[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Thu Dec 6 05:00:21 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Thu Dec 6 2007

----------------------------------------------------
------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------

Composite 2  - Proverbs 10, 3, 8 (Vespers, 1st Reading)
The memory of the righteous is with praise and the blessing of the
Lord is upon his head. Blessed is the man who has found wisdom and the
mortal who has understanding. For it is better to purchase her than
treasuries of gold and silver. She is more precious than precious
stones and all that is precious is unworthy of her. For length of days
and years of life are in her right hand; and in her left hand are
riches and glory. Out of her mouth proceeds righteousness and she
bears law and mercy upon her tongue.
Hear me, O child, for I will speak noble things. Blessed is the man
who keeps my ways, for my ways are the way of life, and in them is
prepared favor from the Lord. Therefore, I pray you, and utter my
voice to the sons of men: For I, wisdom, have dwelt with counsel and
knowledge and I have called upon understanding. Counsel and safety are
mine, understanding and strength are mine. I love those who love me
and those seeking me shall find grace.
Understand craftiness, O you who are simple, and imbibe knowledge, you
who are untaught. Hear me again, for I will speak noble things: I will
open _my mouth_ and from my lips _shall_ come what is right. For my
throat shall meditate truth; false lips are an abomination before me.
All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing in them that
is twisted or perverse. They are all straight to him who understands
and right to those who find knowledge.
I shall instruct you in truth, so that your hope will be in the Lord
and you shall be filled with the Spirit.
Scripture Reading 1 of 6

-----------------------------

Proverbs 10:31-11:12  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse
tongue will be cut out.
32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of
the wicked what is perverse.
1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight
is His delight.
2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of
the unfaithful will destroy them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers
from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But
the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the
unfaithful will be caught by their lust.
7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of
the unjust perishes.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, And it comes to the wicked
instead.
9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, But through
knowledge the righteous will be delivered.
10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when
the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is
overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12 He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, But a man of
understanding holds his peace.
Scripture Reading 2 of 6

-----------------------------

Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-15  (Vespers, 3rd Reading)
7 But the righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest.
8 For old age is not honored for length of time, nor measured by
number of years;
9 but understanding is gray hair for men, and a blameless life is ripe
old age.
10 There was one who pleased God and was loved by him,
11 He was caught up lest evil change his understanding or guile
deceive his soul.
12 For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving
desire perverts the innocent mind.
13 Being perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long years;
14 for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he took him
quickly from the midst of wickedness.
15 Yet the peoples saw and did not understand, nor take such a thing
to heart, that God's grace and mercy are his elect, and he watches
over his holy ones.
Scripture Reading 3 of 6

-----------------------------

John 10:9-16  (Matins Gospel)
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go
in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have
it more abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the
sheep.
12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own
the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and
the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about
the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My
own.
15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down
My life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must
bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and
one shepherd.
Scripture Reading 4 of 6

-----------------------------

Hebrews 13:17-21  (St Nicholas)
17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out
for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with
joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience,
in all things desiring to live honorably.
19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you
the sooner.
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the
dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the
everlasting covenant,
21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you
what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be
glory forever and ever. Amen.
Scripture Reading 5 of 6

-----------------------------

Luke 6:17-23  (St Nicholas)
17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd
of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and
Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear
Him and be healed of their diseases,
18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they
were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out
from Him and healed them all.
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: Blessed
are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed
are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And
revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is
great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
Scripture Reading 6 of 6

----------------------------------------------------
------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------

