Day 8 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 Eighth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat

Martyrdom of St.Matthias, the Apostle

On this day St. Matthias, the apostle was martyred about 63 A.D. He was born in Bethlehem, followed the apostles and was chosen in place of Judas Iscariot in the upper room on the mount of Zion. Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, "Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; "for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry." (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.) "For it is written in the book of Psalms: 'Let his habitation be desolate, and let no one live in it'; and, 'Let another take his office.' "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, "beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen "to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:15-26)

      Afterwards he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and went to preach the Gospel until he came to the country of cannibals. The custom of those people was whenever they seized a stranger, they put him in prison for thirty days feeding him grass, then they bring him out and eat him. When St.Matthias came to them and preached among them the massage of love they seized him, plucked out his eyes and put him in prison. Before the thirty days were over God sent to him Andrew the apostle and his disciple. They came to the prison and saw the prisoners and what abominable things the people of the city did to them. Satan inspired the people of the city to seize them also and kill them. When they were about to seize them, the two Saints prayed to the Lord, and a stream of water flowed from under one of the pillar of the prison. The water flowed out into the city, and rose up until it reached the necks of the people. When the people of the city gave up all hope of saving their lives, they came to the apostles, and wept before them confessing their sins. The apostles told them "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved." They all believed and they released St. Matthias. St. Matthias, along with St. Andrew and his disciple taught them the mystery of the Incarnation of the Lord Christ. The Apostles prayed and entreated God Who made the water to cease then they baptized them in the Name of the Holy Trinity. They also prayed to The Lord Christ Who removed from them their barbaric nature. The Apostles appointed over them bishops and priests.

      They tarried with them for a while during which they instructed them and confirmed them in the faith, then they left. The people of the city entreated them to come back to them speedily. St. Matthias went to the city of Damascus and preached there in the Name of the Lord Christ. The people of the city became angry so they took him and laid him upon an iron bed, they lighted a fire under it which did not harm him but his face was shining with light like the sun. They marvelled exceedingly and they all believed on the Lord Christ through St. Matthias the apostle who baptized them, and appointed priests for them. He tarried many days with them confirming them in the faith. Afterward he departed in peace in one of the city of the jews called Falawon (Pilawon) where his body was laid.

May his prayers be with us. Amen.

Departure of St.Julian, the Eleventh Pope of Alexandria

      On this day also of the year 188 A.D. (3rd of march) the holy father Pope Julian the Eleventh Pope of Alexandria departed. This father was a student in the seminary established by St. Mark, and was ordained priest in the city of Alexandria. He surpassed many in knowledge, righteousness, and purity so he was ordained Patriarch on the 9th of Baramhat (Year 178 A.D.) After his enthronement he saw that the pagans did not allow the bishops to leave the city of Alexandria, so he used to leave the city in secret to ordain priests everywhere. Before his departure the angel of the lord announced to him that the one who will bring him a cluster of grapes, is the one to succeed him on the Patriarchal Chair. One day, while Demetrius the vine dresser was trimming his trees, he found a cluster of grapes and was not in season. He took the cluster and gave it to the Patriarch Abba Julian who was pleased with the present. He gathered the bishops and told them about the vision and commanded them to enthrone him Patriarch after him. This father composed many homilies and discourses, he taught the people continually, preached and visited them. He stayed on the Apostolic Chair for ten years then departed in peace.

May his prayers be with us. Amen.

Martyrdom of St.Arianus, the Governor of Ansena

On this day also St. Arianus, the governor of Ansena was martyred. When he ordered to shoot St. Apollonius with arrows, and one of the arrows glanced back and struck his eye and destroyed it, as it is mentioned in the Seventh day of Baramhat, one of the believers told him: "If you take some of his blood and smear your eye with it, you will receive your sight." The Governor took some of his blood, smeared his eye, and immediately he was able to see. Arianus believed on the Lord Christ, with great sorrow for all the evil things which he had done to the holy martyrs and the severity with which he tortured them. Then he rose up, destroyed his idols, and he refrained from torturing any of the believers. When Diocletian heard the report of Arianus, he brought him, and asked him why he had forsaken the worship of his idols. Arianus began to tell him about the signs and wonders which God was working by the hands of the holy martyrs, and how, in spite of the tortures which he had inflicted upon them, and the cutting of their bodies, they rose up again whole. The Emperor became furious with him because of what he said and ordered him to be tortured severely, and to cast him into a pit and to cover it until he dies.

      The Lord Christ sent His angel, who brought him out from the pit, and took him by the bed of the Emperor. The Emperor woke up from his sleep, and when he saw and recognized that he was Arianus, he was amazed and terrified. Diocletian again ordered him to be placed into a hair sack, and to cast him into the sea, so they did. Arianus the martyr delivered up his soul while he was in the hair sack. The Saint had told his kinsfolk when he bid them farewell that the Lord had told him in a vision of the night that He would take care of his body, return it to his town, and they could find it on the shore of Alexandria. The Lord ordered a sea creature who carried the Saint, and brought him to the city of Alexandria, where it casted him on the shore. His men took his body, brought it to Ansena, and laid it with the bodies of the Saints Philemon and Apollonius. Thus, he finished his good fight and received the heavenly crown.

May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.

Matins

Prophecies

Deuteronomy 10:12-end ; - Deuteronomy 11:1-28

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it. The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.0

Isaiah 29:13-23

Therefore the Lord said:
        "In as much as these people draw near with their mouths
        And honor Me with their lips,
        But have removed their hearts far from Me,
        And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
        Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
        Among this people,
        A marvelous work and a wonder;
        For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
        And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden."
        Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD,
        And their works are in the dark;
        They say, "Who sees us?" and, "Who knows us?"
        Surely you have things turned around!
        Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
        For shall the thing made say of him who made it,
        "He did not make me"?
        Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
        "He has no understanding"?

