Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9 (Vespers)

Wisdom of Solomon 5.15-6.3 (Vespers)

Wisdom of Solomon 4.7-15 (Vespers)

Matthew 11.27-30 (Matins Gospel)

27„Toate lucrurile Mi-au fost date în mâini de Tatăl Meu; şi nimeni nu cunoaşte deplin pe Fiul, afară de Tatăl; tot astfel nimeni nu cunoaşte deplin pe Tatăl, afară de Fiul şi acela căruia vrea Fiul să i-L descopere. 28Veniţi la Mine, toţi cei trudiţi şi împovăraţi, şi Eu vă voi da odihnă. 29Luaţi jugul Meu asupra voastră şi învăţaţi de la Mine, căci Eu sunt blând şi smerit cu inima; şi veţi găsi odihnă pentru sufletele voastre.

30Căci jugul Meu este bun, şi sarcina Mea este uşoară.”

Titus 1.5-2.1 (Epistle)

5Te-am lăsat în Creta ca să pui în rânduială ce mai rămâne de rânduit şi să aşezi prezbiteri în fiecare cetate, după cum ţi-am poruncit: 6dacă este cineva fără prihană, bărbat al unei singure neveste, având copii credincioşi, care să nu fie învinuiţi de destrăbălare sau neascultare. 7Căci episcopul, ca econom al lui Dumnezeu, trebuie să fie fără prihană; nu încăpăţânat, nici mânios, nici dedat la vin, nici bătăuş, nici lacom de câştig mârşav; 8ci să fie primitor de oaspeţi, iubitor de bine, cumpătat, drept, sfânt, înfrânat; 9să se ţină de Cuvântul adevărat, care este potrivit cu învăţătura, pentru ca să fie în stare să sfătuiască în învăţătura sănătoasă şi să înfrunte pe potrivnici. 10În adevăr, mai ales printre cei tăiaţi împrejur, sunt mulţi nesupuşi, flecari şi amăgitori, 11cărora trebuie să li se astupe gura. Ei buimăcesc familii întregi, învăţând pe oameni, pentru un câştig urât, lucruri pe care nu trebuie să le înveţe. 12Unul dintre ei, chiar proroc al lor, a zis: „Cretanii sunt totdeauna nişte mincinoşi, nişte fiare rele, nişte pântece leneşe.” 13Mărturia aceasta este adevărată. De aceea mustră-i aspru, ca să fie sănătoşi în credinţă 14şi să nu se ţină de basme evreieşti şi de porunci date de oameni care se întorc de la adevăr. 15Totul este curat pentru cei curaţi; dar pentru cei necuraţi şi necredincioşi, nimic nu este curat: până şi mintea şi cugetul le sunt spurcate.

16Ei se laudă că cunosc pe Dumnezeu, dar cu faptele Îl tăgăduiesc, căci sunt o scârbă: nesupuşi şi netrebnici pentru orice faptă bună. 1Tu însă vorbeşte lucruri care se potrivesc cu învăţătura sănătoasă.

Galatians 5.22-6.2 (Epistle, St Seraphim)

22Roada Duhului, dimpotrivă, este: dragostea, bucuria, pacea, îndelunga răbdare, bunătatea, facerea de bine, credincioşia, 23blândeţea, înfrânarea poftelor. Împotriva acestor lucruri nu este lege. 24Cei ce sunt ai lui Hristos Isus şi-au răstignit firea pământească împreună cu patimile şi poftele ei. 25Dacă trăim prin Duhul, să şi umblăm prin Duhul.

26Să nu umblăm după o slavă deşartă, întărâtându-ne unii pe alţii şi pizmuindu-ne unii pe alţii. 1Fraţilor, chiar dacă un om ar cădea deodată în vreo greşeală, voi, care sunteţi duhovniceşti, să-l ridicaţi cu duhul blândeţii. Şi ia seama la tine însuţi, ca să nu fii ispitit şi tu. 2Purtaţi-vă sarcinile unii altora şi veţi împlini astfel legea lui Hristos.

