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Daily Readings
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Thursday, 22nd March 2018 --- 13 Baramhat 1734
Readings for Thursday of sixth week of Great Lent
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 144 : 5,7
Chapter 144
| 5 | Bow down Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
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| 7 | Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, From the hand of foreigners,
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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 7 : 36 - 50
Chapter 7
| 36 | Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.
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| 37 | And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,
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| 38 | and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.
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| 39 | Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."
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| 40 | And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it."
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| 41 | "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
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| 42 | And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"
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| 43 | Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."
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| 44 | Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
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| 45 | You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.
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| 46 | You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
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| 47 | Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
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| 48 | Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
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| 49 | And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
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| 50 | Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
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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 72 : 6 - 7
Chapter 72
| 6 | He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth.
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| 7 | In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more.
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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 11 : 20 - 28
Chapter 11
| 20 | But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
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| 21 | When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.
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| 22 | But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.
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| 23 | He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
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| 24 | "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, "I will return to my house from which I came.'
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| 25 | And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.
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| 26 | Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."
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| 27 | And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"
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| 28 | But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep 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 Romans .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Romans 3 : 1 - 31
Chapter 3
| 1 | What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?
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| 2 | Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.
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| 3 | For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?
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| 4 | Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged."
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| 5 | But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.)
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| 6 | Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?
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| 7 | For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?
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| 8 | And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"?--as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.
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| 9 | What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
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| 10 | As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
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| 11 | There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
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| 12 | They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."
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| 13 | "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips";
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| 14 | "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."
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| 15 | "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
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| 16 | Destruction and misery are in their ways;
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| 17 | And the way of peace they have not known."
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| 18 | "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
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| 19 | Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
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| 20 | Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
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| 21 | But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
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| 22 | even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
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| 23 | for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
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| 24 | being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
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| 25 | whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
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| 26 | to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
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| 27 | Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.
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| 28 | Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
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| 29 | Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,
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| 30 | since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
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| 31 | Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
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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. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 1 : 1 - end
Chapter 1
| 1 | That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life--
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| 2 | the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us--
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| 3 | that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
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| 4 | And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
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| 5 | This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
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| 6 | If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
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| 7 | But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
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| 8 | If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
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| 9 | If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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| 10 | If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
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1 John 2 : 1 - 6
Chapter 2
| 1 | My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
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| 2 | And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
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| 3 | Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
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| 4 | He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
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| 5 | But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
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| 6 | He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
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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 7 : 23 - 34
Chapter 7
| 23 | "Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
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| 24 | And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.
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| 25 | For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.
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| 26 | And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, "Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?'
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| 27 | But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
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| 28 | Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?'
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| 29 | Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
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| 30 | "And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
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| 31 | When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him,
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| 32 | saying, "I am the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and dared not look.
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| 33 | "Then the LORD said to him, "Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
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| 34 | I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt."'
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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 13 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramhat, 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 Thirteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat
Departure of Abba Dionysius, the Fourteenth
Pope of Alexandria
On this day (March 8th, 264 A.D.) the
great father Abba Dionysius, the fourteenth Pope of Alexandria, departed.
His parents were stare worshippers of the Sun (Sabians) and they put emphasis
on teaching him all the knowledge of that sect. One day a Christian old
woman passed by him, who had with her some pages of a book containing an
Epistle of St. Paul the apostle and offered it to him to buy it. When he
read it he found in it strange sayings and unusual knowledge. He asked
her: "For how much will you sell it?" She said: "For one dinar of gold."
He gave her three dinars and asked her to find the rest of the pages of
the book and he was willing to pay her double. She went and brought him
more pages. Having read them through he found the book to be still incomplete,
he asked her to search for the rest of the book. She told him: "I found
these quires among my father's books. If you want to acquire the complete
book, go to the church and there you can find it." He went and asked one
of the priests to show him what is called the Epistles of Paul. He gave
it to him, read it, and memorized it. Then he went to St. Demetrius the
twelfth Pope, who taught and instructed him in the facts of the Christian
faith then baptized him. He became well rehearsed in the doctrine and knowledge
of the church, and Anba Demetrius appointed him a teacher for the people.
When Anba Demetrius departed and Anba Heraclas (Yaroklas) was enthroned,
he appointed him as a deputy to judge among the believers and entrusted
him to administer the affairs of the patriarchate.
