Sunday<\/p>\n
St. Silouan the Athonite says, “If you encounter hardship, say, ‘The Lord knows my heart, and if this is what pleases Him, then everything will be good for me and for others.'” And, thus, your soul will always be in peace. But if people start complaining and grumbling, saying, “This is not good… and it should be different…,” then they will never attain peace in their heart, even if they observe all the fasts and prayers.<\/p>\n
Peace comes from accepting reality as it is and loving others and accepting them as they are. Those who know how to surrender to the Divine Will and love their brethren can live in peace and contribute to changing reality truly, not just in words. “Be in peace, and thousands around you will find peace,” St. Seraphim of Sarov used to repeat.<\/p>\n
This is the path that leads to the peace we desire. How can we accept everything with thanksgiving and positivity? If we truly live for God, with God, and for the sake of God, we will not only experience this peace but also transmit it to those around us, and we will pray with St. Silouan, “O Lord, grant Your peace to Your people. O Lord, grant them Your grace, that they may know You and love You with peace and love, and that they may say like the apostles on Mount Tabor, ‘It is good, O Lord, for us to be with You.'”<\/p>\n
Prayer:
\nWe adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee for by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.<\/p>\n
Monday
\nLuke 9:<\/p>\n
49\u00a0<\/sup>Now John answered and said, \u201cMaster, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 50\u00a0<\/sup>But Jesus said to him, \u201cDo not forbid him,<\/i> for<\/span> he who is not against<\/span> [h<\/a>]<\/sup>us is on<\/span> [i<\/a>]<\/sup>our side.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 51\u00a0<\/sup>Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, <\/span> 52\u00a0<\/sup>and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. <\/span> 53\u00a0<\/sup>But they did not receive Him, because His face was set<\/i> for the journey to Jerusalem. <\/span> 54\u00a0<\/sup>And when His disciples James and John saw this,<\/i> they said, \u201cLord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, [j<\/a>]<\/sup>just as Elijah did?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 55\u00a0<\/sup>But He turned and rebuked them, [k<\/a>]<\/sup>and said, \u201cYou do not know what manner of<\/span> spirit you are of.<\/span> <\/span> 56\u00a0<\/sup>[l<\/a>]<\/sup>For<\/span> the Son of Man did not come to destroy men\u2019s lives but to save them.<\/i>\u201d<\/span> And they went to another village.<\/span><\/p>\n Commentary:<\/p>\n Our Lord corrects the exclusivist and intolerant attitude of the Apostles. St Paul later learned this lesson, as we can see from what he wrote during his imprisonment in Rome: \u201cSome indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will\u2026 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice\u201d (Phil 1:15, 18). \u201cRejoice, when you see others working in good apostolic activities. And ask God to grant them abundant grace and that they may respond to that grace.<\/p>\n \u201cThen, you, on your way: convince yourself that it\u2019s the only way for you\u201d St Josemaria. Escriv\u00e1, The Way<\/p>\n V. 56:\u00a0Jesus corrects his disciples\u2019 desire for revenge, because it is out of keeping with the mission of the Messiah, who has come to save men, not destroy them (cf. Lk 19:10; Jn 12:47). The Apostles are gradually learning that zeal for the things of God should not be bitter or violent.<\/p>\n Prayer: <\/p>\n Tuesday 57\u00a0<\/sup>Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that<\/i> someone said to Him, \u201cLord, I will follow You wherever You go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 58\u00a0<\/sup>And Jesus said to him, \u201cFoxes have holes and birds of the air have<\/i> nests, but the Son of Man<\/span> has nowhere to lay His<\/i> head.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 59\u00a0<\/sup>Then He said to another, \u201cFollow Me.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But he said, \u201cLord, let me first go and bury my father.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 60\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus said to him, \u201cLet the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 61\u00a0<\/sup>And another also said, \u201cLord, I will follow You, but let me first go and<\/i> bid them farewell who are at my house.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 62\u00a0<\/sup>But Jesus said to him, \u201cNo one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is<\/span> fit for the kingdom of God.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Commentary:\u00a0\u00a0We see here the case of the man who wanted to follow Christ, but on one condition \u2014 that he be let say goodbye to his family. Our Lord, seeing that he is rather undecided, gives him an answer which applies to all of us, for we have all received a calling to follow him and we have to try not to receive this grace in vain. \u201cWe receive the grace of God in vain, when we receive it at the gate of our heart, and do not let it enter our heart. We receive it without receiving it, that is, we receive it without fruit, since there is no advantage in feeling the inspiration if we do not accept it\u2026 It sometimes happens that being inspired to do much we consent not to the whole inspiration but only to some part of it, as did those good people in the Gospel, who upon the inspiration which our Lord gave them to follow him wished to make reservations, the one to go first and bury his father, the other to go to take leave of his people\u201d (St Francis de Sales, Catholic Saint)<\/p>\n Prayer: <\/p>\n Wednesday <\/p>\n Prayer:<\/p>\n Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. \u201cAnd salute no one on the road\u201d: \u201cHow can it be\u201d, St Ambrose asks himself, \u201cthat the Lord wishes to get rid of a custom so full of kindness? Notice, however, that he does not just say, \u2018Do not salute anyone\u2019, but adds, \u2018on the road.\u2019 And there is a reason for this.