Readings for Thursday 28 February 2030
21 Amshir 1746
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 68 : 11,35
| 11 | The Lord gave the word; Great was the company of those who proclaimed it: |
| 35 | O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be 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 Mark the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Mark 3 : 7 - 21
| 7 | But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea |
| 8 | and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. |
| 9 | So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. |
| 10 | For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. |
| 11 | And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." |
| 12 | But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. |
| 13 | And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. |
| 14 | Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, |
| 15 | and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: |
| 16 | Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; |
| 17 | James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; |
| 18 | Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; |
| 19 | and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house. |
| 20 | Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. |
| 21 | But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind." |
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 145 : 10 - 12
| 10 | All Your works shall praise You, O LORD, And Your saints shall bless You. |
| 11 | They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, |
| 12 | To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom. |
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 6 : 12 - 23
| 12 | Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. |
| 13 | And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: |
| 14 | Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; |
| 15 | Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; |
| 16 | Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. |
| 17 | And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, |
| 18 | as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. |
| 19 | And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. |
| 20 | Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God. |
| 21 | Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. |
| 22 | Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. |
| 23 | Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. |
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 Romans.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Romans 10 : 4 - 18
| 4 | For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. |
| 5 | For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." |
| 6 | But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?"' (that is, to bring Christ down from above) |
| 7 | or, Who will descend into the abyss?"' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). |
| 8 | But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): |
| 9 | that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. |
| 10 | For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. |
| 11 | For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." |
| 12 | For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. |
| 13 | For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." |
| 14 | How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? |
| 15 | And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" |
| 16 | But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "LORD, who has believed our report?" |
| 17 | So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. |
| 18 | But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: "Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world." |
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 : 12 - 21
| 12 | For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. |
| 13 | Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, |
| 14 | knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. |
| 15 | Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. |
| 16 | For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. |
| 17 | For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." |
| 18 | And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. |
| 19 | And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; |
| 20 | knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, |
| 21 | for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. |
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 3 : 1 - 16
| 1 | Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. |
| 2 | And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; |
| 3 | who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. |
| 4 | And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." |
| 5 | So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. |
| 6 | Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." |
| 7 | And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. |
| 8 | So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God. |
| 9 | And all the people saw him walking and praising God. |
| 10 | Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. |
| 11 | Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. |
| 12 | So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? |
| 13 | The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. |
| 14 | But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, |
| 15 | and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. |
| 16 | And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. |
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 21 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir.
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 Twenty-First Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Commemoration of the Virgin St.Mary
We celebrate on this day the commemoration
of the pure Lady St. Mary the Virgin, the Mother of God, the Word, through
whom was the salvation of Adam and his offspring.
May her intercession be for us all. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Onesimus, the Disciple
of St.Paul
On this day also St. Onesimus,
the disciple of St. Paul, was martyred. This saint was a slave for a man
from Rome called Philemon who believed at the hands of St.Paul, when he
heard his preaching in Rome. Philemon departed from Rome on a business
trip and took with him Onesimus among others of his servants. There the
devil enticed Onesimus, so he stole money from his master and fled to Rome.
According to the Divine Will, Onesimus attended the preaching of St. Paul,
which he kept in his heart. He believed at the hand of St. Paul and his
heart was filled with the grace and the fear of God. He remembered what
he stole from his master and from others and since he did not have anything
left from the stolen money to return to its rightful owners, he was sorrowful
and told St.Paul about that. St. Paul comforted him and wrote an epistle
to Onesimus' master, Philemon, informing him in it, that Onesimus became
a follower of Christ saying, "I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom
I have begotten while in my chains." St. Paul asked him to treat him gently
and not to mind what he did but to consider what he lost as owed by the
apostle. When Onesimus took the epistle to his master Philemon, he was
pleased by his faith and repentance and treated him as the apostle commanded.
Furthermore, he offered him more money but St. Onesimus refused saying,
"I am rich with Christ." Then he bid Philemon farewell and returned to
Rome. St. Onesimus continued to serve St. Paul until his martyrdom and
deserved to be ordained a priest. After the martyrdom of St. Paul, the
governor of Rome seized him and exiled him to one of the islands. He remained
there preaching and baptizing the people of the island. When the governor
came to the island, he found him guiding the people to the belief in the
Lord Christ. He was beaten severely and his legs were broken. He departed
in peace.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Gabriel, the Fifty-Seventh
Pope of Alexandria
On this day also of the
year 911 A.D., the great father St. Gabriel, 57th Pope of Alexandria, departed.
This saint became a monk at a young age, practicing many worships. He loved
solitary life and wept much while praying, asking the Lord to save him
from the snares of the devil. When Pope Mikhael, 56th Pope, departed, they
chose this father to be the Pope in his place. He was ordained in the year
900 A.D. against his will. He cared for the church affairs well, and the
duties of the patriarchate did not prevent him from his worship and asceticism.
He spent most of his days in the wilderness and whenever he had some affairs
to take care of in Cairo or Alexandria, he would leave and then return
back to the wilderness. He fought against the flesh and the devil by increasing
fasting, watching, prayers and humility. He used to wake up in the night,
put on a ragged garment, take a metal shovel and go around the bathrooms
of the monks' cells, washing and cleaning them. He did the same for many
years until the Lord looked upon his humility and humble heart, so He relieved
his pains and gave him the grace of victory over sin and the body. This
father was a worshipper, fighter and a preacher for 11 years, then he departed
in peace.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Zacharias, Bishop of
Sakha
On this day also St. Zacharias,
Bishop of Sakha, departed. He was the son of a scribe called John who left
his job and was chosen to be a priest. His son Zacharias was raised on
studying literary and religious subjects. When he grew up, El-Wazeer appointed
him as a scribe in his court. Afterward he agreed with a friend called
Ptolemy who was the prefect of the town of Sakha, to leave their work and
go to the wilderness to become monks. That coincided with the coming of
a monk from the monastery of St. John the Short, so they decided to go
with him to the monastery. When the ruler (El-Wazeer) knew about that,
he prevented them from going to the monastery. A few days later, they saw
a vision as if someone was asking them, "Why did you not fulfill your vow?"
Immediately, they left in secret, walking to the wilderness, without knowing
their way. They met on their way, by the will of God, a monk who took them
to the monastery of St. John the Short (Colobos). When their friends knew
about that, they took a letter from the Governor to bring them back, but
the Lord defeated their counsel. As for Zacharias and his friend, they
put on the garb of the monks and exerted themselves in many worships. That
was during the time of the saints Abba Gawargah and Abba Abraham who were
the best guides for them. When the Bishop of Sakha departed, the people
wrote to the father, the Patriarch, asking for Zacharias to be their bishop.
The Patriarch brought him and ordained him against his will. At the time
of the ordination, when the Pope was about to put his hands on Zacharias'
head, a light shined in the church and his face appeared as a bright star.
When he arrived to his diocese, the people rejoiced and went out to meet
him with great honor. The church was illumined with his teachings. St.
Zacharias was eloquent and filled with grace and he wrote many articles,
sermons and discourses. He stayed on his chair for 30 years, then departed
in peace.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our 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 19 : 1,4
| 1 | The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. |
| 4 | Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, |
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 10 : 1 - 15
| 1 | And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. |
| 2 | Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; |
| 3 | Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; |
| 4 | Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. |
| 5 | These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. |
| 6 | But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. |
| 7 | And as you go, preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' |
| 8 | Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. |
| 9 | Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, |
| 10 | nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. |
| 11 | "Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. |
| 12 | And when you go into a household, greet it. |
| 13 | If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. |
| 14 | And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. |
| 15 | Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! |
Glory be to God forever.
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