THE LONELY EMBER
A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services
regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit
him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone,
sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's
visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace
and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the
grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning
logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully
picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the
hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host
watched all this in quiet fascination. As the one lone ember's flame
diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more.
Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail." Not a word had been spoken
since the initial greeting. Just before the pastor was ready to leave,
he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of
the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and
warmth of the burning coals around it. As the pastor reached the door to
leave, his host said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially
for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."
-- The author is C.H. Spurgeon

الإرشاد الدائم

ملء الفرح هو فرح الإرشاد ا لدائم .. فرح معرفة أن كل تفاصيل حياتكم هى مدبرة بواسطتى ، ومرسومة بدقة متناهية وحب عامر .
انتظروا الإرشاد فى كل خطوة .. انتظروا لكى تروا طريقى .
إن التفكر فى تلك المحبة التى تقودكم لا بد أن يمنحكم فرحاً عظيماً ، لأن كل مسؤوليات الحياة سوف تنزاح من على كاهلكم ، وكل انشغالات وهموم الحياة سوف ترفع من على أكتافكم .
حقاً إنها لسعادة لكم ما بعدها سعادة أن تشعروا بمنتهى الحرية ، وفى نفس الوقت يكون كل شىء مخططاً لكم .
ياللعجب فى ذلك !
فهذه هى الحياة المنقادة بالله .
وفى هذه ا لحالة إ ذا فكرتم بأن هناك شيئاً مستحيلاً ، فمعنى ذلك أنكم تقولون بأنى لا أستطيع أن أفعل هذه الشىء ، وإذا قلتم ذلك فمعناه باتاكيد أنكم تنكروننى .

 ( يوم الثلاثاء من الأسبوع الثالث من الصوم الكبير )

2 مارس 2004

23 أمشير 1720

باكـــر

{ النبـوات }

من أمثال سليمان الحكيم ( 2 : 1 ـ 15 )

          يا ابني إن قبلتَ كلام وصاياي وخبأتها عندكَ لتسمع أُذُنك الحكمةِ وتُعطي قلبك للفهم وتعطيه تعليماً لابنك، إن طلبتَ الفطنة وأطلقت صوتك إلى الفهم أن التمست المعرفة، إن طلبتها كالفضَّة وبحثتَ عنها كالكُنُوز، فحينئذٍ تفطنُ لمخافة الرَّبِّ وتدرك معرفةَ اللَّـهِ. لأنَّ الرَّبَّ يُعطي الحكمة، ومِن قِبل وجهه المعرفةُ والفهم. يَدخرُ للمستقيمين معرفة. ويعضد سبلهم ليحفظوا مناهج العدل، ويحفظ طريق خائفيه. حينئذٍ تفطنُ للعدل والحقّ والإنصاف والاستقامة، وكُلَّ طريق صالحٍ.

          إذا دخلتِ الحكمةُ قلبكَ ولذَّت المعرفةُ نفسك فالعقلُ الصالح والمشورة الحسنة يحفظانك والفكر الطاهر ينجيك لكي ينقذك من طريق السوء ومِن الإنسان المُتكلِّم بالأكاذيبِ. ومِن التَّاركين سُبُل الاستقامةِ ليسيروا في طرق الظُّلمة ويفرحون بفعل الشر ويبتهجون بخدائع السوء الذين طُرُقُهُم مُعوجَّةٌ ومسالكهم ملتوية.     

( مجداً للثالوث القدوس )

من سفر إشعياء النبي ( 10 : 12 ـ 20 )

          ويكُونُ إذا أكمل الرَّبّ جميع عمله في جبل صهيونَ وأُورشليم أن أجاب الرَّبّ على متشامخ القلب أشور ومجده وترفع عينيه الطامحتين. لأنَّهُ قال إني بقوة يدي عملت وبحكمَتي، لأنِّي فهيمٌ، فنقلتُ تُخُوم الشعوب ونهبتُ ذخائرهُم وزلزلت المدن العامرة وجميع سكانها. وقد أصابتها يدي كعُشٍّ وكمن يجمع البيض المهمَل ولم يكن من يطاردني ولا من يقاومني. هل تفتخرُ الفأسُ على من يقطع بها أو يتكبَّرُ المِنشارُ على من يردده، أو يتعظم القضيب على رافعهُ، كأنَّ العصا ترفعُ مَنْ ليس بخشب.