Is it not yet a very little while
        Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
        And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
        In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
        And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
        The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD,
        And the poor among men shall rejoice
        In the Holy One of Israel.
        For the terrible one is brought to nothing,
        The scornful one is consumed,
        And all who watch for iniquity are cut off--
        Who make a man an offender by a word,
        And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
        And turn aside the just by empty words.

Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
        "Jacob shall not now be ashamed,
        Nor shall his face now grow pale;
        But when he sees his children,
        The work of My hands, in his midst,
        They will hallow My name,
        And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
        And fear the God of Israel.


Job 21:1-34
Then Job answered and said:
        "Listen carefully to my speech,
        And let this be your consolation.
        Bear with me that I may speak,
        And after I have spoken, keep mocking.
        "As for me, is my complaint against man?
        And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
        Look at me and be astonished;
        Put your hand over your mouth.
        Even when I remember I am terrified,
        And trembling takes hold of my flesh.
        Why do the wicked live and become old,
        Yes, become mighty in power?
        Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
        And their offspring before their eyes.
        Their houses are safe from fear,
        Neither is the rod of God upon them.
        Their bull breeds without failure;
        Their cow calves without miscarriage.
        They send forth their little ones like a flock,
        And their children dance.
        They sing to the tambourine and harp,
        And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
        They spend their days in wealth,
        And in a moment go down to the grave.
        Yet they say to God, "Depart from us,
        For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
        Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
        And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?'
        Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand;
        The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
        "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
        How often does their destruction come upon them,
        The sorrows God distributes in His anger?
        They are like straw before the wind,
        And like chaff that a storm carries away.
        They say, "God lays up one's iniquity for his children';
        Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
        Let his eyes see his destruction,
        And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
        For what does he care about his household after him,
        When the number of his months is cut in half?
        "Can anyone teach God knowledge,
        Since He judges those on high?
        One dies in his full strength,
        Being wholly at ease and secure;
        His pails are full of milk,
        And the marrow of his bones is moist.
        Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
        Never having eaten with pleasure.
        They lie down alike in the dust,
        And worms cover them.
        "Look, I know your thoughts,
        And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
        For you say,
        "Where is the house of the prince?
        And where is the tent,
        The dwelling place of the wicked?'
        Have you not asked those who travel the road?
        And do you not know their signs?
        For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
        They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
        Who condemns his way to his face?
        And who repays him for what he has done?
        Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
        And a vigil kept over the tomb.
        The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
        Everyone shall follow him,
        As countless have gone before him.
        How then can you comfort me with empty words,
        Since falsehood remains in your answers?"


Daniel 14:1-42
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Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 28:6-7

Blessed be the LORD,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.

Gospel

Luke 4:31-37

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Pauline Epistle

From the epistle of teacher St. Paul the apostle to the (...), may his blessings be with us Amen.

Hebrews 13:7-16

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.

Catholic Epistle

The catholic epistle from the epistle of our teacher St. (...), may his blessings be with us Amen. My beloved.

1John 4:7-16

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Do not love the world nor 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 holy blessings be with us all. Amen.

Acts 22:17-24

"Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, "Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.' So I said, "Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. 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.' Then He said to me, "Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles."'

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!" Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, 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.

The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed in the holy Church of God. Amen.

Synaxarium

• The Apparition of the Pure Lady the Virgin in the church of Zeiton.
• The Departure of Anba Macarius, the Fifty-Ninth Pope of Alexandria.

Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 28:2

Hear the voice of my supplications
        When I cry to You,
        When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

Gospel

Matthew 15:21-31

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."

But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."

But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."

And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel

James Finley, one of the Center for Action and Contemplation’s core faculty members, was a spiritual directee of Thomas Merton (1915–1968) at the Abbey of Gethsemani. Drawing from this experience and his own insights as a student of the mystics and a clinical psychologist, Finley helps us get a glimpse of heaven.

When Merton told me that “one thing for sure about heaven is that there is not going to be much of you there,” he was, I think, referring to the mystery that even now we are in God’s kingdom. And that even now we can begin to realize it if we but die to egocentric self-seeking and seek God’s will with a pure heart.

Because God is everywhere God is likewise no-where, meaning there is no “where” in which we can see God “out there.” Closer to us than we are to ourselves, God is too close to see. God is the heart of our heart, the hope of our hopes, the love of our love, the ground of our being.

Where must we go to see God? Nowhere! What can we do to have God? Nothing! All we can do, at least for a moment (an eternal moment) is to abandon all doing and be who we are in God and open ourselves to God’s life within us. It is then that we will at once see God and ourselves in a unity of divine love.

In fidelity to silent prayer there is unveiled the possibility of infinite growth in union with God. We can be so transformed through this unveiling that we existentially realize within us that “for me to live is Christ” [Philippians 1:21]. We realize obscurely in our being, that our simple, concrete acts are open to a transformation through which they are “not only Godlike, but they become God’s own acts.” [1]

There is nowhere to go. There is nothing to do. God is upon and within us. In the midst of our humble duties, our poor, weak selves, our simple being who we are, we can say with Jacob with overwhelming gratitude: “Truly this is the house of God and the gate of heaven and I knew it not” [see Genesis 28:16-17]. [2]

References:
[1] Thomas Merton, What Are These Wounds? The Life of a Cistercian Mystic, Saint Lutgarde of Aywières (Bruce: 1950), 14.