Romans 8.22-27 (Epistle)

22Jer znamo da sva tvar uzdiše i tuži s nama dosad. 23A ne samo ona, nego i mi koji novinu duha imamo, i mi sami u sebi uzdišemo èekajuæi posinjenja i izbavljenja tijelu svojemu. 24Jer se nadom spasosmo. A nad koji se vidi nije nad; jer kad ko vidi što, kako æe mu se nadati? 25Ako li se nadamo onome što ne vidimo, èekamo s trpljenjem. 26A tako i Duh pomaže nam u našijem slabostima: jer ne znamo za što æemo se moliti kao što treba, nego sam Duh moli se za nas uzdisanjem neiskazanijem. 27A onaj što ispituje srca zna što je misao Duha, jer po volji Božijoj moli se za svete.

Matthew 10.23-31 (Gospel)

23A kad vas potjeraju u jednom gradu, bježite u drugi. Jer vam kažem zaista: neæete obiæi gradova Izrailjevijeh dok doðe sin èovjeèij. 24Nema uèenika nad uèitelja svojega ni sluge nad gospodara svojega. 25Dosta je uèeniku da bude kao uèitelj njegov i sluzi kao gospodar njegov. Kad su domaæina nazvali Veelzevulom, akamoli domaæe njegove? 26Ne bojte ih se dakle; jer nema ništa sakriveno što se neæe otkriti, ni tajno što se neæe doznati. 27Što vam govorim u tami, kazujte na vidiku; i što vam se šapæe na uši, propovijedajte s krovova. 28I ne bojte se onijeh koji ubijaju tijelo a duše ne mogu ubiti; nego se bojte onoga koji može i dušu i tijelo pogubiti u paklu. 29Ne prodaju li se dva vrapca za jedan dinar? pa ni jedan od njih ne može pasti na zemlju bez oca vašega. 30A vama je i kosa na glavi sva izbrojena. 31Ne bojte se dakle; vi ste bolji od mnogo vrabaca.

Martyr Leontius, and with him Martyrs Hypatius and Theodoulos, at Tripoli in Syria (73)

An honored Roman commander in Tripoli of Phoenicia, he was described as being ‘of great physical stature, powerful, strong and bold in battle’. When it was learned that he was a Christian and had given grain to the poor from the imperial storehouse, the governor Hadrian, a great persecutor of Christians, sent Hypatius, a military commander, and Theodoulus, a soldier, along with some others to arrest him. On the way Hypatius fell gravely ill with a fever, and the company had to delay its mission. One night an angel of the Lord appeared to Hypatius and said, ‘If you desire to be healed, you and your soldiers must cry to heaven three times: “O God of Leontius, help me!”’. Hypatius told his comrades of his vision, and when they all cried out as instructed Hypatius was instantly healed. Hypatius and Theodoulos then went on ahead of the other soldiers and found Leontius. Leontius received them hospitably and offered them refreshment. As they rested in his house, he proclaimed his faith in Christ and their hearts began to burn within them. While Leontius was still speaking, a bright cloud descended upon the two soldiers and shed dew on them while Leontius said ‘In the name of the All-holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.’ Thus were they baptized by the Holy Spirit Himself.

When the cruel Hadrian discovered this, he had the two soldiers beaten fiercely, then beheaded; he then subjected Leontius to the cruelest tortures, under which he finally died, unwavering in his faith. This was during the reign of Vespasian.