November
9th
(New Style) • October 27th (Old Style)
The
Holy Martyr Nestor
In the
time of the suffering of St. Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher, there was a
young man of Thessalonica, Nestor, who learned the Christian Faith
from St. Demetrius himself. At that time Christ's enemy, Emperor
Maximian, organized various games and amusements for the people. The
emperor's favorite in these games was a Vandal by the name of Lyaeus,
a man of Goliath-like size and strength. As the emperor's gladiator,
Lyaeus challenged men every day to single combat and slew them. Thus,
the bloodthirsty Lyaeus amused the bloodthirsty, idolatrous Maximian.
The emperor built a special stage for Lyaeus's battles, similar to a
threshing floor on pillars. Spears, points upward, were planted
beneath this platform. When Lyaeus defeated someone in wrestling, he
would throw him from the platform onto the forest of spears. The
emperor and his pagan subjects cheered as some poor wretch writhed in
torment on the spears until he died. Among Lyaeus's innocent victims
were many Christians: when no one volunteered to duel with Lyaeus, by
the emperor's orders Christians were arrested and forced to duel with
him. Seeing this horrifying amusement of the pagan world, Nestor's
heart was torn with pain, and he decided to come forward for a duel
with the gigantic Lyaeus. But first, he went to prison to see St.
Demetrius and sought a blessing from him to do this. St. Demetrius
blessed him, signed him with the sign of the Cross on the forehead and
on the chest and prophesied to him: ``You will defeat Lyaeus, but you
will suffer for Christ.'' Thus, young Nestor went to duel with Lyaeus.
Maximian was present with a multitude of people; everyone felt pity
for the young Nestor, who would surely die, and tried to dissuade him
from dueling with Lyaeus. Nestor crossed himself and said: ``O God of
Demetrius, help me!'' and with God's help, he overcame Lyaeus, knocked
him down, and threw him onto the sharp spears, where the heavy giant
soon found death. Then all the people cried out: ``Great is the God of
Demetrius!'' But the emperor, shamed before the people and sorrowing
for his favorite Lyaeus, was greatly angered at Nestor and Demetrius,
and commanded that Nestor be beheaded and Demetrius run through with
lances. Thus, the Christian hero Nestor ended his earthly life and
took up his habitation in the Kingdom of his Lord in the year 306.
The
Venerable Nestor the Chronicler
At the
age of seventeen, Nestor entered the Monastery of the Kiev Caves while
St. Theodosius was still abbot. He wrote the first history of the
Russian people, in which he intertwined the history of Russian
asceticism. He was distinguished by unusual humility and meekness. In
his literary work, he often referred to himself as unworthy, coarse,
ignorant and full of every kind of sin. But God, Who knows the hearts
of men, glorified this wonderful saint of His. When Nestor entered
into rest on October 27, 1114, his relics performed many miracles.
Saint
Andrew, Prince of Smolensk
Out of
love for Christ, Andrew abandoned the glory and honor of the world,
hid himself in a monastery and there, disguised and unknown, served as
a sacristan for thirty years. He peacefully entered into rest in the
Lord in 1390; his miracle-working relics were found in 1540.
Reflection
A
miracle of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica: That the saints of God live,
clothed in great glory and might in the heavens, Orthodox Christians
know, not by their own reasoning, but by the true help and visitations
of the saints. At times the saints appear so that men may see and hear
them; at times, only to be either seen or heard; at times, though
unseen and unheard, they influence our thoughts, our dispositions and
our actions. Among the many miracles of St. Demetrius in Thessalonica
the following is recorded: A young man named Onesiphorus was appointed
to the service of sacristan in the Church of St. Demetrius of
Thessalonica. His primary task was to keep an account of the candles
and lampadas. This young man began to steal candles, take them home,
and then resell them. St. Demetrius appeared to him and said:
``Brother Onesiphorus, your action is not pleasing to me, for you are
stealing candles. By this, you bring harm to others and especially to
yourself. Cease doing this and repent!'' Onesiphorus was frightened
and ashamed and, for a time, stopped stealing candles. But he
eventually forgot himself, and again began to steal candles. One
morning, a distinguished man brought some large candles to the tomb of
the saint, lit them, prayed and left. Onesiphorus approached the
candles and stretched forth his hand with the intention of taking
them, but at that moment a voice like thunder roared: ``Are you doing
that again?!'' As though struck by lightning, Onesiphorus fell to the
ground, unconscious. When someone came into the church he found him
and lifted him up off the floor; he gradually came to himself and
related all that had happened. Everyone was astonished, and glorified
God.
