From kidusmarkos.org and ethiopiantewahedo.org:
Daily Readings:
Week One, Day Three
The Third Day
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: St. Estifanos, Timket (Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ)
The Third Day
Morning Prayer
In the name of the Father and……..
Opening Prayer
Lord our heavenly Father, grant us your help as we pray, and protect us day and night, so through your Fatherly support we may be able to pursue what makes for peace and mutual up building in righteousness, now and forever. Amen. Our Father...
Psalm 15: 1 – end
15:1 O Lord, who shall abide in your tabernacle? who shall dwell in your holy hill? 15:2 He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. 15:3 He that backbites not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbour. 15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honours them that fear the Lord. He that swears to his own hurt, and changeth not. 15:5 He that puts not out his money to usury, nor takes reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 16: 1 – end
16:1 Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. 16:2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord, You are my Lord: my goodness extends not to thee; 16:3 But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. 16:5 The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. 16:6 The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. 16:7 I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer your Holy One to see corruption. 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 17: 1 – end
17:1 Hear the right, O Lord, attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer, that goes not out of feigned lips. 17:2 Let my sentence come forth from your presence; let your eyes behold the things that are equal. 17:3 You have proved mine heart; you have visited me in the night; you have tried me, and shall find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. 17:4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of your lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. 17:5 Hold up my goings in your paths, that my footsteps slip not. 17:6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline your ear to me, and hear my speech. 17:7 Show your marvellous loving-kindness , O thou that savest by your right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of your wings, 17:9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about. 17:10 They are enclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly. 17:11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; 17:12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. 17:13 Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is your sword: 17:14 From men which are your hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with your hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. 17:15 As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness. 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 1: 2 – 5
1:2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain to wise counsels: He who receives the prophet by the name of the prophet shall receive the prophet’s reward. Amen
2nd Reading
Romans 7: 21 – 25
7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle, shall receive the Apostle reward.
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 47: 1 – 2
47:1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout to God with the voice of triumph. 47:2 For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. Halleluiah! Stand up and harken to the Holy Gospel, the message of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
4th Reading
The Gospel of St. Matthew 7: 7 – 12
7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Heaven and earth shall pass away….
Concluding Prayer:
Lord Jesus, who did not demand very much of those who came to you for help. But the one thing you did ask was faith. Without faith you did not seem to be able to do very much. We humbly ask you to grant us your grace, to stand firm in faith in you, in your Father and in the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Our Father… etc
Day 3
Evening Prayer
In the name of the Father…
Opening Prayer
Lord our heavenly Father, grant us your help as we pray, and protect us day and night, so through your Fatherly support we may be able to pursue what makes for peace and mutual up building in righteousness, now and forever. Amen.
Our Father...
Psalm 18: 1 – 50
18:1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. 18:2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 18:3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 18:4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. 18:5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. 18:6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. 18:7 then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. 18:8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 18:11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 18:12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. 18:13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. 18:14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightning, and discomfited them. 18:15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. 18:16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. 18:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. 18:18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. 18:19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. 18:20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. 18:21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 18:22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. 18:23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. 18:24 Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. 18:25 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; 18:26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward. 18:27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. 18:29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. 18:31 For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God? 18:32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and makes my way perfect. 18:33 He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places. 18:34 He teaches my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 18:35 You have also given me the shield of your salvation: and your right hand hath holden me up, and your gentleness hath made me great. 18:36 You have 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 you have girded me with strength to the battle: you have subdued under me those that rose up against me. 18:40 You have also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. 18:41 They cried, but there was none to save them: even to the Lord, but he answered them not. 18:42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. 18:43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; and you have made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. 18:44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves to me. 18:45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. 18:46 The Lord lives; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. 18:47 It is God that avenges me, and subdues the people under me. 18:48 He delivers me from mine enemies: yea, you lift me up above those that rise up against me: you have delivered me from the violent man. 18:49 Therefore will I give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises to your name. 18:50 Great deliverance gives he to his king; and shows mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed forevermore. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…
Scripture Readings
1st Reading
Daniel 4: 1 – 3
4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you. I thought it good to shows signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell the earth…He who receives the prophet by the name of the prophet shall receive the prophet’s reward. Amen
2nd Reading
Romans 14: 8 – 12
14:8 For whether we live, we live to the Lord; and whether we die, we die to the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost you judge your brother? or why dost you set at nought your brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle, shall receive the Apostle reward.
