How we long for this to be our true confession. We are not yet gold, but long to be. We are not yet fully following his steps, but are trying. We have tried to not turn aside, but we sometimes falter. Thank God for his grace until our intentions and desires are fulfilled in our discipleship!
Day 5 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramoudah, 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 Fifth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramoudah
Commemoration of the Great Prophet Ezekiel, the son of Buzi
On this day the great prophet Ezekiel the son of Buzi departed. This righteous man was a priest, and Nebuchadnezzar exiled him with king Jehoiachin to Babylon. There in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar, the spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he prophesied about wondrous things for twenty two years. He spoke concerning the birth of the Lord Christ by the Lady the Virgin St. Mary and how after she had borne Him, she would remain a virgin: "Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the LORD said to me, "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut" (Ezekiel 44:1-2). He prophesied concerning the baptism that sanctify the soul of the man and his body, soften his stony heart, and make him a son of God by the descent of the Holy Spirit upon him. He admonished the priests for their forsaken the teaching of the people, warning them that God will ask for their souls from them if they neglect teaching them. He prophesied concerning the common resurrection and the rising of the bodies with their souls, and about their rewards for whatever they deserve. He said many useful sayings which are of benefit to those who read them, and God manifested through him many signs and great wonders. When the children of Israel worshipped idols in Babylon, he rebuked them and their leaders rose up and killed him. They buried him in the tomb of Shem and Arphaxad.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Hepatius, Bishop of Gangra
On this day also St. Hepatius, Bishop of Gangra, in the province of Paphlognia (Pavlagonia), was martyred. He was in the early part of the fourth century, and he attended the first Universal Council at Nicea, year 325 A.D. He was one of the great fathers that defended the Divinity of the Word of God and His equality with His Father in essence, and refuted the error of the heresies of Arius, Appolonius, Novatius and others. God had honored him with the gift of performing wonders, and was called the wonder worker. One of his wonders, during the days of Emperor Constans the son of Constantine the great: A beast entered the royal barns. The Emperor sent to the Saint asking him to go to the barns and kill that beast. The holy shepherd went there and after he prayed, he asked the servants to collect firewood in the yard of the city and put it on fire and they did. The Saint took his staff and put it in the beast's mouth and led it to the fire and it was burnt. As a commemoration of this miracle the Emperor ordered to hang the saint's picture over the doors of the barns. On his way back, from Nicea after attending the first Universal Council, to Gangra, a group of heretics were waiting for him by the road, attacked him, stoned him and he was martyred (On the 31st. day of March) then threw his body in a hay barn. When the people of the city of Gangra knew of the departure of their good shepherd, they went in hast to the place where he was martyred and took the holy remains with great honor and buried him in the city.
May his blessings be with us and glory be to God forever. Amen.
Matins
Proverbs 10 : 32 - end Proverbs 11 : 1 - 13 Isaiah 58 : 1 - 11 Job 40 : 1 - end Job 41 : 1 - 25
Proverbs 10 : 32 - end
Chapter 10
| 32 | The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse. |
Proverbs 11 : 1 - 13
Chapter 11
| 1 | Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight. |
| 2 | When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom. |
| 3 | The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. |
| 4 | Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. |
| 5 | The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. |
| 6 | The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust. |
| 7 | When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of the unjust perishes. |
| 8 | The righteous is delivered from trouble, And it comes to the wicked instead. |
| 9 | The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered. |
| 10 | When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation. |
| 11 | By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. |
| 12 | He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, But a man of understanding holds his peace. |
| 13 | A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter. |
Isaiah 58 : 1 - 11
Chapter 58
| 1 | "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. |
| 2 | Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. |
| 3 | "Why have we fasted,' they say, "and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?'"In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. |
| 4 | Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. |
| 5 | Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD? |
| 6 | "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? |
| 7 | Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? |
| 8 | Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. |
| 9 | Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, "Here I am.'"If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, |
| 10 | If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. |
| 11 | The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. |
Job 40 : 1 - end
Chapter 40
| 1 | Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said: |
| 2 | "Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it." |
| 3 | Then Job answered the LORD and said: |
| 4 | "Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. |
| 5 | Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further." |
| 6 | Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: |
| 7 | "Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me: |
| 8 | "Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? |
| 9 | Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? |
| 10 | Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, And array yourself with glory and beauty. |
| 11 | Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. |
| 12 | Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place. |
| 13 | Hide them in the dust together, Bind their faces in hidden darkness. |
| 14 | Then I will also confess to you That your own right hand can save you. |
| 15 | "Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. |
| 16 | See now, his strength is in his hips, And his power is in his stomach muscles. |
| 17 | He moves his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. |
| 18 | His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron. |
| 19 | He is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword. |
| 20 | Surely the mountains yield food for him, And all the beasts of the field play there. |
| 21 | He lies under the lotus trees, In a covert of reeds and marsh. |
| 22 | The lotus trees cover him with their shade; The willows by the brook surround him. |
| 23 | Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth, |
| 24 | Though he takes it in his eyes, Or one pierces his nose with a snare. |
Job 41 : 1 - 25
Chapter 41
| 1 | "Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? |
| 2 | Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook? |
| 3 | Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you? |
| 4 | Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever? |
| 5 | Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens? |
| 6 | Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants? |
| 7 | Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears? |
| 8 | Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle--Never do it again! |
| 9 | Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? |
| 10 | No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me? |
| 11 | Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine. |
| 12 | "I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions. |
| 13 | Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? |
| 14 | Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around? |
| 15 | His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal; |
| 16 | One is so near another That no air can come between them; |
| 17 | They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted. |
| 18 | His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. |
| 19 | Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out. |
| 20 | Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. |
| 21 | His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth. |
| 22 | Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him. |
| 23 | The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved. |
| 24 | His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. |
| 25 | When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves. |
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 57 : 1 - 1
Chapter 57
| 1 | Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. |
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 14 : 28 - 35
Chapter 14
| 28 | For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it-- |
| 29 | lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, |
| 30 | saying, "This man began to build and was not able to finish.' |
| 31 | Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? |
| 32 | Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. |
| 33 | So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. |
| 34 | "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? |
| 35 | It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" |
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 16 : 4 - 13
Chapter 16
| 4 | who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. |
| 5 | Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ. |
| 6 | Greet Mary, who labored much for us. |
| 7 | Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. |
| 8 | Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. |
| 9 | Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. |
| 10 | Greet Apelles, approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. |
| 11 | Greet Herodion, my countryman. Greet those who are of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. |
| 12 | Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who have labored in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord. |
| 13 | Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. |
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 19 : 23 - 26
Chapter 19
| 23 | And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. |
| 24 | For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. |
| 25 | He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: "Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. |
| 26 | Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. |
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 51 : 2 - 3
Chapter 51
| 2 | Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. |
| 3 | For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. |
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.