Contemplation
Contemplate
Peter's wondrous journey with the angel of God (Acts 12):
1. How the angel led Peter out of prison and brought him to the city;
2. How they invisibly passed by the first and second guards;
3. How the locked gates of the city opened to them of their own
accord.
Homily
On zeal for the house
of God
For
the zeal of Thy house has eaten me up and the reproaches of those who
reproach Thee have fallen on me (Psalm 69:9).
The heavens are the house of God. The Church of God is the house
of God. The bodies of believing people are the house of God. Wherever
God is, there is the house of God; and where the house of God is,
there is holiness. Men dishonor the holiness of God's house, and the
royal prophet is provoked and burns with zeal. He takes upon himself
all the offenses against the holy things of God, and they fall upon
him like a fire that enkindles him with even more zeal. Men desecrate
the heavens when they do not believe that which God Himself revealed
to mankind for the sake of their salvation. When men oppose or pervert
the truth, as do the heretics, or when, of their own free will, they
conceive of Christ according to their corporeal understanding, or when
they have doubts about angels and saints, the Judgment, and the
Eternal Kingdom of Christ, and refuse to consider the eternal
punishment of unrepentant sinners-in all this and more, men attack the
house of God and desecrate its holiness like savage animals. This
causes zeal against the opponents and the blasphemers of God to rise
in the hearts of the righteous. In the same manner, men attack the
house of God's holiness when they behave unworthily toward the Church
of God, when they are negligent concerning the Church's ordinances,
when they are slothful toward ecclesiastical commandments and
malicious toward the servants of the Church. Again, zeal for the
holiness of the house of God is inflamed in the hearts of the
righteous and the devout. Finally, the corrupting of the human body,
the surrendering to passions, the service of sin, abduction, murder,
brutality, drunkenness and other wicked actions, are all attacks on
the holiness of God's house. It is all blasphemy against God and
against man. Again, the fervor of the zealots of holiness rises up and
shines as a heavenly flame before men. O my brethren, let us look at
Christ's zeal for the holiness of God's house, and the zeal of the
apostles and the Holy Fathers of our Orthodox Church. Let us have more
zeal for our salvation than the devil has, day and night, for our
destruction.
O Lord Jesus Christ, the Model of our zeal for holiness, grant us a
spark of Thy zeal that we may be like Thee in zeal, and be saved by
Thee.
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November
10th
(New Style) • October 28th (Old Style)
The
Holy Martyr Parasceva
She was
born in the city of Iconium of wealthy and Christ-loving parents.
After the death of her parents, the maiden Parasceva began to
distribute her possessions to the poor and the less fortunate, all in
the name of Christ the Lord. When a persecution began under Diocletian,
Parasceva was brought to trial before the governor of that land. When
the governor asked her for her name, she replied that she was called a
Christian. The governor rebuked her because she did not give her usual
name and Parasceva said to him: ``First, I had to tell you my name in
eternal life, and then my name in this temporal life.'' After flogging
her, the governor cast Parasceva into prison where an angel of God
appeared to her, healed her of her wounds, and comforted her. By
prayer, Parasceva destroyed all the idols in the pagan temple. After
prolonged and harsh tortures, Parasceva was beheaded with the sword
and took up her abode in eternal life.
Saint
Arsenije, Archbishop of Peć
Arsenije
was a great hierarch of the Serbian Church and the successor of St.
