“Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.” (Psalms 50:23)

Blessed is the person who leaves behind this life and its exhausting concerns, and carries his cross day by day, fixing his mind on the salvation brought by our Lord Jesus Christ. (Friday’s Homily)

The soul that is about to receive the Logos word, should die to the world (John 14:6) and be buried in Christ (Romans 6:4), (Colossians 2:12) so that it finds nothing but Christ, for this is the appropriate reception that He asks of it for Himself. (St. Ambrose)

The explanation of the readings

After seeing in the readings of Sunday the way of the kingdom through the cross, and how God possesses our lives through His cross, and how we live this kingdom, the readings of Monday Eve come to explain the way to see Him, also through the cross, as it is the only way to know God truly, and the only entrance to reveal Him.

The amazing thing in the readings of this night is that they not only explain how the cross is connected to seeing Him as a free and salvific gift from God to us, but also provide us with practical steps to see Him, and make our life journey grow in knowledge of Him and see Him as a responsibility of each one of us.

Perhaps this is what we see clearly in the introduction of the Gospels of the five hours [if we take the first sentence from the beginning of each Gospel of each hour] which show us how we live His kingdom, and the glory of His presence is revealed day after day.

Will to see Him -> “We want to see Jesus” (First Hour Gospel).
Prayer -> “And when He prayed alone” (Third Hour Gospel).
Ascension and Clarity of Purpose -> “And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem” (Sixth Hour Gospel).
Service to Villages and Needy -> “Then Jesus went out with His disciples to the villages. ” (Ninth Hour Gospel).
Solitude -> “The disciples came to Jesus alone” (Eleventh Hour Gospel).

The prophecies declare -> obstacles of seeing Him.
And the Psalms declare -> scream to see Him.
And the Gospels declare -> the economy to see Him.

The Gospels explain the presence and seeing the Son of God in our lives:
“We want to see Jesus” (First Hour Gospel).
“You are the Christ of God” (Third Hour Gospel).
“And Jesus was walking ahead of them” (Sixth Hour Gospel).
“You are the Christ” (Ninth Hour Gospel).
“Then the disciples came to Jesus alone” (Eleventh Hour Gospel).

The First hour of Monday Eve

The readings of Monday Eve begin with the intense need of the soul for divine light and presence, and the righteous respond to His call while the wicked reject His love.

Prophecy – Zephaniah (1:2-12)

Prophecy speaks of the wedding of the new covenant, and the sacrifice of salvation, which God offered freely through the cross of His only Son. It describes how the Jews rejected His call and did not seek Him, and their will deviated:
“But those who did not seek the Lord or inquire of Him… For the Lord has prepared His sacrifice and consecrated His guests.”

The prophecy explains the reasons and obstacles to seeing Him:
Conforming to the world “upon all clothed with strange garments”,
Oppressing others “those who fill the house of the lord God with ungodliness and deceit”,
Love of silver “all those exalting in silver are utterly destroyed”,
Blasphemy ” Who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do evil.”

Psalm 27:6,7

” Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.”

The link between the Psalm and the Gospel (Father Luke Sedarous)

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!

For Jesus the Lord at this hour, bearing our human flesh, is interceding to the Father, but what is He asking for?…
This is what the Gospel explains to us:
He asks for the glory of the Father, saying, “Glorify Your name,” and teaching us to say in prayer, “Hallowed be Your name,” and the response comes immediately from heaven with the voice of the Father saying, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
Now it is truly said that “everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds,” and the response comes in Christ to all the requests of humanity immediately and with a voice from heaven.

From now on, the glory of the divine name [Jesus the Savior] is declared and glorified not only among the Greeks, but also among all nations, and not at a specific time, but at all times; because the voice of the Father says: “I have also glorified it.”
The Lord is glorified by the fruit that is multiplied from the seed of wheat [Christ] that falls to the ground and dies.

Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

The Lord Jesus has gathered in Himself the divine glory and human weakness, for the voice responds from heaven in glory and at the same time says save me from this hour. And He says my soul is troubled, and at the same time the ruler of this world is cast out.
So, if we share with Christ in asking “save me from this hour,” we must also commit to surrendering to His will “not my will but yours be done”

The Gospel (John 12:20-36)

Clearly explains the relationship between the desire to see Jesus, the cross, and death to the world. There is no true knowledge of God without the cross, and the Son of God is not declared to humans except through their death to the world: “we wish to see Jesus… unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain… And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

It is also remarkable how the call of the Son of God to humans to accept His light is consistent with the call of the bridegroom in the prophecy: “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.”

