9 Bashans 1747
Readings for Saturday of fifth of of the Holy Fifty Days
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 135 : 19 - 20
| 19 | Bless the LORD, O house of Israel! Bless the LORD, O house of Aaron! |
| 20 | Bless the LORD, O house of Levi! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! |
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 14 : 1 - 6
| 1 | Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. |
| 2 | And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. |
| 3 | And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" |
| 4 | But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. |
| 5 | Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" |
| 6 | And they could not answer Him regarding these things. |
Glory be to God forever.
Matins Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 36 : 5 - 6
| 5 | Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. |
| 6 | Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preserve man and beast. |
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 John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 7 : 37 - 46
| 37 | On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. |
| 38 | He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." |
| 39 | But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. |
| 40 | Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet." |
| 41 | Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee? |
| 42 | Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" |
| 43 | So there was a division among the people because of Him. |
| 44 | Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. |
| 45 | Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?" |
| 46 | The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" |
Glory be to God forever.
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 Hebrews.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Hebrews 10 : 1 - 13
| 1 | For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. |
| 2 | For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. |
| 3 | But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. |
| 4 | For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. |
| 5 | Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. |
| 6 | In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. |
| 7 | Then I said, "Behold, I have come--In the volume of the book it is written of Me--To do Your will, O God."' |
| 8 | Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), |
| 9 | then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. |
| 10 | By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. |
| 11 | And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. |
| 12 | But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, |
| 13 | from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. John . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
1 John 5 : 11 - 21
| 11 | And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. |
| 12 | He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. |
| 13 | These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. |
| 14 | Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. |
| 15 | And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. |
| 16 | If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. |
| 17 | All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. |
| 18 | We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. |
| 19 | We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. |
| 20 | And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. |
| 21 | Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. |
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.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us. Amen.
Acts 23 : 6 - 11
| 6 | But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!" |
| 7 | And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. |
| 8 | For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection--and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. |
| 9 | Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees' party arose and protested, saying, "We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God." |
| 10 | Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks. |
| 11 | But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome." |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God. Amen.
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 135 : 3,5
| 3 | Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant. |
| 5 | For I know that the LORD is great, And our Lord is above all gods. |
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 John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 14 : 1 - 11
| 1 | "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. |
| 2 | In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. |
| 3 | And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. |
| 4 | And where I go you know, and the way you know." |
| 5 | Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" |
| 6 | Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. |
| 7 | "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." |
| 8 | Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." |
| 9 | Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, "Show us the Father'? |
| 10 | Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. |
| 11 | Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. |
Glory be to God forever.
Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 9 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Bashans.
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 Ninth Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Departure of St.Helena, The Empress
On this day of 327 A.D.,
St. Helena the Empress, departed. She was born in the city of Raha (Edessa)
for Christian parents about the year 247 A.D. They brought her up in a
Christian manner, taught her the doctrine of the church and the religious
ethics. She was very beautiful. When Emperor Constantius the First, Emperor
of Byzantium, came to the city of Raha, and heard about this Saint, he
sought her out and married her. She gave birth to Constantine who became
the first Christian Emperor. She raised him up well, and taught him philosophy,
wisdom and knighthood. During the reign of her son, she saw a vision at
night as if one said to her: "Go to Jerusalem and search carefully for
the Honorable Cross and the Holy places." When she informed her son about
this, he sent her with many soldiers to Jerusalem. She searched for the
wood of the Honorable Cross until she found it along with the other two
crosses whereon the two thieves were crucified. She wanted to know which
was the cross of the Lord Christ. St. Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, told
her that it was the cross that was written on the top of it: "This is Jesus,
king of the Jews." She asked him that she wished to see a miracle to make
sure that it was the cross of the Lord. By the Will of God, a procession
of a dead man was passing by at that time. She placed the other two crosses
on the body of the dead man, but he did not rise. When she placed the third
cross, straightway the dead rose up. Her faith increased and her joy multiplied.
She built many churches as it is written under the 17th. day of the month
of Tut. She gave the needed money to build the churches to St.Macarius,
she took the honorable Cross and the nails and returned to her righteous
son Emperor Constantine. He kissed the Cross and placed it in a case made
of gold and decorated with precious stones, and placed some of the nails
in his helmet. St. Helena led a righteous life, and she endowed many endowments
for the churches, monasteries and the poor. She departed at age of eighty.
May Her prayers be with us all. Amen.
Departure of Pope Yoannis the Eleventh, the 89th Patriarch of Alexandria
On this day also of the year 1168 A.M. (May 4th., 1452 A.D.) Pope Yoannis the eleventh, the 89th. Patriarch of Alexandria, departed. He was known as Yoannis El-Maksi for he was from El-Maksa in Cairo. His name was Farag before his ordination. He was enthroned Patriarch on the 16th. of Bashans, 1143 A.M. (May 11th., 1427 A.D.). He sat on the throne of St. Mark for 24 years, 11 month, and 23 days. His residence was in the patriarchal cell in Haret Zewala. When he departed, he was buried in the tomb of the monastery of El-Khandak. The Chair remained unoccupied after his departure, for four month and six days. He was contemporary to the rulers El-Ashraf, El-Aziz, El-Zaher, and El-Mansour. He encountered many hardships that required the intervention of the kings of Ethiopia who threatened the Egyptian government to cut the flow of the Nile because of the persecution of El-Nasara (The Copts, the Nazarenes). The Patriarch was forbidden to communicate with the kings of Ethiopia and Nubia without the permission and knowledge of the rulers of the government.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Gabriel the Eighth, the 97th Patriarch of Alexandria
On this day also of the year 1319 A.M. (May 14th., 1603 A.D.), Pope Gabriel the eighth, the 97th. Patriarch of Alexandria, departed during the reign of Sultan Ahmad the first, the Ottoman. He was from Meer, and became a monk in Anba Bishoy monastery in the wilderness of Sheahat (Scetis). His name was Shenouda, and was ordained Patriarch on sunday the 16th. of Baunah 1303 A.M. (June 20th., 1587 A.D.). The enthronement celebration was headed by Anba Zacharias, Bishop of Jerusalem, and Anba Kyrellos El-Khiami, in the church of St. Mercurius in Old Cairo. At the time of his ordination, the Copts were divided, and they chose for themselves four patriarchs, and they deposed him. He returned later on to his Chair at the time of Sultan Mourad the third, the Ottoman and his papacy was confirmed. It came to pass (As was written in a document in St. Antonios monastery) that he decreed that the fast of the Apostles must start on the 21st. of Baunah until the 5th. of Abib, and that there should be no fasting during the three days of Nineva, the Advent fast should start on the first of Kiyahk, and that the fast of the Virgin be left optional. All the Copts at that time approved what he had decreed. However, after his departure, they returned back to the old tradition of fasting. He departed in the monastery of the Virgin Mary known as El-Sourian, after he had been on the throne of St. Mark for fifteen years, ten month, and twenty four days.
May his prayers be with us and glory be to God forever. Amen.
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