The Believer’s Superpower

The Believer’s Superpower

The saved receive the power of God!

#jesuschrist #god #superpower

Monday April 7, 2025 / March 25, 2025

Sixth Week of the Great Lent. Tone eight.
Great Lent. Fish Allowed

The Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
New Hieromartyr Tikhon, patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1925).
Venerable Sabbas the New (1948).
“Annunciation” (16th c.) Icon of the Mother of God.
Martyrs Pelagia, Theodosia, and Dula of Nicomedia, who suffered under Valentinian.
Venerable Parthenius of the Kiev Caves (1855).
St. Senuphius the Wonderworker of Latomos (9th c.).
St. Nicander of Pskov (1581).

The Scripture Readings

Genesis 28:10-17 (Vespers, Annunciation)

Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.

So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.

Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.

Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Behold, I am with you and will keep[a] you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

Ezekiel 43:27-44:4 (Vespers, Annunciation)

When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept you,’ says the Lord God.”

Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut.

And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.

As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.

Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the [a]temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; and I fell on my face.

Proverbs 9:1-11 (Vespers, Annunciation)

Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars;

She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table.

She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city,

“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

“Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed.

Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding.

“He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.

Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.

Exodus 3:1-8 Theotokos

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

“So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites

Proverbs 8:22-30 Theotokos

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.

I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water.

Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth;

While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primal dust of the world.

When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,

When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,

When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth,

Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,

Luke 1:39-49, 56 Matins Gospel

Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,

and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.

And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.

And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

Hebrews 2:11-18 Theotokos

For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”

And again:”I will put My trust in Him.” And again:”Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Luke 1:24-38 Theotokos

Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,

Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

For with God nothing will be impossible.

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Isaiah 48:17-49:4 (6th Hour)

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.

Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Your descendants also would have been like the sand, And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand; His name would not have been cut off Nor destroyed from before Me.”

Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth; Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!”

And they did not thirst When He led them through the deserts; He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.

“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”

“Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.

And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.”

“And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.’

Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God.’ ”

Genesis 27:1-41 (Vespers, 1st Reading)

Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.”

Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death.

“Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.

“And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it.

So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying,

‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’

“Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you.

“Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves.

“Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man.

“Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.”

And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.

Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.

Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”

But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”

Proverbs 19:16-25 (Vespers, 2nd Reading)

He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die.

He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.

Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction.

A man of great wrath will suffer punishment; For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.

Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days.

There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel — that will stand.

What is desired in a man is kindness, And a poor man is better than a liar.

The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.

A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.

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