Mark 16.1-8 (2nd Matins Gospel)

1I pošto proðe subota, Marija Magdalina i Marija Jakovljeva i Solomija kupiše mirisa da doðu i da pomažu Isusa. 2I vrlo rano u prvi dan nedjelje doðoše na grob oko sunèanoga roðaja. 3I govorahu meðu sobom: ko æe nam odvaliti kamen od vrata grobnijeh? 4I pogledavši vidješe da kamen bješe odvaljen: jer bješe vrlo veliki. 5I ušavši u grob vidješe mladiæa obuèena u bijelu haljinu gdje sjedi s desne strane; i uplašiše se. 6A on im reèe: ne plašite se, Isusa tražite Nazareæanina raspetoga; usta, nije ovdje, evo mjesto gdje ga metnuše. 7Nego idite kažite uèenicima njegovijem i Petru da pred vama otide u Galileju: tamo æete ga vidjeti, kao što vam reèe. 8I izišavši pobjegoše od groba; jer ih uhvati drhat i strah; i nikom ništa ne kazaše, jer se bojahu.

1 Corinthians 6.12-20 (Epistle)

12Sve mi je slobodno, ali nije sve na korist; sve mi je slobodno, ali neæu da što oblada mnome. 13Jela su za trbuh, i trbuh je za jela; ali æe Bog i ova i onoga pokvariti. A tijelo nije za kurvarstvo, nego za Gospoda, i Gospod za tijelo. 14A Bog i Gospoda podiže, i nas æe podiæi silom svojom. 15Ne znate li da su tjelesa vaša udi Hristovi? Hoæu li dakle uzeti ude Hristove i od njih naèiniti ude kurvine? Bože saèuvaj! 16Ili ne znate da ko se s kurvom sveže jedno tijelo s njom postane? Jer, reèe, biæe dvoje jedno tijelo. 17A ko se Gospoda drži jedan je duh s Gospodom. 18Bježite od kurvarstva; jer svaki grijeh koji èovjek èini osim tijela je; a koji se kurva on griješi svome tijelu. 19Ili ne znate da su tjelesa vaša crkva svetoga Duha koji živi u vama, kojega imate od Boga, i nijeste svoji? 20Jer ste kupljeni skupo. Proslavite dakle Boga u tjelesima svojijem i u dušama svojijem, što je Božije.

Luke 15.11-32 (Gospel)

11I reèe: jedan èovjek imaše dva sina, 12I reèe mlaði od njih ocu: oèe! daj mi dio od imanja što pripada meni. I otac im podijeli imanje. 13I potom do nekoliko dana pokupi mlaði sin sve svoje, i otide u daljnu zemlju; i onamo prosu imanje svoje živeæi besputno. 14A kad potroši sve, postade velika glad u onoj zemlji, i on se naðe u nevolji. 15I otišavši pribi se kod jednoga èovjeka u onoj zemlji; i on ga posla u polje svoje da èuva svinje. 16I željaše napuniti trbuh svoj rošèiæima koje svinje jeðahu, i niko mu ih ne davaše. 17A kad doðe k sebi, reèe: koliko najamnika u oca mojega imaju hljeba i suviše, a ja umirem od gladi! 18Ustaæu i idem ocu svojemu, pa æu mu reæi: oèe! sagriješih nebu i tebi, 19I veæ nijesam dostojan nazvati se sin tvoj: primi me kao jednoga od svojijeh najamnika. 20I ustavši otide ocu svojemu. A kad je još podaleko bio, ugleda ga otac njegov, i sažali mu se, i potrèavši zagrli ga i cjeliva ga. 21A sin mu reèe: oèe, sagriješih nebu i tebi, i veæ nijesam dostojan nazvati se sin tvoj. 22A otac reèe slugama svojijem: iznesite najljepšu haljinu i obucite ga, i podajte mu prsten na ruku i obuæu na noge. 23I dovedite tele ugojeno te zakoljite, da jedemo i da se veselimo. 24Jer ovaj moj sin bješe mrtav, i oživlje; i izgubljen bješe, i naðe se. I stadoše se veseliti. 25A sin njegov stariji bijaše u polju, i dolazeæi kad se približi kuæi èu pjevanje i podvikivanje. 26I dozvavši jednoga od slugu zapita: šta je to? 27A on mu reèe: brat tvoj doðe; i otac tvoj zakla tele ugojeno, što ga je zdrava vidio. 28A on se rasrdi i ne šæadijaše da uðe. Tada iziðe otac njegov i moljaše ga. 29A on odgovarajuæi reèe ocu: eto te služim toliko godina, i nikad ne prestupih tvoje zapovijesti, pa meni nikad nijesi dao jareta da bih se proveselio sa svojijem društvom; 30A kad doðe taj tvoj sin koji ti je imanje prosuo s kurvama, zaklao si mu tele ugojeno. 31A on mu reèe: sine! ti si svagda sa mnom, i sve je moje tvoje. 32Trebalo se razveseliti i obradovati, jer ovaj brat tvoj mrtav bješe, i oživlje; i izgubljen bješe i naðe se.

