For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Day 1 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramhat, 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 First Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat
Departure of St.Narcissus
On this day of the year, 222 A.D., departed the father St. Narcissus, Bishop of Jerusalem. This father came to Jerusalem during the reign of Alexander Caesar, who loved the Christians, in the year 190 A.D. This father was holy and unblemished in all his conduct. He shepherded his people with the best of care. Later, Alexander died and after him Maximianus Caesar reigned who incited persecution against the Christians. He slew many of the bishops and the remaining fled leaving their parishes. God granted this father the gift of performing wonders. On the eve of the feast of Easter, the oil in the lamps ran out, so he ordered the lamps to be filled with water and were lit. They all illuminated that night also by the light of his teachings. The enemy of the good did not stop but, moved some people against him. They accused him of committing the sin of infidelity. God's punishment for those liars was bitter. One of them burned to death, and the bowels of another poured out and died, the body of the third wasted out from a long sickness, the fourth was killed and the fifth repented with tears confessing his sins. As for the saint, he went to the desert and disappeared there, lest his stay be a stumble to others.
Since nothing was known of St. Narcissus whereabouts, another man was chosen in his place whose name was Dius. Dius remained for a short period of time; he then departed. Upon Dius' departure they chose another called Ghordinus. When the time of persecution was over, Abba Narcissus returned to Jerusalem where he was greeted by his people with great joy. Ghordinus asked him to take over his Chair but, he refused preferring the solitary life. Ghordinus insisted that he stays with him in his cell. St. Narcissus stayed with him for one year at the end of which Ghordinus departed and St. Narcissus acquired his Chair. He had aged and was very week so, he asked his people to choose another bishop, but they refused. Alexander, Bishop of Cappadocia, came to Jerusalem to visit the Holy Land and pray. When he was about to return, after the feast, the people heard a great voice in the church of the Resurrection saying: "Go to the gate of the city, the first one to enter it, seize him, make him stay to assist Narcissus." When, they went to the gate, they met the Bishop Alexander, and pleaded with him to stay to assist Abba Narcissus. After much resistant, Bishop Alexander decided to accept and stay until the departure of St. Narcissus. This father remained on the Episcopal Chair for thirty seven years, and all the years of his life were one hundred and sixteen years.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Alexandrus
On this day also St. Alexandrus, the soldier, was martyred during the reign of the infidel Emperor Maximianus. When this saint refused to raise incense for the idols, the Emperor punished him. The Emperor ordered him hung by his hands and a large heavy stone tied to his feet. He ordered him to be beaten, his sides burned, and placed lit torches against his face. When all these tortures did not dissuade him, the Emperor ordered him beheaded and he received the crown of martyrdom.
May his intercession be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of Anba Marcura
Today also is the commemoration of Anba Marcura, the Bishop.
May his 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 17 : 1 - 2
Chapter 17
| 1 | Hear a just cause, O LORD, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips. |
| 2 | Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. |
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 6 : 34 - 7 : 12
Chapter 6
| 34 | Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. |
Chapter 7
| 1 | "Judge not, that you be not judged. |
| 2 | For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. |
| 3 | And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? |
| 4 | Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? |
| 5 | Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. |
| 6 | "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. |
| 7 | "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. |
| 8 | For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. |
| 9 | Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? |
| 10 | Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? |
| 11 | If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! |
| 12 | Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. |
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 18 : 1 - 2
Chapter 18
| 1 | I will love You, O LORD, my strength. |
| 2 | The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. |
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 7 : 22 - 29
Chapter 7
| 22 | Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' |
| 23 | And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' |
| 24 | "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: |
| 25 | and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. |
| 26 | "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: |
| 27 | and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." |
| 28 | And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, |
| 29 | for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. |
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 13 : 1 - 14
Chapter 13
| 1 | Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. |
| 2 | Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. |
| 3 | For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. |
| 4 | For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. |
| 5 | Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. |
| 6 | For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. |
| 7 | Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. |
| 8 | Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. |
| 9 | For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery,You shall not murder,You shall not steal,You shall not bear false witness,You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." |
| 10 | Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. |
| 11 | And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. |
| 12 | The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. |
| 13 | Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. |
| 14 | But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. |
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 1 : 13 - 21
Chapter 1
| 13 | Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. |
| 14 | But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. |
| 15 | Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. |
| 16 | Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. |
| 17 | Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. |
| 18 | Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. |
| 19 | So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; |
| 20 | for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. |
| 21 | Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. |
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 21 : 40 - 22 : 16
Chapter 21
| 40 | So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying, |
Chapter 22
| 1 | "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now." |
| 2 | And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said: |
| 3 | "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. |
| 4 | I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, |
| 5 | as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. |
| 6 | "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. |
| 7 | And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' |
| 8 | So I answered, "Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' |
| 9 | "And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. |
| 10 | So I said, "What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, "Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.' |
| 11 | And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. |
| 12 | "Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, |
| 13 | came to me; and he stood and said to me, "Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him. |
| 14 | Then he said, "The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. |
| 15 | For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. |
| 16 | And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.' |
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 25 : 1,2,4
Chapter 25
| 1 | To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. |
| 2 | O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. |
| 4 | Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. |
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 6 : 19 - 33
Chapter 6
| 19 | "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; |
| 20 | but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. |
| 21 | For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. |
| 22 | "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. |
| 23 | But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! |
| 24 | "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. |
| 25 | "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? |
| 26 | Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? |
| 27 | Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? |
| 28 | "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; |
| 29 | and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. |
| 30 | Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? |
| 31 | "Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or "What shall we wear?' |
| 32 | For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. |
| 33 | But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. |
And Glory be to God forever.