Readings for Thursday 17 October 2024
7 Babah 1741


Vespers Psalm & Gospel

From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.

Psalms 65 : 4 - 5

4Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple.
5By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas;

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 24 : 42 - 47

42Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
43But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
44Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
46Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
47Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.

Glory be to God forever.

↑ Top of Page ↑


Matins Psalm & Gospel

From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.

Psalms 37 : 17,18,29

17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous.
18The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever.
29The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever.

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 13 : 33 - 37

33Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
34It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.
35Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning--
36lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.
37And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"

Glory be to God forever.

↑ Top of Page ↑


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.

1 Corinthians 3 : 4 - 23

4For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?
5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
7So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
8Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
10According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.
14If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
16Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
18Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness";
20and again, "The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."
21Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:
22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come--all are yours.
23And you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.

↑ Top of Page ↑


Catholic Epistle

A Reading from Epistle of St. Peter . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.

1 Peter 5 : 5 - 14

5Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
6Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
10But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
11To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
13She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.
14Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. 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.

↑ Top of Page ↑


Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us. Amen.

Acts 18:24-28 Acts 19:1-6

24Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.
25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.
26So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
27And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;
28for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
1And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples
2he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
3And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism."
4Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God. Amen.

↑ Top of Page ↑


Synaxarium

Day 7 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 Seventh Day of the Blessed Month of Babah

The Departure of St. Paula El-Tamouhi

      On this day was the departure of Abba Paula who was from Tamouh. Because he was inclined since his young age to his solitary life, he went to Ansena Mountain where he lived with his disciple Ezekiel, who was the witness of his virtues. Living in his exceeding love to the Lord Christ, to whom is the glory, he exhausted his body with asceticism, forsaking early things, fasting and prayer in a way that exceeds human endurance. For this, he deserved that the Lord appear to him and bless him for his conduct in this life, for such is the behavior of those who are perfect and who fight against the flesh, the world and the devil till they overcome them. St. Paula said to the Lord, "All that is due to Your care, You have created us and redeemed us by Your death for us the undeserving sinners." The Lord Christ comforted him and strengthened him.

      When our father St. Bishoy went to Mount Ansena, he was joined by the saint Abba Paula. The Lord Christ told Abba Paula, "Your body will be buried with that of my chosen Bishoy." When Abba Paula departed, his body was placed with the body of St. Bishoy. When they wanted to move the body of St. Bishoy to the wilderness of St. Macarius in Scete, they carried it onto a boat, and left St. Paula's behind; however the boat would not move, until they finally brought the body of St. Paula and placed it beside St. Bishoy's body. Then they brought them to the wilderness of Sheheat (Scete).

May his prayers be with us all, and Glory be to God forever. Amen.

↑ Top of Page ↑


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 37 : 30 - 31

30The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice.
31The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide.

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 : 1 - 12

1He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.
2So he called him and said to him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'
3"Then the steward said within himself, "What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.
4I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'
5"So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, "How much do you owe my master?'
6And he said, "A hundred measures of oil.' So he said to him, "Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'
7Then he said to another, "And how much do you owe?' So he said, "A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, "Take your bill, and write eighty.'
8So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
9"And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.
10He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
11Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?

Glory be to God forever.

↑ Top of Page ↑


Return to previous page.
Reference
echo "";