esus wants us to seriously look into our hearts and surrender those things that hold us back from fully following and serving him. We know what they are. He comes to us with his now nail-scarred hands and reminds us that he gave up everything to redeem us. He now wants us to surrender to the Cross the things that hold us back. Let's do it today!
Day 19 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Tute, 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 Nineteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Tute
Commemoration of St.Gregory, Patriarch of the Armenians
On this day we commemorate the martyrdom of St.Gregory, Patriarch of the Armenians, who became a martyr without bloodshed. He made himself a slave of the country of the Armenia in the days of King Dertades about the year 270 A.D. This king was not Christian. When he came into the temple to offer up incense to the idols, he summoned the saint to offer up incense with him, but he would not do it. The king inflicted upon him severe tortures and finally cast him in an empty pit. The Saint lived there for fifteen years.
Near the pit lived an old widow, and she saw in a vision someone telling her to make bread regularly and cast it into this pit, and she continued to do this for fifteen years. It happened that the king ordered the killing of the virgins of Arbsima and Ghabata, and their friends. Because he wished to marry St.Arbsima, he became exceedingly sad at her killing, and he was attacked by a serious illness from which he did not recover until his sister saw in a dream someone telling her, "Unless you bring up Gregory out of the pit, your brother will not be cured." They brought the saint out of the pit, and he prayed over the king, and he was cured from his sickness.
May his prayers and blessings be with us all, and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 45 : 6,17
Chapter 45
| 6 | Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. |
| 17 | I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever. |
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 16 : 21 - 26
Chapter 16
| 21 | From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. |
| 22 | Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" |
| 23 | But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." |
| 24 | Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. |
| 25 | For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. |
| 26 | For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? |
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 74 : 2,12
Chapter 74
| 2 | Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed--This Mount Zion where You have dwelt. |
| 12 | For God is my King from of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth. |
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 8 : 34 - 9 : 1
Chapter 8
| 34 | When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. |
| 35 | For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. |
| 36 | For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? |
| 37 | Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? |
| 38 | For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." |
Chapter 9
| 1 | And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power." |
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 Colossians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.
Colossians 2 : 6 - 19
Chapter 2
| 6 | As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, |
| 7 | rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. |
| 8 | Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. |
| 9 | For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; |
| 10 | and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. |
| 11 | In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, |
| 12 | buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. |
| 13 | And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, |
| 14 | having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. |
| 15 | Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. |
| 16 | So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, |
| 17 | which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. |
| 18 | Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, |
| 19 | and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. John .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 John 5 : 13 - 21
Chapter 5
| 13 | These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. |
| 14 | Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. |
| 15 | And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. |
| 16 | If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. |
| 17 | All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. |
| 18 | We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. |
| 19 | We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. |
| 20 | And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. |
| 21 | Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. |
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 3 : 12 - 21
Chapter 3
| 12 | So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? |
| 13 | The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. |
| 14 | But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, |
| 15 | and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. |
| 16 | And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. |
| 17 | "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. |
| 18 | But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. |
| 19 | Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, |
| 20 | and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, |
| 21 | whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. |
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 62 : 2,3,5
Chapter 62
| 2 | He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. |
| 3 | How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence. |
| 5 | My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. |
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 - 32
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. |
And Glory be to God forever.
Chapter 31.— The First Man Had Received the Grace Necessary for His Perseverance, But Its Exercise Was Left in His Free Choice.
The first man had not that grace by which he should never will to be evil; but assuredly he had that in which if he willed to abide he would never be evil, and without which, moreover, he could not by free will be good, but which, nevertheless, by free will he could forsake.