[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Sat Oct 6 05:00:21 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sat Oct 6 2007

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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

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Composite 3  - Wisdom of Solomon 4, 5 (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
The righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest. The righteous
man who has died will judge the ungodly who are living. For they will
see the end of the righteous, and will not understand what was said
about him; for the Lord will cast down the ungodly speechless to the
ground and shake them from the foundations; they shall become desolate
to the end; they will be in sorrows, and their memory will perish. For
they will come with fear at the thought of their sins, and their
iniquities shall stand against them to convict them.
Then the righteous man will stand with great boldness before those who
have afflicted him, and those who have made of no account his labors.
Having seen it, they shall be troubled with much fear and they will be
amazed at his most-glorious salvation. They will say within themselves
in repentance, in anguish of spirit they will groan and say: "This was
he whom we had sometimes in derision and a proverb of reproach - we
fools! We accounted his life as madness, and his end to be without
honor. How is he numbered among the sons of God? And why is his lot
among the Saints?
"Therefore, we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of
righteousness did not illumine us, nor did the sun shine on us. We
took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we
walked impassible pathways, but the way of the Lord we have not
known."
Scripture Reading 2 of 6

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Composite 4  - Wisdom of Solomon (Prov. 10; Wis. 6, 7, 8, 9) (Vespers,
3rd Reading)
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom; the lips of the wise
man know grace. The mouth of the wise speaks wisdom, and the truth
delivers them from death. If a righteous man dies, hope is not, for
the son of the righteous is born to life, and in his own good things
he acquires the fruit of righteousness. There is always light for the
righteous and they obtain grace and glory from the Lord. The tongue of
the wise is a good sister-in-law, and in their hearts rests wisdom.
The Lord loves the hearts of the holy, and acceptable to Him are all
the undefiled in the way.
The wisdom of the Lord illumines the faces of the wise. For she takes
hold of those desiring her by making herself first known to them. She
is easily seen by those who love her. He who rises early to seek her
shall have no difficulty, and those keeping vigil for the sake of her
shall quickly be without sorrows. For she goes about seeking those
worthy of her, and graciously reveals herself in the pathways. Against
wisdom evil does not prevail.
Therefore I was a lover of her beauty; I loved her and sought her out
from my youth. I desired to make her my bride, and even the Master of
All loved her. For she is an initiate in the knowledge of God, and a
discoverer of His works. Her labors are virtues, for she teaches
temperance and prudence, justice and courage; nothing in life is more
necessary for men than these. And if anyone desires much knowledge,
she knows the things of old, and beholds things to come; she
understands turns of speech and the solution of riddles; she has
foreknowledge of signs and wonders and the outcome of times and
seasons. She is a mediator of good things for all, for immortality is
in her, and glory in the company of her words.
Therefore I appealed to the Lord and prayed to Him, and said to Him
with all my heart: "O God of _my_ fathers and Lord of mercy, Who hast
made all things by Thy word, and by Thy wisdom hast fashioned man that
he should have dominion over the creatures made by Thee, that he
should rule the world in holiness and righteusness: Give me wisdom
that sits by Thy throne, and cast me not away from among Thy children,
for I am Thy servant and the son of Thy handmaid. Send her forth from
the heavens, from Thy holy abode, and from the throne of Thy glory,
that she may be with me, in understanding, and preserve me in her
glory. For the thoughts of mortals are miserable, and their intentions
likely to fail."
Scripture Reading 3 of 6

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John 10:1-9  (Matins Gospel)
1 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by
the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he
calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the
sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him,
for they do not know the voice of strangers.
6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things
which He spoke to them.
7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am
the door of the sheep.
8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep
did not hear them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go
in and out and find pasture.
Scripture Reading 4 of 6

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Hebrews 7:26-8:2  (St. Innocent)
26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the
heavens;
27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up
sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this
He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the
word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has
been perfected forever.
1 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such
a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens,
2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the
Lord erected, and not man.
Scripture Reading 5 of 6

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John 10:9-16  (St. Innocent)
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 6 of 6

