Thursday, March 31, 2011

Bulgarian Orthodox Church (БЪЛГАРСКА ПРАВОСЛАВНА ЦЪРКВА) Readings For Friday, 1 April

From:  http://www.bg-patriarshia.bg/ and orthodoxlife.info

Reading for the Day:


Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated:  The 4-th week of the Great Lent, Adoration of Cross, Tone three
Great Lent. Martyrs Chrysanthus and Daria, and those with them at Rome: Claudius, Hilaria, Jason, Maurus, Diodorus presbyter, and Marianus deacon (283). St. Sophia of Slutsk and Minsk (1612). St. John confessor (1932). New Hieromartyr archbishop Macarius (Vasiliev). St. Innocent of Komel (Vologda), disciple of St. Nilus of Sora (1521). Martyr Pancharius at Nicomedia (302). Martyr Dimitri of Tornada (564). St. Bassa, nun, of Pskov (1473). The Smolensk "Tenderness" Icon of the Mother of God (1103). New Martyr Demetrius at Constantinople (1564) (Greek). Righteous Mary, wife of Vsevelod III (1206). New Martyr Nicholas of Karamanos in Smyrna (1657).




НАЧАЛО


април 2011, петък


Преп. Мария Египетска. Св. мчк Аврамий Български (Прежд. лит.) (Вечерта Малко повечерие с Богородичен акатист ­ IV статия)

Св. Климент Охридски


КРЪСТОПОКЛОННА НЕДЕЛЯ

(3 Неделя на Великия пост)



angelskrust.JPG
 
Като преполовихме сега тези свети постни дни, нека се възрадваме духовно, покланяйки се на честния Кръст, и като се насладихме на него, нека се подвизаваме и през останалите дни до Христовите страдания, очиствайки телата си и просветлявайки душите си с усърдни молитви, за да достигнем чисти до Възкресението Господне.


Ето, нашият Господ Бог ни призовава към светла радост, запазвайки небесни венци за тези, които са гладували и жадували заради Него, и за пребиваващите в бодърстване и в духовен подвиг. Не трябва да се лишаваме през време на този свят пост от неизказаната радост и от нетленните венци поради сластолюбие и леност. Това, с което ние наслаждаваме гърлото си за кратко време, после се оказва по-горчиво от жлъчка. За да ни предпази от това, апостол Павел казва: „Да не ви съблазнява дяволът с ядене и пиене до пресищане". Той е казал още: „Не се опитвайте с вино, понеже в него няма спасение". И Сам Господ ни забранява това с думите: „Внимавайте над себе си, да не би сърцата ви да бъдат отегчавани с преяждане, пиянство и житейски грижи". И светите отци ни предпазват от това, казвайки:  „Ако вчера си бил любител на изобилни трапези, то днес се прояви като силен постник; ако вчера си бил плътоугодник, днес се прояви като украсител на душата си!"



Братя, не трябва само на думи да бъдем християни, но да покажем и добри дела, за да не ни каже Господ Бог: „Тези люде Ме почитат само с устата си, а сърцата им стоят далеч от Мене".  Наистина, така ви виждаме. Нали ако някое писмо от земен княз дойде до подвластните му граждани, всички идват със страх и изслушват тези думи и като ги чуят, изпълняват  заповяданото от княза? Макар Бог да ни зове всеки ден при Себе Си чрез пророците апостолите и светите отци, и дори със Своите уста чрез светото Евангелие ни призовава към неугасващата светлина, към безкрайната радост и в небесното царство, което Той е приготвил за изпълняващите Неговата воля, все пак няма кой да послуша и да прибегне при Него, няма кой да изпълнява волята Му.



Виждате ли, братя, Божията любов към нас: Бог не претърпя да гледа как ние човеците сме се поробили на дявола, принасяйки приношение на бездушните кумири. И наистина сърцата им бяха тъй заслепени от дявола, та едни принасяха в жертва на кумирите своите синове, а други - своите дъщери.   Като не търпеше всичко това, нашият Господ Бог дойде на земята, за да освети с Божията благодат човеците и да ги възведе отново на небето. Заради това Той се кръсти, давайки ни образец на кръщението. И ето, Той пак подновява кръщението чрез този
свят пост - каквото сме съгрешили пред кръщението си, чрез пост да се очистим. Затова, като се препашем здраво с въздържанието, нека се подвизаваме, след като преполовихме тези постни дни. Ако ли пък сте ги прекарали в леност, то поне отсега нататък ги завършете богоугодно. Нека не ви бъде тежко да идвате в църквата за Божието дело; да слушате в нея Светото Писание и да правите добро, за да се освети душата ви и да се опази тялото ви чрез Бога.Братя, като стоите в храма, не разговаряйте нищо и с никого, за да не изгубите своята награда;защото оня, който без страх разговаря храма с другиго, доставя радост на дявола. От следния пример разберете. Когато човеците застанат пред земен цар, никой не се осмелява да каже празна дума, нито да гледа с очите си другаде, нито да се докосва до него. Та ако ние почитаме и се боим от земните които са също такива смъртни човеци като нас, не трябва Го прославяме със страх и трепет! Нека разберем църковната служба - кое е по-смайващо от това: да видиш Божия Син принасян в жертва заради тебе, превръщащ хляба в Свое Тяло и проливащ Своята Кръв за опрощаване на греховете ти? Затова нека пристъпим със страх към светите Тайни и да ги приемем с чиста уста и с открито сърце. Нека премахнем всякаква вражда и така да достигнем до светлото Възкресение Христово и да се насладим на тази радост. Нека отсега нататък спазваме чисти тези свети постни дни и нека не ви бъде тежко да служите на Бога.Подканвам ви с обич към добър подвиг, та при възкресението да чуем оня свят глас на нашия Господ Бог,призоваващ праведните с думите: „Дойдете вие, благословените на Моя Отец, наследете царството, приготвено за вас" - чрез Иисуса Христа, нашия Господ, на Когото да бъде слава во веки. Амин!




Из „Св. Климент Охридски, Слова и поучения"



Синодално издателство, С., 1970





Byzantine Catholic Orthodox Church Daily Readings For Thursday, 31 March

From byzcath.org, rongolini.com, biblegateway.com:

Daily Readings:
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Great Lent


Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated:  Great Lent


Scriptural Readings:

Isaiah 28:14-22


Isaiah 28:14-22 (King James Version)




14Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.



15Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:



16Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.



17Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.



18And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.



19From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.



20For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.



21For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.



22Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.







Genesis 10:32-11:9

Genesis 10:32-12:9 (King James Version)




32These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.



Genesis 11

1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.



2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.



3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.



4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.



5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.



6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.



7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.



8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.



9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.



10These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:



11And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.



12And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:



13And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.



14And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:



15And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.



16And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:



17And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.



18And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:



19And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.



20And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:



21And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.



22And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:



23And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.



24And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:



25And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.



26And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.



27Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.



28And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.



29And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.



30But Sarai was barren; she had no child.



31And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.



32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.



Genesis 12

1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:



2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:



3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.



4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.



5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.



6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.



7And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.



8And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.



9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.







Proverbs 13:20-14:6

Proverbs 13:20-14:6 (King James Version)




20He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.



21Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.



22A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.



23Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.



24He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.



25The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.



Proverbs 14

1Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.



2He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.



3In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.



4Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.



5A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.



6A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
**************************************************************

DIVINE LITURGY


of





St. John Chrysostom

(According to the Byzantine Rite of the Catholic Church)



From approved ecclesiastical sources.



New Revised Liturgy







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THE MASS

"The Holy Mass [The Divine Liturgy] is a prayer itself, even the highest prayer that exists. It is the Sacrifice, dedicated by our Redeemer at the Cross, and repeated every day on the Altar. If you wish to hear Mass as it should be heard, you must follow with eye, heart, and mouth all that happens at the Altar. Further, you must pray with the Priest the holy words said by him, in the Name of Christ and which Christ says by him. You have to associate your heart with the holy feelings which are contained in these words and in this manner you ought to follow all that happens on the Altar. When acting in this way you have prayed Holy Mass."



-- His Holiness, Pope Saint Pius X







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DIVINE LITURGY



of

St. John Chrysostom



MASS OF THE CATECHUMENS

In the Byzantine Rite of the Catholic Church, the bread and wine used for the Divine Liturgy (The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass) are prepared by the priest at a small table located on the left side of the Altar (The Table of Preparation). After he has completed this rite (called Proskomedia) the priest leaves the prepared chalice and paten on the Table of Preparation and goes to the Altar to begin the Divine Liturgy.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



(CONGREGATION STANDS)



The priest kisses the Holy Gospel on the Altar and then makes the sign of the cross over the Altar with the Gospel Book, and begins:



PRIEST: Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever.



PEOPLE: Amen.







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DURING EASTERTIDE ONLY

Priest & People: Christ is risen from the dead, conquering death by death, and to those in the tombs, bestowing life. (3 Times).







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



( CONGREGATION SITS )





LITANY OF PEACE

PRIEST: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: For peace from on high, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: For peace in the whole world, for the well-being of the holy Churches of Cod and for the union of all, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: For this holy church and for all who enter it with faith, reverence and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: For our holy universal Supreme Pontiff N . . ., the Pope of Rome, for our most Reverend Archbishop and Metropolitan N . . . , for our God-loving Bishop N . . ., for the venerable priesthood, the diaconate in Christ, for all clergy and the people, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: For our civil authorities and all our armed forces, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: For this city (or: for this village, or: for this holy monastery), for every city, country, and for all-living therein with faith, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: For good weather, for an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: For those who travel by sea, air, and land, for the sick, the suffering, the captive, and for their safety and salvation, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



(Special intentions are added at this time.)







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REQUIEM LITURGY ONLY

Priest: For the servant of God (or servants of God) N. . ., and for his (her, their) blessed memory, and that his (her, their) every transgression, voluntary and involuntary, be forgiven, let us pray to the Lord.



People: Lord, have mercy.



Priest: That he (she, they) may stand uncondemned before the dread tribunal of Christ, and that his (her, their) soul (s) may be included in the realm of the living, in the place of light, where all the saints and righteous repose, let us pray to the Lord.



People: Lord, have mercy.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



PRIEST: That we may be delivered from all affliction, wrath, and need, let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: Help, save, have mercy and protect us, O God, by Your grace.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: Remembering our most holy, most pure, most-blessed and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and ever-Virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another, and our whole life, to Christ, our God.



PEOPLE: To You, O Lord.



Priest (silently): Lord our God. Whose might is beyond utterance. and glory is incomprehensible, Whose mercy is measureless, and love of man is ineffable: Yourself O Master, look down with Your mercy upon us, and upon this holy house, and grant to us, and to those who pray with us, the riches of Your mercy, and of Your compassion.



PRIEST: For to You is due all glory and honor and worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever.



PEOPLE: Amen.







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SUNDAYS

PEOPLE: Cry out with joy to God all the earth, O sing to the glory of His name, O render Him glorious praise.



Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Savior, save us.



Say to God: How Tremendous Your deeds! Because of the greatness of Your strength Your enemies cringe before You.



Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Savior, save us.



Before You all the earth shall bow; shall sing to You, sing to Your name, O Most High!



Through the prayers of the Mother of God O Savior, save us.







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WEEK-DAYS

PEOPLE: It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to make music to Your Name, O Most High.



Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Savior, save us.



To proclaim Your love in the morning and Your truth in the watches of the night.



Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Savior, save us.



To proclaim that the Lord is just. In Him there is no wrong.



Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Savior, save us.







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HYMN OF THE INCARNATION

( CONGREGATION STANDS )

PEOPLE: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen.





( O Only-Begotten Son )

PEOPLE: O Only-Begotten Son and Word of God, Who, being immortal, deigned for our salvation to become incarnate of the Holy Mother of God and ever-Virgin Mary, and became man without change. You were also crucified, O Christ, our God, and by death have trampled death, being one of the Holy Trinity, and glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us.



PRIEST: Again and again in peace let us pray to the Lord.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: Help, save, have mercy and protect us, O God, by Your grace.



PEOPLE: Lord, have mercy.



PRIEST: Remembering our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and ever-Virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another, and our whole life, to Christ, our God.



PEOPLE: To You, O Lord.



Priest (silently): You, Who promised to grant the petitions of two or three united together in Your name, have given us to offer these prayers with a single and united voice; also hear now the requests of Your servants for their benefit, giving us the knowledge of Your truth in the present time and granting life eternal in the age to come.



PRIEST: For You are a good God and lover of mankind, and to You we give glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever.



PEOPLE: Amen.



Come, let us rejoice in the Lord; let us sing joy fully to God our Savior.







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SUNDAYS

PEOPLE: O Son of God, risen from the dead, save us who sing to You. Alleluia.



