26 Baramudah 1739
Readings for Thursday of third 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 101 : 1 - 1,2,4
| 1 | I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises. |
| 2 | I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. |
| 4 | A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness. |
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 13 : 53 - 58
| 53 | Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. |
| 54 | When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? |
| 55 | Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? |
| 56 | And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" |
| 57 | So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." |
| 58 | Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. |
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 101 : 8 - 8
| 8 | Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD. |
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 22 : 34 - 40
| 34 | But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. |
| 35 | Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, |
| 36 | "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" |
| 37 | Jesus said to him, You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' |
| 38 | This is the first and great commandment. |
| 39 | And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' |
| 40 | On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." |
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 2 : 17 - 20
| 17 | Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, |
| 18 | and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, |
| 19 | and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, |
| 20 | an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. |
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 2 : 26 - 3 : 1
| 26 | These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. |
| 27 | But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. |
| 28 | And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. |
| 29 | If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. |
| 1 | Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. |
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 5 : 1 - 6
| 1 | But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. |
| 2 | And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. |
| 3 | But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? |
| 4 | While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." |
| 5 | Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. |
| 6 | And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. |
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 33 : 20 - 21
| 20 | Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. |
| 21 | For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. |
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 - 30
| 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. |
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 Baramudah.
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 Baramudah
Martyrdom of St.Sousenyos
On this day, St. Sousenyos was martyred. This Saint was the son of one of the friends of Emperor Diocletian. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and strengthened his heart on receiving the crown of martyrdom, and he kept this in his heart. The Emperor sent him to the city of Nicomedia to restore the worship of idols. This Saint sorrowed exceedingly. He sent and brought a priest who taught him the doctrine of the church, the facts of the faith and baptized him. When his father knew that, he accused him to the Emperor that he did not worship the idols. The Emperor ordered to torture him with severe tortures, but the Lord strengthened and comforted him. Finally, they cut off his head, and he received the crown of martyrdom. The number of those who had seen him during his torture and believed because of him, were eleven hundred and seventy. They were martyred and received the crown of martyrdom,
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of Pope Youannis VII, 78th Patriarch
On this day also, of the year 1009 A.M. (April 21st, 1293 A.D.), Pope Youannis VII, 78th Patriarch, departed. After the lay leaders of Cairo had nominated Pope Gabriel III for the Papacy, some of the lay leaders of Egypt agreed to choose Youannis Ebn Abi-Saaid El-Soukary. They threw an altar lot which fell on Gabriel, but Youannis, the above mentioned, along with his supporters, quarreled with Gabriel. Youannis nullified the result of the lot and was enthroned in the 6th. of Tubah 978 A.M. (January 15th., 1262 A.D.), after the departure of Pope Athanasius III, his predecessor. He remained on the Patriarchal Chair six years, nine months, and nineteen days, then he was dismissed. Pope Gabriel took over his place from the 24th. of Babah 985 A.M. to the 6th. of Tubah 987 A.M., then he was dismissed. Youannis was reinstated by the order of El-Sultan on the 7th. of Tubah. During Pope Youannis' days, in the year 980 A.M., El-Sultan ordered to dig a huge pit and throw the Christians in it, to be burned. He brought the Patriarch and mandated him to pay fifty thousand Dinars, which took two years to collect. Consequently, they released the Christians who suffered much tribulations in his time, and the bishops suffered much afflictions. Pope Gabriel, his predecessor, departed during Pope Youannis second period of heading the church, so he was listed in the list of the Patriarchs before Youannis. Pope Youannis remained on the Chair in his second time of heading the church 22 years, 3 months, and 19 days, and departed in peace in the 26th. of Baramudah 1009 A.M. He was buried in the gardens of El-Nastour monastery.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.