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 our venerable Father Procopios, Confessor of Decapolis.

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

March 12th – Civil Calendar: Non-Leap Year
March 11th – Civil Calendar: Leap Year
February 27th – Church Calendar

1. Our Holy Father Prokopios of Decapolis.

This saint came from Decapolis by the Sea of Galilee. In youth, he gave himself to the monastic life and passed through all those prescribed labors that purify the heart and uplift the soul to God. When a persecution on the part of the wicked Emperor Leo the Isaurian broke out over icons, Prokopios stood up and defended icons, showing that their veneration is not idolatry, for Christians know that to prostrate themselves before icons is not to prostrate before dead matter, but before the living saints depicted on the icons. Prokopios was bestially tortured, imprisoned, beaten and flogged with iron flails. When the wicked emperor was murdered, being already a lost soul, the icons were returned to the churches and Prokopios returned to his monastery, where he spent his remaining days in peace. In old age, he entered into God’s kingdom, where he beheld with joy the living angels and saints whose images were on the honored icons on earth. He departed this life peacefully in the 9th century.

2. Our Holy Father Thalelaios (Thaleleus), a Syrian hermit.

He was at first in the monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified, but then settled in a pagan graveyard, famed for the appearing of evil spirits and bogies. To conquer his terror by faith in God, Thalelaios settled in that graveyard and lived there for many years, enduring much from the fallen spirits both day and night. By his great faith and love towards God, he was endowed by Him with the gift of working wonders, and did much good for the sick and suffering. He died in about 460.

3. Our Holy Father Titus of the Kiev Caves.

Titus was a priest and had a sincere love for a deacon, Evagrius, as brother for brother. But, though such was their love at first, it later became a mutual malice and hatred, sown by the devil. They hated each other so much that, when one of them used the censer in church, the other turned and went outside. Titus tried many times to make peace with his adversary, but in vain. Titus became ill, and all thought that he was dying. He begged that Evagrius be brought to him, that they might forgive each other. Evagrius was brought by force to Titus’ bedside, but he fled away, saying that he would not forgive Titus, either in this world or the next. As he said this, he fell to the ground and breathed his last. But Titus rose from his bed healed, and revealed how the demons had flown around him until he forgave Evagrius, and when he had done so, the demons had fled and attacked Evagrius, with angels of God surrounding himself. He died in 1190.

4. Our Holy Father Stephen.

He was first an official at the court of the Emperor Maurice, but then left his courtly service, and urged by the love of Christ, built an almshouse for the elderly in Constantinople. He died peacefully in 614.

5. The Holy Martyr Julian the Gout-Sufferer.

Because of his gout, he was unable either to stand or to walk. He was brought to trial in Alexandria on a stretcher for his faith in Christ and burned alive on a pyre, along with his pupil Chronyon, in the time of the Emperor Decius.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Whenever we are outside the grace of God, we are outside ourselves, and compared with our grace-endowed nature, we are in no better state than a madman compared with a healthy man. Only a grace-endowed man is a natural man; that is, a man of genuine nature, in whom the grace of God rules and reigns. St. Simeon the New Theologian says: ‘A lamp, even if it is filled with oil and has a wick, remains completely dark if it is not lit. So the soul, with regard to its adornment with all the virtues; if it has not the light and grace of the Holy Spirit, it is quenched and dark’ (Homily 59). As the great apostle says, ‘by the grace of God, I am what I am’ (I Cor. 15:10). To be without grace means to be estranged from God, and thus estranged from the reality of our own being. Our being, our personality, strengthens its reality and receives its fullness only in closeness to God. Thus sinners are those who are sick, lost in insubstantial shadows, without reality and without understanding.

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.