | And they said, "What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."
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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 112 : 4
Chapter 112
| 4 | Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
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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 10 : 21 - 24
Chapter 10
| 21 | In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
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| 22 | All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."
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| 23 | Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see;
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| 24 | for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."
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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 Ephesians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Ephesians 4 : 8 - 16
Chapter 4
| 8 | Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."
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| 9 | (Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
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| 10 | He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
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| 11 | And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
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| 12 | for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
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| 13 | till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
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| 14 | that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
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| 15 | but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--
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| 16 | from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
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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 : 5 - 12
Chapter 5
| 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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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 24 : 10 - 21
Chapter 24
| 10 | Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: "Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself,
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| 11 | because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
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| 12 | And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city.
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| 13 | Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me.
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| 14 | But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.
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| 15 | I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.
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| 16 | This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.
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| 17 | "Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation,
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| 18 | in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult.
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| 19 | They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me.
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| 20 | Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council,
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| 21 | unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, "Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day."'
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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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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 136 : 1 - 2
Chapter 136
| 1 | Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
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| 2 | Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever.
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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 16 : 15 - 23
Chapter 16
| 15 | All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
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| 16 | "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father."
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| 17 | Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, "because I go to the Father'?"
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| 18 | They said therefore, "What is this that He says, "A little while'? We do not know what He is saying."
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| 19 | Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'?
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| 20 | Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
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| 21 | A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
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| 22 | Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
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| 23 | "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 23 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramoudah, 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-Third Day of the Blessed Month of Baramoudah
Martyrdom of St.George, Prince of Martyrs
On this day, of the
year 307 A.D., the great among the martyrs St. George, was martyred. He
was born in Cappadocia; his father's name was Anastasius, and his mother's
name was Theobaste. When he was twenty years old, his father died, and
he went to Emperor Diocletian to take over his father's position. He found
that the Emperor had apostatized the faith and ordered the worship of idols.
George was sorrowful, and he gave all his wealth to the poor and needy
and set free his slaves. When he saw the edict of the Emperor against the
Christians, he became raged and tore it. They took him before the Emperor,
and he cried in their middest saying: "For how long you shall pour your
anger against the innocent Christians, and force those who know the true
faith to adopt the faith that you are in doubt of because it is fraudulent?
So, either you believe on this true faith, or at least do not disturb with
foolishness those who are steadfast in it." The Emperor asked Mephnanius,
one of his ministers, to pacify and persuade him. He asked him: "Who taught
you to be daring like this." The Saint answered: "It is the truth," then
started to explain it to him. The Emperor interrupted, reminding the Saint
with the ranks that he bestowed on him, and promised him with more if he
denied his Christ. The Saint refused with pride all these vain propositions.
The Emperor tortured him severely, but the Lord strengthened him and healed
all his wounds.
When the Emperor was weary
of torturing him, he brought a magician, whose name was Athanasius, who
gave the Saint a cup full of poison to drink. St.George made the sign of
the cross over the cup then drank it. When no harm came upon him, the magician
believed in the Lord Christ, and received the crown of martyrdom. The Emperor
became raged and ordered to squeeze him until he delivered up his soul,
and they cast his body out side the city. The Lord Christ raised him up,
and the Saint returned to the city. When the people saw him, three thousand
and seven hundred souls believed. The Emperor ordered to cut off their
heads and they received the crown of martyrdom. When St. George stood before
Emperor Diocletian, along with seventy kings that were sitting around him,
they asked the Saint: "We wish you to make these chairs that we are sitting
on to put forth leaves, and bear fruit." The Saint prayed to the Lord Christ,
the Lord accepted his supplication and the chairs put forth leaves and
bore fruit.
They took him once to a
cemetery and asked him to raise the dead therein. He prayed to the Lord
Christ. The Lord raised them and after they talked to them, they returned
to their graves and died. A poor woman, brought her son, who was blind,
deaf and dumb, he prayed to the Lord Christ then made the sign of the cross
over him, and he was healed right away. Diocletain, during all that, went
on torturing St. George, until he was weary and bored of that. He started
to be pleasant to the Saint and promised to give him his daughter in marriage
if he would offer the incense to his gods. The Saint pretended that he
accepted his offer, and the Emperor rejoiced and brought him into the royal
palace. While St. George was praying the Psalms, the Empress heard him
and asked him to explain to her what he had said. He began to interpret
to her all the events from the creation of the world to the Incarnation
of the Lord Christ, and his words entered her heart and she believed in
the Lord Christ, to Whom is the Glory. The Emperor ordered to call upon
all the men of the city to gather, in order to see Saint George offering
the incense to the Emperor's gods. When multitude gathered by the idols,
Gawargios (George) stood and cried at the idols in the Name of the Lord
Christ the Savior of the world. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed
all the idols. The Emperor and all those who were with him were ashamed
and he returned to his palace full of fury and wrath. The Empress told
him: "Didn't I tell you not to oppose the Galileans, for their God is strong
and mighty?" The Emperor was exceedingly wrath with her, for he knew that
St. George had brought her also to his faith. The Emperor with rage ordered
to comb her body with a steel comb, then cut off her head, and she received
the crown of martyrdom. Finally, Diocletian decided to put an end to the
humiliation that befell him, so he ordered to cut off the head of St. George,
and he received the crown of martyrdom. A Christian took the body, wrapped
it in expensive shrouds, and took it to the city of Lydda, his home town,
and they built a great church on his name there.
May His intercession be with us and Glory be to our God forever.
Amen.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page