<\/p>\n \u201cHe also commanded Elisha not to salute anyone he met, when he sent him to lay his staff on the body of the dead child (2 Kings 4:29): he gave him this order in order to get him to do this task without delay and effect the raising of the child, and not waste time by stopping to talk to any passer-by he met. Therefore, there is no question of omitting to have the good manners to greet others; it is a matter of removing a possible obstacle in the way of service; when God commands, human considerations should be set aside, at least for the time being. To greet a person is a good thing, but it is better to carry out a divine instruction which could easily be frustrated by a delay\u201d (ibid.).<\/p>\n Prayer: Friday 17\u00a0<\/sup>Then the [e<\/a>]<\/sup>seventy returned with joy, saying, \u201cLord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 18\u00a0<\/sup>And He said to them, \u201cI saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.<\/span> <\/span> 19\u00a0<\/sup>Behold,<\/span> I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.<\/span> <\/span> 20\u00a0<\/sup>Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but<\/span> [f<\/a>]<\/sup>rather rejoice because<\/span> your names are written in heaven.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Prayer:<\/p>\n Christ with me, Christ before me, Our Lord corrects his disciples, making them see that the right reason for rejoicing lies in hope of reaching heaven, not in the power to do miracles which he gave them for their mission. As he said on another occasion, \u201cOn that day many will say to me, \u2018Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?\u2019 And then will I declare to them, \u2018I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers\u2019\u201d (Mt 7:22-23). In other words, in the eyes of God doing his holy will at all times is more important than working miracles.<\/p>\n Prayer:<\/p>\n O Come let us worship and fall down before Christ, O Son of God, Who didst rise from the dead, save us who chant unto Thee, Alleluia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sunday St. Silouan the Athonite says, “If you encounter hardship, say, ‘The Lord knows my heart, and if this is what pleases Him, then everything will be good for me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-orthodox-daily-devotional","has_no_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12746"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12747,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12746\/revisions\/12747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLet the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer<\/p>\n
\nLuke 9:<\/p>\n
\nO Lord come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me.<\/p>\n
\n:Luke 10:1\u00a0 \u00a0After these things the Lord appointed [a<\/a>]<\/sup>seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. <\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>Then He said to them, \u201cThe harvest truly is<\/i> great, but the laborers are<\/i> few; therefore<\/span> pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.<\/span> <\/span> 3\u00a0<\/sup>Go your way;<\/span> behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.<\/span> <\/span> 4\u00a0<\/sup>Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and<\/span> greet no one along the road.<\/span> <\/span> 5\u00a0<\/sup>But whatever house you enter, first say, \u2018Peace to this house.\u2019<\/span> <\/span> 6\u00a0<\/sup>And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.<\/span> <\/span> 7\u00a0<\/sup>And remain in the same house,<\/span> eating and drinking such things as they give, for<\/span> the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house.<\/span> <\/span> 8\u00a0<\/sup>Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.<\/span> <\/span> 9\u00a0<\/sup>And heal the sick there, and say to them,<\/span> \u2018The kingdom of God has come near to you.\u2019<\/span> <\/span> 10\u00a0<\/sup>But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,<\/span> <\/span> 11\u00a0<\/sup>\u2018The very dust of your city which clings to<\/span> [b<\/a>]<\/sup>us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.\u2019<\/span> <\/span> 12\u00a0<\/sup>[c<\/a>]<\/sup>But I say to you that<\/span> it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThursday
\nNavarre Commentary on the Apostles’ mission:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd the Lord goes on\u201d, St Gregory the Great adds, \u201c\u2018Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road.\u2019 Such should be the confidence the preacher places in God that even if he is not provided with the necessities of life, he is convinced that they will come his way, to ensure that worry about providing temporal things for himself does not distract him from providing others with eternal things\u201d (In Evangelia homiliae, 17). Apostolate calls for generous self-surrender which leads to detachment: therefore, Peter, following our Lord\u2019s commandment, when the beggar at the Beautiful Gate asked him for alms (Acts 3:2-3), said, \u201cI have no silver or gold\u201d (ibid. 3:6), \u201cnot so as to glory in his poverty\u201d, St Ambrose points out, \u201cbut to obey the Lord\u2019s command: it is as if he were saying, \u2018You see in me a disciple of Christ, and you ask me for gold? He gave us something much more valuable than gold, the power to act in his name. I do not have what Christ did not give me, but I do have what he did give me: In the name of Jesus Christ, arise and walk\u2019.<\/p>\n
\nHoly, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts, the whole earth is filled with Thy Glory.<\/p>\n
\nLuke 10:13\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!<\/span> For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.<\/span> <\/span> 14\u00a0<\/sup>But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.<\/span> <\/span> 15\u00a0<\/sup>And you, Capernaum,<\/span> [d<\/a>]<\/sup>who are<\/span> exalted to heaven,<\/span> will be brought down to Hades.<\/span> <\/span> 16\u00a0<\/sup>He who hears you hears Me,<\/span> he who rejects you rejects Me, and<\/span> he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nChrist behind me, Christ in me,
\nChrist beneath me, Christ above me,
\nChrist on my right, Christ on my left,
\nChrist when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
\nChrist when I arise,
\nChrist in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
\nChrist in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
\nChrist in every eye that sees me,
\nChrist in every ear that hears me.
\n(St. Patrick\u2019s Breastplate prayer excerpt)
\nSaturday
\nCommentary on Luke 10 and the joyful Seventy:<\/p>\n