          فلذلك يُرسلُ رب الجُنُود ذلاً لكرامته ( وعلى سِمانهِ هُزالاً ) ويضرم على مجده ناراً متقدة. ويكون نُورُ إسرائيل ناراً ويطهره بلهيب نار ويأكُلُ حَسكهُ كالهشيم في ذلك اليوم لتصبح الجبال والتلال والوعر ويُفني النَّفس والجسد جميعاً، حتى يصير كأنه لم يكن. وما تبقى منها ( شجر الوعر ) يكون قليلاً حتى أن صبياً يحصيه.

          في ذلك اليوم لا يعود إسرائيل والناجون من آل يعقُوب أن يتوكَّلُوا على من يظلمهم وإنما يعتمدون على اللَّه قُدُّوس إسرائيل بالحقِّ. والباقون من يعقُوب يتوكلون على اللَّهِ القدير.   

( مجداً للثالوث القدوس )

مزمور باكر

من مزامير أبينا داود النبي ( 31 : 11 )

    كثيرةٌ هي ضربات الخطاة، والذي يتكل على الرَّبِّ الرَّحمة تحيط بهِ.  هللويا

إنجيل باكر

إنجيل معلمنا لوقا البشير ( 12 : 54 ـ 59 )

    ثُمَّ قال للجُمُوع أيضاً: " إذا رأيتُمُ سحابة تطلعُ مِنَ المَغارب فلِلوقت تَقُولُونَ: إنَّ المطر آت فيكُونُ كذلك. وإذا هبت ريح الجنُوب تَقُولُونَ: سيكُونُ حرٌّ فيكُونُ. أيها المُراءُون! تعرفُون أن تُميِّزُوا وجهَ الأرض والسَّماء، وهذا الزَّمانُ كيف لا تعرفون أن تُميِّزُوهُ؟ ولماذا لا تحكُمُونَ بالحقِّ مِن تلقاء أنفُسكُم؟ ما دمت ماضياً مع خصمكَ إلى الرئيس، فأعطهِ في الطَّريق ما تتخلَّص به مِنهُ، لئلاَّ يَجُرَّكَ إلى الحاكم، فيُسلِّمكَ الحاكم إلى الشرطي، والشرطي يُلقيكَ في السِّجن. أقولُ لكَ: إنك لا تخرجُ مِن هُناك حتَّى تُوفي الفلسَ الأخير".

( والمجد للَّـه دائماً )

القــداس

البولس من رسالة معلمنا بولس الرسول إلى أهل رومية

( 4 : 1 ـ 8 )

          فماذا نقُولُ إذاً إنَّ إبراهيم وجدَ أوّل الآباء بحسب الجسد؟ لأنَّهُ لو كان إبراهيمُ قد تبرَّرَ بالأعمال لكان لهُ فخرٌ، ولكن ليس عند اللَّهِ. لأنَّهُ ماذا يقُولُ الكِتابُ؟ " آمنَ إبراهيمُ باللَّهِ فحُسبَ لهُ برًّا ". فالذي يَعملُ لا تُحسبُ لهُ أجرته على سبيل نعمةٍ، بل على سبيل دينٍ. وأمَّا الذي لا يَعملُ، لكن يُؤمنُ بمن يُبرِّرُ المنافق، فإن إيمانُهُ يُحسَبُ لهُ بِرًّا. كما يَقُولُ دَاوُدُ أيضاً في تطويبِ الإنسان الذي يَحسِبُ لهُ اللَّهُ برًّا بدُون أعمالٍ: " طُوبى للذين غُفرتْ لهم آثامُهُم وسُترت خطاياهُم. طُوبى للرَّجُل الذي لم يَحسِبُ عليهُ الرَّبُّ خطيئةً ".   

( نعمة اللَّـه الآب فلتحل على أرواحنا يا آبائي وإخوتي. آمين. )

الكاثوليكون من رسالة معلمنا يوحنا الرسول الأولى

( 2 : 1 ـ 11 )

    يا أولادي، أكتُبُ إليكُم بهذا لكي لا تُخطِئُوا. وإنْ أخطأ أحدٌ فلنَا شَفِيعٌ عِندَ الآب، يسُوعُ المسيحُ البارُّ. وهو كفَّارَةٌ عن خطايانا. وليس من أجل خطايَانَا فقط، بل عن خطايا العالم كُلَّه أيضاً.

