Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Cheesefare

Epistle

The Reading is from the Third General Epistle of Saint John [§ 76].

¹The elder to Gaios the beloved, whom I love in truth. ²Beloved, I pray that in all things thou be prospered and in health, even as thy soul is being prospered. ³For I was gladdened greatly when brethren came and bore witness to the truth in thee, even as thou walkest in truth. ⁴Greater joy than these things have I not, that I may hear of my children walking in truth. ⁵Beloved, thou doest a faithful work whatsoever thou mightest work toward the brethren and toward the strangers, ⁶who bore witness of thy love before the Church, whom if thou send forth worthily of God, thou shalt do well. ⁷For the sake of the name they went forth, taking nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸We therefore ought to receive such as these, in order that we may keep on becoming fellow workers for the truth. ⁹I wrote to the church; but Diotrephes, who loveth being first among them, receiveth us not. ¹⁰On this account, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works which he doeth, prating against us with evil words. And not being satisfied with these, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and hindereth those who are willing, and casteth them out of the church. ¹¹Beloved, do not be imitating the bad, but the good. The one doing good is of God; the one doing evil hath not seen God. ¹²To Demetrios testimony hath been given by all, and by the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and ye know that our testimony is true.

¹³I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to thee by means of ink and reed-pen; ¹⁴but I hope to see thee straightway, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to thee. Our friends greet thee. Be greeting the friends by name.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§§ 96, mid 108]. At that time:

19 ²⁹As Jesus drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, toward the mount called the Mount of Olives, He sent forth two of His disciples, ³⁰saying, “Go ye into the village opposite you, in which as ye enter ye shall find a colt which hath been tied, on which no man ever yet sat. Loose it and bring it. ³¹“And if anyone ask you, ‘Why do ye loose it?’ Thus shall ye say to him, ‘Because the Lord hath need of it.’” ³²And after they departed, they who were sent found all even as He said to them. ³³And as they loosed the colt, the masters of it said to them, “Why do ye loose the colt?” ³⁴And they said, “The Lord hath need of it.” ³⁵And they led it to Jesus. And having cast their own garments upon the colt, they put Jesus upon it. ³⁶And as He went, they were spreading under Him their garments in the way. ³⁷And when He drew near, already at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began rejoicing and to be praising God with a loud voice for all the works of power which they saw, ³⁸saying, “Blessed is the King Who cometh in the name of the Lord [cf. Ps. 117(118):25(26)]; peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.” ³⁹And some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Thy disciples.” ⁴⁰And He answered and said to them, “I say to you that if these should keep silent, the stones will cry out.”...

22 ⁷And the day of the unleavened bread came, in which it was necessary for the passover to be sacrificed. ⁸And He sent forth Peter and John, having said, “Go and prepare the passover for us, that we might eat it.” ⁹But they said to Him, “Where dost Thou wish that we should prepare?” ¹⁰And He said to them, “Behold, after ye enter into the city, a man shall meet you, bearing an earthenware vessel of water; follow him into the house where he entereth. ¹¹“And ye shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher saith to thee, “Where is the lodging-place where I shall eat the passover with My disciples?”’ ¹²“And he shall show you a large upper room which hath been furnished; there make ready.” ¹³And they went and found it even as He had said to them. And they made ready the passover.

¹⁴And when the hour came to pass, He reclined at table, and the twelve apostles with Him. ¹⁵And He said to them, “With desire I desired to eat this passover with you before My suffering; ¹⁶“for I say to you that in no wise will I eat of it any more, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷And having taken the cup, He gave thanks, and said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸“for I say to you that in no wise will I drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God should come.” ¹⁹And He took bread and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave to them, saying, “This is My body which is being given for you; be doing this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰In like manner also the cup, after having supped, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is being poured out for you. ²¹“But behold, the hand of him who delivereth Me up is with Me on the table. ²²“And the Son of Man indeed goeth according as it hath been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is delivered up!” ²³And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them then it may be who was about to do this.

²⁴And there was also a contention among them, that is, which of them is thought to be the greater. ²⁵And He said to them, “The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those exercising authority over them are called benefactors. ²⁶“But ye shall not be so, but the one who is greater among you, let him become as the younger; and the one who governeth as the one who serveth. ²⁷“For who is greater, the one who reclineth at table, or the one who serveth? It is the one who reclineth at table, is it not? But I am in the midst of you as the One Who serveth. ²⁸“But ye are those who have continued with Me in My temptations. ²⁹“And I appoint to you a kingdom, even as My Father appointed to Me, ³⁰“that ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” ³¹And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you for himself, in order to sift you as the wheat; ³²“but I have supplicated for thee, that thy faith might not fail; and when thou hast turned back, make steadfast thy brethren.” ³³And he said to Him, “Lord, with Thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death.” ³⁴And He said, “I tell thee, Peter, in no wise shall a cock crow today, before that thou shalt thrice deny to have known Me.” ³⁵And He said to them, “When I sent you forth without a purse and leathern pouch and sandals, did ye lack anything?” And they said, “Nothing.” ³⁶He then said to them, “But now, the one who hath a purse, let him take it, and in like manner, a leathern pouch; and the one who hath not a sword, let him sell his outer garment and buy one. ³⁷“For I say to you that this that hath been written must yet be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was reckoned with the lawless [cf. Is. 53:12]’; for also the things concerning Me have an end.” ³⁸And they said, “Lord, behold, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

³⁹And having gone forth, He went, according to His custom, to the Mount of Olives; and His disciples also followed Him.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Apostle Onesimos of the Seventy.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to Saint Philemon [§ mid 302 B].

