Sunday Readings

Apostolic Reading – Hebrews 6:13-20

Gospel – Mark 9:17-31

Troparion of the Resurrection (Tone 4)

The women disciples of the Lord, having learned from the angel the joyful announcement of the resurrection, and having rejected the ancestral sentence, proudly told the apostles: Death is despoiled. Christ God is risen, bestowing to the world great mercy.”

Troparion of St. John Climacus (Tone 8)

Your abundant tears made the wilderness sprout and bloom, and your deep sighings made your labors fruitful a hundredfold; you became a star shining over the world with miracles, Holy Father John, pray to Christ God that He may save our souls.

Troparion of the Holy Cross (Tone 1)

O Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance, granting peace to the world. And preserve your community by the power of your Cross.

Kondakion of the Annunciation (Tone 8)

Triumphant leader to you belongs our prize of victory! And since you saved us from adversity, we offer you our thanks. We are your people O mother of God! So as you have that invincible power, continue to deliver us from danger that we may cry out to you Hail, O Virgin and bride ever pure.

Prokimenon (Tone 7)

The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

Stichon

Give to the Lord. You sons of God, give to the Lord glory and praise.

Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews (4:14-5:6)

Brethren, when God made his promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you, and will surely multiply you Gn.22: 14).” And so, after patient waiting, Abraham obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and an oath given as a guarantee is the final settlement of all their disagreements. Hence God, meaning to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the firmness of his will interposed an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to deceive, we may have the strongest comfort ― we who have sought refuge in holding fast the hope set before us. This hope we have as a sure and firm anchor of the soul, reaching even behind the veil where our forerunner Jesus has entered for us, as he became a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Alleluia (Tone 7)

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High!

Stichon

To proclaim your kindness at dawn and your faithfulness throughout the night.

The Holy Gospel According to St. Mark the Evangelist (8:34-9:1)

At that time one of the crowd came to Jesus and bowed to him saying: “Master, I have brought to you my son, who has a dumb spirit; and whenever it seizes him it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth; and he is wasting away. And I told your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” And he, answering him, said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought him to him; and the spirit, when it saw Jesus, immediately threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell down on the ground and rolled about foaming at the mouth. So he asked his father, “How long is it since this has come upon him?” And he said, “From his infancy. Oftentimes, it has thrown him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. But if you can do anything have compassion on us and help us.” But Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to the man of faith.” At once the father of the boy cried out and said with tears, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, go out of him and enter him no more.” And crying out and violently convulsing him, it went out of him, and he became like one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him and he stood up. And when he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind can be cast out in no way except by prayer and fasting.” And leaving that place, they were passing through Galilee, and he did not wish anyone to know it. For he was teaching his disciples, and saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and having been killed, he will rise again on the third day.”

الرسالة (عبرانيين 6: 13 – 20)

يا إِخوة، ان اللهَ عند وعدهِ لإبراهيم، أذ لم يكن له أَن يُقسِمَ بما هو أَعظمُ منه، أقسمَ بنفسِه قائلاً: لأُباركنَّك بركةً وأَكثّرَنَّكَ تكثيراً. وهكذا إِذ تأَنَّى نالَ الموعد. وإِنما الناَّسُ يُقسمونَ بما هو أَعظمُ منهم، وتنقضي كلُ مُشَاجَرةٍ بينَهم بالقسمِ للتثبيت. لذلك لما شاءَ اللهُ ان يَزيدَ وَرَثَةَ الموعدِ بياناً لعدمِ تحولِ عزِمه، توَّسطَ بِقَسَم، حتى نحصلَ بأَمريْنِ لا يتحوّلانِ ولا يُمكنُ أَن يحلفَ اللهُ فيهما، على تعزيةٍ قوية، نحنُ الذينَ التجأْنا إِلى التمسُّكِ بالرجاءِ الموضوعِ أَمامَنا. الذي هو لنا كمرساةٍ للنفسِ أَمينةٌ وراسخة. وهو يُدخِلُ الى داخلِ الحجاب، حيثُ دخلَ يسوعُ كسابقٍ لأجلنا، صائراً رئيسَ كهنةٍ إِلى الابدِ على رتبةِ ملكيصادق.

هللويا

صالحٌ الاعترافُ للرب، والترنيمُ لاسمك أَيها العلي

ليُخبّرْ برحمتِك في الغداة، وبحِقّك كلَّ ليله.

الانجيل - الاحد الرابع من الصوم (مرقس 9: 17 – 31)

في ذلك الزمان، دنا إِلى يسوعَ انسانٌ وسجدَ له قائلاً: يا معلم، قد أَتيتُك بابني به روحٌ أبكم. وحيثما اعترَاه يصرعهُ فيزبد ويصرفُ بأَسنانه وييبسْ. وقد قلتُ لتلاميذكَ أَن يُخرجوه فلم يقدروا. فأَجابه قائلاً: أيها الجيلُ الغير المؤمن، إِلى متى أَكون عندكم وحتى متى أَحتملكم؟ هلمَّ به اليَّ. فأَتوا به. فلمَّا رآه للوقت صرعهُ الروح، فسقطَ على الارضِ يتمرغُ ويزبد. فسألَ أَباه: منذُ كمْ مِنَ الزمانِ أَصابه هذا؟ فقالَ منذُ صِباه. وكثيراً ما أَلقاهُ في النارِ وفي المياه ليُهلكُه، لكن إنِ استطعتَ شيئاً فتحنَّن علينا وأَغثنا. فقال له يسوع: إِنِ استطعت أَن تؤمنَ فكلُ شيءٍ ممكنٌ للمؤمن. فصاحَ أَبو الصبي لساعته بدموعٍ وقال: إِني أومن يا رب، فأَعن قلَّهَ ايماني. فلما رأى يسوع أَن الجمعَ يتبادرونَ اليه، انتهرَ الروحَ النجسَ قائلا ًله: أَيها الروحُ ألأصمُ الابكم، أَنا آمركَ ان اخُرجْ منه ولا تَعُدْ اليه من بعد. فصرخَ وخبطهُ كثيراً وخرجَ منه، فصارَ كالميتِ حتى قالَ كثيرون إِنه قد مات. فأخذ يسوعُ بيده وأَنهضهُ فقام. ولما دخلَ البيت سأَله تلاميذُه على انفراد: لماذا لمْ نستطيعْ نحنُ أَن نُخرجُه؟ فقالَ لهم: إِن هذا الجنس لا يمكنُ ان يخرجَ بشيءٍ إِلا بالصلاةِ والصوم. ولما خرجوا من هناك، اجتازوا في الجليل، ولم يكنْ يريدُ أَن يدري أَحد. وكان يعلّمُ تلاميذه ويقولُ لهم: إِن ابنَ الانسانِ سَيُسلمُ إِلى أَيدي الناس فيقتلونَهُ، وبعد أَن يُقتَلَ يقومُ في اليومِ الثالث.