Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Eighth Week

Grave Mode — Eighth Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 124].

1 ¹⁰Brethren, I beseech you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all be speaking the same thing, and that schisms may not be among you, but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same sentiment. ¹¹For it was declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of the house of Chloe, that there are strifes among you. ¹²Now this I say, that each of you saith, “I indeed am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Kephas,” and “I of Christ.” ¹³Hath the Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or in the name of Paul were ye baptized? ¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispos and Gaios, ¹⁵lest any should say that in mine own name I baptized. ¹⁶And I baptized also the household of Stephanas. As for the rest, I know not if I baptized any other. ¹⁷For Christ sent me not forth to baptize, but to be preaching the Gospel, not in wisdom of speech, lest the Cross of Christ should be made empty.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 58]. At that time:

14 ¹⁴Jesus, having gone out, saw a great crowd, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He cured their sick. ¹⁵And evening having come to pass, His disciples came to Him, saying, “The place is desolate, and the time is already past; dismiss the crowds, in order that they might go away into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶But Jesus said to them, “They have no need to go away; give ye them to eat.” ¹⁷But they say to Him, “We have nought here except five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹And He commanded the crowd to recline on the grass. And having taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to the heaven, and blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. ²⁰And all ate and were filled, and they took up of the fragments that which was over and above—twelve baskets full. ²¹And they who ate were about five thousand men, apart from the women and children.

²²And straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to embark into the ship and to go before Him to the other side, until He should dismiss the crowds.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable Fathers Symeon of Emesa, the fool for Christ's sake, and John, his fellow ascetic, and the holy Prophet Ezekiel (commemorated on some Gk. calendars on the 23^rd of July).

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 129]. Brethren:

3 ¹⁸Let no one be deceiving himself. If anyone among you think himself to be wise in this age, let him become foolish, in order that he might become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it hath been written: “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness [cf. Job 5:13]”; ²⁰and again, “The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain [cf. Ps. 93(94):11].” ²¹Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: ²²whether Paul, or Apollos, or Kephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things coming—all are yours. ²³And ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

August 3rd – Civil Calendar
July 21st – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Prophet Ezekiel.

The son of a priest from the city of Sarir, he was taken into captivity in Babylon with King Jehoiachin and many other Israelites. Living in captivity, Ezekiel prophesied for twenty-seven years. He was a contemporary of the Prophet Jeremias. As Jeremias taught and prophesied in Jerusalem, so Ezekiel taught and prophesied in Babylon. Jeremias’ prophecies were known in Babylon, as were Ezekiel’s in Jerusalem. Both these holy men were in agreement in their prophecy, and they were both ill-treated and tormented by the faithless Jewish people. Ezekiel had vivid and indescribable visions. By the River Chebar, he saw the heavens open, and a cloud like fire and lightning, and four living creatures like molten copper. One of the living creatures had the face of a man, the second that of a lion, the third that of a calf and the fourth that of an eagle. The human face signified God incarnate as man, the lion’s face His divinity, the calf’s His sacrifice and the eagle’s His Resurrection and Ascension. In another image, he was shown the resurrection of the dead. The prophet saw a valley filled with the dry bones of the dead, and when the Spirit of God came upon them, they came to life and stood on their feet. He also saw the terrible destruction of Jerusalem, when the wrath of God cut down all except those who had earlier been marked with the mark, that of the Greek tav, our letter ‘T,’ which is also the sign of the Cross. The malice of the Jews did not spare this holy man. Embittered against him for having denounced them, the Jews bound him to the tails of horses and he was torn asunder. He was buried in the self-same place in which Shem the son of Noah was buried.

2. Our Holy Fathers Simeon and John.

These two young men left their homes and kinsfolk in Syria: Simeon his old mother and John his wife, and were made monks in the community of St. Gerasimos, at the hands of Abbot Nikon. They went off into the desert, where they spent many years in the strictest asceticism. They mortified their bodies with this ascesis until they were like two pieces of dry wood. One day, Simeon said to John that, at God’s command, he must leave the desert and return to the company of men, there to serve God as a fool-for-Christ. John gave him this advice: ‘Keep your heart from all that you see in the world. Whatever there may be that touches your hand, let it not take hold of your heart. When food passes your lips, let not your heart be sweetened by it. If your feet have to move, let there be peace within you. Whatever you do outwardly, let your mind remain tranquil. Pray for me, that God may not part us from each other in the world to come.’ Holy Simeon accepted his friend’s advice, embraced him and then left the desert and went among men, to teach them through folly and turn them to the Christian Faith. He made himself appear mad to men, but his heart was a temple of the Holy Spirit, a temple of unceasing prayer. He had abundant gifts from God, having discernment into all men’s secrets, both close at hand and afar off, and healed men of evil spirits and other infirmities. Dancing through the streets like a madman, he drew near to people and whispered their sins in their ears, calling them to repentance. He appeared to sinners in dreams, reprimanding them for their sins and calling them also to repentance. Thus St. Simeon appeared in a dream to a pagan actor, Bali, who publicly mocked the holy things of the Christians. He rebuked him and threatened him, and Bali repented and became a good Christian. A dissolute youth went out of his mind with lust. Seeing him, St. Simeon, feigning madness, struck him a blow on the face, and said: ‘Do not commit adultery!’ At that moment, the unclean spirit left the young man and he was healed.

3. St. Victor.

He suffered in Marseilles in the third century. After harsh torture, he was thrown into prison, where he converted the guards to the Christian Faith. He died by crucifixion.

FOR CONSIDERATION, From “My Life in Christ”—St. John of Kronstadt.

When you are struck by other people’s suffering, and the contraction of their souls, so that you are induced to pray for them with a pitying and contrite heart, pray to God to have mercy upon them and to forgive them their sins, as you would pray for the forgiveness of your own sins—that is, implore God with tears to pardon them; likewise pray for the salvation of others as you would pray for your own salvation. If you attain to this and make it a habit, you will receive from God an abundance of spiritual gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Who loves the soul that cares for the salvation of others, because He Himself, the most Holy Spirit, wishes to save us all in every possible way, if only we do not oppose Him, and do not harden our hearts. “The Spirit Himself intercedeth for us with unutterable groanings (Rom. 8:26).”

Daily Scripture Readings taken from The Orthodox New Testament, translated and published by Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista, Colorado, copyright © 2000, used with permission, all rights reserved.

Daily Prologue Readings taken from The Prologue of Ochrid, by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, translated by Mother Maria, published by Lazarica Press, Birmingham, England, copyright © 1985, all rights reserved. Edited by Dormition Skete.