[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Fri Jan 11 05:00:27 CST 2008

Scripture Readings and Saints for Fri Jan 11 2008

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9  (Vespers, 1st Reading)
1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no
torment will ever touch them.
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their
departure was thought to be affliction,
3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at
peace.
4 For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is
full of immortality.
5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt
offering he accepted them.
7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run
like sparks through the stubble.
8 They will govern nations and rule other peoples, and the Lord will
reign over them for ever.
9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will
abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect,
and he watches over his holy ones.
Scripture Reading 1 of 8

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Wisdom of Solomon 5:15-6:3  (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
15 But the righteous live for ever, and their reward is with the Lord;
the Most High takes care of them.
16 Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem
from the hand of the Lord, because with his right hand he will cover
them, and with his arm he will shield them.
17 The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor, and will arm all
creation to repel his enemies;
18 he will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and wear impartial
justice as a helmet;
19 he will take holiness as a invincible shield,
20 and sharpen stern wrath for a sword, and creation will join with
him to fight against the madmen.
21 Shafts of lightening will fly with true aim, and will leap to the
target as a from a well-drawn bow of clouds,
22 and hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult; the
water of the sea will rage against them, and rivers will relentlessly
overwhelm them;
23 a mighty wind will rise against them, and like a tempest it will
winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth, and
evil-doing will overturn the thrones of rulers.
1 Listen therefore, O kings, and understand; learn, O judges of the
ends of the earth.
2 Give ear, you that rule over multitudes, and boast of many nations.
3 For your dominion was given you from the Lord, and your sovereignty
from the Most High, who will search out your works and inquire into
your plans.
Scripture Reading 2 of 8

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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 8

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Luke 6:17-23  (Matins Gospel)
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 4 of 8

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Titus 1:15-2:10  (Epistle)
15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and
unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are
defiled.
16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being
abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound
doctrine:
2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in
love, in patience;
3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not
slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-
4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love
their children,
5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own
husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
6 Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded,
7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in
doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,
8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent
may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.
9 Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well
pleasing in all things, not answering back,
10 not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn
the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
Scripture Reading 5 of 8

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2 Corinthians 4:6-15  (Epistle, St. Theodosius)
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who
has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of
the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that
the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that
the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is
written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and
therefore speak,
14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up
with Jesus, and will present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread
through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of
God.
Scripture Reading 6 of 8

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Luke 20:19-26  (Gospel)
19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay
hands on Him, but they feared the people -for they knew He had spoken
this parable against them.
20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous,
that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the
power and the authority of the governor.
21 Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and
teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the
way of God in truth:
22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you
test Me?
24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have? They
answered and said, "Caesar's."
25 And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that
are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the
people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.
Scripture Reading 7 of 8

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Matthew 11:27-30  (Gospel, St. Theodosius)
27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows
the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the
Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Scripture Reading 8 of 8

