15 Baramudah 1747
Readings for Wednesday 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 41 : 2
| 2 | The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. |
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 9 : 36 - 38
| 36 | But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. |
| 37 | Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. |
| 38 | Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." |
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 63 : 1 - 2
| 1 | O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. |
| 2 | So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. |
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 9 : 32 - 35
| 32 | As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. |
| 33 | And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!" |
| 34 | But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons." |
| 35 | Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. |
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 : 11 - 13
| 11 | For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- |
| 12 | that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. |
| 13 | Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. |
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 : 1 - 6
| 1 | My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. |
| 2 | And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. |
| 3 | Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. |
| 4 | He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. |
| 5 | But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. |
| 6 | He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. |
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 : 8 - 12
| 8 | Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: |
| 9 | If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, |
| 10 | let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. |
| 11 | This is the "stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' |
| 12 | Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." |
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 : 1 - 2
| 1 | I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. |
| 2 | I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. |
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 5 : 31 - 37
| 31 | "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. |
| 32 | There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. |
| 33 | You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. |
| 34 | Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. |
| 35 | He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. |
| 36 | But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish--the very works that I do--bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. |
| 37 | And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. |
Glory be to God forever.
Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 15 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 Fifteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramudah
Commemoration of the Consecration of the first altar for St.Nicholas, Bishop of Mora for Jacobite Christians
On this day, the church commemorates the consecration of the first altar that was built by the Jacobite Christians, who were residing in the land of Egypt for St.Nicholas, bishop of Mora. St.Nicholas was one of the fathers of the council of Nicea, the Three Hundred and Eighteen. This altar was built in the church of the saint Anba Shenouda, to the east of the city.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of St.Agabus, the Apostle
This day also, marks the commemoration of the consecration of the church of St. Agabus, one of the Seventy Apostles. He prophesied about the events that afflicted St. Paul saying: "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" (Acts 21:10-11)
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Alexandra, the Empress
On this day also, St. Alexandra, the Empress, Emperor Diocletian's wife, departed. When the great martyr, St. George deluded Emperor Diocletian that he would worship his idols, the Emperor embraced his head and brought him into his royal palace. The Saint prayed and read some of the Psalms before Empress Alexandra and interpreted to her what he read. He explained to her the Divinity of the Lord Christ. His words entered her heart and she believed in the Lord Christ, to Whom is the glory. When the Saint stood before the idols, he called the Name of the Lord Christ, and the idols were destroyed. The Emperor and those with him were humiliated. When the Emperor returned to the palace and told the Empress what had happened, she told him: "Did I not tell you not to set yourself against the Galilean, for their God is strong and powerful?" Diocletian became extremely raged, tortured her severely, then threw her in prison where she departed in peace.
May Her prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of Pope Mark, (Marcus) VI, the 101st Patriarch
On this day also, of the year 1372 A.M. (April 20th., 1656 A.D).), Pope Mark (Marcus) VI, 101st Patriarch of Alexandria, departed. He was known as Marcus El-Bahgoury. He was from Bahgourah, and became a monk in the monastery of St. Antonios. When Pope Matteos III, 100th Pope, departed, the archon Beshara, the lay leader of that time, agreed with the people on ordaining this father. Anba Khristozolo, Bishop of Jerusalem, headed the celebration of the enthronement, on Sunday, the fifteenth of Barmoudah, 1362 A.M. (April 20th. 1646 A.D.), and was called Marcus VI. After his ordination, a vast dispute took place between him and the archon Beshara. From his famous achievements, he issued an order preventing the monks from living in the world, ordering them to return to their monasteries. The monks were raged because of this order, did not consent to it, and refrained from obeying it. Satan, the enemy of the good, moved one of the monks called Kodsy, to write a petition to the Governor (Basha), accusing the Pope that he tortured the people and killed them. The Governor ordered an investigation to uncover the truth. During the inquiry, the monk denied writing the petition. The Pope was exonerated from the accusations that were in the complainant petition, but he was ordered to pay a heavy fine which was paid by the lay leaders of the country.
On the 21st of Tubah, 1365 A.M., an order was issued to prevent Christians from riding horses, wearing red caftans (A long sleeved outer garment), and red broadcloth skull caps. However they were to wear blue caftans thirty feet long. The Patriarch went to Upper Egypt and stayed there for four years, during which he collected much money and was foolish in his conduct, to the point that all the people, bishops, priests, and lay leaders, were exasperated. The dispute, existed between him and the archon Beshara, went on until he returned to Cairo. He then reconciled with him, and his behavior was straighten after that. He built the prayer hall in the convent of the church of the virgin in Haret Zeewaila in Cairo. Pope Marcus departed on the fifteenth of Barmoudah, 1372 A.M. (April 20th. 1656 AD.). He was buried in the church of Abu Saifain in Old Cairo, after he stayed on the Chair for ten full years. He was a contemporary to El Sultan Ibrahim I and El Sultan Mohammed IV, and the Chair was vacant for four years, seven months and sixteen days after him.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.