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 147: 1 – 2
147:1 Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. 147:2 The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathers together the outcasts of Israel. 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 11: 1 – 13
11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said to them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said to them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say to you, though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs. And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one title of the law to fall.
Concluding prayer
God of power and mercy, enlighten us with the grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit that our entire lives may be filled with faith, justice and all spiritual acts. Then we may be able to proclaim humbly your mercy in our evening prayer. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Holy Son. Amen.
Our Father… O my Lady Mary, I salute you… Priest Benediction
The Synaxarium:
THE FIFTH MONTH
TIR 17
(January 25)
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT,
ONE GOD. AMEN.
On this day are commemorated the honourable Saints Maximus and Dumatheus, his brother, the sons of Lavendius, who was King of the country of Rome. And this king held the True Faith, and feared God, and he executed righteousness and judgement; and because of this God gave him these two saints, and from their youth up, by reason of their purity, and their humility, and their fear of God, they were like unto the angels of God. And they prayed and read the Books of the Old and New Testaments by night and by day. And they decided in their minds to reject this world, and to assume the garb of the angels, that is to say the garb of the monastic life. And they worked upon their father to allow them to go to the city of Nicea to pray in the place, wherein the Three Hundred and Eighteen Bishops who formed the Council assembled; and when they told him he rejoiced greatly, and sent them away with slaves and soldiers. And when they arrived in the city of Nicea, and had received a blessing in the holy place, they sent back the soldiers to their father, and they sent with them letters to him wherein they said, “O our lord the king, we wish to dwell here for a few days.” Then they opened their minds, and held converse with a holy and righteous monk, and they said unto him, “We wish to assume the monastic garb under thy direction.” And he said unto the, “I am afraid of the emperor your father. But go ye to the country of Syria, for there liveth there a righteous monk, a priest of the True Faith, whose name is ‘Agabius.” Having said these things unto them they accepted the counsel of that monk, and they departed to the country of Syria. And they came to Saint ‘Agabius, and revealed to him their minds, and he arrayed them in the garb of the monastic life, and they lived with him until he died. Before his death he spoke unto them, and told them that he had seen a vision wherein Saint Abba Macarius the Great came to him, and said unto him, “Command these two young men Maximus and Dumatheus to come to me in the desert of Scete, and they shall be my sons before thy death.” And Abba ‘Agabius told them what he had seen, and he said unto them, “O my sons, I have long had the desire to see this father Macarius in the flesh, and behold, I have seen him in the spirit.” And he said, “After my death go ye to him.” And when he was dead they dwelt in the land of Syria, and God gave unto them the gift of healing the sick. And the report of them was heard in all countries through the merchants who traveled by sea and by land. And the saints learned to make the roofs (i.e. awnings) of ships, and they lived upon a small part of what they earned by the labor of their hands, and the rest they gave away to the poor and the needy. And by reason of the multitude of the signs and wonders which God performed by their hands, many of those who were possessed by many [evil] spirits, were cured immediately they heard the names of Saints Maximus and Dumatheus, by the might of our Lord Jesus Christ. And there was a very large snake which lived near the high road, and it destroyed very many men, and some of the men of the city came to Saints Maximus and Dumatheus, and asked them to deliver them from that venomous serpent. And Abba Maximus took a sheet of paper and wrote upon it as follows: “In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Word of the Father, God of hosts, the God of Abba Macarius, the blessed, and our honourable father ‘Agabius, who was indued with the Spirit, the holy priest, when this paper cometh to the door of thy cave, thou shalt go forth and shalt die, and the fowls of heaven shall devour thee.” And a certain man took that paper and laid it at the door of the den of that serpent, and straightway it came forth and died; and all the people marveled exceedingly and they glorified God. And God performed very many signs and wonders by the hands of Maximus and Dumatheus. One day a certain nobleman went out to his father, who