Our Holy Father Xenophon, his wife Mary and their sons Arcadius and John (6th c.)

Xenophon was a wealthy senator in Constantinople during the reign of Justinian. He and his wife Mary had two sons, Arcadius and John, to whom they gave every advantage of education. When they were of age, Xenophon sent them both to study law in Berytus (Beirut). But the ship on which they set out was wrecked in a storm, and the two brothers were cast ashore, alive but separated, neither knowing whether the other had survived.

Both brothers gave thanks to God for their salvation and, newly conscious of the vanity of earthly things, both became monks: John in Tyre and Arcadius in Jerusalem. Two years later, having heard no news from his sons, Xenophon made inquiries and found that they had never arrived at Beirut, and that they had seemingly perished in a shipwreck. Giving thanks to God, who gives and takes away, both Xenophon and his wife Mary put on coarse garments and went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In Jerusalem, they met the spiritual father of Arcadius, who told them that both their sons were alive and that they would soon see them.

By God’s providence, John and Arcadius met one another at Golgotha and, joyfully reunited, spent some time serving Arcadius’ holy Elder. Two days later Xenophon and Mary, visiting the Elder, spent time with their two sons but did not recognize them until the Elder revealed their identity. The parents wept for joy and decided immediately to take up the monastic life themselves. Giving away their considerable wealth, the two entered monasteries in the Holy Land. Both parents and sons went far in the life of prayer, being granted the power to work miracles and foreknow future events.

St Ammonas of Egypt, disciple of St Anthony the Great (350)

“Saint Ammonas was a disciple of Saint Antony the Great and became his successor at the head of the hermits of the outer mountain of Pispir, after having spent fourteen years at Scetis in ceaseless prayer to the Lord to be granted victory over anger. He was afterwards consecrated bishop, probably by Saint Athanasius the Great. He possessed impassibility to the extent of being as though ignorant of the existence of evil, and incapable of passing judgment on anyone.

“One day some people came to ask him to settle a difference among them. The Saint responded by pretending to be insane, and answered a woman who treated him as a madman: ‘You don’t realize how much trouble I’ve given myself in the desert to acquire this madness and I have lost it today because of you!’ On another occasion when he was taken to visit a brother with a bad reputation, he sat on the barrel where [the erring brother’s] concubine was hiding while his accusers searched his cell in vain. Then, taking his leave of the unfortunate man, he simply said: ‘Brother, have a care for yourself!’

“When he was asked which deeds of ascesis are most pleasing to God, he replied: ‘Just sit in your cell and eat a little every day, always keeping the prayer of the Publican in your heart (Luke 18:13), and you can be saved.’ He also said that the fear of God begets moans and tears and these cause joy to arise in the soul, filling it with divine strength to do what is pleasing to God, and that this power from on high establishes us in the company of the Angels. Raised thus from height to height as we humbly pray to be delivered from sin, we shall (he said) receive as if of itself, revelation of the mysteries of God.” (Synaxarion)

Our Holy Mother Paula of Rome (404)

She was born in 347 to a noble family in Rome, and at age sixteen married Toxotius, a prominent nobleman. Though her husband was a pagan, he was devoted to her and gave her freedom to keep a Christian home and rear her children as Christians. They were blessed with five children. When she was thirty-two her husband died suddenly, and Paula resolved to turn her large house in Rome into a monastery. Later she traveled to the Holy Land with her spiritual father St Jerome (June 15). In Bethlehem she established two monasteries, one for women (where she dwelt) and one for St Jerome and his companions. Every day the nuns chanted the entire Psalter, which they were required to learn by heart. Paula was exceptionally austere in her fasting and lavish in her almsgiving, often giving away to the poor even the goods needed by her community for subsistence. She aided her spiritual father and brother Jerome in his controversies with Origen’s followers: St Jerome himself was hot-tempered, and St Paula often exhorted him to confront his enemies with patience and humility.

When she was fifty-six years old, she felt her death approaching, and heard Christ say to her ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone’ (Song of Songs 2:10-11). To this she replied ‘The time of harvest has come. I shall truly see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living,’ and gave up her soul joyfully. Her funeral was attended by throngs of monks, nuns and poor people, all of whom revered her as their mother and benefactress.