John 6 : 35 - 45
Chapter 6
| 35 | And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. |
| 36 | But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. |
| 37 | All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. |
| 38 | For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. |
| 39 | This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. |
| 40 | And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." |
| 41 | The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." |
| 42 | And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, "I have come down from heaven'?" |
| 43 | Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. |
| 44 | No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. |
| 45 | It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. |
And Glory be to God forever.
This entire world is soaked through and through with Christ, with divinity, like an electron planted in every atom. (Sunday)
The word we translate from the Greek as “Christ” comes from the Hebrew word mesach, meaning “the anointed” one or Messiah. Christ reveals that all is anointed, not just him. (Monday)
Anything is a sacrament if it serves as a Shortcut to the Infinite, hidden in something that is very finite. (Tuesday)
If we are fully to avail ourselves of Mary Magdalene’s wisdom presence today, it will be, I believe, primarily through recovering a wisdom relationship with the ritual of anointing—that is, coming to understand it . . . as an act of conscious love marking the passageway into both physical and spiritual wholeness. —Cynthia Bourgeault (Wednesday)
Real love . . . changes outcomes and creates whole new people. —Cynthia Bourgeault (Thursday)
[The Paschal Mystery] serves as the archetype for all of our personal experiences of dying and rising to new life along the pathway of kenotic transformation, reminding us that it is not only possible but imperative to fall through fear into love because that is the only way we will ever truly know what it means to be alive. —Cynthia Bourgeault (Friday)
Practice: Anointing
Cynthia Bourgeault explains anointing in the historical and still evolving Christian context:
Because anointing is still the most underdeveloped of the Christian rituals, it is also the most open-ended. It comes without that huge weight of theological and sacramental baggage attached to the more familiar rituals of baptism and eucharist, and without the heavy backload of male and priestly stereotypes that are immediately triggered in the other two (unlike the eucharist, anointing for healing has never been officially closed to lay officiants, and some of its most powerful practitioners have traditionally been women). In other words, it has fewer negative associations and tends to allow for fresh experiences. The fact that it is intrinsically connected to the feminine is yet another factor working in its favor. . . . It is an obvious window of opportunity. . . .
From one of my Mary Magdalene research trips to France I had brought home a liturgy called “The Unction at Bethany,” created by the Commuauté de l’Agneau, which I had seen performed in Paris on the Monday of Holy Week. In an ornate and beautiful ceremony, it liturgically reenacted Mary Magdalene’s anointing of Jesus, with [individuals] playing the respective parts. . . . [We] allowed the momentum to build steadily toward the moment when our designated Mary Magdalene knelt before our designated Jesus and anointed his feet. Departing from the text, we then had Jesus kneel before Mary Magdalene and anoint her feet. Then, working in pairs, the entire group did likewise.
To call the impact wrenching would be an understatement. People were blown wide open, then put back together in a space that most had never encountered before, at least in a Christian context. . . .
The mutual anointing reverberated powerfully with . . . love, healing, dying before you die, the reconciliation of the feminine, rebirth into wholeness, the tenderness that a kenotically transformed eros has to bring to Christianity’s hardened institutional heart. . . . I watched “heartbroken Christians” taste the miracle that Christianity is, after all, a religion of love.
In the liturgy for the great vigil of Easter, one of the readings comes from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel: “I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). It seems to me that this promise captures the essence of Mary Magdalene’s healing vocation to contemporary Christianity, and anointing offers the means by which she can most powerfully accomplish it. As we explore the various interwoven aspects of this sacrament—for healing of illness, marking the passage through death and ego-death, celebrating the mystical union of the bridal chamber in which “the two become one”—we will once again discover the ritual expressions that best embody our renewed understanding of this sacrament of wholeness. And our Christianity will be the stronger for it.