Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Thursday of the Twenty-First Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Colossians [§ 252]. Brethren:

For Gk. usage, see Col. 1:24-29, 2:1; for Sl. usage, see Col. 1:24-29.

1 ²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings on behalf of you, and fill up the things lacking of the afflictions of the Christ in my flesh, on behalf of His body, which is the Church, ²⁵of which I became a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, ²⁶the mystery which hath been hidden from the ages and from the generations, but now is made manifest to His saints, ²⁷to whom God willed to make known what is the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory, ²⁸Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, in order that we might present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; ²⁹for which I also labor, struggling according to the energy of Him Who Himself energizeth in me in power.

2 ¹For I wish you to know how great a struggle I have for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 48]. At that time:

9 ⁴⁹One of the disciples came to Jesus and said to Him, “Master, we saw someone casting out the demons in Thy name, and we tried to hinder him, because he followeth not with us.” ⁵⁰And Jesus said to them, “Cease hindering him; for whosoever is not against us is for us.”

⁵¹And it came to pass, when the days were being fulfilled of the taking up of Him, He indeed set His face to go to Jerusalem; ⁵²and He sent forth messengers before His face. And they went and entered into a village of Samaritans, so as to make ready for Him. ⁵³And they did not receive Him, because His face was toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴And after His disciples Iakovos and John saw this, they said, “Lord, dost Thou wish that we should command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” ⁵⁵But He turned about and rebuked them, and said, “Ye know not of what manner of spirit ye are; ⁵⁶“the Son of Man came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save.” And they went to another village.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Prophet Hosea, and the holy righteous Monk-martyr Andrew of Crete.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§§ 330, 331]. Brethren:

11 ³³All the saints through faith struggled against kingdoms, wrought righteousness, attained to promises, stopped mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched the power of fire, escaped the edges of the sword, were empowered out of weakness, became strong in battle, turned back encampments of aliens. ³⁵Women received their dead by resurrection. And others were tortured, not accepting release, that they might attain a better resurrection. ³⁶And others received trial of mockings and of scourgings, and, moreover, of bonds and of imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted; they died, murdered by the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in need, afflicted, ill-treated— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They were made to wander in deserts, and in mountains, and in caves, and in the holes of the earth. ³⁹And these all, having been approved by testimony through faith, received not for themselves the promise, ⁴⁰God having foreseen some better thing concerning us, that they should not be made perfect without us.

12 ¹Therefore we also, having so great a cloud of witnesses which is set around us, and having laid aside every weight and sin that is easily circumvented, let us by means of patience be running the course which is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the originator and accomplisher of our faith, Who, in exchange for the joy set before Him, endured a cross, having despised the shame, and hath sat down on the right of the throne of God.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

October 30th – Civil Calendar
October 17th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Prophet Hosea (Osee).

The son of Beeri of the tribe of Issachar, he lived and prophesied more than eight hundred years before the birth of Christ. His inspired words are found in his book, which contains fourteen chapters. He strongly rebuked Israel and Judah for their idolatry, foretold God’s punishment for their sin, the destruction of Samaria and Israel for their apostasy but the showing of God’s mercy on the tribe of Judah. He foresaw the end of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, and the coming of the Lord and the rich gifts that He would bring to earth. He lived to great old age, and entered peacefully into rest.

2. The Holy Martyrs Kosmas and Damian, the Unmercenaries.

They were doctors by trade, and when they embraced the Christian Faith, they healed the sick in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, becoming known on all sides for their miraculous healings. The wicked pagans seized them and took them before the governor, Lysias, in the town of Aegae. These holy brothers would not deny Christ at any price, so they were first thrown into the sea and then into fire, but God almighty saved them from drowning and from the flames, an angel of God appearing to them and saving them. The pagan governor ascribed this to some magical power of theirs, but they replied: ‘We have no sort of magic, nor use any, but we have the power of Christ to save us and all who call upon His holy name.’ They were then stoned, but the stones bounced off them, and they were finally beheaded with the sword. Ss. Leontios, Anthimos and Efprepios also suffered with them and received wreaths of glory. They suffered in the time of Diocletian and Maximian, in the early fourth century. Many miracles were wrought by their holy relics, such as they had themselves also wrought while living on this earth.

3. Our Holy Father, the Martyr Andrew.

He was a Cretan by birth, and a Christian priest. At the time of the iconoclast persecution, he showed himself a great fighter for their veneration and went to Constantinople to denounce the wicked Emperor Kopronymos for his iconoclasm. The emperor was one day in the Church of the Holy Martyr Mamas. Andrew went into the church, stood before the emperor and began to rebuke him openly, before all who were present: ‘You would do better, O king, to look to the work of the army and the governing of the people, than to the persecuting of Christ and His servants.’ For this he was harshly flogged and tortured, and dragged through the streets, where a heretic attacked him with an axe and killed him. Thus Andrew gave his holy soul into God’s hands, in the year 767. His relics had healing power.

4. St. Lazarus the Four-Days-Dead.

His chief feasts are on March 17th and Lazarus Saturday at the end of the Great Fast. Today we commemorate the translation of his relics from the island of Cyprus to Constantinople. The Emperor Leo the Wise built a church to St. Lazarus in Constantinople, and translated his relics there in 890. When, after almost a thousand years, Lazarus’ grave in the town of Kition on Cyprus was dug up, a marble tablet was found with the inscription still legible: ‘Lazarus the Four-Days-Dead, the friend of Christ’.

FOR CONSIDERATION

The second appearance of the holy Martyr Longinus: When Saint Longinus appeared to the blind widow whose son had died, he promised to restore her sight and to show her her son in great glory. Finding the relics of the holy martyr and touching them with her hands, the widow immediately saw plainly, and thus one promise was fulfilled. The following night, St. Longinus appeared to the widow, bathed in light and holding her son by the hand, he also being clad in shining robes. Caressing the child like a father, he said to the widow: ‘Behold, woman, the son for whom you’re shedding so many tears! Look at the honor and glory that are his! Behold, and be comforted, for God has raised him up into that heavenly company that live in His kingdom. I have now brought him from the Savior, and he will never be separated from me. Take my head and your son’s body, and bury them in one coffin, and then mourn no longer for your only son, and let not your heart be troubled, for God has given him great glory and endless rejoicing.’ Seeing and hearing all this, the woman was filled with great joy and returned to her home, saying to herself: ‘I asked for bodily sight, and have been given spiritual sight also. I was in grief for the death of my son, and now I have him in heaven, where he stands in glory with the prophets and rejoices unceasingly with them.’

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.