[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Sun Apr 20 05:00:23 CDT 2008

Scripture Readings and Saints for Sun Apr 20 2008

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Genesis 49:1-2,8-12  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
Genesis 49:1-2,8-12
Scripture Reading 1 of 6

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Zephaniah 3:14-19  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
Zephaniah 3:14-19
Scripture Reading 2 of 6

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Zephaniah 9:9-15  (Vespers, 3rd Reading)
Zechariah 9:9-15
Scripture Reading 3 of 6

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Matthew 21:1-11,15-17  (Matins Gospel)
1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the
Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately
you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring
them to Me.
3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has
need of them,' and immediately he will send them.
4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophet, saying:
5 Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.' "
6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them,
and set Him on them.
8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others
cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried
out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in
the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!"
10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved,
saying, "Who is this?"
11 So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth
of Galilee."
Scripture Reading 4 of 6

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Philippians 4:4-9  (Epistle)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever
things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any
virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these
things.
9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me,
these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Scripture Reading 5 of 6

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John 12:1-18  (Gospel)
1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where
Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.
2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one
of those who sat at the table with Him.
3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the
feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was
filled with the fragrance of the oil.
4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would
betray Him, said,
5 Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and
given to the poor?
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a
thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My
burial.
8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have
always.
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came,
not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom
He had raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed
in Jesus.
12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when
they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried
out: Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The
King of Israel!"
14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is
written:
15 Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on
a donkey's colt."
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when
Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were
written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.
17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out
of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.
18 For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He
had done this sign.
Scripture Reading 6 of 6

