Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

The Saturday of the Fifth Week of the Great Fast and of the Akathist

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 322]. Brethren:

9 ²⁴The Christ entered not into the holies made by hand, antitypes of the true things, but into the heaven itself, now to be manifested before the face of God on our behalf; ²⁵not in order that He may offer Himself many times, even as the high priest entereth into the holies year by year with blood belonging to another; ²⁶for otherwise it would be necessary for Him many times to have suffered from the foundation of the world; but now, once for all, at the consummation of the ages, He hath been manifested for the setting at nought of sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ²⁷And inasmuch as it is laid up for men to die once, but after this, judgment, ²⁸thus the Christ Who was offered once for all to bear up the sins of many, shall appear the second time without sin to those who await Him unto salvation.

Another Reading for Saturday of the Fifth Week of the Great Fast for the Theotokos

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 320]. Brethren:

9 ¹The first tabernacle also used to have both ordinances of worship and the sanctuary of this world. ²For a tabernacle was furnished: the first in which were both the lampstand and the table, and the laying forth of the loaves, which is called Holy; ³and after the second veil, a tabernacle which is called Holy of Holies, ⁴which hath a golden censer, and the ark of the covenant which hath been covered all around from every side with gold, in which was the golden jar having the manna, and the rod of Aaron that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; ⁵and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, concerning which now is not the time to speak severally. ⁶Now after these things were thus furnished, the priests, on the one hand, enter into the first tabernacle, performing worship services; ⁷on the other hand, into the second, the high priest entereth alone once for all every year, not without blood, which he offereth on behalf of himself and the faults of ignorance of the people.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 35]. At that time:

8 ²⁷Jesus went out, and His disciples, into the villages of Cæsarea Philippi; and on the way He was asking His disciples, saying to them, “Whom do men say that I am?” ²⁸And they answered, “John the Baptist, but others say Elias; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹And He saith to them, “But ye, whom do ye say that I am?” And Peter answereth and saith to Him, “Thou art the Christ.” ³⁰And He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. ³¹And He began to teach them that it is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things, and to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and after three days to rise.

Another Reading for the Theotokos

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke [§ 54]. At that time:

10 ³⁸Jesus entered into a certain village. And a certain woman, by name Martha, received Him into her house. ³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat down beside the feet of Jesus, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted about much serving, and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, is it no concern to Thee that my sister left me to serve alone? Speak to her therefore that she should help me.” ⁴¹And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and troubled about many things. ⁴²“But there is need of one thing, and Mary chose the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”...

11 ²⁷And it came to pass, as He was speaking these things, a certain woman out of the crowd lifted up her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the breasts which Thou didst suck.” ²⁸But He said, “Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the holy Martyr Sabinos of Egypt, and the holy Apostle Aristoboulos of the Seventy, Bishop of Britain (commemorated on Gk. calendar on the 15^th of March).

No readings given.

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

March 29th – Civil Calendar
March 16th – Church Calendar

1. The Holy Apostle Aristobulus, one of the Seventy.

He was the brother of the Apostle Barnabas and was born in Cyprus. He was a follower of the Apostle Paul, who mentions him in his Epistle to the Romans (16:10). When the great Apostle Paul created many bishops for different parts of the world, he made this Aristobulus bishop of Britain (i.e. England). In Britain there was a wild people, pagan and wicked, and Aristobulus endured among them unmentionable torments, misfortunes and malice. They smote him without mercy, dragged him through the streets, mocked him and jeered at him. But in the end this holy man came to success by the power of the grace of God. He enlightened the people, baptized them in the name of Christ the Lord, built churches, ordained priests and deacons and finally died there in peace and went to the kingdom of the Lord Whom he had served so faithfully. (In the Greek Calendar, St. Aristobulus is commemorated on March 15th).

2. The Holy Martyr Sabinas.

An Egyptian from the city of Hermopolis, he was the administrator of that city. In the time of a persecution of Christians he went off into a mountain with many other Christians and shut himself in a hut, where he spent the time in fasting and prayer. But a poor man who had brought him food and for whom Sabinas had done much betrayed him; as Judas did Christ, so this poor man for money (for two pieces of gold) betrayed his benefactor. Sabinas, with six others, was taken by soldiers, bound and brought to judgement. After harsh torture, he was thrown into the River Nile, where he gave his spirit to God in 287.

3. The Hieromartyrs Trophimos and Thallos.

Brothers by birth from Syria, they publicly and freely preached Christ and denounced the folly of the Greeks and Romans. The infuriated pagans decided to stone them to death, but when they threw the stones at these two brothers, the stones turned back upon the throwers and the brothers remained uninjured. After this they were both crucified. From their crosses the brothers instructed and encouraged the Christians, who were standing nearby in great distress. After much suffering, they gave their spirits to the Lord to Whom they had remained faithful to the end. They suffered with honor in the year 300, in the town of Bofor.

Author’s Note: In the Greek Calendar, Our Holy Father Christodoulos is also commemorated. He lived in asceticism on the island of Patmos and built a monastery there in honor of St. John the Theologian. He entered into rest in 1111. Many miracles have been wrought over his relics.

FOR CONSIDERATION

If we fulfill the law of God in our thoughts, we will find it easy to fulfill it in our actions. That is: if we are not at fault in our thinking, we shall not be at fault in our actions. Or, to develop this further, if our hearts are fixed on God, our tongues and hands and feet and our whole being will be in harmony with Him. Prepare your heart for God, consecrate it to God and worship Him; fulfill the law of God in it, enkindle the love of God in it and unite it with God. The rest will all follow and be conformed to the heart. It is not he who holds the spoke of the wheel that drives the wheel, but he who holds its axis. The heart is the axis of our being. Speaking of the commandments of God, our holy father Hesychios says: ‘If you make yourself fulfill them in thought, you will rarely find it necessary to toil over the fulfilling of them in action.’ That is, if we set our hearts, like an axis, on God, the wheels will easily go with the axis and draw the whole man after the heart. ‘Thy law is within my heart’ (Ps. 40:8), says the wise David.

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.