Readings for Thursday 26 December 2024
17 Kiyahk 1741
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 40 : 2 - 3
| 2 | He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. |
| 3 | He has put a new song in my mouth--Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. |
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 7 : 22 - 25
| 22 | Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' |
| 23 | And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' |
| 24 | "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: |
| 25 | and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. |
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 89 : 24,19
| 24 | "But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted. |
| 19 | Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, And said: "I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. |
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 13 : 23 - 30
| 23 | Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, |
| 24 | "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. |
| 25 | When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, "Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, "I do not know you, where you are from,' |
| 26 | then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' |
| 27 | But He will say, "I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' |
| 28 | There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. |
| 29 | They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. |
| 30 | And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." |
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 Corinthians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
1 Corinthians 3 : 1 - 8
| 1 | And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. |
| 2 | I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; |
| 3 | for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? |
| 4 | For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? |
| 5 | Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? |
| 6 | I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. |
| 7 | So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. |
| 8 | Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. Peter . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
2 Peter 1 : 1 - 11
| 1 | Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: |
| 2 | Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, |
| 3 | as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, |
| 4 | by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. |
| 5 | But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, |
| 6 | to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, |
| 7 | to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. |
| 8 | For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 9 | For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. |
| 10 | Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; |
| 11 | for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. |
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 : 13 - 29
| 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." |
| 22 | Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. |
| 23 | They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. |
| 24 | Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law"--to whom we gave no such commandment-- |
| 25 | it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, |
| 26 | men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 27 | We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. |
| 28 | For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: |
| 29 | that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. |
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 Kiyahk.
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 Kiyahk
Commemoration of the Departure of St.Luke
the Stylite and the Relocation of His Sacred Relics
On this day we commemorate the departure
of St. Luke, the Stylite, and the relocation of his holy relics. He was
born in Persia, to Christian parents. He became a soldier and was promoted
until he became a centurion (an officer over a hundred soldiers). Later
in his life, he wanted to live a solitary life. He left the world and all
its vainglory and became a monk in one of the monasteries of the east.
When his virtues were known, he was ordained a priest for that monastery.
From this time on, he devoted himself to the ascetic life in continual
prayers and fasting. He used to fast six days at a time and then break
his fast on the seventh day after Mass, by eating a "Korbana" and some
green pulses (beans). Then he lived on the top of a high rock for 3 years.
One day, he heard the voice of an angel calling him by his name to go down.
When he went down, the angel showed him a cross of light. He followed the
voice and the cross went before him until he came to some mountains. There
he stayed for some time, teaching his visitors the way of salvation.
He was inspired by God to go near Constantinople.
He went and dwelt in a village nearby, on the top of a rock, in the shape
of a pillar, for 45 years fighting the spiritual fight. God granted him
the gift of prophecy and the gift of performing miracles. He healed everyone
who went to him. When he completed his holy course, he departed on the
15th day of Kiyahk. His disciple went and told the Patriarch about his departure.
The Patriarch went with the priests, crosses and censors and came to where
the body of the saint was. They carried him to Constantinople on the third
day of his departure, with hymns and prayers, and they placed him in the
sanctuary and that was on the 17th day of Kiyahk. After they prayed on him
the third day prayer and the believers present received the blessing of
his pure body, they put him in a marble sarcophagus next to the bodies
of the saints. God revealed many signs and miracles from his body.
May his prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to 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 61 : 1 - 3
| 1 | Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. |
| 2 | From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. |
| 3 | For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. |
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 : 25 - 35
| 25 | Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, |
| 26 | "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. |
| 27 | And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. |
| 28 | For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it-- |
| 29 | lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, |
| 30 | saying, "This man began to build and was not able to finish.' |
| 31 | Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? |
| 32 | Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. |
| 33 | So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. |
| 34 | "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? |
| 35 | It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" |
Glory be to God forever.
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