Previous Day Next Day Select Date
DAILY VERSE
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. —1 Timothy 6:9
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

This is not a message for folks who are financially rich. No, this is for all of us who want to have that wealth. Craving it, coveting it, and going in pursuit of earthly wealth expose us to grave danger. Let's be reminded of Jesus' words: "Seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you."

DAILY SYNEXARIUM
8 Baramoudah 1740

Day 8 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 Eighth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramoudah

Martyrdom of the Holy Virgins : Agape, Eirene, and Shiona

      On this day the three holy virgins: Agape, Eirene, and Shiona (Susinia) were martyred. They were from Thessalonica, and worshipped Christ as their parents. They chose the life of chastity and they agreed to devote themselves to the ascetic life. They fasted and prayed unceasingly, visited the convents often and participated with the virgins in their prayers and asceticism. When Maximianus the infidel, reigned, he restored the worship of the idols and shed the blood of many Christians. These saints were afraid and they fled to the mountain and hid themselves in a cave devoting themselves to their worship and asceticism. Every week, an aged Christian woman visited them bringing all things needed and took the work of their hands to sell it, and distributed the remainder as alms to the poor. One day a malicious person observed the frequent visits of this old woman to the mountain, he followed her secretly until he knew the cave that she entered. He hid himself so she did not see him on her way back, and he thought that she was hiding precious things in it. After she left the cave by a distance he entered the cave and he found the precious pearls the prides of the Christ standing praying. He bound them, dragged them away, and brought them to the Governor of Thessalonica. He asked them about their faith, they confessed that they were Christians worshipping that Who was Crucified. The Governor became wrath with them, tortured them much, then cast them into the fire, and they delivered up their souls and received the crown of martyrdom.

May their prayers be with us. Amen.

Martyrdom of the One Hundred and Fifty believers by the hand of the King of Persia

      On this day also is the commemoration of the incident of the martyrdom of one hundred and fifty believers by the king of Persia. This king besieged Christian cities which were near the borders of his country, and captured many of them. When they refused to worship the sun and the stars, he commanded to cut off their heads, and they received the crowns of martyrdom.

May their prayers be with us and glory be to God forever. Amen.

 

DAILY KATEMAROS
The 6th Tuesday of Great Lent

Readings for Tuesday of sixth week of Great Lent

 

Matins

 


Proverbs 8 : 12 - 21 Isaiah 44 : 1 - 8 Job 32 : 17 - end Job 33 : 1 - 33 Kings 5 : 1 - 27

 

Proverbs 8 : 12 - 21

Chapter 8

12 "I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.
15 By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles, All the judges of the earth.
17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 Riches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, And my revenue than choice silver.
20 I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.

 

 

Isaiah 44 : 1 - 8

Chapter 44

1 "Yet hear me now, O Jacob My servant, And Israel whom I have chosen.
2 Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: "Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring;
4 They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.'
5 One will say, "I am the LORD's'; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, "The LORD's,' And name himself by the name of Israel.
6 "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.
7 And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them.
8 Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one."'

 

 

Job 32 : 17 - end

Chapter 32

17 I also will answer my part, I too will declare my opinion.
18 For I am full of words; The spirit within me compels me.
19 Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent; It is ready to burst like new wineskins.
20 I will speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.
21 Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone; Nor let me flatter any man.
22 For I do not know how to flatter, Else my Maker would soon take me away.

 

 

Job 33 : 1 - 33

Chapter 33

1 "But please, Job, hear my speech, And listen to all my words.
2 Now, I open my mouth; My tongue speaks in my mouth.
3 My words come from my upright heart; My lips utter pure knowledge.
4 The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 If you can answer me, Set your words in order before me; Take your stand.
6 Truly I am as your spokesman before God; I also have been formed out of clay.
7 Surely no fear of me will terrify you, Nor will my hand be heavy on you.
8 "Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying,
9 "I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.
10 Yet He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His enemy;
11 He puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.'
12 "Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, For God is greater than man.
13 Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
14 For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds,
16 Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction.
17 In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man,
18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.
19 "Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with strong pain in many of his bones,
20 So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food.
21 His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen.
22 Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners.
23 "If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness,
24 Then He is gracious to him, and says, "Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom';
25 His flesh shall be young like a child's, He shall return to the days of his youth.
26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness.
27 Then he looks at men and says, "I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.'
28 He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light.
29 "Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man,
30 To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.
31 "Give ear, Job, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom."

 

 

Kings 5 : 1 - 27

 

 

 

 

Matins

Matins Psalm

From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.

Psalms 35 : 13 - 13

Chapter 35

13 But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.

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 4 : 22 - 30

Chapter 4

22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"
23 He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, "Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country."'
24 Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;
26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.
30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

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 Corinthians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.

1 Corinthians 14 : 18 - 28

Chapter 14

18 I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;
19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
20 Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.
21 In the law it is written: "With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me," says the Lord.
22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.
23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?
24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all.
25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.
26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.
28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.

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 - end

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.

 

 

James 2 : 1 - 1

Chapter 2

1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.

 

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 : 11 - 20

Chapter 19

11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches."
14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.
19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

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 42 : 1 - 1

Chapter 42

1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.


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 9 : 18 - 22

Chapter 9

18 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
19 So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."
20 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."
21 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one,
22 saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."


And Glory be to God forever.

DAILY CONTEMPLATION
On Rebuke and Grace; .......

Chapter 39 [XIII.]— The Number of the Predestinated is Certain and Defined.

I speak thus of those who are predestinated to the kingdom of God, whose number is so certain that one can neither be added to them nor taken from them; not of those who, when He had announced and spoken, were multiplied beyond number. For they may be said to be called but not chosen, because they are not called according to the purpose. But that the number of the elect is certain, and neither to be increased nor diminished—although it is signified by John the Baptist when he says, Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham, Matthew 3:8-9 to show that they were in such wise to be cut off if they did not produce fruit, that the number which was promised to Abraham would not be wanting—is yet more plainly declared in the Apocalypse: Hold fast that which you have, lest another take your crown.Revelation 3:11 For if another would not receive unless one should have lost, the number is fixed.