Let us come before Him, giving thanks with songs let us hail the Lord.



O Son of God, risen from the dead, save us who sing to You. Alleluia.



A mighty God is the Lord, and a great king over all the earth.



O Son of God, risen from the dead, save us who sing to You. Alleluia.







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WEEK-DAYS

PEOPLE: O Son of God, wondrous in Your saints, save us who sing to You. Alleluia.



Let us come before Him, giving thanks with songs let us hail the Lord.



O Son of God, wondrous in Your saints save us who sing to You. Alleluia.



A mighty God is the Lord, and a great king over all the earth.



O Son of God, wondrous in Your saints, save us who sing to You. Alleluia.

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Daily Readings For Thursday, 31 March (22 Makawit 2003))

From:  kidusmarkos.org, ethiopiantewahedo.org, ninesaintsethiopianorthodoxmonastery.org:

Daily Readings and Prayers:
Week One, Day Five
The Fifth Day


Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated:  Great Lent, St. Deqsius, On this day our Lord Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem and went about it amid “Hosannas,” in order that what each of the prophets in his time had prophesied concerning Him might be fulfilled, And on this day also died the holy father and spiritual man Abba Cyril, Bishop of the city of Jerusalem,




Daily Hymn of Praise to Mariam:

Hymn of Praise of the Virgin Mariam)




(E) Fifth Day of The Week - Thursday







1. The Bush which Moses saw in flaming fire in the desert,



the wood of which was not consumed, is a similitude of Mariam, the Virgin who was spotless. The word of the Father became incarnate of her, and the fire of His God- head did not consume the Virgin, and after she had brought Him forth, her virginity was maintained, and His God-head was unchanged. Our God, Who verily id God, became a man; He came and delivered us.



O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM PRAY FOR US.



2. We all magnify Thee, O our Lady, the God-bearer, that Thy compassion may be over us all. The Virgin Mariam, the God-bearer, hath became the object of the boast of us all, because through her was destroyed the curse of olden time, which rested upon our race, through her wickedness which the woman committed (when) she ate (of the tree),



Through Eve was the door of the garden shut fast, and because of Mariam the Virgin it has been opened to us again. It is allotted to us to eat of the tree of life, that is to say, the body of Kristos and his precious blood. Because of His love for us He came and delivered us. What understanding and what language, and what hearing is able to comprehend this mystery, which must be proclaimed to be wonderful, "God is the Lover of men"? One is He alone, The word of the Father, who existed before the world in His



incorruptible Godhead, from One, the Father. The Only begotton Son came and was incarnate of the Holy woman, His mother, and after she brought Him forth, her virginity perished not, and because of this, it became manifest that she was the Bearer of God.



O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM PRAY FOR US.







3. O deep is the richness of the wisdom of God ! The womb which He decreed should bring forth children in pain, and suffering and sorrow of heart, has become the fountain of life, and has brought forth without seed of man Him Who removed the curse from our race. Ans for this reason we will praise Him saying "Glory be to Thee, O Thou Good Friend of man, the Redeemer of our souls." We will magnify Thee. O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM PRAY FOR US.







O how wonderful and might in power was the womb of the Virgin, which brought forth God without seed ! And for this the Angel who appeared unto Joseph was a witness when he spoke, saying "That which shall be born of her is of Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1:20). It was the Word of God Who became incarnate without change.



Mariam brought Him forth a second time, and Gabriel rejoiced and said unto her, "thou shall bring forth a Son and shall call His name Emmanuel, which is being interpreted, God with us. And moreover, He shall be called Eeyesus, Who shall save His people from their sins." Matt 1: 20-24



And may He save us also by His power, and forgive our sins because we have known in truth that He is the God Who became man. Praise be unto Him for ever and ever.



O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM PRAY FOR US.


O how wonderful is the birth of God by Mariam, the Holy Virgin ! She completed the Word of the Father; seed did not precede His birth, and her virginity was not destroyed by His birth. The Word went forth from the Father without weariness and was born of the Virgin without the suffering (or pain). The wise men woshiped Him, and brought unto Him incense became He was Holy, and gold because He was the King, and myrrh, which was given for His death which gave life (unto men). And for our sakes He accepted (death) of His own free will. He alone is the Good Being and Lover of men. We will magnify Thee.




O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM PRAY FOR US.







4. O how wonderful ! He took a rib from the side of Adam, and fashioned from it a woman, and the whole creation of the children of men was given to God, the Word of the Father, Who was incarnate of the Holy Virgin, and is called Emmanuel. And because of this we beseech her at all times to strive on our behalf with her beloved Son for thr forgiveness of our sins. She was beneficent towards all the saints and the high priests, for she brought to the Prophets Him concerning Whom they had prophesied, and she brought forth to the Apostles Him in Whose Name they were to preach in all the ends of the world, and from her went forth for the martyrs and believers, Him for Whom they were to fight, Eeyesus Kristos.



The richness of the grace of His wisdom cannot be fathomed. We will seek after the greatness of His compassion, for He came and delivered us. We will magnify Thee. O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM PRAY FOR US.







5. God swore unto David in rightousness, and He will not repent, "Of the fruit of the belly, I will seat upon Thy throne". (II Samuel 7:12; Psalm 132:11). And when that rightous man received it from Him, that Kristos should be born in the flesh, he wished to seek out and to prepare a dwelling place for God, the Word of the Father.And He completed it with great effort and then He cried out in the Holy Spirit and said, "Behold, we have heard it in Efrata and the dwelling-place of the God of Jacob, which in Bethlehem, in which Emmanuel has chosen to be born in the flesh for our salvation" (compare Psalm



O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM PRAY FOR US.







6. And also another of the Prophets had said it; "And as for thee,O Bethlehem of the land of Efrata, thou shalt not be the least of the Kings of Judah, for from thee shall go forth a King Who shall rule my people Israel" (Micah 5: 2).



O how wonderful is the word of those who prophesied concerning Christ in one Spirit, to Whom be glory, together with the Good Father and the Holy Spirit, from now and forever, We will magnify thee. O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM







When evil men revolted against David who reigned over Israel, he wished to drink, his men break through and waged war in the camp of the rebels, and brought unto him that water which he wished to drink. And when the righteous man saw that they had willingly delivered


themselves over to the slaughter for his sake, he poured out the water (2 Samuels 23: 13-17; 1Chron. 11: 18-19). And when the righteousness was accounted unto him




forever. And verily in like manner, have the martyrs rejected the desire of this world, and poured out their blood for God, and have endured bitter deaths for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Have compassion upon us according to the greatness of Thy compassion. We will magnify thee. O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM PRAY FOR US.