St Nicholas the Wonderworker and Archbishop of Myra in Lycia
Saint Nicholas, the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia is famed
as a great saint pleasing unto God. He was born in the city of Patara
in the region of Lycia (on the south coast of the Asia Minor
peninsula), and was the only son of pious parents Theophanes and
Nonna, who had vowed to dedicate him to God.
As the fruit of the prayer of his childless parents, the infant
Nicholas from the very day of his birth revealed to people the light
of his future glory as a wonderworker. His mother, Nonna, after giving
birth was immediately healed from illness. The newborn infant, while
still in the baptismal font, stood on his feet three hours, without
support from anyone, thereby honoring the Most Holy Trinity. St
Nicholas from his infancy began a life of fasting, and on Wednesdays
and Fridays he would not accept milk from his mother until after his
parents had finished their evening prayers.
>From his childhood Nicholas thrived on the study of Divine Scripture;
by day he would not leave church, and by night he prayed and read
books, making himself a worthy dwelling place for the Holy Spirit.
Bishop Nicholas of Patara rejoiced at the spiritual success and deep
piety of his nephew. He ordained him a reader, and then elevated
Nicholas to the priesthood, making him his assistant and entrusting
him to instruct the flock.
In serving the Lord the youth was fervent of spirit, and in his
proficiency with questions of faith he was like an Elder, who aroused
the wonder and deep respect of believers. Constantly at work and
vivacious, in unceasing prayer, the priest Nicholas displayed great
kind-heartedness towards the flock, and towards the afflicted who came
to him for help, and he distributed all his inheritance to the poor.
There was a certain formerly rich inhabitant of Patara, whom St
Nicholas saved from great sin. The man had three grown daughters, and
in desparation he planned to sell their bodies so they would have
money for food. The saint, learning of the man's poverty and of his
wicked intention, secretly visited him one night and threw a sack of
gold through the window. With the money the man arranged an honorable
marriage for his daughter. St Nicholas also provided gold for the
other daughters, thereby saving the family from falling into spiritual
destruction. In bestowing charity, St Nicholas always strove to do
this secretly and to conceal his good deeds.
The Bishop of Patara decided to go on pilgrimage to the holy places at
Jerusalem, and entrusted the guidance of his flock to St Nicholas, who
fulfilled this obedience carefully and with love. When the bishop
returned, Nicholas asked his blessing for a pilgrimage to the Holy
Land. Along the way the saint predicted a storm would arise and
threaten the ship. St Nicholas saw the devil get on the ship,
intending to sink it and kill all the passengers. At the entreaty of
the despairing pilgrims, he calmed the waves of the sea by his
prayers. Through his prayer a certain sailor of the ship, who had
fallen from the mast and was mortally injured was also restored to
health.
When he reached the ancient city of Jerusalem and came to Golgotha, St
Nicholas gave thanks to the Savior. He went to all the holy places,
worshiping at each one. One night on Mount Sion, the closed doors of
the church opened by themselves for the great pilgrim. Going round the
holy places connected with the earthly service of the Son of God, St
Nicholas decided to withdraw into the desert, but he was stopped by a
divine voice urging him to return to his native country. He returned
to Lycia, and yearning for a life of quietude, the saint entered into
the brotherhood of a monastery named Holy Sion, which had been founded
by his uncle. But the Lord again indicated another path for him,
"Nicholas, this is not the vineyard where you shall bear fruit for Me.
Return to the world, and glorify My Name there." So he left Patara and
went to Myra in Lycia.
Upon the death of Archbishop John, Nicholas was chosen as Bishop of
Myra after one of the bishops of the Council said that a new
archbishop should be revealed by God, not chosen by men. One of the
elder bishops had a vision of a radiant Man, Who told him that the one
who came to the church that night and was first to enter should be
made archbishop. He would be named Nicholas. The bishop went to the
church at night to await Nicholas. The saint, always the first to
arrive at church, was stopped by the bishop. "What is your name,
child?" he asked. God's chosen one replied, "My name is Nicholas,
Master, and I am your servant."
After his consecration as archbishop, St Nicholas remained a great
ascetic, appearing to his flock as an image of gentleness, kindness
and love for people. This was particularly precious for the Lycian
Church during the persecution of Christians under the emperor
Diocletian (284-305). Bishop Nicholas, locked up in prison together
with other Christians for refusing to worship idols, sustained them
and exhorted them to endure the fetters, punishment and torture. The
