Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Jonah 2 : 2 - 10
Chapter 2
| 2 | And he said: "I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me. "Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. |
| 3 | For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. |
| 4 | Then I said, "I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.' |
| 5 | The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. |
| 6 | I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God. |
| 7 | "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. |
| 8 | "Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. |
| 9 | But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD." |
| 10 | So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. |
Psalms 102 : 14,15,9,10
Chapter 102
| 14 | For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And show favor to her dust. |
| 15 | So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD, And all the kings of the earth Your glory. |
| 9 | For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping, |
| 10 | Because of Your indignation and Your wrath; For You have lifted me up and cast me away. |
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 13 : 6 - 9
Chapter 13
| 6 | He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. |
| 7 | Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, "Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' |
| 8 | But he answered and said to him, "Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. |
| 9 | And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down."' |
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 Colossians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Colossians 1 : 21 - 29
Chapter 1
| 21 | And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled |
| 22 | in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight-- |
| 23 | if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. |
| 24 | I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, |
| 25 | of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, |
| 26 | the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. |
| 27 | To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. |
| 28 | Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. |
| 29 | To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. |
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 4 : 3 - 11
Chapter 4
| 3 | For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. |
| 4 | In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. |
| 5 | They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. |
| 6 | For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. |
| 7 | But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. |
| 8 | And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." |
| 9 | Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. |
| 10 | As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. |
| 11 | If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. 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 17 : 30 - 34
Chapter 17
| 30 | Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, |
| 31 | because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." |
| 32 | And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, "We will hear you again on this matter." |
| 33 | So Paul departed from among them. |
| 34 | However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. |
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 85 : 2 - 3
Chapter 85
| 2 | You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin.Selah |
| 3 | You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger. |
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 11 : 29 - 36
Chapter 11
| 29 | And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. |
| 30 | For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. |
| 31 | The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. |
| 32 | The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. |
| 33 | "No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. |
| 34 | The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. |
| 35 | Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. |
| 36 | If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light." |
And Glory be to God forever.
السؤال: كيف ترضي الله؟ درج الناس على غسل أيديهم قبل تناول الطعام، لأنها تحمل غباراً وأوساخاً، فيها ميكروبات تسبب أمراضاً هائلة. لكن الذي يدعي أن الغسل الخارجي ضروري لإرضاء الله وتبرير النفس يكون غبياً مجدفاً على الله. لأن القدوس يريد طهارة قلوبنا وليس طقوساً فارغة. والعامل الموسخة أيديه بسبب عمله المرهق إن كان مؤمناً بغفران خطاياه بدم المسيح فهو مقدس له صورة خالقه، رغم يديه المتسختين. ولكن من يلبس فاخر الثياب ونظيفها، ويستحم دواماً إن كان قلبه نجساً مليئاً بأفكار شريرة فلا بد أن يهبط إلى جنهم رغم غسله الكثير. لقد جاء المسيح بانقلاب جذري كامل لكل الأديان. حررنا من الناموس والفرائض والطقوس. وكشف لنا لب السجود وحقيقته، أي القلب الجديد. فالادعاء بحفظ الوصايا بأجمعها مراءاة وخداع للنفس ما دام الإنسان غير مولود ثانية من الله، وكل الصلوات كذب وسطحية ما دام الإنسان لا يعترف علانية بذنبه قائلاً: اللهم ارحمني أنا الخاطئ. وكل خدمات وتقربات لله لا تنيل مكافأة لأنها تصدر من مخازن الأنانية. فليس إنسان يقدر أن يرضي الله بأحكام وأعمال فردية، وطقوس متعددة، ولا بالصلاة والصوم والحج والتضحية والزكاة. لأن كل ما يخرج من قلب وعقل الإنسان نجس. والذي يأتي من الله هو وحده المقبول والمقدس. فبرّنا هو هبة الله وليس عمل الإنسان وتبريرنا نعمة، وليس مكافأة. وتقديسنا، هو عمل الروح القدس، لا حفظ الوصايا بمجهوداتنا الشخصية. فكل دين مبني على حفظ الفرائض هو مجرد وهم وخيال ومراءاة وخداع للنفس. لأن الله يريد توبتنا وانكسار قلوبنا، ويملأ فؤادنا بمحبته. وعندئذ نتغير مبدئياً ونخدم والدينا بود واحترام ونضحي لأجلهم بالمال والوقت عالمين أن المسيح قد غفر لنا ذنوبنا. وحررنا من الطقوس الخاطئة والتقدمات الجوفاء. وعندئذ نتكلم بصلوات الشكر وتطفو من قلوبنا التسبيحات. لأن الله قد أتى إلينا في ابنه وقبلنا برحمته الواسعة.