4. One of the Holy Trinity saw our law estate, bowed the heaven of heavens, came and dwelth in the womb of the Virgin, and became a man like unto us, with the exception of sin alone. And He was born in Bethlehem, according to what the Prophet preached, He delivered us, and redeemed us, and made us His own people for ever and ever. O HOLY VIRGIN MARIAM PRAY FOR US.
 
 
 
Scriptural Readings:



The Fifth Day



 
Morning Prayer




In the name of the Father and the Son…



Opening Prayer



God our Almighty Father, who are the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the creator of the day and the night. We ask you in prayer to bless this new day for our daily task through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Our Father…



Psalm 24: 1- end



24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 24:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. 24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 24:5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 24:6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek your face, O Jacob. Selah. 24:7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 24:8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 24:9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 24:10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…



Psalm 25: 1 - 22



25:1 To thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 25:2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. 25:3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. 25:4 Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 25:5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me: for you are the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. 25:6 Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and your loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to your mercy remember me for your goodness' sake, O Lord. 25:8 Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 25:10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to those that keep his covenant and his testimonies. 25:11 For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. 25:12 What man is he that fears the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. 25:13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. 25:14 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant. 25:15 Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. 25:16 Turn thee to me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. 25:17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. 25:18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. 25:19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. 25:20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee. 25:22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…



Psalm 26: 1 – 12



26:1 Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide. 26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. 26:3 For your loving-kindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in your truth. 26:4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 26:5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. 26:6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass your altar, O Lord: 26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all your wondrous works. 26:8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of your house, and the place where your honour dwells. 26:9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: 26:10 In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. 26:11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful to me. 26:12 My foot stands in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…



Scripture Reading



1st Reading




Tobit 4:15-19



4:15 Do that to no man which thou hates: drink not wine to make thee drunken: neither let drunkenness go with thee in your journey. 4:16 Give of your bread to the hungry, and of your garments to them that are naked; and according to your abundance give alms: and let not your eye be envious, when you give alms. 4:17 Pour out your bread on the burial of the just, but give nothing to the wicked. 4:18 Ask counsel of all that are wise, and despise not any counsel that is profitable. 4:19 Bless the Lord your God always, and desire of him that your ways may be directed, and that all your paths and counsels may prosper: forevery nation hath not counsel; but the Lord himself gives all good things, and he humbles whom he will, as he will; now therefore, my son, remember my commandments, neither let them be put out of your mind. He who receives the prophet in the name of the prophet shall receive the prophet reward.



2nd Reading



2 Thessalonians 3: 10b – 13



3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle shall receive the Apostle’s reward. Amen



3rd Reading (Chant)



Psalm 67: 1 – 2



67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. 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 every one 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 ask 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 you wish that men should do to you, do so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Heaven and earth…



Concluding Prayer,



Almighty, ever-living God, we ask, seek and knock in prayer your support, mercy and your Fatherly love. Grant us all our daily need this day and every day. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our Father


 
Day 5



 
Evening Prayer




In the name of the father and the son…



Opening Prayer



Lord God, true light, giver of light, source of light and Creator of light, grant that faithful pondering on all that is holy, we may ever live in the splendour of your presence. We make our morning prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son. Amen. Our Father…



Psalm 27: 1 – end



27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 27:2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 27:3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. 27:4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. 27:6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises to the Lord. 27:7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 27:8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said to thee, Your face, Lord, will I seek. 27:9 Hide not your face far from me; put not your servant away in anger: you have been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. 27:11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. 27:12 Deliver me not over to the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 27:13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…



Psalm 28: 1 – end



28:1 To thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 28:2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry to thee, when I lift up my hands toward your holy oracle. 28:3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. 28:4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. 28:5 Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up. 28:6 Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise him. 28:8 The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. 28:9 Save your people, and bless your inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up forever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning…



Psalm 29: 1 – end



29:1 Give to the Lord, O ye mighty, give to the Lord glory and strength. 29:2 Give to the Lord the glory due to his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 29:3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thunders: the Lord is upon many waters. 29:4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 29:5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; yea, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 29:6 He makes them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. 29:7 The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire. 29:8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 29:9 The voice of the Lord makes the hinds to calve, and discovers the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. 29:10 The Lord sits upon the flood; yea, the Lord sits King forever. 29:11 The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. 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 33: 13 – 16



33:13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. He who receives the prophet by the name of the prophet shall receive the prophet reward.



2nd Reading



Colossians 1: 9 – 11



1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord to all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, to all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; He who receives the Apostle by the name of the Apostle shall receive the Apostle’s reward. Amen



3rd Reading (Chant)



Psalm 18: 1 – 2



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. Halleluiah! Stand and harken to the Holy Gospel, the message of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.



4th Reading



The Gospel of St. Mark 14: 32 – 42



14:32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he takes with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith to them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful to death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and finds them sleeping, and saith to Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spoke the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith to them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrays me is at hand. He who receives the saint” by the name of the saint, shall receive the saint’s reward. Or Heaven and Earth…



Concluding Prayer



Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world through your suffering: We ask you in our prayer to grant us your grace, and accept our prayer and work of this day, and give us the rest we need. Amen. Our Father…




The Synaxarium:

THE SEVENTH MONTH


MEGABIT 22

(March 31)



IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT,

ONE GOD. AMEN.



