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Daily Readings
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Friday, 1st July 2022 --- 24 Baounah 1738
Readings for Friday, 1st July 2022 --- 24 Baounah 1738
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 40 : 2 - 3
Chapter 40
| 2 | He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
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| 3 | He has put a new song in my mouth--Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the 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 7 : 22 - 25
Chapter 7
| 22 | Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
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| 23 | And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
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| 24 | "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
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| 25 | and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
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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 89 : 24,19
Chapter 89
| 24 | "But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
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| 19 | Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, And said: "I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
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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 13 : 23 - 30
Chapter 13
| 23 | Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them,
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| 24 | "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
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| 25 | When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, "Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, "I do not know you, where you are from,'
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| 26 | then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'
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| 27 | But He will say, "I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'
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| 28 | There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
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| 29 | They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
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| 30 | And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."
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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 3 : 1 - 8
Chapter 3
| 1 | And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
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| 2 | I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
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| 3 | for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
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| 4 | For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?
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| 5 | Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
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| 6 | I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
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| 7 | So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
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| 8 | Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
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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 2 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
2 Peter 1 : 1 - 11
Chapter 1
| 1 | Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
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| 2 | Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
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| 3 | as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
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| 4 | by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
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| 5 | But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
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| 6 | to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
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| 7 | to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
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| 8 | For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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| 9 | For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
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| 10 | Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
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| 11 | for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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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 : 13 - 29
Chapter 15
| 13 | And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me:
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| 14 | Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.
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| 15 | And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
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| 16 | 'After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up;
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| 17 | So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD. Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.'
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| 18 | "Known to God from eternity are all His works.
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| 19 | Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,
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| 20 | but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
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| 21 | For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath."
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| 22 | Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.
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| 23 | They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
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| 24 | Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law"--to whom we gave no such commandment--
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| 25 | it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
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| 26 | men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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| 27 | We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.
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| 28 | For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
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| 29 | that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
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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 Baounah, 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.
Twenty-Fourth Day of the Blessed Month of Baounah
Martyrdom of the Great Saint Anba Moses
the Black
On this day, St. Moses the Black, whose
life story is remarkable, was martyred. This saint took the Kingdom of
Heaven by force, exactly as our Lord Jesus Christ said: "The Kingdom of
Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force."
(Matthew 11:12).
In his early life, St. Moses was a slave to people who worshiped the sun.
He was a mighty man who loved to eat and drink excessively. He killed,
robbed and committed all evil. No one could stand up before him, or challenge
him. On many occasions, he lifted up his eyes to look to the sun and to
talk to it saying, "O Sun!! if you are God, let me know it." Then he said,
"And you O God whom I do not know, let me know you." One day, he heard
someone saying to him, "The monks of Wadi El-Natroun know the real God.
Go to them and they will tell you." Instantly, he rose up, girded his sword
and went to the wilderness of Shiheat. He met St. Esidorous (Isidore) the
priest, who was frightened when he saw him, because of his appearance.
St. Moses comforted him by saying that he came to the monks so that they
might let him know the real God. St. Esidorous took him to St. Macarius
the Great, who preached to him, taught him the faith and baptized him.
He accepted St. Moses as a monk and taught him to live in the wilderness.
St. Moses dashed in many worships, and fought a spiritual fight which was
greater than that fought by many saints.
However, the devil fought him
intensively with his old habits of excessive eating, drinking, and fornication.
He informed St. Esidorous about everything which came upon him in his fight
with the Enemy. He comforted him and taught him how to overcome the snares
of the devil. It was told about him, that when the elders of the Monastery
slept, he used to go round to their cells and take their water pots and
fill them with water which he brought from a well at a far distance from
the monastery. After many years in spiritual struggle, the devil envied
him, and struck him with a sore on his foot which made him sick and bed-ridden.
When he knew that this was from the devil, he increased in his asceticism
and worship, until his body became as a burnt wood. God looked to his patience,
healed his illness, and removed all his pains. The blessing of the Lord
came upon him. After a while, he became the Father and the spiritual guide
of 500 brothers, who elected him to be ordained a priest. When he came
before the Patriarch to be ordained, the patriarch wanted to test him by
asking the elders, "Who brought this black here? Cast him out." He obeyed,
and left saying to himself, "It is good what they have done to you, O black
colored one." The Patriarch, however, called him back and ordained him
a priest, and said to him, "Moses, all of you now has become white."
One day, he went with some
elders to St. Macarius the Great, who said to them, "I see among you one
to whom belong the crown of martyrdom." St. Moses answered him, "Probably
it is me, for it is written: 'For all they that take with the sword, shall
perish with the sword.'"
(Matt. 26:25) After they returned to the monastery,
it did not take long until the Barbarians attacked the monastery. He told
the brethren, "Whoever wants to escape, let him escape." They asked him,
"And you O father, why do you not also escape?" He replied that he had
waited for this day for long time. The Barbarians entered the monastery
and killed him with seven other brothers. One of the brethren was hiding,
and saw the angel of the Lord, with a crown in his hand standing by and
waiting for him. He went out from his hiding place to the Barbarians and
he was also martyred. Beloved Ones, contemplate in the power of repentance,
and what it did. It transformed an infidel slave who was a murderer, adulterer
and robber into a great Father, teacher, comforter, and priest who wrote
rules for the monks, and saint whose name is mentioned on the altar in
our prayers.
His Body is located now in the Monastery of El-Baramouse.
May his prayers be with us, 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 61 : 1 - 3
Chapter 61
| 1 | Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer.
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| 2 | From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
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| 3 | For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy.
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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.
Luke 14 : 25 - 35
Chapter 14
| 25 | Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,
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| 26 | "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
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| 27 | And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
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| 28 | For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it--
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| 29 | lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
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| 30 | saying, "This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
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| 31 | Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
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| 32 | Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
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| 33 | So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
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| 34 | "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
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| 35 | It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page