Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Sunday of the Meatfare or Sunday of the Last Judgment.

Grave Mode — Seventh Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 140]. Brethren:

8 ⁸Meat commendeth us not to God; for neither if we eat have we an advantage, nor if we eat not are we behind. ⁹But be taking heed, lest this license of yours should become a stumbling block to those who are weak. ¹⁰For if one should see thee who hast knowledge reclining at table in an idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him who is weak be built up so as to eat the things sacrificed to idols? ¹¹And on thy knowledge the brother who is weak shall destroy himself, for whom Christ died. ¹²But when ye sin thus against the brethren and wound their conscience which is weak, ye sin against Christ. ¹³On which very account, if meat causeth my brother to stumble, I will not at all eat flesh forever, lest I should cause my brother to stumble.

9 ¹I am an apostle, am I not? I am free, am I not? I have seen Jesus Christ our Lord, have I not? Ye are my work in the Lord, are ye not? ²If I am not an apostle to others, yet at least I am to you; for ye are the seal of mine apostleship in the Lord.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 106]. The Lord said:

25 ³¹“Whenever the Son of Man should come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. ³²“And before Him shall be gathered all the nations; and He shall separate them from one another, even as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the young kids. ³³“And indeed He shall set the sheep on His right, but the young kids on the left. ³⁴“Then shall the King say to those on His right, ‘Come, ye who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom which hath been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵“‘For I hungered and ye gave Me to eat; I thirsted and ye gave Me to drink; I was a stranger and ye brought Me in; ³⁶“‘naked and ye clothed Me; I was sick and ye visited Me; I was in prison and ye came to Me.’ ³⁷“Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungering and fed Thee, or thirsting and gave Thee to drink? ³⁸“‘And when did we see Thee a stranger and brought Thee in? Or naked and we clothed Thee? ³⁹“‘And when did we see Thee sick, or in prison, and came to Thee?’ ⁴⁰“And the King shall answer and say to them, ‘Verily I say to you, insofar as ye did it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it to Me.’ ⁴¹“Then shall He say also to those on the left, ‘Go from Me, ye who have been cursed, into the fire, the everlasting one, which hath been prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴²“‘For I hungered and ye did not give Me anything to eat; I thirsted and ye did not give Me anything to drink; ⁴³“‘I was a stranger and ye did not bring Me in, naked and ye did not clothe Me, sick, and in prison, and ye did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴“Then shall they also answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and we did not minister to Thee?’ ⁴⁵“Then shall He answer them, saying, ‘Verily I say to you, insofar as ye did it not to one of the least of these, neither did ye do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”

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.

Synaxarion Readings

Meatfare Sunday

When Thou shalt sit to judge the world, O Judge of all, count me worthy of Thy summons to Thy right hand.

On this day we commemorate the inescapable second coming of Christ, ordained by the most divine fathers to be observed after the second parable of the prodigal, so that no one who has learned of the love of God for mankind from it will live in laziness, saying, “God loves mankind, and when I am separated from Him by sin, all is prepared for my restoration.” This fearsome day of judgment has been designated for commemoration at this point in time, that through fear of death and the expectation of future torment, those who live in laziness may be encouraged to the virtues, not trusting only in the love of God, but also realizing that He is the righteous Judge who will judge all men according to their deeds. In other words those souls who have passed over are obliged to undergo judgment. And this present feast is a type of symbol of this in that it is presented now as a final celebration just as it will be the last event after our death. For it behooves us to contemplate that as the beginning of the world and Adam’s fall from Paradise are commemorated on the following Sunday, so this day is the end of all days and of the world itself.

The commemoration is appointed for this day of Meatfare, that in awe of this event we should limit our intake of earthly food, not giving ourselves over to gluttony, and be encouraged to love our neighbor. In other words, since we were banished from Eden, cursed and condemned through eating of the fruit, so the present event has been ordained at this time, as next Sunday we will be banished through Adam, until Christ comes again to raise us up to Paradise. It is called the Second Coming, since Christ appeared to us at His first coming in the flesh and delivered the human race, and He will come again to judge whether that which He commanded us has been observed. And when will this Second Coming occur? No one knows; for although He mentioned several preceding signs, the Lord concealed it from His apostles. Before His coming the Antichrist will appear. He will live his life after the manner of Christ, performing miracles like those which Christ performed, and raising the dead. Yet all that he does will be an illusion. After this, suddenly like lightning from heaven the Lord will come, going before His holy Cross, and a river of boiling fire will go before Him, cleansing the earth of its defilement. The Antichrist will be seized immediately along with his servants and will be committed to eternal fire. And when the angels sound the trumpets, all the nations of mankind will gather from all places and from all the ends of the earth in Jerusalem, for it is the center of the earth. And there the thrones will be set for judgment. Then all souls will be reunited with their bodies and clothed in incorruptible beauty, transformed into one likeness. And with one word the Lord will separate the righteous from the sinners. Those who have done good will receive eternal life, and the sinners will be once more sent to eternal and everlasting torment. Let it be noted that Christ will not ask who fasted, or who was naked, or who performed miracles, for although these things are good, mercy and compassion are far better. He will question both the righteous and the sinners on six commandment-like virtues, of which everyone is capable: “For I was hungry, and ye gave Me to eat. I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and ye clothed Me. I was sick, and ye visited Me. I was in prison, and ye came to Me. Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it to Me.” Then all will confess the Lord Jesus Christ in the glory of God the Father.

Now the torments, according to the Holy Gospel are weeping and the gnashing of teeth, where their worm dies not and the fire is not quenched, and he shall be cast into outer darkness. For all the Church of God will joyfully delight in attaining the kingdom of the heavens, being close to God in His holy place, and receiving everlasting glory and exaltation. But those who are separated from God through wasting the life of their souls in laziness and temporal nourishment will receive torment and darkness, and be eternally deprived of the divine radiance.

In Thine ineffable love for mankind, O Christ our God, make us worthy of Thy voice, which we long to hear, number us among those at Thy right hand, and have mercy on us. Amen.

Translated from Triodion, siest ‘Tripesnets: Triod’ Postnaya, Moscow, 1904, by Robert Parent.

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.