[Readingsandsaints] Readings and saints

Tue Feb 13 05:00:14 CST 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Tue Feb 13 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Jude 1:1-10
1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those
who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus
Christ:
2 Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our
common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you
to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to
the saints.
4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked
out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God
into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord,
having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed
those who did not believe.
6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their
own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for
the judgment of the great day;
7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar
manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and
gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the
vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and
speak evil of dignitaries.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he
disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a
reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever
they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt
themselves.
Scripture Reading 1 of 2

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Luke 22:39-42, 45-23:1
39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed,
and His disciples also followed Him.
40 When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not
enter into temptation."
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt
down and prayed,
42 saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me;
nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."
45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He
found them sleeping from sorrow.
46 Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you
enter into temptation."
47 And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who
was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to
Jesus to kiss Him.
48 But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man
with a kiss?"
49 When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to
Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"
50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off
his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this." And He touched his
ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and
the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a
robber, with swords and clubs?
53 When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize
Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
54 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high
priest's house. But Peter followed at a distance.
55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and
sat down together, Peter sat among them.
56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire,
looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."
57 But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."
58 And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of
them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"
59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed,
saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."
60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!"
Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the
word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows,
you will deny Me three times."
62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
63 Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.
64 And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked
Him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?"
65 And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.
66 As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests
and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying,
67 If You are the Christ, tell us. But He said to them, "If I tell
you, you will by no means believe.
68 And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.
69 Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of
God.
70 Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?" So He said to
them, "You rightly say that I am."
71 And they said, "What further testimony do we need? For we have
heard it ourselves from His own mouth."
1 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.
Scripture Reading 2 of 2

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Venerable Martinian of Caesarea, in Palestine
Saint Martinian went to live in the wilderness at the age of eighteen,
not far from the city of Caesarea in Palestine. For twenty-five years,
he devoted himself to ascetic deeds and silence, and he was granted
the gift of healing illnesses and casting out demons. However, the
Enemy of the race of man would not stop bothering the hermit with
various temptations.
Once a profligate woman made a wager with some dissolute people that
she could seduce St Martinian, the fame of whose virtuous life had
spread throughout all the city. She came to him one night pretending
that she had lost her way in the storm, and asking for shelter. The
saint let her enter, unable to turn her away in such a storm. He went
into his room and locked the door. The wicked guest changed into
beautiful clothes and began to tempt the ascetic.
When morning came, St Martinian came out to send the woman away.
Though he was tempted by the woman's beauty, he was determined not to
fall into sin. Lighting a fire, he stepped into it, saying, "You want
me to burn with temptation, and want to lead me into the fires of
Hell. I will not let you. Instead, I will burn for my virginity and
save my soul."
The woman came to see how evil she was. She repented and asked the
saint to guide her onto the way of salvation. He told her to go to
Bethlehem, to St Paula (January 26). There she lived as a nun for
twelve years in strict asceticism until her blessed end. The woman's
name was Zoe.
St Martinian went to an uninhabited rocky island, and lived on it
under the open sky for several years, nourished by the provisions
brought by a certain sailor from time to time. In return the monk wove
baskets for him.
Once a powerful storm wrecked a ship, and a woman named Photina
floated on pieces of the wreckage to the island of St Martinian. St
Martinian helped her to survive the island. "Remain here," he told
her, "for here is bread and water, and in two months a boat will
come."
Then he jumped into the sea and swam off. Two dolphins carried him to
dry land. Thereafter, St Martinian led the life of a wanderer. Later,
he came to Athens and fell ill. Sensing the approach of death, he went
into church and lay upon the floor. God revealed to the Bishop of
Athens who St Martinian was, and the bishop buried his body with
honor. This occurred around the year 422.
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Venerable Stephen (In Monasticism Simeon), the Myrrhgusher
and Prince of Serbia
Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Gusher, King of Serbia Stephen Nemanya was the
Great Zhupan of Serbia, and lived during the twelfth century. The
saint toiled much for his fatherland: he united a large portion of the
Serbian lands, and strove for the political independence of his
country from the Byzantine Empire. In his zeal for the Orthodox
Church, he defended his nation against heresy and false teaching.
At the age of eighty, Stephen went to Mt. Athos, where his son St Sava
(January 12), was glorified by the holiness of his life. Together they
restored the desolate Hilandar monastery, to which monks from various
lands began to gather.
St Simeon was a great ascetic and wise guide for the monks. He died on
February 13, 1200, and his relics began to exude myrrh. St Sava
transported his father's relics back to Serbia, and placed them in a
church of the Most Holy Theotokos at the River Studenitsa. St Simeon
had richly adorned this church while he was still ruler of Serbia.
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St Zoe
Saint Photina remained on the island, where she spent six years in
solitude, and then she gave up her soul to God. Everything about her
death was reported by that same sailor who brought her food, just as
he had done previously for St Martinian. The sailor brought the body
of St Photina to Palestinian Caesarea, where it was solemnly buried by
the bishop and clergy.
Ss. Zoe and Photina are celebrated on the same day with St Martinian.
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St Photina
Saint Photina remained on the island, where she spent six years in
solitude, and then she gave up her soul to God. Everything about her
death was reported by that same sailor who brought her food, just as
he had done previously for St Martinian. The sailor brought the body
of St Photina to Palestinian Caesarea, where it was solemnly buried by
the bishop and clergy.
Ss. Zoe and Photina are celebrated on the same day with St Martinian.
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St Eulogius the Archbishop of Alexandria
Saint Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria, was one of the enlightened
hierarchs of the sixth century. At first he was igumen of the
monastery of the Mother of God in Antioch, and then in 579 he was
chosen as Patriarch of Alexandria, where he served for twenty-seven
years. Throughout his life, the saint struggled vigorously against
heresies. He was also a friend of St Gregory Dialogus (March 12), and
some of their correspondence has been preserved.
St Eulogius died in 607 or 608. St Photius quotes from his writings,
which reveal an Orthodox theology of the two natures of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Only one of his sermons, for Palm Sunday, has survived in
complete form.
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