Readings for Sunday 8 December 2024
29 Hatur 1741
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 144 : 5,7
| 5 | Bow down Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. |
| 7 | Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, From the hand of foreigners, |
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 7 : 36 - 50
| 36 | Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat. |
| 37 | And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, |
| 38 | and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. |
| 39 | Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner." |
| 40 | And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it." |
| 41 | "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. |
| 42 | And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?" |
| 43 | Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged." |
| 44 | Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. |
| 45 | You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. |
| 46 | You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. |
| 47 | Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." |
| 48 | Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." |
| 49 | And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" |
| 50 | Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." |
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 : 6 - 7
| 6 | He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth. |
| 7 | In His days the righteous shall flourish, And abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more. |
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 11 : 20 - 28
| 20 | But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. |
| 21 | When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. |
| 22 | But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. |
| 23 | He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. |
| 24 | "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, "I will return to my house from which I came.' |
| 25 | And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. |
| 26 | Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." |
| 27 | And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!" |
| 28 | But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" |
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 3 : 1 - 31
| 1 | What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? |
| 2 | Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. |
| 3 | For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? |
| 4 | Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged." |
| 5 | But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) |
| 6 | Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world? |
| 7 | For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? |
| 8 | And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"?--as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just. |
| 9 | What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. |
| 10 | As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; |
| 11 | There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. |
| 12 | They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." |
| 13 | "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; |
| 14 | "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." |
| 15 | "Their feet are swift to shed blood; |
| 16 | Destruction and misery are in their ways; |
| 17 | And the way of peace they have not known." |
| 18 | "There is no fear of God before their eyes." |
| 19 | Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. |
| 20 | Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. |
| 21 | But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, |
| 22 | even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; |
| 23 | for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, |
| 24 | being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, |
| 25 | whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, |
| 26 | to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. |
| 27 | Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. |
| 28 | Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. |
| 29 | Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, |
| 30 | since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. |
| 31 | Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. John . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
1 John 1:1-10 1 John 2:1-6
| 1 | That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- |
| 2 | the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- |
| 3 | that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. |
| 4 | And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. |
| 5 | This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. |
| 6 | If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. |
| 7 | But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. |
| 8 | If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. |
| 9 | If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. |
| 10 | If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. |
| 1 | My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. |
| 2 | And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. |
| 3 | Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. |
| 4 | He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. |
| 5 | But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. |
| 6 | He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. |
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 7 : 23 - 34
| 23 | "Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. |
| 24 | And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. |
| 25 | For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. |
| 26 | And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, "Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?' |
| 27 | But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? |
| 28 | Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?' |
| 29 | Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons. |
| 30 | "And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. |
| 31 | When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, |
| 32 | saying, "I am the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and dared not look. |
| 33 | "Then the LORD said to him, "Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. |
| 34 | I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt."' |
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 Hatur.
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 Hatur
Martyrdom of St.Peter, the Seal of the
Martyrs
This day marks the martyrdom of St.
Peter, 17th Pope of Alexandria and the seal of the martyrs. His father
was the archpriest of Alexandria and his name was Theodosius and his mother's
name was Sophia. They were God-fearing people and they had no children.
On the fifth day of the Coptic month of Abib, the feast of St. Peter and
St. Paul, his mother went to church where she saw other mothers carrying
their children. She was exceedingly sorrowful and she wept. She besought
our Lord Jesus Christ with many tears, to grant her a son. That night,
Peter and Paul appeared to her and told her that the Lord had accepted
her prayers and that He would give her a son, and to call him Peter. They
commanded her to go to the Patriarch, to bless her. When she woke up, she
told her husband about what she saw and he was exceedingly glad. Then she
went to the father, the Patriarch and told him about what she saw and asked
him to pray for her. He prayed and blessed her. Shortly after, she gave
birth to this saint and called him Peter. When he was 7 years old, they
gave him to Pope Theonas, as was done with Samuel the prophet and he became
as a son to him. He placed him in the theological school where he received
his education and excelled in preaching and counseling. He then ordained
him as a reader, then as a deacon, and shortly after as a priest. He relieved
the Pope of many church administrative duties.
Before Pope Theonas' departure,
he recommended that Abba Peter be his successor. When he was enthroned
on the See of St. Mark, the church was enlightened by his teachings. It
came to pass in the city of Antioch, that a man of high authority had agreed
with Diocletian the Emperor, to return to paganism. That man had two children
and because of him, their mother could not baptize them there. Therefore,
she took them to Alexandria. On her way there, the sea was troubled by
a violent storm and she was afraid that her two sons would drown and die
without being baptized. She therefore dipped them in the sea three times
saying, "In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,"
then she cut her breast and with her blood made the sign of the Holy Cross
over their foreheads. Eventually, the troubled sea calmed down and she
arrived safely to Alexandria with her sons. On the same day, she brought
them to be baptized. Whenever, the Patriarch, St. Peter tried to baptize
them, the water would solidify as stone. This happened three times. When
he questioned her, she informed him of what had happened to her at sea.
He marvelled and praised God saying, "That is what the church proclaims,
that it is one baptism." Therefore, the baptism she performed in the sea
was accepted by the Lord.
Also in the days of this Pope,
Arius the heretic appeared and St. Peter advised him several times to turn
from his wicked thoughts, but he would not hearken to him. Consequently,
he excommunicated him and prevented him from the fellowship of the church.
