*Sir 18:12-13*
Man may be merciful to his fellow man, but God’s mercy reaches all flesh. He has mercy, teaches and guides, as a shepherd does his flock.
*Ps 1:1*
Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent.
Glory Be to the Father…
Man may be merciful to his fellow man, but God’s mercy reaches all flesh. He has mercy, teaches and guides, as a shepherd does his flock.
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that by following the example of blessed John, Your Confessor, we may advance in a knowledge of holiness and, by showing pity for others, obtain Your forgiveness through his merits
Through our Lord…
Lesson from the letter of St James the Apostle
*James 2:12-17*
Dearly beloved: So speak and so act as men about to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to him who has not shown mercy; but mercy triumphs over judgment. What will it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but does not have works? Can the faith save him? And if a brother or a sister be naked and in want of daily food, and one of you say to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, yet you do not give them what is necessary for the body, what does it profit? So faith too, unless it has works, is dead in itself.
*Ps 106:8-9*
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness and His wondrous deeds to the children of men.
℣. Because He satisfied the longing soul and filled the hungry soul with good things. Alleluia, alleluia.
*Prov 31:20*
℣. He extends his arms to the needy, and reaches out his hands to the poor. Alleluia.
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Luke
*Luke 12:35-40*
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, Let your loins be girt about and your lamps burning, and you yourselves like men waiting for their master’s return from the wedding; so that when he comes and knocks, they may straight-way open to him. Blessed are those servants whom the master, on his return, shall find watching. Amen I say to you, he will gird himself, and will make them recline at table, and will come and serve them. And if he comes in the second watch, and if in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants! But of this be assured, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would certainly have watched, and not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because at an hour that you do not expect, the Son of Man is coming.
*Job 29:14-16*
I wore my honesty like a garment; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame was I; I was a father to the needy.
Graciously accept these sacrificial gifts, we beseech You, O Lord, through the merits of blessed John, Your Confessor, and grant that, loving You above all things and all mankind because of You, we may be pleasing to You in heart and in deed.
Through our Lord…
*Common*
It is truly meet and just, and profitable unto salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to Thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ, our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominions adore it, the Powers are in awe. Which the heavens and the hosts of heaven together with the blessed Seraphim joyfully do magnify. And do Thou command that it be permitted us to join with them in confessing Thee, while we say with lowly praise:
*Luke 6:38*
Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they pour into your lap.
