Sunday
Philippians 1:3

 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13 so that it has become evident to the whole [b]palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; 14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 [c]The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

Prayer:  O my God I firmly believe that Thou art one God in three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; I believe that Thy Divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, who canst neither deceive nor be deceived. (Act of Faith)

**”Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on her”  (3X)

Monday
*Prologue this week

Christ is not light and darkness, but only light. Christ is not truth and falsehood, but only truth. Nor is Christ life and death; He is only life. Nor is He strength and weakness; He is only strength. Nor is He love and hate; He is only love. He is the “yea” for every good, and in Him there is no vacillating between “yea” and “nay.” His teaching is all-pure, all-true, all-light and all-loving toward mankind. His path is accurately hewn and He does not permit swerving either to the left or to the right. Not even a shadow of sin can pass over His teaching or find a place on His path. His Person is the incarnation of goodness; all that is good is in Him, and all that is sinful, false, malicious and unjust is outside of Him. This is the teaching, this is the path, and this is the Person of Christ that the apostles of God preached: a teaching that is the affirmation of good and the revelation of the infinite treasury of good; a path that leads to the realization and the eternal enjoyment of that good;

 

Prayer:  Having risen from sleep I hasten to Thee, O Lord, Lover of men, and by Thy loving-kindness I strive to do Thy work, and I pray to Thee:  help me at all times, in everything, and deliver me from every evil thing of the world and every attack of the devil, and lead me into Thine eternal Kingdom. For Thou art my Creator, the Giver and Provider of everything good, and all my hope is in Thee, and to Thee I send up glory, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.  Amen.
**”Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on her”  (3X)

Tuesday

The Orthodox saint [Apollinarius]  is saying that the true Faith, on the other hand, must be persecuted in this world. Heresies are generally closer to the worldly and demonic spirit, and thus the world and the demons do not persecute their own. To be constantly persecuted—with brief intervals in between—is a characteristic of the Faith and the Orthodox Church. This persecution has existed, either from without or within—externally from unbelievers and internally from heretics—throughout all of history.

 

Prayer:  Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears! Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
**”Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on her”  (3X)

Wednesday

The Lord Jesus both prophesied this and proved it true by His own example. The apostles also said this and by their example they proved it. All the God-bearing Fathers of the Church, the confessors and the martyrs also said this and proved it by their example. Therefore, is there any need to doubt that it is through a narrow door that one enters the Kingdom of God? Should we hesitate for a moment as to whether we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God? No, there is no basis or justification for doubt. Can sheep live among the wolves and not be attacked by them? Can a candle burn amidst crosswinds and not be bent to and fro? Can a fruitful tree grow alongside the road and not be disturbed by passersby? Thus, the Church of pious souls cannot but be persecuted again and again—by heathens, by idolaters, by heretics, by apostates, by passions and vices, by sin and transgressions, by the world, and by demons. Thus, not one devout soul can remain without persecution, be it external or internal, until it is separated from the body and the world. Someone may take issue with this and try to prove something different, according to his own calculation and logic. But here neither the mind nor the logic of one man is of any avail. Thousands who were crucified speak otherwise, thousands who were burned alive cry out otherwise, thousands who were beheaded prove otherwise, and thousands who were drowned witness otherwise. O my brethren, the Christian Faith is mighty not only when it agrees with sensual reasoning and sensual logic, but when (and especially when) it contradicts sensual reasoning and sensual logic. Those who want to live a godly life will be persecuted. This the Apostle prophesied at the beginning of the Christian era, and twenty Christian centuries render a many-voiced echo to confirm the truth of the prophecy.

Prayer:  Queen of Heaven rejoice, alleluia: For He whom you merited to bear, alleluia, Has risen as He said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. Because the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray : O God, who by the Resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, granted joy to the whole world: grant we beg Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may lay hold of the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
**”Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on her”  (3X)

Thursday

St. Meliton of Sardis writes: “The works of Christ following His baptism manifested and proved to the world that His divinity was hidden in His body. Being God, He was also perfect man. He revealed to us His two natures: His divinity, by His miracles performed throughout the three years following His baptism; and His humanity, throughout those years when the weakness of the flesh hid the signs of His divinity, even though He was truly the Pre-eternal God.” The manner of the union of divinity with humanity is difficult to comprehend, but the event of the appearance of God as a man among men is perfectly comprehensible from the viewpoint of the love of God for man. Even the creation of the world, as an event, is not more comprehensible—one can even say it is less comprehensible—than the event above all events: the Incarnation of God.

Prayer:  The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.   And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord.  Be it done unto me according to thy word.  (Repeat HM)

**”Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on her”  (3X)

Friday

King David sought that which the simple fishermen received without seeking. King David was in a state of darkness and yearned to see the radiant face of the Lord, which was revealed to the simple fishermen in its complete refulgence. King David belonged to the period of waiting, but the disciples belonged to the period of fulfillment. There, it was only the announcement of the coming of the Lord, but here, it is the coming. There, a presentiment and reverie about the face of the Lord; here, the radiance and beauty of that same face. The face of the Lord was radiant even before the Resurrection, and how much more radiant after the Resurrection! The inextinguishable flame of divinity hid behind the icon of His body and shone through that bodily icon. The disciples gazed upon Him fixedly and they rejoiced in their hearts. For forty days they gazed upon His glorified body and they rejoiced in their hearts! O my brethren, let us also seek the radiant face of the Lord that we might feel the delight with which the angels of God are elated. If we seek Him with yearning in this life, then we will see Him at least in the other life. But if we do not seek Him in this life, then we will not see Him either in this life or in the other life. Brethren, let us yearn for the face of Christ! His every word shows us one feature of His face. Each of His apostles shows us some characteristic of His face. His every deed shows us some feature of His face. Each of His saints shows us some ray of His radiant face. With yearning, brethren, let us examine the face of the Lord. Let us assemble ray after ray, until the entire sun is revealed. Let us enshrine that Sun in the depths of our hearts, that He may illumine our bodily courts from within. Let us plant this inexpressibly sweet vineyard in our hearts, that we may taste of that immortal drink with which the angels are filled.

Prayer:  And the Word became Flesh.  And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.  That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that, we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may by His Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.

**”Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on her”  (3X)

Saturday

Nothing can be kept secret from the Omniscient God. At every moment, He knows all that is being done in the world, both in the external world and in the internal, spiritual world. Not one intention, not one desire, not one thought can a man conceal from God. How can you hide from God that which you cannot hide from men, from holy men? One day, Tsar Ivan the Terrible came to church to pray to God. In the church, Blessed Basil the Fool-for-Christ stood for prayer. It is true the Tsar was in church physically, but his thoughts were on Sparrow Hill, a short distance from Moscow, upon which he had begun to construct a palace. Throughout the liturgical services the Tsar thought about how he could extend and complete his palace on that hill. After the services the Tsar noticed Basil and asked him: “Where have you been?” Basil replied: “In church.” Basil then immediately asked the Tsar: “And where were you, O Tsar?” “I also was in church,” answered the Tsar. To this the clairvoyant saint replied: “You are not speaking the truth, Ivanushka, for I perceived how, in your thoughts, you were pacing about on Sparrow Hill and building a palace.”

 

Prayer:  May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

**”Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on her”  (3X)