Arius contacted Emperor Maximianus, the infidel, and reported to him that
Peter, the Patriarch of Alexandria, incited the people not to worship the
gods. The Emperor was outraged and he sent messengers with orders to cut
off his head. When they arrived in Alexandria, they attacked the people
and destroyed most of the cities of Egypt. They robbed all their valuables,
their women and children. In total, about 840 thousand of them were killed,
some with the sword, some with starvation and some with imprisonment. Then
they returned to Alexandria and captured the father, the Patriarch, and
imprisoned him. When the people heard about their shepherd's arrest, they
gathered in front of the prison door and wanted to save him by force. The
officer in charge of his slaying was worried that the general peace would
be disrupted, so he postponed the execution till the next day. When the
saint saw what had happened, he wanted to deliver himself to death for
his people, for he feared what might happen to his flock. He wished to
depart and be with Christ, without causing any disturbances or troubles.
He sent for his people and he comforted them and advised them to adhere
to the true faith.
When Arius, the infidel,
learned that St. Peter was departing to be with the Lord, leaving him under
the band of excommunication, he entreated him, through the high priests,
to absolve him. St. Peter refused and told them that the Lord Christ had
appeared to him this night in a vision, wearing a torn robe. St. Peter
asked Him, "My Lord, who rent Your robe?" The Lord replied, "Arius has
rent My robe, because he separated Me from My Father. Beware of accepting
him." After this, St. Peter summoned the Emperor's messenger in secret
and advised him to dig a hole in the prison's wall on the side where there
were no Christians. The officer was amazed at the bravery of the father
and he did as he commanded him. He took him out of prison secretly and
brought him outside the city, to where the tomb of St. Mark the evangelist,
Egypt's evangelist. There, he kneeled down and asked the Lord, "Let the
shedding of my blood mark the end of the worship of idols and be the end
of the shedding of the blood of Christians." A voice came from heaven and
was heard by a saintly virgin who was near that place. It said, "Amen.
May it be to you according to your wishes." When he finished his prayer,
the swordsman advanced and cut off his holy head. The body remained in
its place until the people went out hurriedly from the city to the place
where he was martyred, because they did not know what had happened. They
took the pure body and dressed it in the pontifical clothes and seated
him on the seat of St. Mark, which he refused to sit on during his life.
He used to say that he saw the power of God sitting on the Chair and therefore,
he did not dare to sit on it. Then they placed his body with the bodies
of the saints. He occupied the throne of St. Mark for 11 years.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Clement, Pope of Rome
This day also marks the
martyrdom of St. Clement, Pope of Rome. This Saint was born in Rome to
an honorable father whose name was Fostinus; who was a member of the Senate.
His father educated him and taught him Greek literature. When St. Peter,
the Apostle, came to Rome and Clement heard about his teaching, he called
him to appear before him and they discussed many things together. The Apostle
explained to him the falsehood of idol worship and proved to him the Divinity
of the Lord Christ, in Whose Name they preached and performed miracles.
He believed at his hands, was baptized by him, and followed him since that
day. St. Clement wrote the biography of the Apostles and what happened
to them at the hands of the kings and rulers. He preached in numerous cities
and many believed at his hands. He was the one to whom the apostles gave
their Canon Books. He became the Archbishop of Rome in the latter part
of the first century A.D. He preached there and brought many of its people
to the knowledge of the Lord Christ.
Emperor Trajan heard of
him and ordered him to be seized and brought to him. The Emperor commanded
him to worship the idols and deny the Lord Christ, but St. Clement refused.
Because the Emperor feared torturing him before the people of the city
and before his family, he exiled him to a city and wrote a message to its
Governor, telling him to torture St. Clement, then to kill him. The Governor
tied his neck to an anchor and cast him into the sea. In this way, the
Saint delivered up his pure spirit and received the crown of martyrdom,
in the year 100 A.D. One year after his departure, the sea water receded
off his body, which appeared in the bottom of the sea as though he was
alive. Many went in and were blessed and they decided to take the body
away from its place. They brought a marble coffin and laid him in it and
when they wanted to take his body out of the sea, they were unable to move
it. They knew that he did not wish to be moved from his place, so they
left him and departed. On the day of his feast each year, the sea would
flow back and the visitors would enter and be blessed by him. Many frequently
travelled to see this wonder. Among the many miracles written about him:
One year the visitors went in to visit and to be blessed by him and when
they left, they forgot a little child who was behind the coffin of the
Saint. This was according to the Lord Christ's Will, in order to reveal
the honor of His beloved ones and the grace they had received from Him.
When the child's parents remembered their son, they went back to the sea,
but they found the water was back and that it had covered the casket. They
realized that their son must be dead and devoured by the beasts of the
sea. They wept over him and commemorated him as was the custom. The next
year, when the sea waters receded, the people entered, as was their custom,
and were amazed to find the child alive. They asked him how he existed
and what he had eaten. He replied, "The Saint fed me, gave me drink, and
protected me from the beasts of the sea." They praised the Lord Christ
Who is glorified in all His saints.
May His 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 45 : 10 - 11
| 10 | Listen, O daughter, Consider and incline your ear; Forget your own people also, and your father's house; |
| 11 | So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him. |
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 1 : 26 - 38
| 26 | Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, |
| 27 | to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. |
| 28 | And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" |
| 29 | But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. |
| 30 | Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. |
| 31 | And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. |
| 32 | He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. |
| 33 | And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." |
| 34 | Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" |
| 35 | And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. |
| 36 | Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. |
| 37 | For with God nothing will be impossible." |
| 38 | Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. |
Glory be to God forever.
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