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------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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Afterfeast of the Theophany of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ
The fifth day of the Afterfeast of Theophany falls on January 11. Many
of the hymns of this period glorify Christ as God Who sanctifies the
waters of Jordan by being baptized in them.
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Venerable Theodosius the Great, the Cenobiarch
Saint Theodosius the Great lived during the fifth-sixth centuries, and
was the founder of cenobitic monasticism. He was born in Cappadocia of
pious parents. Endowed with a splendid voice, he zealously toiled at
church reading and singing. St Theodosius prayed fervently that the
Lord would guide him on the way to salvation. In his early years he
visited the Holy Land and met with St Simeon the Stylite (September
1), who blessed him and predicted future pastoral service for him.
Yearning for the solitary life, Saint Theodosius settled in Palestine
into a desolate cave, in which, according to Tradition, the three Magi
had spent the night, having come to worship the Savior after His
Nativity. He lived there for thirty years in great abstinence and
unceasing prayer. People flocked to the ascetic, wishing to live under
his guidance. When the cave could no longer hold all the monks, St
Theodosius prayed that the Lord Himself would indicate a place for the
monks. Taking a censer with cold charcoal and incense, the monk
started walking into the desert.
At a certain spot the charcoal ignited by itself and the incense smoke
began to rise. Here the monk established the first cenobitic
monastery, or Lavra (meaning "broad" or populous"). Soon the Lavra of
St Theodosius became renowned, and up to 700 monks gathered at it.
According to the final testament of St Theodosius, the Lavra rendered
service to neighbor, giving aid to the poor and providing shelter for
wanderers.
St Theodosius was extremely compassionate. Once, when there was a
famine in Palestine and a multitude of people gathered at the
monastery, the monk gave orders to allow everyone into the monastery
enclosure. His disciples were annoyed, knowing that the monastery did
not have the means to feed all those who had come. But when they went
into the bakery, they saw that through the prayers of the abba, it was
filled with bread. This miracle was repeated every time St Theodosius
wanted to help the destitute.
At the monastery St Theodosius built an home for taking in strangers,
separate infirmaries for monks and laymen, and also a shelter for the
dying. Seeing that people from various lands gathered at the Lavra,
the saint arranged for services in the various languages: Greek,
Georgian and Armenian. All gathered to receive the Holy Mysteries in
the large church, where divine services were chanted in Greek.
During the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius (491-518) there
arose the heresy of Eutychius and Severus, which recognized neither
the sacraments nor the clergy. The emperor accepted the false
teaching, and the Orthodox began to suffer persecution. St Theodosius
stood firmly in defense of Orthodoxy and wrote a letter to the emperor
on behalf of the monks, in which they denounced him and refuted the
heresy with the teachings of the Ecumenical Councils. He affirmed
moreover, that the desert-dwellers and monks would firmly support the
Orthodox teaching. The emperor showed restraint for a short while, but
then he renewed his persecution of the Orthodox. The holy Elder then
showed great zeal for the truth. Leaving the monastery, he came to
Jerusalem and in the church, he stood at the high place and cried out
for all to hear: "Whoever does not honor the four Ecumenical Councils,
let him be anathema!" For this bold deed the monk was sent to prison,
but soon returned after the death of the emperor.
St Theodosiusaccomplished many healings and other miracles during his
life, coming to the aid of the needy. Through his prayers he once
destroyed the locusts devastating the fields in Palestine. Also by his
intercession, soldiers were saved from death, and he also saved those
perishing in shipwrecks and those lost in the desert.
Once, the saint gave orders to strike the semandron (a piece of wood
hit with a mallet), so that the brethren would gather at prayer. He
told them, "The wrath of God draws near the East." After several days
it became known that a strong earthquake had destroyed the city of
Antioch at the very hour when the saint had summoned the brethren to
prayer.
Before his death, St Theodosius summoned to him three beloved bishops
and revealed to them that he would soon depart to the Lord. After
three days, he died at the age of 105. The saint's body was buried
with reverence in the cave in which he lived at the beginning of his
ascetic deeds.
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Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery,
Novgorod
Blessed Michael of Klops was of noble lineage, and he was a relative
of Great Prince Demetrius of the Don (1363-1389). He took upon himself
the exploit of foolishness for Christ to avoid the praise of men.
Leaving Moscow dressed in rags, he arrived at the Klops monastery,
near Novgorod.
No one knew how he got into the locked cell of the hieromonk Macarius,
who was going round the cell censing during the Ninth Ode of the
Canon. A man in monastic garb sat there beneath a candle, copying out
the Acts of the Holy Apostles. After the end of Matins the igumen came
with some of the brethren and asked the stranger who he was, and what
his name was. But he responded only by repeating the questions, and
did not reveal his origin.
In church the stranger sang in the choir and read the Epistle, and he
also read the Lives of the Saints at meals. All who listened were
moved by the beauty and spirituality of his reading. On the Feast of
the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Klops monastery was visited by
Prince Constantine Dimitrievich (son of Great Prince Demetrius of the
Don ).
After Communion he was in the trapeza with the princess, during which
time the unknown stranger read from the Book of Job. Hearing the
reading, the prince approached the reader and looked him over. Then he
bowed down to him, calling his kinsman Michael Maximovich by name. The
fool remarked, "Only the Creator knows me, and who I am," but he
confirmed that his name was Michael.
St Michael soon set an example for the brethren in all the monastic
efforts. He lived at the Klops monastery for forty-four years,
exhausting his body in work, vigils and various deprivations, and he
received from the Lord the gift of clairvoyance.
He denounced the vices of people, not fearing the powerful of this
world. He predicted the birth of Great Prince Ivan III on January 22,
1440, and his capture of Novgorod. He denounced Prince Demetrius
Shemyaka for blinding his brother the Great Prince Basil the Dark
(1425-1462).
On a sandy spot St Michael summoned forth a spring of water, having
written upon the earth: "I will take the cup of salvation (Ps.
115/116:13), let the well-spring show forth on this spot." And during
a time of famine, the supplies of bread at the monastery granary did
not diminish, though they distributed grain abundantly to the hungry.
Having indicated beforehand the place of his burial, the saint died on
January 11, 1453.
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St Theodosius of Antioch
Saint Theodosius of Antioch in his early years left the rich home of
his illustrious parents and entered upon the straight and arduous path
of asceticism. He settled into a small cell on the shore of the Gulf
of Isska, near the city of Ossos. The saint weakened his body with
prostrations and by lying upon the bare ground. He also wore a
hairshirt and heavy iron chains. His hair grew so long that it covered
his feet.
By continuous feats of fasting and prayer he conquered his fleshly and
spiritual passions, he quieted his temper, and drove away unclean
thoughts. He labored much, tilling his garden and occupying himself
with plaiting ropes. In his native land St Theodosius founded a
monastery (Skupela). He imparted to the monks a love for physical toil
and for spiritual deeds. St Theodosius had a special concern for
strangers.
The sublime life of the saint was known even beyond the confines of
the monastery. Both Christians and pagans knew him. Seafarers in time
of peril called out for help to "the God of Theodosius." It happened
that at the mere mention of St Theodosius, the waves of the sea were
calmed. Brigands feared and respected him, and sought his prayers.
Fleeing the praise of people, the saint settled near the village of
Maraton, founding here the Maratonia monastery. There the great
ascetic peacefully finished the days of his God-pleasing life (412).
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Venerable Theodosius the Metropolitan of Trebizond
Saint Theodosius, Metropolitan of Trebizond, was born in the village
of Koritsa, near the Kastorian hills. At eighteen years of age he
became a monk at Constantinople and went to the Philotheou monastery
on Mt. Athos, where he led a strict ascetic life.
He was chosen igumen of the monastery in 1375, and afterwards was made
Metropolitan of Trebizond because of the holiness of his life. He
persuaded John Alexius Komnenos to build the monastery of Dionysiou on
Mt. Athos. After a God-pleasing life, he died in Trebizond in 1392.
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Icon of the Mother of God of Elets
The Elets Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the year 1060. It
received its name because it appeared in a cathedral church dedicated
to the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. in the city of Elets, Orlov
province. January 11 was appointed as the feastday of this icon.
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