Sunday
Ephesians 8: Unto me who am less than the least of all Saints
is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, maybe able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Saint Focus: on Friday Elder St Paisios of Mt Athos is commemorated. The Sisterhood in Greece has faithfully shared his deeply spiritual but practical teaching with the world in a series of books over the past few years. It is our duty to share with others the things that have helped us spiritually as journey through daily life, not hide the wisdom ‘under a bushel’.

Prayer:  O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name’s sake.

Monday
* Prologue of St Nikolai this week

The apostles do not speak as worldly sages or as philosophers, and even less as theoreticians who make suppositions about things in order to discover something. The apostles speak about things which they have not sought but which unexpectedly surrounded them, about a fact which they did not discover but which, so to speak, unexpectedly found them and seized them. They did not occupy themselves with spiritual investigation, nor did they study psychology, nor much less did they occupy themselves with spiritism. Their occupation was fishing— a totally experiential, physical occupation. While they were fishing, the God-man appeared to them and cautiously and slowly introduced them to a new vocation in His service. At first they did not believe Him, but ever cautiously and slowly— with fear, hesitation and much wavering— they came toward Him and recognized Him. It was not until the apostles had seen Him many times with their own eyes and examined Him and felt Him with their own hands, that they believed. What they experienced was supernatural, but their method of recognizing this was thoroughly sensory and learned through positive encounter. Not even one contemporary scholar would be able to use a more positive method to know Christ. The apostles saw not only one miracle, but numerous miracles. They heard not only one lesson, but so many lessons that they could not be contained in numerous books. They saw the resurrected Lord for forty days: they walked with Him, they conversed with Him, they ate with Him, and they touched Him. In a word, they personally had thousands of wondrous facts firsthand, by which they learned and confirmed the one great fact, that is, that Christ is the God-man, the Son of the Living God, the man-loving Savior of mankind and the All-powerful Judge of the living and the dead.

 

Prayer:  O come, let us worship God our King.
O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ our King and God.
O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and God.

Tuesday

Concerning contemplation, St. Gregory of Sinai writes: “We confirm that there are eight principle subjects for contemplation: first, God, invisible and unseen, without beginning and uncreated, the First Cause of everything that exists, Triune, the one and only pre-existing Divinity; second, the order and rank of noetic powers; third, the composition of visible things; fourth, the Divine Economy of the Incarnation of the Word; fifth, the General Resurrection; sixth, the awesome Second Coming of Christ; seventh, eternal torment; eighth, the Kingdom of Heaven. The first four have already been revealed and belong to the past. The last four have not yet been revealed and belong to the future, although these four are clearly contemplated by those who, with the help of acquired grace, have attained complete purity of mind. Whosoever approaches this task of contemplation without the illumination of grace, let him know that he is building fantasies and does not possess the art of contemplation.” Thus wrote the great and discerning Gregory of Sinai, whose knowledge came from personal experience.

Prayer:  Soul of Christ, sanctify me, Body of Christ, save me Blood of Christ, inebriate me, Water from Christ’s side, wash me, Passion of Christ, strengthen me, O good Jesus, hear me, Within Thy wounds hide me, Suffer me not to be separated from Thee, From the malicious enemy defend me, In the hour of my death call me, And bid me come unto Thee, That I may praise Thee with Thy saints, and with Thy angels, Forever and ever, Amen.

Wednesday

We shall be like Him. Truly, this has not yet materialized, but He has manifested Himself and, for now, that is sufficient. He Himself showed how beautiful man is in the Resurrection, and we know that we will also be the same as He. The Apostle John says: We know that we shall be like Him. He does not say, “We suspect,” or, “It has been told to us,” but he says: We know that we shall be like Him. For He did not resurrect for His sake, but for our sake. He did not resurrect from the grave only to show His power to the dead who are without hope, but to assure the dead that they too will live again— and to show them how they will be when they become enlivened. Neither did the apostles write, We know, because of their vanity before the ignorant, but because of brotherly love toward man, that all men may know this— and that we too might know.