Sava. Arsenije was born in Srem. While still in his youth, he was
tonsured a monk and devoted himself sincerely and whole-heartedly to
asceticism for the salvation of his soul. Hearing of the wonderful
person and work of St. Sava, Arsenije went to him in
i ča, where St. Sava received him cordially and included him among
the brotherhood of
iča. Seeing the rare virtues in Arsenije, Sava soon appointed him
abbot of the
iča monastery. When the Hungarians attacked the Serbian lands, Sava
sent Arsenije to the south to look for a place more secluded than
i ča for the archiepiscopal see. Arsenije chose Peć, and built a
monastery there and a church dedicated to the Holy Apostles (which was
later renamed the Church of the Ascension of the Lord). Before his
second departure for Jerusalem, Sava designated Arsenije as his
successor to the archiepiscopal throne, and when Sava reposed in
Trnovo on his way back from Jerusalem, Arsenije urged King Vladislav
to translate the body of St. Sava to the Serbian land. He governed the
Church prudently for thirty years and reposed in the Lord on October
28, 1266. On the wall of the altar in the church of Peć is written:
``O Lord our God, hearken: visit and bless this church … and
remember also me, the sinful Arsenije.'' Arsenije is buried in the
church at Peć.
The
Holy Martyr Terence
He was
from Syria and suffered for the Christian Faith with his wife Neonilla
and their seven children. After many tortures, during which the power
of God was manifested, they were all beheaded with the sword.
Saint
Stephen of St. Sava's
He was
the composer of many beautiful canons. He lived the ascetic life in
the community of St. Sava the Sanctified. He was later ordained a
bishop and peacefully entered into rest in the year 807.
Saint
Athanasius, Patriarch of Constantinople
He was
an opponent of union with Rome, in contrast to his predecessor John
Beccus (1275-1282). He was an ascetic and a prayerful person from his
childhood. Beloved by his people, Athanasius provoked the displeasure
of certain priests by his moral strictness. He withdrew to his
monastery on Mount Ganos, where he labored even more austerely than
before. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to him and scolded him
gently for leaving his flock to the wolves. When he foretold the day
of the earthquake in Constantinople, Emperor Andronicus reinstated him
to the patriarchal throne against his will. After that, he again
secretly withdrew to the ascetic life. He entered into rest at the age
of one hundred. He was clairvoyant and a miracle-worker.
Saint
Dimitri, Bishop of Rostov
Dimitri
was a great hierarch, preacher, author and ascetic. He was born near
Kiev in the year 1651, and reposed in the year 1709. Among his many
glorious works of instruction, he was known especially for his
translation and publication of The Lives of the Saints. He
foresaw his own death three days in advance, and died while at prayer.
Dimitri was a great light of the Russian Church and of Orthodoxy in
general. He had heavenly visions during his life. He served the Lord
zealously and took up his habitation in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Reflection
St.
Dimitri of Rostov was a saint in the ancient and true model of the
early Fathers. Not only did he write beautiful and instructive books,
but also shone forth as an example to his flock. He was a great
ascetic and man of prayer. So humble was he that he even begged the
seminarians in his seminary to pray to God for him. Whenever the clock
struck the hour, he stood for prayer and recited: ``O Theotokos and
Virgin, rejoice!'' When he was ill-which, for him, was often-he begged
each of the seminarians to recite ``Our Father'' five times on his
behalf while meditating on the five wounds of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On one occasion, St. Barbara appeared to him with a smile and said,
``Why do you pray in the Latin manner?''-meaning, why do you pray to
God with such brief prayers? At this reproach, even though it was
gentle, he became despondent, but she encouraged him, saying: ``Do not
be afraid!'' On another occasion, St. Orestes the Martyr (November 10)
appeared to him, just as St. Dimitri had finished writing the saint's
life, and said: ``I endured greater tortures for Christ than those you
have written.'' He then showed him his left side and said: ``This was
pierced with a red-hot iron.'' He then showed him his left hand and
said: ``There I was slashed.'' Finally, he showed him his leg above
the knee and said: ``And this was cut off by a scythe.'' When St.
