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Daily Readings
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Thursday, 22nd February 2018 --- 15 Amshir 1734
Readings for Thursday of second week of Great Lent
Matins
Deuteronomy 5 : 15 - 22 Isaiah 6 : 1 - 12 Joshua 2 : 1 - end Joshua 6 : 1 - 27
Deuteronomy 5 : 15 - 22
Chapter 5
| 15 | And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
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| 16 | "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
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| 18 | "You shall not commit adultery.
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| 20 | "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
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| 21 | "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.'
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| 22 | "These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
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Isaiah 6 : 1 - 12
Chapter 6
| 1 | In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
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| 2 | Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
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| 3 | And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!"
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| 4 | And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
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| 5 | So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."
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| 6 | Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.
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| 7 | And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged."
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| 8 | Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
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| 9 | And He said, "Go, and tell this people: "Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'
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| 10 | "Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed."
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| 11 | Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered: "Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate,
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| 12 | The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
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Joshua 2 : 1 - end
Chapter 2
| 1 | Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.
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| 2 | And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country."
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| 3 | So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country."
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| 4 | Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
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| 5 | And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them."
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| 6 | (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.)
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| 7 | Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.
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| 8 | Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
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| 9 | and said to the men: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.
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| 10 | For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
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| 11 | And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
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| 12 | Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token,
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| 13 | and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death."
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| 14 | So the men answered her, "Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you."
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| 15 | Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall.
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| 16 | And she said to them, "Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way."
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| 17 | So the men said to her: "We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,
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| 18 | unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home.
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| 19 | So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
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| 20 | And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear."
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| 21 | Then she said, "According to your words, so be it." And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.
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| 22 | They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them.
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| 23 | So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them.
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| 24 | And they said to Joshua, "Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us."
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Joshua 6 : 1 - 27
Chapter 6
| 1 | Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
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| 2 | And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
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| 3 | You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.
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| 4 | And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
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| 5 | It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."
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| 6 | Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD."
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| 7 | And he said to the people, "Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the LORD."
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| 8 | So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.
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| 9 | The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.
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| 10 | Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, "Shout!' Then you shall shout."
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| 11 | So he had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.
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| 12 | And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD.
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| 13 | Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.
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| 14 | And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.
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| 15 | But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times.
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| 16 | And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: "Shout, for the LORD has given you the city!
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| 17 | Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
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| 18 | And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
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| 19 | But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD."
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| 20 | So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
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| 21 | And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
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| 22 | But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, "Go into the harlot's house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her."
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| 23 | And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel.
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| 24 | But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.
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| 25 | And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
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| 26 | Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, "Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates."
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| 27 | So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.
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Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 28 : 9 - 9
Chapter 28
| 9 | Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever.
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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 Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 11 : 20 - 30
Chapter 11
| 20 | Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:
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| 21 | "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
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| 22 | But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
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| 23 | And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
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| 24 | But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."
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| 25 | At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
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| 26 | Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
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| 27 | All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
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| 28 | Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
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| 29 | Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
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| 30 | For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
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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 16 : 17 - 27
Chapter 16
| 17 | Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
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| 18 | For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
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| 19 | For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.
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| 20 | And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
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| 21 | Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you.
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| 22 | I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord.
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| 23 | Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother.
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| 24 | The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
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| 25 | Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began
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| 26 | but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith--
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| 27 | to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
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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 of St. James .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
James 3 : 1 - 12
Chapter 3
| 1 | My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
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| 2 | For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
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| 3 | Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
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| 4 | Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.
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| 5 | Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!
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| 6 | And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
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| 7 | For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
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| 8 | But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
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| 9 | With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
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| 10 | Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
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| 11 | Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
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| 12 | Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
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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 12 : 12 - 23
Chapter 12
| 12 | So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.
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| 13 | And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer.
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| 14 | When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate.
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| 15 | But they said to her, "You are beside yourself!" Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, "It is his angel."
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| 16 | Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
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| 17 | But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, "Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren." And he departed and went to another place.
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| 18 | Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.
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| 19 | But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.
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| 20 | Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king's personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king's country.
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| 21 | So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them.
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| 22 | And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!"
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| 23 | Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.
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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 15 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir, 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 Fifteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Departure of St.Zechariah the Prophet
On this day St. Zechariah the Prophet,
the son of Berechiah, one of the twelve minor prophets, departed. He was
from the tribe of Levi, born in the land of Gilead, and was exiled to the
land of the Chaldeans. In exile, he started to prophesy, in the second
year of King Darius, 520 B.C. He prophesied about "Jeshua, the son of Jozadak,"
and "Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel," that they would rebuild the temple.
(Ezra 5:1) and (Ezra 6:14) He prophesied also about the entrance of the Lord to Jerusalem
riding a donkey, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9); the thirty pieces
of silver that Judas Iscariot received to deliver his Master to the Jews
(Matthew 26:14-15); the scattering of the disciples on the night of the
crucifixion; the coming of Christ in glory; and the grief of the children
of Israel who did not believe in Him (Zechariah 12:10). He also prophesied
about many other things. He was the prophet who was killed between the
altar and the temple. He was buried in Jerusalem in the tomb of the prophets.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Consecration of the First Church Dedicated
for the Forty Martyrs from Sebaste
On this day also is the
commemoration of the consecration of the church of the forty martyrs from
Sebaste by the hand of Emperor Licinius. It was the first church that was
built after their names. St. Basil the Great consecrated it, wrote their
biographies and established a great feast day for them.
May Their intercession be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Paphnoute
On this day also, the ascetic
St. Paphnoute (Paphnotius) departed. He became a monk at a young age, and
followed the hardest way in his monastic life. God inspired him to travel
to the inner wilderness, and there he saw many hermits and anchorites and
St. Paphnoute wrote about them. Among those was St. Timothy and St. Abu
Nofr. In his travels, he suffered much hunger and thirst, but the angel
of the Lord appeared to him often to strengthen him. When he finished his
strife, he departed in peace.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our 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 48 : 10 - 11
Chapter 48
| 10 | According to Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.
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| 11 | Let Mount Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad, Because of Your judgments.
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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.
Matthew 19 : 16 - 30
Chapter 19
| 16 | Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"
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| 17 | So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."
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| 18 | He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, You shall not murder,'"You shall not commit adultery,'"You shall not steal,'"You shall not bear false witness,'
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| 19 | "Honor your father and your mother,' and, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."'
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| 20 | The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?"
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| 21 | Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
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| 22 | But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
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| 23 | Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
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| 24 | And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
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| 25 | When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"
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| 26 | But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
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| 27 | Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?"
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| 28 | So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
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| 29 | And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
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| 30 | But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
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And Glory be to God forever.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page