Mark 12.38-44 (Gospel)

38În învăţătura pe care le-o dădea, Isus le zicea: „Păziţi-vă de cărturari, cărora le place să umble în haine lungi şi să le facă lumea plecăciuni prin pieţe. 39Ei umblă după scaunele dintâi în sinagogi şi după locurile dintâi la ospeţe; 40casele văduvelor le mănâncă şi fac rugăciuni lungi de ochii lumii. O mai mare osândă va veni peste ei.” 41Isus şedea jos în faţa vistieriei Templului şi Se uita cum arunca norodul bani în vistierie. Mulţi, care erau bogaţi, aruncau mult. 42A venit şi o văduvă săracă şi a aruncat doi bănuţi, care fac un gologan. 43Atunci Isus a chemat pe ucenicii Săi şi le-a zis: „Adevărat vă spun că această văduvă săracă a dat mai mult decât toţi cei ce au aruncat în vistierie;

44căci toţi ceilalţi au aruncat din prisosul lor, dar ea, din sărăcia ei, a aruncat tot ce avea, tot ce-i mai rămăsese ca să trăiască.”

Luke 6.17-23 (Gospel, St Seraphim)

17S-a coborât împreună cu ei şi S-a oprit într-un podiş unde se aflau mulţi ucenici de ai Lui şi o mare mulţime de oameni, care veniseră din toată Iudeea, din Ierusalim şi de pe lângă marea Tirului şi a Sidonului ca să-L asculte şi să fie vindecaţi de bolile lor. 18Cei chinuiţi de duhuri necurate erau vindecaţi. 19Şi tot norodul căuta să se atingă de El, pentru că din El ieşea o putere care-i vindeca pe toţi. 20Atunci Isus Şi-a ridicat ochii spre ucenicii Săi şi a zis: „Ferice de voi care sunteţi săraci, pentru că Împărăţia lui Dumnezeu este a voastră! 21Ferice de voi care sunteţi flămânzi acum, pentru că voi veţi fi săturaţi! Ferice de voi care plângeţi acum, pentru că voi veţi râde! 22Ferice de voi, când oamenii vă vor urî, vă vor izgoni dintre ei, vă vor ocărî şi vor lepăda numele vostru ca ceva rău, din pricina Fiului omului! 23Bucuraţi-vă în ziua aceea şi săltaţi de veselie; pentru că răsplata voastră este mare în cer; căci tot aşa făceau părinţii lor cu prorocii.

St Seraphim of Sarov (1833)

“Saint Seraphim was born in the town of Kursk in 1759. From tender childhood he was under the protection of the most holy Mother of God, who, when he was nine years old, appeared to him in a vision, and through her icon of Kursk, healed him from a grave sickness from which he had not been expected to recover. At the age of nineteen he entered the monastery of Sarov, where he amazed all with his obedience, his lofty asceticism, and his great humility. In 1780 the Saint was stricken with a sickness which he manfully endured for three years, until our Lady the Theotokos healed him, appearing to him with the Apostles Peter and John. He was tonsured a monk in 1786, being named for the holy Hieromartyr Seraphim, Bishop of Phanarion (Dec. 4), and was ordained deacon a year later. In his unquenchable love for God, he continually added labours to labours, increasing in virtue and prayer with titan strides. Once, during the Divine Liturgy of Holy and Great Thursday he was counted worthy of a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who appeared encompassed by the heavenly hosts. After this dread vision, he gave himself over to greater labours.

“In 1794, Saint Seraphim took up the solitary life in a cell in the forest. This period of extreme asceticism lasted some fifteen years, until 1810. It was at this time that he took upon himself one of the greatest feats of his life. Assailed with despondency and a storm of contrary thoughts raised by the enemy of our salvation, the Saint passed a thousand nights on a rock, continuing in prayer until God gave him complete victory over the enemy. On another occasion, he was assaulted by robbers, who broke his chest and his head with their blows, leaving him almost dead. Here again, he began to recover after an appearance of the most Holy Theotokos, who came to him with the Apostles Peter and John, and pointing to Saint Seraphim, uttered these awesome words, ‘This is one of my kind.’

“In 1810, at the age of fifty, weakened by his more than human struggles, Saint Seraphim returned to the monastery for the third part of his ascetical labours, in which he lived as a recluse, until 1825. For the first five years of his reclusion, he spoke to no one at all, and little is known of this period. After five years, he began receiving visitors little by little, giving counsel and consolation to ailing souls. In 1825, the most holy Theotokos appeared to the Saint and revealed to him that it was pleasing to God that he fully end his reclusion; from this time the number of people who came to see him grew daily. It was also at the command of the holy Virgin that he undertook the spiritual direction of the Diveyevo Convent. He healed bodily ailments, foretold things to come, brought hardened sinners to repentance, and saw clearly the secrets of the heart of those who came to him. Through his utter humility and childlike simplicity, his unrivalled ascetical travails, and his angel-like love for God, he ascended to the holiness and greatness of the ancient God-bearing Fathers and became, like Anthony for Egypt, the physician for the whole Russian land. In all, the most holy Theotokos appeared to him twelve times in his life. The last was on Annunciation, 1831, to announce to him that he would soon enter into his rest. She appeared to him accompanied by twelve virgins martyrs and monastic saints with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Theologian. With a body ailing and broken from innumerable hardships, and an unspotted soul shining with the light of Heaven, the Saint lived less than two years after this, falling asleep in peace on January 2, 1833, chanting Paschal hymns. On the night of his repose, the righteous Philaret of the Glinsk Hermitage beheld his soul ascending to Heaven in light. Because of the universal testimony to the singular holiness of his life, and the seas of miracles that he performed both in life and after death, his veneration quickly spread beyond the boundaries of the Russian Empire to every corner of the earth. See also July 19.” (Great Horologion)

