After-Feast of & Sunday after the Nativity of Christ

December 28, 2014

Commemoration of Joseph the Betrothed, David the Prophet and King,
and James the Brother of the Lord

Hymns of the Day

Troparion of the Ressurection – Tone 4

Having learned the joyful message of the Resurrection from the angel the women disciples of the Lord cast from them their parental condemnation. And proudly broke the news to the Disciples, saying: Death hath been spoiled; Christ God is risen, granting the world Great Mercy.

Troparion of the Nativity of Christ – Tone 4

Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, has shown to the world the light of wisdom! For by it those who worshipped the stars were taught by a star, to adore thee, the Son of Righteousness, and to know thee, the Orient from on High. O Lord, glory to Thee!

Troparion of St Joseph –  Tone 2

Proclaim, O Joseph to David, the ancestor of God, the amazing wonder,
for by the angel they were revealed unto thee. For thou hast seen a Virgin great with child, and thou gave glory with the shepherds and didst worship with the Magi. Wherefore, plead with Christ God to save our souls.

Kontakion for Preparation of Christ’s Nativity – Tone 3

Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, and the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One. Angels with shepherds glorify Him, the wise men journey with a star, since for our sake the Eternal God is born as a Little Child.

Koinonikon (Communion Hymn)

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest. Alleluia.

Epistle – Galations 1:11-19

Brethren, I would have you know that the Gospel, which was preached by me, is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God violently and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people; so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.

Gospel – Matthew 1:1-25

When the wise men had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the Child, to destroy Him.” And he rose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called My Son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region, who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more.” But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Melania the Younger — December 31^st

Our venerable Mother Melania the Younger (or Melane the Roman - feastday: December 31) lived during the reign of king Honorios, son of Theodosios the Great, in 400. She came from a rich and glorious family. Her grandmother is also commemorated as a saint: Melania the Righteous (June 8). Because she loved the Lord with her whole heart, she chose to remain a virgin. But her parents forced her to get married even unwillingly with a man and she became the mother of two children. Then her parents and children died. That is why this blessed woman left the city of Rome and was living at her farm with every ascetic practice and virtue. She used to take care of the sick, received the foreigners who came to her, and visited the imprisoned and the exiled. Then she sold all her estates and possessions, which were many, and collected 120,000 gold coins, which she distributed to churches and monasteries.

In the beginning she used to eat once every couple of days but later on she used to fast five days per week and she would only eat on Saturdays and Sundays. So, this saint of blessed memory got used to and was trained in every ascetic practice with a lot of knowledge and discretion. She also used to write with a calligraphic hand in a very nice and artistic way.

Then she went to Africa and, after she had spent seven years there distributing most of her wealth, she went to Alexandria and from there to Jerusalem. There she closed herself in a cell and with her example she attracted ninety virgins and nuns to this same zeal for asceticism. She used to provide for their daily needs unceasingly. Because she was overcome by the pain of the side, she got very sick and, after she had called the bishop of Eleutheroupolis, she received from him the Eucharist. Then she bid all the sisters farewell, and lastly uttered these words of Job: "As the Lord wishes, so let it be." And in this way she immediately commended her soul to the hands of God.

[orthodoxwiki.org]