Readings for Third Sunday of Tute
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 9 : 1 - 2
Chapter 9
| 1 | I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. |
| 2 | I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. |
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 : 29 - 34
Chapter 1
| 29 | Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. |
| 30 | But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. |
| 31 | So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them. |
| 32 | At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. |
| 33 | And the whole city was gathered together at the door. |
| 34 | Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. |
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 9 : 6,7
Chapter 9
| 6 | O enemy, destructions are finished forever! And you have destroyed cities; Even their memory has perished. |
| 7 | But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. |
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 Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 8 : 5 - 13
Chapter 8
| 5 | Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, |
| 6 | saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." |
| 7 | And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." |
| 8 | The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. |
| 9 | For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, "Go,' and he goes; and to another, "Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this,' and he does it." |
| 10 | When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! |
| 11 | And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. |
| 12 | But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." |
| 13 | Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. |
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 Corinthians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
1 Corinthians 2 : 1 - 16
Chapter 2
| 1 | And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. |
| 2 | For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. |
| 3 | I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. |
| 4 | And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, |
| 5 | that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. |
| 6 | However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. |
| 7 | But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, |
| 8 | which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. |
| 9 | But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." |
| 10 | But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. |
| 11 | For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. |
| 12 | Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. |
| 13 | These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. |
| 14 | But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. |
| 15 | But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. |
| 16 | For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 Peter 1 : 13 - 21
Chapter 1
| 13 | Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; |
| 14 | as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; |
| 15 | but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, |
| 16 | because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." |
| 17 | And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; |
| 18 | knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, |
| 19 | but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. |
| 20 | He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you |
| 21 | who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. |
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 9 : 22 - 31
Chapter 9
| 22 | But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. |
| 23 | Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. |
| 24 | But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. |
| 25 | Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. |
| 26 | And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. |
| 27 | But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. |
| 28 | So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. |
| 29 | And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. |
| 30 | When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. |
| 31 | Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Synaxarium
Day 21 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Tute, 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-First Day of the Blessed Month of Tute
Commemoration of St.Mary the Virgin
We celebrate on this day the commemoration of the pure Lady St.Mary the Virgin, the Mother of God, the Word through whom was the salvation of Adam and his offspring.
May her intercession be for us all. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Cyprianus and St.Justina
On this day also in the year 257 A.D. the honorable St.Cyprianus and St.Justina were martyred. Cyprianus was an infidel and and a magician. He learned magic in the countries of the west until he excelled over his fellows. His excessive impudence and his arrogance made him go to Antioch to challenge the magicians there and to pride himself over them of his knowledge. When he arrived there, this fame spread and a young man, the son of one of the elders of the city, heard about him. This young man lusted for a Christian virgin who was called Justina, whom he had seen going to church and his heart became inflamed with her love. He was unable to obtain what he desired of her either by money, or by threat, or by magic.
He sought Cyprianus and complained to him about his condition, that he might gain favor with Justina's heart and fulfill his desire from her. Cyprianus promised him the fulfillment of his desire. He used all the works of his sorcery but failed. Every time he sent her a host of satans, they found her praying, so they came back defeated. When he failed, he called the satans and told them, "If you do not bring Justina to me, I shall adopt Christianity." The chief of the satans thought out a device to deceive him. He ordered one of his soldiers to disguise himself and take the form of Justina and go to him, and he hastened and made known to Cyprianus her coming, so he rejoiced and waited for her. Then satan disguised as Justina came to him, and Cyprianus rejoiced, and rose up to embrace her. Because of his great joy in her, he told her, "Welcome, Queen of Women, Justina." Upon the mere mention of her name, satan disguised as her melted away and disappeared like smoke, and an unpleasant smell was given off by his body. Cyprianus knew that this was a deceitful trick of satan who could not stand before the mention of her name. Cyprianus rose up straight away and burnt his books of magic and was baptized by the patriarch of Antioch who put on him the monastic garb. After a while he ordained him a deacon, then a priest. And when he had grown in virtues and in the doctrine of the church, they ordained him bishop of Cartagena, in the year 351 A.D. And he took St.Justina and made her the head of the convent there. When the Ecumenical Council convened at Cartagena, this saint was one of those who were assembled there.
When Emperor Decius heard of them he had them brought before him, and he demanded them to raise incense for the idols. When they would not obey, he inflicted upon them many tortures and finally cut off their heads with the sword.
May their prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God forever. 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 18 : 46,49,50
Chapter 18
| 46 | The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. |
| 49 | Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. |
| 50 | Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore. |
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.
Luke 19 : 1 - 10
Chapter 19
| 1 | Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. |
| 2 | Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. |
| 3 | And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. |
| 4 | So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. |
| 5 | And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." |
| 6 | So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. |
| 7 | But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." |
| 8 | Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." |
| 9 | And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; |
| 10 | for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." |
And Glory be to God forever.