    وبهذه نعرفُ أنَّنا قد عَرَفناهُ: إنْ حَفِظنَا وصاياهُ. فمَن قال: " إني قد عرفتُهُ " ولم يحفظ وصاياهُ، فهو كاذبٌ وليس الحقُّ فيهِ. وأمَّا مَن يحفظ كلمتهُ، فبالحقيقة في هذا قد تكمَّلت محبَّةُ اللَّـهِ. بهذا نعرفُ أنَّنا فيهِ: ومَن قال: إنَّهُ ثابتٌ فيه فسبيله كما سلك ذاك أن يسلُكُ هو هكذا. يا أحبائي، لستُ أكتُبُ إليكُم وصيَّة جديدةً، لكن وصيَّة قديمةً التي كانت لكم منذ البدء. والوصيَّةُ القديمةُ هي الكلمةُ التي قد سمعتُمُوها. وأيضاً أكتُبُ إليكُم وصيَّةً جديدةً، التي الحق كائن فيها وفيكم: لأنَّ الظُّلمة قد مضت، والنُّور الحقيقيَّ الآن يُضيءُ. فمَن يقول: إنِّي في النُّور ويُبغضُ أخاهُ، فهو في الظُّلمةِ حتى الآن. مَن يُحبُّ أخاهُ فهو ثابت في النُّور وليس فيهِ شك. وأمَّا مَن يُبغضُ أخاهُ فهو في الظُّلمةِ، وفي الظُّلمةِ يَسلُكُ، ولا يدري أين يذهب، لأنَّ الظُّلمةَ قد أعمت عَينيهِ.    

( لا تحبوا العالم، ولا الأشياء التى في العالم، لأن العالم يزول وشهوته معه،

وأمَّا من يعمل بمشيئة اللَّـه فإنَّه يبقى إلى الأبد. )

الإبركسيس فصل من أعمال آبائنا الرسل الأطهار

( 27 : 9 ـ 12 )

    فلمَّا مضى زمانٌ طويلٌ، وكان السَّفرُ خطراً والسفينة قد تاهت، والصَّومُ أيضاً كان قد مضى، جعلَ بُولُسُ يُعزّيهم ( وينصحهم ). قائلاً لهُم: " أيُّها الرِّجالُ، إني أرى أنَّ هذا السفر عتيدٌ أن يكون بضررٍ وخسارةٍ كثيرةٍ، ليس للشَّحن والمركب فقط، بل لأنفُسنا أيضاً في هذا السفر". أما قائدُ المئةِ فكان يذعن للمدبر ورئيس النوتية أكثر مِمَّا كان يقوله بُولُس. وإذ كان الميناء لا يصلح للمشتَي، فيه ارتأى أكثرهِم أن يُقلِعُوا مِن هُناك، لعلهم يستطيعوا أن يبلغوا إلى فينكسَ لِيشتُوا فيها. وهي ميناء في كريتَ تَنظُرُ من جهة الجنُوبِ الغربي ومن الجهة الأخرى إلى الشَّمال الغربي وهي قرية.    

( لم تَزَلْ كَلِمَةُ الربِّ تَنمُو وتكثر وتَعتَز وتَثبت، في بيعة اللَّـه المُقدَّسة. آمين. )

مزمور القداس

من مزامير أبينا داود النبي ( 31 : 2 ، 3 )

    طوبى للرَّجل الذي لم يحسب لهُ الرَّب خطيئة، ولا في فمهِ غش. أنا سكتُّ فبليت عظامي.     هللويا

إنجيل القداس

إنجيل معلمنا يوحنا البشير ( 8 : 31 ـ 39 )