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------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is the celebration of the triumphant entrance of Christ
into the royal city of Jerusalem. He rode on a colt for which He
Himself had sent, and He permitted the people to hail Him publicly as
a king. A large crowd met Him in a manner befitting royalty, waving
palm branches and placing their garments in His path. They greeted Him
with these words: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord, even the King of Israel! (John 12:13).
This day together with the raising of Lazarus are signs pointing
beyond themselves to the mighty !eeds and events which consummate
Christ's earthly ministry. The time of fulfillment was at hand.
Christ's raising of Lazarus points to the destruction of death and the
joy of resurrection which will be accessible to all through His own
death and resurrection. His entrance into Jerusalem is a fulfillment
of the messianic prophecies about the king who will enter his holy
city to establish a final kingdom. "Behold, your king is coming to
you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass"
(Zech 9:9).
Finally, the events of these triumphant two days are but the passage
to Holy Week: the "hour" of suffering and death for which Christ came.
Thus the triumph in a earthly sense is extremely short-lived. Jesus
enters openly into the midst of His enemies, publicly saying and doing
those things which most. enrage them. The people themselves will soon
reject' Him. They misread His brief earthly triumph as a sign of
something else: His emergence as a political. messiah who will lead
them to the glories of an earthly kingdom.
Our Pledge
The liturgy of the Church is more than meditation or praise concerning
past events. It communicates to us the eternal presence and power of
the events being celebrated and makes us participants in those events.
Thus the services of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday bring us to our
own moment of life and death and entrance into the Kingdom of God: a
Kingdom not of this world, a Kingdom accessible in the Church through
repentance and baptism.
On Palm Sunday palm and willow branches are blessed in the Church. We
take them in order to raise them up and greet the King and Ruler of
our life: Jesus Christ. We take them in order to reaffirm our
baptismal pledges. As the One who raised Lazarus and entered Jerusalem
to go to His voluntary Passion stands in our midst, we are faced with
the same question addressed to us at baptism: "Do you accept Christ?"
We give our answer by daring to take the branch and raise it up: "I
accept Him as King and God!"
Thus, on the eve of Christ's Passion, in the /celebration of the
joyful cycle of the triumphant days of Lazarus Saturday and Palm
Sunday, we reunite ourselves to Christ, affirm His Lordship lover the
totality of our life and express our :readiness to follow Him to His
Kingdom:
... that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may
share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible
1 may attain the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:10-11).
Very Rev. Paul Lazor
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Venerable Theodore Trichinas "the Hair-Shirt Wearer" and
Hermit Near Constantinople
Saint Theodore Trichinas was born in Constantinople, the son of
wealthy and pious parents. From childhood St Theodore was inclined
toward monasticism, so he left his home, family, and former life in
order to enter a monastery in Thrace. There he began his arduous
ascetic struggles. He dressed in a hair-shirt, from which he derived
the name "Trichinas," (or Hair-Shirt Wearer"). He even slept on a
stone in order avoid bodily comfort, and to prevent himself from
sleeping too much.
His life was adorned with miracles, and he had the power to heal the
sick. He reposed at the end of the fourth century, or the beginning of
the fifth century. A healing myrrh flows from his relics.
The name of St Theodore Trichinas is one of the most revered in the
history of Orthodox monasticism. St Joseph the Hymnographer (April 4)
has composed a Canon to the saint.
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Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Oshevensk
Saint Alexander of Oshevensk (+ 1479) was the founder of the Oshevensk
Dormition Monastery, and enlightener of the Kargopol area, and was
tonsured in the White Lake Monastery. He appeared to St Diodorus of
George Hill (November 27) in the seventeenth century when his Holy
Trinity Monastery ran out of supplies, and the brethren complained
because there was nowhere to buy food in the wilderness. St Alexander
reminded Diodorus of how the Lord had fed the five thousand in the
wilderness, and ordered him to go fishing. St Diodorus, fearing that
the vision was a demonic delusion, ignored it. When St Alexander
appeared a third time, Diodorus, wishing to test him, asked him to say
a prayer. St Alexander recited "It is Truly Meet," and his face shone
with a radiant light. The saint revealed himself as Alexander, the
igumen of Oshevensk Dormition Monastery, and repeated his order to go
fishing. Obeying this command, the monks went out and caught many
fish.
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Childmartyr Gabriel of Bialystok
Child Martyr Gabriel of Bialystok (+ 1690) was killed in Poland when
he was only six years old. One day when his parents were not home, he
was lured out of his house by a man named Schutko, and then killed.
After thirty years, the martyred child's body was found to be
incorrupt.
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Blessed Gregory the Patriarch of Antioch
No information available at this time.
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Blessed Anastasius the Sinaite and Patriarch of Antioch
No information available at this time.
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Venerable Anastasius the Abbot of Sinai
Saint Anastasius of Sinai lived in the seventh century, and was one of
the great ascetics who flourished on Mt. Sinai.
>From his youth, he was raised in great piety and love for God. When he
reached manhood, St Anastasius left the world and entered a monastery
to take upon himself the yoke of Christ (Mt.11:29). Wishing to perfect
himself in virtue, he went to St Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai,
where St John of the Ladder (March 30) was abbot. There he profited
from the example of many holy men who were proficient in monasticism.
Because of his humility, St Anastasius received wisdom and spiritual
discernment from God. He wrote the Lives of several holy Fathers, as
well as other spiritually instructive books. In time, he was found
worthy of ordination to the holy priesthood.
Following St John and his brother George, St Anastasius became abbot
of Sinai. He was most zealous in his opposition to heresy, exposing
it, refuting it, and covering its adherants with shame. He even
traveled to Syria, Egypt, and Arabia to uproot heresy and strengthen
the Church of Christ.
St Anastasius taught that God gives each Christian an angel to care
for him throughout his life. However, we can drive our Guardian Angel
away by our sins, just as bees are driven away by smoke. While the
demons work to deprive us of the heavenly Kingdom, the holy angels
guide us to do good. Therefore, only the most foolish individuals
would drive away their Guardian Angel from themselves.
After a long life of faithfully serving God, St Anastasius fell asleep
in the Lord in the year 685. He and the other ascetics of Mt. Sinai
are also commemorated on Bright Wednesday, the Synaxis of the Monastic
Fathers of Sinai.
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St Betran the Bishop of Lesser Scythia
No information available at this time.
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St Theotimus the Bishop of Lesser Scythia
Saint Theotimus the Scythian was Bishop of Tomis in Scythia. He was a
native of Dacia Pontica, and was part Roman. He is believed to have
been the teacher of St John Cassian (February 29) and St Germanus,
because he was once living in the same monastery as they were.
Somewhere between 385-390, St Theotimus succeeded St Germanus as
Bishop of Tomis. St Jerome mentions him in his book ON ILLUSTRIUS MEN.
He describes St Theotimus as a good pastor, a wise theologian, and a
talented writer. He also says that St Theotimus used to write short
works in the form of dialogues, which reveal his training in rhetoric
and philosophy.
In his writings, St Theotimus speaks of the role of the mind and the
heart in prayer. Perhaps because of this he is considered to be the
Father of the Romanian PHILOKALIA.
St Theotimus sometimes endured hardships from wandering barbarians,
but he impressed them with the holiness of his life and the miracles
he performed. He also had close ties with St John Chrysostom, and
visited Constantinople at least twice.
Sometime around 410, St Theotimus fell asleep in the Lord. Ancient
historians also refer to him as "the Philosopher."
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Translation of the relics of St Nicholas of Zhicha
No information available at this time.
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St Joseph of Serbia
No information available at this time.
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Apostle Zacchaeus
Holy Apostle Zacchaeus
The holy Apostle Zacchaeus was a rich publican at Jericho. Since he
was short of stature, he climbed a sycamore tree in order to see the
Savior passing by. After the Ascension of the Lord, St Zacchaeus
accompanied St Peter on his travels. Tradition says he became the
Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, where he died in peace.
The Gospel (Luke 19:1-10) describing Zacchaeus' encounter with Christ
is read on the Sunday before the TRIODION begins.
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St Athanasius of Meteora
No information available at this time.
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