I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
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.
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 64 : 10
Chapter 64
| 10 | The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory. |
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 4 : 21 - 25
Chapter 4
| 21 | Also He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? |
| 22 | For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. |
| 23 | If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." |
| 24 | Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. |
| 25 | For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from 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 70 : 5
Chapter 70
| 5 | But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay. |
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 Mark the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Mark 3 : 22 - 27
Chapter 3
| 22 | And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." |
| 23 | So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? |
| 24 | If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. |
| 25 | And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. |
| 26 | And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. |
| 27 | No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. |
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 Philippians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Philippians 1 : 1 - 11
Chapter 1
| 1 | Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: |
| 2 | Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 3 | I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, |
| 4 | always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, |
| 5 | for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, |
| 6 | being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; |
| 7 | just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. |
| 8 | For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. |
| 9 | And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, |
| 10 | that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, |
| 11 | being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 2 : 7 - 11
Chapter 2
| 7 | Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. |
| 8 | Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. |
| 9 | He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. |
| 10 | He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. |
| 11 | But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. |
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 19 : 11 - 17
Chapter 19
| 11 | Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, |
| 12 | so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. |
| 13 | Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." |
| 14 | Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. |
| 15 | And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" |
| 16 | Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. |
| 17 | This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
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 16 : 10 - 11
Chapter 16
| 10 | For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. |
| 11 | You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures 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.
Mark 3 : 28 - 35
Chapter 3
| 28 | "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; |
| 29 | but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation"-- |
| 30 | because they said, "He has an unclean spirit." |
| 31 | Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. |
| 32 | And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." |
| 33 | But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?" |
| 34 | And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! |
| 35 | For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother." |
And Glory be to God forever.
Years ago, someone asked if I could sum up all my teachings in two words. My response was “incarnational mysticism.” The first word, “incarnational,” is Christianity’s specialty and should always be our essential theme. We believe God became embodied. The early Fathers of the Church professed that God, by taking on human flesh, said yes to all that was physical, material, and earthly. Unfortunately, much of Christianity lost this full understanding.
Many Christians are scared of the word “mysticism.” But a mystic is simply one who has moved from mere belief or belonging systems to actual inner experience of God. Mysticism is more represented in John’s Gospel than in the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) which give us the basic story line of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. So many readers are not moved by or attracted to John’s Gospel because they were never taught the mystical mind.
In the early 1960s, Karl Rahner (1904–1984), a German Jesuit who strongly influenced the Second Vatican Council, stated that if Western Christianity does not discover its mystical foundations and roots, we might as well close the church doors. I believe he was right. Without a contemplative mind, Christianity can’t offer broad seeing, real alternative consciousness, or a new kind of humanity. Jesus was the first clear nondual mystic in the West, in my opinion. We just were not prepared for his way of knowing and loving.
Alan Watts (1915–1973), a British philosopher, put it this way: “From the beginning, institutional Christianity has hardly contemplated the possibility that the consciousness of Jesus might be the consciousness of the Christian, that the whole point of the Gospel is that everyone may experience union with God in the same way . . . as Jesus himself.” [1]
Watts also wrote: “The truth that religion, to be of any use, must be mystical has always been denied by the seemingly large number of people, including theologians, who do not know what mysticism is. . . . Its essence is the consciousness of union with God.” [2] Basically, to experience non-separateness, or nonduality from anything, particularly with God, one must move to the mystical mind. Any other mind—or heart—is utterly inadequate to the task.
Until people have had some mystical, inner spiritual experience, there is no point in asking them to follow the ethical ideals of Jesus or to really understand religious beliefs beyond the level of formula. At most, such moral ideals and doctrinal affirmations are only a source of deeper anxiety because we don’t have the power to follow any of Jesus’ major teachings about forgiveness, love of enemies, nonviolence, humble use of power, a simple lifestyle, and so on, except in and through radical union with God. Further, doctrines like the Trinity, the Real Presence, and the significance of the Indwelling Spirit have little active power. They are just “believed” at the rational level, but never experienced.
References:
[1] Alan Watts, Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion (Vintage Books: 1947, 1972), xix.
[2] Ibid., 5-6.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (Franciscan Media: 2008), 81.