Dimitri wondered if this Orestes visiting him was one of the Five
Companions (December 13), the saint discerned his thought and said:
``I am not the one of the Five Companions but rather the one whose
life you have just written.''
Contemplation
Contemplate
God's terrible punishment of Herod (Acts 12):
1. How, in his pride, Herod elevated himself, and the people glorified
him as a god;
2. How an angel of God struck him at once, because he gave not God the
glory;
3. How he was consumed by worms and died.
Homily
On prayer to God to
save a soul from the dust
Deliver
me out of the dust that I sink not (Psalm 69:14).
Brethren, our souls are clothed in dust, and our bodies of dust
are given us for the service of our soul. May our souls not drown in
dust! May our souls not be enslaved by dust! May the living spark not
be extinguished in the grave of dust! Very spacious is the field of
earthly dust that draws us to itself; but even more spacious is the
immeasurable Kingdom of the Spirit that calls our soul its kin. Truly,
we are related to the earth through physical dust; but we are related
to heaven through the soul. We are dwellers in temporary huts and
soldiers in temporary tents. O Lord, Deliver me out of the dust!
Thus prayed the repentant king who initially had given himself over to
dust, until he saw how dust pulls us into the abyss of destruction.
Dust is the body of man with its fantasies; dust is also all wicked
men who wage war against the righteous; dust is the demons with their
terrors. May the Lord save us from all this dust, for He alone is able
to do that. We should strive first of all to see the enemy within
ourselves-the enemy who attracts other enemies. Hence, the greatest
misfortune of the sinner is that he, unconsciously and unwillingly, is
an ally of his own enemies! However, the righteous man has
strengthened his soul in God and in the Kingdom of God, and is not
afraid. He is not afraid of himself, and therefore is not afraid of
his other enemies. He is not afraid, because he is neither an ally nor
an accomplice of the enemies of his soul. Hence, neither men nor
demons can do him any harm. God is his ally and the angels of God are
his protectors-what can man do to him? What can demons do to him? What
can dust do to him?
O Lord our God, Three Persons and One Being, Who breathed living souls
into the dust of our bodies, save us according to Thy mercy that we
sink not.
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the Top
November
11th
(New Style) • October 29th (Old Style)
The
Venerable Martyr Anastasia the Roman
She was
born in Rome of noble parents, and was left an orphan at the age of
three. As an orphan, she was taken to a convent near Rome where the
abbess was Sophia, a nun of the highest level of perfection. After
seventeen years, Anastasia was well known-among the Christians as a
great ascetic, and among the pagans as a rare beauty. Probus, the
pagan governor, heard of Anastasia and sent his soldiers to bring her
to him. For two hours, the good Abbess Sophia counseled Anastasia how
to keep the Faith, how to resist flattering deceits, and how to endure
torture. Anastasia said to her: ``My heart is ready to suffer for
Christ; my soul is ready to die for my Sweet Jesus.'' Brought before
the governor, Anastasia openly expressed her faith in Christ the Lord,
and when the governor tried to turn her away from the Faith-first by
promises and then by threats-the martyr said to him: ``I am ready to
die for my Lord not only once, but-oh, if it were only possible-a
hundred times!'' When they stripped her naked to humiliate her, she
cried out to the servants: ``Whip me, cut me up and tear me apart,
cover my naked body with wounds and cover my shame with blood!'' She
was beaten, torn and cut up. On two occasions she felt a great thirst
and asked for water, and a Christian, Cyril, gave her a drink, for
which he was blessed by the martyr of Christ and beheaded by the
pagans. Anastasia's breasts and tongue were severed, but an angel of
God appeared and sustained her. Finally, she was beheaded outside the
city. Blessed Sophia found her body and buried it honorably. Anastasia
was crowned with the wreath of martyrdom during the reign of Decius.
