Hatour 25, 1725
Vespers
Vespers Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.
Psalms 18:34-39
18:34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
18:35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
18:36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
18:37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
18:38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
18:39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
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 8:5-13
8:5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
8:7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
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 68:35,3
68:35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.
68:3 But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
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 12:4-12
12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
12:8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
12:9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
12:10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.
12:11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
12:12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
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 10:1-18
10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
10:2 But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
10:7 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.
10:8 For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:
10:9 That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.
10:10 For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
10:11 Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.
10:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
10:13 But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.
10:14 For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:
10:15 Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,
10:16 To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand.
10:17 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
10:18 For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 1 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.
1 Peter 4:1-11
4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
4:6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. 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 12:25-13:12
12:25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
13:3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
13:4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
13:7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
13:9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.
13:10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
13:12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.
Coptic Synaxarium
Hatour 25, 1725
Day 25 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Hatour, 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. Mercurius known as the Saint with Two Swords
On this day, St. Mercurius, known as the saint with the two swords (Abu-Saifain), was martyred. He was born in the city of Rome. His parents were Christians and they called him Philopateer (which means Lover of the Father). They reared him in a Christian manner. When he grew, he enlisted in the army during the days of Emperor Decius, the pagan. The Lord gave Philopateer the strength and the courage, for which he earned the satisfaction of his superiors. They called him Mercurius and he grew very close to the Emperor. When the berbers rose up against Rome, Decius went out to fight them, but when he saw how many they were, he became terrified. St. Mercurius assured him saying, Do not be afraid, because God will destroy our enemies and will bring us victory. When he left the Emperor, an angel appeared to him in the shape of a human being, dressed in white apparel. The angel gave him a sword saying, When you overcome your enemies, remember the Lord your God. (That is why he is called, of the two swords, Abu-Saifain, one is the military sword and the other is the sword of the divine power). When Emperor Decius conquered his enemies and Mercurius came back victorious, the angel appeared to him and reminded him of what he told him previously, that is, to remember the Lord his God. Decius, and his soldiers with him, wanted to offer up incense to his idols and St. Mercurius tarried behind. When they informed the Emperor of what had happened, he called St. Mercurius and expressed his amazement at his abandoning of his loyalty to him. The Emperor reprimanded him for refusing to come and offer incense to the idols. The Saint cast his girdle and his military attire down before the Emperor and said to him, I do not worship anyone except my Lord and my God Jesus Christ. The Emperor became angry and ordered him to be beaten with whips and stalks. When the Emperor saw how the people of the city and the soldiers were attached to St. Mercurius, the Emperor feared that they might revolt. So instead, he bound him in iron fetters and sent him to Caesarea where they cut off his head. He thus completed his holy fight and received the crown of life in the kingdom of heaven.May His intercession be for 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 45:3-4
45:3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.
45:4 And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
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 Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.
Matthew 12:9-23
12:9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
12:10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
12:11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12:12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
12:13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
12:14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
12:16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
12:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
12:19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
12:20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
12:21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
And Glory be to God forever.