was near the sea-shore, and looking up at the awning of one of the ships, he saw written thereon the names of Maximus and Dumatheus, and he asked the captain of the ship, saying, “What are these names?” And the captain answered and said unto him, “These are [the name of] two holy monks and brothers, and because of my confidence in them I have written their names upon the awning of my ship, so that God may save me from sinking in the sea through their prayers.” And the nobleman said unto him, “What are they like in person?” And the captain said unto him, “One is perfect, and the other hath no beard”; and then the nobleman knew that the young men were the sons of the emperor. And he took that merchant and brought him to the emperor, the father of the saints, and he asked him about his sons; and the captain told them what they were like, and everyone knew that they were indeed his sons. And he sent their mother and their sister to them, and when they came to them, with many soldiers, and saw them, they cried out and wept freely and embraced them; and their mother asked them to come to her and to their father the emperor. And they said unto her, “We cannot destroy [our] covenant with God, for we have vowed ourselves to God, and we pray for thee and for our father, by night and by day, that God will deliver you from all harm.” And with these words they consoled her, and she left them and returned sad and sorrowful, and she wept because she was to be separated from them; and she told the emperor and the soldiers what had happened to them. And the emperor said unto his wife and his soldiers, “Let them alone so that they may become treasure with our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and may make entreaty to Him for us in their prayers; for everything which is in this world, and the glory thereof, passeth away like a dream, and they will gain a kingdom which doth not pass away.” And in those days the Archbishop of the city of Rome died, and the bishops and all the priests gathered together so that they might take counsel and appoint an archbishop. And they remembered the blessed Maximus, and they said, “Verily this man is well fitted for this office, for God hath given unto him the great gift of healing the sick, and God hath wrought many signs and wonders by his hands. And although he is young in days, still Christ dwelleth in him, and he is perfect in knowledge and in good works, and in all the Law of the Church.” When his father and mother heard this they rejoiced exceedingly, and they sent certain officers together with their troops, and they sent with them a letter which they had written to the governor of the country of Syria commanding him to send Maximus and Dumatheus to the city of Rome. When the saints heard this they were exceedingly sorry, and they remembered what their father, the monk Abba ‘Agabius, had commanded them. And they rose up straightway, and they changed their apparel, and they departed, not knowing where they were going, and they wandered to the shore of the Red Sea. And being athirst God changed that bitter water and made it sweet for them, and He sent forth power from Him, and it carried them from the country of Syria and brought them to the desert of Scete; and they came to Saint Abba Macarius, and told him that they wished to dwell with him. And when he saw that they were sons of grace, he thought that they would not be able to live in the desert, and he told them about the difficulty of the desert, saying, “Ye will not be able to dwell here.” And they answered and said unto him, “O our father, if we cannot live here we will go away.” Then he taught them how to plait palm fiber, and he showed them a valley wherefrom they could obtain the palm leaves, and he helped them until they had built a cell for themselves. And he brought to them a certain native to buy from them the objects which they made with their hands, and he brought them bread. And they lived in this way in the desert for three years, and they held converse with none, for they would go into the church holding their peace, and received the Holy Mysteries, and return to their cell. And our father Saint Macarius wondered at their behavior and why they had neither come to him nor visited him during this period of three years; and he asked God to reveal the matter of them to him. And he rose up and went to them, and they rejoiced in him exceedingly, and he dwelt with them that night. And when he rose up to pray he saw Saints Maximus and Dumatheus rise up to pray, and when they prayed he saw as it were a rope of fire which went up from their mouths to heaven. And Satans thronged about them like flies, and the angel of God drove them away from them with a sword of fire. When the morning had come he arrayed them in the garb of the angels, and he departed from them, saying, “Pray for me”; and they bowed low before him, saying, “Bless us, O our father, and pray for us.” And when they had finished their fight, and God wished to give them rest from the labor and sorrow of this world, Maximus fell sick of fever and his body became like fire. And he