Romans 14.19-23, 16.25-27 (Epistle)

19Tako dakle da se staramo za mir i za ono èim vodimo na bolje jedan drugoga. 20Ne raskopavaj djela Božijega jela radi; jer je sve èisto; nego je pogano za èovjeka koji jede sa spoticanjem. 21Dobro je ne jesti mesa, i vina ne piti, i ono ne èiniti na što se tvoj brat spotièe, ili oda šta gori postaje ili slabi. 22Ti imaš vjeru? Imaj je sam u sebi pred Bogom. Blago onome koji ne osuðuje sebe za ono šta naðe za dobro. 23A koji se sumnja osuðen je ako jede, jer ne èini po vjeri: a šta god nije po vjeri grijeh je. 25A onome koji vas može utvrditi po jevanðelju mojemu i propovijedanju Isusa Hrista, po otkrivenju tajne koja je bila sakrivena od postanja svijeta, 26A sad se javila i obznanila kroz pisma proroèka, po zapovijesti vjeènoga Boga, za poslušanje vjere meðu svima neznabošcima, 27Jedinome premudrome Bogu, kroz Isusa Hrista, slava vavijek. Amin.

Galatians 5.22-6.2 (Epistle, Departed)

22A rod je duhovni ljubav, radost, mir, trpljenje, dobrota, milost, vjera, 23Krotost, uzdržanje; na to nema zakona. 24A koji su Hristovi, raspeše tijelo sa slastima i željama. 25Ako u duhu živimo, po duhu i da hodimo, 26Da ne tražimo lažne slave razdražujuæi jedan drugoga, i zavideæi jedan drugome.

1Braæo! ako i upadne èovjek u kakav grijeh, vi duhovni ispravljajte takovoga duhom krotosti, èuvajuæi sebe da i ti ne budeš iskušan. 2Nosite bremena jedan drugoga, i tako æete ispuniti zakon Hristov.

Matthew 6.1-13 (Gospel)

1Pazite da pravdu svoju ne èinite pred ljudima da vas oni vide; inaèe plate nemate od oca svojega koji je na nebesima. 2Kad dakle daješ milostinju, ne trubi pred sobom, kao što èine licemjeri po zbornicama i po ulicama da ih hvale ljudi. Zaisto vam kažem: primili su platu svoju. 3A ti kad èiniš milostinju, da ne zna ljevaka tvoja što èini desnica tvoja. 4Tako da bude milostinja tvoja tajna; i otac tvoj koji vidi tajno, platiæe tebi javno. 5I kad se moliš Bogu, ne budi kao licemjeri, koji rado po zbornicama i na raskršæu po ulicama stoje i mole se da ih vide ljudi. Zaisto vam kažem da su primili platu svoju. 6A ti kad se moliš, uði u klijet svoju, i zatvorivši vrata svoja, pomoli se ocu svojemu koji je u tajnosti; i otac tvoj koji vidi tajno, platiæe tebi javno. 7A kad se molite, ne govorite mnogo, kao neznabošci; jer oni misle da æe za mnoge rijeèi svoje biti uslišeni. 8Vi dakle ne budite kao oni; jer zna otac vaš šta vam treba prije molitve vaše; 9Ovako dakle molite se vi: Oèe naš koji si na nebesima, da se sveti ime tvoje; 10Da doðe carstvo tvoje; da bude volja tvoja i na zemlji kao na nebu; 11Hljeb naš potrebni daj nam danas; 12I oprosti nam dugove naše kao i mi što opraštamo dužnicima svojijem; 13I ne navedi nas u napast; no izbavi nas oda zla. Jer je tvoje carstvo, i sila, i slava vavijek. Amin.

Matthew 11.27-30 (Gospel, Departed)

27Sve je meni predao otac moj, i niko ne zna sina do otac; niti oca ko zna do sin i ako kome sin hoæe kazati. 28Hodite k meni svi koji ste umorni i natovareni, i ja æu vas odmoriti. 29Uzmite jaram moj na sebe, i nauèite se od mene; jer sam ja krotak i smjeran u srcu, i naæi æete pokoj dušama svojijem. 30Jer je jaram moj blag, i breme je moje lako.

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.”