July 19 is the commemoration of the uncovering of St Seraphim’s holy relics, which was attended by Tsar Nicholas II.

Saint Seraphim’s life became a perpetual celebration of Pascha: in his later years he dressed in a white garment, greeted everyone, regardless of the season, with “Christ is Risen!” and chanted the Pascha service every day of the year.

St Sylvester, Pope of Rome (335)

He was a native of Rome. Because of his virtue and love for all, the faithful made him Pope against his will upon the death of Pope Miltiades in 314. He was Pope when Constantine the Great ended the persecution of the Church, and personally instructed the Emperor in the Faith. Unable to attend the Council of Nicaea personally, he sent delegates to represent him and uphold the Orthodox faith there. He reposed in peace in 325.

Once, in a debate between the Saint and Zambrius, a Jewish scribe and occultist, Zambrius whispered a magic word in the ear of a bull, upon which the animal fell down dead. Zambrius then challenged the Pope to do as much in the name of Christ. The holy bishop replied, ‘My God gives life and resurrection, not death.’ Lifting his hands to heaven, he restored the creature to life. The Emperor and the crowd who witnessed the debate cheered the Saint, and many decided to be baptized.

Venerable Juliana of Lazarevskoye (1604)

The daughter of a devout and generous official in the Tsar’s court, she was orphaned at the age of six and reared by relatives. At the age of sixteen she was given in marriage to George Ossorguin, a nobleman who lived on an estate at Lavarevskoye, near Murom.

The couple were a model of Christian marriage. When her husband was at home, they would devote much of their time to praying together. When he was away in service to the Tsar, she would devote whole nights to prayer and handiwork. Since she was not free to give away her fortune as she desired, she earned money for almsgiving by the work of her hands, something unheard-of for a lady of her rank. When anyone died in the village she prayed for him at length, and if he were indigent she would pay for his funeral.

When two of the pious couple’s sons died, Juliana asked her husband to let her enter a monastery. He refused because they had other young children who needed her care; but he gave her permission to live a monastic life under his roof. From this time forward, she increased her fasts, spent her nights in prayer, and slept on the floor. When her husband died ten years later, her wealth was at her own disposal, and she devoted all of it to works of mercy. When her family criticized her for depriving herself so harshly, especially for her severe fasting, she answered ‘Whatever my body loses now won’t be food for worms later. What is the point of fattening the flesh only to lose the soul?’

From 1601 to 1603, Russia was struck for three years by the worst famine in its history, so severe that men ate human flesh in their desperation. Saint Juliana sold all her livestock, gave away all the provisions in her barns, and freed all her serfs who wished to leave. Those who remained became her family, with whom she shared all she had. By her prayers, bitter and inedible plants became palatable so that they could be made into bread. The holy woman, despite almost killing privation, never complained, but seemed more cheerful than ever before.

Saint Juliana reposed in peace at the age of seventy in 1604. At the moment of her death a bright halo was seen above her head. Ten years later her body was found incorrupt, and her tomb filled with a fragrant myrrh. She was venerated among the Russian people from that time forward, though it was not until 1988 that she was officially glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate.

Holy New Martyr George the Georgian (1770)

A native of Georgia, he was sold as a slave to a Turk and made a Muslim in his youth. He lived a long life as a Muslim, seemingly having no memory of the faith or language of his parents. Without warning, however, when he had reached the age of seventy, his conscience awakened, he presented himself to the judge and stated that he had been born a Christian and wished to die a Christian. The old man remained immovable under questioning, exhortation, threats and, finally, torture; he would only say ‘I am a Christian; I want to die a Christian!’ The executioners hanged him, then cut him down to see if this last trial would change his mind. When he assured them once again that he was a Christian, they hanged him again, and he was allowed to claim his martyrdom.