Saturday 1 April 2023
23 Baramhat 1739
Readings for Saturday of of the Great Lent
Matins Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 79 : 8 - 9
| 8 | Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, For we have been brought very low. |
| 9 | Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name's sake! |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Matthew 9 : 1 - 8
| 1 | So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. |
| 2 | Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." |
| 3 | And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" |
| 4 | But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? |
| 5 | For which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, "Arise and walk'? |
| 6 | But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." |
| 7 | And he arose and departed to his house. |
| 8 | Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. |
Glory be to God forever.
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Divine Liturgy
Pauline 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 Ephesians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Ephesians 4 : 1 - 7
| 1 | I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, |
| 2 | with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, |
| 3 | endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. |
| 4 | There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; |
| 5 | one Lord, one faith, one baptism; |
| 6 | one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. |
| 7 | But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. Peter . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
1 Peter 1 : 13 - 21
| 13 | Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; |
| 14 | as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; |
| 15 | but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, |
| 16 | because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." |
| 17 | And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; |
| 18 | knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, |
| 19 | but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. |
| 20 | He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you |
| 21 | who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. |
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. Amen.
Acts 27 : 9 - 26
| 9 | Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, |
| 10 | saying, "Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives." |
| 11 | Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. |
| 12 | And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there. |
| 13 | When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. |
| 14 | But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. |
| 15 | So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. |
| 16 | And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. |
| 17 | When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. |
| 18 | And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. |
| 19 | On the third day we threw the ship's tackle overboard with our own hands. |
| 20 | Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. |
| 21 | But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. |
| 22 | And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. |
| 23 | For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, |
| 24 | saying, "Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' |
| 25 | Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. |
| 26 | However, we must run aground on a certain island." |
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 23 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramhat.
May God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins are forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers. Amen.
The Twenty-Third Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat
Departure of the Great Prophet Daniel
On this day of the last year of king
Cyrus King of Babylon, the great righteous prophet Daniel Departed. This
prophet was from the tribe of Judah, and from the posterity of king David.
He was taken captive along with the Israelites by Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon when he captured Jerusalem in the year 3398 of the world. He
stayed in babylon for seventy years. This prophet was very young in age,
however, he conducted himself in virtuous life, the Holy Spirit filled
him and he prophesied in Babylon. In the fourth year of the exile, Nebuchadnezzar
the king saw a dreadful dream and was extremely frightened. When he woke
up, he forgot the detail of his dream. He gathered all the wise men of
Babylon to tell the king his dream and its meaning. If they failed to tell
the king the dream and its interpretation they would all be killed, among
those also were Daniel and the three young men. Daniel and the young men
prayed to God with supplications to reveal to them the King's dream. God
answered their prayers and revealed to Daniel the dream and its interpretation.
Daniel went to the king and told him his dream and its interpretation.
He also told him about the kings that they are about to rule after him,
and what would happen to every one of them. Nebuchadnezzar was pleased
with Daniel, and fell on his face before him. The king presented Daniel
with great gifts and appointed him over the wise men of Babylon.
After some time had passed, Nebuchadnezzar
saw another dream, and Daniel interpreted the dream for him. Daniel told
the king that because of his arrogance, God would drive him from among
men, to dwell among the beasts of the wild and would eat grass like oxen
for seven years, and then God would bring him back to his kingdom, and
all that happened to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel also explained to Belshazzar,
the son of Nebuchadnezzar, what the angel of the Lord had written on the
wall, when king Belshazzar drank wine in the gold and silver vessels of
the temple of the Lord. Daniel told the king: " O king, the Most High gave
Nebuchadnezzar your father, a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor... But
when his heart was lifted up in pride, he was deposed from his kingdom
and thrown from his throne into among the animals. And you, Belshazzar,
although you knew all what happened to your father, yet you also lifted
your heart against the Lord of heaven. They brought the vessels of the
house of the Lord before you, and you , your lords, wives and concubines
(mistresses) drank wine from these vessels... Then the fingers of a Hand
were send from the Lord, and His writing was written: "Mene, Mene, Tekel,
and Upharsin..which meant:
Mene means: God has numbered your days as a king and terminated
you rule.
Tekel means: You have been weighed in the balances of the Lord
and was found wanting.
Upharsin means: your kingdom has been divided and given to the
Medes and Persians after you.
All of them came to pass and
the king was killed with all his lords and the kingdom of the Chaldeans
ended. Darius, king of Persia, ruled after him. There was an idol in Babylon
named "Bael" which king Darius worshiped. When Daniel was asked why he
did not worship it, Daniel answered: "I do not worship something that has
no life in it." The king said to him: "He is alive for he eats and drinks
every day." Daniel told him that could not be true. The king was angry
and wanted to check the matter for himself. He put the food and the drinks
in the temple of the idol and closed the door and sealed it. On the next
day, he went to the temple, opened the door and did not find the food nor
the drinks. But Daniel with the help of some of his companions, covered
the floor of the temple with fine ashes, found the feet tracks of those
who entered the temple by night and stole the food and drinks. The king
arrested the seventy priests of the idol Bael, together with their wives
and children and tortured them until they told him about the secret entrance
to the temple. The king then ordered them all to be killed and allowed
Daniel to destroy the idol and its altar. The people rebelled against the
king and asked him to deliver Daniel to their hands. The king surrendered
to their demands and Daniel was cast into the den of lions. However God
kept Daniel safe and destroyed his enemies. Daniel saw in a vision the
kingdoms and the kings to come after him to rule the world to the end of
time. He also saw the glory of God and the Divinity of Christ the Savior.
He prophesied about His coming and His death, the destruction of Jerusalem,
and the abolition of the sacrifice and the offerings, and all has been
fulfilled. This great prophet remained in Babylon for seventy years, then
departed in peace.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
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Divine Liturgy Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 32 : 1 - 2
| 1 | Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. |
| 2 | Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint Mark the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Mark 10 : 46 - 52
| 46 | Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. |
| 47 | And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" |
| 48 | Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" |
| 49 | So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." |
| 50 | And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. |
| 51 | So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." |
| 52 | Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. |
Glory be to God forever.
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