Readings for Wednesday 3 June 2026
26 Bashans 1742
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 26 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 Twenty-Sixth Day of the Blessed Month of Bashans
Martyrdom of St.Thomas, the Apostle
On this day St. Thomas the apostle
was martyred. He was born in Galilee, and the Lord chose him among the
twelve disciples
(Mathew 10:3). When the Lord wanted to go to raise Lazarus
from the dead, Thomas said to the other disciples: "
(John 11:16). He also
asked the Lord at the supper: "
(John 14:5-6). When the Lord Christ appeared
to the disciples after the resurrection, and said to them "Receive the
Holy Spirit", Thomas was absent. On his return, the disciples told him,
"We have seen the Lord." He said to them: "
(John 20:19-29). After the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the Upper room
in Zion, the apostles dispersed everywhere to preach the Gospel, Thomas
went to India. He worked there as a slave at one of the friends of the
king, whose name was Lukios, who brought him to the king who inquired about
his profession. Thomas said: "I am builder, carpenter and a physician.
He preached in his master's palace, and Lukios' wife believed and all his
household. The king asked him about his achievements, and he said: "The
palaces that I built were the souls that have become the temples of the
King of Glory; the carpentry that I did was the Gospel that removes the
thorns of sin; and the medicines I practiced are the Holy Mysteries which
heal the poison of the evil one. The king became angry and tortured him,
and bound him among four poles, cut off his skin and rubbed his wounds
with salt and lime. The apostle Thomas endured the pains. Lukios' wife
saw him suffering, and she fell from the window and died. Lukios came to
him and said: "If you raise my wife from the dead, I believe in your God."
Thomas went to the room where the dead body was, and said: "Arsabona (Arsonia),
rise up in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ." She rose instantly and bowed
to the Saint. When her husband saw that, he believed and many more with
him from the people of the city, and Thomas baptized them. Once the sea
drove a huge tree to the shore that no one could lift it up. St. Thomas
asked the king for permission to lift it up and to use its wood in building
a church. He got the permission, he made the sign of the cross, and he
raised it and later he built the church, to which he ordained a bishop
and priests.
St. Thomas left and went
to a city called "Kantoura" (Kontaria), where he found an old man weeping
bitterly because the king killed his six children. The Saint prayed over
them, and the Lord raised them up. The idol priests were angry, and wanted
to stone him. The first raised a stone to throw it at him, and his hand
was paralyzed. The Saint prayed over his hand, he was healed instantly,
and all the idol priests believed in the Lord Christ. Then St. Thomas went
to the city of "Parkenas" and other cities, where he preached in the Name
of Jesus Christ. The king heard about him, and he put him in prison. When
he found out that he was teaching the prisoners the way of God, he tortured
him, and at last he cut his head off, and he received the crown of martyrdom.
He was buried in "Melibar", then his body was relocated to El-Raha.
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 John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 20 : 24 - 31
| 24 | Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. |
| 25 | The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." |
| 26 | And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" |
| 27 | Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." |
| 28 | And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" |
| 29 | Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." |
| 30 | And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; |
| 31 | but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. |
Glory be to God forever.
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