Readings for Sunday 3 March 2024
24 Amshir 1740
Fourth Sunday of Amshir
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 92 : 4 - 5
| 4 | For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. |
| 5 | O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. |
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 17 : 1 - 10
| 1 | Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! |
| 2 | It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. |
| 3 | Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. |
| 4 | And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, "I repent,' you shall forgive him." |
| 5 | And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." |
| 6 | So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, "Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. |
| 7 | And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, "Come at once and sit down to eat'? |
| 8 | But will he not rather say to him, "Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? |
| 9 | Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. |
| 10 | So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, "We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do."' |
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 89 : 11,1
| 11 | The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them. |
| 1 | I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. |
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 17 : 11 - 19
| 11 | Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. |
| 12 | Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. |
| 13 | And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" |
| 14 | So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. |
| 15 | And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, |
| 16 | and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. |
| 17 | So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? |
| 18 | Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" |
| 19 | And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well." |
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 : 1 - 16
| 1 | Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, |
| 2 | To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: |
| 3 | Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 4 | I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, |
| 5 | that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, |
| 6 | even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, |
| 7 | so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, |
| 8 | who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 9 | God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. |
| 10 | Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. |
| 11 | For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. |
| 12 | Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." |
| 13 | Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? |
| 14 | I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, |
| 15 | lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. |
| 16 | Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. James . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
James 1 : 13 - 21
| 13 | Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. |
| 14 | But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. |
| 15 | Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. |
| 16 | Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. |
| 17 | Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. |
| 18 | Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. |
| 19 | So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; |
| 20 | for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. |
| 21 | Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save 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 8 : 5 - 13
| 5 | Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. |
| 6 | And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. |
| 7 | For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. |
| 8 | And there was great joy in that city. |
| 9 | But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, |
| 10 | to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God." |
| 11 | And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. |
| 12 | But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. |
| 13 | Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. |
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 24 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-Fourth Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Departure of St.Agapetus the Bishop
On this day St. Agapetus (Agapius),
the bishop, departed. He was born of Christian parents during the time
of the infidel emperors Diocletian and Maximianus. His parents brought
him up in a Christian upbringing, and he was ordained a deacon. Then, he
went to one of the monasteries and served the elders therein. He learned
from them worship and asceticism and was accustomed to fasting and prayer.
His food was legumes to break the fast. He grew in his ascetic life and
in every virtue, and God wrought through him many miracles, among which
were the following: He healed a girl from a debilitating sickness which
had stricken her for a long time, and doctors had failed to cure her. He
also prayed once and God destroyed a beast which was devouring people.
By his prayers, God granted healing to many sick people. The news of his
asceticism, righteousness and the power of his prayer spread everywhere.
When Lucinus the governor heard about St. Agapius, he brought him by force
and appointed him a soldier in his army. This did not prevent St. Agapius
from continuing in his ascetic life and his worship and he rather increased
in virtue. Shortly after, God perished Diocletian and the God-loving emperor
Constantine took over the empire after him. St. Agapius desired to gain
his freedom and to return to his monastery, and God answered him.
Emperor Constantine had a servant
who was very dear to him for the good qualities he had. The servant was
stricken with an evil spirit which tormented him. Some friends of the Emperor
advised him to ask Agapius, the soldier, to pray for his servant to be
healed. The Emperor was surprised to know that one among his soldiers had
the gift of healing. The Emperor sent for St.Agapius who prayed upon the
servant, made the sign of the holy cross over him, and God healed him.
The Emperor rejoiced and wanted to reward him. St. Agapius refused to accept
any reward except to be granted his release from military service to go
back to the place of his worship. The Emperor granted him what he wanted.
The saint returned to where he was before and he lived a solitary life.
After a while, he was ordained a priest. After the departure of the bishop
of his town, the people asked for this saint from the abbot of the monastery,
and he gave him his permission to leave. St. Agapius was ordained bishop
and shepherded the flock of Christ with the best of care. He was granted
the gift of prophecy and performing miracles. He rebuked the sinners for
what they had done in secret. He rebuked the priests for forsaking teaching
and instructing their flocks. His biography included more than one hundred
miracles that he had performed, and he departed at a good old age.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Timothy and St.Matthias
On this day also is the
commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Timothy of Gaza, and St.Matthias
of the City of Koos (Quoce).
May Their 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 24 : 1 - 2
| 1 | The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. |
| 2 | For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. |
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 19 : 1 - 10
| 1 | Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. |
| 2 | Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. |
| 3 | And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. |
| 4 | So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. |
| 5 | And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." |
| 6 | So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. |
| 7 | But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." |
| 8 | Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." |
| 9 | And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; |
| 10 | for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." |
Glory be to God forever.
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