Day 29 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baounah, 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-Ninth Day of the Blessed Month of Baounah
Martyrdom of the Seven Ascetic Saints in Tounar Mount
On this day, the seven ascetic saints in Tounar Mount (Tona), were martyred. These were: Basadi, Cotolus, Ardama, Moses, Esey, Parkalas (Mikalas), and a monk called Cotolus. The angel of the Lord had appeared to Sts. Basadi and Cotolus and commanded them to confess the name of the Lord Christ. They rose up straightway to go to the governor. They met the five saints embarking a ship going to the governor to also confess the Lord Christ. They all agreed together on receiving the crown of martyrdom. They went to the governor and confessed the Lord Christ. He tortured them excessively, then hung stones from their necks, and shut them up in prison. The Lord appeared to them, comforted, strengthened, and promised them the kingdom. The governor then sent them to Alexandria, where they were tortured severely. He threw them into cauldrons full of sulphur and pitch, and lighted a great fire under them, then he took them out and threw them away. The Lord sent His angel who healed them. They came back to the governor and confessed the Lord Christ before him. One hundred thirty persons witnessed that. They confessed the Lord Christ, were martyred, and they received the crown of martyrdom. The Governor intensified the torture on the seven saints, and finally cut off their heads with the sword, and they received the crown of martyrdom.
May their intercession be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of Saints Abba Hour and his Mother Theodora
On this day also, Sts. Abba Hour and his mother Theodora, were martyred. Abba Hour was a soldier in the army of Antioch. He came to Alexandria, and confessed the Lord Christ before its governor. He commanded that Abba Hour's hands be cut off, that he be tied to the tail of an ox and dragged through the city. Then he was thrown into a pit filled with snakes which did not harm him. During all that torture, he cried out to the Lord Christ, who healed and strengthened him. His mother came to see him and she rejoiced in his strife. They told the governor about her, and he had her brought to him. He asked her to sacrifice to the idols but when she refused he became enraged at her, and frightened her but she was not afraid of his raging. He commanded to put red-hot iron rods in her sides. When they did so she rejoiced and sang hymns to venerate the Lord for He made her worthy to suffer for His Holy Name. Later on she delivered up her soul and received the crown of martyrdom. As for St. Abba Hour (Hor), they placed him in a cauldron of boiling oil and tar, and he praised God until he delivered up his soul and received the crown of martyrdom. His brother Abba Bishai (Pishai) was martyred on the first day of El-Nasi (Intercalary days).
May their prayers be with us 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 65 : 4 - 5
Chapter 65
| 4 | Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple. |
| 5 | By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas; |
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 Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 24 : 42 - 47
Chapter 24
| 42 | Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. |
| 43 | But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. |
| 44 | Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. |
| 45 | "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? |
| 46 | Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. |
| 47 | Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. |
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 37 : 17,18,29
Chapter 37
| 17 | For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous. |
| 18 | The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. |
| 29 | The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever. |
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.
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 3 : 4 - 23
Chapter 3
| 4 | For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? |
| 5 | Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? |
| 6 | I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. |
| 7 | So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. |
| 8 | Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. |
| 9 | For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. |
| 10 | According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. |
| 11 | For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. |
| 12 | Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, |
| 13 | each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. |
| 14 | If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. |
| 15 | If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. |
| 16 | Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? |
| 17 | If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. |
| 18 | Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. |
| 19 | For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness"; |
| 20 | and again, "The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." |
| 21 | Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: |
| 22 | whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come--all are yours. |
| 23 | And you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. |
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 5 : 5 - 14
Chapter 5
| 5 | Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." |
| 6 | Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, |
| 7 | casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. |
| 8 | Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. |
| 9 | Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. |
| 10 | But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. |
| 11 | To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. |
| 12 | By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. |
| 13 | She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son. |
| 14 | Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. 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.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.
Acts 18 : 24 - 19 : 6
Chapter 18
| 24 | Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. |
| 25 | This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. |
| 26 | So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. |
| 27 | And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; |
| 28 | for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. |
Chapter 19
| 1 | And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples |
| 2 | he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." |
| 3 | And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." |
| 4 | Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." |
| 5 | When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. |
| 6 | And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. |
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 37 : 30 - 31
Chapter 37
| 30 | The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice. |
| 31 | The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide. |
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 16 : 1 - 12
Chapter 16
| 1 | He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. |
| 2 | So he called him and said to him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' |
| 3 | "Then the steward said within himself, "What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. |
| 4 | I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.' |
| 5 | "So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, "How much do you owe my master?' |
| 6 | And he said, "A hundred measures of oil.' So he said to him, "Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' |
| 7 | Then he said to another, "And how much do you owe?' So he said, "A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, "Take your bill, and write eighty.' |
| 8 | So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. |
| 9 | "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. |
| 10 | He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. |
| 11 | Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? |
| 12 | And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? |
And Glory be to God forever.