Saints/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: Fast of the Nativity
+ Medhanialem (Savior of the World)
St. Philemon the Apostle
Daily Readings:
Week Three, Day Two
The Sixteenth Day
The Sixteenth day
Morning Prayer
In the name of the Father ……
Opening prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, true light of the world, as you enlighten all men and women for their salvation, grant us your grace, we pray, to help us to herald your coming in glory by preparing the ways of justice and of peace. We ask this in your holy Son’s name. Who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever. Amen Our Father….
Psalm 79: 1-13
79:1 O God, the heathen are come into your inheritance; your holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. 79:2 The dead bodies of your servants have they given to be meat to the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth. 79:3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them. 79:4 We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. 79:5 How long, Lord? wilt thou be angry forever? shall your jealousy burn like fire? 79:6 Pour out your wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon your name. 79:7 For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place. 79:8 O remember not against us former iniquities: let your tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low. 79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for your name's sake. 79:10 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of your servants which is shed. 79:11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of your power preserve thou those that are appointed to die; 79:12 And render to our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. 79:13 So we your people and sheep of your pasture will give thee thanks forever: we will declarethy praise to all generations. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Psalm 80: 1-19
80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. 80:2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up your strength, and come and save us. 80:3 Turn us again, O God, and cause your face to shine; and we shall be saved. 80:4 O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of your people? 80:5 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. 80:6 You make us a strife to our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves. 80:7 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause your face to shine; and we shall be saved. 80:8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt: you have cast out the heathen, and planted it. 80:9 Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. 80:10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs there of were like the goodly cedars. 80:11 She sent out her boughs to the sea, and her branches to the river. 80:12 Why have you then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? 80:13 The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. 80:14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; 80:15 And the vineyard which your right hand hath planted, and the branch that you made strong for thyself. 80:16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. 80:17 Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, upon the son of man whom you made strong for thyself. 80:18 So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon your name. 80:19 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause your face to shine; and we shall be saved. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Psalm 81: 1-16/17
81:1 Sing aloud to God our strength: make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob. 81:2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 81:4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. 81:5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not. 81:6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots. 81:7 Thou calledest in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. 81:8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify to thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken to me; 81:9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shall thou worship any strange god. 81:10 I am the Lord your God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 81:11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. 81:12 So I gave them up to their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels. 81:13 Oh that my people had hearkened to me, and Israel had walked in my ways! 81:14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. 81:15 The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves to him: but their time should have endured forever. 81:16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Scripture Readings
1st Reading
Proverbs 28: 12-14
28:12 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden. He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy. Happy is the man that fears always: but he that hardens his heart shall fall into mischief. He who receives the prophet the by the name of the prophet, shall receive the prophet’s …
2nd Reading
Jude 1: 20-21
1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. He who receives the apostle the by the name of the apostle, shall receive the apostle’s …
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 108: 1-2
108:1 O god, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. 108:2 Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. Halleluiah, stand up and harken to the Holy Gospel, the message of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
4th Reading
The Gospel of St John 15: 1-4
15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life…
Concluding prayer
Lord, our heavenly Father, we pray that your grace may always prevail and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; we ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and with the Holy Spirit. One God, forever and ever. Amen Our Father who art……..
Day 16
Evening prayer
In the name of the Father …………
Opening Prayer
O Almighty and most merciful God, of your bountiful goodness keep us, we beg you, from all things that may hurt us; that we being ready both in body, soul and spirit, may cheerfully accomplish those things that you would have done; we make this our evening prayer through your most holy name’s sake. Amen. Our Father….O My Lady Mary ….
Psalm 82: 1-end
82:1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; he judges among the gods. 82:2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. 82:3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 82:4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. 82:5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. 82:7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shall inherit all nations. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Psalm 83: 1-18/end
83:1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not your peace, and be not still, O God. 83:2 For, lo, your enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 83:3 They have taken crafty counsel against your people, and consulted against your hidden ones. 83:4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 83:5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: 83:6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; 83:7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; 83:8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah. 83:9 Do to them as to the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: 83:10 Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth. 83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: 83:12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. 83:13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. 83:14 As the fire burns a wood, and as the flame sets the mountains on fire; 83:15 So persecute them with your tempest, and make them afraid with your storm. 83:16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek your name, O Lord. 83:17 Let them be confounded and troubled forever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Psalm 84: 1-end
84:1 How amiable are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! 84:2 My soul longs, yea, even faints for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. 84:4 Blessed are they that dwell in your house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also fills the pools. 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appears before God. 84:8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. 84:9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of your anointed. 84:10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 84:12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in thee. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Psalm 85: 1-13
85:1 Lord, you have been favourable to your land: you have brought back the captivity of Jacob. 85:2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people, you have covered all their sin. Selah. 85:3 You have taken away all your wrath: you have turned thyself from the fierceness of your anger. 85:4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause your anger toward us to cease. 85:5 Wilt thou be angry with us forever? wilt thou draw out your anger to all generations? 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that your people may rejoice in thee? 85:7 Show us your mercy, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. 85:8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace to his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. 85:9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. 85:10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 85:11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 85:12 Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. 85:13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning….
