24 Baramudah 1749
Readings for Monday 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 27 : 13 - 14
| 13 | I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. |
| 14 | Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on 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 Matthew the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Matthew 14 : 23 - 33
| 23 | And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. |
| 24 | But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. |
| 25 | Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. |
| 26 | And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. |
| 27 | But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." |
| 28 | And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." |
| 29 | So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. |
| 30 | But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" |
| 31 | And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" |
| 32 | And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. |
| 33 | Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." |
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 112 : 4,6,7
| 4 | Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. |
| 6 | Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. |
| 7 | He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in 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 Matthew the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Matthew 8 : 23 - 27
| 23 | Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. |
| 24 | And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. |
| 25 | Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" |
| 26 | But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. |
| 27 | So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" |
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 : 1 - 4
| 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. |
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 1 : 1 - 7
| 1 | That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- |
| 2 | the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- |
| 3 | that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. |
| 4 | And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. |
| 5 | This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. |
| 6 | If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. |
| 7 | But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. |
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 : 1 - 4
| 1 | Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, |
| 2 | being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. |
| 3 | And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. |
| 4 | However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. |
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 70 : 5
| 5 | But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay. |
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 3 : 31 - 36
| 31 | He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. |
| 32 | And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. |
| 33 | He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. |
| 34 | For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. |
| 35 | The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. |
| 36 | He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." |
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.