The
Venerable Abramius the Recluse and his niece Mary
Forced
to do so by his parents, he married, but on the very day of his
wedding he left his bride, his parents' home and all that he
possessed, and withdrew into solitude to live a life of strict
asceticism. He labored thus for fifty years, and left his cell only
twice during that time. The first time, he left at the order of his
bishop to convert a pagan village to the Christian Faith. The second
time he came out to save his licentious niece Mary. He entered
peacefully into rest in the year 360, at the age of seventy. (See
``Reflection'' below.)
The
Venerable Martyr Timothy of Esphigmenou
He was
from the village of Kessana in Thrace. He was married and had two
daughters. His wife was seized by the Turks and became a Moslem. In
order to save his wife from the harem, he pretended to become a
Moslem. After rescuing his wife, he conducted her to a convent, while
he went to the Great Lavra on Mount Athos and then to the Monastery of
Esphigmenou. He desired martyrdom for Christ, like Agathangelus of
Esphigmenou, and was beheaded in Jedrene on October 29, 1820. His body
was thrown into a river, but his clothing was retrieved by Elder
Germanus, the spiritual father of Esphigmenou.
Reflection
But
he that endureth to the end shall be saved (Matthew 10:22), said
the Lord. Faith is the only light of endurance, for endurance in and
of itself implies unbearable darkness. Faith is the shining star in
this darkness; faith eases the sharpness of suffering; it bears on its
wings all the weight of endurance. St. Abramius gives us a beautiful
example of perseverance in endurance. The vexation that the devil
caused him by a multitude of temptations and terrors would have driven
lesser men to leave one place for another. But Abramius did not want
to move, so as not to give the evil demon a cause to rejoice; he
remained in his place and defeated the devil. The bishop of that
region sent Abramius to a pagan village to convert the villagers to
the Christian Faith. After long hesitation, Abramius set out, saying:
``Let it be as God wills-I will go out of obedience.'' He first built
a church in that village. Then he smashed all the idols in plain sight
of the villagers. They beat him and whipped him half to death, and
drove him from their village. But he prayed to God with tears for
them, that the Lord would open the eyes of their hearts to know the
truth of Christ. And so the pagans continually beat and abused him
over the course of three years, but he constantly prayed to God for
them, and was not angered with them, enduring in the Faith as a firm
rock. And only after three years of labor, tears, forgiveness and
faith, was he rewarded. Suddenly, the consciences of the villagers
were awakened and they all came together to Abramius, bowing before
him, and receiving the Christian Faith from him.
Contemplation
Contemplate
the terrible punishment by which Paul punished the magician (Acts 13):
1. How a certain Jewish magician held Sergius the deputy under his
dark power;
2. How Paul, by a word, blinded that magician;
3. How the deputy saw that miracle, believed in Christ and was
baptized.
Homily
On the glory of the
name of God
And
blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be
filled with His glory. Amen and Amen (Psalm 72:19).
From the grace-filled heart of the prophet flow words full of
grace. The prophet speaks of the King and the King's Son, the most
unusual King Who has ever appeared on earth. May His name be
blessed forever (Psalm 72:17), the prophet said, and then, as if
that were not enough, he said it again and added: His glorious
name. The Church of Christ is the glory of Christ. Blessed is His
Holy Church-the fruit of His labors, the wreath of His humiliation,
the work of His hands, and the flower of His blood! Blessed is the
very name of His Church-holy and salvific! And with His Church, that
is, with His work and with His glory, the whole earth shall be filled.
By the words, Forever and ever, the prophet foretold the
immortal work of Christ, that is, His Church. She will be built in
time and will be revealed in eternity. She will be built until the end
of time, and will be revealed whole in eternity.
O my brethren, let us strive that our souls may be built into Christ's
Church, into that living and immortal body whose life has no end, and
whose beauty is indescribable. Let us strive that we are not rejected
as unsuitable and useless stones, to be cast into the abyss of eternal
darkness.
O Lord Jesus Christ, King and Son of the King, write us also in the
book of immortality, and remember us in Thy Heavenly Kingdom.