When St. Heraclas departed, all the
people agreed to appoint this father Patriarch. He was enthroned on the
first of Tubah (December 28th, 246 A.D.) during the reign of Emperor Philip
who was a lover of the Christians, and he shepherded his flock with the
best of care, nevertheless, he suffered much tribulations. When Decius
rose up against Philip and killed him, and reigned in his place, he incited
persecution against the Christians. Decius slew many of the patriarchs,
bishops, and believers. This father endured much suffering during that
time. Decius died and Gallus reigned after him, and persecution quieted
down during his reign. When Gallus died and Valerian reigned in his place,
he renewed the persecution severely against the Christians, and his men
seized Abba Dionysius and imprisoned him. They asked him to worship the
idols but he refused saying: "We worship God the Father, and His Son Jesus
Christ, and the Holy Spirit the One God." They threatened him, killed few
men in front of him to terrify him but he was not afraid. They banished
him and shortly after, they brought him back and told him: "We have been
informed that you consecrate the offering secretly by yourself." He replied:
"We do not forsake our prayers day or night" then he turned to the people
present around him and told them: "Go and pray and if I am away from you
in the body, I shall be with you in spirit." The governor became raged
and returned him to exile. When Sapor king of Persia overcame Emperor Valerian
and seized him, his son Gallienus, who was wise and gentle, took over the
empire. He released all the believers who were in prison and brought back
those who were in exile. He wrote to the Patriarch and the bishops a letter
to assure their safety in opening the churches. In the days of this father,
certain people arose in the Arabian countries saying: "That the soul dies
with the body, and on the day of Resurrection, it shall be raised up with
it." He gathered against them a council and anathematized them. When Paul
of Samosata denied the Son, a Council assembled against him in Antioch,
this Saint was not able to attend for his age. He wrote a letter to the
council, rich with wisdom, explained in it the corruptive opinion of this
heretic, and stated the true Orthodox belief. He finished his good strife,
and departed in a good old age on (March 8th, 264 A.D.), having sat on
the Apostolic Throne seventeen years, two month and ten days.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Return of the Great Saints Anba Macarius
the Great and Anba Macarius of Alexandria from Exile
On this day also is the
commemoration of the return of the Great Sts. Anba Macarius the Great and
Anba Macarius of Alexandria, from exile on an island in Upper Egypt. Emperor
Valens the arian had exiled them to this island. The natives of this island
worshipped idols, and according to the orders of Valens the two Saints
were tortured severely for three years. It came to pass one day that satan
entered the daughter of the pagan priest of this island and tortured her.
St. Macarius the great came forward and prayed over her and the Lord healed
her and subsequently the priest and the people of the island believed on
the Lord Christ. The Saints taught them the facts of the Christian faith
and baptized them on the eve of the feast of Epiphany, 11th. of Tubah,
changed the temple into a church, and with a revelation from the Lord Christ
they ordained priests and deacons for them. When they wished to return
they did not know the way, so the angel of the Lord appeared to them, guided
them walking, until they reached Alexandria. From there they went to the
wilderness of Sheahat (Scetis). The monks of the wilderness came out to
meat them, and they were at that time about fifty thousand monks among
them were Anba John the short and Anba Bishoy, and they all rejoiced to
meat their fathers.
May The prayers of these Saints be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia
On this day also the holy
forty martyrs of the city of Sebastia were martyred. Emperor Constantine
the great had appointed his friend Lecius ruler for the east and commanded
him to treat the Christians well. When he arrived to his headquarter, he
ordered his subordinate to worship the idols but they refused and cursed
his idols. That night some of the soldiers and their children, from the
city of Sebastia, made an agreement among themselves to go to the governor
confessing their faith. While they were sleeping the angel of the Lord
appeared to them, strengthened them and comforted their hearts. In the
morning they stood before the Governor and confessed their faith in the
Lord christ, he threatened them but they were not afraid. He commanded
his men to stone them, but the stones came back upon those who stoned them.
He ordered to throw them in a nearby lake, which was icy. Their organs
were severed because of the excessive cold. One of them whose strength
was weakened, went out of the icy water and entered the bath house nearby
the lake. The heat in the bath house melted the ice that was on him but
he died quickly, and lost his reward.
One of the guards saw angels
descending from the heaven and in their hands crowns, they placed them
over the heads of the thirty nine martyrs and remained one crown in the
hand of the angel. The guard went down into the lake shouting "I am christian...I
am christian." He took the crown that was in the hand of the angel and
was counted among the martyrs. Among the martyrs, were young men, whose
mothers encouraged and strengthened them. Because they remained in the
lake for a long time and they did not die, the Governor wished to break
their legs, but the Lord took their souls and reposed them. He ordered
to burn their bodies and to cast them after that into the sea. As they
were carrying them out of the lake, they found a young man alive, so they
left him. His mother took him and tried to threw him on the wagon with
his mates but they put him off the wagon again for he was still alive.
His mother took him and he died in her bosom so she put him back on the
wagon. They took them outside the city and cast them into the fire which
did not harm them, then they casted them into the river. On the third day
those holy martyrs appeared to the Bishop of Sebastia in a vision and told
him: "Go to the river and take our bodies." He went with the priests, deacons
and the people to the river and found the bodies. They carried the bodies
with great honor and placed them in a beautiful shrine, and their strife
was heard in all the countries.
May their 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 45 : 10 - 11
Chapter 45
| 10 | Listen, O daughter, Consider and incline your ear; Forget your own people also, and your father's house;
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| 11 | So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
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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 1 : 26 - 38
Chapter 1
| 26 | Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
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| 27 | to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
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| 28 | And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
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| 29 | But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
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| 30 | Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
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| 31 | And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
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| 32 | He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
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| 33 | And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
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| 34 | Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
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| 35 | And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
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| 36 | Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
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| 37 | For with God nothing will be impossible."
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| 38 | Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page