From kidusmarkos.org and ethiopiantewahedo.org:
Daily Readings:
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: the Fast of the Nativity
+ Feast of Igziabher Ab; Angel Ruphael
Week Two, Day Four
The Eleventh Day
The Eleventh day
Morning Prayer
In the name of the Father……….
Opening Prayer
O God our heavenly Father, who hear the prayer and cry of your children, and grant them what they want and ask you, we humbly ask you to hear our morning prayers to begin this day with you and end it with you. Amen. Our Father…
Psalm 56: 1-13
56:1 Be merciful to me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresses me. 56:2 Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 56:4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do to me. 56:5 Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. 56:6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. 56:7 Shall they escape by iniquity? in your anger cast down the people, O God. 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into your bottle: are they not in your book? 56:9 When I cry to thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. 56:10 In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word. 56:11 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do to me. 56:12 Your vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises to thee. 56:13 For you have delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…
Psalm 57: 1-11
57:1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me: for my soul trusts in thee: yea, in the shadow of your wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. 57:2 I will cry to God most high; to God that performs all things for me. 57:3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. 57:4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. 57:5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be above all the earth. 57:6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah. 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. 57:8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. 57:9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing to thee among the nations. 57:10 For your mercy is great to the heavens, and your truth to the clouds. 57:11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let your glory be above all the earth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…
Psalm 58: 1-11
58:1 Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? 58:2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. 58:4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stops her ear; 58:5 Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. 58:6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. 58:7 Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bends his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. 58:8 As a snail which melts, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. 58:9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. 58:10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seesthe vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 58:11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judges in the earth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…
Scripture Readings
1st Reading
Isaiah 43: 1-3
43:1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by your name; you are mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour: I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. He who receives the Prophet by the name of the Prophet shall receive the Prophet’s reward. Amen
2nd Reading
2nd Corinthians 1: 3-5
1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds by Christ. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle shall receive the Apostle’ s reward. Amen
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 4: 1-2
4:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: you have enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 4:2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? How long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. Halleluiah! Stand and harken to the Holy Gospel, the message of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
4th Reading
The Gospel of St. Luke 18: 1-8
18:1 And he spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? He who receives the Saint by the name of the Saint shall receive the Saint’s reward. Amen
Concluding Prayer
Lord our God, God of mercy and love, help us to keep on working, with fear and trembling, to complete our salvation, for you are always at work in us to make us willing and able to obey your own purpose. Grant us your grace to do everything without complaining or arguing, that we may be innocent and pure, as your perfect children. Amen. Our Father…O my Lady Mary…..
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Day 11
Evening Prayer
In the name of the Father and……..
Opening Prayer
Lord God, our heavenly Father, we pray to you and ask you in our evening prayer to help us to remember that our fathers were put to the test to prove their love of God. And to remember how our father Abraham was tested and become the friend of God after many trials and tribulations of every kind. Grant us your grace to stand firm in love and faith of you and remain steadfast in the face of tribulations of every kind and test. Amen. Our Father…,O my Lady Mary,….
Psalm 59: 1-17
59:1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. 59:2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. 59:3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord. 59:4 They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold. 59:5 Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah. 59:6 They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 59:7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear? 59:8 But thou, O Lord, shall laugh at them; thou shall have all the heathen in derision. 59:9 Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence. 59:10 The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies. 59:11 Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by your power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield. 59:12 For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak. 59:13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah. 59:14 And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 59:15 Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied. 59:16 But I will sing of your power; yea, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning: for you have been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. 59:17 To thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…
Psalm 60: 1-12
60:1 O God, you have cast us off, you have scattered us, you have been displeased; O turn thyself to us again. 60:2 You have made the earth to tremble; you have broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shakes. 60:3 You have showed your people hard things: you have made us to drink the wine of astonishment. 60:4 You have given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. 60:5 That your beloved may be delivered; save with your right hand, and hear me. 60:6 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. 60:7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver; 60:8 Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph because of me. 60:9 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? 60:10 Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies? 60:11 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. 60:12 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…
Psalm 61: 1-8
61:1 Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry to thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 61:3 For you have been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 61:4 I will abide in your tabernacle forever: I will trust in the covert of your wings. Selah. 61:5 For thou, O God, have heard my vows: you have given me the heritage of those that fear your name. 61:6 Youwilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations. 61:7 He shall abide before God forever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. 61:8 So will I sing praise to your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…
Scripture Reading
1st Reading
Isaiah 40: 6-8
40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withers, the flower fades: because the spirit of the Lord blows upon it: surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades: but the word of our God shall stand forever. He who receives the prophet the by the name of the prophet, shall receive the prophet’s …
2nd Reading
Romans 1: 16-17
1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle shall receive the Apostle’ s reward. Amen
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 61: 1-2
61:1 Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry to thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 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 17: 5-6
17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith. 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say to this sycamine tree, be plucked up by the root, and be planted in the sea; and it should obey you. He who receives the Saint by the name of the Saint shall receive the Saint’s reward. Amen
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Concluding Prayer
Almighty God and Master, you open the gates of the kingdom of heaven to those who are born again of water and the Holy Spirit. Increase the grace you have given through the Holy sacraments, so that all Christian people who have purified from all sin may not forfeit the promised blessing of your love. We ask this trough our Lord Jesus Christ, to him be glory now and forever. Amen. Our Father….
The Synaxarium:
THE FOURTH MONTH
TAHISAS 13
(December 22)
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT,
ONE GOD. AMEN.
