26 Bashans 1746
Readings for Monday of sixth 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 47 : 1
| 1 | Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! |
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 6 : 30 - 34
| 30 | Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. |
| 31 | And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. |
| 32 | So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. |
| 33 | But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. |
| 34 | And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. |
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 47 : 6 - 7
| 6 | Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! |
| 7 | For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding. |
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 8 : 22 - 26
| 22 | Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. |
| 23 | So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. |
| 24 | And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking." |
| 25 | Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. |
| 26 | Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town." |
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 8 : 2 - 5
| 2 | For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. |
| 3 | For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, |
| 4 | that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. |
| 5 | For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. |
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 : 9 - 13
| 9 | If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. |
| 10 | He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. |
| 11 | And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. |
| 12 | He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. |
| 13 | These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. |
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 9 : 23 - 31
| 23 | Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. |
| 24 | But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. |
| 25 | Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. |
| 26 | And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. |
| 27 | But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. |
| 28 | So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. |
| 29 | And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. |
| 30 | When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. |
| 31 | Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. |
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 28 : 9,8
| 9 | Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever. |
| 8 | The LORD is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed. |
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 16 : 15 - 23
| 15 | All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. |
| 16 | "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." |
| 17 | Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, "because I go to the Father'?" |
| 18 | They said therefore, "What is this that He says, "A little while'? We do not know what He is saying." |
| 19 | Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'? |
| 20 | Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. |
| 21 | A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. |
| 22 | Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. |
| 23 | "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. |
Glory be to God forever.
Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
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.