Tuesday, 2nd April 2013 --- 24 Baramhat 1729

Tuesday, 2nd April 2013 --- 24 Baramhat 1729
Readings for Tuesday of fourth week of Great Lent

Matins

Genesis 28 : 10 - 22 Isaiah 25 : 1 - 12 Isaiah - 26 : 1 - 8 Job 18 : 1 - 21 Sirach 8 : 1 - 22 Sirach 10 : 1 - 25

Genesis 28 : 10 - 22

Chapter 28

10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.
14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."
17 And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!"
18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,
21 so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.
22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

Isaiah 25 : 1 - 12

Chapter 25

1 O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, For You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For You have made a city a ruin, A fortified city a ruin, A palace of foreigners to be a city no more; It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore the strong people will glorify You; The city of the terrible nations will fear You.
4 For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You will reduce the noise of aliens, As heat in a dry place; As heat in the shadow of a cloud, The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.
6 And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.
7 And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.
9 And it will be said in that day: "Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
10 For on this mountain the hand of the LORD will rest, And Moab shall be trampled down under Him, As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.
11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst As a swimmer reaches out to swim, And He will bring down their pride Together with the trickery of their hands.
12 The fortress of the high fort of your walls He will bring down, lay low, And bring to the ground, down to the dust.

Isaiah - 26 : 1 - 8

Job 18 : 1 - 21

Chapter 18

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 "How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.
3 Why are we counted as beasts, And regarded as stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself in anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from its place?
5 "The light of the wicked indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine.
6 The light is dark in his tent, And his lamp beside him is put out.
7 The steps of his strength are shortened, And his own counsel casts him down.
8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walks into a snare.
9 The net takes him by the heel, And a snare lays hold of him.
10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground, And a trap for him in the road.
11 Terrors frighten him on every side, And drive him to his feet.
12 His strength is starved, And destruction is ready at his side.
13 It devours patches of his skin; The firstborn of death devours his limbs.
14 He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors.
15 They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
16 His roots are dried out below, And his branch withers above.
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name among the renowned.
18 He is driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world.
19 He has neither son nor posterity among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings.
20 Those in the west are astonished at his day, As those in the east are frightened.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God."

Sirach 8 : 1 - 22

Chapter 8

1 Strive not with a powerful man, lest thou fall into his hands.
2 Contend not with a rich man, lest he bring an action against thee.
3 For gold and silver hath destroyed many, and hath reached even to the heart of kings, and perverted them.
4 Strive not with a man that is full of tongue, and heap not wood upon his fire.
5 Communicate not with an ignorant man, lest he speak ill of thy family.
6 Despise not a man that turneth away from sin, nor reproach him therewith: remember that we are all worthy of reproof.
7 Despise not a man in his old age; for we also shall become old.
8 Rejoice not at the death of thy enemy; knowing that we all die, and are not willing that others should rejoice at our death.
9 Despise not the discourse of them that are ancient and wise, but acquaint thyself with their proverbs.
10 For of them thou shalt learn wisdom, and instruction of understanding, and to serve great men without blame.
11 Let not the discourse of the ancients escape thee, for they have learned of their fathers:
12 For of them thou shalt learn understanding, and to give an answer in time of need.
13 Kindle not the coals of sinners by rebuking them, lest thou be burnt with the flame of the fire of their sins.
14 Stand not against the face of an injurious person, lest he sit as a spy to entrap thee in thy words.
15 Lend not to a man that is mightier than thyself: and if thou lendest, count it as lost.
16 Be not surety above thy power: and if thou be surety, think as if thou wert to pay it.
17 Judge not against a judge: for he judgeth according to that which is just.
18 Go not on the way with a bold man, lest he burden thee with his evils: for he goeth according to his own will, and thou shalt perish together with his folly.
19 Quarrel not with a passionate man, and go not into the desert with a bold man: for blood is as nothing in his sight, and where there is no help he will overthrow thee.
20 Advise not with fools, for they cannot love but such things as please them.
21 Before a stranger do no matter of counsel: for thou knowest not what he will bring forth.
22 Open not thy heart to every man: lest he repay thee with an evil turn, and speak reproachfully to thee.

