1 John 1.8-2.6 (Epistle)

8Ako reèemo da grijeha nemamo, sebe varamo, i istine nema u nama. 9Ako priznajemo grijehe svoje, vjeran je i pravedan da nam oprosti grijehe naše, i oèisti nas od svake nepravde. 10Ako reèemo da ne sagriješismo, gradimo ga lažom, i rijeè njegova nije u nama.

1Djeèice moja! ovo vam pišem da ne griješite; i ako ko sagriješi, imamo zastupnika kod oca, Isusa Hrista pravednika, 2I on oèišæa grijehe naše, i ne samo naše nego i svega svijeta. 3I po tom razumijemo da ga poznasmo, ako zapovijesti njegove držimo. 4Koji govori: poznajem ga, a zapovijesti njegovijeh ne drži, laža je, i u njemu istine nema; 5A koji drži rijeè njegovu, u njemu je zaista ljubav Božija savršena; po tom poznajemo da smo u njemu. 6Koji govori da u njemu stoji, i taj treba tako da hodi kao što je on hodio.

Mark 13.31-14.2 (Gospel)

31Nebo i zemlja proæi æe, ali rijeèi moje neæe proæi. 32A o danu tome ili o èasu niko ne zna, ni anðeli koji su na nebesima, ni sin, do otac. 33Pazite, stražite i molite se Bogu; jer ne znate kad æe vrijeme nastati. 34Kao što èovjek odlazeæi ostavi kuæu svoju, i da slugama svojima vlast, i svakome svoj posao; i vrataru zapovjedi da straži. 35Stražite dakle; jer ne znate kad æe doæi gospodar od kuæe, ili uveèe ili u ponoæi ili u pijetle ili ujutru; 36Da ne doðe iznenada i da vas ne naðe a vi spavate. 37A što vam kažem, svima kažem: stražite.

1Bijahu pak još dva dana do pashe i do dana prijesnijeh hljebova; i tražahu glavari sveštenièki i književnici kako bi ga iz prijevare uhvatili i ubili. 2Ali govorahu: ne o prazniku, da se ne bi narod pobunio.

St Martinian, monk, of Caesarea in Palestine (422)

“The life of this saint is wonderful beyond measure and is worth reading in full. What did he not endure to fulfil the Law of God? At the age of eighteen, he went off into a mountain in Cappadocia called the Ark and spent 25 years in fasting, vigils and prayer, and struggling with manifold temptations. When a woman came to tempt him and he saw that he would fall into sin with her, he leapt barefoot into the fire and stood in it until the pain brought forth tears from his eyes and he had killed all lust within himself. When other temptations arose, he fled to a lonely rock in the sea and lived there. When, though, in a shipwreck, a woman swam to the rock, he leapt into the sea intending to drown himself. But a dolphin took him upon its back and brought him, by God’s providence, to the shore. He then decided to make nowhere his permanent home but to travel incessantly. Thus he passed through 164 towns in two years, exhorting and advising the people. He finally arrived in Athens, where he died in 422.” (Prologue)

Holy Apostles and Martyrs Priscilla and Aquila

Aquila and his wife Priscilla (or Prisca) were Jews from Pontus who settled in Rome, where they worked as tent-makers. When the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in 49-50, they moved to Corinth. (They may already have been Christians; at that time the Empire made no distinction between Christians and Jews.) In Corinth they hosted the Apostle Paul, who lived and worked with them for awhile (Acts 18:1-3). They worked diligently with the Apostle, traveled with him, and were considered worthy to bring Apollos (December 8) to a full knowledge of the Faith (Acts 18:26)

Priscilla and Aquila returned to Rome around 58, and later went to Ephesus; they were living there when St Paul asked his disciple Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus, to greet them (2 Tim. 4:19). It was probably in Ephesus that they were martyred by the pagans.

St Symeon the Myrrh-streamer, founder of the Chilandar Monastery (1200)

He was born in 1114. In the world, he ruled the kingdom of Serbia as Stephen Nemanja; after ruling wisely and mercifully for many years, he renounced all worldly wealth and glory in 1196 to become a monk. Traveling to the Holy Mountain, he took for his spiritual father his own son Sava, who had preceded him in renouncing royal honor for a life of prayer. Together Symeon (as he was named in monastic life) and his son founded Hilandar monastery. His wife Anna became a nun, taking the name Anastasia; she is also commemorated as a saint of the Church. After his repose, St Symeon’s relics exuded a fragrant and healing myrrh. Saint Sava brought his father’s holy relics back to Serbia. The Synaxarion says “From Saint Symeon’s empty tomb at Chilandar, a vine miraculously sprang up whose dried grape seeds are to this day sent all over the world as a blessing for childless married couples.”