Romans 16.17-24 (Epistle)

17Molim vas pak, braæo, èuvajte se od onijeh koji èine raspre i razdore na štetu nauke koju vi nauèiste, i uklonite se od njih; 18Jer takovi ne služe Gospodu našemu Isusu Hristu nego svojemu trbuhu, i blagijem rijeèima i blagoslovima prelašæuju srca bezazlenijeh. 19Jer vaše slušanje razglasi se svuda. I radujem se za vas; ali hoæu da ste vi mudri na dobro a prosti na zlo. 20A Bog mira da satre sotonu pod noge vaše skoro. Blagodat Gospoda našega Isusa Hrista s vama. Amin. 21Pozdravlja vas Timotije, pomoænik moj, i Lukije i Jason i Sosipatar, roðaci moji. 22Pozdravljam vas i ja Tertije, koji napisah ovu poslanicu u Gospodu. 23Pozdravlja vas Gaj, domaæin moj i cijele crkve. Pozdravlja vas Erast, haznadar gradski, i brat Kvart. 24Blagodat Gospoda našega Isusa Hrista sa svima vama. Amin.

Matthew 13.10-23 (Gospel)

10I pristupivši uèenici rekoše mu: zašto im govoriš u prièama? 11A on odgovarajuæi reèe im: vama je dano da znate tajne carstva nebeskoga, a njima nije dano. 12Jer ko ima, daæe mu se, i preteæi æe mu; a koji nema, uzeæe mu se i ono što ima. 13Zato im govorim u prièama, jer gledajuæi ne vide, i èujuæi ne èuju niti razumiju. 14I zbiva se na njima proroštvo Isaijno, koje govori: ušima æete èuti, i neæete razumjeti; i oèima æete gledati, i neæete vidjeti. 15Jer je odrvenilo srce ovijeh ljudi, i ušima teško èuju, i oèi su svoje zatvorili da kako ne vide oèima, i ušima ne èuju, i srcem ne razumiju, i ne obrate se da ih iscijelim. 16A blago vašijem oèima što vide, i ušima vašijem što èuju. 17Jer vam kažem zaista da su mnogi proroci i pravednici željeli vidjeti što vi vidite, i ne vidješe; i èuti što vi èujete, i ne èuše. 18Vi pak èujte prièu o sijaèu: 19Svakome koji sluša rijeè o carstvu i ne razumije, dolazi neèastivi i krade posijano u srcu njegovom: to je oko puta posijano. 20A na kamenu posijano to je koji sluša rijeè i odmah s radosti primi je, 21Ali nema korijena u sebi, nego je nepostojan, pa kad bude do nevolje ili ga potjeraju rijeèi radi, odmah udari natrag. 22A posijano u trnju to je koji sluša rijeè, no briga ovoga svijeta i prijevara bogatstva zaguše rijeè, i bez roda ostane. 23A posijano na dobroj zemlji to je koji sluša rijeè i razumije, koji dakle i rod raða, i donosi jedan po sto, a jedan po šeset, a jedan po trideset.

Our Holy Father Sisoës the Great of Egypt (429)

One of the greatest of the Desert Fathers, he lived in asceticism at Scetis in Egypt. After the death of St Anthony the great, Abba Sisoës became a hermit in Anthony’s cave, saying “Thus in the cave of a lion, a fox makes his dwelling.” In his own lifetime he was granted the grace to heal the sick, drive out unclean spirits, and even raise the dead.

As his death approached after a long life in the desert, his brethren gathered around him. His face began to shine, and he said, “See, Abba Anthony is here!” then, “See, the choir of the prophets is here!” Seeing that he seemed to be speaking with someone, his brethren asked him who it was. He replied, “The Angels are here, and I am asking them for time to repent.” Amazed, they asked him what he could have to repent of, to which he replied, “Brethren, I do not know if I have even begun to repent.” Finally, his face became as bright as the sun, and he said, “See, the Lord is here, and He says, ‘Bring Me the vessel of the desert.’” With this, he gave his soul up to God, and his entire dwelling was filled with light and sweet fragrance.

Some of his teaching, as told in the Prologue: “St Sisoës taught his monks: ‘When temptation comes to a man, that man must give himself over to the will of God, and acknowledge that the temptation comes upon him because of his sins. If something good comes to pass, he must acknowledge that it comes about by the providence of God.’ A monk asked him: ‘How can I please God and be saved?’ The saint replied: ‘If you desire to please God, withdraw from the world, separate yourself from the earth, leave aside creation and draw near to the Creator, unite yourself to God with prayers and tears, and you will find rest in this world and in the next.’ A monk asked Sisoes: ‘How can I acquire humility?’ The saint replied: ‘When a man learns to regard every man as better than himself, he thus acquires humility.’ Ammon complained to Sisoes that he could not memorise the wise sayings that he had read, to be able to quote them in conversation with others. The saint replied: ‘It is not necessary. That which is necessary is to acquire purity of mind and to speak from this purity, placing one’s hope in God.’”

Holy Martyrs Marinus and Martha, and those with them (269)

Marinus and Martha were wealthy Persians; but they sold all their goods and traveled to Rome with their sons Audifax, Habakkuk, Valentine, and Cyrinus, in order to venerate the holy relics of the apostles and martyrs. When the Emperor Claudius asked them why they had come so far, at such cost, to seek the dead in Rome, they answered ‘We are servants of Christ, and are come to venerate the holy apostles whose immortal souls are alive with God, that they may be our intercessors with Christ our God.’ All of them were sentenced to interrogation and to death if they would not deny Christ. Valentine, who was a priest, was handed over to a General named Asterius. When Valentine healed Asterius’ daughter, who had been blind for two years, Asterius and his entire household accepted Christ and were baptised by Valentine. All of them, along with Marinus and Martha and their family, underwent torture and death for the sake of Christ.