James 3.11-4.6 (Epistle)

11Oare din aceeaşi vână a izvorului ţâşneşte şi apă dulce şi apă amară? 12Fraţii mei, poate oare un smochin să facă măsline sau o viţă să facă smochine? Nici apa sărată nu poate da apă dulce. 13Cine dintre voi este înţelept şi priceput? Să-şi arate, prin purtarea lui bună, faptele făcute cu blândeţea înţelepciunii! 14Dar, dacă aveţi în inima voastră pizmă amară şi un duh de ceartă, să nu vă lăudaţi şi să nu minţiţi împotriva adevărului. 15Înţelepciunea aceasta nu vine de sus, ci este pământească, firească, drăcească. 16Căci acolo unde este pizmă şi duh de ceartă, este tulburare şi tot felul de fapte rele. 17Înţelepciunea care vine de sus este, întâi, curată, apoi paşnică, blândă, uşor de înduplecat, plină de îndurare şi de roade bune, fără părtinire, nefăţarnică.

18Şi roada neprihănirii este semănată în pace pentru cei ce fac pace. 1De unde vin luptele şi certurile între voi? Nu vin oare din poftele voastre, care se luptă în mădularele voastre? 2Voi poftiţi, şi nu aveţi; ucideţi, pizmuiţi, şi nu izbutiţi să căpătaţi; vă certaţi şi vă luptaţi, şi nu aveţi, pentru că nu cereţi. 3Sau cereţi, şi nu căpătaţi, pentru că cereţi rău, cu gând să risipiţi în plăcerile voastre. 4Suflete preacurvare! Nu ştiţi că prietenia lumii este vrăjmăşie cu Dumnezeu? Aşa că cine vrea să fie prieten cu lumea se face vrăjmaş cu Dumnezeu. 5Credeţi că degeaba vorbeşte Scriptura? Duhul pe care L-a pus Dumnezeu să locuiască în noi ne vrea cu gelozie pentru Sine. 6Dar, în schimb, ne dă un har şi mai mare. De aceea zice Scriptura: „Dumnezeu stă împotriva celor mândri, dar dă har celor smeriţi.”

Mark 11.22-26 (Gospel)

22Isus a luat cuvântul şi le-a zis: „Aveţi credinţă în Dumnezeu! 23Adevărat vă spun că, dacă va zice cineva muntelui acestuia: „Ridică-te şi aruncă-te în mare”, şi dacă nu se va îndoi în inima lui, ci va crede că ce zice se va face, va avea lucrul cerut. 24De aceea vă spun că orice lucru veţi cere, când vă rugaţi, să credeţi că l-aţi şi primit, şi-l veţi avea. 25Şi, când staţi în picioare de vă rugaţi, să iertaţi orice aveţi împotriva cuiva, pentru ca şi Tatăl vostru care este în ceruri să vă ierte greşelile voastre. 26Dar, dacă nu iertaţi, nici Tatăl vostru care este în ceruri nu vă va ierta greşelile voastre.”

Our Venerable Mother Domnica (Domnina) (ca. 474)

She was born in Rome and reared in the love of Christ. She secretly left her parents’ house and traveled by ship to Alexandria, where she found lodging with four virtuous pagan maidens. By her example and counsel these four were in time led to abandon idolatry and embrace Domnica’s faith. The five then sailed to Constantinople, where it is said that the Patriarch Nectarius (October 11) was notified of their coming by an angel and met them at the dock. The Patriarch baptized the four maidens himself, giving them the names Dorothea, Evanthia, Nonna and Timothea, then settled them and Domnica in a monastery.

Soon the fame of Domnica’s pure life, wise teaching, and wondrous healings spread throughout the city, and even the Emperor Theodosius, with the Empress and his court, came to see her. Soon the crowds made it impossible for her and her sisters to live the heavenly life for which they had entered the monastery; so they relocated the monastery to a remote, demon-haunted location where executions had once commonly been performed, since everyone avoided the area. Here a new monastery was built by order of the Emperor, and the sisters found peace.

Saint Domnica’s fame continued, and she became not only a healer but an oracle for the city of Constantinople, prophesying the death of the Emperor Theodosius and the unrest which followed it. She reposed in peace, having first entrusted the care of the monastery to Dorothea. At the moment of her death, the whole monastery was shaken, and those present saw Saint Domnica dressed as a bride, being borne heavenward escorted by a company of white-clad monks and nuns.

Saint Atticus, Patriarch of Constantinople (425)

Born in Sebaste in Armenia, he was reared by monks who held to the heresy of Macedonius, which denied the uncreated divinity of the Holy Spirit; but when he came of age he rejected this error and embraced the Orthodox faith. He settled in Constantinople and became a priest in the Great Church. Though he had little formal education, his amazing memory, his zeal for Christ, and his powerful sermons recommended him to all, and he was elected Patriarch in 406, during the reign of the Emperor Arcadius. He served as shepherd to the Church for twenty years, ruling always with wisdom and moderation. Though he was unbending in upholding the Faith exactly, he took a conciliatory, persuasive approach to heretics and schismatics; in this way he was able to restore many to the Church rather than driving them away. His best-known single act is his restoration of the name of St John Chrysostom to the diptychs. Saint John had been unjustly denied commemoration in the Patriarchate since his exile, which had led to a schism; restoration of his commemoration not only corrected a grave injustice but healed a schism. Saint Atticus also presided over the rededication of the Agia Sophia, which had been burned in 404 in the rioting that followed St John Chrysostom’s exile. He reposed in peace in 425.

Saint Severinus (482)

St. Severinus came to the borderland of present-day Gemany and Austria from the east — possibly the Egyptian desert — to care for the Roman Christians who were endangered by invading barbarians during the collapse of the Roman Empire. He remained there until the end of his life. While he was there he advised both common people and kings to put eternal life first, and taught them to be generous to one another and to lead a true Christian life. He built a monastery and protected from harm those who gathered around him. As he foretold, the monks and other Christians who had followed him escaped to safety in Italy, taking St. Severinus’ incorrupt relics with them. His relics are still honored in Frattamaggiore, Italy (near Naples).

—from the 2006 Saint Herman Calendar