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Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and
Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas
Glorification of St Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of
the Aleuts and Apostle to America (in the world John
Popov-Veniaminov), was born on August 26, 1797 in the village of
Anginsk in the Irkutsk diocese, into the family of a sacristan. The
boy mastered his studies at an early age and by age seven, he was
reading the Epistle in church. In 1806 they sent him to the Irkutsk
seminary. In 1814, the new rector thought it proper to change the
surnames of some of the students. John Popov received the surname
Veniaminov in honor of the deceased Archbishop Benjamin of Irkutsk (+
July 8, 1814). On May 13, 1817 he was ordained deacon for the Irkutsk
Annunciation church, and on May 18, 1821, he was ordained priest.
The missionary service of the future Apostle of America and Siberia
began with the year 1823. Father John spent 45 years laboring for the
enlightenment of the peoples of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, North
America, Yakutsk, the Khabarov frontier, performing his apostolic
exploit in severe conditions and at great risks to life. Saint
Innocent baptized ten thousand people, and built churches, beside
which he founded schools and he himself taught the fundamentals of the
Christian life. His knowledge of various crafts and arts aided him in
his work.
Father John was a remarkable preacher. During the celebration of the
Liturgy, memorial services and the all-night Vigil, he incessantly
guided his flock. During his time of endless travels, Father John
studied the languages, customs and habits of the peoples, among whom
he preached. His work in geography, ethnography and linguistics
received worldwide acclaim. He composed an alphabet and grammar for
the Aleut language and translated the Catechism, the Gospel and many
prayers into that language. One of the finest of his works was the
Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven (1833), translated
into the various languages of the peoples of Siberia and appearing in
more than 40 editions. Thanks to the toil of Father John, the Yakut
people in 1859 first heard the Word of God and divine services in
their own native language.
On November 29, 1840, after the death of his wife, Father John was
tonsured a monk with the name Innocent by St Philaret, the
Metropolitan of Moscow, in honor of St Innocent of Irkutsk. On
December 15, Archimandrite Innocent was consecrated Bishop of
Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands. On April 21, 1850 Bishop
Innocent was elevated to the rank of archbishop.
By the Providence of God on January 5, 1868, St Innocent succeeded
Metropolitan Philaret on the Moscow cathedra. Through the Holy Synod,
Metropolitan Innocent consolidated the secular missionary efforts of
the Russian Church (already in 1839 he had proposed a project for
improving the organization of missionary service).
Under the care of Metropolitan Innocent a Missionary Society was
created, and the Protection monastery was reorganized for missionary
work. In 1870 the Japanese Orthodox Spiritual Mission headed by
Archimandrite Nicholas Kasatkin (afterwards Saint Nicholas of Japan,
(February 3) was set up, to whom St innocent had shared much of his
own spiritual experience. The guidance by St Innocent of the Moscow
diocese was also fruitful, by his efforts, the church of the
Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos was built up into the Moscow
Spiritual Academy.
St Innocent fell asleep in the Lord on March 31, 1879, on Holy
Saturday, and was buried at the Holy Spirit Church of the Trinity-St
Sergius Lavra. On October 6, 1977, St Innocent was glorified by the
Russian Orthodox Church. His memory is celebrated three times during
the year: on March 31, the day of his blessed repose, on October 5
(Synaxis of the Moscow Hierarchs), and on October 6, the day of his
glorification.
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Holy, Glorious Apostle Thomas
The Holy and Glorious Apostle Thomas was born in the Galileian city of
Pansada and was a fisherman. Hearing the good tidings of Jesus Christ,
he left all and followed after Him. The Apostle Thomas is included in
the number of the holy Twelve Apostles of the Savior.
According to Holy Scripture, the holy Apostle Thomas did not believe
the reports of the other disciples about the Resurrection of Jesus
Christ: "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my
finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side,
I will not believe" (John 20:25).
On the eighth day after the Resurrection, the Lord appeared to the
Apostle Thomas and showed him His wounds. "My Lord and my God," the
Apostle cried out (John 20:28). "Thomas, being once weaker in faith
than the other apostles," says St John Chrysostom, "toiled through the
grace of God more bravely, more zealously and tirelessly than them
all, so that he went preaching over nearly all the earth, not fearing
to proclaim the Word of God to savage nations."
Some icons depicting this event are inscribed "The Doubting Thomas."
This is incorrect. In Greek, the inscription reads, "The Touching of
Thomas." In Slavonic, it says, "The Belief of Thomas." When St Thomas
touched the Life-giving side of the Lord, he no longer had any doubts.
According to Church Tradition, the holy Apostle Thomas founded
Christian churches in Palestine, Mesopotamia, Parthia, Ethiopia and
India. Preaching the Gospel earned him a martyr's death. For having
converted the wife and son of the prefect of the Indian city of
Meliapur [Melipur], the holy apostle was locked up in prison, suffered
torture, and finally, pierced with five spears, he departed to the
Lord. Part of the relics of the holy Apostle Thomas are in India, in
Hungary and on Mt. Athos. The name of the Apostle Thomas is associated
with the Arabian (or Arapet) Icon of the Mother of God (September 6).
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Monkmartyr Macarius of St Anne Skete on Mt Athos
No information available at this time.
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Icon of the Mother of God "O All-Hymned Mother"
The Icon "O All-Hymned Mother" derives its title from the thirteenth
Kontakion of the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos. "O All-Hymned
Mother who bore the Word, holiest of all the saints."
The Mother of God wears a crown, and clasps Her child to Her breast
with both hands. Christ is held in Her left arm, and rests on Her left
shoulder. He is facing Her, and both of His hands are placed below Her
neck.
Instead of the usual stars on Her head and shoulders, the faces of
angels appear in three circles. This is similar to the Arabian Icon
(September 6) and the "Stone of the Mountain not cut by Hands" Icon on
the iconostasis of the cathedral of the Transfiguration at Solovki.
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