And if the Lord shall search Jerusalem with His divine lamp and heavenly light in the prophecy of Zephaniah “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will search Jerusalem with candles”, then He shall see who are in the light “While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.”
As the cross shall proclaim the glory of Christ and those who rejected His salvation shall be condemned:
“Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again…This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.Now is the judgment of this world.”

[The Coptic translation here “Father, glorify Your Son” differs from the Beirut translation “O Father, glorify Your Name” as stated by Archdeacon Banoub Abdou]

The Third hour of Monday Eve

Prophecy – Prophet Zephaniah (Zephaniah 1:14-18, 2:2,1)

This prophecy complements the prophecy of the first hour of the Prophet Zephaniah as well (Zephaniah 1:2-12)
In the prophecy of the first hour, the Lord prepared His sacrifice (the sacrifice of salvation), sanctified His guests, rebuked those who did not seek Him, and warned them that He would search with a lamp for His seekers.
In the prophecy of the third hour, He announces the day of His second great and frightening coming, and calls everyone for repentance, justice, truth, and seeking the Lord with humility of heart for salvation from judgment.
“The great day of the Lord is near… Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, bring about justice, seek righteousness and give answer to these things so you may be sheltered in the day of the Lord’s wrath.”

Psalm (Psalm 27: 10, 2)

The Messianic Psalm (related to the Son of God), which was chanted in front of the temple and the Ark of the Covenant representing the divine presence.
And these verses at this moment “Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever. Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You” proclaim the cry of the Old Covenant prophecy for the need of the Savior, who will give His Church salvation, blessing, care, and exaltation through the cross.
As Father Tadros Yacoub Malati says: [David asks God about his people to enjoy the following gifts:
Salvation: To save them from their enemies. We cannot enjoy fellowship with Him unless He grants us victory over the “ego,” sins, and Satan.

The blessing that comes from God makes them blessed. Our salvation from spiritual enemies is not enough, but we need to taste the sweetness of God Himself, as He is our righteousness, holiness, glory, and joy.
He cares for us and nurtures us, strengthening us in His heavenly pasture, that is, in His church. He offers us the heavenly bread, the Eucharistic body, and the Eucharistic blood of Christ, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Rising above enemies, fears, and risks to enjoy the highest inheritance and eternal glory. He lifts us up forever. He does not remove pain from the lives of believers, but raises them above every distress and sorrow so that they may enjoy it even in their trials.
The connection between the Psalm and the Gospel (Father Luke Sedaros)
Save your people…

In the morning when He entered Jerusalem, the people cried out, saying, “Save us … Save us “, and in the evening Jesus repeats these same requests and lifts them up to the Father who wants everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth (Christ).
How can one pray saying: “Save your people” while He is the Savior (Jesus)?
For this reason, He asked the disciples so that there would be no opportunity for the enemy of good to go through the faith of the disciples…
And when Peter spoke the words of faith, the Lord instructed them not to tell anyone but to keep this in their hearts, just as the Blessed Virgin Mary used to do. She used to keep these things, pondering them in her heart.
bless Your inheritance…

It has been said in the psalm, “ask me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance”… and Jesus seeks the blessing of this inheritance… while all the tribes of the earth are blessed in Him, and we are His inheritance in which we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever… He also seeks this way, and He Himself is the shepherd who gives Himself for the sheep… He also lifts the poor from the dustbin, and the Lord at this hour raises their hearts to the divine proclamation in the face of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel (Luke 9:18-22)

then concludes by linking His knowledge and proclamation with His death and resurrection. Therefore, we see here how the Lord asks His disciples who people say He is, and also who they say He is. After Saint Peter received the grace of divine revelation about the truth of the Son of God and acknowledged it, the Lord announced His crucifixion and resurrection, as if they are inseparable from each other, the proclamation of His knowledge, the path of His suffering and resurrection. ” And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

The Sixth hour on Monday Eve

The readings of this hour lead us towards the Holy Church:
And how it cries out for salvation (Prophecy).
And how it will be crowned with the glory of the New Covenant (Psalms).
And how the Son of God walks before it on the path of suffering (Gospel).

