Sunday
1 Peter  Dearly beloved: Be ye all of one mind, having compassion
one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should in- herit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righ- teousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.

Saint Focus:  Thursday focuses on the Maccabean martyrs of the Old Testament.  Prominent among them is Eleazer the Scribe who resisted to death those who would have him deny the Law by eating forbidden meat.  Some even offered to substitute the meat with something permitted by he realized this would set a bad example to those who saw it thinking he had betrayed the Old Covenant.  We should be careful of the kind of example we set to those who see us:  appearing to do wrong even when technically we aren’t causes as much harm.

Prayer:  O Gentle Light of the holy glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father, O Jesus Christ: Having come to the setting of the sun, having beheld the evening light, we praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: God. Meet it is for Thee at all times to be hymned with reverent voices, O Son of God, Giver of life. Wherefore, the world doth glorify Thee.
*Eastern Vesper Hymn

Monday
*Readings from St. Nikolai’s ‘Prologue’

This, brethren, is the promise of Christ, the Victor over the devil, sin and death. But the devil, sin and death are stronger than man. Who can overcome them? No one, except Christ and those who stand firm with Christ and enter into battle with His weapons. The devil is as old as the world, and even older. How can a man, whose life-span is measured by a pendulum, defeat him who, for many thousands of years, has learned to wage battle against man? How can a mortal overpower all the temptations of the devil, whose number equals the number of sins on earth? By no means, if he does not know that the Lord Jesus conquered the three main types of diabolical temptations on the high mountain. By no means, if a man does not remain firm and steadfast alongside Christ, Who is older than time and mightier than all the angels, both evil and good. Sin is as old as the devil. How can a man, whose life-span is measured by a pendulum, avoid sin, which, as a contagious disease and evil odor, has been passed from generation  to generation, from man to man, since man has existed on this earth? By no means, if he does not know that there exists one Man, the One and Only, Who did not commit sin, either in birth or after birth: the God-man Jesus Christ, Who, through the humbleness of His humanity and the fire of His Divinity, crushed sin on the Cross. By no means, if a man does not stand firm with Christ, Who is older than sin and Who is mightier than all of the sowers and carriers of sin. Death is as old as man expelled from Paradise. How can a man, whose life span is measured by a pendulum, conquer death in this worldly grave? By no means, if he does not acknowledge the power of the Cross, the suffering of Christ, and the truth of His Resurrection from the grave. By no means, if he does not stand firm with Christ, the Almighty Victor over death.

 

Prayer:  Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Tuesday

In one of the accounts of the martyrdoms of Christians during the reign of the Persian King Sapor, it is said: “The swords became dull, the sword-bearers fell and the sword-makers grew tired, but the Cross was lifted up even higher and shone from the blood of Christ’s martyrs.” How many times, how many times the persecutors of Christians complacently thought they were through with Christianity forever! In essence, their lives have ended, while Christianity has always regenerated itself and blossomed anew. Nevertheless, even in spite of this, some of our contemporaries think that the Christian Faith can be uprooted by force. But they do not say by what means. They forget that all those means have been tried and all without success. With reason Tertullian cried out to the pagans: “In vain do you spill our blood. For the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christianity.”

Prayer:  Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
*Agnus Dei

Wednesday

When the apostles speak of the glorious Resurrection of the Lord, they speak in the plural. For each one of them gives his testimony and the testimony of other companions. Thus, the Apostle Peter writes: We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty (II Peter 1: 16). Nathaniel did not want to believe simply by hearing. That is why the Apostle Philip invited Nathaniel to come and see! (John 1: 46). Nathaniel came, saw and believed. So it was with the other apostles: until they approached Christ, until they heard, and until they saw, they did not want to believe. Cleverly devised myths did not attract the apostles. Their healthy, natural minds sought visual facts and not myths. O my brethren, our Faith is well established and proven. The trail of God is well blazed in the world. No one has need to doubt. Christ’s Resurrection is well witnessed. No one need despair. Doubt and despair are two worms that are born of that which sin spews forth. He who does not sin, clearly sees the trail blazed by God in the world and clearly recognizes the Resurrection of Christ.

Prayer:  O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victory over their enemies to Orthodox Christians, and protect Thy people with Thy Cross.

Thursday

An elder and spiritual father said: “Arising in the morning, say to yourself: Body, work in order to feed yourself; soul, be vigilant in order to save yourself and inherit the Kingdom!” These are not empty words, but this has been the rule of many thousands of monks throughout the centuries— their daily rule of life. By labors they fed themselves; through prayer they remained vigilant. Why only for monks? Cannot this be the rule of every follower of Christ? Did not Christ Himself give us a clear example of this— an example of physical effort and constant vigilance in prayer?

Prayer:  O my God relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
*Act of Hope

Friday

Brethren, let us not be enslaved by philosophy, which by conjecture says that there is no eternal life or resurrection from the dead. For we do not arrive at the truth through man’s conjecture, but by God’s revelation. That which we know about the truth we know from Truth Itself, which was revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ and which was communicated to us through the faithful and wise witnesses of this Truth: the apostles and the saints. If we, because of our sins, reject these witnesses and accept the conjecture of humans, we will fall into dark and bitter slavery to nature, to the body, to sin, and to death. Brethren, let us not be deceived by the empty myths of men, created by men and according to men, that say that another world does not exist, or, if another world does exist, that we do not know anything about it. Behold, we know with confidence that another world does exist. We know this not from conjecturers or deceivers but from the Lord Jesus Himself Who appeared to His disciples on Mount Tabor with Moses and Elias (who had long before departed this world), and Who Himself appeared to many of His followers after His death. We also know this from the apostles, saints and numerous seers to whom, because of their chastity and sanctity, God revealed the ultimate truth about the other world. If, because of our sins, we do not believe these holy and truthful witnesses, we will then have to believe those unholy and false men, and we will be slaves to darkness, sin and death. Brethren, let us not be led astray by worldly teaching, which examines animals, plants and stones and says that it has not found God among these things, and thus arrogantly asserts that there is no God. Behold, we know that the Creator cannot be as a thing among things; rather He is above all things and different from all things. We know this as much by spiritual understanding and conscience as by the clear revelation of the Lord Jesus Himself, Who appeared in the body of a man as the Lord of all created things— as well as by the testimony of the apostles and many other holy and discerning men. Rather, let us glorify the Lord Jesus resurrected from the dead.

Prayer:  O my God I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and worthy of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
*Act of Contrition

Saturday

St. Anastasius of Sinai teaches: “Every Christian is given an angel from God to guard him all his life (unless, through evil deeds, he drives him away). But as smoke drives away bees and an evil smell drives away doves, so is the guardian angel of our life driven away by our sins: drunkenness, adultery, anger and so forth. The angel of every faithful man leads him to every good deed, while the demons labor to scandalize the faithful ones and deprive them of the Kingdom of Heaven.” That the angels are close to men and that they take care of men is attested to by the whole of Holy Scripture, but especially by the New Testament. Besides this, there exist in the Orthodox Church numerous testimonies of saintly men and women who witness to that which St. Anastasius asserts, that is, that each one of us is accompanied in this world by a gentle and mighty messenger of God, a soldier of the King of Heaven, an angel of light. Who, except an insane person, drives a good friend away from himself? In truth, only the insane and the extremely ignorant drive away their best friends, their guardian angels, by their sins.

 

Prayer:  Holy angel of the Lord by guardian, pray to God for me!