Lord preserved him unharmed. Upon the accession of St Constantine (May
21) as emperor, St Nicholas was restored to his flock, which joyfully
received their guide and intercessor.
Despite his great gentleness of spirit and purity of heart, St
Nicholas was a zealous and ardent warrior of the Church of Christ.
Fighting evil spirits, the saint made the rounds of the pagan temples
and shrines in the city of Myra and its surroundings, shattering the
idols and turning the temples to dust.
In the year 325 St Nicholas was a participant in the First Ecumenical
Council. This Council proclaimed the Nicean Symbol of Faith, and he
stood up against the heretic Arius with the likes of Sts Sylvester the
Bishop of Rome (January 2), Alexander of Alexandria (May 29), Spyridon
of Trimythontos (December 12) and other Fathers of the Council.
St Nicholas, fired with zeal for the Lord, assailed the heretic Arius
with his words, and also struck him upon the face. For this reason, he
was deprived of the emblems of his episcopal rank and placed under
guard. But several of the holy Fathers had the same vision, seeing the
Lord Himself and the Mother of God returning to him the Gospel and
omophorion. The Fathers of the Council agreed that the audacity of the
saint was pleasing to God, and restored the saint to the office of
bishop.
Having returned to his own diocese, the saint brought it peace and
blessings, sowing the word of Truth, uprooting heresy, nourishing his
flock with sound doctrine, and also providing food for their bodies.
Even during his life the saint worked many miracles. One of the
greatest was the deliverance from death of three men unjustly
condemned by the Governor, who had been bribed. The saint boldly went
up to the executioner and took his sword, already suspended over the
heads of the condemned. The Governor, denounced by St Nicholas for his
wrong doing, repented and begged for forgiveness.
Witnessing this remarkable event were three military officers, who
were sent to Phrygia by the emperor Constantine to put down a
rebellion. They did not suspect that soon they would also be compelled
to seek the intercession of St Nicholas. Evil men slandered them
before the emperor, and the officers were sentenced to death.
Appearing to St Constantine in a dream, St Nicholas called on him to
overturn the unjust sentence of the military officers.
He worked many other miracles, and struggled many long years at his
labor. Through the prayers of the saint, the city of Myra was rescued
from a terrible famine. He appeared to a certain Italian merchant and
left him three gold pieces as a pledge of payment. He requested him to
sail to Myra and deliver grain there. More than once, the saint saved
those drowning in the sea, and provided release from captivity and
imprisonment.
Having reached old age, St Nicholas peacefully fell asleep in the
Lord. His venerable relics were preserved incorrupt in the local
cathedral church and flowed with curative myrrh, from which many
received healing. In the year 1087, his relics were transferred to the
Italian city of Bari, where they rest even now (See May 9).
The name of the great saint of God, the hierarch and wonderworker
Nicholas, a speedy helper and suppliant for all hastening to him, is
famed in every corner of the earth, in many lands and among many
peoples. In Russia there are a multitude of cathedrals, monasteries
and churches consecrated in his name. There is, perhaps, not a single
city without a church dedicated to him.
The first Russian Christian prince Askold (+ 882) was baptized in 866
by Patriarch Photius (February 6) with the name Nicholas. Over the
grave of Askold, St Olga (July 11) built the first temple of St
Nicholas in the Russian Church at Kiev. Primary cathedrals were
dedicated to St Nicholas at Izborsk, Ostrov, Mozhaisk, and Zaraisk. At
Novgorod the Great, one of the main churches of the city, the
Nikolo-Dvorischensk church, later became a cathedral.
Famed and venerable churches and monasteries dedicated to St Nicholas
are found at Kiev, Smolensk, Pskov, Toropetsa, Galich, Archangelsk,
Great Ustiug, Tobolsk. Moscow had dozens of churches named for the
saint, and also three monasteries in the Moscow diocese: the
Nikolo-Greek (Staryi) in the Chinese-quarter, the Nikolo-Perervinsk
and the Nikolo-Ugreshsk. One of the chief towers of the Kremlin was
named the Nikolsk.
Many of the churches devoted to the saint were those established at
market squares by Russian merchants, sea-farers and those who traveled
by land, venerating the wonderworker Nicholas as a protector of all
those journeying on dry land and sea. They sometimes received the name
among the people of "Nicholas soaked."
Many village churches in Russia were dedicated to the wonderworker
Nicholas, venerated by peasants as a merciful intercessor before the
Lord for all the people in their work. And in the Russian land St
Nicholas did not cease his intercession. Ancient Kiev preserves the
memory about the miraculous rescue of a drowning infant by the saint.
The great wonderworker, hearing the grief-filled prayers of the
parents for the loss of their only child, took the infant from the
