Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

The Saturday of the First Week of the Great Fast

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 303]. Brethren:

1 ¹God, Who of old, in many parts and in many ways, spoke to the fathers through the prophets, ²did in these last of days speak to us through the Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the ages, ³Who being the effulgence of the glory and impress of His hypostasis, and bearing all things by the word of His power, having made for Himself our purification through Himself, sat down on the right of the Majesty in high places, ⁴having become so much better than the angels, as He hath inherited a more excellent name than they. ⁵For to which of the angels said He at any time, “Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee [Ps. 2:7]”? And again, “I will be to Him for a Father, and He shall be to Me for a Son [2 Kgs.(2 Sam.) 7:14]”? ⁶And whenever He again should bring in the firstborn into the inhabited world, He saith, “And let all the angels of God do homage to Him [Deut. 32:43 LXX; cf. Ps. 96(97):8(7)].” ⁷And indeed with reference to the angels He saith, “The One Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire [Ps. 103(104):5(4)]”; ⁸but with reference to the Son, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom [Ps. 44(45):5(6)]. ⁹“Thou didst love righteousness and didst hate lawlessness; on this account, God, Thy God, anointed Thee with the oil of gladness beyond Thy fellows [Ps. 44(45):6(7)].” ¹⁰And, “Thou, O Lord, in the beginning founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thy hands [Ps. 101(102):25]. ¹¹“They shall perish, but Thou remainest; and they shall all become old as an outer garment [Ps. 101(102):26], ¹²“and as a covering Thou shalt roll them up, and they shall be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail [Ps. 101(102):26, 27].”

Another Reading for Saturday of the First Week of the Great Fast in Commemoration of Saint Theodore

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

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 10]. At that time:

2 ²³During the sabbath days Jesus was going along through the sown fields; and His disciples began to make their way plucking the ears of grain. ²⁴And the Pharisees were saying to Him, “Behold, why do they that which is not lawful on the sabbath days?” ²⁵And He was saying to them, “Did ye not ever read what David did when he had need and hungered, he and those with him: ²⁶“how he entered into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the loaves set forth before the presence of God, which it is not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and gave also to those who were with him?” ²⁷And He was saying to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. ²⁸“Therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath.”

3 ¹And He entered again into the synagogue; and a man was there whose hand had been withered. ²And they were watching Him closely, whether He would cure him on the sabbath, in order that they might accuse Him. ³And He saith to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand in the midst.” ⁴And He saith to them, “Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. ⁵And having looked round about on them with wrath, being grieved for the hardness of their heart, He saith to the man, “Stretch forth thy hand.” And he stretched it forth, and his hand was restored sound as the other.

Commemoration of Saint Theodore

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 52]. The Lord said to His disciples:

15 ¹⁷“These things I command you, that ye be loving one another.

¹⁸“If the world hate you, ye know that it hath hated Me before it hath hated you. ¹⁹“If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world—but I chose you for Myself out of the world—therefore the world hateth you. ²⁰“Keep on remembering the word which I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹“But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they know not the One Who sent Me. ²²“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no pretext for their sin. ²³“The one who hateth Me hateth My Father also. ²⁴“If I did not do the works among them which no other one hath done, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵“But this cometh to pass that the word might be fulfilled which hath been written in their law: ‘They hated Me without a cause [cf. Ps. 34(35):22, 68(69):5(4)].’ ²⁶“But whenever the Paraclete should come, Whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of the truth Who proceedeth from the Father, that One shall bear witness concerning Me. ²⁷“And ye also are bearing witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.

16 ¹“These things I have spoken to you, in order that ye should not be made to stumble. ²“They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea moreover, there cometh an hour that everyone who killeth you should think that he offereth God a service.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable father among the saints, Leo, Bishop of Catania in Sicily, and the venerable Hieromartyr Cornelius, Abbot of the Monastery of the Caves of Pskov.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 99]. Brethren:

8 ²⁸We know that to those who love God all things work together for good, to those who are called according to purpose. ²⁹For whom He foreknew, He also foreordained to be conformable to the image of His Son, in order for Him to be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰But whom He foreordained, these also He called; and whom He called, these also He justified; and whom He justified, these also He glorified. ³¹What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He Who indeed spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also graciously give us all things? ³³Who shall bring an accusation against the elect of God? God is the One Who justifieth. ³⁴Who is the one who condemneth? Christ is the One Who died, but much more is He the One also Who was raised, Who also is at the right of God, Who also intercedeth for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶Even as it hath been written: “For on account of Thee, we are being put to death the whole day; we were counted as sheep of slaughter [Ps. 43(44):23(22)].” ³⁷But in all these things we more than conquer through the One Who loved us. ³⁸For I have been persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things coming, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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)

March 5th – Civil Calendar: Non-Leap Year
March 4th – Civil Calendar: Leap Year
February 20th – Church Calendar

1. St. Leo, Bishop of Catania.

Beneath the Mount Etna volcano, in the town of Catania, St. Leo was a good shepherd and compassionate teacher of the people. He had great care for the sick and the poor, and both his zeal for the Faith and his compassion for the needy were great. There appeared one day in that town a magician called Heliodorus, who deluded the people with many illusions and greatly seduced the young. He once entered a church during a divine service and began his tricks. St. Leo came up to him, bound him with one end of his pallium and led him out to the marketplace. Since the emperor had ordered the execution of Heliodorus, a great fire was kindled. When it was burning fiercely, Leo stood among the flames, holding Heliodorus to prevent him from working any of his diabolical tricks. Heliodorus was completely burned up, but Leo remained alive and unharmed. All who had been taken in by Heliodorus, and who had regarded him as in some way divine, were put to shame by this. The compassionate and zealous Leo became known throughout the whole kingdom as a wonder-worker, helping people by his miracles. When he had finished his course, sometime in the 8th century, his soul went to the Lord and healing myrrh flowed from his relics.

2. The Hieromartyr Sadok.

Sadok was bishop in Persia after St. Simeon. One night St. Simeon appeared to him in a dream and said: ‘Yesterday, me; today, you!’ Sadok interpreted these words to his congregation as meaning: ‘Last year I suffered; this year you will.’ And indeed, in that year, King Sapor arrested him with many of his clergy and people and brought them to trial. He first ordered them to worship fire and the sun as divine. Sadok replied: ‘We are ready with all our hearts to die for our God, and will not worship fire or the sun.’ They were then tortured and condemned to be beheaded with the sword. Before execution, Sadok raised this prayer to God: ‘Wash us from our sins, O Lord, in our own blood,’—and Sadok gloriously gave his body to death and his soul to God immortal, together with his priests and his people. He suffered in 342 or 344.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Water is finer than earth; fire is finer than water; air is finer than fire; electricity is finer than air. But, in the spiritual world, both air and electricity are coarse elements. Electricity is very fine, but the voice is finer than electricity, thought is finer than the voice and the spirit is finer than thought. Air is fine, and carries the voice over a great distance. Electricity is fine, and carries light over a great distance. So also every act and word and thought of yours is carried to all parts of the spiritual kingdom. Oh, how terrible a thing it is to perform a sinful act, to speak a sinful word and to think a sinful thought! To what an immeasurable distance are waves raised on the spiritual sea! But do not examine distant minutiae that are beyond your ken. It is of the greatest importance to know and weigh how every act, word and thought of yours makes an inescapable impression on four sides: on God and the spiritual world, on nature, on other people and on your own soul. If you train yourself in this knowledge, you will reach a high level of saving vigilance.

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.