ON THIS DATE: From the Prologue to Ohrid/Ochrid

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE VENERABLE JOHN OF RILA

This great ascetic and saint of the Orthodox Church was born near Sophia, Bulgaria in the town of Skrino during the reign of King Boris. He was of poor but honorable parents. After the death of his parents, John was tonsured a monk and withdrew to a mountain wilderness and, began to live a life of strict asceticism in a cave. There, he endured many assaults, both from demons and men, from robbers and his relatives. After this, he moved to the Rila mountain and settled in a hollow tree. He fed only on herbs and broad beans, which, according to God's Providence began to grow in the vicinity. For many years, he did not see a man's face until again, by God's Providence, he was discovered by sheepherders who were seeking their lost sheep. Thus, the saint was heard of among the people and they began to come to him seeking help in sickness and in sufferings. The Bulgarian King Peter himself visited John and sought counsel from him. Many who were zealots for the spiritual life settled in the proximity of John. There, a church and monastery was quickly built. St. John rested peacefully in the Lord on August 18, 946 A.D. at the age of seventy. After his death, he appeared to his disciples. At first, his relics were translated to Sophia, then to Hungary, then to Trnovo and finally to the Rila monastery where they repose today. Throughout the centuries, the Rila monastery was a beacon of light, a place of miracle-working power and a spiritual comfort for the Christian people of Bulgaria especially during the difficult times of bondage under the Turks.

1. THE HOLY MARTYRS FLORUS AND LAURUS

Florus and Laurus were brothers in the flesh, and in spirit and in vocation. Both were zealous Christians and, by occupation, stonecutters. They lived in Illyria. A pagan prince hired them for the building of a temple to the idols. It happened that during their work, a piece of stone flew and struck the eye of the pagan priest's son who was observing the work of the builders with curiosity. Seeing his son blind and bloody, the pagan priest began to shout at Florus and Laurus and wanted to beat them. Then, the holy brothers said to him that if he would believe in the God in whom they believed, his son would be healed. The pagan priest promised. Florus and Laurus prayed with tears to the one, living, Lord God and traced the sign of the Cross over the child's injured eye. The child was immediately healed and his eye became whole just as it had been. Then the pagan priest Merentius and his son were baptized and, shortly after that, both suffered for Christ by fire. When they completed the temple, Florus and Laurus placed a cross on it, summoned all Christians and consecrated it in the name of the Lord Jesus with an all-night vigil of hymn singing. Hearing of this, the Illyrian deputy burned many of those Christians and threw Florus and Laurus alive in a well and then filled it with dirt. Later, their relics were revealed and translated to Constantinople. These two wonderful brothers suffered and were martyred for Christ and were glorified by Christ in the second century.

1. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR EMILIAN, BISHOP OF TREVI

Emilian was born in Armenia. According to his wishes and seeking martyrdom, he traveled to Italy to preach Christ during the reign of Diocletian. He was elected bishop of Trevi. As a result of the many miracles during the time of his torture, approximately one thousand pagans believed in Christ. He was slain by the sword together with Hilarion, his spiritual father and two brothers, Dionysius and Hermippus.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY MARTYRS FLORUS AND LAURUS

To two sons, two saints, a mother gave birth,

Blessed is such a mother that pleases God.

Wonderful Florus and Laurus, cut the stones,

Along with that, by the Cross, the souls of men corrected;

What a chisel is to stone, a Cross is to the soul,

By the Cross chisled out, for the Cross they perished.

The pagan priest, the unseen miracle saw:

The eye knocked out - the eye healed!

A miracle unseen! For him, that was enough

And with the Cross was baptized and a martyr became.

Wonderful Florus and Laurus, temple of the idols built,

But, in their heart, glorify Christ the God.

The brothers, a new pagan temple built,

But, on it a Cross placed and behold - a Christian temple!

Still, with hymns of praise to Christ, they filled it

And with the beauty of candles and incense pure.

Man to man resembles it in the same way,

But one is humble and the other is flamboyant.

Behold, very similar are they, in body and attire,

But very different in mind and spirit.

In one is Christ and holiness pure,

In the other is the diabolical suffering and emptiness.

That may our body God grant it

To be temples of the Living God, the Spirit

Through the powerful prayers of God's chosen ones.

The brothers Florus and Laurus, holy martyrs.

REFLECTION

It is not a rare occasion, especially in our time, that parents become the culprits for the spiritual death of their children. Whenever a child has an aspiration for the spiritual life, asceticism, monasticism and the parent curtails this aspiration instead of encouraging it, such a parent becomes the murderer of his child. And, such children, as a punishment to their parents, often turn to the opposite side and become perverted. A boy named Luke, the nephew of St. John of Rila, hearing about his uncle and drawn by the desire for the spiritual life, visited his uncle in the mountain. John received Luke with love and began to instruct and to strengthen him in the mortification of asceticism. However, one day Luke's father appeared at the cave of John and furiously began to scold the saint for keeping his son in that wilderness. John's words and counsels were of no avail. The father dragged the son home by force. However, on the way home a serpent bit the boy and Luke died. The cruel father saw in this the punishment of God and repented but it was all too late. He returned to John mourning and condemning himself. But the saint only said to him to bury the child and to return from wherever he came.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate God's wondrous choosing of David as king (1 Samuel 16 1 King 16):

1. How the Lord instructed Samuel to go to the home of Jesse and anoint one of his sons as king;

2. How the Lord instructed Samuel to anoint David, a herder of sheep, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse;

3. How Samuel anointed David and how the Spirit of God descended upon David.

HOMILY

About peace between the wolf and the lamb

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid" (Isaiah 11:6).

Thus, the true prophet foretold the truth. And he further added: "The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; …and the lion shall eat straw like the ox" (Isaiah 11:6-7). And the child will place his hand in the hole of a poisonous snake [asp] and the snake will not harm him. Brethren, when will this wonder occur? This has already occurred when Christ the wonder-worker appeared on earth. This is a reality of Paradise, which was restored among men with the coming of the Savior upon earth. The prophet speaks enigmatically but, nevertheless, clearly; enigmatically, for the prophet does not speak about wild beasts but of men; for his prophecy was clearly fulfilled in Christ's Church. Men, who by their habits, were as wolves, wildcats, lions, bears, oxen, lambs, kids and serpents all stand before the Child of Bethlehem equalized by faith, tamed by grace, illumined by hope and softened by love.

