Readings for Fri, May 4th

Friday of the fourth week of the Holy Fifty Days

Vespers

Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 70:1,2

Make haste to help me, O LORD!
Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.

Gospel

Mk 8:10-15

Immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."


Matins

Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 70:1 & Psalm 70:5

Make haste to help me, O LORD!
But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.

Gospel

Mk 4:26-29

And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."


Liturgy

Pauline Epistle

From the epistle of teacher St. Paul the apostle to the (...), may his blessings be with us Amen.

Rom 3:27-31

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.

Catholic Epistle

The catholic epistle from the epistle of our teacher St. (...), may his blessings be with us Amen. My beloved.

1Jn 4:1-6

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Do not love the world nor 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 holy blessings be with us all. Amen.

Acts 5:34-36

Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. And he said to them: "Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing.



The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed in the holy Church of God. Amen.

Synaxarium

Stand up in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A chapter according to St. (...) may his blessing be with us all amen.

Psalm

From the psalms of our teacher David the prophet, may his blessings be with us Amen.

Psalm 24:1 & Psalm 24:4

The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

Gospel

Jn 10:34-38

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, "I said, "You are gods"'? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, "You are blaspheming,' because I said, "I am the Son of God'? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."