24 Baramudah 1741
Readings for Friday of second 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 16 : 9
| 9 | Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. |
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 17 : 14 - 18
| 14 | And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, |
| 15 | "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. |
| 16 | So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." |
| 17 | Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." |
| 18 | And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. |
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 16 : 10 - 11
| 10 | For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. |
| 11 | You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. |
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 16 : 21 - 23
| 21 | From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. |
| 22 | Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" |
| 23 | But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." |
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 Romans.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Romans 1 : 19 - 21
| 19 | because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. |
| 20 | For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, |
| 21 | because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. |
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 2 : 11 - 14
| 11 | But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. |
| 12 | I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. |
| 13 | I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father. |
| 14 | I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one. |
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 4 : 19 - 21
| 19 | But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. |
| 20 | For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." |
| 21 | So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. |
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 9 : 10 - 11
| 10 | And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. |
| 11 | Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people. |
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 6 : 54 - 58
| 54 | Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. |
| 55 | For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. |
| 56 | He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. |
| 57 | As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. |
| 58 | This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." |
Glory be to God forever.
Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 24 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramudah.
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 Twenty-Fourth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramudah
Departure of Pope Sinuthius (Shenouda I), 55th Pope of Alexandria
On this day, of the year 596 A.M. (April 19th., 880 A.D.), the great father Pope Sinuthius (Shenouda I), 55th Pope of the See of St. Mark, departed. This holy father was a monk in the monastery of St. Macarius. He advanced in righteousness and worship, and was ordained archpriest for the monastery. Shortly after, he was chosen for the Patriarchate with the recommendation of the people and bishops. He was enthroned on the 13th. of Tubah 575 A.D. (January 8th., 859 A.D.), and great tribulations and severe persecutions befell him. God performed through him many signs and healed many grievous sicknesses. Once there was a drought in the city of Mariout for three years, the wells dried up and the farm land became barren. This father came to the church of St. Mina, celebrated the Divine Liturgy, and supplicated God to have mercy upon His creation. At the setting of the sun of that day, the rain began lightly then ceased. This father entered his room and stood up praying and he said: "O My Lord Christ, have mercy on Thy people with the riches of Thy compassion, and let them be filled with Thy good pleasure." Before he finished his prayer, mighty thunders and lightnings started, and the rain descended like a flood, until the wells, the vineyards, and the farms were filled with water. The people rejoiced, glorifying God the wonder worker.
When this father was in the wilderness visiting the monasteries, the Arabs of Upper Egypt came to the desert of Scetis to plunder the monasteries and kill the monks. The Pope took his staff that had the sign of the cross on it and he went forth to meet them, when they saw the Cross they retreated and fled away. (The account of this wonder is mentioned in the ninth day of the month of Baramudah). Some men, in a village called Boukhnessa, one of the villages of Mariout, said that He Who suffered for us was only a man and that the Divinity had departed from Him. This Pope wrote a letter and sent it during the Holy Fast (Lent) to be read in all the churches. He said in it, "God the Word suffered for us in His Body, and His Divinity was not separated from His humanity, not for a twinkling of an eye. The pain and suffering did not touch and affect the Divinity, as when you hammer a red hot iron, the iron suffers from the hammering but not the flame. For the passion of the Humanity to be of value, the Hypostatic union with the Divinity was a must, and through this passion Christ redeemed all the humanity."
Also, some men from the city of El-Balyana, and their bishops, said that the Divine Nature died. When the father heard that, he wrote to them saying: "The Nature of God, the Word, is unknowable, intangible, and impassable for it was impossible for the pain to affect its essence. The participation of the Divinity with the humanity in passion is moral participation, to give a value to these sufferings, to pay the debt of the humanity to God the Omnipresent, and that would only be possible if the Divinity would participate morally without affecting His essence. So we say "Holy God, Who was crucified for us, have mercy upon us." When his letter reached them, they turned from their error, and the bishops came and confessed the true and right faith before the Pope and asked for forgiveness. Pope Shenouda I, cared greatly for the churches, their buildings, and their needs. He also cared for the places wherein pilgrims sojourned, and what money has left to him, he gave to the poor and the needy. When he finished his good course, he departed in peace. He stayed on the Chair of St. Mark for 21 years, 3 months and 11 days.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Sina, the Soldier
On this day also, St. Sina, the companion of St. Isidore, was martyred. After the Governor of Farma had tortured the two friends and St. Isidore was martyred, he kept St. Sina in the prison until he was removed. When the new Governor took charge with the command not to keep any one who confessed the Name of Christ, he heard about the presence of Sina in prison, and that he was a captain of soldiers. St. Sina was tortured much but did not turn from his counsel. The Governor immediately ordered to cut off his head and he received the crown of martyrdom. His mother was beside him when he was martyred, and she saw a multitude of angels carrying away his soul as she saw St. Isidore's soul at the time of his martyrdom before. They took his body, shrouded it, laid it with the body of his friend St. Isidore in the city of Samanoud, and many signs and wonders appeared from them.
May Their prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.