Readings for Sunday 20 October 2024
10 Babah 1741
Second Sunday of Babah
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 67 : 3 - 4
| 3 | Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. |
| 4 | Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth.Selah |
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 : 24 - 27
| 24 | When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?" |
| 25 | He said, "Yes." And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?" |
| 26 | Peter said to Him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. |
| 27 | Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you." |
Glory be to God forever.
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Matins Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 63 : 6,3,4
| 6 | When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. |
| 3 | Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. |
| 4 | Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in 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 Mark the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Mark 16 : 2 - 8
| 2 | Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. |
| 3 | And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" |
| 4 | But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away--for it was very large. |
| 5 | And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. |
| 6 | But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. |
| 7 | But go, tell His disciples--and Peter--that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." |
| 8 | So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. |
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 Corinthians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
2 Corinthians 4 : 5 - 15
| 5 | For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. |
| 6 | For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. |
| 7 | But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. |
| 8 | We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; |
| 9 | persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- |
| 10 | always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. |
| 11 | For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. |
| 12 | So then death is working in us, but life in you. |
| 13 | And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, |
| 14 | knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. |
| 15 | For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. |
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 14:24-28 Acts 15:1-3
| 24 | And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. |
| 25 | Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. |
| 26 | From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed. |
| 27 | Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. |
| 28 | So they stayed there a long time with the disciples. |
| 1 | And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." |
| 2 | Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. |
| 3 | So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. |
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 10 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 Tenth Day of the Blessed Month of Babah
Martyrdom of St.Sergius, the Companion
of St.Bacchus
On
this day was the martyrdom of St.Sergius, the Companion of St.Bacchus.
He was a high ranking soldier, advanced in the court of Emperor Maximianus,
who showed him great favor. Because this Emperor was pagan and these two
saints were people of faith, he sent them to Antiochus, King of Syria,
to torture them and slay them if they did not give up their faith.
Antiochus inflicted St.Bacchus with severe tortures and when he did not
dissuade him from keeping to his Christianity, he ordered his men to slay
him. They slayed him and cast him into the Euphrates River and the water
waves brought him to the bank. The Lord sent an eagle to guard the pure
body and inspired two saints to take it. They took it with respect and
buried it. St.Sergius remained sorry for him until he saw in his sleep
his brother Bacchus in a beautiful palace, shining brightly; so his soul
was exceedingly comforted. After this, the governor commanded his men to
drive nails into St.Sergius' feet, and to send him to El-Rusafa tied to
the tails of the horses; his blood flowed down on the ground. On their
way, they met a damsel who was a virgin, and they drank water from her.
When she saw the condition the saint was in, she felt sad for him and she
pitied his youth and his fine form. The saint told her, "Come, follow me
to the city of El-Rusafa to take my body." And she followed him. The governor
of that city was a friend of St.Sergius, and it was through him that he
had this position. He tried to convince him to change his mind to save
his life. And when he did not accept his advice, he ordered that his head
be cut off. That virgin drew near and received the blood which flowed from
his holy neck and kept in a clip of wool. But the holy body was kept until
the end of the days of strife when they built a church for him at El-Rusafa.
Fifteen bishops consecrated it and laid his holy body in a coffin made
of marble. Those who went to be blessed witnessed that a perfumed oil distilled
from his body and healed the sick.
May his prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God
forever. 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 66 : 1,2
| 1 | Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! |
| 2 | Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. |
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 5 : 1 - 11
| 1 | So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, |
| 2 | and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. |
| 3 | Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. |
| 4 | When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." |
| 5 | But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." |
| 6 | And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. |
| 7 | So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. |
| 8 | When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" |
| 9 | For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; |
| 10 | and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." |
| 11 | So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. |
Glory be to God forever.
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