Tuesday 7 January 2025
29 Kiyahk 1741
Readings for The Feast of the Nativity
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 72 : 10
| 10 | The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. |
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 3 : 23 - 38
| 23 | Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, |
| 24 | the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, |
| 25 | the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, |
| 26 | the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, |
| 27 | the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, |
| 28 | the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, |
| 29 | the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, |
| 30 | the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, |
| 31 | the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, |
| 32 | the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, |
| 33 | the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, |
| 34 | the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, |
| 35 | the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, |
| 36 | the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, |
| 37 | the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, |
| 38 | the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. |
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 72 : 15
| 15 | And He shall live; And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, And daily He shall be praised. |
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 1 : 14 - 17
| 14 | And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. |
| 15 | John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, "He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me."' |
| 16 | And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. |
| 17 | For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. |
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 Hebrews.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
Hebrews 1:1-14 Hebrews 2:1-4
| 1 | God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, |
| 2 | has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; |
| 3 | who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, |
| 4 | having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. |
| 5 | For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son"? |
| 6 | But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him." |
| 7 | And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire." |
| 8 | But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. |
| 9 | You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions." |
| 10 | And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. |
| 11 | They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; |
| 12 | Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail." |
| 13 | But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"? |
| 14 | Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? |
| 1 | Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. |
| 2 | For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, |
| 3 | how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, |
| 4 | God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? |
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.
2 Peter 1 : 12 - 17
| 12 | For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. |
| 13 | Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, |
| 14 | knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. |
| 15 | Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. |
| 16 | For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. |
| 17 | For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." |
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 13 : 26 - 33
| 26 | "Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. |
| 27 | For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. |
| 28 | And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. |
| 29 | Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. |
| 30 | But God raised Him from the dead. |
| 31 | He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. |
| 32 | And we declare to you glad tidings--that promise which was made to the fathers. |
| 33 | God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.' |
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 Kiyahk.
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 Kiyahk
Feast of the Glorified Birth of Our Lord
Jesus Christ (Christmas)
On this day, of the year 5501 of the world,
as calculated by our glorious church, we celebrate the birth of Our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Incarnate God in the Flesh from the virgin St. Mary.
Through the Divine plan of God and His foreknowledge, Caesar Augustus issued
a decree for a general census in all the Roman Empire. For that reason,
Joseph rose, and the virgin with him, and went from the city of Nazareth
to "Bethlehem" to be counted in the census there because he was from the
tribe of Judah, from the house of David. Bethlehem was the city of David.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, the Virgin gave birth to her first born
child and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and put him in a manger,
for they did not have a place for them in the inn. Now there were, in the
same country, shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their
flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and
the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is
born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, Who is Christ the
Lord. And this will be the sign to you: you will find a Babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes lying in a manger." Suddenly there was, with the angel,
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men."
So it was, when the angels had gone away from
them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go
to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has
made known to us." And they came with haste and found the Babe, Mary, Joseph,
and Salomi. The place was shining with light. Now when they had seen him,
they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Then they worshipped the child and they returned, glorifying and praising
God for all that they had heard and seen. (Luke 2:1-20) On this day, the
prophecies about the birth of the Lord from a chaste virgin had been fulfilled.
Isaiah the prophet said, "Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son
and shall call His Name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) Ezekiel the prophet also
said about this wonderful mystery, "And the Lord said to me, 'This gate
shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because
the Lord God of Israel has entered by it, therefore it shall be shut."'
(Ezekiel 44:2) About this child, Daniel the prophet said, "I was watching
in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with
the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought
Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and the Kingdom
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion
is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom
the one which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14)
Jeremiah the prophet said, "Behold, the days
are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a Branch of Righteousness;
a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgement and righteousness
in the earth. In His days, Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His Name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness."
(Jeremiah 23:5-6) We must therefore now direct our minds toward the manger
of Bethlehem, where the Son of God was lying in it in the flesh at the
time of His birth, contemplating in silence and reverence worthy of the
mystery of the incarnation of God, and His birth in a manger for our salvation.
Knowing that He teaches us through this mystery to despise the world and
all the vain things in it, and that He urges us to be humble and to love
our neighbor seeking his own good, and that we should live in virtue and
holiness according to the Christian ethics; not ignoring the great dignity
that has been granted to us by this Divine Incarnation. Since we have kept
this fast before the Advent, and have arrived at this glorious feast, we
should receive it with purity and every good thing. We should extend our
hand to comfort the weak, to help the poor, and to be instruments of peace
and reconciliation among the people, taking our Lord Who has made an eternal
peace by His Incarnation as our example. We should ask God in supplications
to have compassion upon us and to forgive our sins, and to bless our gatherings,
and to keep the life of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria
and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, to keep his pontificate for many
years with the joy, peace and the safety of the church, and the advancement
of his people in virtue. May God grant us many returns of this feast, filled
with the blessings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who came for our
salvation.
To Him be the Glory and Honor 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 2 : 7 - 8
| 7 | "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. |
| 8 | Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. |
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 2 : 1 - 12
| 1 | Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, |
| 2 | saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." |
| 3 | When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. |
| 4 | And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. |
| 5 | So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: |
| 6 | "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel."' |
| 7 | Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. |
| 8 | And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also." |
| 9 | When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. |
| 10 | When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. |
| 11 | And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. |
| 12 | Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. |
Glory be to God forever.
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