The prophet further fortells why this will take place. "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9). When viewed physically, every man is earth. The man who believes in Christ and, in truth follows after Christ, becomes full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea, which is filled with water. Such were many individuals. Such were even entire companies of ascetics in Egypt, on the Holy Mountain [Athos], on Cyprus, in Russia, in Armenia and in other places. But this is not all. The knowledge of the Lord has spread today throughout the earth. Holy Scripture is distributed throughout all nations. There are few corners of the earth where the Gospel of Christ is not read, where the name of God is not known and where the Bloodless Sacrifice of the Lord is not offered. Some deny Christ, others embrace Him, some abandon the true Faith and others embrace the true Faith. And thus continues the one struggle throughout the entire world in the sign of the Lord Jesus. The overly filled waters pour out and flow into empty valleys; the empty valleys become filled and are made equal with the high waters. Everything is not glowing in the world as we Christians wish it to be, but the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah was gloriously fulfilled most clearly and was accomplished. O how wonderful is the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos, the true prophet. O, miracle-working Lord, tame the beastly nature of those men and people who are not tamed by the power of Your love. That we all may be fruitful from Your abundance. That we all may be glorious from Your Glory and alive Lord, alive from Your Immortal life.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE HOLY MARTYR ANDREW, STRATELATES [THE TRIBUNE THE COMMANDER]

Andrew was an officer, a tribune, in the Roman army during the reign of Emperor Maximian. He was a Syrian by birth and served in Syria. When the Persians menaced the Roman Empire with there military, Andrew was entrusted with the army to battle against the enemy. During this occasion, Andrew was promoted as a commander - Stratelates. Secretly a Christian, even though he was not baptized, Andrew trusted in the living God and, of the many soldiers, he chose only the best and entered into battle. He said to his soldiers before the battle that if they would call upon the help of the one, true God, Christ the Lord, their enemies will scatter as dust before them. Truly, all the soldiers filled with enthusiasm at Andrew and his faith invoked Christ for assistance and made an assault. The Persian army was utterly destroyed. When the victorious Andrew returned to Antioch some, who were envious, accused Andrew of being a Christian and the imperial deputy summoned him to court. Andrew openly confessed his unwavering faith in Christ. After bitter tortures, the deputy threw Andrew into prison and wrote to the emperor in Rome. Knowing Andrew's respect among the people and in the army, the emperor ordered the deputy to free Andrew to freedom and to seek another opportunity and another reason (not his faith) and then to kill him. Through God's revelation, Andrew learned of the emperor's command and, taking with him his faithful soldiers, 2593 in number, departed with them to Tarsus in Cilicia and there, all were baptized by Bishop Peter. Persecuted even there by the imperial authorities, Andrew with his detachment withdrew farther into the Armenian mountain Tavros. Here, in a ravine while they were at prayer, the Roman army caught up with them and all to the last one were beheaded. Not one of them even wanted to defend themselves but all were desirous of a martyr's death for Christ. On this spot, where a stream of the martyr's blood flowed, a spring of healing water erupted which cured many from every disease. Bishop Peter came secretly with his people and, on the same spot, honorably buried the bodies of the martyrs. Dying honorably, they were all crowned with the wreath of glory and took up habitation in the Kingdom of Christ our Lord.

1. THE VENERABLE THEOPHANES

Theophanes was born in Ioannia and, as a young man, left all and went to Mt. Athos where he was tonsured a monk in the community of Dochiariu. He was an example to all the monks in fasting, prayer, all-night vigils and depriving himself of all that was unnecessary. In time, and because of this, he was elected as abbot. Later, because of some misunderstanding with the monks, he left Mt. Athos and, with his nephew, went to Berea [Beroea] in Macedonia where he established a monastery in honor of the All-holy Theotokos. When this monastery blossomed with the spiritual life, Theophanes entrusted his nephew to govern it and he went to Naousa where he established another monastery in honor of the Holy Archangels. Theophanes died peacefully in the fifteenth century. His miracle-working relics, even now, repose in Naousa and manifest the great power of God.

1. THE HOLY MARTYRS TIMOTHY, AGAPIUS AND THECLA

All three were martyred for Christ during the reign of the wicked Emperor Diocletian. Timothy was burned alive and Agapius and Thecla were thrown before wild beasts.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY MARTYR ANDREW, STRATELATES [THE TRIBUNE]

The nature's song in the midst of Mt. Tavros

Echoed without a loud human response.

Until one day, the mountain shook,

Some new echo, through her was carried;

And the mountain, its eternal echo halted

In order to hear the new, which it had not in ages, heard.

There, the end of the brave detachment of Andrew was,

There, the wolves, the innocent lambs slaughtered;

Andrew, from the Persians, the Empire of Rome saved,

And now, against Andrew, the Roman army roar,

With two-thousand companions, Andrew to the earth knelt,

To his companions, good advice he spoke:

Now is the pleasant hour, now is the day of salvation,

From the earthly life, our separation.

On our knees humbly before God, let us kneel,

And for much good, let us warmly give thanks,

And mostly brethren, for a martyr's death

Without anger and shouting against the murderous hand.

Thus, Andrew spoke. To their knees they fell,

Two-thousand men, began to pray;

Of the bitter pursuers, swords flashing

Atop the mountain, choirs of angels shone,

The doors of Paradise, in heaven opened

For Andrew holy, the glorious Stratelates

And his army, who evil overcame

And for their Christ, shed honorable blood.