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the Top
November
12th
(New Style) • October 30th (Old Style)
The
Hieromartyr Zenobius and his sister Zenobia
They
were from the town of Aegea in Cilicia. They inherited the true Faith
and great material wealth from their parents. Working zealously for
the Faith and with great love, they distributed all their wealth to
the poor. Because their hands were so generous, the hand of God
shielded them from every evil intent of men and demons. The generous
hands of Zenobius, which gave to the poor, were endowed by God with
the gift of miracle-working, and Zenobius healed the sick of every
kind of infirmity merely by touching them. Zenobius was appointed
Bishop of Aegea. During a persecution, the Prefect Lysias arrested him
and said: ``I offer you two choices: life or death; life if you
worship the gods, or death if you do not.'' St. Zenobius replied:
``Life without Christ is not life but death, whereas death for the
sake of Christ is not death but life.'' When Zenobius was subjected to
cruel tortures, Zenobia came to the judge and said: ``I also want to
drink from this cup of suffering, and be crowned with that wreath.''
After being tortured in fire and in boiling pitch, both were beheaded
with the sword in about the year 285. Thus this brother and sister
took up their habitation in the Kingdom of the Immortal Christ the
King.
The
Holy Apostles Cleopas, Tertius, Mark, Justus and Artemas
They
were all numbered among the Seventy. The risen Lord appeared to
Cleopas on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-33). Tertius wrote down the
Epistle to the Romans for Paul (Romans 16:22), and died a martyr as
Bishop of Iconium after the Apostle Sosipater (November 10). St. Mark
(or John) was the son of the devout Mary (whose home was a refuge for
the apostles and the first Christians), and a kinsman of Barnabas
(Acts 12:12). He became the bishop of the Samaritan town of Apollonia.
Justus was a son of Joseph the Betrothed. Together with Matthias, he
was one of those selected as a possible replacement for Judas the
traitor, but he was not chosen. He suffered for the Gospel as a bishop
in Eleutheropolis. St. Artemas was Bishop of Lystra in Lycaonia, and
reposed peacefully.
The
Holy King Milutin
Milutin
was the son of Uro
I and Queen Helena and brother of Dragutin. He fought many battles
defending his Faith and his people. He fought against Emperor Michael
Palaeologus because Palaeologus accepted union with Rome and tried to
force the Balkan peoples and the monks of Athos to recognize the pope.
He fought against Shishman, King of Bulgaria, and Nogai, King of the
Tartars, in order to defend his lands. All his wars were successful,
for he constantly prayed to God and hoped in God. He built more than
forty churches: beside those that he built in his own land-Treskavac,
Gračanica, St. George in Nagorič, the Church of the Holy Theotokos
in Skoplje, Banjska and so forth-he also built churches outside of his
land, in Thessalonica, Sofia, Constantinople, Jerusalem and the Holy
Mountain. He entered into rest in the Lord on October 29, 1320. His
body was soon shown to be incorrupt and miracle-working; and as such,
it reposes even today in the Church of the Holy King in Sofia,
Bulgaria.
Reflection
A great
son of the Orthodox Church, King Milutin saved the Balkans from
Uniatism. At that time in history when the Byzantine emperor's
conscience was weakened, this noble and God-bearing Slavic king rose
up decisively and, with God's help, saved Orthodoxy-not only in his
own land, but also in all the lands of the Balkans. He who closely
examines the life of the holy King Milutin will understand why God
gave him success after success in all his works throughout his life.
When Milutin ascended the throne, he immediately vowed to God that he
would build a church for each year that he would reign. He reigned
forty-two years and built forty-two churches. Next to some of the
churches-for example, in Thessalonica and Constantinople-he also built
hospitals for the indigent, where the poor would receive everything
free of charge. Beyond that, he especially loved to give alms to the
needy from his own enormous wealth. Oftentimes, this powerful and
wealthy king dressed in the clothes of a poor man and, with two or
three of his servants, walked among the people at night and asked
about their misfortunes, and gave to them abundantly. He lived a very
simple, familial life, even in the midst of his great wealth-though he
never seemed that way to foreigners. He had become accustomed to a
simple life while still at the home of his father, King Uro
I. It is told how Emperor Michael Palaeologus sent his daughter Anna
with a retinue to the court of King Uro
, as an offering to Milutin, in order to lure the Serbian king into
union with Rome. But King Uro
, seeing the foolish extravagance of the princess and her retinue,
said: ``What is this, and what is it for? We are not used to such a
life.'' And pointing to a Serbian princess with a distaff in her hand,
he said: ``Behold, this is the kind of clothing we expect our
daughter-in-law to wear.''