On this day our Lord Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem and went about it amid “Hosannas,” in order that what each of the prophets in his time had prophesied concerning Him might be fulfilled. Jacob said concerning Judah his son, who is likened unto our Lord Christ, “He shall bind His foal to the olive tree and his ass’s colt unto the branches of the vine” (Genesis xlix, II). And Zechariah also saith, “Fear thou not, O daughter of Zion, behold thy king cometh riding upon the foal of an ass” (Zachariah ix, 9). And Isaiah saith, “Thy king shall come, the righteous one, whose reward is with him (Isaiah lxii, II), and whose work is before his face; he cometh riding upon the foal of an ass.” And Abraham himself called this festival the “festival of the God [of] joy” when he went round the altar bearing young branches of the palm. And David said, “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast prepared praise” (Psalm viii, 2). And Solomon saith, “The tongues of children (or babes) ordain righteousness.” And he also saith, “And old men and children shall play in the streets of Jerusalem, and they all shall have their staves in their hands.” And one shall say, (Zechariah viii, 4, 5) “Make broad thy nails and drape thy tabernacles.” Now as to the conclusion of the matter; our Lord Jesus came to Jerusalem riding upon an ass, even as it is written in the Gospel. And He drew nigh to Jerusalem, opposite to Bethpage and Bethany, by the mountain which is called ‘Elyon. And He sent two of His disciples and said unto them, “Go ye into the city in front of you, and when ye come in ye shall find an ass tied whereon never man hath ridden; loose him and bring him hither. And if any shall say unto you, ‘Why are ye loosing him?’ say ye, ‘His Lord hath need of him.’” When those who were sent had gone there they found it [to be] even as He said unto them; and they loosed the ass. And whilst they were loosing the ass the owner thereof said unto them, “Why are ye loosing him?” And they said unto him, “His Lord hath need of him” (Matthew xxi, II, III). And they took the ass, and brought him to our Lord Jesus, and they spread their garments upon him, and they mounted our Lord upon him. And there were many who strewed branches of trees which they had cut off the trees, and many who strewed their apparel on the road on which He went, and those who followed Him cried out, saying, “Hosanna in the heights! Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name of the Lord, and blessed is the kingdom which cometh in the Name of the Lord which our father David [prophesied]. Hosanna in the highest.” And our Lord Jesus went into the sanctuary, and everyone saw Him. And when the evening was come He went into Bethany with His twelve disciples. On the following day He went forth from Bethany, and He was a hungered. And he saw a fig tree afar off and there were leaves upon it, and He went to see if He could find any fruit on it. And having come to the tree He found on it nothing but leaves, for it was not the time of the year for figs, and He answered and said unto the fig tree, “Never shall any man eat fruit from thee”; and His disciples heard Him. And He came to Jerusalem and went into the sanctuary, and He began to drive out those who bought and those who sold in the temple, and He overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats (or, stands) of those who sold doves, and He stopped everyone from taking out goods connected with the temple. And He taught them and said unto them, “Is it not written that He said, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations, and ye have made it a den of thieves’?” (Matthew xxi, 13). And John saith, “After He raised up Lazarus, on the following day, when the many people who had come to the feast, heard that our Lord Jesus Christ had come to Jerusalem, they took branches of trees and palm branches from Jerusalem and welcomed Him. And having gone forth they cried out and said, ‘Hosanna in the heights! Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel.’ And our Lord Jesus found the ass, and He mounted him, even as it is written, ‘Fear not, O daughter of Zion, behold thy King cometh riding upon the foal of an ass.’ And His disciples did not know when our Lord Jesus Christ was praised that all this had been [ordained] of old, but they remembered [afterwards] that these words were written thus concerning Him, and that because of this the people had done as they did. And those people who were there with Him were witnesses that He had summoned Lazarus form the grave, and had raised him up from the dead. Therefore those people having heard that He had worked miracles, and especially the miracle of the raising of Lazarus, welcomed Him. And the Pharisees said among themselves, ‘Do ye now see that nothing whatsoever will avail? Behold, all the world followeth Him.’” Matthew and Mark do not (sic) mention the matter of the palm branches, but they say, “And others cut down branches from the trees and strewed them in the way.” And Luke mentioneth neither the branches of trees nor the palm branches, but he saith, “And as they went along they strewed their garments on the road.” It is John only who saith, “They took branches of palms from Jerusalem”; now there were no palm trees in Jerusalem. When our Lord was a child He went down into the land of Egypt with His mother, our Lady Saint Mary; and they found there palms. And our Lord commanded that some of their roots should be pulled up and planted on the Mount of Olives, and forthwith the roots of the palms flew through the air, and planted themselves there. From these palms the people took branches and welcomed our Lord Jesus Christ amid Hosannas, and thereupon envy seized the Jewish people and because of it they sought to kill our Lord Jesus Christ.



Salutation to the going up of Christ to Jerusalem, and to His entry therein.



And on this day also died the holy father and spiritual man Abba Cyril, Bishop of the city of Jerusalem. This holy father grew up under the teaching of the Church, and he was an exceedingly learned teacher. When Maximus, Bishop of Jerusalem, died, the people chose this father and appointed him to be his successor, and he shepherded his people well and carefully, and he protected them from the abominable and heretical wolves. And when the bishops were assembled in Council in Sedreke, this father came and disputed with the followers of Arius, and he defeated them. And he scattered them and drove them away, and he chased Acacius from his throne of the city of Caesarea. And Acacius went to Constantine the emperor, the son of Constantine the Great, and he complained to him about what had come upon him through the Council, and especially about what he had suffered from Cyril. And the emperor sent and exiled this Cyril from the city of Jerusalem, and he drove many bishops from their thrones. And this holy man went to the city of Tarsis, and he visited Sylvanus, bishop of that city, who helped him and made him stay a few days with him. And when the Council assembled in Lukaya, this father was one of those who were present thereat, and he cursed Akayyos (Achaeus). And Akayyos (Achaeus) also went to the emperor, and told him what had befallen him, and he made accusations against this holy father Abba Cyril to the emperor, who sent and again exiled him. When Constantine died, and his son Constantine reigned, he sent and brought back this father from exile to his throne, and he also brought back all those bishops whom his father had exiled. And this father lived for the remainder of his days in peace and quietness. When Theodosius the Great reigned, and a Council of One Hundred and Fifty Bishops were assembled in Constantinople, on account of Macedonius, and Sabellius, and Apollinarius, this father came and cursed all those who followed them. And he added to the prayer of the Faith which the Three Hundred and Eighteen Orthodox Fathers had drawn up from the place where it saith, “And we believe in the Holy Spirit” to the end thereof. And this father composed many Homilies and Exhortations, and he composed also a second book which contained eighteen Homilies on the translation of the prayer of the Faith (i.e. Creed), and this book is exceedingly profitable, and is full of all kinds of wisdom. And he sat on the Episcopal throne three and thirty years, and died in peace.



Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. Amen.

Episcopalian Church Daily And Commemmorative Readings For Thursday, 31 March

From forewardmovement.org, wapedia.com, satucket.com and oremus.org:

Daily Readings:


Saints/Martyrs/Heroes/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated:  Lent

JOHN DONNE


Priest, Poet, and Preacher (31 March 1631)



“All mankind is one volume. When one man dies, one chapter is torn out of the book and translated into a better language. And every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators. Some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. But God's hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to another.”

