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Daily Readings
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Wednesday, 15th April 2015 --- 7 Baramoudah 1731
Readings for Wednesday of first 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 30 : 5 - 7
Chapter 30
| 5 | For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
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| 6 | Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved."
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| 7 | LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
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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 9 : 15 - 17
Chapter 9
| 15 | And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
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| 16 | No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.
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| 17 | Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
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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 105 : 43,45
Chapter 105
| 43 | He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness.
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| 45 | That they might observe His statutes And keep His laws. Praise 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.
Matins Gospel
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.
John 1 : 9 - 14
Chapter 1
| 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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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 15 : 50 - 58
Chapter 15
| 50 | Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
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| 51 | Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--
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| 52 | in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
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| 53 | For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
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| 54 | So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
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| 55 | "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"
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| 56 | The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
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| 57 | But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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| 58 | Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
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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 1 : 10 - 21
Chapter 1
| 10 | Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
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| 11 | searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
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| 12 | To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into.
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| 13 | Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
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| 14 | as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
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| 15 | but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
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| 16 | because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
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| 17 | And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
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| 18 | knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
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| 19 | but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
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| 20 | He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
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| 21 | who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
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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 4 : 1 - 13
Chapter 4
| 1 | Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,
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| 2 | being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
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| 3 | And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
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| 4 | However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
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| 5 | And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes,
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| 6 | as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
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| 7 | And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?"
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| 8 | Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
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| 9 | If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,
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| 10 | let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
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| 11 | This is the "stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'
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| 12 | Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
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| 13 | Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
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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 106 : 1 - 2
Chapter 106
| 1 | Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
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| 2 | Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can declare all His praise?
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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 2 : 12 - 25
Chapter 2
| 12 | After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
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| 13 | Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
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| 14 | And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.
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| 15 | When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.
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| 16 | And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"
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| 17 | Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."
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| 18 | So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"
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| 19 | Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
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| 20 | Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"
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| 21 | But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
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| 22 | Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
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| 23 | Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.
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| 24 | But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men,
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| 25 | and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
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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 7 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 Seventh Day of the Blessed Month of Baramoudah
Departure of the Righteous Joachim, the
Lord Christ Grandfather
On this day the righteous Joachim (Yonakhir
- Zadok) departed. He was the father of St. Mary, the Theotokos, the mother
of God incarnate. He was of the seed of David, and of the tribe of Judah,
for he was the son of Jotham, the son of Lazarus, the son of Eldad who
ascended up in genealogy to Solomon the king, the son of David whom God
promised that his seed should reign over the children of Israel for ever.
The wife of this righteous man, Hannah was barren, and both of them prayed
and entreated God continually to give them a child. Having accepted their
petition He gave them a good and sweet fruit, which satisfied all the men
of the world, and removed from them the bitterness of servitude, and He
made Joachim worthy to be called the father of the Lord Christ in regard
of His marvelous and wondrous Incarnation. After God had pleased him with
the birth of our Lady, his heart was rejoiced and he offered his offerings,
and the shame had been removed from him, he departed in peace when the
Virgin was three years old.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Macrobius
On this day also the saint
Anba Macrobius, the son of the governor of the city of Kaw, departed in
peace. When Anba Severus, Archbishop of Antioch, was wondering around the
cities of Upper Egypt, he came to the city of Kaw and Macrobius ministered
unto him. He accompanied Anba Severus in his visit to the monastery of
Anba Moses, where he saw from the holiness of the monks, their asceticism
and devoutness, made him ask Anba Moses to accept him as a monk. Anba Moses indicated to him the hardship of the monastic life and its
difficulties especially he was raised in luxury and family wealth, and
the one that slept on silk, could not take the rough life. When Anba Moses
saw the insistence of Macrobius on the monastic life he asked him first
to resign his job that he took after his father, and to relinquish all
his money and possessions. He went to his city Kaw, appointed his brother
in his place, returned and put on the monastic garb. When his brothers
Paul, Ilias, and Joseph saw what their brother had done, they came to him
and became monks by the hands of Anba Moses.
Anba Macrobius built many
monasteries and many monks, about a thousand gathered around him, and he
also built convents for about a thousand nuns. He used his money to build
many places for those that did not desire the monastic life, and he supported
those who sought his help. Then he sent to Anba Moses asking to send him
brethren to prepare those gathered around him for the monastic life, they
came and put on them the monastic garb. Christians from the cities of Assuit,
Shatb, and neighboring cities came and gave him many gifts and much money
to help him in building the churches and monasteries. He accepted it from
them and blessed them. Anba Macrobius increased in virtues, asceticism
and giving alms to the weak, needy, widows, orphans and the lonely, beside
caring for his monasteries. His alms were from his own money not from that
was offered. God granted St. Macrobius the gift of healing, they brought
him the sick and he healed them with the power of God and the strength
of their faith.
The father the Patriarch
Anba Theodosius, heard about him and he wrote to him praising and encouraging
him to be steadfast in virtue, asceticism and loving the strangers and
asked him to come for the people of Alexandria to be blessed by him. When
he came to the Patriarch, he rejoiced with him and called the people of
Alexandria to receive the blessing from him, and he ordained him a priest.
Macrobius returned to his monastery, the people of Assuit and Shatb received
him with songs and hymns until they came to the monastery. Many miracles
were performed through his hands, and when he finished his good strife,
he departed in peace. Multitudes gathered from Assuit, Shatb, Abu-Sergah, Kaw and the neighboring
cities, and his brother Anba Yousab, who was appointed as his successor
in running the monasteries in the fear of God, prayed and buried him. The
appearance of his body was on the seventh day of the blessed month of Tubah,
seven hundred thirty three years after his departure by the hands of the
deacon Los El-Talawy the servant of his monastery's church, during the
days of Anba Yousab, bishop of Akhmeem and the notable Isaac the scribe
of the prince Eiz-Eldeen El-Hamawy. Anba Yousab, bishop of Akhmeem, took
the body out of its tomb in the mountain, down to the church of the monastery,
where they buried him with hymns and praises.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of Saints Agapius, Theodora,
and Metruf
On this day also is the
commemoration of the departure of Sts. Agapius and Theodora the martyrs,
and the commemoration of St. Metruf the spiritual son of Anba Moses the
Abbot of El-Baliana monastery.
May their intercession be with us and glory be to God forever. Amen.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page