Contemplation
Contemplate
the miraculous healing of the crippled man (Acts 14):
1. How there was a man in Lystra who had never stood on his feet;
2. How he beheld Paul and believed in the Gospel;
3. How Paul, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, healed the man-who leaped
and walked.
Homily
On the desire for
God-the only desire of the righteous
Whom
have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire
beside Thee (Psalm 73:25).
In heaven and on earth, there is one supreme good for the soul of
an awakened man. That good is God. There is countless good in heaven,
but the King of heaven is the greatest good. There is countless good
on earth, but the Creator of all of this good is incomparable. That is
why the soul of the awakened man asks: ``What could I have or what
could I desire, either in heaven or on earth, beside Thee?'' Is the
river necessary to the one who is brought to drink at its source? Does
one who sits at the king's table desire the shepherd's dinner? God
alone is sufficient in Himself to satisfy all of men's hunger and
thirst. The heavens are God's, the earth is God's. The Lord of all
good is the greatest good; the Creator of all sweetness is the
greatest sweetness; the Bearer of all wisdom is the greatest wisdom;
the Source of all power and mercy is the greatest power and mercy; the
Creator of every kind of beauty in heaven and on earth is the greatest
beauty. No kind of good can enter the heart of man-whether openly or
in a dream-that is not already in God to the highest degree.
Therefore, my brethren, let us ask God that we may receive all; let us
seek God that we may find all; let us become rich in God that we may
be rich in all.
O Lord our God, come near us when our souls seek Thee.
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November
13th
(New Style) • October 31st (Old Style)
The
Holy Apostles Stachys, Amplias, Urban, Narcissus, Apelles and
Aristobulus
They
were all of the Seventy. Stachys was an assistant to St. Andrew the
First-called. St. Andrew appointed him Bishop of Byzantium. He
established the church in Argyropolis and governed his flock
faithfully and zealously. After sixteen years as bishop, he entered
peacefully into rest in the Lord. Amplias and Urban worked likewise
with St. Andrew, and were ordained bishops by him-Amplias in Lydda of
Odyssopolis in Judea, and Urban in Macedonia. Both died as martyrs for
Christ the Lord. Narcissus was appointed Bishop of Athens by the
Apostle Philip. St. Apelles was Bishop of Heraclea in Trachis.
Aristobulus, brother of the Apostle Barnabas, preached the Christian
Faith in Britain and reposed peacefully there.
The
Holy Martyr Epimachus
He was
born in Egypt and labored there in asceticism, ending his earthly life
as a martyr. Imitating St. John the Baptist, he withdrew to the
wilderness while still a youth. Because of his great love for God, the
Spirit of God led him to every truth and, with no other teacher,
taught him how to live a life of asceticism. Then, Epimachus learned
that the unbelievers were torturing and killing Christians in
Alexandria for the sake of Christ. All aflame with zeal for the Faith,
he went to the city and smashed the idols. When the pagans tortured
him for this, he cried out: ``Smite me, spit on me, put a crown of
thorns on my head, put a reed in my hand, give me gall to drink,
crucify me on a cross, and pierce me with a spear! This is what my
Lord endured, and I too want to endure it.'' In the crowd of people
who witnessed the torturing of St. Epimachus, there was a woman who
was blind in one eye. She wept bitterly, watching the heartless
torture of this God-pleaser. When the tormentors scraped the body of
the holy martyr of Christ, blood spurted from him, and one drop of
blood touched the blind eye of that woman. Suddenly, her blind eye
regained vision, and was as whole as the other. Then she cried out:
``Great is the God in whom this sufferer believes!'' After this they
beheaded St. Epimachus and his soul took up habitation in eternal joy,
in about the year 250.
