Thursday 13 June 2024
6 Baunah 1740
Readings for The Feast of the Ascension
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 68 : 32 - 33
| 32 | Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord,Selah |
| 33 | To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice. |
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 Luke the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Luke 9 : 51 - 62
| 51 | Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, |
| 52 | and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. |
| 53 | But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. |
| 54 | And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" |
| 55 | But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. |
| 56 | For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village. |
| 57 | Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." |
| 58 | And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." |
| 59 | Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." |
| 60 | Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." |
| 61 | And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." |
| 62 | But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." |
Glory be to God forever.
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Matins Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 68 : 18 - 19
| 18 | You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there. |
| 19 | Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!Selah |
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 16 : 12 - 20
| 12 | After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. |
| 13 | And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. |
| 14 | Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. |
| 15 | And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. |
| 16 | He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. |
| 17 | And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; |
| 18 | they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." |
| 19 | So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. |
| 20 | And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. |
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 Timothy.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
1 Timothy 3 : 13 - 16
| 13 | For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. |
| 14 | These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; |
| 15 | but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. |
| 16 | And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. |
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 3 : 15 - 22
| 15 | But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; |
| 16 | having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. |
| 17 | For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. |
| 18 | For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, |
| 19 | by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, |
| 20 | who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. |
| 21 | There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, |
| 22 | who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. |
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 1 : 1 - 14
| 1 | The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, |
| 2 | until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, |
| 3 | to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. |
| 4 | And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; |
| 5 | for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." |
| 6 | Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" |
| 7 | And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. |
| 8 | But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." |
| 9 | Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. |
| 10 | And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, |
| 11 | who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." |
| 12 | Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. |
| 13 | And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. |
| 14 | These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. |
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 Liturgy Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 24 : 7 - 8
| 7 | Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. |
| 8 | Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. |
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 Luke the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Luke 24 : 36 - 53
| 36 | Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." |
| 37 | But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. |
| 38 | And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? |
| 39 | Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." |
| 40 | When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. |
| 41 | But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" |
| 42 | So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. |
| 43 | And He took it and ate in their presence. |
| 44 | Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." |
| 45 | And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. |
| 46 | Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, |
| 47 | and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. |
| 48 | And you are witnesses of these things. |
| 49 | Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." |
| 50 | And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. |
| 51 | Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. |
| 52 | And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, |
| 53 | and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. |
Glory be to God forever.
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Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 6 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baunah.
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 Sixth Day of the Blessed Month of Baunah
Martyrdom of St.Theodore the Monk
On this day, St. Theodore the
Monk, was martyred. He was born in the city of Alexandria. He became a
monk in one of the monasteries near the city, and became known for his
pure life and strenuous asceticism. When Constantius, the son of the righteous
emperor Constantine, followed the Arians, he sent an arian patriarch to
Alexandria called Gawargios. He was accompanied by a number of soldiers.
He exiled St.Athanasius, the Pope of Alexandria, and sat in his place after
he had killed many of the believers. St. Theodore, with Christian zeal,
disputed with the Arians, and exposed their infidelity. The alien Patriarch
seized him, tortured him much, then ordered that he be tied to the legs
of unbridled horses. The horses were then released. St. Theodore's body
was torn to pieces and his head was smashed. He delivered up his soul into
the hand of the Lord and received the crown of martyrdom. The believers
collected his holy members, and laid them in a coffin. They established
a feast for him on this day.
May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
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