15 Bashans 1741
Readings for Friday of fifth 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 118 : 8 - 9
| 8 | It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man. |
| 9 | It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in princes. |
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 14 : 7 - 11
| 7 | So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: |
| 8 | "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; |
| 9 | and he who invited you and him come and say to you, "Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. |
| 10 | But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, "Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. |
| 11 | For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." |
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 118 : 28,21
| 28 | You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. |
| 21 | I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation. |
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 14 : 12 - 15
| 12 | Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. |
| 13 | But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. |
| 14 | And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." |
| 15 | Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!" |
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 6 : 17 - 22
| 17 | But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. |
| 18 | And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. |
| 19 | I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. |
| 20 | For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. |
| 21 | What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. |
| 22 | But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. |
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 5 : 1 - 6
| 1 | Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. |
| 2 | By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. |
| 3 | For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. |
| 4 | For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. |
| 5 | Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? |
| 6 | This is He who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. |
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 8 : 1 - 4
| 1 | Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. |
| 2 | And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. |
| 3 | As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. |
| 4 | Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. |
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 119 : 145 - 146
| 145 | I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O LORD! I will keep Your statutes. |
| 146 | I cry out to You; Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies. |
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 17 : 22 - 26
| 22 | And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: |
| 23 | I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. |
| 24 | "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. |
| 25 | O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. |
| 26 | And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." |
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 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 Fifteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Martyrdom of St.Simon the Zealot, the Apostle known as (Simon the Canaanite)
On this day, St. Simon the Zealot, the apostle of our Lord (Whose name also is Nathanael, Jn 1:45-55), was martyred. He was born in Cana of Galilee, and was expert in the Law and books of the prophets. He had a fervor zeal, so he was called the Zealot, and he was righteous, pious, and did not show favor to anyone. So when Philip the Apostle said to him: "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote; Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael, who realized that He knew the hidden secrets, answered and said to Him: "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" It was said that when he was a young man, he quarrelled with a man, killed him, and buried him under the fig tree, and no one knew about it. It was also said that at the time of the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem by Herod, his mother hid him under a fig tree that was in her house. She nursed him during the night and hid him during the day, and continued to do so until the persecution of Herod died down. His mother did not tell him about this until he was fully grown and he never told anyone about this. When Jesus revealed that to him, he realized that He was the omniscient God, bowed before him, and was obedient to Him. He believed, followed Him, and became one of His twelve disciples. After he had received the grace of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, he spoke with tongues, enlightened the world with his evangelism, and returned many to the faith in the Lord Christ. He preached in Africa, and in the country of El-Bejah which extended from Aswan to the Red sea. He also preached in the island of Bertanah, which was probably one of the islands by the shore of the Red sea. He preached there with the Name of Christ, and many tribulations befell him, but God added to his courage and strength. God manifested on his hands many signs, and finally he was martyred, crucified on a tree, and he received the crown of martyrdom.
May his intercession be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of 400 martyrs in Dandara (Denderah)
On this day also, four hundred Saints were martyred in Dendera, after they had suffered many tortures. This was at the end of the reign of Emperor Diocletian.
May Their prayers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of St.Mina the Deacon
On this day also, is the commemoration of Deacon Mina the anchorite.
May his prayers guard us, and glory be to our God forever. Amen.