Readings for Friday 27 September 2024
17 Tut 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 4 : 6 - 8
| 6 | There are many who say, "Who will show us any good?" LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. |
| 7 | You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased. |
| 8 | I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. |
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 : 28 - 42
| 28 | Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. |
| 29 | And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." |
| 30 | As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. |
| 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. |
| 40 | But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. |
| 41 | You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father--God." |
| 42 | Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. |
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 60 : 4 - 5
| 4 | You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth.Selah |
| 5 | That Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and hear me. |
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 12 : 26 - 36
| 26 | If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. |
| 27 | "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? "Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. |
| 28 | Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." |
| 29 | Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him." |
| 30 | Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. |
| 31 | Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. |
| 32 | And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." |
| 33 | This He said, signifying by what death He would die. |
| 34 | The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, "The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" |
| 35 | Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. |
| 36 | While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. |
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 1 : 17 - 31
| 17 | For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. |
| 18 | For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. |
| 19 | For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." |
| 20 | Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? |
| 21 | For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. |
| 22 | For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; |
| 23 | but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, |
| 24 | but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. |
| 25 | Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. |
| 26 | For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. |
| 27 | But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; |
| 28 | and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, |
| 29 | that no flesh should glory in His presence. |
| 30 | But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- |
| 31 | that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD." |
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.
1 Peter 2 : 11 - 25
| 11 | Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, |
| 12 | having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. |
| 13 | Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, |
| 14 | or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. |
| 15 | For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men-- |
| 16 | as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. |
| 17 | Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. |
| 18 | Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. |
| 19 | For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. |
| 20 | For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. |
| 21 | For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: |
| 22 | "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth"; |
| 23 | who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; |
| 24 | who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. |
| 25 | For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. |
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 10 : 34 - 43
| 34 | Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. |
| 35 | But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. |
| 36 | The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ--He is Lord of all-- |
| 37 | that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: |
| 38 | how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. |
| 39 | And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. |
| 40 | Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, |
| 41 | not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. |
| 42 | And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. |
| 43 | To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." |
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 Tut.
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 Tut
Feast Day of the Appearance of the Honorable
Cross
On
this day the church celebrates the appearance of the Honorable Cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ. This was revealed by the lover of God, Queen Helena,
mother of Emperor Constantine, from under the pile of Golgotha, after she
ordered its removal. As to the reason for how this great pile of dirt came
into being, it was thus: the Jewish leaders when they saw all the signs
and wonders which were made manifest from the sepulchre of our Savior,
such as raising the dead and healing the sick, became angry, and they sent
forth throughout Judea and Jerusalem ordering all the people to cast the
sweepings of their houses and the dirts over the sepulchre of Jesus of
Nazareth. And they continued to do so for more than two hundred years,
until it became a very great heap.
When St.Helena came to Jerusalem,
and asked the Jews about the whereabouts of the Cross, they did not inform
her. Finally, some of them told her about an old Jew called Judas who knew
the place. She called him, and he denied at first but when she urged him,
he told her about the pile. She ordered its removal and the Holy Cross
was found. she built a church for it and consecrated it and celebrated
it on the seventeenth day of the month of Tut. All Christian people make
pilgrimages to that place every year as they do in the feast of the Resurrection.
A certain Samaritan called
Isaac, as he was traveling with his family among the people going to Jerusalem,
reproved the people for taking such trouble in going to Jerusalem to worship
a piece of wood. Among the people was a priest whose name was Okhidus.
While travelling along the road, they became thirsty. They found no water
and they came to a well where the water was foul and bitter. The people
became dismayed. Isaac the Samaritan started mocking them saying, "If I
witness a power by the name of the Cross, I will become a believer of Christ."
The priest Okhidus was moved with divine zeal and prayed over that foul
water and made the sign of the Cross on it, and it became sweet. All the
people and their animals drank, but when Isaac drank, the water was bitter
and wormy. He regretted and cried and came to the saint, Father Okhidus,
and he bowed down at his feet and believed in the Lord Christ. Then he
drank from the water, and he found it sweet. That water had the power of
becoming sweet for the believers and bitter for the others. A cross of
light appeared in the well and a church was built there.
When Isaac the Samaritan
arrived in Jerusalem, he went to its bishop who baptized him and his family.
The appearance of the Honorable Cross at the hands of Queen Helena was
on the tenth of Baramhat. And because this always comes during fasting,
it was substiTutd by the fathers for the Seventeenth of Tut which is
the day of consecration of its church.
Glory and worship be to Jesus Christ our Lord forever and ever. Amen.
Departure of St.Theognosta
On this day also departed
the blessed Theognosta. She lived in the days of the righteous Emperors
Honorius and Arcadius. It happened one day that an envoy came with gifts
from the King of India to the two emperors. On the way back, they found
this Virgin Theognosta holding in her a hand a book which she was reading.
They seized her and took her back with them to their country. She
became the head of the King's attendants and his wives. One day, the son
of the King fell sick with a grievous sickness. She laid him in her bosom
and made over him the sign of the Cross, and he recovered immediately.
This report spread throughout that land, and since that day she was set
free.
When the King went to war,
there came upon him thick clouds and fog, and knowing of the sign of the
Cross that St.Theognosta used to make, the King made the sign of the Cross
over the winds and it became clear again, and with the sign of the Cross,
he vanquished his enemies. When the King returned home from the war, he
bowed down at the feet of the Saint, and asked her for the holy baptism
for him and for the people of his city. She told them that it was not for
her to baptize. They sent to Emperor Honorius to inform him of their acceptance
of the faith and asked him to send a priest to baptize them. He sent to
them a priest who was a saintly anchorite, and he baptized them all and
he gave them the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Christ. The virgin rejoiced
for his coming and they blessed each other. She built a monastery for herself
and many virgins who desired to go into the monastic life.
When the priest returned
to the Emperor and related to him how the people of the city entered into
the faith of our Lord Christ, he rejoiced exceedingly. The Emperor agreed
with the Archbishop to ordain the priest a bishop and to send him back
to them, and they rejoiced greatly. They had built a big church and they
need pillars. There was a large temple for idols which had pillars so they
took them to build this church. The rest of the people of this city joined
the faith of the Lord Christ. The virgin rejoiced for all that had happened
then departed to that nunnery among the virgins.
May her 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 65 : 1 - 2
| 1 | Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; And to You the vow shall be performed. |
| 2 | O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come. |
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 10 : 22 - 38
| 22 | Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. |
| 23 | And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. |
| 24 | Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." |
| 25 | Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. |
| 26 | But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. |
| 27 | My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. |
| 28 | And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. |
| 29 | My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. |
| 30 | I and My Father are one." |
| 31 | Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. |
| 32 | Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" |
| 33 | The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." |
| 34 | Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, "I said, "You are gods"'? |
| 35 | If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), |
| 36 | do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, "You are blaspheming,' because I said, "I am the Son of God'? |
| 37 | If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; |
| 38 | but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." |
Glory be to God forever.
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