REFLECTION

When an unexpected misfortune happens to us who are innocent, we should not immediately grieve but rather we should try to see in this the Providence of God, Who, through that misfortune, is preparing something new and beneficial for us. One day, unexpected news came to Blessed Theophanes, the abbot of Dochiariu, that the Turks had seized his sister's son, forced him to embrace Islam and took him to Constantinople. Theophanes immediately traveled to Constantinople and, with the help of God, succeeded to find his nephew and to secretly bring him out of Constantinople and brought him to his monastery on Mt. Athos. There, he again, received his nephew into the Christian Faith and, after that, also tonsured him a monk. However, the brethren began to complain against their abbot and his nephew for fear of the Turks, for they were afraid that the Turks would find out and come and destroy the monastery. Not knowing what to do, St. Theophanes took his nephew and, with him, secretly withdrew not only from Dochiariu but also from the Holy Mountain and came to Berea. The later activities of Theophanes in Berea and in Naousa proved how much that misfortune was beneficial to the Church. That which Theophanes could never succeed to achieve on the Holy Mountain, he achieved in these other places to which he had fled from that misfortune. Namely: he founded two new monasteries, where, in time, many monks were saved and where countless men found comfort for themselves. In addition to this, his holy relics among the Christian people became a source of healing for the strengthening of faith among many unbelievers and those of little faith. Thus, God wisely directs the destiny of men through unexpected misfortunes, which momentarily seem to men that they are going to their final destruction.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the wondrous Providence of God in the life of David (1 Samuel 16 1 Kings 16):

1. How the Spirit of God withdrew from Saul because of Saul's sin;

2. How an evil spirit assaulted Saul so that he sought a harpist in order to comfort him;

3. How the servants of the king precisely found David and brought him to the king so as to calm him with the harp.

HOMILY

About the power of the Lord and the weakness of idols

"Behold, the Lord rideth upon a light cloud and shall come into Egypt: And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence" (Isaiah 19:1).

Fleeing from King Herod, the Pharaoh of Jerusalem, the Lord came to Egypt. The true Israel is not reckoned according to the place but rather according to the spirit and deeds. At the time of the birth of the Lord, greater evil [Herod] reigned in Jerusalem than ever reigned in the Egypt of the Pharaohs as it often happens when believers fall away from the Faith, they become worse than the unbelievers who never knew the true Faith. Such is the case in our days with the rulers in Russia who apostatized from Christ. At that time, Egypt was a kinder and more hospitable place for the Savior of the world than was Jerusalem. Compare the words of the prophet with the words of the angel in a dream to the Righteous Joseph: "Arise, and take the young Child and His mother and flee into Egypt" (St Matthew 2:13) and immediately you will be convinced that the words of Isaiah do not refer to anyone other than Christ the Lord. You will be convinced of this even more when you hear the words of the other prophet who speaks: "Out of Egypt I called My son" (Hosea 11: 1).

What does "a light cloud" upon which He [the Lord] will come to Egypt signify? This signifies the body of the Lord in which He will clothe His divinity, for the body of man is as a dense cloud in which the soul resides. Therefore, that is the prophetic vision of the Incarnate Lord. Some interpreters also think that "a light cloud" signifies the Most-pure Mother of God who, by long fasting and prayer and other mortifications made her body as light as a cloud. Especially "light was that cloud" the body of the Birth-giver of God because of the absence of passions, which burden the human body.

O, All-merciful Lord, Who desires salvation for all mankind and does not look to see who is a Jew and who is an Egyptian, save and have mercy on us for we continuously hope in Your Name.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE HOLY PROPHET SAMUEL

Samuel was the fifteenth and last judge of Israel. He lived eleven hundred years before Christ. Samuel was born of the tribe of Levi of the parents Elkanah and Hannah in a place called Ramatha or Arimathea where the noble Joseph was born [Joseph of Arimathea]. The barren Hannah besought Samuel from God through weeping and dedicated him to God when he was three years of age. Living in Shiloh near the Ark of the Covenant, Samuel, in his twelfth year, had a true revelation from God concerning the punishments which were pending before the house of the high priest Eli because of the immorality of his sons Hophni and Phineas. That revelation soon materialized: the Philistines defeated the Israelites, slew both of Eli's sons and captured the Ark of the Covenant. When the messenger informed Eli of this tragedy, he fell dead to the ground and expired in the ninety-eighth year of his life. The same thing occurred to his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas. From then on and for twenty years the Israelites were the slaves of the Philistines. After this period of time, God sent Samuel to the people to preach repentance if they wished to be saved from their enemies. The people repented and rejected the foreign idols that they served and recognized Samuel as a prophet, priest and judge. Then Samuel set out with an army against the Philistines and with God's help confused and defeated them and liberated the land and the people. After that, Samuel peacefully judged his people until old age. Seeing him in old age, the people asked him to install a king for them in his place. In vain Samuel tried to turn the people away from this, saying to them that God is their only King but the people stood by their demands. Even though this demand was not pleasing to God, God commanded Samuel to annoint Saul, the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin, as their king. Saul reigned for a short time only and God rejected Saul because of his impudence and disobedience and then commanded Samuel to annoint Jesse's son David as king in Saul's place. Before his death, Samuel gathered the entire people and bid them farewell. When Samuel died all of Israel mourned for him and they buried him honorably in his house at Ramatha.

1. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR PHILIP, BISHOP OF HERAKLION, WITH SEVERUS, THE PRESBYTER, AND HERMES, THE DEACON

According to all probability, it appears that they were Slavs. They served God in Thrace and there were first handed over to tortures for Christ. When the pagans rushed to set fire to a Christian church, the brave Philip said to their elder: "Do you think that God is enclosed in these walls? He lives in our hearts." The church was destroyed, all the books burned and these priests were taken to Jedrene where, after imprisonment and tortures, were thrown half burned into the Maritsa river. Thirty-eight more Christians also died with them as martyrs. It is thought that they suffered and died during the reign of Diocletian.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY PROPHET SAMUEL

Samuel the righteous, servant of the Living God,

Of his people, beloved judge,

He respected God; God above all,

The will of God, for him, was a commandment,

By the will of God, the will of the people he corrected

And for the people's sins, before God repented.

Priest and prophet and a righteous judge,

In three ways, Samuel glorified God.

With his every word, with his every deed,

Through labor and prayer and sacrifices and food

With his entire being, God he served,

To the rulers of the world, this example he offered:

For his people, no one is going to do good,

One who from the law of God departs

Who, to himself and to the people listen and not God,

Into the depth of the bottomless abyss will fall.

As Saul fell and others with him

All accomplices of the sin of the people.

