1 John 2.7-17 (Epistle)

7Ljubazni! ne pišem vam nove zapovijesti, nego zapovijest staru koju imaste ispoèetka. Zapovijest stara jest rijeè koju èuste ispoèetka. 8Opet vam pišem novu zapovijest, koja je zaista u njemu i u vama; jer tama prolazi, i vidjelo pravo veæ svijetli. 9Koji govori da je u vidjelu, a mrzi na svojega brata, još je u tami. 10Koji ljubi brata svojega, u vidjelu živi, i sablazni u njemu nema. 11A koji mrzi na svojega brata, u tami je, i u tami hodi, i ne zna kuda ide, jer mu tama zaslijepi oèi. 12Pišem vam, djeèice, da vam se opraštaju grijesi imena njegova radi. 13Pišem vam, oci, jer poznaste onoga koji nema poèetka. Pišem vam, mladiæi, jer nadvladaste neèastivoga. Pišem vam, djeco, jer poznaste oca. 14Pisah vam, oci, jer poznaste onoga koji je od poèetka. Pisah vam, mladiæi, jer ste jaki, i rijeè Božija u vama stoji, i nadvladaste neèastivoga. 15Ne ljubite svijeta ni što je na svijetu. Ako ko ljubi svijet, nema ljubavi oèine u njemu. 16Jer sve što je na svijetu, tjelesna želja, i želja oèiju, i ponos života, nije od oca, nego je od ovoga svijeta. 17I svijet prolazi i želja njegova; a koji tvori volju Božiju ostaje dovijeka.

Mark 14.3-9 (Gospel)

3I kad bijaše on u Vitaniji u kuæi Simona gubavoga i sjeðaše za trpezom, doðe žena sa sklenicom mnogocjenoga mira èistoga nardova, i razbivši sklenicu ljevaše mu na glavu. 4A neki se srðahu govoreæi: zašto se to miro prosipa tako? 5Jer se mogaše za nj uzeti više od trista groša i dati siromasima. I vikahu na nju. 6A Isus reèe: ostavite je; šta joj smetate? ona uèini dobro djelo na meni. 7Jer siromahe imate svagda sa sobom, i kad god hoæete možete im dobro èiniti; a mene nemate svagda. 8Ona što može, uèini: ona pomaza naprijed tijelo moje za ukop. 9Zaista vam kažem: gdje se god uspropovijeda jevanðelje ovo po svemu svijetu, kazaæe se i to za spomen njezin.

St Martinian, monk, of Caesarea in Palestine (422)

“The life of this saint is wonderful beyond measure and is worth reading in full. What did he not endure to fulfil the Law of God? At the age of eighteen, he went off into a mountain in Cappadocia called the Ark and spent 25 years in fasting, vigils and prayer, and struggling with manifold temptations. When a woman came to tempt him and he saw that he would fall into sin with her, he leapt barefoot into the fire and stood in it until the pain brought forth tears from his eyes and he had killed all lust within himself. When other temptations arose, he fled to a lonely rock in the sea and lived there. When, though, in a shipwreck, a woman swam to the rock, he leapt into the sea intending to drown himself. But a dolphin took him upon its back and brought him, by God’s providence, to the shore. He then decided to make nowhere his permanent home but to travel incessantly. Thus he passed through 164 towns in two years, exhorting and advising the people. He finally arrived in Athens, where he died in 422.” (Prologue)

Holy Apostles and Martyrs Priscilla and Aquila

Aquila and his wife Priscilla (or Prisca) were Jews from Pontus who settled in Rome, where they worked as tent-makers. When the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome in 49-50, they moved to Corinth. (They may already have been Christians; at that time the Empire made no distinction between Christians and Jews.) In Corinth they hosted the Apostle Paul, who lived and worked with them for awhile (Acts 18:1-3). They worked diligently with the Apostle, traveled with him, and were considered worthy to bring Apollos (December 8) to a full knowledge of the Faith (Acts 18:26)

Priscilla and Aquila returned to Rome around 58, and later went to Ephesus; they were living there when St Paul asked his disciple Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus, to greet them (2 Tim. 4:19). It was probably in Ephesus that they were martyred by the pagans.

St Symeon the Myrrh-streamer, founder of the Chilandar Monastery (1200)

He was born in 1114. In the world, he ruled the kingdom of Serbia as Stephen Nemanja; after ruling wisely and mercifully for many years, he renounced all worldly wealth and glory in 1196 to become a monk. Traveling to the Holy Mountain, he took for his spiritual father his own son Sava, who had preceded him in renouncing royal honor for a life of prayer. Together Symeon (as he was named in monastic life) and his son founded Hilandar monastery. His wife Anna became a nun, taking the name Anastasia; she is also commemorated as a saint of the Church. After his repose, St Symeon’s relics exuded a fragrant and healing myrrh. Saint Sava brought his father’s holy relics back to Serbia. The Synaxarion says “From Saint Symeon’s empty tomb at Chilandar, a vine miraculously sprang up whose dried grape seeds are to this day sent all over the world as a blessing for childless married couples.”