Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Fifth Period
Sunday of the Thirty-Fourth Week or Sunday of the Prodigal Son

Mode Plagal Two — Sixth Eothinon

Epistle

The Reading is from the First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians [§ 135]. Brethren:

6 ¹²All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. ¹³Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods; but God shall bring to nought both this and these. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴And God both raised up the Lord, and will raise up us by His own power. ¹⁵Ye know that your bodies are members of Christ, do ye not? Having taken up then the members of Christ, shall I make them members of a harlot? May it not be! ¹⁶Or know ye not that he that is joined to the harlot is one body? For, “The two,” saith He, “shall be into one flesh [Gen. 2:24].” ¹⁷But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. ¹⁸Keep on fleeing fornication. Every sin whatsoever a man might do is outside the body, but he who committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. ¹⁹Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, Whom ye have from God, and ye are not your own? ²⁰For ye were bought with a price; glorify then God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 79]. The Lord said this parable:

15 ¹¹“A certain man had two sons. ¹²“And the younger of them said to the father, ‘Father, give to me the portion of the property which falleth to me.’ And he divided to them his means of living. ¹³“And not many days after, the younger son, having gathered all together, went abroad into a distant land, and there scattered his property, living profligately. ¹⁴“But after he spent all, there arose a severe famine throughout that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵“And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that land; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶“And he was longing to fill his belly from the husks, which the swine were eating; and no one was giving to him. ¹⁷“But having come to himself, he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father abound in loaves, and I am perishing with hunger! ¹⁸“‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I sinned against heaven and before thee, ¹⁹“‘“and am no longer worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants.”’ ²⁰“And he rose up and went to his father. But when he was yet far away, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell upon his neck, and ardently kissed him. ²¹“And the son said to him, ‘Father, I sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no longer worthy to be called thy son.’ ²²“But the father said to his slaves, ‘Bring forth the robe, the chief one, and clothe him, and provide a ring for his hand and sandals for the feet. ²³“‘And bring the calf, the fattened one, and slay it; and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴“‘for this my son was dead and is alive again; and he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. ²⁵“Now his son, the elder one, was in a field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶“And he summoned one of his servants, and began inquiring what these things may be. ²⁷“And he said to him, ‘Thy brother is come, and thy father slew the calf, the fattened one, because he received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸“But he was angry and not willing to go in. Then his father went out and besought him. ²⁹“And he answered and said to his father, ‘Behold, so many years I am serving thee, and never did I transgress thy commandment, and never didst thou give a kid to me, in order that I might make merry with my friends; ³⁰“‘but when this thy son came, the one who devoured thy means of living with harlots, thou didst slay for him the calf, the fattened one.’ ³¹“And he said to him, ‘Child, thou art always with me, and all that is mine is thine. ³²“‘But to make merry and to rejoice was fitting, because this thy brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

11. The commemoration of Hieromartyr Blaise, Bishop of Sebaste, and our holy Father Demetri, Wonder-worker of Vologda.

Epistle

For the Hieromartyr:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 311]. Brethren:

4 ¹⁴Having then a great High Priest Who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us be holding fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest Who is not able to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who hath been tempted in all respects according to our likeness, without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore be coming with boldness to the throne of grace, that we might receive mercy and find grace for help in due season.

5 ¹For every high priest being taken from among men is being appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, ²who is able to feel in due measure with those who are ignorant and led astray, since he himself also is compassed about with weakness. ³And by reason of this he ought, even for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. ⁴And no one taketh the honor to himself, but he who is called by God, even as also Aaron. ⁵Thus also the Christ glorified not Himself to become a high priest, but the One Who said to Him, “Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee [Ps. 2:7].” ⁶Even as He saith also in another place, “Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek [Ps. 109(110):4].”

For the Wonder-worker:

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 213]. Brethren:

5 ²²The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, ²³meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴But they who are of the Christ crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be walking by the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

6 ¹Brethren, even if a man should be overtaken in some transgression, ye, the spiritual ones, be restoring such a one in the spirit of meekness, looking out for thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ²Keep on bearing one another’s burdens, and thus fill up the law of the Christ.

Gospel

For the Hieromartyr:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ mid 34]. At that time:

10 ¹After Jesus called to Himself His twelve disciples, He gave to them authority over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every weakness.... ⁵These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, “Do not begin to go into the way of the nations, and do not begin to enter into a city of the Samaritans. ⁶“But go rather to the sheep, the lost of the house of Israel. ⁷“And as ye go, be preaching, saying, ‘The kingdom of the heavens hath drawn near.’ ⁸“Be healing the sick, cleansing lepers, raising the dead, casting out demons; freely ye received, freely give.”

Synaxarion Readings

Sunday of the Prodigal Son

If anyone be a prodigal as I, take courage and turn back; for the gates of God’s mercies are opened to all.

On this day we celebrate the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, dedicated as the second service of the Triodion by the divine fathers for the following reason. There are some who recognize much in themselves that is unbecoming, who live a life of great dissipation from their youth, whose lives are full of drunkenness and immorality, who having fallen thus into the depths of evil, become despondent, giving birth to pride, from whence they have no desire to advance to any of the virtues, preferring their bondage to evil and falling ever deeper into evil. Having a fatherly love for even these individuals, and desiring to lead them out of their despair, the holy fathers prescribed this parable for the second preparatory Sunday in order to tear up the passion of despair by the roots, to lead them to acceptance of the virtues, and to demonstrate to sinners the abundance of God’s compassion upon sinners and prodigals in His great goodness and love for mankind. For there is no sin which cannot be overcome by the knowledge of His love for mankind, and this is what is presented in this parable of Christ.