Only a slave of God can a ruler be

And benefit his people eternally

This Samuel teaches in deeds and in words,

Throughout the many centuries, this teaching echoes.

REFLECTION

Repent before death closes the door of your life and opens the door of judgement. Repent before death and since you do not know the hour of death, repent today, even now, and cease to repeat your sin. Thus, St. Ephrem the Syrian prays:

Before the wheel of time stops in my life, have mercy on me;

Before the wind of death blows and diseases, the heralds of death,

appear on my body, have mercy on me;

Before the majestic sun in the heights becomes darkened for me,

Have mercy on me; and may Your light shine for me from on high

and disperse the dreadful darkness of my mind;

Before the earth returns to earth and becomes decay and before

the destruction of all the features of its beauty, have mercy;

Before my sins deceive me at the judgment and shame me before

The Judge, have mercy O Lord, filled with gentleness;

Before the hosts come forth, preceding the Son of the King to

assemble our miserable race before the throne of the Judge, have mercy,

Before the voice of the trumpet sounds before Your coming, spare

Your servants and have mercy, O Lord our Jesus;

Before You lock Your door before me, O Son of God, and before

I become food for the unquenchable fires of Gehenna, have mercy on me."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the wondrous victory of David over Goliath (1 Samuel 17 1 Kings 17):

1. How Goliath, frightful in body, armor and weapon defied the entire army of Israel;

2. How David, with hope in God, came with a slingshot and stones and slew Goliath;

3. How David was victorious for he believed "the battle is the Lord's" (1 Samuel 17:47 1 Kings 17:47), a battle of believers against unbelievers.

HOMILY

About Egypt's conversion to the Lord

"And the Lord shall be known to Egypt and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yes, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord and perform it" (Isaiah 19:21).

O how changeable is the heart of man! But, of all of his changes, one is more shameful than the most shameful and that is: when a believer becomes an unbeliever. Of all his changes, one is more glorious than the most glorious and that is: when the unbeliever converts and becomes a believer. The first change occurred with the Israelites who killed Christ and the other occurred with the Egyptians who believed in Christ. At one time, Egypt was the greatest persecutor of those who believed in the one, living God, for at one time, the Egyptians had many lifeless gods, idols and things that they worshipped, fables and soothsayers by which they were deceived. But behold what the prophet fortells! What a wonderful vision! The Egyptians will recognize the one and the living Lord at the time when the Lord appears in the flesh among mankind. Idols will be destroyed, the temples of the demons and animals will be overthrown and the altar of oblation of the Living and one God will be established and raised up. The Bloodless Sacrifice will be offered in place of the bloody sacrifice and the rational in place of the irrational. Hundreds and thousands of monks will take upon themselves the vows of poverty, obedience, fasting, and prayer out of love for the Lord. The greatest ascetics will appear in this once darkened Egypt; the bravest martyrs for Christ the Lord; the most enlightened minds; the most discerning miracle-workers. O, what a wonderful vision! And how wonderful is the realization of that vision! St. Chrysostom writes: "Neither the sun, with its multitude of stars, is not as glowing as much as the wilderness of Egypt with all of its monks." All was realized in truth, that was foreseen and foretold by Isaiah, the son of Amos, the discerning and true prophet.

O compassionate Lord who showed mercy on Egypt, the one time persecutor of Your faithful, and illumined it with the light of truth, illumine us also and strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit and by the example of the great Christians of Egypt.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE HOLY APOSTLE THADDAEUS

Thaddaeus was one of the Seventy Apostles but not the Thaddaeus who was one of the Twelve Apostles. St. Thaddaeus first saw and heard John the Baptist and received baptism from him and after that he saw the Lord Jesus and followed Him. The Lord numbered him among the seventy lesser apostles whom He sent two by two before His face, "After these things, the Lord appointed other seventy also and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place where He Himself would come" (St. Luke 10:1). After His glorious Resurrection and Ascension, the Lord sent Thaddaeus to Edessa, Thaddaeus' birthplace, according to the promise He gave to Prince Abgar at the time when He sent the towel with His face on it. By kissing the towel, Abgar was healed of leprosy but not completely. A little leprosy still remained on his face. When St. Thaddaeus appeared to Abgar, he received him with great joy. The apostle of Christ instructed him in the true faith and after that baptized him. When the baptized Abgar came out of the water, the remaining leprosy fell from him and he was completely healed. Glorifying God, Prince Abgar also wanted that his people should know the true God and to glorify Him. The prince assembled all the citizens of Edessa before the holy Apostle Thaddaeus to hear teaching about Christ. Hearing the words of the apostle and seeing their prince miraculously healed, the people rejected the idols, unclean living, embraced the Faith of Christ and were baptized. Thus, the city of Edessa was illumined by the Faith of Christ. Prince Abgar brought much gold and offered it to the apostle but Thaddaeus said to him: " Since we left our own gold, how can we receive the gold of others?" St. Thaddaeus preached the Gospel throughout Syria and Phoenicia. He reposed in the Lord in the Phoenician city of Beirut.

1. THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR BASSA AND HER CHILDREN: THEOGNIUS, AGAPIUS AND PISTUS

Bassa was the wife of an idolatrous pagan priest but also was secretly a Christian. She educated her sons in the spirit of Christianity. Her husband hated her because of her faith and handed her, along with her, sons, over to the judge for torturing. After harsh tortures, her sons were beheaded (thought to be Edessa in Macedonia). Bassa was completely overjoyed when she saw how her sons honorably ended their martyr's heroic deed for Christ and she herself, with even greater eagerness, went from torture to torture. When they tossed Bassa into the sea, angels appeared to her and brought her to an island in the Sea of Marmara where she was beheaded at the time of Maximian. Thus, was St. Bassa, in a two-fold manner, was made worthy of the Kingdom of Christ, as a martyr and as a mother of martyrs.

1. VENERABLE ABRAHAM OF SMOLENSK

Abraham was born in the town of Smolensk in answer to his parent's prayers. He entered the monastic life at an early age and gave himself to austere asceticism, emulating the ancient fathers of the desert. Later, he established the monastery of the Holy Cross near Smolensk. He endured many temptations both from demons and men with great patience and thanksgiving to God. During the time of a great drought, Abraham brought forth rain by his prayers. Living fifty years in the monastic order, Abraham peacefully died in the Lord about 1220 A.D.

