2 Timothy 4.9-22 (Epistle)

9Postaraj se da doðeš brzo k meni; 10Jer me Dimas ostavi, omiljevši mu sadašnji svijet, i otide u Solun; Kriskent u Galatiju, Tit u Dalmaciju; Luka je sam kod mene. 11Marka uzmi i dovedi ga sa sobom; jer mi je dobar za službu. 12A Tihika poslao sam u Efes. 13Kad doðeš donesi mi kabanicu što sam ostavio u Troadi kod Karpa, i knjige, a osobito kožne. 14Aleksandar kovaè mnogo mi zla uèini. Da mu Gospod plati po djelu njegovu. 15Èuvaj se i ti od njega; jer se vrlo protivi našijem rijeèima. 16U prvi moj odgovor niko ne osta sa mnom, nego me svi ostaviše. Da im se ne primi! 17Ali Gospod bi sa mnom i dade mi pomoæ da se kroza me svrši propovijedanje, i da èuju svi neznabošci; i izbavih se od usta lavovijeh. 18I Gospod æe me izbaviti od svakoga zla djela, i saèuvaæe me za carstvo svoje nebesko; kojemu slava va vijek vijeka. Amin. 19Pozdravi Priskilu i Akilu, i Onisiforov dom. 20Erast osta u Korintu. A Trofima ostavih u Miletu bolesna. 21Postaraj se da doðeš prije zime. Pozdravlja te Euvul, i Pud, i Lin, i Klaudija, i braæa sva. 22Gospod Isus Hristos sa duhom tvojijem. Blagodat s vama. Amin.

Mark 11.22-26 (Gospel)

22I odgovarajuæi Isus reèe im: 23Imajte vjeru Božiju; jer vam zaista kažem: ako ko reèe gori ovoj: digni se i baci se u more, i ne posumnja u srcu svojemu, nego uzvjeruje da æe biti kao što govori: biæe mu što god reèe. 24Zato vam kažem: sve što ištete u svojoj molitvi vjerujte da æete primiti; i biæe vam. 25I kad stojite na molitvi, praštajte ako što imate na koga: da i otac vaš koji je na nebesima oprosti vama pogrješke vaše. 26Ako li pak vi ne opraštate, ni otac vaš koji je na nebesima neæe oprostiti vama pogrješaka vašijeh.

The Holy Infants Killed for Christ's Sake in Bethlehem

See Matthew ch. 2. Their number is sometimes put at fourteen thousand.

In our own day, the icon of “Rachel weeping for her children” (Matthew 2:18) has come to commemorate also the tens of millions of children who have died through abortion.

Our Venerable Father Marcellus, Abbot of the Monastery of the Unsleeping Ones (485)

He was born to a wealthy family in Syria at the beginning of the fifth century. Early in life he saw the futility of worldly things, gave away all of his wealth, and went to Ephesus, where he earned his living as a scribe. There he was schooled in the virtues by his fellow-worker Promotus, a slave who distributed most of his earnings to the poor; after the day’s work was done, Promotus would take Marcellus to pray all night in the churches and monasteries.

Marcellus heard of the Saint Alexander the Unsleeping (February 25), who had settled near Constantinople with about thirty disciples, who made it their discipline to send up prayer and praise to God at every hour of the day and night. The monastery aroused the resentment of some more worldly monasteries, and the brethren were forced to flee to Bithynia. It was there that Marcellus joined them and took the monastic habit.

After the death of St Alexander and his successor, Marcellus was elected Abbot of the monastery against his will. Under his direction the Monastery of the Unsleeping Ones became a beacon of sanctity, with monks flocking to it from every corner of the Empire. The practice of never-ceasing service to God spread throughout the Empire, in both the West and the East. The monks were divided into three companies according to the language they spoke: Greek, Latin, or Syriac; each company took its turn celebrating the services in its particular language, and thus every hour of the day was given over to God’s glory. The monastery not only grew but give birth to others: The famed Studion Monastery in Constantinople was founded by monks from Marcellus’ monastery.

Saint Marcellus took part in the Council of Chalcedon, defending Orthodoxy against the Monophysite heresy both at the Council and in the years that followed. His generosity and contempt for worldly wealth were known to all: anyone who came to the monastery in need received alms, but God always replenished the funds so that more could be given. When Marcellus inherited his family’s fortune upon his brother’s death, he kept none of it either for himself or even for his monastery, but distributed it to poorer communities and to the needy.

Saint Marcellus reposed in peace around 484, having lived the ascetical life for some sixty years.