Many of the struggles in our lives are not mere accidents! Many of them are not put there by God. Our challenges often come from the hand of our enemy, Satan. He always prowls about looking for the best scheme to knock us out of our commitment to and relationship with the Lord. Placing ourselves firmly in the hands of the Lord and using his tools of warfare will help us defeat our enemy who has already been humiliated by Jesus and the cross.
Day 3 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 Third Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat
Departure of St.Cosmas, the Fifty-Eighth Pope of Alexandria
On this day of the year 648 A.M. (27th of February 932 A.D.) the blessed father Anba Cosmas, the Fifty-Eighth Pope of Alexandria, departed. This father was righteous, pure, merciful, chaste, and knowledgeable of the books of the church and in the interpretations thereof. When he was chosen Patriarch, on the 4th of Baramhat 636 A.M. (28th of February 920 A.D.), he shepherded his flock in the fear of God and with wisdom. He distributed to the poor, the needy and to building churches, all of the church revenue after the little he used. The evil one, however, did not leave St. Cosmas without grief when he saw his pure life. He ordained a Metropolitan for Ethiopia from the monks, whose name was Peter, and sent him there. The king received him with great joy. A short while later, the king fell sick and felt that his end was near, so he brought his two sons and asked the Metropolitan to come to him. The king took off his crown and handed it to the Metropolitan saying: "I am going to my Lord Christ and whomever you see fit from my sons to rule the kingdom enthrone him."
When the King departed to the Lord, the Metropolitan and the Cabinet saw that the younger son was more suitable for ruling the kingdom, so they crowned him. Shortly afterwards, a monk from the monastery of Anba Antonius called Victor and along with him a companion named Mina came to Ethiopia. They asked the Metropolitan for money; but he refused to give it to them. The devil enticed them to scheme against him. One of them put on the garb of the bishops and the other one as his disciple. They falsified a letter from the father, the Patriarch, to the nobles of the government saying in it: "We have been informed that a deceptive man called Peter came to you claiming that we have sent him as a Metropolitan for you and he is lying in that. The one who is carrying this massage to you is the legitimate Metropolitan Mina. We have been informed also that Peter has enthroned the younger son of the king instead of his older brother, against the church and civic laws. On the arrival of this message, you should exile both the Metropolitan and the king, consider Abba Mina the carrier of our message to be your legitimate metropolitan and to allow him to enthrone the older son a king."
The two monks handed the forged letter to the older son of the king. When he read the letter he gathered the cabinet and the nobles of the government and read it to them. They ordered the exile of Metropolitan Peter and seated Mina in his place. They then took away the crown from the younger son and crowned his older brother. Nevertheless, a dispute occurred between the false Metropolitan and his assistant, who took the liberties of the absence of his Metropolitan and expelled the servants, plundered all what he found, returned to Egypt, and became a Moslem. When the news reached Pope Cosmas, he grieved exceedingly. He sent a letter to Ethiopia excommunicating Mina the liar. The King of Ethiopia was outraged from Mina's actions and slew him. He asked for the return of Metropolitan Peter from his exile but found that he had departed to his Lord and Savior. The father, the Patriarch, refused to ordain for them another Metropolitan and so the four Patriarchs that followed him. The days of this father were peaceful and tranquil, if not for this accident. He occupied the throne of St. Mark for twelve years and departed in peace.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Porphyry
On this day also St. Porphyry (Porphorius) was martyred. He was one of the most nobles of Banias, most charitable and caring for the poor. He visited those in prison because of their debts and paid off their obligations. When the era of persecution started, it was called in every place to worship the idols. The Saint heard that the prince was passing by, he stood in front of his house and shouted in his face, saying: "I am Christian." After many failed trials from the prince to dissuade him on changing his faith, the prince ordered his neck to be cut off. The Saint received the crown of life, and the people of his town took his body, and shrouded it with expensive shrouds.
May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of St.Hadid the priest
On this day also, the blessed father and the lover of God Anba Hadid the priest departed. He was righteous and virtuous. The Lord granted him the gift of performing miracles and wonders and granted him the spirit of prophecy and knowing the hidden things. He revealed what was in the hearts of his visitors and healed those who were sick. It was said that he raised a dead man through his prayers. He departed, when he was one hundred years old, in a good old age.
May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 25 : 7,8,11
Chapter 25
| 7 | Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O LORD. |
| 8 | Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. |
| 11 | For Your name's sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. |
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 9 : 43 - 50
Chapter 9
| 43 | If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- |
| 44 | where "Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.' |
| 45 | And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- |
| 46 | where "Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.' |
| 47 | And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire-- |
| 48 | where "Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.' |
| 49 | "For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. |
| 50 | Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another." |
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 14 : 1 - 18
Chapter 14
| 1 | Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. |
| 2 | For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. |
| 3 | Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. |
| 4 | Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. |
| 5 | One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. |
| 6 | He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. |
| 7 | For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. |
| 8 | For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. |
| 9 | For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. |
| 10 | But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. |
| 11 | For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." |
| 12 | So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. |
| 13 | Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. |
| 14 | I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. |
| 15 | Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. |
| 16 | Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; |
| 17 | for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. |
| 18 | For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. |
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 : 22 - 27
Chapter 1
| 22 | But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. |
| 23 | For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; |
| 24 | for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. |
| 25 | But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. |
| 26 | If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. |
| 27 | Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. |
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 22 : 17 - 30
Chapter 22
| 17 | "Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance |
| 18 | and saw Him saying to me, "Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.' |
| 19 | So I said, "Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. |
| 20 | And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.' |
| 21 | Then He said to me, "Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles."' |
| 22 | And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!" |
| 23 | Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, |
| 24 | the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. |
| 25 | And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?" |
| 26 | When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, "Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman." |
| 27 | Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes." |
| 28 | The commander answered, "With a large sum I obtained this citizenship." And Paul said, "But I was born a citizen." |
| 29 | Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. |
| 30 | The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before 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 118 : 19 - 20
Chapter 118
| 19 | Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the LORD. |
| 20 | This is the gate of the LORD, Through which the righteous shall enter. |
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 7 : 13 - 21
Chapter 7
| 13 | "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. |
| 14 | Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. |
| 15 | "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. |
| 16 | You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? |
| 17 | Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. |
| 18 | A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. |
| 19 | Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. |
| 20 | Therefore by their fruits you will know them. |
| 21 | "Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. |
And Glory be to God forever.
St. Athanasius
Taking what was ours, He invested us with what was His
Being by nature intangible, the Word yet said: “I gave My back to the stripes, and My cheeks to blows, and hid not My face from shame and spitting” (Isa 50:6). For what the human Body of the Word suffered, this the Word, dwelling in the body, ascribed to Himself, in order that we might be enabled to be partakers of the Godhead of the Word. And verily it is strange that He it was Who suffered and yet suffered not. Suffered, because His own Body suffered, and He was in it, which thus suffered; suffered not, because the Word, being by Nature God, is impassible. And while He, the incorporeal, was in the passible Body, the Body had in it the impassible Word, which was destroying the infirmities inherent in the Body. But this He did, and so it was, in order that Himself taking what was ours and offering it as a sacrifice, He might do away with it, and conversely might invest us with what was His, and cause the Apostle to say: “This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality” (1Co 15:53).
Letter to Epictetus, 6; NPNF, 2nd Ser., Vol. IV, p. 572