Saturday 15 March 2031
6 Baramhat 1747
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 142 : 5,7
| 5 | I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, "You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. |
| 7 | Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me." |
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 16 : 19 - 31
| 19 | "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. |
| 20 | But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, |
| 21 | desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. |
| 22 | So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. |
| 23 | And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. |
| 24 | "Then he cried and said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' |
| 25 | But Abraham said, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. |
| 26 | And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' |
| 27 | "Then he said, "I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, |
| 28 | for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' |
| 29 | Abraham said to him, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' |
| 30 | And he said, "No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' |
| 31 | But he said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead."' |
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 Philippians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Philippians 4 : 4 - 9
| 4 | Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! |
| 5 | Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. |
| 6 | Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; |
| 7 | and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. |
| 8 | Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. |
| 9 | The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. |
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 3:13-18 James 4:1-6
| 13 | Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. |
| 14 | But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. |
| 15 | This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. |
| 16 | For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. |
| 17 | But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. |
| 18 | Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. |
| 1 | Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? |
| 2 | You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. |
| 3 | You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. |
| 4 | Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. |
| 5 | Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? |
| 6 | But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." |
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 24:24-27 Acts 25:1-12
| 24 | And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. |
| 25 | Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you." |
| 26 | Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him. |
| 27 | But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound. |
| 1 | Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. |
| 2 | Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him, |
| 3 | asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem--while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. |
| 4 | But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. |
| 5 | "Therefore," he said, "let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if there is any fault in him." |
| 6 | And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. |
| 7 | When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove, |
| 8 | while he answered for himself, "Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all." |
| 9 | But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?" |
| 10 | So Paul said, "I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. |
| 11 | For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar." |
| 12 | Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, "You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!" |
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 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 Sixth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat
Martyrdom of St.Dioscorus
On this day, St. Dioscorus
was martyred at the time of the Arabs. He was from Alexandria, and was
brought up as Christian but for unexplained reason he left the faith of
his fathers and adopted the faith of the Arabs. He had a married sister
in the city of Fayyum. When she knew what her brother did, she sent a letter
to him saying: "I would have preferred that the news had come to me telling
me that you had died a Christian, and I would have rejoiced, than that
the news that reached me, that you are not dead, and you have abandoned
the Faith of Christ your God." At the end she said: "Know that this letter
marks the end of the relation between you and me. From this time on do
not show me your face and do not write me." When he had read his sister's
letter, he wept bitterly, and he smote his face and tore his beard. Then
he rose in haste and girded up his loins, prayed entreating God fervently
and made the sign of the cross over himself. He went out of his house and
wandered about in the city. When the Muslims saw him in this condition,
they brought him to the Governor who asked him: "You have left Christianity
and joined our religion, so what happened to you?" He replied saying "I
have been born Christian, and I shall die Christian, and I do not know
except this." The Governor threatened him, beat him and inflicted great
pain upon him and when he did not change his opinion, he shut him up in
prison. The Governor sent to the Khalifa of Egypt presenting his case to
him. The Khalifa ordered the governor to offer him leaving the faith of
the Christians and entering the faith of the Khalifa, if he obeyed to give
him much money and to reward him, otherwise to burn him. The Governor brought
him out of jail and asked him to deny his faith but he refused saying:
"I told you before that I have been born Christian, and I shall die Christian."
He ordered him to be burnt. They dug a large pit outside the city, and
they filled it with wood and they set fire in it. When the flames of the
fire mounted up to a great height, they casted him in the pit after they
had beaten him sorely and gashed his body with knives. He received the
crown of martyrdom in the kingdom of heaven.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Departure of St.Theodotus, the Bishop
On this day also is the
commemoration of the departure of St. Theodsius the confessor, Bishop of
Corinth which on the island of Cyprus. Julius, the Governor of this island,
who had been appointed by Diocletian, had him brought before him. He demanded
from him to deny the Lord Christ and to raise incense to the idols. When
he did not obey his orders, he removed off the Saint's garments and lashed
him painfully with whips made of buffalo hide, hanged him from his arms,
and combed his body with steel combs inflicting him with gashes all over
his body. Then they tied to his legs long iron bands, and dragged him to
prison. He remained in prison until God perished Diocletian and Constantine
the righteous Emperor reigned, who released him among all those who had
been jailed for the sake of faith. St.Theodsius returned to his Episcopal
Seat, and tended his flock, that he was entrusted with, well until he departed
in peace.
May his intercession be with us and Glory be to God for ever. 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 61 : 1,5
| 1 | Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. |
| 5 | For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. |
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 21 : 33 - 46
| 33 | "Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. |
| 34 | Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. |
| 35 | And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. |
| 36 | Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. |
| 37 | Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, "They will respect my son.' |
| 38 | But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' |
| 39 | So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. |
| 40 | "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" |
| 41 | They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons." |
| 42 | Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'? |
| 43 | "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. |
| 44 | And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." |
| 45 | Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. |
| 46 | But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. |
Glory be to God forever.
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