1 Corinthians 6.20-7.12 (Epistle)

20Jer ste kupljeni skupo. Proslavite dakle Boga u tjelesima svojijem i u dušama svojijem, što je Božije.

1A za ono što mi pisaste: dobro je èovjeku da se ne dohvata do žene: 2Ali zbog kurvarstva svaki da ima svoju ženu, i svaka žena da ima svojega muža; 3Muž da èini ženi dužnu ljubav, tako i žena mužu. 4Žena nije gospodar od svojega tijela, nego muž; tako i muž nije gospodar od svojega tijela, nego žena. 5Ne zabranjujte se jedno od drugoga, veæ ako u dogovoru za vrijeme, da se postite i molite Bogu; i opet da se sastanete, da vas sotona ne iskuša vašijem neuzdržanjem. 6Ali ovo govorim po svjetu a ne po zapovijesti; 7Jer hoæu da svi ljudi budu kao i ja; ali svaki ima svoj dar od Boga: ovaj dakle ovako a onaj onako. 8A neoženjenijem i udovicama velim: dobro im je ako ostanu kao i ja što sam. 9Ako li se ne uzdrže, neka se žene i udaju; jer je bolje ženiti se negoli upaljivati se. 10A oženjenijem zapovijedam, ne ja nego Gospod, da se žena od muža ne razdvaja 11Ako li se pak i razdvoji, da se više ne udaje, ili da se pomiri sa svojijem mužem i muž da ne pušæa žene. 12A ostalima govorim ja a ne Gospod: ako koji brat ima ženu nekrštenu i ona se privoli življeti s njim, da je ne ostavlja.

Matthew 14.1-13 (Gospel)

1U to vrijeme doðe glas do Iroda èetverovlasnika o Isusu; 2I reèe slugama svojijem: to je Jovan krstitelj; on ustade iz mrtvijeh, i zato èini èudesa. 3Jer Irod uhvati Jovana, sveza ga i baci u tamnicu Irodijade radi žene Filipa brata svojega. 4Jer mu govoraše Jovan: ne možeš ti nje imati. 5I šæaše da ga ubije, ali se poboja naroda; jer ga držahu za proroka. 6A kad bijaše dan roðenja Irodova, igra kæi Irodijadina pred njima i ugodi Irodu. 7Zato i s kletvom obreèe joj dati šta god zaište. 8A ona nauèena od matere svoje: daj mi, reèe, ovdje na krugu glavu Jovana krstitelja. 9I zabrinu se car; ali kletve radi i onijeh koji se gošæahu s njim, zapovjedi joj dati. 10I posla te posjekoše Jovana u tamnici. 11I donesoše glavu njegovu na krugu, i dadoše djevojci, i odnese je materi svojoj. 12I došavši uèenici njegovi, uzeše tijelo njegovo i ukopaše ga; i doðoše Isusu te javiše. 13I èuvši Isus, otide odande u laði u pusto mjesto nasamo. A kad to èuše ljudi, idoše za njim pješice iz gradova.

Holy Martyr Emilian (362)

He was from the town of Dorostolon in Thrace and during the reign of Julian the Apostate became a servant of the governor in that region. Before the time of his martyrdom he was a secret Christian. An imperial legate arrived in the town with orders to seize all Christians, but failed to find any; to show his pleasure he ordered a great feast for the whole town, complete with sacrifices to the pagan gods. On the night before the appointed feast, Emilian went around the town and smashed all the idols with a hammer. The following day there was an uproar, and an innocent villager was seized and charged with the crime. Emilian, seeing this, said to himself ‘If I conceal my action, what sort of use has it been? Shall I not stand before God as the slayer of an innocent man?’ So he presented himself to the legate and confessed what he had done. When the furious official asked Emilian on whose orders he had acted, Emilian replied ‘God and my soul commanded me to destroy those dead pillars that you call gods.’ As punishment, Emilian was subjected to many tortures and finally burned alive.

St Pambo, hermit of Egypt (374? 386?)

Abba Pambo was a contemporary of St Anthony the Great and one of the greatest of the Desert Fathers. He would only eat bread which he had earned by his own labors, plaiting baskets and mats out of reeds. In his later years, he became in appearance like an angel of God: his face shone so that the monks could not look on it. Through long ascetic labor, he was enabled to control his tongue so that no unnecessary word ever passed his lips. He never gave an immediate answer to even the simplest question, but always prayed and pondered on the question first. Once, when Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, was visiting the monks, they begged Abba Pambo to give the Patriarch a word. He answered: ‘If my silence is no help to him, neither will my words be.’ He reposed in peace, some say in 374, others in 386.