16 Bashans 1740
Readings for Friday 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 146 : 7 - 8
| 7 | Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners. |
| 8 | The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. |
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 11 : 20 - 24
| 20 | Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: |
| 21 | "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. |
| 22 | But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. |
| 23 | And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. |
| 24 | But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." |
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 146 : 1,2,5
| 1 | Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! |
| 2 | While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. |
| 5 | Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, |
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 22 : 41 - 46
| 41 | While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, |
| 42 | saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." |
| 43 | He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him "Lord,' saying: |
| 44 | "The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'? |
| 45 | If David then calls Him "Lord,' how is He his Son?" |
| 46 | And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore. |
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 : 25 - 29
| 25 | For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. |
| 26 | Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? |
| 27 | And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? |
| 28 | For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; |
| 29 | but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. |
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 3 : 2 - 3
| 2 | Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. |
| 3 | And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. |
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 5 : 5 - 11
| 5 | Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. |
| 6 | And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. |
| 7 | Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. |
| 8 | And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" She said, "Yes, for so much." |
| 9 | Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." |
| 10 | Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. |
| 11 | So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. |
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 86 : 12,10
| 12 | I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore. |
| 10 | For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God. |
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 : 31 - 39
| 31 | Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. |
| 32 | And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." |
| 33 | They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, "You will be made free'?" |
| 34 | Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. |
| 35 | And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. |
| 36 | Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. |
| 37 | "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. |
| 38 | I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father." |
| 39 | They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. |
Glory be to God forever.
Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 16 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 Sixteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Commemoration of St.John the Evangelist
On this day the church commemorates
St. John the Evangelist and his preaching in Asia Minor, the city of Ephesus,
and the cities that are around it. Commemorates, the afflictions that he
suffered and what befell him from the evil men who worshipped idols until
he brought them to the knowledge of God and delivered them from the error
of Satan by his teachings. The miracles that God performed through him.
The writing of his Gospel, uttering in it with the eternity of the Son
and His incarnation. His ascension to heaven in the Spirit, he saw the
heavenly ranks and heard their praising and wrote about it in the book
of Revelation. This was during the reign of Emperor Domitianus (Domitian),
when he exiled St. John, after he placed him in a cauldron filled with
boiling oil, and was not harmed, to the island of Patmos, where he wrote
the book of Revelation. After Domitian had been killed in the year 96 A.D.,
St. John returned to Ephesus. He found some heretics of the Nicolaitans
(Rev. 2:6) who taught that Christ's birth was a natural birth from both
Joseph and Mary. For this reason, he wrote his Gospel to refute their heresy.
St. John had ardent zeal for the salvation of sinners. Once he saved a
youth, delivered him to the bishop, and told him: "I entrust you with the
safe keeping of this soul," but the youth, because of his bad conduct and
the evil company that he kept, spoiled his morals and he became the head
of a band of robbers. When St. John returned, he asked the bishop about
the young man, who expressed his sorrow to St. John for the condition that
became of this young man and told him what had happened. St. John rode
a horse, took with him a guide, and travelled to his place. When he arrived
to that place, he was caught by the thieves and they took him to their
leader. When the leader saw St. John, he knew him, and was ashamed and
tried to flee. St. John told him: "My son, be merciful to yourself, because
the door of hope is still open for your salvation, and I will be your intercessor
before the Lord Christ." Then, the young man wept, returned repenting,
and St. John administered to him the Holy Communion to strengthen him.
The biography of St. John is written under the fourth day of Tubah. This
feast is a commemoration for his evangelism, and also because on this day
a church was consecrated after his name in the city of Alexandria.
May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
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