sent a message to Abba Macarius asking him to come and see him, and when Macarius arrived he found him sick. And Maximus said unto him, “Bless me, O my father”; and he blessed him, and said unto him, “Fear not, for this illness shall depart from thee.” And Maximus said unto him, “O my father, I know that this day I shall depart from this poor body of mine; I ask thee to pray for me, and I shall find help”; and having said these words he wept bitterly. And at that moment Abba Macarius saw the Company of the Saints, Prophets and Apostles, and John the Baptist, and the Emperor Constantine, and they came and surrounded Saint Maximus, until his soul went forth in honor and glory. And Abba Macarius wept and said, “Blessed art thou, Maximus.” And Dumatheus wept bitterly for his brother, and he asked Abba Macarius, saying, “Pray for me that God may take my soul and bring me to my brother.” And three days after Saint Maximus was buried, Dumatheus fell sick, and one told Saint Macarius about him, and he rose up to go to him. And as he was journeying along the road, he saw the saints, and he saw the Company, who came and received the soul of Saint Maximus, take the soul of his brother Dumatheus, and carry it up to heaven. And when Abba Macarius arrived at their cell he found Dumatheus dead, and he took him and buried him with his brother Maximus, in the same grave. The death of Maximus took place on the fourteenth day of the month of Ter, and that of his brother on the sixteenth day of the month of Ter. And Saint Abba Macarius commanded that monastery to be called by their names, and similarly that monastery is called to this day Dabra Barmos (Baramas). And they have everlasting remembrance in the kingdom of heaven, and in all the ends of the world. Salutation to Dumatheus and his brother Maximus.
Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. Amen.
Daily Readings:
Week One, Day Three
The Third Day
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: St. Estifanos, Timket (Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ)
The Third Day
Morning Prayer
In the name of the Father and……..
Opening Prayer
Lord our heavenly Father, grant us your help as we pray, and protect us day and night, so through your Fatherly support we may be able to pursue what makes for peace and mutual up building in righteousness, now and forever. Amen. Our Father...
Psalm 15: 1 – end
15:1 O Lord, who shall abide in your tabernacle? who shall dwell in your holy hill? 15:2 He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. 15:3 He that backbites not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbour. 15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honours them that fear the Lord. He that swears to his own hurt, and changeth not. 15:5 He that puts not out his money to usury, nor takes reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 16: 1 – end
16:1 Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. 16:2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord, You are my Lord: my goodness extends not to thee; 16:3 But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. 16:5 The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. 16:6 The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. 16:7 I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer your Holy One to see corruption. 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 17: 1 – end
17:1 Hear the right, O Lord, attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer, that goes not out of feigned lips. 17:2 Let my sentence come forth from your presence; let your eyes behold the things that are equal. 17:3 You have proved mine heart; you have visited me in the night; you have tried me, and shall find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. 17:4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of your lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. 17:5 Hold up my goings in your paths, that my footsteps slip not. 17:6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline your ear to me, and hear my speech. 17:7 Show your marvellous loving-kindness , O thou that savest by your right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of your wings, 17:9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about. 17:10 They are enclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly. 17:11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; 17:12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. 17:13 Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is your sword: 17:14 From men which are your hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with your hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. 17:15 As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness. 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 1: 2 – 5
1:2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain to wise counsels: He who receives the prophet by the name of the prophet shall receive the prophet’s reward. Amen
2nd Reading
Romans 7: 21 – 25
7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle, shall receive the Apostle reward.
