Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Third Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 85]. Brethren:

3 ²⁸We reckon a man to be justified by faith without the works of the law. ²⁹Is He the God of the Jews only? And is He not also of the nations? Yes, of the nations also, ³⁰since it is one God Who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. ³¹Do we then make the law of no effect through faith? May it not be! But we establish the law.

4 ¹What then shall we say that Abraham our father hath found according to the flesh? ²For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath a subject of boasting, but not in reference to God. ³For what saith the Scripture? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness [Gen. 15:6].”

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 24]. The Lord said:

7 ²⁴“Everyone who heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him to a prudent man who built his house upon the rock. ²⁵“And the rain came down, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew, and fell upon that house; and yet it fell not, for it had been founded upon the rock. ²⁶“And everyone who heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. ²⁷“And the rain came down, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew, and struck against that house; and it fell. And the fall of it was great.”

²⁸And it came to pass, when Jesus had brought these words to an end, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

8 ¹And after He came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him. ²And behold, a leper came and was making obeisance to Him, saying, “Lord, if Thou art willing, Thou art able to cleanse me.” ³And Jesus stretched forth His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be thou cleansed.” And straightway his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴And Jesus saith to him, “See that thou tell no one; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

27. The commemoration of our venerable Father Sampson the Hospitable.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 188]. Brethren:

9 ⁶The one who soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and the one who soweth with blessing shall also reap with blessing. ⁷Let each give even as he purposeth in his heart, not out of sorrow or out of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all self-sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work, ⁹even as it hath been written: “He dispersed, he gave to the poor; his righteousness abideth forever [Ps. 111(112):9].” ¹⁰Now the One Who supplieth seed to the sower and bread for eating, may He provide and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, ¹¹being enriched in everything to all open-handedness, which worketh out through us giving of thanks to God.

for Sl. usage, see [Gal. 5:22-6:2].

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 67]. The Lord said:

12 ³²“Cease being afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³“Sell your possessions and give alms. Make for yourselves purses which do not become old, an unfailing treasure in the heavens, where no thief draweth near nor moth destroyeth; ³⁴“for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ³⁵“Let your loins be girded about and the lamps be kept burning; ³⁶“and be ye like to men waiting for their own lord—whenever he should depart from the wedding festivities—that when he cometh and knocketh, straightway, they might open to him. ³⁷“Happy are those slaves whom the lord, after he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say to you that he shall gird himself about and shall have them recline at table, and will come forth and minister to them. ³⁸“And if he should come in the second watch, and in the third watch should he come, and find them thus, happy are those slaves. ³⁹“But know ye this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched and not let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰“Ye therefore also keep on becoming ready, for in the hour ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

July 10th – Civil Calendar
June 27th – Church Calendar

1. St. Sampson the Hospitable.

This saint was born of rich and eminent parents in ancient Rome, where he studied all the secular wisdom of that time, devoting himself in particular to the study of medicine. Sampson was a compassionate and liberal physician, and gave the sick medicine for both soul and body, counselling each man to fulfill the requirements of the Christian Faith. He moved to Constantinople, where he lived in a tiny house from which he distributed alms, comfort, advice, hope, medicine, and all possible aid to those suffering in spirit and in body. The patriarch heard of Sampson’s great virtue and ordained him priest. At that time the Emperor Justinian the Great became ill with what his doctors believed to be an incurable disease. The emperor prayed with great fervor, and God revealed to him in his sleep that Sampson would heal him. When the emperor summoned Sampson to court, the elder had only to put his hand on the diseased place and the emperor was healed. When Justinian offered him an immense sum of money, Sampson thanked him but would accept nothing, saying to the Emperor: ‘O emperor. I had silver and gold and other riches, but I left it all for the sake of Christ, that I might gain heavenly and eternal wealth.’ When the emperor insisted on doing something for him, Sampson asked him to build a home for the poor. In that home, Sampson cared for the poor as a father cares for his children. His compassion for the poor and weak was second nature to him. This holy man, filled with heavenly power and goodness, entered peacefully into rest on June 27th, 530. He was buried in the Church of the Holy Martyr Mokios, his kinsman. After his death, Sampson appeared many times to those who called upon him for aid.

2. St. Severus the Priest.

He lived in central Italy. A man of rare holiness, he was once called to hear the confession of, and give Communion to, a man at the point of death. He tarried, working in his vineyard, and the news was brought to him there that the sick man had died. Stricken with grief, as if he had himself killed the man, he wept bitter tears over the corpse, and God raised the dead man to life again in response to his fervent prayer. Then Severus confessed him and gave him Communion, preparing him for a Christian leaving of this world, and on the eighth day the man died again.

3. St. Joanna the Myrrh-bearer.

She was the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward (Lk. 8:3). When Herod had John the Baptist beheaded, he cast his head out into an unclean place. Joanna took the head and buried it with honor on the Mount of Olives, on Herod’s land. Later, in the reign of Constantine the Great, the head was found. St. Joanna is also remembered because she was present at both the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. She died peacefully.

FOR CONSIDERATION

There is none so stupid as he who cannot see his own sins and another’s virtue. There is none so enlightened as he who can see and acknowledge his own sin and another’s virtue. St. John Chrysostom compares those who discover only another man’s faults, and criticise them, with flies that attack wounds, not to heal them but to gnaw at them. Blessed Theophilus of Kiev, who died in 1853, says: ‘God has sent us here for penance.’ The man who knows and feels that he is doing penance will immerse himself in silence and the consideration of his own sinfulness, which has brought him to do penance. This same saint said: ‘Weep also for the sins of those nearest you—for without this not one human soul shall be saved.’ Do we weep or do we spread abroad—how is it written, my son? Blessed Theophilus writes: ‘Weep, or help the devil to spread it abroad.’ On his death, Theophilus left this testament for his brethren: ‘Remember vile Theophilus!’ Such was the last testament of the holiest soul in Kiev in 1853.

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.