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Daily Readings
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Sunday, 24th May 2020 --- 16 Bashans 1736
Readings for Sunday of fifth 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 135 : 6,21
Chapter 135
| 6 | Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.
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| 21 | Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem! 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.
Vespers 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 14 : 21 - 25
Chapter 14
| 21 | He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."
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| 22 | Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"
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| 23 | Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
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| 24 | He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
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| 25 | "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.
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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 135 : 19 - 20
Chapter 135
| 19 | Bless the LORD, O house of Israel! Bless the LORD, O house of Aaron!
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| 20 | Bless the LORD, O house of Levi! You who fear the LORD, bless 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 15 : 4 - 8
Chapter 15
| 4 | Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
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| 5 | "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
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| 6 | If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
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| 7 | If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
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| 8 | By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
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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 Hebrews .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Hebrews 10 : 19 - 38
Chapter 10
| 19 | Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
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| 20 | by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
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| 21 | and having a High Priest over the house of God,
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| 22 | let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
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| 23 | Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
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| 24 | And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
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| 25 | not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
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| 26 | For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
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| 27 | but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
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| 28 | Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
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| 29 | Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
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| 30 | For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people."
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| 31 | It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
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| 32 | But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings:
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| 33 | partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated;
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| 34 | for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.
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| 35 | Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
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| 36 | For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
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| 37 | "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
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| 38 | Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
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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 4 : 6 - 14
Chapter 4
| 6 | For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
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| 7 | But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
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| 8 | And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."
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| 9 | Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
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| 10 | As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
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| 11 | If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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| 12 | Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
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| 13 | but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
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| 14 | If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
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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 9 : 1 - 20
Chapter 9
| 1 | Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
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| 2 | and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
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| 3 | As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.
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| 4 | Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"
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| 5 | And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads."
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| 6 | So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
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| 7 | And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.
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| 8 | Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
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| 9 | And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
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| 10 | Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord."
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| 11 | So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.
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| 12 | And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight."
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| 13 | Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.
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| 14 | And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name."
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| 15 | But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
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| 16 | For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."
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| 17 | And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
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| 18 | Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
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| 19 | So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.
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| 20 | Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of 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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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 14 : 1 - 11
Chapter 14
| 1 | "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
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| 2 | In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
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| 3 | And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
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| 4 | And where I go you know, and the way you know."
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| 5 | Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"
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| 6 | Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
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| 7 | "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
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| 8 | Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
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| 9 | Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, "Show us the Father'?
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| 10 | Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.
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| 11 | Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
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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 16 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 Sixteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Commemoration of St.John the Evangelist
On this day the church commemorates
St. John the Evangelist and his preaching in Asia Minor, the city of Ephesus,
and the cities that are around it. Commemorates, the afflictions that he
suffered and what befell him from the evil men who worshipped idols until
he brought them to the knowledge of God and delivered them from the error
of Satan by his teachings. The miracles that God performed through him.
The writing of his Gospel, uttering in it with the eternity of the Son
and His incarnation. His ascension to heaven in the Spirit, he saw the
heavenly ranks and heard their praising and wrote about it in the book
of Revelation. This was during the reign of Emperor Domitianus (Domitian),
when he exiled St. John, after he placed him in a cauldron filled with
boiling oil, and was not harmed, to the island of Patmos, where he wrote
the book of Revelation. After Domitian had been killed in the year 96 A.D.,
St. John returned to Ephesus. He found some heretics of the Nicolaitans
(Rev. 2:6) who taught that Christ's birth was a natural birth from both
Joseph and Mary. For this reason, he wrote his Gospel to refute their heresy.
St. John had ardent zeal for the salvation of sinners. Once he saved a
youth, delivered him to the bishop, and told him: "I entrust you with the
safe keeping of this soul," but the youth, because of his bad conduct and
the evil company that he kept, spoiled his morals and he became the head
of a band of robbers. When St. John returned, he asked the bishop about
the young man, who expressed his sorrow to St. John for the condition that
became of this young man and told him what had happened. St. John rode
a horse, took with him a guide, and travelled to his place. When he arrived
to that place, he was caught by the thieves and they took him to their
leader. When the leader saw St. John, he knew him, and was ashamed and
tried to flee. St. John told him: "My son, be merciful to yourself, because
the door of hope is still open for your salvation, and I will be your intercessor
before the Lord Christ." Then, the young man wept, returned repenting,
and St. John administered to him the Holy Communion to strengthen him.
The biography of St. John is written under the fourth day of Tubah. This
feast is a commemoration for his evangelism, and also because on this day
a church was consecrated after his name in the city of Alexandria.
May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page