Prayer:  Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.  Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
*Memorare

Thursday

A story of the Elder Barlaam: A certain man had three friends. Two of them he loved sincerely, but he avoided the third out of indifference. It so happened that the king summoned this man before him to render account and to repay his debt. He turned for help to his first friend, who rejected him and departed. He then turned to his second friend, but even he did not help him. With shame, he then turned to the third friend, who joyfully accompanied him to the king. The interpretation is this: The first friend is wealth; the second friend is one’s relatives; the third friend is the good works of men in this world. The king is God, Who, through death, sends a summons and seeks payment of debt. A dying man seeks help in his wealth, but it turns away and passes on immediately into the hands of another owner. He then turns to his relatives, but his relatives send him off alone and they remain. Then, he reminds himself of his good works, which he carried out with indifference, and these immediately accompany him on his way to the King and Judge. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. The only companions of the soul into the other world are the works of a man, be they good or be they bad. All that was dear and precious to a man leaves him and turns away from him. Only his works, to the very last one, accompany him. He who has a mind to understand, let him understand.

Prayer:  Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit,  grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Friday

The Apostle Paul gives this commandment in relation to the Resurrection of Christ. Since he had enumerated many proofs of the Resurrection of the Lord, he decisively commands the faithful to awaken to righteousness and to sin no more. Why does the Apostle make our wakefulness contingent on the Resurrection of the Lord? Because the Resurrection of Christ from the dead is the main rebuttal to sinning. And because nothing else in this world can turn us away from sinning as surely as the knowledge that the Lord resurrected from the grave and now sits alive on the Throne of Glory, awaiting us at His Judgment. Having acquired this knowledge, sinning is utterly absurd. Having acquired this knowledge, waking from sin is perfectly natural and reasonable. Awake to righteousness! Not halfheartedly, but completely. Dismiss from your minds even the remembrance of sin. For sin is like a plant that can grow even in the most parched places. One drop of moisture, and a seemingly withered plant becomes green. One remembrance of a seemingly long-forgotten, dead sin makes it come alive and become stronger. The heathens, who sinned without having the example of the Resurrection of the dead, will have some justification at the Judgment. They will say: “There was nothing powerful enough to awaken us from sinning. We believed that the grave was the final delta of the river of human life, for we did not have any proof of life after death.” Thus will the heathens speak. But how will you Christians justify yourselves, you who have learned of the Resurrection of Christ and have awakened; you who have heard so many testimonies of the Resurrection and the Judgment and yet have continued to sin? How are you going to justify yourselves?

 

Prayer:  We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.
*Sub Tuum Praesidium

Saturday

After the Fourth Ecumenical Council [Chalcedon, 451] the heretical Emperor Anastasius banished the Orthodox Patriarchs Elias of Jerusalem and Flavian of Antioch.

One day, simultaneously, both saints discerned the death of the heretical emperor and sent each other the news of this, saying: “Anastasius is dead! Let us also go to stand judgment with him before God.” The emperor died, and two days later both patriarchs died. What zeal for the true Faith! What a humble hope before God’s judgment! For these saints, it was not a matter of living longer on earth but of God’s truth. Neither did they say, “We judged him,” but, “May God judge him!” Our stay on earth is not for the sake of sojourning, but for a personal choice for good or for evil, for truth or for falsehood. Blessed are we if, in everything, we trust God’s will and hope in God’s judgment. For in all things, one must have a strong faith. These Orthodox archpastors had strong faith. St. Acacius also had strong faith. Once, during a great drought, when the people were despairing, this wonderful Acacius led a procession of the people through the town and to its outskirts. He ordered that the Divine Liturgy be celebrated outside the town before the Church of St. Eustace. After consecrating the Holy Gifts, Acacius did not want to pour water into the wine, but prayed to God that He, the Most High, would send down water into the chalice from the clouds. God heard the prayer of His faithful servant and sent abundant rain onto the dry fields as well as into the honorable chalice.

Prayer:  Lord, I have cried to Thee, hearken unto me. Hearken unto me, O Lord. Lord, I have cried to Thee, hearken unto me.  Attend to the voice of my prayer, when I cry unto Thee. Hearken unto me, O Lord. Let my prayer be set forth as incense before Thee, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.  Hearken unto me, O Lord.
*Psalm 140 (141)