Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

The Saturday of the Second Week of the Great Fast

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 309].

3 ¹²Brethren, be taking heed, lest ever there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief in apostatizing from the living God; ¹³but be exhorting one another every day, as long as it is being called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened by the deceit of sin. ¹⁴For we have become partakers of Christ, if indeed we should hold fast the first principle of our subsistence firm even to the end, ¹⁵while it is being said, “Today, if ye will hear His voice, do not go on hardening your hearts as in the provocation [Ps. 94(95):8(7, 8)].” ¹⁶For who, having heard, did provoke? But was it not all those who came out of Egypt by Moses?

Another Reading for Saturday of the Second Week of the Great Fast in Commemoration of the Departed

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians [§ 270].

4 ¹³Brethren, we do not wish you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, that ye may not be grieving, even as the rest who have no hope. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and is risen, so also those who fell asleep through Jesus will God bring with Him. ¹⁵For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we the living, the ones remaining over until the coming of the Lord, in no wise shall precede those who fell asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with a voice of an archangel, and with a trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. ¹⁷Then we the living, the ones remaining over, shall be carried off together with them in clouds to a meeting of the Lord in the air, and so shall we always be with the Lord.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 6]. At that time:

1 ³⁵Jesus, having risen up very early at night, went out and departed into a desolate place, and was praying there. ³⁶And Simon and those with him followed hard after Him. ³⁷And having found Him, they say to Him, “All are seeking Thee.” ³⁸And He saith to them, “Let us be going into the neighboring village-towns, in order that I might preach there also; for it was for this I have come forth.” ³⁹And He was preaching in their synagogues in all Galilee, and casting out the demons.

⁴⁰And a leper cometh to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If Thou art willing, Thou art able to cleanse me.” ⁴¹And Jesus, having been moved with compassion, stretched forth His hand and touched him, and saith to him, “I am willing; be thou cleansed.” ⁴²And after He spoke, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. ⁴³And having sternly admonished him, forthwith He sent him away, ⁴⁴also saying to him, “See that thou say nothing to anyone; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”

Commemoration of the Departed

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ 16]. The Lord said to the Jews who had come to Him:

5 ²⁴“Verily, verily, I say to you, that the one who heareth My word and believeth the One Who sent Me hath everlasting life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed over out of death into life. ²⁵“Verily, verily, I say to you, that an hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who hear shall live. ²⁶“For even as the Father hath life in Himself, so He also gave to the Son to have life in Himself, ²⁷“and He also gave to Him authority to execute judgment. That He is Son of Man, ²⁸“cease marvelling at this; for an hour is coming in which all those in the graves shall hear His voice, ²⁹“and shall go forth—they who did good things to a resurrection of life, but they who practised bad things to a resurrection of condemnation. ³⁰“I am not able to do anything of Myself. Even as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the One Who sent Me, the Father.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our holy father among the saints, Porphyrios, Bishop of Gaza.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 335]. Brethren:

13 ¹⁷Be obedient to those who lead you, and keep on submitting, for they are watchful for your souls, as those about to render an account, that they may do this with joy, and not groaning; for this would be unprofitable for you. ¹⁸Keep on praying for us; for we trust that we have a good conscience, in all things wishing to conduct ourselves well. ¹⁹But I beseech you more abundantly to do this, that I might be restored more quickly to you.

²⁰Now the God of peace Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Shepherd of the sheep, the great One, in the blood of an everlasting covenant, ²¹may He render you perfect in every good work, in order to do His will, doing in you that which is well-pleasing before His face, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory to the ages of the ages. Amen.

Gospel

No reading given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

March 11th – Civil Calendar: Non-Leap Year
March 10th – Civil Calendar: Leap Year
February 26th – Church Calendar

1. St. Porphyrios, Bishop of Gaza.

This great bishop and pastor was born in Thessalonica of wealthy parents. He spent his youth to the age of 25 in his hometown, then left his parents’ home and worldly life and went off into the Egyptian desert. Under the guidance of an experienced spiritual father, the young Porphyrios became a monk and remained for five years. He then paid a visit to the Holy Land in company with his friend, the monk Mark. He lived another five years in asceticism in a cave near Jerusalem. But then his legs became weak and he was no longer able to walk. But he was always able, crawling on his knees, to be present at Divine Service. One night the Lord Himself appeared to him in a vision and healed him of the weakness in his legs, and he became completely well. When he was chosen as bishop of Gaza, Porphyrios accepted this obligation with a heavy heart. He found only 280 Christians in Gaza; the rest of the inhabitants being fanatical idol-worshippers. Only by his great faith and patience did Porphyrios succeed in bringing the people of Gaza to the Christian Faith. He had to travel in person to Constantinople, to the Emperor Arkadios and the patriarch, John Chrysostom, to beg for help in the unequal struggle against the idolaters. Seeking support, he received it. The temples of the idol-worshippers were closed, the idols demolished and a fine church built with thirty marble pillars. There was special help forthcoming from the Empress Evdoxia. Porphyrios lived long enough to see the whole city brought to the Christian Faith, but only after great toil, suffering and tearful prayer on his part. He entered peacefully into rest in 421. He was a wonder-worker during his lifetime and after his death. His relics are preserved in Gaza to this day.

2. The Holy Martyr John Calpha.

This saint was born in Galata in Constantinople. He was an architect by profession. He offended the Turks by his wholehearted confession of the Christian Faith, and they tried to force him to become a Muslim. ‘I shall never deny my sweet Jesus Christ,’ replied John heroically, ‘I believe in Him, serve Him and confess Him.’ After harsh torture, the Turks beheaded him in Constantinople on February 26th, 1575. He suffered with honor for his beloved Christ and went to the courts of the Lord.

FOR CONSIDERATION

St. John Chrysostom writes thus against those who make a tumult in church and leave it before the end of the service: ‘Some draw near (to holy Communion), not with trembling but with commotion, crowding one another, quarrelling, shouting, grumbling, jostling their neighbors, full of disorder. I have myself often spoken of this, and shall not give up speaking. You know the good order that prevails at the pagan Olympic Games, when the Master of Ceremonies goes round the stadium with a wreath on his head, clad in long robes and with a staff in his hand, and the crier calls for quiet and order. Is it not scandalous that there, where the devil holds sway, there should be such quietness, and where Christ invites men to Himself, there should be great tumult? Silence in the stadium and shouting in church! Quietness on the sea but a storm in the harbor! When you are invited to dinner, you do not presume to leave the table before the other, even if you have finished first; but here, until the terrible Mysteries of Christ are completed, while divine service is still in progress, do you leave in the middle and go away? How can that be forgiven? How can it be put right?’ (From a Homily on the Theophany).

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.