Sirach 10 : 1 - 25

Chapter 10

1 There is not a more wicked thing than to love money: for such a one setteth even his own soul to sale: because while he liveth he hath cast away his bowels.
2 All power is of short life. A long sickness is troublesome to the physician.
3 The physician cutteth off it short sickness: so also a king is to day, and to morrow he shall die.
4 For when a man shall die, he shall inherit serpents, end beasts, and worms.
5 The beginning of the pride of man, is to fall off from God:
6 Because his heart is departed from him that made him: for pride is the beginning of all sin: be that holdeth it, shall be filled with maledictions, and it shall ruin him in the end.
7 Therefore hath the Lord disgraced the assemblies of the wicked, and hath utterly destroyed them.
8 God hath overturned the thrones of proud princes, and hath set up the meek in their stead.
9 God hath made the roots of proud nations to wither, and hath planted the humble of these nations.
10 The Lord hath overthrown the lands of the Gentiles, and hath destroyed them even to the foundation.
11 He hath made some of them to wither away, and hath destroyed them, and hath made the memory of them to cease from the earth.
12 God hath abolished the memory of the proud, and hath preserved the memory of them that are humble in mind.
13 Pride was not made for men: nor wrath for the race of women.
14 That seed of men shall be honoured, which feareth God: but that seed shall be dishonoured, which transgresseth the commandments of the Lord.
15 In the midst of brethren their chief is honourable: so shall they that fear the Lord, be in his eyes.
16 The fear of God is the glory of the rich, and of the honourable, and of the poor:
17 Despise not a just man that is poor, and do not magnify a sinful man that is rich.
18 The great man, and the judge, and the mighty is in honour: and there is none greater than he that feareth God.
19 They that are free shall serve a servant that is wise: and a man that is prudent and well instructed will not murmur when he is reproved; and he that is ignorant, shall not be honoured.
20 Extol not thyself in doing thy work, and linger not in the time of distress:
21 Better is he that laboureth, and aboundeth in all things, than he that boasteth himself and wanteth bread.
22 My son, keep thy soul in meekness, and give it honour according to its desert.
23 Who will justify him that sinneth against his own soul? and who will honour him that dishonoureth his own soul?
24 The poor man is glorified by his discipline and fear: and there is a man that is honoured for his wealth.
25 But he that is glorified in poverty, how much more in wealth? and he that is glorified in wealth, let him fear poverty.

Matins
Matins Psalm
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet.
May his blessings be with us all.

Psalms 17 : 1 - 1

Chapter 17

1 Hear a just cause, O LORD, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.

Matins Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Matthew the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all.

Matthew 21 : 28 - 32

Chapter 21

28 "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, "Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'
29 He answered and said, "I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.
30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, "I go, sir,' but he did not go.
31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to Him, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
And Glory be to God forever.

Liturgy
Paulines Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God.
A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Ephesians .
May his blessings be upon us.
Amen.

Ephesians 4 : 1 - 16

Chapter 4

1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."
9 (Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
The grace of God the Father be with you all.
Amen.

Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle 2 of St. Peter .
May his blessing be upon us.
Amen.

2 Peter 2 : 2 - 8

Chapter 2

2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)--
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Amen.

Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us.

Acts 27 : 1 - 3

Chapter 27

1 And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment.
2 So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.
3 And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care.
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God.
Amen.

Synaxarium
Day 24 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramhat, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.

The Twenty-Fourth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat
Apparition of the Pure Lady the Virgin in the church of Zeitoun
On the eve of this day of the year 1684 A.M. which coincide with tuesday the 2nd. of April 1968 A.D., during the papacy of Pope Kyrellos VI, the hundred sixteenth Pope of Alexandria, our Lady and the pride of our faith started to transfigure in luminous spiritual forms in and around the domes of the church dedicated to her immaculate name in Zeiton, a suburb of Cairo. This transfiguration continued in following nights in a manner that was never known in the East or the West. This transfiguration in some nights was as long as many hours, without stop, in front of tens of thousands of people from every race and religion, with every one seeing her, pointing at her and interceding to her with songs, hymns, tears, prayers and hails and She was looking to them in a compassionate way raising her hand at times to bless them in all directions. The first one to notice this transfiguration was the workmen at the garage of the Public Transit System which was across the street from the church. The watchman Abdel-Aziz Aly, who was in charge of guarding the garage at that night, saw a luminous body over the dome of the church. He started shouting: "light over the dome" and he called the other workers in the garage. They all came and saw the bright light over the large dome of the church. When they looked closely, they saw a young lady in white, kneeling by the cross at the top of the dome. Because the dome had a round, smooth, and very sloping surface, it held the men as though they were nailed in their places watching the fate of the lady. Few seconds passed then they saw the kneeling lady as she stood over the dome. They gave out a cry of fear that she might fall down. They thought she was a girl in despair trying to commit suicide and they cried warning that person not to jump down and some of them called the police. The pedestrians, men and women started to gather around. The view of the lady was getting more clear and she appeared as a beautiful girl in a bright gown of light and had branches of olive tree in her hand, and around her flew white doves. Then they realized that they were seeing a heavenly spiritual view. They directed flood light to the luminous picture to remove all doubt from their minds, but instead it became more clear and bright. They cut the electricity off all the area but the lady remained in her heavenly illumination and her bright gown of light became more clear. She started moving around in a circle of light radiating from her body to all the directions around her. All the people then realized that this lady in front of them, without no doubt is the Virgin Mary. They started to shout and cry saying: "She is the Virgin ... She is the Mother of Light ... " They prayed with songs, hymns and hails all the night until the next morning.

