Readings for Wednesday 7 February 2024
29 Tubah 1740
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 : 25 - 26
| 25 | The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; Among them were the maidens playing timbrels. |
| 26 | Bless God in the congregations, The Lord, from the fountain of Israel. |
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 26 : 6 - 13
| 6 | And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, |
| 7 | a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. |
| 8 | But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? |
| 9 | For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor." |
| 10 | But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. |
| 11 | For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. |
| 12 | For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. |
| 13 | Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." |
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 8 : 2 - 3
| 2 | Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. |
| 3 | When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, |
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 4 : 15 - 24
| 15 | The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." |
| 16 | Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." |
| 17 | The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, "I have no husband,' |
| 18 | for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." |
| 19 | The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. |
| 20 | Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." |
| 21 | Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. |
| 22 | You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. |
| 23 | But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. |
| 24 | God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." |
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 Ephesians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Ephesians 5 : 8 - 21
| 8 | For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light |
| 9 | (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), |
| 10 | finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. |
| 11 | And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. |
| 12 | For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. |
| 13 | But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. |
| 14 | Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light." |
| 15 | See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, |
| 16 | redeeming the time, because the days are evil. |
| 17 | Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. |
| 18 | And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, |
| 19 | speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, |
| 20 | giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, |
| 21 | submitting to one another in the fear of God. |
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 : 5 - 14
| 5 | For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, |
| 6 | as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. |
| 7 | Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. |
| 8 | Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; |
| 9 | not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. |
| 10 | For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. |
| 11 | Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. |
| 12 | For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil." |
| 13 | And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? |
| 14 | But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled." |
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 21 : 5 - 14
| 5 | When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. |
| 6 | When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home. |
| 7 | And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. |
| 8 | On the next day we who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. |
| 9 | Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. |
| 10 | And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. |
| 11 | When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, "So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."' |
| 12 | Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. |
| 13 | Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." |
| 14 | So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, "The will of the Lord be 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 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 45 : 14 - 15
| 14 | She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors; The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You. |
| 15 | With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought; They shall enter the King's palace. |
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 25 : 1 - 13
| 1 | "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. |
| 2 | Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. |
| 3 | Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, |
| 4 | but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. |
| 5 | But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. |
| 6 | "And at midnight a cry was heard: "Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' |
| 7 | Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. |
| 8 | And the foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' |
| 9 | But the wise answered, saying, "No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' |
| 10 | And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. |
| 11 | "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us!' |
| 12 | But he answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' |
| 13 | "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. |
Glory be to God forever.
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