Sunday 9 February 2025
2 Amshir 1741
Readings for The Fast of Ninevah
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 82 : 8,6
| 8 | Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations. |
| 6 | I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. |
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 6 : 15 - 21
| 15 | Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. |
| 16 | Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, |
| 17 | got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. |
| 18 | Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. |
| 19 | So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. |
| 20 | But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." |
| 21 | Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. |
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 119 : 105,73
| 105 | Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. |
| 73 | Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. |
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 8 : 51 - 59
| 51 | Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." |
| 52 | Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, "If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.' |
| 53 | Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?" |
| 54 | Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. |
| 55 | Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, "I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. |
| 56 | Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." |
| 57 | Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" |
| 58 | Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." |
| 59 | Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. |
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 Corinthians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
1 Corinthians 5:11-13 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
| 11 | But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person. |
| 12 | For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? |
| 13 | But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." |
| 1 | Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? |
| 2 | Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? |
| 3 | Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? |
| 4 | If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? |
| 5 | I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? |
| 6 | But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! |
| 7 | Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? |
| 8 | No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! |
| 9 | Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, |
| 10 | nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. |
| 11 | And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our 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.
2 Peter 3 : 14 - 18
| 14 | Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; |
| 15 | and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, |
| 16 | as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. |
| 17 | You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; |
| 18 | but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. |
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 9 : 3 - 9
| 3 | As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. |
| 4 | Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" |
| 5 | And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." |
| 6 | So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." |
| 7 | And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. |
| 8 | Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. |
| 9 | And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. |
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 2 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 Second Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Departure of the Great Saint Anba Paul,
the First Hermit
On this day of the year
341 A.D., the great saint Anba Paul, the first hermit, departed. This Saint
was from the city of Alexandria, and had a brother whose name was Peter.
After the departure of their father, they divided the inheritance between
them. When his brother took the greater share, Paul's feelings were hurt,
by his brother's action. He said to his brother, "Why don't you give me
my rightful share of the inheritance of my father?" Peter responded, "You
are a young man, and I am afraid that you might squander it. As for me,
I will keep it for you." When they did not agree with each other, they
went to the governor to judge between them. On their way, they saw a funeral
procession. Paul asked one of the mourners about the deceased man. Paul
was told that he was one of the noble and rich people of the city, and
that he left his riches and his wealth behind, and that they were taking
him to bury him with only his garment. St. Paul sighed in his heart and
said to himself, "What do I have to do then with all the money of this
temporal world which I shall leave naked?" He looked to his brother and
said to him, "My brother, let us return, for I shall not ask you for anything,
not even for what is mine."
On their way back, Paul
left his brother and went on his way until he came out of the city. Paul
found a grave where he stayed for three days praying to the Lord Christ
to guide him to what pleases Him. As for his brother, he searched for Paul
diligently and when he did not find him, he was very sorry for what he
had done. God sent St. Paul an angel who took him out of this place, and
walked with him until they reached the eastern inner wilderness. He stayed
there for 70 years, during which he saw no one. He put on a tunic made
of palm tree fiber. The Lord sent him a raven every day with a half loaf
of bread. When the Lord wanted to reveal the holiness of St. Paul and his
righteousness, He sent His angel to St. Antony (Antonius) the Great, who
thought that he was the first to dwell in the wilderness. The angel told
St. Antony, "There is a man who lives in the inner wilderness; the world
is not worthy of his footsteps. By his prayers, the Lord brings rain and
dew to fall on the earth, and bring the flood of the Nile in its due season."
When St. Antony heard this, he rose right away and went to the inner wilderness,
a distance of one day's walk. God guided him to the cave of St. Paul. He
entered, and they bowed to each other, and sat down talking about the greatness
of the Lord.
In the evening, the raven
came bringing a whole loaf of bread. St. Paul said to St. Antony, "Now,
I know that you are one of the children of God. For 70 years, the Lord
has been sending to me everyday, half a loaf of bread, but today, the Lord
is sending your food also. Now, go and bring me back in a hurry the tunic
that Emperor Constantine had given to Pope Athanasius." St. Antony went
to St. Athanasius, and brought the tunic from him and returned to St. Paul.
On his way back, he saw the soul of St. Paul carried by the angels up to
heaven. When he arrived to the cave, he found that St. Paul had departed
from this world. He kissed him, weeping, and clothed him in the tunic that
he asked for, and he took his fiber tunic. When St. Antony wanted to bury
St. Paul, he wondered how could he dig the grave? Two lions entered the
cave, bowed their heads before the body of St. Paul, and shook their heads
as if they were asking St. Anthony what to do. St. Antony knew that they
were sent from God. He marked the length and width of the body on the ground,
and they dug the grave with their claws, according to St. Antony's directions.
St. Anthony then buried the holy body, and went back to Pope Athanasius
and told him what had happened. St. Athanasius sent men to bring St. Paul's
body to him. They spent several days searching in the mountains, but they
could not find the place of his grave. St. Paul appeared to the Pope in
a vision and told him that the Lord would not allow the revelation of the
location of his body. He asked the Pope not to trouble the men, but to
have them brought back. Pope Athanasius used to put the palm fiber tunic
on three times a year during the Divine Liturgy. One time, he wanted to
let the people know about the holiness of the owner of that tunic. He put
it over a dead man, and the dead man rose up instantly. The news of this
miracle spread all around the land of Egypt.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Longinus, the Abbot of
El-Zugag Monastery
On this day also, the pure
saint Anba Longinus, the abbot of the El-Zugag monastery, departed. He
was from Cilicia (in Asia Minor). He became a monk in one of the monasteries,
where his father Lucianus became a monk after his wife had died. When the
abbot of this monastery departed, the monks wanted to appoint St.Lucianus
an abbot over them, but he refused, for he shunned the vain glory of the
world. He took his son Longinus and went to Syria, where they lived in
a church. God revealed their virtues by performing many miracles through
them. For fear of the vain glory of this world, Longinus went to Egypt
with his father's permission. When he arrived, he went to the monastery
of El-Zugag, west of Alexandria. The monks received him with joy. After
the departure of the abbot, the monks appointed Anba Longinus abbot over
them, for what they saw of his virtues and his good conduct. Shortly after,
his father Lucianus came to him, and they worked together in making the
canvas sails of boats, and sold them to support themselves. God performed
many miracles and signs on their hands. Father Lucianus departed from this
world in peace, and shortly after, his son, Anba Longinus, departed also.
May The prayers of these two saints 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 96 : 6,4
| 6 | Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. |
| 4 | For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. |
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 6 : 22 - 27
| 22 | On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone-- |
| 23 | however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks-- |
| 24 | when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. |
| 25 | And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?" |
| 26 | Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. |
| 27 | Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." |
Glory be to God forever.
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