Thursday 6 February 2031
29 Tubah 1747
Readings for The Feast of Nineveh
Matins Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 30 : 10 - 11
| 10 | Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!" |
| 11 | You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, |
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 : 10 - 21
| 10 | immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha. |
| 11 | Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. |
| 12 | But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." |
| 13 | And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. |
| 14 | Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. |
| 15 | Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." |
| 16 | And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread." |
| 17 | But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? |
| 18 | Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? |
| 19 | When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." |
| 20 | "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven." |
| 21 | So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?" |
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.
1 Peter 3 : 17 - 22
| 17 | For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. |
| 18 | For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, |
| 19 | by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, |
| 20 | who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. |
| 21 | There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, |
| 22 | who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to 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.
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Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us. Amen.
Acts 3 : 22 - 26
| 22 | For Moses truly said to the fathers, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. |
| 23 | And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' |
| 24 | Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. |
| 25 | You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' |
| 26 | To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." |
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 29 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Tubah.
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-Ninth Day of the Blessed Month of Tubah
Departure of St.Eskani (St.Xene)
On this day, St. Eksani (St. Xene) departed.
She was the daughter of one of the noble and rich families of Rome. She
was the only daughter of her parents. She was brought up at an early age
accustomed to fasting and prayers, visiting the prisoners and helping the
needy. She used to visit the convents in Rome to spend time in worship.
She distributed what she brought with her among the poor and was satisfied
with what the nuns ate. She read the biographies of the saints and prayed
to God to grant her a share among them. It happened that one of the ministers
of Rome asked for her hand in marriage for his son. Her father was delighted
about that and he brought her the best of clothing and the most precious
gems and furnishings. Shortly before her wedding, she asked her mother
to allow her to go to the monastery to visit her friends the nuns before
getting married, in order to bid them farewell, and her mother gave her
permission. She took her precious ornaments and two of her maiden servants,
and went quickly to the seashore. She found a ship going to Cyprus, which
she embarked on. On her arrival, she went to St.Epiphanius and told him
about her story. He advised her to go to the City of Alexandria.
She traveled to Alexandria, where she met
Anba Theophilus, 23rd Pope of Alexandria. She informed him of her desire
to live the monastic life. He agreed and he cut her hair and clothed her
in the monastic garb. She sold all of her jewels and clothes that she brought
with her, and built a church in the name of St. Stephen, the Archdeacon.
She resided with a group of virgins and nuns that Pope Theophilus settled
with her. She practiced asceticism and strived. She lived only on bread
and some moistened vegetables. She did not eat any cooked food, and she
slept on the ground. She struggled in that manner for more than 20 years.
When she departed, God manifested a sign in heaven to reveal the heavenly
blessings that she received. At midday, a cross of light, whose light exceeded
that of the sun, appeared in heaven, and around it a circle of stars that
shone like crowns. The cross remained shining until her body was buried
with the other saintly virgins, then it disappeared. The people knew that
the appearance of the cross was to manifest her virtue. Later on, the two
maiden servants told the Pope her real story and how she had a covenant
with them to conceal her story and to call her sister. The Pope marvelled,
glorified God, and he wrote her biography.
May Her prayers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of St.Seriakos (Syriacus)
the Fighter
Today
also is the commemoration of St. Seriakos (Syriacus), the fighter.
May His blessings 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 118 : 5,18
| 5 | I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. |
| 18 | The LORD has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death. |
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 2 : 13 - 25
| 13 | Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
| 14 | And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. |
| 15 | When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. |
| 16 | And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" |
| 17 | Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." |
| 18 | So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" |
| 19 | Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." |
| 20 | Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" |
| 21 | But He was speaking of the temple of His body. |
| 22 | Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. |
| 23 | Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. |
| 24 | But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, |
| 25 | and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. |
Glory be to God forever.
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