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 47: 1 – 2
47:1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout to God with the voice of triumph. 47:2 For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. Halleluiah! Stand up and harken to the Holy Gospel, the message of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
4th Reading
The Gospel of St. Matthew 7: 7 – 12
7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Heaven and earth shall pass away….
Concluding Prayer:
Lord Jesus, who did not demand very much of those who came to you for help. But the one thing you did ask was faith. Without faith you did not seem to be able to do very much. We humbly ask you to grant us your grace, to stand firm in faith in you, in your Father and in the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Our Father… etc
Day 3
Evening Prayer
In the name of the Father…
Opening Prayer
Lord our heavenly Father, grant us your help as we pray, and protect us day and night, so through your Fatherly support we may be able to pursue what makes for peace and mutual up building in righteousness, now and forever. Amen.
Our Father...
Psalm 18: 1 – 50
18:1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. 18:2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 18:3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 18:4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. 18:5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. 18:6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. 18:7 then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. 18:8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 18:11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 18:12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. 18:13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. 18:14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightning, and discomfited them. 18:15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. 18:16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. 18:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. 18:18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. 18:19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. 18:20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. 18:21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 18:22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. 18:23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. 18:24 Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. 18:25 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; 18:26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward. 18:27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. 18:29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. 18:31 For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God? 18:32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and makes my way perfect. 18:33 He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places. 18:34 He teaches my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 18:35 You have also given me the shield of your salvation: and your right hand hath holden me up, and your gentleness hath made me great. 18:36 You have 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 you have girded me with strength to the battle: you have subdued under me those that rose up against me. 18:40 You have also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. 18:41 They cried, but there was none to save them: even to the Lord, but he answered them not. 18:42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. 18:43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; and you have made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. 18:44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves to me. 18:45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. 18:46 The Lord lives; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. 18:47 It is God that avenges me, and subdues the people under me. 18:48 He delivers me from mine enemies: yea, you lift me up above those that rise up against me: you have delivered me from the violent man. 18:49 Therefore will I give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises to your name. 18:50 Great deliverance gives he to his king; and shows mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed forevermore. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…
Scripture Readings
1st Reading
Daniel 4: 1 – 3
4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you. I thought it good to shows signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell the earth…He who receives the prophet by the name of the prophet shall receive the prophet’s reward. Amen
2nd Reading
Romans 14: 8 – 12
14:8 For whether we live, we live to the Lord; and whether we die, we die to the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost you judge your brother? or why dost you set at nought your brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle, shall receive the Apostle reward.
3rd Reading (Chant)
Psalm 147: 1 – 2
147:1 Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. 147:2 The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathers together the outcasts of Israel. 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 11: 1 – 13
11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said to them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said to them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say to you, though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needs. And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one title of the law to fall.
Concluding prayer
God of power and mercy, enlighten us with the grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit that our entire lives may be filled with faith, justice and all spiritual acts. Then we may be able to proclaim humbly your mercy in our evening prayer. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Holy Son. Amen.
Our Father… O my Lady Mary, I salute you… Priest Benediction
The Synaxarium:
THE FIFTH MONTH
TIR 17
(January 25)
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT,
ONE GOD. AMEN.