Prophecy (Joel 1:5-15)

Here we see the Lord’s call to His church, shepherds, ministers, and people for prayer and fasting:
“Gird yourselves with slackcloth and wail you priests … Gather all the elders and all the people of the land into the house of the Lord your God … Cry out fervently to the Lord.”

Psalm (Psalm 29:2,1)

” Give unto the Lord, O you sons of God, Give unto the Lord ,the sons of rams, glory and strength.

Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

The holy fathers see the sons of God as the Christians who come from all nations and tribes.

Saint Basil sees:
[That the ram is the one who leads the flock and guides them to pastures, water, and folds, and these symbolize the leaders; those who lead the flock of the Lord Christ, because with their teachings they guide the speaking sheep to spiritual pastures and streams; and they are ready to strike the enemies with the horns of the old and new covenants, to attract them with the word of God to the righteous strengthening life. In this way, they make them their children, bring them closer to God, so that they may say, “Here we are and the children whom God has given me.”
He also sees that His sanctuary is the one holy Church and not the assembly of the Jews, whose house became desolate because of their sin, and the Church occupied its place, where we meet God to worship Him in spirit and truth, and outside it, it is not fitting for us to worship][6].
The link between the Psalm and the Gospel (Father Luke Sidaros)[7]
Give unto the Lord, O you sons of God

Reflect on the precision of the prophecy in the Psalms .. for the disciples ascended to Jerusalem with Jesus (the true sacrifice) leading them, and the Psalm calls on the disciples, “Sons of God, offer a sacrifice to the Lord,” as if pointing to the Christ who leads them. The Lord Jesus Himself speaks to His disciples that He will be handed over, flogged, and die.
God had previously indicated this innocent Lamb by the hand of John the Baptist, who said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
This day, in particular, is the day of testing the Lamb (on the tenth of Nisan) so that it may be kept until the day of sacrifice. The Lamb that leads them to be sacrificed for them is the same Good Shepherd who walks ahead of the sheep, and the sheep follow Him as He offers Himself as a sacrifice while they offer Him glory and honor.

Give unto the Lord

The Jews presented accusations and insults to the Lord, saying: He misleads the people, and by Beelzebub the prince of demons he casts out demons. They presented anger and shouting before Pilate, and the soldiers presented him with flogging and scorn, and they presented him with the cross to carry. When Jesus said, “I am thirsty,” they presented Him with vinegar mixed with gall to drink. And Jesus the righteous accepted and endured all this, and He informed His disciples of the offerings of the wicked and esteemed people in the eyes of the people. Rather, such unclean offerings are still made to Christ every day and on every occasion by those who hate the cross and reject the truth.

But the Psalm says: ” Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness ” Nothing calls us to worship and praise more than the sufferings of the Lord who poured out His soul unto death and presented Himself as a sacrifice and offering for us. And when we ascend to Jerusalem to present the sacrifice of worship, we must ensure that Jesus goes before us… we will follow Him to the cross… where He presented Himself for us “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” (Romans 8:36)

The Gospel (Mark 10:32-34)

And the Gospel concludes with the Church ascending to Jerusalem in Christ, who reassures her in her fear, and informs her that the way of her ascent is inseparable from the way of her sufferings, death, and resurrection, as long as He walks before her:
” Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles;

and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

The Ninth hour of Monday Eve

And the readings of this hour come to warn against:
Obstacles to declaring the salvation of God for us and in us in the injustice of others and greed (Prophecy)
Not seeking the righteousness and justice of God (Psalms)
And focusing on what is for people and not what is for God (Gospel).
How wonderful the church’s choice of these three together is : Prophecy, Psalms, and Gospel !

Prophecy (Micah 2:3-10)

The prophecy explains the features of injustice that should not exist among the children of God:
“Lately My people have risen up as an enemy– You pull off the robe with the garment From those who trust you, as they pass by, Like men returned from war. The women of My people you cast out From their pleasant houses”
At the same time, the reading declares who will receive salvation:
” You who are named the house of Jacob: “Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good To him who walks uprightly?”

Psalm (Psalm 16:1,6)

” I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. Hear a just cause, O Lord, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer.”

The strange thing is the choice of this psalm after this prophecy.
This psalm is one of the Messianic psalms (16-24), each of which presents a clear prophecy about the Messiah, the Savior.