Donne (rhymes with “sun”) was born in 1573 (his father died in 1576) into a Roman Catholic family, and from 1584 to 1594 was educated at Oxford and Cambridge and Lincoln's Inn (this last a highly regarded law school). He became an Anglican (probably around 1594) and aimed at a career in government. He joined with Raleigh and Essex in raids on Cadiz and the Azores, and became private secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton. But in 1601 he secretly married Anne More, the 16-year-old niece of Egerton, and her enraged father had Donne imprisoned. The years following were years of poverty, debt, illness, and frustration. In 1615 he was ordained, perhaps largely because he had given up hope of a career in Parliament.

From the above information, the reader might conclude that Donne's professed religious belief was mere opportunism. But the evidence of his poetry is that, long before his ordination, and probably beginning with his marriage, his thoughts were turned toward holiness, and he saw in his wife Anne (as Dante had earlier seen in Beatrice) a glimpse of the glory of God, and in human love a revelation of the nature of Divine Love. His poetry, mostly written before his ordination, includes poems both sacred and secular, full of wit, puns, paradoxes, and obscure allusions at whose meanings we can sometimes only guess, presenting amorous experience in religious terms and devotional experience in erotic terms, so that I have seen one poem of his both in a manual of devotion and in a pornography collection.

After his ordination, his reputation as a preacher grew steadily. From 1622 until his death he was Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and drew huge crowds to hear him, both at the Cathedral and at Paul's Cross, an outdoor pulpit nearby. His prose style is in some ways outdated, but his theme continues to fascinate: “the paradoxical and complex predicament of man as he both seeks and yet draws away from the inescapable claim of God on him.”



Various collections of his sermons (a ten-volume complete edition and a one-volume selection) have been published. Most anthologies of English poetry contain at least a few of his poems, and it is a poor college library that does not have a complete set of them. His friend Izaak Walton (author of The Compleat Angler) has written a biography.



Three poems and a portion of a meditation follow.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------







THREE POEMS BY JOHN DONNE



NOTES ON PRONUNCIATION: Since this is an international list, and not all listmembers are familiar with the traditional conventions of English poetry, a few explanations may be useful.

All of the poems that follow are written in iambic pentameter. That is, a line normally has ten syllables, with five stresses, which normally fall on the even-numbered syllables, although their position may vary (in particular, the stress on the second syllable is often transferred to the first).

A sonnet has fourteen lines: an octet of eight lines, followed by a sestet of six.

In some of these poems, Donne uses a convention that is a requirement of classical Latin poetry: the elision. If a word ends in a vowel (or diphthong) and the next word begins with one, the first vowel is omitted and the number of syllables in the line reduced by one. As an aid to the reader, I have inserted an “=” sign at each elision.

In modern English the “e” in the ending “-ed” of a verb is usually silent. Sometimes in older English it is sounded, creating an extra syllable. When this happens, I have capitalized the “-ED”



SONNET XIV



Batter my heart, three-personed God, for you

As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;

That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me= and bend

Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

I, like a usurped town to= another due,

Labor to= admit you, but oh, to no end;

Reason, your viceroy= in me, me should defend,

But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.



Yet dearly= I love you,= and would be lov-ED fain,

But am betrothed unto your enemy

Divorce me,= untie or break that knot again;

Take me to you, imprison me, for I

Except you= enthrall me, never shall be free,

Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.



SONNET X



Death, be not proud, though some have call-ED thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy picture be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow;

And soonest our best men with thee do go--

Rest of their bones and souls' delivery!



Thou= art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;

And poppy= or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke, Why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die!



HYMN TO GOD, MY GOD, IN MY SICKNESS



(Numbered footnotes below.)



Since I am coming to that holy room

Where, with thy choir of saints for evermore

I shall be made thy music, as I come

I tune the instrument here at the door,

And what I must do then, think here before.(1)



Whilst my physicians by their love are grown

Cosmographers(2), and I their map, who lie

Flat on this bed, that by them may be shown

That this is my southwest discovery,(3)

PER FRETUM FEBRIS,(4) by these straits to die,(5)



I joy that in these straits I see my west;

For though their currents yield return to none,

What shall my west hurt me? As west and east

In all flat maps (and I am one) are one,

So death doth touch the resurrection. (6)



Is the Pacific Sea my home? Or are

The eastern riches? Is Jerusalem?

Anyan,(7) and Magellan, and Gibraltar,(8)

All straits, and none but straits, are ways to them,(9)

Whether where Japhet dwelt, or Cham, or Shem.(10)



We think that Paradise, and Calvary,

Christ's cross, and Adam's tree, stood in one place;(11)

Look, Lord, and find both Adams met in me;

As the first Adam's sweat surrounds my face,

May the last Adam's blood my soul embrace.



So, in his purple wrapp'd receive me, Lord,

By these his thorns give me his other crown;

And as to others' souls I preached thy word,

Be this my text, my sermon to mine own:

“Therefore, that he may raise, the Lord throws down.”



NOTES:

(1) That is: “Since I am on the verge of death, let me prepare my thoughts.”

(2) Cosmography is the study of the basic structure and constitution of the world.

(3) “Southwest discovery” refers to the fact that from England one can reach the riches of the Orient by sailing southwest around South America through the Straits of Magellan, or northwest around North America through the Bering Straits, or southeast around Africa, or northeast around Norway and Siberia. One can also go east through the Straits of Gibraltar and then across land, either across the Isthmus of Suez and then again by sea to India or else by the Silk Road to China along the route of Marco Polo. Donne here speaks of the “southwest discovery,” the route taken by the explorer Magellan.

(4) “Per fretum febris,” by the wearing away of a fever (Latin). The explorer Magellan, who made the “southwest discovery,” died “per fretum febris” before he could complete his goal of sailing around the earth. Donne, at the time of this writing, is ill with a fever.

(5) “Strait” means “narrow, constricted, or tight” (as in “strait-laced,” referring to the extremely tight corsets that were once fashionable, and thence by analogy to someone considered to be inflexible in his behavior). It is not to be confused with “straight”, meaning “not crooked”. A strait is a narrow passage, a tight squeeze, especially a narrow sea passage connecting two larger bodies of water, and bounded closely on either side by land. The

word also refers, especially in the plural, to a situation of distress, deprivation, difficulty, perplexity, misfortune, or the like. (A man lost in the desert is said to be “in dire straits”.) Hence Donne, playing on the double meaning of the word “strait,” says that he is about to die of his present distress, meaning his fever and his illness.

