We are to be ready and able to tell folks about the hope that Jesus has brought to our lives! But when we share this hope, two things are important: our credibility — is Jesus really Lord of our hearts — and our character — do we show gentleness and respect in our persuasion approach. The goal is not to win arguments but hearts to the God of character!
Day 22 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Twenty-Second Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Departure of St.Maruta (Marouta) the Bishop
On this day the church commemorates the departure of St. Maruta (Maruthas), bishop of Marjferqat (Mia Farcane), and the relocation of the relics of the saints who were martyred there in the days of Emperor Diocletian. St. Maruthas was a knowledgeable and righteous man. For this reason, Emperor Theodosius, father of Arcadius and Honorius, selected him to serve as a good will ambassador to the king of Persia, Sapor II, to negotiate with him the conditions of the truce that both wanted to sign. King Shapur (Sapor) welcomed him and housed him in a royal palace. When St. Maruthas knew that the king had a demented daughter, he asked to bring her to him. He prayed over her and she was healed. King Shapur was overjoyed and became more courteous to St. Maruthas. The saint asked the King for the relics of the saints who were martyred in Persia, and the King gave him permission to take them. The saint took the relics for which he built a church and a great fortress around it. Later on, a city was built inside the walls of the fortress, which was named after Maruthas. After the saint had finished his mission, he returned to Emperor Theodosius, and stayed in Rome until his departure.
May His prayers be with us and to our God is the Glory forever. Amen.
Readings for Sunday of second week of Great Lent
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 51 : 1,9
Chapter 51
| 1 | Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. |
| 9 | Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Vespers Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 1 : 12 - 15
Chapter 1
| 12 | Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. |
| 13 | And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. |
| 14 | Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, |
| 15 | and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." |
And Glory be to God forever.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 57 : 1 - 1
Chapter 57
| 1 | Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. |
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Luke 4 : 1 - 13
Chapter 4
| 1 | Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, |
| 2 | being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. |
| 3 | And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." |
| 4 | But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."' |
| 5 | Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. |
| 6 | And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. |
| 7 | Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." |
| 8 | And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."' |
| 9 | Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. |
| 10 | For it is written: "He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,' |
| 11 | and, "In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone."' |
| 12 | And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God."' |
| 13 | Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Liturgy Gospel
Paulines 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 upon us.
Amen.
Romans 14 : 19 - 15 : 7
Chapter 14
| 19 | Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. |
| 20 | Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. |
| 21 | It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. |
| 22 | Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. |
| 23 | But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. |
Chapter 15
| 1 | We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. |
| 2 | Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. |
| 3 | For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me." |
| 4 | For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. |
| 5 | Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, |
| 6 | that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 7 | Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. James .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
James 2 : 1 - 13
Chapter 2
| 1 | My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. |
| 2 | For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, |
| 3 | and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," |
| 4 | have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? |
| 5 | Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? |
| 6 | But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? |
| 7 | Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? |
| 8 | If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; |
| 9 | but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. |
| 10 | For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. |
| 11 | For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. |
| 12 | So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. |
| 13 | For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. |
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.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 23 : 1 - 11
Chapter 23
| 1 | Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." |
| 2 | And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. |
| 3 | Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?" |
| 4 | And those who stood by said, "Do you revile God's high priest?" |
| 5 | Then Paul said, "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, "You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people."' |
| 6 | But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!" |
| 7 | And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. |
| 8 | For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection--and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. |
| 9 | Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees' party arose and protested, saying, "We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God." |
| 10 | Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks. |
| 11 | But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome." |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Synaxarium
Day 30 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Thirtieth Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Appearance of the Head of St.John the Baptist
On this day we celebrate the commemoration of the appearance of the head of St. John the Baptist. Herod commanded his head to be cut off and brought on a platter and given to Herodias, according to her request. (Mark 6:7-28) It was said that after the feast he regretted the slaying of St. John so he kept the head in his house. Aritas, the Arabic King, Herod's father-in-law, was enraged because Herod banished his daughter and married the wife of his brother, while his brother was still alive. Aritas instigated a war against Herod in revenge for his daughter. He overcame Herod, dispersed his army and destroyed the cities of Galilee. When Tiberius Caesar learned that the reason for these wars was the slaying of a prophet, who was great among his people, by Herod, who banished his wife, the daughter of Aritas, the Arabian king, and married his brother's wife, he summoned Herod and Herodias to Rome. Herod hid the head of St. John in his palace and went to Rome. When he arrived there, Tiberius removed him from his position and stripped him of all his possessions and exiled him to Spain where he died. Herod's palace was ruined and became an example for those who might think of following in his footsteps. A few years later, two believing men from Homs went to Jerusalem to spend the holy fast (Lent) there. Night fell on them while passing by the ruins of Herod's palace, so they spent the night there. St. John appeared to one of them and told him about his name and the whereabouts of his head and ordered him to take it to his house. When he woke up, the man told this to his friend and they went to the place where the head was buried. They dug and found a sealed pottery vessel. When they opened that vessel, a sweet aroma spread out of it. They found the holy head, took its blessing and placed it back in the vessel. The man that saw the vision took it to his house. He put it in a safe place and put a candle in front of it. Before his departure, he told his sister about it and she went on doing the same thing. The head was handed from one person to another until it came to the hand of a follower of Arius who attributed the wonders and miracles that happened through the holy head to the heresy of Arius. The Lord commanded someone to force him out of his house. The place of the head remained unknown until the time of St. Cyril (Kyrillos), Bishop of Jerusalem. St. John appeared to Abba Martianus, Bishop of Homs, in his sleep and told him about the place of the head. He went there and found the head and that was on the thirtieth of the month of Amshir.
May The prayers of this saint be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Departure of Abba Kyrillos the Sixth.
On this day also of the year 1971 A.D., the holy and righteous father Abba Kyrillos the Sixth, the one hundred and sixteenth Pope of Alexandria, departed. God has accorded this pure father the gift of working great miracles even after his departure.
May His prayers and blessings be with us. Amen.
Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 27 : 8 - 10
Chapter 27
| 8 | When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek." |
| 9 | Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. |
| 10 | When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me. |
Hallelujah.
Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
Matthew 4 : 1 - 11
Chapter 4
| 1 | Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. |
| 2 | And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. |
| 3 | Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." |
| 4 | But He answered and said, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."' |
| 5 | Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, |
| 6 | and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: "He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, "In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone."' |
| 7 | Jesus said to him, "It is written again, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God."' |
| 8 | Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. |
| 9 | And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." |
| 10 | Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."' |
| 11 | Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. |
And Glory be to God forever.
This temporal dispensation not only is, as holds good of that generation which respects His being God, but also has been and shall be. For our Lord has been upon the earth, and at present He is in heaven, and [hereafter] He shall be in His brightness as the Judge of the quick and the dead. For He shall yet come, even so as He has ascended, according to the authority which is contained in the Acts of the Apostles. It is in accordance with this temporal dispensation, therefore, that He speaks in the Apocalypse, where it is written in this wise: These things says He, who is, and who was, and who is to come.