The
Holy Martyr Nicholas of Chios
Nicholas
was a pious youth and a great zealot for the Christian Faith. He was
born in the village of Karyes on the island of Chios, where he was
tortured and beheaded by the Turks in the year 1754, and gave his
righteous soul to God.
The
Venerable Spyridon and Nicodemus
They
were monks and prosphora-bakers in the Monastery of the Kiev Caves.
Though illiterate, Spyridon knew the entire Psalter by heart and
worked many miracles during his lifetime. He entered into rest in the
year 1148.
Reflection
And
he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of
Me, said the Lord (Matthew 10:38). The holy and venerable Martyr
Timothy of Esphigmenou (October 29) was at first a married man and had
two daughters. Later, as a monk, he decided to suffer for the sake of
Christ. Already prepared for the path of suffering, he begged the
abbot for a blessing to stop by his village of Kessana to say farewell
to his daughters. The abbot would not allow him to do that out of fear
that a meeting with his two daughters would soften him, and turn him
away from martyrdom for the Faith. But Kessana lay on the road to
Propontis, where Timothy was headed. When he got to his village, he
met a former neighbor, conversed with him and gave him a farewell
message for his daughters. In vain, the neighbor begged him to stay
and see his daughters, and rest. Timothy went hurriedly on his way.
The daughters heard about their father from the neighbor and ran to
see him. And now was seen a rare and majestic sight. The daughters
raced to overtake and embrace their father, while the father fled from
his daughters, so as not to transgress the command of his abbot. The
daughters ran quickly but their father ran even faster. The daughters
hurried to embrace their father, and Timothy, fleeing from them,
hurried to embrace death. The daughters became weary and turned back
in despair, and their father disappeared. Before his death Timothy
begged his spiritual father, Germanus, to stop by his village and
inform his daughters of his end by martyrdom. The Turks then beheaded
Timothy and threw his body into a river. Germanus succeeded in
retrieving just one garment from the martyr. He brought it to Kessana,
found Timothy's daughters and related their father's heroic death to
them, and showed them his garment.
Contemplation
Contemplate
the miraculous guidance of the apostles by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16):
1. How Paul and Silas wanted to go from Mysia to Bithynia;
2. How the Spirit would not allow it;
3. How, in a vision at midnight, a Macedonian man appeared to Paul and
summoned him to come to Macedonia.
Homily
On the certainty of the
righteous one that he shall not die
I
shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord (Psalm
117:17).
Who can say: I shall not die? He who cleaves to the Living
Lord. Who can confirm with confidence: but (I shall) live?
He who sees the Living Lord before him. Enoch and Elias did not die,
but were taken into eternal life. The Lord took them in His mercy, and
as proof to mankind of immortal life. Jesus Christ the Lord died and
resurrected in accordance with His power, and as proof to mankind of
the resurrection from the dead. The apostles and saints were slain,
but many of them appeared from the other world in their love for
mankind, and as proof to mankind of eternal life. Thus, those who were
taken up to heaven in the flesh and those whose bodies reposed, live
with the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ in the Immortal Kingdom. I
shall not die, but live, said King David with great certainty,
even though he lived on earth before the Resurrection of the Lord, and
before the announcement of the General Resurrection of the righteous.
With still more certainty, each of us Christians must speak this too:
I shall not die, but live, for the resurrected Lord is the
foundation of our Faith, and our eyes have seen and our ears have
heard more-much more-than the eyes and ears of King David. After the
Cross of Christ, the devil became as smoke; and after His
Resurrection, death became like a mere fog through which one passes to
the sunlit field of immortality. Blessed is he, brethren, who becomes
worthy to live, and declare the works of the Lord.
O Living Lord, enliven us and save us.
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