Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Saturday of the Seventh Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 108]. Brethren:

12 ¹I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, your rational worship. ²And cease being fashioned according to this age, but be transfigured by the renewing of your mind, in order for you to put to the test what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.

³For I say, through the grace which is given to me, to everyone that is among you, not to be high-minded beyond what is needful to be minded, but to be minded so as to be sober-minded, as God allotted a measure of faith to each.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 39]. The Lord said:

10 ³⁷“The one who loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸“And whosoever taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹“The one who findeth his life shall lose it; and the one who loseth his life on account of Me shall find it. ⁴⁰“The one who receiveth you receiveth Me, and the one who receiveth Me receiveth the One Who sent Me forth. ⁴¹“The one who receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴²“And whosoever shall give to one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, in no wise shall he lose his reward.”

11 ¹And it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, He passed over from that place to teach and preach in their cities.

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

17. The commemoration of the holy Great-martyr Marina of Antioch of Pisidia.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§§ 208, 209]. Brethren:

3 ²³Before faith came, we were being guarded under the law, having been closed up to the faith about to be revealed. ²⁴Therefore the law hath become our tutor until Christ, in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But faith having come, we are no longer under a tutor. ²⁶For all are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷For as many as were baptized into Christ, ye put on Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to promise.

4 ¹Now I say, as long as the heir is an infant, he differeth nothing from a slave, though he is lord of all; ²but he is under guardians and stewards until the appointed time of the father. ³So we also, when we were infants, were enslaved under the elements of the world. ⁴But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵in order that He might redeem those under the law, that we might receive what is our due, the adoption as sons.

for Sl. usage, see [2 Cor. 6:1-10].

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 21]. At that time:

5 ²⁴A great crowd was following Jesus and pressing upon Him. ²⁵And a certain woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years— ²⁶and who suffered much under many physicians and spent all from her own means, and was not profited at all, but rather came to be the worse for it— ²⁷after she heard about Jesus, came in the crowd behind, and touched His garment; ²⁸for she was saying within herself, “If I might but touch His garments, I shall be made well.” ²⁹And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she knew in her body that she had been healed from the scourge. ³⁰And Jesus, straightway having fully known in Himself that the power from Him went forth, turned around in the crowd and was saying, “Who touched Me on My garments?” ³¹And His disciples were saying to Him, “Thou seest the crowd pressing on Thee, and sayest Thou, ‘Who touched Me?’” ³²And He kept looking around Himself to see her who had done this. ³³And the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing that which had been done for her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. ³⁴And He said to her, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee well; go in peace, and be sound in body from thy scourge.”

for Sl. usage, see [Lk. 7:36-50].

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

July 30th – Civil Calendar
July 17th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Martyr Marina.

Born in Pisidian Antioch of pagan parents, Marina only heard of the Lord Jesus at the age of twelve, of His incarnation of the most pure Virgin, His many miracles, His death by crucifixion and His glorious Resurrection. Her little heart was inflamed with love for the Lord, and she vowed never to marry, and further, desired in her soul to suffer for Christ and be baptized with the blood of martyrdom. Her father hated her for her faith, and would not regard her as his daughter. The imperial governor, Olymbrios, hearing of Marina and learning that she was a Christian, at first desired her for his wife. When Marina refused, he ordered her to sacrifice to idols. To this, Marina replied: ‘I shall not worship nor offer sacrifice to dead idols, lacking the breath of life, which have no awareness of themselves and are not even aware of our honoring or dishonoring them. I will not give them that honor that belongs to my Creator alone.’ Then Olymbrios put her to harsh torture, and threw her into prison all wounded and bleeding. Marina prayed to God in the prison, and after she had prayed, there appeared to her first the devil in the form of a terrible serpent, which twined itself about her head. When she made the sign of the Cross, the serpent split asunder and disappeared. Then she was bathed in heavenly light; the walls and roof of the prison disappeared and a Cross was revealed, resplendent and lofty. On the top of the Cross was perched a white dove, from which there came a voice: ‘Rejoice, Marina, thou dove of Christ, daughter of the Sion that is on high, for the day of thy joy is drawing near!’ and Marina was healed by the power of God of all her wounds. The demented judge tortured her the next day by fire and water, but Marina endured it all as if not in her own body. She was finally sentenced to death by beheading. At the moment of her death, the Lord Jesus appeared to her, accompanied by angels. She was beheaded in the time of the Emperor Diocletian, but remains alive in soul and in power in heaven and on earth. One of her hands is preserved in the monastery of Vatopedi on the Holy Mountain. Even in Albania, in the Langa mountains overlooking Lake Ochrid, there is a monastery of St. Marina with some of her wonder-working relics. Numerous miracles have been wrought in this monastery and still occur today, witnessed not only by Christians but also by Moslems. The Turks have such a veneration for this holy place that they have never laid hands on either the place or the monastery’s possessions. At one time, a Turk was caretaker of the monastery.

2. Our Holy Father Leonid.

This Russian saint lived in asceticism from his youth in several monasteries: in Solovki, Mirozh and others. He finally founded his own monastery on the River Luza in the province of Vologda. He lived in strict asceticism and his soul was filled with the grace of the light and power of the Holy Spirit. A great light, he drew many to the ascetic life. Being pleasing to God, he went peacefully to his reward on July 17th, 1653. His relics are preserved in his monastery.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Until Christ becomes to the soul all that has any lasting and unchanging worth; until then a man cannot come to suffer for Christ. How was St. Marina, a fifteen-year-old girl, able to follow this path? Because Christ was everything to her. How was St. Julitta able to rejoice, seeing her three-year-old son, Kyrikos, killed for the Christian Faith? Again, because Christ was everything. Here is how St. Tikhon of Zadonsk speaks, in detail and in the form of a conversation between Christ and man, of how Christ is everything to man: ‘Do you desire good for yourself? All good is in Me. Do you desire blessings? All blessings are in Me. Do you desire beauty? What is lovelier than I? Do you desire noble birth? What birth is more noble than that of the Son of God and the Virgin? Do you desire rank? Who is of higher rank than the King of heaven? Do you desire glory? Who is more glorious than I? Riches? All riches are in Me. Wisdom? I am the Wisdom of God. Friendship? Who is a greater friend than I—I Who laid down My life for all? Help? Who can help but I? Happiness? Who can be happy without Me? Do you seek consolation in distress? Who will console you but I? Do you seek peace? I am the peace of the soul. Do you seek life? In Me is the fount of life. Do you seek light? I am the light of the world.’

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.