          فقال يسوعُ لليهُود الذين آمنُوا بهِ: " إن أنتُم ثَبتُّم في كلامي فبالحقيقةِ أنتم تلاميذي، وتعرفُون الحقَّ، والحقُّ يُحرِّركُم ". أجابُوهُ قائلين: " إنَّنا ذُرِّيَّةُ إبراهيمَ، ولم نُستعبد لأحدٍ قطُّ! فكيفَ تقُولُ أنتَ: إنَّكُم تصيرُون أحراراً؟ " أجابهُم يسوع:" الحقَّ الحقَّ أقولُ لكُم: إنَّ كُلَّ مَن يَعملُ الخطيئة فهو عبدٌ للخطيئة. والعبدُ لا يثبت في البيتِ إلى الأبدِ، أمَّا الابنُ فيثبت إلى الأبدِ. فإن حرَّركُم الابنُ صرتم بالحقيقةِ أحراراً. أنا أعلم أنَّكُم ذُرِّيَّةُ إبراهيمَ. ولكنَّكُم تطلُبُونني لِتقتلوني لأنَّ كلامي ليس ثابتاً فيكُم. ما رأيته عند أبي فهذا أتكلَّمُ به، وما سمعتموه أنتم أيضاً من أبيكُم تصنعونه ". أجابُوه وقالوا لهُ: " أبُونا هو إبراهيمُ ". قال لهُم يسوع: " لو كُنتُم أولادَ إبراهيمَ، لكُنتُم تعملُونَ أعمالَ إبراهيمَ! ".  

( والمجد للَّـه دائماً )

العواصف

" ربنا المحبوب ، إننا نشكر من أجل قوتك الحافظة العجيبة "

لا توجد معجزة اكثر روعة من معجزة النفس المحفوظة بقوتى .
فرغم أن قوى الشر تضرب باستمرا ر وتعصف، الا انها تكون بلا قوة ، والزوابع تثور ولكن بلا طائل .
تلك النفس تكون مثل حديقة هائلة، بأزهارها البديعة، ونحلها وفراشتها وأشجارها، ونافوراتها المتحركة، متواجدة وسط مدينة عظيمة صاخبة .
حاولوا أنتم كذلك أن تروا حياتكم مثل هذة الحديقة، ليس فقط فى هدوئها وسكونها ، ولكن فى عبيرها الذى ينعش الصدور ، ويعبر عن الجمال .
ترقبوا العواصف ، واعملوا هذا : أنه لا يمكنكم الاتحاد بصديقكم الأعظم أو الارتباط بى لكى تعملوا عملى ، أ و لكى تظهروا حبكم العظيم من نحوى بدون أن تستثيروا الحسد والبغضة والحقد فى قلوب الذين تتقابلون معهم من غير أتباعى .
أين يوجد العدو هجومه ؟ إنه يهاجم الحصون والقلاع ، وليس الأرض القاحلة الجرداء .

Tuesday of the Third week of the Holy Lent

2 March 2004

23 Amsheer 1720

Matins

Prophecies

Proverbs 2:1-15

2:1 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. 10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; 15 Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;.     Glory be to the Holy Trinity. Amen

Isaiah 10:12-20

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks. 13 For he says: By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep. 15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! 16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them. 20 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.     Glory be to the Holy Trinity. Amen

Joshua 7:1-26

7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, Go up and spy out the country. So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few. 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water. 6 Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all--to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name? 10 So the Lord said to Joshua: Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. 13 Get up, sanctify the people, and say, `Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you. 14 `In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the Lord takes shall come according to families; and the family which the Lord takes shall come by households; and the household which the Lord takes shall come man by man. 15 `Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.' 16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Now Joshua said to Achan, My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me. 20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: 21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it. 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. 23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day. So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. 26 Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.     Glory be to the Holy Trinity. Amen

Vespers Psalm

Psalms 32:10

10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.     Alleluia

Vespers Gospel

Luke 12:54-59

54 Then He also said to the multitudes, Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, `A shower is coming'; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, `There will be hot weather'; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? 57 Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? 58 When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.     Glory is due to our God to the age of all ages. Amen

Liturgy

Pauline Epistle

Romans 4:1-8

4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7 Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.     The Grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen

Catholic Epistle

1 John 2:1-11

2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. 7 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.     Do not love the world, nor the things which are in the world. The world shall pass away and all its desires; but he who does the will of God shall abide forever. Amen

The Acts of the Apostles

Acts 27:9-12

9 Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives. 11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there.     The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty and be confirmed in the holy church of God. Amen

Liturgy Psalm

Psalms 32:2-3

2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old.     Alleluia

Liturgy Gospel

John 8:31-39

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered Him, We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, `You will be made free'? 34 Jesus answered them, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father. 39 They answered and said to Him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.     Glory is due to our God to the age of all ages. Amen