Readings for Friday 23 August 2024
17 Misra 1740
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 34 : 19 - 20
| 19 | Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. |
| 20 | He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. |
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 1 : 16 - 22
| 16 | And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. |
| 17 | Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." |
| 18 | They immediately left their nets and followed Him. |
| 19 | When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. |
| 20 | And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him. |
| 21 | Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. |
| 22 | And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. |
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 37 : 39 - 40
| 39 | But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble. |
| 40 | And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him. |
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 4 : 18 - 22
| 18 | And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. |
| 19 | Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." |
| 21 | Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, |
| 22 | and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. |
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 Galatians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Galatians 1 : 1 - 19
| 1 | Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), |
| 2 | and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: |
| 3 | Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, |
| 4 | who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, |
| 5 | to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. |
| 6 | I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, |
| 7 | which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. |
| 8 | But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. |
| 9 | As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. |
| 10 | For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. |
| 11 | But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. |
| 12 | For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. |
| 13 | For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. |
| 14 | And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. |
| 15 | But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, |
| 16 | to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, |
| 17 | nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. |
| 18 | Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. |
| 19 | But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. |
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 1 : 1 - 12
| 1 | James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. |
| 2 | My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, |
| 3 | knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. |
| 4 | But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. |
| 5 | If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. |
| 6 | But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. |
| 7 | For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; |
| 8 | he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. |
| 9 | Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, |
| 10 | but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. |
| 11 | For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. |
| 12 | Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. |
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 15 : 12 - 21
| 12 | Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. |
| 13 | And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me: |
| 14 | Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. |
| 15 | And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: |
| 16 | 'After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; |
| 17 | So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD. Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.' |
| 18 | "Known to God from eternity are all His works. |
| 19 | Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, |
| 20 | but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. |
| 21 | For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath." |
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 17 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Misra.
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 Seventeenth Day of the Blessed Month of Misra
Martyrdom of St.James, the Soldier
On this day, St. James,
the soldier, departed. He was born in Mengoug (Manug), district of Ebso
(Psoi), to God fearing Christian parents. God gave them three daughters
before they had this saint. They committed the daughters to a nunnery to
be taught, and brought up, in the fear of God. They learned and read the
Holy Bible and the church teachings. When their father asked them to return,
they refused for they preferred to stay in the nunnery and they dedicated
themselves as brides of Christ. Their parents sorrowed, but God consoled
them by giving them this saint. They rejoiced in him, and when he was six
years old, his father sent him to Ebso to learn reading and writing. After
he finished his education his father put him in charge of his money and
possessions. The father had an old man, who shepherded his sheep. This
old man was adorned with several virtues and James took him as a role model.
When the devil provoked persecution against the Christians, the old man
handed over the sheep to the father of James and left to become a martyr.
James asked his father if he could go to bid the shepherd farewell and
then come back, and his father allowed him to do so. When James went with
the shepherd, he found the governor in upper Egypt torturing St. Justus,
son of Emperor Nomarius. The old man told James, "Look O my son, the person
that you see being tortured is the son of an emperor, who has forsaken
the world and its vain glory, and followed Christ, so what the poor like
us, would do? Then be patient, and do not be sorrowful because of your
separation from your parents." They came before the governor and confessed
the Lord Christ.
The governor tortured
them severely, then beheaded the old man. The governor tortured St. James
severely by beating him with whips. Then he placed a piece of red-hot iron
on his chest. The saint lifted up his eyes and appealed for help to the
Lord Christ, Who saved him and healed him from his afflictions. Then, they
put him in a sack, and cast him in the sea, but the angel of the Lord raised
him up from the sea. Then the saint returned, and stood before the governor
who sent him to the city of El-Farma. There the governor tortured him,
by cutting his tongue, tearing out his eyes, torturing him on the wheel,
and combing his flesh. Sourial, the angel of God, came down and saved him.
When the governor was tired of torturing him, he commanded James' head
cut off, along with two other martyrs, whose names were Abraham and John,
who were from Samannoud. They all received the crown of martyrdom.
May their prayers be with us and Glory be to our 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 97 : 11 - 12
| 11 | Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. |
| 12 | Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy 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 10 : 35 - 45
| 35 | Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." |
| 36 | And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" |
| 37 | They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory." |
| 38 | But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" |
| 39 | They said to Him, "We are able." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; |
| 40 | but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared." |
| 41 | And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. |
| 42 | But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. |
| 43 | Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. |
| 44 | And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. |
| 45 | For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." |
Glory be to God forever.
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