Scripture Readings
The Pentacost
1st Reading
1st Samuel 15: 22-23
15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. He who receives the prophet the by the name of the prophet, shall receive the prophet’s …
2nd Reading
Revelation 5: 9-10
5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 5:10 And have made us to our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle shall receive the Apostle’s reward. Amen
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 128: 1-2
128:1 Blessed is every one that fears the Lord; that walks in his ways. 128:2 For thou shall eat the labour of your hands: happy shall thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Halleluiah, stand up and harken to the Holy Gospel, the message of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
4th Reading
The Gospel of St. Luke 16: 10-13
16;10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. It is easier for heaven and to pass, than one ….
Concluding prayer
O Lord, our heavenly Father, we beseech you mercifully to hear us; and grant us that we, to whom you have given an hearty desire to pray daily, may by your mighty aid be defended and comforted from all dangers, harm and adversities; we make this our evening prayer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and with the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen. Our Father… O my Lady Mary…
The Synaxarium:
THE THIRD MONTH
HEDAR 27
(December 06)
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT,
ONE GOD. AMEN.
On this day Saint James the “chopped” became a martyr. This holy man was one of the soldiers of Sakrad, the son of Sapor, King of Persia, and he was a friend of the prince, who loved him exceedingly, and took counsel with him about all his affairs; and for this reason his heart inclined towards Saint James, and he made him worship the sun and fire. When his mother and his wife and his sister heard that he had become one with the king in his acts and in his faith, they wrote him a letter, saying, “Why hast thou forsaken the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and dost worship natural objects which have been created, that is to say, the sun, and the moon, and fire? Know that if thou dost continue to hold the faith of the King of Persia, we shall become strangers to thee.” When he had read their letter he wept bitterly, and he said, “If I continue to be of this opinion I shall become a stranger to my mother, and to my household and kinsfolk. But, however, how can I approach my Lord Jesus Christ?” And he began to read Christian books, and he wept and forsook the service of the king. And certain men told the king and spoke unto him, saying, “Behold thy friend James hath forsaken thy service and thy love, and the worship of the gods.” And the king sent a messenger to bring him to him, and when he had come he set him before the king, and the king said unto him, “Why hast thou forsaken my service?” And Saint James said unto him, “Our Lord Christ says in the gospel, ‘whosoever confesses Me before men, him I will confess before my Father Who is in heaven. Whosoever denies Me before the face of men, him will I deny before the angels of God’ (Matthew x, 32). Therefore have I left thy service, and thy love, and the worship of thy gods, and I worship my Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Creator of the heavens, and the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the seas.” When the king heard this he was exceedingly wroth, and he commanded his guards to beat him very severely, and they did so until his blood ran down on the ground like water; but he could not turn from his good counsel. And the king commanded them to cut off his members with knives, and they cut off the ten fingers of his hands and the ten toes of his feet, and his arms. And they cut him up into thirty-two separate pieces, and as each piece was chopped off, he sang and glorified God, saying, “O God of the Christians, my Lord and King Jesus Christ, receive Thou the branches of the tree according to the greatness of Thy compassion. When the master of the vineyard prunes the vines he leaves slips behind him, and these sprout in the month of Nesan, that is to say Miyazya (April-May), and the vine puts forth [new] roots and spreads abroad.” When only the head, and breast, and loins of the holy man were left, and he knew he was nigh to the giving up of his soul, at that moment he prayed to God for the world, and for the people therein, and that He would teach them and have compassion upon them. And he said, “There is left to me neither limb nor hand which I can lift up to Thee, O Lord; behold my limbs have been cast away before me, O Lord receive my soul.” And straightway our Lord Jesus Christ appeared unto him and comforted him, and strengthened him, and immediately his soul rejoiced and was glad. And before he delivered up his soul one of the guards made haste, and cut of his head with a sharp sword, and Saint James received the crown of martyrdom in the kingdom of the heavens, and he depart to the habitation of light, to Christ Who loved him. And certain God-fearing men took his body and made it ready for burial and wrapped it in costly cloths, and they laid it in a pure place. When his mother and his wife and his sister heard that he had become a martyr they rejoiced with great joy, and they came to the place where his body was, and they embraced it and wept over it, and laid splendid