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Daily Readings |
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Friday, 25th May 2012 --- 17 Bashans 1728
Readings for Friday 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 99 : 1 - 2
Chapter 99
| 1 | The LORD reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved! |
| 2 | The LORD is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples. |
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 Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 8 : 34 - 9 : 1
Chapter 8
| 34 | When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. |
| 35 | For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. |
| 36 | For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? |
| 37 | Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? |
| 38 | For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." |
Chapter 9
| 1 | And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power." |
And Glory be to God forever.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 110 : 1 - 2
Chapter 110
| 1 | The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." |
| 2 | The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! |
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 Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 9 : 2 - 7
Chapter 9
| 2 | Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. |
| 3 | His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. |
| 4 | And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. |
| 5 | Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"-- |
| 6 | because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. |
| 7 | And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" |
And Glory be to God forever.
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 11 : 2 - 16
Chapter 11
| 2 | Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. |
| 3 | But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. |
| 4 | Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. |
| 5 | But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. |
| 6 | For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. |
| 7 | For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. |
| 8 | For man is not from woman, but woman from man. |
| 9 | Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. |
| 10 | For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. |
| 11 | Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. |
| 12 | For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God. |
| 13 | Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? |
| 14 | Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? |
| 15 | But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering. |
| 16 | But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 5 : 14 - 21
Chapter 5
| 14 | Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. |
| 15 | And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. |
| 16 | If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. |
| 17 | All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. |
| 18 | We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. |
| 19 | We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. |
| 20 | And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. |
| 21 | Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. |
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.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 22 : 6 - 10
Chapter 22
| 6 | "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. |
| 7 | And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' |
| 8 | So I answered, "Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' |
| 9 | "And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. |
| 10 | So I said, "What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, "Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.' |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
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 69 : 32,33,30
Chapter 69
| 32 | The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live. |
| 33 | For the LORD hears the poor, And does not despise His prisoners. |
| 30 | I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. |
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 14 : 26 - 31
Chapter 14
| 26 | But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. |
| 27 | Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. |
| 28 | You have heard Me say to you, "I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, "I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I. |
| 29 | "And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. |
| 30 | I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. |
| 31 | But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 17 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Bashans, 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 Seventeenth Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Departure of St.Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus
On this day, of the year 402 A.D., the great father St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, departed. He was born to Jewish parents, his father died, and left him with a sister and their mother brought them up well. His father left him an untrained donkey and his mother asked him to sell it. He met a Christian man called Philotheus who wanted to buy the donkey, but the donkey kicked Epiphanius in his thigh, and he fell down on the ground unconscious. Philotheus made the sign of the cross over the place of injury and Epiphanius was cured of his pain instantly. Then Philotheus cried out over that donkey asking God that the donkey would die God answered his prayer, and the donkey fell down and died. Epiphanius inquired about the secret of the donkey's death and Philotheus told him that it was the cross. He guided him to the crucified Christ, the Son of God, Whom the Jews crucified in Jerusalem by His own will for the Salvation of the world. This remained in the mind of Epiphanius. When one of the rich Jewish men died and had no one to inherit him, he left all his inheritance to Epiphanius. He used this inheritance to spend on the teachers of religion and Law. Once, when he was walking in the road, he saw a poor man asking for charity from one of the monks, and as the monk did not have any money to give, he took off his garment and gave it to him.
As the poor man took this garment, St. Epiphanius saw a white dress coming down from heaven upon the monk instead off the garment that he gave away. He was astonished and went to the monk and asked him: "Who are you and what is your faith?" The monk told him that he was Christian. He asked the monk to guide him to the facts of the Christian faith. The monk brought him to the bishop who taught him the law of the Christian faith and baptized him. Epiphanius desired to become a monk, and the bishop sent him to the monastery of St. Lucianus. He became a disciple to St. Hilarion, and the grace of God was with him. He excelled in the church subjects, monastic virtues, and its cannons. St. Hilarion prophesied that he would become a bishop and commanded him to go to Cyprus, and not to refuse the office of bishop if it was offered to him. When the bishop of Cyprus departed, it happened that Epiphanius entered the city to buy certain necessities, and he had two monks with him. A saintly bishop was inspired to go to the market place to choose the monk that had two clusters of grapes, whose name was Epiphanius, to ordain him a bishop for Cyprus. When the bishop went to the market, he found him with the other two monks, with two clusters of grapes in his hand. He asked him about his name and he knew that he was the chosen one by God. He took him to the church and ordained him deacon, priest, then bishop. He revealed to the people his vision about him and the prophecy of St. Helarion was fulfilled.
St. Epiphanius followed a right course of conduct in his diocese, which was well pleasing to God. He wrote many books and discourses and he always preached about mercy. It happened that John, bishop of Jerusalem, was not merciful, so St. Epiphanius borrowed from him some of his gold and silver table vessels, and sold them and gave its price to the poor and the needy. When Abba John asked him to return them, he struck him in his eyes and he became blind. John asked the Saint to pray to heal him, and he prayed, and God opened one of John's eyes. In the year 402 A.D., Empress Eudoxia called Epiphanius to help her to drive out St. John Chrysostom (Of the Golden Mouth) from Constantinople. However, he tried to reconcile them together, but he failed. She threatened him that she would open the temples of idols and close the churches if he did not work on his removal. But since he could not reconcile the differences between her and St. John, he returned to Cyprus and departed in the same year. (His body was relocated on the 28th. of Bashans).
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.