Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Friday of the First Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [§ 82]. Brethren:

2 ¹⁴Whenever the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, who have not the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts one with another accusing or also excusing, ¹⁶in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel.

¹⁷Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and boastest in God, ¹⁸and knowest His will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹and hast persuaded thyself to be a guide of the blind, a light of those in darkness, ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. ²¹Thou therefore who teachest another, dost thou not teach thyself? Thou who preachest not to steal, dost thou steal? ²²Thou who sayest not to commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou who loathest the idols, dost thou rob temples? ²³Thou who boastest in the law, dost thou dishonor God through the transgression of the law? ²⁴“For the name of God is being blasphemed among the nations through you [cf. Is. 52:5],” even as it hath been written. ²⁵For on the one hand circumcision profiteth, if thou continue practising the law; but on the other hand, if thou art a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision hath become uncircumcision. ²⁶Therefore if the uncircumcision be keeping the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? ²⁷And the uncircumcision by nature which fulfilleth the law shall judge thee that with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law. ²⁸For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. ²⁹But he is a Jew who is one in that which is hidden; and circumcision is that of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 14]. The Lord said:

5 ³³“Ye heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Thou shalt not swear falsely, but thou shalt render to the Lord thine oaths [cf. Deut. 19:12; Num. 30:3].’ ³⁴“But I say to you not to swear at all: neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God; ³⁵“nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; nor in regard to Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶“Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, for thou art not able to make one hair white or black. ³⁷“But let your word ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and ‘no,’ ‘no’; and what is more than these is from the evil one. ³⁸“Ye heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth [Ex. 21:24; Deut. 19:21; Lev. 24:20].’ ³⁹“But I say to you do not resist the evil one; but whosoever shall strike thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰“And to the one who doth wish to go to law with thee and take thy tunic, yield to him thine outer garment also. ⁴¹“And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of our venerable Father Symeon of the Wondrous Mountain.

Epistle

No reading given.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 11]. The Lord said to His disciples:

5 ¹⁴“Ye are the light of the world. A city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid. ¹⁵“Nor do they light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but upon the lampstand, and it giveth light to all those in the house. ¹⁶“Thus, let your light shine before men, that they might see your good works, and might glorify your Father Who is in the heavens.

¹⁷“Do not begin to think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I came not to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸“For verily I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall have passed away, one iota or one tittle in no wise shall pass away from the law, until all shall have taken place. ¹⁹“Whosoever then shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever shall do and teach them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.”

for Sl. usage, see [Mt. 11:27-30].

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

June 6th – Civil Calendar
May 24th – Church Calendar

1. Our Holy Father Simeon the Stylite of the Wondrous Mountain.

This wondrous and holy man was born in Antioch in 521, in the reign of the Emperor Justin I the Elder. His father perished in an earthquake and he was left alone with his mother, Martha. When he was six years old, he went away into the desert to John, a spiritual teacher there, and under his guidance, gave himself to a strict asceticism of fasting and prayer, to the wonderment of all who saw him. Whilst enduring fearful demonic trials, he received great comfort and grace from the Lord and His angels. Christ the Lord appeared to him in the form of a handsome youth, and after this vision, Simeon’s heart was inflamed with great love for Christ. He spent many years on a pillar, praying and singing psalms. Led by God, he took himself off to the mountain called ‘Wondrous’ by the Lord Himself, and is known as ‘of the Wondrous Mountain’ because of this. The measure of his love for God was such that rare grace was given him, by the help of which he was able to heal every sort of illness, tame wild beasts and perceive the most distant regions of the earth and the hearts of men. He was taken to see the heavens, conversed with angels, harried the demons, prophesied, spent thirty days at a time without sleep and even longer without food, receiving nourishment at the hands of angels. The words of the Savior: ‘He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do’ (Jn 14:12), were completely fulfilled in him. In the year 596, at the age of seventy-five, Simeon went to the Lord, to the eternal enjoyment of the vision of the face of God in the company of the angels.

2. The Holy Martyr Meletius Stratelates, with 1218 soldiers and their wives and children.

Accused of the destruction of a pagan temple in the reign of the Emperor Antoninus, Meletius gave forth his holy soul nailed to a tree. Many solders under his command, who refused to deny Christ their Lord, suffered with honor in the second century, and went to the kingdom of Christ our God.

3. Our Holy Father Nikita the Stylite.

He lived an unrestrained and vicious life as a youth. When once he happened to enter a church, he heard the words of the Prophet Isaias: ‘Wash you (your sins), make you clean’ (1:16). The words penetrated deeply into his soul, and effected a complete change in his life. Nikita left his home, his wife and his land and entered a monastery close to Pereyaslavl, where he labored until his death in strict asceticism. He enveloped his body in chains and shut himself up in a pillar, being therefore known as a stylite. God granted him great grace, and he healed people afflicted with various torments. He healed Michael, Prince of Chernigov, of palsy. One day some evildoers saw the chains on him, and seeing them gleam, thought them to be silver, so they killed him one night, took the chains off him and carried them away. This happened on May 16th, 1186. He appeared to a certain elder, Simeon, after his death and told him to place the chains, when they were found, in the grave beside his body.

FOR CONSIDERATION

‘To the pure, all things are pure,’ says the apostle. The food that a man eats cannot be called unclean in itself; however, some foods may evoke impure thoughts and desires in a man. St. Simeon the Stylite pondered beautifully on this in a conversation with his elder, John. The elder said: ‘A man cannot make either food or drink impure, because the Lord says in the Scriptures: “Even as the green herb have I given you all things” (Gen. 9:3)’. Holy Simeon replied: ‘Although food cannot make a man impure, it can cause impure thoughts to arise and darken the mind; it can give birth to the passions and flesh them out, transforming a spiritual man into a carnal, and turning his thoughts to earthly desires.’ Is not the water that falls from a cloud pure? But when too much rain falls, the crops rot because of it. Likewise, strong food brings about the corruption of a man’s spiritual and moral being.

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.