On this day Saint Basofreyos (Parsnuphis) became a martyr in the days of the Muslims. This blessed man became a monk in the church of Gabriel the Archangel, in the city of Mesr (Cairo), on the banks of the river [Nile], and he fought a great fight therein, and he disputed with the Muslim Shekhs concerning the True Faith, and he made manifest to them the Godhead of our Lord Christ. And because of this the Muslims were wroth with him, and they tortured him severely, and cut off his head with the sword, and he received the crown of martyrdom in the kingdom of the heavens. Salutation to Befsufyos.
And on this day also died Saint Abracius. This saint was a man of Upper Egypt, and he put on the garb of the monastic life when he was twenty years of age, and he fought a great and a good fight. And when Satan grew tired of setting himself in opposition to him [secretly], and of being overcome when he fought him, being unable to effect anything against him, he came to him openly, face to face, and said unto him, “There are left unto thee of thy days fifty more years,” wishing by these words to cast the saint into despair. And the holy elder answered and said unto him, “Thou hast made me sorrowful; I was thinking that I had another hundred years to live, and therefore I was weary. But if it be truly as thou sayest, it behooves me to fight before I die.” And then he fought strenuously and increased the strictness of his ascetic life, but he died that same year and departed to God; and he ended, the seventieth year of his life still fighting. Salutation to Abracius.
And on this day also Saint Hannah conceived our holy Lady the Virgin Maryam, the God-bearer. Salutation O blessed Hannah to thy conception!
And on this day also died the holy father Michael, the desert monk, of Dabra Kalmon. Salutation to Michael, the desert monk and priest.
And on this day also is commemorated Abba Makari (Macarius), who fed upon partridges. This father Makari (Macarius) sought from his youth to follow the Living God, and he learned the Books of the Church, and he knew that this fleeting world would come to an end, and that there was a reward for the just and a punishment for sinners. Therefore he forsook the world and became a monk in a monastery. Thence he went forth into the desert, a journey of ten days, and he came to a monastery about which there was nothing except roots and partridges; and water in abundance was there. And straightway he pondered and said, “If I go out into the fields after the partridges my labor and my prayers would be in vain, for I have, since I am alone by myself, no one to come to my help. And as for him who saith, ‘Thou shalt not eat flesh,’ is it not the flesh of thy neighbor [to which he refers] in derision? And God knows that I have nothing else to eat except these [partridges and roots].” And from that day he began to net the partridges, and each day he netted one and cooked it with herbs, and thus fed himself with what God had given him, and he drank of the water there and gave thanks; and he prayed, and made supplication to God, and kept vigil all the night. And he continued to do this for many years, and he never heard the voice of a man, and he never saw the face of a man, and he never spoke to a man, and he neither reviled nor abused anyone; and he used to say, “Satan only makes his appearance with man.” And after this a certain monk from Constantinople came to the place where Saint Makari (Macarius) was living, seeking [in] the desert [for him]. And when he was Abba Makari (Macarius) netting the birds he could not contain himself, but he made haste to slay his brother with calumny. And the [monk from] Constantinople came to the archbishop, and he went in to tell him everything which he had seen, [saying], “I went into the desert to look for the caves [of the monks], and there I saw a monk living by himself and netting birds so that he might eat flesh, and so disgrace us when the people saw what he was doing.” When the archbishop heard these words he sent away that monk with a messenger so that he might know all that had happened, and find out if what the monk who had gone to him had told him was true. And before the two men had arrived, and whilst they were still on the road, Abba Makari (Macarius) went to net partridges according to his wont, and he netted three birds in one net. And he thought, saying, “Hath God given me these [three] birds to try me? Hath not my belly been satisfied (or filled) up to this day? [They must be] for others, but I have never seen any man in this desert.” Whilst he was thus thinking the two monks who had been sent by the archbishop arrived, and when he saw them, he rejoiced, saying, “I thank Thee, O God Who hast given me food for Thy servants, Thou knowing well my poverty.” And they nodded to him as he brought the table towards them, and he said unto them, “Take, O my brethren, and sit down.” And he seized his vessel and ate silently and without a word until he had finished, according to his wont, and he finished without a word. And the two monks refused to eat, and they said unto him, “We do not eat flesh for we are monks, and there is laid upon us the prohibition to eat flesh.” And Abba Makari (Macarius) left them and did not force them, and he took the birds which he had cooked and blew upon them three times, and they flew up into the air and went back to their nests as if they had never been netted. When the two monks saw this miracle they bowed down before him and said unto him, “Forgive us, O holy one of God; we have sinned and gone astray concerning thee.” And he said unto them, “It is God Who shall forgive you your sins, for I am sinner”; and when they saw this they marveled and went back to their country and related all the miracles of the saint, which they had seen. And the archbishop heard this, and, wondering, he went to the emperor and said unto him, “Behold, a righteous monk hath been found in our days, come, let us go to him so that we may receive his blessing.” And the emperor rose up with his soldiers, and with him were the archbishop, and bishops, and priests, and deacons, and when he came nigh unto him, an angel took the saint and lifted him up to carry him to the Country of the Living; and when the emperor saw him going up he said unto him, “Bless us, O saint of God, and speak one word unto us.” And the saint said unto them, ”Let your tongues fast from the words of calumny. If a priest doth not learn from books, overmuch pride and boasting will not come upon him; and if a monk doth not learn too much, arrogance will not come to him. Love ye one another, and God be with you all.” And thus saying he ascended before them. Salutation to Makari (Macarius).
And on this day also are commemorated Abranicus the martyr, and Horasafon, and Cornelius the governor, and Warktepos (or Wartepala), and ‘Arfra (or Fefra).
Salutation to Rufa’el, the healer-angel. [This salutation is wanting in the Bodleian MS.]
Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. Amen.
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