Now the sons of man—that is, of the Logos, God and Man—are two: the righteous and the sinful. It is the eldest who abides ever in God’s blessings, following His commandments and remaining always by Him. But the younger son, having become attached to sin and renouncing his closeness to God through shameful deeds, has wasted God’s love for mankind and for him and has lived as a prodigal. For having completely rejected Him after Whose image he was created, and having followed an evil demon, willingly enslaving himself to this demon’s pleasure, he was unable to fulfill his desire. For sin is an unsatisfying thing that becomes a habitual source of only temporary pleasure. It may be compared to the husks that are fed to swine. At first it seems that they might be something tasty, but they turn out to be very dry and are much like weeds, which is how sin takes possession. For the prodigal son had hardly come to his senses when, perishing from hunger for virtue, he comes to his father, saying, “Father, I have sinned before heaven and before thee, and I am not worthy to be called thy son.” Yet the father receives him in repentance, not reproaching him but embracing him and kissing him in a display of divine and fatherly love. And he clothes him, a symbol of Baptism, putting a ring on his finger, a symbol of the grace of the All-Holy Spirit. He also puts sandals on his feet, not so much as a protection from some serpent or scorpion that might sting him on his path to God, but rather as a means of crushing the heads of those creatures. And then in a tremendous display of joy he slaughters the fatted calf for him, his only-begotten Son, and the Father grants him communion of His body and blood. Now the elder son expresses his amazement at his father’s limitless mercy. But the lover of mankind exhorts him to silence with loving and kind words of humility, saying, “Thou art ever with me, and it was meet that we should make merry and be glad, for my son was formerly dead in his sin and is alive again, having repented of the foolish things he has done. He was lost, since he was far from me in his licentious habits, and he was found by me, suffering in my compassion and calling him back in my mercy.” This parable may be applied to us as well, which is why the holy fathers have prescribed it for today. We who have sinned as the prodigal are encouraged to weed out despair and fear through repentance, confession, and good works. For this is a great aid and a powerful weapon against the assaults of the adversary.

In Thine ineffable love for mankind, O Christ our God, have mercy upon us. Amen.

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

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

February 24th – Civil Calendar
February 11th – Church Calendar

1. The Hieromartyr Vlasios (Blaise), Bishop of Sebaste.

Born in Cappadocia, Vlasios was meek and God-fearing from early childhood. He was chosen for his virtues as bishop of Sebaste, and was a great spiritual and moral light in that pagan town. During a period of violent persecution of Christians, Vlasios encouraged his flock and visited the martyrs in prison, among whom was the famous Efstratios.

When the city of Sebaste was left entirely denuded of Christians—some killed and others fled—Vlasios, by then an old man, retired to the mountain of Argeos and lived there in a cave. Ferocious wild beasts, recognizing a holy man, came to him and he gently tamed them. But the persecutors found the saint in that hidden spot and took him for trial. On the way there, Vlasios healed a boy who had a bone stuck in his throat, and at the petition of a poor widow, made the wolf that had taken her pig return it to her. The benighted judges tortured him, flogging him terribly. By his steadfastness in the Christian Faith, Vlasios brought many unbelievers to the Faith. Seven women and two children were thrown into prison with him; the women were slain first, then Vlasios and the two children. He suffered and was glorified in 316.

Vlasios’ prayers are sought for the health and well-being of domestic animals and for protection from wild beasts. In the West, he is also invoked against sore throats.

2. The Holy Martyr George of Kratovo.

George was a Bulgarian from the town of Kratovo. As a young man, George was a goldsmith; and in his heart and soul a faithful and devout Christian. As soon as he reached the age of eighteen, the Turks tried to convert him to Islam, but George remained as firm as a diamond in the Faith. The Turks then tortured him with many harsh tortures and finally burned him alive at the stake. He suffered for the Christian Faith on February 11th, 1515, in Sofia in the time of Sultan Selim, and was glorified with unfading glory in heaven.

3. St. Theodora.

A Greek empress, she was the wife of the wicked Emperor Theophilus the Iconoclast. After the death of Theophilus, Theodora reigned with her son, Michael III, and the veneration of icons was immediately restored at the Council of Constantinople in 842. This was the occasion of the institution of the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which is celebrated to this day on the first Sunday in the Great Fast. This holy woman who gave such service to the Church gave her soul to God on February 11th, 867. By the wonderful providence of God, it was at this time of total triumph of Orthodoxy over all heresies that Saints Kyril and Methodius were sent as missionaries to the Slav peoples.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Matter is not, of itself, evil, as certain Christian heretics (for example, the Manicheans) and some philosophers have asserted. Not only is it not evil; it is not the sole spreader of evil, for the spirit does this just as much as matter does. Every material thing is weighed down and inhibited by the soul of man, but it is not evil. Matter is corruptible, weak and helpless in comparison with the immortal spirit, but it is not itself evil. If it were evil, how could the Lord Jesus have instituted the holy Communion from bread and wine, and how could bread and wine be called His body and blood? If matter were in itself evil, how could people be baptized in water? How could the Apostle Iakovos have ordained that the sick be anointed with oil? How could blessed water stay fresh and have miraculous powers? How could the Cross have power? How could Christ’s robe have borne the healing power of the Savior, from which the woman with the issue of blood was healed? How could the relics of the saints and how could icons have such wonder-working gifts, and such good from the kingdom of blessings befriend man? How, further, could good come to man through evil? No; matter is in no way evil in itself.

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.