Readings for Friday 9 February 2024
1 Amshir 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 32 : 11,6
| 11 | Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! |
| 6 | For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near 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 Matthew the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
Matthew 25 : 14 - 23
| 14 | "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. |
| 15 | And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. |
| 16 | Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. |
| 17 | And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. |
| 18 | But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. |
| 19 | After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. |
| 20 | "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, "Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' |
| 21 | His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' |
| 22 | He also who had received two talents came and said, "Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' |
| 23 | His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' |
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 112 : 1 - 2
| 1 | Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments. |
| 2 | His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. |
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 6 : 17 - 23
| 17 | And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, |
| 18 | as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. |
| 19 | And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. |
| 20 | Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God. |
| 21 | Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. |
| 22 | Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. |
| 23 | Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. |
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 4:13-25 Romans 5:1-5
| 13 | For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. |
| 14 | For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, |
| 15 | because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. |
| 16 | Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all |
| 17 | (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations" ) in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; |
| 18 | who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." |
| 19 | And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. |
| 20 | He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, |
| 21 | and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. |
| 22 | And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness." |
| 23 | Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, |
| 24 | but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, |
| 25 | who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. |
| 1 | Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, |
| 2 | through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. |
| 3 | And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; |
| 4 | and perseverance, character; and character, hope. |
| 5 | Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. |
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 1 : 3 - 12
| 3 | Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, |
| 4 | to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, |
| 5 | who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. |
| 6 | In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, |
| 7 | that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, |
| 8 | whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, |
| 9 | receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls. |
| 10 | Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, |
| 11 | searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. |
| 12 | To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into. |
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 11 : 15 - 24
| 15 | And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. |
| 16 | Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, "John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' |
| 17 | If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" |
| 18 | When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life." |
| 19 | Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. |
| 20 | But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. |
| 21 | And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. |
| 22 | Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. |
| 23 | When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. |
| 24 | For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. |
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 1 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir.
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 First Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Commemoration of the Universal Ecclesiastical
Council in Constantinople
On this day of the year
381 A.D., one hundred and fifty fathers assembled upon the order of Emperor
Theodosius the Great, in the city of Constantinople. They assembled to
judge Macedonius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and Sabellius and Apollinaris,
for their blasphemy against God the Word and the Holy Spirit. When this
blasphemy became widespread, the fathers of the church were concerned about
the peace of the church, and made these heresies known to Emperor Theodosius.
He ordered that a council be assembled, and invited Abba Timothy, 22nd
Pope of Alexandria; Abba Damasus, Pope of Rome; Abba Petros (Peter), Patriarch
of Antioch; and Abba Cyril (Kyrillos), Patriarch of Jerusalem. They came
to the council with their bishops, except the Pope of Rome, who delegated
others to attend on his behalf. When the holy council convened in Constantinople,
they called upon Macedonius. Abba Timothy, Pope of Alexandria, who was
presiding over the council, asked him, "What is your belief?" Macedonius
answered that the Holy Spirit was created like any other creature. Abba
Timothy said, "The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. If we say as you claim
that the Spirit of God is created, we are saying, in essence, that His
Life is created, and therefore, He is 'lifeless' without it." He advised
Macedonius to renounce his erroneous belief. When he refused, Macedonius
was excommunicated, anathematized and striped of his rank.
Then Abba Timothy asked
Sabellius, "And you, what is your belief?" He answered, "The Trinity is
one being and one person." Abba Timothy said, "If the Trinity is as you
claim, then the mentioning of the Trinity is groundless, and your baptism
is futile, because it is in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit, and the Trinity would have suffered pain and died, and the saying
of the gospel would be invalid, when it is said that the Son was in the
Jordan River, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the likeness of
a dove, and the Father called upon Him from heaven." Then Abba Timothy
advised him to renounce his belief. When Sabellius did not accept, Abba
Timothy excommunicated, anathematized and striped him of his rank. Then
Abba Timothy asked Apollinaris, "And you, what is your belief?" Apollinaris
said, "The Incarnation of the Son was by His union with the human flesh
without the rational being, for His divinity replaced the soul and the
mind of the human being." Abba Timothy replied, "God the Word united with
our nature to save us, therefore if He only united with the animal body,
then He did not save mankind but the animals. Humans will rise on the day
of Resurrection with the rational and speaking soul with which there will
be the communication and the judgement, and with it they will be granted
the blessing or the condemnation. Accordingly, the Incarnation would be
in vain. If that was the case, why did He call Himself a man if He did
not unite with the rational speaking soul?" Then Abba Timothy advised him
to turn away from his erroneous belief, but he also refused. He excommunicated
Apollinaris as he did the other two friends.
Ultimately, the council
excommunicated these three and all those who agreed with them. Then they
completed the creed that was established by the fathers at the Council
of Nicea until its saying, "Of Whose Kingdom shall be no end." The fathers
of the Council of Constantinople added, "Truly we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, Giver of Life... to the end." They put down many canons that
are still in the hands of the believers today.
May The prayers of these holy fathers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of the Consecration of
the First Church that was Built after the Name of St.Peter, the Seal of
the Martyrs
On this day also, we celebrate
the commemoration of the consecration of the Church of St. Peter, 17th
Pope of Alexandria and the Seal of Martyrs. He was martyred in Alexandria
during the last days of the reign of Diocletian the Infidel. When Emperor
Constantine the Great reigned, and all the idol temples were destroyed,
churches were built. So the believers built this church west of Alexandria
in the name of St. Peter, the Seal of Martyrs. The church existed till
shortly after the reign of the Arabs over Egypt, when it was destroyed.
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 19:4 Psalms 132:9-10
| 4 | Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, |
| 9 | Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy. |
| 10 | For Your servant David's sake, Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed. |
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 16 : 13 - 19
| 13 | When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" |
| 14 | So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." |
| 15 | He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" |
| 16 | Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." |
| 17 | Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. |
| 18 | And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. |
| 19 | And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." |
Glory be to God forever.
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