waters, revived him and placed him in the choir-loft of the church of
Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) before his wonderworking icon. In the
morning the infant was found safe by his thrilled parents, praising St
Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Many wonderworking icons of St Nicholas appeared in Russia and came
also from other lands. There is the ancient Byzantine embordered image
of the saint, brought to Moscow from Novgorod, and the large icon
painted in the thirteenth century by a Novgorod master.
Two depictions of the wonderworker are especially numerous in the
Russian Church: St Nicholas of Zaraisk, portrayed in full-length, with
his right hand raised in blessing and with a Gospel (this image was
brought to Ryazan in 1225 by the Byzantine Princess Eupraxia, the
future wife of Prince Theodore. She perished in 1237 with her husband
and infant son during the incursion of Batu); and St Nicholas of
Mozhaisk, also in full stature, with a sword in his right hand and a
city in his left. This recalls the miraculous rescue of the city of
Mozhaisk from an invasion of enemies, through the prayers of the
saint. It is impossible to list all the grace-filled icons of St
Nicholas, or to enumerate all his miracles.
St Nicholas is the patron of travelers, and we pray to him for
deliverance from floods, poverty, or any misfortunes. He has promised
to help those who remember his parents, Theophanes and Nonna.
St Nicholas is also commemorated on May 9 (The transfer of his relics)
and on July 29 (his nativity).
_________________________________________________________________
St Maximus, Metropolitan of Kiev
Saint Maximus, successor of Metropolitan Cyril III of Kiev
(1243-1280), was a Greek by birth, and he arrived in Rus, then
suffering under the Mongol (Tatar) Yoke, in 1283 as Metropolitan. The
saint decided to remain at Kiev, but the city was completely
devastated by the plundering incursions of the Tatars. Metropolitan
Maximus withdrew to Briansk, and from there to Suzdal. During his
visit to Volhynia the saint met with St Peter the igumen of the Rata
monastery, (December 21), who would succeed him as metropolitan.
In 1295 the saint deposed James from the bishop's cathedra at Vladimir
and replaced him with Simon. During these terrible times the throne of
the Great Prince was first at Vladimir, then at Pereslavl, then at
Tver.
Apprehensive lest he insult the South Russian princes by moving to the
north, the saint offered fervent prayers to the Mother of God, and She
indicated Vladimir as the place of his residence.
In the year 1299 Metropolitan Maximus went to Vladimir, and in the
following year he established St Theoctistus (December 23) as Bishop
of Novgorod. In 1301, Metropolitan Maximus was in Constantinople for a
Patriarchal Council, where at the urging of St Theognostus, Bishop of
Zaraisk, he set forth questions concerning the needs of the Russian
Church to be resolved by the Council.
Recognizing the need to build up the strength of subjugated Rus, the
saint urged Prince Yuri Danilovich of Moscow to make peace with the
holy Prince Michael of Tver. He also advised Yuri to journey to the
Horde to receive the throne. In 1304, the saint installed St Michael
of Tver (November 22) upon the Great-princely throne of Vladimir.
Setting an example of intense spiritual life for others, Metropolitan
Maximus was concerned about the spiritual growth of his proverbial
flock. Thus, the saint established rules for fasting for other times
in addition to Great Lent. He ordained it for the Apostles', Dormition
and Nativity lenten periods, and he defined when fasting on Wednesdays
and Fridays is allowed (in Russia until the fourteenth century they
did not fast on the Midfeast and Leave-taking of Pascha).
The holy metropolitan was particularly concerned with upholding lawful
marriage: "I write, therefore, about this, so that you my children,
born and newly-sanctified in the baptismal font, will take your wife
from the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, for the woman is for the
salvation of the man. If you cleave to them in promiscuity without
marriage, does it benefit you? No, but rather beseech and implore
them, whether young or old, to be married in the Church."
The saint reposed on December 6, 1305, and his body was buried in the
Dormition cathedral in Vladimir. A gilded covering was built over the
saint's grave, on which was written in gold letters: "Maximus, a
Greek, was ordained in the year 6791 from the creation of the world.
He came to Kiev in the year 1283 after the Birth of Christ. Because of
the Tatar onslaught, he moved from Kiev to the Great Russian city of
Vladimir. Maximus shepherded the Church of Christ for twenty-three
years, and he reposed in the year 6813."
The Maximov Icon of the Mother of God (April 18) was placed on the
wall above the grave of the saint. It was painted in the year 1299
following a vision to Metropolitan Maximus. A description of this
vision was inscribed on the left side of the crypt.
_________________________________________________________________