Since that night the pure Virgin had transfigured in different spiritual views in front of thousands and ten of thousands of masses, Egyptian and foreigners, Christians and non-christians, men, women and children. Spiritual beings formed like doves would appear before, during and after the transfiguration zooming through the sky in a way raising the human from a materialistic to a heavenly atmosphere. This transfiguration was in different forms. One of the most significant ways this apparition took place was that; the head of St. Mary under the vail looking down as in the picture of the sad Virgin and she was looking toward the Cross and that view would stay like this at times or slowly bow before the Cross at other times. The Cross itself will shine and illuminate although it was made of concrete. And some times an angel would appear standing behind her spreading his wings. That view might stay as long as many hours. Another view was the view of the Mother of Light standing as a great Queen in a beautiful spiritual portrait radiating dignity, elegance and beauty. On her head was a crown of a queen as if it were made of diamonds and some times there appeared on the top of the crown a small luminous cross. And some times she appeared in the same way but carrying Christ, to Him is the Glory, in the form of a child on her hand and on His head a crown. And on other times she raised her both hands as She was blessing the world moving to the right, to the front, and to the left in a dignified way.

Many spiritual signs appeared before, during, and after the apparition of the Virgin the mother of the Lord's transfiguration. The appearance of tongues of yellowish flame would flash over the church and then subside and that repeated several times. Another form of the signs were the spiritual beings formed like doves, larger than the doves that we know, appear about midnight or after, flying in the middle of darkness illuminating in a fast speed, appeared suddenly from no where, and also disappeared suddenly. These spiritual beings appeared in different formations and in varying numbers. A fact we should be aware of that pigeons do not fly during the night. Another sign was the shooting stars which were constantly falling and were seen very close to the apparition on many occasions as if coming down to glorify her from heaven. Another sign was the fragrance of incense. The smoke of the incense poured out of the domes in large quantities. Substance resembling clouds, thick fog or smoke would roll in toward the church and completely cover the church. Also the illuminated cloud that appeared over the domes of the church in large volume and often proceeded the transfiguration of the Virgin or at times the cloud slowly formed in the shape of the virgin. Sometimes the apparition of the Virgin would appear from the clouds. This transfiguration and all the spiritual signs were a forerunner and announcement for serious or important events to come in the near and far future. Or it might be a spiritual gesture from heaven to indicate the Lord's caring for His church and His people and our country.

May the mercy of God be upon us all. May the Lord keep His people and church in peace, with the intercession of Our Lady and the pride of our race the pure Virgin St. Mary. Amen.

Departure of Anba Macarius, the Fifty-Ninth Pope of Alexandria
On this day also of the year 668 A.M. (May 20th. 952 A.D.) St. Macarius the fifty ninth Pope of Alexandria, departed. He was born in the city of Shoubra. He rejected the world since his youth and he desired the monastic life. He went to the monastery of St. Macarius at the wilderness of Sheahat (Scetis). He lived in virtues and good conduct made him worthy to be chosen a Patriarch, and a successor for Pope Cosma. He was enthroned on the first of Baramouda 648 A.M. (March 27th. 932 A.D.). When he went forth from Alexandria going to visit the monasteries in the desert of Scetis according to the custom of his predecessors, he passed by his home town to visit his mother who was a righteous woman. When his mother heard that he had arrived she did not go out to meet him. When he had come to the house, he found her sitting down weaving and she did not greet him or paid attention to him. He thought that she did not know him. He told her: "Don't you know that I am your son Macarius who was elevated to a great position and became a head for a great nation?" She answered him with tears in her eyes: "I did not ignore you and I know what became of you, but I would have rather seen you dead than seen you as a Patriarch. Before, you were responsible only for your own soul but now your are responsible about the souls of all your flock: Now remember you are in danger and it is difficult to escape it." She said that and went on weaving as she did before. The father the Patriarch left her sad, and attended to his office with delegant and care. He instructed his people with preaching and sermons. He did not touch any of the church revenue, and did not lay his hand on any one without people consent. He commanded the bishops and the priests to watch their flock and to protect them with homilies and admonitions. He sat on the throne of St. Mark twenty years in peace and tranquility, then departed in peace.

May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.

Divine Psalm
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.
A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist.
May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet, and the Good King.
May his blessings be with us all.

Psalms 17 : 6

Chapter 17

6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.

Hallelujah.

Divine Gospel
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Our Lord God, Savior, and King of us all, Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God to whom be glory forever.
Amen.

Luke 9 : 57 - 62

Chapter 9

57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."
58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
59 Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."
61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."
62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

And Glory be to God forever.