12 January. Friday in Week 1

1st Reading: 1 Samuel 4:1-11 Despite having the Ark of the Covenant, Israel loses the battle And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel, and Israel went out to battle against them; they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines…

1st Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 etc From the sanctuary God calls Samuel, and sends him as a prophet The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that…

1st Reading: 1 Samuel 1:9-20 Eli promises an answer to Hannah’s prayer; and she gives birth to a son After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was…

1st Reading. 1 Samuel 1:1-8 Hannah’s grief at being childless; her husband tries to comfort her There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; the name…

1st Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6 The Messiah will reveal his glory to all the nations Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over…

Saint Charles of Mount Argus (opt.mem) 1st Reading: 1 John 3:11-21 The original Christian message, that we should love one another For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And…

1st Reading: 1 John 3:7-10 How we are reborn as children of God Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of…

The Holy Name of Jesus (Optional memorial) 1st Reading: 1 John 2:29–3:6 We are God’s children now; when he is revealed, we will be like him If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him. See what love the Father has given us,…

Saints Basil the Great, and Gregory Nazianzen 1st Reading: 1 John 2:22-28 Abiding in the Holy Trinity, towards eternal life Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the…

A very Happy New Year to all our readers! 1st Reading: Numbers 6:22-27 A new-year prayer for God to bless and protect his people The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them, ‘The Lord bless you and keep you;…

1st Reading: 1 John 2:12-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people,…

Saint Thomas a Becket (opt.mem.) 1st Reading: 1 John 2:3-11 The link between love and walking in the light of God Beloved: The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is…

1st Reading. 1 John 1:5-2:2 We must not walk in darkness, but in the light of the Gospel Beloved: This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while…