cloths over it and sweet scents and unguents. When the days of Saints Honorius and Arcadius and other kings arrived, they built in his honor churches, and monasteries and nunneries. When the King of Persia heard the report of those monasteries, and the stories of the martyrs and their bodies, and what great signs and wonders had appeared through them in every place, he commanded his soldiers to burn the martyrs’ bodies in every place with fire, and not to allow anything of them to remain in the country of his dominion. And certain believing men came and carried away the body of the saint, and they carried it and brought it to Jerusalem, and deposited it there. And then they brought it to Peter, Bishop of the city of Roha (Edessa), and it remained with him until Marcianus reigned, and then Saint Peter took it and brought it to the country of Egypt, and deposited it in the city of Behensa, where it remained for a few days with certain brethren. And whilst these men were praying at mid-day, and the body of Saint James was in their midst, straightway Saint James appeared with many of the martyrs of Persia, arrayed in Persian apparel; and they sang with them, and they blessed them, and then they disappeared. And before they disappeared from their sight Saint James said unto them, “My body shall stay here even as God commanded.” After this Saint Peter the bishop wished to return to his own country, and he took the body of Saint James with him, and he carried it to the sea and laid it in a ship, but the voice of Saint James went round about, saying, “My body shall stay here.” And straightway the body of Saint James was snatched out of their hands, and returned to the place wherein it had been, even as God commanded; and great signs and wonders took place through the body of Saint James. Salutation to Saint James who was cut up into thirty-two pieces.
And on this day also Saint Timothy, a native of Banhor, became a martyr. This holy man was a fearer of God from his youth, and he devoted himself to fasting and prayer. He had a wife whose name was Mora, the daughter of his father’s brother, and she was very beautiful, and she gave him pleasure by all her works and they lived together for many days in love and happiness. Whilst they were living in this state of quietness the Imperial Edict of the wicked Diocletian went forth into all the countries of his Empire ordering the heathen temples to be opened and the churches to be closed. When Saint Timothy heard this he rejoiced exceedingly, for he had been waiting for this time, and he told his wife what he was going to do; and she said, “God’s Will be done.” Then he rose up and prayed to God to prosper his way, and as he was sleeping that night our Lord Jesus Christ appeared unto him, and He said, “Peace be unto thee, O My beloved Timothy, behold I have numbered thee among the number of the righteous. Rise up now, and take thy wife, and go to the city of Behensa, and confess the Name of Christ before all the people who worship idols.” When he awoke he told his wife what he had seen, and she told him that she had dreamed even so. Then they rose up together and came to Quilquilianus, the governor, and they found him celebrating a festival with singers and dancers who were performing before him. Then the soldiers seized Timothy and set him before him, and his wife was following him. And the governor spoke unto him with gentle and persuasive words and tried to make him worship idols, but the saint reviled him and his foul faith; therefore was the governor angry and he commanded them to cast him into prison. After a few days the governor had him and his wife brought out and beaten with whips until their blood ran down on the ground like water; and his wife finished her strife under this torture. And Saint Timothy he treated with gentleness because he wished to make him agree to worship idols. And when he refused to do so the governor had the saint’s body smeared with oil and grease, and cast him into a red-hot fiery furnace. And whilst the holy man was in the fire Gabriel, an angel of God, came down to him from heaven, and delivered him from this torture. Then the governor cast the saint into the prison house a second time, where he wrought many signs and wonders. One day whilst he was praying there our Lord Jesus Christ came to him, and made a covenant with him and gave him peace. And on the following day the governor had him brought out of the prison house, and they took him to the city of Zanhus, and they cut off his holy head. Thereupon an earthquake took place, and the air was filled with angels, and the men of the city came and prepared him for burial in a splendid manner and buried him. When the time of persecution had passed they built a church for him, and consecrated it on the seven and twentieth day of the month of Sane (June-July), and they laid his holy body in it. Salutation to Timothy and to his wife Mora.
And on this day also is commemorated Saint Philemon the apostle, who was one of the Seventy-two disciples. Salutation to thy tongue with its eloquent words and pleasant speech, thou father of the city (or country) of Lydia.
And on this day also are commemorated ‘Al’are, and Abba Takla Hawaryat of Gabrema, and Clement the martyr of ‘Endabergoy of Rebotch (or Zarbatch). Salutation to Takla Hawaryat.
Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. Amen.
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