(6) On a flat map of the whole world the far east (the rightmost edge of the map) and the far west (the leftmost edge of the map) are places that touch on a globe or in the real world.

(7) “Anyan” is another name for the Bering Straits.

(8) We place the stresses in this line as follows:

“AN-yan, and MA-gel-LAN, and GIB-ral-TAR”.

(9) No matter what desirable and fabled country is my destiny, I must sail through a narrow strait to reach it. The same is true of Heaven, which I shall reach by passing through the strait of death.

(10) The three sons of Noah were named Shem, Ham and Japheth. (The initial sound of “Ham,” or “Cham” is a throaty breathing as in the name “Bach.” Neither Greek nor Hebrew nor Latin has the sound of “ch” used in English words like “church,” and therefore a name in the Bible with a “CH” in it should always be pronounced in English with a “K” sound or a German “CH” sound, unless the name has been thoroughly assimilated into English (like “Rachel”, for example). The three sons are thought of as ancestors of the inhabitants of the thee continents known to the ancients: Asia, Africa, and Europe.

(11) A common Christian usage, going back to the Apostle Paul (see 1 Corinthians 15:20-22,45-49), is to contrast Adam and Christ, or to call Christ the new Adam. The old Adam is the beginning of the fallen and wounded race of humanity; the new Adam is the beginning of the restored and healed race. What Adam did, Christ has undone. Hence the common supposition in poetry that the Cross was cut from the wood of the Forbidden Tree that once stood in the Garden of Eden, and that the hill of Calvary (“Skull Hill”) where Christ was crucified was so called because that was where Adam was buried.







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------







MEDITATION 17, BY JOHN DONNE



NUNC LENTO SONITU DICUNT, MORIERIS



[Now this bell tolling softly for another, says to me, Thou must die.]



Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill as that he know not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me and see my state may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that.

The church is catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does, belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that body which is my head too, and ingrafted into that body whereof I am a member. And when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is of one author and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another.

As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come, so this bell calls us all; but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness.

There was a contention as far as a suit (in which piety and dignity, religion and estimation, were mingled) which of the religious orders should ring to prayers first in the morning; and it was determined that they should ring first that rose earliest. If we understand aright the dignity of this bell that tolls for our evening prayer, we would be glad to make it ours by rising early, in that application, that it might be ours as well as his whose indeed it is. The bell doth toll for him that thinks it doth; and though it intermit again, yet from that minute that that occasion wrought upon him, he is united to God. Who casts not up his eye to the sun when it rises? but who takes off his eye from a comet when that breaks out? Who bends not his ear to any bell which upon any occasion rings? but who can remove it from that bell which is passing a piece of himself out of this world?

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Neither can we call this a begging of misery or a borrowing of misery, as though we were not miserable enough of ourselves but must fetch in more from the next house, in taking upon us the misery of our neighbors. Truly it were an excusable covetousness if we did; for affliction is a treasure, and scarcely any man hath enough of it. No man hath affliction enough that is not matured and ripened by it and made fit for God by that affliction. If a man carry treasure in bullion, or in a wedge of gold, and have none coined into current money, his treasure will not defray him as he travels. Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it, except we get nearer and nearer our home, heaven, by it. Another man may be sick too, and sick unto death, and this affliction may lie in his bowels as gold in a mine and be no use to him; but this bell that tells me of his affliction digs out and applies that gold to me, if by this consideration of another's danger I take mine own into contemplation and so secure myself by making my recourse to my God, who is our only security.



by James Kiefer



Note: John Donne's complete poems appear in collections published by Viking Press (paperback), and as part of Everyman's Library and the Modern Library Series. A collection of his poems, plus sermons and other devotional prose works is also available as part of the series Classics of Western Spirituality. Also, there is another book of two of his best prose works, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions and Death's Duel (which includes the excerpt immediately above). (Clicking on the links will take you to Amazon.com, where you may buy the books if you wish. Many of his works are also online)

Commemmorative Readings:

Psalm 27:5-11

5 For he will hide me in his shelter


in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will set me high on a rock.





6 Now my head is lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.





7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,

be gracious to me and answer me!

8 ‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’

Your face, Lord, do I seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me.





Do not turn your servant away in anger,

you who have been my help.

Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,

O God of my salvation!

10 If my father and mother forsake me,

the Lord will take me up.





11 Teach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me on a level path

because of my enemies.

 
1 Corinthians 15:20-28


20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.* 21For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end,* when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For ‘God* has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘All things are put in subjection’, it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. 28When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.

 
Wisdom 7:24-8:1


24 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;

because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.

25 For she is a breath of the power of God,

and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;

therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.

26 For she is a reflection of eternal light,

a spotless mirror of the working of God,

and an image of his goodness.

27 Although she is but one, she can do all things,

and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;

in every generation she passes into holy souls

and makes them friends of God, and prophets;

28 for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.

29 She is more beautiful than the sun,

and excels every constellation of the stars.

Compared with the light she is found to be superior,

30 for it is succeeded by the night,

but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

8She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,

and she orders all things well.

 
John 5:19-24


The Authority of the Son19 Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father* does, the Son does likewise. 20The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. 21Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomsoever he wishes. 22The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son, 23so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Anyone who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. 24Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.

 
Preface of the Epiphany






PRAYER (traditional language)

Almighty God, the root and fountain of all being: Open our eyes to see, with thy servant John Donne, that whatsoever hath any being is a mirror in which we may behold thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.



PRAYER (contemporary language)

Almighty God, the root and fountain of all being: Open our eyes to see, with your servant John Donne, that whatever has any being is a mirror in which we may behold you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.





Lessons revised at GC 2009.



Return to Lectionary Home Page





Scriptural Readings:


Morning Office:

Psalm 83


Prayer for Judgement on Israel’s FoesA Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, do not keep silence;

do not hold your peace or be still, O God!

2 Even now your enemies are in tumult;

those who hate you have raised their heads.

3 They lay crafty plans against your people;

they consult together against those you protect.

4 They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;

let the name of Israel be remembered no more.’

5 They conspire with one accord;

against you they make a covenant—

6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

Moab and the Hagrites,

7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,

Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;

8 Assyria also has joined them;

they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.

Selah





9 Do to them as you did to Midian,

as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon,

10 who were destroyed at En-dor,

who became dung for the ground.

11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,

all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

12 who said, ‘Let us take the pastures of God

for our own possession.’





13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,*

like chaff before the wind.

14 As fire consumes the forest,

as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,

15 so pursue them with your tempest

and terrify them with your hurricane.

