Readings for Sunday 13 October 2024
3 Babah 1741
First Sunday of Babah
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 67 : 1 - 2
| 1 | God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us,Selah |
| 2 | That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. |
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 14 : 15 - 21
| 15 | When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." |
| 16 | But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." |
| 17 | And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." |
| 18 | He said, "Bring them here to Me." |
| 19 | Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. |
| 20 | So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. |
| 21 | Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. |
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 63 : 1 - 2
| 1 | O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. |
| 2 | So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. |
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 28 : 1 - 20
| 1 | Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. |
| 2 | And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. |
| 3 | His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. |
| 4 | And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. |
| 5 | But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. |
| 6 | He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. |
| 7 | And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you." |
| 8 | So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. |
| 9 | And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. |
| 10 | Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me." |
| 11 | Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. |
| 12 | When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, |
| 13 | saying, "Tell them, "His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.' |
| 14 | And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure." |
| 15 | So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. |
| 16 | Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. |
| 17 | When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. |
| 18 | And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. |
| 19 | Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, |
| 20 | teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 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 Corinthians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
2 Corinthians 2:12-17 2 Corinthians 3:1-6
| 12 | Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, |
| 13 | I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. |
| 14 | Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. |
| 15 | For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. |
| 16 | To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? |
| 17 | For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. |
| 1 | Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? |
| 2 | You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; |
| 3 | clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. |
| 4 | And we have such trust through Christ toward God. |
| 5 | Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, |
| 6 | who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. |
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 1:22-25 1 Peter 2:1-5
| 22 | Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, |
| 23 | having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, |
| 24 | because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, |
| 25 | But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. |
| 1 | Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, |
| 2 | as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, |
| 3 | if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. |
| 4 | Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, |
| 5 | you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. |
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 13 : 36 - 43
| 36 | "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; |
| 37 | but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. |
| 38 | Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; |
| 39 | and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. |
| 40 | Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you: |
| 41 | "Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you."' |
| 42 | So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. |
| 43 | Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. |
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 3 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Babah.
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 Third Day of the Blessed Month of Babah
The Departure of St. Simeon the Second,
the Fifty-First Pope of the See of St. Mark
On this day of the year 822 A..D.,
departed the pure father Abba Simeon the Second, the fifty-first Pope of
the See of St. Mark. This saint was the son of one of the elders of Alexandria
and his parents were Orthodox Christians. He sucked the milk of the faith
from his childhood and he learned the doctrines of the church. He chose
for himself the monastic garb, and he went to the desert of Scete and became
a monk in the monastery of his predecessor Abba Jacob, the Patriarch. He
dwelt with him for many years during which he weakened his body by his
strenuous ascetic life, and his excessive worshipping. When Abba Marcus
the Second became a Patriarch, he requested St. Simeon from his spiritual
father Abba Jacob for what was known about his good reputation and his
sound management, and he stayed with Abba Marcus until his departure. When
Abba Jacob, his spiritual father, became patriarch, he kept Abba Simeon
with him and he benefited from him often. When Abba Jacob departed, the
bishops, priests, and eldres unanimously agreed with a spiritual unity
to bring forward this father for what they had seen of him (as to righteousness
and orthodox faith) during his stay with the two patriarchs who preceeded
him. They seized him, bound him and ordained him a patriarch. He followed
the Divine path, and he was well-pleasing to the Lord. And, as God wished
to tale him, he did not stay on the throne but for five and a half months
before departing in peace.
May his prayers and blessings be with us all. Amen.
The Martyrdom of St. John the Soldier
On this day also was the
martyrdom of St. John the soldier from the city of Ashrobah.
May his prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to 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 34 : 1 - 2
| 1 | I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. |
| 2 | My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. |
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 2 : 1 - 12
| 1 | And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. |
| 2 | Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. |
| 3 | Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. |
| 4 | And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. |
| 5 | When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." |
| 6 | And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, |
| 7 | "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" |
| 8 | But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? |
| 9 | Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, "Arise, take up your bed and walk'? |
| 10 | But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic, |
| 11 | "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." |
| 12 | Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" |
Glory be to God forever.
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