Saint Jerome says:
[All that is mentioned in this psalm is applied to the Lord Christ, glory be to Him.
Although this psalm is a lament of a man falsely accused who sought refuge in the temple waiting for God’s judgment in his case, the attributes mentioned here (my righteousness – my integrity), with lips free of deceit, are applied first and foremost to the Lord Christ, as He is the perfect righteous One, and His lips are without deceit (1 Peter 2:22), interceding with His righteousness for His people, and the Father always listens to His intercession.

That is, this psalm also speaks about injustice, especially the injustice of the innocent and the blameless Lamb that carried our sufferings to grant us the Father’s righteousness. The word “ears” in the psalm refers to the Son of God who incarnated to hear and live our groans and make us hear the voice of the Father’s righteousness. Therefore, as C. Stuhlmueller says: We need Psalm 17 as we need our secret pains while we are innocent, not to reach beyond the horizons of this earth to reach eternity only, but to enter into the heart of Jesus who was unjustly accused (John 8:46), the innocent one who “knew no sin became sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). And when we recite Psalm 17, we also pray for the times when we have judged unjustly and wronged the innocent: we pray for all victims of injustice. Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty adds a comment on the words of this psalm: The defense of righteousness here cannot be understood as a naive expression of self-righteousness. It is not simply an assertion on the part of the worshipper that he is free from sin, but an attempt to justify man from certain unjust accusations.

By saying, “Listen, O Lord, of my righteousness,” we do not mean that we are without sin, but rather we mean that the voice of the blood of the Lord Christ and His merits is greater than the voice of false accusations against us, and even greater than the voice of sin that testifies against us, His voice in us is stronger, because it is the voice of Christ’s righteousness, the divine truth!]

The Gospel (Mark 7:27-33)

And perhaps at the beginning and end of the Gospel, there is something that protects us from falling into injustice so that we do not lose our salvation.
At the beginning of the Gospel is going out to villages and simple places and serving the poor and the needy, which makes us support the weak.
And the end of the Gospel is to beware of the world’s thinking and human opinions that justify injustice and distance us from the thoughts of God:
“Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi;… Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. ”
But here we also do not miss the clear connection between knowing Christ, His glory, and His cross and resurrection:

“Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ. The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

The Eleventh hour on Monday Eve.

Tonight’s readings conclude with revealing:

The cause of weakness and defeat (prophecy).

How the Son rescued us from powerful enemies (Psalm).

How He gave us complete victory over them (Gospel).

Prophecy (Micah 3:1-4)

It begins with a warning against not repenting and rejecting His voice, so He will turn His face away from them and evil will befall them.

“Then they will cry to the Lord, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds.”

The comparison here is between:

Answered cries:

“I cried out because you heard me” → for the righteous (in the ninth hour psalm).

The unanswered cry:

“Then they will cry to the Lord, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them.” → For the wicked (in the eleventh hour prophecy).

Psalm (Ps 17:16, 17)

“He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. They overran me in the day of my calamity.”

Some interpreters apply the entire psalm to Jesus Christ.

It is classified as a messianic psalm, as David explained that his kingdom was a picture and symbol of Christ’s kingdom.

He discovered that true salvation is not achieved by the destruction of Saul and his men, but by the destruction of Satan and his spiritual soldiers, through Christ’s victory, death, resurrection, glory, and kingdom. He has raised us up as spiritual kings (Rev 1:6).

The psalm is also one of the Messianic Psalms (16-24).

St. Paul quoted this psalm twice as belonging to Christ (Ro 15:9); (Heb 2:13).

Pope Athanasius the Apostle believes that [the psalm includes seven things:

The resistance of our enemies.

Invocation of God.

Christ’s descent to save us.

God’s ascension to heaven.

God saves man from his enemies.

The rejection of the Jews (losing the dignity of sonship to God and becoming strangers).

The acceptance of the Gentiles (accepting the grace of kingship by faith through hearing).

It is said to be a triumph poem that David recorded at the end of his life after he was relieved of all his enemies. Therefore, the words of this hour express the state of humanity in the face of its powerful and hated enemies (the forces of darkness), which cries out to the Savior to give her salvation.

The Gospel (Matthew 17:19-23)

The Gospel concludes by outlining the path to complete victory over Satan through faith that moves mountains and through fasting and prayer:

“if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”