Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Tenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 159]. Brethren:

15 ¹²If Christ is being preached that He hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is not a resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is not a resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching empty, and your faith is also empty. ¹⁵And we also are found to be false witnesses of God, because we bore witness against God that He raised the Christ, Whom He did not raise—if then the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ¹⁸Then they also who reposed in Christ did perish. ¹⁹If in this life we have hoped in Christ only, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 84]. At that time:

21 ¹⁸In the morning as Jesus returned into the city, He hungered. ¹⁹And having seen a single fig tree in the way, He came to it and found nothing on it, except leaves only, and said to it, “Let there be no more fruit from thee forever.” And forthwith the tree was withered. ²⁰And after the disciples saw it, they wondered, saying, “How was the fig tree withered forthwith?” ²¹And Jesus answered and said to them, “Verily I say to you, if ye have faith and doubt not, ye shall not only do that which was done to the fig tree, but even if ye should say to this mountain, ‘Be thou taken away, and be thou cast into the sea,’ it shall come to pass. ²²“And all things, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Afterfeast of the Transfiguration, and the holy Martyr Laurence, Archdeacon of Rome.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to Saint Timothy [§ 292]. Child Timothy:

2 ¹Be thou empowered in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; ²and the things which thou heardest from me in the midst of many witnesses, commit thou these things to faithful men who shall be competent also to teach others. ³Thou therefore suffer hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴No one serving as a soldier is entangled with the affairs of life, in order that he might please the one who enlisted him. ⁵And if anyone also contend as an athlete in the games, he is not crowned unless he contend lawfully. ⁶The farmer who laboreth must be first to partake of the fruits. ⁷Be considering what I say; O may the Lord give thee understanding in all things! ⁸Be remembering Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, Who hath been raised from the dead, according to my Gospel, ⁹in which I suffer hardship even to bonds as a malefactor, but the word of God hath not been bound. ¹⁰On this account I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they might also attain salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

August 23rd – Civil Calendar
August 10th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyrs Laurence the Archdeacon and Pope Sixtus, and others with them.

When Pope Stephen (see August 2nd) was killed, St. Sixtus was installed in his place. Sixtus was an Athenian, first a philosopher and later a Christian. At that time, the Roman bishops were being killed one after the other in such quick succession that to be made Bishop of Rome was tantamount to a death sentence. The Emperor Valerian was determined to stamp out Christianity, and Pope Sixtus was quickly brought to trial with two of his deacons, Felicicius and Agapitus. When they were being taken off to prison, Laurence said to the pope: ‘Where are you going, father, without your son? Whither, O bishop, without your archdeacon?’ The pope consoled him with the prophecy that he would undergo yet greater suffering for Christ, and follow him very soon. And indeed, as soon as Sixtus and the two deacons had been beheaded, Laurence was arrested. He had been inspired to set in order both his own affairs and those of the Church. As treasurer, he had taken all the Church’s valuables to the house of a widower, Cyriacus. At that time, he healed Cyriacus of terrible pains in the head by the touch of his hand, and restored the sight of a blind man, Crescention. Thrown into prison, Laurence there healed an elderly prisoner, Lucillus, of blindness and baptized him. Seeing this, the warder, Hippolytus, also received Baptism, and later suffered for Christ (see August 13th). As Laurence would not deny Christ, but strongly counselled the Emperor Valerian to abandon his false gods, he was beaten on the face with stones and on his body with scorpions (chains with poisoned teeth). A soldier, Romanus, who was present at the torture, came to belief in Christ and was immediately beheaded. They finally put Laurence on an iron grid and lit a fire underneath. Roasting in the fire, Laurence gave thanks to God, and mocked the emperor for his paganism. When he had given his pure and heroic soul to God, Hippolytus took his body by night, first to the house of Cyriacus and then to a cave, where he buried it. St. Laurence suffered, together with the others, in 258.

2. St. Hiron.

He was a Christian philosopher. St. Gregory the Theologian mentions him in his books. He entered peacefully into rest and went to the Lord.

FOR CONSIDERATION

How can we overcome the enmity of our adversaries? By renunciation, meekness and prayer, surrender of all but faith, purity of life and meekness and prayer forever and always. St. Ambrose writes: ‘This is the weapon of the righteous man: to win while retreating, as skilled archers are able, while in retreat, to hit those stronger than themselves.’ A brother was insulted by his friend, but desiring peace with him, went to him to be reconciled. But the other would not open the door to him, and abusing him from within, drove him away from the house. The brother complained to a spiritual elder, who said to him: ‘In going to make peace with your brother, you have, all along the way, condemned him in your thoughts and justified yourself. I advise you, if your friend sins against you, to order your thoughts as though it were you who had sinned against him, and then go to him, justifying him and condemning yourself in your thoughts.’ The brother did this, and what happened? As soon as he drew near to his brother’s house, the latter opened the door wide, ran to him and embraced him, and peace was made between 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.