16 Fill their faces with shame,

so that they may seek your name, O Lord.

17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever;

let them perish in disgrace.

18 Let them know that you alone,

whose name is the Lord,

are the Most High over all the earth.

 
Psalm 42


Longing for God and His Help in DistressTo the leader. A Maskil of the Korahites.

1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,

so my soul longs for you, O God.

2 My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and behold

the face of God?

3 My tears have been my food

day and night,

while people say to me continually,

‘Where is your God?’





4 These things I remember,

as I pour out my soul:

how I went with the throng,*

and led them in procession to the house of God,

with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,

a multitude keeping festival.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my help 6and my God.





My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I remember you

from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,

from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep

at the thunder of your cataracts;

all your waves and your billows

have gone over me.

8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,

and at night his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.





9 I say to God, my rock,

‘Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I walk about mournfully

because the enemy oppresses me?’

10 As with a deadly wound in my body,

my adversaries taunt me,

while they say to me continually,

‘Where is your God?’





11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my help and my God.

 
Psalm 43


Prayer to God in Time of Trouble

1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause

against an ungodly people;

from those who are deceitful and unjust

deliver me!

2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge;

why have you cast me off?

Why must I walk about mournfully

because of the oppression of the enemy?





3 O send out your light and your truth;

let them lead me;

let them bring me to your holy hill

and to your dwelling.

4 Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy;

and I will praise you with the harp,

O God, my God.





5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my help and my God.

 

Jeremiah 10:11-24


11 Thus shall you say to them: The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.*





12 It is he who made the earth by his power,

who established the world by his wisdom,

and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

13 When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightnings for the rain,

and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.

14 Everyone is stupid and without knowledge;

goldsmiths are all put to shame by their idols;

for their images are false,

and there is no breath in them.

15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

16 Not like these is the Lord,* the portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

the Lord of hosts is his name.





The Coming Exile

17 Gather up your bundle from the ground,

O you who live under siege!

18 For thus says the Lord:

I am going to fling away the inhabitants of the land

at this time,

and I will bring distress on them,

so that they shall feel it.





19 Woe is me because of my hurt!

My wound is severe.

But I said, ‘Truly this is my punishment,

and I must bear it.’

20 My tent is destroyed,

and all my cords are broken;

my children have gone from me,

and they are no more;

there is no one to spread my tent again,

and to set up my curtains.

21 For the shepherds are stupid,

and do not inquire of the Lord;

therefore they have not prospered,

and all their flock is scattered.





22 Hear, a noise! Listen, it is coming—

a great commotion from the land of the north

to make the cities of Judah a desolation,

a lair of jackals.





23 I know, O Lord, that the way of human beings is not in their control,

that mortals as they walk cannot direct their steps.

24 Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure;

not in your anger, or you will bring me to nothing.

 

 




**************************************************************

Foreward Movement:

Today's Meditation


THURSDAY, March 31

John 8:21-32. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.



This is an often-quoted but deceptively simple verse. We would do well to ask, as Pilate does ten chapters later in this same gospel, “What is truth?”



We often start in the wrong place as we think about truth, which means we end up in the wrong place as well. As Jesus uses the word, truth is not correct information, and the opposite of truth is not misinformation. Nor is truth correct doctrine or belief. It doesn’t have to do with information or doctrine at all. It’s a matter of knowing who you are and who God is—and, by extension, who Jesus is. In today’s reading, those opposing Jesus defined themselves ethnically or nationally—they were descendants of Abraham. That won’t do, Jesus says. It’s a worldly distinction and it doesn’t mean you know who you are and who God is.



By what worldly standards do you tend to define yourself? If we are to be people of truth, and if the truth is to make us free, how must we rethink who we are and who God is? What will be different in our lives?



PRAY for the Diocese of Mthatha (Southern Africa)



Ps [83] or 42,43*85,86; Jeremiah 10:11-24; Romans 5:12-21


Romans 5:12-21


Adam and Christ12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— 13sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification* leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.



Evening Office:

Psalm 85


Prayer for the Restoration of God’s FavourTo the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

1 Lord, you were favourable to your land;

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;

you pardoned all their sin.

Selah

3 You withdrew all your wrath;

you turned from your hot anger.





4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,

and put away your indignation towards us.

5 Will you be angry with us for ever?

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

6 Will you not revive us again,

so that your people may rejoice in you?

7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.





8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will speak peace to his people,

to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.*

9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,

that his glory may dwell in our land.





10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;

righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,

and righteousness will look down from the sky.

12 The Lord will give what is good,

and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness will go before him,

and will make a path for his steps.

 
Psalm 86


Supplication for Help against EnemiesA Prayer of David.

1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;

save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God; 3be gracious to me, O Lord,

for to you do I cry all day long.

4 Gladden the soul of your servant,

for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

listen to my cry of supplication.

7 In the day of my trouble I call on you,

for you will answer me.





8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

nor are there any works like yours.

9 All the nations you have made shall come

and bow down before you, O Lord,

and shall glorify your name.

10 For you are great and do wondrous things;

you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,

that I may walk in your truth;

give me an undivided heart to revere your name.

12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

and I will glorify your name for ever.

13 For great is your steadfast love towards me;

you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.





14 O God, the insolent rise up against me;

a band of ruffians seeks my life,

and they do not set you before them.

15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;

give your strength to your servant;

save the child of your serving-maid.

17 Show me a sign of your favour,

so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,

because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

 
John 8:21-32


Jesus Foretells His Death21 Again he said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 22Then the Jews said, ‘Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ 23He said to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.’* 25They said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Why do I speak to you at all?* 26I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.’ 27They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father. 28So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he,* and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. 29And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.’ 30As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

True Disciples31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’

 
 
Eucharistic Office:

Psalm 95:6-11

6 O come, let us worship and bow down,


let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

7 For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.





O that today you would listen to his voice!

8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

9 when your ancestors tested me,

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

10 For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,

and they do not regard my ways.’

11 Therefore in my anger I swore,

‘They shall not enter my rest.’

 
Jeremiah 7:25-2825From the day that your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; 26yet they did not listen to me, or pay attention, but they stiffened their necks. They did worse than their ancestors did.


27 So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28You shall say to them: This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.

 



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Luke 11:14-23

Jesus and Beelzebul14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15But some of them said, ‘He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.’ 16Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. 17But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. 18If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. 19Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists* cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. 22But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armour in which he trusted and divides his plunder. 23Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.