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Daily Readings:
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: Great Lent, The Departure of St. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch.
Readings for Sunday of the first week of Great Lent
[ Next Day's Readings ]
Vespers
Psalm
Psalm 16:1-2 [Arabic]
Hear a just cause, O LORD,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
Gospel
Matthew 6:34-end ; Matthew 7:1-12 [Arabic]
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matins
Psalm
Psalm 18:1-2 [Arabic]
I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Gospel
Matthew 7:22-29 [Arabic]
Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Liturgy
Pauline Epistle
Romans 13:1-14 [Arabic]
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Catholic Epistle
James 1:13-21 [Arabic]
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Acts
Acts 21:40-end ; Acts 22:1-16 [Arabic]
So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,
"Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now." And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent.
Then he said: "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.
"Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' So I answered, "Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'
"And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So I said, "What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, "Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.' And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
"Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, "Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, "The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'
Synaxarium
• The Departure of St. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch.
1. The Departure of St. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch.
On this day of the year 330 A.D., St. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch, departed in exile. He was enthroned Patriarch of Antioch during the reign of the righteous Emperor Constantine the Great. He was righteous and well learned. He attended the Nicene Council, and the fathers gathered there agreed on excommunicating Arius and exiling him and all those who believed in his teachings. Those were Eusabius the Nicomedian; Thaoghonius, Bishop of Nicea; and Eusabius, Bishop of Caesarea.
After the council was concluded and the fathers went back to their parishes, those who were excommunicated pretended that they wished to go to Jerusalem, but instead they went to Antioch. There, they enticed a harlot with money and other things in order to accuse St. Eustathius the Patriarch that he fathered a child from her. She took the money and went to the church and said as they had instructed her. They pretended to disbelieve her and said, "Bring forth your proof if you are truthful in what you are saying. We will not accept your statement unless you swear on the Bible that what you claim against this father is true." She swore to them and they replied, "We do not need any more proof."
They condemned St. Eustathius and judged to strip him from his episcopal rank. They informed Emperor Constantine saying: "A council of clerics judged to remove Fr. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch, from his office". The Emperor believed their unfounded judgement, and he deposed and banished St. Eustathius to Thrace where the saint remained until his departure.
The Lord God, Who loves His holy servants, did not neglect to reveal the truth. The woman became ill with a debilitating long illness and suffered great pain. She realized that her suffering was a punishment for her false accusation against the Saint. She came and confessed before the people of the city that the charge she had brought against St. Eustathius the patriarch was untrue. She pointed at those who bribed her with money to lie. She indicated that the Patriarch was innocent and that the child was born to another man whose name was the same as the Patriarch. They convinced her to swear against the Saint but at the same time to mean in heart her friend who was the father of the child, to be saved from falsely swearing.
The priests resumed mentioning the name of St. Eustathius in the divine liturgy after his innocence was evident. He was eulogized and praised by St. John Chrysostom (of the Golden Mouth) on the day of his commemoration.
His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Psalm
Psalm 24:1 ; Psalm 24:2 ; Psalm 24:4 [Arabic]
To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Gospel
Matthew 6:19-30 [Arabic]
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
"Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or "What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Daily Readings:
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: Great Lent, The Departure of St. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch.
Readings for Sunday of the first week of Great Lent
[ Next Day's Readings ]
Vespers
Psalm
Psalm 16:1-2 [Arabic]
Hear a just cause, O LORD,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
Gospel
Matthew 6:34-end ; Matthew 7:1-12 [Arabic]
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matins
Psalm
Psalm 18:1-2 [Arabic]
I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Gospel
Matthew 7:22-29 [Arabic]
Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Liturgy
Pauline Epistle
Romans 13:1-14 [Arabic]
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Catholic Epistle
James 1:13-21 [Arabic]
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Acts
Acts 21:40-end ; Acts 22:1-16 [Arabic]
So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,
"Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now." And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent.
Then he said: "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.
"Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' So I answered, "Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'
"And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So I said, "What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, "Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.' And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
"Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, "Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, "The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'
Synaxarium
• The Departure of St. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch.
1. The Departure of St. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch.
On this day of the year 330 A.D., St. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch, departed in exile. He was enthroned Patriarch of Antioch during the reign of the righteous Emperor Constantine the Great. He was righteous and well learned. He attended the Nicene Council, and the fathers gathered there agreed on excommunicating Arius and exiling him and all those who believed in his teachings. Those were Eusabius the Nicomedian; Thaoghonius, Bishop of Nicea; and Eusabius, Bishop of Caesarea.
After the council was concluded and the fathers went back to their parishes, those who were excommunicated pretended that they wished to go to Jerusalem, but instead they went to Antioch. There, they enticed a harlot with money and other things in order to accuse St. Eustathius the Patriarch that he fathered a child from her. She took the money and went to the church and said as they had instructed her. They pretended to disbelieve her and said, "Bring forth your proof if you are truthful in what you are saying. We will not accept your statement unless you swear on the Bible that what you claim against this father is true." She swore to them and they replied, "We do not need any more proof."
They condemned St. Eustathius and judged to strip him from his episcopal rank. They informed Emperor Constantine saying: "A council of clerics judged to remove Fr. Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch, from his office". The Emperor believed their unfounded judgement, and he deposed and banished St. Eustathius to Thrace where the saint remained until his departure.
The Lord God, Who loves His holy servants, did not neglect to reveal the truth. The woman became ill with a debilitating long illness and suffered great pain. She realized that her suffering was a punishment for her false accusation against the Saint. She came and confessed before the people of the city that the charge she had brought against St. Eustathius the patriarch was untrue. She pointed at those who bribed her with money to lie. She indicated that the Patriarch was innocent and that the child was born to another man whose name was the same as the Patriarch. They convinced her to swear against the Saint but at the same time to mean in heart her friend who was the father of the child, to be saved from falsely swearing.
The priests resumed mentioning the name of St. Eustathius in the divine liturgy after his innocence was evident. He was eulogized and praised by St. John Chrysostom (of the Golden Mouth) on the day of his commemoration.
His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Psalm
Psalm 24:1 ; Psalm 24:2 ; Psalm 24:4 [Arabic]
To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
Gospel
Matthew 6:19-30 [Arabic]
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
"Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or "What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
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