Readings for Sunday 15 December 2024
6 Kiyahk 1741
First Sunday of Kiyank - Abstinence
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 13 : 1 - 3
| 1 | How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? |
| 2 | How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? |
| 3 | Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death; |
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 14 : 3 - 9
| 3 | And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. |
| 4 | But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? |
| 5 | For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply. |
| 6 | But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. |
| 7 | For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. |
| 8 | She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. |
| 9 | Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." |
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 102 : 19 - 21
| 19 | For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary; From heaven the LORD viewed the earth, |
| 20 | To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To release those appointed to death, |
| 21 | To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, And His praise in Jerusalem, |
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 12 : 41 - 44
| 41 | Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. |
| 42 | Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. |
| 43 | So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; |
| 44 | for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood." |
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 Romans.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Romans 1 : 1 - 17
| 1 | Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God |
| 2 | which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, |
| 3 | concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, |
| 4 | and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. |
| 5 | Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, |
| 6 | among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; |
| 7 | To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 8 | First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. |
| 9 | For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, |
| 10 | making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. |
| 11 | For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- |
| 12 | that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. |
| 13 | Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. |
| 14 | I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. |
| 15 | So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. |
| 16 | For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. |
| 17 | For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." |
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 blessings be upon us. Amen.
James 1 : 1 - 18
| 1 | James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. |
| 2 | My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, |
| 3 | knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. |
| 4 | But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. |
| 5 | If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. |
| 6 | But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. |
| 7 | For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; |
| 8 | he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. |
| 9 | Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, |
| 10 | but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. |
| 11 | For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. |
| 12 | Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. |
| 13 | Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. |
| 14 | But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. |
| 15 | Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. |
| 16 | Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. |
| 17 | Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. |
| 18 | Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. |
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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Synaxarium
Day 6 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Kiyahk.
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 Kiyahk
Martyrdom of St.Anatolius
On this day also we commemorate
St. Anatolius (Anatole - Patlas), the priest and martyr.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Departure of St.Abraam, the Sixty-Second
Pope of Alexandria
On this day, of the year
970 A.D., the saint Anba Abraam, 62nd Pope of Alexandria, departed. This
father was a descendant of the Christians of the East, whose name was Ebn-Zaraa
the Syrian. He was a rich merchant who visited Egypt often, then finally
settled there. He was blessed with many virtues, including mercy to the
needy. His reputation of righteousness and knowledge became well known.
When the Patriarchal Chair became vacant, the bishops and the learned elders
all agreed to choose him as Patriarch. When he sat on the chair of the
See of St. Mark, he gave all his possessions to the poor and needy. During
his days, Cosman Ebn-Mina, the Coptic minister, was appointed a Governor
over Palestine. Before his departure to his new position, he entrusted
one hundred thousand dinars to the father, the Patriarch, asking him to
hold them until his return. He asked the Pope to give the money to the
poor, the needy, the churches and the monasteries, if he died there. When
the news of the taking over of Syria and Palestine by Hafktin (Kormati),
reached the Patriarch, he thought that Cosman had died. He distributed
that money according to Cosman's instructions. But Cosman was saved from
death and returned to Egypt. The father, the Patriarch, told him what he
did with the money, and Cosman was glad and exceedingly happy. Among his
accomplishments was the abolition of some corrupt and erroneous customs.
He prevented and excommunicated everyone who took bribes from anyone for
the purpose of gaining a clerical position. He also strongly forbade the
keeping of concubines. When the people who were practicing that knew his
orders, the fear of God moved them, for they also feared that the Patriarch
might excommunicate them. They set all their concubines free and went to
the Patriarch repenting, except for one of the rich men of the country.
This man did not fear God nor did he heed the fact that this father, who
chided him repeatedly and was very patient with him, would excommunicate
him. He did not return from his evil way and was not afraid lest God should
destroy him. In spite of that, this father did not slacken in teaching
and rebuking him. Furthermore he humbled himself like Christ, his teacher,
and he went to that man's house. When the man heard of the arrival of the
Patriarch to his house, he shut the door and refused to let him in. The
father remained standing at the door for two hours knocking but the man
neither opened the door for him, nor did he speak to him. The father realized
that this wretched man had intentionally separated himself from the flock
of Christ and became a corrupt member.
The Pope saw it fit to cut
him from the body of the church, so as not to corrupt the rest of the body.
He excommunicated him saying, "Let his blood be on his own head," and then
the Pope shook off the dust from his sandals at the door of the house of
that man. At this moment God manifested a sign before the eyes of those
who were present, for the doorstep, which was made of granite, had split
in two. Later on, the Lord showed his might, and the man lost all his wealth
and he was fired from his position in disgrace. He became ill which led
to his death in a horrible way. He became an example to the others; since
many sinners learned a lesson and were afraid as a result of what happened
to him. During the days of this father, El-Mu'izz, the Khalifa, had a Jewish
Vizier; his name was, Jacob-Ebn-Yousef, who adopted the Muslim faith (Islam).
