Conquerors! We win!! When you open up the final book of the Bible, Revelation, that is the message — Christians win because Jesus is the one true conqueror. No matter how the battle is going for you right now, remember that in the end, we win!
Day 9 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir, 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 Ninth Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Departure of St.Barsauma, the Father of the Syrian Monks
On this day of the year 458 A.D., the blessed father Anba Barsauma, the father of the Syrian monks, departed. His father was from Samosata. One of the saints prophesied about him before his birth, saying to his parents, "There shall go forth from you a righteous fruit, whose fame shall spread out every where," and this prophecy was fulfilled. When Barsauma grew up, he left his parents and went to the river Euphrates where he stayed with a holy man called Abraham. Afterwards, he lived a solitary life in the mountain and many disciples gathered around him. The water in this place was salty, and the saint prayed to God and the water became sweet. He used to fast for a week at a time. God wrought through him many miracles. St. Barsauma was a contemporary of St. Simeon the Stylite. When St. Barsauma knew about him, he went to visit him and they blessed each other. He was well known for his resistance to the heresy of Nestorius and his followers. He attended the Universal Council at Ephesus at the invitation of Emperor Theodosius the Less, who gave him a great honor. Some accused St. Barsauma of eating, drinking and living a luxurious life. The Emperor called him and saw for himself St. Barsauma's righteousness and his ascetic living. The Emperor vindicated him and allowed him to return to his monastery with great honor.
When Emperor Marcian called for the Council at Chalcedon, the fathers asked the Emperor not to call upon St. Barsauma, for they knew of the grace that was in him. When the council agreed on the two natures of Christ, St. Barsauma resisted these heretic teachings and he was persecuted by the Chalcedonians. When the Lord wanted to take St. Barsauma from the world, He sent him an angel to tell him that 4 days were left in his life on earth. He gathered his disciples and told them to go to the neighboring cities to confirm its people in the Orthodox faith. He blessed them and departed in peace. At the time of his departure, a pillar of light appeared at the door of his cell which the faithful saw from afar. They came and found that St. Barsauma had departed. They took his blessings and buried him with great honors.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Martyrdom of St.Paul the Syrian
On this day also, St. Paul, the Syrian, was martyred. He was born in the City of Alexandria to Syrian parents who lived afterwards in the City of Ashmunin. They were very rich merchants. St. Paul heard about the persecution of the Roman governors to Christians. He gave up his money to the poor, after the death of his parents, and prayed to God to guide him in the way that pleased Him. God sent him His angel Soriel, who said to the saint, "The Lord has commanded that I be with you and strengthen you, so that you should not be afraid." The saint arose and came before the governor of Antinoe (Ansena) and confessed the Lord Christ. The Governor ordered him to be stripped naked, beaten with whips, and burned in the sides with torches. The governor tried again to entice him with money, but the saint said to him, "My parents left me a fortune of gold and silver, and I rejected them for the sake of the love of the Lord Christ. How can I look to your money now?" The Governor became angry to hear that and he tortured him with different kinds of tortures. The angel Soriel came to him, healed and strengthened him. The Governor ordered to release venomous serpents on him, but they did not harm him. The Governor then went to Alexandria and took the saint with him and put him in prison, where St. Paul met his two friends: Anba Esi and his sister Teckla. His soul rejoiced when he saw them. God inspired him that he would be martyred in Alexandria. When the Governor wanted to go back to his city, he ordered that the head of St. Paul be cut off at the sea shore. The faithful came and they took the body and prepared it for burial, and they kept it in their possession.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 40 : 2 - 3
Chapter 40
| 2 | He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. |
| 3 | He has put a new song in my mouth--Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. |
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 7 : 22 - 25
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. |
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 89 : 24,19
Chapter 89
| 24 | "But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted. |
| 19 | Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, And said: "I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. |
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 : 23 - 30
Chapter 13
| 23 | Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, |
| 24 | "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. |
| 25 | When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, "Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, "I do not know you, where you are from,' |
| 26 | then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' |
| 27 | But He will say, "I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' |
| 28 | There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. |
| 29 | They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. |
| 30 | And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." |
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 3 : 1 - 8
Chapter 3
| 1 | And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. |
| 2 | I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; |
| 3 | for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? |
| 4 | For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? |
| 5 | Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? |
| 6 | I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. |
| 7 | So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. |
| 8 | Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 2 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
2 Peter 1 : 1 - 11
Chapter 1
| 1 | Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: |
| 2 | Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, |
| 3 | as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, |
| 4 | by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. |
| 5 | But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, |
| 6 | to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, |
| 7 | to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. |
| 8 | For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 9 | For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. |
| 10 | Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; |
| 11 | for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. |
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 15 : 13 - 29
Chapter 15
| 13 | And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me: |
| 14 | Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. |
| 15 | And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: |
| 16 | 'After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; |
| 17 | So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD. Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.' |
| 18 | "Known to God from eternity are all His works. |
| 19 | Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, |
| 20 | but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. |
| 21 | For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath." |
| 22 | Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. |
| 23 | They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. |
| 24 | Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law"--to whom we gave no such commandment-- |
| 25 | it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, |
| 26 | men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 27 | We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. |
| 28 | For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: |
| 29 | that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. |
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 61 : 1 - 3
Chapter 61
| 1 | Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. |
| 2 | From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. |
| 3 | For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. |
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 14 : 25 - 35
Chapter 14
| 25 | Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, |
| 26 | "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. |
| 27 | And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. |
| 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.
How much less, therefore, could the Word of God, who is neither corporeal nor visible, sustain defilement from the female body, wherein He assumed human flesh together with soul and spirit, through the incoming of which the majesty of the Word dwells in a less immediate conjunction with the frailty of a human body! Hence it is manifest that the Word of God could in no way have been defiled by a human body, by which even the human soul is not defiled. For not when it rules the body and quickens it, but only when it lusts after the mortal good things thereof, is the soul defiled by the body. But if these persons were to desire to avoid the defilements of the soul, they would dread rather these falsehoods and profanities.