1. THE HOLY FOREFATHERS ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are also commemorated on the Sunday of the Forefathers before Christmas as the righteous and chosen ones of God.

HYMN OF PRAISE

VENERABLE ABRAHAM OF SMOLENSK

The candle burns and incense smells,

Day and night, Abraham prays

His neighbors, he loves as himself.

Withered body of St. Abraham

From fasting and prostrations,

Heart trembling, from the Name of God -

On the pages of time, eternity he writes

Of the sinner, sinners are not afraid

But, the righteous ones, they bitterly fear,

Sinful men, Abraham mock

Envious ones, Abraham accuse.

Mocked and accused, Abraham endures,

For his foes, the mercy of God he implores.

Abraham his heart conceals

Secretly kneeling, secretly shedding tears;

God does not judge as men judge,

The judgment of man desires to harm

But God desires salvation for all,

The aristocrat and the helpless slave.

In God, the saint places all his hope

Abraham, God eternally glorified.

REFLECTION

Magnanimous forgiveness of slanderers and prayer for them is a characteristic of Christian saints who do not ascribe all the slanders against themselves to men but rather to demons, the main instigators of every slander as well as every sin in general. St. Abraham of Smolensk was slandered by envious priests to the prince and the bishop as a deceiver, magician and hypocrite. The slanders sought nothing less than to have him burned. The prince and the bishop believed the slanderers and Abraham was banished from Smolensk and was forbidden to exercise his priestly functions. During the entire time of his investigation and trial, Abraham repeated the prayer of St. Stephen, the first martyr: "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts of the Apostles 7:60). Later it was established that all of the accusers against Abraham lied and slandered. The infuriated prince wanted to severely punish the slanderers and the bishop wanted to excommunicate them from the Church but the holy Abraham fell on his knees before the bishop and, with tears, begged him to forgive them. Abraham did not want to return to his monastery nor to begin again to exercise his priestly functions until his slanderers were shown mercy and released.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate David and Saul, a man with the spirit of God and a man without the spirit of God (1 Samuel 18 1 Kings 18):

1. How Saul feared David because of his virtues and how David was obedient to Saul in everything;

2. How Saul hypocritically rewarded David but sent him among the Philistines so that he would be killed;

3. How an apostate from God always fears the most godly man.

HOMILY

About the wondrous stone in Zion

"Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation: he that believes in it shall not be ashamed" (Isaiah 28:16).

Brethren, this wondrous stone is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. For if the prophet thought of it as an ordinary stone, he would not have mentioned faith in it [the stone], otherwise he would have prophesied idolatry. The Prophet Daniel also speaks about a stone which rolled down the hill and smashed the great idol and grew as a great mountain and filled the whole earth: "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were made of iron and clay and broke them into pieces…and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth" (Daniel 2:34-35). The prophecy about the stone in Daniel is for pagans and the prophecy about the stone in Isaiah is for Jews. The Lord Jesus Christ is that stone which is laid first, in the foundation of God's entire creation, for He is the Word of God and the Wisdom of God; second, as the foundation of the Old Testament as the preparation and third, as the foundation of the New Testament as the fulfillment. The "corner-stone", that is the firmest and the strongest stone which connects and joins other stones and holds the walls of various directions [angels] in oneness and in wholeness. If we observe the Lord Christ within us, He is the "corner-stone" which binds and ties our various spiritual capabilities in unity and wholeness so that all work toward one goal, in the direction of God and the Kingdom of God. If we observe Christ the Lord in the history of mankind, He is the "corner-stone" which ties and binds Judaism and paganism in one House of God, in the Church of God. "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus" (1 Corinthians 3:11) says the apostle of the New Testament in agreement with the prophet of the Old Testament. Whoever has, until now, believed in that Stone of Salvation was not ashamed. Neither will anyone ever be ashamed who would believe in it. For this stone is a "sure foundation" and truly a "chosen stone", a "precious and honorable stone".

O Lord Jesus, our Stone of Salvation, strengthen the faith in us, that holy and salvatory faith in You, our only Savior.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE HOLY MARTYRS AGATHONICUS, ZOTICUS AND OTHERS WITH THEM

St. Agathonicus was a citizen of Nicomedia and a Christian by faith. With great zeal he converted the Hellenes from idolatry and instructed them in the true Faith. By order of Emperor Maximian, the emperor's deputy cruelly persecuted the Christians. During the persecution, the deputy captured St. Zoticus in a place called Carpe, crucified his disciples and brought Zoticus to Nicomedia where he also captured and bound St. Agathonicus, Princeps, Theoprepius, (Bogoljepa), Acindynus, Severianus, Zeno and many others. Securely bound, they were all taken to Byzantium. However, along the way, Saints Zoticus, Theoprepius and Acindynus died of their many wounds and exhaustion. They killed Severianus near Chalcedon and, Agathonicus with the others were taken to Thrace to the town of Silybria where, after torture before the emperor himself, they were beheaded and entered into eternal life and into the joy of their Lord.

1. THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR EULALIA

During the time of a terrible persecution against Christians in Spain, there lived a virgin Eulalia, born of Christian parents in the town of Barcelona. Completely dedicated to Christ as her Bridegroom, completely immersed in Holy Scripture, Eulalia ceaselessly disciplined herself in voluntary mortification of the body and spirit. When the torturer Dacian who mercilessly killed the Christians throughout Spain and then came to Barcelona, Eulalia slipped away from her parents at night, came before the torturer and in the presence of many people rebuked him for slaughtering innocent people, along with this ridiculing the lifeless idols and openly confessing her faith in Christ the living Lord. The enraged Dacian ordered that Eulalia be disrobed and beaten with rods. But the holy virgin expressed that she did not feel the pains of the tortures for her Christ. The torturer then bound her to a piece of wood in the form of a cross and ordered that her body be burned with torches. Then the torturer asked her: "Where is your Christ now to save you?" Eulalia answered: "He is here with me but you are unable to see Him because of your impurity." In great pain did Eulalia give up her soul to God. When she died, the people saw a white dove emerge from her mouth. At that moment, snow unexpectedly fell and covered the naked body of the martyr as a white garment. The third day, St. Felix came and sadly wept before Eulalia's hanging body and on the lifeless face of the saint there appeared a smile. Her parents came and, together with other Christians, honorably buried the body of this holy virgin. Eulalia suffered and died for her Lord and entered into eternal joy at the beginning of the fourth century.

1. THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR ANTHUSA AND OTHERS WITH HER

Anthusa was the daughter of wealthy but pagan parents from Seleucia in Syria. Learning about Christ, Anthusa believed in Him with all her heart and secretly went to Bishop Athanasius who baptized her. At the time of her baptism, angels of God appeared to her. After that, Anthusa set out for the wilderness to live a life of asceticism for she was afraid to return to her parents. Anthusa lived a life of asceticism in the wilderness for twenty-three years. While praying to God, she gave up her soul kneeling on a stone under which, according to her last testament, she wished to be buried. Bishop Athanasius and two of Anthusa's servants, Charismus and Neophytus, were slain after that because of their faith in Christ at the time of Emperor Valerian about the year 257 A.D. They all died honorably and were crowned with wreaths.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR EULALIA

God's white dove,

And martyr of Christ,

Eulalia, torture desires,

That by torture, to whiten the spirit.

What is the body? A potter's weak clay,

When, from it, the soul breaks forth,

To its own dust, dust returns,

The soul, to the angelic world.

Eulalia bears Christ.

Without sighing, tortures she endures,

Tortures endures, prays to God,

The torturer, to withstand.

And, the dove withstood,

And the martyr conquered.

Her body wounded,

By white snow is covered,

The soul a dove from within her, flies,

To her Creator, it flies,

On her lifeless face,

By white snow covered,

Behold, the smile of the victor,

Behold, the smile of the avenger!

With a smile, she found

And a new life proclaimed.

By the prayers of Eulalia

That God also have mercy on us!

REFLECTION

When a man once truly repents, he need not think any more about the sins he committed so that he will not sin again. St. Anthony counsels: "Be careful that your mind not be defiled with the remembrance of former sins and that the remembrance of those sins not be renewed in you." Again, in another place, St. Anthony says: "Do not establish your previously committed sins in your soul by thinking about them so that they not be repeated in you. Be assured that they are forgiven you from the time that you gave yourself to God and repentance. In that, do not doubt." It is said of St. Ammon that he attained such perfection that from much goodness he was not aware that evil exists anymore. When they asked him what is that "narrow and difficult [sorrowful] path" (St. Matthew 7:14), he replied: "That it is the restraining of one's thoughts and severing of one's desires in order to fulfill the will of God." Whoever restrains sinful thoughts, does not think of his own sins or the sins of others neither of anything corruptible nor of anything earthly. The mind of such a man is continually in heaven where there is no evil. Thus, in him, sin gradually ceases to be, even in his thoughts.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the wondrous help of God to David (1 Samuel 19 1 Kings 19):

1. How David played the harp before Saul;

2. How an evil spirit attacked Saul and Saul hurled a spear at David in order to kill him;

3. How Saul, even from the closest distance, did not hit David.

HOMILY

About the prophecy of the miracles of Christ

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing" (Isaiah 35: 5-6).

Come, brethren, let us be amazed at the power of our living God Who opened the eyes of mortal men to see in the greatest distance of time that which will come to pass. And still to see in the minutest details as though this prophet [Isaiah] himself was an apostle of Christ, walked with the Lord, witnessed the miracles of miracles, how he gives sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the lame to walk and to the dumb, voice and speech. When John the Baptist in prison sent his disciples to ask Christ: "Are You He who is to come or do we look for another?" (St. Matthew 11:3), the Lord Christ answered them in the words of His prophet Isaiah: "Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see: The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up "

(St. Matthew 11: 4-5). Look and see how wonderful the Lord planned our salvation! That which was prophesied about Him through His Prophet Isaiah, that is what He fulfilled. At one time, the Prophet Isaiah spoke His words inspired by the Holy Spirit and now He [Jesus Christ] speaks the words of His prophet. At one time, the prophet quoted Him and now He [Jesus Christ] quotes the prophet. To show by this that when He speaks His words or when He speaks the words of the prophet, He always speaks only His words. To show that even then it was He who spoke and not the prophet and that it is now He who speaks and not anyone else and to justify His prophet as His faithful servant so that no one would be able to say that the prophet spoke falsely. Thus, the prophets served to the glory of Christ the Lord and Christ the Lord glorified His prophets, His true servants.

O Lord Jesus, glorified by Your servants and the Glorifier of Your servants, help us also so that by word, deed and thoughts we may be able to serve the majestic glory of Your Name.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE HOLY MARTYR LUPUS

This holy man Lupus was a servant of St. Demetrius the commander of Thessalonica. When Emperor Maximian beheaded St. Demetrius, Lupus dipped the hem of his garment and his ring in the blood of the martyr. With this garment and ring, Lupus worked many miracles in Thessalonica, healing people of every pain and infirmity. Emperor Maximian, who was then still residing in Thessalonica, discovered this and ordered that Lupus be tortured and killed. However, the soldiers who took up weapons against Lupus turned against one another and severely wounded themselves. As he was not yet baptized, even though he was a Christian, Lupus prayed to God that He would somehow plan his baptism before his death. At that moment, rain unexpectedly fell from the clouds upon this holy martyr and thus he received baptism from on high. After great sufferings, Lupus was beheaded and took up habitation in the Kingdom of Heaven.

1. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR POTHINUS, THE BISHOP OF LYON

Pothinus was sent by St. Polycarp from Asia Minor to preach in Gaul [France]. He became the first bishop of Lyon and converted many pagans to Christianity. During the time of the persecution of the Christians in the year 177A.D., Pothinus was brought to trial: more correctly, he was carried [in the arms of others] for he was ninety years old. The Pro-consul asked him: "Who is the Christian God?" The aged Pothinus replied: "You will know if you become worthy of that." The pagans attacked him with canes and stones and beat him without mercy. Thrown into prison, St. Pothinus died from the beatings two days later and took up habitation in the Kingdom of Heaven.

1. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR IRENAEUS, THE BISHOP OF LYON

In his youth, Ireneaus was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostles, who sent him to preach in Gaul. Following the martyrdom of St. Pothinus, Ireneaus was installed as bishop. In his countless writings, Ireneaus at times defined the Orthodox Faith and, again at times, he defended it from heretics. Ireneaus was martyred and died for Christ at the time of Emperor Severus in the year 202 A.D. along with many thousands of Christians (19,000).

1. SAINT VICTOR

Saint Victor suffered and died in Marseilles [France] in the third century. After prolonged and bitter tortures, he was cast into prison where he converted the guards to the Faith of Christ. He died by crucifixion.

1. SAINT ALBAN

Alban was an English nobleman. At the time of persecution, he concealed a Christian priest in his home and was taught the Faith of Christ by him. Alban gave his clothing to the priest and then he dressed as a priest and gave himself up to the torturers. Sentenced to death, he converted his executioner to the Faith of Christ.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT POLYCARP SAINT IRENAEUS SAINT POTHINUS

Most beautiful is the vine with fruitful branches,

With fragrant fruit, noble fruit;

In his offspring, the parent is wonderful,

Of physical marriage, sons are the glory.

But, more beautiful than the vine and the fruitful marriage

Are the spiritual children of the Holy Spirit.

Polycarp most glorious, had two sons:

Saint Ireneaus and Saint Pothinus,

To him, two children of the spirit and not of the flesh, were they,

With unfading eternal glory crowned.

By the Spirit of God, Polycarp regenerated them,

And for that, more beloved to him were they than if he gave birth to them.

Raised them both, with wisdom he equipped them,

To preach in Gaul, he prepared them both.

Two chosen sacrifices, two pure lambs,

Gave to the slaughter, for the Crucified Christ

Of the New Zion, two wise heralds,

Of baptized Lyon, two courageous bishops

Ireneaus and Pothinus glorified God

And Polycarp, their spiritual father.

Heroically they stood, as martyrs fell,

And, before the benevolent Christ, they stood crowned.

REFLECTION

Mysterious is the power of the Cross no matter how unexplainable, it is true and indisputable. Yet, St. John Chrysostom speaks of the custom of his time that the sign of the cross is attached "on the emperor's diadem, on the accouterments of the soldiers and tracing it on parts of the body: the head, the breast [chest] and the heart and also on the table of oblations and over beds." "If it is necessary to expel demons", says he, "we use the cross and it also helps to heal the sick." 'St. Benedict made the sign of the cross over a glass which contained poison and the glass burst as though it were struck by a stone. St. Julian made the sign of the cross over a glass of poison brought to him and drank the poison, but he did not feel any pain in his body. The Holy Female Martyr Basilissa of Nicomedia enveloped herself with the sign of the cross, stood amidst the flames and remained unharmed. The Holy Martyrs Audon and Senis crossed themselves when the wild beasts were released on them and the beasts became docile and meek as lambs. Among the ascetics of old, as it is today, the sign of the cross was the most powerful weapon against the temptations of the demons. The most horrible fears of the devil vanish into nothing, as smoke, when man traces the sign of the cross over himself. Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself willed to the one time sign of crime and shame, the Cross, following His crucifixion on the wood of the cross, all victorious power and might.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the rapid advancing evil in the soul of Saul from the moment he turned away from God (1 Samuel 22 1 Kings 22):

1. How he hurled a spear at David;

2. How he hurled a spear at his son Jonathan;

3. How he slew eighty-five priests in one day, suspecting that they were aligned with David;

4. How, in every time and with every unrepented sin against God, many other sins are drawn in.

HOMILY

About John the Precursor [the Forerunner] and how Isaiah prophesied concerning him

"The voice of him that cries in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God" (Isaiah 40:3).

When a king wants to visit a certain place, he sends before him in advance his heralds. To an unusual king an unusual herald is appropriate. The herald of Christ the King in the wilderness was Moses; in Jerusalem, the Prophets; in Nazareth, the Archangel; in Bethlehem, the Magi of the East; on the Jordan, John. Not one king in the history of mankind has had such heralds. St. John the Baptist was also as unusual and special as were the other heralds of Christ. He was the voice crying in the two-fold wilderness: in the wilderness of Jordan and in the human wilderness. Just as the wilderness of Jordan was fruitless and dry, so the wilderness of the human spirit, was unfruitful and dry. John was not able to make the human wilderness green and fruitful, but he cleared and plowed it and, in that way, was preparing the earth and leveled it [the earth] for the great Sower Who, by His coming, brings with Him the seed and the rain to sow the seed of knowledge and the rain of grace from on high to make it green and be fruitful. By repentance, John prepared the way and by baptism in water, made the path straight. The way and the paths these are the souls of men. By repentance, the souls of men were prepared to receive the seed of Christ and by baptism in water to bury that seed deep in the earth of their heart. The proud and the lowly when they are immersed naked in the water are all as one, equal in their nothingness before the majesty of the All-glorious Christ the Savior: "Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low" (Isaiah 40:4). The word here is not about earthly valleys and hills but of lowly and proud men. As corpses in the grave are all the same before the eyes of a living man, thus all sinners, lowly and proud, slaves and masters are equal before the living God.

Such a wondrous vision was seen by Isaiah, the son of Amos, the prophet of the living God, the one and true God.

O Lord, Heavenly King, to Whom the heavenly hosts worship day and night, look down once again upon our nothingness and because of Your humiliation and passion for us, save us.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

[尼古拉前执事]

1. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR EUTYCHES

Eutyches was one of the lesser apostles and was born in Sebastopol. He was a disciple and imitator of the Apostle John the Theologian and the Apostle Paul. Even though he is not numbered among the seventy apostles, nevertheless, he is called an apostle because he was a disciple of the great apostles and, because in his evangelical service, he displayed true apostolic zeal. Consecrated a missionary bishop, St. Eutyches traveled much, having, an angel as his companion. In prison, he received heavenly bread from an angel. When his body was scrapped with a serrated iron rod, blood flowed from him with unusual fragrant myrrh. He was thrown into a fire and before wild beasts and finally beheaded with a sword in Sebastopol.