That minister had a Jewish friend (Ebn-Killis), who used to go with him
frequently to the Khalifa and converse with him. That Jew took advantage
of the favor that his friend had with the Khalifa, and found this to be
an opportunity to ask for the presence of the father, the Patriarch, in
order that he might have a debate with him. Abba Abraam came along with
Anba Severus Ebn-EI-Mukafaa, Bishop of Ashmunein. El-Mu'izz ordered them
to sit, so they sat down silently. He asked, "Why are you not debating?"
Anba Severus answered, "How can we argue in the presence of El-Khalifa,
with a man who is less intelligent than an ox?" El-Mu'izz asked for an
explanation. Anba Severus said, "God has declared by the mouth of the prophet,
'The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib: but Israel does
not know."' (Isaiah 1:3) They debated that Jew and shamed him with all
the unrefutable arguments that prove the soundness of the Christian faith.
Then they left El-Mu'izz with great honor. The minister and his Jewish
friend were not able to bear the insults. So they sought the chance to
take revenge of on Christians. A few days later, the Jewish Vizier; Jacob-Ebn-Yousef
went to El-Mu'izz and maliciously told him, "Your royal highness knows
that the faith of the Christians does not have a sound base. Their Bible
states, 'If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to
this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move. (Matthew 17:20)
Prince of the faithful knows the falsehood of these sayings. And to verify
this, we will summon the Patriarch to give us the proof that their Christ's
sayings are true."
The Khalifa thought to himself, "If the saying of Christ is true, that
would be of great benefit to us, for the Mukatam mount is too close to
Cairo. If the mountain can be moved away, that would make the position
of the city greater than what it is now. If the saying is not true, that
will give us the justification to persecute the Christians." El-Mu'izz
called the father, the Patriarch, and placed this saying before him, and
asked for the proof of its soundness. The Pope asked for a three-day respite,
which was granted. When the Pope left El-Khalifa, he gathered the monks
and the bishops nearby and they all stayed in El-Mualaqua (the Suspended)
Church in Old Cairo, three days fasting and supplicating God. Before dawn
of the third day as Abba Abraam dozed off out of sheer weariness, our Holy
Lady, the Virgin, St. Mary, the Mother of God, appeared to him and told
him to rise up and go to the street which leads to the market. There he
would find a one-eyed man bearing a pot of water on his shoulder. She instructed
Abba Abraam to tell him that he was the man designated by God to perform
this sign.
This holy man's name was
Simon and he was a Tanner. The father, the Patriarch, took him along with
some of the priests, monks and people to see El-Mu'izz, who was out with
the government leaders and the nobles of the city nearby the Mukatam Mountain.
The father, the Patriarch, stood with those who were with him on one side
and El-Mu'izz and his entourage stood on the other side. The father, the
Patriarch, and the believers prayed and knelt down three times, and every
time
they knelt, they said, "Kirya-layson" Lord have mercy. Whenever the Patriarch
and the congregation lifted up their heads after each bow, the mountain
would lift up and when they bowed down, the mountain was lowered down to
the ground, and whenever they walked, the mountain moved before them. A
great fear came on the Khalifa and his companions and many fell on the
ground. The Khalifa advanced on his horse toward the Patriarch and said,
"O great teacher, I now know that you are a holy man, ask whatsoever you
wish and I will give it to you." The Patriarch refused to ask for anything;
but when the Khalifa insisted, he asked the Governor to allow him to build
churches, especially the church of St. Mercurius (of the two swords) which
was in Old Cairo. He wrote him a decree permitting the building and the
renovation of churches and he gave him a large sum of money from the treasury.
The Patriarch thanked him and prayed for him, but he refused to take the
money. As a result, El-Mu'izz revered and respected him more for his piety
and righteousness. When they started building the church of St. Mercurius,
some evil men prevented them from working, whereupon El-Mu'izz came to
the sight and kept the troublemakers away. He remained there, standing
until they completed laying the foundation. This father renovated many
churches all over the See of St. Mark. When he completed his course, he
departed in peace after he sat on the chair for 3 years and 6 days.
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 102 : 13,16
| 13 | You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come. |
| 16 | For the LORD shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His 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 Luke the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Luke 1 : 1 - 25
| 1 | Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, |
| 2 | just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, |
| 3 | it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, |
| 4 | that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. |
| 5 | There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. |
| 6 | And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. |
| 7 | But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. |
| 8 | So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, |
| 9 | according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. |
| 10 | And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. |
| 11 | Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. |
| 12 | And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. |
| 13 | But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. |
| 14 | And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. |
| 15 | For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. |
| 16 | And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. |
| 17 | He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." |
| 18 | And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years." |
| 19 | And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. |
| 20 | But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time." |
| 21 | And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. |
| 22 | But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. |
| 23 | So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. |
| 24 | Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, |
| 25 | "Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people." |
Glory be to God forever.
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