14 Bashans 1740
Readings for Wednesday of third 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 44 : 23,26
| 23 | Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever. |
| 26 | Arise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies' sake. |
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 20 : 29 - 34
| 29 | Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. |
| 30 | And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" |
| 31 | Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" |
| 32 | So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" |
| 33 | They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." |
| 34 | So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. |
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 57 : 8 - 10
| 8 | Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. |
| 9 | I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. |
| 10 | For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds. |
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 20 : 17 - 19
| 17 | Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, |
| 18 | "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, |
| 19 | and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again." |
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 2 : 14 - 16
| 14 | for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, |
| 15 | who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) |
| 16 | in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. |
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 : 21 - 25
| 21 | I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. |
| 22 | Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. |
| 23 | Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. |
| 24 | Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. |
| 25 | And this is the promise that He has promised us--eternal life. |
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 : 32 - 35
| 32 | Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. |
| 33 | And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. |
| 34 | Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, |
| 35 | and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. |
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 18 : 46,49
| 46 | The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. |
| 49 | Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to 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 John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 8 : 23 - 26
| 23 | And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. |
| 24 | Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." |
| 25 | Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. |
| 26 | I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him." |
Glory be to God forever.
Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 14 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 Fourteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Departure of St.Pachomius (Pakhom), the Father of the Spiritual Communal Monastic Life (Cenobitic Life)
On this day, of the year 64 A.M. (348 A.D.), Abba Pachomius, the father of the spiritual communal life (Cenobitic life), departed. He was born in Thebes (Luxor) from pagan parents, who forced him to worship idols. He rejected and mocked this worship, then became a monk with St.Balamon (Palaemon). He lived in submission to him for many years, and he mastered well the ways of the monastic life. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and commanded him to establish a communal and holy monastic life. Many monks gathered together to him, and he built for them many monasteries and established for them a system of manual labor, the times of prayers, and eating. He was the father of them all, with an Abbot in every monastery. He visited all the monasteries, from Aswan to Edfu to Donasa to the end of Upper Egypt to the north. He did not permit any one of his sons to become a priest for the sake of the vainglory of this world, and not to overlook the purpose of their monastic life of worship by being away from the world. He invited a priest from outside for each monastery to officiate the Divine Liturgy. When Pope Athanasius wanted to ordain him a priest, he fled from him. St. Athanasius asked his disciples to tell him that he who built his house on the rock that can not be shaken, and fled from the vainglory of the world, is blessed, and his disciples are also blessed. He desired once to see Hades, and he saw in a night vision the habitation of the sinners and places of torment. He remained the father of the Cenobites for forty years. When the time of his departure drew near, he called the monks, strengthened their faith, and appointed someone to take over his place after him, then departed in peace.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Epimachus (Ephimachus) of Pelusium
On this day also, St. Epimachus was martyred. He was born in Pelusium (Farma). He was a weaver along with his two companions: Theodore and Callinicos. When he heard that "Youlamis" the governor of Egypt, had come to torture the Christians, he preached his friends explaining the vainglory of this world, then he bade them farewell and went to El-Bakroug, which was near Demera. He came to the Governor who was torturing a woman, and then threw her in a furnace. The fiery furnace became like cool dew to her. The Governor then took her out of the furnace and cut off her head. When Epimachus saw that, he came before the Governor, and confessed the Lord Christ, to Him is the glory. The Governor tortured him severely. He was twenty-seven years old. Then he ordered him to be squeezed on the wheel, and a drop of his blood splashed on the eyes of a blind maiden, and right away she was able to see. Her family believed in the Lord Christ. They were all martyred and received the crown of martyrdom. The Governor became angry and ordered him to be crucified, and then his head to be cut off. The executioner drew his sword but his strength failed and was unable to raise his sword. The same thing happened when another executioner tried and so with fourteen other executioners. When they failed to cut off his head, they tied a rope around his neck and dragged him until he delivered his soul into the hand of the Lord and received the crown of martyrdom. One of the soldiers, who was deaf and dumb, carried the body to cast it away. When he touched the body, instantly he heard and spoke. Some of the believers from the city of Edku came and took the body and many signs and wonders took place from it. When the people from Demera came to console his family and saw the signs and wonders which were revealed through him, they believed and were baptized. They numbered one thousand, seven-hundred and fifty, men, women, and children. His kinsfolk carried him to El-Barmoun with great honor. The Governor of El-Barmoun shrouded him with expensive shrouds from his own money and they built a church after his name.
May his prayers be with us and glory be to God forever. Amen.