1. THE HOLY MARTYR TATION

By descent, Tation was from Mantinaeas near Claudioupolis in Bithnyia. He suffered at the time of Diocletian. After great tortures he was buried alive and thus gave up his holy soul to God.

1. THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR SYRA

Syra was a kinswoman of St. Mary Golinduc (July 12). She was a Persian from the town of Hirhaselevkosa and the daughter of a eminent fire-worshipping pagan priest. Reared in paganism, the virgin Syra learned of Christ from poor Christian women and her heart became inflamed with love for the Lord. During an illness and while she was yet unbaptized, Syra sought dust from the church of a Christian priest but the priest refused for she was yet unbaptized. Then, with great faith, she touched the vestments of the priest and was healed. That miraculous healing confirmed her even more in the Faith of Christ. But her soul-less father handed her over to harsh tortures during which she received courage and comfort from heavenly visions. She was strangled with a rope by force and then drowned in the year 558 A.D. during the time of the Persian Emperor Chozroesi I at the age of eighteen. And so this holy virgin gloriously finished her earthly journey and took up habitation in the heavenly angelic habitation.

1. VENERABLE ARSENIUS OF KOMEL

Arsenius was born in Moscow of noble birth. As a youth he received monasticism in the monastery of St. Sergius of Radonez. As an exemplary monk, Arsenius was elected abbot but he yearned for prayerful solitude and withdrew to the forest of Komel where, he lived a life of asceticism until his death, struggling bravely with great temptations of the demons. He rested in the Lord in the year 1550 A.D.

1. SAINT GREGORY LIMNIOTES (OF THE LAKE)

Gregory was a confessor and a great ascetic of Olympus. He died at the age of ninety-five at the time of the Iconoclasts, 716 A.D. *

• In the great Greek Synaxarion, St. Dionysius, the Archbishop of Aegina who died in 1624 A.D. is also mentioned and from whose relics numerous miracles were manifested.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR SYRA

As young as the dew but, in wisdom, old

Rich in faith, hope and meekness,

Syra the Persian, a model Christian,

To God prayed, at night before dawn;

By prayers, Syra, her soul rejoiced,

By prayers she, her soul enriched,

At the father's hearth, in darkness and sorrow,

In grief and blood of a combatant field,

By prayers, Syra her heart rejoiced.

Of the peace of Christ, joyful and full.

Against Syra, kingdom and pagan priests were,

And for Syra, Christ and the honorably clergy.

In the dungeon dark, at prayer vigilant,

In a wondrous light, Syra glowed.

That is the light of Paradise, darkened by sin.

And returned to the faithful, by the Cross of Christ.

Whoever the Cross takes upon himself, that light receives,

From the light of the soul, the face also glows:

Syra, as a true star shown,

And through death, to the bosom of Christ hurried.

REFLECTION

If you were to ask many people why they do not go to Church to pray, they will generally answer you: I have no time, I have to work! Just look at those people who only work and do not go to Church, placing their trust only in their work and compare them with those who divide their time between work and prayer and you will quickly be convinced that the latter are more well off and, what is more important, they are more satisfied. It is said about two neighboring tailors how unequal they were according to their work and prayer and according to their wealth and satisfaction. One of them had a large family and the other was a bachelor. The first had the habit of going to church every morning for prayer and the bachelor never went to church. Not only did the first work less but was even less a skillful master than the other. He had enough of everything and the other lacked everything. The first one asked the other how is it that he has everything although he works less? The one who prays to God [Bogomoljac a devout person] responded that he attends church every day and, along the way, finds lost gold and he invited his neighbor, the bachelor, to go with him to prayer and they will share the discovered gold. Both neighbors began to attend church regularly and soon both became equal in abundance as well as in satisfaction. Naturally, they found no gold along the way but the blessing of God multiplies the abundance of true devout men. Those who: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness" (St. Matthew 6:31), God adds and multiplies all that is necessary for their physical life.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the providence of God which protected David from falling into the hands of Saul (1 Samuel 23 1 Kings 23):

1. How Saul came to besiege the city of Keliah [Celia] where David was but God revealed this to David and David fled beforehand;

2. How Saul almost captured David in Maon but word came to Saul that the Philistines had attacked the land;

3. How the Lord always watches over the righteous and how He confounds the plans of the unrighteous.

HOMILY

About the character of Christ as foretold Isaiah

"He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth" (Isaiah 42:2-3).

Who had more right than the Lord, the Son of God, to raise His voice at the lawless ones in His vineyard on earth? Who had a greater right to reprimand sinners who scorn God and God's law? O sweet meekness, unseen among men! O pure mountain water which flows down from the heights and silently washes the impurity of the habitations of men! Many pagans think that they would believe in Christ if they could hear from Him, not kind words, but thundering words. But let the pagans say which is better, thunderous words with shouting and roaring which pass without effect as smoke is chased by the wind or kind words which have the effect of thunder? Can a legion of thunders expel a legion of demons from a man possessed? But a legion of thunders struck above Gadara but the legion of demons in the man possessed did not even feel that. Neither did our Lord Jesus shout at the demons but rather quietly told them to come out and they obediently came forth. Brethren, it is not a matter of shouting or criticizing but rather of power.

"A bruised reed shall He not break and the smoking flax shall He not quench." This refers to the Old Testament whose spirit the Pharisees had completely bruised and overloaded with their Sabbatical formalities and which only smoked but did not give any light to men because of their blunted understanding and the stony hearts of men. The Lord will not break the bruised reed neither will He completely quench the almost extinguished fire of that law which He gave. Still, this pertains to sinful men. Men subdued by sin He will not put an end to nor sinners in whom the divine light has turned into smoke will He quench but He will straighten the reed and rekindle the divine fire in men. For because of sinners, He came into the world. He will proclaim judgment softly and gently but with the power which truth itself alone conveys. He will behave gently and humbly and with compassion and with mercy similar to a physician - but far more sublimely and cordially than a physician when He enters a house of a madman.

O gentle and serene Lord, fill us with Your All-wondrous meekness and serenity.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.