On this day are commemorated the honourable Saints Maximus and Dumatheus, his brother, the sons of Lavendius, who was King of the country of Rome. And this king held the True Faith, and feared God, and he executed righteousness and judgement; and because of this God gave him these two saints, and from their youth up, by reason of their purity, and their humility, and their fear of God, they were like unto the angels of God. And they prayed and read the Books of the Old and New Testaments by night and by day. And they decided in their minds to reject this world, and to assume the garb of the angels, that is to say the garb of the monastic life. And they worked upon their father to allow them to go to the city of Nicea to pray in the place, wherein the Three Hundred and Eighteen Bishops who formed the Council assembled; and when they told him he rejoiced greatly, and sent them away with slaves and soldiers. And when they arrived in the city of Nicea, and had received a blessing in the holy place, they sent back the soldiers to their father, and they sent with them letters to him wherein they said, “O our lord the king, we wish to dwell here for a few days.” Then they opened their minds, and held converse with a holy and righteous monk, and they said unto him, “We wish to assume the monastic garb under thy direction.” And he said unto the, “I am afraid of the emperor your father. But go ye to the country of Syria, for there liveth there a righteous monk, a priest of the True Faith, whose name is ‘Agabius.” Having said these things unto them they accepted the counsel of that monk, and they departed to the country of Syria. And they came to Saint ‘Agabius, and revealed to him their minds, and he arrayed them in the garb of the monastic life, and they lived with him until he died. Before his death he spoke unto them, and told them that he had seen a vision wherein Saint Abba Macarius the Great came to him, and said unto him, “Command these two young men Maximus and Dumatheus to come to me in the desert of Scete, and they shall be my sons before thy death.” And Abba ‘Agabius told them what he had seen, and he said unto them, “O my sons, I have long had the desire to see this father Macarius in the flesh, and behold, I have seen him in the spirit.” And he said, “After my death go ye to him.” And when he was dead they dwelt in the land of Syria, and God gave unto them the gift of healing the sick. And the report of them was heard in all countries through the merchants who traveled by sea and by land. And the saints learned to make the roofs (i.e. awnings) of ships, and they lived upon a small part of what they earned by the labor of their hands, and the rest they gave away to the poor and the needy. And by reason of the multitude of the signs and wonders which God performed by their hands, many of those who were possessed by many [evil] spirits, were cured immediately they heard the names of Saints Maximus and Dumatheus, by the might of our Lord Jesus Christ. And there was a very large snake which lived near the high road, and it destroyed very many men, and some of the men of the city came to Saints Maximus and Dumatheus, and asked them to deliver them from that venomous serpent. And Abba Maximus took a sheet of paper and wrote upon it as follows: “In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Word of the Father, God of hosts, the God of Abba Macarius, the blessed, and our honourable father ‘Agabius, who was indued with the Spirit, the holy priest, when this paper cometh to the door of thy cave, thou shalt go forth and shalt die, and the fowls of heaven shall devour thee.” And a certain man took that paper and laid it at the door of the den of that serpent, and straightway it came forth and died; and all the people marveled exceedingly and they glorified God. And God performed very many signs and wonders by the hands of Maximus and Dumatheus. One day a certain nobleman went out to his father, who was near the sea-shore, and looking up at the awning of one of the ships, he saw written thereon the names of Maximus and Dumatheus, and he asked the captain of the ship, saying, “What are these names?” And the captain answered and said unto him, “These are [the name of] two holy monks and brothers, and because of my confidence in them I have written their names upon the awning of my ship, so that God may save me from sinking in the sea through their prayers.” And the nobleman said unto him, “What are they like in person?” And the captain said unto him, “One is perfect, and the other hath no beard”; and then the nobleman knew that the young men were the sons of the emperor. And he took that merchant and brought him to the emperor, the father of the saints, and he asked him about his sons; and the captain told them what they were like, and everyone knew that they were indeed his sons. And he sent their mother and their sister to them, and when they came to them, with many soldiers, and saw them, they cried out and wept freely and embraced them; and their mother asked them to come to her and to their father the emperor. And they said unto her, “We cannot destroy [our] covenant with God, for we have vowed ourselves to God, and we pray for thee and for our father, by night and by day, that God will deliver you from all harm.” And with these words they consoled her, and she left them and returned sad and sorrowful, and she wept because she was to be separated from them; and she told the emperor and the soldiers what had happened