1 Timothy 5.1-10 (Epistle)

1Starca ne karaj, nego mu govori kao ocu; momèadma kao braæi; 2Staricama kao materama; mladima kao sestrama, sa svakom èistotom. 3Udovice poštuj, koje su prave udovice. 4Ako li koja udovica ima djecu ili unuèad, da se uèe najprije svoj dom poštovati, i zajam vraæati roditeljima; jer je ovo ugodno pred Bogom. 5A prava udovica i usamljena uzda se u Boga, i živi u molitvama i u moljenju dan i noæ. 6A koja živi u sladostima, živa je umrla. 7I ovo zapovijedaj, da budu bez mane. 8Ako li ko za svoje a osobito za domaæe ne promišlja, odrekao se vjere, i gori je od neznabošca. 9A udovica da se ne prima mlaða od šezdeset godina, i koja je bila jednome mužu žena; 10I koja ima svjedoèanstvo u dobrijem djelima, ako je djecu odgajila, ako je gostoljubiva bila, ako je svetima noge prala, ako je nevoljnima pomagala, ako je išla za svakijem dobrijem djelom.

Mark 9.42-10.1 (Gospel)

42A koji sablazni jednoga od ovijeh malijeh koji vjeruju mene, bolje bi mu bilo da se objesi kamen vodenièni o vratu njegovu i da se baci u more. 43I ako te ruka tvoja sablažnjava, otsijeci je: bolje ti je bez ruke u život uæi, negoli s obje ruke uæi u pakao, u oganj vjeèni, 44Gdje crv njihov ne umire, i oganj se ne gasi. 45I ako te noga tvoja sablažnjava, otsijeci je: bolje ti je uæi u život hromu, negoli s dvije noge da te bace u pakao, u oganj vjeèni, 46Gdje crv njihov ne umire, i oganj se ne gasi. 47Ako te i oko tvoje sablažnjava, iskopaj ga: bolje ti je s jednijem okom uæi u carstvo Božije, negoli s dva oka da te bace u pakao ognjeni, 48Gdje crv njihov ne umire, i oganj se ne gasi. 49Jer æe se svaki ognjem posoliti, i svaka æe se žrtva solju posoliti. 50Dobra je so; ali ako so bude neslana, èim æe se osoliti? Imajte so u sebi, i mir imajte meðu sobom.

1I ustavši odande doðe u okoline Judejske preko Jordana, i steèe se opet narod k njemu; i kao što obièaj imaše, opet ih uèaše.

Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer, Bishop of Antioch (107)

There is a tradition that it was the young boy Ignatius whom Christ took upon his knee to explain to His followers that they must become as children to enter the Kingdom. He knew the holy Apostles personally and, with St Polycarp (February 25) was a disciple of St John the Evangelist. He succeeded Evodus as second Bishop of Antioch, the capital of Syria and at that time one of the largest cities in the world. Here, during the persecutions of Domitian, he strengthened the faithful, brought many pagans to Christ, and prayed that he himself would be granted the crown of martyrdom. His flock called him the Godbearer, a title that he did not refuse, for he said that all Christians after their Baptism are truly Bearers of Christ, clothed in the Holy Spirit.

When peace was restored to the Church for awhile, the holy Bishop devoted himself to organizing the young Church on strong foundations at a time when the last of the Apostles had only recently passed away. He established the principle that the Grace imparted to the Apostles at Pentecost was handed down to the bishops appointed by them, and so on through the generations: the Apostolic Succession.

The Emperor Trajan, passing through Syria to make war in Armenia, spent some time in Antioch and initiated a persecution of Christians. Rejoicing that the time of martyrdom had at last arrived, Ignatius presented himself before the Emperor and eloquently declared his faith in Christ.

“So you are a disciple of the one crucified under Pontius Pilate?” asked the Emperor.

“I am the disciple of Him who has nailed my sin to the Cross, and has trodden the Devil and his devices underfoot.”

“Why do you call yourself the Godbearer?”

“Because I carry the living Christ within me!”

“Therefore, let the bearer of the Crucified One be taken in chains to Rome, there to be fed to the lions for the amusement of the people.”

And so it was. During the long and difficult journey to Rome, cruelly mistreated by his guards, the Saint wrote a series of letters to the young churches which remain one of the treasures of the Church. In Smyrna, he was able to meet with his fellow-disciple Polycarp and entrust to him the care of the churches whose shepherd he had been. As Trajan had ordered, in Rome he was taken to the amphitheater and, as the Synaxarion says, “entered the arena as though approaching the holy altar to serve his last Liturgy in the presence of the faithful, who were crowded among pagans on the steps of the amphitheatre.” In a few moments he was completely devoured by the lions, save for a few bones. These were gathered by the faithful and returned to Antioch.

In his Letter to the Romans, the holy Bishop wrote to some who wished to rescue him from his martyrdom: “I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found to be the pure bread of God.”

Repose of Our Holy Father John of Kronstadt (1908)

His main commemoration is on October 19.