19 Bashans 1749
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 19 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 Nineteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Commemoration of the Departure of Abba Isaac, the Priest of El-Qalali (Cells)
On this day, the church commemorates the holy father Abba Isaac, the priest of El-Qalali (Cells). He was born in an Egyptian village from poor parents, but he was rich in his righteous works. He took the opportunity of the presence of the elders of the monks in the village to sell the works of their hands, and followed them to the wilderness. He served them under the yoke of obedience. When he became a monk, he excelled in asceticism and worship to the point that he never possessed two garments at the same time. They asked him once: "Why don't you possess two garments?" He answered: "Because when I was in the world before being a monk, I did not have two garments at the same time." He wept very often during his prayers, and he mixed his bread with the ashes of the censer and ate it. Once he became sick of a grievous sickness, and some of the brethren brought him food, but he did not eat it. One of the brethren described to him the benefits of food and urged him again to eat some of it. He insisted on not eating anything of it, and said to him: "Believe me my brother that I desire to remain sick for thirty years." When he became seasoned and everyone heard about his virtues, the fathers by consensus decided to ordain him a priest. He fled and disappeared among the fields. When they were looking for him, they passed by the field, where he was hiding in and sat to rest. They had with them a donkey, which went into the field and stood where the father was. When they went after the donkey to catch it, they found him, and they wanted to bind him so that he could not escape again. He said to them: "I will not escape now, for I know that this is the will of God." He went with them, and they ordained him a priest, and he increased in obedience to the elders and in teaching the beginners the virtues. When the time of his departure drew near, they asked him: "What can we do after you leave us?" He told them: "Do exactly as you have seen me do, if you wish to steadfast in the wilderness", then he departed in peace.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of the Martyrdom of St.Isidorus (Isidore) of Antioch
This day also marks the commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Isidore. He was born in Antioch and his father's name was Bandalaon, who was one of the noble men in the empire of Diocletian, and his mother's name was Sofia. He had a sister whose name was Ophimia, and their parents taught them the Christian faith. When Diocletian apostatized, St. Bandalaon and his son Isidore left all their possessions and went secretly to a mountain where they lived with a holy man whose name was Abba Samuel. When the Emperor knew of what had happened, he brought them before him, and he tried to persuade Bandalaon with promises, then threatened him. When he refused, not paying attention to what he was saying, he cut off his head. St. Isidore, who was only twelve years old, was tortured with different kinds of tortures. His mother and sister were beside him, comforting him and strengthening him to endure. Then the Emperor ordered them to be beheaded. They received the crowns of life. God performed many miracles on the hands of this Saint, and many believed through him and were martyred.
May his prayers be with us and glory be to God forever. Amen.