to them. And the emperor said unto his wife and his soldiers, “Let them alone so that they may become treasure with our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and may make entreaty to Him for us in their prayers; for everything which is in this world, and the glory thereof, passeth away like a dream, and they will gain a kingdom which doth not pass away.” And in those days the Archbishop of the city of Rome died, and the bishops and all the priests gathered together so that they might take counsel and appoint an archbishop. And they remembered the blessed Maximus, and they said, “Verily this man is well fitted for this office, for God hath given unto him the great gift of healing the sick, and God hath wrought many signs and wonders by his hands. And although he is young in days, still Christ dwelleth in him, and he is perfect in knowledge and in good works, and in all the Law of the Church.” When his father and mother heard this they rejoiced exceedingly, and they sent certain officers together with their troops, and they sent with them a letter which they had written to the governor of the country of Syria commanding him to send Maximus and Dumatheus to the city of Rome. When the saints heard this they were exceedingly sorry, and they remembered what their father, the monk Abba ‘Agabius, had commanded them. And they rose up straightway, and they changed their apparel, and they departed, not knowing where they were going, and they wandered to the shore of the Red Sea. And being athirst God changed that bitter water and made it sweet for them, and He sent forth power from Him, and it carried them from the country of Syria and brought them to the desert of Scete; and they came to Saint Abba Macarius, and told him that they wished to dwell with him. And when he saw that they were sons of grace, he thought that they would not be able to live in the desert, and he told them about the difficulty of the desert, saying, “Ye will not be able to dwell here.” And they answered and said unto him, “O our father, if we cannot live here we will go away.” Then he taught them how to plait palm fiber, and he showed them a valley wherefrom they could obtain the palm leaves, and he helped them until they had built a cell for themselves. And he brought to them a certain native to buy from them the objects which they made with their hands, and he brought them bread. And they lived in this way in the desert for three years, and they held converse with none, for they would go into the church holding their peace, and received the Holy Mysteries, and return to their cell. And our father Saint Macarius wondered at their behavior and why they had neither come to him nor visited him during this period of three years; and he asked God to reveal the matter of them to him. And he rose up and went to them, and they rejoiced in him exceedingly, and he dwelt with them that night. And when he rose up to pray he saw Saints Maximus and Dumatheus rise up to pray, and when they prayed he saw as it were a rope of fire which went up from their mouths to heaven. And Satans thronged about them like flies, and the angel of God drove them away from them with a sword of fire. When the morning had come he arrayed them in the garb of the angels, and he departed from them, saying, “Pray for me”; and they bowed low before him, saying, “Bless us, O our father, and pray for us.” And when they had finished their fight, and God wished to give them rest from the labor and sorrow of this world, Maximus fell sick of fever and his body became like fire. And he sent a message to Abba Macarius asking him to come and see him, and when Macarius arrived he found him sick. And Maximus said unto him, “Bless me, O my father”; and he blessed him, and said unto him, “Fear not, for this illness shall depart from thee.” And Maximus said unto him, “O my father, I know that this day I shall depart from this poor body of mine; I ask thee to pray for me, and I shall find help”; and having said these words he wept bitterly. And at that moment Abba Macarius saw the Company of the Saints, Prophets and Apostles, and John the Baptist, and the Emperor Constantine, and they came and surrounded Saint Maximus, until his soul went forth in honor and glory. And Abba Macarius wept and said, “Blessed art thou, Maximus.” And Dumatheus wept bitterly for his brother, and he asked Abba Macarius, saying, “Pray for me that God may take my soul and bring me to my brother.” And three days after Saint Maximus was buried, Dumatheus fell sick, and one told Saint Macarius about him, and he rose up to go to him. And as he was journeying along the road, he saw the saints, and he saw the Company, who came and received the soul of Saint Maximus, take the soul of his brother Dumatheus, and carry it up to heaven. And when Abba Macarius arrived at their cell he found Dumatheus dead, and he took him and buried him with his brother Maximus, in the same grave. The death of Maximus took place on the fourteenth day of the month of Ter, and that of his brother on the sixteenth day of the month of Ter. And Saint Abba Macarius commanded that monastery to be called by their names, and similarly that monastery is called to this day Dabra Barmos (Baramas). And they have everlasting remembrance in the kingdom of heaven, and in all the ends of the world. Salutation to Dumatheus and his brother Maximus.
Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. Amen.
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