James 1.19-27 (Epistle)

19Zato, ljubazna braæo moja, neka bude svaki èovjek brz èuti a spor govoriti i spor srditi se; 20Jer srdnja èovjeèija ne èini pravde Božije. 21Zato odbacite svaku neèistotu i suvišak zlobe, i s krotošæu primite usaðenu rijeè koja može spasti duše vaše. 22Budite pak tvorci rijeèi, a ne samo slušaèi, varajuæi sami sebe. 23Jer ako ko sluša rijeè a ne tvori, on je kao èovjek koji gleda lice tijela svojega u ogledalu; 24Jer se ogleda pa otide, i odmah zaboravi kakav bješe. 25Ali koji providi u savršeni zakon slobode i ostane u njemu, i ne bude zaboravni slušaè, nego tvorac djela, onaj æe biti blažen u djelu svojemu. 26Ako koji od vas misli da vjeruje, i ne zauzdava jezika svojega, nego vara srce svoje, njegova je vjera uzalud. 27Jer vjera èista i bez mane pred Bogom i ocem jest ova: obilaziti sirote i udovice u njihovijem nevoljama, i držati sebe neopoganjena od svijeta.

Mark 10.17-27 (Gospel)

17I kad iziðe na put, pritrèa neko, i kleknuvši na koljena pred njim pitaše ga: uèitelju blagi! šta mi treba èiniti da dobijem život vjeèni? 18A Isus reèe mu: što me zoveš blagijem? niko nije blag osim jednoga Boga. 19Zapovijesti znaš: ne èini preljube; ne ubij; ne ukradi; ne svjedoèi lažno; ne èini nepravde nikome; poštuj oca svojega i mater. 20A on odgovarajuæi reèe mu: uèitelju! sve sam ovo saèuvao od mladosti svoje. 21A Isus pogledavši na nj, omilje mu, i reèe mu: još ti jedno nedostaje: idi prodaj sve što imaš i podaj siromasima; i imaæeš blago na nebu; i doði te hajde za mnom uzevši krst. 22A on posta zlovoljan od ove rijeèi, i otide žalostan; jer bijaše vrlo bogat. 23I pogledavši Isus reèe uèenicima svojima: kako je teško bogatima uæi u carstvo nebesko! 24A uèenici se uplašiše od rijeèi njegovijeh. A Isus opet odgovarajuæi reèe im: djeco! kako je teško onima koji se uzdaju u svoje bogatstvo uæi u carstvo Božije! 25Lakše je kamili proæi kroz iglene uši negoli bogatome uæi u carstvo Božije. 26A oni se vrlo divljahu govoreæi u sebi: ko se dakle može spasti? 27A Isus pogledavši na njih reèe: ljudima je nemoguæe, ali nije Bogu: jer je sve moguæe Bogu.

Our Holy Father Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa (395)

“Saint Gregory, the younger brother of Basil the Great, illustrious in speech and a zealot for the Orthodox faith, was born in 331. His brother Basil was encouraged by their elder sister Macrina to prefer the service of God to a secular career (see July 19); Saint Gregory was moved in a similar way by his godly mother Emily, who, when Gregory was still a young man, implored him to attend a service in honour of the holy Forty Martyrs at her retreat at Annesi on the River Iris. Saint Gregory came at his mother’s bidding, but being wearied with the journey, and feeling little zeal, he fell asleep during the service. The Forty Martyrs then appeared to him in a dream, threatening him and reproaching him for his slothfulness. After this he repented and became very diligent in the service of God. He became bishop in 372, and because of his Orthodoxy he was exiled in 374 by Valens, who was on one mind with the Arians. After Valens’ death in 378 he was recalled to his throne by the Emperor Gratian. He attended the Local Council of Antioch, which sent him to visit the churches of Arabia and Palestine, which had been defiled and ravaged by Arianism. He attended the Second Ecumenical Council, which was assembled in Constantinople in 381. Having lived some sixty years and left behind many remarkable writings, he reposed about the year 395. The acts of the Seventh Ecumenical Council call him “Father of Fathers.” (Great Horologion)

Our Holy Father Theophan the Recluse (1894)

This modern-day Church Father was born in Chernavsk in central Russia. The son of a priest, he entered seminary at a young age, then completed the four-year course in theology at the Academy of Kiev. Though he distinguished himself as a student, his heart turned increasingly toward the monastic life, and he was tonsured a monk and ordained a priest upon completion of his studies. During his time at the Academy he often visited the Lavra of the Caves, and there became a spiritual child of Father Parthenius (March 25).

His desire for monastic life was not fulfilled immediately, for the Church felt need of his intellectual gifts. He served as a professor at the Theological Academy in St Petersburg, then worked for seven years in the Russian Mission to the Near East, mostly in Palestine. During this time he gained a perfect mastery of Greek and studied the works of the Church Fathers in the original languages. Returning to Russia, he was soon consecrated a bishop; but after seven years of episcopal service, he at last achieved his heart’s desire, resigning as bishop and retiring to a small monastery at Yvschen, where he spent the rest of his days.

After taking full part in the liturgical and communal life of the monastery for several years, he took up the life of a recluse in 1872. He lived in two small rooms, subsisting almost entirely on bread and tea, visited only by his confessor and the abbot of the monastery. He celebrated the Divine Liturgy every day in his cell. All of his time not taken up by inner prayer was devoted to translating the works of the Fathers into Russian and, increasingly, to writings of his own. Most importantly, he prepared a Russian-language edition of the Philokalia which had a deep impact upon Russian spiritual life.

Though he received no visitors, St Theophan entered into correspondence with many earnest Christians who sought his counsel, and so in time became the spiritual father of many believers throughout Russia. He reposed in peace in 1894.

In addition to the Philokalia, St Theophan produced (among other works): a Spiritual Psalter of selections from St Ephraim the Syrian; The Path to Salvation, an exposition of Orthodox Spirituality written in clear, plain language for those living in the world; collections of his letters to spiritual children; and Unseen Warfare, a treatise on prayer and the ascetical life. This last has an unusual history. In its original form it was written by Lorenzo Scupoli, an Italian Roman Catholic priest. St Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain, recognizing the book’s merit, produced a Greek edition in which he corrected various deviations from Orthodoxy in the original. St Theophan in turn revised the Greek edition extensively, removing some material and adding passages of his own; so that the Italian, Greek and Russian versions are in fact three substantially different books. Many of St Theophan’s works (including Unseen Warfare) are available in good English translations. They are almost unique in presenting the undiluted hesychastic spirituality of the Orthodox Church in plain, straightforward language accessible to most people.