7th week - Strict Abstinence
Baramoudah 17, 1740
Prophecy Proverbs 11:13-26 Isaiah 65:8-16 Job 42:1-6
Proverbs 11:13-26
A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure.A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches.The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight.Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
Isaiah 65:8-16
Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
Job 42:1-6
Then Job answered the LORD, and said,I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 63:1-1
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
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 Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 20:20-28
Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
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.
2 Corinthians 4:5-18
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.So then death worketh in us, but life in you.We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
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 3:13-24
Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
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 25:23-27
And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus' commandment Paul was brought forth.And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write.For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Coptic Synaxarium
Baramoudah 17, 1740
Day 17 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.
Martyrdom of St. James the Apostle, the Brother of St. John the Apostle
On this day, St. James the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, and the brother of St. John, the Apostle, was martyred. After he had preached the Gospel in Judea and Samaria, he went to Spain. He preached the Gospel there, and its people believed in the Lord Christ. He returned to Jerusalem and pursued his ministry.
He always advised his flock to give alms to the poor, the needy, and the weak. They accused him before Herod who called him and asked him: "Are you the one that instigating the people not to give the taxes to Caesar but to give it to the poor and the churches?" Then he smote him with the sword, cutting off his head, and St. James received the crown of martyrdom.
Clement of Alexandria, from the fathers of the second century, said: "The soldier that seized the Saint, when he saw his courage, he realized that there must be a better life and asked the Saint for his forgiveness. Then the soldier confessed Christianity and received the crown of martyrdom (Acts 12:1,2) along with the Apostle in the year 44 A.D."
Because Herod saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. So when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. (Acts 12:3-4)
So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12:21-23)
As of the body of St. James, the believers took it, shrouded it, and buried it by the Temple. It was said that the body of St. James was translated to Spain, where James the elder considered to be its Apostle.
His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Divine Liturgy
Divine Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 122:1-2
I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
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.
Divine 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 12:18-27
Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
And Glory be to God forever.
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