Monday, March 16, 2026 | Paremhotep 7, 1742
Lenten | Winds of heaven
Yesterday | Today | TomorrowProphecy
From the book of Prov., may his holy blessings be with us all. Amen.From the book of Is., may his holy blessings be with us all. Amen.From the book of Job, may his holy blessings be with us all. Amen.Prov. 3:5-18
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: "Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless? "Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you? Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end? For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing. You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it. You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed. Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you, Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you. "Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are! And you say, What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness? Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven. Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod, Who were cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood? They said to God, Depart from us! What can the Almighty do to them? Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. "The righteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them: Surely our adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant. "Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you. Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents. Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver; For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God. You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows. You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. When they cast you down, and you say, Exaltation will come! Then He will save the humble person. He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands."
Is. 37:33-38:6
Job 22:1-30
Prime Raising of Incense
Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet. May his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 87:2-4
Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave. I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength,
Alleluia.
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 12:16-21
Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops? So he said, I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided? "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
And Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Divine Liturgy
Pauline 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 Philippians. May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
Philippians 2:1-16
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
Catholic Epistle
A Reading from the 1 Epistle of St. Peter. May his blessing be upon us. Amen.
1 Peter 3:10-18
For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil." And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled."But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
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. Amen.
Acts of the Apostles 10:25-35
As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, "Stand up; I myself am also a man."And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. Then he said to them, "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?"So Cornelius said, "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you. So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God."Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God. Amen.
Synaxarium
The Seventh Day of the Blessed Coptic Month of Paremhotep, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins are forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers, Amen.
Martyrdom of Saint Philemon and Saint Apollonius
On this day Sts. Philemon and Apollonius were martyred. Philemon was the jester and singer, and Apollonius was the musician for Arianus the governor of Ansena (Antinoe). They were very close friends and they wished to receive the crown of martyrdom. One day, Philemon went to the Governor and confessed the Lord Christ before him, so he ordered to shoot him with arrows. After that, Apollonius came before the Governor and he also confessed the Lord Christ. When the Governor recognized him he became angry and ordered to shoot him also with arrows. While they were shooting Apollonius, one of the arrows glanced back and struck the Governor's eye and destroyed it. Sts. Philemon and Apollonius completed their strife and received the crown of martyrdom.
May their prayers be with us all. Amen.
Martyrdom of Saint Mary the Israelite
On this day also St. Mary the Israelite was martyred. This Saint did not know the Lord Christ and she lived an evil life. When she wished to repent and to return to the righteous life, the Lord sent to her a holy man who preached her, and revealed to her the way of salvation by believing in the Lord Christ. He told her that the soul has to give an answer about all her deeds on the day of Resurrection. After death and departing of this world every one will be rewarded according to his deeds and explained to her the fearful punishments for the evildoers. She asked him: 'What are the proofs on what you said, since the Torah that God gave to Moses the prophet and also my fathers did not mention this? So confirm to me the truth of what you said with biblical and logical proofs'. After he explained and confirmed to her all these facts she became convinced in her heart and mind. She asked him: 'If I repent on my evil works would God accept me?' He replied: ' If you believed that Christ had come to the world for the salvation of the human race, and walked in the way of repentance, God will accept you' and she believed and repented. When the Governor knew about her, he brought her before him. When she insisted on her Christianity, he ordered her beheaded by the sword and she received the crown of martyrdom.
May her intercession be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Gospel
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Gospel according to our teacher Saint Luke the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. From the Psalms of our teacher David the prophet. May his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 85:3,4
Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
Alleluia.
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 9:12-17
When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.
And Glory be to God forever. Amen