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon the beloved and our fellow worker, ²and to Apfia the beloved, and to Archippos our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house. ³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I thank my God, making mention of thee always in the time of my prayers, ⁵hearing of thy love and the faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and in regard to all the saints, ⁶that the communion of thy faith might become energized in full knowledge of every good which is in you in regard to Christ Jesus. ⁷For we have much joy and consolation over thy love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through thee, brother. ⁸Wherefore, though I have much boldness in Christ to enjoin thee to that which is becoming, ⁹yet for the sake of love I rather beseech, being such a one as Paul, an elder, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, ¹⁰I beseech thee concerning my child, Onesimos, whom I begot in my bonds— ¹¹the one who was once useless to thee, but is now useful to thee and to me—whom I am sending back. ¹²Now receive thou him, that is, mine own heart, ¹³whom I was wishing to hold for myself, that he may minister to me in the bonds of the Gospel; ¹⁴but without thine opinion I wished to do nothing, that thy good may not be as according to necessity, but according to willingness. ¹⁵For perhaps on this account he was separated from thee for a season, in order that thou mayest receive him in full forever, ¹⁶no longer as a slave, but above a slave, a brother beloved, especially to me, and how much more to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord! ¹⁷If then thou holdest me a partner, take him to thyself as thou wouldest me. ¹⁸But if he wronged thee in anything or oweth thee, be reckoning this to me; ¹⁹I, Paul, am writing it with mine own hand, I will repay it; not that I may mention that to me thou owest even thyself. ²⁰Yes, brother, may I benefit from thee in the Lord; refresh thou my heart in the Lord.

²¹Having trusted to thine obedience, I am writing to thee, knowing that even beyond what I may say thou wilt do. ²²And at the same time also, be preparing a lodging for me, for I hope that through your prayers I shall be graciously given to you. ²³There greeteth thee Epaphras, my fellow captive in Christ Jesus, ²⁴Mark, Aristarchos, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

February 28th – Civil Calendar
February 15th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Apostle Onesimus.

One of the Seventy, he was a slave of Philemon, a rich and distinguished citizen of Colossae in Phrygia. He offended his master, Philemon, in some way and fled to Rome, where he heard the Gospel from the Apostle Paul and was baptized. By this time, Paul had also brought Philemon to the true Faith, and he reconciled the two of them, Philemon and Onesimus, master and slave, writing a special epistle to Philemon—one of the most moving writings to be found in the New Testament: ‘I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds.... Perhaps he departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him forever, not now as a servant, but above a servant; a brother beloved.’ Deeply moved by this letter, Philemon received Onesimus as a brother, indeed, and gave him his freedom. Onesimus was later made bishop and received the see of Ephesus after the death of the Apostle Timothy. This is recorded in the epistles of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer. At the time of the persecution under Trajan, Onesimus, by then an old man, was arrested and taken to Rome. There he testified before the judge, Tertylus, was imprisoned and finally slain. A wealthy woman took his body, placed it in a silver coffin and buried it in the year 109.

2. Our Holy Father Evsevios.

A Syrian hermit, he lived at first under the guidance of holy men, but later went into the solitude of the desert. He fed himself entirely on vegetable foods, never even tasting fruit, and spent all his time in prayer in the open air, enduring all weathers. He lived to the age of 95 and entered into rest in the Lord in 440.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Peace of soul is precious to all men. With those who have acquired peace of soul, the body can be in constant motion, occupation or pain, but their souls, cleaving to God, remain always in unshakable peace. St. Seraphim of Sarov teaches: ‘We must endeavor by every means to keep peace of soul. Do not be troubled by the insults of men. It is necessary at all costs to restrain oneself from anger, and by watchfulness over oneself to keep the mind and heart from vain movement.... For the guarding of peace of soul, it is also necessary to flee from judging others. By non-judgement and silence, peace of soul is preserved. When a man attains to such a state, he receives divine revelation. For a man to be able to keep himself from judging others, he must be vigilant over himself; he must not dare to receive vain thoughts from another, and must be as one dead before all that is of this world. We must tirelessly keep our hearts from vain thoughts and impressions (Prov. 4:23). By constant watchfulness over the heart, a purity of heart is born in which God is seen, according to the words of eternal truth: “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).’

Daily Scripture Readings taken from The Orthodox New Testament, translated and published by Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista, Colorado, copyright © 2000, used with permission, all rights reserved.

Daily Prologue Readings taken from The Prologue of Ochrid, by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, translated by Mother Maria, published by Lazarica Press, Birmingham, England, copyright © 1985, all rights reserved. Edited by Dormition Skete.